Posts Tagged ‘Nightwing’

November 3rd, 2014  Posted at   Parallel Lines: The DC Comics Tangent Universe Podcast

Prior to the release of the first wave of Tangent books in 1997, DC Comics sent a series of at least nine promotional posters to retailers (a common practice, even today).

Each poster measured approximately 11″ wide by 34″ long and featured new artwork done by that book’s artistic team. The design on the posters was similar, with a pin-up shot of the book’s title character or characters, the book’s logo, line logo and a version of the tagline (“The only thing you know are the names!”). At the top of each, a multiple-choice question teased the new character.

Here’s a look at all nine posters, and a transcription of the text for each. (Apologies for the varying quality of the images. They were found on eBay and a variety of sites across the net and enhanced as best as possible in Photoshop. If anyone has cleaner scans, please send them in!)

Tangent/The Atom promo poster

The Atom is: A) The incredible shrinking scientist; B) A microscopic particle; C) Earth’s first and greatest super-hero

Tangent/Metal Men promo poster

The Metal Men are: A) A team of sophisticated robots; B) A heavy metal fan club; C) A commando squad with nerves of steel

Tangent/Green Lantern promo poster

Green Lantern is: A) Possessor of the most powerful weapon in the universe; B) A British pub; C) A mysterious woman who helps the dead wreak revenge

Tangent/The Flash promo poster

The Flash is: A) The fastest man alive; B) A camera accessory; C) Lia Nelson. Yeah … she’s fast … she’s made of light!

Tangent/Sea Devils promo poster

The Sea Devils are: A) A team of ocean explorers; B) Brine shrimp; C) Intelligent undersea creatures created by a nuclear accident

Tangent/The Joker promo poster

The Joker is: A) A green-haired criminal; B) A space cowboy. A gangster of love. C) New Atlantis’s anarchic martial artist

Tangent/Nightwing promo poster

Nightwing is: A) Dick Grayson’s secret identity; B) A poisonous(?) plant C) Black ops who use dark magic

Tangent/Secret Six promo poster

The Secret Six is: A) A mysterious team of spies; B) A masked hockey team; C) A band of heroes gathered to battle Aquaman.

Of note on this one is that the Atom, the Joker and the Flash are not featured on the poster, turning the Secret Six into the Secret … Three?

Tangent/Doom Patrol promo poster

The Doom Patrol is: A) A group of misfit super-heroes; B) A pro-wrestling tag team; C) A time-traveling team of heroes out to save the world

With the second wave in 1998, DC took a different tack, releasing one poster to promote all nine books. The poster was approximately 34″ wide and 22″ tall, and featured art from the cover of all the second-wave titles.

Tangent 1998 promo poster

The poster also provided taglines to each individual book, though these were not carried forward to the books themselves (mercifully, in some cases).

Batman: “A Dark Knight Out of Time”
Superman: “The Man of Tomorrow … Not Today”
Wonder Woman: “A Warrior of the Mind”
Nightwing: Night Force: “A Force for Evil”
The Joker’s Wild: “What Happens When the Laughter Stops?”
Trials of the Flash: “When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Go Shopping”
Tales of the Green Lantern: “In a World of Lies, Who Knows the Truth?”
Powergirl: “Girl Power Isn’t Always Good”
JLA: “Earth’s Greatest Foes”

As far as I know, these were the only materials sent to comic book retailers to promote the Tangent books. But, they remain interesting pieces of comic book ephemera!

September 25th, 2014  Posted at   Parallel Lines: The DC Comics Tangent Universe Podcast

Welcome to the world of Tangent Comics — where you only know the names. Parallel Lines: A DC Comics Tangent Universe Podcast is a bi-weekly, issue-by-issue exploration of DC Comics’ Tangent Universe events, hosted by Shawn Engel and Michael Bradley.

Tangent/Nightwing #1

“Nightwing’s existence depends on total secrecy. Tonight, we tell someone about Nightwing — and he’s going to become the most dangerous man in the world.”

The shadow-group Nightwing has their fingers in everything. From princes to peccants and presidents to paupers, they pull the strings and orchestrate world events to fit their needs! But now, someone’s gunning for them. Find out who — and why — as Shawn and Michael look at in “The Most Dangerous Man in the World” by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema!

DOWNLOAD THE EPISODE directly, or subscribe via iTunes or RSS feed using the links below!

Tangent/Nightwing backmatter, page 1 Tangent/Nightwing backmatter, page 2
Backmatter from the issue (click to enlarge)

NEXT TIME: Avengers? Justice League? Who are they? It’s time for not-so-hidden team dynamics with SECRET SIX #1!

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