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Gene Ha, DC Comics And Top Ten Season Two (UPDATE)

MNOV080209A Little Bleeder writes from FablesCon last weekend;

Gene Ha repeatedly voiced disappointment about his DC exclusive contract and his desire to be done with it. He told me that he and Zander would love to revisit Top Ten world and Zander is working on scripts.

BTW: Gene Ha is one of the most well spoken and knowledgeable people I have ever met in the business.

I've seen some of  Zander Cannon's thumbnails for Top Ten Season Two Part Two. As someone who thought Part One was an equal to Alan Moore's run on the book, I'd happily welcome such…

UPDATE: Gene writes;

Let me divide this into two issues. How DC manages the DCU, and how DC treats Gene Ha.

DC has treated me wonderfully. I'm disappointed they don't want to continue the Top 10 series Zander and I began, but I understand their reasons. They don't think it'll make enough sales. I could have made that one of the contract conditions when I signed my exclusive (lose this much money on Top 10 instead of the signing bonus I took), but I didn't. They've given me no end of brilliant fun writers to work with, as many stories as I can handle. They've paid me better than I've ever been paid. And all of my editors have been cheerful and fun to work with despite staying late at the office most days. That said, I'm eager to do my creator owned projects.

Then there's the DCU. I think the New 52 was a bold and necessary move to shake things up. It worked when wiser heads than me doubted. Amazingly, it's raised interest in comics across multiple companies. But…

At Fabletown And Beyond, as an armchair general, I wished for room for more and different creative visions in the DCU. I don't mean Top 10, I mean things like Angel And The Ape and the pre-New 52 Power Girl book. I haven't seen the numbers, so there might be good sales reasons for this. And I'm no PR or editorial guy, I have no idea how to create a signature house style that makes fanboys want to try every book of the 52. A funny Captain Carrot book might have ruined the whole effort.

Credit where credit is due, DC has put out some great kids books like Tiny Titans. And there's always the Vertigo line and the amazing variety coming out of Burbank: Ame-Comi Girls and Injustice and cetera. So perhaps their strategy works better if the experiments happen outside the DCU.

As I confessed at the Fablescon panels, I'm good at pontificating on matters I know nothing of! So fair warning. Thanks for posting reports from Fabletown,


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Rich JohnstonAbout Rich Johnston

Founder of Bleeding Cool. The longest-serving digital news reporter in the world, since 1992. Author of The Flying Friar, Holed Up, The Avengefuls, Doctor Who: Room With A Deja Vu, The Many Murders Of Miss Cranbourne, Chase Variant. Lives in South-West London, works from Blacks on Dean Street, shops at Piranha Comics. Father of two. Political cartoonist.
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