Big weekend, big announcements for DC comics at San Diego Comic Con last week, and we got some major coverage on everything going down. Here's the wrap-up of some of the major stories from the panels .
Let's start with something non-52 related, shall we? In the Flashpoint panel, nothing gigantic was announced except that everything you need to know about what is happening in the Flashpoint world and how it translates to the new 52-universe (DCnU?) will all be explained in Flashpoint #5. There's also something HUGE going to happen to Wally West because Didio was avoiding all Wally West questions. Make your own assumptions, but to know for sure, we'll have to wait until Flashpoint #5.
== TEASER ==
During the DC Direct panel, Jim Lee revealed the upcoming Justice League figure set, based on the DCnU. They're still in prototype form, so we won't see them on store shelves until August 2012. Arkham City and DC Universe Online figures were also announced. The biggest bummer of the panel was during the Q&A portion when DC Direct let everyone know they don't plan on making anymore figures based off of any of their Vertigo characters. They are doing it for a good reason because the fans just aren't buying the product.
One thing that really surprised me during the Batman panel was Judd Winick talking about Batwing. In fact, I'm actually excited for it now.
Judd showed pages from the upcoming book, drawn by Ben Oliver, and they look amazing! Each panel looks like a cover, and while the audience gazed onto the big screen, Judd talked about the book.
It will take place in Africa, but it will not be a highly politicized book like so many people think it will be. Just think about the main Batman title and place him in Africa, and add a bit more violence. Batwing may be a sleeper hit in the new 52.
There was one downer from the panel. The upcoming Red Hood book will be a bit humorous. From the sound of the book, having Arsenal, Red Hood, and Starfire on a team would sound a bit more dark and violent than lighthearted and fun. (Yes, I know Starfire isn't a dark character, but the other two guys are) We'll see how it goes in September though.
Onto the Green Lantern panel! SPOILERS! Hopefully, you're caught up on the book, if not, jump down to the next panel wrap-up. It's official, no more Hal Jordan! Geoff Johns confirmed that Hal needs a rest and the new Green Lantern book is about Sinestro in his new role. Sinestro will be taking on the Sinestro Corps as well! What about Hal? Well, we'll see him readjust to citizen life, after being a space cop for years. Kyle Rayner will be pulled in many different directions in the new book The New Guardians as every corps wants Kyle as their new torchbearer.
During the Superman and Justice League panel, Grant Morrison announced that he'll be on the book for quite a while. He has 16 issues planned out now and he'll be taking it from there. This reboot will be for keeps and not something that DC will undo in 6 months.
As for the Justice League panel, no real info on the main Justice League book; however, Justice League International will have a rotating roster as each member feels they're destined to be a member of JLA, which has a much more static roster.
Both Mr Terrific and Green Arrow will have a "James Bond" feel to them, while Hawkman will feel much more like "Indiana Jones."
Onto the DC Dark and Edge panel. Whether you like it or not, DC is making some big moves here by putting out quite a few non-super hero titles, many of which were covered in this panel.
Tom Pinchuk, who covered the panel puts it best, "This line's looking it'll be a great middle ground between traditional superheroes and edgy material you'd find in Vertigo." There wasn't a huge amount of breaking news coming from this panel because the titles are so new and it's characters and stories many fans are not familiar with. Keep your eyes on Swamp Thing, Animal Man, and All Star Western. I think these guys will be hits.
Onto the first New 52 panel we could make it two, which was on Friday. We missed out on Thursday because of scheduling conflicts. Sorry guys! This panel was all about why and how they started the new 52. In summation, their sales were dropping and they needed to get them back up, and get some new readers to jump on board.
We saw some gorgeous pages from the new JLA book which takes place 5 years before current continuity and before anyone met each other. Check out the last page from the preview they gave out!
Jim Lee described, in detail each panel of the pages, and it was amazing. This was the biggest thing that happened during the panel.
Saturday's New 52 panel had an all-star line-up of creators. Everyone briefly went over their books, but the highlight of the panel was Scott Snyder talking about writing for the upcoming Batman book: "It focuses on Bruce Wayne in Gotham... the idea is that Gotham is a city that is 300 years old. What if Bruce doesn't really know Gotham at all? What if there is something darker there? What if there's an ancient evil?"
Batman sounds like a great read, and he said he's put clues to this in his current run of Detective comics.
It was also announced that we will be seeing the New Gods again in a book called Multiversity coming out next summer.
The panel ended with a guy complaining about a team-up book from the early 2000s, to which Judd Winick simply said, "One man's garbage is another man's treasure." The person asking the question was booed. Oh how I love malicious questioners, and their ability to waste everyone's time.
Make sure to check out all the details from out panels below! There's tons of pictures and more in-depth coverage!
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