CCI: DC: A Guide To Your Universe

[CBR News]

Static will be leaving Milestone for the Teen Titans, Archie's superheroes will be counted among the Brave and the Bold and and upcoming battle for Batman's cowl is just some of the news that came out of DC's panel

http://comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=17432

[Jack Tango]

Taken from Newsarama and CBR, and then Amalgamated!
BIG PROPS TO ALBERT CHING AND SHAUN MANNING FOR THEIR WORK.

DC: A Guide to Your Universe
Saturday, July 26, 12:45-1:45 PST

Moderator: Dan DiDio
Panelists: Mike Grell, Gail Simone, Grant Morrison, Brad Meltzer, Aaron Lopresti, Nicola Scott, Ian Sattler, Jann Jones, Geoff Johns, Keith Giffen, and Judd Winick


Saturday afternoon’s “DC: A Guide to Your Universe” panel at Comic-Con International promised a few new announcements from the publisher.

Dan DiDio began by calling individual creators to the stage, and first recapped the announcement of Geoff Johns's "The Flash: Rebirth," and invited Johns to the stage. "If you like good comic books, I think you'll enjoy the book," Johns said. The series begins in January. DiDio also announced that DC has acquired the licensing rights to the Archie Comics superheroes, who will be appearing in J. Michael Straczynski's "Brave and the Bold." Each character will be fully integrated into the DCU with an origin story.

"We're going to do two issues per origin, create the characters fresh in the DC Universe," said Stracynzski. "Not the Hangman's cousin third removed, but the Hangman. Bring those characters, fully-fleshed into the DC Universe."

"But we're not stopping there," said DiDio. "This is about expanding the DC Universe; making it bigger and better. How many people are fans of the Milestone characters?" DiDio asked. "Well guess what? We're going to be bringing the Milestone characters into the DC Universe proper," said DiDio, mentioning characters like Icon, and saying that Static will be joining the Teen Titans.

"These are great characters we haven't seen in a while," said DiDio, mentioning that Milestone co-founder Dwayne McDuffie would be joining the panel later to discuss the announcement further.

Mike Grell then took the stage to discuss a new "Warlord" book, "I began talking about the editors over there about the possibility of resurrecting Warlord, going back to the old, original Warlord. Reintroducing them, spinning them into a new adventure with new characters that can pick up the sword and carry on from there. We've got a few interesting surprises for you, some old stuff revisited, some new tricks up our sleeve, I think you're going to like it,"

DiDio then turned to "Batman R.I.P.," rhetorically asking the audience what they thought would happen at the end. He then brought up "Batman R.I.P." writer Grant Morrison to discuss the story.

"Following RIP, there's a two-part story that is sort of the last Batman story," Morrison said, while a "Batman: Battle for the Cowl" slide showed behind him. "'Batman R.I.P.' ends with quite a big shock," said Morrison, saying the ending will be followed by a two-issue story that is effectively the last Batman story.

Geoff Johns then talked about his Action Comics work and the previously announced "New Krypton" story, crossing over with Superman and Supergirl. Johns revealed that it would see the Kandorians claiming Earth as "New Krypton." An image was shown of an injured Superman with tubes and bandages on him. "But Superman doesn't have that long hair," Johns said.

DC coordinating editor Jann Jones joined the panel to talk about DC's kids line, praising Tiny Titans and Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam. She also promoted the upcoming Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the Eighth Grade.

Gail Simone ascended the stage with Aaron Lopresti and Nicola Scott to discuss "Wonder Woman" and "Secret Six," saying, "Everything that Wonder Woman has felt she deserved for the last 60 years she will be getting, everything that she has preached will be happening." On the "Secret Six," she said "at least half of the DCU are after them," there's "a real bastard of a villain," and "there will be a major Cat/Bat fight."

Simone discussed her upcoming Wonder Woman plans, saying it's "the return of the Amazons" and "the biggest story she's ever written." She said that if fans enjoyed Villains United, they'd like Secret Six, saying each issue gets "more twisted and more wrong." She also promoted an upcoming fight between Batman and Catman in the book.

DiDio brought out Brad Meltzer to discuss DC Universe: Last Will and Testament.

"It's about the night before everybody knows they're going to die, and what they do. There are hints about where the DCU is headed. You'll also see that once you face death, I believe, you seek answers. And you don't always find them, but you keep seeking," Meltzer said. "Some people seek love, and some people seek the family, and some people seek drink, and some people seek sex. I can tell you for sure that Geo-Force seeks revenge on Deathstroke for killing his sister."

DiDio then praised Meltzer for winning an Eisner award last night for best single issue.

Greg Rucka was brought up to the dais, and joked that he was "seated with the bald team," near Meltzer and Morrison. Speaking on Final Crisis: Revelations, he said it would involve many of the DCU's mystical characters like the Spectre , saying it'll have "Gotham City in the grips of evil like you'll never see it before," with a "lot of time spent in a church...and the Spear of Destiny."

Titans writer Judd Winick joined the panel, teasing "I can tell you nothing" about the book. "We have an upcoming arc involving every character that has been done a Titan. So how do you like them apples?"

DiDio tried to move on, but Jones insisted there was one more panelist. "He embarrasses me at panels," DiDio joked, before bringing Ambush Bug: Year None writer Keith Giffen on stage. Giffen said, “we have Darkseid doing karaoke, the Mauve Lantern, the usual stuff," of "Ambush Bug: Year None,” and that an upcoming issue will reenact a scene from "The Graduate" with Ambush Bug, Lois Lane and Super Turtle.

DiDio then opened the floor to fan questions/comments.

[AlistairCrane]

"Following RIP, there's a two-part story that is sort of the last Batman story," Morrison said, while a "Batman: Battle for the Cowl" slide showed behind him. [FONT=Arial]"'Batman R.I.P.' ends with quite a big shock," said Morrison, saying the ending will be followed by a two-issue story that is effectively the last Batman story.

This slide excites me in many sexy ways!

[Jack Tango]

FAN QUESTION/COMMENTS

Taken from Newsarama and CBR, and then Amalgamated!
BIG PROPS TO ALBERT CHING AND SHAUN MANNING FOR THEIR WORK.

Sinestro Corps Role in Blackest Night?
Johns: A huge role. "Sinestro will be in Green Lantern until...he's not."

More Suicide Squad by John Ostrander?
DiDio: "we're focusing on 'Secret Six' as our villains book," specifically with a big role for Deadshot.

Is Etta Candy still married to Steve Trevor?
Simone: "Yes."

Will the New Gods Return?
Morrison: "Yes, but they'll be a bit different than they were before."

(After praising Trinity,Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley) More Info on Battle for the Cowl?
The poor fan got a lot of jokes, but no real info. Unfortunately, neither CBR nor Newsarama transcribed this biting humour.

Will Barry Allen replace Wally West as the Flash?
Johns: "You'll have to read 'Flash Rebirth. I hope I've shown I am a Wally West fan -- I did write the book for five years."

Are Martian Manhunter and Superboy dead for good?
DiDio: "Yes."
Rucka: "Why would we answer that?"

Kid Carnevil, the kid who threatens to skin people, from Salvation Run, should appear in Tiny Titans.
Jones: [Laughs] The Joker will be appearing, but not Kid Carnevil.

New Deathstroke Ongoing?
Meltzer: "Anybody who read 'Identity Crisis' knows I love Deathstroke; I dress as him. I won't tell you what Greg [Rucka] dresses as," then continued, "I actually asked Dan months ago if we can take him out of the DCU so we can do something really spectacular with him. You never really get to see his motivation, or what's going on with him, but you're going to see that with Last Will and Testament."

What's up with the Batman Costume coming out of a Flash Ring on the final page of All Flash #1?
Johns: "I think Mark [Waid] just wanted to put a Batman suit in a ring."

Any chance of a Hal/Barry team-up book?
Johns: "It's too early for that," but added that Hal Jordan will be in The Flash: Rebirth.

News on Simone/Van Sciver on Wonder Woman?
Gail: "We're re-imaging a DC villain that scares me to write," said Simone, adding that it was too early to say anything else.

Bulleteer Plans?
Morrison: "Not me, but she might be in Final Crisis a little bit."

In the Tradition of Charlton and now the Archie Heroes, what characters would DC look to aquire next?
DiDio:"Hanna-Barbera properties like Frankenstein Jr."
Morrison: "Marvel."

James Robinson Justice League?
Should start early next year (January 2009).

Plans for "Tattered Remains" of Young Justice?
DiDio: "Who's left? Grant, you were asking about characters to kill in Final Crisis, right?"
Morrison: "Thank you for bringing them to my attention."
Johns: "I need Black Lanterns."

Power Girl Plans?
Didio mentioned the upcoming Jimmy Palmiotti/Justin Gray/Amanda Conner series in the new year, and that she'll be in JSA.

Does JSA's Damage "get to keep his face?"
Johns: I love the character and that "he's just going through the first leg of his story."

Black Adam Appearances?
Johns: “JSA #23,” a Black Adam and Isis arc.
Morrison: “Also, we’ve got Black Adam and the New Shazam fighting Mary Marvel in Final Crisis #5. Mary Marvel Fights everybody!”

Return of the Heckler?
Giffen: “No, he’s dead and gone.”
Johns: “Sure, Black Lantern.”

Dr. Fate Plans?
Johns: “I’d love to use him.”
Giffen: He’ll be in Reign in Hell. "We're trying to push him to the next level.
Morrison: "Final Crisis will have a Doc Fate from Earth-20, who's kind of Doc Savage meets Dr Fate."

[AlistairCrane]

Plans for "Tattered Remains" of Young Justice?
DiDio: "Who's left? Grant, you were asking about characters to kill in Final Crisis, right?" [/FONT]
Morrison: "Thank you for bringing them to my attention."
Johns: "I need Black Lanterns."

I hate smart aleck answers like this one. :rolleyes:

[Lupek]

I've been wanting someone to do something with the Archie Superheroes for a while now. It's just seems strange that DC would want to integrate licensed characters into the DCU proper. The license will eventually run out and DC already has an abundance of superheroes. Whatever became of DC's THUNDER Agents project or the Hanna Barbera superheroes?

I think I'd prefer a separate Archie superhero imprint like the Impact line. But then that wasn't a big success.

Either way it is interesting. I hope this means DC will collect the Impact books intro trades. I'll buy em!

[Jack Tango]

MORE QUESTIONS/COMMENTS

Taken from Newsarama and CBR, and then Amalgamated!
BIG PROPS TO ALBERT CHING AND SHAUN MANNING FOR THEIR WORK.

Brave & The Bold in Mainstream DCU?
JMS: It's in " a really nice apartment next door to continuity;" essentially not directly tying in with other books but canon nonetheless.” Then suggested that Morrison should write an "Ambush Bug" one-shot.

Zatanna Plans?
DiDio: Recent appearances in Detective Comics, and reiterated the previous announcement of a Zatanna series, written by Paul Dini, in 2009.

Milestone Origin Changes?
DiDio: "We want them just the way they are, they are appearing with their origins in place--we didn't want to change that." Some, he added, would be introduced and "feel like we're seeing them for the first time," but that the characters would not be revised.

Mike Grell drawing Warlord?
Mike Grell: [I'll] be doing covers "as much as possible," but not illustrating the series. "But somewhere downt he line, you can bet I'll be drawing it. I want someone working on this book whose art I want to see. I think you guys are going to enjoy it when you see it."

Any Other JMS Series?
JMS: "There's a plan that Dan and I are talking about that's on the QT right now, but it should be very cool." He also quelled a rumor - brought up by the fan - that he'd be working on JLA.

Is the Martian Manhunter "Dead-Dead" or "Geoff Johns needs a Black Lantern-Dead?"
Johns: "Geoff Johns needs a Black Lantern dead."

Any Jason Todd stories coming up?
Morrison: "There's a big Jason [Todd] story after RIP."
Winick: DiDio had asked him to talk about Jason Todd. "How would everybody feel about Jason Todd being Batman?" Following a chorus of boos, Winick said, "That's unfortunate."

Appearances from Ted Kord Blue Beetle?
Giffen: In "Ambush Bug" #2, "we see the real reason Ted Kord died. Can you tell I'm making this up as I go along?" He then added that he "wanted a scene where Mary Marvel loses her virginity to Ambush Bug, and goes from the white costume to the red." The joke went over poorly. [Jack's note: THESE jokes, they give us. Sheesh.]

Brad Meltzer's Father: "Tell me about your new book, son."
Brad Meltzer: "Book of Lies" involves the unsolved murder of Jerry Siegel's father, which he suspects contributed to the creation of "a bulletproof man called Superman" and the mystery of the murder weapon Cain used to murder his brother Abel.

Key DCU Books?
Giffen:"52."
Meltzer:"All Star Superman."
Morrison:"There's no gateway drug to the DC Universe;" fans should read everything to find what they like. Grell concurred.

Green Arrow/Black Canary Future Plans?
Winick: "Connor Hawke's been missing since issue #5. That will wrap up. Unfortunately #14 will be my last. I've been writing Green Arrow for 5 and a half years, and I love the character, but these will be my last stories."

Aquaman? WTF?
Morrison: "Aquaman's in 'Final Crisis' #3 and there will be more plans for Aquaman,"

Giffen to do Cosmic Characters like Marvel's Annihilation?
Giffen: "This is a good time to announce that I'm signing exclusively with Marvel," (Ian Sattler applauded) then said that now that Jim Starlin is at DC, he'll probably have that avenue covered for a while.

Question Unknown, but Presumed as "Captain Atom? Whussup wit' him?"
Johns: "James [Robinson] and I will be playing with Captain Atom in Superman."

Plans for Rucka after his Final Crisis tie-ins?
Rucka: "I'm doing two series that I CAN'T TALK ABOUT! I haven't been able to talk about them for a year! I thought I would be able to talk about them today, but Dan said I couldn't!"

The panel then wrapped and DiDio reminded people to come to the next DC Nation Panel, on Sunday.

[Lupek]

Please Dan Didio......Sell Me A Frankenstein Jr Book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JamesJesse]

From the DCU Panel: Will the Milestone characters origins change? "We want them just the way they are," said DiDio.

Hmmm. Let's see how DC has made use of some of the characters they purchased in the past:

Blue Beetle: Dead & Replaced
Captain Atom: Monarch
Question: Dead & Replaced
Peacemaker: Replaced
Judomaster: Dead & Replaced
Nightshade: ok

Captain Marvel: Now Shazam.
Captain Marvel Jr: Huh
Mary Marvel: Countdown Screw Up
Black Adam: Doing great!

Freedom Fighters: Dead, replaced, and their replacements were massacred and THEN replaced.

Good luck Archie Heroes and Milestone Heroes. You're all going to need it.

[Lupek]

Good luck Archie Heroes and Milestone Heroes. You're all going to need it.

Ha ha. Funny and true.

[IamtheRock3]

From the DCU Panel: Will the Milestone characters origins change? "We want them just the way they are," said DiDio.

Hmmm. Let's see how DC has made use of some of the characters they purchased in the past:

Blue Beetle: Dead & Replaced
Captain Atom: Monarch
Question: Dead & Replaced
Peacemaker: Replaced
Judomaster: Dead & Replaced
Nightshade: ok

Captain Marvel: Now Shazam.
Captain Marvel Jr: Huh
Mary Marvel: Countdown Screw Up
Black Adam: Doing great!

Freedom Fighters: Dead, replaced, and their replacements were massacred and THEN replaced.

Good luck Archie Heroes and Milestone Heroes. You're all going to need it.

In fairness it took decades before some of those changes.

And some of the changes temporary

And Dont think DC can legaly call Shazam book Captain marvel but the character called Captain marvel

[Ghost Shark]

I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with the Archie heroes. There are some very decent one's in there. The Shield, The Fly, The Comet, Black Hood. Done right, they could add a very nice flavour to the DCU.

[Phaedrusnyc]

From the DCU Panel: Will the Milestone characters origins change? "We want them just the way they are," said DiDio.

Hmmm. Let's see how DC has made use of some of the characters they purchased in the past:

Blue Beetle: Dead & Replaced

Not to mention revived and killed a second time- Ted Kord is now the Kenny McCormik of the DCU.

Captain Atom: Monarch
Question: Dead & Replaced
Peacemaker: Replaced

Isn't he dead, too?

Judomaster: Dead & Replaced
Nightshade: ok

Captain Marvel: Now Shazam.

And bats*** crazy!

Captain Marvel Jr: Huh
Mary Marvel: Countdown Screw Up

I prefer to say that she went through the Supergirl Slutinator Machine, but you're more politic than I am.

Black Adam: Doing great!

Plus:
Shazam: Dead (really, truly)
Bulletman and Bulletgirl: Replaced
Spy Smasher: Replaced
Ibis: Dead and Replaced

Freedom Fighters: Dead, replaced, and their replacements were massacred and THEN replaced.

Good luck Archie Heroes and Milestone Heroes. You're all going to need it.

Keep in mind, two, that these acquired characters are in danger in other ways. After all, the MLJs were pretty lighthearted- DC doesn't do that any more (except for Ambush Bug, and I'm sure this miniseries will be the last time we see him for a while). And if Static is joining the Teen Titans, we can only imagine what horrors are going to befall him there.

Damn, you, Trickster, for beating me to this.

Seriously, these announcements would have thrilled me back in the 80's, when DC was actually looking FORWARD rather than backward, when they tried to nurture their acquired properties, and when they actually gave characters room to grow in teams, seconfary roles, or even limbo if they weren't immediately able to support their own books.

Now, not so much. What is especially galling is that DC feels the need to acquire new characters from other companies when they have systematically killed off fifty or sixty second- and third-tier characters in fewer than four years. Couldn't they have maybe tried to do something with them, first?

They clearly have given into the reductionist (and defeatist) idea of :"unwritable" characters, so we can expect to see all of these licensed characters purged from the DCU in a matter of years if they don't immediately "hit" with readers.

Does anyone know how long the terms of the licenses are? I suppose we can be grateful, at least, that they haven't been bought outright, so they can be used in the future if DC puts them through the wringer.