Tuesday, February 28, 2012

New 52 Third Wave Pitch: Mystery in Space













Over the next few weeks, I am going to try and post a few proposals for DC's eventual New 52: Third Wave. Mostly, they are the dream comics I would like to see, but have very little chance of actually happening.

Tagline: An anthology book that brings together DC's most popular (and obscure) Cosmic characters!

Pitch: Mystery in Space could be an anthology series similar to DC Universe Presents but with quicker turnover and stories that are limited to one issue. Aside from the realm of the Green Lanterns, almost any corner of the Cosmic DCU could be explored. Filled with characters that range from quirky to iconic, Mystery in Space could act as a sort of team-up book for rarely seen cosmic heroes.

Structure: Mystery in Space would be structured like a cross between DC's classic anthology series House of Mystery and House of Secrets and 2000 AD's Future Shocks.  The Space Cabbie would be the "host" of the comic, essentially filling the role we saw him in way back in Starman #55.  Each issue would feature a frame story where the Cabbie picks up a fare. As they travel to their destination, he or the passenger would tell a story to fill the time. Plus, the short nature of the stories and the absolute freedom of DC's barely touched interstellar character landscape could be used as a recruitment tool to bring in big name creators. The editors at DC could allow the writers to do pretty much anything that comes to mind. They don't really even have to worry about continuity.  Aside from some slight steering if a story involves a character that has already been claimed, it would allow creators to put their mark on the still wide open New 52 DCU. The best part is, if one of the stories that appeared didn't jive with future stories DC wants to tell and, they ever needed to go back and change things, they can just say the person telling the story was lying or did not know the actual events.

Writer:
Obviously, Mystery in Space would have a rotating team of creative talent. Since stories would be purposefully short, almost any of the writers currently working at DC could contribute a story without interfering with their schedule. Obviously, the leading candidates for the first twelve issues or so would be Grant Morrison, Geoff Johns, Brian Azzarello, Scott Snyder, Jeff Lemire, Kieth Giffen, and Tony Bedard. The real selling point of the book would be the opportunity to have famous non-comic book writers (or non-Marvel/DC writers, at least) explore DC's Universe.  The relatively short nature of this anthology could attract names like Ernest Cline, Joe Haldeman, Orson Scott Card, John Scalzi, Neil Gaiman, Mike Mignola, and other legendary writers that could leave their mark on the DC Universe.

Artist:
Because of the time-consuming nature of comic book art, filling the artist role on these stories would be a bit more difficult. There are plenty of artists currently doing work for DC that could do a couple of issues at a time. Once again, the short nature of the stories might be an attractive incentive for big name artists. Personally, I would LOVE to see an Adam Strange story illustrated by P. Craig Russell.

A Few Possible Characters:


Space Cabbie: A freaking cabbie...in space! Think of the interesting fares he would pick up!






Adam Strange: Jetpack wearing, human defender of the alien world—Rann!
Captain Comet: Psychic hero that fights for justice wherever he is.
Vril Dox and the R.E.B.E.L.S.: Dox and his team will protect you—if the price is right.
Tommy Tomorrow and the Planeteers: Teenage super-genius and his support team.
Bob, the Galactic Bum: I don't know...someone could do something fun with him.







Ultra, the Multi-Alien: An alien split into four distinct parts!
Lobo: DC's Cosmic bastich.


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