Misplaced Pages

#453546

115-484: Geoffrey Johns (born January 25, 1973) is an American comic book writer , screenwriter , and film and television producer. Johns's work on the DC Comics characters Green Lantern , Aquaman , Flash , and Superman has drawn critical acclaim. His critically acclaimed work includes Sinestro Corps War , Blackest Night , Throne of Atlantis , Flashpoint , Doomsday Clock , and Superman: Brainiac . He co-created

230-453: A plot script the artist works from a story synopsis from the writer (or plotter ), rather than a full script. The artist creates page-by-page plot details on their own, after which the work is returned to the writer for the insertion of dialogue. Due to its widespread use at Marvel Comics beginning in the 1960s, primarily under editor-dialogist Stan Lee and writer-artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko , this approach became commonly known as

345-552: A 2005 episode of the Superman prequel series Smallville , on which Johns's studio mate Jeph Loeb was a writer–producer, featured a villain by the name of Geoff Johns. In 2008, Johns wrote "Legion", the eleventh episode of the eighth season , in which he introduced the three core members of the Legion of Super-Heroes . At the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con , he announced that he was writing another Smallville episode, titled "Society", based on

460-503: A Dream " speech in Washington, D.C., two months later. While the civil rights movement gained significant federal civil rights laws in 1964 and 1965, longstanding inequities resulted in confrontations between the police and inner-city black youth who wanted change. I have a dream this afternoon that my four little children, that my four little children will not come up in the same young days that I came up within, but they will be judged on

575-652: A car town. I make a lot of my characters from Detroit. I think self-made, blue-collar heroes represent Detroit. Wally West's Flash was like that. I took the inspiration of the city and the people there and used it in the books." Johns' Flash run concluded with #225. He co-wrote a Beast Boy limited series with Ben Raab in 2000 and crafted the "Return to Krypton" story arc in the Superman titles with Pasqual Ferry in 2002. After writing The Avengers vol. 3 #57–76 (Oct. 2002–Feb. 2004) and Avengers Icons: The Vision #1–4 (Oct. 2002–Jan. 2003) for Marvel Comics , Johns oversaw

690-606: A co-producer and creative consultant for the 2011 Green Lantern film directed by Martin Campbell and starring Ryan Reynolds . Johns was an executive producer on the 2016 film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice . Following negative critical reception to the film, Johns and Jon Berg were named to jointly run the DC Extended Universe and a newly established Warner Bros. division, DC Films , in May 2016. They served as producers on

805-407: A cohesive community, who gradually were superseded as the dominant population after more Anglo-American settlers arrived in the early 19th century with American westward migration. Living along the shores of Lake St. Clair and south to Monroe and downriver suburbs, the ethnic French Canadians of Detroit, also known as Muskrat French in reference to the fur trade, remain a subculture in the region in

920-670: A couple of paragraphs to something much longer and more elaborate". The Marvel method was in place with at least one artist by early 1961, as Lee described in 2009 when speaking of his and Ditko's "short, five-page filler strips ... placed in any of our comics that had a few extra pages to fill", most prominently in Amazing Fantasy but even previously in Amazing Adventures and other " pre-superhero Marvel " science-fiction / fantasy anthology titles. I'd dream up odd fantasy tales with an O. Henry type twist ending. All I had to do

1035-464: A direct relationship between unfair housing practices and educational segregation, as the composition of students in the schools followed segregated neighborhoods. The District Court held all levels of government accountable for the segregation in its ruling. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed some of the decision, holding that it was the state's responsibility to integrate across the segregated metropolitan area. The U.S. Supreme Court took up

1150-612: A federally subsidized, extensive highway and freeway system around Detroit, and pent-up demand for new housing stimulated suburbanization ; highways made commuting by car for higher-income residents easier. However, this construction had negative implications for many lower-income urban residents. Highways were constructed through and completely demolished neighborhoods of poor residents and black communities who had less political power to oppose them. The neighborhoods were mostly low income, considered blighted, or made up of older housing where investment had been lacking due to racial redlining, so

1265-441: A lead voice as well as serving as voice director on the film. This association led to Johns contributing material to the fourth season of Robot Chicken . In 2012, Johns joined The CW 's Green Arrow origin series Arrow , as a writer. He first contributed to the first-season episode "Muse of Fire", which served as the introduction of The Huntress , the teleplay for which he co-wrote with executive producer Marc Guggenheim from

SECTION 10

#1732859415454

1380-585: A limited series featuring Superman and Doctor Manhattan . Johns and Richard Donner co-wrote "The Car" chapter in Action Comics #1000 (June 2018) which was drawn by Olivier Coipel . In June 2018, Johns stepped down from his executive role at DC Entertainment and entered into a writer and producer deal with Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment. He opened Mad Ghost Productions, a production company that works on film, television and comic books based on DC Comics properties. At San Diego Comic-Con in 2018, DC announced

1495-530: A majority of black people in Detroit resorted to living in all-black neighborhoods such as Black Bottom and Paradise Valley. At this time, white people still made up about 90.4% of the city's population. White residents attacked black homes: breaking windows, starting fires, and detonating bombs. In the 1940s the world's "first urban depressed freeway" ever built, the Davison , was constructed. During World War II ,

1610-530: A mixed-use office and retail complex, opened in 1977. This group of skyscrapers was an attempt to keep businesses in downtown. Young also gave city support to other large developments to attract middle and upper-class residents back to the city. Despite the Renaissance Center and other projects, the downtown area continued to lose businesses to the automobile-dependent suburbs. Major stores and hotels closed, and many large office buildings went vacant. Young

1725-526: A new "pop-up" imprint, The Killing Zone , to be curated by Johns. It was initially set to begin publishing in May 2019. In May 2020, Johns confirmed that the imprint was in development. In November 2020, it was announced that Johns would launch a new creator-owned series from Image Comics titled Geiger with long-time collaborator Gary Frank , to debut in April 2021. The series would be his first independent comics series in more than ten years. In September 2021 it

1840-471: A production company, Mad Ghost Productions, while continuing to work with Warner Bros on writing and producing film, television and comic book titles based on DC Extended Universe and other DC properties such as films Black Adam and Shazam! Fury of the Gods . In 2023, he co-founded the media company Ghost Machine alongside several other comic book writers and artists to publish independent work. Geoff Johns

1955-555: A rented workshop on Mack Avenue. During this growth period, Detroit expanded its borders by annexing all or part of several surrounding villages and townships. In 1903, Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company . Ford's manufacturing—and those of automotive pioneers William C. Durant , Horace and John Dodge, James and William Packard, and Walter Chrysler —established the Big Three automakers and cemented Detroit's status in

2070-552: A riverfront revitalization project. Detroit is an increasingly popular tourist destination which caters to about 16 million visitors per year. In 2015, Detroit was given a name called " City of Design " by UNESCO , the first and only U.S. city to receive that designation. Detroit is named after the Detroit River , connecting Lake Huron with Lake Erie . The name comes from the French word détroit meaning ' strait ' as

2185-427: A script is known as a comics writer . In this style, the comics writer breaks the story down in sequence, page-by-page and panel-by-panel, describing the action, characters, and sometimes backgrounds and "camera" points-of-view of each panel, as well as all captions and dialogue balloons. For decades, this was the preferred format for books published by DC Comics . Peter David described his specific application of

2300-423: A script may be preceded by a plot outline, and is almost always followed by page sketches drawn by a comics artist and inked , succeeded by the coloring and lettering stages. There are no prescribed forms of comic scripts, but there are two dominant styles in the mainstream comics industry , the full script (commonly known as " DC style") and the plot script (or " Marvel house style "). The creator of

2415-427: A spin-off for the character with the 20th episode acting as a backdoor pilot. CW executives were so pleased with the handling of the character that they forwent the backdoor pilot, in favor of a full-fledged version. In May 2014, The Flash was picked up to series, to premiere later that year. Johns serves as co-developer and executive producer. He co-wrote, with Kai Yu Wu , the episodes "Going Rogue", which introduces

SECTION 20

#1732859415454

2530-404: A story by co-creator Andrew Kreisberg . Later in the season, Johns wrote the sixteenth episode, "Dead to Rights". The episode was directed by frequent Johns collaborator Glen Winter . On July 30, 2013, it was announced at the summer TCA tour that Johns and Arrow co-creators Kreisberg and Greg Berlanti would be introducing Barry Allen in the second season of the show, with the potential of

2645-577: Is quoted as saying, "Thank God for Michigan!" George Armstrong Custer led the Michigan Brigade during the Civil War and called them the "Wolverines". The city's tensions over race, and nationally, the draft led to the Detroit race riot of 1863 , in which violence erupted, leaving some dead and over 200 Black residents homeless. This prompted the establishment of a full-time police force in 1865. During

2760-427: Is the co-founder and former co-chairman of DC Films and former co-runner of DC Extended Universe until 2018. In film, he was a producer or executive producer of Green Lantern (2011), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Suicide Squad (2016), Wonder Woman (2017), Justice League (2017), Shazam! (2019), Birds of Prey (2020), co-wrote and produced the story for Aquaman (2018) and wrote

2875-599: Is the notion that the Green Lanterns are but one color within a rainbow spectrum, and that the other hues have their own champions. Folding in old concepts and inventing new ones, Johns has established limitless story possibilities." On February 18, 2010, Johns was named the Chief Creative Officer of DC Entertainment , which was established to expand the DC Comics brand across other media platforms. Johns stated that

2990-617: The Chicago Tribune , it was the 3rd most costly riot in the United States. On August 18, 1970, the NAACP filed suit against Michigan state officials, including Governor William Milliken , charging de facto public school segregation. The NAACP argued that although schools were not legally segregated, the city of Detroit and its surrounding counties had enacted policies to maintain racial segregation in public schools. The NAACP also suggested

3105-576: The Detroit Metropolitan Airport , one of the most important hub airports in the United States. Detroit and its neighboring Canadian city Windsor constitute the second-busiest international crossing in North America, after San Diego–Tijuana . Detroit's culture is marked with diversity, having both local and international influences. Detroit gave rise to the music genres of Motown and techno , and also played an important role in

3220-774: The Great March on Detroit ) Longstanding tensions in Detroit culminated in the Twelfth Street riot in July 1967. Governor George W. Romney ordered the Michigan National Guard into Detroit, and President Lyndon B. Johnson sent in U.S. Army troops. The result was 43 dead, 467 injured, over 7,200 arrests, and more than 2,000 buildings destroyed, mostly in black residential and business areas. Thousands of small businesses closed permanently or relocated to safer neighborhoods. The affected district lay in ruins for decades. According to

3335-600: The Justice Society of America . The success of his first episode and the ambitious nature of his follow-up episode enabled the producers to transform it into a two-part story, which subsequently aired as a feature-length episode titled " Absolute Justice ". In 2006, Johns co-wrote the story for the Justice League Unlimited episode "Ancient History", which starred Green Lantern , Hawkgirl , Hawkman , Shadow Thief , and Vixen . Johns and David S. Goyer co-wrote

3450-448: The Marvel method or Marvel house style . Comics historian Mark Evanier writes that this "new means of collaboration . . . was born of necessity—Stan was overburdened with work—and to make use of Jack's great skill with storylines. . . . Sometimes Stan would type up a written plot outline for the artist. Sometimes, not". As comic-book writer-editor Dennis O'Neil describes,

3565-593: The Potowatomi , Ojibwe and Huron, launched Pontiac's War in 1763 and laid siege to Fort Detroit but failed to capture it. In defeat, France ceded its territory in North America east of the Mississippi to Britain following the war. When Great Britain evicted France from Canada , it also removed one barrier to American colonists migrating west. British negotiations with the Iroquois would both prove critical and lead to

Geoff Johns - Misplaced Pages Continue

3680-814: The Royal Proclamation of 1763 , which limited settlements below the Great Lakes and west of the Alleghenies . Many colonists and pioneers in the Thirteen Colonies resented and then defied this restraint, later becoming supporters of the American Revolution . By 1773, after the addition of the Anglo-American settlers, the population of Detroit was 1,400. During the American Revolutionary War,

3795-549: The U.S. state of Michigan . It is the largest U.S. city on the Canadian border and the county seat of Wayne County . Detroit had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 census , making it the 26th-most populous city in the United States. The Metro Detroit area, home to 4.3 million people, is the second-largest in the Midwest after the Chicago metropolitan area and the 14th-largest in

3910-535: The pilot for the Spike TV drama Blade , which premiered in June 2006. Johns served as one of the writing staff on the television show. Later that year, Johns teamed up with Matthew Senreich of Robot Chicken fame to write the screenplay for a holiday family-friendly movie titled Naughty or Nice for Dimension Films . Johns and Senreich are billed as directors of the movie, with actor/producer Seth Green set to provide

4025-566: The "Paris of the West" for its architecture, grand avenues in the Paris style, and for Washington Boulevard, recently electrified by Thomas Edison . The city had grown steadily from the 1830s with the rise of shipping, shipbuilding, and manufacturing industries. Strategically located along the Great Lakes waterway, Detroit emerged as a major port and transportation hub. In 1896, a thriving carriage trade prompted Henry Ford to build his first automobile in

4140-688: The "vice president" or "secretary", and Laura Smith Haviland the "superintendent". Numerous men from Detroit volunteered to fight for the Union during the Civil War, including the 24th Michigan Infantry Regiment . It was part of the Iron Brigade , which fought with distinction and suffered 82% casualties at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. When the First Volunteer Infantry Regiment arrived to fortify Washington, D.C. , President Abraham Lincoln

4255-482: The 155 people on board, as well as two people on the ground. In 1993, Young retired as Detroit's longest-serving mayor, deciding not to seek a sixth term, with Dennis Archer succeeding him. Archer prioritized downtown development, easing tensions with its suburban neighbors. A referendum to allow casino gambling in the city passed in 1996; several temporary casino facilities opened in 1999, and permanent downtown casinos with hotels opened in 2007–08. Campus Martius ,

4370-551: The 1920s the city had become a stronghold of the KKK", whose members primarily opposed Catholic and Jewish immigrants but also practiced discrimination against Black Americans. Even after the decline of the KKK in the late 1920s, the Black Legion , a secret vigilante group, was active in the Detroit area in the 1930s. One-third of its estimated 20,000 to 30,000 members in Michigan were based in

4485-830: The 1960s and 1970s. He has named the Flash as his favorite character, stating that he owns every issue of it. Johns eventually began to patronize a comics shop in Traverse City , recalling that the first new comics he bought were Crisis on Infinite Earths #3 or 4 and The Flash #348 or 349, as the latter was his favorite character. As Johns continued collecting comics, he gravitated toward DC Comics and later Vertigo , and drew comics. After graduating from Clarkston High School in 1991, he studied media arts, screenwriting, film production and film theory at Michigan State University . He graduated from Michigan State in 1995, and then moved to Los Angeles, California. In Los Angeles, Johns cold-called

4600-606: The 2006–2007 weekly series 52 . In 2006, Johns and Kurt Busiek co-wrote the " Up, Up and Away! " story arc in Superman and Action Comics . He then reunited with Richard Donner on the " Last Son " storyline in Action Comics with Donner co-plotting the series with his former assistant. The Justice Society of America series by Johns and artist Dale Eaglesham began in February 2007 and six months later, he and Jeff Katz launched

4715-486: The 2017 film Justice League . Johns also co-wrote the story for Aquaman with James Wan and Will Beall , co-wrote the story for Green Lantern Corps with David S. Goyer and co-wrote Wonder Woman 1984 with Patty Jenkins and David Callaham . In January 2018, after Justice League underperformed at the box office, Jon Berg was replaced by Walter Hamada as the head of DC Films, with Johns still working "closely" with Hamada on future productions. " Recruit ",

Geoff Johns - Misplaced Pages Continue

4830-455: The 21st century. The Great Fire of 1805 destroyed most of the Detroit settlement, which had primarily buildings made of wood. One stone fort, a river warehouse, and brick chimneys of former wooden homes were the sole structures to survive. Of the 600 Detroit residents in this area, none died in the fire. The legacy of the fire of 1805 lives on in many aspects of modern Detroit heritage. The cities motto, "Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus"

4945-564: The American auto industry. Detroit manufacturers such as Packard and Hudson merged into other companies and eventually disappeared. At its peak population of 1,849,568, in the 1950 Census , the city was the fifth-largest in the United States. In this postwar era, the auto industry continued to create opportunities for many African Americans from the South, who continued with their Great Migration to Detroit and other northern and western cities to escape

5060-530: The DC Comics offices, and offered Johns the opportunity to suggest ideas, which led to Johns pitching Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. , a series based on the second Star-Spangled Kid and her stepfather, to editor Chuck Kim a year later. Johns expected to write comics "on the side", until he met David Goyer and James Robinson , who were working on JSA . After looking at Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. , Robinson offered Johns co-writing duties on JSA in 2000, and Johns credits both him and Mike Carlin with shepherding him into

5175-919: The DC character Courtney Whitmore based on his deceased sister. He also expanded the Green Lantern mythology, adding in new concepts and co-creating numerous characters. Among the DC characters and concepts he co-created are Larfleeze , the Sinestro Corps , the Indigo Tribe , the Red Lantern Corps , Atrocitus , the Black Lantern Corps , Jessica Cruz , Hunter Zolomon , Tar Pit , Simon Baz , Bleez , Miss Martian , and Kate Kane . He served as Chief Creative Officer (CCO) of DC Entertainment from 2010 to 2018 and as President and CCO from 2016 to 2018. He

5290-575: The Detroit River carried 67,292,504 tons of shipping commerce through Detroit to locations all over the world. For comparison, London shipped 18,727,230 tons, and New York shipped 20,390,953 tons. The river was dubbed "the Greatest Commercial Artery on Earth" by The Detroit News in 1908. The prohibition of alcohol from 1920 to 1933 resulted in the Detroit River becoming a major conduit for smuggling of illegal Canadian spirits. With

5405-714: The Iroquois League, with whom they were at war in the 1630s. The Huron and Neutral people held the north side of Lake Erie until the 1650s, when the Iroquois pushed them and the Erie people away from the lake and its beaver -rich feeder streams in the Beaver Wars of 1649–1655. By the 1670s, the war-weakened Iroquois laid claim to as far south as the Ohio River valley in northern Kentucky as hunting grounds, and had absorbed many other Iroquoian peoples after defeating them in war. For

5520-464: The Marvel method "requires the writer to begin by writing out a plot and add[ing] words when the penciled artwork is finished. . . .[I]n the mid-sixties, plots were seldom more than a typewritten page, and sometimes less", while writers in later times "might produce as many as twenty-five pages of plot for a twenty-two page story, and even include in them snatches of dialog. So a Marvel Method plot can run from

5635-416: The Marvel method over the full script method that have been cited by creators and industry professionals include: Cited disadvantages include: In a variation of the plot script, attributed to Harvey Kurtzman , the writer breaks down the story into page roughs or thumbnail sketches, with captions and dialogue jotted down inside the roughs. The artist (who is often the comic's writer as well) then fleshes out

5750-584: The New 52 series, which was released May 22, 2013. DC Comics' All Access webcast announced on February 4, 2014, that Johns would be writing the Superman series which would be drawn by John Romita Jr. The Johns/Romita Jr. team was joined by inker Klaus Janson . In May 2016, Johns was promoted to President and Chief Creative Officer of DC Entertainment and reported to Diane Nelson , the President of DC Entertainment. Johns and Gary Frank collaborated on Doomsday Clock ,

5865-567: The South. Whites, including ethnic Europeans, feared black competition for jobs and scarce housing. The federal government prohibited discrimination in defense work, but when in June 1943 Packard promoted three black people to work next to whites on its assembly lines, 25,000 white workers walked off the job. The 1943 Detroit race riot took place in June, three weeks after the Packard plant protest, beginning with an altercation at Belle Isle . A total of 34 people were killed, 25 of them black and most at

SECTION 50

#1732859415454

5980-454: The South; they were outnumbered by southern whites who also migrated to the city. Immigration brought southern and eastern Europeans of Catholic and Jewish faith; these new groups competed with native-born whites for jobs and housing in the booming city. Detroit was one of the major Midwest cities that was a site for the dramatic urban revival of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) beginning in 1915. "By

6095-445: The TV series Supergirl , credits Johns with the idea that Hank Henshaw was really Martian Manhunter during production of that series' pilot in 2015. In July 2018, Johns announced that he would be writing and executive-producing a DC Universe television series about Courtney Whitmore , a character that he created, titled Stargirl . The series premiered in May 2020. In April 2020, it

6210-430: The TV series The Flash (2014–2023), Titans (2018–2023), and Doom Patrol (2019–2023) and created and produced the TV series Batwoman (2019–2022), Stargirl (2020–2022) and Superman & Lois (2020–present). His other work in television includes writing and producing various episodes of Blade , Smallville and Arrow . In 2018, he stepped down from his executive role at DC Entertainment to open

6325-553: The United States. A significant cultural center, Detroit is known for its contributions to music, art, architecture and design, in addition to its historical automotive background. In 1701, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and Alphonse de Tonty founded Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit . During the late 19th and early 20th century, it became an important industrial hub at the center of the Great Lakes region . The city's population rose to be

6440-412: The artist draws the story to fit all of this paste-up. This laborious and restrictive way of creating comics is no longer in general use; the last artist to use even a variation of EC style was Jim Aparo . Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( / d ɪ ˈ t r ɔɪ t / dih- TROYT , locally also / ˈ d iː t r ɔɪ t / DEE -troyt ) is the most populous city in

6555-466: The basis of the content of their character, not the color of their skin ... I have a dream this evening that one day we will recognize the words of Jefferson that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." I have a dream ... —Martin Luther King Jr. (June 1963 Speech at

6670-563: The case February 27, 1974. The subsequent Milliken v. Bradley decision had nationwide influence. In a narrow decision, the Supreme Court found schools were a subject of local control, and suburbs could not be forced to aid with the desegregation of the city's school district. "Milliken was perhaps the greatest missed opportunity of that period", said Myron Orfield , professor of law at the University of Minnesota Law School . "Had that gone

6785-466: The center of the flag of the city. From 1805 to 1847, Detroit was the capital of Michigan as a territory and as a state. William Hull , the United States commander at Detroit, surrendered without a fight to British troops and their Native American allies during the War of 1812 in the siege of Detroit , believing his forces were vastly outnumbered. The Battle of Frenchtown was part of a U.S. effort to retake

6900-746: The city was situated on a narrow passage of water linking the two lakes. The river was known as le détroit du Lac Érié in French, which means ' the strait of Lake Erie ' . In the historical context, the strait included the St. Clair River , Lake St. Clair , and the Detroit River. [REDACTED]   Kingdom of France 1701–1760 [REDACTED]   Kingdom of Great Britain 1760–1796 [REDACTED]   United States 1796–1812 [REDACTED]   United Kingdom 1812–1813 [REDACTED]   United States 1813–present Paleo-Indians inhabited areas near Detroit as early as 11,000 years ago including

7015-697: The city's access to the Canada–US border made it a key stop for refugee slaves gaining freedom in the North along the Underground Railroad . Many went across the Detroit River to Canada to escape pursuit by slave catchers. An estimated 20,000 to 30,000 African-American refugees settled in Canada. George DeBaptiste was considered to be the "president" of the Detroit Underground Railroad, William Lambert

SECTION 60

#1732859415454

7130-403: The city's population declined to less than 10 percent of the state's population. During the same time period, the sprawling metropolitan area grew to contain more than half of Michigan's population. The shift of population and jobs eroded Detroit's tax base. In June 1963, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a major speech as part of a civil rights march in Detroit that foreshadowed his " I Have

7245-412: The city, and U.S. troops suffered their highest fatalities of any battle in the war. This battle is commemorated at River Raisin National Battlefield Park south of Detroit in Monroe County . Detroit was recaptured by the United States later that year. The settlement was incorporated as a city in 1815. As the city expanded, a radial geometric street plan developed by Chief Justice Augustus B. Woodward

7360-486: The city. It was defeated after numerous prosecutions following the kidnapping and murder in 1936 of Charles Poole, a Catholic organizer with the federal Works Progress Administration . Some 49 men of the Black Legion were convicted of numerous crimes, with many sentenced to life in prison for murder. By 1940, 80% of Detroit deeds contained restrictive covenants prohibiting African Americans from buying houses they could afford. These discriminatory tactics were successful as

7475-530: The comics industry. He also credits reading James Robinson's The Golden Age as the book responsible for his love of the characters featured in the book, and for his decision to accept writing duties on JSA . That same year, Johns became the regular writer on The Flash ongoing series with issue 164. Johns' work on The Flash represents one example of his modeling of various elements in his stories after aspects of his birth town, explaining, "When I wrote The Flash , I turned Keystone City into Detroit, made it

7590-477: The company was writing Geiger: Ground Zero , a two-issue series drawing by Frank that serves as a prequel to their 2021 miniseries of the same name. Set in a post-apocalyptic future, the book centers upon a man named Tariq Geiger who lost his family and his humanity in a nuclear war, when he was transformed into the Glowing Man, a being who can absorb radiation but struggles to contain it. Ground Zero would be followed by an ongoing Geiger series. Johns served as

7705-426: The culture referred to as the Mound Builders . By the 17th century, the region was inhabited by Huron , Odawa , Potawatomi , and Iroquois peoples. The area is known by the Anishinaabe people as Waawiiyaataanong , translating to 'where the water curves around'. The first Europeans did not penetrate into the region and reach the straits of Detroit until French missionaries and traders worked their way around

7820-464: The development of jazz , hip-hop , rock , and punk . A globally unique stock of architectural monuments and historic places was the result of the city's rapid growth in its boom years. Since the 2000s, conservation efforts have managed to save many architectural pieces and achieve several large-scale revitalizations , including the restoration of several historic theaters and entertainment venues, high-rise renovations, new sports stadiums, and

7935-449: The early 20th century as the world's automotive capital. The growth of the auto industry was reflected by changes in businesses throughout the Midwest and nation, with the development of garages to service vehicles and gas stations, as well as factories for parts and tires. Because of the booming auto industry, Detroit became the fourth-largest city in the nation by 1920, following New York City , Chicago , and Philadelphia . In 1907,

8050-416: The establishment of the United States as an independent country, Britain ceded Detroit and other territories in the region under the 1783 Treaty of Paris , which established the southern border with its remaining colonial provinces in British North America , later Upper Canada . However, the area remained under British control, and its forces did not withdraw until 1796, following the 1794 Jay Treaty . By

8165-436: The four major straits that connect the Great Lakes system to the St. Lawrence Seaway . The city anchors the third-largest regional economy in the Midwest and the 16th-largest in the United States. It is also best known as the center of the U.S. automotive industry , and the " Big Three " auto manufacturers— General Motors , Ford , and Stellantis North America ( Chrysler )—are all headquartered in Metro Detroit. It houses

8280-416: The fourth-largest in the nation by 1920, after New York City , Chicago , and Philadelphia , with the expansion of the automotive industry in the early 20th century. One of its main features, the Detroit River , became the busiest commercial hub in the world—carrying over 65 million tons of shipping commerce each year. In the mid-20th century, Detroit entered a state of urban decay which has continued to

8395-437: The full script method: "I break down each page on a panel by panel basis and label them as PANEL A, PANEL B, and so on. Then I describe what's in each panel, and then do the dialogue, numbering the balloons. I designate the panels with letters and the word balloons with numbers so as to minimize confusion for the letterer". In addition to writing the scripts, Jim Shooter drew layouts for the artist in his early work for DC. In

8510-682: The government encouraged retooling of the American automobile industry in support of the Allied powers , leading to Detroit's key role in the American Arsenal of Democracy . Jobs expanded so rapidly due to the defense buildup in World War II that 400,000 people migrated to the city from 1941 to 1943, including 50,000 blacks in the second wave of the Great Migration, and 350,000 whites, many of them from

8625-402: The hands of the white police force, while 433 were wounded (75% of them black), and property valued at $ 2 million (worth $ 30.4 million in 2020) was destroyed. Rioters moved through the city, and young whites traveled across town to attack more settled blacks in their neighborhood of Paradise Valley . Industrial mergers in the 1950s, especially in the automobile sector, increased oligopoly in

8740-489: The highways were presented as a kind of urban renewal. These neighborhoods (such as Black Bottom and Paradise Valley) were extremely important to the black communities of Detroit, providing spaces for independent black businesses and social/cultural organizations. Their destruction displaced residents with little consideration of the effects of breaking up functioning neighborhoods and businesses. In 1956, Detroit's last heavily used electric streetcar line , which traveled along

8855-571: The indigenous and loyalist raids of 1778 and the resultant 1779 decisive Sullivan Expedition reopened the Ohio Country to even more westward emigration, which began almost immediately. By 1778, its population reached 2,144 and it was the third-largest city in what was known as the Province of Quebec since the British takeover of former French colonial possessions. After the American Revolutionary War and

8970-496: The influence of union leaders in the city such as Jimmy Hoffa of the Teamsters and Walter Reuther of the UAW. Detroit, like many places in the United States, developed racial conflict and discrimination in the 20th century following the rapid demographic changes as hundreds of thousands of new workers were attracted to the industrial city. The Great Migration brought rural blacks from

9085-407: The influx of black Detroiters to white neighborhoods, believing that their presence would lead to neighborhood deterioration. This perpetuated a cyclical exclusionary process that marginalized the agency of black Detroiters by trapping them in the unhealthiest, least safe areas of the city. As in other major American cities in the postwar era, modernist planning ideology drove the construction of

9200-637: The largest European settlement between Montreal and New Orleans , both also French settlements, in the former colonies of New France and La Louisiane , respectively. During the French and Indian War (1754–63)—the North American front of the Seven Years' War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of France —British troops gained control of the settlement in 1760 and shortened its name to Detroit. Several regional Native American tribes, such as

9315-521: The late 19th century, wealthy industry and shipping magnates commissioned the design and construction of several Gilded Age mansions east and west of the current downtown, along the major avenues of the Woodward plan. Most notable among them was the David Whitney House at 4421 Woodward Avenue , and the grand avenue became a favored address for mansions. During this period, some referred to Detroit as

9430-417: The length of Woodward Avenue, was removed and replaced with gas-powered buses. It was the last line of what had once been a 534-mile network of electric streetcars. In 1941, at peak times, a streetcar ran on Woodward Avenue every 60 seconds. All of these changes in the area's transportation system favored low-density, auto-oriented development rather than high-density urban development. Industry also moved to

9545-491: The majority of the black community: with overall lower incomes and facing the backlash of discriminatory housing policies, the black community was limited to lower cost, lower quality housing in the city. The surge in the black population augmented the strain on housing scarcity. The livable areas available to the black community were limited, and as a result, families often crowded together in unsanitary, unsafe, and illegal quarters. Such discrimination became increasingly evident in

9660-511: The new Booster Gold series. That same year, Johns helmed the critically acclaimed " Sinestro Corps War " storyline in the Green Lantern titles. He wrote the " Final Crisis " one-shot Rage of the Red Lanterns with artist Shane Davis and collaborated with Gary Frank on Action Comics . Johns and Frank produced the " Brainiac " storyline in which Superman's adopted father Jonathan Kent

9775-405: The next hundred years, virtually no British or French action was contemplated without consultation with the Iroquois or consideration of their likely response. On July 24, 1701, the French explorer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac , with his lieutenant  Alphonse de Tonty and more than a hundred other settlers, began constructing a small fort on the north bank of the Detroit River. Cadillac named

9890-599: The office of director Richard Donner looking for an internship, and while Johns was being transferred to various people, Donner picked up the phone by accident, leading to a conversation and the internship. Johns started off copying scripts, and after about two months, was hired as a production assistant for Donner, whom Johns regards as his mentor. While working on the production of Donner's 1997 film Conspiracy Theory , Johns visited New York City, where he met DC Comics personnel such as Eddie Berganza , reigniting his childhood interest in comics. Berganza invited Johns to tour

10005-411: The other way, it would have opened the door to fixing nearly all of Detroit's current problems." John Mogk, a professor of law and an expert in urban planning at Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, says, Everybody thinks that it was the riots [in 1967] that caused the white families to leave. Some people were leaving at that time but, really, it was after Milliken that you saw mass flight to

10120-484: The policies of redlining implemented by banks and federal housing groups, which almost completely restricted the ability of blacks to improve their housing and encouraged white people to guard the racial divide that defined their neighborhoods. As a result, black people were often denied bank loans to obtain better housing, and interest rates and rents were unfairly inflated to prevent their moving into white neighborhoods. White residents and political leaders largely opposed

10235-505: The position would not affect his writing. He then co-wrote the Brightest Day series with Peter Tomasi . He and Marv Wolfman were the principal writers of DC Universe Online , a massively multiplayer online role-playing game released in 2011. In September 2011, following the conclusion of Johns's mini series, Flashpoint , and the crossover storyline of the same name, DC Comics instituted an initiative called The New 52 , in which

10350-461: The present, as a result of industrial restructuring, the loss of jobs in the auto industry, and rapid suburbanization . Since reaching a peak of 1.85 million at the 1950 census , Detroit's population has declined by more than 65 percent. In 2013, Detroit became the largest U.S. city to file for bankruptcy , but successfully exited in December 2014. Detroit is a port on the Detroit River, one of

10465-491: The publisher cancelled all of its superhero titles and relaunched 52 new series with #1 issues, wiping out most of the then-current continuity. Johns and artist Jim Lee , DC Comics' Co-Publisher, launched the line with a new Justice League series, written and illustrated by Johns and Lee, respectively. The series' first story arc was a new origin of the Justice League, which depicted the return of DC's primary superheroes to

10580-586: The rapid growth of industrial workers in the auto factories, labor unions such as the American Federation of Labor and the United Auto Workers (UAW) fought to organize workers to gain them better working conditions and wages. They initiated strikes and other tactics in support of improvements such as the 8-hour day/40-hour work week , increased wages, greater benefits, and improved working conditions . The labor activism during those years increased

10695-597: The re-launch of Hawkman and Teen Titans . Johns was responsible for the return of Hal Jordan in 2005 as the writer of the Green Lantern: Rebirth mini-series and subsequent Green Lantern ongoing title. Johns was the writer of the Infinite Crisis crossover limited series (December 2005 – June 2006), a sequel to 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths . Following this, Johns was one of four writers, with Mark Waid , Grant Morrison , and Greg Rucka , on

10810-485: The region losing the majority of funding for rapid transit. The city then moved forward with construction of the elevated downtown circulator portion of the system, which became known as the Detroit People Mover . The gasoline crises of 1973 and 1979 affected auto industry. Buyers chose smaller, more fuel-efficient cars made by foreign makers as the price of gas rose. Efforts to revive the city were stymied by

10925-554: The roughs onto full-size art board. Writer/artists Frank Miller and Jeff Smith favor this style, as did Archie Goodwin . Attributed to William Gaines (Kurtzman's publisher at EC Comics ), the EC style is similar to the Kurtzman style, except the writer submits a tight plot to an artist, who breaks it down into panels that are laid out on the art board. The writer writes all captions and dialogue, which are pasted inside these panels, and then

11040-517: The screenplay for Wonder Woman 1984 (2020). Johns' involvement with DC Entertainment as producer, writer and executive has helped turn the DC Extended Universe franchise into the eleventh highest-grossing film franchise of all-time, having grossed over $ 5.6 billion at the global box office. The franchise's highest-grossing film, Aquaman , earned over $ 1.15 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing DC film to-date. He co-developed

11155-466: The settlement Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit , after Louis Phélypeaux, comte de Pontchartrain , Secretary of State of the Navy under Louis XIV . Sainte-Anne-de-Détroit was founded on July 26 and is the second-oldest continuously operating Roman Catholic parish in the United States. France offered free land to colonists to attract families to Detroit; when it reached a population of 800 in 1765, it became

11270-498: The strict Jim Crow laws and racial discrimination policies of the South. Postwar Detroit was a prosperous industrial center of mass production. The auto industry comprised about 60% of all industry in the city, allowing space for a plethora of separate booming businesses including stove making, brewing, furniture building, oil refineries, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and more. The expansion of jobs created unique opportunities for black Americans, who saw novel high employment rates: there

11385-418: The struggles of the auto industry, as their sales and market share declined. Automakers laid off thousands of employees and closed plants in the city, further eroding the tax base. To counteract this, the city used eminent domain to build two large new auto assembly plants in the city. Young sought to revive the city by seeking to increase investment in the city's declining downtown. The Renaissance Center ,

11500-404: The suburbs, seeking large plots of land for single-story factories. By the 21st century, the metro Detroit area had developed as one of the most sprawling job markets in the United States; combined with poor public transport, this resulted in many new jobs being beyond the reach of urban low-income workers. In 1950, the city held about one-third of the state's population. Over the next 60 years,

11615-434: The suburbs. If the case had gone the other way, it is likely that Detroit would not have experienced the steep decline in its tax base that has occurred since then. In November 1973, the city elected Coleman Young as its first black mayor. After taking office, Young emphasized increasing racial diversity in the police department, which was predominantly white. Young also worked to improve Detroit's transportation system, but

11730-698: The team. Johns's contributions to The New 52 include a serialized Shazam! (Captain Marvel) backup feature in Justice League that began with issue #7, as well as the relaunched Aquaman and Green Lantern monthly titles. Johns and Gary Frank collaborated on the Batman: Earth One graphic novel, an out of continuity story, released in mid-2012, which served as the first in a series of graphic novels intended to redefine Batman. In 2013, after writing Green Lantern for nine years, Johns ended his run with issue 20 of

11845-404: The tension between Young and his suburban counterparts over regional matters was problematic throughout his mayoral term. In 1976, the federal government offered $ 600 million (~$ 2.5 billion in 2023) for building a regional rapid transit system, under a single regional authority. But the inability of Detroit and its suburban neighbors to solve conflicts over transit planning resulted in

11960-403: The turn of the 19th century, white American settlers began pouring westwards. The region's then colonial economy was based on the lucrative fur trade , in which numerous Native American people had important roles as trappers and traders. Today the flag of Detroit reflects its both its French and English colonial heritage. Descendants of the earliest French and French-Canadian settlers formed

12075-527: The villain Leonard Snart/Captain Cold to the series, and "Revenge of the Rogues", which brought the rogue Heat Wave to the series fully after being introduced off screen in "Going Rogue". In a July 2015 interview, Johns said he was collaborating with Reginald Hudlin and Denys Cowan on a live-action digital Static series from DC and Warner Bros. Blue Ribbon division. Kreisberg, a producer on

12190-677: Was a 103% increase in the number of blacks employed in postwar Detroit. Black Americans who immigrated to northern industrial cities from the south still faced intense racial discrimination in the employment sector. Racial discrimination kept the workforce and better jobs predominantly white, while many black Detroiters held lower-paying factory jobs. Despite changes in demographics as the city's black population expanded, Detroit's police force, fire department, and other city jobs continued to be held by predominantly white residents. This created an unbalanced racial power dynamic. Unequal opportunities in employment resulted in unequal housing opportunities for

12305-558: Was a victim of the TWA Flight 800 crash. The DC Comics superheroine Courtney Whitmore/Stargirl , whom Johns created, is based on her. In a 2010 interview, Johns named Steve McNiven as an artist he would like to collaborate with, J. Michael Straczynski 's run on Thor as his then-favorite ongoing comic book. Johns is a comic book retailer who co-owns Earth-2 Comics in Northridge, California . Comic book writer In comics,

12420-403: Was born January 25, 1973, in Detroit, Michigan , the son of Barbara and Fred Johns. He is of half- Lebanese ancestry and grew up in the suburbs of Grosse Pointe and Clarkston . As a child, Johns and his brother first discovered comics through an old box of comics they found in their grandmother's attic, which included copies of The Flash , Superman , Green Lantern , and Batman from

12535-492: Was coined by Father Gabriel Richard as he looked out at the ruins of the city in the fire's aftermath. The city seal, designed by J.O. Lewis in 1827, directly depicts the Great Fire of 1805. Two women stand in the foreground while on the left, the city burns in the background and a woman weeps over the destruction. The woman on the right consoles her by gesturing to a new city that will rise in its place. The city seal also forms

12650-587: Was criticized for being too focused on downtown development and not doing enough to lower the city's high crime rate and improve city services to residents. High unemployment was compounded by middle-class flight to the suburbs, and some residents leaving the state to find work. The result for the city was a higher proportion of poor in its population, reduced tax base, depressed property values, abandoned buildings, abandoned neighborhoods, and high crime rates. On August 16, 1987, Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed near Detroit Metro airport, killing all but one of

12765-685: Was followed, featuring grand boulevards as in Paris . In 1817, Woodward went on to establish the Catholepistemiad , or University of Michigania in the city. Intended to be a centralized system of schools, libraries, and other cultural and scientific institutions for the Michigan Territory, the Catholepistemiad evolved into the modern University of Michigan. Prior to the American Civil War ,

12880-615: Was give Steve a one-line description of the plot and he'd be off and running. He'd take those skeleton outlines I had given him and turn them into classic little works of art that ended up being far cooler than I had any right to expect. The October 2018 issue of DC Comics' in-house previews magazine, DC Nation , featured a look at the creative process that writer Brian Michael Bendis and artists Ryan Sook , Wade von Grawbadger and Brad Anderson employed on Action Comics #1004, which included pages of Bendis' script that were broken down panel by panel, albeit without dialogue. Advantages of

12995-758: Was killed and retold Superman's origin story in 2009's Superman: Secret Origin . Also in 2009, Johns teamed with artist Ethan Van Sciver on The Flash: Rebirth miniseries, which centered on the return of Barry Allen as the Flash and wrote the Blackest Night limited series. Commenting on Johns's creation of such concepts as the Blue Lantern Corps , the Red Lantern Corps , and the Indigo Tribe , DC Comics writer and executive Paul Levitz noted in 2010 that "One of Johns' sharpest additions to DC mythology

13110-845: Was reported that Johns and Frank would expand "The Unnamed Universe" of Geiger , starting with Junkyard Joe in October 2022. On October 12, 2023, Johns and a group of colleagues announced at the New York Comic Con that they were forming a cooperative media company called Ghost Machine , which would publish creator-owned comics , and allow the participating creators to benefit from the development of their intellectual properties . The company publishes its books through Image Comics , and its other founders includes Brad Meltzer , Jason Fabok , Gary Frank , Bryan Hitch , Francis Manapul , and Peter J. Tomasi , all of whom would produce comics work exclusively through that company. Johns' inaugural work for

13225-464: Was reported that Johns is to produce a series based on Green Lantern for HBO Max . In October 2022, it was announced that Paramount Television Studios would develop a TV adaptation of Geiger from Johns and Justin Simien , with Johns writing the pilot, serving as showrunner , and executive producing along with Jamie Iracleanos for Mad Ghost Productions, and Gary Frank. Johns' younger sister, Courtney,

#453546