Geoff: Anyone see FRINGE last night? If you did, or if you’ve read this blog this week, you saw the RED LANTERN/RED ARROW cover. And maybe the bizarre SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL RETURNS in the style of Frank Miller’s BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS. Or the infamous cover to CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #7, but Supergirl’s holding Superman. Or the event that rocked the mid-90s, THE DEATH OF BATMAN. So where did these come from?
An alternate Earth.
For real.
A month or so ago, I was fortunate enough to take on the job of Chief Creative Officer. That meant I was charged with bringing out characters out of the comic book pages and into the vast world of television, film, animation and video games that is DC Entertainment. One of the first calls I got was from the director of the Fringe season finale – writer/producer/director Akiva Goldsman. He was shooting a scene in an alternate world where things weren’t exactly like ours. Where even the smallest details were somewhat off. Including the comics. Together with executive producer Jeff Pinker, Akiva wanted to showcase an array of DC Comics that could’ve been including the ones you can see below. He wanted them to be as authentic as possible. Something only the hardcore would really recognize. We all came up with some ideas. That’s when Hank Kanalz came in…
Hank: …and when Geoff Johns and Ivan Cohen call, you pick up the phone. The idea was so crazy, it could really work, so we set out to do just that. As I always tell people, WildStorm is more than just an imprint – it is also a full service creative studio. And yes, we also publish the Fringe comic book (a new #1 on sale June 23, end of plug).
We mobilized Batman: Arkham Asylum artist Carlos D’Anda, The Authority: Lost Year artists JJ Kirby, Michael Lopez, and Oliver Nome, and art directors extraordinaire Larry Berry and Ed Roeder to create these fun alternate reality covers. We assembled the first four covers quickly…but we really wanted to exceed all expectations for the fifth cover. With the concept of RED LANTERN/RED ARROW we had only one choice – Ivan Reis. Geez, did he and Oclair Albert deliver, or what?
Geoff: So what do you think? Do you want to see the stories behind the covers? If so, you should hit up Hank. Who knows, maybe these would be fun to write…
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In order to catch up to his grandfather, Bart Allen will have to race against the speed force itself. As he is bounced around through time collecting multi-dimensional speed force energy from various members of the Flash family, Bart needs to gain all of the necessary tools to reach Barry in time to deliver a message that could save the universe. But will he be able to reach the world’s last hope for restoration before the speed force catches up to him?
