Jacob’s Eye On…The 2012 State of DC Comics

In my last article, I examined why 2012 would be “The Year of Marvel Comics” at the end of December 2012.

 

However, what if Marvel’s top competitor: DC Comics came up on top during the final month of December?  This article focuses on why 2012 could be another year of DC Comics domination.

 

Exhibit 1: The Final Christopher Nolan Batman Film is released

 

Film director Christopher Nolan and his cast and crew have been instrumental rebooting the Batman franchise and after two successful films, The Dark Knight Rises will be the third and final chapter of the Nolan Batman trilogy.   This film takes place eight years after The Dark Knight and will feature the Caped Crusader (played by Christian Bale) taking the challenge of his life as he faces the monstrous Bane (played by Tom Hardy) and the mysterious Selina Kyle (played by Anne Hathaway).

 

Exhibit 2: Justice League-Doom and Superman vs. The Elite

 

The staff behind DC Universe Animated Original Movies has done an incredible job of bringing some of DC Comics’ greatest stories to life and in 2012; they will release two new feature films based on classic DC Comics stories.  The first film: Justice League: Doom will be an adaption of the 2000 story originally written by veteran comics writer Mark Waid.   In this film, Batman’s protocols to defeat the Justice League fall into enemy hands.   Meanwhile, Superman vs. the Elite showcases the battle between the Man of Steel and the super-powered anti-hero team: The Elite.

 

Exhibit 3: DC Nation on Cartoon Network hits airwaves

 

Last year, Cartoon Network announced that it would partner with Warner Bros. Animation to produce a new television block called DC Nation.  This T.V. block would feature “a multi-platform block of exclusive branded original content.[1]  While Cartoon Network or DC Comics have not released any of the content that will be featured, this author believes that this block will have DC Comics fans of all ages flocking to televisions to watch.

 

Exhibit 4: The Mystery of Pandora

 

At the end of the 2011 mini-series Flashpoint, readers were introduced to a mysterious hooded female figure confronted Flash and stated that three worlds (The DC Universe, Vertigo and Wildstorm) merged together.  That was not her last appearance; she appeared in nearly all of the new number one issues.   It was later revealed by DC Comics Editor-in-Chief Bob Harris that the woman had a name Pandora and fans will find out more about her later on this year.

 

Exhibit 5: Grant Morrison’s Final Batman Story Arc

 

2012 will mark the final chapter in legendary comic writer Grant Morrison’s Batman saga.   In the past six years, Morrison has delivered an incredible story arc that saw many milestones including the introduction of Batman’s bratty son: Daiman and the villainous Simon Hurt, made longtime foes Joker and the Al Ghul family more menacing than ever and even engineered Batman’s “death” and return.  Morrison has always surprised readers but will he deliver a death in the Batman family later on this year?  Stay tuned Bat-fans!

 

Exhibit 6: Superstar Creative Teams on Blockbuster Books

 

Since the nuDCU relaunch, superstar creative teams have roped in fans to pick up iconic titles.   According to Diamond Comics Distributors, which is the largest North America comic book distributor, 11 of the Top 20 December 2011 books belong to DC Comics.  This is due to successful creative teams including Aquaman’s Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis, Flash’s Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato, Action Comics’ Grant Morrison and Rags Morales, Batman’s Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo and of course’s Justice League’s Geoff Johns and Jim Lee.   Can these teams keep up their respective books’ momentum?  Fans will have to pick up these respective books to find out!