Some Important Differences to Note

DC Cancels Nightwing, Robin & Birds of Prey

DC confirmed to Newsarama that they were canceling Nightwing, Robin & Birds of Prey, with February being the last issues to come out. DC did not confirm why these books were getting canceled, but I have a few thoughts on the matter.

First thought that comes to mind is the timing of it. Didio has said that the DCU will reflect what happens in Final Crisis starting in March. Also, the R.I.P storyline in Batman is almost completed. After its completion, a "Battle for the Cowl" storyline has been hinted upon, and teased, as shown by the promotional buttons I received at The Zone. (There was also one picturing Hush, but I did not feel like finding it for the picture.) Also, sales on these titles have been solid. Not necessarily good, but solid. This leads me to believe that the cancelations are story-driven.

Now, from a story-driven cancelation, there are two likely possibilites. These books are canceled, and new books are launched, starting with issue #1. (I personally do not understand the fascination with #1 issues for the sake of giving someone a place they feel like they can jump onto a title. Likewise, I do not buy the excuse for not getting into a book because it has too much history. I do not pick who I talk to based on the amount of history I have to learn about them. But I digress.) The rumor I saw floating around is that after "R.I.P." two books would be launched, titled Red Robin and Batman & Robin, with the mystery (as of this writing) of who would be in what position, this could work. Another possiblity is that the books are only going on a hiatus for a little while, and then starting where they left off.

Either of these scenarios is possible, and would not be new for DC. When Bart Allen became the Flash, they started Flash: Fastest Man Alive, and this book lasted until his death. When Superman "died," his books went on hiatus for a few months to convince people that Superman was dead.

So, what is the better scenario? Beats me. Anyone that proclaims they know that one of these options will be bad before reading anything is a moron, and does not know what they are talking about. However, I will make a bold prediction. The people that post on the comments pages of CBR and Newsarama will not like whatever Dan Didio says is going to happen. Call it a hunch.

Heroes shake-up

I've not made it a huge secret that I haven't been a big fan of Jeph Loeb lately. As it turns out, the execs at NBC have had some issues with him as well, as he has been ousted as a writer/producer for the not-as-much-of-a-hit-as-it-used-to-be Heroes, as has Jesse Alexander. The studio is apparently not pleased with the creative direction the show has been going in and the subsequent dip in ratings.

I can't say one way or another whether that was the correct move, as I have no idea of the influence Loeb or Alexander had on the show. What I am aware of is that Heroes needs a bit of fixing to make it once again the powerhouse that it was in its first season. Currently (as of episode 8 of the third season) the show is hardly recognizable from what it had been two seasons prior. Most characters have changed drastically, and some with no purpose whatsoever. Pieces of the plot seem to have been thrown in just to give the main cast something to do, and some characters got way to much screen time only for their stories to go nowhere until they eventually faded away (Maya, Monica). I'm not saying that I'm not still glued to my screen every Monday evening, but the show could probably use some work.

Will this help? I guess we'll see with Chapter 4.

DC's bad, but Marvel ain't so good either

It's always fun to listen to a back and forth between J.R. and Casey over the major crossover events of both DC and Marvel. If you could not tell, J.R. is a DC fan, while Casey's firmly with the Marvel line. And thus, sides are chosen and the conversations begin. Casey's argument is easier to both make and support, as the company has had a constant string of crossover events that began back in 2004 and still have some time before they wrap up. Identity Crisis to Infinite Crisis to Final Crisis with at least one countdown mini series (or numerous ones together) - it's fairly obvious that DC has been completely wrapped up in this.

But don't think that Marvel hasn't been just as bad about the major event crossovers - they're just a little more sneaky about it. The first big one was House of M, followed by a lead-up to Civil War, then the event itself (which was delayed over time), then World War Hulk and finally Secret Invasion, which seems like it has been going on forever. But unlike DC, Marvel was also running crossover events elsewhere - the two Annihilation series for its cosmic characters and Endangered Species and Messiah Complex for the X-Books. That's quite a bit as well.

Think about all the tie-ins Marvel events have gone with as well. For each of the three major arcs, side mini-series have been released to flesh out the story - just like DC did with each of its books. Alongside that, several books have gotten absorbed for several months while the event was going on. House of M claimed numerous titles (from my collection, New X-Men, Uncanny X-Men and Cable & Deadpool spring to mind) aside from its minis. Civil War did the same thing, tying up New Avengers while putting out several side minis and launching Front Line, which ran 12 issues during the event. World War Hulk tied up Hulk (of course) as well as having its minis and another Front Line. Secret Invasion? Both Avengers titles have been tied up FOREVER, numerous minis have been released and of course, Front Line. From what I read, X-Factor, Captain Britain, Deadpool and others have given issues to the event.

On the other hand, no DC books I'm reading (Booster Gold, Green Arrow and Black Canary, JLA, JSA, Teen Titans, Legion of Super-Heroes) have tied into Final Crisis. For that matter, neither have the Batman books (which have a story of their own going). That might give cause for arguing the overall importance of the event, to which I would point to the Marvel events which have their mini-series so the titles themselves do not have to reflect the event. The argument can go back and forth until your head starts spinning. Trust me - I just got mine to stop.

My point here is not to bash Marvel or DC. My point is the show that one cannot justifiably argue about the crossover events of one company using the other as a defense. Both companies are just as bad about them and the sheer number of titles they put out with them. So shut up about it and go read what you enjoy. It's just easier that way.

This Post Was Originally Scheduled for July

So I just saw this, posted about a week ago that says that J.G. Jones won't be drawing the last issue of the much ballyhooed Final Crisis. I can't say much about the series, since I gave up on it after reading the first issue. I haven't even heard much about what's going on in the book or in the slew of related mini-series that seem to come out every week. It may be a convoluted mess or it may be the single greatest DC story ever told, I can't say. If it turns out to be the latter, I'll read it. The former, I just saved myself some time. That's the lesson I learned after Infinite Crisis.

But enough complaining about DC. The point of this post is about punctuality. Specifically the punctuality of artists. Even more specifically, the punctuality of artists who happen to be working on heavily hyped series that were announced and being worked on long before they were scheduled to hit the shelves.

Now, if I'm not mistaken, J.G. Jones had around a year's worth of lead in time for his work on Final Crisis. In fact, I think I mentioned that in this post I made a while back:

"GM: Well, the way it worked out was that I started writing Final Crisis #1 in early 2006, around the same time as the 52 series was starting to come out...Final Crisis was partly-written and broken down into rough issue-by-issue plots before Countdown was even conceived, let alone written. And J.G. was already working on designs and early layouts by the time Countdown started."

So Grant Morrison (That's what GM stands for, in case you were wondering) started writing the book in the spring of 2006. Jones began drawing it in the spring of 2007. The first issue of Final Crisis came out in May of this year. And it's not like Jones was drawing anything else at the time. Sounds to me like he had a year to work on it. He made it through the first couple issues okay, but then issue number three was delayed. It was announced that issues four through six will feature Carlos Pacheco as a fill-in artist. And now the seventh and final issue will be drawn by Doug Mahnke with no J.G. Jones at all.

Over on the Marvel side of things, Joe Maduriera is just as guilty. He was announced as the artist for Ultimates 3 in the fall of 2005. It was his first work for Marvel since 1997 and his first comics work in five years. Since Maduriera's last comic, his creator owned Battle Chasers series, was often severely delayed until he gave up on it after nine issues fans questioned his ability to get a series out on a regular schedule. In an interview with Wizard, series writer Jeph Loeb assured everyone that since there would be a several month break between the last issue of Ultimates 2 and the first issue of 3, he and Maduriera would have plenty of time to get issues done and keep the book ahead of schedule. Even if he Jeph Loeb couldn't finish his scripts until the last issue of Ultimates 2 came out in the spring of 2007 (And it's not like Ultimates 3 relys heavily on what happened in one and two. Actually, I don't think Loeb read either of them.) Maduriera still had around six months to work on a five issue miniseries which was the only book he was doing at the time. And still there was a four month delay between issues three and four. What gives?

In an email to Comic Book Resources, Jones summed up his situation thusly:

“Any problems completing the series are my own,” he wrote. “I love Doug Mahnke’s art, and he would have probably been a better choice to draw this series in the first place.”

Wow. Jones either seems disappointed that he couldn't finish the series or bitter than he was taken off of it. Or both.

What problems could have come up that would get these artists so far behind schedule? How could you have approximately a year or better head start on a project and still fall behind on it? Are they sick, distracted, a perfectionist, or just plain lazy? Or is it the comic companies they work for having unreal expectations?

Just so you know

Good lord, I am sick of Skrulls.

In honor of tonight's debate

Heroes Recap: Volume 3: Chapter 3

Each week, Comicdom Wrecks! (whose staff consists of three Heroes-loving nerds) will be recapping the most recent episode of Heroes. Lost somewhere in the season? Forgot something that's taken place? Check the Recaps to find what you may have missed.

HEAVY SPOILER ALERT!

9/29/08 - Volume 3: Chapter 3 (One of Us, One of Them)

Story 1 – Villains Escape (Peter, Angela, Sylar, HRG)
The escaped villains, with Peter still inside Jesse, rob a bank. When the police arrive, Knox reveals that he called them to allow the Company to find them, giving them the chance for revenge. The German wants no part of the plan, but is killed by Knox with a punch through the stomach. Angela reveals to HRG that his partner will be Sylar, who she is confidant will be able to control the hunger that causes him to kill people for their abilities. The two arrive at the bank, with HRG going in and telling Sylar to remain outside. Inside, Knox has learned that Jesse is an imposter with a trick question and knocks him down, but is distracted by HRG’s arrival and allows Peter to use Jesse’s sound manipulation to knock everyone away. Future Peter arrives and knocks Peter out of Jesse and teleports them both into the future. With Jesse back to himself, the tide turns on HRG, who is actually saved by Sylar. The hunger gets the best of him, however, and he kills Jesse, which in turn allows Knox to flee the scene.

Story 2 – Hiro’s Formula (Hiro, Ando)
Hiro and Ando arrive at a theater in Berlin, Germany where Daphne arrives and tells them that she’s already delivered the first half of the formula and is going after the second half. She runs into the building but finds that her speed is no longer working. Hiro spots the Haitian, whom he recognized from the future, and follows him into the theater. Hiro and Ando set up an interception for the Haitian’s meeting and knock him out, getting the formula. However, with her powers functioning again, Daphne quickly steals the second half of the formula and takes off. Hiro and Ando barely have time to react before the Haitian recovers and captures them. They are then incarcerated in Level Two of Primatech.

Story 3 – Nathan in Congress (Nathan, Linderman, Tracy)
Nathan is sworn in as Senator from New York, but is distressed to find that Tracy is missing. Traveling to her home, he finds her distressed about Niki Sanders, which again has Nathan questioning whether that’s who she really is. Tracy travels to New Orleans to find Niki, but discovers in a funeral home that Niki has died. She is spotted by Niki’s son Micah, who realizes that she’s not his mom, but helps her understand that she’s not the only person with powers. He uses his power to compare all the data he can find about the two women and learns that they were born on the same day by the same doctor, a Dr. Zimmerman. Tracy finds the man who reveals that he “created” her.

Story 4 – Parkman in the Desert (Parkman)
Usutu brings Parkman to an area of rocks he has painted upon, depicting stages of Parkman’s life. Parkman questions one of him and a woman, happy, but Usutu tells him that this one no longer exists, as the future has changed. He sits down and goes into a “painting trance” (like that of Isaac Mendez). When Usutu comes out of his painting trance, Parkman sees that he’s replaced the painting of a happy family with one of him holding a woman he doesn’t recognize. He questions what the whole thing means, and follows Usutu’s guidance and goes into a similar trance himself.

Story 5 – Suresh’s Formula (Suresh, Maya)
Neither Suresh nor Maya appear in this episode.

Story 6 – Claire’s Mission (Claire)
Finding herself unable to return to the menial tasks of high school, Claire asks her mother Meredith to train her to fight so she can take on villains from her dad’s files. Meredith takes her to a storage container and ignites the air around them, making it impossible for Claire to breathe. After much demanding, Claire finally reveals that her desire to battle is not to ‘save the world’ but to hurt villains like Sylar who caused her so much pain.

Debuts

• Bridget Bailey (Tehmina Sunny) – An employee of the Company who can see the history of any object.
• Dr. Zimmerman (Ronald Guttman) – A doctor apparently responsible for the “creation” of Niki and Tracy.

Deaths

• Niki Sanders (Ali Larter) – While she didn’t actually die in this episode, her final fate is revealed.
• Bridget Bailey (Tehmina Sunny) – Killed by Sylar.
• The German (Ken Lally) – Killed by Knox as an example to the others.
• Jesse Murphy (Francis Capra) – Killed by Sylar.

Revelations

• The Haitian is still working for the Company.
• Sylar has gained the ability to learn the history of an object on contact as well as sound manipulation.
• Usutu’s power is revealed to be precognitive painting.

Chapters 1 & 2