I collaborated with Brian Azzarello on SUPERMAN: FOR TOMORROW, so that might make me a little biased, but I think he’s one of the best writers in the comic book industry. His work is smart, funny and crisp. The kind of stuff that makes an artist look good.

Back in 2008, he teamed up with an artist named Lee Bermejo for an original graphic novel called JOKER. Lee’s work is jaw-dropping already; he doesn’t need anyone to make him look good, and the pairing was magic. They’d worked together on the LEX LUTHOR: MAN OF STEEL miniseries years before, but on this graphic novel they brought their collaboration to a whole new level. It’s raw, gorgeous and provocative ­and it would make for one mean holiday gift.

The time for words has come to an end. JUSTICE LEAGUE launches at Midnight tonight.

Sometimes a picture says a thousand words. What will YOU say about DC Comics-The New 52 come tomorrow?

Months ago, when the decision was made to launch 52 new number ones, Co-Publisher Dan Didio, Editor-in-Chief Bob Harras along with DCU Executive Editor Eddie Berganza and VP-Art Direction and Design Mark Chiarello and I went over the entire proposed DCU lineup and bookmarked the characters we felt would benefit the most from a visual redesign. That initial list started at around 30 characters but quickly ballooned up as books got under way. Realizing the amount of time and effort it would take to complete the long list of designs, Mark Chiarello and I enlisted artist Cully Hamner onto the team, giving us not just another set of hands but another style altogether so we would have a variety of styles to literally draw from.

Cully, as many of you know, is a veteran artist with diverse professional experiences, one of the co-founders of Atlanta’s Gaijin studios and also the co-creator of the WildStorm comic RED. He had also done a spectacular redesign of Blue Beetle some years back which Mark and DC loved so he was a natural choice for this project. Having known Cully both professionally and personally over the years, I knew his collaborative mindset and sheer creative skills would be perfect for this massive undertaking. Cully in particular took point in creating many of the designs you guys have seen debut in our staggered announcements, and his feedback and input and revisions on countless others were just as instrumental. On top of all this, there was the input provided by Mark Chiarello, a terrific artist in his own right, who gave countless notes and corralled all the images and feedback to make sure all the creators working on the titles had the information they needed and that every voice in this highly collaborative project was taken into account.

The entire redesign process was very organic in that every character’s final design came about in an entirely unique fashion. More often than not, Cully and I worked independently or in parallel but sometimes, we jammed together on the same set of designs. And of course, all the designs were shaped and refined by the input of a series editor, writer and artist. In the end, we wanted to make sure all the key creators on a title were satisfied with the final look of the characters as the creative teams were the ones who had to live with and draw the new looks on a near daily basis. For instance, on Birds of Prey, the design process started with initial sketches by the series artist Jesus Saiz which Cully and I then used to riff off of. After rounds of input and alterations, the near final looks were then tweaked by Jesus himself at the end. Or on a series like Teen Titans, Brett Booth contributed most of the designs and Cully and I served as sounding boards, tossing out suggestions and visual counterpoints as we hammered out the final looks almost in real time over massive email chains. And lastly, for other titles altogether, the series’ artists did all the designs and Mark and I just chimed in and signed off on the final approvals.

All in all, a huge project, one which only now is finally coming to light. On a reader level, we realize changing even the smallest detail of any character’s costume brings out the passion in every fan, but I thought it important to describe the process so you all knew the time and care and thought that was put into each and every redesign. In the end, while you may not always agree with the changes, at least you know they were not made lightly or without great effort.

Finally, I wanted to thank all the DC editors for their incredible patience and invaluable input and so many of the the creative teams for allowing Cully and me to jam along with you. It was definitely an honor.

Best,
Jim Lee
Co-Publisher
DC Comics

DC Comics

As of January 2011, DC Comics titles will no longer carry the Comics Code Authority Seal of Approval. In 2011, DC Comics will employ a rating system consistent with that of the rest of the industry, as well as with our digital releases, which already utilize a rating system. As for our Vertigo comic books, they will not utilize the rating system, because they will continue to be labeled as “For Mature Readers”.

Beginning with our April 2011 titles, all DC comic book covers will utilize the following rating system:

E – EVERYONE

Appropriate for readers of all ages. May contain cartoon violence and/or some comic mischief.

T – TEEN

Appropriate for readers age 12 and older. May contain mild violence, language and/or suggestive themes.

T+ – TEEN PLUS

Appropriate for readers age 16 and older. May contain moderate violence, mild profanity, graphic imagery and/or suggestive themes.

M – MATURE

Appropriate for readers age 18 and older. May contain intense violence, extensive profanity, nudity, sexual themes and other content suitable only for older readers.

Jim and Dan

There was a lot of excitement at panels, in the press, and on Twitter and Facebook when we first announced that DC Comics and Vertigo will be holding the line at $2.99 for standard format ongoing comic book titles. These changes were for you, the fans, and retailers shared your excitement. We were just getting started.

As we begin the New Year, the pricing changes are going into effect and the timing couldn’t be better. We have a number of exciting storylines beginning in January, February and March that we believe will connect with the readers who have already been following the titles–and will most definitely be of interest to fans who aren’t yet buying the titles each and every month. We’re talking about stories like the Prelude to FLASHPOINT in FLASH, the WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS, REIGN OF DOOMSDAY, and BATMAN BEYOND, to name just a few…

And this isn’t just about the DC Universe.

Critically acclaimed, fan favorite Vertigo titles all have major storylines starting this winter. AMERICAN VAMPIRE kicks off a truly epic WWII storyline. THE UNWRITTEN promises major reveals inside the belly of a whale. And, believe it or not, superheroes show up in FABLES, in ways that defy your expectations.

And don’t even get us started about the return of…

Ah, but that would be saying too much. We’ll be making announcements and previewing big stories over the course of the next two weeks on THE SOURCE and GRAPHIC CONTENT, and we can’t spoil it all here. But know this: we’re listening to you, the fans, about pricing and format. We want to hear about which titles you are loving—and which books you used to love, but have drifted away from. We want to know what characters you want to see more of in the New Year. Because we want you to be there with us, each and every week throughout the year, whether you buy monthly comic books, wait for the trades or download issues at the DC digital store.

In 2011, heroes will return. Creators will take chances. DC will hold the line.

Dan and Jim

Thanks!

As 2010 comes to a close, we want to recognize and thank you, the fans, for the passion and excitement that you have for the creators we work with and the characters whose adventures we publish. You motivate us to work harder and to publish better books. It’s simple. We could not do this without you.

We’re tremendously excited for DC and Vertigo have in store for next year and you’ll be reading about new projects, surprising twists and developments on THE SOURCE and GRAPHIC CONTENT in the New Year. Stay tuned!

We are tremendously excited for the New Year and for the new opportunities that come with it.

Happy holidays to you and yours,

Dan & Jim

Got some amazingly exciting news to launch this week off with.  Yeah, I count Wednesday as the beginning of the week as it’s New Comic Book Day!  (It’s the same way the New Comics Year ends and starts again with every San Diego Comic Con in July).  So every Wednesday, I actually am now in the habit of checking for both new print and digital releases and sure enough, we’ve got some downloadable gems this week.  In fact, we’re rolling out Frank Miller’s seminal work , The Dark Knight Returns. This is the book that brought me back into comics when I was in college and truly inspired me to become a comic book illustrator and is a must have for every Comics Cognoscenti.

What makes it even more special is that we are offering it up through our very own DC Digital Comics Store!

Yep, you heard that right.  We’re thrilled today to announce the opening of our brand new DC Comics storefront.  What does the latest development to our ongoing Digital Publishing Initiative mean for you, the ever-devout DC Comics fan?  Well, for one–it’s going to allow you all the ability to purchase and download comics from your desktop and laptop computers from our very own website.  And because we want to make the purchasing, storage and management of your comics digital library as easy and convenient as possible, we’ve made sure that our storefront is powered by comiXology which means if you buy a DC digital comic like the chart-busting Death of Superman on your Mac or PC at home, you can read the very same series on-the-go using your iPhone, iPad or laptop using our DC App without paying any a penny more or creating any new logins.  Or vice versa.

We call it convergence.  You will find it simply easy.

And you know what? Given the proliferation of digital comics apps, mobile devices and platforms, I know as a consumer of digital comics that I appreciate that kind of convenience.  And as a Co-Publisher who finds time to catch up on his comics reading while on-the-go, I love the fact that I can carry around not just the latest digital issue of The Authority, one of my favorite all time comics, but my entire DC digital collection on any one of the devices I schlep with me to the far corners of the earth.  And we’ve made many of the first issues of these great series free in commemoration of today’s news.

So check out what’s available for download this week–we run the gamut from Vertigo’s ground-breaking Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson to Grant Morrison’s The Invisibles to the DCU’s outstanding Identity Crisis series by novelist Brad Meltzer and artist Rags Morales.  It really is an embarrassment of riches and honestly, we have many, many internal discussions about what we should be rolling out next…should it be material from our classic archives or more recent tales of our iconic characters or the works of DC’s greatest creators? In cases such as writer Brian Azzarello who’s best known for his riveting Vertigo opus 100 Bullets but also for his poignant take on the Man of Steel in Superman: For Tomorrow, we couldn’t choose between the two and ran with both to celebrate the launching of our new storefront.  But please, sound off on our Facebook page and be heard—at the end of the day, we really do strive to make the DC Digital Offerings reflect not just the very best works of DC Comics but what YOU, the reader, wants out of very your own DC Digital Comics Experience!