Before Watchmen, Absolute Blackest Night changes, classic Catwoman and Nightwing, more in DC Spring 2013 trade solicitations
Gail Simone is a creator whose work I've liked, especially on Secret Six; I can't judge necessarily why DC would choose to hire or fire someone, but firing someone by email -- especially Simone who has been a dedicated ambassador for comics and one of DC's more popular creators -- seems unjust and unwise. And moreover, let's be clear -- Simone is a popular creator, and when DC treats a popular creator this way, what they're doing is treating their fans this way. We all got fired by email yesterday.
I can't write DC off entirely for this behavior. Scott Snyder, among many others, is still producing great work, and Snyder was a big supporter of Simone's -- it doesn't make sense to walk away when there's still some good to be found. And it is not as though DC isn't listening to the fans -- see the Absolute Blackest Night collection below. But hopefully someone at DC will offer an explanation about the Simone situation, because it seems to me a much larger slight than against just one person.
That said, I've got a whole bunch of collections news and there's a whole bunch of interesting books on the horizon -- let's try to have some fun, eh?
Absolute Changes
* Absolute Blackest Night
Vying for the biggest headlines here are the Before Watchmen collections and this -- a resolicited Absolute Blackest Night that now includes Green Lantern #43-48 and #50-52.
Now that's an Absolute edition.
To recap, DC originally solicited Absolute Blackest Night back in October, collecting just the Blackest Night miniseries and a couple of extras, leading us to ask whether DC's Absolute program was dead. After all, had fans really been waiting for an Absolute Blackest Night that only collected as much as the Blackest Night hardcover, and wasn't even really a complete story?
Well, DC heard us, or you, or someone, because Absolute Blackest Night will now be more complete than any other Blackest Night collection, and really provide a complete reading experience. Today's a hard day to tell DC "good job," but this is good news.
* Absolute Superman/Batman Vol. 1
This is an OK Absolute, too. Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuiness's Superman/Batman: Public Enemies and Loeb and the late Michael Turner's Superman/Batman: Supergirl are both completely out of continuity, but they did have movies made out of them, and they were major stories in their time and I have a soft spot for Loeb and McGuiness's Superman work. If you don't have the books and you're interested in them -- those two categories, I imagine, have a very small intersection -- I guess this is a nice way to read them.
Before Watchmen is Collected
* Before Watchmen Vol. 1
* Before Watchmen Vol. 2
* Before Watchmen Vol. 3
* Before Watchmen Vol. 4
* Watchmen: The Deluxe Edition
As has been reported on numerous sites, DC will be releasing four Before Watchmen hardcovers, one a week, next July. I'm still holding out for the Absolute edition(s).
Volume 1 is Minutemen and Silk Spectre; volume 2 is Comedian and Rorschach; volume 3 is Nite Owl and Dr. Manhattan; and volume 4 is Ozymandias, "Curse of the Crimson Corsair," and presumably the extra one-shots. DC is also releasing a deluxe-size Watchmen the month before the Before Watchmen collections come out -- I guess if you're new to comics and have never even read Watchmen, you might could have yourself an interesting summer.
Hardcovers and Their Paperbacks
One very positive trend in the DC New 52 collections is to release the paperback of a book originally released in hardcover at the same time as the hardcover of the second volume comes out. We are about to see this with Justice League and Green Lantern, among others, and here's some more hardcover/paperback combinations.
* Aquaman Vol. 2: The Others HC
* Aquaman Vol. 1: The Trench TPB
* Batman: The Dark Knight Vol. 2: Cycle of Violence HC
* Batman - The Dark Knight Vol. 1: Knight Terrors TPB
* Batman and Robin Vol. 2: Pearl HC
* Batman and Robin Vol. 1: Born to Kill TPB
* Flash Vol. 2: Rogues Revolution HC
* Flash Vol. 1: Move Forward TPB
* Green Lantern Corps Vol. 2: Alpha War HC
* Green Lantern Corps Vol. 1: Fearsome TPB
* Green Lantern: New Guardians Vol. 2: Beyond Hope HC
* Green Lantern: New Guardians Vol. 1: The Ring Bearer TPB
* Superman - Action Comics Vol. 2: Bulletproof HC
* Superman - Action Comics Vol. 1: Superman and the Men of Steel TPB
* Superman Vol. 2: Secrets and Lies HC
* Superman Vol. 1: What Price Tomorrow? TPB
More from the DC New 52
The new round of solicitations brings with it, of course, a new round of DC New 52 collections. Many of these will include the Zero Month issues from this past summer.
* Batman Incorporated Vol. 1: Demon Star
Solitications on the DC site say this includes #0-6 of Batman, Inc. Vol. 2, but other sources have it at #0-12, finishing out Grant Morrison's run on this title.
* Teen Titans Vol. 2: The Culling
* Legion Lost Vol. 2: The Culling
* Superboy Vol. 2: Extraction
That DC names collections that tie into collections with the same name as the crossover itself isn't unusual -- see Superman: Infinite Crisis and this month's Nightwing Vol. 2: Night of the Owls, for instance.
The solicitation for Legion Lost, however, says "this crossover tale includes appearances by Superboy and the Teen Titans." Hopefully there's not too much overlap between these volumes and the Culling collection itself. The Batman: Night of the Owls collection included all the tie-in issues, which then appeared in their own collections, but that was more than half-a-dozen books -- the collections should not repeat as much for the three-series Culling crossover.
* DC Universe Presents Vol. 2: Vandal Savage
In addition to James Robinson's Vandal Savage/serial killer story, this volume also collects the one-shot Kid Flash story by Fabian Nicieza, and the zero issue with Hawk and Dove, Resurrection Man, OMAC, Mr. Terrific and others.
* Captain Atom Vol. 2: Genesis
* Deathstroke Vol. 2: Lobo Hunt
* Demon Knights Vol. 2: The Avalon Trap
* Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men Vol. 2: The Firestorm Protocols
* Grifter Vol. 2: New Found Power
* Justice League Dark Vol. 2: The Books of Magic
* Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 2: The Dominators
* Nightwing Vol. 2: Night of the Owls
* Phantom Stranger Vol. 1: A Stranger Among Us
* Ravagers Vol. 1: The Kids From N.O.W.H.E.R.E.
* Red Hood and the Outlaws Vol. 2: The Starfire
* Resurrection Man Vol. 2: A Matter of Death and Life
* Savage Hawkman Vol. 2: Wanted
* Supergirl Vol. 2: Girl in the World
* Sword and Sorcery Vol. 1: Amethyst
* Talon Vol. 1: Scourge of the Owls
* Team 7 Vol. 1: Fight Fire With Fire
New Reprint Collections
* New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol. 3
This is resolicited, though the erroneous contents don't seem different than when we picked them over earlier.
* Nightwing: Old Friends, New Enemies
The title says "Nightwing," but the solicitation is all about Roy Harper -- Speedy, Arsenal, and Red Arrow. Marv Wolfman is listed as the writer, but the first story in this collection -- "[Roy] needs Dick's help to track down Cheshire... the mother of Roy's child" -- sounds a lot like Devin Grayson's Batman Plus story (which, while it does include Nightwing, is largely a Batman story, and has a fantastic moment in it that I won't spoil here). I'm having more trouble placing the second story -- "Nightwing and Speedy get caught up in a war between two rival gangs" -- anyone?
A strange collection, though anything with Nightwing's name on it is a plus. Meant to appeal to Arrow fans, maybe?
* Catwoman Vol. 2: No Easy Way Down
The comments section was just buzzing about whether DC would continue these collections of Ed Brubaker's Catwoman. The first of these new collections, Trail of the Catwoman, included most of the Dark End of the Street and Crooked Little Town collections; based on solicitations, this one definitely has Relentless and probably Wild Ride. Wild Ride was the last Brubaker/Catwoman collection published though Brubaker wrote more issues, so the real question is whether a Catwoman Vol. 3 is coming. Pre-order this one, folks!
* Batgirl/Robin Year One
Also in the Bat-realm, and maybe reflecting a certain thaw in the DC Comics/Chuck Dixon relationship, here's a collection that brings together Dixon's Robin and Batgirl Year One stories. These are good, the Robin book especially, though I don't completely follow the logic of reprinting these now-completely-out-of-continuity stories.
* Animal Man Omnibus
DC collected Grant Morrison's Animal Man in three volumes a while ago, and when they just announced a fourth collection of the Peter Milligan stories that followed Morrison, I mentioned I thought it was time for an omnibus. This is worthwhile, collecting all of Morrison's Animal Man in one volume, but I wish Milligan's work was in there too, instead of this hybrid hardcover/paperback collecting scheme we have now.
* Stormwatch Vol. 2
* Stormwatch Vol. 1
* Authority Vol. 1
A week or two ago the second classic Stormwatch collection disappeared from the solicitations lists, and I was worried that those who bought the first volume would never see the conclusion. But apparently this did well enough that DC's bringing the first Warren Ellis hardcover Stormwatch collection out in paperback, and the second collection is back on the list. They're following that with hardcover Authority collections (shades of what's to come for the DCU), all of which will make a nice set.
* Green Lantern: Sector 2814 Vol. 2
Glad to see volume one of this series did well enough to warrant another. These Green Lantern stories by Len Wein and Dave Gibbons come from a largely-uncollected period about a year before Crisis on Infinite Earths, and mostly star Green Lantern John Stewart.
* Superman: Phantom Zone
When DC the Man of Steel movie-connected collection Superman vs. Zod, a lot of readers mentioned they'd like to have seen Steve Gerber (Howard the Duck)'s Phantom Zone miniseries included. Well, seems it's getting its own book -- collects the 1986 four-issue mini.
* Harley Quinn: Night and Day
The first collection of Karl Kesel's old Harley Quinn series, Preludes and Knock-Knock Jokes, has been out there for a while; now it seems with Harley's perennial popularity (and maybe for the fans craving the "old" Harley), here's a second, Night and Day. Art by the Dodsons and Pete Woods, and also includes a Our Worlds at War tie-in, for gosh-sakes.
* Smallville Season 11 Vol. 2: Detective
The infamous Smallville/Batman crossover with Nightwing Barbara Gordon, not Stephanie Brown ...
* Solo: The Deluxe Edition
* Batman Noir: Eduardo Risso: The Deluxe Edition
Two art books here that'll make some readers happy. Solo was a well-received if short-lived artist spotlight series that included Tim Sale, Paul Pope, Howard Chaykin, and Darwyn Cooke, among others. The Eduardo Risso collection brings together Batman: Broken City and Flashpoint: Batman: Knight of Vengeance among others, both great stories. This could have easily have been dubbed a Brian Azzarello/Risso book than Risso's alone, really.
* Superman: Earth One
Now in paperback; I'm surprised DC didn't release this a little closer to the Volume 2 hardcover release, but maybe it's timed for the movie instead.
What are you most excited to see released? Or after a number of creator blow-ups, do you have DC exhaustion?
I really, really hate that the new Batman Inc. hardcover isn't "deluxe"-sized (at least for now). All of the other Morrison Batman stuff has been released in that format. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteWow! Very relieved the Harley and Catwoman series are being continued -- I have volume 1 of these and figured I'd just never see the rest. Awesome!
ReplyDeleteIs DELUXE WATCHMEN any better or different from my Absolute Watchmen? Eh, won't bother finding out.
sounds like the Nightwing books is a collection of stories from Action Comics Weekly, Teen Titans Spotlight, or both
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised you didn't include:
ReplyDeleteThe Sandman Omnibus Vol. 1 [Hardcover]
Superman: The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 1
You can find both on Amazon too.
Also: I suppose I see the appeal in an Animal Man omnibus, but that art isn't going to look so hot even on big, glossy paper. If they're going to celebrate Morrison's work in this fashion following The Invisibles, seems like there are much better places to go first: JLA, Batman, Seven Soldiers (which I'd pay pretty much anything for), heck, even Doom Patrol. Sure, the omnibuses aren't "Absolute"-quality, but the format seems to make a little more sense to me for really gorgeous books.
ReplyDeleteThe Solo and Eduardo Risso books were nice surprises. Lot of interesting stuff this month, but would have rather seen a Doom Patrol omnibus instead (or at least before Animal Man, since all 3 AM books are still in print and easy to find, unlike DP)
ReplyDeleteAlso, with James Robinson doing Earth 2, how long are they going to wait to bring The Golden Age back in print?
The whole fiasco with Gail Simone is just such an unfortunate mess. The "fired by e-mail" thing is BS, of course and it's kind of sad that some people still pull that stunt. It doesn't really hurt my purchases regarding DC but it does really annoy the hell out of me.
ReplyDeleteThe annoyance certainly isn't helped by the fact that Karen Berger is gone now after years of rumors that people in DC wanted her gone.
Anyways, regarding the solicitations, there's the usual good and bad. I mean, I'm honestly not sure why a second volume for Harley Quinn was necessary, given that everything I've heard has her solo series as mediocre at best. Plus, haven't there already been a billion collections already of the Wildstorm Authority/Stormwatch runs?
On the other hand, the collection of Batgirl and Robin: Year One is a good thing. The Robin collection was always around, but Batgirl has been long out of print. Given that I'm not as sure as CE seems to be that they're out of continuity - I imagine there are a few details that don't match up, but nothing that would say they couldn't have still happened early in their careers - it seems like a good enough time to get them out there.
As always, my interest in trades skews towards the paperbacks. So for now I'm just interested in B&R - even if I hear that volume was ass compared to the first - Action Comics and maybe Aquaman. Most anything else I'd be interested in - Batman Inc. vol 2 - is in hardcover at that point.
@Damon B: JLA's not really "gorgeous" though. Howard Porters art has not aged well. It doesn't really hurt the product like awful fill-ins did to Grants excellent X-Men run, but Grant Morrison is definitely the reason you go to read those comics.
As for Batman Inc. it could always end up being a deluxe anyways. Solicits are somewhat notorious for having mistakes or being "work in progress", I guess. I imagine if they don't do it right off, a deluxe edition is somewhat inevitable.
@dl316bh I dunno, I re-read JLA recently and was surprised, actually, at how vibrant the art was. (Particularly on the glossy paper of the deluxe format!) It's very '90s-cool, but it worked for me.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the changes to ABSOLUTE BLACKEST NIGHT are concerned...I may actually buy this now. I noticed the new solicitation also includes "BN: Tales of the Corps #1", but not #2 or #3. Is this because only a portion of the material is included? I am guessing it is probably the "Blackest Night #0 Director's Cut", but the Star Sapphire story in that issue would be a great inclusion, as far as the overall story is concerned.
ReplyDeleteWith the recent uptake in "Omnibus" volumes from DC--and those by Geoff Johns in particular--one item I would love to see is an ACTION COMICS BY GEOFF JOHNS Omnibus. Basically, start with the "Last Son Of Krypton" (or maybe even his "1 Year Later" storyline he co-wrote which came before that). They can end with either the "Brainiac" arch. If they wanted to be really cool about things, they could include "Superman Secret Origin" too. Again, most of these stories are out-of-continuity now. But there was some really great stuff mixed into that Action Comics run.
Lots of things to comment on. Where do I begin?
ReplyDeleteI'm very happy about the changes to Absolute Blackest Night, even if it's still skipping some stuff (I'd trade Tales from the Blackest Night for Green Lantern #49 or The Atom and Hawkman #46), and I'm curious to see if the Absolute Superman/Batman volumes will include the stand-alone issues the trades skipped, such as #7, #19 and #26.
This Animal Man omnibus kind of makes me regret buying the first 3 TPBs last year, but as Damon B. said, it's not like Chas Truog's art will benefit a lot from oversized pages printed in glossy paper. I'm betting Morrison's Doom Patrol run will be the next to get the omnibus treatment.
Unfortunately, I was right in my guess that DC would split the remainder of Morrison's Action Comics run in 2 volumes. Vol. 2 will still be sizable enough, thanks to the back-ups and the Annual by Sholly Fisch, but they will need a lot of extras to fill the rest of the 224 pages.
The likelihood that the next Batman Incorporated volume won't be a deluxe HC doesn't bother me that much, since my shelf is already filled with Batman hardcovers of varying sizes. And speaking of non-deluxe HCs, I hope the Stormwatch vol. 2 delay has something to do with getting the rights to the Wildcats/Aliens one-shot.
And finally, I think DC will be a much better place to work for when the higher-ups finally fire Bob "I-almost-ran-Marvel-into-the-ground" Harras and these former Wizard staffers passing themselves as comic book editors.
Snyder leaving Swamp Thing, Cornell leaving Demon Knights, the DC titles that I am interested in is slowly dwindling...
ReplyDeleteMy pluses:
ReplyDeleteBatgirl Year one
Catwoman Vol 2
Harley Quinn Vol 2
Solo
Phantom Zone
My peeves:
No deluxe for Batman Inc.
Not sure whether the new Stormwatch includes Wildcats/Aliens
What's the point in calling something Absolute Edition if you aren't going to include everything? Especially when all you have to do is add ONE MORE ISSUE. That's ridiculous. I don't even like Blackest Night but GL 49 missing is just absurd.
ReplyDeleteAnd to echo others thoughts, Batman Inc not being deluxe edition is so disappointed.
Like everyone else, I am disheartened for the Gail Simone shakeup...but like all things, there are numerous backstage shenanigans we don't know about. And Gail has openly been thankful and optimistic about her future, so we rest easier with that said.
ReplyDeleteSo many great stuff coming out next year. For one, finally all of the volume 2 solicits are out with release dates. Gives me time to pre-order and save up money for those.
Utterly happy for the Blackest Night updates. I own all of the trades regarding the event, so I'm not picking up the absolute edition...yet I'm happy DC is putting all of the essential parts of event and in a cohesive order. A book like this doesn't need unnecessary fluff like the Tales of the Blackest Night issues.
Superman/Batman Absolute seems pointless. Love McGuinesses art...but not even for an oversized look. An Superman/Batman omnibus series would of been better. The series had 84 issues worth, so splitting up into 3, 28 issue omnibuses would of worked better.
Already pre-ordered the Before Watchmen books. I've already collected most of the singles, so I'm double-dipping for the hardcovers. That and I wanted to read the Crimson Corsair in one setting. I hate having every issue of Before Watchmen only give us 2 pages of the Corsair story. Huh...
Thank god DC is putting out more Brubaker's Catwoman! I was one of those commentors who wanted more Catwoman...thankfully DC is giving it to us. Pre-ordered.
The Animal Man Omnibus figures. I just picked up all 3 trades within the last 2 months, and now this...huh. Well at least it will be something to read for anyone who wants more on Buddy Baker thanks to Jeff Lemires current run on the title.
Yeah! More Pre-Crisis Green Lantern Material! Actually, ANY Pre-Crisis reprints are a welcome. Thankfully Vol.1 of GL Sector 2814 sold well (I have my copy and review for Amazon). More Pre-Crisis stuff please. The Wonder Woman: The Twelve Labors was great Bronze-Age book which was quietly released this year (which I hope sold well) for more of that era. And yes: Superman Kryptonite Nevermore has a softcover release date of July from Amazon!
Superman Kryptonite Nevermore
Good what a great year for trades...bad on the wallet.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for good sales of vol. 2 of GL: Sector 2814, because then we'll get a vol. 3 that begin Steve Englehart's issues--an absolutely GREAT, under-appreciated run.
ReplyDeleteHow are Robin and Batgirl Year One out of continuity? They seem pretty stable to me.
ReplyDeleteDC just announced their July and August collections:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dccomics.com/blog/2012/12/12/dc-entertainment-unveils-dc-universe-titles-for-july-and-august-2013
We already knew about these books, but now we know their contents, too. It's surprising that the second and final Legion Lost volume won't skip issues #8-9, but I think they'll read awkwardly without the rest of the Culling crossover. What's even worse is that the second Justice League Dark TPB apparently won't include I, Vampire #7-8.
And for those who were wondering, Nightwing: Old Friends, New Enemies will collect Secret Origins #13 and stories originally serialized in Action Comics Weekly.
It is funny that the collections department has "classic" Harley Quinn and Catwoman stories even as there's some controversy over the characters' New 52 depictions. If you don't like what's going on now, essentially, you can go read a collection ...
ReplyDeleteThe Catwoman collection, according to posts that appeared on the DC blog after our post, includes issues #10-24, so through the previously-published Wild Ride collection. Again, Vol. 3 is what I'm really looking for.
Some other interesting tidbits from those DC lists:
The next and final Resurrection Man trade does not include the Suicide Squad crossover issues, though the next Suicide Squad trade does include Resurrection Man #9. This is a break from DC's Frankenstein/OMAC, Stormwatch/Red Lanterns, and New Guardians/Blue Beetle pattern of including all parts of a crossover in both books. I wonder how Resurrection Man will read without Suicide Squad.
Also it looks like between the Teen Titans, Superboy, and Legion Lost trades, all the issues also collected in the Culling trade are also in the individual collections except Teen Titans Annual #1. I'm not pleased with that for a number of reasons I'll get into maybe next week.
@dl316bh, Drakul - I was with you for a bit that Batgirl and Robin: Year One *could* be in continuity -- it's not, if for no other reason than it was published in the old universe, but maybe there's nothing in it that directly contradicts the DC New 52 universe. But then I remembered, there's a really large role for the Justice Society in Batgirl: Year One, and that puts it firmly outside continuity. Doesn't matter, still a great book, and I especially like Robin: Year One (my review, by the way).
Am I correct I don't see much enthusiasm for the Absolute Superman/Batman? It's issues #1-13, so Public Enemies and Supergirl plus the uncollected issue #7, a Superboy/Robin team-up. I really liked this series especially in its early days, but I have all the trades and given how long ago it was, I can't muster enthusiasm for getting this book just for one or two uncollected issues that don't really "matter" any more. But Ed McGuiness's art will be gangbusters in Absolute size.
@Chuck - They already kind of have an Action Comics by Geoff Johns Omnibus, the new Superman: Last Son of Krypton collection, which includes both Last Son and Superman: Brainiac. I liked Johns's Superman stories overall, and I wish he'd finished New Krypton and maybe done some more work on the title.
@Aalok - Sorry, still no WildCATS/Aliens listed for DC's second Stormwatch volume. I'm bummed about it, too.
@Lionheart - Quite right; somewhere in the madcap universe that is Gail Simone's Twitter feed, I thought she said that she'd received a kind of apology for DC. I recognize too we don't know all the reasons it happened and DC has a right to shake things up; my point, as I'm sure you understood, was that it was another move by DC that seemed tone-deaf to what the fans might think. Well, onward and upward.
@shag - You're right on those Nightwing contents. I'm not sure any Actiopn Comics Weekly stories have been collected before; I'm rather eager to put that on the DC TPB Timeline. The Secret Origins issue takes place during some Titans issue, I think.
Also it seems the Before Watchmen books are now named for the characters, not Vol. 1, Vol. 2, etc.
Ah well if anything I'd consider the New 52 out of continuity before I'd dismiss anything prior in favor of it. Don't you think so?
ReplyDeleteFor a lot of Dc long time fans the outta continuity collections are still the most exciting . Try not to discourage the Robin/Batgirl Year One or batman Noir Collections when their nice enough to kick em down .
ReplyDeleteWith all due respect to the OP, but i wouldn't categories Gail as a "dedicated ambassador for comics."
ReplyDeleteAt best i would categories her as "a comic book writer." What exactly makes Gail a "dedicated ambassador for comics" over essentially any other writer, or artist working at DC, Marvel or even Image?
An lets be clear here, Gail was not fired. She was transferred off of Batgirl. An she was not transfered as i understand it until after her contract with DC lapsed.
An to be honest about it Gail is a mid tier wirter, with a collection of good books under her belt, but also a collection of complete stinkers.
At the end of the day, the only reasons people are up in arms over gail being transferred off a book is because
A. Shes more popular then the other dozen or so wirters this has happened to over the last couple of years from both Marvel & DC.
B. Because of her gender... Yeah, i know this makes people uncomfortable, but lets be honest, if it were a male writer, people would shrug & say "oh well, thems the breaks buddy."
In other news: Yay for New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol. 3
Matthew -- Thank you for your comment.
ReplyDelete(Just to be clear, I did nix a comment thread here, including a reply of my own, where I felt an anonymous commenter was criticizing the Gail Simone aspect of this post without engaging in real discussion; Matthew, on the other hand, makes reasonable points and I'm happy to engage with him.)
I called Simone a "dedicated ambassador for comics" mainly for her Twitter work, which includes encouraging various movements (the recent anti-"fake nerd" cosplay movement, but also, I believe, the reading comics in public movements and more that admittedly don't come to mind right now), and also how she often re-tweets comic shop sales or other things that support LCSs.
Now, "ambassador" is subjective and the above isn't the same as someone who donates large quantities of comics to schools or hands them out in their office or all the other things one can do to be a "comics ambassador." When I called Simone an ambassador, I neither put what she does above or below what any other writer, artist, or comics fan does to support comics -- it's just how I think of her.
We can agree to disagree whether "transferred off" or "fired" are or aren't the same thing when it comes being told one is no longer the writer of a comics title. It is true we may see different DC work from Simone not on Batgirl; I will also grant that I have liked some things Simone has written and disliked others -- that's plenty apparent from the reviews on this site but doesn't negate my support for her, I don't think.
Whether Simone's gender has contributed to her popularity and notoriety I can't say -- maybe difference breeds attention, but for my two cents any writer who could follow Chuck Dixon's Birds of Prey run with an equally good Birds of Prey run, and who could create and write Secret Six is OK with me irrespective of their gender ("Thank you for the use of your nethers" -- cracks me up every time!).
What needled me about Simone being fired from Batgirl by email was (1) that yes, Simone is a popular and long-serving writer for DC, (2) yes, Simone is a woman, at a time when DC's record on gender equality and sensitivity isn't so great, and (3) arguably Simone took a lot of DC's flak regarding restoring Barbara Gordon as Batgirl -- and DC rewarded that with firing-by-email. That, to me, does seem disloyal on DC's part, and as I said above, it seems tone-deaf on DC's part to what fans might think or how they might react; it seems, essentially, a bonehead move.
I'm not boycotting DC, I'm not starting a campaign to get Simone reinstated on Batgirl (though no disrespect if someone's doing this themselves), I just think it's a bonehead move and I said so. I don't discount Simone's gender but I'd like to think for points one and three I'd still think it was a bonehead move even as relating to a male writer.
Just my two cents. Again, thanks for your comment. And indeed, yay New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol. 3 -- I just hope they put more content in it.
@Charles -- No discouragement intended! More collections, more available, is always a good thing. Everyone should get what they want.
According to DC's announcement, GREEN LANTERN: SECTOR 2814 VOL. 2 TP collects GL #182-183 and 185-189 and has 232 pages. Either more issues are included or the page count is way too high, especially since most of those issues have "Tales of the Green Lantern" backup stories that don't seem to be included in the collection. Anybody know which is the (likely?) case? I'd love to get a big fat chunk of Englehart's run!
ReplyDeleteSimone has been hired back on batgirl. The people have spoken!
ReplyDeleteAfter Bob Harras got promoted to VP, we needed some good news to balance it out.
ReplyDeleteYes, Gail back on Batgirl is good and interesting -- and should make for some interesting reading when the second and third trades roll around.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious when/if someone at DC will make a statement about this, some time.