Winging It

Long before DC officially announced that as part of the reboot Dick would go back to being Nightwing, we at Ret-Conned HQ suspected it was coming based on the comics. While we’ve really enjoyed Dick as Batman, I think it’s more because we enjoy Dick more than we enjoy DaB. The biggest issue with having Dick return to Nightwing is he’s now going from four monthly titles and lots of guest appearances down to one monthly title which is disappointing for as engaging a character as Dick Grayson is. The solicitations talk about Haley’s Circus and that means there’s a chance that our vision of Nightwing traveling with Haley’s Circus, fighting crime wherever they happen to stop to do shows might come to reality. It would be great, because Dick could totally guest star all over the place as Haley’s Circus conveniently performs in Star City just as Green Arrow needs help with a particularly tough case.

I don’t normally point out things like digital comic sales, but I’m going to make an exception this time as it might be beneficial to us all. For the Forth of July (so through the end of Monday), Comixology has 101 Vertigo titles on sale for 99 cents. While this is a great way for you to get some exposure to some interesting Vertigo titles like Lucifer, Sandman, and The Unwritten, it also means that we have a way to check out some of the Vertigo characters that are moving into The New 52. Jeff Lemire has said that Grant Morrison’s Vertigo Animal Man will have a strong influence on his new book, so why not check out the first nine issues of Morrison’s book? I’ve already read the first issue and really enjoyed it. They also have 6 issues of Shade: The Changing Man and the first 9 issues of Hellblazer. I’m definitely checking that one out to see if they spend as much time saying “Hey Constantine’s British!!” like they do in the Brightest Day Aftermath book.

DC released a FAQ to publishers about the DCnU which is officially known as “The New 52”. They also launched a new website devoted to the new books, although it sounds like the webmaster was slow on updates. The FAQ had some interesting tidbits like how 41 of the comics in September will be 100% refundable, since DC is certain that things will sell well and don’t want comic shops to be afraid of ordering plenty of launch books. It also vaguely discussed how the launch is picking and choosing from existing continuity. For example, Barbara Gordon was Batgirl, she was shot in The Killing Joke, and did become Oracle. In The New 52, she will regain use of her legs and retake over the mantel of Batgirl. Personally, I’m betting that she’ll only have temporary use of her legs because of augmentations in her suit, so they can still have the strong paralyzed female inspiration by day AND the original Batgirl by night. I love that cake, but it’s only fun when you can eat it, too.