FINAL CRISIS #7
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Doug Mahnke & Christian Alamy
Covers by J.G. Jones and Doug Mahnke
The dramatic finale to the epic, seven-part saga of the DC multiverse concludes with an apocalyptic battle for the soul of humanity that must be seen to be believed! Can the heroes of 52 Earths save the multiverse? And is the only way to save it, to change it forever?
Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers by J.G. Jones and Doug Mahnke that will ship in approximately 50/50 ratio. Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.
On sale January 28 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US
So, two artists on the book aren't enough to get the job done? They have to bring in another?
Somehow, I don't think two artists can really be THAT slow. Do you?
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That's the art crew for FC - Superman Beyond. Probably it's a screw up in the solicits, & not an actual change in the art crew. No way DC let's that little tidbit out without some sort of press release or something. I bet we see some updated solicits today.
ReplyDeleteI'll reserve judgement until all the solicits are out.
Could have sworn they did the solicit-then-explain thing with Pacheco coming on board. I could be wrong, though.
ReplyDeleteWell, the new solicits are out, & it's not updated. The cover information seems accurate - 50/50 by Jones & Mahnke. If this is the case, that's just fucking pathetic. It's the 7-part flagship mini for your company, & it takes 3 goddamn artists to get it out the door.
ReplyDeleteRemember COIE? Perez managed to push out 12 issues featuring art that was, in my opinion, 100% above we're seeing in FC. WTF?
People can say what they want about Secret Invasion, but at least Yu has managed to put out solid, consistent art & hasn't required a fill-in or backup.
The message boards have been pretty quiet lately. This should get things going :)
I don't know, Zod. When they added a second artist, I was quick to think it was JG Jones being slow. When they need to bring in a third, I'm less quick to assume it is artists causing the hold up.
ReplyDeleteHuh - I just went & checked, & the original solicit date for FC 4 was Sept 17th. This is also the first issue that was solicited with split art duties.
ReplyDeleteI'm not hesitant to assume as much. Pacheco had a helluva head start on Superman & needed fill-in issues as well. Same thing held true for his run on Superman/Batman, & pretty much anything else he's been on recently. I was surprised when they named him the "fill-in" artist, because when I think fill-in I think "fast."
You could be right though - it could be that they're doing massive rewrites on Morrison's revamping of the DCU. That wouldn't surprise me at all.
Regardless, if issue 7 is really going to be done by Mahnke, & that's not an enormous error in the solicits, it's still a fustercluck. 7 issues, 3 artists, & there are STILL delays. Whatever momentum DC had with FC has been completely lost, & they need to stay away from "epic" crossovers for a good long while.
Well, if it is in fact a typo, DC REALLY needs to get some proofreaders, because the official DC Comics site lists the art team as Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dccomics.com/dcu/comics/?cm=10854
"Regardless, if issue 7 is really going to be done by Mahnke, & that's not an enormous error in the solicits, it's still a fustercluck. 7 issues, 3 artists, & there are STILL delays. Whatever momentum DC had with FC has been completely lost, & they need to stay away from "epic" crossovers for a good long while."
ReplyDeleteThat is so amazingly dramatic. Superman Beyond had really nice art. I think Mahnke's style complements Jones' well. What is the big deal? You're perpetuating the whiny internet "fan" stereotype. Its not like they replaced Morrison with Judd Winick or something, lol.
"That is so amazingly dramatic."
ReplyDeleteOr dramatically amazing.
"Superman Beyond had really nice art."
Yep. Mahnke is a hell of an artist. I really liked his runs on JLA & Batman, I thought stepped up his game on even further on the Black Adam mini, & he hit it out of the park on FC: Requiem.
"I think Mahnke's style complements Jones' well."
Eh, I don't know about that. Their pretty distinct in my eye. But to each his own.
"What is the big deal?"
The "big deal" is that this is DC's flagship title of 2008. Y'know, the book they pledged would ship on time with all interiors by Jones. Than it would ship on time, but they'd have to get Pacheco to help out. Now, it's shipped late & the final issue features an entirely new art team. I'd say that's a "big deal," at least so far as comic books are concerned.
"You're perpetuating the whiny internet "fan" stereotype."
Have you checked out some of the other message boards? Calling this a "fustercluck" is being polite.
"Its not like they replaced Morrison with Judd Winick or something, lol."
So if they did, then the reaction would be justified? And yes, I'm serious - switching creative team members, whether it's writer or artist, in the middle of your biggest title of the year is just bad business, & considering the hype surrounding FC it's deserved of a little heated criticism.
http://comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=18513
ReplyDeleteThere's confirmation over @ CBR via an email from Jones. Can't help but feel bad for the guy - sounds like he's taking it pretty rough, & is owning it by himself. Really hoping DC puts a statement of some sort out about this, & doesn't just leave him twisting in the wind, especially when you consider that a) editorial meddling & b) last minute rewrites almost assuredly took place.
Yeah, there are way worse examples of the complaining, it only makes sense to respond to one that sounds intelligent. And really I'm arguing against your opinion, so its not like either of us are right or wrong.
ReplyDeleteI think an artist really has to try not to be a perfectionist if they are going to write monthlies. Jones is pretty good, and he's trying to put out an amazing book but I think with a monthly schedule sometimes you just have to suck it up and not try to perfect everything.
Ordinarily I'd be with you. In this case, though, so much shit was talked by the creative team (Morrison, Jones, & DiDio) about how this book was shipping on time & that they had so much lead time no one was worried. Than we started to see things fall apart - Pacheco is brought on to "help out" with the art, & now a 3rd artist is on to wrap up the series (which begs the question - why the hell couldn't Pacheco finish it? If he's that slow, why bring him on to "help out"?)
ReplyDeleteIf this were a book like, say, Batgirl, it wouldn't be such a big deal. But we're talking about a tentpole book for DC, one that is supposed to have cosmic ramifications for the line. It just seems like poor execution.
But, I feel for JG. He sounds really sad & ashamed that he didn't finish it out, which is 110% more than you ever from hear from artists like Benes or McGuinnes.
As far as it goes w/ JG, it sucks - this was a career making book for him & it didn't pan out as well he'd have problem. I hope he does well in his future projects.
I might have something developing on this.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't doubt another last minute re-write, because DC editorial wouldn't dare tell Grant Morrison to get his shit together the first year or so in advance, but Jones took on something he couldn't back up. And also the constant verification from his own mouth saying he's on time and up to script during convention season doesn't help him.
ReplyDeleteTrack records, people. That's the proof. The only thing Jones did that was on time was his MK Black Widow mini.
Mahnke is an artist capable of 11 issues a year without a hitch. Why they put the slow guy on the main book and the fast guy on the two-shot makes no sense.
It's like Adam Kubert getting help from his dad in Last Will & Testament. It's Bizarro-DC.