brian azzarello | DC Comics

The New Horror, Part 3: “I love the idea of having a place within the DCU where monsters dwell.”

The bogeyman. The monster in the closet. The things that go bump in the night. They show up, sometimes, in a good spooky story. But what gives us nightmares, what really keeps us up late at night, can't always be named.

With today being Halloween, we sent thirteen questions about horror to some of the smartest writers in the comic book industry to get to the heart of why we love horror. Scott Snyder, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning are all currently writing characters traditionally associated with horror. Paul Cornell's writing a dark fantasy book chock full of fear and the supernatural. Brian Azzarello, J. H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman are injecting horror into superhero epics. They all took time out to share their thoughts on what we're calling the New Horror in DC COMICS-THE NEW 52. Their answers will run here on the SOURCE in three parts, but you can keep the conversation going on Twitter with the hashtag #thenewhorror.

On the horrors of the New 52

What sets the Dark titles apart from the other books in DC COMICS-THE NEW 52?

BRIAN AZZARELLO: There's a palpable creepiness in these books. The threats are relatable.

DAN ABNETT: These are supernatural or pseudo-supernatural books that fit very neatly into the new DC Universe. Genre borders are dissolving in other media, and it’s nice to have comics that can blend styles and flavors. RESURRECTION MAN is, basically, a superhero book, but he doesn’t wear a costume and he spends most of his time actively NOT being a superhero... and plenty of time engaging with horror/supernatural/dark science-fiction themes.

J.H. WILLIAMS III: There seems to be this unique blend of heroics and creepy ideas mixing together. My favorite thing to do is cross genres in unexpected ways to produce interesting results. Even though Batwoman isn't really a "DC Dark" title, we do sort of fit that vein. But with a nice twist of her not actually having powers of her own, just a normal human being dealing with things that defy the natural order in the only ways she knows how.

PAUL CORNELL: The qualities of one's peers, for a start. They're lovely chaps to be on a panel with. And I think the line has something of that wonderful moment just before Vertigo launched, when the weird horror characters were still part of the DC universe about it.

SCOTT SNYDER: I think the sensibility. We're allowed to explore the more horrible villains, in monsters and all that, but those things sort of demand a darker emotional material to work, too, you know? Meaning, for the kinds of monsters and gross things we write about in our plots to be scary, they have to be functions of stories that are equally scary and disturbing.

W. HADEN BLACKMAN: I feel like BATWOMAN has its own unique place in the New 52. While it's sometimes a traditional vigilante comic book and somewhat connected to the Batman books, it has very strong supernatural and metaphysical undercurrents. Batman generally fights psychopaths (some quite horrific), but many of Batwoman's cases and villains will have a much more supernatural flavor.

ANDY LANNING: When we wrote RESURRECTION MAN first time 'round, it was commented that the book was a kind of bridging title between the DC Universe and the Vertigo titles which was something new at the time. The Dark Line as a whole now is well and truly treading the ground between the overt superhero titles of the DC Universe and Vertigo books and it’s very fertile ground that seems to have struck a chord with readers.

JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: First off, the folks in our group are just the best of the best. I can't believe how amazing each of them are, and how great their books are. Second, this is something that each of us have a genuine heart felt passion for. These aren't just jobs, they aren't just doing a book for the sake of a paycheck. Each of us came to our books from a place of pure passion, and I think that bleeds from every page.

How important is it for horror and magic to have a place in the DC universe?

J.H. WILLIAMS III: I think it’s an element that has been sorely lacking in the DCU for a long time, and I'm glad to see it being embraced much more fully. It just adds even more fantastical aspects to an already tantalizing universe of ideas. It’s so important to DC that it really shouldn't ever be put back in the box again.

ANDY LANNING: Comics reflect all the main genres and as such magic and horror have always been a staple, along with westerns, war stories and sci-fi.

JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: I'd take that question bigger. Horror is such a key literary genre that, for me, it's part of our job to show our existing readers that there's more to genre storytelling than men in tights and science adventures. Horror has such a beautiful tradition in comics, and, I feel like it's my duty to present that to a whole new generation.

W. HADEN BLACKMAN: I personally think it's hugely important. It provides a great deal of diversity to the universe. And some of my favorite moments in comics have been when characters from different "worlds" or backgrounds try to interact or understand one another. The tension between magic and science is great fodder for story-telling and character development.

DAN ABNETT: Vital. They are two of the fundamental (and contrasting) sources of wonder.

SCOTT SNYDER: To me, incredibly. I grew up on horror comics - my favorite Batman comics when I was a kid were the horror ones - from Arkham Asylum and DKR to Red Rain and Gotham by Gaslight. But mostly things like Swamp Thing, House of Mystery, the reprints of Tales from the Crypt, Creepshow... I love the idea of having a place within the DCU where monsters dwell - a place anyone can visit but only some can endure.

PAUL CORNELL: One of the joys of a super hero universe is that all the genres that shouldn't exist together get thrown in to bounce off each other. Just like in real life.

Each of you writes scary characters. But what frightens these, well, monsters? What phobias might these characters have?

W. HADEN BLACKMAN: In our first arc, the "monster" is consumed by emotion. She's driven by anguish and guilt, and terrified of living out a cursed existence alone. In upcoming issues, we start introducing some other monstrous villains -- one fears being discovered for what he truly is; one fears failure; another fears losing power; yet another fears getting old. And on some level, they all fear Batwoman.

PAUL CORNELL: Etrigan is living his nightmare every day, being trapped inside Jason o'the Blood, and vice versa. Xanadu's life, balancing those two against each other, is also a life of fear. The Shining Knight is afraid of dying without ever finding what she (sorry, he) is looking for. The Horsewoman fears confinement, as will become obvious. Al Jabr and Exoristos' fears we'll discover. And Vandal Savage fears nothing. Actually, that's not true, as we'll see.

DAN ABNETT: Mitch Shelley probably has a thing about coffins that are hard to open from the inside.

ANDY LANNING: Yup, enclosed spaces, oh and rats! He gets to see a lot of rats!

JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: That, to me, is the drive behind I, VAMPIRE. The sheer fear that Andrew has that his one mistake will lead to the absolute destruction of mankind. And, y'know, that's the plan. Don't tell my editor, Matt Idelson, yeah? He specifically told me I couldn't wipe out all of mankind.

J.H. WILLIAMS III: I think on some level that what all human based monstrous characters fear the most is losing their humanity beyond where they may currently find themselves. And if there is some outside force that does scare them, I don't think I want to meet it.

SCOTT SNYDER: Well for Alec, I think the big fear we're dealing with is the creeping suspicion that deep down, he has always known that he was meant to be a monster - Swamp Thing. The fear that this creature is - and always was - his destiny and he knew it, even as a child, and now it's here.

What's the scariest scene you've written so far in DC COMICS-THE NEW 52? you on Halloween? Can you tease at something in an upcoming issue that might frighten readers?

BRIAN AZZARELLO: There's gonna be a birth. Nothing scares me more.

DAN ABNETT: There’s a sequence in Resurrection Man 3 where Mitch’s powers have deserted him, and he finds that the hellish things that have been chasing him are nothing to do with the REAL Hell at all...

J.H. WILLIAMS III: I think it’s a toss up between a scene in issue 3 or another in issue 4. The one in issue 3 touches on deep emotional context and the meaning of loss, and how that loss relates to who we are, what are we now that we've lost something important in our lives. While the other in issue 4 is very beastly and grotesque and raises some provoking thoughts about different roles we play in society, all through subtext and symbolic characterization.

SCOTT SNYDER: I think a scene coming up in Batman - involving a dead person, a slowly cracking open mouth and an owl - that's all I can say though!

W. HADEN BLACKMAN: I think Issue 3 has some truly terrifying moments for Batwoman as she faces the Weeping Woman and starts to discover the scope of the villain's powers. It all impacts Kate on a very emotional level. And in Arc 2, without giving too much away, we have a villain who literally drools blood, and her first appearance creeps me out.

JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: There's a moment in issue 4 when Andrew meets another vampire, and he unlocks something in that vampire almost accidentally that creates, well, a monster. It's one of those moments that to me, speaks to the devil inside us all. All it would take is a tiny push and a good many of us would switch sides, no problem.

PAUL CORNELL: I think the cliffhanger to Demon Knights #3 is something that might be rather tough to read. Everyone's going 'oh, it's such a *jolly* title!' I hope by now readers have worked out what I do. My wife calls it 'ha ha bang.'

ANDY LANNING: Issue #4 gives us a glimpse into Mitch’s past and there’s some really gruesome stuff there but that’s nothing to where he finds himself at the end of that issue, it’s a shocker for sure!

So far, who do you think is the scariest character (that you’re not writing) to emerge out of DC COMICS-THE NEW 52?

ANDY LANNING: I really like what Jeff and Scott are doing with the concepts of the Red and the Green, real creepy stuff there that’s only getting creepier!

JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: It'd have to be Jeff Lemire's Maxine Baker from Animal Man. That kid scares the crap out of me.

SCOTT SNYDER: I think Strife in Wonder Woman is one of the creepiest characters I've ever encountered. But the Hunters in Animal Man freaked me out, too! Lots of scary characters in the new DCU! It's my kind of place.

W. HADEN BLACKMAN: It's scary how good Swamp Thing is...

BRIAN AZZARELLO: Dan DiDio. Makes Darksied look like a piker.

DAN ABNETT: The centaurs in Wonder Woman. Proper horror, at its best.

J.H. WILLIAMS III: I think John Constantine has the potential to be the most profound. In Vertigo's Hellblazer, he has shown to be a very scary personality when you examine some of things he has done.

PAUL CORNELL: Those skeletal pets in Animal Man freak me out. And Wonder Woman's aptly alien gods.

Tags:

american vampire, andy lanning, Batman, batwoman, brian azzarello, dan abnett, DC Comics-The New 52, Demon Knights, I Vampire, J.H. Williams III, Joshua Hale Fialkov, paul cornell, Resurrection Man, scott snyder, swamp thing, w. haden blackman, wonder woman

The New Horror, Part 2: “A threat to flesh"

With Halloween just around the corner, we sent thirteen questions about horror to some of the smartest writers in the comic book industry to get to the heart of why we love horror. Scott Snyder, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning are all currently writing characters traditionally associated with horror. Paul Cornell's writing a dark fantasy book chock full of fear and the supernatural. Brian Azzarello, J. H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman are injecting horror into superhero epics. They all took time out to share their thoughts on what we're calling the New Horror in DC COMICS-THE NEW 52. Their answers will run here on the SOURCE in three parts, but you can keep the conversation going on Twitter with the hashtag #thenewhorror.

On Writing

What is the most important ingredient to crafting a horror story?

SCOTT SNYDER: Honesty. You have to write about what frightens you yourself, as a writer. Those fears can take the form of a certain kind of monster or ghoul, but they have to be there on the page. For example, Stephen King's Pet Semetery - it's about a guy who loves his son so much, he can't live with his death and so turns him nto a monster just to have him around. And he writes it when his kids are young. It's so scary to him he can't even finish at first. That's good horror.

PAUL CORNELL: That it brings the reader nose to nose with the worst possible thing that could happen.

(Dan Abnett)

DAN ABNETT: Atmosphere is really important, along with timing and-- what was that noise?

W. HADEN BLACKMAN: A very well-developed and believable protagonist that is at least somewhat competent. The more we can relate to the protagonist, the more terrifying it is to see her threatened by the "monster." But if we can't connect with her, or she does something moronic that alienates us, then we start rooting for the monster.

BRIAN AZZARELLO: A threat to flesh. There's real terror in all of us about having the bag we inhabit split open.

J.H. WILLIAMS III: I'd say it’s finding the single piece of the plot that skews every other aspect into something else, the key unexpected element. By doing this, you can present things that throw the reader or viewer off balance, and once they are, you've got them like a fish on a hook.

JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: Finding the identifying moment, the thing that really taps into a fear that every person on earth has. Whether that's making a mistake that haunts you for eternity (like Andrew) or losing someone you love (like Mary), finding the grounding to your story is what makes it genuinely haunting.

What attracts you to writing the horror genre?

DAN ABNETT: I dunno. Sitting alone here, at night, with only my own thoughts for company, I-- seriously. What was that noise?

W. HADEN BLACKMAN: I just like writing what I'd like to read.

JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: It's way easier than comedy. Seriously, though, every story I tell starts in a place of "What's the worst thing that could happen?" and sort of extrapolates itself from there. So, even my books that aren't horror have a strong root in the genre.

SCOTT SNYDER: I've always loved stories where characters face their worst fears, whether those stories are literary, mysteries, action stories... Horror (good horror) just lends itself easily to this idea though.

PAUL CORNELL: It's a relief for the writer too. You know, this stuff isn't doing you any good if it's kept inside. Mind you, I wouldn't call DEMON KNIGHTS horror – it's more dark sword and sorcery.

J.H. WILLIAMS III: What I find so attractive about it is that you tap into something that is very primal in all of us. And by doing so, you create an atmosphere of doubt in what the world is about. It causes a questioning of what is our reality. And Horror can be a great tool of getting someone to think about themselves or the world differently than they had before. Horror, if done well, is visceral but with intelligence.

What horror cliche do you always aim to avoid?

PAUL CORNELL: There isn't really a cliche that doesn't work, if done right, and we're talking about archetypes and nightmares here, so the recurring stuff can be mined many times. Mind you, in real life, I doubt anyone splits up to search the house. But what was the last movie when anyone did that? I mean, why did they do that the first time?

BRIAN AZZARELLO: Giant ants.

(Andy Lanning)

J.H. WILLIAMS III: I think it really is impossible to avoid clichés. Everything has been done before. So it becomes a matter of presentation, by twisting the idea into a new shape.

SCOTT SNYDER: The girl running away from the killer, through the forest, in her nightshirt, tripping over a root.

DAN ABNETT: He’s behind me, isn’t he?

JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: I think that they all work and they all suck, simultaneously. Finding ways to transmute these overused tropes into something new and fresh is the challenge.

W. HADEN BLACKMAN: None. My preference is to take the clichés and try to reinvent them in some way.

What is your favorite horror based character to write?

BRIAN AZZARELLO: It was, and will always be John Constantine. Because unlike me, he actually likes it.

PAUL CORNELL: I've only ever really written horror with my own characters. I mean, I got to use Dracula, but that was in super hero comics genre trappings.

W. HADEN BLACKMAN: I like writing strong heroines -- as a kid, I was always a fan of Halloween and the original Nightmare on Elm Street, both of which I feel have resourceful and brave protagonists. I also really like monsters that are a bit tragic, like Frankenstein's Monster.

J.H. WILLIAMS III: I like creating powerful female characters. It’s always so much more gratifying seeing a triumphant heroine than a male character for me. They are the more complexly motivated gender, and therefore much more fascinating. I also like classic monster types as well, but I think the strongest for me is trying to create something very nonhuman. Trying to create a horrific idea or creature that is hard to define by human standards. If successful, it can be a most terrifying story experience. Junji Ito, a master of horror manga is amazing at doing that. He quite often presents things that you cannot define, making them so much more scary because it cannot be explained.

SCOTT SNYDER: Pearl Jones.

DAN ABNETT: The one standing behind me.

JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: I can say that I'm jealous as hell of Lemire getting to have his way with Frankenstein's Monster.

DC Comics

Tags:

The New Horror, Part 1: “Horror always reflects the secret fears of the world around us.”

On Horror

For the last decade, our culture is overrun by creatures of the night and the undead. Why is the horror genre currently so popular?

JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV (I, VAMPIRE): Horror has been a part of our culture from the dawn of time. But, it especially pops up during times of drastic change... from the Victorian era to the Depression to the Watergate era, and, yes, even the 80s. And horror always reflects the secret fears of the world around us. There's a reason that a society of sex and consumerism is so fascinated with Vampires and Zombies right now.

BRIAN AZZARELLO (WONDER WOMAN): In post-modern times, we like to be distracted from what's really frightening.

(Shining Knight as a vampire in DEMON KNIGHTS #4)

DAN ABNETT (RESURRECTION MAN): There is an inherent strand of dark romance running through horror that is often lacking from, say, science-fiction. Science-fiction generally deals in wonder and scale, but horror is almost always personal. It’s about loss, emotion, melancholy. Plus, if we proved tomorrow that the world of the supernatural existed, nobody would be very surprised. Its appeal lies in the notion that it’s just a step away us in the shadows, and it’s been there all the time.

W. HADEN BLACKMAN (BATWOMAN): I don't think horror has ever stopped being popular. The genre ebbs and flows like anything else, with different types of horror taking center stage at different times, but every decade has its big horror franchises and best sellers. Today, I think horror allows us to test ourselves in a "safe" environment -- we know that we won't ever really encounter a ghost who drowns children or a shape-shifting alien in the arctic, but we can brave the fictional versions and get a small glimpse of what it might be like to meet the real thing. And "surviving" that experience gives us a rush that is difficult to come by in our often protected and ordinary lives.

J.H. WILLIAMS III (BATWOMAN): I feel that horror really hasn't been unpopular, but does move to the mainstream in times of cultural or societal crisis. It's a powerful form of escapism that allows you to experience something beyond the troubles in one's own life, it subconsciously can give perspective to real life, by giving form to real emotions through prompted fears that we suppress otherwise. Through horror genres, we allow ourselves to manifest what is deeply in our subconscious minds. We can face down our darkest thoughts without judgments.

PAUL CORNELL (DEMON KNIGHTS): Because we live in troubled and fearful times. Actually, being human, we always live in troubled and fearful times. That's why there's never been a time, in cinema, where it's a thrill ride and you can scream out loud, when horror wasn't popular. Stephen King apart, though, the genre isn't doing well right now in terms of prose. That's because we live in troubled and fearful times.

ANDY LANNING (RESURRECTION MAN): Horror always seems to be most popular when times are at their bleakest. It’s always reassuring to watch a parade of monsters and ghouls and people doing terrible things to each over on the screen or in a book then return to the relative safety of your own home. It makes the real horror in the world easier to deal with.

SCOTT SNYDER (SWAMP THING, BATMAN, AMERICAN VAMPIRE): I think it's always popular, people just notice it when at different moments, when there happen to be waves of things about one particular monster.

Why do we like to be scared?

J.H. WILLIAMS III: I think it’s a very primal thing. To be scared or startled releases chemicals in our bodies, like a drug. Therefore providing a thrill, or an elevated sense of self. Unless we do something truly dangerous, we don't get to experience these profound chemicals any other way than through our imaginations being triggered by horrific concepts presented to us.

BRIAN AZZARELLO: The fear of death makes us feel alive.

ANDY LANNING: It’s a rush, a thrill ride that’s totally safe.

W. HADEN BLACKMAN: For me personally, it provides a rush akin to sky diving or driving really, really fast.

PAUL CORNELL: We like to be scared and for it then to be okay. They say laughter evolved from a hunting call of 'phew, it's all right.' The pleasure for us is in the relief.

SCOTT SNYDER: As to why, I think scary things are a way for us to deal with our real world fears in a way that's manageable. Good horror movies have the heroes facing their worst fears, manifested as monsters or serial killers. And by facing them in the form of Jason or a haunted house, it makes us feel more in control (at least for the couple hours it takes to watch or read something scary).

JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: Because it makes the real pains of life so much less upsetting. We need it because it's something we can conquer in the way our real lives just can't be.

DAN ABNETT: It’s a thrill. It allows us to experience some of those primal responses that we don’t feel as much in modern life.

If monsters are commonplace, is horror still scary?

BRIAN AZZARELLO: No -- but it's thrilling. And that feeling shouldn't be discounted.

JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: The monsters are never the scary part, it's the consequences, so as long as the stakes are kept real, horror will always work.

J.H. WILLIAMS III: Monsters in some way represent distortions or grotesque ideals of humanity. They symbolize inner thoughts or ideas that we all may think about, but rarely voice. This is why they will always remain scary, because we can see our twisted darker sides in them, things that we all feel under the surface from time to time.

ANDY LANNING: There will always be a new bogeyman, even if the world were full of monsters, there would be something out there that would scare people, even the monsters are afraid of something. Probably Tickle Me Elmo.

PAUL CORNELL: Are monsters commonplace? If it's commonplace, it's not a monster.

W. HADEN BLACKMAN: I see "monsters" as only one part of the entire horror landscape, and it's clear that even monsters can still be scary - especially when they are reinvented to feel familiar but new. We have primal fears that these monsters represent -- fear of death, fear of strangers, fear of aging, fear of disease -- and as long as those fears are still hardwired into our brains on some level, the monsters that embody these fears will remain scary.

SCOTT SNYDER: Of course! Monsters are commonplace because they're enduringly scary.

DAN ABNETT: I think horror is still scary, but I think scary is (and always was) better than horrible. The best scares have nothing to do with obvious blood and gore.

Vampires or zombies? What’s your favorite creature?

SCOTT SNYDER: I write AMERICAN VAMPIRE. Do you have to ask?

ANDY LANNING: Vambies or Zompires. I love em both!

J.H. WILLIAMS III: I have to base my choice on what I find scarier. As vile as Vampires can be portrayed, I have to go with Zombies. It boils down to rationality for me. Vampire motivations can be explained with understandable reasons for their behavior, on why we should fear them. But it is very much sort of a food chain construct, they're higher up on it than us. They have emotions and needs relatable to human ones, so they can be rationalized. Where Zombies are a totally insane concept. There is no rational thought to them, just relentless eating, unfeeling things that seem to serve no real intelligent purpose, just overwhelming and futile. They represent total loss of all relatable human ideas, complete grotesque annihilation. There is no explaining them properly, their motivation is completely alien, and there is no wrapping your head around it. The unknown is a powerful thing in creating total panic and fear.

PAUL CORNELL: Vampires. I'm bored with zombies. And as Jane Austen once said, who could ever be tired of vampires?

DAN ABNETT: Uhm, the one that’s gonna save me from the vampires and the zombies?

W. HADEN BLACKMAN: It depends... Are we talking about the tragic, misunderstood vampire who just wants to be good; or the moody, angst-ridden vampire; or the vicious, narcissistic and murderous blood sucker? The shambling Voodoo zombie; or the ravenous flesh eater; or the super-strong, invulnerable zombie? To me, one of the coolest things about these archetypes is that they can be continually reinvented.

JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: As a native Pittsburgher (better known as the land of George Romero), my gut tells me Zombies, but, considering the world we live in, and how much fun I'm having writing I, VAMPIRE’s Andrew and Mary, I'm going Vampire.

Tags:

Everybody’s Talkin’ About DC COMICS-THE NEW 52, Tuesday Afternoon (ET) Edition

You surf the web enough, you start seeing patterns.

The number 52, for instance, seems to be very popular right now. Drill down further and new trends start to emerge. Critics like ANIMAL MAN and THE FLASH. Websites likes a good holiday story, particularly a week out from Halloween. Ready?

FLASH FACT: critics really do like THE FLASH. Just check out POPMATTERS' advance 10 out 10 stars rave review of THE FLASH #2, which hits stores tomorrow. “Francis Manapul writer-artist behind the New 52 Flash and co-writer Brian Buccellato, simply streak ahead of any previous limitations in storytelling. What Manapul and Buccellato have produced with the Flash is a rich, textured drama that hinges on both the emotional core and hard scifi,” they wrote. “Manapul and Buccellato conduct readers to a wonderland of augmented cognition and rapid cell development. But the real joy is linking beyond the ideas the writers express, and finding science theories for ourselves like the neuroscience of prediction and quantum entanglement and bringing these to bear on our reading of the book … The Flash is simply comics at its finest.”

Want to hear more about THE FLASH? Head on over to NEWSARAMA, for Vaneta Rogers' interview with the creative team. "What's interesting about Barry Allen's perception among fans is that a lot of people think he's 'old-school.'"said series co-writer and artist Francis Manapul. "But in reality, the only thing old-school about him is his idealism. His optimism. Right? So he's this very black and white type of hero, and he's been thrust into this world that's gray." THE FLASH co-writer Buccellato suggests, "We went through a period where the anti-hero and tortured hero were prevalent, and it's because they were unique at the time that they captured the imagination of readers. But now, I think people see a noble hero as something special. We want somebody who will do the right things because they're the right things, and maybe we don't need to know that deep down he's tortured."

Meanwhile, with Halloween around the corner, GAWKER’s IO9 interviewed I, VAMPIRE writer Joshua Hale Fialkov to help get you in a horror state of mind. “I went back to Bram Stoker. I'm using Dracula but with a slightly more superhero twist,” Fialkov revealed when asked about what type of powers the vampires in his title possess. “They can turn into bats, wolves, and a hybrid monster (to give them that great visual punch). They have the Stoker set. They can walk in the sunlight, but they can't use their powers. To kill them, you must chop off their head and stake them in the heart. They can turn to mist. They're super-strong, but not Superman. The basic idea is that they're an upgraded version of us.”

AIN'T IT COOL NEWS interviewed DC Entertainment Co-Publisher and JUSTICE LEAGUE artist Jim Lee about DC COMICS-THE NEW 52. “Brian and Cliff have come up with ways of introducing centaurs into WONDER WOMAN that is very creepy, and it's exciting to see a realistic, modernist take on ancient Greek mythology, and used in a way to make it kind of...you know, the same way we've seen different updatings of classic mythology, like Frankenstein, vampires, werewolves, he's kind of doing that with Greek mythology, so it's exciting to see.”

Meanwhile, CBR spoke directly with the WONDER WOMAN creative team, Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang. “Greek mythology is something that is unique to the character of Wonder Woman. Let's play it up. Why shouldn't it be played up?” Azzarello said. “The other thing is, now, we've given her a family -- a big, horrible family -- and the story possibilities are endless. The gods act horribly to each other, they act horribly to humans. But at the same time, they're not entirely unsympathetic, either. They are all coming from a place you understand. That's kind of the universal quality of mythology, that it's all about human nature. The other thing is, Wonder Woman's never had a Gotham City. Now, her family is going to be her Gotham City.”

While you're at COMIC BOOK RESOURCES, be sure to check out their exclusive first look at tomorrow’s TEEN TITANS #2.

Once Halloween is in the rear view mirror a week from today, we can all get ready for the winter holidays. Writer/artist Lee Bermejo helps sets the stage with an interview with NEWSARAMA about BATMAN: NOEL. “There are characters who fit in with the roles that those ghosts play in Dickens,” says Bermejo. “The ‘Ghost of Christmas Past’ is a sequence with Catwoman. The ‘Ghost of Christmas Present ’ is a sequence with Superman, and the ‘Ghost of Christmas Future’ is Joker. The roles these characters play at that moment in the story help serve the same purpose that the ghosts serve in A Christmas Carol.”

To be continued …

(Everybody’s Talkin’ About) DC COMICS-THE NEW 52, Tuesday Morning (ET) Edition

(Ethan Van Sciver’s variant cover for GREEN LANTERN #3)

It's Tuesday morning. Do you know where your previews are? Here's a rundown of exclusive previews from the 13 new issues from DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 on sale tomorrow. Ready?

CNN’s GEEK OUT has your first look at GREEN LANTERN #2 by Geoff Johns, Doug Mahnke, Christian Alamy and Keith Champagne.

MAXIM has the exclusive preview of BATMAN AND ROBIN #2 by Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason and Mick Gray.

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER’s HEAT VISION previewed FRANKENSTEIN, AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E. #2.

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES’ HERO COMPLEX debuted pages from MISTER TERRIFIC #2 by Eric Wallace, Gianluca Gugliotta and Wayne Faucher.

IGN gave you your first glimpse at SUPERBOY #2 by Scott Lobdell, R.B. Silva and Rob Lean.

Following yesterday's NEW YORK POST newsbreak, AIN’T IT COOL NEWS caught up with WONDER WOMAN writer Brian Azzarello. “You read some of those stories, those are the most human stories that have ever been written,” Azzarello said of the Greek mythology inspiring his series. “They are as emotionally damaged as a lot of people are. And they’re just as damaging! They’re selfish, capricious, angry, loving, loyal, they betray…they’re like human emotions turned up to 11.”

THE TORONTO STAR chatted with local Canadian artists Jeff Lemire, Francis Manapul and Ken Lashley about their respective series and DC COMICS-THE NEW 52. “I think the books are different, which is something I was looking for,” Lemire said of the relaunch. “Animal Man is a very furious, very dark, emotional story, while Frankenstein is a really big, fun action-adventure, kind of over-the-top sort of thing.”

And while everyone's still talking about DC COMICS-THE NEW 52, there's another major announcement for DC Entertainment today. Timed to the start of the Frankfurt Book Festival in Germany, USA TODAY announced Vertigo's acquisition of pop culture phenomenon The Millennium Trilogy on the front page of their Life section this morning. Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy, which chronicles the stories of computer hacker Lisbeth Salander and investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist, will get the graphic novel treatment beginning with next year’s THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. Each book in the trilogy will be divided into two volumes and will be published under DC Entertainment’s Vertigo imprint. Look for THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE in 2013 and THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNETS’ NEST in 2014.

To be continued …

Wonder Woman’s all-new origin REVEALED

(Cliff Chiang's cover to WONDER WOMAN #5)

SPOILER ALERT: Click after the jump to find out about Diana's new origin in DC COMICS-THE NEW 52.

In DC COMICS-THE NEW 52, Wonder Woman will have a new origin, in which she is the daughter of Hippolyta ... and Zeus! In recent interviews, writer Brian Azzarello and artist Cliff Chiang have teased that readers should expect the unexpected in this edgier, horror take on the superhero genre and the king of the gods will ensure that nothing goes as planned for his defiant daughter.

Originally created by the goddess Aphrodite and raised to perfection on the Amazon island of Themiscyra, the newest incarnation of Wonder Woman has a new costume and now a new origin but she remains Wonder Woman. Strong. Proud. Fearless. WONDER WOMAN is the 12th title in DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 to sell more than a 100K copies.

Tags:

brian azzarello, cliff chiang, DC Comics-The New 52, wonder woman

DC Comics-The New 52 Art Tour on The Source with Cliff Chiang

You’ve heard that retailers across the country are hosting artists from DC Comics-The New 52 and displaying process pieces from their new comic book series. Well, for those of you who can’t make it to the events we thought we’d bring a version of it right here for you to see.

To start us off, WONDER WOMAN artist Cliff Chiang takes us through the process of designing Hermes with series writer Brian Azzarello.

Along with Cliff Chiang, this week we’ll hear from the DC Comics-The New 52 Art Tour participants: Rags Morales, Francis Manapul, Doug Mahnke, J.H. Williams III and Yanick Paquette. So come back daily and enjoy!

We went through a few different looks for Hermes, starting with a Western look, complete with duster and floppy hat. Brian actually wanted him naked underneath, but I thought it'd make Hermes just look like a creepy guy on the subway.

In any case, it didn't feel mythic enough, so Azz suggested bird feet. I liked the sound of that, and tried incorporating into a second design, with a Japanese motif. We were trying to find analogues for the classic Hermes metal cap, like the one worn by the FTD icon, or the Golden Age Flash. So I tried using a Japanese farmer's hat. We thought it looked cool, but it didn't feel new.

With versions 3 and 4, we looked more towards avant garde fashion, and I gave him a sort of golden bicycle helmet. With version 4, I liked how weird and tall he was looking, but Brian still had something else in mind. Like an updated doughboy, with some wispy facial hair and a weak chin. I had trouble visualizing it.

Brian sent me a few sketches, which I incorporated into Hermes' final design. He's changed even from this stage, getting taller and more alien-looking. It was important to give Hermes a really distinctive look, since he's one of the first gods we get a good look at and he's a crucial member of Wonder Woman's crew.

And here's what he looks like in his first appearance in the pages of WONDER WOMAN #1:

Tags:

brian azzarello, cliff chiang, dc comics-the new 52 art tour, wonder woman

1st Stop on the DC Comics-The New 52 Art Tour With Cliff Chiang and WONDER WOMAN

The first event of the DC Comics-The New 52 Art Tour kicked of at Bergen Street Comics in Brooklyn on Saturday spotlighting Cliff Chiang’s stunning artwork on WONDER WOMAN #1.

By all accounts the event was a huge success. Fans began lining up hours before the event was to begin and wrapped outside the store.

Inside, fans gazed at the walls covered in gorgeous art as they waited to purchase a copy of WONDER WOMAN #1.

Cliff Chiang looked dapper as he signed comic books and got to converse with fans.

The traveling process pieces—which give readers an inside look at how a comic book gets made from the script page to the pencils, to the inks, to the final colored page with text—of Wonder Woman #1 made their first appearance and were raved about all night long.

Cliff showed off his original art from entire first issue of WONDER WOMAN #1 (a few pages of which can be seen on the wall behind him in this photo).

Thanks to Cliff and the folks at Bergen Street Comics for a wonderful evening. And thanks to all the fans for coming out and celebrating with us!

Don’t miss the next DC Comics-The New 52 Art Tour event this Friday at the Toronto Cartoonists Workshop showcasing Francis Manapul’s art on FLASH #1.

Tags:

bergen street comics, brian azzarello, cliff chiang, dc comics-the new 52 art tour, wonder woman

(Everybody’s Talkin’ About) DC Comics-The New 52, Thursday Morning (ET) Edition

Look what just landed on our desks!

Yesterday marked the release of 12 more titles in DC Comics-The New 52. As press continues to roll in, check out some of the highlights from the past couple of days.

For the fourth week in a row, IFANBOY selected a title from DC Comics-The New 52 as its Pick of the Week. Their selection this week? WONDER WOMAN #1 by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang. “In this issue, she’s a straight up action star, with the power of a god,” IFANBOY wrote of the Amazonian princess.

And speaking of WONDER WOMAN, the series’ critically acclaimed creative team was interviewed by MTV GEEK, IO9 and COMIC BOOK RESOURCES. “There's a very clear sense that what's happening to these characters actually means something. Some of them are in real danger, and why are they in danger? Because they're up against something that is much more powerful and immoral than they are,” Azzarello said to COMIC BOOK RESOURCES. “ I always shy away from the word ‘evil,’ but let's just say there's some big evils in this book.”

UNDER THE RADAR chatted with Cliff Chiang, who will be part of a WONDER WOMAN release party at Bergen Street Comics in Brooklyn, New York this Saturday. “We're revamping the gods and their roles in the world. They're kind of conniving and scheming for power,” Chiang explained. “Wonder Woman is a pawn of theirs. Sometimes she upsets their plans and sometimes she unwittingly helps them achieve their goals. It's been great modernizing the gods and getting rid of togas and all the classical Greek architecture. The heart of all that mythology is great, but we don't want any of this to feel old. We want readers to see a very clear creative vision. We're not just rehashing.”

In anticipation of a couple local signings over the course of the next week, THE LOS ANGELES EXAMINER gave Los Angeles native Eric Wallace’s MISTER TERRIFIC a 5-star review, calling it a “strong debut issue.”

THE HUFFINGTON POST interviewed BATMAN and SWAMP THING writer Scott Snyder. “All of a sudden these murders begin that start to alert him to the fact that maybe he doesn't know the city as well as he thought,” Snyder said of the Dark Knight. “there's an enemy from old Gotham nursery rhymes. An ancient evil in Gotham that's been there for centuries. Because Gotham really 300 years old, no matter how long Bruce has been Batman, he's not as old as the city. So maybe the city belonged to another symbol, a rival symbol, long before it did the Bat, and maybe that sort of organization or that enemy just hasn't really been bothering with Batman until now.” Head on over to THE HUFFINGTON POST to read the full interview and check out their exclusive preview of SWAMP THING #2.

THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR highlighted their favorite titles released over the past two weeks from DC Comics-The New 52, which they dubbed an “impressive array of books.” Among their picks were BATMAN AND ROBIN, BATWOMAN, FRANKENSTEIN, AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E., GREEN LANTERN, SUPERBOY, BATMAN, CATWOMAN, GREEN LANTERN CORPS and WONDER WOMAN.

SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE interviewed DC Editor-in-Chief Bob Harras about DC Comics-The New 52. "I think the (52) first issues really are setting the groundwork, but we're building from there with every issue," Harras told them. "The goal is definitely to keep readers excited and really kind of getting back to that sense of 'What's gonna happen next?' ... We're really just building the base of excitement."

FORBES covered the impact of DC Comics-The New 52 thus far. “To quote one comic store owner, ‘The New 52 is the biggest game changer in comic books we’ve seen in 30 years,’” the piece read. “The anticipation of the new releases every week has been nothing short of mind-blowing. Comic shops can’t keep the titles in stock. Some are selling out within hours of being put on the shelf, if they even make it to the shelf.”

IGN continued their series of interviews with all of the creative teams behind DC Comics-The New 52. Check out what Geoff Johns (JUSTICE LEAGUE), Tony Bedard (BLUE BEETLE), Judd Winick (CATWOMAN), Peter Tomasi (GREEN LANTERN CORPS), and Eric Wallace (MISTER TERRIFIC) had to say about their respective series. “There's a reason these characters stick together,” Johns teased. “You'll see new villains. You'll find out why Aquaman and Green Arrow hate each other. It's actually a pretty good story behind that, and that will come to light. You'll see the never ending problems that exist on the team because of Batman and Green Lantern. You'll see why Wonder Woman is the best fighter among the team. You'll learn why Superman keeps his distance from everybody else. There's a really cool arc where Superman and his role on this team is a little bit different than before. I think that's on purpose; he's a little bit disconnected from them. You'll see why Flash refuses to call himself a vigilante.”

To be continued …

From The Editor’s Desk: Eddie Berganza on FLASHPOINT

This Wednesday marks the release of the final issue of the bestselling FLASHPOINT mini-series. FLASHPOINT #5 brings an action-packed, jaw dropping and emotionally charged conclusion to this summer’s game-changing series. Take my word for it: you won’t be disappointed.

If you happen to be at Fan Expo Canada, stop by the Final Flashpoint Friday panel. I’ll be there with Brian Azzarello, Andy Kubert, Francis Manapul and James Robinson to talk about all things FLASHPOINT. See you in Toronto!

And I’d also like to express my sincerest gratitude to all of who have provided the series and all of its’ tie-ins with such overwhelming support. Everything you knew changed in a FLASH.

Tags:

andy kubert, brian azzarello, eddie berganza, Fan Expo Canada, flashpoint, francis manapul, James Robinson

Search form

Pages