Comic Signing by Writer J.T. Krul

Yesterday I got to head into NYC, check out the latest branch of the Midtown Comics industry (it's actually fairly downtown) AND I got to get about 19 comics signed by one of today's best writers: J.T. Krul. Most recently known for his run with Green Arrow and Teen Titans, Teen Titans issue #97 came out yesterday as well and it was a great end to an arc that involved a new character "Solstice" and a whole bunch of Indian mythology.

J.T. got to telling me a little more about how he got the idea to use Indian mythology/gods in his books, and also how he's pushing his series out a little faster, so that before the DC new 52 comes out, he can clock the series at a whopping 100 issues. He mentioned "you may see more of Solstice in the reboot. I hope I didn't create the character all for nothing." Also, preliminary scans of Nicola Scott have been sent in for issue 100 and he says they're looking really good. We look forward to it!

J.T. Krul and I

Comics he signed, along with Certificates of Authenticity for each.

Will The New 52 Break DC?

I've heard many a fan/fanboy/hater/idiot/pessimist/orc say that this will be the end of DC Comics as we know it. I guess it has the potential to be, yes, but no it will not. Many say that this new reboot/not really a reboot/but really more than a regular reboot reboot will be their jumping off point, instead of on. And truly, I can understand the frustration. Everything that we know about classic characters is viable to change, and that's a scary thought. I'm still trying to figure out why Superman is wearing armor plates! But this is how I see it:

Come late August/early September, new comic Wednesdays come along and the stores are packed with geeks/freaks/koolkids/notsokoolkids/superheroes AND 52 new comics from DC. Maybe those fanboys will be heading in just to pick up their indie books, or Marvel books, but there is absolutely no way they'll be able to overlook the elephants in the room! There's going to be 52 shiny new books in there, all at a beautifully innocent 1st issue!

And let's say those pessimists actually go through with their plan to not buy any DC comics. After 3 months of no Batman/Superman/Green Lantern... Hawk & Dove, they're not gonna miss 'em at all! And a year goes by, the first huge storyarc comes around, some galactic evil threatens all life, and they're not going to think twice about it. They can honestly be content with never opening up another DC comic again, never even following their used-to-be favorite heroes again... No, this doesn't sound realistic! So I honestly think comic store owners have nothing to worry about. All that talk will be just that: talk. Maybe some truly will stick to their "word," but in the end the books will sell!

Will the new 52 comics bring in a new, younger crowd? I can't say that I know. I don't see how they are planning on actually advertising all of this. Maybe commercials on kids shows? Idk. If only comics were as popular as they were in the days of the Lost Boys.