CBR's Comics Should Be Good: Comic Book Legends Revealed

Welcome to the two-hundred and seventieth in a series of examinations of comic book legends and whether they are true or false

COMIC LEGEND: Wanted was based on a pitch by Mark Millar to DC for a Secret Society of Supervillains series.

STATUS: Enough Truth for a True

Mark Millar and JG Jones’ Wanted was about a young man who finds out that his father is part of a secret society of supervillains.

Ever since the hit comic book came out in 2003, it has been rumored that the story was originally written for DC as a pitch by Millar for a mini-series about the ACTUAL Secret Society of Supervillains.

Like many things, the truth is somewhere in the middle.

For more info on that legend and other comic book legends, go here.
Source: CBR

Newsarama: Ron Marz Responds to DC's Digital Comics Plans

With the announcement today that DC Comics has entered the digital comics marketplace, one of the more interesting aspects of the program — for the industry's talent, anyway — was that DC will have a royalty program for creators when one of their digital comics is purchased.

DC has often been praised as a creator-rights leader for its royalty program, with former publisher Paul Levitz even winning an Eisner Award for his humanitarian work on behalf of creators. So creators weren't shocked by the announcement, but were reacting positively nonetheless.

The internet has also been abuzz about the future of comics now that both major publishers are dedicated to digital comics.

So we went to the creators to ask:

- What is your overall reaction to the news of DC's digital program?
- Do you have knowledge about or a reaction to the plan to pay royalties on digital sales?
- When do you envision the digital model being the industry's dominant from of distribution? 2 years, 5 years, 10, or never?

What follows is the response, which we'll be updating throughout the day:

Ron Marz

Obviously it was not a questions of "if," in terms of DC's digital model, it was a question of when. The industry as a whole needed Marvel and DC to both have a serious digital presence in order to move forward into the future of comics. I think a lot of hardcore fans will always want print versions, but to me, digital is the way that casual readers and more importantly new readers are going to pursue comics. As a creator, the most pleasing aspect is that DC has figured out its royalty plan for digital distribution. Which is not surprising, really, since DC has always been meticulous about both domestic and foreign royalty payments. If your book sells a hundred copies in Croatia, a check for a few bucks shows up. It's a hallmark of the company.

Read more creator responses here.
Source: Newsarama

Nerdage: Top 5 Marc Silvestri Book Runs

Happy birthday to Top Cow’s Marc Silvestri! Silvestri has proven his management skills with his quality team at Top Cow. But before that, he was a celebrated penciler for Marvel and DC. As one of the Image Comics founders, he created Cyberforce and co-created Witchblade and the Darkness. To celebrate, Silvestri’s birthday. I’m counting down my favorite 5 of his comic-book runs.



1. Wolverine 31-50, 52-53, 55-57

My favorite of his work is his 1990s run on “Wolverine” with Larry Hama. Silvestri, as shown here, can get a lot of characters on a cover and still clearly delineate what’s happening. His Wolverine was bestial yet honorable, and I enjoyed the storytelling throughout.



2. The Darkness 0-7

With Garth Ennis (“Preacher”), Silvestri creates Top Cow’s most-famous anti-hero, and, with Witchblade, the core of their supernatural comics. Silvestri was a great artist to create mob hitman Jackie Estacado’s dark world.

Find out who rounds out the rest of the list here.

Source: Nerdage

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Newsarama: Filip Sablik Reacts to DC Executive Announcement

Today's announcement that DC Entertainment would be promoting from within to fill its open and new jobs in the executive ranks has gotten a lot of positive reaction. As Jim Lee and Dan DiDio become co-publishers at the company with Geoff Johns as chief creative editor and John Rood & Patrick Caldon as new executive vice presidents, the comics industry is glad to see the roles are being filled by a few of their own.

Over the last decade, the comics industry has experienced some growing pains as it began merging more and more with Hollywood, including mixed reactions from fans to the recent reorganization at DC, the Disney takeover of Marvel, and the influx of movie interests at San Diego Comic-Con.

But the promotion "from within" has many comic book insiders cheering. On the practical side, DiDio, Lee and Johns have experience in the gaming, film and TV industries. But with that experience comes years of work within the comic book industry, and that's what is impressing the creators we polled.

A round-up of reactions from the comic book industry (and more):

Filip Sablik (publisher, Top Cow): Dan, Jim, and Geoff's accomplishments speak for themselves and it shouldn't be any great surprise that these three guys were tapped to help guide the next phase of DC's evolution as a company. I think diehard comic fans and direct market retailers are probably relieved to see three "comic insiders" put in these important positions. They're all great guys and a hearty congratulations and best of luck to all of them.

You can read more reactions to the executive announcement here.

Source: Newsarama

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