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: 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 Daily, Part one: Justice League

As many of you who may stumble across this blog are aware, DC Comics is preparing a massive relaunch of their titles, with 52 new books being released to the general public (that's right they're not just for nerds anymore (p.s., they never were!)), not only in shops, but online the same day. For those of you aware, thanks for stopping by. Please link this blog to a friend who could potentially be interested in reading comics. Because that's what I want to do here.


I've decided that I want there to be more people reading. I like the idea of reading comics as something that people do because they enjoy it, not something we wallow in as nostalgia, whether it be people like myself who are regular Wednesday release readers, to the people who whenever I bring up comics they think back to something they read as a kid, and how much they loved it (but you couldn't get them to pick up a book if you tried). As comic book readers, we have a negative stigma. So invite those reading this to forget about that. DC has given you a way around the comic book shop. Comics are now released online. If you've ever been interested, even remotely, I'd like to help open the door. But, I'd imagine, you don't really know where to begin. So day by day, I'll be going over these books that DC is providing for you. By no means should you try to read them all! That way lies madness. But if something catches your eye, why not?



So I'll begin with the first title being announced, and that is Justice League by Geoff Johns & Jim Lee.


Here's the first cover that was released:


The Justice League has always been a team that handled the largescale threats to Earth that as individuals may have been a bit much. But together, they're the heaviest hitters Earth has to offer, and it's hard to get very far against that.



Most of these characters should be pretty familiar to you: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, and Aquaman. Depending on your age, it may even be safe to say that you're familiar with Cyborg, as he was one of the main characters of Teen Titans (which was a great show for young and old, in my opinion). These are your Big 7, as they're usually referred to. The core of the Justice League. As you might imagine, being the biggest and most important characters in the DC Universe is a busy job in itself. A few members aside, these are protectors of their respective cities. So as per usually, there's a few more members that have yet to be revealed. Geoff Johns, the writer, has stated the League will boast up to about 13 members. So there's room for everyone.


I'd like to now talk about the creators working on the book, which can be, for many, as important as who the book is about.


Geoff Johns is a writer who's been working at DC Comics for sometime. Currently, in addition to writing, he is Chief Creative Officer at DC. He's well known for long runs on the comics The Flash, JSA (and later published as Justice Society of America), Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E., Action Comics, and for his very long run in revitalizing Hal Jordan as the Green Lantern, and expanding the Green Lantern franchise into multiple books and soon to be a movie. His works are known for having hints and seeds throughout a long run, while still being accessible to new readers jumping into the latest story. I myself started reading his Green Lantern about 25 issues in.


Jim Lee is an artist who has been in the comics industry for a long time. Part of the teams responsible for the immense popularity of the X-Men in the early 90s, he left Marvel Comics with other artists to start Image Comics. After a time, Lee took his properties and studio Wildstorm on its own, separate from Image. After a time it became enveloped as a line all its own within DC, publishing his Wildstorm Universe, licensed properties, and various creator owned works such as Alan Moore's ABC line of comics. Recently he was named with Dan Didio the co-publisher for DC Comics.



Just a few works by these two creators I'd like to recommend:


Green Lantern: Rebirth by Geoff Johns & Ethan Van Sciver
The Flash: Dastardly Death of the Rogues by Geoff Johns, Francis Manapul, & Scott Kolins
Superman: Secret Origin by Geoff Johns & Gary Frank
Batman: Hush by Jeph Loeb & Jim Lee


And a few of my personal favorite Justice League storylines (excluding Justice League International, more about that later):



JLA by Grant Morrison & Howard Porter (vols. 1-4)
JLA: The Obsidian Age by Joe Kelly & Doug Mahnke (Books 1 & 2)
Justice League Elite by Joe Kelly & Doug Mahnke (vols 1 & 2)



Being as these are my personal favorites, I'd hardly say they are the easiest or the most representative of what you'll be reading in the new Justice League title. Merely representative of what I liked before. If you are interested in reading further, these suggests are here, and if any readers would like to further those, please do so in the comments! But I should say, do not feel pressured into reading these books as a primer for the new title. It should stand on its own.



Tomorrow, we'll be getting into the first of the solo titles announced, Wonder Woman!