While original Crisis on Infinite Earths artist George Perez already confirmed for Newsarama that he (along with Jerry Ordway on finishes) would be penciling sequences in Infinite Crisis #2, word has now come that Perez’s Crisis collaborator, Marv Wolfman has a special job in the coming Crisis as well.
According to DCU Executive Editor Dan DiDio who recently spoke with Newsarama, Wolfman will write a story for February’s Infinite Crisis Secret Files, which will, among other things, draw a more or less direct line between Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis.
“Simply put, Dan asked me to get involved and what he asked me to do sounded like a lot of fun,” Wolfman told Newsarama, explaining how he came on board for the story. “So I said yes.”
DiDio had a few more words about making sure Wolfman was involved with the new Crisis the DCU is facing. “The bottom line is that we couldn’t do a Crisis without involving Marv and George – it just wouldn’t be right. This series is a celebration of the original series, and as I’ve been saying to people, it has the feel of being a direct sequel to what the original book was about, so it was important not only to find ways to connect the two, but also to have Marv and George involved, not only for that sense of continuity, but because they understand the type of story we’re trying to tell because they’ve told something like it before. It was fun to get them involved, and with having them come on board, it got everybody already working on Infinite Crisis more excited about the story, because suddenly, with Marv and George coming on, there was that connection – that line that stretches for 20 years between the two stories, and the feeling that this is something really, really big.”
The “return” to Crisis will be Wolfman’s third official one, counting 1999’s Legends of the DCU: Crisis on Infinite Earths special, and this year’s Crisis on Infinite Earths novelization.
Neither DiDio nor Wolfman were spilling any details about the story, other than to say that it is the aforementioned “line” between the two Crises, with the “dots” being connected as the major story beats seen in the DCU over the past 20 years.
“I’d say that sums it up. But to actually talk about the story would be a mistake as the story is the special event and is too interwoven with everything else, so that to say one part of it reveals too much about everything else,” Wolfman added.
As DiDio sees it, the story also fits perfectly with its outlet, that is, it’s a story that is truly a “Secret File.”
“Quite honestly, since I’ve been here, it’s the one story that we’ve put together that really feels like a Secret Files story in the full sense of the words,” DiDio said. “It pulls the curtain back on the DCU and explains so much about what’s going on, as well as what’s been going on in the DCU since the original Crisis, and clearly shows how the two are connected. It’s also probably one of the most ambitious stories told in a Secret Files, ever. Not only does it address Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis, it also explains some of the anomalies in the DC Universe itself.”
AN-omalies?
“If I explained what those are, that’s be a big chunk of the story right there,” DiDio quick said when asked. “But honestly, we couldn’t think of anybody else to write this but Marv. We wanted to get everyone involved with this that we could, and we wanted to get them involved in ways that showcase their abilities, and have them working to their strengths. This is the way to do it for Marv.”
And for Wolfman, chalk up another return to the event that has, in the eyes of many, served to define his career, and one that the writer knew would be big, but never figured on it being this big.
“I had always thought Crisis on Infinite Earths would just be a catalyst to the re-starting of the DCU and therefore on its own would be considered a hopefully good comic that allowed so much to spring from it. I thought everyone would continue to be talking about the changes that came out of it but I never expected people would be talking about the comic itself.
“In looking at that Crisis, and for those who are trying to compare it to this coming Crisis, my view simple: every generation needs their comics done for them. A company needs to keep adapting or it will die. I’m thrilled the Crisis name - originated by Julie Schwartz and Gardner Fox for the JLA stories - will continue to be the benchmark for change. That said, I hope nothing is ever as good as ours! And I say that with the biggest smile I can manage.”
In terms of art, DiDio said that artists are in talks, but none are confirmed just yet. “We’ve got a number of artists drawing it, because it covers a period of years, different artists will be handling different time periods that correspond to the story,” DiDio said. “It’s going to be one of our largest Secret Files stories ever, too – it’ll run somewhere between 40 and 48 pages.”
Also, in speaking about making sure the original Crisis creators are getting to participate in this Crisis, DiDio clarified what Perez had mentioned previously, while – of course – teasing some more.
“The sequences George is penciling and Jerry [Ordway] is finishing serve a big purpose – I can’t say exactly how they all fits in with the overarching story, but I can add that the pages by George and Jerry won’t be limited to just issue #2. These are going to be reflective of particular moments in time and particular story beats that we feel could be best shown by using their particular talents.
“I wouldn’t say they’re flashback moments, but they’re definitely events that we wanted to evoke a particular feel. They’ll show up a couple of times throughout the course of the series.”
