The Abattoir That Is DC Comics Editorial

 

 When AT&T bought Warner Brothers, I assumed that some changes would be made to the WB and some of that would trickle down to DC Comics. I have been wondering when the axe would drop or when corporate changes would be made.

 It seems that time is now. As of 8/10, news had leaked out that there were going to be major changes in the DC C suite and Editorial offices. Here is a link to Bleeding Cool's coverage of the proceedings: https://bleedingcool.com/comics/jim-lee-bob-harras-marie-javins-new-dc-comics-implosion-rumors/ 

 This is not trimming of the fat. This is a culling of the herd. 

Now I certainly haven't agreed with the path DC has taken in their comics, probably an overall sentiment of the last 20 years or so. But some of the names are good comics people, people who love comics and the characters, and who interact with fans.

Seeing Hank Kanalz, Andy Khouri, and Brian Cunningham listed among those who are leaving was shocking. These were solid folk who I followed and trusted.

Does AT&T even care about this little corner of WB? Is there a vision for the future? Or was this just a purge? 

Does AT&T care about stories and characters? Or only (as Gerry Conway states so eloquently on Twitter) the ability to strip mine the IP for profit?

Or was this just a result of downward economic trends in the pandemic? Employees were laid off everywhere within WB. Or is that just an excuse?

 

 This doesn't sound too good either. 

'A rapid reduction in titles' means less product on the shelves. I suppose the dust has to settle a bit and new people have to be brought on board. Or maybe AT&T thinks that the world simply doesn't need 50 DC titles a month.

And I will say that I simply dislike reading digital comics. If this is AT&T's way of moving out of the paper publishing business, this might be the death knell for my fandom.

I have pondered the death of comic books and the death of DC Comics for a long time. It suddenly feels a bit more real.

 

Part of this is the complete dissolution of DC Direct.

Again, per Bleeding Cool, rather than having an in-house department to control and parse out merchandise, AT&T will most likely sell the license for the properties to other companies. 

This also sounds like a bit of a cash grab.

Maybe it just what DC needs. To paraphrase the great Harry Lime, times of chaos are often times of great creativity. If I am sick of most of what DC has been doing recently, maybe things need to be shaken things up a bit.

Still I can't help but feel that this is more like a salting of the Earth than sowing a new crop.

 

 Maybe I should be thinking more about Swamp Thing #50 and Swampy's thoughts on aphids. Maybe it is only from the evil of this destruction that a purer, more virtuous DC Universe.

I guess we'll have to see.

All that said, only the best for those who have lost their jobs in this cycle.

Scott Lobdell On Superman ?

Over on Bleeding Cool, it has been reported that Scott Lobdell will be taking over the Superman title in September. It is a brief post, but here is the link:
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/04/30/scott-lobdell-take-over-superman-comic-from-jurgens-giffen/

I really don't know what to think here. I don't know if Lobdell is the right writer for Superman ... and remember I am liking his Superboy. I am not a hater. But still ...

But more than the announcement specifically of Lobdell, I wonder why the new Superman book (if this is true) will have three creative teams in 13 issues. It goes back to my questions when it was announced that Perez was off the book. It goes back to my questions when writers and directions where changed in the middle of opening arcs of the DCnU titles.

What is DC thinking? Who is in charge of okaying these books and creative teams and directions? And why do they seem so bad at it? And why do they seem so eager to change directions before some books can pick up momentum or word of mouth?

Did George Perez say 'I only want 6 months on Superman?' If the answer is yes, should DC have okayed him taking the helm of a major book as it was about to redefine the biggest character in the universe? If the answer was 'no', why was he pulled. If it was because the first story was clunky (which I think it was), why didn't the powers-that-be realize that before giving him the reins?

So Perez leaves and Giffen and Jurgens step in as creators. And, whew, at least the first 2 issues made me feel comfortable with them writing the book.

And now I read they are off the book. And a new writer will come on board.

The problem here is that we have yet to define who Superman is in this new universe. What his relationship with his supporting cast? Which enemies are known commodities and which need to be re-introduced? How is Superman perceived in this universe? I want to learn about this new Superman ... but with rotating people with rotating ideas and no clear vision, I simply can't. There is no foundation to build on.

So the real question is this ... why? Why is this happening to Superman? The Batman books have solid creative teams and a direction. Wonder Woman's creative team is there for the foreseeable future despite some outcry. Superman will have 3 creative teams during its first year.

Why is there such instability? Are the creators opting in for a short time? Or is DC pulling the plug on their stories early on. And if that last statement is true, why did DC okay the stories in the first place if aren't what they are looking for.

I ask DC to take the advice of Superman above as they move forward with their decision on the book, on who will guide Superman into this new incarnation. Use an extra bit of judgment when you decide who is going to write the book. Do they have a clear consistent vision? Do they know Superman and where theyt want to bring him? Do they have more than one arc planned? Check the direction and then double check it to make sure you are satisfied with the direction. And then assign the writer.

Maybe Lobdell has a three year plan. Maybe his stories will be great. Maybe DC is finally going to settle on who they want Superman to be. I hope all of the above is true, although I have my doubts on all of the above.

And Superman deserves better. The book and his fans deserve more than a revolving door of creators with different ideas and themes.

George Perez To Draw An Issue Of Supergirl

Bleeding Cool is running a story here where George Perez has stated that he will be drawing an upcoming issue of Supergirl. Here is the Perez quote from that page:

 Just submitted the plot to SUPERMAN #6, my final issue. Now I have to dialogue Issue 5 (working over Nicola Scott’s gorgeous pencils) and then I will be finishing the pencils to an inventory BIRDS OF PREY story before I go on to draw an issue of SUPERGIRL. After that– well you’ll just have to wait and see! ;-)

I, for one can't wait to see the issue. I hope it is one in the current story arc and not an 'inventory' issue for some unforeseen down time. This is nothing against the amazing Mahmud Asrar. If Perez' pinch hitting gives him more time to get ahead of schedule, that's great too.

Now I know that Perez and Supergirl are most famous for Crisis on Infinite Earths. But we have seen more Perez Supergirl in recent years and it's all been great. He always seems to be able to get just the right mix of strength and youthful exuberance.

In the earliest issues of the Brave and Bold relaunch, Supergirl plays a pretty big part of a team of heroes trying to get back The Book of Destiny.

I  especially liked this issue in which Supergirl pairs up with Lobo. Their interactions and differences in how they approach problems was a lot of fun.

We saw a more classic take on Supergirl in the Crisis issue of DC Universe: Legacies, a very underrated series looking back at that DCU's history.

And a similar head-banded Kara was seen in the Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds in which all the versions of the Legion come together to fight the Superboy Prime/Time Trapper.

I think this is the Supergirl outfit Perez is most comfortable with.

But he also drew her in the all-woman brawl story in Wonder Woman #600. Isn't that just a great Supergirl?

I wonder if his issue will be something of a rest issue, one where Perez art will match the tone of the story.

Anyways, as always, thanks to Bleeding Cool for spreading the news!

Supergirl Bullet News

Lots of small bits of business to catch up on here, so I thought I would batch them!

Over on Jamal Igle's blog, he has announced that he is going to take a look back at his time on Supergirl. He is going to post 5 pages from his Supergirl issues, including process sketches, etc. He is going to do that for every issue he drew on the title! As  a fan of Igle's work and process pieces, I can't wait to look at this series of posts and will probably comment on some of them here.

He announced his plans here: http://jamalligle.blogspot.com/2011/11/from-vaults-returns-in.html and included this great pencil page, the opening page of Supergirl #34, his and Sterling Gates' first issue.

I was thrilled to see that Jamal will be coming to Boston for the Boston Comic-Con in April. I can't wait to talk to him again.

As I said before, as a comic book fan, I love process pieces so any time an artist let's me see that creative side of things, I am thrilled.

Current Supergirl artist Mahmud Asrar has been great about sharing on his blog including the above picture seen here: http://mahmudasrar.com/post/13417041334/rough-thought

Asrar usually then will post the more tightly penciled and ultimately the inked/marked final product. I hope he continues to do this.

I spoke here about some similarities in the opening flight sequences in Cosmic Adventures and the new Supergirl comic. Bleeding Cool also talks about it with a nifty page by page comparison at this link:
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/11/24/swipe-file-supergirl-and-supergirl-and-wile-e-coyote/

Finally, the Comics Should Be Good blog on Comic Book Resources have been posting panels of characters and asking readers to guess the artists. It is Supergirl's turn here: http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2011/11/27/name-that-supergirl-artist/

I was all full of hubris figuring I would be able to name the artists immediately but it is trickier than I thought. Maybe some of you out there will have a better time. Make sure to submit your guesses over at CBR!