Animal Man, RIP

A new six-issue limited series from DC Comics entitled "The Last Days Of Animal Man" will feature, natch, the death of Animal Man. Gerry Conway writing and Chris Batista on pencils. The only thing I'm really excited about regarding this is that I think Chris Batista always wanted to draw Animal Man, and I know he'd do a really good job.

Soon-to-be-famously, in the last four pages of the last issue, a dying Animal Man jumps out of the comic, runs down the hall of the DC Comics editorial offices, and screams, "oh my God! I'm a comic book character!" Then he runs into Grant Morrison, who makes a startling confession to the classic superhero:

"Yeah. It was me. I put the hit out on you. It was part of my exclusive contract. I wanted to have the most awesome version of Animal Man of all time. And now I will."

Unfortunately, the character is being killed off just when he was enjoying an all-time surge of popularity. I mean, with the Darren Aronofsky "Animal Man" movie starring Jason Statham and all. And the line of children's toys.

Hat-tip: Paul

Spoiler Warning, Don't Read The NY Daily News Either Or The URL To This Post

Warning, the following spoilers were taken from a major American newspaper who obtained said spoilers directly from the comics publisher whose book was being purposely spoiled most probably in the pursuit of mainstream media coverage.
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Also, I find it interesting that the direct market is depending on the spoilers not to be spoiled in order to maximize sales, yet the company putting out the comic is purposely working with the major media to spoil the story on the morning of the book coming out. Just a thought.


I always considered the Barry Allen Flash death as one of the cornerstones of the modern DC Universe. It represented the trauma and sacrifice of Crisis, and touched each of the major DCU heroes personally.

That said, the breaking news (broke on a mainstream newspaper, no less) that Barry Allen is returning as the Flash in DC Universe #0 doesn't surprise me.

I mean, who's left to revive? Even freakin' Bucky is back in business. Jason Todd's return proved that a character resurrection was as easy as a plot device that writers in the Silver Age would have been ashamed to use.

Grant Morrison is quoted in the article as saying,

"That's the point of comics - they don't have to die, because they're fictional creations."

I am kind of disappointed that he would say such a thing. It sounds like such a cop-out, and not worthy of him. And what is the rationale behind them not dying -- is it artistic, or is it merely economical? Wouldn't it take more artistic integrity to restrain oneself from devising some fanciful way to bring a character like Allen back?

It's just that every time you bring these characters back, you undermine the emotional resonance of those original stories surrounding the hero's tragic demise. But, I suppose if it's a choice between maintaining the integrity of some past issues that will probably do ok in backlist trade paperbacks anyhow, and the thought of getting another sales spike, the latter will probably win out.

I mean, why have the Big Two restrained themselves from resurrecting these famously dead heroes for so long? Because the sales were better back then. They felt they could afford to fold their arms over their chests and say, "This character is never returning. If we did that, we'd undermine our own integrity."

To be fair, the return of Bucky as the Winter Soldier has worked terrifically for Marvel, due in no small part to the genius of Ed Brubaker. I assume DC assumes the same will work for Morrison.

Another angle to the Allen return is why DC saw fit to break this story with a mainstream newspasper at all. One would assume that the majority of NY Daily News readers are not big Silver Age continuity freaks. What meaning does "Barry Allen Flash Returns" have on the curious onlooker who is not familiar with today's comics, much less the comics of yesteryear?

It's like making the big "hook" in Identity Crisis being the death of Sue Dibny. Dibny, Allen: who are these people? Do you think the new reader cares? The new reader sees the Flash on the magazine rack and on the TV, if they see him at all. As far as the new reader is concerned, the Flash is already alive; this current hoopla being mere hyperbole.

As insinuated in the article, since Barry Allen "saved" the comic industry the first time in the late 1950s, maybe he is set to do that all over again with Final Crisis. So perhaps this is all a "Pop Magic!" ploy on Morrison's part to symbolically juice up the ailing DCU.

You know what would really save the DCU? New readers.

Who's Biting The Dust In Final Crisis?

From the solicitation copy for Final Crisis: Requiem --

"A very special FINAL CRISIS one-shot honoring the passing of a great hero who’s been a staple in the DC Universe for years. All that remains is one final memory that the League experiences together as they must fulfill his last wishes or die trying!"

And here's the cover:

So who do you think is going to bite the dust? The term "staple" in regards to the character makes me think it's not going to be one of the top tier characters.

My guesses:
With the popularity of Hawkgirl, DC could get away with killing off Hawkman...at least for a "while." The "face" on the cover sort of looks bird-like. Also, Hawkman can regenerate or be reborn or some other thing like that, so it would be relatively easy to bring some version of him back.

Martian Manhunter was known around the offices as a character that was sort of boring, but was a JLA "staple," if you will (though we did try to jazz him up with that storyline where he was Scorch's love-slave). If it was him, the fire on the cover would make sense, because fire is his only weakness.

While you're at it, you can read Mike Gold's opinions on the "deaths" cited in the latest DC solicits -- and on the issue of character deaths in general.

So who do you think it's gonna be?

Occasional Links: The Comics Are Expensive Edition

"Comics Are Expensive"

Proudly presenting Occasional Superheroine's grand-spanking new weekly review column by noted Expertologist Chris Lamb, "COMICS ARE EXPENSIVE."

Chris Lamb is a writer and games designer living in New York. He's been a fan of comics of all kinds for twelve years or so, despite regular attempts by the medium to make him think differently.

Read by literally tens of people each month, Expertologist is a place for thinking out loud about the nature, culture, and playing of games. More interested in being a miscellany of ideas growing up in public than a site with any kind of focus, Expertologist enjoys taking games apart for the bits that make them fun, make them not work, or just the bits allowing for easy jokes and post titles riffing on pop songs.

So please welcome Chris to the OS staff and look for his review column later today!


Burt Ward Gallery



Teh Hotness.


Corey Is Back

Yes.


The Business Of Dead Superheroes


Forbes.com talks to Marvel's VP of Sales and Marketing David Gabriel, who admits that while "horribly cliched," deaths in comics sell:

"Gabriel said it's tough pushing some books on a consistent basis. People in his business have the blockbuster movies and videogames to thank for bolstering demand. With the exception of the diehard fans, this is what gets people into the 3,500 or so comic book shops nationwide these days. Slap the death and resurrection of a flagship character in there, and you've got a surge in the franchise."

Which is probably why this title is so successful:

HOT JEAN GREY TENTACLE ACTION!


click here for the full view! NSFW!


Video: THE AMAZING FLYING WINGSUIT

Put on your Rocky The Flying Squirrel suit and jump off a cliff!



submitted by Tom Beland

The Hot New Comic Book Fad: A Character Death That Stays DEAD

Sean Kleefeld's latest post talks about comic book "events" -- and focuses particularly on the oft-used phrase -- "AND NOTHING WILL EVER BE THE SAME AGAIN!"

One passage in particular caught my eye:

"Let me ask you this: how many of you really believe that we'll never see Steve
Rogers in the Captain America uniform again? You're being lied to. "

Are we ever going to see a death that matters in comic books again?

I had lunch a few weeks back with a friend who echoed the same sentiment, adding that the only character death that has effected her recently was that of David in Strangers In Paradise. Of course, SIP was not a superhero comic, and there was much less possibility of David turning out to be a Skrull, or brought back when angry Katchoo punched a hole into time.

But, if Comics really wants to wow the crowd & shake their readership out of their cynicism, might I suggest a truly shocking, world-shaking gimmick -- a death that stays dead.

Of course, nobody would believe DC or Marvel if they announced they were actually killing a character off (permanent-like), so Dan Didio or Joe Quesada swearing on a stack of Bibles would possibly have to be involved. However, I firmly believe that truly killing off a character and sticking with it, even months or years into the future, might be the hot new comic book gimmick to get the readers talking.

The cover blurb might read: "THIS ISSUE, SOMEONE DIES -- AND STAYS DEAD!"