Green Lantern vol. 2 #151

First off, I must acknowledge a significant omission from last week’s Before Watchmen post. I had forgotten about the agreement under which the rights to Watchmen would revert to its creators if the collected edition were out of print for over one year. Accordingly, I characterized Watchmen as work-for-hire. Because DC has never let Watchmen go out of print, as a practical matter I would argue that it’s been treated like a work-for-hire project. Nevertheless, the existence of that agreement adds another layer to the book’s history, and especially to Moore’s relationship with DC. While I don’t think it changes much of what I said, I still regret the omission.

Now then….

I have mentioned previously my odd relationship with Amazing Spider-Man. I have been reading it in single issues for a while now, and as a serialized superhero comic I like it pretty well. I will probably stop reading the singles at some point, most likely after Dan Slott leaves, because I don’t feel any particular need to follow it regularly (like I do with many DC titles).

However, I am pretty dedicated to catching up on the earlier issues through Marvel Masterworks. This is an expensive way to go, I know, but the Lee/Ditko and Lee/Romita stuff was worth it, and I have always been curious about how the title made its way through the tumultuous late ‘60s and early ‘70s. I’m up to Volume 13 now — haven’t read it yet, but things aren’t looking good for Gwen — and therefore just about to start the next big phase of Spidey’s development. I anticipate adding at least another couple of Masterworks to my bookshelves.

Indeed, I could supplement the Masterworks with various Essential collections of Marvel Team-Up and Peter Parker, which would go a long way towards scratching my ‘70s Marvel itches; but I have a feeling that at some point I will stop getting any more “classic Spider-Man” collections. Whether that point is in the ‘70s or ‘80s, or even in the ‘90s, post-Michelinie/McFarlane, I don’t know; but it’s out there.*

Conversely, last summer I reached the dubious milestone of having read just about every Green Lantern story since the Silver Age. I have an unbroken run of Green Lantern single issues from the 1976 relaunch forward, with Archives, Showcase Presents, and the Green Lantern/Green Arrow reprints taking care of the rest. Back in April 2010 I tried to point out the highlights, and thinking about the series today I realized there are just some stretches which don’t necessarily need collecting.

* * *

We’ll come back to Green Lantern specifically in a bit, but let’s first talk more generally about some of the collections coming in the fall. While I don’t like to encourage DC to market specifically to my demographic — fortyish fans who’ve been reading consistently for thirty-odd years — that list was pretty satisfying. Some eighteen months ago (although it doesn’t seem that long), I talked about a few arcs and/or series I’d like to see collected, maybe, someday; and darned if the new list doesn’t include a few.

In fact, eighteen months ago I was reconciled to enjoying Secret Society of Super-Villains only in single-issue form, and now I’m happy to have a more durable hardcover of the short-lived series’ first half. Similarly, Chase and Firestorm were both on the August 2010 list, and both are now represented by paperbacks. (Firestorm hasn’t yet gotten the complete-series Showcase Presents treatment I envisioned, but it is nice to have the first series and those Flash backups in one place.) Thanks to a revived reprint program, I’ve been catching up on Hitman through its paperbacks, and I’m eager to read what used to be the last Barry Allen story in Showcase Presents The Trial of the Flash.

Furthermore, DC now promises a few more items on my wish list:

– the “Twelve Trials Of Wonder Woman” (which got the Amazing Amazon back in the Justice League following her de-powered Mod phase);

– All Star Squadron (in Showcase Presents form);

– Amethyst, Princess Of Gemworld (also Showcase Presents); and

– Green Lantern: Sector 2814 Volume 1, reprinting the Len Wein/Dave Gibbons stories in which Hal Jordan quit the Corps and John Stewart became a full-time GL. I’m hoping that the follow-up I suggested — Steve Englehart and Joe Staton’s epic tale of Hal’s return, John’s ascendancy, and Guy Gardner’s revival — sees print in a Volume 2.

There’s also Legends of the Dark Knight: Alan Davis, reprinting the artist’s too-brief run with Mike Barr (and quintessential inker Paul Neary) on Detective Comics or the Adventures of Superman: Gil Kane hardcover, which looks like the start of a similar series for classic Superman artists.

Naturally, some outstanding requests remain: Blackhawk by Martin Pasko and Rick Burchett; Steve Englehart’s Justice League of America work (and, for that matter, his and Marshall Rogers’ Mister Miracle); Jason Todd’s early-‘80s introduction from the Gerry Conway/Don Newton/Gene Colan days on Batman and ’Tec; and, as always, ’Mazing Man and the Tom Peyer/Rags Morales Hourman. So yes, here I start off saying please, DC, don’t listen to me, and 400-odd words in, I’m back to making demands.

Again, I am excited for the Wein/Gibbons and Englehart/Staton GLs to be collected because I like those stories, and I’d be happy to have them in a more durable form. However, at some point I feel compelled to ask whether every GL issue is collection-worthy. As far as current comics go, it seems like the vast majority of DC’s output for the past few years has been collected, even if certain titles are no longer in print. Moreover, many of these collections come out almost reflexively, regardless of fan reaction to the original issues. Here I am thinking of things like Bruce Jones’ widely-panned run on Nightwing, Superman: Godfall, Countdown: Arena, and … well, a lot of the Countdown-related stuff was pretty sketchy.

Now, from what I have learned of the comics business, there is no guarantee that anything will be collected. Specifically, I doubt that when Scott McDaniel agreed to draw Countdown: Arena, he knew for sure he could count on at least a trickle of income from paperback royalties. With an ongoing series, especially a decent-selling title like Nightwing, you start to expect collections, because DC knows it can make money selling Nightwing both in singles and in trades.

Problem is, though, what do you do with the runs which just don’t work? Presumably, those who wait for the trade can apply a certain degree of hindsight. In terms of Nightwing writers, folks liked Chuck Dixon, Devin Grayson maybe not so much, Bruce Jones not really at all, and Marv Wolfman and Peter Tomasi probably a little better. Still, was the Bruce Jones stuff really so bad that the Nightwing completist can feel comfortable ignoring it entirely?

Back to Green Lantern now, and specifically to the early ‘80s. In various forms, DC has reprinted all of the Silver Age GL from 1959 through the mid-‘70s. Green Lantern has been fortunate to have relatively-low writer turnover (albeit with a few short-timers) since 1959.** All of John Broome’s issues, and a good chunk of Denny O’Neil’s, have now been collected. It would probably take another couple of Showcase Presents to finish out O’Neil’s run, taking readers into the early ‘80s for a short stint under Marv Wolfman. Not only did Wolfman write one of my favorite GL three-parters (1980′s “Doctor Polaris Conquers the Universe,” issues #133-35), he and artist Joe Staton introduced the Omega Men and set up what was at the time a daring conflict between Hal Jordan’s Earthbound life and his sector-spanning responsibilities. Starting in issue #151, the Guardians exiled Hal into space for a year (comic-book time). The new regular creative team of Len Wein and Dave Gibbons brought him back in January 1984′s issue #172, which as you might have noticed is due to be reprinted in the upcoming Sector 2814 book.

All that is context for my assertion that the “exile” issues really aren’t that great. Because Mike Barr and Keith Pollard were the regular creative team, by and large the stories aren’t terrible; but they don’t take full advantage of the anywhere-but-Earth edict. In the aggregate they’re pretty generic, although I guess they make the point that Hal’s better off when he can go home regularly. From our perspective, perhaps the greater sin is that these stories in and of themselves aren’t critical to understanding the larger Green Lantern mythology. Obviously Denny O’Neil’s run stands as a contrast to John Broome’s work. Later on, Steve Englehart pulled Guy Gardner out of the coma O’Neil put him in, and Gerard Jones ran with the three-GL format Englehart created. Still, despite Barr’s place between Wolfman and Wein, I’d argue it’s sufficient merely to note that Hal was gone for a year, without having to know exactly what he was doing.

Accordingly, nothing especially fuels our need to have those issues collected; but does that mean they should just fade away? Here in the digital age, we can say no! with some confidence.

* * *

Of course, I was planning this post for last week, before Before Watchmen intervened. Since then I’ve been trying to consider my comics-reading habits more carefully. I buy a lot of collections, and honestly sometimes I am more excited about them than I am the monthly issues. (This is especially true for the Marvel collections, since I buy comparatively few Marvel books.) However, I am also mindful of the sausage-making which produced the original comics. I am sure that much of my shelves are populated with the work of creators compensated unfairly, if at all, for their efforts’ continued exposure.

In this respect, Tom Brevoort’s recent assertions — “[t]here’s really not much that goes on in the world of comics that the readers really need to be aware of [and besides] we got along for decades without this level of faux-transparency” — lend the economics of corporate superhero comics an even more ominous cast.

Make no mistake, I am probably a tremendous hypocrite when it comes to balancing social concerns with marketplace realities. I use (and no doubt rely upon) any number of products whose production depends on unsavory or outright deplorable conditions. Those choices boil down to convenience: I do these things because they work for me, even if they don’t reflect my ideal worldview.

That’s especially true when it comes to superhero comics. Although I hate how DC and Marvel have treated any number of creators, chief among them Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, and Jack Kirby, I still buy Action Comics and Superman and Fantastic Four, and I’ll still see the Avengers movie. I simply can’t give up following these characters, because I learned to love them before I learned the rest. No doubt that makes me a hypocrite, but being hypocritical only undermines me as an advocate. It doesn’t mean I can’t argue for better conditions.

In fact, I’d argue more precisely if I knew just what the conditions were. As Mr. Brevoort said, we comics fans operate under “this level of faux-transparency,” piecing together behind-the-scenes pictures from what peeks through: the John Rozum/Scott McDaniel back-and-forth over Static Shock, Alan Moore’s description of the Watchmen contract, Dwayne McDuffie’s Justice League frustrations, etc. With regard to reprint collections, a retailer friend tells me that the amount of royalty payments depends on the nature of the reprint. Basically, if I understand correctly, black-and-white reprints pay less than color; so a Showcase Presents might be held up if one of the creators involved wants to hold out for a color version.

However, as DC gets more comfortable with the digital realm, that distinction goes away. In fact, since DC’s digital-storage costs are presumably much different from its printing costs, I imagine there is more room for all parties to work out mutually-acceptable financial arrangements. With fan outcry currently inflamed over Before Watchmen and various other lingering incidents, now strikes me as a particularly opportune time for real transparency.  Let us know how much of every reprint dollar goes to royalties, printing costs (or digital storage), marketing, etc.  That way, we can make informed decisions about where to spend our own dollars.

We fans will always want reprints. The comics marketplace gives us a tantalizing range of options. With digital sales, those options can expand exponentially. Before too long, it will be possible — if it isn’t already — for anyone with an e-reader to access any story DC has ever published, whether it’s Detective #27, Showcase #4, or the Barr/Pollard Green Lanterns. Therefore, those stories have a shelf life their original creators might not ever have imagined; and those creators (or their estates) deserve some share of the revenues those stories might generate, whether in print or electronically.

This is all probably a pipe dream, but it’s what’s fair, and it will go a long way towards making sure fans like me continue to buy DC’s reprints.

++++++++++++++++++++

* [Smart money’s probably on the Clone Saga.]

** [Let’s see how good the ol’ memory is: John Broome, Denny O’Neil, Marv Wolfman, Mike Barr, Len Wein, Steve Englehart, Jim Owsley (in Action Comics Weekly), Peter David (ACW), Priest (ACW), Gerard Jones, Ron Marz, Judd Winick, Ben Raab (forgot his last name), Marz again, and Geoff Johns.]

DC Comics app

Digital comics | ICv2 estimates the total value of the digital comics market in 2011 as $25 million, triple the 2010 figure, and boldly predicts that digital will account for 10 percent of the entire comics market in 2012. Digital sales grew faster in the second half of the year, which ICv2 attributes to three factors: DC’s decision to release its New 52 comics digitally the same day as print, the industry-wide trend toward same-day print and digital releases, and the proliferation of different platforms on which to read digital comics. As for digital taking away from print, the publishing executives ICv2 has spoken to over the past few months don’t seem to think that is happening. [ICv2]

Retailing | Retailer and journalist Matt Price takes the temperature at the ComicsPRO Annual Members Meeting, which kicks off today in Dallas, noting that members remain interested in DC’s publishing plans, and report “very strong sales” for Image’s Fatale and Thief of Thieves. [Nerdage]

comiXology

Digital comics | ComiXology CEO David Steinberger talks about how comiXology got started (he was trying to figure out how to catalog his comic collection), his first comic book and what comic art he would most like to own. [Graphic Novel Reporter]

Comics | Heritage Auctions will sell 12 “ashcan” comic books created in the 1930s and ’40s for trademark purposes, including one of three Action Funnies known to exist. [Art Daily]

Creators | Japanese creator Takehiko Inoue has resumed work on his long-running series Vagabond, after taking a lengthy break, first for health reasons and then because he lost interest in it. He told fans he wouldn’t go back to work on the series, which is serialized in Kodansha’s Morning magazine, until he regained his enthusiasm for it. That seems to have happened, and the new chapter is being colored. Vagabond is published in North America by Viz Media. [Anime News Network]

Saucer Country #1

Creators | Paul Cornell discusses his upcoming Vertigo series Saucer Country, which combines his love of UFOs with politics: “I don’t like stories about stupid politicians, I like stories about politicians who show skill and daring, and by the end of the first arc, Arcadia’s used her political instincts to get her and her team out of an immediate danger, and on the way to being able to use the powers of a candidate to start investigating what happened to her.” [USA Today]

Creators | Amy Reeder talks about her new gig as the interior artist for Batwoman: “What I like about Kate is that she’s so subtle for a lead character … like she says very little and our job is to read behind the lines, which makes it impossible not to feel invested and empathetic towards her. She’s got a little of the edgy in her. She’s a nuanced balance between feminine and masculine, which is tough to pin down.” [DC Women Kicking Ass]

Creators | Yuko Shimizu, cover artist for Vertigo’s The Unwritten, discusses her process, influences and career. [Multiversity Comics]

Creators | Noelene Clark talks with artist I.N.J. Culbard about his upcoming Vertigo series The New Deadwardians, and adapting H.P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness. [Hero Complex]

Friends With Boys

Creators | Eva Volin chats with Faith Erin Hicks about her upcoming graphic novel Friends With Boys, fantasy, young-adult comics, and keeping motivated while struggling with the creation process: “I started doing online comics years and years ago, and even though comics are really hard to create, I fell in love with making them. With comics you have to learn how to draw everything really well. It’s not just drawing people, comics are backgrounds and props and cars and animals and learning to draw these things from all angles and in a style that is appealing and fresh. It’s a constant struggle to update and improve my skills. But even though it’s a struggle, it’s something I really love to do. A well made comic is my favourite thing in the world, and I want to someday be the person who makes that comic and gives a reader enjoyment.  It’s like that completely annoying saying: Nothing worth doing is easy to do. Besides, someone has to make comics about flying unicorns and puppies … (Disclaimer: I have not made this graphic novel yet and probably never will. Apologies to 11 year old me.)” [Good Comics for Kids]

Creators | Writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa guests on the comiXologist podcast to talk about his work on the graphic novel Fantastic Four: Season One, and other matters. [comiXology Blog]

Creators | Ryan North answers questions from the public about his upcoming Aventure Time comic. [The BOOM!Pen]

Creators | Katie Monnin interviews Star Wars comics writer John Jackson Miller. Fun fact: He has a master’s degree in Soviet studies. [Graphic Novel Reporter]

Static Shock #4

Last month former Static Shock writer John Rozum revealed his side of why he left the New 52 series after only a handful of issues. His reasons came down to creative differences with his editor and with artist Scott McDaniel–or, as Rozum said on his blog, “From the first issue on, I was essentially benched by Harvey Richards and artist/writer Scott McDaniel.”

Now McDaniel has posted his side of the story on his website, noting, “I have remained SILENT because I fear no good thing comes from this type of public display. However, John chose to bring this into the public square. He has forced me to speak openly about our experience together on Static Shock, to correct the public record before his grotesquely distorted account matures in people’s minds as the truth of what happened here.”

McDaniel’s post is lengthy, as he gives some context around the book’s origins, the pressure of following in the footsteps of Dwayne McDuffie and the original Milestone book and how a poll on CBR about the New 52 books from last summer indicated the potential challenges the book might have in the marketplace. He then shares his side of how the collaboration started and when it soured, going into detail on some of the plot points Rozum called out in his original posts on the subject.

As I said, it’s lengthy and a lot to digest, so I’ll refrain from cutting any more of it up to post here and encourage you to read it on its own. My takeaway from all this is that sometimes people just don’t work well together, even talented creators like Rozum and McDaniel. Hopefully both of them will have a better experience on their next projects (which I look forward to seeing). I do agree with Rozum’s previous statement about the potential for Static Shock to be a breakout comic for DC, so hopefully this doesn’t sour the publisher on revisiting the character.

From Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 #6

When Editor Scott Allie told Comic Book Resources that Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 would take Buffy’s story “back to human issues … some of the biggest issues anyone can face,” fans knew he was alluding to her mysterious pregnancy. But with Issue 6, in stores today, the Slayer deals with her new situation head on, answering a question readers have been debating since last issue’s big revelation.

Spoiler warning: The following addresses a major plot point from Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 #6.

From Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 #6

Following some serious soul-searching, Buffy confides to Spike that she’s decided to have an abortion, a subject creator Joss Whedon assures will be treated with respect in the Dark Horse series.

“It’s not something we would ever take lightly, because you can’t. You don’t,” Whedon, executive producer of Season 9, tells USA Today. “It’s not an easy thing for anyone.”

Abortion is a very personal decision, continuing the shift in focus from what Allie has described as “the more cosmic craziness of Season 8” to the more human elements of Season 9. That move has been emphasized by the deliberate paring-down of Buffy’s supporting cast, leaving her with just one person to confide in: popular vampire anti-hero, sometimes-romantic partner Spike.

“Given the specifics of Buffy’s life at this point in the season — facing a new kind of vampire threat, barely able to keep a job — it seemed like it would be dishonest for Buffy to not at least entertain the question of whether she should keep or end the pregnancy,” writer Andrew Chambliss tells the newspaper.

In a clever bit of product placement and cross-promotion, DC Comics is offering “Evolve or Die” T-shirts featuring Travel Foreman’s cover for Animal Man #1 just ahead of the shirt’s debut in the seventh issue of the series. It certainly makes sense within the context of the relaunched title, which opened with a Believer interview in which Buddy Baker was asked how it felt “to have your face plastered on kids’ dorm rooms and T-shirts all over the country.”

The shirts will be available in direct market stores, and at GraffitiDesigns.com, at the end of the month (prices range from $18.95 to $24.95, depending on size). There’s no word yet as to when we should expect that “World’s Best Grandpa” design.

Animal Man #7, by Jeff Lemire and Steve Pugh, arrives March 7.

Justice League #5

Sales | Sales of comic books and graphic novels to comic books stores through Diamond Comic Distributors increased 27.5 percent in January compared to the same month in 2011. Comics were up 32 percent while graphic novels were up 18 percent compared to 2011. DC Comics dominated all 10 spots at the top of the chart, with Justice League #5 coming in at No. 1. Batman: Through the Looking Glass was the top graphic novel for the month. [ICv2]

Passings | British comics artist Mike White, who illustrated Alan Moore’s The Twisted Man and numerous other stories for 2000AD, Lion, Valiant, Action and Score ‘n’ Roar, has passed away after a long illness. [Blimey!]

Publishing | Because the world demanded it, apparently, Random House plans to publish e-books of all the collected editions of Garfield newspaper comics. [Down the Tubes]

A Batmobile replica from Gotham Garage

Legal | Lawyer Jeff Trexler explains the ins and outs of copyright as it applies to the bits and pieces of the comics and movie world — the Batmobile, costumes, Stormtrooper helmets — and how a lawsuit over Mike Tyson’s tattoo could have put all of DC’s characters into the public domain. [The Beat]

Creators | For the past few years, the Pizza Island studio in Brooklyn has been home to seven of the brightest stars in comics these days: Kate Beaton, Domitille Collardey, Sarah Glidden, Meredith Gran, Lisa Hanawalt, Deana Sobel and Julia Wertz. Now they are turning in the keys and heading their separate ways, and Laura Hudson talks to all seven about what their plans are for the future. [Comics Alliance]

Creators | In a video of a presentation at the Fantagraphics bookstore, writers Mark Long and Jim Demonakos discuss the origins of their graphic novel The Silence of Our Friends (illustrated by Nate Powell), which is based in part on Long’s memories of his father, who was a white reporter covering the civil rights struggle in Texas in the late 1960s. [Graphic Eye]

Bucko

Creators | Jeff Parker and Erika Moen talk to Lauren Davis about the end of their webcomic Bucko, which wrapped up last week after a year. Here’s Moen on their collaborative process: “Parker asked me in the beginning what kind of story I’d like to draw, and I told him I enjoy drawing 20-somethings going on misadventures. And then, of course, Parker borrowed liberally from the flotsam and jetsam of my life, such as the name ‘Bucko.’ ‘Bucko’ is my nickname for my brother and has been ever since we were kids. I don’t even think about it, when I answer a call from him I start with ‘Hey Bucko…’ Parker liked that so here we are. The rest of the collaborative process was Parker giving me completed pages and me responding ‘Parker, I can’t draw that, people will lynch me!!’” [Comics Alliance]

Publishing | Tom Spurgeon talks to editor Michael Catron, who has just returned to Fantagraphics after several years’ absence and is already working on a variety of different projects. [The Comics Reporter]

The Amazing Transformations of Jimmy Olsen

Hello and welcome to What Are You Reading? This week’s special guest is Simon Monk, an artist whose “Secret Identity” paintings we featured here on Robot 6 not too long ago. Monk is actually selling limited edition prints of his paintings on his website now, so go check them out.

To see what Simon and the Robot 6 crew have been reading, click below.

*****

Michael May

Habibi

I finally finished Habibi (it wouldn’t have taken me so long if I wasn’t reading four other books at the same time. #WhenWillILearn?). As others have noted, it sticks with you long after you finish it. The sheer amount of time that I spent with Dodola and Zam means that I can’t just put them away and move on now that I’ve finished the story. Especially not after everything I watched them go through. It’s a manipulative book, and my natural reaction to noticing I’m being manipulated is to resist it, but Craig Thompson pushes through my defenses with the overbearing weight (in emotional terms as well as page volume) of his book. That sounds like a bad thing when I write it, but I suppose the important part is that it works. I felt strongly for these two characters and became invested in seeing how they turned out, even though I could see what Thompson was doing to make me feel that way.

I also read Howard Lovecraft and the Ice Kingdom. A friend of mine wrote the sequel, so I wanted to catch up on this before I check out his. There’s probably a way to turn HP Lovecraft’s C’thulhu mythos into an all-ages comic, but this wasn’t it. The tone is uneven, zipping back and forth wildly between disturbing horror and children’s cartoon. Ice Kingdom wants us to take its threats seriously (and is at its best when presenting disturbing monsters and their effects on young Lovecraft’s now-insane father), but it’s hard to do that when the boy adopts C’thulhu himself as a pet and insists on calling him Spot. On the other hand, I also could have bought into a fun lark through a tame version of C’thulhu’s world without the references to human sacrifices and child-eating elder gods. Ice Kingdom tries to have it both ways and doesn’t work.

Tom Bondurant

This week I caught up with one book about which I’d been morbidly curious, and another about which I just learned but knew I had to have.

Justice

The first was Justice, the 12-issue bimonthly miniseries from plotter/finisher Alex Ross, scripter Jim Krueger, and penciller Dougie Braithwaite. I read the first issue when it came out (back in 2006); and despite a somewhat compelling end-of-the-world teaser, it never quite grabbed me. Still, at worst I figured it would satisfy whatever desire I might have to see Ross’s take on the ’70s DC of my youth. First I waited for DC to collect the whole thing in one book, and then I waited a while longer for an acceptable discount. And it’s not a bad story, as far as semi-gritty evocations of “Challenge of the Super Friends” go — it’s just that whatever good story there is, is buried under Ross’s watercolor sentimentality. The plot involves Luthor, Brainiac, and a Legion-of-Doom-ish array of super villains turning to the good side (or are they?) in order to cast the Justice League as an insensitive pantheon who’d rather keep humanity down than solve the world’s problems. Much of the book involves the villains incapacitating our heroes and their friends and allies, including an extended subplot about Brainiac’s experiments on Aquaman. (Apparently, if you ever thought “Super Friends” needed more surgical torture, this book is for you.) Because the cast expands geometrically as the book goes on, it all gets busier and busier; and between double-page layouts which don’t initially read that way and finishes which literally blur away critical distinctions, Justice can be hard to read. There are also some sequences which just don’t pass the smell test, like Solomon Grundy (apparently, since it’s off-panel) taking out both Robin and Kid Flash. However, Green Lantern’s “imprisonment” pays off, despite looking at first like an indulgent foreshadowing of “Emerald Twilight,” and there are a few other odds and ends which make me want to give it another chance. Nevertheless, there’s a lot of fan service here for those in the know, like extended homages to the ’60s “Batman” show and gratuitous attempts to “prove” that Plastic Man is eternally superior to Elongated Man. To paraphrase another cartoon from my youth, of all the Alex Ross books in the world, this one may be the Alex Rossiest.

The second book was Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson’s adaptation of Alien for Heavy Metal, a graphic novel called Alien: The Illustrated Story (lettered by John Workman and I suppose colored by Simonson). At 61 pages, it tracks the movie pretty faithfully, but it neither adds to nor subtracts from the movie’s essential beats. Instead, it translates them almost effortlessly to the printed page, capturing everything from the sterile opening sequence to the eerie ancient spacecraft and the xenomorph’s brutality. Simonson also does a great job with likenesses, which seems trivial but really helps with something like this. Perhaps because of the format, or even the painted color palette, this comes across as entirely separate from Simonson’s other licensed work on Battlestar Galactica and Star Wars. This adaptation boils Alien down to its visceral horror-story core, and makes it something which could easily have appeared in a sci-fi anthology like Heavy Metal.

Oh, and I read Winter Soldier #1 (by Ed Brubaker and Butch Guice), which was as good as I was expecting from the team responsible for making Bucky’s revival both believable and sustainable. And yes, that means I was (once again) totally wrong about the predictive value of any similarities its promotional materials may or may not have had to a certain Stephen J. Cannell/Lorenzo Lamas syndicated TV series, and I am not just saying that because a guy named “Bonderant” (one letter off, but still) gets the crap kicked out of him halfway through the issue. In short, I’m on board for issue #2, okay? Okay?!?? (Sheesh!)

Tim O’Shea

Finally read the final issue of the Alpha Flight miniseries/ongoing/nope, miniseries. It’s a shame to see a creative team firing on all cylinders (as Greg Pak/Fred Van Lente and Dale Eaglesham were on this project) and for the sales not to follow in response. The writing team’s approach toward Puck is one aspect I will miss the most.

Fatale #1

This week two colorists really floored me with their work. First up is Dave Stewart bringing an outstanding cinematic sheen to the second issue of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ Fatale series (Image). Sidenote: I am bewildered at the thin paper stock that Image is using for the covers of this series. But that is a minor complaint. It does not take away from the overall unique noir look to the series. I say unique in that Stewart is using a diverse (and sometimes vibrant) color palette that surprisingly works in the noir setting (which is typically rather dark by nature).

The other colorist is someone I’ve raved about before–Bettie Breitweiser. On the first issue of Brubaker’s Winter Soldier, she works wonders with Butch Guice’s amazing art. There is one scene where James Barnes is videoconferencing with Jasper Sitwell. The layers of floating red video screens countered with the cool blue tones of James’ panels are just astounding. One panel had me just sitting there and wondering how Breitweiser did it. I appreciate when art gives me reason to pause. In terms of characters, Black Widow is as much a star of this series as James, which is a welcome approach for my money,

Hulk #48. May I officially beg writer Jeff Parker to keep Machine Man as a member of the Hulk cast? In this issue, Parker has Aaron thank someone, in the heat of battle, when they hand his cut-off arm back to him. Heh.

One question to the readers: The countdown banner to AvX–is anybody else reminded of the Toys R Us Shopping Spree banner (among other banners) in the 1980 Marvel Comics?

Brigid Alverson

The Unwritten

I jumped right in to Mike Carey and Peter Gross’s The Unwritten with the first volume of the collected edition, and I loved it from the start. It’s the story of Tom Taylor whose father used him as the lead character in a Harry Potter-like fantasy series. His father disappeared under mysterious circumstances when Tom was still a child, but his whole past is coming back to haunt him. The creators do a really nice job of weaving the Tommy Taylor stories in with their ongoing plot, and they bring in all sorts of other literary allusions as well. The first volume ends with a side story about Rudyard Kipling that is simply stunning. Unfortunately, as I near the end of the second volume, I’m starting to wonder how tight the plot really is. The stories are becoming episodic, but there are also a lot of questions left unanswered, and I’m not sure the authors know the answers. I certainly hate it when a character in a book refuses to share information with the hero for no good reason, as is happening here. Still, even as a series of episodes, Tom Taylor’s adventures are good fun and full of interesting literary trivia, so I’m in this for the long haul.

I spent some time in the Mignolaverse as well this week, with B.P.R.D.:Being Human and Hellboy: House of the Living Dead. The B.P.R.D. book is a collection of short stories, each focusing on different characters, and it’s actually a good first B.P.R.D. book as it touches on a number of origin stories. The first, and longest, story features Liz Sherman as a sulky teenager dragged along by Professor Trevor Bruttenholm to help out with the exorcism of a house and forest where a witch was hanged during the Salem witch trials. The Salem witch trials are a bit overdone as a topic, but I like the way the story showcases the young Liz in all her awkwardness. In the other stories, an older Liz and Abe Sapien discuss the ethics of killing their enemies, Roger the Homunculus and Hellboy do a little zombie-fighting in the Deep South, and we see the origin story of the Ectoplasmic Man. There’s plenty of horror and action in these stories, but the creators do a good job of mixing in the human side of the characters as well.

Hellboy: House of the Living Dead takes Hellboy south of the border and turns him into a luchador who is compelled to fight a latter-day Frankenstein’s monster. At only 56 pages, this story is short and pretty straightforward, but it’s well done and an interesting take on the Frankenstein story.

Simon Monk

Supergods

I recently read Grant Morrison’s book Supergods in which he sets out clearly his ideas about life, the universe and everything. Although I tend to be more attracted to street-level narratives such as Daredevil and The Spirit, I have always enjoyed Morrison’s work for its exuberance and extremity. Reading Supergods encouraged me to reread some of his classic stuff such as Zenith and Animal Man, but the biggest surprise turned out to be The Invisibles. On its initial publication I gave up on it about half way through its run so I had never read it as a single entity. It was far more coherent and exciting than I remembered it, despite fizzling a bit at the conclusion. I was struck at how Kirbyesque it seemed, thematically it is very Fourth World and the team/family interaction felt like a twisted version of the FF.

I love autobiographical comics such as Eddie Campbell’s Alec, and I recently discovered a self-published gem titled Many Happy Returns by Jan Wheatley. It turns out that Jan is the same age as me and had a very similar upbringing just 10 miles away from my home town. These coincidences gave the two issues published so far an incredible personal resonance for me, adding up to a pretty moving reading experience. Jan Wheatley is definitely a creator whose development I shall enjoy following.

I have a six-year-old son called William, and we tend to read a lot of comics together. I love testing out new stuff on him to see how he responds. Big hits so far include early Fantastic Four (started when he was three!), Bone, Jack Cole Plastic Man, ’50s and ’60s World’s Finest and Chip Kidd’s Bat-Manga book. Perhaps surprisingly the trade collection he can never get enough of is The Amazing Transformations of Jimmy Olsen featuring Elastic Lad, Human Flame-thrower, et al. Some of these crazy silver age tales have been read in bed on a Sunday morning a dozen times or more. He is a big fan of the Batman: The Brave and the Bold cartoon so I tried a few of the ’70s Bob Haney and Jim Aparo issues on him. Not a great response from William but I was surprised at how gritty they were: some of them read like a ‘Kojak’ episode with superheroes added.

Hello and welcome to Shelf Porn, where we give fans the opportunity to show us their collections, both big and small. And today we have one that falls into the former category, as Bryan Hodgson a soon-to-be pharmacist who shares his collection of graphic novels, statues, original art and more.

If you’d like to see your collection here, drop me a note at jkparkin@yahoo.com. Let’s make it happen!

And now let’s hear from Bryan …

*****

My name is Bryan Hodgson, I am 33 and I have been collecting comics in one form or another for about 20 years. I am a part owner of one of the local comic stores, and I have recently returned to University to pursue a career as a Pharmacist. My wife (Lisa) shares my passion for the hobby and has become quite the enabler when it comes to additions to the collection. As such we have comic or comic-related paraphernalia in nearly every room of our house. I tried to take pictures of everything that we have set up, but I may have missed a few things here and there.

Additionally I do have a large collection of monthly comics (somewhere around 7,000+ issues), but I didn’t include pictures of them because I don’t find large white boxes incredibly interesting. If any of the readers are interested, I can certainly send them some pictures.

I did my best to number the pictures in such a way that it is like a tour around our house. I’ll make a few comments along the way, but for the most part I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. If you have any comments or questions I will be happy to answer them. On to the collection.

Starting upstairs pictures 1 through 9 include what we have on display in our living room, dining room, kitchen and main floor bathroom. The art above the fireplace is by John Cassaday and is my favorite piece in my collection.

Pictures 10-14 follow you as you make your way downstairs to the bulk of the collection. Yes Mario is made out of lego and the alien from Space Invaders is made out of chainmail links.

This is a set of art prints that the SDCC put out in 2006 for the DC comic stamps. I missed grabbing the Marvel ones that were released later so if any of the viewers know where to grab a set I would love to know.

Pictures 16-29 are three of the display cases I have stuffed full of statues and busts. I did my best to arrange each shelf with a theme in mind. Care to take any guesses?

Pictures 30-38 are found within our non-superhero comic room. The Earthworm Jim riding Tommy was a fantastic commission from Doug TenNapel who is one of the humblest comic creators I have met (super-tall too!).

And the remainder (pictures 39-89) are within the main comic room. The anal-retentiveness I put into organizing my collection becomes readily apparent within this room. Books are arranged thusly: DC and Others Absolute, Marvel HC Oversized, DC HC Oversized, Marvel HC, DC HC, Marvel Trades, DC Trades, Independent HCs, Independent Trades and then art books, regular novels and board games. It’s almost a sickness how particular I am with organizing and aligning the books.

As a final statement I would like to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed viewing the other collector’s shelf porn on the website. It is always nice to see collections (large and small) from across the world. Thank you for hosting my collection and thank you for introducing me to so many wonderful collections from other fans.

Winter Soldier #1

This past week saw the release of Winter Soldier #1, as Ed Brubaker once again brings Bucky back with the help of Butch Guice, Bettie Breitweiser and Joe Caramagna. The ongoing series stars the former Captain America and Black Widow in kind of a Mr. and Mrs. Smith-like team-up book. An espionage thriller, the comic launches out of the revelation that the Russians created other Winter Soldier-like sleeper agents and features something I never thought would be a divisive plot point among readers–a gorilla with a machine gun. Isn’t that one of the universal truths in comics, that gorillas = awesome, and gorillas with machine guns = super awesome? Here are a few opinions on that, as well as the overall book itself …

Jesse Schedeen, IGN: “Darkness, espionage, and spycraft are all elements that essentially drained out of Brubaker’s Captain America series with the relaunch, to the detriment of that series. Luckily, these elements are all the prime focus of Winter Soldier. If you miss the grittier Captain America stories of 2005-2010, this book has exactly what you’re looking for.”

Greg McElhatton, Read About Comics: “…Winter Soldier is taking a mostly more-serious, grounded tone… but still reveling in all of the craziness that the Marvel Universe offers, like talking Communist gorillas, or cyborg Prime Ministers. I like that he’s taking established Marvel villains like the Red Ghost and his Super Apes and keeping their same spirit alive, but at the same time making them feel a bit more dangerous, for lack of a better word. The overall grounded feel for Winter Soldier doesn’t exclude the fantastic, it just makes them fit better into the book’s particular world view.”

Rob at Crisis on Infinite Midlives: “So regardless of my tone, this is a book that, story-wise, hits everything that you’d want it to…

“…and then we get to the gorilla with a machine gun.

“Oh, I wasn’t kidding: after finally chasing down one of the Winter Soldier stasis tubes in Minnesota, and following a well-paced and suspenseful stealth infiltration and firefight scene… we’re shown a gorilla. Firing a machine gun. While screaming ‘Death to America!’ In Russian. So, y’know, he’s a commie gorilla. Because a capitalist gorilla would be screaming, ‘Of course you can shock my testicles to test consumer electronics!’

“Now, this isn’t my first trip to the rodeo; I understand the long and distinguished role of killer, intelligent apes in comic books. But it’s one thing to see one trading punches with The Flash in the middle of a hidden, hyper-evolved hidden city… it’s quite another to turn the page on a fairly straight Cold War action story (Yeah, I know that Bucky has a bionic arm, but it’s not like he got it from Galactus or anything) and see a talking monkey. In Minnesota.”

Jason Bowles, Sciencefiction.com: “One sticking point some readers may have is the reference to both Bucky and Black Widow’s involvement in the Cold War. They are very clearly described as having been active agents during that time period, she as having been active during the entire era, which spanned from the 1940s-early 90s! Now Bucky’s stasis pod might account for him staying youthful all that time, but how do they explain Natasha’s eternal youth? They honestly don’t. I get that the character was created during that time period, originating as a Russian spy before defecting to the U.S. It’s not a huge problem for me, as the story overall is excellent, and I understand that comic book time works differently than real time. I just rolled with it, but others may have bigger issue with that.”

Jim Mroczkowski, iFanboy: “As for the art, Butch Guice and colorist Bettie Breitweiser appear to have quite a few new tricks up their sleeves. The art seems to have a more painterly quality than in years past, and Guice appears to have gone to the Alex Maleev School for Photoreferencing since the last time we saw him. Black Widow in particular always looks like a posed model, while Bucky always looks drawn ‘from scratch,’ giving the whole thing a kind of mash-up quality. I found it to be a pleasant surprise, but it is well known that this style has its detractors; if you’re one of them, consider yourself forewarned.”

David Uzumeri, ComicsAlliance: “Butch Guice and Bettie Breitweiser have been working with Ed Brubaker on Captain America for a while, but this is a dramatic step up for them both. The best description I can come up with for the art in this series is that it’s like watching ghosts of smoke act a scene behind a cracked windowpane in the rain. For all of Guice’s shadows and blacks, Breitweiser enhances every panel of the book with an otherworldly hue, creating paranoid scenes that look and feel pallid and grim — and that’s just the present-day sequences. Haunting images of the past are just that, distorted, monochromatic, and bleeding together in pale blues and spot reds. It’s the long winter of Bucky’s memory between 1945 and 2005.”

Chad Nevett, Comic Book Resources: “In many ways, Winter Soldier #1 picks up right where the previous volume of Captain America left off. Brubaker and his artistic collaborators know these characters so well, they don’t miss a beat. There’s a noticable shift from the bright and shiny blockbuster action of superhero comics to the shadowy world of espionage, but fans of the Brubaker-invigorated Bucky Barnes will no doubt love this. Finally, the Winter Soldier has his own series, and it’s everything you’d hope for.”

Adam Hughes has revealed his cover for the third issue of Fairest, Vertigo’s upcoming Fables spinoff series that will spotlight such female characters as Thumbelina, Rapunzel, Snow White and Rose Red. While the six-issue initial arc, by Fables creator Bill Willingham and artists Phil Jimenez and Andy Lanning, centers on Briar Rose, Hughes puts Lumi, the Snow Queen (previously seen in the background of his cover for Fairest #1) front and center.

Check out the full image below. Fairest debuts from Vertigo in March; the third issue arrives in May.

Diamond Comic Distributors

Publishing | John Jackson Miller profiles Diamond Comic Distributors to mark its 30th anniversary, offering a timeline of major events in the company’s history. [Comichron]

Conventions | Usagi Yojimbo creator Stan Sakai and AdHouse Publisher Chris Pitzer both report on their experiences at the Angoulême International Comics Festival. [Angoulême]

Retailing | Dark Horse Publisher Mike Richardson will give the keynote address at this week’s ComicsPRO Annual Membership Meeting. [NewsOK]

Retailing | Hypno Comics will open Saturday in Ventura, California. [Ventura County Star]

Wolverine: The Best There Is #3

Comics | David Brothers explains why Wolverine: The Best There Is is indeed the best Wolverine story of 2011: “Rather than being a story where Wolverine is the absolute best there is at what he does, and what he does is tear through anyone and everyone with ease, we get a story where Wolverine is forced to slow down, change his tactics, and think things through before really getting loose (because we have expectations for Wolverine stories, of course).” [4thletter!]

Commentary | Kristy Valenti looks at Habibi and Paying for It, two brown-covered graphic novels about male sexual obsession, a genre she dubs “dick lit.” [comiXology]

Creators | Zippy creator Bill Griffith is the guest on the video interview show Mr. Media Radio. [Mr. Media Radio Interviews]

Suicide Squad #6

Creators | Writer Adam Glass talks about the new story arc in DC Comics’ Suicide Squad that focuses on Harley Quinn. [USA Today]

Analysis | Nicolas Labarre looks at a particularly interesting six-panel sequence from Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s Preacher. [Comics and the U.S. South]

Digital | The Vietnamese Communist Party may think they can censor provocative comics like Killer With a Festering Head, but tech-savvy teens know better. [The Washington Post]

Comics | John Parker looks at Spawn through the lens of history: “For those read the comic during its initial publication, the Spawn Compendium is a virtual time machine, whooshing us back to the joy and confusion of our teens. For entirely new readers it must be like studying artifacts. Spawn is the quintessential ’90s comic, inseparable from the trends and events that lead to its creation, and its subsequent impact on the industry.” [ComicsAlliance]

Comics | William Cardini discusses his work on Rub the Blood, the ’90s Image tribute project edited by Ian Harker and Pat Aulisio. [The Daily Texan]

Comics | KC Carlson talks about the long-in-development The Judas Coin by Walt Simonson, which he got a sneak preview of when trapped at the Simonson house during an ice storm. [Comics Worth Reading]

Look upon my Microsoft Paint work and despair

Before Wednesday morning’s big news, I was all ready to write about the wish-fulfillment aspects of DC’s reprint program. Maybe next week.

Now, though, we’ve got Before Watchmen*, seven miniseries and a one-shot in the Seven Soldiers mode, and no doubt collection-ready. Please pardon my cynicism, but with all due respect to the impressive roster of professionals involved, this could have easily been subtitled We’re Back For More Cash.

To be clear, I understand DC wanting to make money off its intellectual property.  A while ago I argued that one purpose of the current Shade miniseries is to fill another slot on bookshelves next to the rest of James Robinson’s Starman collections. Starman was one of the rare series where one writer introduced a character (Jack Knight) and took him through a series of adventures, until that character reached the natural endpoint of his life’s particular phase. Neil Gaiman’s Sandman preceded it, and Garth Ennis’ Hitman followed. (Working with writers David Goyer and Geoff Johns, Robinson tied Starman into the JSA revival as well.)

Robinson hasn’t returned to the character of Jack Knight since Starman ended, although he used a few Starman characters in his Justice League work (and I’m pretty sure one of the supporting cast showed up in the year-long Trinity miniseries, with which Robinson was not involved) — but more to the point, no new creative team has explored what Jack, or Sandman’s Morpheus, or Hitman’s Tommy Monaghan, has done since their various series ended. There is a firewall around these characters, if not their unique milieux, apparently reinforced only by friendly agreement. When there are cracks — when Morpheus’ successor Daniel showed up in Grant Morrison and Howard Porter’s JLA, or when Paul Cornell and Pete Woods had Sandman’s Death meet Lex Luthor in Action Comics — it’s a big deal. I’d even go so far as to say that the old Multiverse was an in-story manifestation of such firewalls: all those Golden Age stories shunted to Earth-Two pretty much as-is, with the same going for the Fawcett (i.e., Marvel Family) characters on Earth-S, and yes, the Charlton characters on Earth-Four.

Indeed, at the risk of being obvious, Watchmen exists in its present form because DC didn’t want to let Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons put the Charlton characters themselves through the wringer. Thus, over the past twenty-five years, Captain Atom, Blue Beetle, Nightshade, Peter Cannon, and the Question have each had their own ongoing series, and each has enjoyed various degrees of success in the context of the larger DC superhero line. Ironically, there’s a distinct Doctor Manhattan influence in both the Captain Adam of Final Crisis and the New-52′s Cap, and the Question’s appearances on “Justice League Unlimited” recast the character as more conspiracy-minded, a la Rorschach. Of course, the Question and Blue Beetle who came over from Charlton have since died, and the New-52 setup doesn’t seem to leave much room for either to return.

The larger issue, though, is the extent to which these characters can be allowed to rest. J. Michael Straczynski, who is writing the Doctor Manhattan and Nite-Owl miniseries, told CBR

[a] lot of folks feel that these characters shouldn’t be touched by anyone other than Alan, and while that’s absolutely understandable on an emotional level, it’s deeply flawed on a logical level. Based on durability and recognition, one could make the argument that Superman is the greatest comics character ever created. But neither Alan nor anyone else has ever suggested that no one other than Shuster and Siegel should ever be allowed to write Superman. Alan didn’t pass on being brought on to write Swamp Thing, a seminal comics character created by Len Wein, and he did a terrific job. He didn’t say “No, no, I can’t, that’s Len’s character.” Nor should he have.

Mr. Straczynski’s response goes to the heart of work-for-hire comics; namely, that DC Comics owns (part of) Superman, Swamp Thing, and Watchmen, and as a practical matter can dictate who writes and draws the comics featuring them. Put bluntly, Alan Moore knew what he was getting into when he took on Watchmen, because it was the same situation he entered into with Swamp Thing. In fact, on a conceptual level there is probably not much difference between Before Watchmen and the mileage Geoff Johns has gotten out of “Tygers,” Moore and Kevin O’Neill’s Green Lantern Corps short story.

The real difference lies in the nature of the stories themselves. Superman and Swamp Thing were created to be ongoing characters with no definite endpoint, but Watchmen, Robinson’s Starman, Ennis’ Hitman, and Gaiman’s Sandman were all finite series. We can argue about whether creative teams other than Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster or Len Wein and Berni Wrightson have “done right by” Superman or Swamp Thing, but when you have a singular vision determining virtually every aspect of a particular series from beginning to end, it becomes a lot harder to disassociate that vision from that series. For example, Straczynski himself is associated pretty strongly with “Babylon 5,” the TV series he created and produced, so much so that any subsequent “B5″ projects would no doubt seek his blessing, especially if the series were considered to have told a story complete unto itself.

To be sure, more “Babylon 5″ might well receive and/or deserve those blessings, just as the Before Watchmen books might be worthwhile on their own merits. Certainly none of the professionals involved sets out to make bad comics, and certainly none of them will want to bring anything less than their best. Still, they’re in an unenviable situation, trying to do work which honors the original while still being original enough to justify its own existence. This is nothing new for work-for-hire comics, but the degree of difficulty is much higher.

And the thing is, DC does not need more Watchmen in the same way that it needs to keep publishing Batman, Superman, and Swamp Thing comics. As long as there is a DC Comics, there will be more Batman and Superman books, with dozens more creative teams looking to recapture what they first loved about those characters. Making sure those characters endure is fundamental to DC’s business model, and if some good comics come out of it, that’s just gravy. Accordingly, DC has no interest in producing the last Superman story, whether it’s “Doomsday!” or “Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow?” As we saw last summer, DC doesn’t do endings, it does relaunches.

Accordingly, it’s helped nurture a culture where more of anything successful is implied, if not expected outright. As Tom Spurgeon tweeted, “the real takeaway here may be the sadness that [...] DC’s attempts to do Another Watchmen [are] now becoming doing More Watchmen.”

Now, I am not necessarily arguing against More. Personally, I’d love more of Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang’s Team 13, more Thriller by Robert Loren Fleming and Trevor von Eeden, and more ’Mazing Man from Bob Rozakis and Stephen DeStefano — but mainly because I think those creators could do more with those characters. Conversely, a creator’s triumphant return to a particular subject doesn’t always produce the same kind of work (see, e.g., Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Strikes Again).

At its best, the world of corporate superhero comics allows tradition and ritual to exist alongside creativity and innovation. On Monday I was glad to hear about upcoming collections of Amethyst, Mike Barr and Alan Davis’ Detective Comics, and Len Wein and Dave Gibbons’ Green Lantern. I’m also looking forward to the Trials Of Wonder Woman and All-Star Squadron reprints. Maybe next week I will get to talk about these in more detail. They’re all entertaining segments of ongoing series** which, for various reasons, were highlights either of those particular series or of DC’s superhero line. Each played within the rules of that superhero line, and none set out to be multilayered examinations of the comic-book form and/or the superhero-comics genre.

Nevertheless, it should be an elementary observation, but it bears repeating here: not every superhero comic must follow Watchmen, nor must Watchmen be as exploitable as the average monthly comic. While DC is free to do what it wants with the intellectual property it owns, it should have the same respect for Watchmen that it does for Jack Knight and Morpheus.

Again, it all comes down to the nature of the original work. Not only did Watchmen tell a complete story, set in its own unique world, it was designed specifically to be self-contained. The clockwork motif of an insular system which has to deal with unpredictable elements is one of the work’s core elements. DC may want to honor Watchmen with these prequels, but the work really doesn’t require them; and despite Moore and Gibbons’ exploratory steps to the contrary, the story as it exists almost discourages them.

Look, I know I don’t have to read any of the Before Watchmen comics. I realize these could turn out to be some very well-done comics, and I am guilty of prejudging something of which I have not read one page. It’s the kind of maddening thing which dares one to read it just so one can have an informed opinion, and by that time DC already has one’s money. If this project put these creative teams on the Earth-4 versions of the original Charlton characters — even if DC said This is Watchmen 2 with the names changed — I’d be all for it. That would at least be a touch newer than filling in the gaps of a pretty seamless narrative. No matter how much effort is put into these prequels, no matter how pure the intentions, no matter how polished the product, for a lot of fans this will be a reminder that DC did something because it could, because it would be relatively easy, and because it knew it would attract a truckload of attention. In an artistic field where potential is only limited by imagination, for DC to make such a reflexively conservative choice is incredibly disappointing.

+++++++++++++++

* [In one respect the title was inevitable. Back when hype about the Watchmen movie was supercharging book sales, DC reprinted a number of single issues under the banner “After Watchmen.”]

** [Amethyst started out as a 12-issue miniseries, and at first it wasn’t part of the main superhero continuity.]

The writer, who’s penning Dr. Manhattan and Nite Owl for the sprawling prequel to the acclaimed 1986 miniseries by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, drew some criticism yesterday when he told Comic Book Resources, “A lot of folks feel that these characters shouldn’t be touched by anyone other than Alan, and while that’s absolutely understandable on an emotional level, it’s deeply flawed on a logical level. Based on durability and recognition, one could make the argument that Superman is the greatest comics character ever created. But neither Alan nor anyone else has ever suggested that no one other than Shuster and Siegel should ever be allowed to write Superman. Alan didn’t pass on being brought on to write Swamp Thing, a seminal comics character created by Len Wein, and he did a terrific job. He didn’t say ‘No, no, I can’t, that’s Len’s character.’ Nor should he have.”

That of course led more than a few people to ask how Straczynski, who created the 1990s space opera Babylon 5, would feel if someone else were to develop a sequel, or prequel — “Babylon 4″? — to the television series (a revival has been long hoped for by fans, but the writer denied rumors as recently as August that he’s in negotiations with Warner Bros.). To answer the question, which he characterizes as “How would you feel if Babylon 5 was being done without your permission?,” Straczynski took to his Facebook page last night, writing, “It’s a fair question, and it needs to be fairly answered … but it has to be an honest comparison, apples to apples, not apples to pomegranates.”

“First, we have to take the word ‘permission’ off the table. Warner Bros. owns Babylon 5 lock, stock and phased-plasma guns, just as DC owns the Watchmen characters. [...] But I get that we’re talking about the emotional aspect of all this, not the legal stuff, which is pretty cut and dry,” he wrote. “So again: apples to apples. How would I feel if Babylon 5 were being made and I were shut out of anything to do with it, despite my desire to be involved? I’d feel pretty crummy about it. But as it happens, that has absolutely nothing to do with this situation in any way, manner, shape or form.”

Referring to repeated unsuccessful attempts by DC to convince Moore to revisit Watchmen — the most recent was in 2010, when the publisher offered to relinquish the rights to the comic if the writer “would agree to some dopey prequels and sequels” — Straczynski said, “He declined at every point. Fair enough. It’s his choice, and it’s his right to make it.”

“So now – apples to apples – let’s make the B5 comparison,” he continued. “Let’s say Warner Bros. came to me and said, ‘we want to do more Babylon 5, and we want you to run the whole thing. We’ll pay you anything you want, give you a proper budget, and you will have complete creative freedom.’ [...] So let’s say that Warners makes that offer, and I said, ‘No, I don’t want it, take your accursed money, your big budget and your complete creative freedom and begone, get thee behind me Satan!’ Let’s say they came back and said ‘Okay, then how about we pay you vast sums of money just to consult? How about that?’ [...] ‘What if we sweeten the deal? What if we offer to give you full ownership of Babylon 5, legally and contractually, so you own it? How about that?’

“If Warners offered me creative freedom, money and a budget to do the show the way I wanted, up to and including my completely owning the show, and I said no to that deal, and if after Warners waited TWENTY FIVE YEARS for me to change my mind they finally decided to go ahead and make B5 without me … then I would have absolutely zero right to complain about it,” Straczynski wrote. “Because it was my choice to remove myself from the process, it wasn’t something foisted upon me by anybody else.”

He went on to address other related topics, such as the supposed “sacredness” and one-off nature of the characters, before concluding this morning in a separate post that, “At this point, quite honestly the work needs to stand on its own. So with equal appreciation for both the kind words and the hard questions, and having said pretty much everything I can think of to say on the subject, I think it’s appropriate for me to recede a bit now into the shadows. As the books come out I hope that everyone who spoke out here, pro and con, will reconvene to continue the conversation and express their thoughts with the same clarity and precision they have demonstrated today.”

Dr. Manhattan, by Dave Gibbons

“My history with Watchmen goes way back.  In 1986 I was working at Thunder Road Comics in Burlington, New Jersey, and I sold every issue of Watchmen as they came out.  It was a pretty amazing time: The Dark Knight Returns was also shipping, so superhero comics were enjoying a banner year.  The mullets, parachute pants, and New Coke made up for it, though.  YIKES.

Several years back, I was one of the first artists to contribute designs to Zack Snyder’s film adaption of Watchmen.  I mean, I only worked on the film for, like, eight minutes, but I cast a long shadow! Did you like Silk Spectre in latex?  That was ALL ME.  That’s right — I’m preening!

So, you see, I have some strange sort of orbital relationship to Watchmen.  I feel pretty honored to be working it.  I’m looking forward to drawing all these characters.  Yes, Doctor Manhattan is an unusual choice to assign me to, but I’m assured that DC has a plan!  Maybe they believe that, since I’m well-associated with drawing female anatomy, I’m qualified to handle blue penises.  Wait … that doesn’t sound right …”

– Dr. Manhattan artist Adam Hughes, kind of addressing one of the first questions that arose when he was confirmed as one of the creators involved with DC Comics’ Before Watchmen prequels

Dusting off a list of grievances that includes the controversial Tea Party reference in Captain America #602, pro-Obama sympathies and an unnamed series “blaspheming God and Christianity,” Paul Hair writes on Andrew Breitbart’s Big Hollywood that it’s time for conservatives to counter with their own version of Occupy Comics.

“Leftists have made no secret about who they are, and I see no reason why we shouldn’t simply wipe the dust of their town from our feet and stop throwing pearls to them in worthless attempts to change them,” he writes, loading both barrels with biblical allusions. “Instead, I propose we fight back.”

Arguing that, “I no longer see a point in engaging leftists in argument or debate,” Hair suggests the right’s Occupy Comics initiative should “simply move forward and promote who we are” and real-world solutions to economic problems.

He puts out the call for other contributors to Breitbart’s online network to become involved, drawing responses in the comments from Mike Baron and James Hudnall, among others. “The OWS comic is an example of comics people boarding the train after it derailed,” Hudnall writes. “I’ve been quietly working on projects I plan to do which will explore different arguments about society and government than what many comics pros tend to do but we aren’t all left wing. I find there are a lot of conservative and libertarians in the community. They just aren’t as vocal as lefties.”

One Piece, Vol. 46

Crime | An energetic thief stole all 64 volumes of One Piece from a Japanese bookstore by stuffing 10 volumes at a time in his duffel bag. As One Piece is the most popular manga in Japan, he could have gotten a good price for his booty at a used manga store, had the forces of law not intervened. [Kotaku]

Legal | Michael Cavna talks with cartoonist Susie Cagle about being taken into custody again over the weekend during Occupy Oakland protests. [Comic Riffs]

Creators | Kiss member Gene Simmons still remembers the postcard he got from Stan Lee as a kid. [Noisecreep]

Comics | Jeff Parker and Erica Moen’s webcomic Bucko has reached its last panel, but Parker says a book is on the way, and there will be “exciting news” at Emerald City Comic Con. [Parkerspace]

Creators | Patrick Smith interviews Jeremy Whitley, co-creator of Princeless, an all-ages comic that has been getting good word-of-blog lately: “I think you’ll see as story progresses that fight scenes especially get pretty comical. In fact, I think that things like the lampooning of outfits and fairy tales and princess culture are the important heavy lifting of Princeless. They make adults who have lived with this stuff go “YES! THAT!” but hopefully kids who are seeing this stuff for the first time will be conditioned to see those sorts of things as ludicrous from an early age. It’s hard to get bs past kids on stuff like that anyway.” [Spandexless]

Jill Thompson, by Seth Kushner

Creators | Jill Thompson reminisces about modeling for P. Craig Russell and talks about her work on Wonder Woman, Sandman, Finals, and the all-ages comic Scary Godmother in a wide-ranging interview with Christopher Irving. [Graphic NYC]

Creators | Mike Jasper, co-creator of In Maps and Legends, talks about his love of fantasy and his experience launching the comic on Zuda and then moving it to other digital programs when Zuda folded. Fun fact: Although they have been working together for two and a half years, Mike and his collaborator Niki Smith have never met in person. [Graphicly Blog]

Comics | Funky Winkerbean fans rejoice: Tom Batiuk will release the first volume of collected Funky strips earlier this year. Readers who are familiar with the current depressing storylines will be surprised by the earlier strips, which are much more light-hearted and in fact quite funny. [The Daily Cartoonist]

Lady Sabre & The Pirates of the Ineffable Aether

Comics | Greg Rucka discusses plans for the collection edition of the webcomic Lady Sabre & The Pirates of the Ineffable Aether, and with a variety of digital and print formats on the table, asks readers what they would prefer. [Lady Sabre & The Pirates of the Ineffable Aether]

Graphic novels | The American Booksellers Association has published a list of the best selling graphic novels in independent bookstores for the two months ending Jan. 22. [Bookselling This Week ,via Graphic Novel Reporter]

Graphic novels | Paul Gravett lists some tempting graphic novels due out in March. [Paul Gravett]

Webcomics | The collaborative site Act-I-Vate celebrates its sixth anniversary today. [Acti-I-Vate]

Review | Robot 6 contributor Christopher Mautner reviews Government Issue: Comics for the People, 1940s to 2000s, which he finds as dreary as its subject matter, despite a few high points: “Easily the best comic of the bunch is Walt Kelly’s “Pogo Primer for Parents”, a visual lecture on the importance of properly monitoring your child’s television habits that is so charming and funny that it only serves to underscore how drab and lifeless all the other excerpts are by comparison.” [The Comics Journal]

Here’s a selection of some of the more interesting quotes:

J. Michael Straczynski, who’s working with Adam Hughes on Dr. Manhattan, and Andy and Joe Kubert on Nite Owl: “Ever since Dan DiDio was handed the reins (along with Jim Lee) over at DC, he’s been making bold, innovative moves that might have scared the hell out of anyone else. At a time in the industry when big events tend to be ‘Okay, we had Team A fight Team B last year, so this year we’re gonna have Team B fight team C!’ Dan has chosen to revitalize lines, reinvent worlds and come at Watchmen head-on. It was, I think, about two years ago that he first mentioned that he was considering the idea, and he’s to be commended for fighting to make this happen.”

Brian Azzarello, who’s collaborating with Lee Bermejo on Rorschach, and J.G. Jones on Comedian: “I think the gut reaction is going to be, ‘Why?’  But then when the actual books come out, the answer will be, ‘Oh, that’s why.’ ”

Darwyn Cooke, who’s writing and drawing Minutemen and collaborating with Amanda Conner on Silk Spectre: “The nature of the undertaking is going to polarize a lot of the readership. I think a lot of people will be excited about this and there are a lot of people that will be dead against it. [...] I said no out of hand because I couldn’t think of a story that would measure up to the original — and let’s face it, this material is going to be measured that way — and the other thing is, I frankly didn’t want the attention. This is going to generate a lot of a particular type of attention that’s really not my bag. But what happened is, months after I said no, the story elements all just came into my head one day; it was so exciting to me that, at that exact moment, I started seriously thinking about doing the book.”

Straczynski, again: “A lot of folks feel that these characters shouldn’t be touched by anyone other than Alan, and while that’s absolutely understandable on an emotional level, it’s deeply flawed on a logical level. Based on durability and recognition, one could make the argument that Superman is the greatest comics character ever created. But neither Alan nor anyone else has ever suggested that no one other than Shuster and Siegel should ever be allowed to write Superman. Alan didn’t pass on being brought on to write Swamp Thing, a seminal comics character created by Len Wein, and he did a terrific job. He didn’t say ‘No, no, I can’t, that’s Len’s character.’ Nor should he have.”

Cooke, again: “I’d consider it a masterpiece if it had been able to have found what I would refer to as a hopeful note. … Again, it’s not hard to understand [where Alan was coming from], and that sort of storytelling does have an allure for young people. [But] I think the older you get, the more you look for hope or positive things. Maybe I’m just getting old.”

Original Watchmen editor Len Wein, who’s tackling Ozymandias with Jae Lee, and “Curse of the Crimson Corsair” with John Higgins: “As far as I know there are no plans for more books after this, but 25 years ago there were no plans for these books, so who truly knows? I think reboots are almost mandatory in an industry that has existed for over three-fourths of a century now. The need to inject new blood, new ideas, new approaches, is the only thing that keeps our readers coming back for more.”

“Curse of the Crimson Corsair” artist John Higgins: “The challenge is to make the stories modern and relevant to 2012 and to show what can be done with respect and consideration for the source material that has inspired so many people over the years. By adding to the mythos and not to detract from it. The Watchmen had such an influence on graphic storytelling since it first appeared and is a timeless classic. If we can create a new set of stories that can be enjoyed 25 years on, that would be an achievement and a reward in itself.”

Okay, almost seven, as USA Today has only offered a detail of one of Lee Bermejo’s covers for Rorschach (at right), his four-issue miniseries with Luthor and Joker collaborator Brian Azzarello. To make up for it, though, there’s a cover by original Watchmen colorist John Higgins for a Crimson Corsair story by he and original Watchmen editor Len Wein.

We also have a Dr. Manhattan cover by Adam Hughes (courtesy of CBR), Minutemen by Darwyn Cooke (Hero Complex), Nite Owl by Andy Kubert and Joe Kubert (Heat Vision), Ozymandias by Jae Lee (Underwire), and Silk Spectre by Amanda Conner (Entertainment Weekly). UPDATE: Now, thanks to The New York Times, we also have one of J.G. Jones’ Comedian covers.

Check out the covers below. We’ll update if more, and in some cases larger, images become available.

UPDATE: DC Comics has released hi-res versions of each of the covers, which we’ve added below.

“The original series of Watchmen is the complete story that Alan Moore and I wanted to tell,” the artist said in a statement. “However, I appreciate DC’s reasons for this initiative and the wish of the artists and writers involved to pay tribute to our work. May these new additions have the success they desire.”

Moore, however, isn’t as generous, describing the prequels as “completely shameless.” “I tend to take this latest development as a kind of eager confirmation that they are still apparently dependent on ideas that I had 25 years ago,” he told The New York Times.

The writer, who stopped working for DC in 1989 following disputes about Watchmen royalties and a proposed age-rating system, revealed in July 2010 that the publisher had at last offered to return the rights to his most famous creation, if he “would agree to some dopey prequels and sequels.”

“So I just told them that if they said that 10 years ago, when I asked them for that, then yeah it might have worked,” he said at the time. “But these days I don’t want Watchmen back. Certainly, I don’t want it back under those kinds of terms.”

Moore echoed those sentiments to The Times, insisting he likely won’t try to block Before Watchmen or face DC’s “infinite battery of lawyers” in a legal battle. “I don’t want money,” he said. “What I want is for this not to happen.”

J. Michael Straczynski, who’s teaming with Adam Hughes on the Dr. Manhattan miniseries, shrugged off the notion that only Moore should write the Watchmen characters.

“A lot of folks feel that these characters shouldn’t be touched by anyone other than Alan, and while that’s absolutely understandable on an emotional level, it’s deeply flawed on a logical level,” he said in an exclusive interview with Comic Book Resources. “Based on durability and recognition, one could make the argument that Superman is the greatest comics character ever created. But neither Alan nor anyone else has ever suggested that no one other than Shuster and Siegel should ever be allowed to write Superman. Alan didn’t pass on being brought on to write Swamp Thing, a seminal comics character created by Len Wein, and he did a terrific job. He didn’t say ‘No, no, I can’t, that’s Len’s character.’ Nor should he have.”

“By that logic I should change my name to Eric Larson. Geoff Johns should change his name to Jeff Johns since everybody spells it that way anyway.”

– Savage Dragon creator Erik Larsen, responding to the news that, after 40 years of dancing around Marvel’s trademark by using titles like Shazam and The Power of Shazam, DC Comics is officially changing Captain Marvel’s name to … Shazam. Geoff Johns explained the decision was made, in part, because “everybody thinks he’s called Shazam already, outside of comics.”