Canadians eager to discover what DC’s giant New 52 initiative was all aboot packed a FanExpo room to capacity, for what was the publisher’s last discussion before the fans actually get to read the darn books. And the participants were a who’s who of DC talent: Editor Eddie Berganza; writer James Robinson; writer Brian Azzarello; writer Jeff Lemire; artist Shane Davis; writer/artist Francis Manapul; writer Tony Daniel; artist Yanick Paquette; and Co-Publisher Dan DiDio.
Berganza kicked off the panel talking about Justice League, which he described as taking place in a world that doesn’t really like superheroes. He also teased that the first issue deals with the origin of Cyborg, and how he ended up on the team. DiDio then called up a fan to read Justice League #1 on stage.
The cover to Wonder Woman #1
Moving on to Wonder Woman, Azzarello plugged Cliff Chiang’s art, saying, “This is the best work of his career… But it really is this time. It’s a horror book, and I’m sticking to that.”
Then it was time for Flash, which Manapul said, “It’s a chance to keep it fun and fast, even though the first arc is five issues. How do you stop the fastest man alive? We’ve had to devise the ultimate death traps to make it really difficult for him.” Manapul plugged the action in the book, recalling the “Flash running over the helicopter blades,” sequence from the previous Flash #1 (which was awesome), saying he’ll try to make the action bigger and bigger, until he runs out of ideas. “And then I’ll quit the book,” joked Manapul.
Tony Daniel and Francis Manapul
Berganza then plugged Firestorm, followed by The Savage Hawkman, turning it over to writer Tony Daniel. Asked about how savage he’ll be, Daniel joked, “He’s not going to be tickling his opponents.” Daniel talked about how there’s big action involving aliens and monsters, but also archaeological mysteries. He compared it to the Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes, saying that it’s a reinvention, but stays true to the core of the character.
Talking about the brand new Action Comics, Dan DiDio said, “When we looked at Action Comics, we wanted to capture what was familiar about Superman, and what was new about him as well. If you look at Justice League as Year One, you can look at Action Comics as Year Zero.” He also mentioned that Superman, by George Perez, is really Year Five of his career.
The cover to Detective Comics #1
Then it was Bat-time, and back to Tony Daniel to talk about Detective Comics – we’ll actually have a full interview with him on the title up shortly. He talked about how writing Bruce Wayne is very different than writing Dick Grayson as Batman, and it will focus on Batman and Commissioner Gordon… And that’s pretty much it. “The first issue of Detective Comics has one of the best cliffhangers I’ve seen,” said Manapul. “It will blow your face away.”
Berganza then teased that The Flash might end up guesting in Batman: The Dark Knight.
Moving on to Green Lantern, Berganza talked about Sinestro becoming the lead character, and the book will be about how Hal Jordan gets involved, in kind of a “Lethal Weapon” team.
Shane Davis, James Robinson, and Jeff Lemire
Jeff Lemire then talked about Animal Man (which you can find out more about from our recap of the Lemire Spotlight Panel). He reiterated that it kicks off when Buddy Baker’s daughter develops powers far beyond what he ever had. Lemire also described Animal Man as a horror book. He also chatted about Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E., which he called a scifi action book with plenty of black humor (again, check out the Spotlight panel recap for much more info).
DiDio then chatted about OMAC. “If Wonder Woman is horror, and Frankenstein is science fiction, then OMAC is a true story,” joked Didio. He then said that the book was really his chance to work with Keith Giffen. “Every issue starts in a normal situation, and then we show how the world gets out of control and escalates when OMAC ends up in the mix.”
They kicked it over to James Robinson to talk about The Shade mini-series. You can check out the Robinson Spotlight Panel Recap for more info – though a correction from that report: the ‘Times Past’ stories are 1940, 1901 in Paris, and the 1830s for the origin of The Shade. Gene Ha does the art on the last issue.
And big news… James Robinson officially announced he’s developing Justice Society of America with artist Nicola Scott. Bigger news, the way it works, given there’s only five years of superhero history in the New 52. Drumroll… They’re bringing back Earth 2. Chills, people. Chills. “You’re going to see some people alive you haven’t seen for a while,” said Robinson.
Berganza quickly moved on to Superman: Earth One, and showed off some of Shane Davis’ art. “He might have a love interest who’s not Lois,” said Davis. “But it’s not Jimmy.”
The cover to The Flash #1
Then it was time for audience questions! (Though they did check in with the young fan, who was done with Justice League, has read Flash #1 and #2, and was on to Flashpoint #5. “You’re reading them in the wrong order,” joked Berganza.)
- Asked about Canadian heroes, Manapul said, “If you live in Toronto? Central City is pretty much Toronto.”
- Indigo Lanterns will get the focus first in Green Lantern, while we’ll find out more about the Orange Lanterns in Green Lantern: The New Guardians.
- DiDio said that they just finished hashing out what Justice Society would be yesterday. They wanted to wait to announce until they had the right team, and the totally right take.
The cover for The Savage Hawkman #1
- Daniel has gotten rid of the, “reincarnation factor, the Egyptian thing, the whole Hawkgirl angle,” for Hawkman. “All the convolutedness… It’s gone.”
- Berganza kept mum on whether Gail Simone is working on a new Secret Six book.
- Asked where the multiple Batgirls will be in the New 52, Berganza said, “Stephanie Brown, you will see… Just because they’re not Batgirl, doesn’t mean they won’t be in it.” DiDio then confirmed: in Batman, Inc., and The New 52, Stephanie Brown will be back to her Spoiler identity. “Spoiler!” joked Berganza.
DiDio then turned to the young fan, asking him what he thought of the titles he had read, with one word each:
Justice League #1: “Cool”
Flash #1: “Very cool.”
Flashpoint #5: “Better.”
…And then it was time for a lightning round of quick questions!
Will The Shade be set on Earth 2?
“No”
Why are there multiple Robins in the New 52?
“It was an internship.”
Was Batman a hero before Superman?
“Yes.”
Will Ted Kord have existed?
“Next question!”
Are you worried the new continuity will scare old readers away?
“No.”
A young fan dressed as Robin then asked why Damian was twelve instead of ten years old, because she was ten years old, and wanted more characters her age.
“He’s back to ten years old because of you!”
Larfleeze in the new continuity?
“Mine!”
What’s Harley like in the New 52?
“Oh, she’s crazy.”
More time travel stories?
“…”
Who’s Rip Hunter’s mom?
“Anita.”
If I have to pick one book to give to a friend what do I pick?
“Depends on what they like, that’s the fun of 52. We’ve got horror books, science fiction books… Find out what your friends like, and point them at the right ones. And true stories!”
And then DiDio said that they had time for one more question, which would be the last question – ever – about the old DCU. So he again turned to the young fan on stage,a nd asked him to make it count. So the fan asked, “Will Jack Knight return as Starman?” which got – quite literally – the biggest applause of the panel, so good job, fan. To that, Robinson answered, “There’s one untold tale of Jack Knight… Never say never.”
And that was it! Goodbye, old DC Universe! We hardly knew ye! We’ll see you back here for more from FanExpo.
Related Posts:
The LAST Flashpoint Facts #18: Project Superman, Kid Flash Lost, Lois Lane, and Hal Jordan (SPOILERS!)
FanExpo Canada 2011 Interview: Dan DiDio On DC Comics' Countdown To The New 52
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