Interesting that DC got the movie adaptation, after Dark Horse had brought the comics to the US and had big success with them. DC then also reprinted Peter Milligan & Jamie Howlett'as Tank Girl: Odyssey graphic novel as a 4-issue mini-series, and then published Alan Grant & Andy Pritchett's Tank Girl: Apocalypse.

The Star Trek comics were also sold on newsstands I think they had a good sell-through, on those, to Star Trek fans, rather than regular comic book buyers. I don't have numbers to back that up; just a gut feeling, based on how other Star Trek material sold in B&N and the fanbase for Star Trek story material vs the size of the Direct Market comic book buying population.

Who was Kupperberg's replacement?

Comichron has estimated figures for sales for January 1995 here. Star Trek Next Generation #69 was in 112th position, shipping 12,600 copies to comic shops.

DC Direct Currents #89 (June cover date, 1995)





Another 100th issue comes up. I've said my piece about the post Giffen & DeMatteis Justice League already. 

You might notice the Mad magazine logo on the cover. I believe this was right around the time that Mad moved into the DC offices when DC relocated to 1700 Broadway. There's a tiny solicitation for Mad Super Special #104. You'd think they'd make the front section, instead we have previews for books Triumph and Loose Canon. I feel bad for a lot of these creators as you weren't going to get noticed on the stands unless you leaned heavily into that 90s aesthetic.

On the final page of previews, DC announces an upgrade in format and coloring for their Superman, Batman, Vertigo, Milestone and licensed comics, though they don't mention anything about price increases. The new formats are Miraweb, Fracote and Rebax, for anyone interested. 

Vertigo has more Tank Girl, Paradox Press' The Big Book of Death, a Garth Ennis miniseries I've never head of called Goddess, and a re-solicitation for Kill Your Boyfriend. 

It actually happened under William Messner-Loebs' watch as part of the Challenge of Artemis storyline that ran from Wonder Woman #94-100. The Amazon Artemis had become the new Wonder Woman, forcing Diana to don a new costume. Very 90s. Mike Deodato was the artist. 

I think the cover artist, Brian Bolland, may have designed the new costume.

Technically, the title is Chiaroscuro: The Private Lives of Leonardo Da Vinci. Great mini-series, beautifully drawn and very well written. The story is told through the point of view of Salai, aka Gian Giacomo Caprotti Da Oreno, who Da Vinci adopts, as a boy and then serves as a model and assistant, while Salai spins his intrigues and deceits. It features a cast of key Renaissance figures, including Machiavelli, Ludovico Sforza, the Medicis, Cesare Borgia and Michelangelo. It was about as different as you could get, in a comic, at that time; but, it was an excellent one.

I read Sovereign Seven when it began; but, it was tepid, at best. Claremont didn't really have any new ideas and didn't really create any characters who stood out, in a crowded market. Apart from Star Trek: Debt of Honor, I found most of his post-X-Men projects pretty disappointing. He did Aliens vs Predator: deadliest of the Species, which sounded like it would be spectacular; but, I found that the previous Aliens vs Predator mini was much better and that Mark Verheiden.s Aliens work was vastly superior. I was kind of ironic, given how much Claremont mined from Alien, in X-Men, and Debt of Honor was basically "Kirk vs Alien."

As for Shatner's "writing," I suspect the only thing he wrote was his name, when he endorsed the check. The fact that he had a co-author credited on his memoirs was enough to convince me he never wrote a line of his prose work, especially the novels. Ron Goulart wrote the Tek War stuff, and Jan and Michael Friedman were listed as co-authors on most of his Trek stuff and probably wrote everything. At best, he might have offered some plot ideas. Of course, the only way to prove that is to see the contracts.

DC Direct Currents #89 (August 1995)






This was the new look Direct Currents. I don't remember seeing it on shelves. They actually address the readers for the first time in years, and even state that they'd love to start a Direct Currents letters page. The new format is pretty slick. It basically looks like a glossy magazine in comic book format. You can see the full issue here -- link

The lead stories are about the Judge Dredd and Batman Forever film adaptations. DC has declared it the Summer of the Bat is pushing a bunch of batman books. There are Two-Face and Riddler one shots. The Two-Face special is by J.M. DeMatteis with art by Scott McDaniel, who had gained fame from his Daredevil work, and the Riddler special is by Matt Wagner and Dave Taylor of Force Works fame. I thought this was interesting as it was two quality writers matched with guys who were started to make some noise in the industry. You can clearly see a trend in DC towards more popular looking artwork, albeit well after the market crashed. 

There's a big crossover between Green Lantern, New Titans, Darkstars and Damage, which I'm sure was great. Deathstroke makes it to issue #50. The Long, Hot Summer continues. There's also a nice looking Flash statute available. DC is making an online push through America Online and has a list of monthly creator chats. You can chat to the likes of Chris Claremont, Doug Moench, Peter David, Roger Stern, Alan Grant, J.M. DeMatteis, and John Byrne. 

The solicitation pages are awful, No artwork, and a ridiculous key used for the creative teams. I didn't even try reading it. The cover of the month is The Power of Shazam #6.

It's still a flipbook so we get a Vertigo side. The Wake begins with Sandman #70 with beautiful art by the late Michael Zulli. If you recall, it's colored directly from the pencils. Peter Milligan and his Shade partner, Glyn Dillon, have a miniseries called Egypt. The Mystery Play is being solicited again in softcover. There's a new Hourman arc in Sandman Mystery Theatre, two books from Paradox Press (Hunter's Heart & The Big Book of Conspiracies by Doug Moench.) They also pimp new story arcs in Books of Magic, Hellblazer and Preacher, making it the perfect time to "spin into Vertigo." The cover of the month is Shade, the Changing Man #62.

The new format was nice except for the solicitations.