Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, Watchmen, Tom Strong, and now...

[lordultimus]

Source: bleedingcool.com



The most recent issue of Justice League of America has featured the Queen of Fables return, and she's name dropped a very specific place:





To grossly oversimplify, the Immateria was a dimension that acted as the source of imagination and magic for Alan Moore's grimoire-disguised-as-a-comic Promethea. And guess who appears in a variant cover for the final issue of this story arc?



Promethea will make her first appearance in the DC Universe in Justice League of America #23 next week, with issue #24 to focus on her.

Comments

[stubbleupdate]

[thanekos]

I can't help but imagine a DC conversation with Bendis: " So how 'bout you do Top 10? You know, like Powers.. "

[lordultimus]

At this point I wouldn't be surprised if they used the Twilight of the Super Heroes pitch.

[alicemacher]

Arguably, they already did with Kingdom Come which has a similar premise and backstory.

[lordultimus]

But I wanna read crazy drunk hobo Uncle Sam! :(

[deathcrist2000]

Didn't Alex Ross or someone do an Uncle Sam mini (one shot?) that was just that?

[bruinsfan]

Yeah, pretty much.

[locuatico]

I am going to give Kudos to DC because they didn't go for the obvious and have her show up in Doomsday Clock as Dr. Manhattan's opposite or something or Veidt's secret backer or something like that. they truly restrained themselves here...... /s

[astrakhan42]

They're waiting to use Mr. Majestic for that purpose.

[deathcrist2000]

...Sigh.

"Both Watchmen and Promethea were magical acts. (Watchmen semi-inadvertently, but.) Integrating Watchmen into the DCU was relatively safe, however; its magic is done. Its purpose was completed by the end of the 1980s. (I'll save what that purpose was for LWIA obvs.) Promethea, on the other hand, is still live. Its apocalypse has not finished. And integrating it into the DCU is hilariously stupid. In just 36 issues, it's *bigger* than the DCU. And so the DCU is integrating itself into Alan Moore's apocalypse. Again."-Phil Sandifer

[jencaasi]

Sandifer's Last War In Albion blog is fascinating reading in my opinion. I can't wait until he starts updating it again.

As for this development with Promethea...I guess it's just one more thing for me to roll my eyes about and then continue not really being all that interested in DC books like this.

[deathcrist2000]

Well, he's apparently just starting A Brother to Dragons and has hopes of finishing Watchmen by the end of the year/when he's done serializing the Capaldi section of TARDIS Eruditorum. (I actually got my copy of LWIA signed by Grant Morrison. It was perhaps the second worst thing I did at NYCC.)

Also, turns out DC's not doing the Sideways Omnibus of Promethea, which... I mean, if you're bringing her into the sodding DCU, why not give us the Sideways Omnibus!!!

[bruinsfan]

I actually think Promethea could integrate quite well into the old Vertigo line; its basic premise and that of Sandman seem fairly compatible to me. Not so much with the mainstream DC superheroic comics, though.

[filthysize]

I honestly think that DC wants to actively troll Alan Moore at this point.

Anyone know how to summon Glycon?

[alicemacher]

Nooo not Promethea! The one major comic series Moore did that was unreservedly optimistic and inspirational (even, I'd wager, for readers who skipped over the Hermetic Kabbalah lectures). I know I've defended here DC's prerogative to use Watchmen, but even I have my limits, dagnab it!

Re: Anyone know how to summon Glycon?

[xakko]

Geek & Sundry's Wednesday Club just had their episode devoted to Moore, and Taliesin Jaffe waxed poetic about his deep obsession with issue #12 of Promethea.

I feel he is weeping right now.

Re: Anyone know how to summon Glycon?

[deathcrist2000]

The only people who would be interested in doing something akin to the mystical lectures of Alan's Promethea either were chased off by DC in the long 80's (Rachel Pollack), aren't knowledgable enough in magic to do it well (Bill Jemas), or have way too much of a personal relationship with Alan Moore to want doing it (Grant Morrison). As for summoning Glycon, his is sadly a cult of one, so he wouldn't listen to you. Best I can recommend is using some more open source mystical system like sigil magic or writing angry analysis on why this is a terrible move and everyone involved ought to be ashamed of themselves.

Re: Anyone know how to summon Glycon?

[thatnickguy]

I LOVED Promethea. I loved the stories. I loved the mythology. I loved the jaw-dropping art.

...until the lectures you mentioned. They ground the previously execellent pacing to a halt for Moore to basically soapbox for X number issues. I tried, too. Multiple times! I tried powering through them and enjoy the art and what little story we got of her best friend on Earth. But I just couldn't. To this day, I've yet to finish the series and I hate admitting that because of how much I loved the first two or so volumes.

Even still, I'm with you on DC adding her into their universe. Like Watchmen, it's stupid and unnecessary.

[laughing_tree]

Oh, so it's just a small reference in dialogue to the Immateria? That's not a big de--

*scrolls down and sees the cover*

Argh.

I see there are already a bunch of jokes online about "Hey, hear the news report about that sudden, inexplicable earthquake in Northampton? Weird!"

Creative merits of this decision aside though, I think there's a possibility Moore wouldn't mind this too much. PROMETHEA, unlike WATCHMEN, was done as clear cut work-for-hire.

[endis_ni]

I have never been so torn.

[informationgeek]

So what is Promethea? I heard it's a comic that starts off a story before devolving into Moore just exposition dumping about magic and his views on it.

[endis_ni]

Ish. It starts off as a Wonder Woman, er, homage. Then something in Alan Moore's brain clearly went "fuckit" and turned it into a grimoire, while JH Williams III presumably read the script and declared "hold my pint and watch this."

Then finally the third act kicks in, which is the godsdamn Apocalypse and neither writer nor artist stint on this bit. Hold on and steer with your knees.

Even if all the high concept stuff is boring or confusion or both, feel free to enjoy some properly magnificent artwork and also Moore's incredibly funny impotent bitching at Grant Morrison's hypersigils.

[thatnickguy]

Uuuugh. Even though I never finished the series (see my above reply to alicemacher), I enjoyed what I read. And like Watchmen, there is absolutely NO NEED to incorporate Promethea into the main DC Universe.

I'm so glad I haven't bought any DC books since about the first year of New 52. Well, with one exception: Tom King's Omega Men. And that's largely from its endless praise and that it was largely separate from everything.