Fans of the ill-fated, often only begrudgingly accepted Stephanie Brown finally have something to celebrate. With the reboot of the DC Universe Stephanie Brown was erased and as far as we can tell was never Spoiler, Robin or Batgirl. And she still isn’t, Brown is now reappearing in comics as Nightwing in the weekly, digital, comic book continuation of Smallville.

The Smallville Season 11 comics are written by Bryan Q. Miller, who also oh-so-coincidentally wrote the run of Batgirl that saw Brown in the cowl, who spoke to TV Guide about the reveal it’s Stephanie Brown – not Dick Grayson, not Jason Todd, not Tim Drake, not even Batman’s son, Damian Wayne – who’s joining Batman on his venture to Metropolis,

Bruce can be somewhat of an angry man. Stephanie’s personality is so can-do and unsinkable and bright, so it’s very much on purpose on Bruce’s part that he has a good cop going out on patrol with him every night.

“Bruce can be somewhat of an angry man.” – Oh really??

Here’s the lineart for their Smallville Season 11 #5, which will be the print compilation of the digital issues, where you can see Batman joined by a female sidekick,

And here’s a really tiny version of this cover, colored,where you can see her purple accents,

The image at the top of this article comes from Miller’s final issue of Batgirl where he had Brown imagine her future and it included a picture of herself as Nightwing. I’m gonna guess then that her costume in Smallville will look similar. This arc will run in August.

All right Stephanie Brown fans, I know we’re few but we are loud, how excited are you for her to become Nightwing? I’m just happy to see her return to the vigilante lifestyle, no matter what continuity. And now I guess I have a reason to give a shit about Smallville, which you can catch up on digitally, here.

Source: TV Guide

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Digital Comics are not the future. They are the present. Most every comic series are available instantly, at your finger tips. This on demand access has made comics more accessible and has helped expose casual readers to new and old reads. The downside. It’s killin’ the brick and mortar comic shops. There’s virtually no profit in comic book retail as it is and here comes this digital trend that is farting all over retailer livelihood. Especially with titles being released in store and digitally the same day.  Retailers are still holdin’ their own, but for how long?

Helping to prolong the life of your local reading hole comes comic writer Mark Millar. The brazen, often out spoken comic creative -known for his work on Kick-Ass and Wanted- reminds us to support the home front. I dunno if Millar is taking on “The Establishment.” or if he’s just  being a media whore, but he’s telling readers “Don’t Buy Digital”. In an interview posted at Comic Book Resources Mr. Millar said the following:

“I think digital could be a useful tool, but I’m increasingly concerned  for friends in retail that they’re going to get shafted here,” the writer  explained. “I really think day and date release is a disastrous idea and makes  no economic sense at all to comics as a business. It’s potentially ruinous for  comic stores, and in the long term it’s not going to do publishers any favors  either. I see the attraction on a very superficial level. They think they’re  cutting out the middle men and all the guys taking a piece of their gross, but  there’s an equivalent number of hidden costs in digital too, and it’s short term  thinking to obliterate the life-blood of the medium.

Mark isn’t just going for the throat however, offering an alternative strategy for current day-and-date digital sales models, comparing it to film and TV:

“A more sensible approach to digital comics, I think, would be the look at the model used for movie distribution for the last decade or so,” he said. ”The primary phase of selling would be comic stores and theatrical. This is  where the bulk of the investment is recouped or maybe even recouped entirely.  The secondary phase is DVD or, in comic terms, the collected graphic novel sold  in book stores as well as comic stores. These fans aren’t as hardcore as the  first group, but they’re a great place to recoup any money lost in the initial  phase. Digital comics are like TV rights to me in that they’re the tertiary  phase of all this. These are for the most casual, mainstream readers or viewers  and much cheaper than the primary or secondary waves. They’re a great way of  pulling people in for the next product coming out in theatres or in comic  stores, but absolutely not the bedrock of your business.”

I’m still recovering from a Thanksgiving food coma. I’m also battling an erection that has lasted longer than 4 hours (attributed to delicious cookies and pie), so I’m not prepared to discuss the many angles of this controversial subject. Even if I was of sound mind, I dunno where I stand. I would say though that Millar is talkin’ a lot of sense.  Would you agree?

Via: Comics Alliance

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My usual Wednesday trip to my local comic store is impossible this week as I’ve been on the couch recovering from a minor surgery to a very tender and major part of my body (guess what it is and win a prize!) So it’s off to the new and exciting world of same day digital comics for me!

I have downloaded digital comics in the past, picking up mass amounts of back issues when they have a sale, sitting in airports bored and looking to spend money or just wanting to buy comic books without having to bother with pants. Seeing as just about every electronic device I own can display digital comics (come on microwave and coffee maker, pick up your game) this should be easy, right?

Maybe not.

Just a couple of quick thoughts on the current state of comic industry going digital. The slew of Comixology apps are still rather clumsy and while I like how I buy a comic once and can read it on any device, why do I have to download it on each one? Is it not possible to just stream the data? As I sat on the couch with my new best friend, a bag of frozen peas (oh, a clue to what the surgery could have been) I got a little frustrated having to wait for each one of them to download. Add in the fact that while I like my iPad, call me old fashioned but it’s never going to replace the joy of reading a comic on paper or killing 20 minutes to an hour in a comic store.

So lets get to the books, up ahead its Marvels big tease for 2012, we check in with the new Spider-Man that had people who never read a comic all up in arms, the latest issue of Green Lantern and we’re off to Cuba for spies and espionage.

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With the release of the new Kindle Fire, a full color e-reader, also came the announcement DC would be offering many of their graphic novels digitally, exclusively through Amazon. Well, this news royally pissed off the mighty B&N, Barnes and Noble, one of the few brick and mortar bookstores still hanging on. B&N attempted reach DC to express their hurt feelings over the announcement and maybe see if DC would agree to including the Nook in on this sweet, digital deal. DC said no.

To which B&N was all like, well, fuck you. We’re no longer carrying your books, and then ordered their stores to pull all DC books that would be available digitally on the Kindle Fire from the shelves. This includes Watchmen, Sandman, Fables, and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Ouch. These books can still be found on Barne and Noble’s website, but according to the rage-filled email, they are not allowed on B&N store premises.

It’s sad to see these exclusive deals cause hardship for one of the few book stores left operating, but come on, the small comic book store has been suffering for years. I don’t want to admit it, ’cause I still love holding a real, tangible book in my hands, but digital is the way of the future. This is simply another example of companies like DC thinking strategically about the future of their business.

What d’ya think about the book bruhaha? Has B&N made a dumb move banning DC books from their stores? Should they be looking to score their own deals with other publishers or should they just pack it in?

Source: Blastr

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While we anxiously await the release of the video game, Batman: Arkham City this fall, DC is keeping us tweaked out on the Batman high by releasing a six issue mini-series written by Paul Dini bridging the story between Arkham Asylum and AC. The series begins shipping this month and will be available in print and digitally on the same days for $2.99. But in addition to the six issues they’re also releasing eight page digital chapters that will alternate release dates with the paper floppies and will closely examine Batman’s enemies and their motives. These mini comics are only available digitally but you can grab ‘em for the sweet deal of $0.99 in the digital store! Maybe a dollar is still too much to ask for a measly eight pages, but, realistically, what else can you get for a buck?

Here’s the scoop on the Batman: Arkham City mini series from DC’s The Source blog,

Written by Batman: The Animated Series writer Paul Dini (who also penned both Arkham games) and drawn by Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City concept artist Carlos D’anda, BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY picks up one year after the original game, where former Arkham Warden turned newly elected Mayor of Gotham City Quincy Sharp has decided to close down the infamous institution. In its stead, he establishes “Arkham City,” the new maximum security “home” for all of Gotham City’s thugs, gangsters and insane criminal masterminds.  Set inside the heavily fortified walls of a sprawling district in the heart of Gotham City, inmates can roam free and do whatever they want as long as they don’t try to escape. To run this urban prison, Sharp has appointed Dr. Hugo Strange, a man who knows that Bruce Wayne is Batman.

The six issue mini series and the eight-page interludes will eventually all be collected in a Batman: Arkham City volume, but you’ll have to wait for that. If their smart they’ll have it compiled in time to release with the video game itself.

This is a smart use of the digital store. These eight page chapters are cheap and exlcusive to the digital format. DC Comics co-publisher and Bat-legend, Jim Lee said,

The digital first stories offer a unique incentive for fans to experience interesting and exciting stories beyond the pages in the printed comic.The additional pages will serve as interludes within the regular issues and won’t be necessary to follow the main story of the miniseries.

I really love the idea of the digital store but I haven’t been wowed by their execution yet. I would like to be able to physically own the digital files, especially if I’m paying the same as print price. But I understand that would only escalate piracy. Damn, dirty pirates ruining it for the rest of us, I say as if I’m completely innocent of the crime. With their current cloud storage system it would be nice to see the price knocked down a bit for these digital comics. Which is why the $0.99 digital chapters are fantastic marketing and deals.

I’ve read this first chapter, focusing on Dr. Hugo Strange and it’s great, short for sure, but great. Very creepy setup for a major villain of the upcoming game and a really nice twist from the chaos and insanity of the Joker. Of course, I’m sure the Joker will get his own chapter, how could he not? Buy and read the first eight page interlude, available today, in the the digital store from Comixology.

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Everyday more superhero news trickles though the cracks of the interwebz and us Nerd Bastards do our best to gather up these nuggest for you, our loyal readers. Superheroes are all the buzz right now so look for this becoming a common feature.

First up, mere hours after getting a glimpse of the new Captain America trailer on Entertainment Tonight the studio released another itty-bitty clip to continue getting you all worked up for the eventual release of the full trailer. What can I say, they really know how to tease us.

It’s a shorty for sure. In the clip Dr. Abraham Erskine gives Steve Rogers the chance of a lifetime. The trailer should be appearing any day now so stay tuned. We’ll be bringing you the full length awesomeness once we get it.

More news after the jump, including a new image of pre-transformation Beast from X-Men: First Class.

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After disappointing many people since its announcement, leave it to the Apps that could determined if the iPad will sell or not. I’m not sure if this can replace the Kindle and other digital readers but Panelfly’s comic viewer app does look good on the big screen. Panelfly did release an app for the iPhone/iPod Touch but they are making a whole new app just so thet it can take advantage of what iPad can provide, and judging from the pictures, I say they are heading to the right direction and I wouldn’t mind trying this app out if I got the chance. I have tried out the comic viewer on the PSP and I thought it was neat, but if I was able to do it on a nice big screen, I think I would fall in love immediately with it. Check after the break to view more images of Panelfly’s cool app. You know, the more I think about it, the more it seems that the iPad gives you the comfort to read anything digital while your on the toilet.

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