Worlds of JMS - News

DC Comics has announced it’s controversial Before Watchmen project, and J. Michael Straczynski will be writing two of the stories. The project, beginning in the Summer of 2012, will feature the following miniseries, published weekly:

• Rorschach (4 issues) – Writer: Brian Azzarello. Artist: Lee Bermejo
• Minutemen (6 issues) – Writer/Artist: Darwyn Cooke
• Comedian (6 issues) – Writer: Brian Azzarello. Artist: J.G. Jones
• Dr. Manhattan (4 issues) – Writer: J. Michael Straczynski. Artist:  Adam Hughes
• Nite Owl (4 issues) – Writer: J. Michael Straczynski. Artists: Andy and Joe Kubert
• Ozymandias (6 issues) – Writer: Len Wein. Artist: Jae Lee
• Silk Spectre (4 issues) – Writer: Darwyn Cooke. Artist: Amanda Conner

Each comic will include a 2-page Curse of the Crimson Corsair story, and a final Before Watchmen: Epilogue single issue will also be published.

An overview of the project can be found at CBR, along with an interview with JMS focusing on Dr. Manhattan. A second article at The Hollywood Reporter sounds like it may be from the same interview, but focuses more on Nite Owl. JMS has also made a long post on Facebook discussing his reasons for contributing to this project despite the controversy. For those unfamiliar with the situation, original Watchmen scribe Alan Moore is opposed to the project, and some fans feel it is sacrilegious to oppose Moore’s wishes or to cloud the memory of such a seminal work with new material. Straczynski mounts an excellent defense in the Facebook post linked above.

After a wait of over three years, Issue 9 of The Twelve was released on Wednesday 01 February 2012. The cover reads, “Dashing and Cavalier! The Blue Blade – A Swashbuckling Adventure”. Here is a preview. The first six issues were republished on the same day as a trade paperback titled The Twelve: Volume 1. A reprinting of issues 7 and 8 is also available.

Do you remember The Adventures of Apocalypse Al, the Straczynski radio serial produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation but never broadcast? MTV Comics will now publish the story as a graphic novel. It will appear digitally online and on tablets and mobile devices in the Spring of 2012 and will be followed by the hard copy version published by MTV Books. Straczynski describes the story as “Monty Python meets the Maltese Falcon en route to the end of the world.”

Straczynski and co-developer Patricia Tallman will follow up the comic with a sequel produced as a  live-action webisode series on MTV Geek in the Fall of 2012.

Video coverage of the announcement at the 2011 New York Comic Con can be viewed on MTV.

Issue 614 of Wonder Woman was released on Wednesday 24 August 2011. Co-written by Phil Hester, it is titled “Odyssey Part Fourteen: The Return”. From the DC Comics description:

“The all-new Wonder Woman reaches the end of her epic ‘Odyssey’ and comes face-to-face with the malevolent force behind it all! But the only way to defeat her nemesis may be to become her – giving her own powers over to an all-consuming hatred for life on Earth! Is Diana strong enough to control a force that seeks vengeance on all mankind, or will the warrior within her condemn her to a life of eternal bloodshed?”

Issue 714 of Superman was released today, Wednesday 03 August 2011. Co-written by Chris Roberson, it is titled “Grounded, Finale”. From the DC Comics description:

“Superman hits Seattle for his last stop on his ‘Grounded’ walk across the country, and it is in that city where everything will come to a head! The mysterious woman who has been following Superman all year makes a desperate final move, one that may cost the Man of Steel that which he holds most dear!”

Issue 613 of Wonder Woman was released on Wednesday 27 July 2011. Co-written by Phil Hester, it is titled “Odyssey Part Thirteen: Nemesis”. From the DC Comics description:

“The mega-opus ‘Odyssey’ proved too big, it needed two extra issues to tell J. Michael Straczynski and Phil Hester’s full story! It’s classic Wonder Woman versus the new one! Even if she wins, she loses! This issue will ship with two covers.”

Issue 713 of Superman was released on Wednesday 13 July 2011. Co-written by Chris Roberson, it is titled “Grounded, Part Eleven”. From the DC Comics description:

“What could possibly make The Man of Steel decide to stop being Superman? Superboy and Supergirl catch up with him in Portland, Oregon, and they want answers!”

Note that the Straczynski / Roberson story, “Grounded, Part Ten” was pulled from Issue 712 at the last minute and replaced with a previously unpublished story from several years ago. The “Grounded” story was to have featured a Muslim superhero, leading to intense speculation about DC’s move.