The strategy of restarting the comics from scratch may be something that had comic book people shaking their heads and pounding their fists, but thus far, it’s been gold for DC themselves.

200,000 copies of Justice League #1, which was the entire first print run, were sold out in pre-order and retail stores barely had them for a day. DC issued a second run which retailers had until today to be able to purchase for their stores, but those were also bought up so quickly that they now have gone on “backorder” through Diamond, DC’s distribution center. This usually means that they will no longer be available at all and what is out there is out there. So those who still didn’t get one may find them in stores, but they will be rare. Of course, the issue will still be available to read online and in apps, but that won’t do the collectors much good.

Action Comics #1 and Batgirl #1 are scheduled to be out next Wednesday. Both have been sold out in pre-orders and thus if you want them and don’t have a pre-order, than you need to be prepared to get there very early to beat those also looking to get their copies as they will probably not even last the day, flying off shelves as quickly as the JL #1 did.

The question is not how popular these #1 issues are. The curiosity and the purchases by collectors who see comic gold in the future on these things was pretty certain to drive up the sales. Everyone, even the critics, wants to see how this is going to go. But can DC sustain their success in issue #2 and #3, etc, when there is the curiosity has waned and the collectors aren’t interested. That will be the real test for DC.

It’s like the past never happened, or had it? That is what comic book readers are going to be asking themselves for a long time to come. While certain elements have stayed constant from the old to the new, others never existed, while others have changed. The question then is will this new reboot actually get the new readers that they want to attract?

Justice League #1, which was released today, tells the story of how the League began. Set in a world that doesn’t understand anyone who wants to go along in tights and save the average citizens, ridding the world of evil, Batman must work in the shadows as a vigilante. He’s wanted by the police, but as the story unfolds, he finds that he is not alone in his quest, that there are others who are also fighting crime, such as the snarky Hal Jordan (aka The Green Lantern). When the two meet, let’s just say that it’s not friendship at first meeting as personalities clash big time. But their common interest eventually leads them to team up. Another prominent member also appears, but I won’t spoil the rest.

The story by Geoff Johns and artwork by Jim Lee is top notch, in an action packed issue, but it is a bit odd for the avid reader. Those that knew how the league was formed originally will really find it either boring or annoying that the continuity has been forfeited for the new reality. But the issue does very well in setting up the concept in the best way possible to give what they are attempting a fresh start. Will that get them the holy grail? Or will they be turned to stone? I have to say that the new issue makes me think that if people can let go of the past, they might actually enjoy the future.

Of course, we’ll have to see if the other #1’s are anywhere near as good…

A lot of talk has been about the characters and their new costumes, personas, abilities and lifestyles, but little has been said about DC’s other big change, which may have as much of an impact on their business as their stable of superheroes, something that is sure to have a significant impact on the brick and mortar comic book retailers.

At 2pm on Wednesday, September 1, 2011 DC is making a major change to their strategy on distributing their comics. In the past, new comics would be delayed online and in apps to allow for the local comic shops to get the first jump, like DVDs are released before they wind up on the movie channels. This allowed avid readers to be able to satisfy their thirst for new material at their neighborhood store, which owners no doubt appreciated. But now DC will be releasing the comics online and off at the same time, taking away that advantage to the small shops and giving people less reason to take the time to go down to their local place.

The impact is sure to be a negative one for comic book stores that have often stayed just over the brink of bankruptcy over the years. Many owners don’t even do it for the cash, but for the socialization and love of the comic world. And there will certainly be readers who will not abandon them for the digital era, purchasing books the same as they always have. And of course collectors will still want the printed copies. But what is concerning is the market will dry up for those who are casual readers who just come in, grab some comics and go. They may not be part of the comic world persay, but enjoy them on an individual title basis. And that’s got to put a hurting on the shops.

But there is something that perhaps owners should keep in mind and remind their customers. DC does not actually let you download a file like you do in iTunes when purchasing music. You only get access to the comic in your library online. This means that if their servers ever go down or their business decisions wind up sinking their ship, which is a possibility, then you do not have anything to show for the money that the reader put out. I would think this might be a definite selling point for actually buying the book rather than the digital rights.

We just got back from Hurricane Irene and this was something that came up in discussion when the power was out and our phones ran out of battery. We could take physical copies and read them by candlelight just as easy, but the online apps were gone and we would have been very, very bored had it not been for the real comic books. And so, that was definitely something that hit us in relation to the new digital copies. They may be convenient, but in the end, are they worth it?

Anyway, the new comics will go for $2.99 for a regular issue, $3.99 for an oversized issue no matter where it’s purchased, online or offline, and the digital comics will be discounted $1 after a month.

Justice League #1 will start the ball rolling into what could be DC’s folly…

According to Stan Lee, he still owns the rights to Conan the Barbarian and that his lawyer illegally sold off the property to Nu Image/Millenium, the producers of the current film playing in the theaters.

Apparently, he owned the rights to Conan in 2000, but his company Stan Lee Media had fallen under dark times and filed for bankruptcy in 2001. Now in bankruptcy, many times it is necessary or even mandatory to sell off certain properties to pay off debtors. The question is, and what Lee will insist the court decide, was whether the lawyer handling the case was permitted to actually sell of the rights to Conan to the movie producer. If they were to find the transaction outside of the law, rights would then revert back to Stan Lee and Nu Image/Millenium would have to forfeit their whole profit from the movie to him.

We don’t have a clear cut description of exactly what was involved, so it’s not as cut and dry as the Kirby case was. Bankruptcy law is a bit messy at times, so it could be awhile before we discover what the decision turns out to be. But what I don’t understand is why he waited until now to raise the question after 10 years. Yes, I know the possible profits from the film is enough to entice anyone. We are talking about millions of dollars potentially, but he did not push the issue when the producers licensed Conan to Dark Horse, who ran their own series in 2003 and are reprinting Marvel’s Conan issues from the past.

And what might the profits be? Conan the Barbarian cost $90 million to make, but has bombed at the box office, so it’s going to be hard for it to even reach profitability. Remember a film isn’t just about how much it was to make, but the marketing and distribution, advertising all have to be factored in. And so it’s going to be a long time before they get to that point if they ever do. Of course there is still Blu-Ray and DVD that can save a movie, international sales, and even toys and merchandising if they so desire. And that can run into money to the owner of the rights, so the case is important.

Stan Lee is also currently suing Marvel in a much bigger case that involves almost all of the characters that Marvel has. The case has been tied up in legal entanglements such as jurisdiction for years. But if he were to win, it could spell big trouble for the publisher and for Disney, who swallowed them up.

As everyone knows by now, we are only about 11 days away from the start of what will either be DC’s greatest moment or DC’s greatest disaster. Which one it winds up being will depend on the audience. The idea, according to the publisher, is to give all their titles a fresh start so that new readers won’t have to worry about the backstories and in some cases as much as 70 years of history. So they came out with a trailer for the various comic book titles, which I showed to a potential reader who had expressed interest in the new set. Below was his reaction.

What the … ???

Yes, the trailer, as you can see below was very artistic and it showed a lot of art and heart thumping music, but did it sell anything? I realize trying to get 52 issues represented in a 2 minute spot isn’t easy, but they couldn’t have found a better way? To my friend, it looked like just chaos bundled into more chaos. It didn’t entice him to start reading the comics, only that it was all too much. Now we aren’t really sure who the target audience for this really is. If it meant to play in theaters or it was designed to be a viral video, but if it was for the former, I think it’s going to fall flat. Movie goers aren’t interested in the sizzle, they want the steak. The story is important and telling them what’s going on and why it’s cool for them to start reading these would have gone a long way towards gaining their respect. Otherwise, you’ve basically wasted whatever money you put into it. And even kids with their short attention spans are not going to be too crazy over this thing as it doesn’t give enough info to even give a kid a chance to know what they even want.

Now those that already read these comics will probably love the trailer because they get a chance to see a lot of the characters and how they will be presented in the new comics, and the motion comics display is somewhat cool from that perspective. But these are mostly preaching to the choir. I don’t think the ad is going to change anyone’s opinions, because they will most likely be buying the new comics to see what all the fuss is about.

As to the non-readers, I think a narrative by one of the superheroes like Superman, explaining what’s going on in his world, would have been more to the point and gotten far more interest. It could have been fun, dynamic and enticing. Instead, all it is a bunch of images that don’t stir up any emotion in those that don’t know what’s going on. And that’s only going to confuse the issue, not enhance it, at least in my opinion.

Dynamite Comics, famous for its pulp hero collection, soon will be publishing new issues of The Shadow, returning the dark crime fighter to his rightful place among the pages.

The character of the Shadow actually began as a dark sinister voice of the narrator on the 1930’s Detective Story Hour, which would take tales from the related Detective Story Magazine and play them out on the radio each week in an anthology format. But soon people started to wonder who this Shadow was and he became more popular than the tales themselves. And the audience wanted to know where they could get more stories about him.

And thus a hero (or some say anti-hero) was born. Through the years, he’s changed a bit for the sake of the story, but basically he’s known for a dark fedora, a red scarf over his face, and a black suit and sometimes an overcoat. He would use hypnotism, which later became psychic powers, to hide from his prey and his enemies, so he could get the drop on them. He also played on his experience on the bad side of the law, using those methods to do the right thing, but this is what made him intriguing, that he didn’t fight crime in the typical way. And if all failed, he always had his pistols to protect him.

The Shadow has been in and out of comic books and newspapers for his 81 year existence, disappearing for a time, only to return, usually with a different publisher. The character was like the vulnerable hot potato switching hands from its original Street and Smith’s Shadow Comics to an eight issue run in the 1960’s under the Archie Comics label, then in the 1970’s picked up by DC which did several series based on the character. Then in the 1990’s after it had been dormant for awhile, Dark Horse Comics, who’s never afraid to take a chance, revived the character once again.

And now in 2011, 16 years after Dark Horse, the Shadow will once again come out of retirement to fight again. Whether or not Dynamite will stick with the 1930’s film noir style that has made it popular or try to update it into the 21st Century as it seems everyone is doing these days, remains to be seen. We hope it’s the former and not the latter, although I would imagine that the old, old, old days wouldn’t be very appealing to the younger market. Perhaps one for both of us?

They have not yet set a release date or who would be doing the new series, but did release a couple of cover artworks from artists such as Jae Lee, Alex Ross, John Carraday, and Ryan Sook, who handle many of the publisher’s covers. According to the president of Dynamite, the acquisition of the Shadow has been a lifelong quest. Hopefully they’ll do good things with it.

In a six part mini-series from DC Comics, the video game Uncharted 3 will be making its debut as a comic book to coincide with the release of the title on the Playstation 3. Unlike Mass Effect and other games to reach the pages, this one will be an original story rather than a back story to introduce players to the game using the comic book medium. I’m sure DC is hoping that they can get players to come over to the reading side, while the developers of the game are hoping it brings more readers to play.

The main character in Uncharted is Nathan Drake, an archaologist/adventurer that searches the world to find ancient artifacts for fun and profit, along with his partner Victor “Sully” Sullivan. For those familiar with the game, you know that Drake is sort of an Indiana Jones, with the snark and attitude of Nathan Fillion’s character of Mal in Firefly. In fact, if I recall correctly, there was a push awhile back to get Fillion to play Drake if there was ever a movie made.

The story will not follow the game, as I said, but will feature Drake in a competition to find the Amber Room, a perhaps mythical, but very mysterious place that is said to be at the center of the Earth. He will need to find it, however, quickly, as there are others that have plenty of resources also looking for it as well.

Joshua Williamson will be penning the six part series for DC with artist Sergio Sandoval, with Tony Harris aiding the pair with covers and Adam Hughes providing his talent to the variant for at least issue #1. Williamson works for a variety of publishers, rather than just DC, including Dark Horse, Oni Press, Image, and even Marvel. He has a ton of projects coming out including Xenoholics #1 for Image, a children’s comic book Sketch Monsters #1 for Oni Press and R.E.H. Savage Sword #3 for Dark Horse, all due out in October. He also perhaps best known to fans for his pairing of Supergirl and Damien Wayne in Superman/Batman #77 released last October.

I’ve always loved Indiana Jones type stories and while I haven’t played the game, I am kinda looking forward to this one. The cross between Firefly, Dr. Jones, with a bit of pulp fiction thrown in should make for some interesting story. The series Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception will start in November 2011 from DC.

We knew it months ago when they killed off the Human Torch that he wouldn’t stay extinguished long. Like other superheroes before him, death is only a minor inconvenience. All you need is a bandaid and you are out there flaming the bad guy once again. The question is will he be the same person and what happens to the Future Foundation with Spider-Man and how does Spider-Man’s new persona fit into the whole thing.

Here’s our take on the four teaser artworks seen here and this is speculation, but it makes the most sense, at least to us. Spider-Man will be part of the Future Foundation and in the beginning of the quadruple issue, will help fight crime. But then when they find Johnny Storm alive, by whatever method Marvel has planned to bring him back, Spider-Man gives up his position in the group to go back to his own thing. Remember Spidey has his own problems in New York City and that whole death thing. But for a bit in the issue, they work as a team to rid the world of whatever evil is afoot before going their separate ways.

But that was our take judging just from the covers. To throw a wrench into the works, Marvel announced that the Future Foundation and the Fantastic Four will co-exist for at least a while and play off of one another in a tied story arc. So it’s not clear as to what Spider-Man’s position will be in this new scenario or how schizophrenic it’s going to make the other three. One has to also wonder how this ties in, at all, with Spider-Man’s new identity. Will Miles Morales be as helpful or friendly as Peter Parker was?

It also begs another question. Given Marvel’s sudden pension for reviving a character by introducing a new person that takes over the role, are we sure it’s really Johnny Storm? Or did they find some way to give those powers to another man. The artwork isn’t clear on what he looks like when he’s not the flame covered superhero, so we have to wonder. It would probably save them a lot of explanation and back peddling, so who knows? Not sure they would try that trick twice though.

Fantastic Four #600 will be a quadruple size issue hitting comic book stores and most likely online in November 2011. Artists Steve Epting, Carmine di Giandomenico, Leinel Yu and Farel Dalyrimple will providing the artwork for Jonathon Hickman’s story, while Gabriele Dell’Otto will pick up the regular cover and Joe Quesada, John Romita Jr., and Art Adams will do the variant cover.

Parents like to get rid of clutter and a collection of comic books always seems like a good thing to get thrown out, but what they don’t often realize is that the comics of days gone by could be worth serious money. And while most current comics these days are only worth the few dollars that they cost, 20-30 years down the road they might be hundreds or thousands, especially special event issues.

Number #1 issues are the most valuable as a rule, although special issues such as the Death of Superman, have gained value over the years for their rare content. In two separate auctions this year alone, X-Men #1 sold for $200,000 and Captain America #1 brought in $343,000 for its owner.

There are a lot of debates as to whether DC’s New 52 will sink to the bottom of the ocean or fly with the eagles. We are still around three weeks out from seeing where all this is going and what will be the fallout, but one thing is bound to be assured. That even though these are reboots, changes in the comic book world make for collectible items later on. And since there will be so many #1 issues released, it’s probably not a bad investment to grab at least some of these and put them in plastic covers for long term storage.

One thing that I’ve heard a lot is “If I had known this when I was a kid.” I am not sure why parents don’t pass this down to the next generation, the concept that comic books are collectible and can earn some mucho cash. Perhaps it’s because they don’t want a big stack of paper filling up their basement or the kid’s bedrooms. Maybe it’s because they just forget. But even titles that aren’t particularly collectible are usually worth more than the cover price and so it’s bound to at least make some profit years later. For instance, 10c comics from the bygone era can fetch at least the current price in most cases.

And so our advice is to keep those comics! They may be valuable to someone and with the phasing out of the paper versions, even more rare than any other time in history. But be prepared to hold on to them for a couple decades and take good care of them, as condition is always a factor.

Usually movie studios and directors are pretty adamant about keeping people with cameras away from their movie sets, but I guess when you are filming right in the middle of a big city like Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, it’s hard to keep that sort of thing down a minimum. It’s equally surprising that Warner Brothers hasn’t stomped their feet down on the various videos that are being put up that show different scenes being filmed. Perhaps they finally figured out that such publicity doesn’t hurt the film, but hypes it.

In this footage above, Gotham City Police are apparently locked in some huge brawl with the citizens before the Tumbler (formerly the Batmobile) climbs up the steps and skids to a halt breaking up the action. Other videos show Bane (Tom Brady) in his full costume as well as Christian Bale (who is playing Batman once again). Two questions we had were why is the Tumbler is painted in camouflage paint and why is Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) getting out of it? And who is Miranda Tate anyway? If you click on the YouTube logo on the video, you’ll be taken to the page where there is a ton more that you can watch.

Also on tap is a newly released official photo of Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, who is apparently stealing Batman’s motorcycle in the promo scenes. She is sporting a more conservative look, but still all in leather. In the picture, it looks like she has a jacket on over the usual revealing outfit, probably because while it may be hot in Pennsylvania, it’s apparently winter in Gotham City if you can go by the above scene. Also different from the traditional Catwoman is the long hair, which goes against the usual look of the comic book character. IMO though, Hathaway definitely looks better with long hair than she would with the butch cut.

There is a lot of speculation as to the mask that she is wearing. Some feel that it is a pair of high tech night vision goggles. That might be true, but to us, it looks like it would serve three purposes, a light, a head’s up display that is giving her information necessary to get away with stealing the motorcycle and to keep the bugs and wind out of her eyes while driving it. If it is night vision goggles, there is speculation that the reason she’s wearing them during the day is that director Christopher Nolan plans to use camera filters or other methods to shoot in the day, but have it look like night when all is done. This makes it easier for him and the crew and is probably beneficial for the 3D process, which requires more light than normal. It also gives him a chance to make it into a more gothic look.

I guess we’ll find out the answer to these and other questions at the same Bat time, same Bat movie. Sorry, couldn’t resist. But seriously a lot of this is being taken out of context, so what we see in this very early footage or promo images may have little to do with the actual film. Directors are notorious for throwing out tidbits to deceive those that are trying to piece the puzzle together.

The Dark Knight Rises is scheduled to be released in 2012.