As the days have passed since the news of the DC Relaunch, we've been looking at what was announced and what wasn't. We got some insight from the editorial staff at DC Comics, which filled in some of the gaps, but honestly there are still open questions. Yesterday we took a look at the list of titles that were once published by DC Comics, but come September they're published no more. Today we're taking a look at the creators who we've come to know as DC Comics creators, and yet have no assignments in the September books.
Now before we get to the list, a couple of things to get out of the way. First, by no means is this meant to be a slight against any of the talented creators who were announced with book in September. It's great to see those names, some new and some well known, getting work on the relaunch. We're not saying that the creators below should have gotten work over anyone, rather just wondering out loud as to why they didn't get any assignments in the relaunch. Secondly, after speaking with Bob Harras and Eddie Berganza and hearing other rumblings (many thanks to Gail Simone), we understand that just because a creator doesn't have a book in the September relaunch, doesn't mean they'll never work at DC again, and as Harras pointed out in our interview, they're not done. There are likely to be other books announced and launched after September, so it's very likely that many of these creators will be back under the DC bullet soon. But as of right now, that's still an open question.
With that out of the way, let's get to to the list:
James Robinson
I was most surprised not to see Robinson with any assignments in the DC Relaunch. His name has become synonymous with DC Comics over the past few years, with his work on Superman and Justice League of America. We've heard of an upcoming series featuring The Shade, a character from his legendary Starman run. Perhaps that's to come post-September? But right now, a DC Comics without James Robinson doesn't feel quite right.
I was most surprised not to see Robinson with any assignments in the DC Relaunch. His name has become synonymous with DC Comics over the past few years, with his work on Superman and Justice League of America. We've heard of an upcoming series featuring The Shade, a character from his legendary Starman run. Perhaps that's to come post-September? But right now, a DC Comics without James Robinson doesn't feel quite right.
Scott KolinsKolins has become best known for his work at DC Comics, beginning with The Flash and most recently by writing and drawing one of the Flashpoint books, Citizen Cold. It could be theorized that he's been busy with that series, and thus couldn't come on board for September. Or it could be that his first stint at writing and drawing simply didn't impress DC editorial.
Jamal Igle
A fantastic and dependable artist, Jamal Igle has become best known for his run on Supergirl, and has made a career of working for DC over the past decade. I was shocked to not see him drawing a book for DC come September and hope that he's got some work coming down the line.
Bryan Q. Miller
With the numerous outrages over the changes at DC, the one I keep hearing about is the lack of Bryan Q. Miller after his work on Batgirl. What seemed like the beginning of a new writer's memorable career and legacy at DC Comics seems to have ended as quickly as it started.
With the numerous outrages over the changes at DC, the one I keep hearing about is the lack of Bryan Q. Miller after his work on Batgirl. What seemed like the beginning of a new writer's memorable career and legacy at DC Comics seems to have ended as quickly as it started.
Mike Norton
Sure we've heard that his exclusive contract with DC Comics ended, and he's been drawing Fear Itself: Youth in Revolt for Marvel, but just because he's not exclusive doesn't mean Norton couldn't work for DC again. With all the concern about getting 3 issues in the can before September, I would think Norton would be a go-to guy for art, since he's dependable, can handle a monthly book and is one of the better artists out there. If you ask me, it's insane that he's not drawing one of the new 52 books from DC.
Sure we've heard that his exclusive contract with DC Comics ended, and he's been drawing Fear Itself: Youth in Revolt for Marvel, but just because he's not exclusive doesn't mean Norton couldn't work for DC again. With all the concern about getting 3 issues in the can before September, I would think Norton would be a go-to guy for art, since he's dependable, can handle a monthly book and is one of the better artists out there. If you ask me, it's insane that he's not drawing one of the new 52 books from DC.
Jock
After wowing us all with his Detective Comics work with Scott Snyder recently, I would assume that Jock would have been in the mix somewhere, but then again, it could have been the combination of schedule (as he works to finish Detective Comics) and the fact that he has a new creator owned series coming with Andy Diggle, Snapshot. But still, maybe a cover or two? I mean, it's Jock! We love his work and I would think that his unique style wouldn't be something DC would want to lose.
After wowing us all with his Detective Comics work with Scott Snyder recently, I would assume that Jock would have been in the mix somewhere, but then again, it could have been the combination of schedule (as he works to finish Detective Comics) and the fact that he has a new creator owned series coming with Andy Diggle, Snapshot. But still, maybe a cover or two? I mean, it's Jock! We love his work and I would think that his unique style wouldn't be something DC would want to lose.
Brian Wood
Rumors of his Supergirl pitch earlier this spring being rejected combined with the end of his exclusive contract and the cancellation of Northlanders, does not paint a pretty picture for Brian Wood at DC. Which is a real shame, because Wood's voice as a writer is one a modern and emotional one, and given his recent work on DV8, I would have liked to have seen what he could do on a book at DC, especially one of their "Edge" titles.
Rumors of his Supergirl pitch earlier this spring being rejected combined with the end of his exclusive contract and the cancellation of Northlanders, does not paint a pretty picture for Brian Wood at DC. Which is a real shame, because Wood's voice as a writer is one a modern and emotional one, and given his recent work on DV8, I would have liked to have seen what he could do on a book at DC, especially one of their "Edge" titles.
Nicola Scott One of my favorite artists at DC Comics in recent years, Scott has proven herself to be a major talent, which is why I was shocked not to see her name on a book in September. Now, I'm aware of all the outrage about the low number of female creators at DC Comics now, but I'm not going to get into that here (it's a whole other topic all together and others have said it better and much louder than I ever could), but if you ask me, not having Scott on a book is a huge mistake. Apparently, according to Gail Simone, Scott was offered some books, but who knows why she didn't take the assignments. So is this the end of Nicola Scott at DC? Marvel? Are you listening?
Chris Roberson
With his BOOM! title Starborn, iZombie and Cinderella: Fables are Forever at Vertigo, Roberson has been a name to watch. DC tapped him to clean up the mess on Superman post JMS, so you'd think he's in good graces with DC, and yet, his name is nowhere to be found either come September. If it were me, I would have handed at least 1 book to Roberson in a second, purely just to keep him working for DC as opposed to other publishers.
With his BOOM! title Starborn, iZombie and Cinderella: Fables are Forever at Vertigo, Roberson has been a name to watch. DC tapped him to clean up the mess on Superman post JMS, so you'd think he's in good graces with DC, and yet, his name is nowhere to be found either come September. If it were me, I would have handed at least 1 book to Roberson in a second, purely just to keep him working for DC as opposed to other publishers.
Phil Hester
Another veteran who's proven himself as a top creator in comics, so much so that DC turned to him as well for JMS on Wonder Woman. You would think that to reward Hester (and Roberson) for saving their butts, they'd have given him more work.
Another veteran who's proven himself as a top creator in comics, so much so that DC turned to him as well for JMS on Wonder Woman. You would think that to reward Hester (and Roberson) for saving their butts, they'd have given him more work.
Amanda Conner
No one debates the quality of Amanda Conner's artwork. Her most recent work for DC has moved her even higher in the pantheon of artists, with her run on Power Girl as one of the best books DC published in years. Post-Power Girl, she's been taking time off, and one would think that September would have been the perfect time to come back, but alas, not so much. Thankfully, again, Gail Simone, via Jimmy Palmiotti, has let us know that Amanda is indeed working on an upcoming project for DC, so we have that to look forward to.
No one debates the quality of Amanda Conner's artwork. Her most recent work for DC has moved her even higher in the pantheon of artists, with her run on Power Girl as one of the best books DC published in years. Post-Power Girl, she's been taking time off, and one would think that September would have been the perfect time to come back, but alas, not so much. Thankfully, again, Gail Simone, via Jimmy Palmiotti, has let us know that Amanda is indeed working on an upcoming project for DC, so we have that to look forward to.
Matthew Sturges
Another case of a quality writer who worked not only for Vertigo, but crossed over to the DCU rather nicely, proving himself be a solid writer. With Jack of Fables being canceled, and the future of Vertigo up in the air, threatening House of Mystery, you'd think Sturges would have room in his schedule for another book easily.
Another case of a quality writer who worked not only for Vertigo, but crossed over to the DCU rather nicely, proving himself be a solid writer. With Jack of Fables being canceled, and the future of Vertigo up in the air, threatening House of Mystery, you'd think Sturges would have room in his schedule for another book easily.
Adam Beechen
One of the pleasant surprises recently at DC has been the Batman Beyond book, which has tapped into the success of the old cartoon. Many were confused as to not seeing Batman Beyond, nor Adam Beechen in the September announcements. But fear not, Beechen said that there may be more to come, so we'll wait and see.
One of the pleasant surprises recently at DC has been the Batman Beyond book, which has tapped into the success of the old cartoon. Many were confused as to not seeing Batman Beyond, nor Adam Beechen in the September announcements. But fear not, Beechen said that there may be more to come, so we'll wait and see.
Don Kramer
Another solid artist who's name, for me at least, has become connected with DC Comics. Currently on Wonder Woman (and mired in the JMS mess), it could be a scheduling issue here as well. But given his history at DC, I was surprised not to see his name somewhere in the mix
Another solid artist who's name, for me at least, has become connected with DC Comics. Currently on Wonder Woman (and mired in the JMS mess), it could be a scheduling issue here as well. But given his history at DC, I was surprised not to see his name somewhere in the mix
Paul Dini Again, when I think of DC Comics, one of the names that springs to mind is Paul Dini and his long time affiliation with DC Comics, mainly in the Batman universe. Recently we've seen him launch a Zatanna book, but that book was not on the September list. He's written the video game tie-in book for Batman: Arkham City, to rave reviews. And yet, no book in September. It could be due to his schedule being packed, especially now that he's writing for the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon for Marvel. Maybe all that time with Jeph Loeb will lead Dini to break away from DC and write some comics for Marvel?
Kelly Sue DeConnick
In the up and coming category, DeConnick most recently wrote a few issues of Supergirl, and it looked as if more work was to come, which was not the case. DeConnick did update everyone on her blog that she was offered something but the schedule didn't work, and she pitched a new book, which got denied by DC editorial. Either way, it looks like DC may have lost another new creator by not involving DeConnick
In the up and coming category, DeConnick most recently wrote a few issues of Supergirl, and it looked as if more work was to come, which was not the case. DeConnick did update everyone on her blog that she was offered something but the schedule didn't work, and she pitched a new book, which got denied by DC editorial. Either way, it looks like DC may have lost another new creator by not involving DeConnick
Dustin Nguyen
The past few years have shown Nguyen to really step into his own, with some amazing interiors as well as some of the prettiest covers you've ever seen. Many Batman issues have been enhanced by Nguyen's talents, and yet he's missing come September. You'd think DC wouldn't let one of their top artists slip away, so hopefully hell have work to come down the road.
The past few years have shown Nguyen to really step into his own, with some amazing interiors as well as some of the prettiest covers you've ever seen. Many Batman issues have been enhanced by Nguyen's talents, and yet he's missing come September. You'd think DC wouldn't let one of their top artists slip away, so hopefully hell have work to come down the road.
Now these weren't the only creators who have worked for DC Comics recently without assignments in September, but these are the ones I was most surprised about. We all know that talent management is a difficult thing and sometimes people come and go from publishers, even if they're good creators. In order to see new creators get a shot, other creators have to step aside or go elsewhere, we understand that's the nature of the business. But still, the names above are all solid creators who have previously performed for DC Comics and their omission in the relaunch seems to be curious, more than anything. I'm sure we'll see many of these names on future books from DC post September, but if I were at Marvel or any other publisher, I just got handed a pretty sweet shopping list of creators that may be looking for work.
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Compared to many people (and probably most on this site), my pull list isn’t all that big. But seeing that so many people whose work I truly enjoy (especially Wood, Sturges, Miller, Nguyen, and Jock) not on the initial DC list is a letdown.
I’m quite shocked by a few of these. There are some incredibly talented individuals on that list.
I will be very disappointed if I don’t see most of these ladies and gentlemen working again soon.
Not seeing thse creator has led me to suspect that there’s more coming annoncements coming from DC.
are the 52 relaunches the only comic books to be published by DC? anyone know?
There’s a lot of good talent on this list. It’s really depressing that we won’t be seeing work by these creators come September.
On a sidenote, Citizen Cold isn’t Scott Kolins’ first writing credit for DC. He wrote and drew the Solomon Grundy miniseries along with Superman/Batman #66 and #67, which were basically a wrap up to that series. Also, they featured Frankenstein. Just thought I’d pass that along.
@AmirCat I am guessing they are gonna have a few “mid-season replacementes” waiting in the wings. Is this more titles then DC was publishing previously? It definitely feels like a lot when I look at that big list.
I’m not aware of any upcoming projects involving Frazer Irving. Anyone?
Amanda Conner is one of the few artists where I will read whatever she’s on next. I’m also eager to see Paul Dini write again, ideally for Batman.
I still cant believe they did not give Blue Beetle to Sturges. Doesnt Tony Bedard have enough books already?
Man, I’m already missing the Detective dream team. On the upside, since I now have to get a regular Jock fix, I’ll be picking up his creator owned book.
Marcus To was another huge loss. The way he can draw characters muscular, yet slender at the same time is something rare.
But hey, Rob Liefeld and JT Krul got books! That’s cool, right?
As much as I’m bummed out that Bryan Q. Miller isn’t on one of the relaunch titles, is there a possibility it’s because he’s got more TV work?
I’m also holding out hope that it’s because Marvel picked him up and he’ll be writing a new Runaways series. (Think about it. He’d kill that book!)
A couple of these have confirmed via social networking that they have DC projects they can’t talk about (including Kolins and Nguyen). Barring an announcement that they’re NOT working for DC- like the vocal creators who saw the announcements as pink slips- you can bet they’re on something and under NDA.
Is Mike Norton not still working on Young Justice? I assumed that, since it wasn’t part of the DCU proper, that it was going to continue. Have I missed an announcement somewhere?
I was talking to another creator at a con a couple of months ago who has a past working relationship with James Robinson, and they let it slip that Robinson has a twelve issue Shade mini-series in the works.
Now, things could’ve changed in the meantime, but that might explain his lack of presence initially.
I think we’re almost definitely gonna get the Shade mini by Robinson. Fingers crossed they get him onto a relaunch of JSA. A good run on that book by him would be awesome, especially after more readers experiencing his golden age take on DC in the Starman Omnibi recently.
Brian Wood needs to be given free reign to write anything he damn well pleases. He flys under so many readers radars and he’s by far one of the most diverse writers DC has on it’s books at the moment. I’d take a Wood Authority relaunch in a heartbeat. Apparently he had line-wide reboots for the Wildstrom Universe ready to go, and if they’re anything like the DV8 mini in quality, they’d be amazing.
Not too pushed about Kollins. His artwork has taken a noticable drop in quality in recent times and his writing hasn’t impressed at all so far.
I love Paul Dini but it seems that every second issue of a series he’s on is a fill in by a weaker writer. Get him on some Batman minis (like the Arkham City one) and he’d be a lot better.
There are a lot of surprising names on this list, and some that i didn’t care for. I think part of DC’s problem is a quality issue. Over the past few months, i’ve slowly been finding my self underwhelmed with the DC books i was getting, and i always considered myself to be a DC guy first.
I’m sure some of these names will bounce back like others have said.
I hope there is some magic in the works for some of these creators down the pipeline. DC’s definitely not coming out swinging without some of the people mentioned above.
It’s also quite probable that the aforementioned creators will work on these relaunched titles after the first story arcs are done.
Bob Harras is not going to tell you that Jim Lee will only do the first 3 issues of JLA but it could happen.
people act like the line-ups they announced are for a permanent on-going team, but i don’t feel like they have given any indication to these creators being a fixed part of the title, just as it is with 50% of books out there for the big two. i think theyre saving norton for when they need somebody to save another persons ass when they can’t meet the bottom line. i honestly think theyre using this reboot to test out new blood, searching for a couple diamond new creators, and hopefully getting some old creators back on there feet.
@krooze Mike Norton’s last issue of Young Justice is #5 and it’s due out on June 22nd. He left that series to, presumably, do Fear Itself: Young in Revolt. He hasn’t been officially tied to coming back to Young Justice, which is solicited without his name attached through issue #8. But who knows? Maybe he’ll be on it after that.
Other then Dustin Nguyen and Amanda Conner I am not really shocked or upset these guys are gone for now. I’m sure all of them will be getting work in the near future. So instead of whining like I’m sure a lot of people will, I will just be patience and wait for the future and also enjoy the books that are coming out.
I hope Marvel doesn’t pounce on some of these folks. Losing Jock, Conner, Irving, DeConnick, etc. to the Mouse House of Ideas would be devestating. I don’t think Dini is going anywhere due to his WB ties. Robinson could be excellent if they put him on JSA or something that played to his strengths.
Kolins can GTFO as far as I’m concerned.
@kennyg Paul Dini is producing the new Ultimate Spider-Man show.
How many times must Amanda Connor remind people that she can’t do an ongoing monthly? Jimmy Palmiotti said AC doing the 12 Power Girl issues was a rare exception, and that it wiped her out.
Plus he’s been vocal that he, Amanda and Frank Teri have an Image project coming up.
Norton ?-His DC exclusive was up.
Others on this list were offered books or asked to pitch, but the creators declined.
If Vertigo goes, I go. It’s over for me with DC if their answer to trying to attract new readership is to fall back on telling umpteen super-hero stories rather than keeping an avenue for great creators to tell great stories about characters without capes.
I too was looking over the list hoping for more Marcus To. And yeah, James Robinson is a shocking absent name.
Haha. C’mon John, people miss things, have lives, and we don’t always catch, see, or hear every little bit of comic’s news that exists. Cut em some slack.
No marcus to is the biggest loss
no paul dinni? whaaat? i love his zatanna run id hate to see it go. so does anyone know if the 52 titles are gonna be the only printed ones?
@diebenny people who work here talk to creators all the time.
I really like the idea of doing this sort of list, but I also think you can contact creators and ask them directly why we’re not seeing them on these new titles.
@VanessaG
yeah, where’s Frazer Irving in all this? He’s way too good to let go.
…and Cullen Bunn…? or is he exlusive to Marvel…?
You point out some solid creators here Ron, but I’m sure there’s more on the horizon from DC and these creators than meets the eye. I trust that, as a business, they tried to get the most talented group together that they could. It’s noted a few times that people are either working on something else or couldn’t commit to what DC wanted. We’ll see what the future, post September, holds. I’m sure we’ll be pretty surprised by what’s to come.
AB is great!
Some of the names on this list are a shame. It seems to me that this whole relaunch was a fairly last minute idea. And that any creators who had other commitments and weren’t working exclusively DC weren’t able to commit to a relaunch title. That’s how we end up with this list and people like JT Krul, Tony Daniel, and Scott Lobdell with multiple books each.
Great article. I’m definately surprised that some of these names aren’t attached to projects. Maybe there’s something coming that we haven’t seen yet.
Two names mentioned are guys I’m really mixed on. The ever-popular Jock and Dustin Nguyen. I initially didn’t care for Jock’s stylized art but it’s grown on me recently. He’s a good fit with Snyder’s storytelling and Batman’s dark tone. Still I sometimes find his work lacking. Nguyen’s art eventually became to much for me. I didn’t feel he enhanced Detective and found many of his covers to be cluttered and almost messy.
That’s a real good way to reward creators who have produced for dc. So I guese jamal igle who always gets his work done on time isn’t good enough for the reboot is he wtf.
More perplexing than the disappearance of the above creators is why anybody would let Scott Lobdell write any of these books.
Has there been any concrete proof that the future of Vertigo is “up in the air” other than the cancellation of Northlanders? Obviously the Vertigo books are still coming out in September and Milligan doesn’t seem to be playing coy about the future of the Hellblazer title even with the new younger Constantine in the DCU.
Scott Kollins made me love Captain Cold and the Rogues. He somehow made the most ridiculous costumes look cool. His citizen cold was pretty good too! He just screams DC to me.
10 of the above creators are the reason I read so much DC. There has to be more in the works for him, as well as all the other creators otherwise the Gods must be crazy.
On the other hand…
Frazer Irving at Marvel would be awesome, can you imagine him doing x-force! Or Nicola Scott on Thor, or the Avengers, oh the possibilities
just testing my account
James Robinson, Jock and Bryan Q. Miller are all really good and hope to see them return. I like the current JLA, Batgirl and Detective because of these guys. But who knows, James Robinson might just be taking a break,he’s been at it awhile, Jock is doing creator owned work with Andy Diggle and Bryan Q. Miller wrote most of the Smallville episodes, so maybe he’s going back to work on another DC tv series? wink.
Actually, Scott Kolins wrote and drew a Solomon Grundy book so this wouldn’t be his first writing credit at DC.
Have never read Starman but the stuff I have read of James Robinson has been terrible. His Supes work and Cry for Justice was just awful.
Well on the bright side JOCK has a new creator owned series coming with Andy Diggle, Snapshot.