Atom, Firestorm, Blue Beetle and Aquaman all died because they weren’t the characters they claimed to be but rather cheap or politically correct replacements.

I understand Giffen is trying to create rather than recreate, but there was no demand for a Magog series and based on Giffen’s recent work (Suicide Squad, Ambush Bug) he hasn’t exactly been setting the sales charts on fire.

DC just needs to smarten up, bring back the greatest heroes ever published and give us stories written by people who know how to write comics instead of the hollywood hacks moonlighting as comic writers.

We don’t know for sure if this Magog will kill the Joker and essentially doom the DCU, and the fun will be seeing him take that path or some other development that doesn’t lead to it. I am honestly very interested in this series after reading Giffen’s interview but I still need a little push to see whether I want to trade wait it or get it monthly.

Plus, I liked David Reid before he became Magog, no nonsense, no fuss didn’t even want a code name.

He’s no Citizen Steel, or Wildcat III, but he’s one of the more interesting new characters in the current JSofA.

Honestly, I’m more interested in reading this book than more Grant Morrison Batman nonsense.

They’ve given Aquaman how many chances? Why not let a new character step up to the plate with a couple of proven veterans. In this market, what harm could it possibly do?

Of all the characters introduced or reintroduced in the pages of JSA to get an ongoing, I think I would have chosen Citizen Steel over Magog, but with Giffen at the wheel, I’ll give this a shot.

First, the decision was editorially-driven as opposed to creatively-driven. Giffen didn’t approach DC Comics with a great pitch and story idreas about Magog, DC approached Giffen. This does not bode well.

Second, I can’t find any hard evidence that there is any kind of fanbase or support for the Magog character. Did sales issues of Justice Society of America featuring Magog on the cover spike significantly? Are there fan sites dedicated to Magog popping up on the Internet? Does he even have a facebook or myspace fan page?

Third, why not test the waters with a mini-series first before launching an ongong series?

The decision just seems arbitrary.

Lobo ain’t nothing but a Wolverine riff, he’s still kicking around, and had a huge following at one point.

Magog has had few moments to shine, how people can so easily dismiss him is kinda funny. “We’ve seen maybe 30 pages total with this character, but he sucks!”

Hmmm, okay. How would that work at all for any character. A scant few appearances and if it doesn’t set the internets on fire scrap it?

Magog as the soldier-turned-hero is an interesting balance, and having him bring the violence could really make an interesting book. He was supposed to represent the 90s, but without actually giving him much depth in Thy Kingdom Come, they did give him a lot of POTENTIAL as the guy who might destroy the world and who holds the balance between the JSA and, say Black Adam.

It has interesting morality play value. We’ll just have to see if it lives up to it, as I’ve found Giffen to be *very* hit or miss in his last few projects at DC.

And I’m of the mindset that creators should write whoever the hell they want, not the characters an dsitautions that half the internet is gushing to see. Maybe Giffen doesn’t want to write Liberty Bell or Hourman or anyone else, but these days all that seems to matter is what someone personally wants, instead of what is good.