CON AWAY FROM CON STARTS HERE! From the mystery of Pandora to the highly anticipated Batman: Earth One, the first DC Comics-All Access panel of WonderCon 2012 opened with a bang. Lots of questions from fans, spoilers (courtesy of Mr. Scott Lobdell), and did we mention a call for the return of Canterbury Cricket?
Moderated by John Cunningham (VP, Marketing) the panel consisted of Bob Harras (editor-in-chief), Eddie Berganza (executive editor), Dustin Nguyen (Batman Beyond Unlimited), Bryan Q. Miller (Smallville: Season 11) and Scott Lobdell (Teen Titans, Superboy, Red Hood and the Outlaws). Scott Snyder (Batman, Swamp Thing, American Vampire) made an unannounced guest appearance, a development fans were thrilled with.
Scott Snyder talked about everything he's involved in, from Batman and the unprecedented trials the Court of Owls putting him through to Swamp Thing and the return of a much-anticipated character (the name starts with an "A") and the coming crossover with Animal Man.
Smallville: Season 11, according to Bryan Q. Miller, picks up six months after the series ended, with the characters continuing to carve out their place in the world.
Bob Harras teased the return of Lobo in the pages of Deathstroke as well as how that character will come into conflict with The Savage Hawkman as an Nth Metal connection between the two of them is revealed.
Eddie Berganza talked Batman: Earth One and how it features a Bruce Wayne still learning what it is to be Batman along with an Alfred unlike you've ever seen, comparing him to Liam Neeson's gruff hero in the movie Taken.
Scott Lobdell dropped spoilers galore (not really) as he talked about what's in store for the Teen Titans and Superboy, both of which are going to feature plenty of dinosaurs according to Lobdell. Readers of Teen Titans will also get a look at what relationship exists between Superboy and Wonder Girl, which takes a turn that readers may not expect.
Books that are part of the "second wave" of DC Comic-The New 52 were also discussed. Panelists made it clear that while The Ravagers spins out of Teen Titans it will also be completely open to new readers and, as Berganza said, still be a real number one that readers can jump on.
Fans made their voices heard as well, with questions about timelines and characters being lobbed at the panelists that covered topics from what the mysterious Pandora does or doesn't know to a call for the return of Canterbury Cricket, a character first seen as part of Flashpoint and who apparently made quite an impression.
Stay tuned here for more Con Away From Con coverage (recaps, photos and even video) throughout the weekend here at WonderCon. You can stay up to the minute with everything happening by following us on Twitter and Liking the DC Comics page on Facebook.
