The latest comic rumor has me wet!!!!!

One of the things I find myself doing more and more is combing the internet for rumors about comic books. This started slowly- as I found message boards and forums devoted to my favorite characters and books. As DC revved up marketing for first "Identity Crisis", "Countdown to Infinite Crisis", and then all of the "Infinite Crisis" crap I was sucked in. Then as the whole One Year Later and "52" bs started- I lost hours to the pursuit. I was initially very excited for most of what was happening. My favorite monthly "Wonder Woman" was set for a relaunch and I was stoked. The art team announced was a dream- Terry and Rachel Dodson had first come to my attention while doing covers for "Birds of Prey":




























And then they announced the writer for the relaunch and I was even more excited- Allan Heinberg- the very talented writer behind Marvel's terrific "Young Avengers" series- he had also written some of my favorite "Sex in the City" episodes, so I was totally looking forward to his take on Diana. I googled Mr. Heinberg and was further spurred- found out he was really cute, and gay!! I found him on Myspace and quickly started tracking his moves in anticipation for another Phil Jimenez-like stalking relationship (I will elaborate on that in a bit)!

June finally arrives and I bite my nails to the point of bleeding waiting for the first issue- when it finally is released I am more than happy- the writing and artwork are so above what I had hoped for- it was really an A+. Not only did it hit the ground running with an exciting storyline- but it also kept focus within the Wonder Family and spotlighted my favorite character of all time- Donna Troy:

I was not alone in my praise- Entertainment Weekly gave the relaunched title a glowing review- and sales for the first issue were better than any issue before. It seemed as though this relaunch, just in time for Wonder Woman's 65th anniversary was golden.

Of course- as always seems to happen- my hopes were dashed. Delays that began with the second issue dragged the comic into an appalling bi-monthly release schedule. Then they couldn't even maintain that, with fans left wondering what the hell was going on. Cut to today- February 1, 2007- since the release in June, two more issues have come out- making for a total of THREE issues in SEVEN months!?!? What kind of joke is this? According to all that I have read- the blame seems to fall somewhere in between passive editors and an overworked writer. Apparently Mr. Heinberg has focussed much of his time to his duties on the writing staff of "Grey's Anatomy"- I don't watch it, but sure- if you have a gig with the hottest TV show around, that's going to steal alot of your time- if that is the case, then perhaps you should not accept additional assignments? The lack of professionalism has left me a bit raw with most involved. The artists, Terry and Rachel Dodson, should be spared any criticism - by all accounts they are more than ready to fulfill their obligations. Hopefully when this series is rescued in a few months by best selling author Jodi Piccoult, we can see more of their vision.

So the long and the short of it is- I am ready for some kind of consolation prize from DC to make up for their shabby treatment the past several months. As "52" winds down (beautifully I might add) and they start up the hoopla machine for their latest charge- this teaser picture is released:


























Comic forums and message boards were ablaze with speculation- why these characters? Why those alternate versions of costumes? Did this cover cement beliefs among many that the Multiverse was returning? Elseworld titles now in continuity? Was this for a new series or was it for the end of "52"?

My interest was mainly sparked by Donna being back in her classic Wondergirl costume- the destruction of the Multiverse 20 years ago in "Crisis on Infinite Earths" had cleaned up alot of DC's universe- but of the many characters that were screwed- Donna Troy got the worst of it. Her entire history was wiped out- one of the most poignant, well written tales I had ever read in comics-




























New Teen Titans #8- Who is Donna Troy?- perhaps my all time single favorite one issue of a comic book. The Crisis maxi-series made the entire issue null and void- cancelling the origin of my favorite character and hurling her into a 20 year roller coaster ride of crappy origins and horrid treatment culminating in the characters senseless murder in 2003. With that final straw I stopped reading comic books for a few years. Toy with my emotions? Up yours!

Then hottie Phil Jimenez- the cute writer/artist who had lovingly written 25 issues of Wonder Woman- announced plans to bring Donna back. DC pretended to be using her return as the catalyst for all things new and exciting for their universe. Making it seem as though she was going to play an integral role in their "Infinite Crisis" and beyond. Sadly- all we fans got was a few glimpses of Donna as she lead a team of heroes in space. Then the afterthought "History of the DC Universe" backstory in the first issues of "52".

So here I am again- as I type this I realize that I constantly let DC do this to me- treat my girls like shite and then hint at glory and of course I salivate. The latest take on that teaser pic- if it proves to be true- could seriously wash away my bad feelings from over the years. When looking at the teaser more closely- it appears to be a photoshopped montage of characters over an arbitrary background. The prevailing theory is that it is an amalgam of the first several covers for DC's new weekly series delving into the renewed Multiverse- starring Donna with every weekly cover done by my boy Phil Jimenez!!!!!! Perfect world- yes this is what is going to happen- Phil will knock them out of the park! Paul Dini- or should I say- Paul Dini the Master- is rumored to be helming the project.

My only worry is this- while I love Phil's work- his detail and style are so incredible- his cover for the Donna Troy collected edition is astounding:



























However- due to his attention to detail and perfection- he can't seem to stick to a deadline. In the past this has been dealt with by fill-in artists who can't do his level of work, late shipping issues- like "Infinite Crisis"- or worse- half-assed releases (the Metropolis battle at the beginning of IC #7 comes to mind). I am worried that what could be his opus at DC- the weekly cover duties for this new series- could quickly become his albatross. I hope I am wrong- with the home stretch in sight, J.G. Jones has shown that churning out a weekly cover that is still consistently a beauty is not impossible. A bound edition of Jones's "52" covers is almost inevitable and will surely be a best seller. I just hope that Phil- with all of his incredible talent will be highlighted!

Oh well- rambled enough- need to pretend to do some work!!!