It's the three W's–Westerns, War stories, Wildstorm–this morning as DC announces their latest batch of #1 issues for the Fall.
Stormwatch #1 – Paul Cornell and Miguel Sepulveda bring Apollo and Mignighter to the larger DCU
Blackhawks #1 – "Kill the bad guys before they kills us." It's mercenary fun with team Blackhawk in this new series from Mike Costa and Ken Lashley.
Sgt. Rock and the Men of War #1 – Another contemporary warfare series, this one tells the tale of the original Sgt. Rock's grandson and his team of commandos. Scripts by Ivan Brandon and art from Tom Derenick.
All-Star Western #1 – With backups featuring other western characters, the main story features Jonah Hex in old timey Gotham with a mission from Amadeus Arkham. The existing Hex team of Palmiotti and Gray will write and the sensational Moritat provides the art.
Deathstroke #1 – The terminator returns with his own series of bounties and hits for hire. It's the second relaunch title for Nightwing writer Kyle Higgins, with art by Joe Bennett and Art Thibert.
Grifter #1 – The long-rumored Flashpoint resistance fighter and Wildstorm vet gets his own title, scripted by Nathan Edmonson with art by CAFU and BIT of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents.
OMAC #1 – Brother, Eye don't know. It's crackling Kirby good-time fun with the cosmic colossus. Written by Dan DiDio and co-written and illustrated by Keith Giffen and Scott Koblish.
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I was getting kind of nervous about the future of Jonah Hex until this article relieved my fears…
Hex is back! Thanks DC:)
Now this is a great batch compared to yesterday’s 90s nostalgia titles and creators.
Are they distancing themselves from the Jonah Hex movie? Why isn’t that the title?
Yknow what? Long as I get my Hex fix, I can weather the other stuff. And hey, I’m betting this may mean some solo Bat Lash stories too.
Nathan Edmonson = Who is Jake Ellis? Ivan Brandon = Viking and Nemesis. Some good names coming on board.
This is a very interesting batch of announcements. I really applaud DC for updating Sgt. Rock and the Blackhawks. I wonder if they can pull in any of the people who like video games like Call of Duty.
I am glad Hex will still exist in All-Star Western. Perhaps we will see DC’s other western characters as well.
This is the most exciting set of announcements yet in terms of creators. After the initial set of “hey it’s the same people you usually see, slightly reshuffled,” it’s great to see guys like Mike Costa, Kyle Higgins, Ivan Brandon, and Nathan Edmondson working on these books. I’m particularly excited about Edmondson’s Grifter series, I’ve really enjoyed Who Is Jake Ellis and Cafu’s work on Thunder Agents was great.
Hey, speaking of which…there’s no way Thunder Agents is making it through the reboot…right?
@s1lentslayer Because it’s more than just Jonah Hex in the book; they have a whole bunch of Western characters they’re gonna use.
Gotta hand it to them, did not see a one of these coming at all.
The Stormwatch and Grifter books look awesome. Another good round of books, will get most of these except for Omac. Also does that sign behind Jonah Hex say Gotham?
Blackhawks, All-Star Western, and Sgt Rock all sound totally rad.
This is the most underwhelming announcement thus far. Didio on Omac is disappointing.
All-Star Western is the only definite book I’m getting. I may get Blackhawks or Sgt Rock..
Oh hey look the guy from ‘Who is Jake Ellis?’ is doing a book. It’s like DC had him for the project long before it was announced. It would look very silly now to have an article dissing DC for not getting the guy. Luckily there isn’t one….oh right.
Sign me up for All Star Western though. No more trade waiting on Jonah Hex!
Good news on the Hex frontier.
I think they said in the Sgt Rock and All Star Western that they’re going to have backups (in the aintitcool interview), so probably start New Rock and Hex in the main story and assorted other war/western people in the backup
Excited to see Cornell on Stormwatch.
Who is Mignighter?
This whole reboot/renumbering thing has been in the works at DC for a long time.
I wonder if it had anything to do with Rucka cutting his ties with them?
Hopefully far into the future we’ll get a book on all the ‘behind the scenes’ action from when Marvel claimed bankruptcy to the time DC when date and digital. Something along the lines of “Easy Riders, Raging Bulls”.
I’m sure it would be a fascinating read.
All Star Western looks interesting!
I still have my fingers crossed for Xombi.
I haven’t really read in Wildstorm comics, but I’ve been slowly getting into some lately. I had a bunch of Grifter toys/pogs/other things when I was like around 10 years old, so I’ve always enjoyed him but didn’t think I wanted a series out of this. But that creative team seems pretty awesome.
I like the name All-Star Western. It’s very catchy, and I’ll give the book a try b/c of Palmiotti.
Grifter looks cool so I’ll give it a try at least. The other books I know very little about aside from OMAC.
On the one hand I’m glad Hex will still have a monthly book, but looking at the premise of it I would much rather have the Hex book I have right now than the one they’re promising me. Gotham is not ‘west’, it’s on the east coast (somewhere), so having Hex ride around on a horse in the middle of a city on the east coast is hardly a ‘western’. DC needs some geography lessons.
Well, nobody has posed it yet, so I will. What is DC saying about Apollo and Midnight? Are they going to ‘sanitize’ their relationship? Are they going to tone down Midnighter’s attitude? Will Bats and Supes show up in the same title and will the writer have the balls to make the joke?
Oh yeah, now that I’m done whining about Hex – I thought Stormwatch and Grifter looked interesting – I’ll give those two a shot. I would have rather seen J’onn in JLI though – not sure how he’s going to fit into Stormwatch.
@MisterJ Cornell tweeted that their relationship will remain the same as it has always been.
Another batch I’m looking forward to reading.
Stormwatch with J’onn J’onnz! Bizarre. It’s like a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy.
Nice of Dan DiDio to give himself a book, eh. Will be nice to see Giffen scratch his Kirby itch!
Good to see a few other genres being represented. Moritat on Hex is very promising. Always glad to throw a few bucks Palmiotti’s way too.
Well other comics have backup stories where the title is still the main story. Obviously they’re trying to appeal to new peeps, just sad to see the namesake go.
@TheNextChampion That is not what Ron said at all. He said that he was primed to make the jump and suggested that DC gets him. But do not let the facts get in the way of your little story.
@Baldrick Thanks, that is good news.
Yay, Grifter! And Stormwatch. Two more books I’ll definitely be picking up.
Happy there will be a Jonah Hex book still, but I hope it stays as (or shortly after the debut returns to being) a done-in-one book. Glad to see Palmiotti and Gray still on board, however, so I suppose I shouldn’t worry too much. Also hope they keep rotating artists every issue or two. Also, the Blackhawks cover looks cool, reminds me almost of Sean Murphy art!
Strangely, OMAC is the first title in this whole relaunch that has interested me even slightly.
Blackhawks? F-Yes!
I was super excited when I saw there was a Sgt. Rock book… but I don’t WANT a modern Sgt. Rock book. Oh well, guess I’ll just stick to my showcases and such. Psyched for the All Star Western book, though.
I am all over Grifter and Stormwatch. I’m so glad some of the Wildstorm concepts made it into DCU proper.
I have never purchased a monthly DC book in almost 30 years of reading comics – and now I’m up to about 6 I’m gonna give a try. Apparently now I’m bi-comical.
I just Googled Moritat and found his DeviantArt page. Here’s a western page he did:http://moritat.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=24#/d1vwl4g
Just like with Voodoo, Stormwatch doesn’t mean much to me but the creative time sells it. Paul Cornell and Miguel Sepulveda – yes please. Grifter I was always quite fond of if for no other reason than his design. Turns out it’s really the Vertigo and Wildstorn exiles I’m most excited about for this relaunch. Most of the other stuff I’m looking forward to I’m already into now (such as Green Lantern and Batman).
Martin Manhunter with Apollo & Midnighter? In the DCU? I might have to pick that up just to see how the hell they do it.
And that Sgt. Rock cover is awesome.
All look good save for OMAC.
@MisterJ No, Ron gave the impression that they wouldnt get the guy after the first batch of announcements. Again making judgments before the facts were all out.
Look at the Kirby chops on Giffen and Koblish!
I love OMAC’s cover, very kirby feeling. ANd with Giffen writing i may read this. but im not digging the redesigns of midnight and apollo. I hope they keep there characters intact though when they move them to the DCU.
All of these sound awesome
Wow I did not realize that was Apollo and Midnighter i’m loving the new looks for both characters.
@bgavino That’s actually Jack Hawkwsmoor according to Cornell, though Apollo will also be in there.
Wow. Nathan Edmundson on Grifter is SICK!!!
I guess this is a grittier Martian Manhunter than we’re used to. I can dig that, I guess, but I wonder who will be the new “heart of the Justice League” then.
Looks like a lot of fun. Good to see the positive reactions in the comments!
I am surprisingly happy to see a Grifter book.
I am sooooo relieved that Jonah Hex is returning – and with Gray and Palmiotti writing him too. I like the concept of the All Star Western. Can’t wait for some Bat Lash on the side.
The other title that interests me is Sgt. Rock. I’m so glad that DC is updating the war genre.
Stormwatch by Paul Cornell? AWESOME!!!
I’m really excited for the Wildstorm titles plus its most excellent to see Jonah Hex continue. I couple of interesting titles in this batch as well. I’m probably picking up most of these.
@Usagi Western is reference more to time period then location, plus west of where? West of Europe or west of where you live. I think it is a great idea to connect it to the DCU a little
Very interesting crop today. I really like that DC is trying to expand beyond the capes genre, hitting Western and War comics, while still keeping them in the DCU. I think a couple of years ago, a modern warfare Sgt. Rock book would’ve easily been a Vertigo book.
Stormwatch is interesting. Since the Authority and Apollo and Midnighter were really sort of analogues for the Justice League and Batman and Superman, I’m curious to see how they find their own identity in this version. Plus it’s really interesting to see Martian Manhunter and maybe some other DC characters in the mix.
I also like that they’re getting some different names… Ivan Brandon, Nathan Edmundson, Mike Costa. Good stuff today!
If anyone in the NYC area wants to catch up on Stormwatch I am selling my trade paperbacks of that and The Authority because I am moving back to California and don’t want to lug them. Also the complete JLI generation lost, brightest day and X-Men Second Coming.
Random thoughts on these announcements…
-Glad to see some of the Wildstorm characters are going to survive. Wasn’t sure how it would work, given that I don’t think you can have both the JLA and Authority on the same world.
-Midnighter needs his trench coat back please.
-Grifter? HELL YEAH!
-JJ on Stormwatch? That’s a surprise.
-Will the books with backups be longer than 20 pages, therefore more than $2.99?
-Sgt. Rock and Blackhawks look promising.
-DiDio writing? Really? Quit playin’. Really?
-IMHO – Paul Cornell can write as many books as he wants. Can’t wait.
@PaulMontgomery Cornell is going to write Hawksmoor too?
Paul M., you just made my morning.
Thanks
Stormwatch looks like a must buy for me. I’m glad to see J’onn there. Seems like an interesting fit. Sgt. Rock and All-Star Westerns look good, too.
I’m excited.
@tdog Westerns are called westerns because they were traditionally set in the ‘western’ part of the US. Take your historic western characters – Butch Cassidy ? Born in Utah, also lived in Wyoming, Montana and Colorado. Billy the Kid ? Indiana, New Mexico, the Arizona territories (before statehood). Wyatt Earp ? Iowa, Kansas, Arizona. The OK Corral was in Tombstone, Arizona.
WESTERN – derived from the root ‘west’, not to be confused with ‘east’.
@usagi What about Shenandoah? That’s in Virginia.
The Hex book sounds amazing. I’ll be getting that.
J’onn! Deathstroke! Now I just need to know where my sweet Blue Beetle is hiding….
@party Wouldn’t he be in JLI?
I know we’re supposedly still waiting for Morrison’s Multiversity, but do you think there’s a chance we’ll get a New Gods or Fourth World book? If DC is willing to give Etrigan and OMAC their own titles, surely there’s a chance.
Cornell and Sepulveda is one of my personal dream teams, so I’ll defintley be getting Stormwatch. The Western book sounds intresting, that’s a definite for me too because I love what palmiotti and Gray are doing in Jonah hex. Moritat’s art is a bonus. I love Cafu so I’ll also be getting Grifter.
OMAC’ll be sick if it’s a continuing of the original, written and drawn in Kirby fashion. I’ll get it if that’s the case.
@party They should do a watchmen analog team with Blue Beetle, The Question, etc.
Another question I have is, if all the Wildstorm stuff is being brought into the DCU, should we expect more “dark and gritty” stories in the DCU?
I am interested in buying Wildstorm books. You win this round DC.
@Usagi I am from Canada, but don’t all those location sound more central, the west or westerns where much more then location, that is what I am saying
@ResurrectionFlag Hey, it’s not exactly a secret that Jonah was in the Confederate army during the civil war and served on or near the Atlantic coast, since that’s where the majority of the fighting occurred. However if you take his post-war life, which is what the majority of his comic book appearences/series followed, they have been in ‘the west’. Many of them are in some generic small towns with no locations given, some have specific state – I think the Vertigo mini’s were set in Texas, because everything Joe Lansdale writes seems to be in Texas. In any case, you can read as many back-issues of Jonah Hex as you can find, the reprints, the Vertigo minis – 99% of them take place in towns where you can hitch your horse on main street and walk around with your guys in plain view, where the sherriff’s office always has a wall of ‘Wanted : Dead or Alive’ posters.
My pedantry aside, I just feel that something will be lost when Jonah is transplanted into Gotham City and I don’t see what is gained by hooking him up to Batman continuity in the 1800′s.
Strangely, Deathstroke is the one that looks most interesting to me. I would’ve thought one of the war books would get me before I saw the solicits.
Glad to see some Wildstorm characters coming back and now joining the DCNu. My one gripe is Deathstroke’s new costume. A little too over the top for him imho.
All right I’ll accept the All Star Western title b/c Gray & Palmiotti are still writing & that’s all I cared about, what a relief!
See the problem I see is 80% of DC’s announcements so far having me saying I want to check that out. Been a long time since I was this interested in so much product from any one company. Are all of these being announced as on-goings or are there limited series in the mix to get to the magic number 52?
This is the most eclectic mix yet. Most of these sound really exciting. I’ll definitely be picking up AS Western and Stormwatch. And I’m seriously considering Sgt. Rock and Blackhawks. I’ll have to wait and see my total. Good stuff here though. So far they’ve really kept us guessing. Very exciting.
@poopmonster
I know what you mean, there’s been at least one book in each announcement that I want to read. Actually, knowing that all of these will be $1.99 after four weeks is a very helpful criteria. I just have to figure out which ones sound so good I couldn’t possibly wait four weeks to read them.
While I think several of them will ultimately become limited series (because they don’t catch on and that’s just the way it goes), I believe nothing has been announced as a limited series.
So how long before half of these #1′s that they are rolling out get cancelled? As cool as some of these characters are like Grifter, and Deathstoke, I think it’s been pretty obvious in the past that these characters can’t survive their own series.
My question is are these Wildstrom characters new versions native to the DCU with the originals still back on Earth (whatever) or are they the originals migrated to the DCU?
This has been a great couple weeks for comments! Thank you IFanbase!
Anyone know who this Kyle Higgins dude is?
Very excited for the new Wildstorm books, since they are my guiltiest of guilty comic pleasures. Even more stoked that they are being folded into the DCU! Not really digging the new Midnighter costume though…it really screams “Armored Daredevil”.
Great artist choice for All Star Western by the way. I’ve seen Moritat’s work on The Spirit and it’s absolutely gorgeous. Although I hope people like Jordi Bernet, Phil Noto, and (if he wants to) Darwyn Cooke will come back to the title eventually.
@ResurrectionFlan You’ll get that in Multiversity if it ever comes out.
It looks like Deathstoke found an old Azrael Batman suit laying around, saw that no one was using it, removed the cape, repainted the gloves, and tried to pass it off as his own design.
@JeffR: Seriously. It’s obvious at this point that the homage to the 90′s was completely intentional. Not sure why, but it works on some level. Some of these redesigns have been both neccessary and dynamic, but others (Deathstorke, Mister Terrific, Black Canary, Kid Flash IMO) would’ve been better left alone.
@diebenny – The dude who wrote the excellent GATES OF GOTHAM.
@SuperLuigi Ahh, thank ya. I actually bought that, but forgot that Scott Snyder was just the plotter. In my head he had killed Higgins and wrote the thing too.
Seeing as it’s only 1 issue in I’m still not sold on it or him quite yet. Time will tell. But hey, at least I know the guy now.
@TheNextChampion No. Here is the quote, “DC needs to turn this trend around and recruit some new and exciting creators who can breathe renewed life into some of their titles. There are great creators at Image, Oni and some of the other independents that I hope they’re looking to recruit while figuring out ways to challenge new talent with the vast library of DC Characters. Someone like Nathan Edmondson, who’s tearing it up on Who Is Jake Ellis? at Image is prime for stepping up to the big leagues, and DC needs to act before Marvel does”
Now tell me how that quote fits in with your interpretation. I even took the whole paragrapgh so that there is context to it too. Seriously, show me where there is an ‘impression’ that they would not be able to ‘get’ the guy. It reads like a plan of action for DC to better itself. The phrse “I hope they are looking to recruit” is even used. You just read it with the context of the title overbearing it all and not the actual idea.
Is there any chance Superman is being left out of the DC reboot….?
Hex frequents the East coast, the South, Mexico and Canada.
He goes where the bounties take him.
I hope the book contains more pages.
I am so excited about this relaunch. I am not to happy with the Hawkman and Batman decisions but everything else looks so fantastic.
@yyzKyle Nope.
These look great!
I might try all of these except Deathstroke. DC will get a LOT more money from me starting in September.
OMAC! YES! Giffen! YES! Didio… NO!!!! NO!! NO!!! NO!!!
@mitchster haha, exactly!
I’m starting to like how they are refocusing the DCU, including all the Wildstorm guys could be fun, I really hope we get a new Majestic book
I am all over this batch. I only buy Jonah Hex now. I’ll buy four or five of these books.
@john72tex Ditto. Anyone like me who has stuck with Titans will probably be feeling like we’ve wasted our time doing so.
Giffen on OMAC will have an effect on the book, I loved the four definitive volumes of The Authority with Mark Millar,Bryan Hitch, Frank Quietly and Grant Morrison so Stormwatch (the original book from which they spawned Authority) interests me to see graphic Wildstorm characters like Apollo and Midnighter with Martian Manhunter in the DCU, especially since they have plans to shut down Wildstorm. Seeing some cult characters like Swamp Thing and Constantine makes me wonder what they’re intentions for Vertigo are and I’m also gonna check out The Demon’s new book just cause I love the character and appearances in other stories and he’s one of Jack Kirby’s creations. Jonah Hex in the All Star Westerns should be cool and hope it turns into like a Dark Horse Presents series showcasing other future cult classics.
@usagi The idea of the American West has constantly changed and shifted. You can actually look at the novels of James Fenimore Cooper whose Natty Bumpoo was moving about the wilds of Delaware back in the early days of this not yet independent country. His novels are considered, by some, to be the precursors of the western we know.