Sometimes you just know when you’re going to want the graphic novel/trade edition of a new series. That looks certain for the new DC vs Vampires, a story outside the normal continuity of the DC Comics superheroes that will twist the most famous into vampires, and it takes long-time fans of DC characters to one of their favorite places: the Hall of Justice that we grew up with in the Superfriendstelevision series. The first chapter finds New 52 Justice League Darkcharacter and I, Vampire lead Andrew Bennett crawling to the iconic Justice League headquarters to share word of something dire with the League, where he finds Hal Jordan and one of the Wonder Twins.
There is a new vampire leader on Earth and what he’s plotting will mean the end of human domination of the planet.
Stories like DC vs Vampires are a great chance to dip back into the DC Universe without needing to get caught up on all the series and crossover events. In a word, these limited series are just plain fun.
Wonder Twin powers activate! Form of… anything that will get this vampire out of my face! Take a look at a preview of the first issue–and lots of cover variants for the first and subsequent issues–below.
As each new superhero gets his showcase in Marvel movies, we’re getting more and more lesser known characters pulled from the history of Marvel Comics to meet on the big screen. As we stray away from the actual superhero headliners, the obscure come to the fore. Probably the best of the darker, horror comics can be found in DC Comics, members of Justice League Dark, in recent years including Constantine, Swamp Thing, Zatanna, Deadman, Madame Xanadu, and Shade. But it’s the feel of JLD you’ll find in Brendan Daneen’s Morbius, The Living Vampire: Blood Ties, a new novel in the Titan Books library of novel adaptations of Marvel Comics. Taking place after the origin story of Marvel’s take on a “bat-man,” to be adapted in the pandemic-delayed, big-screen debut of Marvel’s latest monstrosity Morbius starring Jared Leto, this story gives an accounting of that “living vampire” first created 50 years ago in the pages of Spider-Man comics by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane.
When people with creativity and skill have their grasp on the reins of DC Comics properties, great things can happen. Unfortunately it’s a rarity. Although its Arrowverse on the CW Network were good efforts, DC at the movies hasn’t shown much promise until last year’s Shazam!, although Aquaman was another good effort. But the big win of live-action DC Comics adaptations was last year’s Swamp Thing (above) featuring the titular creature and other Justice League Darkcharacters Xanadu and the Phantom Stranger. The series was our own selection here at borg for top superhero series last year. Shazam! and Swamp Thing prove that with good writing, production, and acting talent both movie and television adaptations truly worthy of the comic book source material are possible.
New streaming provider HBO Max announced this week its own team-up. It will join J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions to produce a new live-action Justice League Dark series with Warner Brothers Television (in addition, a project related to Stephen King’s The Shining called Overlook was also announced).
Justice League Dark is, as the title suggests, a band of superpowered characters from the shadows of the DCU. Spanish artist Mikel Janin was tasked with re-imagining the look of these more offbeat and occult characters from their earlier individual series and appearances for the New 52 launch in 2011, and for us Justice League Dark is synonymous with Janin’s designs, shown above and below (we interviewed Mikel about the new look here at borg back in March 2012). The JLD then included Zatanna, Constantine, Deadman, Shade, Madame Xanadu, Swamp Thing, the Phantom Stranger, Frankenstein, and the Enchantress, and more as they would emerge throughout the series’ short 40-issue run.
Warner Bros. confirmed that Justice League Dark would be its next animated movie project this weekend at its panel at San Diego Comic-Con. Now a behind-the-scenes feature included on the home release of Batman: The Killing Joke is online, and not only confirms Justice League Dark is the next animated movie coming from the DC Expanded Universe, but that it’s pretty far along in production. Fans of NBC’s short-lived, Constantine television series will be happy to hear series lead Matt Ryan will voice the character in the animated movie.
Unfortunately DC did not choose to base the designs or stories on Mikel Janin’s gorgeous run on the Justice League Dark New 52 comic book series, except for the updated look for Zatanna. Batman will be a key feature of the movie, along with JLD members John Constantine, Swamp Thing, Zatanna, and Deadman. The movie will also feature Etrigan and Black Orchid.
In addition to Matt Ryan reprising his role as Constantine (from his series and on CW’s Arrow), Nicholas Turturro (Burn Notice, White Collar) will voice Deadman, Camilla Luddington (Grey’s Anatomy) will voice Zatanna, prolific voice actor Ray Chase plays Etrigan, and Jason O’Mara (Complications, Life on Mars, The Closer, Terra Nova, Band of Brothers, Monarch of the Glen) is Batman.
Wonder Woman, Superman, and Green Lantern will have cameo appearances in the movie.
Check out this behind the scenes look at Justice League Dark:
The last vestiges of The New 52 seem to be fleeting in light of DC Comics’ Rebirth superhero universe reset. Back in 2011 we at borg.com were reading and reviewing every monthly from the New 52 we could get our hands on. One of the most compelling and creative of those series was Justice League Dark, a further spin-off from the likes of Justice League of America, Justice League Europe, Justice League International, Justice League and JLA.
Justice League Dark was, as the title suggests, a darker band of superpowered characters from the DCU. Spanish artist Mikel Janin was tasked with re-imagining the look of these characters, and he pulled it off brilliantly. We interviewed Mikel about the new look here at borg.com back in March 2012. The JLD included Zatanna, Constantine, Deadman, Shade, Madame Xanadu, Swamp Thing, and the Enchantress, and more as they would emerge throughout the series’ short 40 issue run.
Guillermo del Toro had been involved for a few years with a live action version of the JLD that never seemed to spring away from the development stage. Now because of a feature listing on the Blu-ray from Batman: The Killing Joke, an animated version is likely further along than had been previously disclosed by DC.
He is a key character in DC Comics Justice League Dark for a reason. Stress on the word “dark”. He’s Constantine–John Constantine–possibly the least likely character to emerge from the pages of the DCU and make it to the small screen. Yet NBC has pulled out all the stops lately with promotions to get new viewers to check out this new series following Grimm on Friday nights beginning tomorrow.
We’ve collected all the promotional videos here for Constantine so you can judge for yourself whether this new series is one for you. He’s been summed up as “A man struggling with his faith is haunted by the sins of his past but is suddenly thrust into the role of defending humanity from the gathering forces of darkness.” And there’s plenty of horror and gore, as revealed in the recent previews released. Will the suspense grab and retain viewers in this onslaught of DC Comics-based TV shows?
Unlike CW’s successful DCU spin-off TV series Arrow and the new series Flash and Gotham, don’t expect to see lots of familiar genre actors in this series, but plenty of new faces. Star Matt Ryan has shown up before in Criminal Minds-Suspect Behavior as well as stints on Vikings, Torchwood, The Tudors, and one of our faves, the Brit film Layer Cake. And you might recognize Angelica Celaya from her role on the (recently prematurely cancelled!) Dallas. Lost fans will recognize Harold Perrineau here who played Michael on that series.
After the break, check out all the promotional trailers and previews for Constantine:
It was way back in August that we first previewed the very first images of the new Justice League of America here at borg.com. DC Comics has had a big month with big changes–first we reviewed Jeff Lemire beginning a new Green Arrow story in the monthly series, then we were introduced last week to Tatsu, a new recruit in a new Justice League whose superhero name is that of her sword, Katana. And if you’re not keeping up we chatted a few days ago about DC Comics’ two trade editions available for the plain ol’ Justice League of the New 52. And that’s not even getting into the cancelled Justice League International monthly title and the awesome Justice League Darkwe’ve raved about here earlier.
Today DC Comics put the America back in the Justice League. Sure, the Justice League (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg)–the League with all the egos–will continue as a monthly series, but the rest of the original JLA superheroes we all know and love are back in their own separate league. They may not be the World’s Finest but writer Geoff Johns and artist David Finch have launched a new story, “World’s Most Dangerous.” And if Issue #1 is any indication I think we’re in for a better league with the new JLA.
It really comes down to one thing. Is the art of Ryan Sook, the superb cover artist for series like Justice League Dark, good enough to cause you to spend $7.99 for an 80-page comic book? Let’s come back to that.
As you may know, Vertigo is an imprint of DC Comics, known for stories targeted at mature readers, including elements of stepped up violence, sexuality, horror and just plain controversial subjects not easily absorbed by the mainstream audience. Mystery in Space is a classic comic book series beginning in the 1950s, known for great sci-fi stories including stories featuring Adam Strange. Suspense and intrigue were key to the original series, and they often had the feel of Twilight Zone stories.
Along with titles like G.I. Combat and Worlds Finest, DC has been making the best of grabbing readers through a little bit of nostalgia, and the title and classic cover of the one-shot anthology Mystery in Space #1, in the style of the original 1950s series, is step one in reeling new readers in. As with short story anthologies, the challenge is whether a writer can really put together a narrative with a beginning, middle and end that can be compelling, exciting, and original, in just a few pages.
The new Mystery in Space is good. Good enough that it leaves the reader wanting more. Sure, not every entry in an anthology will be great or even good. That’s the beauty of an anthology–if it’s good there will be something for everyone. But there is no reason DC cannot continue churning out anthologies like this of classic themed sci-fi stories.
The book starts out with a bang, and the first story “Verbinksy Doesn’t Appreciate It” is a great story about a cyborg with an unwanted cybernetic arm and a classic storytelling session among typical guys in a bar. Written by Duane Swierczynski and illustrated by Ramon Bachs, the story blends alien abduction and The Matrix. Smart and dark, at 8 pages, Bachs conveys panic and emotion nicely.
Green Arrow: Year One and Adam Strange writer Andy Diggle joined forced with artist Davide Gianfelice on “Transmission.” Billions of lives are at stake in a Star Trek Voyager “Year of Hell” throwback, with a female ambassador taking on a computer that rules all like HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Quick plot movement and a satisfying resolution highlight this as one of the best stories in the set, although it ends off the mark a bit. I’d love to see more books drawn by Bachs and Gianfelice. Gianfelice’s giant star map room is evocative of Data’s star room in Star Trek Generations.
Writer/artist Ming Doyle serves double duty on “Asleep to See You,” an account of two women pulled apart by time and space. At one level the life and times of a flight attendant of the future, it packs a surprising amount of emotion and delivers a classic Twilight Zone resolution of the happy ever after variety. A simple story, written in a simple style, Doyle proves you don’t need a lot of blatant sci-fi elements to have a successful sci-fi story.
Probably the weakest of the anthology is Ann Nocenti’s “Here Nor There,” which spends too much time with clever dialogue and not enough time with character development. Fred Harper’s unique style didn’t work for me, at least tied up with this story. Not awful, just one to read and then move on.
“The Elgort” is a story more fantasy than sci-fi, and I really liked the adventure story by writer Nnedi Okorafor and artist Michael Kaluta. Like Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, it follows a girl flying across a strange land with varying levels of beastie threats. A little Avatar and a little Predator, this story has a cool feel and interesting voice.
Writer Steve Orlando provides a cool glimpse at a coming of age story for centaurs in some far away place in “Breeching.” Artist Francesco Trifogli illustrates a tale reflecting a culture not unlike Mr. Spock’s Vulcan race, struggling with the question “am I a man, or am I a horse?” Not a lot of resolution but themes of loyalty and conformity are well-played here.
Probably the most controversial of the bunch, “Contact High” covers a love triangle among three astronauts on a space mission, and the inevitable result when idle minds in tight quarters erupt against each other. A psychological mini-drama, Robert Rodi and Sebastian Fiumara tell their story effectively, with Fiumara’s art and need special effects renderings the better part of the team-up.
Kevin McCarthy and Kyle Baker’s “The Dream Pool” is full of action but the over-wordy story and big-eyed girl art put this at the bottom of the anthology. There’s probably a good story here but it feels like the creators would have been served by fleshing out the story and art better–it seems a bit rushed.
Sweeping colors, simple concepts and epic level weirdness puts Mike and Laura Allred’s “Alpha Meets Omega” among the best of Mystery in Space. Amazingly they deal, again in only a few pages, with the most heavy of concepts in a refreshing way, that will leave readers hopeful in the face of loss.
“Verbinksy Doesn’t Appreciate It” and “Alpha Meets Omega” really perfectly bookend the anthology, illustrating some good editing thoughts went into this compilation.
So, back to the first question: Is the art of Ryan Sook good enough to cause you to spend $7.99 for an 80-page comic book?
The answer is yes, as I hesitated before buying this issue, but Sook’s awesome blending of fantasy and science fiction with this seventeenth century Valkyrie with archaic or steampunk tools painting a star map inside the hull of her spacecraft, pushed me over the edge. Luckily what resides inside the covers does not disappoint.
I’ve gotten in and out of reading comic books several times in my life. I couldn’t tell you where the comic book store was when I lived in Columbia, MO. I found one when I lived in Delaware. There wasn’t one for miles when I lived in the mountains (but I found a baseball card shop). I knew of and visited at least six comic book stores when I lived in Kansas City and I visit about the same number in Los Angeles. I’ve visited them when I’ve made brief stops in London, England and Austin, Texas. I had subscriptions to several Marvel titles when I was in junior high and didn’t have to worry about getting my parents to take me to the comic store. One day a comic would arrive in my mailbox covered in the plain brown paper wrapping that I would later associate closely with either comics or porn.
A map of comic book stores across the U.S.
Still, every walk into a store is like a step into a colorful, inedible candy shop and I start to wonder, what I’m going to take home in my brown paper bag. I like recommendations quite a bit when I look for new things (and that’s why on Free Comic Book Day as I went to a few of my favorite stores, I picked up All-Star Western and Justice League Dark) but since my time in Kansas City, my main focus for when I look on the shelves of whichever store I find myself in, is new material by past favorite authors. That’s why on Free Comic Book Day I also picked up Saga by Brian K. Vaughan, who has entertained me in several stories like Pride of Baghdad, Runaways and Y: The Last Man.Saga looks to be a great start to another captivating yarn as I ripped through both issues I bought as I curled up to relax on Sunday night.
However, I must ask myself, is using the past a logical way to pursue entertainment? Are past performances indicative of future returns, unlike financial instruments? How can you tell when to jump off the creative train of a favorite author?
This reminds me of a game a friend and I play every now again based on the Fellini movie, 8 1/2. The film deals with the creative process and my friend and I used it as a jumping off point to analyze the careers of creative people by asking, “Does X have eight unarguable classics to their name?”
It’s tougher than you think. To be able to create eight works of art is an accomplishment in and of itself, and to make eight super-duper terrific things, well, that’s a rarefied air. Of course, everyone has a different opinion of what a “classic” is, but we generally know that Jaws and Raiders of the Lost Ark are both Steven Spielberg classics, where War of the Worlds and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull don’t come close to reaching the same height. Even though I’m not a huge Spielberg fan, he gets to eight relatively easily as you could add E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan and Catch Me if You Can to Jaws and Raiders and you get seven, though there are a few flaws, but I quibble. Finding an eighth movie among The Color Purple, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Munich and Jurassic Park should be easy. George Lucas on the other hand, I think he’s lucky to get two. I suppose I’m saying that at this point, going to see a Spielberg film may be a bit more of a question mark than it was in the 90s, but if you gave me a choice between Spielberg and Lucas right now, there’s no question I would choose to see a Spielberg film.
Looking at my favorite movies over the past few years, Midnight in Paris has reinvigorated my belief in Woody Allen and I’m more likely to see his next film. The quality of Marvel’s movies Thor, Captain America and The Avengers makes me more likely to go see non-sequels put out by Marvel Studios. (Iron Man 2 still leaves a poor taste in my mouth. That’s what I get for licking the screen). True Grit cemented my love of the Coen brothers, which I had before the movie as I’ve seen every one of their films.
My point? If you like the creative work of a person, you’ll probably like their other work. Looking at my bookshelf filled with several novels from Kurt Vonnegut, quite a few selections from Alan Moore and most every film by Wes Anderson, I probably didn’t need to do much thinking about it. Still, it’s nice to come to that conclusion and know that when I roll into a comic store, I can find some Brian Michael Bendis, some Matt Fraction, some J. Michael Straczynski, some Neil Gaiman, some Jason, some Craig Thompson, some Daniel Clowes, some Kurt Busiek or many others and be happy when I get home, turn on the lamp and snuggle beneath my covers. Plus, there’s always a chance I can stumble onto many more authors in the future through sheer luck, the recommendations of friends or the recommendations of the people I meet while wandering the aisles at my local comic book stores.
One of the newest comic book artists to break-out from the pack with the DC Comics New 52 re-launch is Mikel Janin. Mikel has updated the look and style of several familiar characters in the new series, Justice League Dark, featuring Zatanna, Deadman, Constantine, Shade, Madame Xanadu, and the Enchantress (all shown above). With the series’ current issue #6, Mikel saw the release of his first published cover, and where some covers feature a separate penciler, inker and colorist, Mikel did it all for this cover. His past DC Comics work includes the 2011 JLA 80-Page Giant and Flashpoint: Deadman and the Flying Graysons. Mikel has created illustrations based on J.R.R Tolkien books that have been exhibited throughout Europe. He also created the graphic novel “Les aventures d’Antonin Phylifandre” for Éditions Akileos, among other works. We’re happy to welcome Mikel to borg.com.
Mikel, are you from Spain originally? How accessible were comic books to you growing up and what did you read as a kid?
Mikel: Hi Chris. Yes, I was born in Spain, and it’s where I live. Comic books have been part of my childhood since always. Actually, I learned to read with comic-books of Mortadelo, a very popular Spanish character. As a kid I remember Tintin and Astérix books, then I was an avid reader of American comic-books: Spider-Man, Secret Wars, X-Men, Teen Titans and Conan were my favorite books. I discovered later the European graphic novels, and became a fan of Hugo Pratt, Manara, Vittorio Giardino, Moebius…
Mikel's interior art for the 2011 JLA 80-Page Giant includes some trick arrow work by Green Arrow.
Did you always know you wanted to be an artist? Was there any specific turning point in launching your career to where you are today?
Mikel: When I was a child it was sure for me that I wanted to be comic artist. But I studied Architecture and formed a Studio in 2000. Things were well in Architecture until 2009, when I finally left it. I never stopped drawing and I even had some gigs for Akiléos (in France) and was published by Heavy Metal Magazine in the USA, and I was part of a Lord of the Rings based exhibition too. In 2009 I started an active career in comics, and in 2011 I got my first gig at DC Comics.
What artists have influenced your style?
Mikel: Too many! Ibáñez, José Ortiz, Bernet, Manara, Moebius, Giardino, Pratt, Buscema, Kirby, Byrne…
Mikel's first DC Comics cover, an image slightly modifying Zatanna's original new look from a print Mikel offered in a limited edition at NYCC last year.
I understand you are currently working digitally. What are the pros and cons of using that medium?
Mikel: Yes, I work almost 100% digitally. I come from Architecture, as I said, and computers were my main tool to think, design and draw buildings, so it’s a natural step using the same tools to think, design and draw comic-books! The pros are you don’t need to buy supplies, you don’t have accidental ink drops or paper broken and so, you don’t have to scan pages and you always can have a safe copy of your work if you have mistakes. It allows much more experimenting, too, because you aren’t afraid of ruining the page because of it. The cons are you don’t have an actual original page to offer to collectors, but this is not enough to keep me off of digital.
In the States, for a long time it was viewed that you need to live in New York City or Los Angeles to break into any kind of publishing. This has of course changed as technologies have changed. Are there any challenges of working so far from your current publisher?
Mikel: It’s a very confortable way to work. You work at home, so you don’t expend money in transport or even phone. An internet connection is enough. But this means you rarely interact with other people in the business, except by e-mail. Seeing the faces and hearing the voices is important too, for us human beings, so I try to go to conventions and say hello and shake hands with editors, publishers and other artists. It’s a need.
In addition to the slate of Justice League Dark characters, Mikel has drawn the New 52 updated versions of Cyborg, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman into his series.
Are there any creators you particularly would like to work with someday?
Mikel:Yes! I’m very happy so far, because I had the chance of drawing scripts from so talented guys like Peter Milligan, J.T. Krul and Adam Glass. And I’m currently working with Jeff Lemire, whose Animal Man I’m very much in love. But of course I’d love to work with lots of creators, like Ed Brubaker, Gail Simone, Scott Snyder or Geoff Johns, to say a few.
What is the local reaction to your work and your exclusive contract with DC Comics? In the States the New 52 has been big news this year, appearing in the press even outside the comics industry and traditional fan base. Has there been a similar reaction back home?
Mikel: Yes, fans in Spain are excited too. I think many of them are skeptical about the relaunch, but there’s a lot of buzz and excitement. The New 52 will be here in May, so let’s see how they take it! I’m happy with the reaction to my work and my exclusive contract too.
With Justice League Dark how did you approach the creation of new looks for characters, in particular the new look for Zatanna and her new costume?
Mikel: My first designs were the classical look for them, just minor tweaks. Then editors told me that they were looking for something new, and they wanted Zatanna to be more sexy, between Catwoman and Emma Frost, so I came with the corset and fishnets in her arms and they liked it a lot. We decided to play with corsets, jackets, leather pants and fishnets, with variations from issue to issue. The idea is it’s not a costume. She has her costume for stage, as a work uniform, but these are her clothes. See, you don’t have your McDonalds shirt when you’re going to save the world!
You attended the New York Comic Con this year. What was your reaction to NYCC? Did you get to meet any creators who you personally are a fan of?
Mikel: It was HUGE. I was so happy, it was a dream for me. Being in the DC offices, saying hello to people that I just knew for the comic blogs was so satisfying. Everyone there was so kind! I had the chance to meet J.T. Krul and Adam Glass, my first writers in DC, and my friends and talented artists Mahmud Asrar, Yildiray Cinar, Joe Prado, Rafa Sandoval, and my old buddies Vicente Cifuentes, Pepe Caldelas or Will Ortego.
What should we keep an eye out for in future issues of Justice League Dark?
Mikel: It has already been announced that Jeff Lemire is taking writing duties since issue #9, with new characters joining the League and lots of action and magic all around! I’ve read what Jeff has for next issues and I’m super-excited about it, so JLDark fans should definitely follow us in this new run!
Thanks for chatting with us today, Mikel! Follow Mikel as a featured illustrator at DC Comics website, at his own website www.MikelJanin.com, at his blog, and on Facebook and Twitter!
by Brian K. Vaughan, who has entertained me in several stories like Pride of Baghdad, Runaways and Y: The Last Man. 
