So, you have a line of collectible toys, statues, and DC-branded bits like power rings and pins, and you want to sell them directly. Moving from one of the words in that sentence to the other isn’t a huge, drastic name change, but the fact that DC Entertainment is going to actually move into “Direct” sales is.

DC announced the name change of their toy line today via a post on The Source blog, but the bigger part of the announcement is the opening of a webstore that will hold all of the DC Collectibles products. Found at DCComics.com/Collectibles, the site currently merely acts as a portal to the existing WB Store, “WBShop.com”. Some products are currently unavailable online, and instead only have links to “Comicshoplocator.com” which helps fans find the product at their local store. When the full online store launches in May 2012, all products will be available directly there, without any external linkage needed.

Will retailers get upset over this “step” into the direct market? Well, it’s really just a lateral motion, and a way to try to leverage more direct dccomics.com visits, so probably not much to speak of. Regardless, your DC Direct branded figures just became more… Collectible.

Reading this overview of recent interviews promoting Before Watchmen at ICv2, a thought occurred to me: Is this second wave of PR aimed specifically at the people who reacted to badly to the announcement of the line in the first place? Seeing Darwyn Cooke talk about how he had to be added “kicking and screaming” onto the books, or that he’d turned down Dan Didio when first asked until he found himself coming up with an idea that was worth the original story almost a year later feels like a far more humble, far more “We get it! This seems like a bad idea!” approach to PR than some of the first interviews and stories that were done when the project was officially announced, especially some of J. Michael Straczynski’s comments.

If this is a purposeful redirectioning of the PR, I’m curious to see if it’ll work; given how hilariously brittle the comics internet can be, I can see these interviews being fodder for “SEE THESE HACKS KNEW IT WAS A BAD IDEA DEEP DOWN” as much as “They’re not just doing it for the money but had concerns about the necessity themselves.”

(Me, I’m still going to pick up the Cooke books and probably ignore the others…)

Something that comes up a couple of times in this Geoff Johns interview is the seeming importance of DC’s Free Comic Book Day release this year to the DCU as a whole and Justice League specifically; we’re told that the FCBD issue will hint at the future of the team in regards to new members and a shifting public face, as well as evolving the Pandora plot that’s come up a couple of times since the character debuted in Flashpoint #5 last year. What seems interesting about that to me is that it feels like the first time one of the Big Two publishers is making the FCBD release a “must-read” for fans, as opposed to a “Would be nice” added extra.

Marvel was the publisher to push original non-reprint content for FCBD first, in terms of the Marvel/DC axis at least, but all of their books have been seemingly intentionally peripheral in terms of the larger continuity or stories being told (With the potential exception of “Swing Shift,” which previewed the Brand New Day status quo for Amazing Spider-Man months before it actually happened). DC has teased a different route with #0 issues of both Blackest Night and War of the Supermen in the past, but both of those issues have been there to bring readers up to speed and repeat storybeats and information from elsewhere, as opposed to offer anything new in and of themselves. If what Johns is saying about this year’s FCBD title is the case, that sounds like it’ll change this time ’round.

I’m in two minds about this approach. On the one hand, it makes FCBD more of an “event,” with more reason for “regular” fans to go and support their stores on the day, and it also gives readers who’re picking up the DC FCBD book cold more of a sense of “something’s happening!” when they look inside. And yet… It also risks making the DC FCBD book more of a commodity to be hoarded, speculated on and sold on eBay for ridiculously high amounts of money, thereby defeating the “come one, come all!” nature of Free Comic Book Day itself, so… I don’t know. Is it too much to hope that DC will have overprinted/overshipped this book on the possibility that it’s more popular than anyone anticipated…?

So, just how successful was the New 52 relaunch for DC? Marc-Oliver Frisch puts things in an interesting perspective over at The Beat:

The average DC Universe title now sells fewer copies again than it did two years ago (34,456 vs. 35,895), but then again, the company’s main imprint had 20 more titles on sale this time around: In February 2010, it was 47; in February 2012, it’s 67. On balance, consequently, DC is still selling a lot more superhero comics than it has in most months in the last 10 years.

So, that’s… good news, right? Except, of course, as Frisch explains, “The average ‘New 52′ title dropped by 7.6% in February, which is in line with January’s 7.4% drop and suggests that, while the bigger drops seem behind us, the numbers haven’t quite found their level yet, either.”

Over at Bleeding Cool, Rich Johnston is suggesting that DC is taking a very pro-active response to these numbers with Eddie Berganza’s new role at the publisher being one that involves “a heavy culling and reworking of the DC New 52.” We’ve already seen the publisher’s willingness to cull multiple titles due to sales, and more of the line is trending towards that low lever now… So just how big a cull should we be expecting sometime soon, I wonder…?

Okay, this is just spectacular – Designer and illustrator Rory Phillips‘ reimagining of DC’s Birds of Prey, from the Superhero of The Month blog:

Here’s his explanation of the look:

I re-imagined Birds of Prey as a ‘Vigilante Scooter Club’: Tough and sporty roller derby-type girls with DIY costumes that are functional, but also fashionable enough for Gotham’s trendiest dive bars. For a smart, design-conscious woman like Barbara Gordon, a utility belt just isn’t very stylish. Instead she has a more functional and fashionable messenger bag, with plenty of room for a Bat-laptop, Bat-tazer, Bat-tonfa, and any other Bat-device the plot might require, and her scooter is festooned with a variety of high tech electronics. Black Canary plays Punk to Batgirl’s Mod; the fishnets are more about attitude than sexuality. An experienced and dangerous street-fighter, she isn’t afraid to use brass-knuckles or kubotan to keep the odds in her favor, and boxing wraps help keep her knuckles protected from even the hardest skulls. These two might not see eye to eye on technology and fashion, but they do agree, jump-boots are excellent for kicking you in the face. These characters are smart, strong and empowered, I wanted the design and style to reflect that.

Hey, DC! Can we have an Earth-3 book featuring these two, please…?

(Via.)

For everyone that expected Bryan Hitch to immediately go to DC as soon as his Marvel exclusive finished… Does a cover sate your hunger?

EARTH 2 #1 VARIANT EDITION (MAR120146) now features a cover by Bryan Hitch. The standard cover now features the Ivan Reis & Joe Prado cover solicited to be the variant.

Wonder if we’ll see his interiors on an Annual or special edition at some point…?

Over at The Beat, Jeff Trexler has a great look at the current standing of both the Jack Kirby and Jerry Siegel lawsuits surrounding ownership of their respective creations:

In the Siegel appeal, Toberoff uses similar arguments regarding work-for-hire that he used in the Kirby case. According to Toberoff, Jerry Siegel’s work was not actually work for hire. Instead, Siegel was an independent contractor selling his own property to DC. Indeed, the similarity in legal arguments is so pronounced at times that it feels as if you are reading Toberoff’s account of Jack Kirby’s work with Jerry Siegel cut and pasted into it, calling to mind DC’s infamous decision to put a different face on Kirby’s Superman.

The net effect of this reasoning is that the Ninth Circuit should see Jerry Siegel in a position analogous to that of Neil Gaiman in the Medieval Spawn case. Because Siegel was an independent creator offering original new elements to pre-existing copyrighted material, Siegel at the very least co-owned all of the original material contained in these derivative works, such as Lex Luthor, Toyman and Superman’s enhanced powers. Accordingly, Toberoff argues, the court should expand Siegel Larson’s copyright interest to include everything within the five-year termination window.

Maybe this will prove to be a winning strategy–I’ve seen courts do stranger things–but it’s a risky gambit.

I found Warner/DC’s decision to pursue an open court hearing for the Siegel/Superman case last week to be surprising and, perhaps somewhat naively, suggesting a new confidence that they could win the case without it getting too ugly. It’ll be interesting to see how both cases shake out… and what happens if either publisher ultimately loses ground in the ownership of such important characters.

On the newly-unveiled Facebook fanpage for next year’s Man of Steel movie, Warner Bros has released the first look at the official logo for the movie:

My first thought? “You’d think Superman could’ve saved the day with their lighting department.” But outside of the dimness, it’s just the S-shield, and I admit to feeling a little disappointed by the similarity to the campaign promoting Superman Returns. But what do you think?

Over on his Twitter account, Jim Lee has been sharing the finished cover for DC’s Free Comic Book Day one-shot, as well as the original pencils.

Two things: I prefer the Wonder Woman in the pencils, and much more importantly, is Batman holding a Crystal Skull from the last Indiana Jones movie?!? This can’t bode well.

Here’s a sad first for DC’s New 52, from the publisher’s shipping update:

BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #8 (FEB120193) Now features a story written by Joe Harris with art by Ed Benes and Rob Hunter.

The book, which ships 4/25, was originally solicited with David Finch and Paul Jenkins as creators. Unless I’m misremembering, this is the first last-minute replacement of an entire creative team/fill-in issue for the line, coming three months after the first book to miss its scheduled ship date (Partial replacement of solicited creative teams, of course, has been happening since the first issue of some titles). Way to go with another important milestone, I guess…?

Benes had previously been announced as replacing Tony Daniel as artist on Detective Comics for a short period. Clearly, he’s a favorite of the Batman editorial office, which makes me wonder: Should we be expecting a permanent re-assignment to a Batman book anytime soon?

On Facebook, Dan Didio celebrates ten years at DC with his top 10 projects from his time with the company so far:

9) BATMAN, GREEN LANTERN, and the Five Year Plan. Or better known as, how The Sinestro Corps War and Batman R.I.P. got me through the toughest part of my career. First, some back story. In late 2007, and into 2008, we hit a rough spot. Our delivery was shaky, several series were starting to struggle for direction, and our next big event felt rushed (too many crises too soon). Yet, whatever pressure we were feeling across the line, it did not appear evident in Green Lantern and Batman. Geoff had a five year plan for GL that would see that character from Rebirth to Blackest Night, and Grant Morrison had the same for Batman, starting with Batman R.I.P. Batman R.I.P. preformed the herculean task of crossing over with an event book, Final Crisis yet positioned the story of “The Death Of Batman” to stand on its own if read separately. The Sinestro Corps War showed that you could keep the spectacle in the main title so the on-goings can have events unto themselves. On the personal side, they were the solid ground needed to regain our footing, and a reminder that consistency in story and character, and planning, will win out over the usual bags of tricks, if the usual bag of tricks is overplayed.

It’s interesting to look at the full list (Superman: Earth One makes it, but All-Star Superman doesn’t?) and see how Didio views the successes and failures of his tenure, as well as hints at admissions of trouble and disaster without coming out and just saying “Yeah, 2007 we were publishing some terrible books.” All in all, I think he’s surprisingly on point in terms of the truly successful projects of his time with the company to date – but I admit, I almost wish he’d done a Top 10 Projects I Regret, instead.

(Via.)

More proof, if proof was needed, that Geoff Johns was using the (mainstream) public preconception of characters and concepts as a touchstone in his New 52 work comes in yesterday’s Justice League #7, where – for the second time in two issues – a particular phrase is used to describe the JL:

Thinking about this, the use of Darkseid as big bad for the first six issues makes a lot more sense. It’s not that he was a face familiar to all of us comic fanboys who worship at the altar of the Fourth World books – Well, at least, I certainly do – but that he’s a familiar face for those who saw Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show on Saturday mornings in the mid-80s.

Just as Aquaman has made a big thing (Too big a thing? Maybe) about the “Aquaman is lame, he just talks to fish” idea, I wonder whether we’re going to start seeing a similar war against the “Super Friends” label being waged in Justice League while Johns simultaneously uses and takes advantage of fond memories and nostalgia for the more useful, less lame parts of the team’s non-comic history…

The more I think about it, the more I realize how much Before Watchmen is a gift to the ongoing argument that is the Comics Internet; no matter which “side” you’re on, you have something to point to and get angry about. “Alan Moore said that there were no talented people in comics!” “JMS said that at least it isn’t as bad as having Mr. Hyde rape the Invisible Man to death in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen!” and so on. It may not beat Avengers Vs. X-Men in final sales, when the various titles are eventually released, but it’s possible that it may be the comic to finally do the very thing that Brian Michael Bendis promised way back when he was doing House of M, and tear the internet in half, which is something, right…?

(Something that is interesting from the J. Michael Straczynski interview linked above: The revelation that the series don’t seem to be as interconnected as it may at first appear. JMS explained that “We’re all over the place [in terms of timeline], depending on what part of a character’s life the individual writer(s) wanted to explore. The only commonality they share is that they don’t go beyond the first page of the WATCHMEN GN. We are specifically not touching anything after that point as a gesture of respect.” Well, that and the fact that it couldn’t be called Before Watchmen if it didn’t happen before Watchmen, of course…)

One exchange in particular stands out from Vaneta’s recent conversation with DC’s John Rood and Bob Wayne:

Nrama: That’s interesting that you’re still printing Justice League #1. With a seventh printing, what does that mean? How many Justice League #1 issues are you selling overall, and can you include digital in that number to give us an idea of how many people have read this issue?

Rood: I know it’s at 400,000.

Nrama: That’s bigger than the numbers we’ve seen from Diamond. That includes digital, right?

Wayne: Yes, but it’s because it’s going through so many printings. That number is where we are across all of our platforms.

Who is buying all of these Justice Leagues? Seven printings and over 400,000 copies? That’s just insane for a book that’s only six months old. I wonder if this book will end up defining the size of the monthly comic audience, or if there are too many completists who must have every printing to screw up any such attempts…

Hey, look! It’s the Before Watchmen solicits for June, courtesy of MTV Geek. To very few people’s surprise, the books are $3.99 each (or digital download combo pack for $4.99, which seems especially greedy in light of Marvel’s new $3.99 for 20 page print comic plus online extras deal), but more surprising is that each one is apparently just 32 pages, which… seems odd, considering that each book not only features a lead story but also a Len Wein/John Higgins back-up. Typo? No ads in any of the books? Shorter stories? Hopefully there’ll be some clarification from DC before too long…

(Also interesting: Only four titles are shipping in June; we’re missing the Ozymandius and Dr. Manhattan books.)

Looks like the New 52 books are about to enter into a little bit of creative flux again. DC announced today that Trevor McCarthy is going to take over the art on Batwoman for three issues, with Ed Benes filling in on Detective Comics for four months while Tony Daniels takes a break, presumably meaning that Benes is taking his own break from Red Lanterns, which he’s been happily illustrating since the first issue. The addition of McCarthy to Batwoman expands that title’s artistic rotation past the announced pairing of JH Williams III and Amy Reeder, potentially risking readers who have already been complaining about Williams’ absence after just one issue (He’s now due back on the book with #12), although McCarthy’s style is likely to merge well with Reeder’s, if not with Williams.

Amusingly, DC Editor-in-Chief Bob Harras’ quote in the blogpost makes him sound unconvinced that the two guest artists will be able to match up to the artists they’re replacing, saying that “Both Trevor and Ed are going to have to bring their A-game to maintain those standards.”

Update: On her Facebook page, current Batwoman artist Amy Reeder reveals that the change is fairly recent:

You found out about it pretty much as soon as it went final, too. It’s definitely regrettable…some real creative differences were going on, to the point that it became untenable.

Developing, as the saying goes.

The always wonderful DC Women Kicking Ass blog had a series of posts yesterday saying goodbye to the post-Crisis Huntress, following the revelation that the current incarnation of the character is, once again, Helena Wayne and not Helena Bertinelli (The timing was chosen to coincide with the final issue of Paul Levitz and Marcus To’s Huntress mini-series). In addition to fans remembering their favorite Helena Bertinelli scenes, the posts also included commentary from Greg Rucka and Gail Simone, who shared her reasons for loving the character:

The charge was often leveled us, when I took over Birds of Prey, that we had added the Huntress to the book to tie in with the television series that had spun off from the book’s previous incarnation. The truth is, it was my idea to bring her in. The show had already flopped, and DC was in no hurry to be more closely affiliated with the series. So they were not thrilled with the idea of bringing Helena aboard.  I made a stern case, aided by a great editor, the fierce Lysa Hawkins, for what Helena would bring to the book; her unpredictability, her untamed nature, her unmatchable will.  All of that stuff was true, but had nothing to do with why I wanted her in the book. The truth is a lot simpler.

She was badass.

Completely, unendingly badass.

The post-Crisis Huntress was a character that I’d never really paid too much attention to, before; she appeared in a lot of books I enjoyed without my realizing it, if that makes sense, and I always attributed that to the creators of said books. But reading through the posts, I found myself realizing that I’ll miss the character as well. Maybe we’ll get to meet the New 52 Helena Bertinelli before too long, somehow…

Todd Allen notices that the subscription page on the new DC Comics website – And, as an aside, am I the only person who’s surprised to see the Avengers vs. X-Men advertising all over the comics internet be replaced over a month before the series launches? – is missing certain titles:

I have a hard time believing this is a cancellation list with Batwing, Stormwatch and Suicide Squad on it.  Likewise, Blue Beetle is on the subscription page and that’s one of the lower selling titles still standing.  It is interesting that Grifter, Stormwatch and Voodoo were all left off the subscription form.  No subscriptions for Wildstorm?

The missing titles are All-Star Western, Batwing, Captain Atom, Deathstroke, Demon Knights, Grifter, I, Vampire, Legion Lost, Resurrection Man, Stormwatch, Suicide Squad and Voodoo. Also missing are the six titles that end next month (obviously) and the six titles that will replace them in May, and all Vertigo titles; clearly, no mature readers would ever want to be mailed their comics…!

The return of cult series Marshal Law has been teased a couple of times in recent years, with Top Shelf announcing an omnibus that never materialized way back in 2007 and DC Comics being connected to the title last year, but according to co-creator Pat Mills, fans shouldn’t expect any new material anytime in the near future. Talking to CBR about the 35th anniversary of 2000AD, he let the sad news slip out:

[W]ith the prospect of probably never returning to Law — as Kevin [O'Neill, co-creator] is busy on “League [of Extraordinary Gentlemen]” — I do need an outlet for the feelings and values described in Law… [New material] doesn’t look likely, alas. But let’s see what happens when the DC book comes out. You never know, Kevin could be tempted. If he was, I’d for it like a shot.

At least the DC book seems to be progressing, if slowly…

A thought struck me, looking at press releases for new printings for the first issues of the current Action Comics and Batman runs (amongst others): How many Justice League #1s are there out there? That issue is in, I believe, its seventh printing, but tracking how many copies that translates into is difficult; the issue stops showing up on the Diamond chart after October (which is still impressive, when you stop to think about it – How many comics have reorder activity so high that it charts in the top 300 after three months?), but that’s still several printings behind the current total. By the end of October, orders seemed to be somewhere in the region of 248,039 (if my math and figures from ComicChron are correct), and assuming that reorders since then have been too low to show up in the top 300, I’m guessing that we can’t be looking at much more than around 260,000 copies in the North American market – except, of course, as every publisher is quick to point out, estimates based on the Diamond chart are notoriously low and unreliable. So, how many copies of the Best Selling Issue In Recent Memory (Well, until Avengers vs. X-Men #1, by all accounts) are out there, I wonder…?