Tom King’s working through some shit in the most public way possible
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Hey @jaffe, any word on DC Universe Infinite launching in Japan? I’m kind of surprised it hasn’t happened yet…!
Nope! (That is to say, no word. Not no it won’t.)
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Hey @Jaffe, I was a big big fan of Brian Michael Bendis back when he first started doing Powers, and then early in his Marvel run (25 years ago at this point).
I only recently found out that he wrote a bunch of issues for DC. But then I even more recently found out that his tenure at DC was roundly reviled. I’ve even read some takes that suggest he nearly crippled the company?!
Anyway, what’s your take on DC-era Bendis? And Bendis in general, if you’re feeling generous.
I like that he brought Superman’s briefs back. And that he brought Vic Sage back to life. But most of his tenure was defined, as I have come to understand is his MO, by setting a bunch of stuff up with the expectation that someone else will pay them off. In a few cases, this worked. In most, it didn’t.
The best thing Bendis did with his tenure at DC was convince Matt Fraction to write 12 issues of Jimmy Olsen.
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Matt Fraction writing Jimmy Olsen, you say? We really need to get DC’s online service working in my country or region, pronto!
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What are some good stories featuring The Spectre? He’s only popped up briefly in stuff I’ve read, but he always leaves a big impression.
The John Ostrander run from the 90s is a must read.
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How are you feeling about the Absolute line? All three so far are exceeding every single expectation I had—I don’t think I’ve loved a series of panels lately more than I loved Diana growing up in Absolute WW
I hope they can stick the landing through creative team changes eventually and keep the characters as different as they are
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What’s Guy Gardner up to these days?
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I feel the same way you do!
Still with the Corps. DC just announced an ongoing Green Lantern Corps book starring all the human GLs (except Hal) that he’ll be in.
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I think this is a question that’s worth asking once a year or so.
@jaffe, what is it, specifically, that makes DC better than Marvel?
It’s not! That’s just what I chose to specialize in. But what I believe distinguishes them is a semi-impermeable level of cohesion that exists within the DC universe where everything in the Marvel universe more easily blends together. Batman and Superman comics have distinct flavors, often contradictory, but are made richer for the contrast. Every Marvel character is a different expression of one guy’s idea of what comics are, as wide as that idea might have been. There has never been a “Stan Lee” of DC Comics, and that’s the distinction.
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Thanks! I’ve been a fan of both Marvel and DC for many years, and that’s the best explanation I’ve ever encountered for what distinguishes them.
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Plus to their credit DC did do Vertigo, for which there is no Marvel parallel, it must be said
Speaking of which, any thoughts on the recent relaunch of that imprint? What would it take for Vertigo to thrive again as it did in the 1990s heyday or is that even possible nowadays?
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My thoughts are that it’s very funny they announced the relaunch with zero Vertigo titles to go with it. We’ll see.
I think it’s possible, but it would take an extremely strong stable. Stuff that’s as good as Tynion’s Nice House series, which is the only book that carries the brand right now.
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@jaffe Who do you think should write Batman now that Zdarsky is done? (Zdarsky said on his Substack that Tynion should do it.)
I think Dan Watters is ready for it. His backups in Detective Comics were great, and he’d clearly be the guy right now if Batman and Detective weren’t both already earmarked for Jeph Loeb doing Hush 2 and Tom Taylor being the hottest writer in DC’s stable right now, respectively. I’m looking forward to the 12 issue Dark Detective series they’re giving him as a kind of consolation, but he’s clearly the right guy for the main book.
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are they really going to do one about the lady joker having digestive issues ?
Yeah, the Harley Quinn Fart Fetish comic is real. I will say, to contextualize it, that it’s an April Fool’s Day Special.