BlackSun17
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The new JL lineup. I like the WW outfit, dislike the Superman outfit.
Quote:Originally Posted by BleedingCoolThe full line up for the new Justice League. Aquaman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, Flash and Cyborg we knew.
But it also seems we have Deadman, Atom, Element Woman, Firestorm, Green Arrow, Hawkman, Power Girl and Mara.
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More info from the DC roadshow. Will edit and highlight after posting as the forums keep logging me out....
Quote:Will be interesting to see how the news-feed on CN works out - not so sure it will make much of a difference. Also interesting that this relaunch is to stem the flow of people that just read trades.This Issue of Collectors Cornered will focus on the DC Comics Road Show in Baltimore, Maryland.
I (Randy – Owner) attended the roadshow with my store manager Dave in tow, we talked about what it might be like cynically on the way to the show but had no idea how cool it would be.This entry will sound a lot like a fluff piece, or us kissing DC Comics collective ***** so be warned. I went into this thinking it would be 50/50 Lip Service/ Useful Information and came out of the event 100% Behind DC and all the guys involved in the DC Relaunch. Let me explain and break down the three hours plus meeting and bar chatter to the points we took away that won us over as a store as we drank the proverbial Kool-aid.
Sidenote : Didio & Johns both complimented our store shirts, that helped.
At the meeting representing DC were John Rood, Bob Wayne, Dan DiDio, Vince Letterio, Jim Lee and Geoff Johns. A screen and podium as well as con style table with mics and a mic for retailer to ask, as well as a dozen or more Diamond Comics employees, since the meeting was held next door at a hotel near Diamond’s home office.
The meeting started with John Rood who explained that the relaunch was a much need “Shot in the arm”. As he then explained that something was needed to turn around slipping sales and reinvigorate the line.
Dan Didio then matter of factly added “That comics had become too talky, too quiet & less exciting. That comics were losing ground too video games, movies and TV, and that it was time to plant a flag in the ground!, That when new customers or lapsed customers walk into our stores that more action and better accessibility would be ideal. That comic book movies were doing comics better than comic books.”
As an aside, around this time, he joked that he read a comic that had 15 pages of 9 panel grids of heads talking. I wonder what issue that was?
Didio for all the heat he gets, was the most passionate of the bunch in explaining this initiative. He really won us over with some of this generalizing about the trend in comics to write for trades and to bet on the eventual sale or perpetual sale of of collected editions. We sell a lot of trade, but waiting for the trade syndrome is not helping us sell periodicals ultimately.
Didio stated “Were not building for trades with this, were building for periodicals. Jim Lee added “Comics needed to jump into immediate story, ramping into action.”
Jim Lee then talked a little about design elements with JLA & Team books and having a unified or team look using piping and collars etc, and how they wanted to update a freshen up certain looks. Dan DiDio added that “They felt that as readership aged so did the characters, past their Prime and that this was attempt to restore them to being less experienced where they haven’t defeated their greatest foes and are closer to their Prime age to reach a wider audience and that the last thing they wanted was for them to be encased in ember.”
As they were discussing JLA they went into the 52 titles one by one slideshow and some interesting quips and insights were given about most including off topic anecdotes about planning and plotting this initiative. Of the 52 all but four will be $2.99. Action, All Star Western, & Men At War will be $3.99 each.
“The higher the sales, the less is changed”
Dan Didio said “They had an unofficial curve chart no one would see in the offices where the higher the sales the less is changed.” This is why the Batman & Green Lantern titles will re-launch relatively unchanged story wise.
Some interesting tidbits of info about books we managed to shorthand from this :
The word Superhero doesn’t exist yet.
Geoff Johns stated “Three key elements to his JLA are “Heart, Humor & Heroics”, Lee & Johns added that the word Superhero doesn’t exist yet and that Batman at this point when the JLA first meet in the first arc of his book is more or less an Urban Legend that has been working behind the scenes for years.” Arc #2 would take place years later in the current timeline. JLA would be the book that is kind of the start of the DC Superhero universe.
“Sawyer from Lost in a superhero setting.”
Batman & Robin : Damien Wayne is Robin.
Batgirl : Killing Joke and Oracle stories happened, Barbara dealing with being an hero again.
Batman : As Urban legend, has been around a little longer than Superman coming out to the world.
Nightwing : Dick Grayson, Red Symbol, Cully Hamner’s design Jim Lee felt more striking than the old blue.
Catowman : Jim Lee “Those are goggles on the cover, not big enough. Don’t know why they are pink.”
Demon Knights – Will take place in Medieval time in the DC Universe. (Sounds Cool!)
Voodoo - Sexy, Spy Thriller.
Grifter - Sawyer from Lost, in a Superhero setting.
Omac - Giffen channeling Kirby.
Blackhawks - Like G.I.Joe written by Costa (G.I. Joe writer)
Men At War - Current Wars stories.
All-Star Western : Features Jonah Hex in Gotham City in the old west times in the DCU, also with back ups.
Teen Titans - Tim Drake is Red Robin. When discussing this book and Hawk & Dove, Jim Lee joked about the jabs of its the 1990s all over again on the net, as a bash against Image styled art. He stated ” There are only five of us that are in that style, Capullo, Lee, Booth, Liefeld & Finch” and that he would put the sales on those five book with their art up against the other 47 titles.
Legion Lost - In Current DC timeline.
Relaunch Collections to hit in May 2012
Trade Paperback Collections : Collected Re-launch titles likely to start hitting shelves in May, and there’s some discussion of Hardcovers and Softcovers depending on the titles. Also Dan DiDio and Bob Wayne said they hadn’t worked out trade dress yet and that they wanted prominent numbering on the spines and them to be thicker, since many stores place them spine out.
Variants/Incentive Covers : Four #1s (Action, Batman, GL & Flash) will have 1:25 Covers and 1:200 Sketch Incentives and #2s going forward retailer will be able to order variants equal to the amount of the lowest number of books ordered on a 52 re-launch title, so order 15 copies of Animal Man or other title, you qualify to order 15 Batman #2 Variants.
They collectively stated the titles would be give more or less a year to perform and would be canned according to sales if need be, and creators were being held responsible for meeting deadlines more so than ever before, that changes will be made in a quicker fashion and that they were committed to this initiative and not planning to go back on it or have back up, that they were committed along with the marketing portion of this to being new and lapsed readers in, using charts and going through 30-40 minutes of sales and marketing which would be a bit of a bore to go into specifics, but their was areal focus on bringing people into stores with all ads online, banner, social networking, movie and co-op, TV and Movie Theater and other programs being rolled out like Midnight Parties for certain books, chances for stores to get big names in for signing and a lot more. John Rood stated time and time again “That we know where our bread is buttered.” Comic stores were featured prominently in this sales and marketing portion and any fears we had about unbalanced attention and more resources focused on digital was assuaged. It was made clear that if digital can bring folks into stores, that would be the best case scenario and that more so that if these advertising tactics along with utilizing Warner Brothers to help them “Close that virtual loop” a phrase that John Rood used over and over to great effect, then this would be a success for all of us on board. That loop is what we as retailers have been asking for access to for years, CSLS at the end of popular comic films and animated DVDS and Video Games aimed at the target and non target audiences that may not read comics but potentially if made aware of them would, co-op tv ads timed with films and comic releases, reimbursement for social networking and movie adverts.
Real time comic book store news on Cartoon Network
Also little details were give but sounded intriguing about the DC Nation Block coming up on cartoon Network that will act as real time comic book store news on Cartoon Network and more possibly featuring adverts for getting things at your local comic store, or tickers letting viewers know whats going on in comic stores nationwide.
Later at the Bar drinks were had and more info was relayed. Geoff and John talked with us and expressed a real excitement and commitment to this initiative and a strategy to carry out what retailers have begged for for a very long time, that publisher’s advertise their products, show people how cool comics are, make comics we can hand to anyone to get them excited about the medium no matter what the issue number.
Maybe I’m still coming down from that high, but these are things that retailers have been asking for for years being promised. Now when they are delivered on and start to return lapsed readers to the fold and bring new faces into the store we can truly say this experiment was a great idea. We have new folks still coming in three weeks later after this news and asking what the deal is, asking about subscriptions, getting excited, asking questions, getting answers.
Collectors Corner is on board and we will make September a huge month for the store and for DC. Were working hard on letting customers know about these titles, reaching out beyond the walls of our store to find new readers as I type this up, and we think all good retailers should get behind this initiative and take a chance and show DC that we can make these books hit huge sales figures and bring people in droves back to the medium. Sure everything isn’t going to be as big as JLA, but stay positive and be prepared when those new faces come walking into your stores! -
Someone took the time to create a visual guide to the 'relaunch'. Not sure this clears things up too much:
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More info from the DC Roadshow (Texas-style this time):
Quote:Love the expansion of the Beyond-verse. Intrigued by the WB move to advertise - will be interesting to see how it works.Originally Posted by BleedingCool
At the show, DC told retailers that they have a seven figure marketing budget to spend on the Relaunch, which includes everything from the previously Bleeding Cooled TV ad campaign, including the Cartoon Network ads to USA Today, Facebook, movie theaters ads, conventions and promotional materials.
The target audience are men age 18 to 34 though they do realize that they have readers in other demographics.
They also confirmed the Bleeding Cool story, not just that Batman Beyond would continue, with Superman Beyond but also Justice League Beyond.
As to other creators, James Robinson is already working on a new comic project with several issues written, Amanda Conner has a project in the works as does the previously mentioned Nicola Scott. Phil Jimenez and Scott Kolins are also still working for DC.
You wont be seeing Donna Troy yet in the new DCU, nor the Stephanie and Cassandra Batgirls. They havent been killed off though, just benched.
No news on Steel, Black Lightning or other Milestone characters, though DC did emphasise that with Mr. Terrific, Static, Blue Beetle, Bat Wing, Voodoo and the new Omac, they do have more titles with ethnic minority leads than ever before. And, yes, that is Katana in the new Birds of Prey.
Many of the new 52 books will have six issue story arcs, and Dan DiDio states that if sales are bad on a title, they wont wait very long to cancel it. He wants strong sales across the line.
DiDio also mentioned maybe getting to a total of eighty titles published company wide, including kids comics and Vertigo.
He also wants comics to ship on time and even mentioned that he is very willing to replace a writer or an artist if they fall behind.
There seemed to be less agitation at the Dallas meeting than in LA. Well, you never know just who might be packing, I guess -
Here is what Quesada had to say regarding House of M and his thoughts behind it:
Quote:Ahhhhhhh, Joe and his genies....Originally Posted by JoeyQ"Part of what is inherently important about the metaphor of the X-Men is that they are a minority. [T]here aren't supposed to be a lot of these guys they never really should've been in the forefront. That kind of message got lost over the years, to the point where we ended up with a mutant island where there were over six million of them, and every time you'd turn a page, you'd see a mutant on every corner. We even had 'Mutant Town'. So, one of the things that we wanted to do was put the genie back in the bottle." -
The DC roadshow with retailers started this weekend in CA. Based on what leaked after the meeting, a meeting that was to soothe retailers and convince them that DC is doing the right thing with the 'relaunch', this sounds more and more like a trainwreck (bolded portions are my doing):
Quote:Edit: Here is more info, courtesy of the same site, emphasis mine:Originally Posted by Bleedingcool.comA few other bits and pieces still dribbling out from the DC Retailer Roadshow that happened in the Warner Bros Burbank lot on Friday. The second is in Fort Worth/Dallas on Monday, so we’ll be listening out from anything more that squeezes out from under the cone of silence.
DC is giving retailers an additional 30% kickback if they set up a DC Digital portal on their sites.
There will be a deal for split payments from retailers for print comics, essentially giving them twice as long to pay for half their order.
The previously announced 10% return fee will be replaced with a 20 cents per copy return fee, which is more expensive in terms of the $2.99 books, cheaper for the $3.99 books.
THUNDER Agents will return, and yes, will still have Nick Spencer writing.
Nicola Scott is working on an upcoming DC project.
Most of the released solicitation images for the DC Relaunch are not the covers for the first issue – so look forward to all those being announced soon as well.
Action Comics and Justice League are set in the past, the Green Lantern, Batman and LSH books are all continuing without a reboot. DCU Presents, Green Arrow and Hawkman are picking up where Brightest Day left off. But for everything else, yes, it will be more of a reboot/restart. They are basically keeping the books going that were financially successful for them and restarting everything else.
The DC Retroactive material was set up to keep the publishing schedule full so people didn’t fully notice a lot of the key creative teams were “missing” and using the time to get books done in advance. It was also set up as the first part of an initiative to pull back lapsed readers.
The Flashpoint books were also being done by teams not being used in the reboot to help give those guys more time.
DC Co-Publisher Dan Didio was quite worked up over retailers who objected to, basically the reading of Previews for almost two hours, and DC Co-Publisher Jim Lee had to jump in to calm things down.
When a retailer brought up the fact that they were losing a lot of sales as people waited for the relaunch, DC Senior VP Sales Bob Wayne said flat out that meant retailers were not doing their jobs.
Quote:Originally Posted by Bleedingcool.com:
The first DC Retailer Roadshow took place yesterday at Warner Bros in Burbank, as around twenty teams of retailers were ushered through security checks into the belly of the beast.
Executive big guns Bob Wayne, Jim Lee, Dan DiDio, Diane Nelson, Hank Kanalz and John Rood were in attendance with Rood moderating. He did not attempt to show anyone his tattoos.
The focus of the meeting is that the marketplace is shrinking and bold and drastic action is necessary to reverse this trend. It’s goodbye to talking heads comics, it’s to action and adventure, and looking to Jim Lee’s work as inspiration to do that across the board. They are attempting to catch new readers, but also foussing on lapsed fans.
Batman Odyssey, THUNDER Agents will join Batman Inc in returning, October or later. They didn’t restart but were also not part of the Relaunch, so skipped September.
Nastos reports that after almost two hours of reporting, basically, existing solicitation information, “one retailer finally stood up… and asked if we could move along to the important part stuff. This seemed to throw off the presenters a bit, although I think it was a fair request.”
Marketing wasn’t addressed to any great degree, the focus was over the retailer programmes and incentives and the damage day-and-date digital distribution might do to their business.
As well as the 1-in-25 variant covers we reported for the likes of Justice League, Action Comics and Batman, also look out for 1-in-200 variuant covers for those retailers willing to go deep on the big books. Thern there’s added discount for certain books, such as Wonder Woman #1. And there’s returnability for a 10% fee on everything else if you bump your orders again. All these incentives are to cover September, October and November. As for December… we don’t yet know. But Bob Wayne is also guaranteeing that the books will ship on time.
DC have affirmed that digital is a priority for them and they will promote that alongside print in all their communications. That day-and-date sale will be 9am Eastern Time, 6am Pacific Time and 2pm British time. Which means Bleeding Cool will be able to bring you reviews and commentary from print copies in Britain well before the digital ink is dry!
Attendees will receive a Justice League #1 Roadshow Variant, one per retailer. -
Quote:Doooobie dooobie dooooo waaaahhhhh!Originally Posted by ShoNuff
We all know that the semi-aquatic egg laying mammal of action is the TRUE star of that show. -
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Quote:As a lifelong Whalers fan, I was never able to root for the Hurricanes.Originally Posted by TonyV
I live in Atlanta, and we're losing our hockey team. From now on, instead of the Atlanta Thrashers, I'll have to cheer for the Winnipeg Atlanta Thrashers.
Now, somebody needs to get WW and the team working on a fingers-to-the-mouth taunt emote! -
Quote:Apparently this is the actual cover (still with tattoo):Originally Posted by Major Deej
Great googly moogly.
What the ***** did they do to the Titans?
Who's the spiderchick/bot? What's up with this 'thief' angle on Wonder Girl? What the **** is Superboy wearing; tatoos? Taped-on paper 'S' (Young Justice animated shows did 'justice' to Superboy, not this...this...what IS this?)?!? and the dark energy gal - Marvel's 'Sunspot' get a sex change with a serving of a DC toss-over?
and....ARGH! No! LIEFELD!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
*goes fetal*
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Quote:I loved Frank in Seven Soldiers - Frankenstein: Agent Of SHADE intrigues me....Originally Posted by Samothrake
I think we can add to that list a few titles:
Demon Knights #!
Voodoo #1
Resurrection Man #1
Justice League Dark #1
And possibly: I Vampire #1 and Frankenstein: Agent Of SHADE #1
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Quote:I.....have a sinking feeling that there will be a big announcement regarding Watchmen by Johns / Lee this weekend.Originally Posted by Samothrake
Bleeding Cool has updated their list List.
Red Robin and the Outlaws has been corrected to Red Hood and the Outlaws, Adventure Comics is now DC Universe Presents. Some of the writers have been crossed out, and the whole list has a snazzy color coding. Red is still a Bleeding Cool rumour. Green is a confirmed Bleeding Cool rumour. Blue is a CBR rumour. Black is a straight confirmation.
Those six comics I listed above? They are on the list now, with all but Justice League Dark as confirmed. JLD is listed as a ‘confirmed Bleeding Cool rumor’.
Still six series to go. I’m not seeing a Booster Gold series listed yet. And I really hope they throw me a bone and gimme a Blue Beetle Jaime Reyes series. And I wouldn’t mind a Mark Shaw or Kate Spencer Manhunter series again, either.
Also, interesting to see the Wildstorm universe folded back into the line. -
Yeah, looks like it is Red Hood and the Outlaws.
Quote:Jason Todd will lead the anti-hero group The Outlaws in Red Hood and The Outlaws #1 by Scott Lobdell and one of my new favorite artists in Kenneth Rocafort. Jason will be joined by Starfire and Green Arrow reject, Arsenal. 
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Courtesy of Bleeding Cool, here is the updated list of the 52 DC titles that are coming out in September's 'relaunch':
Quote:Originally Posted by Bleeding CoolSo, what do we know about upcoming DC books in September (I’ll count JLA #1 for completeness sake, even though it’s a week early,) Red is still a Bleeding Cool rumour. Green is a confirmed Bleeding Cool rumour. Blue is a CBR rumour. Black is a straight confirmation.
1. JLA#1 by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee
2. Action Comics #1 by Grant Morrison and Rags Morales
3. Superman #1 by George Pérez
4. Superboy #1 by Scott Lobdell and…
5. Batman #1 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo.
6. Detective Comics #1 by Tony Daniel
7. Batgirl #1 by Gail Simone, Ardian Syaf and Vicente Cifuentes.
8. Batwoman #1 by J.H. Williams III, Haden Blackman and Amy Reeder
9. Catwoman #1 by Judd Winick and Guillem March
10. Red Robin And The Outlaws #1 by Scott Lobdell and Kenneth Rocafort
11. Batwing #1 by Judd Winick and Ben Oliver
12. Nightwing #1 by Kyle Higgins and Eddy Barrows
13. Batman And Robin #1 by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason
14. Adventure Comics DC Universe Presents #1 by Paul Jenkins and Bernard Chang
15. Green Lantern #1 by Geoff Johns, Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy.
16. Green Lantern Corps #1 by Peter J. Tomasi, Fernando Pasarin and Scott Hanna
17. Green Lanterns: New Guardians #1 by Tony Bedard, Tyler Kirkham and Batt.
18. Red Lanterns #1 by Peter Milligan, Ed Benes and Rob Hunter.
19. Animal Man #1 by Jeff Lemire and…
20. Swamp Thing #1
21. Legion Lost #1 by … and Chris Batista?
22. Birds Of Prey #1 by Duane Swierczynski and Jesus Saiz
23. Teen Titans #1 by Fabian Nicieza Scott Lobdell, Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund
24. Savage Hawkman #1 by James Robinson Tony Daniel and Philip Tan
25. My Greatest Adventure #1 by Kevin Macguire andAaron Lopresti (possibly for October)
26. Supergirl #1 by Brian Wood
27. Wonder Woman #1 by Brian Azzarello #1 and Cliff Chiang
28. Fury Of Firestorm #1 by Brian Clevinger Gail Simone, Ethan Van Sciver and Yildiray Cinar.
29. Aquaman #1 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis
30. Mr Terrific #1 by Eric Wallace and Roger Robinson
31. Flash #1 by Brian Buccellato and Francis Manapul
32. Green Arrow #1 by JT Krul and Dan Jurgens
33. Justice League International #1 by Dan Jurgens and Aaron Lopresti
34. Captain Atom #1 by JT Krul and Freddie Williams II
35. Grifter #1
36. Unnamed Legion book by … and Chris Batista?
37. OMAC #1 by Dan DiDio and Keith Giffen
38. Batman: The Dark Knight #1 by David Finch
39. Vigilante #1 by Darwyn Cooke?
40. Justice Society of America #1
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
A number are clearly suspect – Chris Batista can only draw one Legion bok, the Vigilante project may be for a different project, possibly an anthology like DC Universe Presents, and My Greatest Adventure could be for October. But it’s a start. This page will update, so keep coming back! -
Quote:I got into DC after Crisis on Infinite Earths happened and John Byrne took over Superman. This was the 'gateway' that got me into other DC properties.Originally Posted by Nightphall
Reason for the reboot from DC: To gain new readers by offering comics, characters, and stories unburdened by a massive amount of continuity and backlog
?!?!
Maybe it's just me to which this statement makes no sense.....I was born in 1984, and DC Comics existed when my late grandparents were children. I had no problem jumping into DC or Marvel, despite decades of backlog and continuity.
If people weren't buying comics before this, even if they know who Batman and Superman are, what is going to make them start now?
And personal nitpick: This reboot completely negates Blackest Night and Brightest Day. -
There are only two things I disagree with regarding this relaunch; a new Action Comics #1 and a new Detective Comics #1.
Sadly, they are on their way. Here is the cover to the new Detective Comics #1:
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^^^
That is batgirl on the drums. -
How's this for a relaunch (j/k) :
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Quote:Don't completely agree with your DC assessment. Wanted to say that IDW publishes some wonderful books that put Marvel and DC to shame.Originally Posted by Ironik
She's the one being arrogant and selfish. If Superman is forced to choose between Lois and a thousand people on a train, he'll choose her every time.
I don't read many comics from either DC or Marvel these days because they've screwed them up so badly in recent years. I did read Batman and Robin which, while competently written and nicely drawn, was just not very interesting overall.
DC relaunching everything is dumbness. Throwing out the continuity will likely get a lot of non-comics readers collecting the numerous Issue 1s, so DC will crow about that, but sales will just drop off back to normal. If they do damage to the characters in the reboot, it will be like One More Day where Spider-Man's sales took a hit, and they'll backpedal within a year or two.
read Red 5 Comics. Those are some good, fun books. Especially Atomic Robo. -
DC is reaching out to retailers today....
Quote:I have heard Bob speak many, many times and he truly has a sincere love for the medium and holds a lot of credibility. I imagine he has quite a bit of work ahead of him this summer....Originally Posted by BleedingCool.comDC Senior VP Sales, Bob Wayne, has sent a new letter to retailersWith The New DCU the September launch of our 52 #1s we have created an event that we believe will generate unprecedented buzz, and, more importantly, unprecedented sales results for you. This is a shock to the system, no question, but we have the quality stories and the unrivaled sales/marketing support and the increased public attention to help you best absorb that shock and profit from it.
As a follow-up to my first letter, we wanted to provide some immediate specifics on September:
CONTENT
We know that you want more details on the creative teams and their title-by-title assignments for the launch. . (And by the way, let me just reiterate this point: this is the launch of the New DCU. It is not a reboot. I think you will soon discover why that is.) We will send you an e-mail with more creative details next week, as a teaser in advance of the solicitation copy for Previews going live on the 13th. Once solicit copy is released, we will be sending you a short introductory video, starring our creators and our content. We will also be taking this act on the road, for a series of retailer meetings in markets including New York, Dallas/Fort Worth, Baltimore, Chicago, and Los Angeles, during the days leading up to the release of the physical Previews catalog. Stay tuned for more details, and send us a note to make sure youre on the invite list.
DIGITAL
To clarify from my last note, we will be at price-parity for same-day digital. No DC digital comic will be cheaper than its physical counterpart at launch. Same-day (a.k.a. Day/ Date) parity pricing is for the first four weeks of release; thereafter, the digital titles will follow our standard pricing, with $2.99 comics dropping in price to $1.99, $3.99 comics dropping in price to $2.99, and so forth. Keep in mind that our goal with our 52 new #1s will be to ensure that the physical comic book is more compelling than ever!
Additionally, we will be offering you an additional special combo pack for Justice League. This is a Diamond-exclusive $4.99 physical polybagged JUSTICE LEAGUE comic which will contain a redemption code for a digital copy on the inside cover. So consumers will have three main ways to read Justice League beginning August 31st $3.99 physical, the $4.99 combo pack, and $3.99 digital. As mentioned above, after four weeks the digital-only price drops to $2.99, per our standard price for oversized digital titles.
INCENTIVES
For optimal sales impact, each of our 52 titles will have one of three distinct incentives:
a) Variants
For variants, we chose our core iconic titles, the ones that you tell us your consumers want most. And of course, we sought out those titles with the most compelling visuals. At a minimum, this variant plan will be offered for September, October, and November. We will be offering variants on five different titles, with at least one each week.
· 1:25 variant
JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 - 8/31 in-store. This cover will have a 1:25 ordering incentive.
· Weekly targeted variant
FLASH #1 - 9/28 in-store. Retailers may order at FOC up to as many copies of the FLASH #1 variant as were ordered at FOC of their lowest-ordered DCU title for the 9/28 in-store week. (This is an example; each week will feature a title with a variant following this incentive pattern.)
b) Deep Discounting
For deeper discounts, we chose to spotlight potential break-out titles which can help you focus your staff and your customers. Books that have a compelling creator, an obvious jumping-on point for your readers, etc. We will be offering an additional 15% discount on six different titles for orders placed by FOC, effectively giving you a 50% to 72% discount spread, instead of our normal 35% to 57% spread. At a minimum, this deep discounting will be offered for September, October, and November. The lead title is WONDER WOMAN with five others that will be announced next week.
c) Returnability
We are backing up our commitment to you and this launch, by putting our copies where are mouths are. We will be offering 100% Returnability on all of the remaining 41 titles. Returnability across the rest of the 52 allows the breadth of these titles to get their fair chance with your consumers. This comes with a qualifier your total post-FOC September orders in dollars for DC periodicals must be 125% or more of your May post-FOC orders for DC periodicals.
As with prior returnable programs, qualifying retailers will be required to return stripped covers from the returnable issues along with an affidavit of destruction to Diamond Comic Distributors at a date to be named later. Retailers will then be issued credit for each copy, minus 10% of the cover price. At a minimum, this returnability program will be offered for September, October, and November.
Call or e-mail me or my team with any questions.
Thank you for your enthusiasm, your patience, and your partnership. Come make history with us!
Bob Wayne
DC COMICS
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Brightest Day was enjoyable to me. It felt a lot like 52, which was a wonderful book.
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Summary of the DC news from yesterday (from BleedingCool.com):
Flashpost: The Issue One Renumbering Of The DC UniverseEvery comic continuing from September will be relaunched with a shiny #1. Every. Single. One. With no current plan for the renumbering to reverse to any so-called “legacy” numbering.
Flashpost: Geoff Johns And Jim Lee’s Justice League #1
And with those issue one renumberings, will come a new rejigged status quo. And yes, characters will be changed. Some may no longer exist. There will be new books, new creators, new teams, new characters and new… new. With no current plan for the new status quo to be undone or reversed.
It will feature Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and several other characters following the current Flashpoint crossover. It’s the return of the World’s Greatest Superheroes to the book for the first time in years.
Flashpost: Edge
Bleeding Cool has already talked about the Dark coming to the DC Universe after Flashpoint, including something called Justice League Dark. But Bleeding Cool hasn’t, until now, said anything about the Edge.
Flashpost: Deadman To Star In Adventure Comics #1
In September, along with everything else, Bleeding Cool has been told to expect a new Adventure Comics #1. And a new lead, namely the recent star of Brightest Day, Deadman. Alive, dead, somewhere in between, a new status quo for Boston Brand or something very different, I have no idea. Yet. Though I’m hearing of Ryan Sook involvement in some fashion…
Flashpost: DC Confirms Full Reboot: September Brings 52 First Issues and Day and Date Digital
On Wednesday, August 31st, DC Comics will launch a historic renumbering of the entire DC Universe line of comic books with 52 first issues, including the release of JUSTICE LEAGUE by NEW YORK TIMES bestselling writer and DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns and bestselling artist and DC Comics Co-Publisher Jim Lee. The publication of JUSTICE LEAGUE issue 1 will launch day-and-date digital publishing for all these ongoing titles, making DC Comics the first of the two major American publishers to release all of its superhero comic book titles digitally the same day as in print.
Flashpost: Bob Wayne Talks To Retailers About Day-And-Date Digital
To our comics retail partners, In the time I’ve worked at DC Comics, I’ve witnessed any number of industry defining moments. But today, I bring you what is perhaps the biggest news to date.
Flashpost: The New Superman #1
In Superman #1, launching in September, we will see what appears to be a new uniform for Superman. Based on the usual style, but more segmented with scores, seams or raised lines running across and around his arms, legs and torso. Kneepads as part of a segmented bulky boot. And a belt that reflects the Superman shield shape. And involvement in some form by George Perez. I’m also told Rags Morales may be involved with Action Comics #1.
Flashpost: A New Multi-Colour Lantern Team Book
In September, Bleeding Cool has been told to expect a new Green Lantern team book, made up of one member from each of the differing Lantern emotional colour spectrum. Green, Yellow, Red, Blue, Indigo, Violet, Orange…. and Black?
Flashpast: Brian Clevinger Dropped From Firestorm Before You Even Knew He Was On It
Amongst the new books and new creators for September, was to have been 8-Bit Theater, Atomic Robo and Marvel Adventures writer Brian Clevinger, working on a new Firestorm comic for DC Comics. And I was going to tell you about it today.
Flashpost: Legion Lost #1
In September, along with all the new issue one relaunches, Bleeding Cool has been told to expect a new Legion Of Superheroes series, Legion Lost.
Flashpost: OMAC #1
I’m told that one of them may well be OMAC #1, with some involvement by big OMAC fan, Scott Kolins.
Flashpost: The Hooking Up Of Superman And Wonder Woman Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movies and TV News and Rumors
Okay, out of all the post-Flashpoint stories I’m running, this is the one on the least firm foundations. But, if true, will have the biggest multi-media implications. I’m told that Superman and Wonder Woman will be getting together. In a very media friendly fashion, indeed.
Flashpost: Full JLA Art including Flash & Batman Designs, Hawkman #1 With Robinson & Tan, Birds Of Prey #1 Without Gail Simone?
Still not done quite yet. The full version of that Jim Lee JLA art has emerged over the past couple hours. I first saw it from the sharp-eyed DC Women Kicking ***, it may have first surfaced in this IGN story. CBR’s Kiel Phegley has a good article that starts to fill out some emerging details of the story, and is reporting that the new Birds of Prey series will not be written by Gail Simone. He has some other excellent info about possible creator lineups as well so go check that out. Also of note, the new Hawkman series by James Robinson and Philip Tan, and Aquaman series by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis that we’ve reported on here recently are part of the September reboot.
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Annnnnnnnnnnnd....today it is official!
Quote:Originally Posted by DCThis year, change is in the air at DC Comics.
On Wednesday, August 31st, DC Comics will launch a historic renumbering of the entire DC Universe line of comic books with 52 first issues, including the release of JUSTICE LEAGUE by NEW YORK TIMES bestselling writer and DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns and bestselling artist and DC Comics Co-Publisher Jim Lee. The publication of JUSTICE LEAGUE issue 1 will launch day-and-date digital publishing for all these ongoing titles, making DC Comics the first of the two major American publishers to release all of its superhero comic book titles digitally the same day as in print.
DC Comics will only publish two comic books on August 31st: the final issue of this summers comic book mini-series FLASHPOINT and the first issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE by Johns and Lee, two of the most distinguished and popular contemporary comic book creators, who will be collaborating for the first time. Together they will offer a contemporary take on the origin of the comic book industrys premier superhero team.
In the hours, days and weeks to come, well have more news about the other titles. Tomorrow, well hear from Co-Publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee about this momentous occasion. Keep checking THE SOURCE for updates about the other first issues.
This year, make history with us. -
Wow - I did not realize how much I enjoyed or missed this comic strip until now. Kudos to the artist for capturing the spirit of the original.
There are two strips - click next to see the second.
Let's go exploring (again)! -
Kill Shakespeare TPB (issues 1-6) +1