CBR: Winick Leads DC's Lost Generation

[CBR News]

Judd WInick spoke with CBR News about the second act of his bi-weekly series "Justice League: Generation Lost," hinting at what's still to come in the hunt for the man who no longer exists, Maxwell Lord.


Full article here.

[Lemurion]

Very cool, but what happened to Keith Giffen?

[Karl O'Neill]

Very cool, but what happened to Keith Giffen?

Here, Buddy.

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/keit...dc-100820.html

[Byzantine]

It's sad to see Giffen go, and i hope that the book doesn't drop in quality because it's been nothing short of Stellar up to this point.

If you guys and gals aren't reading this book, you're missing out on one d'ast good story.

[Joe Franklin]

I can barely take the boring safe art in this comic book, but since the Giffen/DeMatteis Justice League is my all time favorite comic book run, I'm buying this despite hating the art. And I still enjoy it as well. Now if only former JLI'ers Metamorpho and Guy Gardner would join up, this comic book would be perfect despite the art.

[gwangung]

I can barely take the boring safe art in this comic book, .

With a fairly complex story, I think competent art that tells the story is exactly what's needed. Nothing fancy or eye dropping. Just tell the damn story.

[alistairrobb]

I totally agree with Judd about the tone of the old JLI, everyone latched on to the BWAHAHA moments but no one remembers the really good stories that took place.

[titanfan]

The classic-style art works for me in this case--probably because of the nostalgia factor.

I know JL used to have more dynamic artists like McGuire and Sears, but it just feels like an old school team should have old-school art on it.

I agree, many of my favorite JLI stories were the more serious moments.

[Joe Franklin]

With a fairly complex story, I think competent art that tells the story is exactly what's needed. Nothing fancy or eye dropping. Just tell the damn story.

Since I'm an art first comic book collector, it matters.

[El Sombrero]

Since I'm an art first comic book collector, it matters.

Yeah man I totally agree with you. I really enjoy this series and I will most likely buy it till it's finished, but that is despite the art. It's not bad but it's very boring. I would honestly prefer it if the series was monthly instead of biweekly, but had an artist with more personality (ex: Chris Batista, who's doing the Booster Gold solo title is much better).

I don't get how some people don't really care about the art in comic books. The art is the major draw, at least to me. If all comic books had generic art I would almost certainly stop reading them.

[gwangung]

Since I'm an art first comic book collector, it matters.

There are quite a few people who are good draftsmen and have a good style, but are rather mediocre storytellers. And when it comes to art, storytelling comes first. When people talk about boring art, nine times out of ten it's about composition and draftsmanship, not storytelling.

[Joe Franklin]

Yeah man I totally agree with you. I really enjoy this series and I will most likely buy it till it's finished, but that is despite the art. It's not bad but it's very boring. I would honestly prefer it if the series was monthly instead of biweekly, but had an artist with more personality (ex: Chris Batista, who's doing the Booster Gold solo title is much better).

I don't get how some people don't really care about the art in comic books. The art is the major draw, at least to me. If all comic books had generic art I would almost certainly stop reading them.

I agree. Why in a visual medium like comic books would the visuals not be the most important part? Comic books are not pictureless novel stories.

Do movie goers watch movies with their eyes closed? Nope. Why, because even though you can get the story in a movie with your eyes closed in a movie theater just by listening, a movie is a "motion picture", and not meant to be a radio broadcast with sound only. It is a visual medium, just like a comic book. The visuals are the most important part of a comic book or a movie.

[Bathawk1]

buying this book for the nostalgia factor and that's it, I expected more humor despite the grim story...I mean c'mon how can you say the JLI was not a comedy book?..."Mr.Nebula " and "Manga Khan" ring any bells?

still who knows maybe Winick will come up with one or two zingers...if not....well at least giffen is writing booster gold

[Joe Franklin]

buying this book for the nostalgia factor and that's it, I expected more humor despite the grim story...I mean c'mon how can you say the JLI was not a comedy book?..."Mr.Nebula " and "Manga Khan" ring any bells?

And this.

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

"I don't know if they're popular characters," laughed the writer

What bothers me with this interview, and bothers me about DC's attitude to the characters, is that he keeps referring to them as if they were only ever a cult team.

These are not popular characters. These are B and C-List characters that are much loved among fandom, much loved among long-term readers. This is a fanboy and fangirl book."

During the JLI's golden period, it was DC's number one book by a wide margin, and according to Mark Waid, an editor at the time, the book and it's spin offs basically kept DC afloat.

I'm treating it like no one knows the characters at all," he said. "That's why we have a little bit here and there, the re-telling of the origins and also defining who the characters are. for a lot of people, this is the first time they're looking at them, and that's how we're treating it."

It just seems so weird that DC, and creators working with them, forget that the team was in the book that was a sales juggernaut, and keep writing them, and treating them, like they were losers who were a few peoples fave characters.
In any other industry, you'd keep trying to recapture that success, not treat it as an embarrassment - DC seem to have embraced the style/events/characters of other books from the time that didn't sell as well, yet continue to view the JLI as the special kids.