The leisurely comic discussion thread

[Molly]

His run on Blue Beetle is really, really good. Lighthearted stuff with some good story telling and a nice cartoon-y art style.

[KnightWing]

While I agree with most of those, Wally is a stretch. Do I like Barry's return? No, not at all. But Wally was The Flash for almost 25 years. He had an excellent run (no pun intended), and we've yet to see what they're going to do with him.

Heheh. "Run."

I really like Barry when he's written more like the caring, compassionate character we see in The New Frontier and Blackest Night, not the hard-edged, no-nonsense character that he's sometimes portrayed as. So it's kind of like he bounces between two extremes for me.

And yeah, I hope Wally gets something to do. Maybe he'll end up back with the Titans?

Speaking of "Titans," I really really really want a book focusing on Superboy, Wonder Girl (Cassie), Bart, and Tim Drake. So, basically, Young Justice but newer. Like what was done with them in the early stages of Johns' Teen Titans and the recent Superboy arc in Adventure Comics.

[Stavros]

Ryan Choi had several years and is completely uninteresting. He served to force people to make Palmer as interesting as he's been in the past.

His book had its fans, seems irritating to just write him out.

Kyle Rayner is still a Green Lantern and leading his own book.

He is now, but there's no doubt who THE Green Lantern is. Is Kyle going to be the guy to beat Sinestro or another big foe in a fight? No, he's going to be jobbed out to make Hal look good.

Wally West has had a quarter century and has not been stripped of the title of Flash.

He's been stripped of a solo book. He's second fiddle to his old mentor again.

Let's face it, Dick SHOULDN'T be Batman even though I kind of like it.

He could have been Batman for longer than this, with Wayne actually returned it just undercuts him.

Connor Hawke was a ruined character before GA came back.

Dunno enough about it. I'm happy Ollie is back to tell the truth, but then he's the only GA I've ever read.

Zolomon? Really? He's still around you know...plus he's being written by the guy who created him and has essentially been written that way since his creation.

He's not Zoom anymore, and imo he was one of the best villains they'd created in the last decade. They look to be bringing him back, but they jobbed him out to Inertia of all people, plus he was made second fiddle by the constant returns of the original Zoom.

Holly Robinson?

Catwoman.

All these guys are still alive and in costume, but they've been made to stand on the sidelines which is almost worse than being killed off. They're former leads characters reduced to supporting at best. Can DC retire a hero and not have him come back to undermine their replacement? Perfect example is Ted Knight. He became a supporting character to the 90's Starman and whilst he had his moments to shine it was clearly his son who was the lead in the book. Respectful, well-written and exactly how DC should be handling its legacy characters.

[Dread]

Kyle Rayner is still a Green Lantern and leading his own book.

He is now, but there's no doubt who THE Green Lantern is.

Just figured that needed to be quoted.

[SuaveStar]

Although the Legacies are great, from a marketing perspective, you need the recognisable faces in the roles, if DC is going ahead with the films. Like the Flash film, if that ever happens, it'll most likely be Barry and they want people to watch that film, and go to a new monthly comic and see the exploits of that character.

Also, seeing Dick as Batman, I sort of don't want Bruce in the role right away. Even if Morrison is the only person I'm enjoying writing his and Damien's exploits, it's still fun and new. Wally has so many great stories, from the Johns and Waid(1st run, not his newer stuff) that is still as enjoyable as it once was. There's something interesting about a Batman who isn't the be all and end all, someone who is still learning from the role, that is fun for me as a reader.

Ryan Choi, has had only one person really write him well to my knowledge and that's Gail Simone, although it's great to see a second Atom, showing moving on with times, he just wasn't that great a character from what little I've read. So, I can't truly judge.

Sometimes these new characters in the old roles don't work, because the DC machine isn't behind it. Wally worked as you had his growing up coming out of COIE by Wolfman and Perez. He was given time to become the Flash in the publics eyes and be given a prominent role in a cartoon.

[Venneh]

Don Kramer Joins JMS on WONDER WOMAN Team - Changes Promised

By Michael Doran

posted: 15 April 2010 04:01 pm ET

The art team of Don Kramer and Michael Babinski will join writer J. Michael Straczynski as the full regular creative team of DC’s Wonder Woman beginning with issue #601, DC Comics announced Thursday afternoon.

"I knew from the moment I first saw Don's work that he would be perfect for Wonder Woman,” says Straczynski. “ What we're doing with the book - going back to the core of the character, really helping to define who she is, what she's feeling and what she's fighting for - really requires that you can see emotion in the faces of the characters, as well as a dynamic range of action and movement. Don brings all of those to the table.”

The publisher also released the accompanying image from the new art team, which features a Paradise Island that has seen better days and hints at the direction JMS plans to go in, or as DC puts it, “you can tell things are about to get dangerous for Wonder Woman - and things are going to change...” “...major, lasting changes for Wonder Woman and her world.”

"Our story puts Diana, alone, against almost impossible odds in a situation that begins with the destruction of Paradise Island and nearly everything she holds dear,” added JMS. “Pursued, hunted, with the events that led to this a mystery, and her future uncertain, Diana must go into the depths of her soul, and the darkest places in the world, to try and rescue the people, and the world, she cares for. Something, or someone, has flipped a switch so that the world she lives in is not the world that was...and she's the only hope of restoring that world."

Source

...

COME BACK GAIL SIMONE, AT LEAST YOU DO NOT FRIDGE THE ENTIRE ISLAND. D:

[Guest]

What we're doing with the book - going back to the core of the character,

Is it just me or do we hear this line every single time a book changes teams?

[Dread]

Writer pretention. What every writer SHOULD do on an established character is to boil it down to what works and why and then tell a story thusly. Only in the last little while has the actual boast about it come to light.

The core. Get to the core, man.

[prez]

I can't wait to see the press release where the new writer says:

I'm going to fuck this up beyond recognition. I've got no idea who this character is, but they offered me a shit ton of money, so I said yes. I'm writing Green Somebody, right? Yeah, I can do that.

I assume that release will be signed "James Robinson."

[Molly]

I can't wait to see the press release where the new writer says:

I'm going to fuck this up beyond recognition. I've got no idea who this character is, but they offered me a shit ton of money, so I said yes. I'm writing Green Somebody, right? Yeah, I can do that.

I assume that release will be signed "James Robinson."

Epic.

[Koete]

Can we give JMS an actual issue or two before we grab the torches and pitchforks?

[Dread]

To be fair, the only anti-JMS statement had to do with bringing back Gail Simone.

I don't care either way. I don't read JMS and Simone's WW was an exercise in stupidity.

[Venneh]

Honestly, I'm more disappointed that the first thing that the new author on the series is going to do is kill off all of Paradise Island in order to get Wondy more character development. Basically, it's the epic-scale fridging that pisses me off.

[Dread]

Yeah, as far as getting at "the core of the character," killing off what makes her unique is hardly good writing. But then again, JMS...

[Koete]

Honestly, I'm more disappointed that the first thing that the new author on the series is going to do is kill off all of Paradise Island in order to get Wondy more character development. Basically, it's the epic-scale fridging that pisses me off.

I see the destroyed Paradise Island in the preview art, but I don't see the blood and corpses everywhere.

[Venneh]

"Our story puts Diana, alone, against almost impossible odds in a situation that begins with the destruction of Paradise Island and nearly everything she holds dear, added JMS. Pursued, hunted, with the events that led to this a mystery, and her future uncertain, Diana must go into the depths of her soul, and the darkest places in the world, to try and rescue the people, and the world, she cares for. Something, or someone, has flipped a switch so that the world she lives in is not the world that was...and she's the only hope of restoring that world."

Source

[Dread]

Hold on, a hero from a destroyed homeworld dealing with the consequences of being the only one left? I like that idea. How come no one has done that before?

[Koete]

Exactly. So where does it say that he's going to kill all of the Amazons?

[Koete]

A mother in Minnesota is complaining about Bone. I wish I was making this up.

[KnightWing]

For every published work, there's a mother out there to be offended by it.

[Stavros]

But if kids don't see cartoon bones smoking in a comic, how will they know how cool smoking is?

[SuaveStar]

John Cassady is the new Superman cover artist with issue #701

[Black_Adam]

DC Comics has announced that Superman will be involved in the search through time for Batman.

TIME MASTERS: VANISHING POINT #1 launches "The Search for Batman," as Rip Hunter puts together a high-powered band of Time Masters to travel through time in search of the World's Greatest Detective. But can even the combined might and skill of Superman, Green Lantern and Booster Gold help the Time Master pinpoint where Batman went at the conclusion of FINAL CRISIS? Information that could keep Vanishing Point from tearing itself apart?

This six-issue mini-series, a companion piece to BATMAN: THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE and a story chock full of clues that point toward the next major DCU event, hits in July from writer artist Dan Jurgens with a variant cover by Chris Sprouse and Karl Story (the artists on BATMAN: RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #1).

Visit DC's "The Source" to hear what editor Mike Carlin has to say about this new comic book series

May I ask why Booster Gold is only getting involved now? The miniseries would have been a oneshot if he just went before batman went all caveman/pirate/witchunter

[Missy]

May I ask why Booster Gold is only getting involved now? The miniseries would have been a oneshot if he just went before batman went all caveman/pirate/witchunter

Because no one can pinpoint the exact day Darkseid sent Bruce back to. It's pre-history, so locking something down to one specific day is impossible.

[Black_Adam]

I haven't read final crisis, so thanks for pointing it out. But really, after Tim located the cave, they could have gone back to look in the cromagnon or neanderthal eras. Or even just go back with knowledge of what happened and wipe it from existence (I wouldn't mind getting rid of countdoown either). But I suppose then you get the whole Ted Kord needs to happen for other things to happen. But all that really comes out of it is a new Robin and Batgirl. The whole Dick as Batman thing played out better in Prodigal if you ask me.