"In June/July, DC are killing off Batman. Or rather, Bruce Wayne. Robin will inherit the Batman cowl. One of the Robins anyway. Tim Drake. Jason Todd. Or possibly Red Hood. Hey, maybe Jean-Paul Valley, it has been ten years since Azrael.
Either way, the book will relaunch with a nice shiny #1."
Does this mean the first of a bunch of post-Final Crisis "reboots" for the key DCU titles???
Tim Drake seems too young?And even if they did this, would it really "stick?" Making Batman officially somebody other than Bruce Wayne impacts the movies, the cartoons, etc. I don't think giving the cape and cowl to the next gen is completely unheard of. But it is a very very very big step.
Oh God, unless they make all the next gen official "inheritors" of the old DCU, only to bring everybody back in a post-Final Crisis miniseries one year later.
"Final Crisis 2: The Return" a.k.a "Final Crisis 2: We Really Mean It."
Uhh, yeah... about that other LITG item... are you okay with that? Because I was a little uncomfortable with you being "outed" in that way.
ReplyDeleteFinal Crisis 2: Even Finaler!
ReplyDeleteYeah, the "outing" things was unexpected.
Me too.
ReplyDeleteBut on-topic: I figure Ras al Ghul is returning now to put the Lazarus Pit back in play and keep it fresh in readers' minds when the death/resurrection endgame plays out.
I'll make an official post about this.
ReplyDeleteOf course it won't stick! Steve Rogers is coming back eventually and so will Bruce Wayne. Corporate America is never going to make any actual changes to a product because they think MidWesterners are stupid....
ReplyDeleteAnd congradulations on your boyfriend's Zuda comic! It seems like he's single handedly saving that site!
And Eric, I don't think it matters if she's comfortable with it or not. The comic professionals pool is so tiny that anyone doing work for one of the Big Two is bound to be friends or lovers with someone who's had a bad experience with the same company. Valerie and her boyfriend have both been exceptionally professional so far, so does it even matter?
"I figure Ras al Ghul is returning now to put the Lazarus Pit back in play and keep it fresh in readers' minds when the death/resurrection endgame plays out."
ReplyDeleteOoh, that's something I hadn't thought of. Good show.
Even if you wanted to disclose that information to your audience in a separate piece, I thought that the item was a little irresponsible.
ReplyDeleteAlthough your posts are entertaining and informative, I don't think that anyone mistakes you for a working journalist, and the insights you provide are partially derived from the kinds of conflicts noted in the item (i.e. close friends in positions of power in the industry). Simply writing a blog does not (by itself) make you a public figure in my opinion.
Anyway, re: the DC reboot theory. I don't think that the licensing stuff has to reflect the comics at all. If we're all honest with each other, it hasn't in a very long time. That's why DC has the Johnny DC line and the AllStar line (such as it is). Not to mention the wealth of reprints and collections of stories featuring the character. I think that a hypothetical person who goes into the store for his/her first Batman comic after watching the movie will have a range of options to choose from. Sorry for such a long post.
You know, all the movie casters are going to be all angry about this. They're not happy, Jan.
ReplyDeleteJamaal...if you're the Jamaal from Funnybook Babylon, you're a lawyer, right? I went to law school, too, so I know where you're drawing your public figure logic from in regards to the 1st Amendment and freedom of the press, but I don't think it applies here. Rich Johnston isn't a journalist, either, he's a guy with a blog. If he wants to say that, I dunno, say me, Kenny, rapes poodles, I don't think I could sue him even though he would be lying. He's just a guy spouting off about stuff. To make the matter more convoluted, I'm assuming he knows Valerie in some way, shape, or form and has, at the very least, some sort of professional tie to her. So, I guess I'm saying I don't agree with you! lol
ReplyDeleteAll that being said, I'm still unclear as to how Rich in any way compromised Valerie. (Sorry for the 1st names, it's just easier that way!) The comics industry is soooooo small that I think it's almost inevitable someone doing work for a company is going to be close to someone who had a bad experience with the company. I think Rich pointing out the tie to Val is just one of those oddities. I don't think there's any real secret there trying to be kept. It's like if I told you a peanut is neither a pea, nor a nut. Just because you didn't know that doesn't mean there was a hidden agenda with keeping it secret. (I was just using a silly example, I don't know if that's true or not! lol)
Sorry for writing so much on this. It's 5 minutes to 5 and I'm just trying to kill time until I can go home! lol
Hey Kenny,
ReplyDeleteI only meant 'public figure' in a casual sense. It just felt like one of those 'too much information' moments, which was kind of weird. In a column full of relevant items, he posts something which is largely irrelevant, and a little overly personal. And it was framed like he was disclosing a big secret, which implied that Valerie was being somewhat deceptive. But maybe I'm reading way too much in this.
Jamaal - I see where you're coming from, but for what it's worth, yeah, I think you might be reading a bit too much into it. I didn't get the "OS is hiding something" vibe from Johnston's piece; more like "Betcha didn't know this... it's gonna be awkward!" instead.
ReplyDeleteThe LITG post built up to mention not the writer, but who his girlfriend was - not exactly news in and of itself, is it? Not even for such a small and insular world as the comicbook industry, and the whole thing comes across as rather underhanded in it's suggestion of some sort of agenda.
ReplyDeleteDeath of Batman - this idea was shot down in flames months ago on t'interwebs, after the oh-so-subtle Christ-like imagery in Countdown had everyone expecting just such a 'twist' at some point in the future.
Too obvious to be the case, was the common opinion. DC have something like twenty writers on the payroll - one of them was bound to be able to come up with something more entertaining.
If this LITG proves true, it had better be Dick Grayson in the Bat suit.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course there will be another title in the multiverse with Bruce as Bats. I can't help but feel a new version of Earth-1 and Earth-2 will end up developing here.
As for the other thing, I thought it was a little off for Rich to do that like that unless he had your and DG's consent.
DC already did this, back when such a thing as "Earth 2" existed. Maybe the Post-Final-Crisis Reboot will take us all the way back to the original DCU.
ReplyDeleteIt'll never take. It might happen, but it'll never stick. Not because "Corporate America is never going to make any actual changes to a product because they think MidWesterners are stupid...."
ReplyDeleteBut because Bruce Wayne is just a better choice for Batman from a storytelling standpoint than Dick, Jason, or Tim. Bruce Wayne=Batman. Nothing else is going to have legs over the long run.
I have a friend who loved Captain America so much that he hasn't bought a single Marvel comic that's come out since they killed Steve Rogers, because he saw it as the end of the Marvel Universe he grew up with.
ReplyDeleteIf DC goes through with this, I think I might do the same thing for the same reason.
Hey Jamaal,
ReplyDeleteSo, I had another think about it, and after your clarified your point, I definitely agree with you now. It was wrong of Rich to air someone else's personal life in public.
Jon,
I respect where you're coming from, that from a story perspective Bruce Wayne *is* Batman, but I'm sticking to Corporate America thinking we're dumb in the MidWest. I honestly think they'll feel we'll get confused if they keep Bruce Wayne out of the suit too long. I've worked closely with people on both coasts and the higher up the ladder they were, the more contempt they had for the MidWest.
I have to say I have cut DC a lot of slack over the years (the recent Sinestro Wars, along with JLA and JSA earned some good will too) but if this story is true, I am finally completely done with DC. I defended identity crisis, infinited crisis (but not one year later) and all the other stunts because my main requirement is to be entertained and DC has mostly done that.
ReplyDeleteBut this is a bit much. For me its the new #1 rather then the story. All that history being tossed for a gimmick, even after the attempts to refocus on the Wayne persona (sad its even that way).
At a time when a back to basics approach would be better they go into some nonsense extreme so that the #1 - 5 issues will sell lots of copies before lateness and bad execution brings it back to previous batman levels (harsh but the last three years back it up).
For me, a new #1 as simply become an easy to bail point. I did that with one year later (dropping 10 titles and haven't returned) and will do the same here. Most of my pull is Marvel anyway, might as well finish the job.
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"Outed", how was Valerie outed? The other information was broadcast all over this blog prior to LITG so can't be the prior DC employment and LULU. Can straight people be outed? I thought that term only applied to homosexuals?
First of all, if Bruce Wayne is killed off that would be ridiculous. If they decide to piss us all off though, Dick can easily be the next Batman, if they so choose. Same essential backstory of seeing parents die at a young age and then wanting to protect others, and he is connected throughout the entire DCU. Of course, they did want to kill him off a couple of years ago. Maybe just the character then.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if they decide that in their new "hardcore" DCU they need a tougher Batman who will kill people, and decide to make Jason Todd the new Batman (as they had him on a different Earth in a recent Countdown issue...ugh), then they get what they deserve- a poorly written character that has almost always exuded sensationalism.
That being said, the g'damned Jason Todd does have more interesting ties to the Joker and Talia/Ra's. Perhaps that counts more than a personality.
Oh, and if Tim inherits the cowl, I hope they kill him off quicker than they did Bart Allen. Nothing personal.
Actually, if you consider the new multiverse, the current generations of heroes will be one Earth 2, and the new generation on Earth 1. So, on Earth 2 Bruce Wayne will still be Batman.
ReplyDeleteEarth 2 or the Fifth World, to replace the Fourth World being killed off.