SDCC 2018: DC World’s Finest With Sharp, Andreyko, Jurgens, Humphries, Venditti, Taylor, Seeley, Gerads
by Noah Sharma
DC’s World’s Finest panel consisted of Liam Sharp (Brave and the Bold: Aatman and Wonder Woman), Marc Andreyko (Supergirl), Dan Jurgens (Green Lanterns), Sam Humphries (Harley Quinn, Nightwing), Robert Venditti (Hawkman), Tom Taylor (Injustice), Tim Seeley (Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe), and Mitch Gerads (Mister Miracle).
Sharp spoke about the recently finished Brave and the Bold, saying that it was really a dream job. Bringing his love of Celtic Myth to DC was fantastic but it also made such a natural way to bring Wonder Woman and Batman together. Diana is a natural peacemaker, but Batman is essentially “a hobbit” compared to the inhabitants of Tír na nÓg, a fact that tickles Sharp. It was therefore interesting to have Batman, who so often is the biggest badass in the room, forced to rely solely on his deductive powers.
The events of Brian Bendis’ Superman have deeply affected Kara Zor-El. While Clark left Krypton as a baby, Kara lost everything she ever knew and she has to know if what Rogol Zaar said is true. She’ll be delving into deep space to discover the truth, working as a detective not only by nature but in instances where she’s away from a yellow sun. Andreyko reminded the audience that Kara was a prodigy on Krypton and that she’s more than smart enough to hold her own.
Liam Sharp met Grant Morrison at the Wonder Woman premiere and absolutely hit it off. They’ve been looking for a way to collaborate ever since and now it comes to fruition in The Green Lantern, taking GL back to its police procedural basics on a grand Grant Morrison scale. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Morrison is taking a lot of inspiration from the original Gil Kane Green Lantern stories.
Green Lanterns is exploring the idea of trust within the Green Lantern Corps. As a galactic peacekeeping force, the Corps has to have enormous trust with each other, but, even more, they have to trust their rings. With their lives dependent on the rings and their rings even talking to them, the question is: what happens when the rings learn to lie? A Guardian is dead and Green Lanterns will become a whodunit on the grandest scale, involving the entire Corps, even as they learn to trust no one and nothing absolutely.
Sam Humphries is taking Harley Quinn to Apokolips in his new arc. She’s joining the Female Furies and having a wonderful time. Additionally there’s a Harley Quinn comic book that’s appeared…in Harley Quinn. The question is who could be writing this comic and how it affects Harley’s world. It all leads to Harley Quinn #50, where Harley destroys the DC continuity.
Hawkman is the Indiana Jones of the DCU and his series is going to examine what that means. Venditti calls it a National Treasure-style adventure taking Carter Hall on a tour of classic DC locations as he follows the clues that his past lives have left for him. A big part of the run is about accepting that if Carter has been reincarnating across time and doing so for 8,000 years long than he realized, it seems impossible that it was all on Earth. Be ready to meet the Kryptonian and Rannian Hawkmen.
Tom Taylor is psyched to bring us the biggest marriage in DC history. Prepare for the marriage of Killer Croc and Orca! On the other side of the Emotional Spectrum, the Red Lantern Corps is waging war on the universe and Starro has gotten a hold of a power ring, making it a true universal threat. In desperation the GLC have turned to one of the worst people imaginable in a story called “Lobo Should Not Have A Power Ring.”
Injustice is about Batman going to find someone to beat up Superman. So, why not He-Man? A massive He-Man fan, that question was all that Tim Seeley needed to craft Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe. As this happens, Darkseid takes advantage and invades Eternia. The story is actually a sequel to He-Man/Thundercats. The question of the series is why He-Man returns to being Prince Adam and how that conflicts with a Superman who’s given up on Clark Kent. You’ll also see Catwoman riding Battle Cat, so look out for that! Expect an incredible number of abs but also the kind of emotional character moments that fans have come to expect from Injustice.
Scott Free is dealing with his past and his future in Mister Miracle. The war can be over, the anti-life equation surrendered, on one condition: he has to give Darkseid his son. It’s a brutal choice that’s all the worse for the pain and confusion he felt over Highfather giving him over. Mister Miracle #10 will feature a meeting of characters that DC fans have been asking for for years and issue #11 is the most visceral reading experience that Eisner Award winner Mitch Gerads has had!
