This week in Super Folk, Publishers Weekly’s round up of superhero news, DC Comics causes a stir with Before Watchmen and shuffles some of its writers, Marvel teases Spider-Man events, Mark Waid on The Omega Effect and the end of Irredeemable, January puts up some strong sales numbers, and more.
DC Comics
After years of speculation and rumors, DC Comics finally did the (seemingly) inevitable, announcing a new series of prequels to Watchmen, the groundbreaking series by industry legends Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, to be released this summer. The set of prequels, dubbed “Before Watchmen,” includes seven limited-series by an all-star lineup of writers and artists, that will focus on each of the characters’ backstory, and one back-up feature written by original Watchmen editor Len Wein (for a more in-depth look at Before Watchmen, and a full list of titles and creators go here). A polemic issue if there ever was one, the news aroused a flurry of responses, from fans to critics to creators, with feedback ranging from sublime ebullience to stalwart condemnation. For many, Watchmen is a singular, sacrosanct work, and any attempt to revisit it is a profound mistake (Moore, vehemently opposed to any and all derivations of his works, is in this camp). Others are excited by the caliber of creators DC has assembled (evidence of how seriously the company is taking this) and are much more hopeful. Regardless of whichever side claims the last laugh, a slew of comics are going to be sold, and that is never a bad thing.
Amidst the firestorm of commentary following its Watchmen announcement, DC revealed a number of creator changes on some of its New 52 titles. First, Jeff Lemire (Animal Man, Sweet Tooth) will be writing Justice League Dark, beginning with issue #9 in May, while Matt Kindt (Revolver) takes over Lemire’s former job of writing Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. with issue #10 in June (the two previously collaborated on Men of War #4 – out in April). With Lemire now writing JLD, original series writer Peter Milligan (Red Lanterns, Hellblazer) will helm Stormwatch beginning with issue #9 in May. That same month, writer James Robinson (Justice League, Starman) and artist Bernard Chang being a three-issue arc on DC Universe Presents starting with issue #9. Former Hawk and Dove artist Rob Liefeld will be writing both The Savage Hawkman and Grifter, with art by Scott Clark and Joe Bennett, respectively. Marcus To (Huntress) will join Judd Winick on Batwing #9 in May, while Cliff Chiang will co-write (along with Brian Azzarello) Wonder Woman, which he is currently the artist on. Finally, Batman: The Dark Knight artist David Finch is handing over writing duties to bestselling novelist Gregg Hurwitz (You’re Next, Penguin: Pain and Prejudice).
Marvel Comics
Meanwhile, Marvel made headlines with an ambiguous teaser for an upcoming endeavor called simply “Spider-Men.” The teaser was accompanied by a mash-up image of the classic Peter Parker Spider-Man logo, and the Miles Morales Ultimate Spider-Man logo. Marvel made waves last year when they revealed Morales, a boy of biracial descent, as the new ultimate Spider-Man. Will the two meet, and will it be as allies, or enemies? Marvel’s being pretty tight-lipped about the whole thing, but it’s definitely something to keep an eye on.
Simultaneously, the publisher has been teasing its more immediate Spider-Man event, “Ends of the Earth” (the follow-up to last year’s Spider-Island), written by Dan Slott and with art by Stefano Caselli. The three-part event begins in March in Amazing Spider-Man #682 and sends Peter Parker to space to face off against a cabal of his most fiendish villains.
Daredevil writer Mark Waid provided some new details on the upcoming event, The Omega Effect. The crossover, which spans across Avenging Spider-Man, Daredevil and Punisher, sees Marvel’s “street-level” heroes vying for a piece advanced technology known as the “omega device, “ which contains invaluable data on the world’s biggest crime circles. While the device is central to the plot of The Omega Effect, Waid stressed that each hero’s motivation, and the interplay of personalities and ideologies, is the real core of story.
BOOM! Studios
Speaking of Mark Waid, the former Chief Creative Officer of Boom! Studios announced he is ending his acclaimed comic series Irredeemable and Incorruptible. The Eisner and Harvey award- nominated Irredeemable centered on an omnipotent superhero that suddenly turns evil, while its spin-off, Incorruptible, deals with a villain who goes good. The two series are sset to bow out this Spring.
Image Comics
Writer Nathan Edmondson broke the news on Where is Jake Ellis?, the sequel to his (and artist Tonci Zonjic) 2011 hit series, Who is Jake Ellis? The new series is scheduled to debut this year.
Around The Comics World
A few days after celebrating its 30th birthday, Diamond Comics Distributers (the largest supplier of comics for retail) posted some big numbers for January 2012. Sales were up 27.5% over January 2011, and hit a level not seen since 2008. While Marvel eked out rival DC Comics for dollar share, DC managed to pull out on top in market share. Marvel has long dominated market share for the past few years, but since its big relaunch in September, DC seems to be shifting things in its direction, further bolstered by taking the top ten bestselling comics in January, a feat not done since Marvel in 2005.
While not denouncing Before Watchmen, Alan Moore (via a live web-chat) announced a new chapter of his and artist Kevin O’Neill’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The installment, a 48-page one-shot called Nemo: Heart of Ice will be an H.P. Lovecraft-inspired story that takes place in Antarctica. The book is due out by the end of 2012, while the next LXG book, Century 2009 is out in June.
Finally, the long standing copyright lawsuit between Image Comics cofounder and Spawn creator Todd McFarlane and fantasy novelist and Sandman creator Neil Gaiman over the use of a characters Gaiman had created for Spawn in the early 1990s, was settled, declaring Gaiman 50 percent ownership to a number of issues in which the characters appeared.
