Darthphere
Kneel before 'Drox!
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http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=146142
At this weekends RRP meeting, DCU Executive Editor finally made it official: DCs third weekly series, starting in June, will be called Trinity. Its lead story, starring Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman will be written by Kurt Busiek, with art by Mark Bagley.
The series will follow Countdown, but, as with Countdown and 52 which came before it, will be unrelated to the previous weekly series. That said, Trinity will be apart, that is, occurring in the DC Universe, but not tied to other events happening in the DCU.
Just prior to DCs RRP meetings, we spoke with DCU Executive Editor Dan DiDio about the weekly.
Newsarama: Dan, lets just start at the ground level what is Trinity?
Dan DiDio: Much has been said about it, but now we can say it officially: the new weekly will start in the first week of June, and will feature as its leads, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, and its title will be Trinity.
The book will be 52 issues, and whats different about this weekly compared to 52 and Countdown is that the creative team of Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley will be doing the first twelve pages of all the 22 page issues. So there will be two stories in each issue a twelve page lead by Busiek and Bagley, and backups, both continuing and one shot by Kurt and Fabian Nicieza with art by people like Tom Derenick and Scott McDaniel along with other guest artists along the way.
NRAMA: With a June launch, Trinity will be running at the same time as Final Crisis, so will it be related to that, or spinning out of Final Crisis?
DD: One of the things that were really focusing on this year at DC is how were driving the different storylines through 2008. There will be a storyline that features Superman prominently in the Superman titles through 2008, there will be a storyline that features Batman prominently throughout his titles in 2008, and Wonder Woman will have her own strong storyline in her series. Final Crisis will be contained to the primary series and a couple of spin-off series and a couple of one shots, but doesnt crossover throughout the rest of the line. And Trinity will be its own story amid all of that, because it explores not just the history of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, but their impact on the DCU in the past years and for the future.
Trinity is something that will bring the focus back to these three characters, both individually and together to understand why they are the three greatest characters in comics.
NRAMA: So there is an overarching story to Trinity rather than a remember this, look at this arent they cool?
DD: Not only is there an overarching story by Kurt and Mark that takes us through the 52 issues, but also the backups feed out of those stories and spinout new characters that come from the lead storyline; or the backups will play against the lead storyline. It is rather cohesive storytelling that will fully explore the concept of whats behind the 52 issue arc.
NRAMA: Well touch upon Kurt in just a second, but clearly, this assignment speaks to Marks abilities in terms of timeliness
DD: Well, honestly, there are two levels of excitement for me, from the creative side, Mark is one of the most talented artists working today, and even though hell be drawing a lot of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, Trinity is set in the DC Universe, so the entire Universe is the backdrop for the series. So, Mark, whos relatively new to the DC Universe, will have a chance to draw almost every character in the DC Universe over the course of the series.
Plus, Mark is an incredibly dedicated worker, and incredibly deadline driven. If anybody is going to be able to accomplish this feat, we know its going to be him.
NRAMA: Same kind of question, but for Kurt what does he bring to the table for something like this?
DD: Kurt brings an understanding of the richness of the heroes and the larger universe. He can take a view from the DC Universe from a very grounded perspective, as hes done in Astro City and Marvels, but also, he has a wonderful understanding of the big story picture, as we saw in JLA/Avengers. Hes a guy who knows intimately how these characters interact, and is able to weave so many aspects of their history into a rather comprehensive story that really pushes the tone and style of what the DC Universe is.
NRAMA: So Trinity is its own thing in one part of the DC Universe, while Final Crisis is going on over here in another part of the DC Universe? It seems as if youre asking for the questions of when specific events in each occur in relation to one another
DD: My feeling is to tell the best stories possible right now. The main thing that Im worried about is not contradicting the actions and behaviors of the characters from story to story. Batman should act and behave the same way in his Batman series as he will in Final Crisis and as he will in Trinity.
So, realistically, as long as the characters act and behave properly, I believe that well be able to tell a cohesive story, and youll begin to see how things fit in with one another as you read. Its along the same lines as how characters can appear in multiple books simultaneously and try to understand the history for them all. We dont want to have that locked in stone continuity line that a lot of people seemed to react negatively to during Countdown. This is a chance to open up each concept and allow them to breathe in their own right, so that a fan of what Kurt and Mark are going to bring can really enjoy the story thats featuring Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. Likewise, the fans of JG and Grant can enjoy everything that Final Crisis brings, and the people who just enjoy the regular periodicals can just enjoy those stories. Were not making it so that every7thing ties in completely, what were doing is providing consistent style, tone and voice so that it feels like the same world, whether or not we show you an exact timeline that shows you where everything falls.
NRAMA: Would it be safe to say that Trinity is more of a ground-level, new-reader friendly story compared to something like Final Crisis?
DD: Its certainly new reader friendly, whatever that means, but what it really is though, is epic storytelling on a very personal level.
There is a grand story behind the weekly, and more importantly, bits and pieces of what the weekly does will flow into the DC Universe in 2009. So there are bits and pieces that will be key to the DCU in the future, but again, thats something for when its completed, not during the course of its run.
NRAMA: Whos editing Trinity?
DD: Mike Carlin. We beat him to death on the weekly grind of Countdown [laughs]. But for someone who came in midstream on a weekly book, which is probably one of the, if not the most difficult kind of project to edit at DC, he and Liz Gehrlein have gotten a really good rhythm going with the series. Mike also has a great relationship with Kurt and Mark, and are coming in before the start of this series. Theyre looking forward to being a part of it every step of the way.
I think theres an intensity in the pacing thats addictive and exciting a weekly series moves so quickly, and youre working on so much at the same time, but when you see the results lets look at the end results of Countdown right now: everythings coming together right now, and I believe that weve ironed out a lot of production problems, and were keeping the same editorial team with the next weekly.
NRAMA: Touching just lightly on what you said about production problems youd mentioned that when we spoke at the end of last year, that, despite your planning, 52 had problems you didnt foresee, and even though you moved to correct or prevent them with Countdown, this weekly developed problems that you didnt foresee. And now, Trinity is designed in a way to counteract some of the problems that you had from Countdown
DD: And well probably find some new problems here [laughs]. But whats wonderful about Trinity is that weve got Kurt at the wheel who can immediately respond to any problems we might see, along with incredibly talented and prolific artists, not just in Mark, but also with the back-up features. All of them are people who we know can deliver more than a single issue in a month, so therefore we know weve got the right guys for the series.
Look for more on Trinity, including conversations with Busiek and Bagley, coming soon here at Newsarama.
I don't think I can pass this up honestly.
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