Who is this guy? What's his deal? Well, fine. We'll do a little legwork for you. We swung by Batman Group Editor Michael Marts' office to get the skinny. So, what gives, Mike?
"If you think you’ve met Batman’s most dangerous, psychopathic, murderous foe...think again. Meet the 'new crime' in Gotham City—the FLAMINGO!"
Well, there you go!
• Over the weekend, the 2009 Harvey Award winners were announced at the Baltimore Comic-Con. Congrats to all the winners, with a special pat on the back for Grant Morrison, who won for Best Writer for his work on ALL STAR SUPERMAN, which also won as Best Continuing or Limited Series.
• The team at IGN continues their BLACKEST NIGHT coverage, with a preview of the final issue of BLACKEST NIGHT: BATMAN.
• Speaking of BLACKEST NIGHT, NEWSARAMA's Vaneta Rogers sits down to chat with BLACKEST NIGHT artist Ivan Reis about his work on the series.
• And, in case you missed it over the weekend, at the DC NATION panel in Baltimore it was announced that Matthew Sturges will be stepping in as the new regular writer on THE WEB, replacing Angela Robinson after a one-issue cameo by Marc Guggenheim. Check back Friday for more on the new team.
But that's not all the news we have percolating in Baltimore, folks. Check back here around 9pm EST tonight for some major news that'll make coming to work tomorrow that much easier.
None other than Cameron Stewart, of CATWOMAN and Vertigo's SEAGUY fame. How's that for some Friday morning news?
We'll have more info and art on the news in the coming weeks, once I've returned from my brief work hiatus (hopefully more tan, but who are we kidding here?). For now, enjoy this cover to an upcoming issue by Mr. Stewart.
Need we say more?
It's a short week here at The Source, what with our last summer Friday looming. Then it's back to the drain of five-day work weeks. Frightening, huh?
But we've got a ton of stuff lined up to show off in the next few days, so no worries. And we know how much you like teaser art. What's better than that? Well, teaser art and news, no?
You've heard rumblings about this here and there, but we can now officially confirm that starting in November, THE GREAT TEN will star in their own 10-part mini-series, from writer Tony Bedard and artist Scott McDaniel, with covers by Stanley "Artgerm" Lau.
At the dawn of the Chinese Century, the 10 official "super-functionaries" of the People's Republic face their greatest challenge as the gods of Ancient China return to destroy communist rule. Will the most populous nation on Earth drag the rest of the world down with it? Do its heroes even want to save a government that treats them like pawns?
Want more? We got Bedard to give us the basics on the new series. Take it away, Tony:
“When I went off to college, I really got into Eastern philosophy -- Taoism, Buddhism, Zen, etc. Around the same time, I picked up ANIMAL MAN and I've been a hardcore Grant Morrison fan ever since. So I leapt at the chance to do a GREAT TEN series, to flesh out these characters Grant dreamed up and tap the amazing storytelling potential in both them and their country. It's a chance to do a different take on super-heroes, and just like my R.E.B.E.L.S. series, I think THE GREAT TEN is going to take a lot of people by surprise.”
THE GREAT TEN #1 hits 11/4. And, wait, here's some dandy preview art, including the cover to #1.
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What a fitting way to end a remarkable run.
The 2009 Eisners also saw writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely once again recognized for their amazing work on ALL STAR SUPERMAN, with the series being honored with the Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series.
There's very little I can say to do a classic book like this justice, but suffice to say the award is greatly deserved, the creators should take a minute to bask in the glow and anyone who loves comics should realize that their respective collections are far from complete without this series on their shelves.
Over at THE ONION AV CLUB, Leonard Pierce chats up BATMAN AND ROBIN writer Grant Morrison, kicking off their slate of SDCC coverage. Here's an excerpt, but by all means, click and read the interview in its entirety. Pretty engaging stuff:
The A.V. Club: Given that you work largely in a medium where the fans are notoriously difficult to satisfy, how much consideration do you give your audience?
Grant Morrison: I don’t like to think of my readership as “fans,” a word which has always suggested a kind of power relationship I’m uncomfortable with. I do like to keep abreast of what the hardcore vocal members of the comics-reading audience are talking about on Internet message boards, but there are so few of them, as a percentage of the buying audience, that I can’t allow their opinions to dictate story direction. It’s always interesting to see what the real enthusiasts think, but they’re rarely representative of the tastes of the wider audience, so I tend to write for myself, for an imagined smart 14-year-old, and for a couple of friends who are still big comics fans. I’m a fan myself, so I try to write the kind of comics I want to read.
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Philip Tan's variant covers to BATMAN AND ROBIN #4 and 5. Enjoy!
• The Miami Herald's Richard Pachter has a few kind words for the FINAL CRISIS HC, calling the collection "provocative, thrilling and resonant." And because it’s not a blog post without me shamelessly interjecting my life into it, it’s nice to see my old stompin’ grounds giving DCU books some love.
• Continuing their concerted BLACKEST NIGHT coverage, IGN unveiled a first-look at GREEN LANTERN #43, a prologue to BLACKEST NIGHT #1 spotlighting Black Hand. And, in case you missed it the first time, up above is a spread from #43 which has a few hints about BLACKEST NIGHT, to say the least.
• Over at THE BEAT, Heidi has the 2009 Harvey Award nominees. Winners will be announced at the Baltimore Comic-Con, which will be held October 10-11, 2009. The ceremony and banquet for the 2008 Harvey Awards will be held Saturday night, October 10. Congrats to DC's nominees, which include Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely for their work on ALL STAR SUPERMAN, Alex Ross for his cover work on JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA and Rob Leigh for his lettering on THE SPIRIT.
