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SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 2010

WONDERCON: GEOFF JOHNS

SAN FRANCISCO -- Geoff Johns, newly appointed Chief Creative Officer of DC Entertainment, held court at his own panel at WonderCon on Friday, talking about his comics and tap-dancing around movie information and the Blackest Night finale.

Johns made an opening statment, noting he remains committed to comics in his new position and providing some insight into the Green Lantern movie.

To view video, CLICK HERE.

Johns then opened the floor to questions:

* The first arc of The Flash is called "The Dastardly Deaths of the Rogues," and Johns said he said he can't say who lives and who dies, but he apologized to a fan of Weather Wizard.

* Johns said he can't talk about the DC movies coming together for a Justice League movie. "We'll talk in San Diego," he said.

* Johns said The Flash movie is in development. "And that's all I can say," he said. "The Flash is in it."

* Johns said he wouldn't talk about Blackest Night #8 because he didn't want to spoil the story for the audience.

* Johns said he was proud of the Blackest Night event and its tie-ins.

* Johns said that Boston Brand will be a main character in Brightest Day.

* Johns said he is teaming with Gary Frank on Earth One: Batman.

*Johns said he still has a lot of stories to tell with Green Lantern. "It's my favorite mythology in comics," he said.

* Johns said there will be "a lot more" of the Indigo Tribe in Green Lantern.

* Johns said there will be a Christmas special that features Larfleeze, the Orange Lantern, and he will be a mainstay in Green Lantern. His oath will be revealed soon.

* There will be more of Blackhand, Johns said.

* A sequel to his JSA story on Smallville? "If I have time and they want me back, I could do some more JSA and those characters," he said.

* Johns said he is "pretty booked" and probably won't return to titles such as Teen Titans.

* Plans for Mera? "She'll be front and center in Brightest Day with all the other characters," he said, noting she is one of the strongest female characters in the DC Universe and he has plans for her for a couple years.

* The Blackest Night hardcover will come out in July.

* Is there a return to more optimistic comics? "If Blackest Night is all about death, you want to write about life for awhile," he said.

Johns said Brightest Day is a story, not a banner. He also noted that there is "some pretty violent stuff" in Brightest Day #!.

* Batman: Earth One will be out at the end of the year. "Our Alfred is a little more rough-and-rumble," he said. "He hates being a butler and he hates wearing a suit."

A new villain will be featured in the first issue, with the Riddler in the second issue.

* Johns said Jim Lee will be talking about All-Star Batman and Robin "soon."

* In terms of his influence, he said he worked closely with Michael Goldberg on Green Lantern with the theme of overcoming fear. "There's a reason Green Lantern survived for decades and we need to capture that," he said.

* Asked about his dream Justice League, Johns said he couldn't answer that.

* Superboy Prime won't come back for a while, but he will return, Johns said.

* Johns said Hawk and Dove are "underrated characters" and he's looking forward to their future use, including Brightest Day.

* Asked about the inegration of the DC characters in film and television, Johns said, "All of this comes from comics. Comic books are our lifeblood."

* "it's not about control, it's about collaboration," Johns said of bringing DC characters into film or television.. "Control for me is real intense. Let's talk about things."

* Will Flash or Green Lantern get renumbered like Wonder Woman? "No plans for that," he said. "I want to see Flash #1, not #702 or whatever."

* Ganthet will hang on to his ring and rejoin the character. "That's going to be really cool," he said, noting that are plans for the other Guardians in all the Green Lantern-related titles.

* Does Johns have plans for any work not related to the DC Universe? "I do," Johns said.

* Wonder Woman movie? "I would love to see that and everybody at DC would love to see that, but I can't talk about it right now," he said.

* Any plans for The Spectre? "Yes," Johns said. "That's all I can say."

* Johns said there are plans for the Wally West story originally intended as a backup in The Flash.

* Johns said there has been no talk of a JSA spin-off from Smallville. "It would be an expensive show," he said.



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