2011: The Year of The Green Lantern
by Damon Martin
The ball has dropped and the calendar has flipped, and now that we are entering 2011, comic book fans are looking forward to the biggest books and events for this upcoming year. The landscape over the next few months will most likely be shaped by DC Comics juggernaut series Green Lantern, which will feature expansions into a new series, with one mega event wrapping up while another begins, and of course the summer release of the new Green Lantern movie.
The Green Lantern was often thought of by comic book fans as a second tier character to the bigger named heroes like Batman and Superman, but over the last few years current DC Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns has turned the book into the most popular series for the comic giant.
Johns started off by retelling the story of the most famous Green Lantern of them all, Hal Jordan, and then expanded by bringing Jordan back to life. He exploded the Lantern universe with sharp storytelling, biting dialogue, which is always accompanied by vibrant art.
2010 was capped off by the Blackest Night series, which gained both commercial and critical acclaim. It focused on once dead heroes being brought back to life as essentially super powered zombies held together as mysterious Black Lanterns. The series then shifted into the ongoing Brightest Day series, which is set to wrap up in the first quarter of 2011.
That storyline won’t bring the end of Green Lantern’s epic run however, as the series will then shift into the War of the Green Lanterns. Another new series will focus on the anger and rage ridden Red Lanterns which Johns also introduced. The new series will debut this year, and will be written by former Shade the Changing Man and Hellblazer scribe Peter Milligan.
All of these series will of course be the pre-emptive strike to the June 17 release of the Green Lantern movie, which is expected to be of blockbuster proportions. Directed by Martin Campbell and starring Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Mark Strong and Peter Sarsgaard, it’s on schedule be one of the summer’s biggest hits. Before anyone saw much more than a shot of the Green Lantern suit, Spike TV had named it the most anticipated film of 2011 at their annual Scream Awards.
The trailer for the film hit iTunes and other outlets last month, and was featured during the latest Harry Potter film. Johns along with other comic writers oversaw and were involved in the project, which could mean a couple things given the high expectations. Either the comic book fans will be the only ones to love this movie due to the spot-on accuracy of the storyline and plot points, or the film will be watered down just enough so that diehard DC fans and casual movie goers alike will be able to enjoy it.
So as you head to the comic book stores and then to the movie theaters in 2011, get ready to know the Green Lantern oath by heart because this will truly be the year for the space police from OA. Remember, in Brightest Day or Blackest night….
Holy Comic Price Drop, Batman!
by Damon Martin
DC and Marvel have both made major announcements recently concerning the pricing of their comics. Seems the companies have more-or-less simultaneously decided to drop the price of many of their more expensive titles starting in 2011.
The move will see more than 80% of DC’s ongoing series drop priced at $2.99 (instead of $3.99). Days after DC made their announcement, Marvel also confirmed upcoming reductions on an as yet to be named “select” group of existing titles, as well as new books debuting in 2011.
The move sent a wave of relief over many financially strapped comic book connoisseurs, but let’s dig down deeper into the price adjustments to see if DC and Marvel really have the fan or the bottom line at heart with this recession-proofing move.
Though Marvel is short on details, DC Comics have been more forthcoming with the specifics. Their price drop also brings with it a possible change in storyline and book format. For example, the standard $3.99 comic with 32 pages/22 story pages will be reduced in price/format to $2.99 with 32 pages/20 story pages. Co-feature titles such as “Adventure Comics” and “Action Comics” will also drop to $2.99, but see their books go from 40 pages/30 story pages down to 32 pages/20 story pages with no more co-features.
Retailers reacting to this price change have notably pointed out that customers have dropped more titles based on a content or creative team change than a price change, so ultimately the tweaked price could result in more lost fans than regained ones.
Taking a slightly different approach than DC, Marvel stated that the price drop will not affect the story page format of their 32-page offerings, but they still haven’t named the titles that will see a decrease in cost. They did say however that most new titles will see the lower $2.99 cost, but again those titles won’t start until 2011 so there’s no telling what or how many there will be at that time. The change, according to Marvel, was in part due to the success of digital formats which has facilitated the price change for their standard issue paper books (but that could just be PR BS).
[Bettina in Comic Dreams]
While no comic fan is going to turn their nose up at saving money, it’s the bigger picture that may be more troubling. DC Comics recently announced that the Wildstorm brand, which was coincidentally started by current DC Comics co-publisher Jim Lee, would be shutting their doors at the end of 2010. Add to that the recent news that in a reshuffling of sorts, DC Comics has fired three editors at Vertigo Comics, and rumors persist that the brand will eventually go the way of the dinosaur as well.
One of those editors, Joan Hilty, was actually the person who gave Brian K. Vaughan his big break doing “Swamp Thing.” Vaughan went on to write the popular “Y-The Last Man” series (a Vertigo title that has been optioned for a Hollywood film) as well as “Ex-Machina” (a Wildstorm title). Vaughan also went on to be a creative writer for the TV series Lost.
The changes at DC coincide with the company’s acquisition by Warner Brothers. Over the course of the next year about 20% of the DC staff are expected to be laid off. According to a press release from DC, the job losses come in conjunction with office moves and “strategic business realignment.”
Though fans are more likely to pay attention and raise objections about the quality of books being put out, they should be concerned about these major shifts. Initially, no fan is going to object to these recent price changes because saving money on the surface seems like a good thing. But from a creative standpoint, the cost of these savings may ultimately prove to be high.
Hopefully, the price drop will turn out to be a positive, but true believers should remember the great twists in comic book history while watching the suits running the business we love.
For DC: Finally Some Representation with Taxation
During the American Revolutionary war, "Taxation without representation" was a rallying cry for those opposed to England's heavy taxes on the American colonies without granting them any form of representation in England's government. After breaking off from England and establishing an independent, representative democracy this problem was solved for all inhabitants, right? Well, almost. Congressional representation is guaranteed by the constitution for everyone living in a state.
Section 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several states, and the electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislature.
No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in which he shall be chosen.
The nation's capital, Washington DC, is not in any state per se, and for good reason, since any state containing that city would likely be granted undue power in either the senate or the house. However, what that means for the permanent residents of DC is that they are afforded no voting representation (Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) is the current non-voting representative) at the national level in Congress, and might explain why DC license plates continue to have "Taxation without Representation" as their slogan.
However, all this may finally be set to change. Part of the Democrats' congressional agenda has been to secure legitimate representation for DC residents, and a bill that would ensure this has passed in Congress.
The budget measure passed 216 to 203 and was then combined with the voting rights bill that had passed.
Supporters called the bill's passage their biggest victory since 1978, when Congress approved a constitutional amendment to give the city two senators and a House representative. The amendment died after failing to win passage by enough states. The current legislation would not give the District senators.
A news conference after the vote drew a jubilant group of members of Congress, D.C. leaders and activists. They hugged and shook hands, savoring the moment.
"It's been a great day," said House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), who had emphasized in his floor speech that District residents haven't been able to vote for congressional representation since 1801. "It's never too late to do the right thing."
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D), who this week led thousands of people in a voting rights march on Congress, said residents "appreciate the history of this moment."
"This was a statement about our country's principles, values and morals. That we would no longer be the only democratic-represented country in the world where the citizens of the nation's capital did not have a vote in the national legislature," he said.
As with all things good in this world, once passed in a Congressional vote the White House threatens to veto them. Suddenly the White House's overwhelming concern for strict adherence to constitutionality represents a massive roadblock into getting another seat, which will almost certainly vote Democrat, into Congress. Curiously these concerns were nonexistent when authorizing measures to push forward Bush's own agenda, like illegally wiretapping US citizens, abandoning the principle of habeas corpus and violating treaty obligations by indefinitely detaining suspected terrorists in secret prisons. But clearly those were minor infractions, and the White House has to draw the line somewhere on important issues like granting its own citizenry representation in the federal government - such a thing would be too much to bear.
Fortunately for the White House, and unfortunately for the backers of the bill and the residents of DC, if the Senate approves this bill (and the White House doesn't veto it for fear of bricks through windows) it still faces an uphill climb in the courts. The constitution is relatively straightforward in granting only states the right to voting representation in congress and the senate, so a constitutional amendment may be the only way to secure this right for the residents of DC. Time will tell, but DC should hold off on any celebrations for now.
D.C. Madame Gives it Away
This is a disappointment. Alleged Madame Deborah Jean Palfrey wont be selling her telephone records to the highest bidder. Instead, in an apparent pique of civic-mindedness, she has turned the phone records of Pamela Martin and Associates, the D.C. based escort ring she operated from 1993 to 2006, over to an unnamed news organization.
When Palfrey announced she was seeking to sell the phone records (which could reportedly implicate some 15,000 clients), two questions arose: who was on the list and how much would Larry Flynt pay for it.
As it seems, were not going to get the phonebook-sized special edition of Hustler reprinting the entire list with re-enacted scenes from politician-look-alikes. According to a statement from her attorney, Palfrey doesn't want to do the average customer any harm, unless that customer would be critical to her defense."
Instead, some news outlet Palfrey described as one of the most reputable and respected investigative news organizations in the country (which has requested to not be named. Wonkette speculated its the Washington Post) is going to investigate Palfrey's phone numbers, logs and invoices.
"We're trusting them to have discretion in which names would be made public," Palfreys lawyer, Blair Sibley said.
Discretion is the last thing you need with information like this. Still, its possible that awesome, political scandal-starting information could leak out. Of course, considering the elasticity of the term news organization (Talon News, anyone?), shenanigans could still be in play.
It also means theres the slightest chance Flynts got his hands on it. Hustler is a news organization, right?
Middle of Nowhere Still Safe!
According to ever-accurate Yahoo! News,
Only six of 75 U.S. metropolitan areas won the highest grades for their emergency agencies' ability to communicate during a disaster, five years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to a federal report obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press.
A draft portion of the report, to be released Wednesday, gives the best ratings to Washington, DC; San Diego; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Columbus, Ohio; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Laramie County, Wyoming.
Awesome. So, in case of terrorist attack, be sure to be near the middle of nowhere and youll be safe! Wasnt this report issued last week under the headline Common Sense?
The puzzling thing is how Washington, DC managed to get into the top six, given that one would assume hitting political targets would be a high priority action-item for terrorists who hate America. Having gotten stuck driving in DC only once in my lifetime, I can answer that question for you: terrorists will be too disoriented by the roundabouts and never-ending maze of one-way streets to ever locate their targets. Safety by virtue of total chaos; brilliant idea, Founding Fathers!
Now if only low-scorers Chicago, Cleveland, Baton Rouge, Mandan (NDwhere??) and American Samoa can get their acts together, well have those terrorists licked.
Crafty Bastards
City by city, holiday shopping is already meeting its crafty maker as the weather gets cooler. This Sunday, October 1st, Washington D.C. offers up one of the most exciting shows on the East coast, so clear off your schedule and check out Crafty Bastards.
Crafty Bastards is an outdoor artists' market sponsored by the Washington City Paper featuring a ton of handmade and unique artisan wares atypical of your average craft show. Check out the enormous vendor list, which also includes the full entertainment roster for the day.
All the info you'll need to attend is here.