As the publishers convene for the Baltimore Retailer Summit, there’s some news to be had.
DC has announced that in the wake of Blackest Night, several dead titles will be revived! Here’s the official word from DC’s blog, The Source.
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How big is Blackest Night?
So big that its power to make the dead rise has now moved from expired characters to old, canceled series.
That’s right, this January, the BLACKEST NIGHT mini series skips a month to make room for a very special Blackest night event. Eight classic titles from DC’s past will return from the dead for one month only to celebrate this mega-crossover throughout the DC Universe. Each series will pick up on its original numbering and feature characters from their original runs as they deal with the events currently unfolding in the DC Universe. And I have to say, this has been one of the more fun projects we’ve put together.
We scoured the list of series from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and today to find the right titles to bring back from the dead. They are, in no particular order, as follows;
– POWER OF SHAZAM #48 Eric Wallace tells the tale in which Osiris returns from the dead to “chew the fat” with a very powerless Billy and Mary Batson. – CATWOMAN #83 Fabian Nicieza has the original Black mask explaining to Selina why shooting him in the head was a bad idea. – SUICIDE SQUAD #67 Gail Simone and John Ostrander are ringside for the epic fight between a very dead Suicide Squad and a possibly soon-to-be dead Secret Six. – QUESTION #37 Greg Rucka has the one answer for when two Questions meet. – PHANTOM STRANGER #42 Pete Tomasi reveals what Blackest Night means to the Phantom Stranger. – WEIRD WESTERN TALES #71 Dan DiDio (weirdly talking about myself in the third person) lets you know what all the dead old west characters are doing in the new west today. – ATOM AND HAWKMAN #46 Geoff brings you the double date from Hell, The Black Lantern Hawks work to reunite Atom with his long dead love, Jean Loring. – STARMAN #81 James Robinson returns to the book he made great and visits some old haunts.
So there you have it! Eight great issues to show the amazing reach of this amazing story. And in case you are wondering why we skipped a month BLACKEST NIGHT, well, that’s just to give the immensely talented, and immensely overworked Ivan Reis a chance to prepare the over-sized final issue of this series out this March.
How’s that for fun?
To be continued…
DD (Dan DiDio)
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PLUS! Some news on the upcoming Wednesday Comics Collection Hardcover!
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I audibly gasped when I saw Starman #81.
woah
I’m most excited for SUICIDE SQUAD. Loved, loved, loved that series.
evil cosmic super zombie bat-lash joy gasm
The hell…?
This is unexpected but exciting news! Although to be fair I’ve never read any of these series, but it’s such a brilliant idea in theory. All great creators on each title though, especially for the Suicide Squad and Atom/Hawkman comic. December might be a slow month usually, but for DC it’s going to be exciting! Another fantastic idea for the company.
it kind of just sounds like a few more blackest night specials, but, whatever, it could be good
This is probably the best kitschy idea for a tie-in ever. And I love it. Good one, DC. I’m most excited for The Atom and Hawkman.
I’m both awesomed and terrified by the Question thing. In Rucka I trust?
Suicide Squad has never been collected has it? Cause I have an itch to start reading it with all the love it gets on comic sites.
shouldn’t the last question issue be, question quarterly? Kidding beside, I’m interested in these, but don’t want them to soil some strong endings / series. I’m talking to you Question and Starman.
Really looking forward to Weird Western Tales.
Fabian Nicieza drawing zombies!!! tomasi on phantom stranger should be a great indroduction of the character for me. and rucka..yesssssssssssssssssssssssssss
Oh, on the Wednesday Comics front. They’re saying it’s going to be 11 by 17. I can only imagine 17 is going to be the height, because Wonder Woman won’t be able to be shrunk down to that size if not. If anything, these dimensions are roughly the same size as the handsome Prince Valiant 1937-1938 collection Fantagraphics put out this past August. That was 14 by 10.5 if memory serves.
from cbr:
"“It’s very exciting to return to Opal City. And I’m trying to do a story that’s satisfying for long-time fans of ‘Starman’ and also fans of the ‘Blackest Night’ series,” said Robinson. “The only thing I will say now, probably to the disappointment of some fans, is that this is not the return of Jack Knight. This will feature cast members of ‘Starman’ and it will feature a Black Lantern Starman but it will not feature Jack Knight."
this is actually incredibly interesting…….
oh joy!
@scherem That’s what I mean about ‘The Question.’ The resolution of that story in ’52’ was so great, I’m not sure I need to revisit it, at least not this soon. I’m hopeful, though, since Rucka will be writing it.
Starman? OH MY GOD
Definitely a neat gimmick. Would have enjoyed some Aquaman love.
The Hawkman and Atom thing is going to destroy me emotionally for at least two weeks afterward, isn’t it?
Really excited about the Question, hey Rucka can do no wrong writing Renee.
And while Im very happy Catwoman is in the mix, Fabian Nicieza is such a mediocre/average writer that he somehwo manages to work some magic in him to make this plot work. Selina and Black Masks resolution really has a lot to live up to
I love this news. Such a great concept. Definitely takes the sting out of delays. I just hope this is the only delay we run into.
I’m really excited about the latest news regarding Brian Azzarello’s First Wave. I know it’s not completely new news, but I’m excited for a Doc Savage ongoing. The art by Rags Morales on the intro miniseries is just stunning. I think I’m going to fall in love with this pulp universe.
Blackest Night is out for 2 months? Then TNC and iFanboy will be forced to not like the art or story based on that!
Sign me up for the Atom & Hawkman, Question, Power of Shazam and most definitely STARMAN#81!!!
What other comic titles should DC try and bring back for a one time only deal?
Justice League International? If you think about it all of the cast members are either dead or relevent right now. So that could’ve work.
Very excited for The Question and Phantom Stranger, cuz I love that pimp medallion. But was never terribly attached to the other titles. Might check them out though if Longbox is up and running by then.
Now we all know the DC trade program is as enjoyable as getting Swine Flu. But is this the possiblity that these series will get reprinted trades in the near future? DC has already started on THE QUESTION reprints but I’m curious about the others. Again, I’m just assuming because I haven’t seen a Suicide Squad trade ever.
This sounds really cool. I just hope reading the new Starman issue doesnt spoil the rest of the series, as Im only as far as the third omnibus
This isn’t the first time they have done this, is it? At least it makes sense this time.
Awesome idea. I never read any of these books, so it really doesn’t affect me, but at least they’re not announcing some event that spins directly out of the finale of Blackest Night, then another even that spins directly out of the finale to that and so on…
STARMAN??????
Is it too much to hope for Tony Harris on art chores? A cover at least, surely. And Robinson is maintaining his integrity regarding use of Jack, so any reservations have been quickly overcome by the sheer awesomeness of this news.
@PraxJarvin How would they make a wednesday comics trade that was 17" long and 11" wide? Of course the 17" is going to be the height! 😛
Also: At Baltimore Comic-Con Mark Chiarello said that DC/Warner originally wanted to publish it as a digest-sized book. Think about reading that Wonder Woman like that?
Thankfully Paul Levitz put a stop to that idea. Hopefully whoever replaces him understands comics as much as him.
I had a feeling something like this would be coming. Unfortunately for my wallet, I will probably feel the need to purchase most of these. I may even pick up the Wednesday Comics HC and donate the issues to my library. I wonder how these books will sell….
If I missed it, I’m sorry. Has anybody announced if the Wednesday Comics will be released in hardback with the actual size of the newspaper?
@vadamowens – If you follow the link you will see the size and price info. It is HC and it will be 11X17. That is considerably smaller than the size of the actual issues (unless I’m missing something), so Wonder Woman will be even less readable.
@TheNextChampion Or will they put Starman 81 into the omnibus line?
YEEEESSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!
this is awesome, this is just plain awesome
@stuclach Thanks
STARMAN #81!!!!
@vadamowens – Glad to be of service.
@scherem I highly doubt they would do that.
@redlibertyx While this is true, they have the height/length backwards from every other oversized they’ve published before, and DC doesn’t exactly have the most brilliant reputation in trades. 😉
Why the heck is the Wednesday Comics hardcover smaller then the actual issues released? I thought we were going to get an oversized version for the trades. God, its like DC doesn’t want to make money sometimes.
@TNC – A full sized hardcover collection of all the strips in Wednesday Comics would weight roughly 1,000 lbs and would be difficult on the shelf in your bathroom. DC is just trying to be practical. Just buy yourself a magnifying glass (or use the one you bought to read Wonder Woman) and enjoy!
@scherem – According to James Robinson’s tweets, he’s not sure if STARMAN #81 is going to be collected in the last omnibus. That’s a question for DC’s collected editions editor to answer. Robinson does say that he hopes it will be included, so I guess we’ll all just have to wait and see.
@TNC As I say, it’s 3 inches taller and half an inch wider than the PRINCE VALIANT collection I just bought. VALIANT is the most popular full page comic strip of all time and is the basis, more or less, for Wednesday comics as a whole and more specifically, the basis for the style and execution of KAMANDI.
@stuclach: Actually that makes sense when you think about it. The image of a 1,000lb trade and someone trying to lift it is a funny image.
@PraxJarvin: I’m sure the comics will read just fine in this format. Okay so the design I want is impractical, but if the WonderWoman strip is the only thing unreadable then I think we can manage.
It would be a shame if Starman 81 is not in the Omnibus, even if Jack Knight is nowhere to be seen.
Is the omnibus conversation sort of jumping ahead? I mean, no one’s even read it yet.
Here’s hoping DiDio is going to give us some zombie Hex. That would be awesome.
Would a zombie Jonah Hex be that big of a departure?
If there was a Zombie Hex, he would win. The DC Universe would be over.
Zombie Hex would still be indifferent while eating your brains.
This is fantastic news. Seems almost tailor-made for me–!
I loved the Question, Suicide Squad, and Starman. Some of my favorite series, and I was sad when each of them ended. And now I get one more issue, and it looks like the right people are following on these issues (Ostrander/Simone, Rucka, and of course James Robinson). I also really dig Hawkman and the Atom, so reviving that series for one issue with Geoff Johns sounds spectacular.
Very cool news indeed.
I wonder if the new issues will have an era appropriate trade dress, including the DC logo of the time? That would look cool, but I could see it being confusing…
WHAT ABOUT HAWK AND DOVE!!!!!?????
I remember back when Blackest Night started, one of my first thoughts was how it’d be neat if there was zombie Hex and zombie Sgt. Rock. Looks like we may get those.
this is so aweosme!! more starman
@Slockhart: There’s a Brave and the Bold issue; Jonah Hex meets Sgt. Rock.
Actually that does sound badass…
good lord, I’d actually buy 2 of those. Specifically, I’d get The Question and Power of Shazam.
Also, the question’s nice, but would it be too much to ask for one more gotham central issue?
@josh & @kingyouth412: Agreed. Zombie Hex is what I’ve been waiting for from the start of Blackest Night. Construct guns, toma hawks, and horses would be awesome. Maybe both sides of his face are jacked up.
So, news is starting to break on the creative teams…
Ryan Sook with Geoff Johns on Hawkman and the Atom. That is a fantastic choice.
But for me, the most brillant choice is Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz on the Question. I don’t think Sienkiewicz ever did interior inks, but he inked Cowan on covers, and those were amazing. The two also later teamed up on a book called Doctor Zero for Marvel’s Epic line. Not a great book, but the artwork was pretty awesome, as I recall.
I’m actually far more ridiculously excited for these revived titles than I am for anything else from Blackest Night.
Bring back heroes from little used characters seems to be the norm for DC and I for one is glad the are bring back characters I been reading since the 50’s and 60’s yes I am that old. Now let’s see if the can really used them. Like The Question and Sea Devils, Challengers of the Unknown, and how about the Dial H for Hero just to make it interesting. Or am I asking to much.