CBR: C2E2: DC Icons

[CBR News]

During C2E2's DC Icons panel, Paul Cornell spoke about his approach to the Man of Steel, Phil Hester hinted at what's to come in the pages of "Wonder Woman" and Dan DiDio summarized DC's current mission statement.


Full article here.

[Sijo]

"Flashpoint" crossover allows him a certain amount of freedom to kill people"

Because DC doesn't do enough of that already.

"Yes, there is a creative team on Wonder Woman after 612."

Seriously? I thought these things were put out by machines!

DiDio responded to a question about former Supergirl Linda Danvers with an over-arching mission statement.

"We tell too many stories explaining stories," he said. "Right now, it's about moving forward."

Translation: we aren't going to bother, but we won't say that straight to your face.

[KevinTBrown]

Wow. That article was missing about 75% of what was discussed at the panel...

As for the Supergirl thing, Didio talked about how when he first started working for DC as an editor and they tried to describe who Supergirl was at that time. "She was a protoplasmic matrix from an alternate universe who took over the body of a suicidal girl and became Supergirl." And, as he correctly pointed out, she had absolutely nothing to do with Superman in any way. Supergirl is Superman's cousin, not some protoplasmic matrix.

[dupersuper]

"We tell too many stories explaining stories," he said. "Right now, it's about moving forward."[/I]

Translation: we aren't going to bother, but we won't say that straight to your face.

Better than "no"...1 less DC Editorial mandate I have to ignore...

As for the Supergirl thing, Didio talked about how when he first started working for DC as an editor and they tried to describe who Supergirl was at that time. "She was a protoplasmic matrix from an alternate universe who took over the body of a suicidal girl and became Supergirl."

He couldn't read the comics? I'd give my left nut to get paid to read comics...

[Jbenn]

Wow. That article was missing about 75% of what was discussed at the panel...

As for the Supergirl thing, Didio talked about how when he first started working for DC as an editor and they tried to describe who Supergirl was at that time. "She was a protoplasmic matrix from an alternate universe who took over the body of a suicidal girl and became Supergirl." And, as he correctly pointed out, she had absolutely nothing to do with Superman in any way. Supergirl is Superman's cousin, not some protoplasmic matrix.

I do think Linda (at least) deserves better. She did carry her own title for 80 issues (and by the end Matrix had been gone entirely). There's no reason she couldn't appear as a non-Super character in the DCU.

I'm dubious about Didio's explanations as well - he says he wants things easier to explain (one of the reasons he's given for the return of Hal Jordan and Kara Zor-El is that their backstory is easier to understand than their replacements) but this is also the same guy who passed on the Alex Ross/Geoff Johns Shazam pitch (a sure bet to sell copies) for Judd Winick's "Trials of Shazam" (which has now been entirely undone in Titans) which threw out the entire Shazam mythos replaced it with something else and even threw out the main character of the franchise (Billy) and replaced him with the sidekick. How did that make things easier for any reader? So sometimes Didio ignores his own mandates.

[KevinTBrown]

He couldn't read the comics? I'd give my left nut to get paid to read comics...

He was talking abuot explaining who Supergirl is to a brand new fan who had next to no exposure to who she is.

"She's Superman's cousin."

That is much easier to explain rather than delving into the alternate reality/matrix/suicidal girl/angel explanation.

80 issues of a very good series does not mean the character is who she is supposed to be. That Supergirl had no ties to the Superman family other than the name and chest emblem.

Be that as it may, the shorthand comment in the article really is taken TOTALLY out of context and is not wholly accurate.

[I-Ching]

It's very generous to classify Don Kramer as the 'artist' on Wonder Woman since he's done maybe about 50% of the art chores on the title and wasn't responsible for the new crappy costume.

Also, I get that WW is in a transitionary status but they must have some kind of an idea of how frustrating it is for fans with these non-answer answers.

Something tells me Hester is NOT going to be the ongoing writer for WW post-612. Call it a gut feeling but either they're giving it to Morrisson for a real shake-up or if Hester does get it we'll see major components of the tv show added with the 1st appearance of Henry Demeter and Themyscira Industries.

[titanfan]

Wow. That article was missing about 75% of what was discussed at the panel...

Be that as it may, the shorthand comment in the article really is taken TOTALLY out of context and is not wholly accurate.

I agree, lots of stuff not there from the last half of the panel and lots of short hand stuff easy to take out of context. Wasn't even a fast moving panel this time...

[KevinTBrown]

It's very generous to classify Don Kramer as the 'artist' on Wonder Woman since he's done maybe about 50% of the art chores on the title and wasn't responsible for the new crappy costume.

Also, I get that WW is in a transitionary status but they must have some kind of an idea of how frustrating it is for fans with these non-answer answers.

Something tells me Hester is NOT going to be the ongoing writer for WW post-612. Call it a gut feeling but either they're giving it to Morrisson for a real shake-up or if Hester does get it we'll see major components of the tv show added with the 1st appearance of Henry Demeter and Themyscira Industries.

100% on JMS for Kramer not doing more of the art. It's hard to draw a book when you have no script.

As for post-612, when Didio made the comment about there being a definite creative team on the title, both Hester and Kramer looked at one another with a "what the hell?" look between them. It was a tad uncomfortable then...

[RAGGEDT]

As for post-612, when Didio made the comment about there being a definite creative team on the title, both Hester and Kramer looked at one another with a "what the hell?" look between them. It was a tad uncomfortable then...

Didio has a history of saying a bit too much at these shows -- which is great for fans (and journalists/bloggers) who actually learn things at DC panels vs. the canned info that Marvel piles out. However, it puts the creators in awkward -- and sometimes embarrassing -- positions.

[hondobrode]

I can't be the only one getting tired of non-answers and evasive tactics.

What's the point ?

[dumbstruck]

"We tell too many stories explaining stories," he said. "Right now, it's about moving forward."

Says the guy who's gone a good distance in reverse. My response to this would be "You know, Dan. If you hadn't gone off the deep end in destroying everything that was good from the 90's and restoring virtually everything from Pre-Crisis, you wouldn't've had to start telling stories that explain stories in the first place."

Sometimes I think Dan is his own worst enemy.

[Free-Man]

Another ouch for Linda Danvers fans I guess.
I do agree that there coud be issues in explaining the character though.

[dumbstruck]

Another ouch for Linda Danvers fans I guess.
I do agree that there coud be issues in explaining the character though.

Connor had a fully fleshed out origin. Didn't stop DC from retconning it and making him a half clone of Superman. I'm sure if DC really had wanted to, they could've come up with some kind of retconned origin for Linda too. Instead she's unceremoniously abandoned in favour of a character who was a complete and utter trainwreck for the first several years of her title. Talk about poor planning. And all to cater to one man's "iconic" version.

[KevinTBrown]

Connor had a fully fleshed out origin. Didn't stop DC from retconning it and making him a half clone of Superman. I'm sure if DC really had wanted to, they could've come up with some kind of retconned origin for Linda too. Instead she's unceremoniously abandoned in favour of a character who was a complete and utter trainwreck for the first several years of her title. Talk about poor planning. And all to cater to one man's "iconic" version.

He was always a Superman clone with half being human. They changed who the human being was is all.