DC's "52"

[Kurt Angle Mark 0]

From www.newsarama.com

 

In June, we spoke with DC Executive Editor Dan DiDio about possibly the biggest bombshell to come to the DCU post-Infinite Crisis, that is, following Infinite Crisis all titles set in the DCU will jump forward one year in time, as part of something DiDio calls “One Year Later…”

 

DiDio promised that many, if not all titles would be reflecting significant changes as a result of the move ahead, be it new characters, now established and one year into their careers as heroes; different people under familiar masks; new alliances; new rivalries; new teammates; new cities for some heroes, and a change or tweak in just about everything else you can imagine.

 

Of course, as Newsarama asked, if you move things ahead one year, you’re left with one year’s worth of stories to tell. DiDio’s answer when asked if DC would be telling the story of the missing year? “Of course.”

 

And now, he’s able to fill in more of the details, not only about the when the story will be told, but the how.

 

The last question first: weekly. The working title, 52 - as in 52 weeks.

 

“The story of 52 begins the week after Infinite Crisis concludes and runs weekly thereafter,” DiDio told Newsarama. “It answers most of the outstanding questions from the missing year, but more importantly it sets the tone for our world and the direction of the DC Universe for the years to come.”

 

The series will be DC’s first attempt at an intentionally weekly comic since turning Action Comics into Action Comics Weekly between 1988 and 1989. Moreover than just running a weekly series, as DiDio explained, 52 will run in real time (or as close to real time as comics can approximate) – that is, when it’s winter outside your window, it will be winter in the United States of the DCU.

 

“With each issue one week passes, and yes, we plan to show the change in time as the series progresses,” DiDio said. “We get to show how the life of the DC Universe changes over the course of a year, in real time. With plans like this, it is imperative that we insure that the entire series ships on time. For 52 to ship late it would be like Time Magazine shipping late.

 

“That said, I wouldn’t go forward if I didn’t believe we were going to hit all our shipping dates. Pre-production is the key to everything and we have the full support of the company to make sure we do this right.”

 

Key to tackling the specific production and timing problems head-on, DiDio revealed, is through the use of a team of writers and artists. “”Obviously, the process in producing this series will be different than those we take in our monthly books,” DiDio said. “The plan is to go with a core group of writers and artists. But given how intense the process will be as we get deeper into the story, we are prepared to split scripting and dialog, as well as breakdowns and pencils to insure the production moves smoothly for the run of the entire series. The plan also calls for a single cover artist to set the tone for the series, and also help tell the story in covers.”

 

So, while creators who’ve been in the know on 52 for a while are claiming DiDio has a pair of brass ones for attempting this, who was the madman at DC that thought a weekly comic that absolutely could not miss a week’s shipping would be a good idea?

 

“52 came from the mind of our publisher Paul Levitz,” DiDio said. “He has seen the one year leap done several times before and the only way he would approve our plan was to find a new and unique way to tell the story of the missing year. He pitched the idea of a weekly comic to Geoff Johns, Greg Rucka and myself, knowing, in advance, that we could never resist this challenge. He reeled us in like fish in a barrel.”

 

As for trafficking and making sure the trains run on time… “Steve Wacker is the one foolhardy soul who gets to edits this mega-series,” DiDio said, chuckling. “And while he didn't volunteer for this job, he didn't say no when asked, so that’s as good as volunteering to me.”

 

Joking aside, Wacker’s job will include far more than just trafficking the scripts and art assignments through to the printer. “The challenge in doing something like 52 is obviously maintaining the readers interest week in and week out,” DiDio said. “Loyalty to a character will bring you back from month to month, loyalty to a story will bring a reader back week to week. The toughest part of our job is to tell a story so compelling and so exciting that you can't wait for next week and the next installment. The real difficulty is keeping this going for over a year, we have enough story to keep up that level of excitement, and given the team we are assembling, I know they are up to the task.”

 

And speaking of loyalty to a character, 52 will be the only place fans will be able to find some of their favorites. “There will be four to six primary characters that will take us through every corner of the DC Universe,” DiDio said. “While I can't mention who they are at this time, one thing I can tell you is that none of the prime characters in 52 will be seen in any of the one year later stories. What happens to them is a mystery only 52 can answer.”

 

As for the nuts and bolts of what’s important to readers, DiDio declined to name a price point for 52, saying only, “We are well aware of the fan's financial investment in a series like this, and we are all working to find ways to make this as attractive as possible.”

 

DiDio also said that there are ongoing discussions at DC in regards to collections of 52, as the publisher wants to see healthy weekly sales of the series, but also serve fans who’ve come to collect comics in trade format.

 

One last tease about the larger story – as being a guy who sees the “functional” side of stories (the miniseries following Countdown to Infinite Crisis were about redefining the various corners of the DCU), what purpose does 52 serve?

 

“The Countdown minis helped re-establish the corners of the DC Universe, Crisis will bring the Universe together and 52 will layout the ground work for the world to come,” DiDio said. “It repositions and redefines everyone's roles in the DCU.”

 

And finally…that title?

 

“In the offices, we've been calling it 52 with an asterisk,” DiDio said. “With the asterisk meaning ‘working title.’ Still, there is something in ‘52’ that takes hold as to what the story is all about. So for now the title is 52, but it’s not like we haven't changed titles last minute before.”

[SuperJerk 0]

That's almost crazy enough to work.

[The Amazing Rando 0]

I'd buy this...and I haven't bought comics in FOREVER.

[Vampiro69 0]

All I can say is that those artists have their work cut out for them. Hope they hire alot of them to work on this.

[Kurt Angle Mark 0]

Latest Wizard has announced the "52" writing team

 

Geoff Johns

Mark Waid

Grant Morrison

Greg Rucka

 

will share the writing chores while Keith Giffen will be co-plotter and in charge of story breakdowns.

 

J.G. Jones will be cover artist for all 52 issues

[Bruce Blank 0]

man I see Carpal Tunnel in J.G. Jones' future

 

It's a solid team that can rotate to keep from being burnt out

 

I assume that the artists will rotate as well

[Vampiro69 0]

Boy does Geoff Johns ever get a chance to even sleep? I hope he doesn't burn himself out with all this work.

[Sass 0]

Giffen's a great choice for this project.

[Guest JMA]

Latest Wizard has announced the "52" writing team

 

Geoff Johns

Mark Waid

Grant Morrison

Greg Rucka

 

will share the writing chores while Keith Giffen will be co-plotter and in charge of story breakdowns.

 

J.G. Jones will be cover artist for all 52 issues

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's a damn fine collection of writers. There's no question about whether I'm getting this or not now.

[Mecha Mummy 0]

I remember reading a rumor that Dan DiDio wants to price these things at 99 cents. If he does that I will almost certainly buy every one unless they do something to really piss me off, and with a talent list like that I don't think it's likely since I love Morrison, Waid, and Giffen, like Johns, and I think Rucka's decent enough (especially in Gotham Central).