You Should Be Reading This: Black Panther

So after a long hiatus (apologies, all) I am reviving the blog, and bringing along a couple of new-old items to this blog. Previously I had run a couple of other blogs on the side, mostly just a comics review blog and one where I generally got on a soap box. Now, luck for you, dear reader, you can access them all on the same blog! For the latter, look out for an upcoming post under the heading of “dissentformation.” The subject may surprise you. In the meantime, let’s get back into it with an entry “You should be reading this.”

Now, I’ll admit, the Black Panther is one of my favorite characters. So that does make me a bit bias. At the same time, I allowed a great deal of time to go by before reading more Black Panther again. I won’t really get into that. What I want to talk about is the present, in the stories in Black Panther: The Man Without Fear, or as it is now known, Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive.

I’ve been extremely excited since this one began. Now I wasn’t that familiar with David Liss’ writing, but the man has proven himself. Along with the art of Francesco Francavilla (along with Jefte Palo and now Shawn Martinsborough), Liss has given us a street level look at Hell’s Kitchen again, a scene once lost. I feel like it is almost a companion piece to the brightness of the new Daredevil from Mark Waid, Paulo Rivera, and Marcos Martin. Whereas Waid & Co. are bringing the light, the day of Hell’s Kitchen through the motions of the blind Matt Murdock, Liss, Franky & crew are stuck in perpetual night, constantly in shadow, colors matted against the stark faces of its residents. As we follow the man who has fallen from grace, the man in the dark trying to find himself again.

Liss excels at character work. He’s given T’Challa a great supporting cast in his local diner and apartment, creating new and interesting characters that have possibility for life outside of the book. Additionally, he’s managed to work through Fear Itself and has the upcoming Spider-Island which the Panther will be dealing with, but all the while managing to allow those arcs to stand on their own, away from the event.

It’s a fun book. At the same time, it’s T’Challa’s lowest moment. Here is he is, the Black Panther, former King of Wakanda, fighting without enhanced powers, just the Panther on the streets. The recent point one issue that follows the title change to “The Most Dangerous Man Alive” gives a great one issue look at how the Panther operates. Does he work with police? Sure, as long as they let him do what he wants. And if they say no, he’s gonna do it anyway. Police wanna handle it their way? Okay, but the Panther is only allowing it so that he can prove how he’s right. It’s hardboiled comics at its best. Go check it out.

DC Relaunch: Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE

The thing that's kind of cool about characters in the public domain (aside from the fact that you can really do anything you want with them) is that somewhere, there's a story for you featuring that character. Whether it be the original, or the comic book version, there's an option for you. What's even better is when it's not just a cool reimagining, but a REALLY cool remimagining that takes the character to whole new levels. And then there's when Grant Morrison does that and totally blows us all out of the water.

Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE comes fully loaded with a supporting cast that may not have been plugged in at first, but in the end just makes sense. First with Frankenstein's monster, who has taken his creator's name, you have this amazing, badass agent that rivals Hellboy, with a swagger that'd make the hardest of men cry. While a leader, he's reluctant in what he does, but he knows it must be done. It's notable when you can somehow make Frankenstein stand out from how he's appeared before, and on top of that look just plain awesome without trying.

Frankenstein is joined by the Creature Commandos, who are looking a bit different these days than they used to. As always, his partner in SHADE is The Bride, who looks very much like the classic Bride of Frankenstein, except for being loaded down with both guns and extra arms. Rounding it out are a number of monsters similar to the classic Universal monster line, and a little girl who I think may be Black Alice? Unconfirmed of course, that's just me trying to figure stuff out from the images that have been released.

DC Relaunch: Demon Knights

Jack Kirby, often referred to as "The King of Comics," who assisted or single-handledly created most of Marvel's staple characters, came in and left the DC universe with a wonderful smattering of characters during a time that many consider to be him at his peak. One of these odd little characters was the Demon, Etrigan. An odd little turn around on a Jekyl and Hyde scenario, the Demon was actually a cruel meddling of the wizard Merlin in a last ditch effort at Camelot. And the he leaped into the present day. The DC Universe has had many other characters running around the Medieval times, and so its appropriate that someone would want to put a band together...

Enter the Demon Knights. Cause who best to save the world in dark times such as those? Along with Madame Xanadu (who has managed to sneak her way into two books, kudos m'lady), the Shining Knight, and whoever else might be around (no doubt we'll be surprised), the curiosity may lay less with its members and more with its missions. Because what exactly would you be doing if you're being led by a demon (and one that rhymes at that).

An aspect of the character that I've always liked is the other side to the coin. I mentioned Jekyl and Hyde earlier, and while Etrigan may represent the Hyde side, the Jekyl, Jason Blood, is no slouch. A childhood friend of Merlin's, he is an immortal mage, forever tied to his destiny of chains with the demon. He is often ruthless, which may be the influence on his back. But the modern Blood is less active, he is reclusive, resigned to his position (most often, anyway). So I am interested to see how this plays with the demon being a more recent inhabitant.

DC Relaunch: Justice League Dark

The DC Universe has had its share of supernatural heroes, and but a few supernatural or magic based teams. The previous magic go-to-guys was Shadowpact, and more often than not they were kind of considered a joke (at least until things got way out of hand and you needed to fix it quick). But with more emphasis on the magic/mystic/peculiar side of the DC universe, it's time to take these guys seriously again. And this time, they've brought out the big guns.

Will they actually be called Justice League Dark? I don't know, but the fact that they're finally regarded as Justice League worthy is important, I think. These folks have certainly saved the world enough times over. Deadman? Oh yeah, and you never knew because you couldn't see him! John Constantine? Buy him a beer and a pack of silk cuts and he'll tell you a tale or two, and how he got snubbed every time (though that last time was with good reason). Zatanna has been on the Justice League (or she was in the last continuity), and Madame Xanadu has been knocking around so long that I'm gonna be talking about her and the Demon hanging out tomorrow back in just post-Camelot days. What has Shade done? Good question. He's the least magical of all of them, being an alien being projecting into unused identity (read:dead) and wearing an M-vest that does a number of things, and depending on the day, the M can stand for damn near anything.

So here they all are, purveyors of weird, ready to take on whatever is thrown at them, which alot of that is going to be the biggest hurdle: they have to get along the whole time. Constantine more tolerates Deadman than anything, and him and Shade get along okay, though everything goes weird. Xanadu has seen every Constantine, Zatara, and avatar of Nanda Parat (Deadman), and she's likely not that impressed. And Constantine and Zatanna dated once (awkwaaaard). And thrown into all of this is the Enchantress, who just can't seem to figure out if she wants to be bad or good. It's a toss up.

DC Relaunch: Animal Man

Every once in a while, you get a character that no one really cares about or acknowledges. They stay to the back of our mind, if that, awaiting a time to be mocked in lew of a positive building on the character and his/her abilities. And then that one story comes along and changes everything. Despite an appearance during Crisis on Infinite Earths, Animal Man was a nothing character, and Grant Morrison was given the character to do with as he willed. The run itself is legendary, overshadowing other works starring the character. All the same, Animal Man is just a simple guy.

Buddy Baker, or Animal Man, had powers bestowed upon him by aliens to be able to tap into any animal and gain its abilities. While at first, this was limited to nearby animals, soon Buddy Baker learned how to tap into the larger network of animals, into something called The Red. Much like the Green for Swamp Thing, the Red is like an index and interconnected network of all animals in the world and the universe as well. Through this, Buddy is able to use the abilities of not only animals that are nowhere in his vicinity, but also animals he may have never had contact with. However there have been numerous times where his connectedness to the Red has either rendered bad situations or problems in his ability to connect to this.

Buddy is a family man. One of the things that have been unique about his stories has been his connection to family. Buddy has a wife and two young kids. Throughout the years, and even in his first stories, he has been relentlessly devoted to them, which is impressive considering the Amazonian like superwomen he often shares ranks with. His children have run up against the superhuman community as well, and writer Jeff Lemire promises no changes from past habits with that regard. Animal Man is about the superhero struggle and how that affects and envelops the family.

DC Relaunch: Batwing

One of the major concerns as news and solicits rolled out for the Relaunch was whether it was a full on reboot or what. Relief hit upon this title (as with a few others), because of its close ties to the current continuity and Batman Incoporated. On the other side of that, many people thought it odd that of all the titles to come out of Batman Incoporated, why this one? At the time, the character had made very few appearances. However, the more that Judd Winick talks about it, the more excited I am for the character and the book.

Batwing is generally considered the Batman of Africa. At the the same time, he has his own city and is established there. Just like Batman may go where adventure/crime takes, so it does for Batwing. It's interesting, the design is based off an old Batman story (that I have somewhere in an oversized collection), and somehow this has been pulled up out the dregs by Morrison & company. Since the character is new, I'm a bit behind on posts, and the writer taking this new direction is Judd Winick, I thought I'd direct you to where he's talked about it some with the comic sites:

with CBR
with Newsarama

Ben Oliver will be joining Winick on art. He's previously made his mark on Robert Kirkman's run of Ultimate X-Men, Christos Gage's issues of Thunderbolts, and The Ten-Seconders with Rob Williams (serialized in 2000 AD).

Later today, we get more of the Dark. Tomorrow, more of stuff in general!

DC Relaunch: Looking Around 7/18

I wanted to throw a couple of things at you this afternoon.
First of all, Red Hood & the Outlaws has been discussed with Scott Lobdell
At Newsarma

and CBR

 

 

 

And Scott Snyder about Swamp Thing at the Washington Post & Newsarama.

Both with the covers to #2.

Additionally, today was when DC released the FULL solicits for October 2011

DC Relaunch: Swamp Thing

And now we venture our way into The Dark. It was an interesting idea, for DC to separate the books into "families." I think it works out pretty well. For a long time, the character that inhabit the "Dark" region of the DCU were pretty limited to the world of Vertigo Comics, DC's mature readers imprint. They weren't even seen anymore in the regular world of DC, which was even sadder considering some characters, such as Swamp Thing and Animal Man, had long since had their series ended. And then slowly, the characters trickled their way back into the regular books. And then, the flood officially came rushing in when in the last few issues of Brightest Day, Swamp Thing came stumbling through the brush.

Swamp Thing runs multiple fields, and is a complicated beast. At first glance, here's a swamp monster in the same vein as Man-Thing, the Heap, and more recently Aaron Lopresti's Garbage Man. What more is there? Well, how about that he's the represenative of the Green, the life force of all plantlife of on Earth and beyond. There's also the man behind the plant, Alec Holland. Previously, he was believed to be dead, and that his memories were merely imprinted on Swamp Thing. Now the two are one being, and on top of everything being the one representative of the white energy of the light entity on earth, the sole White Lantern. Yes, it's busy being Swamp Thing.

The thing is, Swamp Thing has always wanted much less out of life. To live without much complication. He has usually kept to the swamps and only traveling outside of when needed. The powers he has becomes extremely impressive as you learn about the Green. Like a giant network, Swamp Thing can travel it, from one place to the other. He can create a new self out of any plant life, even alien life. This new direction, of him being between the Green and the white energy, will prove interesting.

DC Relaunch: Red Hood & the Outlaws

So you're the Red Hood. Life hasn't just been tough; it's been weird. First of all, you've got some bad beginnings on the street. A man comes along and tries to lift you up and brighten your life. That man is Batman. Somewhere you can see where that might go wrong. Oh and then you're brutally murdered, resurrected and trained by assassins, and decided to execute your own justice on the city you call home.
Now, you've got a couple of other people who are sitting on the wrong side of the fence of their own people, and they seem drawn to you. Exactly what you wanted.

Red Hood & the Outlaws is one of those series that none of us saw coming, but it doesn't leave people unintrigued. Jason Todd has been gaining popular since his reemergence as the Red Hood, despite the previous years of phone call ins regarding his death. Jason is generally not good at working with others, and usually prefers to do things his way. Compromise and consideration are not appropriate descriptives. Recently, fellow Outlaw Roy Harper has fallen on hard times and back into drugs. On his good days though, he's one of the best in the world with a bow and arrow, and just about any other weapon for that matter. He's hard-headed, which he gets from his mentor, the Green Arrow, and he seems to have picked up some of that ladies' man charm as well. Starfire has recently been in some odd places for her, after years of being on Earth being off world and working with REBELS. She expresses herself very openly, and her level of personal intimacy is much less guarded than most people. She's also one of the most powerful beings on Earth.

Diversion: The Gathering

When I was a kid, up until someone thought it would be a great idea for me to take art lessons, I wrote and drew stories. Not always comics, as I didn't have access to alot of comics at the time, but generally the process of storytelling with art. As we are want to do when we grow older, I did fall out of reading comics in general, but I continued to sketch and continued to write. Over the years I've infrequently maintained a webcomic, and I've plotted and scripted a number of ideas, but outside of internet self-publishing, I had no idea how I'd ever have a story published.

Enter The Gathering. The Gathering is literally a group of people, friends, collaborators, who came together on forums and decided that they were going to do it this time. They would self-publish their own print comic. What they are doing is publishing a themed black and white anthology comic (quarterly) for a reasonable price (cheaper than that 20 page Avengers story you may have purchased this week!), with up and coming writers and artists who are finally getting that chance to put out their stories and art. It's a beautiful thing, both the community that's developed and the opportunity it affords for newcomers. To actually be able to say, "Yes, I have had something published," instead of being completely unproven.

Right now, GrayHaven Comics, which publishes The Gathering, is raising money to help put out the Horror-themed fourth volume, "Into the Abyss." There's even a story in there written by me. You can help out by contributing through Kickstarter here, and you can purchase that volume here. There's some pretty cool incentives if you contribute to the Kickstarter campaign, so take a look at those as well.

Help participate in something different. Help support small press comics. Enjoy new and original stories.

Your support is appreciated.

DC Relaunch: Nightwing

As people, one of the more difficult things we often have to accept in our lives is that we have outgrown something. Whether it be something as simply watching a show that's not quite our age level as we progress up, or something more complex, where we feel embarrassed for our old attachments.  But we move on, and create new pieces for ourselves, new molds for us to grow in. In comics we often want our heroes for freeze in time and stay that same age we remember forever. But what ended up being a surprise move was the day that Dick Grayson grew up, threw off the pixie boots, put on some damn pants, and became Nightwing.

Nightwing is the Dick Grayson coming into his own. While many people may argue that his brief tenure as Batman would be this, I would say that his time as Batman is him holding up the mantle, waiting for the true bearer to come pick it up so he could go back to the life he felt he should be living. Nightwing represented Dick's freedom from the Bat, no longer being the necessary sidekick to the bat and cowl. And while at the time of the original self-transformation, there was an argument between him and Bruce, Dick has maintained his friendship with his old chum .

Usually as Nightwing, Dick Grayson has stayed somewhere other than Gotham for his personal adventures. Often early on this was wherever the Titans were. As time went on, he established himself as protector Bludhaven, and later in New York City when Bludhaven fell under a nuclear attack. This time he'll be staying in Gotham, and the dark mirror than was placed under him as Batman will only warp slightly in image. Despite these new villains, Dick's personality always shines through. Extremely friendly and light in mood at just about all times, Dick has been there as adopted son, surrogate older brother, mentor, and even lover. So now Nightwing dons again the shoes that feel most comfortable, albeit with a slightly different design, and returns to us as Nightwing.

DC Relaunch: Looking Around 7/14



Batwoman was originally scheduled to run this Spring, but was held off. So there's some interviews about the characters and process (plus a sizable lead time!) from around then.

Here's a couple from when the series was first announced last year:
A few talks from JH Williams III about the series at CBR and Robot 6...
And one with Amy Reeder at Newsarama.

More recently, Williams has talked to The Fandom Post about the series with regards to the relaunch...

Above is the cover for Batwoman #2. DC has had a few additional announcements today as well, and more October solicitations...

DC Relaunch: Batwoman

As I've mentioned before, the world of Gotham is a big place, ever expanding. Very few villains go away, and new ones pile up all the time. So it's no surprise that there's some counter action to that as well. In the weekly year long series 52, we were introduced to Kate Kane, and her beginnings as Batwoman.

Batwoman does not handle the same type of adventures that Batman does. No, hers are much more surreal,  more dreamlike, and more deadly. Her primary opponents are those who follow the religion of crime, under The Crime Bible, and they've nearly killed her. Like Bruce Wayne, Kate Kane not only comes from money, but from old money, being one of the legendary families of Gotham. She is very hard-nosed, and still very new to the business of the superhero. In our brief looks into her world, she's taken some heavy hits, and has uneasily balanced her life as Batwoman and her life as Kate Kane. As she becomes enveloped in more of the former and less of the latter, both worlds become stranger.

I've made it this far and surely there's at least one person reading who has been adding to the end of every sentence he reads, "...and she's a lesbian." Well congratulations, here's your paragraph. Yes, Kate Kane is a lesbian. It's been handled rather gracefully, I think. Whenever the character was first announced, that was pretty much all some people caught. You'd wondered if they bothered to read the comics in the first place. "DC Introduces Lesbian Character, Batwoman," they'd read. And that was mostly it. It tells us about as much about the characters as does saying, "Batwoman likes pie." In both cases, we know what to expect. In the first, we do expect that at some point Batwoman will develop a romantic interest that will likely be a woman. In the latter, we expect Batwoman to be eating pies. In both cases, we are given background information, but nothing real about the character. DC and its writers have treated Batwoman better than that, and have portrayed not a stereotype, but a real person dealing with their life.

DC Relaunch: Looking Around 7/13

While today we were taking a look over at what's up with Batgirl, Gail Simone has spoken some about it online already.

Over at DC's blog The Source, they published a short blurb of Gail talking about Barbara Gordon as Batgirl, while over at Newsarama they had a much more extensive interview.

And here's Adam Hughes' cover for Batgirl #2, on sale in October!

So today, DC released their October soliciations for their Green Lantern books. It's very exciting. Also, there's some spoilery stuff about the War of the Green Lanterns. If you don't care, go right ahead, but otherwise, you may want to hold off until you read the issue. 

Link after the jump, along with some more DC Relaunch goodies...

DC Relaunch: Batgirl

Many times, we as people give up on the small things. Something simple that we become frustrated enough with that we throw our hands up in the air. It's not worth it, right? And at the same time, we see these stories of people with huge problems that it is totally okay to throw your hands up about, and yet they persevered. They overcome, they move on. Barbara Gordon has rode the high, had the lowest of lows, and brought herself up out of it all to overcome all the odds, all while not moving physically from the place she was brought to. And now she gets to stand once again where she started, as Batgirl.

Barbara Gordon started her career as Batgirl. There's something that's intriguing about the Batgirl persona, no matter who's behind that particular cowl. Many people have expressed their devotion for every incarnation of the character, the very first one being an exception. She is unique in that she is allowed to carry the title/mantle of "Bat," something Robin does not do. Additionally, Batgirl grabs us as a reader because of the types of adventures she finds herself in. We frequently find the character of Batgirl in over her head. Whereas the story may start off as something well within her control, some element in that reveals itself, a snake revealed to be the head of a gorgon, which presents Batgirl, whichever one she may be, with the new and unprecedented challenge.  And without assist, Batgirl does the job. She leaps in headfirst. I think it's a great quality for the character to have, and I think it makes the dynamic between her and Dick Grayson, former high wire act, all the better.

Now, Barbara has been through alot. She was Batgirl, stepped down of her own free will, was paralyzed by the Joker and forced into a wheelchair, not only became the super info-source/hacker Oracle, but became perfectly capable of defending herself without any help whatsoever. It's another Batgirl story, just told in a different fashion, and in long form. We see with her return as Batgirl yet another step in that journey, and thankfully one of Barbara's biggest fans is guiding us.

DC Relaunch: Looking Around 7/12

So Rich Johnston over at Bleeding Cool posted some worth noting, especially with our coverage of Batman: The Dark Knight being mere days ago (Sunday!). You can go take a look, but what seems to be going on, and what seems to have been left off of the September solicitations, is that writer Paul Jenkins (set to work on DCU Presents: Deadman, will be co-writing the book with David Finch. The two work down the plot, Jenkins scripts, and Finch works on the art along with Jay Fabok. Teamwork!

Additionally in the news is the long rumored The Shade 12 issue mini-series by writer James Robinson with artist Cully Hamner (who helped with many of the redesigns along with Jim Lee and others). Comic Book Resources got the break on that one...

Additionally...

DC Relaunch: Catwoman

Bruce Wayne is bad with women. I make a point of saying Bruce because it’s not just in the day job, it’s at night too, as Batman. He either can’t keep them around because of the problems of being Batman and not being able to devote the time necessary as Bruce to warrant a relationship where his secret identity is not known, or he meets them in his time as Batman. Which means that at some level or another, they’re a criminal. There’s almost a complete disregard for his fellow female heroes, relationship wise. But the bad girls, he can’t stay away. Enter suspect number one: Catwoman.

Catwoman has been hanging around Batman for some time, and has been popular enough as a villain to get in the shows and movies multiple times, and even to get her own non-canonical and terribly received movie, of which will speak no further. Selina Kyle (Catwoman, if you didn’t know) has in recent decades turned over a bit in terms of her criminal tendencies. Really, she’s still got a thing for diamonds. That’s not changing. But for the most part otherwise, she does what she wants in the range of the white hats. That doesn’t stop her from being seductive, and her on-again/off-again with Batman comes and goes. And while he may not approve of all her activities, she does enough good for him to keep a blind eye on those. Selina is also extremely sly, and does much more back and forth between the catsuit and the dress than Bruce between the tux and the cowl.

Judd Winick is good fit writing for the book, just as a personal opinion. He’s spent a fair deal of time at DC, working on Green Arrow for a long stretch, The Trials of Shazam! maxi-series, Green Lantern, The Outsiders, and Batman, where he wrote the story collected as Under the Hood, bring back dead Robin Jason Todd. He also worked for Marvel writing Exiles, and on his own creator owned stories in Barry Ween and the autobiographical graphic novel Pedro & Me.
Artist Guillem March has been working with Judd Winick lately on their 3 issue run on Batman & Robin. He’s been doing lots of cover work for the Batman books of late, and was doing interiors for Gotham City Sirens, which featured Catwoman alongside Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, and Azrael with writer David Hine.

Catwoman has had a number of series over time, though for me Brubaker's is tops. It’s worth noting that Batman: Year One serves well as a Year One for Catwoman as well…

Catwoman: The Dark End of the Street by Ed Brubaker & Darwyn Cooke
Catwoman: Crooked Little Town by Ed Brubaker, Brad Rader, & Cameron Stewart
Catwoman: Relentless by Ed Brubaker, Cameron Stewart, & Javier Pullido
Catwoman: Wild Ride by Ed Brubaker, Cameron Stewart, & Guy Davis

Tomorrow we visit an already controversial subject despite the book not even having launched yet, the return of Barbara Gordon to Batgirl!

DC Relaunch: Birds of Prey

Gotham is a big city. There’s a lot going on there, and it’s been a long time since JUST Batman patrolled its streets. It’s complicated, movement throughout multiple networks going in and out, legal and criminal, and as you might imagine, Batman can’t handle everywhere and everything. So if the Birds of Prey are handling things on the covert-ops side of things in Gotham, that just makes his job all the easier.

Birds of Prey hasn’t always been covert ops, but it has always been mission based. Whereas before, Oracle ran the missions with Black Canary, Oracle seems to be gone (to be explained both in Birds of Prey and Batgirl, or so we’re told) and Black Canary is running things with a new partner, Starling. The name “Birds of Prey” was given to the book at its inception, but it should be noted that the team has never used the name except in a joke or two, and that only occasionally has Oracle referred to them as her “birds.” Black Canary has gone through a lot in her life, and while she has the super-power of a sonic scream, she really prefers not to use it. She is an extremely skilled martial artist, ranking among the best. Little to nothing is known about Starling at this point, she appears to be a new character.

Rounding out the group on this first cover is what appears to be Katana, an expert swordswoman and bearer of a blade containing (from the solicit for issue 2), the soul of her dead husband. And apparently she’s able to talk to him. Also on the first cover is Poison Ivy, a long time Bat-villain who has strayed into greyer and greyer areas in recent years. Her involvement is difficult to say just yet. The new mixture of covert ops and the new takes on familiar characters should bring a new dynamic to this fan favorite series.

Duane Swierczynski will be writing the book with Jesus Saiz on art. Swierczynski has mostly done work for Marvel in the past, completely well received runs The Immortal Iron Fist, Cable, and two stories for Punisher: Frank Castle. He’s also a rather established crime and mystery novelist. Jesus Saiz has most recently been the new artist on Birds of Prey, and has previously worked with J. Michael Straczynski on The Brave & the Bold, and Checkmate with Greg Rucka.

Gail Simone’s long run on Birds of Prey has been the most notable, and so I can’t help but note the favorite of mine within those collections:

Birds of Prey: Of Like Minds by Gail Simone & Ed Benes
Birds of Prey: Blood & Circuits by Gail Simone & Paulo Siqueira
Birds of Prey: Dead of Winter by Gail Simone & Nicola Scott
Birds of Prey: Endrun by Gail Simone, Ed Benes, & Adriana Melo

Many have wondered where Huntress went to. Much like the Penguin mini that was revealed at Comic Book Resources, Newsarama hit on a pretty big exclusive with the reveal of the The Huntress 5 issue mini. This will be written by Legion of Super-heroes scribe Paul Levitz, with art from Marcus To & John Dell. That all is here, at the bottom of the October Bat-solicits. http://www.newsarama.com/comics/dcnu-october-2011-batman-titles-110711.html

Tomorrow! Moving along with more of the women of Batman, we’ll be taking a look at Catwoman.

DC Relaunch: Looking Around

I'm running a bit late on today's post (shooting for 5pm CST instead of my normal 12, which I'm 10 minutes past as it is). For a while I've been wanting to point people around to the rest of the internet, and what they're saying. More importantly, what the writers and artists have been saying about this new work. What I'd like to point out is that over at Comic Book Resources, they've just posted covers and solicitations, not only for issue two of Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo's Batman, but also for a mini-series, Penguin: Pain & Prejudice, by crime writer Gregg Hurwitz (Punisher, The Vengeance of Moon Knight), and Szymon Kudranski (Spawn, Repulse). Go take a look... http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=33191

Apparently all the ongoing Bat-solicits for October have been released, on DC's blog. Couple of books we haven't hit here yet, of course, and hopefully give you a better feeling on them as well.

http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2011/07/11/with-all-these-new-villains-arkham-asylum-is-going-to-need-a-new-wing/

DC Relaunch: Batman: the Dark Knight

Batman has had multiple titles for a long time, whether you're referring to the original solo feature, to the various additional series throughout the years. When Bruce Wayne made his way back to Gotham, two new books were the ones that put him in the driver's seat. One was the Grant Morrison written Batman Inc. The other was David Finch's self-written and drawn Batman: The Dark Knight.

Batman: The Dark Knight was originally the Batman that could not get away. While he ran the globe with Catwoman and checked in on long time Batmen of the world Mr. Unknown and El Gaucho in Batman Inc, Batman: the Dark Knight was the Bruce Wayne that could not get away from Gotham. That couldn't help but find himself drawn back in the darkness of the city. David Finch's artwork and storytelling is dark and detailed. There's a certain grainy and grittiness that cannot escape the work he does, whether it be interiors or covers. The Penguin played a large role in Finch's stories thus far, and alot has changed with him over the years. These days, the Penguin runs the Iceberg Club. A legal front for his illegal dealings, he has found his hands in many more pots these days that Batman would prefer. However, Penguin's connection to this world and his weakness in telling Batman exactly what is going on (or at least, to the best of his knowledge) allows Batman a certain in to the crimeworld.

David Finch has worked extensively for Marvel, providing art for Avengers during the Avengers: Disassembled storyline with Brian Michael Bendis, and also following that in New Avengers with Bendis as well. He's also worked with novelist Charlie Huston in relaunching Moon Knight to new audiences back in 2005. He also did the art for Jeph Loeb's Ultimatum event in Marvel's Ultimate Universe. Finch will be assisted by Jay Fabok, as you might imagine, writing and drawing is a tough job! Fabok has being doing some work over at Aspen.

If you're looking for some of David Finch's Batman work now, get thee to a comic book shop! Batman: The Return and the first two issues of Batman: The Dark Knight may still be there!

Tomorrow we getting to the anciliary Batman titles, beginning with the brand new Birds of Prey!

DC Relaunch: Batman & Robin

Most superheroes, somewhere down the line, have had sidekicks. It's an interesting dynamic that many books have tried to imitate over the years. Sometimes just a goofy tag along, other times actually involved in the crime-fighting, it varied depending on how the writer decided to approach it. The kid sidekick was ever more prevalent, to the point that entire team, the Teen Titans, is composed of them. But the original kid sidekick is, of course, Robin.

Batman and Robin are frequently referred to as the dynamic duo, and they've certainly earned that name. There is literally a dynamic between the two, in terms of a light/dark balance, and in terms of approach to the fight that makes it interesting. Now the Robins have varied over the years as has Batman's personality, and it seems to fit well enough if you take that into account. Currently, Robin is Damian Wayne, the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, daughter of the R'as al Ghul, and involved heavily with her father's organization, the League of Assassins. Trained by the best in fighting, and learning how to live normally at a relatively slow pace, Damian has shown an incredible darkness that is markedly different than Robins of the past. And yet, there is a certain lightness all the same. Damian became Robin under the batwing of Dick Grayson, and now with Bruce back in the role as the only Batman, the dynamic changes again. Perhaps it is time for Bruce to change against the darker Robin, whether further down the spiral wil just have to be seen.

Pete Tomasi will write along with long-time partner Patrick Gleason on art. The two had worked together previously on Green Lantern Corps, and have also had a 3 issue run on the previous Batman & Robin title, where they introduced an odd new adversary. Now they take the reigns of Bruce along with Damian, and hopefully continue that amazing dynamic of their own. Pete Tomasi has worked with the Bat family previously, crafting a great run on Nightwing. He also co-wrote the year-long Brightest Day along with Geoff Johns.

Damian has really grown alot in the past few years. There's very little of the previous Batman & Robin series that's not worth checking out:

Batman & Son by Grant Morrison & Andy Kubert

Batman & Robin: Batman Reborn by Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, & Philip Tan

Batman & Robin: Batman vs. Robin by Grant Morrison, Andy Clarke, & Cameron Stewart

Batman & Robin: Batman Must Die! by Grant Morrison, Frazier Irving, & Cameron Stewart

And then tomorrow we'll look at David Finch's take on the Bat, in Batman: The Dark Knight

DC Relaunch: Detective Comics

One of the longest running DC comics is restarting. It's not the only one, ind you, but still. Detective Comics, a new number one. Who thought that would happen? And while it didn't start with him, and hasn't always been just him, it's still running with Batman in the lead. In recent years, DC has done a pretty good job of maintaining themes slightly separate from that of the Batman title and so on. In the past few years, we've seen Paul Dini's done in ones, as well as his more overarching Hush epic, Greg Rucka and JH Williams' masterful Batwoman stories, David Hine's bizarre dealings of Jeremiah Arkham, finally bringing us to Scott Snyder's exploration with Jock and Francavilla of the Gotham as mirrored against a Dick Grayson'd Batman.

Likewise, Detective Comics as written and drawn by Tony Daniel promises to be different from Scott Snyder's Batman, and no doubt will be different from the other two main books. Whereas Snyder promises to explore the ways that Gotham has changed in Bruce Wayne's absence at the primary Batman of Gotham City, Tony Daniel's exploration will be of darker matter altogether. And part of his exploration will directly involve the Joker. As Batman changes through the years depending on the writers, so too does the Joker to reflect that Batman. He can be deadly and psychotic, and he can be playful, annoying, and goofy. He definitely tries to cover any bases that the phrase "evil clown" could possibly garner. The Joker has never made his longstanding relationship easy for Batman, even going so far as to kill one of the Robins.

The Joker's relationship to the Robins is interesting with regards to his relationship with Batman. As his relationship with Bruce Wayne as Batman is directly oppositional, he is different with Dick Grayson as Batman. With Dick, he recognized that he was not his Batman. And rather than be directly antagonistic, he provided support, in his on sort of way. With the Robins, I feel like the Joker often sees them as bait. They aren't who he's fighting, he's fighting Bruce Wayne. The Robins are just part of the whole thing. But Dick made it all fun. It was a joke, it was a dance, it wasn't all grim and serious and deathy. Likewise, Jason Todd as Robin just didn't fit to him. And so he beat him to death with a crowbar. Tim Drake is very much a detective like Bruce. There's something about Tim's demeanor, his defiance of being just a leadup to Batman, and his association with friends that give him another response from the Joker, one of almost admiration and respect, despite him still being, in general, a potential hostage. Damian, I don't think he took seriously at first, and he made a mistake. He underestimated him. His interest in Damian outweighed that of Dick as Batman. I think there's a certain level of fear involved in that too. And that leads into tomorrow, with Batman & Robin.

Tony Daniel leads this along on both scripting and art. The cover indicates to me a new style he's experimenting with that may go hand in hand with the dark story he wishes to tell. Usually, Tony Daniel has very clean lines, and his recent Batman stories allow a certain level of colorfulness to the odd world around Batman. As we saw in his run on Batman with Grant Morrison as writer, the colorfulness can be even more disturbing, depending on the subject matter.

Here's a few of Tony Daniel's work with Batman and an excellent Joker story as well:

The Man Who Laughs by Ed Brubaker & Doug Mahnke
Batman: The Battle for the Cowl by Tony Daniel
Batman: Life After Death by Tony Daniel
Batman: Eye of the Beholder by Tony Daniel

Tomorrow we investiage the Batman & Robin dynamic, and the current Robin, Damien Wayne.

DC Relaunch: Batman

I don’t feel like I should have to explain who Batman is to you. You’ve likely seen one of the movies, maybe the old Adam West TV show, one of the myriad animated series over the years, maybe your only experience is through Superfriend or the movie Batman & Robin. I couldn’t say. But if you’ve experienced Batman in more than one medium, then at some point you’ve noticed how different those Batmen were. And that is the case, that over time Batman has changed, and has been defined by those who write him and their motivations at the time. For the past few years, Batman and his vast gallery of rogues have gone through numerous changes which were reflected through the pens of Grant Morrison and Paul Dini. As we move on into a new era, and only the second Batman #1 in existence, I can’t help but feel that this book will set the bar for the other surrounding titles.

Batman, as you may well know, is the defender of Gotham City. Sometimes in shadow, sometimes in the light, he waffles between paranoia and clarity of mind, between a ruthless vigilante and a hopeful optimist. And the question every writer faces is how much of Bruce Wayne is still there? Is there only Batman, Bruce merely an act? To me, the juxtaposition is what makes the comic, just as the Joker provides the absolutely madness without an end goal, the far end of the scale. The Joker is scheduled to appear in Detective Comics, so I’ll talk more about him tomorrow.

I’d like to put a little more focus on the writer, Scott Snyder. Currently the writer of Detective Comics and weaving a great story involving the changing face of Gotham under the wings of Dick Grayson as Batman, and flipping the story to show James Gordon’s separate but related investigations that lead all paths together. The story, called “The Black Mirror,” has shown how the city of Gotham begins to reflect the charm and swagger that Dick Grayson brings to the Batman role, and spits back his muddy reflection of crime. Now Bruce Wayne is forced to confront these new elements as he make his return as sole Batman of Gotham.

Synder will also be writing Swamp Thing in the relaunch., He has been writing American Vampire, which feature contributions from Stephen King and art from Rafael Albequerque. On art will be Greg Capullo, who has been doing work for McFarland studios, working on Spawn and most recently Haunt in collaboration with Robert Kirkman.

Where to begin with Batman in the comics? I’d avoid the recent Grant Morrison epic until you’re read to experience some really weird Batman stories. So here’s the most basic, with Scott Snyder’s recent contribution included:

Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and Dave Mazzuchelli

Batman: The Black Mirror by Scott Snyder, Jock, & Francesco Francavilla

Tomorrow we'll look at Detective Comics and the Joker!

DC Relaunch: Red Lanterns

We’ve all experienced rage at one time or another. Whether it be something someone said that completely threw you into a frenzy, or perhaps watching someone become unbelievably enraged by any number of things. Now, imagine that rage you or they experienced. Imagine it concentrated to the
point that swells up in your body to the point that it bursts forth creating vengeful constructs as red burning energy spills from your mouth like bile. Welcome to the Red Lanterns!

Red Lanterns was announced last year, way before we got our first look at even Flashpoint. The popularity of the characters in the Red Lanterns had proven to be strong, beating out other strong contenders in the various corps. Atrocitus leads the Red Lanterns, hailing from a nightmare world destroyed by the failed experiment of the Guardians, the Manhunters. His world is one filled with revenge and swift justice, with blood and prophecy. The Red Lanterns have suffered great loss,
and their rage fuel their desire for justice by death. The characters we’ve been given, such as Bleez and Dex-Starr, are already compelling, each one having fallen so far before finding the rage that brought them to the Red Lanterns. Each Red Lantern’s ring is tied directly to their heart. To simply remove the ring would kill them. The journey they take in their own series will be interesting, as despite their intentions, the Red Lanterns walk way off the line.

Peter Milligan will be writing with Ed Benes on art. Peter Milligan has been in the industry for sometime, working on the Batman books before getting on the ground with Shade the Changing Man for DC’s mature readers line, eventually becoming the Vertigo line. He also followed up Grant Morrison’s critically acclaimed run on Animal Man with a six-issue story. He’s written numerous other works for Vertigo, from the strange to the stranger, always exploring new regions of story. He wrote for the Marvel’s X-Men line
with X-Men with Salvador Larocca, X-Statix with Mike Allred & Darwyn Cooke, and Namor: The Depths with Esad Ribic.

Ed Benes has worked on a number of books, most notably having long runs on Birds of Prey with writer Gail Simone (returning with her to that title during Brightest Day), Justice League of America with Brad
Metzler and Dwayne McDuffie. He also worked on the latter part of Peter David’s run on Supergirl.

Clearly, the Red Lanterns are new to the universe, so there’s not too much to explore. Check out the previously mentioned Green Lantern booksSecret Origin, Blackest Night, and New Guardians, and also take a look at:

Green Lantern: Rage of the Red Lanterns.

Next we’ll look at whatever will happen to the caped crusader, beginning with Batman!

DC Relaunch: Green Lantern: New Guardians

At a point in time where the Corps was devastated, all the other Guardians were dead, and some hope was needed to stay alive in the universe, the last Guardian, Ganthet, fled from to find someone to take on the mantle of the Green Lantern. While it may have not been the choice the ring would have made on its own, Kyle Rayner, a struggling artist, was the person who Ganthet found. And since then, Kyle Rayner has proven himself worthy multiple times, as a member of the JLA, as Ion, the torchbearer of the embodiment of will, and as Green Lantern Honor Guard.

Now, in Green Lantern: New Guardians, Kyle stands with representatives of the other Lantern Corps as a symbol of unity and to guard against the largest threats the universe holds. And while Kyle has proven himself a capable leader within his own Corps, the other members may prove testy. Now, the image we’ve been given is deliberately obscured, but most of the other members appear to be clear. I won’t get much into them, but I will talk about each group. From left to right: Bleez of the Red Lanterns, Arkillo of the Sinestro Corps, a member of the Star Sapphires who I think may be Fatality, Saint Walker of the Blue Lanterns, and in the top corner Munk of the Indigo Tribe, and one of Larfleeze’s (Agent Orange) constructs, Glomulus.

All the Corps in some way create the energy constructs like the Green Lanterns. It gets a bit fuzzy from there. The Red Lanterns are driven by rage. It seems that many of them reach this point by experiencing great tragedy and lashing out against the injustice. Their rings are tied directly to their heart, and removing their ring can kill them. Their power often vomits forth from their body like blood. It’s a very intense event. The Sinestro Corps are made up of members who are able strike great fear in people. However it becomes complicated in that these are not the most savory or clever of folks. The Star Sapphires are powered by love, in a variety of forms (including love lost, in some cases). Their powers are interesting in that someone’s one true love can be shown to them, and the powers of their rings are distilled from a mysterious crystal. The Blue Lanterns were started by Ganthet, and instill great hope. They feed off the energy of the Green Lanterns, and can overcharge their rings beyond 100% just by being in the same proximity. However, there is little they can do without the Green Lanterns being nearby. The Indigo Tribe are still very mysterious, but they are driven by compassion and channel the powers of other Lanterns through their staffs. Finally, Larfleeze has created constructs of those who tried to take his power from him. They act on his behalf, almost without his notice at times.

All together, there is much more conflict than there are alliances, and for them to be working together will be interesting to see how it all works out. Tony Bedard is writing this along with his partner from Green Lantern Corps, Tyler Kirkham. Tony Bedard has been in the industry for some time, and has written for Exiles, Birds of Prey, R.E.B.E.L.S., and Legion of Super-heroes. Kirkham got his start through Top Cow studios, and has worked on Ultimate Fantastic Four with Mike Carey and X-Men—Phoenix: Warsong with Greg Pak.

Here’s a few Kyle Rayner trades that I enjoyed, as well as the "New Guardians" storyline that recently ran in Green Lantern, showing the various Corps working together for the first time. You can also check out his adventures in the various Green Lantern Corps trades by Dave Gibbons and Pete Tomasi that I’ve mentioned already:

Green Lantern: Emerald Twilight by Ron Marz and Daryl Banks
Ion: The Torchbearer vol. 1 by Ron Marz and Greg Tochinni
Green Lantern Corps: The Weaponer by Tony Bedard and Tyler Kirkham
Green Lantern: The New Guardians by Geoff Johns & Doug Mahnke

And tomorrow, the first of the new corps to have their own book! Red Lanterns! Be.. here.

Also! Welcome, visitors from Germany! I appreciate you stopping by.

DC Relaunch: Green Lantern Corps

As you might imagine, the space sectors that each Lantern is assigned to gets pretty big. There’s usually a secondary or a backup assigned. Due to a number of odd occurrences over the years, the Green Lantern Corps have had a number of representatives from Earth. Not to let the fans of these characters be without their favorite Lantern, the Green Lantern titles expanded outward. It also gave a good opportunity to explore other Corps members from around the universe, as well as larger threats while Hal Jordan stayed closer to Earth.

The two Earthen lanterns we see focused here are Guy Gardner and John Stewart, the first two backups for Earth’s sector. While there are a number of extraterrestrial lanterns that will likely be focused on in the series, I want to focus on the two men that will likely be our guides in Green Lantern Corps. Guy Gardner is extremely dedicated to the Corps. He’s also way more hard-nosed than Hal is, which all in all, makes for an interesting combination. In the past, he’s fought Hal to be Green Lantern, and he loves what he does. He’s also got rage issues, which has lead him into dark territory and alliances with the Red Lanterns. John is back and forth in his dedication, and has gone through some extremely rough times as a Lantern. He’s a former marine, and an established architect, all of which come in to play in how he approaches situations and how his structures are built. Both of these Lanterns are interesting in that their ring structures reflect their personalities more than Hal’s usually do. Gardner’s ring is said to spark when he uses it, as if his use of will is overflowing. John’s structures are highly functional, down to the bolts. The two of them together should prove interesting, and both have been spending a lot of time off Earth as members of the Green Lantern Honor Guard.

Pete Tomasi and Fernando Pasarin will be working on the book. Pete Tomasi was a long time editor on the Bat-books before taking the pen in writing the Green Lantern Corps, taking over from previous writer Dave Gibbons. He’s written the further adventures of Guy Gardners in Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors with Pasarin on art, and he’s also written along with Geoff Johns Brightest Day. He’s written Dick Grayson as both Nightwing and Batman, and will be writing Batman & Robin with the relaunch. Fernando Pasarin has worked for the GL universe previously doing a few fill-ins for the Ion book. He also has worked on The Outsiders and Justice Society of America (with Geoff Johns for the story “The Lightning Saga”).

As far as John Stewart and Guy Gardner are concerned, here are a few of their best recent stories. Though very complicated and weird, I also have a soft spot for the John Stewart series Green Lantern: Mosaic.

Green Lantern Corps: Recharge
Green Lantern Corps: The Darker Side of the Green
Green Lantern Corps: Revolt of the Alpha Lanterns
Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors vol. 1

Tomorrow we’ll be looking at Green Lantern: The New Guardians, which will give us an opportunity to talk more about the various Corps of the color/emotional spectrum, and our final Earth Lantern, Kyle Rayner.

DC Relaunch: Green Lantern

Green Lantern has become one of the largest franchise for DC Comics, behind Batman and Superman. It now boasts its own family of titles, and has expanded into a variety of worlds. This Green Lantern, the one who started this iteration of the Green Lantern, is Hal Jordan.

Being as we've seen information about the other Green Lanterns in their own books, I feel it's safe to say that Green Lantern will be starring Hal Jordan. Hal's been through alot in his life. Being burdened with a ring that allows to create almost anything out of willed energy that taps into the universe itself, having to deal for years with a variety of problems from the women in his life, and then being possessed by the embodiment of fear and killing many of his friends in the corps before dying himself. But he redeemed himself. And despite all that, being back in the ring slinging game, did Hal listen more to what others said? Did he follow what the Guardians, who overlook the actions of the Green Lanterns, told him to do? Nope, Hal will always be Hal, which is hardheaded and doing what he thinks is best. Which often, is at least somewhat in line with what is best. Or at least keeps him on his feet to do the right thing the next time.

More recently Green Lantern has had to deal with a great many foes, and the expansion of the world of the Lanterns, discovering that their green energy was not the only one that could be tapped into by a full-on army of Lanterns. He's fought hard and he's built bridges. At the end of the day, Hal has been extremely busy saving the universe the past few years. And he doesn't look to stop any time soon. If you reading this, then you've been missing out on an epic scale space adventure that is only just beginning. And you've been given a brand new starting point.

Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke are back to continue their work on Green Lantern. Together they've been working on the book since Blackest Night and have continued through Brightest Day and now The War of the Green Lanterns. Doug Mahnke is also known for his work with Grant Morrison on Frankenstein for his Seven Soldiers mini-event, and with Joe Kelly on JL Elite.

Green Lantern has been running for some time, but here's a few modern suggestions to keep you grounded:

Green Lantern: Secret Origin
Green Lantern: Rebirth

Tomorrow I'll take a look at what's in store for the other Lanterns with Green Lantern Corps.

DC Relaunch: DCU Presents... Deadman!

Sorry for another delay folks. I just got done moving and we don’t have internet still. I had some things I wanted to talk to you all about.

Let’s talk about the anthology. Moreso what Didio has confirmed DCU Presents to be: a testing ground. I’m pretty young, so I wasn’tactually around when this sort of thing happened regularly, but I look back and am able to see where this was happening. Books like Showcase and Marvel Spotlight would run these stories with lower end or new characters to see how’d they’d do. The Flash of course being the best example of this, I love lookingback to what this title might have been like to collect at that time, if you were collecting it regularly.

It’s with that enthusiasm that we look at our book’s first story arc, featuring Deadman. Deadman has been kicking around in the background of the DCU for some time, and it’s been a while since he’s been as prominent as he’s become in Blackest Night and Brightest Day. Deadman is a tragic character, though recently he’s been given a new light. Boston Brand had it all. He was a famous acrobat and was murdered during the show. He is given new power to act as a ghost in order to find his murderer.He cannot be seen by normal peop e, but he can possess them and communicates with the outside world via this power.

More recently, he was resurrected the White Entity (during Blackest Night) and had to learn how to live again (Brightest Day), as he had become too comfortable and used to the state of disconnectedness that the spirit world gave. He does learn how to live, but as a result sacrifices himself so that someone else can live. Now, he’s stuck again as Deadman the spirit, and has to find his place in that role again.

Paul Jenkins will be writing this story with Bernard Chang on art. Paul Jenkins has been writing in comics for along time, having a notable sized run on Hellblazer, working on the Eisner award wining run on Inhumans with Jae Lee, and also created the Sentry with him. He also had long runs on Peter Parker: Spider-man and The Spectacular Spider-man.

Bernard Chang has previously worked on a number of different project. Most recently he has been working on Supergirl, but he has worked on a number of books for different publishers over the years, going back to when he got his start working for Valiant Comics back in 1992. He’s got a nice, clean style, and also quite capable of ramping up huge visuals that will prove interesting in Deadman’s journey through the otherside.

There was a large oversized collection of the Deadman material that’s been out of print for years. However, DC has decided to reprint some of the material originally printed in the pages of Strange Adventures.

Deadman, vol. 1 by Arnold Drake, Jack Miller, Carmine Infantino, & Neal Adams.

Blackest Night by Geoff Johns & Ivan Reis

Brightest Day by Geoff Johns, Peter Tomasi, & various artists

Tomorrow (or later today, for some) I’ll begin looking at Green Lantern, in which I will ONLY be talking about the comic.

DC Relaunch: Captain Atom

It's kind of a story you've heard before. The main character works for the government. He's set up. They offer him a way out by means of experiment and he gets superpowers. Sounds familiar right? Well he's testing an alien spacecraft. Right, still, you've heard that one. Okay, so they're dropping a nuclear bomb on him. Now we're moving. How about that nuclear bomb melds that spacecraft to his body? And then the blast shunts him off to the future, where it turns out his whole world has been turned upside down, and he still owes one to the government. Hello Nathaniel Adam, otherwise known as Captain Atom, this is your life.



Now, whether this will still be Captain Atom's origin remains to be seen. He looks about the same. But Captain Atom has never been very happy-go-lucky. He's Mr. Down on his luck. He's been used, he's been brainwashed, and he's come out still trying to redeem himself everytime. All the same, he's a potential nuclear bomb with amazing powers. And he's a travelled time and space, though rarely has been an intentional excursion. He's got the ability to absorb powerful energy and expel it. But he's usually composed, reflective. Many times he's willing to put his life on the line to save everyone without even thinking twice about the possibility of his life ending. I know that's what a superheroes supposed to do, but I think we've many times seen that moment of hesitation on panel that he is completely devoid of. But at the same time, it's hard for him to let anyone in. Many of these aspects were drawn on when Alan Moore tackled the character as Doctor Manhattan in Watchmen.


JT Krul is handling the hazmat hero, with Freddie Williams II on art. JT Krul we've met, he's working on Green Arrow as well, and you can check out a few things about him there. This is his first time handling the character of Captain Atom. Freddie Williams II has a unique style that I am very interested to see in this series. He most recently has worked with Matt Sturges on JSA All-Stars and with Fabian Niciezca on Robin prior to the Batman: Reborn line-wide changes. He also worked with Grant Morrison on Mister Miracle, as part of his Seven Soldiers mini-event, the events of which lead into Final Crisis.


Captain Atom has a few things here and there as far as his own series (which can be found in your local comic shop's longboxes!). However, in collection, I'd recommend checking out Justice League: Generation Lost, as well as Captain Atom: Armageddon, where he is accidentally shunted off into the Wildstorm Universe.



Tomorrow I'll be talking about Deadman, as well as the concept of the anthology, as we'll be looking at the upcoming DC Universe Presents.

DC Relaunch: Mister Terrific

There’s a joke somewhere out there about superhero origin stories. It’s from someone familiar the Justice League Unlimited show, and it’s either from the webcomic Shortpacked! or one my friends who watched the show after it was cancelled. But when it comes to trying to figure out Mister Terrific’s origin, the conclusion is that, “he was bitten by a radioactive ‘t’.” I’d say thus far Mister Terrific is probably the lesser known of the characters I’ve covered (with some exceptions in the JLI), with the exception of people who caught that last season of JLU.

Mister Terrific, or Michael Holt, is the modern Renaissance man. He doesn’t have any powers, but he doesn’t need it. He has an amazing intellect (touted as the 3rd smartest man in the world), he’s an Olympic decathlete, and is scientifically inclined in a number of technical fields. Those little globes? Those are T-spheres, each one having a variety of functions that run from research to defense to weaponry. And big T on his face? That’s actually an interface in which he controls each of those little T-spheres. Not only that, but it also can render him invisible to any tech that is not his own. Which is a pretty fantastic infiltration trick. What can one expect from a Mister Terrific series? That still needs to be seen. Terrific has been a long standing member in the pages of JSA/Justice Society for a number of years as one of its many legacy characters, going so far as to being chairman of the group.

Mister Terrific will be written by Eric Wallace with art by Roger Robinson. The cover is by J.G. Jones. Wallace has worked previously for DC working on conflicted villain turned hero the Tattooed Man in Final Crisis Aftermath: Ink with Fabrizio Fiorentino, and the two continued that story into the pages of Titans, as he is lead by Deathstroke along with a number of other reluctant, down on their luck former heroes and line-walkers. Prior to comics, Eric Wallace had worked on the SyFy original series Eureka.

Roger Robinson has worked most recently at Dark Horse with legendary writer Jim Shooter on his reworking of Doctor Solar: Man of the Atom. He’s has also worked in the past for DC on the series Eradicator and Azrael.

Being as Mister Terrific has never had a proper solo series, I’ve located some of my favorite JSA stories that featured him:

Justice Society of America: The Next Age
Checkmate vols. 1-3

Tomorrow we get into Captain Atom, who most people are more familiar with as his Watchmen reworking, Doctor Manhattan!

DC Relaunch: Justice League International

The Justice League of America, as they were once known, seems like an awfully specific name for the world's most powerful heroes saving world-from amazing threats. Apparently that was the mindset in the late 80s, when "Justice League" was introduced, and later changed to Justice League International. Basically the diverse team handled global threats, and a tight bond developed between the mish-mash of characters. The run is also well known for bringing the "bwahaha"

The Justice League International has recently reformed independently in the pages of Justice League: Generation Lost. The group is often diverse and close knit, with friendships running deep to the point of tragedy at times. I'll talk briefly about a couple of the characters shown in the image, though I want to point out that writer Dan Jurgens has said this isn't the final lineup. Batman is of course notable here, and with his Batman Inc. organization and his prominent position in the original series, it makes sense. You also have this core of the JLI group, a people who's relationships are deeply intertwined in friendship, love, etc. They make up the character usually associate with the previous JLI: Booster Gold, Fire, Ice, Guy Gardner, and Rocket Red. Additionally in this image are a few international heroes: Vixen, whose totem is used to tap into the power of various animals, and August General in Iron, a Chinese hero of the group The Great Ten, his armor fashioned from alien tech. While these two have interacted with some of these other heroes before (Vixen has been Justice League on and off for a while now), it will be more interesting to see their interactions with this particular group.

Now, while there will no doubt be other heroes involved, and their missions more of an international nature (I believe they are sanctioned by the UN), this group's interpersonal relationships always stood out to me. That's the difference between them and the standard "Big 7" JLA.

Dan Jurgens will be writing this with Aaron Lopresti on art. Dan Jurgens I've mentioned before, and has long paid dues as both a writer and an artist. He's been working with Booster Gold and these members of the Justice League for a long time. So not only is he qualified, but he's familiar, and he has a consistency that is appreciated. Aaron Lopresti is fantastic artist, and handled this team along with Joe Bennett in their recent adventures in Justice League: Generation Lost. He also did much of the art for Wonder Woman during Gail Simone's run, with Brian Reed on Ms. Marvel, and on his own creation, Garbageman, which was serialized in the anthology mini-series Weird Worlds.

Now I mentioned way back when I started this but I was going to hold off on the JLI collections... and here they are!

Justice League vols. 1-6, by Keith Giffen, J.M DeMatteis, Kevin Maguire, and Bart Sears.

Justice League: Generation Lost by Judd Winick, Keith Giffen, Aaron Lopresti, and others.

Later today I'm going to talk about Mister Terrific, a character who's never had his own ongoing series before (I'm not even sure he's gotten a mini!).

Also, I apologize about the tardiness. I had a rough night at my second job, and I couldn't manage to get very much typed out that wasn't gibberish. Thanks to whoever checked in at 8am, I hope I haven't driven you off with my unprofessionalism.

DC Relaunch: Green Arrow

Whenever I first came back into comics, and was reading mostly Marvel and X-Men—basically all the books I wasn’t allowed to read as a kid that I really wanted to—The first DC comic I picked up outside of Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns was Kevin Smith’s Green Arrow story Quiver. So I do kind of have an attachment to the character and what he has going on. Additionally, it’s hard to not follow a character when it’s your friend’s absolute favorite character. So here’s to you, Dave.

I’ll admit, as anyone should, that Green Arrow did not have the best start, historically. He was more or less set up as an archery themed Batman. Don’t worry, that’s the most we’re gonna talk about that. Oliver Queen, or Green Arrow, has a lot of fluctuation in life. He’s had a lot of hard luck, but he gets by, and then he gets through it. He’ll get lucky, have everything back in hand, and then it all crumbles again. Back and forth, but he always lands on his feet. He’s a human trainwreck, and you can’t help but root for him to get back up.

You never know if he’ll pull that trick arrow or it’ll be a real one singing through your shoulder. Will he be in control of his company and making attempts to help the downtrodden? Or will he be right next to them the next week, just trying to get by. Obsessed with Robin Hood, skillful as all get out, a ladies man, quick to get in your face to tell you how you’re wrong. Arrogant as hell. This is Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow. Protector of Star City.

Green Arrow will be written by JT Krul with art from legend Dan Jurgens. First off, Krul is currently the writer for Green Arrow, taking over when the book rebooted as part of Brightest Day. He did a great job putting Ollie through the paces, and looks to run him through a few more here. He’s also written Teen Titans, and worked on Soulfire and Fathom for the late Michael Turner’s company Aspen.

Dan Jurgens has proved himself as an extremely versatile writer and artist over the years, creating the hero Booster Gold, working on multiple titles for both Marvel and DC, and helming the well known Superman story The Death of Superman, and having long runs on both Captain America and Thor. He has recently been working on Booster Gold again, first collaborating with writers Geoff Johns and Jeff Katz, and later writing himself. He also worked on Time Masters: Vanishing Point, which acted as a companion to The Return of Bruce Wayne by Grant Morrison, and a lead-in to Flashpoint as well.

Here’s a few Green Arrow titles that are considered definitive, as a well as a few that I just really liked:

Green Lantern/Green Arrow Collection vols. 1 & 2 by Dennis O’Neil, Elliot S! Maggin, & Neal Adams
Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters by Mike Grell
Green Arrow: Quiver by Kevin Smith, Phil Hester & Andre Parks
Green Arrow: Year One by Andy Diggle & Jock
Green Arrow: Into the Woods by JT Krul & Diogenes Nives

Tomorrow I’m gonna throw two at you. First thing in the morning, look for a lookover Justice League International, and then later in the day (probably around 4 or 5), We’ll be looking into one of the new titles I’m extremely excited about, and that’s Mister Terrific.

DC Relaunch: The Savage Hawkman

If you go up to the average comic book fan with familiarity of DC characters and asked, “Hey, what’s Hawkman’s origin?” they may groan and roll their eyes. It’s true, Hawkman has gone through some complicated changes just about every time there’s an opportunity to relaunch the property. I personally don’t think it’s that complicated, but I’m gonna go ahead say don’t worry about it. No matter what backstory is given for how he’s there with wings on, he’ll end up doing the same stuff. Which is not to say the character is boring! Not at all.

Hawkman is a complicated character, sure. I think some people like that in a character, where the possibilities are not quite limited. He always seems like he’s brooding, thinking in the background about what’s happening before him. Unless Green Arrow is around, in which case he’s like he is in battle, completely unchained, no restraint. That’s what you can expect as far as action: Hawkman uses heavy weaponry, and he is BRUTAL. If you’ve really pissed him off, expect some sort of historic weaponry slamming into the side of your face. On the other side of that, Hawkman finds himself in high-adventure. The sort of archeology-digs-gone-wrong that Indiana Jones has nightmares about. Sudden excursions to alternate dimensions, being swept off to another planet constantly embroiled in war. This is Hawkman.

The Savage Hawkman will be helmed by Tony Daniel and Philip Tan. Daniel has been writing Batman for the past year or so, and previous to that wrote mini-series Batman: The Battle for the Cowl and his creator owned series, The Tenth. He’s an artist as well, having worked on Batman with Grant Morrison and Teen Titans with Geoff Johns.

Philip Tan has had a drastic change of style recently, and it looks fantastic. The cover above is evidence of that. Recently Tan has been working providing artwork for both The Outsiders with Dan Didio, and pages for Eric Wallace’s Titans. Prior to that, he had worked with Grant Morrison on Batman & Robin, and with Geoff Johns on Green Lantern for the story “Agent Orange.” In fact, Tan design all of the constructs that compose Larfleeze’s “corps” of Orange Lanterns. The man’s worked on a lot over the years, and this is just a recent sampling.

Hawkman was recently featured in the storyline Brightest Day, which is a good one check (as I’ve already referenced it!). Here are some other noteworthy picks:

JSA: The Return of Hawkman by David Goyer, Geoff Johns, & Stephen Sadowski
Hawkworld by Timothy Truman
Showcase Presents Hawkman vol. 1 & 2 by Gardner Fox & Joe Kubert

There are also a number of volumes of the last ongoing, which feature writing from Geoff Johns, James Robinson, Justin Grey, & Jimmy Palmiotti, as well as art from Rags Morales, Ryan Sook, Joe Bennett & Chris Batista.

Up tomorrow is Hawkman’s political foil, Green Arrow, where I’ll point out that if he’s such a poor man’s Hawkeye, why’s he had more successful series than ole Clint? Hmm.