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The official word on THE RED CIRCLE

Friday, May 15th, 2009

By Alex Segura

You’ve seen the amazing designs. You’ve seen Jesus Saiz’s cover art. But there are more details to reveal, and more art to show. That’s what The Source is for, no?

This August, writer J. Michael Straczynski pairs with an all-star cast of artists to introduce a new wave of heroes into the DCU with four one-shots, each spotlighting one of the four. THE HANGMAN pairs JMS with artists Tom Derenick and comic legend Bill Sienkiewicz, while INFERNO features the gritty linework of Greg Scott. THE SHIELD showcases the work of former SUPERMAN and BATMAN artists Scott McDaniel and Andy Owens while THE WEB features the team of Roger Robinson and Hilary Barta. A pretty impressive lineup, huh? But that’s not all. We corralled Joey Cavalieri — and JMS — who along with assistant Chris Conroy is editing the RED CIRCLE books, to give us the lowdown on these reinterpreted characters and what their deal is. Take it away, Joey:

“Join the Red Circle: four books about four super heroes who are brand new to our universe. Everything goes in circles, and while these mighty crusaders have their roots in another time, J. Michael Straczynski has made sure that these guys’ colorful costumes aren’t empty suits. They’re fully rounded ndividuals, inhabited with the ethos of our modern era.

hangman-pg-08

There’s the Hangman…a doctor who’s been spared the executioner’s noose (a circle of rope, get it?) only to be confronted with a choice that condemns him o roam around Earth forever, aiding everyone in his orbit.

web-pg-02

And the Web, a man who’s had a life of ease and selfishness…but is forced to cast the resources of his, er, surroundings outward, to embrace and encircle everyone who needs his help!

inferno-pg-14

Inferno has incendiary powers, but no memory other than a single name…which may not even be his. He must circle back and discover who he is, where he came from, and why everything around him goes to blazes…

shield1

The Shield is the spearhead of a program meant to encompass America’s borders, but quickly becomes a link in a bigger chain. That chain becomes a chain reaction. As J. Michael said in a note to me ‘n Dan: ‘This is where it gets really interesting. All four books are connected. One book sets up the next, then sets up the next, via interrelated actions. Each book slides off the next, showing the interconnectedness of the world, how fate can launch a bank shot from one person to the next. The Circle of Life, again reinforcing the Red Circle motif.’

Get the connection? We’ll show you how the circuit gets completed this summer. Circle your calendars: the Red Circle Revolution begins August 5th!”

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This entry was posted on Friday, May 15th, 2009 at 7:30 am and is filed under From the Editors, News, Sneak Peeks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

19 Responses to “The official word on THE RED CIRCLE”

  1. shugtastic says on May 15th, 2009 at 8:04 am :

    maybe it’s just me, but i don’t really give a crap about the red circle or milestone characters.

  2. RockinRich says on May 15th, 2009 at 8:26 am :

    Joe.

    All the cool kids call him Joe, not “J. Michael.”

  3. homeslice says on May 15th, 2009 at 9:25 am :

    Hopefully it is just you, shugtastic. I am SO looking forward to this.

  4. rwe1138 says on May 15th, 2009 at 9:28 am :

    Hopefully these will get finished. Unlike The Twelve…

  5. Websnap says on May 15th, 2009 at 9:48 am :

    Looking good, I’m definitely interested.

  6. joao_miranda says on May 15th, 2009 at 10:02 am :

    Last time he talked with Newsarama he said it was almost done.

  7. Gorbunov says on May 15th, 2009 at 10:36 am :

    Whining mode on.

    Oh, my God.

    JMS is your biggest new writer since who-knows-when and the best you can give to him are Scott McDaniel, Tom Derenick and two other dudes I’ve not even heard about. You guys are unbelievable.

    P.S. And can you find for Tom Derenick some other inker. I even can live with somebody less legendary than Sienkiewicz as long as all characters won’t be looking like Planet of Apes escapees.

    P.P.S. And you really need to look the meaning of “all-star” in a dictionary or wherever else.

    Whining mode off.

  8. D.Batman says on May 15th, 2009 at 10:38 am :

    looking forward to some new faces. hope it works!

  9. bohemiacomicsreader says on May 15th, 2009 at 11:20 am :

    I am so looking forward to this.

  10. PhantomPhrenemy says on May 15th, 2009 at 12:50 pm :

    Hmm, not sure if I’m on board or not. I don’t want to start buying four additional books each month if I’m not clear on whether it fits into current DCU continuity. I liked “The Mighty” but dropped it to save a few bucks. If these characters eventually interact with the Justice League, or Batman or Wonder Woman, then I might consider it, until then, I’m not excited. I’d love a bit more explanation so I can make up my mind. Anyone got more insight?

  11. dusk83 says on May 15th, 2009 at 12:52 pm :

    Nice

  12. PhantomPhrenemy says on May 15th, 2009 at 12:56 pm :

    Sorry everyone, I had to go back and reread - I’m on board for One-Shots. No problem. Sold. Somehow I got it into my head that these would be mini-series. Apologies.

  13. Gorbunov says on May 15th, 2009 at 2:22 pm :

    Hey, btw, wasn’t Jesus Saiz suposed to draw it, ya lying bastards? Decided to save few pennies on quality, huh?

  14. CaffeinatedRamblingsDotCom says on May 15th, 2009 at 6:00 pm :

    The Hangman looks like a pretty interesting character.
    I hope to hear more about him.

  15. Greg Geren says on May 15th, 2009 at 8:46 pm :

    It’s four one-shots, by JMS and artists I have at least heard of, and at best have confidence in their story-telling.

    Sign me up!

  16. Blog@Newsarama » Blog Archive » The Red Circle is revealed! says on May 15th, 2009 at 9:12 pm :

    [...] blog, the Source, announced today the art teams for J. Michael Straczynski’s miniseries the Red Circle, due out August 15th. This project was once a proposal for the Brave and the Bold, but since became [...]

  17. ian33407 says on May 16th, 2009 at 9:21 am :

    I think the art onto ‘Inferno’ is really impressive…really great.
    ( From a little far, and without reading what is what about and seeing the character in the first panel I was going to say ‘ wow at last a decent Dr Midnight mini-serie !’)

  18. Warewullf says on May 20th, 2009 at 5:29 am :

    Not sold on these at all. Nothing really grabs me about these characters and I’m sorry but The Web has the ugliest costume design I’ve seen in a very long time.

  19. Hyperion322 says on May 23rd, 2009 at 5:32 am :

    I was a huge fan of !mpact as a kid, so I’m curious to see how these series are different from those that I beloved. Perhaps I’ll wait to buy the trades used I barely have enough money for my usual haul.

    ~ Hype

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