Post by Erik-El on Mar 19, 2011 23:35:30 GMT -5
Batman Group Editor Mike Marts, writer/artist Tony Daniel, writers Paul Cornell and Scott Snyder, and artist Phil Hester are scheduled to lead a discussion on DC 'Holy Trinity' - Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.
Newsarama is there LIVE! at C2E2 2011 for a real-time report from the DC Icons panel...
They also touch on Flashpoint and the Outsiders and a few other things.
Very interesting stuff. I personally zeroed in on the Wonder Woman stuff near the beginning:
2:47
Hester now talks about Wonder Woman -- "Wonder Woman is on a bubble right now. We know things are off with her timeline and existence, which is great for a writer, because you can do anything you want with those characters." He says he's on a breakneck run until Flashpoint -- he wants to tell a full-out Wonder Woman story and not hold back at all. "We've got nothing to lose at this point with this character, because Flashpoint is going to change the character."
2:47
Hester: "People ask if they're going to see the classic costume again. You're going to see every costume." Kramer says he likes the classic costume, but he likes the pants, too.
So check out the full article here. I will post the entire thing in a few hours. I just wanted to give clicky credit to the actual ones to made the original article, Newsarama.
EDIT: Adding whole LIVE chat below.
C2E2 2011: DC ICONS Panel LIVE!
(03/19/2011)
Saturday March 19, 2011
2:27
Greetings, Rama readers! Newsarama is coming to you live at C2E2, and we're gearing up to give you instant updates at the DC Icons panel, which is getting ready to begin shortly.
2:32
All right, we've got DC Executive Editor Eddie Berganza introducing our panel: DC Co-Publisher Dan DiDio, Wonder Woman writer Phil Hester, Wonder Woman artist Don Kramer, Action Comics writer Paul Cornell, Batman writer/artist Tony Daniel, Gates of Gotham co-writer Kyle Higgins and Batman Beyond artist Ryan Benjamin.
2:33
Berganza asks about Cornell writing Superman: "I feel tremendously harder. 900 got there the hard way -- 900 issues in a row. Not a lot of comics get that far." He says that the Christopher Reeves movie really inspired him. This story will be 50 pages, followed by backup stories. "It's a big, big story -- I think it'll limit the ability of staples to hold it."
2:34
Cornell said that Superman has thought bubbles now, as he does with Chris Roberson. This was not planned. "We just thought Superman, thought bubbles, of course!"
2:36
DiDio talks about Reign of Doomsday -- he jokes that editorial "forced him" to put Doomsday fighting the Eradicator in the Outsiders. Bill Willingham then walks in, as DiDio's butler for the weekend. "I'm highly parched," DiDio laughs.
2:36
DiDio says that Batman is coming back to the team for the final issues of the Outsiders. And it'll be Bruce: "It only seems right that he'll be the one to take the team apart."
2:37
Berganza says why do supervillains take their time and wait their turn to fight heroes? No, with Reign of Doomsday, they're getting nailed all at once. DiDio says that the other question was about the Justice League, since they're fighting Eclipso -- Berganza told him, why stop the fight? Their mission doesn't necessarily mean fighting one villain at a time.
2:38
And now Detective Comics writer Scott Snyder has arrived!
2:40
Daniel is now asked about how it felt to take on Batman. "I always wanted to do Batman -- even when I was on Teen Titans, I felt that if I proved myself as an artist, I wanted to try to get myself on Batman." He said he had to work out some kinks, and he's not even sure he was altogether ready when he joined the book, but now he's really happy with how the book has turned out. He's excited to get better and learn things as he go along.
2:40
Daniel: More Dick Grayson stories, some Two-Face, some Riddler -- "I can't really say what other surprises I have in store, but I think it'll be exciting."
2:42
Snyder: Issue #875 is a great jumping-on point that'll catch you up, as well as touch upon the return of Jim Gordon's son, James Jr. Why are they all so nervous around a scrawny guy with glasses? You'll find out. After that, moving on to the conclusion of the big story with Jock, looking at the new faces of the Gotham underworld. There's Sonia Zucco -- a supposed businesswoman and daughter of Tony Zucco, who killed Dick Grayson's parents -- and Tiger Shark.
2:43
Snyder and Berganza also introduce Higgins, as Snyder's teaming up with the up-and-comer behind Nightrunner for Gates of Gotham. "It's about a mystery that takes place in Gilded Age Gotham, when all the skyscrapers are being built." There's something horrible that happens as young Gotham races Metropolis, and something in the present helps break that cold case wide open.
2:44
Higgins: It reflects on Dick Grayson in a way that it doesn't for Bruce Wayne. Dick doesn't have that connection to Gotham's past like his mentor does -- it's more in line of Bruce's strengths, so Dick'll be dealing with it. Higgins says that Dick's big strength, however, is working with people, so we'll have Damian, Red Robin and Cassandra Cain, who will be in Issue #1.
2:45
Berganza talks about Batman and Robin, with Peter Tomasi and Pat Gleason. DiDio says he can't talk too much about that book. "We're at a juncture with a lot of comics with Flashpoint coming up -- there's some great arcs coming up with Superman, in Batman there's the Batman Inc. storyline, and Wonder Woman we have the alternate reality taking place. All those things are taking place simultaneously."
2:47
Hester now talks about Wonder Woman -- "Wonder Woman is on a bubble right now. We know things are off with her timeline and existence, which is great for a writer, because you can do anything you want with those characters." He says he's on a breakneck run until Flashpoint -- he wants to tell a full-out Wonder Woman story and not hold back at all. "We've got nothing to lose at this point with this character, because Flashpoint is going to change the character."
2:47
Hester: "People ask if they're going to see the classic costume again. You're going to see every costume." Kramer says he likes the classic costume, but he likes the pants, too.
2:48
What about the newly-released TV costume? Lots of booing. Berganza: "Give it a shot, see how it goes."
2:48
Kramer says he likes playing with the new villain characters -- as well as some villains that might not be villains. "They're not the same people you've known in this reality."
2:49
Hester: "It's a way to do an Elseworlds story that counts, and has a lasting impact on the character."
2:50
Berganza leads back to Ryan Benjamin, who's working on Batman Beyond. Benjamin says he watched the cartoon. "I have to admit I didn't religiously sit down and watch it while it was airing on television, because I had too much work to do, but what I did was buy the DVDs and play them over and over and over."
2:51
Any new characters? Benjamin: Yes, but he can't say who they are. The best part is that he gets to redesign them. They're based on old Batman characters -- every time he has a script from Adam Beechen in front of him, he's excited.
2:52
Berganza asks what was the first DC Icon you first connected with? DiDio says from a writer and editorial perspective, everyone has very big perceptions of what the characters stand for. The hardest thing is to make them characters, make them people, because when you're telling all these stories, it's easy not to make them relatable.
2:53
DiDio says that for example, when you see Batman, you think he can solve anything and beat Doomsday with one hand. But if you have an unbeatable Batman, an invincible Superman, a perfect Wonder Woman, how do you make them interesting?
2:54
Hester: "Is Swamp Thing an icon? I was kind of a creepy little kid, so my icons were Ragman and Swamp Thing and Unknown Soldier. I guess Batman is the creepiest icon, so Batman's my guy."
2:55
Kramer: He said the George Reeves Superman serials, followed by the Adam West Batman. He taught himself to read because he was so enthusiastic about the comics he bought.
2:56
How do you make a challenge for Superman? Cornell: Because Superman has doubt. Superman is the most human human being -- he has to try all the time to be the best he can be. There are lots of things in this universe that are as strong as Superman ... but there's nobody as mentally strong as Superman. He's the product of good parenting. Ma and Pa Kent taught him how to be Superman.
2:57
How do you challenge Batman? Snyder: Dick Grayson is relatable, while Bruce is pathological. Dick is trying to be the best Batman he could -- what if someone with other strengths and weaknesses, more extroverted and hopeful, took on the villains of Gotham?
2:58
"The fun is to have Gotham challenge him emotionally." He also watches CSI and Law & Order to help come up with street mysteries -- but he wants stories that'll challenge him emotionally under the cape and cowl. Synder said that his big icon as a kid was Wonder Woman -- he had a crush on Lynda Carter.
3:02
Benjamin discusses about how he felt about taking on a Batman book -- he got a phone call out of the blue to draw Batman Beyond. "I started thinking -- whoa, this is Batman Beyond! It didn't hit me until a minute after I hung up the phone."
3:03
Benjamin likes getting criticism, because it helps him out, and shows him where to grow.
3:04
DiDio says that the New York Times' #1 Bestselling Softcover Graphic Novel is Batman Beyond.
3:05
Berganza asks Daniel what you can bring to the table in drawing Batman? Daniel: "It's about finding your voice. Batman is very intimidating, because you want to do it right. There's a lot of pressure to make every single image awesome. Once you take that pressure off yourself to tell the story, it makes the story flow a little bit easier."
3:06
Daniel said he felt a little bit more freedom when drawing Dick, and realizing that you're not going to be perfect on Day One helps.
3:08
Now we're opening this up to the audience.
3:08
Is Linda Danvers/Matrix Supergirl ever going to come back? DiDio: "Don't look at me, I just work here." DiDio says we will not be seeing her again.
3:11
The fan then asks about the multiple Legion of Superheroes, and why we can't have multiple Supergirls. DiDio says the current forward direction is Supergirl as Superman's cousin.
3:12
Will we have a new Nightwing? Daniel: "I can't say. Nightwing hasn't died -- that's all that I can say." DiDio: "Dammit!"
3:13
How did Cornell get Death of the Endless into Action Comics? Cornell said he originally pitched the Black Racer version of Death. But then it popped into his head that there was another Death in the DCU -- Superman editor Matt Idelson said "you'll never get it." So Cornell emailed Neil Gaiman, and Gaiman was happy to do so. Gaiman wrote some of the dialogue for that issue.
3:15
A fan asks why do you have Garbageman when you have Swamp Thing? DiDio says that Swamp Thing got him into DC Comics, and he's a valuable member of the DCU. "We've got to find the right place to roll him out," but it's always a possibility.
3:16
Cornell says he was so upset that Chris Roberson stole the Lex Luthor Super-Dictionary 40 Cakes joke in the most recent Superman book. "I was waiting for nine months to try to work that in!" Cornell says that Lex is an icon, too.
3:17
Is there a chance for an ongoing Lex Luthor or the Legion of Supervillains series? Berganza: "There's always possibilities." DiDio says the book where the villains are the lead are tough to sustain: They either fight villains and become kind of heroes, fight heroes and lose, or fight heroes and win and start killing off your stable.
3:17
Cornell: "I think you like them because they're going to stop. They're finite."
3:18
DiDio talks about a time where Berganza tried the Jedi Mind Trick on him. It worked, and DiDio left his office.
3:19
DiDio said his first con was in 1970 -- he was 10 years old. He loved the connection he made with these people. "I know how hard everybody's working, and how they're trying to put together so much to make these books the best they can be."
3:20
With Outsiders ending, what's going to happen with that cast? The last issue has six double-page spreads, with all the different Outsiders teams that'll close out this particular story.
3:21
What about Donna Troy? Hester is told "I'm not even allowed to think about Donna Troy." And Wonder Girl? Hester: "That's all after Flashpoint." Next seven issues take place over a three-hour period, that's how intense it is.
3:23
A fan asks to bring back Billy Batson as Captain Marvel. DiDio passes it on to Cornell -- "I didn't know this would be a Paul Cornell question! I love Captain Marvel."
3:24
Was it harder to write stories about Batman because there was so much angst and pain to him? Daniel: "I wasn't part of the Return of Bruce Wayne storyline, so I didn't get a chance to explore [that], but as a far as Dick Grayson goes, it's a wonderful experience to throw that character into the fire."
3:26
Higgins recalls an early issue of Batman and Robin, where Alfred tells Dick to see Batman as a performance. Seeing him as an icon can mess you up, so it's interesting to see Dick try to live up to what Bruce has done.
3:26
DiDio says there'll be plenty of pain headed for Batman's life very soon.
3:28
Could Superboy-Prime be an iconic villain? Berganza says, "look for him soon."
3:28
Any more Knight and Squire coming down the line? Cornell says he's met every single individual who's bought Knight and Squire.
3:29
DiDio says Captain Marvel would be his fourth big DC icon, Berganza says Hal Jordan.
3:31
A fan asks about some of the characters that DC has acquired over the years. Renee Montoya and Jamie Reyes will be the Question and Blue Beetle of the DCU for the foreseeable future. But what about Master Man? DiDio: Probably not. DiDio says he doesn't foresee any new acquisitions anytime soon, he's happy with the characters they have.
3:32
And that's a wrap! Stay tuned for more C2E2 updates at Newsarama!
Newsarama is there LIVE! at C2E2 2011 for a real-time report from the DC Icons panel...
They also touch on Flashpoint and the Outsiders and a few other things.
Very interesting stuff. I personally zeroed in on the Wonder Woman stuff near the beginning:
2:47
Hester now talks about Wonder Woman -- "Wonder Woman is on a bubble right now. We know things are off with her timeline and existence, which is great for a writer, because you can do anything you want with those characters." He says he's on a breakneck run until Flashpoint -- he wants to tell a full-out Wonder Woman story and not hold back at all. "We've got nothing to lose at this point with this character, because Flashpoint is going to change the character."
2:47
Hester: "People ask if they're going to see the classic costume again. You're going to see every costume." Kramer says he likes the classic costume, but he likes the pants, too.
So check out the full article here. I will post the entire thing in a few hours. I just wanted to give clicky credit to the actual ones to made the original article, Newsarama.
EDIT: Adding whole LIVE chat below.
C2E2 2011: DC ICONS Panel LIVE!
(03/19/2011)
Saturday March 19, 2011
2:27
Greetings, Rama readers! Newsarama is coming to you live at C2E2, and we're gearing up to give you instant updates at the DC Icons panel, which is getting ready to begin shortly.
2:32
All right, we've got DC Executive Editor Eddie Berganza introducing our panel: DC Co-Publisher Dan DiDio, Wonder Woman writer Phil Hester, Wonder Woman artist Don Kramer, Action Comics writer Paul Cornell, Batman writer/artist Tony Daniel, Gates of Gotham co-writer Kyle Higgins and Batman Beyond artist Ryan Benjamin.
2:33
Berganza asks about Cornell writing Superman: "I feel tremendously harder. 900 got there the hard way -- 900 issues in a row. Not a lot of comics get that far." He says that the Christopher Reeves movie really inspired him. This story will be 50 pages, followed by backup stories. "It's a big, big story -- I think it'll limit the ability of staples to hold it."
2:34
Cornell said that Superman has thought bubbles now, as he does with Chris Roberson. This was not planned. "We just thought Superman, thought bubbles, of course!"
2:36
DiDio talks about Reign of Doomsday -- he jokes that editorial "forced him" to put Doomsday fighting the Eradicator in the Outsiders. Bill Willingham then walks in, as DiDio's butler for the weekend. "I'm highly parched," DiDio laughs.
2:36
DiDio says that Batman is coming back to the team for the final issues of the Outsiders. And it'll be Bruce: "It only seems right that he'll be the one to take the team apart."
2:37
Berganza says why do supervillains take their time and wait their turn to fight heroes? No, with Reign of Doomsday, they're getting nailed all at once. DiDio says that the other question was about the Justice League, since they're fighting Eclipso -- Berganza told him, why stop the fight? Their mission doesn't necessarily mean fighting one villain at a time.
2:38
And now Detective Comics writer Scott Snyder has arrived!
2:40
Daniel is now asked about how it felt to take on Batman. "I always wanted to do Batman -- even when I was on Teen Titans, I felt that if I proved myself as an artist, I wanted to try to get myself on Batman." He said he had to work out some kinks, and he's not even sure he was altogether ready when he joined the book, but now he's really happy with how the book has turned out. He's excited to get better and learn things as he go along.
2:40
Daniel: More Dick Grayson stories, some Two-Face, some Riddler -- "I can't really say what other surprises I have in store, but I think it'll be exciting."
2:42
Snyder: Issue #875 is a great jumping-on point that'll catch you up, as well as touch upon the return of Jim Gordon's son, James Jr. Why are they all so nervous around a scrawny guy with glasses? You'll find out. After that, moving on to the conclusion of the big story with Jock, looking at the new faces of the Gotham underworld. There's Sonia Zucco -- a supposed businesswoman and daughter of Tony Zucco, who killed Dick Grayson's parents -- and Tiger Shark.
2:43
Snyder and Berganza also introduce Higgins, as Snyder's teaming up with the up-and-comer behind Nightrunner for Gates of Gotham. "It's about a mystery that takes place in Gilded Age Gotham, when all the skyscrapers are being built." There's something horrible that happens as young Gotham races Metropolis, and something in the present helps break that cold case wide open.
2:44
Higgins: It reflects on Dick Grayson in a way that it doesn't for Bruce Wayne. Dick doesn't have that connection to Gotham's past like his mentor does -- it's more in line of Bruce's strengths, so Dick'll be dealing with it. Higgins says that Dick's big strength, however, is working with people, so we'll have Damian, Red Robin and Cassandra Cain, who will be in Issue #1.
2:45
Berganza talks about Batman and Robin, with Peter Tomasi and Pat Gleason. DiDio says he can't talk too much about that book. "We're at a juncture with a lot of comics with Flashpoint coming up -- there's some great arcs coming up with Superman, in Batman there's the Batman Inc. storyline, and Wonder Woman we have the alternate reality taking place. All those things are taking place simultaneously."
2:47
Hester now talks about Wonder Woman -- "Wonder Woman is on a bubble right now. We know things are off with her timeline and existence, which is great for a writer, because you can do anything you want with those characters." He says he's on a breakneck run until Flashpoint -- he wants to tell a full-out Wonder Woman story and not hold back at all. "We've got nothing to lose at this point with this character, because Flashpoint is going to change the character."
2:47
Hester: "People ask if they're going to see the classic costume again. You're going to see every costume." Kramer says he likes the classic costume, but he likes the pants, too.
2:48
What about the newly-released TV costume? Lots of booing. Berganza: "Give it a shot, see how it goes."
2:48
Kramer says he likes playing with the new villain characters -- as well as some villains that might not be villains. "They're not the same people you've known in this reality."
2:49
Hester: "It's a way to do an Elseworlds story that counts, and has a lasting impact on the character."
2:50
Berganza leads back to Ryan Benjamin, who's working on Batman Beyond. Benjamin says he watched the cartoon. "I have to admit I didn't religiously sit down and watch it while it was airing on television, because I had too much work to do, but what I did was buy the DVDs and play them over and over and over."
2:51
Any new characters? Benjamin: Yes, but he can't say who they are. The best part is that he gets to redesign them. They're based on old Batman characters -- every time he has a script from Adam Beechen in front of him, he's excited.
2:52
Berganza asks what was the first DC Icon you first connected with? DiDio says from a writer and editorial perspective, everyone has very big perceptions of what the characters stand for. The hardest thing is to make them characters, make them people, because when you're telling all these stories, it's easy not to make them relatable.
2:53
DiDio says that for example, when you see Batman, you think he can solve anything and beat Doomsday with one hand. But if you have an unbeatable Batman, an invincible Superman, a perfect Wonder Woman, how do you make them interesting?
2:54
Hester: "Is Swamp Thing an icon? I was kind of a creepy little kid, so my icons were Ragman and Swamp Thing and Unknown Soldier. I guess Batman is the creepiest icon, so Batman's my guy."
2:55
Kramer: He said the George Reeves Superman serials, followed by the Adam West Batman. He taught himself to read because he was so enthusiastic about the comics he bought.
2:56
How do you make a challenge for Superman? Cornell: Because Superman has doubt. Superman is the most human human being -- he has to try all the time to be the best he can be. There are lots of things in this universe that are as strong as Superman ... but there's nobody as mentally strong as Superman. He's the product of good parenting. Ma and Pa Kent taught him how to be Superman.
2:57
How do you challenge Batman? Snyder: Dick Grayson is relatable, while Bruce is pathological. Dick is trying to be the best Batman he could -- what if someone with other strengths and weaknesses, more extroverted and hopeful, took on the villains of Gotham?
2:58
"The fun is to have Gotham challenge him emotionally." He also watches CSI and Law & Order to help come up with street mysteries -- but he wants stories that'll challenge him emotionally under the cape and cowl. Synder said that his big icon as a kid was Wonder Woman -- he had a crush on Lynda Carter.
3:02
Benjamin discusses about how he felt about taking on a Batman book -- he got a phone call out of the blue to draw Batman Beyond. "I started thinking -- whoa, this is Batman Beyond! It didn't hit me until a minute after I hung up the phone."
3:03
Benjamin likes getting criticism, because it helps him out, and shows him where to grow.
3:04
DiDio says that the New York Times' #1 Bestselling Softcover Graphic Novel is Batman Beyond.
3:05
Berganza asks Daniel what you can bring to the table in drawing Batman? Daniel: "It's about finding your voice. Batman is very intimidating, because you want to do it right. There's a lot of pressure to make every single image awesome. Once you take that pressure off yourself to tell the story, it makes the story flow a little bit easier."
3:06
Daniel said he felt a little bit more freedom when drawing Dick, and realizing that you're not going to be perfect on Day One helps.
3:08
Now we're opening this up to the audience.
3:08
Is Linda Danvers/Matrix Supergirl ever going to come back? DiDio: "Don't look at me, I just work here." DiDio says we will not be seeing her again.
3:11
The fan then asks about the multiple Legion of Superheroes, and why we can't have multiple Supergirls. DiDio says the current forward direction is Supergirl as Superman's cousin.
3:12
Will we have a new Nightwing? Daniel: "I can't say. Nightwing hasn't died -- that's all that I can say." DiDio: "Dammit!"
3:13
How did Cornell get Death of the Endless into Action Comics? Cornell said he originally pitched the Black Racer version of Death. But then it popped into his head that there was another Death in the DCU -- Superman editor Matt Idelson said "you'll never get it." So Cornell emailed Neil Gaiman, and Gaiman was happy to do so. Gaiman wrote some of the dialogue for that issue.
3:15
A fan asks why do you have Garbageman when you have Swamp Thing? DiDio says that Swamp Thing got him into DC Comics, and he's a valuable member of the DCU. "We've got to find the right place to roll him out," but it's always a possibility.
3:16
Cornell says he was so upset that Chris Roberson stole the Lex Luthor Super-Dictionary 40 Cakes joke in the most recent Superman book. "I was waiting for nine months to try to work that in!" Cornell says that Lex is an icon, too.
3:17
Is there a chance for an ongoing Lex Luthor or the Legion of Supervillains series? Berganza: "There's always possibilities." DiDio says the book where the villains are the lead are tough to sustain: They either fight villains and become kind of heroes, fight heroes and lose, or fight heroes and win and start killing off your stable.
3:17
Cornell: "I think you like them because they're going to stop. They're finite."
3:18
DiDio talks about a time where Berganza tried the Jedi Mind Trick on him. It worked, and DiDio left his office.
3:19
DiDio said his first con was in 1970 -- he was 10 years old. He loved the connection he made with these people. "I know how hard everybody's working, and how they're trying to put together so much to make these books the best they can be."
3:20
With Outsiders ending, what's going to happen with that cast? The last issue has six double-page spreads, with all the different Outsiders teams that'll close out this particular story.
3:21
What about Donna Troy? Hester is told "I'm not even allowed to think about Donna Troy." And Wonder Girl? Hester: "That's all after Flashpoint." Next seven issues take place over a three-hour period, that's how intense it is.
3:23
A fan asks to bring back Billy Batson as Captain Marvel. DiDio passes it on to Cornell -- "I didn't know this would be a Paul Cornell question! I love Captain Marvel."
3:24
Was it harder to write stories about Batman because there was so much angst and pain to him? Daniel: "I wasn't part of the Return of Bruce Wayne storyline, so I didn't get a chance to explore [that], but as a far as Dick Grayson goes, it's a wonderful experience to throw that character into the fire."
3:26
Higgins recalls an early issue of Batman and Robin, where Alfred tells Dick to see Batman as a performance. Seeing him as an icon can mess you up, so it's interesting to see Dick try to live up to what Bruce has done.
3:26
DiDio says there'll be plenty of pain headed for Batman's life very soon.
3:28
Could Superboy-Prime be an iconic villain? Berganza says, "look for him soon."
3:28
Any more Knight and Squire coming down the line? Cornell says he's met every single individual who's bought Knight and Squire.
3:29
DiDio says Captain Marvel would be his fourth big DC icon, Berganza says Hal Jordan.
3:31
A fan asks about some of the characters that DC has acquired over the years. Renee Montoya and Jamie Reyes will be the Question and Blue Beetle of the DCU for the foreseeable future. But what about Master Man? DiDio: Probably not. DiDio says he doesn't foresee any new acquisitions anytime soon, he's happy with the characters they have.
3:32
And that's a wrap! Stay tuned for more C2E2 updates at Newsarama!
