PRIEST Kicks the DCU Super-Team In The Shins With THE PEOPLE vs. JUSTICE LEAGUE

>Despite being an Eisner-nominated writer and being responsible for some of the most critically acclaimed runs on fan-favorite comic books, Christopher Priest is not only excited by the prospect of writing Justice League. He's also a little scared.

>For Priest's run, which starts with this week's Justice League #34, the writer will be trying something a little different with the characters, putting them in more realistic situations and turning "inward" to examine the members of the Justice League, particularly Batman.

>The writer is hoping readers will give the new approach a chance - and, he jokingly says, that they won't kill him - but he's also aware of how important these characters are to fans and the DCU, and thus the responsibility he's been given as the writer of Justice League.

>Working with artist Pete Woods, Priest will start his run with Justice League #34. Last year, Priest helped relaunch Deathstroke as part of DC's "Rebirth" initiative, which won him a nomination for an Eisner.

>Newsarama talked to Priest about why writing Justice League is both exciting and scary, what it's like to work with Woods on the book, and what readers can expect from his run on Justice League.

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Newsarama: What's it been like to step into the world of these characters and try to do something new with them as a group? Daunting at all? Or a fun challenge?

>Christopher Priest: It’s been hell.

>Now, don’t get me wrong: other than Deathstroke, Justice League is the first gig I’ve had in a long time where I actually get up in the morning energized and excited. It feels like driving dad’s car, which was actually more exciting than driving my own car now. With dad’s car you feel an immense sense of responsibility and threat. He’s dad. You want to prove you’re responsible, you want dad to be proud of you. You also don’t want to get jammed up for scratching the thing.

>The closest comparison I can make is renting a car and declining the phony, over-priced insurance: the girl at the counter goes into convulsions and makes you think the car is made of cardboard and my own auto insurance somehow won’t be enough to pay for a scratch if I get one on this vehicle. So, even though I am carrying policies which cover the rental car, I’m still nervous and overly-cautious when driving it.

>This is what writing Justice League feels like: exhilarating and scary. I honestly don’t understand how other writers do this.

Nrama: You're well known for putting characters through tough personal challenges and introspection. Are you looking at something similar for the Justice League?

>Priest: I’m doing exactly that with Justice League. It’s not even much of a choice for me. There was no other direction in which to go. Literally everything that could be done with the Justice League has been done with the Justice League. So, rather than fake it by repeating what others have done, The Epic Adventure: Attack of Every Villain We’ve Ever Seen, I turned inward, giving this book a distinctly different tone from Bryan Hitch’s Justice League or Steve Orlando’s wonderful Justice League of America.

Nrama: Anything you can tell us about which character (or characters) might be put through the wringer first?

>Priest: Well, our story arc, called “The People vs. Justice League”, is basically about making a piñata out of Batman and having the team whack him to see what candy falls out. Taking a literal view of the character: there’s a price to be paid for the lifestyle Batman lives. He’s just all over the place, leading two JL teams and a bunch of Bat-people over in Detective Comics. Now, we can just do comic book magic and not pay all that much attention to the larger tapestry of Batman’s over-exposure, or we can follow out this character beat and explore what would actually happen to a human being pulled in as many directions at once. Welcome to Justice League.

>Our arc is pretty much about the disintegration of Batman and, as a result, exploring why he is essential to the League.

Nrama: From the descriptions of upcoming issues, it seems like the rest of the League is getting put through some tough challenges too - a viral video and a Congressional investigation. Are you examining the group's existence as well?

>Priest: What I am doing is taking the approach Geoff Johns helped me develop for Deathstroke - refocus it in a more reality-based (and thus better translatable to TV and film) approach. What if there really was a guy named Slade Wilson who killed people for a living? What impact would that lifestyle ultimately have on him? On his wife and children? Realistically, how long could someone stay in that life before it began to erode his own humanity?

>While not totally new or innovative, this is less-explored territory with the Justice League, especially in our highly polarized political environment. “Justice” actually means different things to different people. All right, now drop this group of superheroes into this mess we live in. How do they define “justice?” How will they handle problems the League cannot solve with their fists, with their power rings or magic lassos?

>Moreover, how will the world respond to them? The Silver Age of the average man on the DCU street cheering the heroes on is an anachronism now. If the League were real, today, they’d most likely be sued by every person they ever saved. They’d be subpoenaed by every authority in every jurisdiction imaginable; hearings upon hearings. There’d be waves of accolades followed by tsunamis of boos from social media. They’d be more feared than loved, blamed as much for not doing something as for doing anything.

>This is the environment that interests me, what Stan Lee used to call, “The World Outside Our Window,” much more so than the benign idealized Silver Age world in which this group was originally formed.

Nrama: Do these issues in Justice League serve as a reflection of similar issues plaguing society as a whole?

>Priest: Yes, but hopefully not in an artificial or ham-handed way. Not “A Special Issue of Justice League,” but more finding a tone with which to infuse a healthy dose of realism into the superhero archetype.

>Now, wait, a lot of fans aren’t all that into realism. Escapism has its place. I used to write Conan the Barbarian for Marvel, which takes place in an environment completely removed from the real world. So there’s no telling whether or not our take on Justice League will appeal to everybody.

>I can write the Big Monster, the Alien Attack, or the Treacherous Supervillain, but I’m not doing that here because that would be me doing what everybody else does with Justice League and competing with those other voices. With virtually all other thematic exits blocked, here’s the fire staircase most readily available to me: deconstructive realism.

>I was (and still am) a huge fan of Denny O’Neil, the man who, along with Jim Shooter, taught me how to write comics. Denny, who often paired with legendary photorealist artist Neal Adams, always brought a refreshing Steve Bochco (Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue) sensibility to whatever he was doing. I was terribly excited to read Denny’s Superman. Seriously: I literally sat outside my local candy store waiting for the truck to pull up. I knew what day that truck came, and I was so excited for that next installment. I’d be there waiting. As I suspected and, later - when I actually got to know him - confirmed, Denny really didn’t want to write Superman. That was editor Julie Schwartz’s idea. But Denny wrote a groundbreaking Superman, a run that challenged everything we thought we knew about the character.
Credit: Pete Woods (DC Comics)

>Full disclosure: I’m actually treating Superman more iconically. Mainly because the voltage of the Big Three - Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman - tends to overpower most any other characters standing next to them. Maybe one day I’ll be invited to write a Superman series, one in which I can get invested in a deep dive. To attempt that in Justice League would tilt the horizon too much; the book would become Superman & His Amazing Friends, which DC has not asked me for.

>However I do attempt to kick the shins of the long-in-the-tooth franchise. Pete Woods’ and my Justice League is like no other Justice League book ever published. Now, I’m not bragging. What I mean is it is a very specific animal. I’m not saying it’s actually any good - that’s for the readers to decide. But I can say you’ve never read a JL like this. Which, for me at least, is terrifying.

>I got amazing hate mail for my Marvel Knights Black Panther, which seems funny 20 years later where that run has found an audience and retailers can’t keep the early volumes in stock. But, at the time, my take on Panther was so different (“How dare you give Panther an iPhone?!?”), we were just openly reviled. This Justice League is not nearly as big a turn in the road as that, but it is a new and unique voice. If history repeats itself, I (specifically) will be reviled and the book will be a huge hit in about 20 years.

Nrama: Along the same lines as the rest of the "realism" you've talk about, you've got a villain coming up that appears to warn of the dangers of fame.

>Priest: Yes. We’re introducing a new character - I’m slow to call him a “villain” so much as he is an antagonist. His name is, literally, the Fan, and he is, literally, the Justice League’s biggest fan. The League saved his life when he was a youth, and he’s trained his entire life to follow in their footsteps. But he also feels like, in some areas, he knows better than they do, so he ends up “helping” them by killing their enemies and, in some cases, blocking their way.

Nrama: Are you planning to change the team make-up at all? Expanding the team? Or messing with the line-up at all as you come on board?

>Priest: No. Beyond our arc, there are big plans for the League which I obviously can’t discuss yet. In the near term, we are dealing with the eight core members, examining the stress points between these personalities and applying pressure. In that sense, our Justice League is a lot like a workplace drama, telling stories which could only happen when this unique assembly of personalities are together.
Credit: Paul Pelletier (DC Comics)

Nrama: Let's talk about what it's been like to get to know these characters. Have any of the team members surprised you?

> Priest: Oh, they’ve all surprised me. The DCU has changed over and over since I last wrote many of these characters, so I’m having to learn everybody now. Superman and Batman are fathers, Aquaman’s a king then he’s not, Barry Allen is now kind of a wise cracker (read Flash’s dialogue with Mark Waid’s voice; I’m using Waid as my model for Barry). I’ve never written Cyborg but have discussed him with David Walker, Kevin Grievioux and others.

>Simon and Jessica are completely new to me so I’m still forming opinions about them. In the old days, a writer could take six issue to have a honeymoon with a new character and develop their voice. In our extremely competitive sales environment, that’s just not possible; I have to nail it in issue one.

Nrama: You mentioned working with Pete on the title. What's it been like working with him? Can you describe what he brings to the book?

>Priest: Pete brings a completely new an unique artistic voice to the Justice League. A terrific draftsman, Pete works in a highly stylized, high-energy approach where he is master of his artistic domain - penciller, inker and colorist. Wearing all three hats gives Pete the opportunity to layer on different styles and textures, creating a distinctive and progressive look that breaks the mold of traditional superhero comics house styles.

>He is also an amazing storyteller with a keen eye for plot detail. Pete is heavily invested in storytelling, which is not to say the story is more important than the art, but that the art is the story: it’s all visual storytelling. Rather than compete with me or showcase his talent at the expense of clarity, Pete sticks to the mission: Tell The Story, and he does it better than almost any artist I’ve ever worked with. His work is so clean, the storytelling so visually pristine, that it really doesn’t even need words to tell what is happening (but, don’t worry, I promise I’ll clutter up the pages with my usual blather).

>I’m very excited about having Pete aboard and hope the readers dig his stuff as much as I do.

Nrama: Anything else you want to tell fans about your run on Justice League?

>Priest: Yes. Please don’t kill me.

lordy what a long interview

>Bryan Hitch’s Justice League or Steve Orlando’s wonderful Justice League of America
Seems like he's throwing a bit of shade at Hitch, which is fair enough, but JLA is so much worse

>the approach Geoff Johns helped me develop for Deathstroke - refocus it in a more reality-based (and thus better translatable to TV and film)

I'm really excited for this. Priest is one of the only guys in the biz who's looking at these shared universe characters and trying to come up with someplace NEW to take them.

He's giving me a reason to go pick up a new JLA comic at the store and not just read one of the hundreds of oldies but goodies I haven't read yet.

>Simon and Jessica are completely new to me so I’m still forming opinions about them. In the old days, a writer could take six issue to have a honeymoon with a new character and develop their voice. In our extremely competitive sales environment, that’s just not possible; I have to nail it in issue one.
This also rings very true to me. A lot of my favorite runs of all time took a while to get really started. You can't really do that anymore, your first issue has to impress.

I definitely wouldn't call JLA "wonderful" but I'd take it over Hitch's garbage any day of the week

Comics are just ip farms for other media now, grandpa.

>The Fan is another "I'll be a better hero than you because I'll kill" character

Ugh.

How many of the JL have a no-kill rule at the moment?

> I (specifically) will be reviled and the book will be a huge hit in about 20 years.

lol

sounds a little like JLI. This interview has me excited for it

>We’re introducing a new character - I’m slow to call him a “villain” so much as he is an antagonist. His name is, literally, the Fan, and he is, literally, the Justice League’s biggest fan. The League saved his life when he was a youth, and he’s trained his entire life to follow in their footsteps. But he also feels like, in some areas, he knows better than they do, so he ends up “helping” them by killing their enemies and, in some cases, blocking their way.
I hope he looks like Zack Snyder

it's kinda funny he mentions Waid as who he's looking at for his Flash in the same interview

97284286

>In the old days, a writer could take six issue to have a honeymoon with a new character and develop their voice. In our extremely competitive sales environment, that’s just not possible; I have to nail it in issue one
Interesting. Guess the market started reacting againt the "decompresion" bullshit?

>putting them in more realistic situations and turning "inward" to examine the members of the Justice League, particularly Batman.

Oh fucking Christ, why? this is going to be awful.

STOP INSERTING REAL LIFE INTO COMICS!

This is either going to be really good or really bad, and either way it's going to piss people off. I can't wait, at least it won't be boring like Hitch was.

He fucking says why you dumbass, because that's been done non-stop and Priest can't do anything different with it. You want a shitty Morrison knock off? Go read Hitch. That's nothing but boring as hell World ending threats with no politics.

> I (specifically) will be reviled and the book will be a huge hit in about 20 years.
Damn this man really knows how Sup Forums works.

>dick sucking of some comic "writer" celeb intensifies

>Are you planning to change the team make-up at all? Expanding the team? Or messing with the line-up at all as you come on board?

>Priest: No. Beyond our arc, there are big plans for the League which I obviously can’t discuss yet.
I'm not sure how to read this. Either Priest is already planning the next arc which means he's staying on the book for a while, or he's only staying on for one arc. If he's only on for one arc I guess Bendis is up next.

this honestly sounds dumb. like as bad as hitch but in a different way

>WAAAAAHHHH HOW DARE THIS COMIC DO SOMETHING I DONT LIKE
Not your safe space faggot. Priest doesn't think he can do a better job at Morrison's shit than Morrison can do he's not trying to. Go be asshurt elsewhere, JL can literally not get worse than Hitch.

How? It's not like the first arc is about the League vs #BLM or something. It's Batman fucking up and the League having to deal with the PR fallout. That's a welcome change from Hitch's time travel plots.

They're not going to give Bendis Justice League right out the gate. They'll let him write Action Comics and Teen Titans to get his feet wet first.

How far do you think Priest is gonna beat down Batman in this first arc?

He's been to Sup Forums and quoted some anons in his webpage calling him a nigger, of course he knows.

Wow Priest was right. People ARE going to get mad about this. The losers in this thread are already at each other's throats.

Bendis is still considered a "big name" despite his glory days being long behind him. Besides that he's friends with Johns. If he wants JL I think he'd get it, especially with none of DC's other big writers that eager to take on the job. Snyder doesn't want it, and I can't think of anyone else who qualifies to write the book.

I mean it worked well for Deathstroke I don’t know how well it’ll works for the JL specifically Batman if you want to make him fuck up then sure “Brother Eye” then yeah it’s been done before

Looks like it's only for an arc, so love it or hate it, Priest will be gone soon. Of course if Bendis is up next I imagine Sup Forums will be begging for Johns, Hitch, or Priest to come back.

I'd say writing the main Superman book is a pretty big name gig.

>dude what if the DCU was full of shitty ungrateful people like in the MU lmao
Fuck's sake

Action Comics isn't the main book, at least not anymore. Bendis being a comic titled "Action" would be peak fucking irony though. I don't think Tomasi is leaving any time soon, he and Gleason are working on a Bizarro arc. If he is at least I'll still have Super-Sons.

It's a little late to be complaining about that friend. DC civilians have been shits since New 52, and they're still shits in Rebirth. Action, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Tec, and others have all been dealing with assholes.

>Priest: Yes. We’re introducing a new character - I’m slow to call him a “villain” so much as he is an antagonist. His name is, literally, the Fan, and he is, literally, the Justice League’s biggest fan. The League saved his life when he was a youth, and he’s trained his entire life to follow in their footsteps. But he also feels like, in some areas, he knows better than they do, so he ends up “helping” them by killing their enemies and, in some cases, blocking their way.

Eh...I thought Owsley was better than this.

>It's Batman fucking up and the League having to deal with the PR fallout
thats the dumb part.this isnt marvel

Jesus Christ, this sounds fucking awful.

Priest literally just seems to be repeating a story beat that's been done no less than six or seven times before. Batman fucking up, wowsers! Tower of Babel or Brother Eye ringing a bell? A villain who...*gasp*...kills! I can't even count the amount of times this shit has been done over and over again. Superman and Batman alone have Manchester Black and Red Hood.

I do not have high hopes for this.

>So, rather than fake it by repeating what others have done, The Epic Adventure: Attack of Every Villain We’ve Ever Seen, I turned inward, giving this book a distinctly different tone
Could be cool.

>Taking a literal view of the character: there’s a price to be paid for the lifestyle Batman lives. He’s just all over the place, leading two JL teams and a bunch of Bat-people over in Detective Comics. Now, we can just do comic book magic and not pay all that much attention to the larger tapestry of Batman’s over-exposure, or we can follow out this character beat and explore what would actually happen to a human being pulled in as many directions at once.
Kek. He’s actually going to acknowledge how Batman is on so many teams.

>all these fags doubting based Priest

smdhtbhfamalam

>It's Batman fucking up
I'm actually kind of excited to see this. When has Bruce EVER fucked things up on accident for other people? You can say Tower of Babel but that was more Ra's than anything. Bruce is such an arrogant motherfucker that he's not gonna just apologize either, it really is untread ground here.

>When has Bruce EVER fucked things up on accident for other people?
literally right now in metal

The takeaway is that characters feel a bit more grounded and have to deal with actual consequences rather than the occasional comic book tragedy and drama that goes away in a couple of story arcs.

One of the things I've noticed with his Deathstroke run is that Slade is going through phases and seemingly growing as a person. The obvious downside is that a new writer can come in and reset things back to normal but possibly setting a new status quo for Slade would really help him as a character.

Deathstroke actually does read like a TV show that is well written and well "acted."

And Brother Eye got activated (for the first time in this continuity) in Tec.

>putting them in more realistic situations and turning "inward" to examine the members of the Justice League, particularly Batman.
Well, thank God! I just don't know how we've all gone this long without a deconstructed look at Batman in a DC comic and/or movie!

But it is? The setup of Superman: Reborn was in it (which itself was Jurgens' story), new history of Superman was showed in it, the Oz Effect is in it. Superman is a much better book, but Action is currently the main one.

>putting them in more realistic situations and turning "inward" to examine the members of the Justice League, particularly Batman.
>A little different
>Realistic

All my alarm bells are going off. If anyone but Priest was writing I would already be dropping it

>When has Bruce EVER fucked things up on accident for other people?

You mean except for the big event going on right now?

METAL

i think there's a big event going on you should check out. its called dc metal.

>doubting Priest
Characterfags everyone.
Oh and the second best JL run after Morrisons has a similar premise to Priests

Heroes that kill would legitimately be better heroes than the ones that don't. Batman not just shooting the joker in the face makes him directly responsible for all the deaths the joker is involved in. It's not like he ever actually believes joker won't break out of prison and kill more people.

>When has Bruce EVER fucked things up on accident for other people?

Metal, OMAC Project

I do think Priest will be more skilled as a writer by comparison

>The Silver Age of the average man on the DCU street cheering the heroes on is an anachronism now. If the League were real, today, they’d most likely be sued by every person they ever saved. They’d be subpoenaed by every authority in every jurisdiction imaginable; hearings upon hearings. There’d be waves of accolades followed by tsunamis of boos from social media. They’d be more feared than loved, blamed as much for not doing something as for doing anything.
>This is the environment that interests me, what Stan Lee used to call, “The World Outside Our Window,” much more so than the benign idealized Silver Age world in which this group was originally formed.
I dunno about this, man...

Never forget, we killed McDuffie.

Yeah this isnt fucking Marvel. Faggots might point to Rebirth Green Arrow but thats standard Arrow.

>MUH MUH MUHRVEL
God you guys are such faggots. This is the approach that was taken to a lot of 80s DC such as JLI and Suicide Squad which is arguably the best period of DC outside of early 00's. It's okay to mix things up everyone now and then and the only reason you think it's bad is because Marvel does it with bad creators currently. Millars Ultimates did something similar as well and even on Sup Forums it's well received just like Priests Black Panther and Deathstrome

Meh. Sorry Priest-san. Deathstroke is my favourite current book, but this doesn't soud promising. The DC universe is the DC universe, not the Marvel one and I like things to stay that way.
I'll try this, but I'm going in with scepticism, not excitement.

>that I am doing is taking the approach Geoff Johns helped me develop for Deathstroke - refocus it in a more reality-based (and thus better translatable to TV and film) approach. What if there really was a guy named Slade Wilson who killed people for a living? What impact would that lifestyle ultimately have on him? On his wife and children? Realistically, how long could someone stay in that life before it began to erode his own humanity?

I'm so fucking pissed.

Can you remember how the botton crossover started. Johns was really involved in that.

It's not the fact that it's Marvel, it's the fact that it's another writer doing yet ANOTHER "realistic" take on the DC Universe which retreads the same shit that has been done fifty times before.

And call me tasteless but Priest's Deathstroke thus far has been a complete bore so I don't know why everyone is creaming their pants over him.

This quote made me worried as well. But then this:

>Now, wait, a lot of fans aren’t all that into realism. Escapism has its place. I used to write Conan the Barbarian for Marvel, which takes place in an environment completely removed from the real world. So there’s no telling whether or not our take on Justice League will appeal to everybody.

So I guess this comic won't appeal to me that much. Feels shitty to be the demographic that enjoys Silver Age, hope,optimism, and gratefulnes for heroes.

But I realize that in today's world, people want gritty realism, emotional breakdowns, psychological trauma and deconstructions. Sure. That's why you go read comics, right?

How badly is Priest gonna fuck up Wonder Woman? Will she be really haughty and cold or full of barely contained bloodlust?

The fact that he didn't even mention her leads me to believe that he probably doesn't have a solid grip on how to write her.

>photorealist artist Neal Adams,
oh?

>With virtually all other thematic exits blocked, here’s the fire staircase most readily available to me: deconstructive realism.


Fuck you man, that has been done as well.

The fact that every other approach has been covered (Simpsons did it!) doesn't mean that those exits are blocked, god dammet!

You don't need to innovate or find a new twist to well established mythos, you just need to WRITE GOOD STORIES. FUCK.

Lex luthor has been used thousands of times, some of those stories were great, some of those stories were shit. You can try to be one of the good writers. But what you're doing is saying "I KNOW! WHAT IF LEX WAS ACTUALLY A SPACE MONKEY WHO WAS SEXUALLY ABUSED BY HIS STEPFATHER AS A TEEN! THAT HASN'T BEEN DONE BEFORE! FRESH!"

I feel like his view is also just cynicism and misanthropy masquerading as realism. Like superheroes are a combination of police officer, firefighter/rescue worker, celebrity, and in some cases, deity. For the big Leaguers at least, they seem to work really hard to make good public appearances, minimize collateral damage, and I'm pretty sure they have a mostly clean record for five to ten years. Sure there may be some people who'd treat the Justice League the way Priest said, but it bring the majority, much less all but universal, is a very pessimistic take on humanity.

>D-DC makes better comics than Marvel it's just everything else they're shit at

He will most likely just write her as a sword-wielding angry bitch and probably also toss in some Batman/Wonder Woman fanservice since that seems to be the new thing DC is doing right now.

I wonder how long it will take for someone to realize that Wonder Woman is not fucking Xena. It boggles the mind that for all his faults, Azzarello wrote the most faithful version to Marston's original conception of Wonder Woman in recent history.

Oh god, fucking up wondie when trying to write team-conflict stories is so common, I fear this too. And I fear what Bats will do, say what you will about Identity crisis, batman's reaction and position in it was among my favourite things.

>I feel like his view is also just cynicism and misanthropy masquerading as realism.

It is, especially when he says:

> If the League were real, today, they’d most likely be sued by every person they ever saved. They’d be subpoenaed by every authority in every jurisdiction imaginable; hearings upon hearings. There’d be waves of accolades followed by tsunamis of boos from social media. They’d be more feared than loved, blamed as much for not doing something as for doing anything.

Which sounds exactly like a Zack Snyder.

And truly, it's why some heroes simply do not work in today's world. And trying to force them into it is how you get N52 and a lot of modern bullshit.

There is something called suspension of disbelief which allows you to really get into a story about gods and monsters and parallel dimensions and get emotionally involved. And when they put too much realism into it, then it feels out of place. There is a thematic disconnection.

Nah, I disagree. I think superman can work at face value. Saves your kitty, takes you out of the flaming building, protects your daddy from robbers and when super powered aliens invade he stands with humanity.
Why wouldn't people merrily adore him?

>I'M RIGHT AND THEY'RE WRONG
I read comics because they are a medium I enjoy. Do you only read books and watch shows that tell one kind of story? There's room in the world for hope and optimism as well as grit. I can read the latest issue of Superman were he teaches his son about American history then go watch an episode of Mr Robot and not feel like I'm betraying an imaginary ideology I made up in my head because I'm not us vs them type person. The same way I can read All-Star then go read Deathstroke.

There are books out there for you, that doesn't mean every book has to be for you

> If the League were real, today, they’d most likely be sued by every person they ever saved. They’d be subpoenaed by every authority in every jurisdiction imaginable; hearings upon hearings. There’d be waves of accolades followed by tsunamis of boos from social media. They’d be more feared than loved, blamed as much for not doing something as for doing anything.

Incredibles did it

I guess I feel like even in today's world, superheroes wouldn't be that poorly regarded, especially if they've been around for a while.

Though of course, the trickiest thing about being "realistic" while also having superheroes only appearing "recently" is whether it not that world has had almost a century of fictional superheroes in media to draw upon in the cultural consciousness, before real superheroes showed up. I feel like most of the time writers don't really think that far ahead which means they're using a flawed model to start with.

Come on. They'd be loved. Especially dc ones who are clean and don't kill. Why wouldn't they? The governments could hate them, but most of the people would love them.

>Though of course, the trickiest thing about being "realistic" while also having superheroes only appearing "recently" is whether it not that world has had almost a century of fictional superheroes in media to draw upon in the cultural consciousness, before real superheroes showed up. I feel like most of the time writers don't really think that far ahead which means they're using a flawed model to start with.

I really hadn't thought of this. In fact, I'm judging current runs next to everything Pre-Flashpoint. And what Pre-Flashpoint had was key: History. Legacy. Earned respect and praise.

Only now realizing that makes me dislike N52 even more for taking that away.

Though one not gritty way to talk about superheroes doing PR is for them to have to consciously choose what "political" opinions to talk about. Like would Superman say in an interview "racism and homophobia is bad" or would he let the fact that he stops prejudice-motivated crimes just as much as he stops other crimes kind of speak for itself? And is he okay keeping himself as generic good as possible due to being to vent as Clark Kent, or does he wish he could say more?

And are we supposed to believe that Wonder Woman doesn't have some views on how society is run, and can be persuaded to keep them to herself?

Though the reason Priest will probably pussy out of doing this is it might alienate people in a way the higher-ups don't like.

In theory Superman is gonna make Manhattan bring the JSA back, though I think that's before Priest starts writing?

I feel like it was literally too deep for them. Like sure Wonder Woman was stoic and kept her thoughts to herself a lot of the time, but I didn't have much of a problem seeing the underlying kindness and strength behind her actions, as well as how she grew at least a little under his run.

>In theory Superman is gonna make Manhattan bring the JSA back, though I think that's before Priest starts writing?

I have no idea what's going to happen in Doomsday Clock, or if Manhattan will return the "stolen years". I highly doubt it, though.

Priest will have his JL arc out before the event ends.

Priest, at least going back to the '90s, has always kind of read like that though. Deadpool, Black Panther and Quantum & Woody all read like things that would translate easily to TV and movies. Priest is one of the few who makes it feel natural instead of like an obvious pitch.

>it's just retreading ground
Just like every JL run from the last 10 years. The last "unique" JL run was maybe Robinsons and even that got dismay because Gay for Justice.
JL hasn't tread this ground since JLI even if other books have

>yet ANOTHER "realistic" take on the DC Universe
Okay, name me 20 examples from the past 5 years.

>Priest's Deathstroke thus far has been a complete bore so I don't know why everyone is creaming their pants over him.
Considering it's one of the very few worth reading comics at the big two I'm prepared to call you out on having shit taste. If you're favorite comics are Green Lanterns or Injustice, well...

priest and tarantino working on a deathstroke film when? WHEN?

Doomsday Clock is set a year in the future so it'll be after Prests run

Preview is up.

syfy.com/syfywire/exclusi...tice-league-34
Set up the action in this issue, and why it’s one to pick up?

Christopher Priest: Well, hell, it’s the one to pick up because it’s the first one written by ME!

JL #34 begins, “The People vs. Justice League,” a challenging new direction for the series. The Justice League is forced to reexamine their role in society and place in the world, asking themselves what does “Justice” actually mean in our increasingly cynical and politically polarized society. Rather than being challenged by an alien threat or looming menace, the League finds itself challenged by the very people they have sworn to protect. This exposes fractures within the group that they hadn’t realized were there, which in turn creates a real threat to the group’s future.

What is your favorite moment in this issue?

CP: Clark Kent offering Bruce Wayne sympathy at Wayne Manor on Page 20: “Bruce — it’s okay to pass the ball.” Harbinger of things to come.

Adams' art in the late '60s and early '70s was definitely pretty groundbreaking for cape comics. He came from a background of advertising and newspaper serials so his stuff emphasized more realistic, detailed figures, lighting and more dramatic body language in comparison to the stiffer, more idealized art of the Silver Age.

Tease how this might set up the next issue.

CP: Despite saving, literally, hundreds of thousands of lives in this issue, one innocent victim is killed during a Justice League mission, which causes a break in public trust as well as a divide within the team itself. The consequences of this event, in issue #34, will change the Justice League forever. (No kidding. I mean, I know you’ve heard that before, but we mean it this time!)

>we want the marvel audience

For fuck's sake, we don't want social commentary! We want the Justice League to punch monsters! Fuck off, Priest!

Nobody wants to juggle 8 unfamiliar voices in their first book

Then go read any of the runs from the last 20 years or watch Justice League

...

>story is all about Batman
>Batman Batman Batman
>also, Batman
Oh good, yet another book I can skip. I swear, it's like JL Rebirth is cursed to suck forever.

...

As far as I'm concerned the ten years were returned in Superman Reborn. Only was Jon makes sense.