At a time when many newspapers are cutting back on their comics
sections, DC Comics is looking to remind readers of the fun and
excitement a full Sunday-sized comics section can offer.
Except they’re going to do it on Wednesdays.
The publisher today officially announced Wednesday Comics,
a new 12-part weekly series launching this summer that will be
presented in a 14” x 20” broadsheet format and will have to be unfolded
and opened to be read. The "Wednesday" part of the title refers to the fact new comic books go on sale at comic book stores nationwide every Wednesday.
“The concept is that we are trying to recapture the spirit, format, and
sense of enjoyment that people had form reading the Sunday comics that
arrive in newspapers every week,” DC Sr VP and Executive Editor Dan DiDio
explained to Newsarama. “So, for this 12 week period, we’re creating 16
weekly strips that will be presented in newspaper format, which will
feature some of our primary characters, as well as some of the premiere
creators in the business.”
DiDio credits DC Art Director Mark Chiarello’s passion and persistence for the project seeing the light of day.
“Mark really championed and fought for this,” DiDio said. “He has a
real sense for putting together some of the more commercial projects we
do, as well as some of the most eclectic and critically successful things
we’ve done as well. He was instrumental in pairing Jeph Loeb and Jim
Lee on Batman: Hush, he put together the teams on all the Batman: Black and White projects, and created the concept of the Solo
series, which allowed some of comics best creators to come to a comic
and do, literally whatever they wanted to do. Mark has an incredibly
keen eye for story and art, and from the start was very passionate
about this format – and how the stories would play out, and the art
would be almost larger than life for the reader.”
Characters coming up in the pages of Wednesday Comics include: Hawkman (already linked to creator Kyle Baker art for which can be seen here),
Batman, Adam Strange, Metamorpho (linked to Neil Gaiman and Mike
Allred), Catwoman, Demon, Deadman, Kamandi, Superman, Sgt. Rock, Wonder
Woman, Green Lantern,
Teen Titans, Supergirl, Flash and the Metal Men . Each story will have
its own full-page installment each week for the 12 issues. The stories
may be standalone stories with each installment, or a 12-part serial –
the choice was left up to the creators.
DiDio listed off names of some of the other creators joining Baker, Gaiman and Allred on Wednesday Comics:
Brian Azzarello, Paul Pope, Walt Simonson, Dave Bullock, Dave Gibbons,
Ryan Sook, John Arcudi, Lee Bermejo, Joe Kubert, Ben Caldwell, Kurt
Busiek, Eddie Berganza, Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner and Karl
Kerschel. More will be announced at a later date, along with an
official pairing of creators and characters.
“Mark had creators in mind that he wanted to work with, and he
approached them and asked what they wanted to do and work on. We didn’t
want to have any redundancies, so we shot for the widest breadth of
storytelling we could, and I think we got it,” DiDio said.
Finally, DiDio stated that the stories in Wednesday Comics will not take place in current DC Comics’ continuity, but rather will
be accessible by any and all readers. “All the creators are working to
make sure that these stories are being created from the standpoint that
the readers is someone who has never seen or read anything with the
character before,” DiDio said, “And really capture both the essence of
the character as well as the magic of comics.”
Check back with Newsarama tomorrow for an interivew with Mark Chiarello about the origins of Wednesday Comics.Elsewhere on Newsarama:
Exclusive Preview: Blackest Night #0DC Direct: A Little of What's to ComeJeff Lemire Talks Vertigo's 'Sweet Tooth'
