Sunday, February 20, 2005
WONDERCON: DCU PANEL
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SAN FRANCISCO -- Ivan Reis was announced as the new artist of Teen Titans at DC Comics' DC Universe panel on Saturday at WonderCon.
Reis is currently working on the Rann/Thanagar War mini-series. "He won't start until after he finishes the Rann/Thanagar War," said Teen Titans writer Geoff Johns.
Other highlights from the panel:
* New Superman writer Mark Verheiden: "We're taking the book in sort of a different direction from where it's been. I'm starting the third issue now, and there's been a bit of a learning curve. It's amazing how much continuity there is."
Verheiden and artist Ed Benes begin their run with May's Superman #217.
* Superman/Batmn writer Jeph Loeb said that #19 will be "The Girl of Steel," drawn by Ian Churchill. The story leads into the new Supergirl series by Loeb and Churchill.
"Ian is pulling all the stops out," Loeb said. "The only way I can describe it is Jim Lee meets Ethan Van Sciver. It's so incredibly detailed and there's so much love in it."
Loeb said that Supergirl will be "running around the DC Universe."
Ed McGuinness and Dexter Vines rejoin Loeb with Superman/Batman #20, the start of a six-part story called "With a Vengeance." Batman and Superman take on a squad of revenge-seeking super-heroes calling themselves The Maximums, who believe the heroes killed one of their comrades.
Loeb said the arc will "tie up everything that has been going on since the first issue."
* Adventures of Superman writer Greg Rucka said that #640 will feature the unmasking of Ruin and #641 will have the appearance of a "new, malevolent force in the DC Universe that will culminate in a cascade of nightmarish actions" throughout the Super-titles in July.
Rucka said there is an action in Superman's life and in DC continuity that is played out over the three issues.
* Writer Gail Simone teams up with artist John Byrne beginning in Action Comics #827. "Other than the punching and kicking, I kind of want to get a little bit with Lana and Lois and make them characters that Superman really might love and fall in love with, rather than being bitchy or whiny."
* Rucka said that the Identity Crisis art team of Rags Morales and Michael Bair are "bringing muscle to the page" with their stint on Wonder Woman #215-216.
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* Johns on the ongoing Green Lantern series: "He's got to figure he life out and it's going to be pretty cool."
Johns said he recently spent time at Edwards Air Force Base with test pilots, sending a script to a pilot, who approved the accuracy of flying elements.
* Simone on Birds of Prey: "They're going to be in Singapore for a while and they'll be dealing with crime bosses from Gotham as well as around the world."
Wildcat, who was a major influence on Black Canary when she was younger, will be appearing. "We're going to explore that maybe you don't want to go on a mission with someone you care that much about."
* DC's Bob Wayne said that orders on Legion of Super-Heroes #4 were higher than orders for the second and third issues.
* Dan DiDio gave an artists rundown for DC Countdown: Rag Morales on the first chapter, followed in order by Ed Benes, Jesus Saiz, Ivan Reis and Phil Jimenez.
The cover is by Jim Lee and Alex Ross, and DiDio said the image presented isn't actually the final version of the cover.
"It's really feeding in and is really the start of something big for the DCU," DiDio said. "It is definitely counting down to something, without a doubt."
Ross said he has been barraged by requests of identifying whom the body is that Batman is holding on the cover.
* Walter Simonson is providing covers to the six-issue Day of Vengeance, which features the Spectre, Ragman, the Enchantress and other magical characters in a story spinning out of DC Countdown.
* The OMAC Project, a six-issue mini-series by Rucka and Saiz, also spins out of DC Countdown.
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* Simone is joined by artists Dale Eaglesham and Wade von Grawbadger and cover artist J.G. Jones on Villains United, another mini-series following DC Countdown.
"This is a book that is very entertaining and sexy," Simone said. "It's got everything -- romance, punching, kicking, shooting -- and all of it is just wrong. The villains unite, but this book kind of focuses on the villains that don't want to go along with the rest of the villains.
* The final piece of the DC Countdown puzzle will be found in the Rann-Thanagar War, a six-issue mini-series by Dave Gibbons and Reis that continues the story begun in the Adam Strange mini-series.
Johns pointed out that a cover proves that Kyle Rayner isn't dead.
* Each issue of Justice, the bi-monthly series by Ross, Jim Krueger and Doug Braithwaite, will be 40 pages.
* Ross is also now the regular cover artist for JSA. Johns said "Black Vengeance" will be a sequel to "Black Reign," involving The Spectre, a new Elipso and Black Adam.
* The Teen Titans and Outsiders have a four-issue crossover in May called "The Insiders," with Teen Titans chapters by Johns, Matthew Clark and Art Thibert and Outsiders chapters by Judd Winick and Carlos D'Anda.
"Judd and I have been planning this since we started the books two years ago," Johns said.
* Upcoming issues of Solo will be by Howard Chaykin, Darwyn Cooke and Mike Allred.
* DiDio said All Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely and All Star Batman and Robin by Frank Miller and Jim Lee are the only All Star titles currently planned.
"The two of them wanted to presented this as the iconic version of the character, but with their own spin on it," editor Bob Schreck said of Miller and Lee. "Frank always has tricks up his sleeve. This isn't going to be out there as DK2 was. This is going to be a little more reeled in and classic versions of the characters."
As far as Superman goes, DiDio said, "Frank is a meticulous artist, a slower artist, but we've made a commitment on this particular book that it's going to be 12 issues, Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely from beginning to end, and the story they want tell. Once it starts coming out, it won't stop."
* DiDio said there will be a second Space Ghost mini-series and that DC is looking to do other Hanna-Barbera interpretations.
* Rucka said that Gotham Central co-writer Ed Brubaker's move to Marvel "took us by surprise" and that plans for the title are "hazy."
There will be a four-issue arc called "Dead Robin," where Robin is found dead in an alley and Batman is the prime suspect.
* Bob Wayne said DC does have plans for its war characters.
Copyright © 2004, The Comics Continuum