So it seems to be a big time for BIG COMIC BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS, with the Comicspro event going on currently at…um, wherever it’s taking place, I have no idea. But the news just keeps coming…like a comic with Jay and Silent Bob invading the Marvel Universe (scripted by Kevin Smith, natch):
…which, frankly, I don’t know if they’re going to go “full blue” with the dialogue like that Archie Meets Jay and Silent Bob book last year. I mean, if it was just Deadpool, then yeah, I can see ’em swearin’ it up, but Jeff the Land Shark is there! You can’t say “fuck” in front of Jeff the Land Shark! Anyway, I may have more Smith tolerance than most of my fellow comics-noscenti, so I’m looking forward to it, at least.
And then there’s DC, surprise surprise, announcing more titles for their best-selling Absolute line: Absolute Catwoman and Absolute Green Arrow:
…which, I mean, why not. I’m hoping DC doesn’t kill that goose for its golden eggs by cramming as many titles under this imprint as possible. They’re not really doing it now, they’re taking it nice and slow, but while Absolute Batman is outselling every other comic on the stands, that’s not necessarily true for the other Absolute titles. There are one or two that I honestly don’t expect to be around within a year or so, but we’ll see. In the meantime, I’m already getting in-store interest in these new additions, so that goose ain’t dead yet.
The big, big news, which…was it from Comicspro? Ah, who cares, it’s still big news. Anyway, it’s the return of Paul Chadwick’s Concrete:
I actually had to go back to this “Final ’80s Countdown” post where I wrote about the Concrete comics to figure out where the character’s storyline left off, and it was the 2006 mini-series The Human Dilemma. Yes, that was 20 years ago, and it was almost Miracleman-esque in its leaving readers hanging on a cliffhanger for decades. (Yes, there were a few shorts collected into a 2012 one-shot, but that’s not quite the same.)
Anyway, I’ll be glad to see more Concrete, and hope it doesn’t take another 20 years for a 90-year-old Paul Chadwick to release the next one!
For the last bit of shocking news I’m going to mention here, we’re finally getting repri–er, excuse me, facsimile editions, of the Kurt Busiek/George Pérez JLA/Avengers mini-series this summer.
As originally, Marvel and DC will be splitting the publishing chores, with Marvel putting out #1 and #3, and DC releasing #2 and #4. From Marvel’s May solicits here (get that pop-up blocker ready). Shockingly, it’s only $5.99 per issue. The last reprinting was just a few years ago in a supremely-limited edition, so it’ll be nice to have this comic around again. Honestly, it should never be out of print.
There’s just so much more going on in the comic news world right now (a Hello Kitty comic? HELLO MONEY), and I suggest you seek out your favorite Genre TV/Movie Site That Has Some Comic Book News Squirrelled Away Somewhere and catch up. I bet I’ll have a lot more to talk about on Monday. I haven’t even mentioned pal Amy‘s upcoming mystery comic yet! Lots of comics coming out that Comic Fan Mike is excited about, and Retailer Mike dreads having to figure out orders for. Ah well, I knew the job was dangerous when I took it.
In old news, Comic Book Yeti presents a 1994 interview with Mike Mignola talking about his brand new comic book Hellboy! (That’s a silly name, it’ll never go anywhere.) It’s funny to see him talk about having John Byrne continue to be involved in the Hellboy production process (SPOILER: Byrne only worked on the one Hellboy mini, though did other unrelated comics that featured cameos from Hellboy characters).
And speaking of Comic Book Yeti, I did a podcast interview with them a while back. And hey, so did Amy, listen to hers too!
Hellboy! The only survivor of the Dark Horse Legends imprint! Though I guess that’s no longer true with the return of Chadwick’s Concrete, also for a time released as a ‘Legends’, right?
I forgot about Byrne’s Torch of Liberty appearing in the first Hellboy story… does he continue to appear in the collected editions as well, through some kind of special arrangement?
I’m also remembering Malibu put out a similar creator-centric imprint (Bravura) at the time with a Chaykin title, Gil Kane’s Edge, and Simonson’s Star Slammers.
Good times on New Comic Book Days!
Great to hear about the facsimile editions for JLA/Avengers. Have DC and Marvel done a facsimile edition for X-Men/New Teen Titans? They really should–and make it square bound or Treasury Edition sized, as the original printing of that comic always seems to have at least one popped staple.
Actually, what I would really love to see would be a printing of the original JLA/Avengers project from the ’80s that Jim Shooter scrapped. Apparently George Perez drew 21 pages of pencils for that project, but another Bronze Age legend like John Byrne, Jim Starlin, Walt Simonson, or Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez could always be drafted in to complete additional pages and consult with Gerry Conway and/or Roy Thomas regarding the original script–or edits and a redraft could be made, where appropriate. And the whole project could be dedicated to the memories of George Perez and Mark Gruenwald.
Here’s a link to George Perez’s original pages and Gerry Conway’s plot:
The Original Plot For The Unfinished JLA/AVENGERS Crossover – The Tom Brevoort Experience https://share.google/jxYlCwYjMv4whKzBu
Absolute Martian Manhunter is ending and the two new series are both 6 issues, so really they are just temporarily increasing the number of absolute books by one (which spins off from the biggest title and is co-written by Snyder). I think this is exactly the way they should be handling the line. Just throw a few minis at the wall and see if anything takes off.
NEW CONCRETE!!! I had given up hope. The cover indicates it won’t directly follow-up The Human Dilemma (at least not right away), but I’ll take it!
“we’re finally getting repri–er, excuse me, facsimile editions, of the Kurt Busiek/George Pérez JLA/Avengers”
I’m sure people will be happy to see `em, but I wonder why not just do a TPB?
“Concrete… that was 20 years ago”
WOW.
Snark Shark – the most likely reason they didn’t do another TPB is that they can probably sell much higher numbers in single issues. TPBs are more of a longtail, “reorder as we need ’em” item, while comics, especially this one, are more of a “buy them all NOW when they first hit the shelves!”
Also, I saw someone note that it’s probably easier to deal with the money this way, by having each company publish two issues of the mini.
Mike: I don’t live in an old Western town like you, what does “longtail” mean.
William O’Brien: this is what drew me back to DC after 2011, as I suppose Black Label for the most part. The mini-series. I’m on the fence with King, but did like year-long THE HUMAN TARGET. But six issues is still half a year, fine by me. And if it sells, do another. Let the minis overlap.
Wayne – by “longtail” I mean, like, something that will sell over a long period of time versus the immediate burst of sales right when it’s released.
“that it’s probably easier to deal with the money this way,”
Oh, that does make sense.