Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: Bryan Talbot, Comics, dotter of her father's eyes, mary m talbot

The 12th Annual Rumour Awards: Scoop Of The Year

So what were the bigger scoops that Bleeding Cool managed to grab this year? There certainly seem to have been a lot to pore through. Here are a few favourites,

We said that Jonathan Ross and Bryan Hitch would be creating a comic for 2012. More on that to come.

It wasn't a scoop as much, more speculation, but Bleeding Cool did guess correctly that we'd be getting a black Ultimate Spider-Man.

There was the reveal of the identities of The Worthy in Fear Itself that caused the usual evacuation of the building and security summoned to go through Marvel private emails to no avail. One Marvel executive admitted to Bleeding Cool afterwards that they have never caught anyone who has leaked information to Bleeding Cool.

The knowledge that Schism would see Uncanny X-Men would split into two Xbooks, one led by Cyclops and another by Wolverine came early to Bleeding Cool.

Disney refusing Panini to commission any new Marvel work for the UK and Europe, only allowing them to use US originated work caused considerable consternation on this side of the pond.

Bleeding Cool got two scoops regarding Barnes And Noble which would have repercussions all over the place, first introducing direct market comics into their stores with a mission to become a destination location for monthly comics, followed later in the year by their removal of 100 DC graphic novels in objection 

There was the retailer who suggested that government officials were legitimate targets for assassination and one who petitioned for the boycotting of Action Comics. Then there were the Ghost Projekt and Sixth Gun TV movies for Syfy that Nikki Finke was sitting on for an age…

Across the industry, stories such as the closure of Wizard Magazine and Toyfare as they went to digital. and the subscription scandal that followed it, DC buying Marvel search keywords, DC hiring Rupert Murdoch's PR company. DC trying to stop Marvel being allowed to released Fantastic Four #587 early, Marvel's $5 digital-to-print coupons, conman Kenneth Aaron operating on the Chicago scene and Bonfire creating ads for the CBLDF helped keep Bleeding Cool a necessary read for those who worked in the industry,

We were the first to mention some of the more financially astounding stories this year, from the Frank Millar Dark Knight page, the rise of Action Comics #1 and Nick Cage's copy coming up for auction, to Radical valuing themselves at $840 million.

Getting details on the revival of the Watchmen prequel projects, and artwork Christmas Day was pretty special. As was the Cease And Desist Notice that swiftly followed it. Nothing today though.

There was Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan signing onto Conan, another Free Comic Book Day for Hallowe'en,  and the naming Mark Millar, Matthew Vaughn and Dave Gibbon's Secret Service,

But for Scoop Of The Year, one challenger is the details of the DC Relaunch, starting well ahead of the announcement. From Scott Lobdell writing new work for DC, Bobbie Chase being hired as a Senior Editor, the planned relaunch of Batwoman, the return of John Constantine to the DC Universe, Philip Tan on Hawkman, Greg Capullodrawing Batman for DC, something called Justice League Dark, a new Justice League International series, everything was coming into place with the news that DC were renumbering every comic book, coming together in May that DC looking to relaunch everything in September. and more specifically, all with issue number ones. Then, day after day ahead of DC's attempts to manage the spread of information, and fighting against their new, extra stringent Non Disclosure Agreements that came to define Bleeding Cool in 2011, from the leak of Justice League by Johns and Lee, Deadman, Superman's new costume, George Perez on Superman, Supergirl writers, Jeff Lemire on Animal Man,  New Guardians, Legion Lost, OMAC, Nathan Edmonson writing Grifter, Teen Titans, the dissolution of the Clark Kent/Lois Lane marriage, even Brian Clevinger being dropped from Firestorm and Brian Wood dropped from Supergirl before the new creative team was even announced. And, in time, the departure of Gail Simone from Firestorm. There were reports from the retailer roadshows that no one else wanted to cover, the news that DC had decided to make new policy based on the Batgirl of San Diego, James Robinson and Nicola Scott's JSA, the script to Flashpoint #5 that set up the relaunch, the first, second, third, fourth and fifth appearances of Strange outside of Flashpoint… and Teen Titans burning down the X-Men mansion and DC's victory over Marvel over marketshare. Throw in Bastardized by Ethan Van Sciver and Joe Harris and that's quite a bundle of stuff.

But it wasn't just DC that felt the Bleeding Cool prickle, Marvel saw the first mentions of  Nick Spencer and Emma Rios' Cloak And Dagger series, Garth Ennis and Goran Parlov's Nick Fury MAX, Mark Waid and Paulo Rivera on Daredevil,  Paul Jenkins' All Winners Squad – and its curtailment, G Willow Wilson and David Lopez's Mystic,  Jason Aaron and Marc Silvestri's Incredible Hulk, Matt Fraction and Mark Bagley's The Fearless, ripping the silhouettes off the Marvel X-Men promotional images, Nick Fury's new black son and the new Marvel kids line launching in April.

But in the end, one story about one man took the biscuit. Rob Granito – exposed as an amateur fraudster which inspired creator retaliation, and even saw him preyed upon by real conman Josh Hoopes and then setting up his own publisher with Josh – and recording a song.

Of course, just as there were scoops, there were flops. They included Rebekah Isaacs pencilling Buffy Season Nine, Marvel following DC on twenty pages for $2.99… when it seemed it was more like twenty pages for $3.99. There was the Marvel Vs DC 2 project that never happened, despite Marvel appropriating work for it, there was the edict that post Flashpoint DC women should wear trousers … and I'm sure you'll have your own favourite.

Still standing by the kitten though…

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