An interesting twist in the Barnes & Noble/DC/Amazon kerfuffle: 2000AD/Rebellion has stepped in to fill Barnes & Noble’s empty shelves with a new deal that’ll see the line get what is probably its broadest US release to date:

A major part of the deal involves 2000 AD’s extensive library of Alan Moore-written comics. Having published some of Moore’s earliest material for decades, the British company has struggled to find a firm foothold in the giant US publishing business. DC’s loss is 2000 AD’s gain, however, as orders of titles like “The Complete Alan Moore Future Shocks” and “Tharg’s Terror Tales” have been increased by B&N in significant quantities in an effort to fill the hole left in the chain’s stock by the DC Comics purge.

This is great news for 2000AD/Rebellion, although I wonder what will happen if/when the bookseller decides to add the DC titles back to its stores. But as someone who grew up reading 2000AD, and who’s been disappointed by the lack of penetration the title has made in the US to date, this seems like a great opportunity; now I hope there’s going to be enough promotion to ensure that potential readers know what these books actually are.

If Rich Johnston is to be believed, one of comics’ favorite rumors is on its way back:

I was told before New York Comic Con… that DC were drawing up a wishlist of creators for a series of Watchmen prequel comics. Well, I’ve now heard a lot more. Darwyn Cooke’s name is at the very top, linked to drawing two mini-series and writing another, followed by the likes of JMS, JG Jones, Andy Kubert and Brian Azzarello. Whether or not they have been approached, I don’t know, and no one’s talking, but it gives you an idea of the scale. I would also expect Dave Gibbons and John Higgins to be involved in some way.

I’ve always been skeptical about the idea of DC going back to the Watchmen well, but this particular variation on the rumor just seems so insanely unbelievable that I almost wish it was true. I mean, does anyone really think that Darwyn Cooke would be interested enough in doing a Watchmen prequel that he’d sign up for three separate projects? Or that DC would be so sure of the projects’ success that it’d be willing to tie up top talent like Andy Kubert and JG Jones, instead of having them work on DCU books…? It all seems so unlikely as to be almost laughable… but then again, those are the rumors that turn out to be true, sometimes. So what do you think?

Thinking about the end of Fear Itself, I end up wondering about the role of superhero death these days. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that there’s another death in #7 – The solicit has talked about “another hero falling” or something similar, right? – but, like the death of Bucky in #3, it’s entirely unconvincing; you end up thinking “Wait, is that it?” and “They’ll be back in a few months” simultaneously, and that seems to be a problem. Actually, the problem for Marvel is the same one that DC had, as underlined by Blackest Night: All of their major characters had “died” and come back from the dead. (more…)

Tomorrow sees the release of Fear Itself #7, the giant-sized finale to one of the uber-events that’s been keeping the Marvel Universe busy over the last few months. And, because it’s the last event book to finish this year, following things like X-Men: Schism and DC’s Flashpoint, I have only one thought in mind about it: Please don’t suck. (more…)

Premiered at this weekend’s NYCC, Warner Bros. has made the opening of the upcoming Green Lantern: The Animated Series pilot episode available online for us to watch, enjoy and get surprised by the appearance of another Lantern corps so early in the show… Watch after the break!
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With the news from this weekend’s NYCC that the Runaways are going to be showing up in future issues of Avengers Academy alongside other semi-forgotten Marvel teen heroes, I got to wondering: Do teen heroes necessarily work for audiences nowadays?

Don’t get me wrong; I like Avengers Academy a lot, so I’m not asking whether it’s a bad book. But adding the casts of Runaways, Spider-Girl, Young Allies and other canceled books to the line-up of the book just underlines how many different attempts Marvel has made at teen-led series over the years, and how many have just not found enough of an audience to keep going. Add in things like the various X-Men titles – Young X-Men, New X-Men, the revamped New Mutants before that title was given back to its original owners – and there’s a worrying amount of series that never quite found enough readers to keep books alive. (more…)

A thought occurs about the news that Dan Jurgens and Keith Giffen are to take over the Superman title with #7: What does this mean for OMAC? I’m not sure if Giffen can provide pencils for two regular books each month – I know that he’s fast (If nothing else, his stint doing breakdowns for every issue of 52 – and re-writing one along with Dan Didio – proves that), but that fast? – and somehow, I can’t see the title surviving for very long without his Kirby-esque art and off-kilter, especially considering that it’s already one of the lower selling New 52 books. Just earlier this month, Dan Didio wrote about the first sixteen issues of the title already having been laid out (presumably, in plot form), which suggests cancellation isn’t happening anytime soon, but… will Giffen still be penciling the book after #6?

(I hope so; OMAC is actually one of my favorite of the New 52 books so far, and Giffen’s art, with lovely inks from Scott Koblish, is a large part of that. It’s a high-tech Hulk book with heavy Kirby influence! How could you dislike that?)

If you’re looking for signs that this whole New 52 thing is working out for DC Comics, here’s a good one: They’ve just extended the returnability of the books through April 2012, according to a report on Bleeding Cool. Although the extension comes with a reduction in the number of titles eligible for return, this nonetheless demonstrates the level of confidence DC has in the New 52 as a line – Eight months’ worth of returnability is pretty impressive, and raises the question: If they choose to extend it again, will it be to a year, or to a permanent, ongoing arrangement?

(Bleeding Cool is also reporting that Batman and Action Comics will both start being offered in Digital Combo variants as of #5 of each title, for a dollar above the “regular” price.)

Marc Bernardin is the new ongoing writer of Static Shock starting with issue #7, currently due March 2012, DC announced this morning on The Source. Scott McDaniel, the current artist on the book, is sticking around with the new scribe.

John Rozum launched the book as part of the DC New 52 initiative, and had the distinction of being the first creative change for the line-up, resigning from the title just one week after the first issue was released.

Bernardin has extensive credits in TV and comics, having previously written The Authority for DC under the now-defunct WildStorm banner. Currently, he writes for SyFy’s Alphas. On the Source, he had this to say about the new gig:

“The thing that excites me, as both a writer and a reader, about STATIC SHOCK is that it features a hero that we don’t really know yet — at least, in comics, anyway. (Fans of the Static Shock TV show will kindly forgive me.) Virgil Hawkins is young, still figuring out the full extent of his powers, and navigating the full range of teenage tragedies: Being the new kid in a new school, asking out the pretty girl, finding time for his homework, etc. And he’s one of the few young heroes without a built-in father figure: He’s not an offshoot of Batman, Green Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman, or the Martian Manhunter. He’s his own man, for better or for worse. And all of that offers a lot of grist for the writer-y mill. And I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t feel a humbling sense of responsibility to get this one right. The late Dwayne McDuffie still stands as a titan in this industry – and while I’m not so presumptuous as to think I can write Static as well as he did, I’m hoping I can write a Static he’d get a chuckle out of.”

Barnes & Noble is no longer the only bookstore chain overreacting to the DC Comics/Amazon Kindle Fire exclusive digital deal, with Books-A-Million following in its footsteps and pulling all 100 titles that will be made digitally available to Kindle Fire users exclusively from its shelves. Publishers Weekly quotes CEO Terrance Finley as explaining that the chain “will not promote titles in our stores showrooms if publishers choose to pursue these exclusive arrangements that create an uneven playing field in the marketplace.”

As with Barnes & Noble, it’s unclear whether or not the titles will be returned to shelves when the four month Amazon exclusivity period finishes.

Call me cynical, but the most surprising thing about the retcon to Wonder Woman’s personal history – I’m not spoiling it here, although I will under the jump, so be warned – isn’t the retcon itself, but the fact that it’s taken this long to happen. (more…)

We mentioned the rumor yesterday, and now it’s official: Barnes & Noble is pulling the print versions of the DC Comics graphic novels that are being offered as digital exclusives through Amazon’s new Kindle Fire device off their shelves. Talking to Publisher’s Weekly, a spokesperson explained “We pulled those 100 DC Comics graphic novels that we were not offered in digital format. Our policy is that unless we receive all formats of a title to make available to our customers, we will not sell those physical titles in our stores.”

The 100 print titles will, however, be available via B&N’s website, as well as to customers who make special orders from the stores themselves.

When contacted for a response, DC released the following statement:

We are disappointed that Barnes & Noble has made the decision to remove these books off their shelves and make them unavailable to their customers.

DC Entertainment will continue to make our content available to our fans and new readers through multiple distribution channels including locally-owned comic book retailers, independent bookstores, other bookstore chains and other widespread means such as online through Amazon and through our apps on iOS and select Android powered devices as well as new and exciting devices going forward.

As one of the largest book publishers in North America, DC Entertainment’s publishing strategy is to give our consumers the choice to read our stories in whichever format they prefer but we also know that nothing will ever take away from the joy and collectability of physical books, comics and graphic novels.

I’m not too surprised to see that Barnes & Noble is considering pushing back in some way against the DC Comics/Amazon Kindle Fire exclusive deal announced last week, although the possibility of the chain taking DC books off the shelves of physical stores seems like the kind of upping of the ante that’ll cause a lot of concern for the publisher.

It’s unlikely that DC would be able to back out of the exclusivity clause with Amazon at this point, so I’m not sure what the solution would be for them if other retailers were to follow this route (Remember, the Amazon Kindle editions also look to be significantly cheaper than the print versions, so a direct market retailer protest isn’t out of the question, either) – unless, of course, the potential gain from the Amazon audience is going to be seen as being worth the risk and loss of business elsewhere. I wonder if this is the start of the much-anticipated print/digital war…?

Pictures have leaked online of Russell Crowe as Jor-El, Superman’s father in Man of Steel, 2013′s movie revival of DC’s original superhero, and judging by the look of him, Krypton has become much more forgiving of shaggy hair since Richard Donner’s original movie:

Also interesting: Doesn’t it look as if he’s wearing Henry Cavill’s Superman outfit underneath that robe? Perhaps the new movie is hewing closely to the New 52 idea that the Superman costume is actually Kryptonian ceremonial armor…

And as if that wasn’t enough, other pictures from the set reveal another shocking change the movie is making from its comic roots: Amy Adams’ Lois Lane has red hair.

Backlash expected in 3… 2… 1…

Over on her tumblr, Gail Simone has revealed two things for fans of her Secret Six run. Firstly, Catman was/is bisexual. Secondly, Gail has more Catman in her future, in some form. Somehow, I suspect that the former is going to be the thing that people are going to react to the most, but for me, the latter is the more exciting. Especially when she says this (emphasis mine):

I don’t want to reveal the exact scene yet, but [Catman's sexuality] would become revealed to Deadshot through a set of circumstances. My first thought was Deadshot reacting in a bit of shock, which seemed to make sense going by Deadshot’s character. But then I thought about it, and I think it’s MORE his character that he knew or suspected and didn’t give a ****.

I can’t use the exact scene I had in mind, so I can at least reveal that bit. But the rest is still in play the next time I get to write the two of them together, which Dan has assured me, is very much on the table.

It took me awhile to warm up to Secret Six, because I am stupid, but this news makes me very, very happy. I’d eagerly pick up a Deadshot/Catman title, if that ended up happening (Although, really, the one I’d really want would be a Scandal series…).

A couple of weeks after its release, Scott Lobdell is talking about Starfire’s portrayal in Red Hood and The Outlaws #1, to the (anonymous?) owner of the Fire Tonight tumblr :

So to clear a couple things up, I asked if Starfire was being serious or sarcastic about not remembering the Titans:

Kory was definitely being evasive/sarcastic because she did NOT want to talk about her past with them and issues that will come up later in the series. She does not have a memory of ‘a goldfish’ as some people have been saying ‘round the ‘net.

Also, Jason was lying to Roy about certain implications he made in the first issue to Roy about Kory. I won’t say what exactly because I don’t want to spoil the next issue, especially since it’s not out yet.

On the one hand, I’m glad to see that Starfire’s portrayal will be fleshed out in future issues. On the other, I’m not sure the scene really got over the idea that she was being purposefully evasive because of issues that’ll come up later in the series. But unclear writing isn’t the same as thoughtless writing, so let’s chalk this up to (unpleasant) experience and hope for the best moving forward, I guess. But somehow, I find myself hoping that the sarcastic amnesia doesn’t last too long…

I admit, I pretty much missed out on the Marv Wolfman and George Perez New Teen Titans run the first time around; I was too young, too non-American (For some reason, I don’t think I ever saw an issue of NTT in a store until it had become Tales of The New Teen Titans and moved on to the Eduardo Barreto days), and too into reading Justice League of America, anyway. Surprisingly, there’s never really been an affordable series of collections of the run, either, so it’s taken me until now to read the Archives of the earliest issues and trades of later arcs, and… I just don’t get it.

That’s not to say I think it’s bad, because I don’t. But, reading things like The Terror of Trigon, I feel as if I’m missing something, and I’m not sure what. I don’t think this is just limited to me, or to New Teen Titans; I have a friend who didn’t read Walt Simonson’s run on Thor until earlier this year when the gigantic omnibus came out, and he didn’t see what all the fuss was about (Despite it clearly being the best Thor run since Lee and Kirby, I mean, come on). There are classic runs and era-defining comics that seem to be as much about the context they were created in as the comics themselves, and reading them later, without any sense of nostalgia… Well, it’s just not the same.

I’m curious; am I wrong about New Teen Titans? Should I go all in and get the omnibus and try for a full immersion to hopefully understand it once more? And also, what classics have you sampled and ended up shaking your head in confusion over what everyone else saw so clearly that you failed to…?

Action Comics, Justice League, and Batgirl previously were announced by DC Comics as going to third printings of their first issue, and now Detective Comics and Swamp Thing join the crew.

Detective is a natural: along with Action and JL, it is absolutely considered a flagship book for the company. Likewise, Batgirl received a lot of attention from the media (us included) due to the miraculous healing of paralyzed Barbara Gordon, placing her back in a walking, running, jumping costume. Swamp Thing is a bigger indication of the diversity of stories being told in the New 52, though, and the fact that they are also selling well.

Justice League #1, so far, is the only one of the titles on its fourth printing. The second issues of the week one titles, including both of these new additions to the third printing club, hit stores tomorrow.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold is ending its three-season run imminently, but DC’s iconic hero won’t be away from TV sets for too long.

Comic Book Movie is reporting that Warner Bros. Animation has announced Beware the Batman, a CGI-animated series targeted for 2013 on Cartoon Network. The news comes from the recently wrapped MIP Junior showcase in Cannes, France.

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Last week’s announcement that DC would be offering exclusive digital versions of certain graphic novels and collected editions on Amazon’s new Kindle Fire tablet may have raised a few eyebrows, but not as many as the price point of Watchmen is going to. ICv2 has noticed that Amazon’s Kindle Fire edition of the collected Watchmen will sell for just $9.99, compared with $19.99 for the print version.

While the decision was presumably Amazon’s – The site lists a “digital list price” of $17.99, and Amazon has a history of offering significant discounts on digital books – this nonetheless marks an interesting departure for DC’s digital pricing, which has generally held something close to parity with print or thereabouts ($2 cheaper for digital sounds like a DC decision, if that makes sense). I’m curious to see how much retailer outcry there will be about this, if any; after all, digital sales are nowhere near print sales at this point, and Watchmen will be a Kindle Fire exclusive title, cutting down its potential audience even further. And yet… 50% cheaper? I can’t see that going by entirely unchallenged, if only for the precedent it establishes…