The Leaguer
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From Newsarama:
Newsarama said:Updated 11:30pm EST with new comments from Mark Waid about leaving Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes (below).
At their just-concluded DC Nation panel at WW: LA, DCU Executive Editor Dan Didio just announced two new projects spinning out of the pages of 52.
Asked if there were any potentials spin-offs coming, from a fan, Dido replied, "It's funny you ask that. If we did a Booster Gold ongoing series, would anybody like that?"
[audience applause]
"I'm not saying he survives 52, but what if it were written by Geoff Johns, co-written by comics newcomer Jeff Katz, and drawn by Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund?"
Didio continued, "We do have plans to bring back Infinity Inc., with John Henry Irons in the lead, written by Peter Milligan." Art will be by Max (Warren Ellis' Blackgas) Fiumara.
Update: Full Panel Report
DC Nation," the company's first of two WW: LA panels, closed out Friday at the convention. Presiding over the panel was the skeleton crew of Dan DiDio, DC VP Sales Bob Wayne, and Jimmy Palmiotti, who started out the panel joking around about St. Patrick's Day. DC wasn't representing with a booth this year, and DiDio explained that their scaled back presence was due to a glut of recent conventions.
In his preamble, DiDio said "Whatever is said at DC Nation stays in DC Nation," which means that we just might be in violation of that code...
Further into his opening statements, as he did at WonderCon, DiDio again backtracked his statement at New York Comic Con that Barry Allen was coming back as the Flash, saying he wasn't paying complete attention to the question that was being asked of him, thus the confusion. He used this anecdote as a good-natured warning in case it happens again during this panel.
DiDio discussed 52, asking the audience if they were reading (almost unanimously yes), and explained that the comic changed directions in its development to being more of a panoramic view of the DC universe to focusing on the story's main characters.
Wayne interjected that 52 will start coming out in trade paperbacks in May, at $19.99, with four volumes in total and commentary from the creators.
DiDio then talked about the timeline of Infinite Crisis, 52 and Countdown, asking along the way if anyone was still upset about the Ted Kord Blue Beetle's death (a few people were, natch). This led to DiDio reiterating that Countdown will be in real time; as in, one month of Countdown is a month in the DC Universe (even accidentally saying "it could cover two minutes in a month, it could cover 32 days in a month...if months had 32 days"), although it won't be strictly moving week-to-week like 52.
In the midst of his talk during this unusually loose panel, DiDio spotted Bill Willingham in the hallway and brought him into the panel.
Willingham then discussed Shadowpact, jokingly suggesting that people should buy 52 copies of each issues, continuing the informal nature of the panel.
With no slide show presentation, the oddly jovial panel opened things up to Q&A.
The very first question was about the infamously late shipping schedule of All-Star Batman & Robin. DiDio, in a noticeably more serious tone, said that Jim Lee is apologetic about being behind and the book should soon be back on a bi-monthly schedule. The same fan said that this type of occurrence is representative of testing loyalty in fans, and DiDio said he understands that and is trying to remedy such issues.
Someone had a question about Shadowpact, and why the portrayal of magic was different than what had been established in Books of Magic. Willingham explained that it was partially due to the desire of keeping DC and Vertigo separate. This led to DiDio opining on how he dislikes "Who's Who" or "Secret Files" type books, because he sees them as rigid and they rob some of the creative freedom in using the characters.
DiDio then said that Tony Bedard is going to be doing some issues of Legion of Super-Heroes after Mark Waid.
Update: After Mark Waid?
Reached for comment Friday evening, Waid told Newsarama:
"Since it's been announced, I may as well confirm. Because Barry [Kitson's] moving to Marvel and we've been the Legion team since the relaunch, I can't see doing the book without him.
"The timing of it all means we had to move our plans up a few months, so issue #30 will be our last, and I'm moving on.
"That booming noise you hear is the sound of message board posters around the world whooping in delight. Judging by the internet, I will not be missed."
End update.
"More western heroes in Jonah Hex?" Palmiotti: "We're taking it one step of a time. Justin (Gray) and I want it to always be about Jonah, and not the guest stars coming in."
What's with writers of current time books hinting towards alternate future stories like Dark Knight Returns and Kingdom Come? DiDio: "Yeah, we're doing that. Something's going on."
How long are Brad Meltzer and Ed Benes going to be on Justice League of America? Meltzer has his 12 issues and then will be back focusing on his novelist career, but Benes is on for the near future.
"How many issues is George Perez doing on Brave and the Bold?" DiDio: He's on for 12.
"What would you change about Infinite Crisis?" After hesitating, DiDio answered that he'd like more consistency on the artwork.
Is Nightwing going to be killed off eventually, per DiDio's apparent wishes? DiDio said that although he certainly did want to off Nightwing at one point, there are no plans currently.
"What's with The Bleed (from Wildstorm comics) in Ion?" DiDio: "Read Countdown."
"Is there any reason you don't have a booth this year?" Wayne: "We forgot."
He later elaborated that although they didn't have a booth, they still wanted to have a presence at the convention in the form of himself, DiDio, and others.
"Will the Green Lantern be a recurring character in Brave and the Bold?" Yes, pretty much.
"Second trade of Justice League Elite?" Yes.
Second prints of Absolute Authority Vol. 1 or Batman Black and White? Maybe and no, respectively.
"Are you guys going to bring Monarch back?" Palmiotti: Maybe.
"It's a Countdown for...what?" DiDio: "We were saying Civil War #7, but now that's over." Wayne: "So we're now saying All-Star Batman & Robin."
"Can you explain the reason for the Superman and Batman delays?" DiDio: "They took longer to do. Now we're a little bit smarter about it."
"I don't think you killed enough of the Justice League International!" said the next fan, which got a laugh from the crowd.
"Any spin-offs of 52?" DiDio: "It's funny you say that. If we did a Booster Gold ongoing series, would anybody like that?" People clapped. "I'm not saying he survives 52, but what if it were written by Geoff Johns, co-written by comics newcomer Jeff Katz, and drawn by Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund?"
He continued, "We do have plans to bring back Infinity Inc., with John Henry Irons in the lead, written by Peter Milligan."
"Whose idea was it to make Skeets a killer Terminator robot?" DiDio: That was never in the original proposal. That developed as the book was starting."
What went into making Bart Allen the Flash? DiDio: "We wanted to..."
Palmiotti: "Have fun."
DiDio: "We have a lot of story that's about to take place with Bart coming down the line." At this point, DiDio started his "quid pro quo" where he'd ask the fan a question after answering their question.
Any more plans for the space characters, like the ones seen in 52? Yes.
"Animal Man - mini-series? Is he going to survive 52?" DiDio: "If he survives, I would love to see more of Animal Man."
Next question was about two previously announced Teen Titans projects - George Perez hardcover is on hold while he works on Brave and the Bold, as is the Raven series.
"Anything with Jack Knight?" DiDio: "Not right now."
"Are you going to collect the 52 covers?" Wayne: "We're going to collect the 52 covers," apparently in one volume. DiDio said he knew they couldn't top the J.G. Jones covers, so Countdown will have its own cover artist each month.
"Are you going to lift the veil of who did what on 52 a little more?" DiDio said that the writers particularly don't want that revealed, because it was such a collaborative effort.
DiDio discussed how that differs from Countdown, which is being written more like a TV show and already has a 110 page "Bible," and also digressed into how story ideas change over time.
The next question led to DiDio talking about how while Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee's Batman was coming out at the same time as Ed Brubaker and Cameron Stewart's Catwoman, he saw a need for more consistency and cohesion in the DC Universe since those books were so different.
Is "Jimmy Olsen must die" related to what Frank Miller did with Jimmy Olsen in Dark Knight Returns? No, but "Jimmy Olsen must die" is a big part of Countdown.
Another weekly comic after Countdown? We'll see how this one goes.
World War III will explain why Supergirl is with the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st century.
"Plans for a new Rip Hunter, Time Masters series?" Maybe, and DiDio hinted Booster Gold's new ongoing might have to do with that.
