ShareThisRegular readers of DC Comics may have noticed a unique stimulus package of their own this month.
Over the course of the month, 18 regular titles and the "Adventure Comics" No. 0 special will feature six-page backup features called "Origins and Omens." At 36 pages, that's four extra story pages for the same price.
But the bonus pages are just a happy byproduct of "O and O." There's a more important goal, according to DC Universe Executive Editor Dan Didio.
"With 'Origins and Omens' I think we accomplish three primary goals," he said. "We remind everybody about the origin or the birth of a particular character -- what made that character come into being.
"We also provide some key information of where we are in the story now, so if someone's just coming back to a character, or might have just been sampling, they get a sense of what's essential, of what's going on in that character's life.
"And thirdly, we also put out some foreshadowing or some teasers of what type of stories will be coming down during the course of the year, with the hope that the sneak peak of them will create a level of excitement for people to stick with us through 2009.
"What we've also done is we added a framing sequence (with) the character Scar. What Scar does, in not only bookending the pieces, Scar also gives a tip to folks about what might be heading down the way with 'Blackest Night,' and just how big that story's gonna be."
All of which raises even more questions, which Didio was happy to answer.
For example, would the "origins" part update or change what we know about various DC characters?
"Not at all," Didio said. "As a matter of fact, it's the opposite of what you're saying. What we're really doing is going back to the streamlined, classic interpretations of the origins, the ones that people most recognize and moving ahead on from there.
"Just a reminder, I like to think, of ... what they're about, and what they're about to face. Each one's told in its own style, each one has its own pacing." Some of them are "very much an origin or recounting, some are just touching upon key touchstones of a character in order to remind people of where a character sprang from."
And the omens, it turns out, aren't about the "Blackest Night" Didio referred to, despite the presence of "Green Lantern" refugee Scar. Instead, the omens will foreshadow "what's happening in each one of the titles over the course of a year."
As to "Blackest Night," it arises from the current "War of the Light" story already occurring in "Green Lantern" and "Green Lantern Corps," where the emerald warriors are battling new armies armed with power rings of other colors, representing various emotions: red (rage), yellow (fear), orange (avarice), blue (hope), violet (love) and indigo (compassion). We already know an eighth corps will arise at the end -- the Black Lanterns, all of whom are characters currently dead.
Which is creepy. Didio calls it a "science-fiction horror story," with a lot of familiar (albeit decomposing) faces. But who?
"I think a lot of people are expecting to see maybe an Aquaman Black Lantern, and maybe a Martian Manhunter Black Lantern along the way," he said. "Those might be the two easiest ones to expect these days."
And what about "Adventure" No. 0? The original "Adventure" was famed for launching the Legion of Super-Heroes, and this issue reprints the team's first adventure, so is this an LSH re-launch?
"We're being a little more cagey about who's the star in 'Adventure Comics' right now," Didio said. "There are a couple of stars that could have potential; the good news about it, there will be one lead when the series starts, but that doesn't stop us from showcasing other characters during the run of the series."
And he finished with one final bomb: "We tease (the) return to Superboy, but we don't explain how."
So it's a lot of information, spread across 19 books. What about the fans who can't afford to buy all those titles?
"We're going to be ... putting 'Origins and Omens' online at the DC Universe Web site," Didio said. "And that way we'll make them available to the fans."
And that's free?
"Yes, it is," Didio said.
Perhaps that's the biggest revelation of all.
(Contact Andrew A. Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics(at)aol.com or visit www.captaincomics.us.)
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