Saturday, May 12, 2007
Message Board Poster Quits DC Comics Forever
Posted at 11.30 last night by "Batdude378" under a new thread titled "DC has disappointed me for the last time" the post began, "Dear Dan Didio, I am writing to inform you that the sheer and utter contempt you show to all your fans has caused me to completely drop all of your books for all of eternity!"
"I've felt this way for some time," the message continued, "ever since the end of Infinite Crisis sucked worse than Greedo shooting first in SW:ANH SE. But your recent decision to kill off Terra, the best comic book character ever, has pushed me over the edge. I've decided to not ever buy any of your comic books ever again because it is clear by this spit in the face to us Terra fans that you despise anyone who has ever read any of your comics ever."
"Goodbye forever," the message ended. "You just lost a customer with your spiteful hateful arrogance."
Batdude378, or Ryan O'Neal as he is more commonly known defended his actions this morning.
"I know DC owns the character and everything but I own nearly every comic Terra has appeared in," Mr. O'Neal said. "Considering my emotional investment in the character, DC totally owes it to me to keep producing her adventures on a regular basis. Preferably in stories similar to the Terra fan-fiction I've been posting on my Terra website for the last five years," he added.
"Clearly Dan Didio is mad with power and purposely killed Terra off to spite us Terra fans," O'Neal concluded. "I just hope this will teach DC a lesson. Maybe in the future they'll start treating us fans with a bit of respect by writing exactly what we want them to write."
This message has sent DC's editorial staff into a state of shock.
"We knew that not everything we printed was an instant classic," said DC editor Toby Keith. "But we never realized that killing off a z-grade character from a bunch of failed comics in the early nineties could cause some random irrationally angry guy on the Internet to stop buying all of our products!"
"We already have Geoff Johns working on Terra's return and maybe even an ongoing. We didn't think there was much interest in the character but if not giving her her own comic will cost us a single customer then we have no other choice."
DC executive editor Dan Didio provided further details of DC's response to this nighmarish situation.
"We're currently heavily in damage control mode," said Dan Didio slumped across his office desk, looking haggard and tired. "Right now we have three guys pouring over Batguy378's other message board posts. A few minutes ago they found a couple of posts about how he didn't like Superman and Lois Lane's marriage so we're seeing what we can do about that."
"What spooked me the most though," said Didio, rubbing his eyes wearily, "was his reference to Infinite Crisis. I mean, that thing came out like over a year ago...I didn't know it was still influencing people's buying habits. We've just decided to re-release it in a new trade. And we've hired Grant Morrison to ensure that the new ending will be subjectively superior to that scene in Star Wars where Greedo shoots first."
But it looks like the nighmare is set to continue. "The guy said he was going to stop buying DC comics for all eternity so I don't know what else we can do to convince him to come back. This message board post will forever change the way DC does business," Dan Didio said with a heavy sigh.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Siegel Heirs sell Superboy rights to Marvel Comics
Over the last fifty years, the issue of the ownership of iconic comic book character Superman has turned into a bloody court battle that culminated in the court awarding the heirs of Superman creator Jerry Siegel the rights to Superman spin-off Superboy.
Traditionally, the Superboy comic books followed the adventures of Superman when he was just a small town teenager, learning the ropes of being a superhero. But with the character’s relocation to the Marvel Universe, a few changes have had to be made to fit with the company’s house style.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Judd Winick tackles important issue of Feline AIDS
Power Girl’s cat was originally a popular supporting cast member of the early nineties Justice League Europe series, his catnip fueled shenanigans proving to be a series highlight for many. However, after the end of Justice League Europe, Power Girl’s cat spent several years in comic book limbo, barely surviving on the very occasional guest appearance in other titles.
But it looked like there would be a happy ending for Power Girl’s cat after all, the beloved supporting character finally finding a permanent home in the successful JSA franchise. Unfortunately, it looks like his personal turmoil is set to continue: in this week’s Judd Winick written issue of JSA Classified Power Girl’s cat shares a water bowl with a FIV infected tabby and tragically contracts the disease himself.
Power Girl's Cat: Venereally Diseased
“I saw it as a natural progression,” Judd Winick stated two days after the release of the controversial issue. “I mean, if you go back and read those issues of JLE the cat was always coughing and looking sick and stuff. And if there’s anything thirty-seven years of watching movies has taught me, anytime someone coughs or looks sick they inevitably find out they have cancer or syphilis or AIDS.”
Winick added that readers should not expect every issue of JSA Classified to deal with Power Girl's Cat's FIV status. "It's a part of who he is, but it's not the total sum of his life," Winick said. "We deal with it through the conclusion of this story arc. But in the next six issues I don't think it even comes up. It's mostly about him being a super heroine’s cat…taking a dump in a plastic tray, scratching up furniture, licking his asshole. You know, living his life.”
Judd Winick’s decision to work a social message into the ongoing saga of Power Girl’s cat was well received by DC’s editorial staff.
“I was hoping someone would do a feline AIDS storyline somewhere in the DC universe,” said DC’s Senior Vice President Dan Didio. “I think it is very relevant. In fact we were looking at AIDSing up Tigorr from the Omega Men when Judd pitched his idea to us.”
However, the idea has been less well received by fans of DC’s line of comics.
“This is just another example of Judd Winick imposing his social agenda on everything,” one irate reader posted on the DC Comics Message Board under the name Deathstroke_Rawks69. “Next thing you know we’ll be reading an issue of Action Comics where Superman endorses the brutal senseless murder of fetuses. They have souls people! They have souls.”
"Yet more nails in the coffin that is the Giffen Justice League," posted another disgusted reader. “I mean first they turn Maxwell Lord evil, then shoot Blue Beatle in the head and now Power Girl’s cat. Clearly, DC is just using Power Girl’s Cat as a means in which to express their sociopathic hatred for all things Keith Giffen. I bet they wish he has feline AIDS.”
But Judd Winick is unperturbed by this reaction; in fact he laughs it off.
“Look, the thing is, comics are mostly read by mature adults and they should reflect that,” Judd Winick said. “And if that means working the stories around adult, real word themes then so be it.”
When asked what readers can expect next in his six issue run on JSA Classified Judd Winick hinted that the main supervillain of the story arc would be a giant talking gorilla and that he was currently working on an entire issue about Power Girl’s breasts.