My Deathstroke promo is (finally) up. Final ordering cutoff (FOC, which I thought meant Friends Of Charlie) is coming up, so please spread the word and this link: ChristopherPriest.Com/Deathstroke. I’ve never been more nervous about a new title launch. This is a book most readers will either love or hate because it both reinforces classic history and reinterprets it. The characters are exactly the same and completely different. Will Deathstroke fans like what we’re doing, or will the Rebirth enrage them?
The answer is yes.
If you have never before in life read Deathstroke, please feel invited to jump in. Absolutely no prior knowledge of Deathstroke, his supporting cast, New 52 or even the Rebirth event itself is necessary to begin reading this book. Deathstroke: Rebirth may well be the most accessible comic I’ve ever written, and “The Professional,” our first story arc, is a rebuilding arc designed to reintroduce characters and concepts created by Marv Wolfman and bring them into 2016.
I wish the team the best. Looking forward to the ride.
Me too. This is the only Rebirth book that brought be back to DC. And I KNOW I will like it.
(I’m still curious about the white sleeve, though)
Of all the things to be curious about… Okay, I’m not sure this qualifies as a SPOILER but you’ve been warned…
I designed Deathstroke’s new costume, which was later modified by Editor Alex Antone and cover artist ACO and art directed by DC Co-Publisher Jim Lee. However, in my original sketch, I didn’t bother to put a flesh tone on DS’s exposed left arm. I just wrote “flesh tone” on the arm because, well, I’m not an artist or a colorist.
ACO saw the white and assumed that was the design–a white sleeve a la Captain America. He and Alex kind of fell in love with it, so, voila, white arm. I think it’s funky, I like how oddball it is 🙂
The Ikon Suit (DS’s new uniform) was an unfinished prototype (hence the missing sleeve) built for DS years before by one of his former tech guys. DS rejected it (or hardly paid attention to it at the time), and it just kind of got tossed into a footlocker that shows up in issue #1.
The main point of the Ikon Suit is to make Deathstroke look a bit more like an assassin and a bit less like Judge Dredd or Lobo. Hardware fans should rest assured: he will, I promise, add on the bandolier and grenades and all that other crap but only when he is actually, you know, carrying a machinegun. In my view, DS carries the tools for the specific job, rather than walking around with a hardware store on his back. 🙂
Makes sense. Thanks, Priest.
Oh, and I’m curious about the story too, but I’m trying to avoid spoilers. 🙂
Me too 🙂
Misunderstood the title of this post and thought you’d seen the trailer for the next Star Trek movie. 😉
I’m one of those “never been into Deathstroke” folks, but I’ve been catching up on some new 52 thru the magic of public library digital downloads and there are some good stories out there. Reading your pitch, I think it will fit in quite well and I’m looking forward to checking it out (even though it’s cutting into ProsePriest.) And while twice monthly must be pure terror for the writers and artists, for us readers it couldn’t be better news! Good Luck!
Thanks Jeff. And, yeah, “Entertain me every other week or else!” is quite the tall order. 🙂
I really like how you try and delve into the past of characters to find their essential portrayal. I remember reading on the old site that you mentioned that writers aren’t there to write their story but rather to write the character’s story. With this Deathstroke it makes me feel like it’s easier to jump into if I’ve only read him in Teen Titans, Nightwing, and Batman because I know that if I love this then the older stuff will be fun to read. That’s why it was so great reading Jungle Action after your classic Black Panther run. I got into T’Challa through “The Client,” loved the series, and then when I went back and checked out Jungle Action there was this feeling that this is the same guy at an earlier time that will grow into the same man that will stop World War III in “Sturm und Drang.” Continuity is great like that to me.
That’s why I’ll be there for Deathstroke, and also when DC makes me wish come true and has you write Nightwing. 😀
Y’know, I never “got” NW. Always seemed like “generic Bat-Family character” to me. 🙂
Used to be basically, “What if Batman actually liked being around people and had a more healthy way of dealing with his past trauma?”
In recent decades, though, Nightwing has gone through some significant Concept Flail as they try to find a niche for him other than “Batman without the crippling emotional baggage,” because not having crippling emotional baggage isn’t cool or something. So they create a new city for him, try making him a cop in his secret ID, etc.
Red Hood, at least, has the “Former Robin who got beaten almost to death by the Joker and now wants to be Deathstroke SOOO BAD, but is clearly still something of a clueless punk” thing to distinguish him.
Well a man can still dream. I think you could do a lot with Nightwing in the sense that he’s a guy that grew out of Batman’s shadow the same way T’Challa grew from that crazy leaping guy in the Avengers to one of the most skilled minds on the planet. Dick did grow from teen sidekick to being one of the best leaders in the DCU, and also the one guy that has enough respect from both Superman and Batman to have them both listen to and respect his opinion on things.
But enough of that. I’m really excited for Deathstroke. What you said about Deathstroke being the reverse of Bruce Wayne/Batman is very interesting. I can’t wait to see it develop.
My hook for Nightwing is basically Zorro without the sword, but with major acrobatic skills.
He actually ENJOYS the hero thing, possibly because he’s an adrenaline junkie.
I love Nightwing — but he’s not actually a very interesting character. Dick Grayson is so well-adjusted and balanced that there isn’t really any point of extremity. There’s no internal conflict, no ongoing struggle.
Perhaps acknowledging this, the most popular Nightwing writer, Chuck Dixon, put Nightwing in the city of Bludhaven and made it an urban hellhole that was a character itself and this bleak den of misery created a superb contrast with Nightwing’s sunny personality. Artist Scott McDaniel, with Dixon, focused heavily on acrobatic style action with absurd-Jackie Chan style lunacy but exaggerated even further.
Devin Grayson attempted to put Dick in bleak situations to break him down and while it was well-intentioned, fans tired of how Dick had become as depressive as his surroundings. Marv Wolfman and Peter Tomasi returned to the Dixon approach of insane physical challenges, but with Bludhaven destroyed in INFINITE CRISIS, Dick’s character floundered. Dick was used well by BATMAN and DETECTIVE COMICS writers making him a lighthearted foil for Bruce Wayne. Judd Winick, Grant Morrison, Peter Tomasi, Scott Snyder and others did a nice job when Dick temporarily replaced Bruce as Batman and had to deal with feeling inadequate. Dick’s bright personality contrasted well with Damian’s homicidal lunacy.
Ultimately, Nightwing has a following, but the character is so devoid of flaws that there isn’t a lot to explore. His defining trait is that writers with great creativity and style (Wolfman, Dixon, Morrison, Snyder) have done great stories with him, but all great Nightwing stories say more about the writers than the character. Have not read GRAYSON yet.
I imagine Priest, if writing Nightwing, would do his usual approach of dealing with a flat lead character by creating an insane supporting cast and making Dick Grayson the only sane man in town.
I am curious as to the story page format of your rebirth run. Action and WW are @20 page story. Is that what your DS run will follow?
Yes, 20pp. Is this new? Aren’t they all 20…?
Well, as opposed to 22 pages, the previous standard.
Yep. 22 is now the dead format. Thanks.
I don’t buy comics these days but for a book written by Mr Priest, I’m definitely going to make an exception. I’m so looking forward to it.
Hi there Jim. You know I’m gonna get this day one. Other than that, this is just a heads-up, as I wrote you to the usual email account and I don’t know how if you check that, specially now with your schedule. I know you’ll eventually see this, so, there. Feel free to erase at will, sorry, than you :).
Those two messages will self-destroy after CJP reads ’em. Thank you for your cooperation, good day.
Seeing you on YouTube right now. Pity it’s basically a BP propaganda piece, wonderful that you’re at least getting a bit of all the recognition you deserve. Keep rockin’ hard, man.
BP Propaganda is good. Believe me 🙂
Marvel Live wasn’t the place to promote Deathstroke. It’s an ethics thing. 🙂
Congratulations on the Inkpot Award, Priest.
Yep, congrats!
I just want to say how thrilled and excited I am about this coming book. After reading your introspective about Deathstroke and his family on your website, I’m more full of hope for these characters than I have been in the past 5 years (since the New 52 started). Slade has always been one of my favorite characters, but what made him so great to me wasn’t how badass he was (well, maybe a little how badass he was), but his depth of character. He really lost that when the New 52 happened, and his books became all about mindless violence, which doesn’t interest me at all. It’s so great to know a writer who really gets what makes Deathstroke interesting is going to taking the helm.
The same goes for Rose, who grew to be my favorite character of all time. I loved her before the New 52 so, so much, but then the New 52 happened and destroyed everything about her I held dear. She became a flat, one dimensional villain character with zero depth of character. What made me love her as a character before was how conflicted she was, how dysfunctional her relationship with her family was, and how she always struggled against her violent nature to do the right thing, even if that meant going about it in a bad way. Seeing a writer who really wants to explore that kind of confliction and depth for Rose is an absolute joy and relief, and I can’t wait to see where you take her (her meet-up with Batman should be a wonderful dynamic). I haven’t read DC in about 3 years now, but you’ve pulled me back in with your pitch for this book.
Also, a double thank you for remembering Rose’s Cambodian heritage! She was horribly whitewashed when the New 52 rolled around, so I’m ecstatic for this. Now if we can just bring back the eye patch.
Speaking of high-tech killers with monoculars:
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/07/25/christopher-priest-has-got-the-rights-to-xero-back-the-original-basketball-player-turned-superhero/
Any comment? Might we get to see XER0: THE NOVEL after all?
This may seem like an odd question to most, but it is relevant:
What does “wheelon” mean?
Try this: say the word in virtually ANY dialect other than American English. Read the sentence with a Mexican accent, a French accent, an African accent. You tell me what it means 🙂
D’oh.
If you’d said “willhanes”, I’dve gotten it. 🙂
“That’s ‘Omsterveel!'” – Dr. Hamsterwheel, Lilo & Stitch series
Reading about your approach to writing Deathstroke was incredibly entertaining but I have to ask is there any relation between Adeline Kane and Bruce Wayne? Batman’s mother is a Kane after all and they have a history with the army as well. The current Detective Comics run even has Batwoman’s Colonel father leading an army of militarized Batmen.
That’s actually fascinating… I did not know that. Hey, maybe she IS related 🙂
Haha, I guess we can expect that to happen down the road. Still incredibly hyped for Deathstroke, that and Nightwing are my most anticipated Rebirth books, here’s to a wonderful run.
Amazing, fantastic start. LOVE the idea that this series will show the consequences of violence rather than glorifying it. LOVE the emphasis on Slade’s smarts, but also on his dysfunctional behavior. The art is amazing, the plot twists in the first two issues were awesome… My new favorite book.
Glad I found a way to reach out to you! DS has been my favorite character since I was a kid. Ive collected all of his runs (even though many were terrible) In just the 2 issues your story sold me. I love what you are centering the story around. Im glad you want to return him back to the guy who can go toe to toe with DCs best while also being reserved about it. I know you will catch some hate and I just wanted to say you’re making this hard core fan happy. Thanks man 🙂