"You're not going out in *that*?!?"

Although they won’t be solicited for a few more weeks, DC has already been talking up the six new(ish) titles coming in May. G.I. Combat, Dial H, Ravagers, and Worlds’ Finest join the returning Batman Incorporated and the long-rumored Justice So– I mean, Earth 2 — as the replacements for most of the New-52′s lowest-selling books.

As with the original New-52 group, every new title except one is familiar to longtime DC fans; and as with the original New-52, that book spins out of an existing feature. (Then it was Batman Incorporated begetting Batwing; here it’s the Teen Titans/Superboy nexus spawning Ravagers.) However, where the New-52 tried noticeably to make many of its books accessible — or at least uprooted them from established DC lore — most of the new titles seem to require some prerequisite reading.

For me, this is not a problem, because I’ve been reading Batman Incorporated (and the rest of Grant Morrison’s Bat-work) since the beginning; and I grew up on the annual JLA/JSA multiple-Earth team-ups. However, I am not exactly the target audience for the New-52, and it’s curious to me why DC would head back towards the deep end of the continuity pool with at least half of its new offerings. In fairness, it is possible to boil hairsplitting topics like parallel Earths into easily-digestible packets of information. It’s not so much that there’s an alternate Earth, it’s that there’s an Earth which doesn’t tie into forty-odd other monthly comic books. Likewise, the new/old Huntress and Power Girl need not be throwbacks to comics from the ‘70s and ‘80s, just plausible takes on their extremely-familiar superheroic heritage. After all, “Batman and Catwoman’s daughter” was good enough to get that “Birds Of Prey” TV show on the air (even if what the “BOP” show did with it was something else….)

Ah, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s look at the newcomers in detail.

The New-52 books have already “reclaimed” a number of Vertigo characters, but with Dial H the line between the two imprints gets blurrier as uber-editor Karen Berger helps relaunch one of the Silver Age’s quirkier concepts. Let me repeat that: Dial “H” For HERO was quirky for the Silver Age because it invited readers to design their own superheroes, who would then be worked into the stories. These days, that kind of thing practically dares a publisher to craft some social-media reader-participation component, but it sounds like writer China Miéville has enough of his own ideas about where to take the series. Specifically, its protagonist looks to have a hard time adjusting to the endless cycle of random powers and/or identities which once were governed only by the whims of DC’s readership. To tell you the truth, that makes it sound like Daffy’s descent into madness in the classic “Duck Amuck” — where another capricious omnipotence kept changing the rules of Daffy’s reality — but I’m sure that is just a facile comparison.

A better one may be to the New-52′s Animal Man which, ‘way back when, made the transition from DCU to Vertigo and has come back working a good bit of that smart-and-cool Vertigo mojo. Dial H sounds like a good-enough-for-Vertigo superhero comic, and it certainly has the pedigree (the original Dial H even debuted in the old House Of Mystery, looong before that book was annexed by Neil Gaiman’s Sandman). Thus, my expectations are high, but with good reason.

G.I. Combat replaces Men Of War perhaps in name only, since on the face of it I’m not sure that much distinguishes the two military/paranormal mashups. MOW stars a new Sgt. Rock and had an anthological backup feature, while GIC will pair The War That Time Forgot with rotating backups like The Unknown Soldier and The Haunted Tank (the latter a staple of the original G.I. Combat). In fact, this version could easily have been called Weird War Tales (which eventually featured the original “War That Time Forgot”) for its more direct melding of the battlefield and the strange. Oh, heck; titles are irrelevant: the Unknown Soldier was the last regular feature of Star Spangled War Stories, “WTTF’s” original home.

All three of these features have been revived fairly recently — WTTF as a 12-issue DCU miniseries, Haunted Tank as a 5-issue Vertigo miniseries, and Unknown Soldier as a Vertigo ongoing series. As you might expect, the Vertigo versions made some changes, placing the Tank in Operation Iraqi Freedom and the “Soldier” in 2002 Uganda. Regardless, these features arguably have some residual name recognition (besides being perennial favorites and entertaining concepts), which may have contributed to their inclusion in the new G.I. Combat. In the end, I’m glad DC is sticking with a military-oriented book set in its main comics line, because it makes the line more diverse.

Not helping diversity as much is The Ravagers, which spins out of Teen Titans and Superboy. From what I can tell, DC is doing “edgy Teen Titans” in Teen Titans itself, so if Ravagers is “even edgier,” I don’t know if there’s much of an audience for that. Actually, the premise sounds more like Gen13, it includes at least one Gen13 alum, and “on the run from shadowy organization” is a decent starting point. Still, I have a bad feeling it will try too hard to be edgy and/or extreme, in keeping with its ‘90s roots. Much of this goes back to artist Ian Churchill, whose work on 2008′s Titans relaunch couldn’t quite overcome his tendencies to exaggerate and/or objectify. I do like Superboy’s Rose Wilson and Caitlin Fairchild — well, I don’t dislike them, and artist R.B. Silva draws ‘em in a nice, non-exploitative manner — so I will give this a chance. I’d like to think it will be better than Red Hood and the Outlaws, but that’s not exactly grounds for a commitment.

I have already committed to Batman Incorporated, so I’m glad it’s back on the schedule. There might not have been more to say, except for editor Mike Marts proclaiming that BatCorp Volume 2 is “the final, unbelievable act of a saga six years in the making.”  If you’ve been reading Morrison’s Batman for the past six years, that’s one thing. Otherwise, I’m sure DC would love to sell you a few collections (or at least the hefty Leviathan special) to bring you up to speed. That’s a lot of material, even digitized. It’s good stuff, don’t get me wrong; but again, there’s six years of it. In that context, the Earth-Two Huntress may be an easier sell, even having been out of circulation for most of the past twenty-five years; because that kind of break surely means that Worlds’ Finest will go out of its way to be accessible. Six years of Batman comics? You can get through that over a long weekend.

And that brings us back to the two parallel-world — excuse me, next-generation superhero — titles, Earth 2 from James Robinson and Nicola Scott and Worlds’ Finest from Paul Levitz, George Pérez, and Kevin Maguire. I will be getting both of these eagerly, mostly because of my stated affection for the old Multiverse. Again, though, I wonder how many of the New-52′s newer readers will be interested in a pair of books which (re)introduce another Earth’s worth of continuity? The old Earth-Two was basically the home of Golden Age DC stories, which had apparently occurred in real time (or in whatever faithful-to-the-originals order Roy Thomas arranged them) so that, starting in the early 1960s, DC’s writers and editors could distinguish Then from Now.

Soon enough, though, Earth-Two became its own ongoing concern — got its own Now, as it were — and Power Girl and the Huntress were very much a part of its unique identity. Like Supergirl, Power Girl was Superman’s first cousin; but she landed on Earth almost forty years after he did and was more like Clark and Lois’ adopted daughter. The Huntress was Helena Wayne, Batman and Catwoman’s actual daughter, who became the new Darknight Detective after her mom’s death drove her dad into retirement. These are not difficult concepts to grasp. Regardless, Earth-Two was full of just-different-enough characters, even if (from the Golden Age fan’s perspective) the new folks were the different ones. Green Lantern wasn’t a space-cop. The Atom didn’t shrink. The Flash wore a helmet. Hawkman … ugh, let’s not get started with Hawkman. Then there was Doctor Mid-Nite, Doctor Fate, Mister Terrific, Starman, and various others who hadn’t gotten Earth-One counterparts. When I first learned about the Justice Society and Earth-Two — when I was six, so it’s been a while — I wanted to know more. I recognize now that I could have also dropped that issue of Justice League like a hot rock and run for something less complicated.

With that in mind, I understand why DC didn’t advertise the current Huntress miniseries as a prelude to the Earth-2 series, since (SPOILER ALERT, maybe?) it features Helena Wayne posing as her not-related-to-Batman counterpart. That wouldn’t have been a bad hook for an old-school Huntress fan, but I wouldn’t have wanted to market a New-52 book to an old-school fan. Still, I didn’t pick up Huntress originally, because my interest couldn’t quite overcome budgetary concerns, and now I’m wishing I had. (Haven’t had time to download the issues yet, either.)

As discussed above, you’d think Earth 2 and Worlds’ Finest would make a special effort to be new-reader-friendly. I’m also interested in how old-reader-friendly they’ll be. If this is the Earth-2 glimpsed briefly during Geoff Johns’ run on JSA, it’s had a while (since the end of Crisis On Infinite Earths, in fact) to develop into something even more distinct. It shouldn’t be a replacement for the pre-Flashpoint DC-Earth, because it wouldn’t have had any Silver Age characters or their legacies — so no Green Lantern Corps, no Barry Allen, Wally West, or Bart Allen, no Jason Todd, Tim Drake, or Damien Wayne, etc. I wonder if there’ll even be the full complement of Starmen. Of course, the hypothetical new New-52 reader might not know what s/he’s missing, but I suspect us oldsters will make even more assumptions about what Earth-2 “should” be, well in advance of May’s first issues. It’s kind of like J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, creating a new setting with enough of the old to seem familiar, but not enough to be a duplicate.

At the very least the two books should look great. Nicola Scott is an asset to any team book — she handled crowds pretty well when Birds Of Prey guest-starred the Secret Six — and I can’t wait to see Pérez and Maguire trade off on Worlds’ Finest.

Not surprisingly, I hope these books find a decent audience beyond the core of JSA/Power Girl readers. It’s not that the New 52 needs the stylistic alternative of an Earth-2 as a safe harbor from all those high collars and ‘90s callbacks. For a long time, being a DC fan meant buying into the Multiverse and/or the legacies, so it’s nice that some of that is coming back. How much of it, and for how long, are questions for another day.

Over on his blog, Teen Titans artist Brett Booth shows us some of his early designs for the character who eventually became Bunker. Originally the character was “going to transform into a monster,” Booth says, and the character went through several other iterations before they landed on Bunker and his bricks. “Scott wanted to do bricks so we did bricks.”

Justice League America #61

Don’t ask me how I remember this, but it was just about twenty years ago that the first previews of Dan Jurgens’ Justice League began appearing. After five years, the “bwah-ha-ha” era was winding down, and Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis were leaving Justice League America. Giffen was also stepping away from plots and breakdowns for Justice League Europe, with JLE’s scripter Gerard Jones taking over as the book’s only writer; and Brian Augustyn replaced Andy Helfer as both books’ editor.

With a number of the New 52 titles changing creative teams before they’re even a year old, it’s too early to start talking about any long-lived, let alone definitive, runs on a particular book. Still, DC clearly hopes these books will be around for a while, even without the folks who launched ‘em. It got me thinking about past changes of the guard, and how they have followed some well-established interpretations.

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Let’s begin with the Jurgens League, which was a big part of a wider effort to establish the Justice League as a mini-franchise. In the spring of 1992, the League family included JLA and JLE, as well as the oversized anthology Justice League Quarterly. “Breakdowns,” an epic crossover between the two monthly books, left the two teams pretty much disbanded, only to reunite (with some newer, higher-profile members) in the one-shot Justice League Spectacular. Although the overall effect made JLA and JLE less wacky, the changes also tried to give the books more of a high-adventure feel, deliberately trying to evoke the Silver Age team. The covers of JLA #61 and JLE #37 each paid homage to early Justice League of America moments, with JLA’s copying Justice League of America #1 and JLE’s parodying the original team’s origin (from JLofA #9).

Justice League Europe #37

In hindsight, it was part of a cycle which should be familiar to longtime Justice League fans. As a response to the “Detroit League’s” lineup of lesser-knowns, Giffen, DeMatteis, and penciller Kevin Maguire had built Justice League International around veterans from the original team (Batman, Black Canary, Martian Manhunter), familiar characters with no previous League affiliation (Mr. Miracle, Dr. Fate, Captain Marvel), and those newer to the spotlight (Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Guy Gardner, Dr. Light). For years the JLI was successful without the likes of Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, or Hal Jordan, mostly because it poked fun at the kind of omnipotent super-team to which they would belong. However, when Jurgens and Jones (and JLE’s new artist Ron Randall) took over, the two Leagues expanded to accommodate exactly those characters. Superman joined Beetle, Booster, Guy, Fire, and Ice in Justice League America, while Power Girl, Flash, Crimson Fox, and Elongated Man welcomed Hal, Aquaman, (eventually) Wonder Woman, and (for the first arc) Batman into Justice League Europe.

Strange as it may sound, this was a big deal at the time. After a few years of post-Crisis On Infinite Earths creative renovations, DC was starting to rediscover the Silver Age. Jurgens’ first villain was Xotar the Weapons Master, not seen since 1960′s Brave and the Bold #29, and his last big storyline involved Doctor Destiny and a twisted version of the Satellite League. Intervening was 1992′s “Death Of Superman” storyline, and since Superman was part of the League, Doomsday got to sideline Booster and put Beetle in a coma. There’s some metatextual hay to be made out of a Silver Age pastiche featuring self-referential post-Crisis characters being decimated by an early-‘90s stunt-plot built around killing one of the world’s most recognizable pop-culture figures, but in the end it was just a big mess. Jurgens’ JLA ended up with Wonder Woman, Guy Gardner, Maxima, the Ray, Black Condor, Agent Liberty, and Bloodwynd, and Jurgens left soon thereafter. When the JL books were reshuffled a year or so later, Gerard Jones was the new writer, and the cycle began anew.

Teen Titans vol. 2 #1

As it happened, Jurgens also ended up taking over the Teen Titans from longtime writer Marv Wolfman. Of course, Wolfman’s association with the Titans went back to the late ‘60s, but he’d really made his mark in 1980, in collaboration with artist George Pérez. Wolfman stayed on New (Teen) Titans for some fifteen years, and by the time Nightwing put the book to bed with issue #130, there didn’t seem to be much more to do with those characters. Accordingly, Jurgens started fresh in Teen Titans #1 (October 1996), with a group of super-powered youngsters sharing a common origin. Leading the group was the Atom, stuck in the body of a 16-year-old following a temporal accident, and helping to mentor them was Mr. Jupiter, a figure from one of the original Titans’ other relaunches. Jurgens’ Titans lasted two years, although issue #12 featured the originals in the start of a four-part storyline and Captain Marvel Jr. joined around issue #17. The book ended with issue #24, but the original Titans reunited in 1998′s JLA/Titans miniseries, and one of Jurgens’ characters (Argent) joined the subsequent Titans title. Argent even appeared in the seminal JLA storyline “Rock Of Ages,” albeit as one of the last superheroes standing after Darkseid’s global conquest. With the Titans’ New-52 history uncertain, who knows when they might pop up; but for the most part, they made it through the past few crossovers relatively unscathed. However, DC hasn’t tried a completely-new Titans book since then (not counting the recent all-villains Titans, that is), and I would say the feature is subject to the same ebb and flow of big-name characters as Justice League is.

Speaking of ex-Titans, The Flash vol. 2 was lucky enough to have only a handful of writers during its twenty-year run. Mark Waid spent some six-and-a-half years writing (or co-writing with Brian Augustyn) Wally West’s adventures, most notably letting Wally come to grips with his place in the Flash legacy. Waid also gave Wally a distinctive, matter-of-fact voice appropriate to a character who’d spent most of his life with super-speed. Accordingly, when Geoff Johns took over Flash, he inherited a well-adjusted protagonist and didn’t try to fix what wasn’t broken. Instead, Johns focused on Wally’s surroundings: breathing life into the blue-collar, hockey-loving Keystone City; offering new perspectives via detectives Chyre and Morillo; and famously focusing on the Flash’s Rogues’ Gallery. Johns stayed on Flash for five years, effectively wrapping it up in time for an Infinite Crisis-related relaunch.

So, can we draw some conclusions from these three disparate examples? I doubt there are any hard-and-fast rules, but I do have some observations. First, despite writing and drawing both, Dan Jurgens was asked to do two different things on Justice League America and Teen Titans. Essentially, JLA picked up where Giffen and DeMatteis left it, except that a) Jurgens tried to fold it into the Superman titles and b) Jurgens wasn’t nearly as funny. (His recent Booster Gold work was a lot better by comparison.) Conversely, Teen Titans was supposed to be something new (if grounded in the familiar DC universe) and turned into something pretty familiar when the new stuff failed to catch on. By contrast, the new stuff in Johns’ Flash was mostly new perspectives on familiar elements, like Keystone City and the Rogues.

We tend to forget it because Gail Simone was associated with the characters for so long, but Chuck Dixon was the original Birds Of Prey writer, guiding Black Canary and Oracle through various one-shots and miniseries before writing the first forty-six issues of the original ongoing series. (Terry Moore and Gilbert Hernandez each wrote a few issues in between Dixon and Simone.) Dixon’s BOP was a distaff version of his other DC work, which at the time included Nightwing, Robin, and Green Arrow. It was hard-nosed, no-nonsense storytelling; and although there were some relationship issues, the series was more action-oriented. Today, naturally, we remember Simone’s BOP for its characters: Babs, Dinah, Helena, Zinda, Charlie, et al. Again, like Johns, Simone took what Dixon left and gave it her own perspective. (I try not to sound like Paula Abdul, but there it is.) Simone ended up writing more issues of Birds Of Prey than Dixon did, and now she surely comes to mind more readily than he does. Still, the fundamentals of the feature didn’t change all that much.

Doctor Fate #25

Of course, other titles underwent more radical changes. When J.M. DeMatteis and Shawn McManus left Dr. Fate after two years, writer William Messner-Loebs and artists Vince Giaranno and Peter Gross changed casts almost completely. Stay with me, because this can get complicated: Dr. Fate was originally Kent Nelson, bearer of a mystic helmet which housed Nabu, an omnipotent Lord of Order. By the time DeMatteis and McManus launched their series, Nelson had died and Nabu was inhabiting his body, and Fate was a guy named Eric Strauss (magically aged to adulthood) and occasionally also Eric’s stepmother Linda. However, thanks to a series of events much too complicated to be summarized, the protagonists for Moore and Gross’s run were Inza Nelson (Kent’s wife) and Kent himself, back from limbo (or someplace effectively similar), with Kent’s original body now the home to a Lord of Chaos named Shat-Ru. Thus, different faces on comparable roles. Both DeMatteis and Messner-Loebs used Dr. Fate to explore broad philosophical questions, although each writer went in a different direction. Where DeMatteis was more concerned with larger issues of creation, destruction, and significance, Messner-Loebs had Inza transform her neighborhood for the better, literally removing evil impulses from her neighbors and behaving like a benevolent deity. It was an engaging run, although it only lasted a little over a year before the book was cancelled.

J.M. DeMatteis got another crack at a nigh-omnipotent superhero when he wrote Hal Jordan as The Spectre. Previous writer John Ostrander cast the Spectre as the embodiment of God’s wrath, but DeMatteis gave him a mission of redemption. DeMatteis’ Spectre series (drawn first by Ryan Sook and then by Norm Breyfogle) lasted a little over two years, and with Hal’s subsequent return as Green Lantern, may end up merely as a forgotten footnote to his backstory.

And speaking of footnotes, I felt compelled to hunt down every issue of Who’s Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes just to understand the references in early issues of the “Five-Years Later” version. Following Paul Levitz’s departure, writers Tom and Mary Bierbaum and artist/plotter Keith Giffen relaunched Legion of Super-Heroes in the fall of 1989, but set it in a universe five years removed from the glittering utopia Legion readers had come to love. (Not being a regular Legion reader, I thought this would be a good jumping-on point, but I ended up jumping into a fast-moving stream without a float.) Ironically, while this version of the Legion was grounded firmly in existing continuity, a big chunk of that continuity had been rewritten to accommodate post-Crisis changes to Superman. Even so, the 5YL Legion survived for five years (appropriately enough), until Zero Hour provided the opportunity for a more complete housecleaning.

Firestorm #56, John Ostrander's first issue

Finally, there’s Firestorm, co-created by Gerry Conway in the mid-‘70s and guided largely by Conway for the next ten years. Firestorm, the fusion of student Ronnie Raymond and scientist Martin Stein, first had his own book, which lasted five issues before being cancelled. Because Conway also wrote Justice League of America, he soon brought Firestorm into the League and wrote the character’s contemporaneous backup series in Flash. Not surprisingly, when the ongoing Fury Of Firestorm debuted in 1982, Conway wrote its first fifty-three issues. Essentially, Firestorm was Conway’s baby until John Ostrander came along — and one of the first things Ostrander did was give Martin Stein cancer. That kicked off a whole slew of twists and turns and brought in a raft of new characters. It took both Ronnie and the Professor out of the picture for long stretches, leaving behind an affectless Firestorm who struggled to find his proper function. In fact, the Ostrander run delved deep into the mechanics of the character, laying the groundwork for how he’s perceived today. Ostrander’s Firestorm (drawn by Joe Brozowski, then Tom Grindberg, then Tom Mandrake) was a sweeping saga of hope, survival, and ultimately, transcendence, which took the character from relatively-mundane superheroics to Swamp Thing-style levels of cosmic responsibility. Firestorm was cancelled with issue #100, so Ostrander was on the book a little less than four years, but that was more than enough time to alter the character irrevocably. (It also made the character somewhat unrecognizable, but subsequent appearances got around that.) The Jason Rusch Firestorm revamp built on many of these ideas, and the current Fury Of Firestorms seems to be playing with them as well.

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Naturally, all of these examples would be more appropriate if we were still playing by all the old rules. (It feels more than a little strange to talk about “the old days” and mean “August,” but that’s about where the New-52 has left us.) There aren’t too many New-52 books with long-established creative teams. Geoff Johns has been writing Green Lantern for about seven years now, Paul Levitz has been back with the Legion for a while, and despite the book’s considerable hiatus I guess you could say there’s only been one set of writers on Resurrection Man. For all intents and purposes, we’re probably in the post-Grant Morrison era of Bat-books as well.

Otherwise, though, I don’t feel comfortable pointing to any given New-52 book and predicting a lengthy tenure for its current creative team. That said, I don’t think any of the Bat-writers are going anywhere, Morrison probably has a good bit to say about Superman in Action Comics, and Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire seem settled-in for the long haul on Swamp Thing and Animal Man. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the New-52 titles got a good couple of years out of their current creative teams — but I wouldn’t be surprised either if the superhero line looked significantly different two years from now. Maybe it’s because we’re only on the first week of Month 4, but the whole thing has a weird sense of impermanence, like it’s just a more normal version of Flashpoint’s altered reality.

Maybe that’s by design: for good or ill, these folks are telling the stories they want to tell, and when they’re done, they’re done — whether that takes six months, one year, or five years. That’s not a bad way to go. It’s basically what happened with Sandman, Hitman, and Starman, each of which is remembered for its singular vision.

However, not every book has that luxury. I wouldn’t want to be the writer following Geoff Johns on Green Lantern. I suppose the examples above are meant for that person, and I guess one of the big takeaways has to do with a book’s fundamentals. If those fundamentals are maintained, and you can offer readers some new insights into familiar elements, you’re probably set for a decent run. That sounds pretty basic, but these days, there’s more freedom to redefine those fundamentals and/or play with readers’ expectations — and that’s assuming the reader has some expectations. In that respect, Dan Jurgens had it easy on JLA: just add Superman to Giffen and DeMatteis’ comedic cast, and let the reactions write themselves.

Today, though, DC is presenting the New 52 largely on its own merits. Readers may have expectations about Justice League, Superman, or Batman, but they’re not necessarily comparing Duane Swierczynski’s work on Birds Of Prey to Gail Simone’s. Indeed, the New-52 isn’t old enough to encourage such comparisons. Rather, if I’m being charitable, the superhero line is still finding itself in these early months, and DC is figuring out what kinds of readers its New-52 books are attracting. We’ll see in a few years whether they’ve settled down with particular creative teams, and then we can apply these examples more accurately.

Alvin Schwartz

Passings | Alvin Schwartz, the prolific writer who penned Batman comics and the Batman and Superman comic strips for DC Comics in the 1940s, passed away Oct. 28 after a long illness. He was 95. Before leaving comics in 1958, Schwartz wrote for most of DC’s titles, including Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and The Flash. [News from ME]

Creators | Tucker Stone talks to Mark Waid about his work on Daredevil, and Waid confirms that Marcos Martin, originally announced as the artist on every other arc, won’t be working on the book after issue #6: “Unfortunately, it was something that came up while we were working. He’s doing 4, 5 and 6. When he came on, I don’t think things were firmed up with his next project and now they have. I salute him, and I think it’s going to be great and I want to see him go off and do creator owned stuff. But my heart breaks.” [comiXology]

Bunker

Comics | Out magazine spotlights the debut of Bunker, the Teen Titan with “a decidedly more flamboyant twist.” [Out]

Comics | The Texas Library Association has released their “2012 Maverick Graphic Novel List,” which notes great graphic novels for teens. The list includes Daredevil Reborn by Andy Diggle and Davide Gianfelice, Astro City Shining Stars by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson, Kagan McLeod’s Infinite Kung Fu, Brian Michael Bendis’ Avengers, Barry Deutsch’s Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword and many more. [Texas Library Association]

Creators | A Distant Soil creator Colleen Doran will appear on the Dec. 12 edition of Stalked: Somebody’s Watching, which will tell the story of a fan who “believes he is in love with her and inundates her with love letters, cards, and gifts. When she spurns his advances, he attempts to ruin her career by spreading lies about her throughout the industry, according to the show’s description.

Creators | Tom Spurgeon talks to colorist Rich Tommaso about his work on Fantagraphics’ Carl Barks Library project. [The Comics Reporter]

Aquaman #1 -- overcompensating, perhaps?

So here we are, the last week of the New 52 rollout, and I must say it’s been a fascinating — sometimes exhausting — ride. It’ll be good to get back to more normal posting next week, but I have enjoyed these marathon stream-of-consciousness reviews. Although DC has said over and over that these books are all part of the same revised universe, there are so many different styles and approaches on display (The early ‘90s! The mid- to late ‘90s!) that the line seems a lot more heterogeneous than it did five weeks ago.

Moreover, the realization that these books are the new status quo is only now starting to sink in. Overall it’s a good feeling, but bittersweet too. After all, I had 25 years to get used to the last line-wide revampings.

SPOILERS FOLLOW, as always.

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To start off, let’s go back just five years. As part of 2006′s “One Year Later” relaunch, the Powers That Be at DC decided that the problem with Hawkman was, well, Hawkman — so they renamed the book Hawkgirl, Walt Simonson wrote it, and Howard Chaykin drew it. Now, on paper that looks like a pretty formidable team. It was enough to get me to try Hawkgirl, and I hadn’t had much interest in any Hawkman title regardless of who’d worked on it. Accordingly, Tony Daniel (writer) and Philip Tan (artist) can take some comfort in knowing that, while The Savage Hawkman #1 really didn’t work for me, the difficulty level has been set pretty high. TSH starts off with Carter Hall shooting (?) and then burning his Hawkman gear — we know not why — but it turns all Venom on him, merging with him somehow so it can pop out again when an extraterrestrial bad guy named Morphicius threatens Carter’s scientist colleagues. In a way, I guess it’s good that this issue ignores just about all of Hawkman’s convoluted continuity, but that deprives Carter of any meaningful motivation which might endear him to a new reader. (Beyond “I don’t like Hawkman either,” that is.) Tan’s work is fine, sporting more of a watercolor style than he’s had previously. His Hawkman redesign is decent, if a bit on the pointy side. In addition to the thin plot, Daniel’s dialogue tends toward being labored. Carter tries to work “death and taxes” into a world-weary quip, and later on a character who should be excited says, flatly, “I am giddy.” That makes one of us.

Blackhawks #1 (written by Mike Costa, layouts by Graham Nolan, finishes by Ken Lashley) begins with a jumbled hostage-rescue sequence, made more confusing by some odd layouts and the use of counterintuitive nicknames. For example, one of the team is listed as “Lady Blackhawk,” but the woman we follow for most of the issue is “Kunoichi.” Things settle down a little after the mission, when a garden-variety bureaucrat from the United Nations arrives at headquarters to a) help explain the book’s premise and b) deliver some bad news. (By the way, between the Blackhawks and Justice League International, the New-52 UN seems to be covering its bets on unconventional teams.) There’s also some bad news for one Blackhawk in particular, and that provides the issue’s cliffhanger. Overall I thought this was a fairly superficial first issue. It tries hard to introduce a handful of major characters and a couple of relationships, it gives some backstory on the first arc’s villain, and it leaves a couple of plot threads dangling. Although it’s put together well for the most part, there’s not much in the way of depth or nuance to any of these characters, and there’s certainly nothing like the ad hoc, multinational-mercenary angle which helped make the original Blackhawks unique. That said, I thought it was good enough to warrant a second issue, in hopes that the players are fleshed out more.

Similarly, Justice League Dark #1 (written by Peter Milligan, drawn by Mikel Janin) is all setup, building a mystery* around a small army of identical blonde women. Many of them appear suddenly in the middle of a busy street, and the resulting two-page spread of carnage made me wonder if this is just another DC comic insensitive to violence against women. Seriously, I found it pretty disturbing, which I suppose is part of the point (but still…). In fact, the issue does a good job setting an ominous mood and showing that the regular Justice League is helpless against an implacable magic force. As for the JLD’s ostensible members, Milligan — who uses an omniscient narrator, to good effect — does best with the vignette introducing Shade, the Changing Man. John Constantine and Deadman pretty much have cameos, and while Zatanna and Madame Xanadu carry more of the plot (and a lot of the exposition), Milligan apparently thinks his readers are already familiar enough with them — and, for that matter, with the Enchantress. I’m not familiar with Mikel Janin’s work, but stylistically it reminded me of a cross between Nicola Scott and cover artist Ryan Sook: clean and detail-oriented, even if some of his characters share the same face. I liked it well enough, and I’ll be back next month.

It was hard not to let Twilight-related prejudices slip into my reading of I, Vampire #1 (written by Joshua Hale Fialkov, drawn by Andrea Sorrentino), but for the first few pages I couldn’t tell whether our hero Andrew was wearing a shirt, and I am tempted to say that pretty well sums it up. Actually, though, IV reads more like the first bookend in one of the old-style summer-Annual crossovers DC and Marvel did in the ‘90s, only this one would follow Andrew and his evil ex-(?) girlfriend Mary around the superhero line as Mary’s vampiric war on humanity escalated. If that’s IV’s premise … well, it’s not Twilight, but it’s not quite the tragic tale of doomed love that Fialkov and Sorrentino also try to establish here. I’m on the fence about this one. The art is fine, appropriately muddy (thanks to colorist Marcelo Maiolo) and heavy with blacks, and like JL Dark, the mood is somber with a slow burn to apocalyptic. I wouldn’t mind seeing a superheroes-vs.-vampires epic, either (even if it didn’t remind me of 1993′s Bloodlines event). I’m just not that invested in Andrew and Mary at this point.

Considering that much of Voodoo #1 (written by Ron Marz, drawn by Sami Basri) takes place in a strip club, with most of its female characters appearing in various states of undress and/or in overtly sexual poses, I wonder if DC scheduled it to come out the week after Catwoman and Red Hood so it would look thoughtful and tame by comparison. What there is of a plot feels like an excuse to linger over the Voodoo club’s array of exotic dancers, and the characters generally are drawn from Central Casting. Naturally, the issue ends on a cliffhanger (a familiar horror-movie one, in fact), but since we don’t know a whole lot about the main characters, it’s hardly clear what the ending means. I did like Basri’s art — I’ve been reading Power Girl paperbacks, and this makes me more eager to pick up his issues — but he doesn’t get to do much beyond (purposefully detached, I suppose) T & A. Honestly, DC, at this point I am flat-out bored with these attempts at exploitation, and I won’t be back for #2.

All Star Western #1 (drawn by Moritat) is written by longtime Jonah Hex chroniclers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, so Hex is front and center in this issue; but primarily as partner to Dr. Amadeus Arkham, himself cast as a Holmesian consulting detective. Indeed, because their case begins with a murder and a foreign word scrawled in blood, it initially recalls “A Study In Scarlet.” The comparison probably ends there, although I did like how Arkham has Watson’s role of narrator, introducing the reader to Hex’s borderline-amoral perspective. I thought this was a strong first issue, even if its Gotham City setting seemed a bit gratuitous at times. Moritat’s work is intricate and expressive, and colorist Gabriel Bautista gives it depth and texture. The book looks great, on par at least with Cliff Chiang’s Wonder Woman art. From what I understand of Gray and Palmiotti’s Jonah Hex series, they tended to go to the dead-prostitute well fairly often, and sadly this is no exception. Still, they keep things moving, using the murders to explore the relationship between the march of progress and the desire to hold onto power. Definitely on board for this one.

Even with George Pérez writing and providing layouts, Superman #1 (finished by Jesús Merino) was going to have a hard time competing with the new Action #1. If Action evokes the late ‘30s, Superman goes straight for the Bronze Age, framing a fairly standalone story with a change in ownership at the Daily Planet. Pérez’s primer on who’s currently who in Metropolis establishes Lois Lane as one of the last honest journalists, producing TV coverage for Galaxy Broadcasting while still reporting for the Planet. Clark Kent is still a crusading reporter, but now he’s working for the Planet and having frank philosophical discussions with Lois. Superman has a shaky relationship with the Metropolis police (and a hazy one with the public) and Jimmy Olsen keeps getting into trouble. This time, Supes has to save Jimmy from an alien fire-creature bent on turning Metropolis into a city-sized torch. It’s a decent start, and it’s enough to keep me coming back, but it does have some rough edges. Pérez’s dialogue can be clunky, and I presume the fire-creature is connected to the hornblower from Stormwatch #1, but that’s not made explicit here. Merino’s work sometimes doesn’t blend that well with Pérez’s layouts, and his characters’ faces tend to look scruffed-up. However, I’m content to see this as a spiritual sibling to Marv Wolfman and Jerry Ordway’s Adventures Of Superman from the ‘86 relaunch — a straightforward superhero soap which is more familiar than it is groundbreaking.

I didn’t like David Finch’s first first issue of Batman: The Dark Knight, and while the second Dark Knight #1 in a year (co-plotted and scripted by Paul Jenkins, co-plotted and pencilled by Finch, inked by Richard Friend) is an improvement, it seems to exist primarily to give DC a Batman title for each of the four regular ship weeks. I mean, there’s another Arkham breakout, there’s Bruce Wayne talking about Gotham’s future, there’s a mention of Batman, Inc., there’s a new girlfriend-in-waiting — all things which remind me of Bat-books I have enjoyed more. It doesn’t help that the yes-we-can! speech Bruce Wayne gives to a presumably-forgiving audience starts out as overwrought Bat-narration about fear, parents, and cannibals (with one of the big applause lines apparently “I’m not cut out to be the parent of a cannibal”…?). Later, we’re told that the Arkham breakout involves 300 inmates and may already have cost 65 policemen’s lives, but for some reason Batman is keyed specifically on Two-Face. While it doesn’t go over as poorly as the new Detective Comics, it’s not as appealing as either Batman and Robin or last week’s Batman, and I can live without it.

The bulk of Aquaman #1 (written by Geoff Johns, pencilled by Ivan Reis, inked by Joe Prado) is aimed squarely at a strawman which holds that Aquaman is the lamest of DC’s main characters. Accordingly, the issue opens and closes with a menace-from-the-depths which presumably only Aquaman can defeat, while in between are scenes of our hero foiling a landlocked getaway, trying to order fish at a favorite childhood restaurant, and reaffirming his mission to the surface world alongside a devoted Mera. Along the way the public marvels at how wrong it’s been. Johns may have figured he didn’t have much choice but to hang a lantern on Aquaman’s perceived inferiority, but the end result is awfully transparent, almost desperate. Although there is “showing,” the “telling” which goes with it actually undercuts it. Too bad, because otherwise it’s a fine first issue, explaining the Sea King’s powers, origin, and heritage fairly economically, and setting up the aforementioned deep-sea threat. Reis and Prado are reliably good, as usual. I’ll be back for issue #2, but I’ll be hoping the self-consciousness is out of Johns’ system.

The plot of The Fury Of Firestorm, The Nuclear Men #1 (written by Ethan van Sciver and Gail Simone, drwan by Yildray Cinar) rests on a giant leap of logic; and no, it’s not the “God particle” underlying Firestorm’s powers. Instead, it involves a decision made prior to the issue’s start by a character who currently isn’t around to explain himself. I’m sure we’ll get more insight as the series unfolds, but for now it seems like a threshold question: if you’re willing to accept that plot point, the rest of the issue should be no problem. See, there are these mercenaries (one of whom, amusingly enough, shares a name with a longtime Firestorm antagonist) brutalizing their way through the lives of innocent people, looking for magnetic bottles which turn out to be Very Important. On a collision course with this group are star quarterback Ronnie Raymond and ace high-school-newspaper reporter Jason Rusch, each struggling with their prejudices about the other. It sounds like I am being overly sarcastic about the issue, but in fact I liked it a lot. Broad as their characterizations may be, Ronnie and Jason have the makings of a good dynamic — in fact, arguably a better one than the pre-relaunch Brightest Day had to work with** — but they need to get past the rough edges and develop some nuance. As for the art, Cinar’s work is quite good, at times reminiscent of George Pérez and (her again!) Nicola Scott. Having been a Firestorm fan since the Flash backups, it sounds a little hollow to say I’m sticking with it, but I’m glad to say I am.

It’s not that it’s hard to reconcile the frenetic Teen Titans #1 (written by Scott Lobdell, pencilled by Brett Booth, inked by Norm Rapmund) with Lobdell’s more meditative Superboy #1. It’s just that Teen Titans moves so quickly, and tries so very hard to be cool, that having the two books dovetail makes this one harder to ignore. The Titans introduced here include Kid Flash (probably Bart Allen, although Wally West wouldn’t be out of the question), with a handmade costume and more brains than smarts; Red Robin (Tim Drake), recast as something of a cyber-activist; and the Dianna Agron lookalike Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark), subject to what is either jarring mood swings or capricious dialogue. It may well be that I am too old for this book’s retro-‘90s style, and in a funny way I’d be okay with that. For now, though, there’s nothing beyond the Superboy connection to entice me back.

I’m not clear on why Green Lantern: New Guardians #1 (written by Tony Bedard, pencilled by Tyler Kirkham, inked by Batt) felt the need to spend its first seven pages — about a third of the issue, mind you — on Kyle Rayner’s origin, because it doesn’t appear to have a lot to do with the balance of the plot. In fact, said plot involves various other Lantern Corpsmen (including one from the Sinestros, one from the Star Sapphires, and a Red Lantern) losing their rings to Kyle. Maybe Kyle’s experience, despite its unique circumstances, is meant to be illustrative? For someone who was already reading the GL books, and (perhaps more importantly) was emotionally invested in either Kyle or the other Lantern Corps, this plot might be intriguing. As a first issue designed to attract new readers, though, it’s just sketchy, and probably confusing. I liked this creative team well enough when they were on the pre-relaunch GL Corps, but they haven’t sold me on this series.

Finally — finally! — there’s The Flash #1 (written by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato, drawn by Manapul), a nifty reintroduction to the guy who made all of this possible. Some of the dialogue is a little awkward, including in the opening sequence, but the real attraction is Manapul and Buccellato’s art. Manapul’s style is very light, almost as if it were reproduced directly from his pencils, so Buccellato’s colors help shape and define it, separating Barry/Flash from his backgrounds and helping him race across the pages. Manapul’s layouts are equally expressive, incorporating panel-sized sound effects (as well as the Flash masthead itself), using inset panels to break down the super-speed action or to illustrate a character’s jumbled thoughts, and keeping the plot moving ever forward. This issue never really stops, even when a character is simply standing and thinking. Now that Flashpoint is over, it’s not weighed down by artificially-imposed angst or Speed Force mumbo-jumbo. It’s a simple, straightforward, and effective superhero comic about the Fastest Man Alive, and I look forward to issue #2.

* * *

Recommended: All Star Western, Aquaman, The Flash, The Fury Of Firestorm, Justice League Dark

Could get better: Blackhawks, I, Vampire

Could go either way: Green Lantern: New Guardians, Teen Titans

Sticking with regardless: Superman

No thanks: Batman: The Dark Knight, The Savage Hawkman, Voodoo

* * *

Next week: December solicitations, and probably a bit of September wrap-up.

+++++++++++++

* [That one’s for the Sarah McLachlan fans....]

** [I do miss the dueling-experience aspect of Ronnie and Jason’s pre-relaunch relationship, and especially their mutual affection for Professor Martin Stein, who of course was a big part of the original Firestorm. I was looking forward to each being a backseat-driver for the other, since Jason had the more recent experience -- not to mention helping to “rebuild” Firestorm with Stein’s help -- but Ronnie would naturally assume a senior-leadership role. Moot now, I guess.]

Bunker from "Teen Titans"

Following through on its pledge to create “a more modern, diverse DC Universe” with the New 52, DC Comics will introduce a gay teenage superhero in Teen Titans.

Series artist Brett Booth has revealed that Bunker will debut in November’s Issue 3 — he’s referred to as “The Wall” in the solicitation text — where he’s depicted as an openly gay teen from Mexico who “can create small force fields that look like bricks.” The character, whom the artist describes as “happy, fun-loving,” appears in the background in the cover of the first issue and again, more prominently, on the one for Issue 3.

“We’re trying to make being gay a part of who he is,” Booth wrote last night on Twitter.

Bunker isn’t the first gay Titan — that was probably Hero Cruz of Titans L.A., although there was a lot of fan speculation about Jericho when he debuted in 1984 — but he’s (likely) the first gay teen introduced into the post-Flashpoint DC Universe.

Teen Titans, by Scott Lobdell, Booth and Norm Rapmund, premieres on Sept. 28.

Update: On his blog, Booth has posted Lobdell’s description of Bunker:

His real name is Miguel Jose Barragan. He was raised in a very small Mexican village called El Chilar. He was very loved by his family and the village as well — and they were as accepting of his homosexuality as they were to his super powers when they first manifested. To that end he grew up in an angst-free environment. He was born out of the closet and so he has a very refreshing outlook on life.

“So Bunker has been out of both closets since the get go,” Booth added. “Why the more flamboyant look? Well it’s complicated. I’ve seen all the other gay superheroes out there, Ok maybe not all. They look just like regular heterosexuals, they act like regular heterosexuals, they just happen to have sex with people of their own gender, under the covers and in the dark. Sure you might get a kiss on a page, but that’s all (an no we won’t be doing any sex scenes in TT, get your minds OUT of the gutters) … We wanted to show an interesting character who’s homosexuality is part of him, not something that’s hidden. Sure they are gay people who you wouldn’t know are gay right off the bat, but there are others who are a more flamboyant, and we thought it would be nice to actually see them portrayed in comics. Did we go over the top, I don’t think so. I wanted you to know he might be gay as soon as you see him. Our TT is partly about diversity of ANY kind, its about all kinds of teens getting together to help each other. It is a very difficult line to walk, will he be as I’ve read in some of the comments ‘fruity’? Not that I’m aware of. Will he be more effeminate than what we’ve seen before, the ‘typical’ gay male comic character, yes. Does it scare the shit out of me that I might inadvertently piss off the group I want to reflect in a positive way, you’re damn straight (pun intended!)”

There’s more from Booth on his blog.

If you thought the DC Comics New 52 trailers were done, think again. Teen Titans artist Brett Booth has posted one on his blog featuring the latest version of the young heroes.

In addition, Booth has also posted a couple of teasers for the book, featuring the emblems for Batman and Flash covered in graffiti. Check them out after the jump.

Teen Titans #1 by Scott Lobdell and Brett Booth arrives in stores Sept. 28.

*****

Too Slow

Batman by Greg Capullo

The artists behind this September’s “New 52″ have taken to Twitter, thanks once again to David Macho, revealing a whole lot of art from the new books that are due next month. There are a couple of hash tags to follow over on Twitter … #52splash will show you pages of new stuff from Greg Capullo (above), Scott McDaniel and many others. And as Kiel noted last week, #thenewvillains hash tag that kicked off last week slowed down after last week’s push, but a few new posts have popped up today.

And speaking of villains, I don’t think anyone has shared artwork yet for the villain of the new Justice League title — who it turns out is one of DC’s biggest and baddest, Darkseid.

Check out more artwork after the jump, and watch the hash tags for more!

(Note: I’ll update as I can with additional art).

Animal Man by Travel Foreman

Kid Flash by Andrew Dalhouse

Firestorm by Yildiray Cinar

I, Vampire by Andrea Sorrentino

????? by Rob Liefeld

(Updated per Sterling Gates’ comment below)

Swan by Rob Liefeld

Static by Scott McDaniel and Jonathan Glapion

Birds of Prey by Jesus Saiz

Deathstroke by Joe Bennett, Art Thibert and Jason Wright

Nightwing by Eddy Barrows, JP Mayer and Rod Reis

Supergirl

Welcome to Food or Comics?, where every week we talk about what comics we’d buy at our local comic shop based on certain spending limits — $15 and $30 — as well as what we’d get if we had extra money or a gift card to spend on a “Splurge” item.

Check out Diamond’s release list or ComicList, and tell us what you’re getting in our comments field.

Graeme McMillan

As we’re heading towards the middle of August, it’s no surprise that curiosity is getting me to pick up more than a few DC books just see how particular series “end;” I’d be getting Justice League of America #60 and Legion of Super-Heroes #16 (both DC, $2.99) anyway, because I’ve been following those series for awhile, but I’m likely to add Batman #713 (DC, $2.99) to the pile as well, if only to see the explanation as to why Dick quits being Batman before the big relaunch. But it’s not all endings for me with my $15 this week; I’d also make a point of grabbing Daredevil #2 (Marvel, $2.99), because the first issue was just breathtakingly good, and the series became a must-read before I’d even reached the last page.

If I had $30 this week, I’d add to my list of DC final issues with Supergirl #67 (DC, $2.99), which Kelly Sue DeConnick has talked up in interviews as being the highpoint of her short run to date and a great capper to the series as a whole. I’d also check in with the third issue of David Hahn’s All Nighter (Image, $2.99), as well as see if Nick Spencer’s Iron Man 2.0 is worth a look with the mini-collection of the first three issues, Iron Man 2.0: Modern Warfare (Marvel, $4.99).

Splurging this week is tough. On the one hand, there’s the hardcover Secret Society of Super-Villains (DC, $39.99), but there’s also the We3 Deluxe Edition with brand new story pages (DC, $24.99) and also a rescheduled release for the Alex Toth book Setting The Standard (Fantagraphics, $39.99). Any one would be good comics, but I’m probably going to plump for the SSoSV. What can I say? Read something as an impressionable pre-teen and it stays with you…

Brigid Alverson

Elephantmen, Book 2: Fatal Diseases

If I had $15, I’d borrow a dollar (or, more precisely, 98 cents) so I can afford my top two picks: vol. 16 of Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys ($12.99), possibly the most awesome manga ever, and Gladstone’s School for World Conquerors #4 ($2.99), continuing the charming and action-packed saga of a school for super villains.

If I had $30, well, call me fickle but I think I’d hold off on 20th Century Boys until next week and pick up the Elephantmen, Book 2: Fatal Diseases ($24.99) instead. I’m still reading the first volume, but I’m intrigued by this quirky comic.

Splurge: The Smurfs book from Abrams looks tempting (I can’t believe I just said that!), but my love of all things retro is going to lead me to Drawing Power: A Compendium of Cartoon Advertising ($29.99) from Fantagraphics instead. And if my splurge could extend to one more book, it would be the seventh volume of the Library of American Comics collection of Little Orphan Annie, a steal at $49.99.

Chris Arrant

Daredevil #2

If I had $15, I’d carve off half of it to get the awesome line-up inside DC Comics Presents Teen Titans #1 (DC, $7.99). Seriously, Bob Haney, Mike Allred and Jay Stephens? They seem ideal candidates for DC’s Retroactive titles; hell, I’d love to see them mastermind more. Next up I would get my two long-term serials, DMZ #68 (DC, $2.99) and Walking Dead #88 (Image, $2.99); both are bleak as hell, but they offer some redeeming qualities in their humanity.

If I had $30, I’d double-back and get a trio of Marvel titles: Avengers #16 (Marvel, $3.99), Daredevil #2 (Marvel, $2.99) and X-Men Schism #3 (Marvel, $3.99). I’m particularly interested in Daredevil #2 to see what Waid, Rivera and Martin continue to do on this; can they keep being as good as #1? Last up I’d get the Image one-shot Deadlands: Death Was Silent (Image, $2.99). I have some serious admiration for Bart Sears, and this is the latest in an all-too-rare fix for that.

If I had a chance to splurge, I’d get the long-delayed 99 Days (DC/Vertigo Crime, $19.99). Writer Mateo Casali and artist Kristian Donaldson are two up-and-comers, and I’m anxious to see more of them. I’ve read the story solicitation but couldn’t tell you what it’s about; I’m buying this strictly for the creators involved.

Michael May

Mr. Murder is Dead

If I had $15, I’d start with Supergirl #67 ($2.99) to finish the fun story Kelly Sue DeConnick’s been telling there. I’d also grab the latest Deadlands one-shot, Death Was Silent ($2.99) by Ron Marz and Bart Sears, as well as Heap #1 ($3.99), because if there’s anything cooler than comics about swamp creatures, it’s comics about Nazi-fighting swamp creatures. To round off the ticket, I’d grab Stan Lee’s Soldier Zero ($3.99) based on Graeme’s recommendation.

If I had $30, I’d put back Soldier Zero for another day and use that money toward Mr. Murder is Dead ($19.95). Artist Brent Schoonover is a friend of mine, but don’t hold that against him. He’s a fantastic artist and the perfect one for this whodunit homage to Golden Age comic strips. And since it’s from Archaia, you know the package is going to be beautiful too.

I have way too many splurge items this week, from the latest volume of B.P.R.D. ($19.99) to the special editions of We3 ($24.99) and Elephantmen Vol. 2 ($24.99). But if I had to pick one thing it would be Tales of the Batman: Gene Colan ($39.99) for the same reason that Graeme’s getting The Secret Society of Super-Villains: ten-year-old me couldn’t get enough of that stuff.

JK Parkin

X-Men Schism #3

I guess I’m the opposite of Graeme in that, with the exception of the titles I was already reading, I find myself less intrigued by what DC is doing this month as storylines are wrapped up in preparation for the relaunch in September. So this week I find myself DCU-less, though there are a couple of Vertigo books I’m considering. In any event, I do know four books I am eagerly awaiting for Wednesday — Captain America #2 ($3.99), Butcher Baker Candlestickmaker #2 ($3.99), Daredevil #2 ($2.99) and X-Men Schism #3 ($3.99). As a longtime fan of Ed Brubaker’s run on Cap, as well as The Boys, those first two were easy. And like Chris and Graeme noted, Daredevil #1 was pretty great, so I’m looking forward to the next issue. Schism actually kinda surprised me; over the last few years I’ve bought the big X-events as trades, usually well after they were over and at a decent discount. I’m an old-school X-Men fan, but in recent years my interest has waned. I ended up downloading the first issue of Schism via Marvel’s iPad app (as it was available on the same day it hit shops) and was really impressed with it.

That eats up my first $15, so if I had $30, I’d also get the weirdest Fear Itself tie-in and possibly one of the weirdest Marvel titles I’ve read in awhile, Fear Itself: Fearsome Four #3 ($2.99). It features Howard the Duck, Man-Thing, Nighthawk, She-Hulk, Frankenstein and like 10 different artists doing the art. Well, not really, but so far it’s featured artwork by Ryan Bodenheim (more or less the regular artist, or at least the guy who has drawn most of it so far), Michael Kaluta (he’s also doing the covers), friggin’ Simon Bisley, and this issue will feature Flint Henry. But wait! There’s more — it’ll also include the New Fantastic Four (Wolverine, Spider-Man, Hulk and Ghost Rider) plus the Psycho-Man! It’s been part crazy throw-in-everything-but-the-kitchen-sink fun, part train wreck, but I’m reluctant to look away at this point.

Wow, I kind of went long there, so I’ll be quick and say I’d round out my week with Fables #108 ($2.99), Walking Dead #88 ($2.99) and Avengers #16 ($3.99). And finally, for my splurge, I would probably also go with 99 Days ($19.99).

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol. 3 Century #2

It’s time once again for another round of What Are You Reading?, kids. Today we welcome special guest Daniel Merlin Goodbrey, creator of Necessary Monsters, The Last Sane Cowboy and more.

To see what Daniel and the Robot 6 crew have been reading, click below.

*****

Chris Mautner

Dungeon Monstres

Dungeon Monstres Vol. 4: Night of the Ladykiller: This latest volume is much lighter in tone than the last Monstres volume, which carried a deep emotional weight as it showed how the choices of the lead characters had consequences that rippled throughout the fantasy world. Ladykiller is more of a goof, with vulture sorcerer Horus being accused of impregnating several women in the first tale, and the dim-bulb monster Grogro stumbling through a mission to a faraway land. Certainly in terms of storytelling capability, Joann Sfar and Lewis Trondheim have lost none of their edge, and the art by Vermot Desroches and Yoann is sumptuous to soak into, but I missed exploring the deeper undercurrents of the Dungeon universe. Consider this something of a palate-cleanser then.

Bad Island: This is the new book by Doug Tennapel, which should be out in August. It’s about a family that takes a boating vacation and (shades of Gilligan) ends up on an weird island full of strange and dangerous creatures. And, of course, through their ordeal, father, mother, son and daughter learn to bond and trust each other more than they did before and become a better, tighter family unit for their efforts. No surprises, but I did enjoy Bad Island more than Tennapel’s last book, Ghostopolis, which I felt rushed through its plot so quickly that it didn’t take enough time to build upon the interesting characters and fantasy world he had created. Bad Island‘s basic concept is simple enough that that I feel I can properly enjoy it’s frantic pace, and I think it will appeal rather well to its intended tween audience.

JK Parkin

Late

I came home from the San Diego Comic-Con with a whole bunch of new stuff, from an issue of Archie Comics written by my friend Alex Segura to a copy of Michael Kupperman’s Mark Twain Autobiography, 1910-2010. Unfortunately I went from the con right into some work-related stuff that kept me busy all week, so I haven’t had time to read much of my spoils.

One comic I did have the chance to read was a minicomic called Late by Joe Blablazo. Joe came to the “Indie Comics Marketing 101″ panel I was on and was kind enough to give me a copy of the book. It’s a wordless, surreal tale that’s beautifully drawn and showcases just one of several art styles he’s capable of doing (you can visit his website to see more of his stuff; unfortunately he just has one panel from Late up on the site. update: Joe has posted the whole story online!) Joe has a more superhero-y book on the way called Deathless, and I hope to see more from him in the future.

Tom Bondurant

It should surprise no one that I have been looking forward to the DC Retro-Active comics pretty much since they were announced. So far I’ve enjoyed reading them, even if they’ve been a mixed bag. This week’s titles included Superman by Martin Pasko, Eduardo Barreto, and Christian Duce; Justice League of America by Cary Bates and Gordon Purcell (and a couple of others whose names escape me); and Green Lantern by Dennis O’Neil and Mike Grell. As it happens, GL is the only one of the three with a reunited creative team, and it turned out to be the weakest. It features Green Lantern and Green Arrow in a two-track story which only comes together when the heroes catch each other up at the end. There’s not much to catch up, either — GL helps a familiar-looking extraterrestrial after his spaceship crashes in unfriendly territory; and GA tracks a rival archer who’s back to prove himself. While there are twists which I won’t spoil, they are of the “because the doctor is his mother” variety. Still, Mike Grell turns in a really fine story, full of crowd-pleasing ring-slinging and marksmanship feats. Neither creator seems to have gone for a retro vibe in this issue, and that’s fine. However, O’Neil’s script is just flat; and even more so when compared to “No Evil Shall Escape My Sight!,” the historic (and, perhaps, histrionic) Green Lantern/Green Arrow kickoff from GL vol. 2 #76. I was hoping for something more obscure, which is to say something O’Neil and Grell did from the mid-’70s, but it’s hard to argue with such a classic tale.

Better is the Superman one-shot, although not necessarily because it feels more like a Superman comic from thirty-odd years ago. Barreto and Duce don’t seem to be channeling Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson, who defined the Man of Steel’s look for decades. In fact, at times it was hard to spot elements of Barreto’s distinctive style. Still, like Swanderson, the result is light on frills, but easy to follow. Like the GL issue, Pasko’s script touches on period-specific elements: everyone works for WGBS-TV, the villains are identified mostly with the late ’70s and early ’80s, and Superman talks regularly with the Kandorians and the hot-pantsed Supergirl. While the plot’s ultimate resolution is hardly revolutionary, it’s executed with the sort of nervous energy you’d expect from a good sitcom. This too is typical of the ’70s Superman, and it’s not unwelcome at all. Besides, the reprint is “Superman Takes A Wife!,” the story which celebrated Action Comics‘ 40th anniversary by marrying the original (i.e., Earth-2) Supes and Lois.

Justice League

Perhaps most fun was the Justice League of America issue, which finds Adam Strange stranded once again in a place that doesn’t buy his stories of space adventure — only this time, it’s Earth-Prime, where he’s just a comic-book character. Fortunately, the Justice League knows just who to call to get Adam out of trouble — his editor, Julius Schwartz. (Naturally, Julie and Barry Allen have already gotten to know each other well, thanks to Barry’s many Earth-Prime visits.) There are a couple of obstacles in the way, of course; and it’s all part of Kanjar Ro’s plan to energize his cells to Superman-levels. Indeed, it risks being too familiar — but I have to say, it’s pretty cool to see Julie Schwartz as the JLA’s go-to guy, and in particular to see his reaction to meeting a couple of Leaguers for the first time. This is the kind of story which doesn’t take itself too seriously, but at the same time never loses its sense of wonder. Ironically, more mean-spirited is the reprint, one part of a JLA/JSA team-up involving a DC writer from Earth-Prime who goes bad. Pick up Crisis On Multiple Earths Vol. 4 for the whole story, I guess.

Back in the present, I thought Flashpoint: Project Superman #2 (by Scott Snyder and Gene Ha) did a good job fleshing out Flashpoint-Supes’ backstory. Along with info from the main miniseries and the Frankenstein mini, we’re getting to know the military’s various superhuman-weapon projects pretty well. As you might expect, Kal-El has had a pretty rough time of it in military custody, but he’s acquired an unlikely patron. This issue also plants the seeds for what I expect will be a pivotal relationship. In some ways it’s reminiscent of JMS’ and Gary Frank’s Supreme Power miniseries, which spent an inordinate amount of time showing its Superman-analogue straining to get out from under military control. Of necessity, though, it has to move faster, and thank goodness for that. Between the next issue of this miniseries, and Flashpoint itself, Kal-El looks to shake off that control pretty dramatically.

Finally, I recognize that not every comic I read is fit for the eyes of my (almost-) three-year-old daughter — but I was too engrossed in the harrowing Detective Comics #880 to notice her ambling over to my easy chair. “Who’s that?” she wondered innocently, looking at Jock’s nightmare-fuel portrait of the Joker.

I tried to play it off by showing the back cover. “That’s Green Lantern!”

She wasn’t fooled. “No, who’s that?”

Quickly I put the issue back in the stack and reached for something more innocuous (and not American Vampire– d’oh!). “Oh, that’s just the Joker. What do you want to eat?”

Michael May

Planet of the Apes

I got caught up with BOOM!’s Planet of the Apes this week (the fourth issue just came out). What a perfect marriage of words and art this series is. Carlos Magno has created a world I want to live in. Or would want to live in if not for all the damn dirty apes. It’s so rich and full with its quaint, European houses and stone bridges and medieval fashions. Of course, there are plots and wars being planned in those houses, the bridges are barricaded Les Miserables-style, and the fashions conceal all manner of weapons. Daryl Gregory has taken a beautiful place and filled it with intrigue and death. For which I’m very, very grateful.

I also went back and picked up Supergirl #66. I somehow missed it when it came out a couple of weeks ago, but really wanted to continue Kelly Sue DeConnick’s story about Supergirl undercover at a college on assignment for Lois Lane. It’s got secret tunnels, biomechanical rats, Supergirl trying to use her powers without blowing her cover, and Lois doing some Lois Laneing. Really fun stuff.

Tim O’Shea

FF #6

FF #6: Yeesh. Black Bolt speaks twice in a comic that used to be about Reed Richards and his pals. The first time he speaks, to convey the power of his spoken word a 2 pt type was used. OK maybe 4 pt type if I am lucky. But really, I could have dealt with 6 pt type and still gotten the effect letterer Claytion Cowles was going for. The second time he speaks loudly (which is saying something when it comes to old Bolty) he actually says: “I. am. awake!” Really. Did someone imply you were dozing on the job there, Blackie? Added bonus, nothing on the cover resembles anything that happens in the comic. A two-issue Black Bolt subplot has me asking: “If I were waiting for the trade, would this be a chunk of the book that would bore me to death?” (The answer is yes) I love the Inhumans as a concept, but Jonathan Hickman writing the Inhumans in an FF book is like reading a mixture of U.S. congressional and U.K. parliamentary proceedings: boring and nonsensical. And hey, Medusa really took the news Black Bolt now has multiple wives (one of them being a talking horse) in stride. A twisted part of me wishes Bolt had spoken at that point: “Wow.” I am leaning toward dropping this book from my monthly reading assignments.

Secret Warriors #28: Lest people think I dislike Hickman, let me quickly dispel that notion. This is the last issue of a book where I had a Nick Fury that entertained the hell out of me. And he ends the series with one of the best present day conversations between Steve Rogers and Nick. That alone made the issue a must read for me. And I love that A) Dum Dum Dugan gets to say the final words in the issue B) How Hickman leaves the Contessa subplot

Teen Titans #98: Yeesh again.How did Superboy-Prime come back? Don’t expect an explanation–he just appears in a pile of a rubble in the opening pages of this issue. Well that’s convenient and lame. Way to run toward issue 100, just to get to a milestone, DC…that means absolutely nothing. Faithful readers, please tell me anything that was memorable about this particular 100 issue run of this Titans incarnation. Off the top of my head, I can think of nothing.

Xombi #5: John Rozum has a whole lot to say through the characters in this issue. I mean a lot. (And it’s not overwhelming–plus there’s a whole discussion of the film Lost Horizon at one point). And Frazer Irving’s art is just exquisite. I hope there is some project in the DCNu for these two to collaborate again. But I really wonder if they’re not more suited for Vertigo.

Captain America and Bucky #620: One must assume there is a finite end to this particular series,but I could be wrong. In the meantime, Chris Samnee drawing 1940s era Captain America and Bucky stories? To quote Black Bolt: “I. Am. Awake.” Seriously though, beautiful art made even better by the colors of Bettie Breitweiser.

Avengers Academy #16: Stuck record time for long-time readers…Christos Gage continues to write the best Avengers book on the current market. The story he crafts with Veil in this issue has the reader feel a gamut of emotions with the character as you see the issue play out. And that’s just one-half, the opening half gives me more smart (albeit on the ropes) Hank Pym. I love me some smart Giant Man.

Brigid Alverson

Spontaneous

I started off this sultry week with the first two issues of Spontaneous. Joe Harris and Brett Weldele take one of the more bizarre true-mystery phenomena and wrap it into a pretty good story. The hero, Melvin, is fascinated by spontaneous human combustion for many reasons, and he has studied it so carefully that he can predict who will go up in flames next. An overbearing investigative reporter happens onto the scene as the fire claims its next victim in a mall food court, and she starts doing some research of her own. It’s a well told story, although the reporter is a bit much, and Wedele, whose luminous watercolor style made The Light such a beautiful comic, is the perfect artist for this book. I’m hooked.

A trip to the comics shop yesterday netted me a copy of Drew Weing’s Set to Sea. It’s pure indulgence, because I have already read the story online, but Fantagraphics’ small, almost jewel-like presentation is really beautiful. Weing tells his story one panel at a time, and each panel could be framed as a work of art in itself, so having it in a book, without the clutter of the web, is a worthy investment.

My biggest bargain at the comics store, though, was a vintage issue of Dark Horse’s Super Manga Blast for a quarter. With chapters of 3×3 Eyes, Club 9, and What’s Michael?, all flipped, in black and white, in a pamphlet comic, it’s a very different format for manga than the one I’m used to. With just a single chapter of each story, though, it’s more a curiosity than a good read, although it reminds me I want to check out Club 9.

Daniel Merlin Goodbrey

You catch me on my return from Comic-Con, so I’m reading a mix of stuff I picked up at the show and things that were waiting for me at Chaos City when I got back.

League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century: 1969: I read this through once on the plane back from San Diego. I’m re-reading it now with Jess Nevins’ annotations, just to appreciate the sheer lunatic everything-and-the-British-kitchen-sink-ness of it all. It’s Moore so it’s a great read of course, but the Century series does seem to be going to some rather bleak places as it progresses. Here’s hoping there’s a resurgence of Blazing-Kingdom-3D-wonderfullness before the sequence is complete.

The Boys

The Boys #56: Some fun moments this issue, but it’s only part one of “The Big Ride” so it’s mostly just positional play at this point. While The Boys wears a disguise of just-Garth-having-a-laugh-at-superheroes, its secret identity is a fascinating and carefully constructed story world that’s kept me coming back month after month. Something I noticed on flicking back through the book is how prominent Terror is this issue. I do hope this isn’t a precursor to something bad happening to him later in the arc. Please don’t kill the good wee doggie!

Paradigm Shift Part Three: Emergence I notice I am using too many hyphens in these reviews. Clearly, this must stop. This third part of Dirk Tiede’s brilliant Chicago werewolf police procedural manga (look! No hyphens!) finishes out the story’s first arc but still leaves me hungry for more. This book is tightly plotted and beautifully illustrated and is an absolute must for fans of any of the subjects I didn’t put hyphens between in the last sentence. How the series hasn’t been snapped up by a major publisher yet is beyond me. Grab a copy of all three volumes now so that you can say you read back in the day, before they made the motion picture and everybody got the tattoo.

The Sixth Gun Book One: Cold Dead Fingers: A bit of a stunt review this, as so far I’ve only had time to read the first six pages of the book. Sixth gun, six pages. See? Anyway, I picked this up on the recommendation of a friend at San Diego and, judging by these six pages, the recommendation was a good one. I’ve already got a good feeling about the mystic old west setting and been given a clear idea about what kind of a scoundrel we have for a protagonist. Worth a look I’d say and I’m definitely looking forward to page seven.

Arsenic Lullaby: 10 Year Omnibus: I first read Arsenic Lullaby at San Diego in 2002, and I think I’ve picked up a new something or other from them at every con since. I’m about halfway through reading this 10 Year Omnibus at the moment and so far it’s been great, filling out the gaps in my reading and reminding me of old favourites. It’s the darkest, blackest, sickest and funniest book I’ve read in a while. Well worth seeking out, if you can stomach a few zombie foetuses and watching the antics of a government-sponsored serial-baby-killer is your idea of a good time.

Batman #436, beginning "Year Three"

One of the more precarious parts of DC’s New-52 relaunch is this notion that a whole lot of in-story history happened over just five years of comic-book time. So far, this comes primarily from narration in the new Justice League #1, indicating that the team was formed “five years ago,” when “the world didn’t know what a super-hero was.”

Now, this may not be an entirely accurate measurement of the relaunch’s age. Practically by definition, the Justice League consists of heroes with fairly well-established careers, so we have to think that its charter members had been around for a little while before teaming up. Furthermore, in the context of the New 52 specifically, we can infer from what we know about the new Action Comics — which will show him less-powerful and with a more mundane costume — that Superman debuted some time before the events of Justice League #1. (According to Comics Alliance’s account of Friday’s New-52 Comic-Con panel, Action initially takes place just a few months before Justice League.)

For now, though, the five-year figure is probably as definite as we’re going to get, so let’s start there. As always, DC wants to placate two different groups: hypothetical new (and/or returning) readers, and those of us who have been buying the books already. For the former, the relaunch promises new takes on familiar characters, including some familiar characters returning to their earlier roles. For the latter — and particularly for Batman and Green Lantern readers — comes the reassurance that everything important still happened. Perhaps the two goals collide most dramatically in the case of Barbara Gordon, who will go back to being Batgirl after recovering successfully from the assault that left her paralyzed, and who (as a recent college graduate) will be younger than she was when she was shot.

DC did something similar with the post-Crisis On Infinite Earths relaunches of the mid-1980s. Back then, characters big and small had their histories rewritten, although DC maintained that absent specific contradictions, the pre-Crisis comics were still valid. Still, those contradictions were pervasive, especially for the comics that weren’t supposed to be affected. Changes to Superman affected existing Justice League and Legion stories, and changes to Wonder Woman affected both JLA and New Titans. Young All-Stars (the follow-up to All-Star Squadron) even centered around a group of WWII-era “cosmic replacements” — strongman Iron Munro, mysterious Flying Fox, mythologically-based Fury — created explicitly as substitutes for the Golden Age Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.

And not to digress too much, but I get the feeling that DC in the mid-‘80s was more concerned with preserving as much of the pre-COIE stories as it could. By contrast, the New-52 books seem, understandably, more focused on the changes, and inviting readers to discover what’s different.

In this case, those differences apparently come primarily from making these characters less experienced than they are currently. According to CBR’s coverage of that Friday panel,

[Dan DiDio] wanted to return characters to a younger, more exciting age. Barbara Gordon was used as an example, saying that she should be in her twenties but seemed to be in her thirties, while the Teen Titans sometimes “looked and acted like 40-year-olds.” [Jim] Lee also said this would create “a rollback of their experience, where it is more of a struggle,” such that heroes are still finding the level of their powers.

By itself, that’s not an unreasonable or unworkable strategy. Neither is streamlining a character’s history to include only the most important big-event storylines. The problem comes from trying to leave untouched a couple of major franchises (Batman and Green Lantern) while everyone else’s past adventures — and, for that matter, the Justice Society’s very existence — are in play.

Put bluntly, Batman’s history calls for the biggest suspension of disbelief, because it reaches into the histories of both the Justice League and the Teen Titans. In the current timeline, where Damian Wayne is a product of Batman: Son of the Demon’s night of passion between Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, one can argue credibly for a Bat-career of at least fifteen years, and probably more. SOTD was published in 1987, when Jason Todd was Robin and Dick Grayson had become Nightwing. If we presume that SOTD took place in the present (i.e., concurrent with 1987′s comics), Dick would be over 20 years old, having reached that milestone in early 1986.* Damian’s age therefore measures the span of time between 2011′s comics and 1987′s, compressing almost 24 years’ worth of stories into 11 (or, if you prefer, 10 years and 9 months). For simplicity’s sake, let’s just say that Dick turned 20 in the same year that Damian was born. That would make Dick 30 today, and would give him a superhero career of at least 15 years, mostly as Nightwing.** From there we can figure Bruce’s age, assuming (as “Batman: Year One” revealed) that he first became Batman at 25. If Bruce then took in Dick in Year Three,*** when he was 27 and Dick was 15, then the current crop of comics takes place in at least Year 18, when Bruce is 42.

To be sure, we can massage these numbers a little bit, but not much. Starting a superhero career at age 15**** doesn’t give Dick much time to be Robin (or, by extension, for the Teen Titans to go through a couple of incarnations). However, the younger Dick is when his parents are murdered, the older that makes Bruce today; and despite the small army of associates he’s accumulated, no one seems to want a Batman in his forties.

Now, it’s not like the timeline wasn’t already a little dodgy. Dick left Wayne Manor for Hudson University in December 1969′s Batman #217, probably around ages 17 or 18. Accordingly, all of Dick’s college-age adventures — which span over fifteen years of real time — could arguably be compressed into some 2-3 years of comic-book time. These adventures include the initial Rā’s al Ghūl stories, the original Teen Titans’ breakup and the group’s mid-‘70s revival, Dick’s retirement as Robin, and all of the first Wolfman/Pérez run on New Teen Titans.

Speaking of the Titans, Wally West graduated high school in 1978′s Flash Spectacular and turned 20 in the first issue of his solo Flash series (June 1987), so while he has a similar problem, he only needs to compress nine years’ worth of real time into 2-3 years of comic-book time. However, those 2-3 years also include some college, as well as his forced retirement from superheroics, and oh by the way Crisis On Infinite Earths.

Again, I bring this up not to argue that all of DC’s superhero output from 1970-85 must be crammed into the end of the original Titans’ teenage years. Instead, such an exercise reinforces the notion that very few stories can be incorporated into long-term continuity exactly as they were presented. In simpler terms, the story you read today won’t be quite the same story which is referenced later on — assuming it is even referenced in the first place. For example, Tim Drake deduced Batman and Robin’s secret identities after watching news footage of the Dynamic Duo, and seeing Robin execute a move which was part of Dick Grayson’s circus act. However, when later stories claimed that the Bat-family had always been urban legends, this detail was glossed over. Still, Tim’s introduction to Batman and Nightwing was predicated on his knowing their secret identities — so either he saw them on the news, he was somehow present at one of their adventures, or he was an exceptionally gifted adolescent detective. Because this is superhero comics, any of those could be true, but odds are the original story is no longer completely valid.

Where, then, does that leave the New-52′s five-year timeline? If it includes all the Robins from Dick to Damian, I’d say the timeline has already been FUBAR’ed. Actually, the Batman timeline itself may not be affected too much, because DC can trot out the “urban legend” theory. (Remember, an urban legend isn’t necessarily a superhero, so Justice League’s narration is still accurate.) In fact, Batman could have been operating in secret for some ten years prior to Justice League #1. He would have spent a good bit of those years training various red-and-yellow-costumed teenagers, but, you know, urban legend.

Anyway, one solution might have been simply to give the New-52 books a five-year backstory which reflected a less-eventful shared universe. For example, in the rough timeline we’ve been discussing, Dick would be at or the end of high school in Year Five, with Wally not far behind. Likewise, Bruce and his contemporaries would be in their late twenties to early thirties. Generally, it might resemble the development of DC’s shared universe as of the early 1970s, although it could be tweaked to allow for younger characters like Firestorm and the Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle. The big drawback to such a truncated history would be losing at least one additional generation of sidekicks: no Robins other than Dick, no Kid Flash or Impulse other than Wally, no Wonder Girl besides Donna Troy and no Batgirls besides Barbara Gordon (and maybe Bette Kane, although technically she was a hyphenated Bat-Girl.) I suppose the Green Lantern history could remain relatively intact, since there seems always to be room for another Earth-based GL.

By and large, though, I understand why DC didn’t want to turn back the clock that radically. Depriving readers of the younger generations would have alienated their many fans, and DC wouldn’t have wanted to gamble its relaunch on having to replace those fans. However, the New-52 relaunch may have gone too far in the other direction, overstuffing its cut-down history to the point it strains even superhero-comic credulity. A character’s relative longevity weighs significantly on its presentation. If no one is part of the old guard, such that Batman’s origin is only a few years removed from Firestorm’s, it deprives the characters of that source of conflict. Maybe that’ll be good in the long run, if it allows lesser-known characters to compete with the A-listers for readers’ affections. Nevertheless, books as diverse as the ‘70s All Star Comics, New Teen Titans, Justice League International, and the late-‘90s JLA each used rookie characters effectively in combination with the more-experienced members.

In one important respect, nothing has changed. As long as superhero comics come out in serialized periodicals, their stories will play out in an eternal present. When Detective Comics #38 introduced Robin in the spring of 1940, its producers weren’t plotting Dick’s destiny over the long term. They just needed him to fulfill a particular role in Batman’s adventures. Thus, for decades Dick Grayson was a high-schooler of indeterminate age***** simply because the stories wanted it that way. Dick’s transition to college, and his subsequent developments to Nightwing and Batman, each acknowledged that it was time for the character to embrace different storytelling possibilities. A character’s past informs his present, but does not dictate it. Indeed, this month’s issue is next month’s backstory, reduced to data points and added to the reader’s storehouse of narrative knowledge. September’s crop of new first issues will be no different. Like this week’s books, they’ll define DC’s superhero line all over again …

… at least, until the accuracy of Now fades into the haze of Then.

++++++++++++++++++

* [New Teen Titans vol. 2 #18 (March 1986).]

** [Since Dick was still Robin when he graduated from high school, and stayed in the short pants for some time afterwards, I presume he was at least 19 when he became Nightwing.]

*** [Flashbacks in the “Batman: Year Three” storyline from Batman #s 436-39 gave the post-“Year One” account of Dick’s origin. “Year Three” also introduced toddler Tim Drake and led directly into Tim’s modern introduction in “A Lonely Place Of Dying.” However, like its predecessor “Year Two,” no one seems to care about it much anymore.]

**** [In fact, Batman #437 established that Dick was 12 when his parents were murdered. This would have given him about seven years as Robin. Again, though, “Year Three” apparently hasn’t been considered authoritative for some time.]

***** [Michael Fleisher’s 1976 Encyclopedia of Comic-Book Heroes, Volume 1: Batman notes that “[i]t is not possible to establish Dick Grayson’s age with any real precision.” Still, Fleisher observes further that in April-May 1942′s Batman #10, “[t]here were fourteen candles on his birthday cake.” Rest assured, I am not going to argue that only three to four years of comic-book time passed between 1942 and 1969.]

Don Newton and Dick Giordano provide a classic Batman cover

Sometimes it’s been hard for me to process the New 52 as anything but an amorphous mass of, well, Newness. In this respect, DC’s October solicitations are helping to define that mass, with details like the five-year timeframe and Superman’s work boots.

Still, despite the promise of widespread change — and the somewhat-irrational implication that those who aren’t curious now will be left behind later — it’s been fairly easy for me almost to ignore the solicits, and just buy the books when they come out. After all, presumably DC is after new (or returning) readers who don’t follow the solicits and aren’t attuned to the spoilers.

Besides, the October solicits also include some attractive reprints; so let’s get right to it, shall we?

* * *

WHEN TRINITARIANS CLASH; or WORLD’S FIGHTIN’-EST

Here’s the thing about Justice League #2: by now, 25 years after Dark Knight Book Four, a Superman/Batman fight is nothing new. However, the relationship between these two characters is one of DC’s most primal. Each taps into a different set of reader-identification impulses: Superman represents wish-fulfillment, and Batman stands for a more practical approach. In a very real sense, Batman’s enduring popularity is bound up with readers having chosen his brand of practicality over Superman’s embrace of fantasy.

The fact that this fight will play out as part of the Justice League’s new origin adds another layer of meaning, because Batman’s mere participation in the League has occasionally been deemed incompatible with his characterization. In fact, while the Justice League itself facilitates the interaction of genres (fantasy, mythology, space opera, etc.), its members tend to be more similar to Superman than to Batman; and so Batman’s pulp-style tendencies are often downplayed in fights with the likes of Despero and the Lord of Time. Therefore, this is not just another Superman/Batman throwdown. Instead, it has the potential to define Batman’s role in the Justice League, and by extension across the reintroduced superhero landscape.

Or, you know, Batman could have even more of an advantage, since Superman’s powers are still developing.  Plus he’s probably got a lot of prep time.

WHO’S WHO

Classic DC names showing up in unexpected places: the Signalmen (plural of an old Batman villain) in Justice League International #2; Brainstorm (old JLA villain) in Mr. Terrific #2; N.O.W.H.E.R.E. (an acronym from Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol) in the second issues of Superboy and Teen Titans; and Amazing Man (onetime member of the All-Star Squadron; successor joined the Justice League) in OMAC #2.

MINISERIES MAKING A COMEBACK

Count me among those excited for the return of Batman: Odyssey – not necessarily because I enjoy the series on its merits, but because it’s another chance to speculate about what Neal Adams wants to accomplish with it. I mean, even All Star Batman & Robin had its own place in Frank Miller’s Batman stories. Odyssey apparently exists apart from anything Adams has ever done with Batman, except maybe some demented version of those Power Records comics.

Speaking of standing apart, the new Shade miniseries – the second one, remember, since James Robinson and a handful of fine artists did four issues with the character in 1997 — sure seems like it’s not for the uninitiated. Rather, it feels like the next best thing to Robinson actually restarting his Starman series after a ten-year absence. And why stop with Starman? Maybe The Shade will refer to Robinson’s current Justice League work, which in October will only be out-of-date by a month. I’m trying not to be sarcastic here, because Robinson has a history of ignoring editorial mandates about continuity. Much of his Elseworlds miniseries The Golden Age (drawn by Paul Smith) laid the groundwork for Starman, so in a sense Robinson has always been playing in his own little corner of DC’s superhero line.

COLLECTIONS

The reprints and collections in this crop of solicits are really quite good. Among the $7.99 issues, Mark Farmer and Alan Davis’ Superboy’s Legion stands out almost on eye-candy value alone. It’s lighter than the team’s original Nail miniseries, but it doesn’t go nuts with the cameos like Another Nail did.

Somewhat more serious is JLA: Age Of Wonder, which essentially puts Superman, Starman, Green Lantern, et al., at the dawn of the 20th Century. In scope and tone it reminded me of Superman: Red Son, because both deal with good intentions gone awry on a global scale. However, AOW doesn’t try to be as satirical as Red Son, so in that respect I liked AOW more. Worth the $7.99, definitely.

Can’t quite say the same for the two-issue reprint of Superman: Secret Identity. On one hand I’m glad it’s being reprinted, because it’s a gorgeous, affecting take on a “real-world” Man of Steel. The only caveat I have about recommending this edition is that DC should have just reissued the 2004 paperback collection. Sure, the two new $7.99 issues will be cheaper (the paperback was $19.95 seven years ago), but they won’t be as durable; and this is a story you’ll want to read many times.

It should surprise none of you that I am a big fan of literary annotations. Besides annotated versions of The Hobbit and A Christmas Carol, and Jess Nevins’ League of Extraordinary Gentlemen annotations, I have Leslie Klinger’s three-volume New Annotated Sherlock Holmes — so of course I’m signing up for Klinger’s Annotated Sandman. (It’s cheaper than the Absolute editions, too!) Now maybe I will finally feel smart while reading Sandman….

Volume 2 of the Steve Ditko Omnibus reprints a lot of odds and ends from the late ‘60s through the early ‘00s. If you’ve always wanted to read Ditko’s Hawk & Dove, or an arc from the Prince Gavyn “Starman” feature (written by Paul Levitz), and you don’t mind a collection with two issues of Man-Bat, a handful of “Odd Man” shorts, and some random Legion of Super-Heroes issues, then this is the book for you.

Last month DC solicited a new Justice League Archives, but I still didn’t expect to see a new Legion Archives in these solicits. We’re well into the ‘70s at this point, and well past the point that a casual Legion fan could just jump into this hardcover series. (Previous Archives have been discounted on eBay, but Volume 8 is out of print and pretty hard to find.) Maybe a combination of the Showcase Presents books and the later Archives will do. Besides, if this keeps up, the Archives might just catch up with that Great Darkness Saga collection I have already.

I’m also glad to see — finally! — a second Wonder Woman Chronicles. Many, if not all, of these stories have already been reprinted in Archive form, so it’s nice for someone like me (who, again, didn’t have the resources to devote to every Archive series) to catch up on the Amazing Amazon’s most imaginative era.

BATMAN COLLECTIONS

One thing about reading early-‘70s Batman comics is that the collections tend to focus on particular topics — all the Neal Adams issues, all the Ra’s Al Ghul issues, the Manhunter saga, etc. — and you lose sight of the larger month-to-month context in which these issues first appeared. That’s why I’ll be getting Showcase Presents Batman Vol. 5. I want to read stories like “The Demon Of Gothos Mansion” (from Batman #227) alongside more familiar classics like “Secret of the Waiting Graves” and “One Bullet Too Many!”

“The Demon Laughs” (now collected in the $7.99 format) came out in 2001, some time after the wholesale creative-team shuffle which followed “No Man’s Land,” but it’s still a good example of ‘90s Batman. It’s from Chuck Dixon and Jim Aparo, two of the period’s signature creators, and the story’s a good marriage of creators and characters. (Probably similar is the Catwoman: Guardian Of Gotham miniseries, which I haven’t read.) By contrast, Dwayne McDuffie and Val Semeiks’ “Blink” (which came out a year after “Demon Laughs,” and which also gets the $7.99 treatment) offered readers a respite from constant Bat-crossovers.  More importantly, t’s a neat story in its own right, earning a Legends of the Dark Knight sequel not too long afterwards.

Of course, if you want the last hurrah of the ‘90s Batman creative teams, step right up to the new edition of “No Man’s Land” collections. After “Knightfall” and its sequels expanded the Bat-line pretty much irrevocably, the books crossed over constantly for the rest of the ‘90s, culminating in a post-apocalyptic storyline which took a year to tell and covered a year in the life of post-quake Gotham. It reduced the Batman mythology to very basic elements: one man (and his small group of associates) trying to bring justice to a hellish city broken by corruption and crime.

Finally, back when DC announced a Gene Colan Batman collection, I mentioned how great it would be to have a similar book for Don Newton — so thanks, DC, for following up on that. Between the Colan book, the upcoming Marshall Rogers collection, and this one, my shelf will soon be full of stellar Bronze Age Bat-art.

POTPOURRI

Although I’m willing to give Peter Tomasi a chance as Batman And Robin’s regular writer, issue #2′s mention of a more violent Robin suggests that some of the nuance which Grant Morrison gave Damian is being eroded. To be fair, Tomasi knows his Bat-history well enough that I expect him to distinguish this storyline from 1988′s “did Jason Todd just kill that guy?” arc. By the same token, though, you’d think this would hit a lot of the same beats.

Glad to see Seven Soldiers’ Shining Knight on the cover of Demon Knights #2.

My position against buying the new Teen Titans hasn’t changed, but I will say that the cover of issue #2 is an improvement. Probably because Red Robin’s glider wings are covered up.

I’m sorry to see House Of Mystery go, because I read it for the first year-and-a-half. At its worst it was still pretty diverting, and occasionally it was inspired. Its unique format tried to combine continuing characters with an anthology, and I thought it was worth supporting just for that. However, I never got into the continuing characters, and eventually I dropped it. Naturally, now that it’s being cancelled, I’m inclined to revisit it to see what I missed.

The fact that the THUNDER Agents paperback reprints all ten issues of the lame-duck series, and is still called “Volume 1,” gives me hope for future THUNDER stories.

Will I buy the 1,216-page DC Comics: The New 52? No. Does DC need me to buy it? No. If DC thinks there is a market for that $200.00 Taschen retrospective, surely it has calculated that neither set of prospective buyers includes me. Anyone who does get it, let me know what you think.

* * *

Well, that’s what jumped out at me this month. What looks good to you?

Green Lantern #1, by Dave Johnson

Although it seems like DC’s big relaunch announcement came out an eternity ago, it actually took the publisher less than two weeks to roll out the 52 titles and their creative teams for the big relaunch/reboot/overhaul coming in September. Now that the cats are out of their respective bags, I thought I’d see where various creators and characters will land after the reboot.

So I went back through DC’s August solicitations to see who was writing or drawing what, and tried to map everyone to their post-relaunch project — if they had one. However, looking at DC’s August solicitations, there seem to be several fill-in issues, so where appropriate I tried to map the most recent ongoing creative teams to their new projects (for instance, I consider Gail Simone and Jesus Saiz the regular creative team for Birds of Prey, even if they aren’t doing the last two issues before September hits). Keep in mind that I just went through the ongoing series and skipped over all the miniseries … of which there are a lot, what with Flashpoint winding up in August.

It’s also worth noting that although several creators didn’t appear in the “big 52″ announcements, that doesn’t mean their tenure with DC is necessarily over — some, like Frazer Irving, have said they have future projects that haven’t been announced. So I tried to note where creators have talked publicly about their post-relaunch plans with DC (or lack thereof, as the case may be). The same could probably be said for some of DC’s characters as well. Or, as Gail Simone said on Twitter: “Again, September is NOT THE END. There’s still plans for characters that we haven’t seen yet.”

So let’s get to it ….

Green Lantern titles: There is no Green Lantern title in August. July’s issue, #67, wraps up “War of the Green Lanterns” and is by Geoff Johns, Doug Mahnke and Christiam Almy — the same guys working on Green Lantern #1. Green Lantern Corps #63 is by Tony Bedard and Tyler Kirkham, while Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #13 is by Peter J. Tomasi and Fernando Pasarin. The latter creative team takes over Green Lantern Corps in September, while the former moves to Green Lantern: New Guardians. As Sean Collins pointed out last week, not a lot of change here in terms of creative teams, although the GL books do have a new sister book in the previously announced Red Lanterns title by Peter Milligan and Ed Benes.

Booster Gold: Looks like issue #47 is the last one, which ties into Flashpoint. Dan Jurgens is writing Justice League International #1, starring Booster Gold, with artist Aaron Lopresti. And Jurgens is drawing the J.T. Krul-written Green Arrow.

Justice League of America: The book will drop “of America” from the title in September, as Geoff Johns and Jim Lee take over the series from James Robinson and … I guess the last regular artist was Brett Booth? Booth moves to Teen Titans, while James Robinson doesn’t appear anywhere on the big list of 52 titles. Which is … odd.

Between this, GL and Aquaman (with artist Ivan Reis), DC Chief Creative Officer Johns is tied with Teen Titans/Red Hood and the Outlaws/Superboy scribe Scott Lobdell for writing the most titles for DC come September.

Superman: The Man of Tomorrow #1

Superman titles: Lots of changes here … Paul Cornell and Kenneth Rocafort wrap up the “Reign of the Doomsdays” storyline in Action Comics in September. Cornell moves on to Stormwatch and Demon Knights, while Rocafort moves to Red Hood and the Outlaws. The book’s previous artist, Pete Woods, is on Legion Lost. Meanwhile, Grant Morrison and Rags Morales take over Action Comics.

The “Grounded” storyline in Superman ends with August’s issue #714, by J. Michael Straczynski, Chris Roberson, Allan Goldman and Eber Ferreira. Straczynski’s not tapped to write any of the September titles, which isn’t surprising, based on the fact that he stepped away from monthly comics to work on the sequel to Superman: Earth One — another question entirely. In any event, the man they brought on to finish up “Grounded,” Roberson, isn’t on the list either. Roberson tweeted last week, “I’ve laid off alcohol & nicotine after Heroes, but I’m treating myself to a cigarette and beer, marking the end of my brief stay in the DCU.” He’s still writing iZombie for Vertigo. Goldman also isn’t on the list, while the book’s regular artist, Eddy Barrows, moves to Nightwing. George Pérez and Jesus Merino relaunch the the book in September as Superman: The Man of Tomorrow.

Two issues of Superboy arrive in August, by Jeff Lemire and a trio of artists. Lemire moves on from the title and will be writing Frankenstein and Animal Man in September, while Lobdell takes over writing Superboy with artist R.B. Silva. Artist Pier Gallo doesn’t appear to be doing anything for DC in September.

Supergirl‘s final creative team before the reboot, Kelly Sue DeConnick and Chriscross, aren’t working on any of the September books, although DeConnick did note that she was approached to pitch to them.

Most recently Superman/Batman has featured the work of Cullen Bunn and Chriscross, neither of whom appears on the big list o’ 52, with Joshua Hale Fialkov’s three-parter appearing in the final issues this summer. Fialkov will be writing I, Vampire in September.

The Bat-titles: Batman Incorporated goes on hiatus after August, but DC has announced that it will be back as a maxi-series next year. Morrison, as noted above, goes to Action Comics. The Bat titles themselves stay fairly consistent — Tony Daniel will continue to write and draw one of them as he moves from Batman to Detective Comics; writer Scott Snyder moves from Detective Comics to work with former Spawn artist Greg Capullo on Batman; and David Finch will continue to write Batman: The Dark Knight (a series he once drew as well) for artist Jay Fabok, who is slated to take over art chores with July’s pre-relaunch-resolicited issue #4. The only creators from those books pre-relaunch who don’t appear on the big list of 52 books are Jock and Francesco Francavilla, although Jock is apparently still doing Batman-related covers, while Francavilla will do “special fill-ins” for Snyder’s other writing project, Swamp Thing. Daniel has another project as well — The Savage Hawkman, with artist Phillip Tan.

Batman & Robin

Tomasi is also listed as the writer for Batman & Robin, a book he was announced as the regular writer for after Morrison left. However, since then the book has actually been written by several folks, including Judd Winick, David Hine and Cornell. Hine’s name doesn’t appear on the relaunch list. Winick and artist Guillem March, who worked together on B&R, will team up on Catwoman in September. Winick is also writing Batwing with Ben Oliver on art.

The last few issues of Batgirl have been by Bryan Q. Miller and Dustin Nguyen, while Pere Pérez is the artist for the last three issues before the relaunch. None of them are listed as creators on the 52 titles in September. In responding to a question on Twitter, Bryan Q. Miller said: “RT Anything new on the horizon for you at DC? @TreyKrimsin Maybe – but nothing in any way immediate.” The new Batgirl creative team is Gail Simone, Ardian Syaf and Vicente Cifuentes, with Barbara Gordon stepping back into the costume.

Red Robin ends in August with an issue that has Tim going after his dad’s killer, Captain Boomerang, since CB is back from the dead. Writer Fabian Niceiza is working on Legion Lost in September. The artist for the last arc, Marcus To, isn’t doing anything in September, while the book’s previous artist, Freddie Williams, is working on Captain Atom with Krul. Red Robin will appear in Teen Titans come September.

The characters from Gotham City Sirens — Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn — seem to have scattered into the wind; Catwoman has her own book in September, while Poison Ivy appears to be in Birds of Prey and Harley Quinn is heading to the Suicide Squad. Creators Peter Calloway and Andres Guinaldo aren’t on any books in September.

Birds of Prey #1

And speaking of Birds of Prey, Simone’s last issue is #13, as the July and August installments are by writer Marc Andreyko and Billy Tucci — neither of whom is working on September’s books. Simone will move on to Batgirl, as noted above, as well as Firestorm, which she’s co-writing with Ethan Van Sciver. Jesus Saiz, who took a break from the book after issue #13, returns to BoP for the relaunch in September.

So what happens to Batman Beyond? Honestly, I’m not sure. It isn’t listed as one of the 52 titles, but CBR’s interview with Adam Beechen last week seemed to indicate the book isn’t going away:

I do know what our next arc is going to be, but I can’t talk about it yet. I’m in the process of plotting it out, and I even know what the next arc after that will be as well as our next “Legends of the Dark Knight” issue. We’re in a pretty good place about what’s ahead of us, and if all goes according to plan, we’re pretty well set for the next bit of time. And we’re going to keep the team intact as long as we can and keep trying to crank out good stuff.

It’s worth noting that there’s also a Superman Beyond #0 in August; it’s listed as a one-shot, but c’mon, a zero issue in August? How can there not be a first issue in its future?

Wonder Woman: The somewhat-controversial “Odyssey” arc, which put Wonder Woman in pants, wraps up in August by Straczynski, Phil Hester, Don Kramer and Wayne Faucher. None of these four is listed as a creator on any of September’s books. Wonder Woman #1 will be by Doctor 13: Architecture & Morality collaborators Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang.

Hester was brought onto the book at the same time Roberson came onto Superman, when Straczynski decided to step away from monthly comics. And while neither of them appears to be doing anything in September, Hester said on Twitter that “there are a lot of moving parts here,” and “So much in motion right now, but it is appreciated” when fans asked about his involvement, or lack thereof.

Adventure Comics and Legion of Super-Heroes: Paul Levitz will continue to chronicle the tales of the Legion, while Fabian Nicieza will write a Legion Lost series. Adventure appears to be gone. As for Adventure artist Phil Jimenez, a DC-exclusive creator, he tweeted, “Hey, comic readers — thanks for all the inquiries! I’m not a part of the big DCU relaunch, but I’ve got a few cool tricks up my sleeve!” followed by “Fun stuff! Hopefully announced by SDCC!” And artist Yildiray Cinar is working on the previously mentioned Firestorm book, as Francis Portela takes over Legion of Super-Heroes.

All-Star Western

Jonah Hex: Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Grey will continue to tell the tales of the ugliest bounty hunter in the west in All-Star Western. They’re joined by artist Moritat.

Green Arrow: J.T. Krul will continue to write Green Arrow, joined by artist Dan Jurgens. Artist Diogenes Neves moves to Demon Knights, written by Cornell.

Secret Six: Simone has confirmed that issue #36 is indeed the last, as the characters Deadshot and King Shark move on to the new Suicide Squad book. Artist J. Calafiore is not listed as working on any of the 52 titles.

Zatanna: According to Paul Dini on his LiveJournal: “A few folks have asked me about the future of the Zatanna book at DC. I don’t know what plans DC has for it after this August, though I can confirm my last issue is the current one, #13.” Issue #13 came out in May. Solicitations for issues #14 and #15 list Dini as the writer, while Beechen is listed as the writer for August’s issue #16. So … I’m not sure what that means.

Responding to a question about the relaunch, Zatanna artist Jamal Igle tweeted, “I wasn’t invited to participate.” The character will appear in Justice League Dark.

Justice Society and Power Girl: I guess this explains why the description for the new Mister Terrific title didn’t reference the Justice Society. Apparently issue #54, by Marc Guggenheim and Jerry Ordway, will be the last. Neither Guggenheim nor Ordway was listed as working on any of the 52 titles, although artist Tom Derenick, who drew the recent issues #51-53, will team with Ivan Brandon on Sgt. Rock and the Men of War.

Power Girl, meanwhile, ends with August’s #27 by Matthew Sturges and Hendry Prasetya, neither of whom is listed as working on any of the 52 titles. The series’ previous writer, Winick, is working on Batwing and Catwoman, as noted above, while artist Sami Basri is working on Voodoo with Ron Marz.

Honestly, I was half-expecting a round of Justice Society titles to be announced at some point — Justice Society, Power Girl, maybe Star Girl or Starman. Maybe they’ll be tapped as mid-season replacements? On the other hand, the description of the Morrison/Morales Action Comics relaunch offered by DC’s The Source blog — “This momentous first issue will set in motion the history of the DC Universe as Superman defends a world that doesn’t trust their first Super Hero” — would appear to preclude the existence of a team full of World War II-era heroes that predates Superman’s generation.

Teen Titans

Teen Titans and Titans: Teen Titans writer J.T. Krul is penning two books come September, Captain Atom and Green Arrow. But I’m not seeing Nicola Scott or Doug Hazlewood on anything, though. That can’t be right; someone at DC get on that, stat.

Titans writer Eric Wallace is working on Mister Terrific; Fabrizio Fiorentino isn’t on anything. Deathstroke gets his own title in September, while Arsenal will join Red Hood and Starfire in Red Hood and the Outlaws.

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents: I was kind of wondering about the long-term future of this one even before the reboot. Which is too bad, as it’s also one I really enjoyed. Writer Nick Spencer is exclusive to Marvel now, so his name wouldn’t be on any other DC book, while the regular art team of Cafu and BIT will work on Grifter. Recent issues have featured art by Mike Grell and Nick Dragotta, who aren’t listed on any of September’s books.

Xombi: With John Rozum working on the new Static Shock series, I would have assumed that was it for Xombi. But someone asked about it on his blog, and he responded: “… I still can’t comment one way or another. Check back periodically, but in the meantime, please take a few minutes to write a letter to the powers that be at DC about what you think about Xombi and send it to them via snail mail. It has an impact. It’s what led to the current run of Xombi in the first place.”

At the very least, maybe they’d let Rozum and artist Frazer Irving wrap up the series in the new anthology title. Speaking of Irving, he tweeted: “For all interested parties, I do have a post-relaunch DC gig but it’s a secret at the mo And Gutsville still needs finishing…” More Gutsville is a plus for sure.

Flash: Flash‘s current run ended in May with issue #12 by Johns and Francis Manapul. The title will return in September sans Johns and with Manapul and Brian Buccellato sharing art and writing duties.

So there you have it, DC’s September books through the filter of their previous line-ups … and I still didn’t hit every single book that’ll come out in September. And based on some of the comments from various creators about additional projects beyond the 52, now I’d just really like to see what DC’s October looks like …

In the meantime, what September books are you going to get? Head over to CBR and take the survey!

Featuring the classic Blizzard vs. Polar Bear battle!

One tagline for the big alien-invasion movie Independence Day cautioned, “Don’t make plans for August.” Well, perhaps the biggest news coming out of DC’s August solicitations is the pervasive sense of foreboding they have about September. Rich Johnston maintains that a whole crop of new No. 1 issues is on tap for the fall, but there are no “FINAL ISSUE!” blurbs to be found on any of the current ongoing series.

While that doesn’t rule out a line-wide relaunch, the solicits also seem to say that readers won’t have to worry about a line-wide reboot. As noted in this space a couple of weeks back, the degree of change will probably be different for different titles. Nevertheless, now that we have a better idea of how August will look, let’s see what it says about September….

* * *

MY HEART WILL GO ON

Exhibit A for the “pick up where you left off” theory is War of the Green Lanterns #2, which promises that its ending “will fuel the next year’s worth of GL tales!” Presumably that includes the return of Green Lantern, perhaps with a new No. 1 issue for Sector 2814′s new GL. (Although each of the four Earthling GLs has held the title at some point, I’m guessing it’ll be John, because Kyle and Guy are firmly ensconced in GL Corps and Emerald Warriors. I don’t think DC will go outside the box on this one — but movie-star Sinestro would sure make for an interesting year.)

Exhibit B is Gates Of Gotham #s 4-5, “set[ting] the stage for a bold new direction in the Bat books!” Here, I suspect “bold new direction” excludes Batman Incorporated, Grant Morrison’s bold, still-fairly-new direction, as well as whatever David Finch intends to do with the late-again Batman: The Dark Knight. That leaves the venerable Batman and Detective Comics, and the barely-two-years-old Red Robin, Batgirl, Batman And Robin, and Gotham City Sirens, none of which seem like good candidates either for relaunching or renumbering. (Why renumber a title in the very high triple digits when you know you’re just going to go back in a year? For that matter, why give a new No. 1 to a book whose first issue wasn’t that long ago?) Perhaps a consolidation is coming: Batgirl and Red Robin, Batgirl and Gotham City Sirens, Red Robin and Batman and Robin, and/or an expanded Detective Comics with room for multiple short features. There is a tease that Dick Grayson might not be Batman for much longer, but I think readers have gotten used to him in the cape and cowl. Oh, and Batwoman is supposed to relaunch in the fall too (almost forgot!).

A handful of titles seem content to spend August telling their own stories, uncompromised by handed-down deadlines or big-event changes. These include Xombi, Zatanna, and Power Girl – although the latter two sport guest creative teams. While THUNDER Agents #10 advertises the end of a particular arc, it even comes right out and says this isn’t the end of the book.

Otherwise, I don’t see much in August’s solicits which would change my earlier thoughts. Given their prominence in Flashpoint, we’ll probably see renewed efforts to push Wonder Woman and Aquaman into bigger sales.  I suspect the same holds true for other characters Flashpoint will emphasize, like Kid Flash and perhaps even Lois Lane in a solo series.

WELCOME BACK …

Chief among these may be the Marvel Family. Not only does Flashpoint recast them as more of a group effort, but August also promises a second DC Comics Presents collection from the ‘90s Power Of Shazam! title. Ever since the end of 52 revealed a new Earth-5 as the successor to the old Earth-S, I’ve been wondering whether DC would give the Marvels their own Earth again, where they didn’t have to worry about the shifting social mores of main-line Earth-DC. Supposedly that’s part of Grant Morrison’s Multiversity project, and if Flashpoint does anything with the Multiverse, it could easily help set up Multiversity. (Of course, I’m sure Flashpoint will be setting up any number of DC projects, but I just have a feeling about the Multiverse.) Anyway, the bottom line is, there’s a lot of Captain Marvel stuff coming down the pike, and I have to think it’s in preparation for a new Marvel Family book.

Another almost-certain Flashpoint spinoff is Secret Seven, the magic super-team featuring Shade the Changing Man, the Enchantress, Raven, a few players to be named later, and someone called “Princess” who (when we consider Rip Hunter’s chalkboard, seen most recently in this week’s Booster Gold) is most likely Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld. I don’t pretend to have any influence over what DC does, but I’ve used Amethyst in this space as a good example of a DC character who’s pretty easily marketable to a wider audience. Like Captain Marvel (as it happens), she’s a teenager who assumes an adult personality when she travels to the otherdimensional Gemworld for sword-and-sorcery adventures. To put it bluntly, she’s the kind of character who might do well away from the particular tastes of the Direct Market … so it’s a little quixotic to say DC should publish more Amethyst comics. Still, we’ll see how she performs in Flashpoint, and whether that leads to reprints and/or something new.

Then there’s Frankenstein, whose Seven Soldiers miniseries was very well-received. His Flashpoint miniseries looks to build on its predecessor’s tone of no-nonsense mayhem. Frankenstein doesn’t share anything like the contacts Captain Marvel and most of the Secret Seven all have with the regular DC Universe, so for him to get a post-Flashpoint spotlight would be a pretty big deal.

… TO THAT SAME OLD PLACE THAT WE LAUGHED ABOUT

DC doubles up on the Retro-Active books in August, so much so that I made a chart to keep track:

8/3: Batman ‘80s, Wonder Woman ‘80s, Flash ‘80s
8/10: JLA ‘80s, Superman ‘80s, Green Lantern ‘80s
8/17: Batman ‘90s, Wonder Woman ‘90s, Flash ‘90s
8/24: JLA ‘90s, Superman ‘90s, Green Lantern ‘90s

That’s three per week for four weeks — almost in Flashpoint territory! I’ll get ‘em all, though. It’s probably just the nostalgia talking, but I don’t see a clunker in the bunch. While I’m always glad for more Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire wackiness, most gratifying are the reunions of creative teams who haven’t done much DC work in recent years: Bill Messner-Loebs and Greg LaRocque on Flash; Messner-Loebs and Paris Cullins on Wonder Woman; Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove on Superman; Roy Thomas and Rich Buckler on the other WW; on Green Lantern, Len Wein and Joe Staton, and Ron Marz and Darryl Banks; and on Batman, Mike Barr and Jerry Bingham, and Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle. Good to see them back in familiar saddles.

However, I did wonder if this is DC’s way of reminding readers that the Flash, Green Lantern, and the Justice League weren’t always faithful to the classic Silver Age setups. The cynic in me says this is just a way to appease us lifers who were kinda fond of Wally, Kyle, and the JLI. (The cynic also thinks this is a good way to gauge interest in future reprints — for example, the Messner-Loebs/Cullins “space-pirate” storyline from Wonder Woman, or the Grant/Breyfogle Detective Comics.)

On the other hand, though, part of me thinks this is DC preparing its readers for another round of guard-changing: in addition to Sector 2814′s new Green Lantern, there could well be a new (or back-to-headlining) Flash, and/or a new Justice League lineup. If the “rebirths” of Hal Jordan and Barry Allen bookended a period when DC rolled back many of the big changes from the ‘80s and ‘90s, maybe 2011 will close out with even more upheaval.

ODDS AND ENDS

Although I never got into their Spider-Girl — but I did buy all five or so issues of Fantastic Five — it’s fitting that Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz take a crack at one of DC’s alternate futures in Superman Beyond #0.

Once again, The Spirit and Doc Savage keep the First Wave line alive for another month. Spirit #17’s lineup of guest creative teams looks especially intriguing — Brian Bolland, P. Craig Russell, and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez should make Central City look extra-good. Likewise, guest artists Ryan Sook and Mick Gray should turn in a nice and spooky Jonah Hex.

August wraps up Green Arrow’s two-part story by James Patrick and Agustin Padilla. Last month I wasn’t sure they were just a guest creative team, what with the series’ inaugural year-long arc apparently over after Brightest Day. Now, considering September’s potential deck-clearing, Patrick and Padilla look like placeholders, with the book’s next long-term team put off for another month.

Congratulations to Teen Titans for reaching issue #100! Too bad September might return the book to single digits.

REPRINTS AND COLLECTIONS

“Tygers,” the Alan Moore/Kevin O’Neill short story which informs so much of Geoff Johns’ Green Lantern, is reprinted yet again in Green Lantern Corps Super Spectacular #2. Ironically, the book’s other reprints work pretty well as a standalone story, although they too lay the groundwork for future GL epics.

Originally printed as a squarebound, tabloid-sized graphic novel, JLA: Heaven’s Ladder was quite literally a big deal.  The precise timing escapes me — it wasn’t Waid’s first work as regular JLA writer (following Grant Morrison), but I think it was supposed to introduce the new team of Waid and Bryan Hitch. The story was appropriately outsized to fit the format, so I will be curious to see how it translates into a regular-sized comic.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that Mike Allred’s Teen Titans/Doom Patrol story from Solo #7 will be reprinted in DC Presents Teen Titans #1. It’s not the most subversive part of Allred’s Solo issue — that would be the “grim ‘n’ gritty Adam West” story — but it’s pretty good nonetheless. In fact, it’s too bad that not a lot from Solo gets reprinted, because even a selection of the superhero stories would make a pretty good hardcover.

Looking at the solicit for the new-edition Death In The Family paperback, it hit me — Jason Todd has been back from the dead for over five years. What’s more, Tim Drake has been Red Robin for almost two years. With that in mind, “A Death In The Family” and “A Lonely Place Of Dying” seem like ancient history. Hard, therefore, for an old fogey like me to picture them as formative Batman classics, arguably as important to the Bat-legend as O’Neil/Adams or Englehart/Rogers. For what it’s worth, I thought Marv Wolfman’s Batman was a marked improvement over Jim Starlin’s, so I may end up getting this just to compare and contrast.

And speaking of the late, great Marshall Rogers, his Legends Of The Dark Knight tribute looks like a must-have for any Bat-fan. You lose the beginning of Englehart’s epic Detective run (drawn by Walt Simonson and Al Milgrom), but you get the rest of it, plus Len Wein’s two-part Clayface III story, a Golden Age origin story written by Roy Thomas, Denny O’Neil’s illustrated prose work “Death Strikes at Midnight and Three,” a pretty good Legends of the Dark Knight arc written by James Robinson from an Archie Goodwin plot, and the Englehart/Rogers swan-song sequel Dark Detective. I think the only thing missing is his brief stint on the short-lived “Batman” newspaper strip of the early ‘90s (written by Max Collins). My heart aches a little just looking at his Bat-work, because he did relatively little and he died way too soon. Regardless, Marshall Rogers is one of my favorite Bat-artists, and he deserves to be one of yours too. Can’t wait for this one — just in time for my birthday!

If Flashpoint will bring back supernatural superheroes like Frankenstein and the Secret Seven, why not reprint Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan’s Night Force? From what I know about it (mostly from a preview in New Teen Titans), it looked like a decent attempt to recapture Wolfman and Colan’s Tomb Of Dracula mojo, and it should be a pretty good read.

Glad to see Sinestro Corps War getting the single-paperback treatment. I’ll probably get this one just for convenience’s sake. Same goes for the new JLA paperback.

Finally, although I won’t be getting this because I have both of the color paperbacks, Showcase Presents All-Star Comics Vol. 1 is a good introduction to the “Super Squad” era of the Justice Society. Set on Earth-2, back when the JSA was an annual guest in Justice League, these stories laid the foundation both for Infinity, Inc., and for the team’s multigenerational future. In fact, with that Infinity reprint solicited a few months ago, one might even think Earth-2 was making a comeback….

* * *

Well, that’s what jumped out at me this month. What looks good to you?

DC Universe: Legacies #3 -- the JLA by Garcia-Lopez and Gibbons

There’s a weird little sequence in the middle of DC Universe: Legacies #3 when the narration’s timeline goes all hazy and oblique, in order to move the story from sometime in the Eisenhower/Kennedy years right into the “X years ago” of modern continuity. Because Legacies tracks some sixty-five years of costumed crimefighting, this sequence bridges the gap between the Justice Society’s retirement and Superman’s debut.

“Hazy and oblique” are also good words for describing DC’s approach to long-term continuity. The history of the DC Universe is well-settled up to the early 1950s, but past then it becomes elastic. This is something we’ve come to expect: fudging the calendar keeps our heroes both as experienced and as youthful as they need to be. However, each passing year also widens the gap between the end of the Golden Age (early ‘50s) and the beginning of the Silver (thought to be 12-15 years ago). Through reader-identification character Paul Lincoln,* DCUL’s writer (and longtime DC favorite) Len Wein aims to put a human face on all those four-color adventures.

That sounds like the premise of 1994′s Marvels and its spiritual descendant Astro City. Really, though, any halfway-entertaining super-survey needs a narrator with a recognizable point of view. Even 1986′s History of the DC Universe, which was basically a series of George Pérez pinups arranged in chronological order, took its florid prose ostensibly from Harbinger’s meditations on the nature of heroism.

Here, then, is our Mr. Lincoln, would-be juvenile delinquent turned Metropolis cop, whose life is changed after an encounter with the Golden Age Atom and Sandman. Over the course of ten issues, Paul goes from street kid to nursing home, marrying his childhood sweetheart and becoming a father along the way, all the while constantly and steadfastly affirming his faith in DC’s costumed crusaders. As a protagonist, Paul makes a decent narrator; but Paul isn’t exactly DCUL’s main problem. It’s almost as if Wein isn’t confident in Paul’s ability to carry the narrative, so Paul is constantly distracted by various superheroic milestones. Moreover, either Paul is a classic Unreliable Narrator, or Wein and company are doing some serious rewriting of established DC continuity.

With that in mind — and with Paul’s unreliability as both our guide and our caveat — let’s look at Legacies’ account of DC’ superhero history. To save a little space, I’ll be skipping the backup features; but in a nutshell, I thought they were mostly pretty good, and sometimes better than the lead.

SPOILERS FOLLOW, of course.

* * *

Issue #1: 1938ish-1940. Paul and best buddy Jimmy Mahoney are junior enforcers for Metropolis gangster Mike Moran. After Moran kills a merchant for failing to pay protection money, the Crimson Avenger busts up Moran’s hideout, with Paul and Jimmy inside. The boys escape, but soon afterwards new heroes pop up: the Sandman, Zatara, Hourman, Hawkman, the Spectre, the Flash, and the Atom. Months pass, and Jimmy convinces Paul to join him on another shady job. This time, Sandman and the Atom bust up the operation, and Paul’s warning saves the Mighty Mite from a gunsel’s bullet. The chapter ends with the newly-formed Justice Society of America on the cover of Life.

Re-reading this issue in the context of the entire miniseries made me want more with Paul and Jimmy in the Golden Age. Whether by circumstance or design, Legacies gets less personal as it goes on. Along those lines, it seems like Paul relates better to the Golden Agers than he does to the more powerful icons of the Silver Age. He marvels that Sandman and the Atom are, basically, just guys in gaudy costumes; and when he asks the inevitable “what would make them do this?” it comes from genuine curiosity.

Issue #2: 1940-1951. As the costumed floodgates open wide, Paul, now a paperboy, runs into Jimmy, who aspires to be part of Vandal Savage’s gang. Later, an encounter with the Newsboy Legion and their ally the Guardian (a/k/a beat cop Jim Harper) convinces Paul to become a policeman. Jimmy winds up with Savage, but after the JSA busts up the Injustice Gang, Jimmy goes into hiding. Paul and Jimmy’s sister Peggy begin their courtship, Paul graduates from high school, and the JSA retires during a Congressional hearing.

For me, the best parts of issue #2 involved Jimmy’s unseen dealings with Savage’s gang. At first he’s cocky and swaggering; but when Paul and Peggy discover him on the run, he’s wild-eyed, disheveled, and a little haggard. Those bookend scenes were effective at conveying the change in Jimmy’s character (caused in large part by the superheroes’ intervention) which informed the rest of his life. In the Paul-and-Jimmy-Tour-The-Golden-Age miniseries I’d like to read, we’d see more of that, and less superhero name-checking.

Jimmy freaks out after the JSA busts the Injustice Gang

One relatively minor error/divergence in issue #2 involves the original Seven Soldiers of Victory. At one point a radio broadcast marks five years since the 7SOV disappeared. According to the well-sourced Unauthorized Chronology of the DC Universe, they disappeared in 1948, so the broadcast would have to be in 1953. However, the chapter ends with the infamous 1951 hearing.

Issue #3: 1950s to Silver Age, Part 1. Paul’s life story starts to take a back seat to the larger sweep of history. Perhaps as a result, it starts getting harder to tell just how old Paul is supposed to be. Last issue he graduated high school not long before the JSA retired, so presumably in the spring of 1951. Assuming he was 18 in 1951, that would have made him 7 in 1940, when the JSA formed (and when he was helping Jimmy unload contraband). I mention this because there’s an unintentionally hilarious image of Paul, decked out in leather jacket, pegged jeans, and white T-shirt, looking like Marlon Brando crossed with Jeff Conaway. I take it he’s supposed to be in his early 20s, but he looks like the oldest teenager at the sock hop.

Paul's dreamy, daddy-o!

A brief digression: I mentioned this issue’s hazy, oblique narration at the top of this post, and it’s here that Wein has a little fun with DC’s other comic-book genres. Many of the lesser-known Western characters wind up as ‘50s-style TV shows: Johnny Thunder, Matt Savage, Pow-Wow Smith, Tomahawk, Nighthawk, the Trigger Twins, and the Wyoming Kid. No sign of Jonah Hex, Scalphunter, or Bat Lash, though. In the real world, there were bands of adventurers like the Blackhawks (holdovers from the war, of course), the Challengers of the Unknown, the Sea Devils, and Cave Carson’s crew.

Anyway, when Jim Harper is shot and put in critical condition, it inspires Paul to get off his duff and enroll in the Metropolis Police Academy. (Parenthetically, we note the contemporaneous “Miracle [Rescue] In Smallville” and “Dr. Saul Erdel Found Dead” headlines. The Unauthorized Chronology places the latter in 1955.) Paul spends six months in the Academy, meeting the aloof John Jones along the way. If a banner in the background is accurate, Paul graduates in 1960, proposing to Peggy the same day. “Several months later,” Paul and John arrest Jimmy; and “six months” after that, Paul and Peggy marry.

As the hazy narration continues, “[f]or the next several months,” Paul and John encounter a series of what I am compelled to describe as strange adventures (wink wink), another clever nod to DC’s non-superheroic past. “Just a few weeks later,” though, Harper’s death coincides with John’s departure for the Littleton, Colorado, police department. John observes as he leaves that “Metropolis is going to be well enough protected without me.”

Sure enough, “a few weeks later,” the cry rings out: Look! Up in the sky! However, those looking for fidelity with Man of Steel, Superman: Birthright, or Superman: Secret Origin will be disappointed. Other than the common theme of rescuing Lois Lane, Superman’s debut is nothing like those accounts. Instead, its falling helicopter and “You’ve got me? Who’s got you?” are taken directly from 1978′s Superman movie. Introductions of Batman (“a few months later”) and Wonder Woman (“a few months [after that]”) are more faithful to the source material. Batman’s exploits at a chemical plant could fit into the “Batman: Year One” timeline, and in a bonus, they (and his costume’s details) recall his first appearance in Detective #27′s “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate.” Likewise, Wonder Woman’s first Legacies mention refers to her first post-Crisis public appearance, fighting the monster Decay in Boston — in a story scripted by Wein back in 1987.

The Wonder Woman incident is noteworthy for a couple of reasons. First, it follows the lead of 2006′s Justice League of America #0, which moved Diana’s early post-Crisis adventures (from at least the first several issues of Wonder Woman vol. 2) back to the start of the Silver Age, so that she could be a founding Justice Leaguer. Second, the fight with Decay happens on the same day Paul and Peggy’s daughter is born, and they name the baby Diana. Considering that Diana is an oncologist by the end of Legacies, this apparently establishes careers of 30 years and counting for DC’s Big Three.

I say “apparently” because I’m pretty sure DC doesn’t want those characters to be in their mid-50s today, and I don’t think Legacies wants it that way either. The Superman mention may be a key to Legacies’ orientation. Paul “choosing to remember” an iconic Superman debut — which is clearly from a non-comics source — indicates to me that Paul has begun to romanticize, if not idealize, his memories as they relate to the superheroes. Admittedly, romanticizing the details of your daughter’s birth seems a bit excessive, but all throughout the series Paul’s been a big cheerleader for the costumed set.

In any event, “a few months after that,” Paul watches news footage of Aquaman, reads an article on the new Flash’s debut, and sees the new Green Lantern on TV. “Six months later,” the Justice League forms, and the chapter ends.

Issue #4: Silver Age Part 2. As baby Diana crawls around, teen sidekicks abound: Robin, Speedy, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Wonder Girl. Paul observes that there are so many supervillains, it’s like every hero has a personal Rogues’ Gallery. Meanwhile, Green Arrow and the new Atom join the JLA. At STAR Labs, the just-introduced Metal Men defeat the Royal Flush Gang** and in Midway City, the Doom Patrol debuts.

Paul’s next couple of memories probably take historical license. He cites a battle with Mr. Twister in Hatton Corners as the first appearance of the Teen Titans, but that story (from July 1964′s The Brave and the Bold #54) only featured the proto-lineup of Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad. The full lineup of Titans first came together in a tale untold until February 1978′s Teen Titans #53, when a creature called the Antithesis*** turned various Justice Leaguers evil, bringing the future Titans together to stop their mentors. Therefore, while I’m not surprised that Paul would avoid the hair-splitting, he might have either forgotten about the Leaguers’ brief evil spells, never heard of them, or chose to ignore them. Either way, the “real story” could easily have gotten in the way of Paul’s idealized memories.

Next, Paul recalls the meeting of Golden and Silver Age Flashes largely by describing the iconic “Flash of Two Worlds” guy-rescued-from-girder moment — but that, too, isn’t the whole story. As re-related by writer Grant Morrison and artists Mike Parobeck and Romeo Tanghal in August 1990′s Secret Origins #50, “FO2W” in the post-Multiversal Earth-DC involved Keystone City going into a kind of suspended animation. An accident of Barry Allen’s internal vibrations took him there, where he freed Jay Garrick. However, in Paul’s memory, Jay came out of retirement on his own, and just happened to run into Barry (ha ha) while both were going after the killer girder. Again, it is arguably better for Paul, with his Golden Age upbringing, to remember his Golden Age hero as being more proactive; but I may be reading too much into it.

As for the rest of chapter 4, Batgirl appears, the Justice Society comes out of retirement and eventually teams up with the Justice League, and (a “few years” after the JSA/JLA team-ups started) the Doom Patrol is murdered by General Zahl. Of these, I have a slight problem with the first JSA/JLA team-up, but that’s because I don’t think the JLA would just show up at the JSA’s brownstone and ring the bell for help with the Crime Champions. Again, though, there’s Paul’s idealized memory at work.

Issue #5: 1970-1985. Paul opines that the deaths of the Doom Patrol marked the beginning of a “dark” phase for the world and its superheroes, citing the Joker’s new-found viciousness, the Spectre’s ironic and gory punishments, and even Green Arrow’s “goatee and leather look” as further examples. Meanwhile, the Lincolns have moved to Midvale (onetime home of the Earth-1 Supergirl, who makes a Crisis cameo) and Jimmy Mahoney is out on parole.

The rest of chapter 5 is dominated by DC in the ‘70s and ‘80s: the debuts of the New Teen Titans, Firestorm, and the ex-Charlton characters; Batman forming the Outsiders; first appearances of Blue Devil and the new Doom Patrol; and Trigon taking over New York City. These are all presented roughly in chronological order, although Firestorm and the new Doom Patrol both preceded any of the others. None of it has much to do with the Lincoln family, and in fact a Superman/Chemo fight, unique to this story, ends with the Man of Steel making a dumbstruck fan out of cynical old Jimmy.

After a brief discussion of the new Robin, though, it’s Crisis time. The chapter ends with Paul on duty in the thick of things, while the rest of his family waits out the red, stormy skies back in Midvale.

Issue #6: 1985-88. Paul gets a couple of shocks early in this chapter, first from the Flash’s macabre apparition during the Crisis, and then from the new Guardian (cloned from the old, with all his memories, but Paul doesn’t know that, at least not at the time). Back in Midvale, debris collapses on Jimmy, wrecking his spine and putting him in a wheelchair. In Metropolis, though, things are looking up: one minute the Anti-Monitor dominates the skyline, and the next, everything’s back to normal. I have to admit, something like that would go a long way towards completely justifying my faith in superheroes.

“In the months that followed,” though, Paul is dumbfounded by Justice League Detroit (which actually appeared well before Crisis On Infinite Earths, and participated pretty heavily in it). Seeing the new League in action “several months later” against Darkseid’s minion Brimstone, Paul admits “they gave it their best shot,” but as we know that was pretty much it for the Detroit League. Fortunately, Legends (which Wein scripted) plays out with the debut of the next, soon-to-be-international Justice League. Paul and his superhero-skeptical partner are promoted to detective, just in time to learn the Joker’s shot Barbara Gordon.

Issue #7: 1988-1993. Tragic as the events of The Killing Joke were, for both the residents of DC-Earth and its real-world fans, the first page of this issue gives the Joker’s booking number as “OU8127734.” At the risk of being too basic, that’s a Van Halen album plus “hell” spelled on an old calculator — not quite what I associate with psychopathic acts of carnage, and certainly the wrong place for a joke.

As for more pertinent matters, this chapter confuses its historical background pretty well. It starts by mentioning the debuts of Aztek and Takion, characters who wouldn’t appear for about another five years. It then describes how everyone’s talking about the new African-American Green Lantern, despite the fact that a) he’d already been seen in the backgrounds of the past two issues, and b) by this time, he, Hal Jordan, and Guy Gardner (shown in issue #6′s Legends sequences) had already been operating in various combinations, including with a handful of other Lanterns, out of a California headquarters. (Similarly, Legacies shows readers the new Flash without explaining that he is, in fact, new.)

GL John Stewart and Supergirl in issue #5's Crisis sequence

Furthermore, in Paul’s memory, the events of 1993′s “Knightfall” happen pretty much simultaneously with Doomsday’s 1992 cross-country rampage, ignoring their real-world publication schedule. As with his previous lapses, I can understand Paul combining these horrific defeats in his own mind (and also for storytelling efficiency), but it takes me out of the story. As it happens, the chapter’s big revelation is that Peggy Lincoln has cancer, and Paul has to leave in the middle of a family discussion to help fight off Doomsday in Metropolis. Again, watching Paul empty his pistol into the monster makes me think the issue didn’t need to intercut “Knightfall” with “Doomsday,” because the latter affects Paul’s life more directly.

Issue #8: 1993-94. In order to focus on the fallout from “Knightfall” and “Doomsday” — and much to the chagrin of my colleague Graeme McMillan (or so I imagine) — Legacies skips over many of the late ‘80s/early ‘90s crossover events, including Millennium, Invasion!, Armageddon 2001, War of the Gods, Eclipso: The Darkness Within, and Bloodlines. I guess nothing happened to the Lincolns during those calamities (not that anything should have, of course).

Anyway, after brief updates on the returns of Batman and Superman, it’s time for Diana Lincoln’s high-school graduation, marking some 17-18 years since Wonder Woman defeated Decay. I said it already, but I can’t believe DC would stretch its modern timeline that much. The chapter ends with Hal Jordan’s nervous breakdown and the birth of Parallax.

Issue #9: 1994-99. Taken at its word, this chapter would start by practically eliminating two years’ worth of stories. It places Kyle Rayner’s debut as Green Lantern (spring 1994) right before the start of The Final Night (fall 1996), thereby jumping over Zero Hour, Underworld Unleashed, and the biker-shorts Wonder Woman, among other events. I suspect the juxtaposition allows Wein to tie Parallax’s sacrifice at the end of Final Night to his subsequent role as the new Spectre in 1999′s Day Of Judgment. (Not to worry, fans of Genesis and DC One Million: your favorite events could have happened in the intervening months.)

All things considered, this chapter is pretty Hal-centric, not quite to the exclusion of Paul and company, but darn close. It’s not an unreasonable narrative choice, but it’s the kind of jump one expects from a story without a central character like Paul — especially when Paul’s biggest observation about Hal is that his hair’s darker than his predecessor’s.

Issue #10: 2004-05. This chapter skips ahead pretty far, to the point where Diana Lincoln is now an oncologist at Metropolis General. That’s about thirteen years’ worth of education and residency spread over eleven years of comics, so while it is kind of close to real time, see my previous statements about stretching the chronology. Otherwise, this final chapter contrasts public reaction to Sue Dibny’s death with the private matters of Peggy’s cancer and Paul’s mourning. The conclusion comes when Jimmy (now a wheelchair-bound STAR Labs security guard) uses experimental battle armor to stop an OMAC, and dies in the process. Evaluating all that his police career has cost him — including, I assume, all those missed moments with his family — Paul retires from police work. Nevertheless, as we see him in the present, in a rest home, telling the same stories night after night to an understanding caregiver, we know that the superheroes have helped get him through life’s highs and lows.

* * *

DC Universe: Legacies closes with a backup feature spotlighting the second Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, as he meditates on his heroic career while sneaking into Max Lord’s Checkmate headquarters. It’s a downbeat ending, at best made bittersweet by issue #10′s “make the most of life while you can” theme. I’m not sure it really pays to look for a much deeper meaning in the issue, or for that matter in the whole miniseries. On the whole, DCUL strikes me as a travelogue through the superhero line, meant neither as serious exploration nor scholarly chronology. It hits many of the high points, but it omits a lot too: the Green Lantern/Green Arrow stories,**** the Wally West Flash, Jack Knight as Starman, the Hyperclan unmasked as Martians, etc. While these are not invalid or unreasonable choices, what results is a guide to how the current DC Universe came to be — not a comprehensive history text. Thus, Hal gets more attention than Wally does; and Black Adam is the focus of a backup while the heroic Marvels are reduced to cameos.

As a (somewhat abridged) guide, though, Legacies is pretty successful, thanks in no small part to the art. Andy Kubert and Joe Kubert draw the first two issues, José Luis Garcia-Lopéz and Dave Gibbons draw #3 and #4, George Pérez and Scott Koblish tackle #5, Pérez and Koblish ink Ordway on #6, Ordway inks Dan Jurgens on #7 and #8, Jesús Saiz and Karl Story draw #9, and Saiz and Tom Derenick pencil #10, inked by Story and Robin Riggs. J.G. Jones, Gary Frank, Walt Simonson, and Brian Bolland are just a few of the artists for the backups. The series looks terrific, and the various styles are similar enough to blend together while being different enough for the different eras. Again, I found the Kuberts’ work on the first two issues quite compelling, although I’m certainly not complaining about the others. Paul’s idealized visions of DC’s past sure are pretty.

* * *

Like any work of historical fiction, DCUL has a certain responsibility to get its “facts” right — even if said facts are subject to the tantrums of a petulant super-teen or the dreaded editorial fiat. Regardless, what I found interesting was the ways in which DCUL chose to be wrong. Surely Len Wein has written, edited, or read enough DC books to know when he’s strayed from the source material; and he’s done so here in order to reinforce Paul’s idealized flashbacks.

At the end of Paul’s reminisces, his caregiver gives a good-natured chuckle, comparing him to another elderly resident who swears he survived the Alamo: “Just because you have all the clippings, honey, doesn’t mean you were there.” Still, she doesn’t demean Paul’s stories, because clearly they mean a great deal to him.  (Also, Paul still has that calling card from the Golden Age Atom.)  Therein lies Legacies’ all-purpose disclaimer — that the emotional impressions of events are at least as important as their historical veracity. Maybe Paul’s daughter was named after the Princess of Wales, not Themyscira, and he’s just innocently confused. Maybe Paul’s clippings got out of order and he can’t see the dates that well anymore. Maybe this is the history of Earth-42. What matters — or, more accurately, what DC hopes matters to its readers — are the good memories associated with a lifetime’s worth of superhero comics. DC Universe: Legacies isn’t quite accurate enough to be continuity porn, but it is borderline propaganda.

At least it’s nice-looking propaganda, with enough fuzzy trivia to keep us fact-checking longtime fans busy for a good long while.

++++++++++

* [Somewhat surprisingly, Paul Lincoln is apparently not related to Dave Lincoln, friend of Orion the Hunter, who first appeared in New Gods vol. 1 #1 (February-March 1971). Dave shows up in issue #8's New Gods backup feature.]

** [Someday I will chart the Royal Flush Gang’s appearances to see just how often they’re used as a measuring stick. Whenever a writer needs to prove how tough his new hero/team is, the RFG always gets beaten up.]

*** [In fact, the Antithesis was later revealed to be Brom Stikk, a/k/a Mr. Twister, in 1989's Secret Origins Annual #3, but Paul wouldn’t have known that. Of course, Paul wouldn’t have known a lot of other superhero-history details.]

**** [Yet another reason I think Paul’s an unreliable narrator: one of John’s first acts as a GL was to save the life of a racist Senator, certainly a newsworthy act even without two Green Lanterns involved.]

Green Lantern vol. 2 #100

News of The Flash’s cancellation has led to speculation that the title, whenever it returns, will pick up its original numbering. Considering that Wonder Woman was renumbered last year to reflect the accumulation of all its various incarnations, and Adventure Comics resumed its original numbering as well, Flash might not be the last title DC renumbers.

Today I’ll look at Flash and several other DC titles which could get this treatment in the next several years.

* * *

First, though, let’s consider Wonder Woman. Last year, the 45th issue of WW Vol. 3 was dubbed issue #600, thereby implicitly treating the current series and its predecessor as direct continuations of the original 1942 series. The math was pretty straightforward: Vol. 1 went to issue #329, and vol. 2 went to #226, so that left the 600th issue to vol. 3′s 45th. (329+226+45 = 600.) Volume 2 did have two irregularly-numbered issues, #0 (part of 1994′s “Zero Month,” which the rest of us called August), and #1,000,000 (for DC One Million, naturally).

That last detail tells us we shouldn’t include out-of-sequence numbers — or, if we want to be even more anal, we can assume that those were the only #0 and #1,000,000 issues Wonder Woman will ever have. This is not necessarily true, as we’ll see below; but either way, the outcome for WW is the same.

Wonder Woman’s renumbering also includes only the core series. With WW you might say well, duh, but keep in mind that other long-running features have branched out into separate but contemporaneous titles. While renumbering shouldn’t incorporate Annuals, Specials, or the run of a distinct spinoff, it should include any title which, for all intents and purposes, represents that feature in its ordinary form. As Andy Griffith once said, you can change the name of a rose, but you can’t do nothin’ about the smell.

Anyway, we’ve got enough of a foundation to start the math, so let’s jump into it, shall we?

* * *

THE BIG NAMES

While we hear a lot about DC’s “Big Three,” the Flash and Green Lantern make a strong argument for a “Big Five.,” Those features (along with the Justice League and Legion of Super-Heroes) are all part of what I’ve called DC’s “foundational” titles, in the sense that DC will publish those books lo, unto the end of time. Accordingly, if I expect DC to renumber any more titles, I expect to see Flash and GL at the head of the line.

The Flash. There have been five ongoing Flash series so far, with a sixth likely after Flashpoint ends. They include Flash Comics (1940), The Flash (1959, 1987, and 2010), and The Flash: Fastest Man Alive (2006). Because the original Flash Comics was an anthology (featuring Hawkman, Johnny Thunder, and Black Canary, among others), there was also All-Flash, a Golden Age spinoff for those who just wanted super-speed action.

Anyway, the question of renumbering has come up a couple of times across the various Flash series. Barry Allen’s first solo book picked up the numbering of Jay Garrick’s Flash Comics, and Wally West’s solo title resumed its old numbering after Flash: FMA folded. Wally’s series had #0 and #1,000,000 issues, but again, we’re not counting those. The 2007 continuation of Wally’s series also began with an All-Flash special issue, but just to keep things simple, I am not inclined to count it either. However, I am including the Flash: Rebirth miniseries, because for all intents and purposes, it was “the” Flash book in the absence of an ongoing series.

In simpler form:

1. Flash Comics: 1-104; The Flash ‘59: 105-350
2. The Flash ‘87: 1-230
3. The Flash: FMA: 1-13
4. The Flash ‘87, redux: 231-247
5. Flash: Rebirth: 1-6
5. The Flash ‘10: 1-12

Folding all those series into the original numbering, the upcoming Flash #12 would be #628. If DC is inclined to renumber at the next hundred-issue mark, it would have to wait 72 more issues (i.e., six years) for issue #700. Alternately, settling for issue #400 of the first Barry Allen numbering would mean waiting just 32 issues past the current #12. Finally, if DC wants to get creative and doesn’t care much about whether it can defend the inclusion of Annuals, Specials, Secret Files, out-of-sequence issues, Blackest Night: The Flash, Flashpoint, and/or the Life Story Of The Flash graphic novel, it can reach about 690 issues without much trouble.

Ultimately, though, I don’t expect DC to go for #700 that quickly. I think if it’s going to happen, it’ll happen at the regular monthly pace, with the 2010 series picking up with #13 after Flashpoint.

Green Lantern. We’re currently on GL Volume 4, but unlike Flash, we’re not so much concerned with the first series. Because Alan Scott’s solo title ran for just 38 issues (over about 8 years), it may not have been as big a deal for DC to pick up its numbering in the Silver Age. For whatever reason, Hal Jordan got a new #1 in July-August 1960. Not surprisingly, most of the GL comics published since then have been about Hal and friends, so we’ll deal only with them.

Hal’s first series (1960) was canceled at issue #89. After that, “Green Lantern” became a backup feature in The Flash for several years. The series resumed in 1976 with issue #90, was retitled Green Lantern Corps with issue #201, and ended with 1988′s issue #224. Again Hal got a short feature, this time in Action Comics Weekly, before GL vol. 3 started up in 1990. That series, which switched out Kyle for Hal around issue #50, ended with issue #181 (and included #0 and #1,000,000 issues). Green Lantern: Rebirth followed in 2004, and the current series is at issue #64. Here’s the chart:

1. 1960/1976: 1-224
2. 1990: 1-181 (with #0 and #1,000,000)
3. GL: Rebirth: 1-6
4. 2005: 1-64

By my count, last week’s issue #64 is the 475th issue of Green Lantern since the Silver Age. That puts issue #500 just over two years away, so DC has time to ponder whether it wants to renumber.

Green Arrow. Despite his Golden Age background and Silver and Bronze Age prominence, the first Green Arrow #1 didn’t appear until 1983′s four-issue miniseries (by Mike W. Barr and Trevor Von Eeden). That led not to an ongoing, but to a backup series in Detective Comics, which lasted until the Bat-books changed editors in 1986. Indeed, the success of Frank Miller’s Dark Knight helped facilitate Mike Grell’s GA miniseries The Longbow Hunters, the next title in what people were still calling the “Dark Knight” format.

Publishing notes aside, Grell and artist Ed Hannigan then launched 1988′s Green Arrow ongoing, which for our purposes lasted to issue #137 (with a #0 issue), but which actually ended on the next month’s issue #1,000,000. Ollie died in #101, passing the codename to Connor Hawke; but Ollie came back in 2001′s GA Vol. 2 (or Vol. 3, if you count the miniseries), by Kevin Smith and Phil Hester. The 2001 series lasted 75 issues and was relaunched after a few months as Green Arrow/Black Canary. That, in turn, lasted 32 issues (the last few as simply Green Arrow) and was itself relaunched following the infamous “Rise And Fall” storyline coming out of Justice League: Cry For Justice. The current Green Arrow book, launched in 2010, reaches issue #10 this week. Thus:

1. 1988: 1-137 (plus #0 and #1,000,000)
2. 2001: 1-75
3. 2007: 1-32
4. 2010: 1-10

That gets us to issue #314, which puts the series exactly three years from #350 and a little over seven years from #400.

THE TEAMS

The Justice League of America. The JLA is a little tricker, because one could argue that the change from Justice League of America to Justice League International was significant enough to warrant keeping the series separate.  Although JLI was renamed Justice League America about two years into its ten-year run, I am finding it hard to think of the first issue of that series as the 262nd of Justice League of America. Nevertheless, this is a prime example of DC always publishing a certain feature, and once a Leaguer, always a Leaguer, I guess.

With that in mind, we’re on the fourth JLA series. The third, of course, was the initials-only JLA (1996). Interestingly enough, there have been two #0 issues in the feature’s history: the “Zero Month” jumping-on point used by Justice League America, and the various-artists issue (written by Brad Meltzer) which preceded the current series. That means we should amend the above rule about ignoring out-of-sequence issues, and only ignore the first such issues. I consider JLA ‘06 #0 to be the first issue of the series anyway.  Here is the summary:

1. Justice League of America (1960): 1-261
2. Justice League/International/America: 1-113 (with #0)
3. JLA: 1-125 (with #1,000,000)
4. Justice League of America (2006): 0-55

If memory serves, there was some fan discussion about renumbering the current series even before it started, since the first issue of JLA ‘06 would have been the 500th issue of Justice League of America. While that didn’t happen, it makes the math easier: JLA #600 is only 44 issues away.

The Teen Titans. When it comes to renumbering, this feature is almost a victim of its own success. The original series ran for 43 issues (1966-73), plus ten more in 1976-78. As with the Golden Age Green Lantern, though, those 53 issues were soon eclipsed by the mammoth success of 1980′s New Teen Titans. That series (retitled Tales of the Teen Titans with issue #41) ran for 58 original issues before yielding to NTT vol. 2 as part of DC’s mid-‘80s “hardcover/softcover” program.  NTT vol. 2 (itself renamed New Titans with issue #50) then ran to issue #130, including a #0 issue. Although the originals were always welcome in the “New” group, NTT’s success made a pretty clear distinction between the two. It would therefore be a little awkward to suggest folding the latter’s numbers into the original’s.

Complicating matters further are two late ‘90s attempts to recruit younger characters. Dan Jurgens’ 1996 Teen Titans series ran for 24 issues with an almost entirely new group of teenaged heroes; and Peter David and Todd Nauck’s Young Justice (1998) ran to issue #55 (with a #1,000,000 issue early on). After that, the Titans universe pretty much split into two tracks: the original set of third-generation heroes, and their fourth-gen successors. For the oldsters, 1999 brought The Titans (preceded by a JLA/Titans miniseries), which lasted 50 issues. Eventually, both Titans and YJ were cancelled in favor of new Teen Titans and Outsiders books. Outsiders was then cancelled and relaunched and Titans was brought back, but the latter has since been revamped pretty radically, using Deathstroke and a band of supervillains.

In this respect, it’s all become a big cluster which doesn’t lend itself to simple renumbering. If you just focus on books called Teen Titans, you get the original group, the Jurgens team, and the current title, none of which have much to do with each other. Trying to consolidate the lineage of New (Teen) Titans is easier conceptually, but how do you count the “Villains For Hire” stuff in the current series? For that matter, where does Young Justice fit? (Personally, I’d like to include it, but it’s a tough call.)

Just to be complete, here’s the Titans chart:

1. Teen Titans ‘64/’76: 1-53
2. New/Tales of the Teen Titans ‘80: 1-58 (-91 in reprints)
3. New (Teen) Titans ‘84: 1-131 (with #0)
4. Teen Titans ‘96: 1-24
5. Young Justice: 1-55 (with #1,000,000)
6. JLA/Titans: 1-3
7. Titans ‘99: 1-50
8. Teen Titans ‘03: 1-93
9. Titans ‘08: 1-23 (-33 after revamp)

Combining all the “Teen Titans” titles gets you to #170; or #225 with the Young Justice issues.  Combining all the “New Titans” titles is a little tricker, because including the Tales reprints would be double-counting the first thirty-odd issues of NTT Volume 2.  Anyway, the current New Titans issue would be #275 and counting (or stuck on #265 without the “VFH” issues).  That sounds about right for a thirty-year-old feature; but regardless, renumbering any or all of the various Titans books raises too many questions.  The original concept has changed sufficiently over time that each new series deserves to stand on its own.

The Legion of Super-Heroes. Not least because it has returned to the original-recipe version of the team, LSH looks like a good candidate for renumbering. The feature was a staple of Adventure Comics (with a few appearances in other Superman titles), but it settled eventually in Superboy. That book was later renamed Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes, then just Legion of Super-Heroes, and finally (when it entered the hardcover/softcover program a la New Teen Titans) Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes). LSH Vol. 2 (the “hardcover”) lasted 63 issues, giving way to vol. 3′s “Five Years Later” setting. The Legionnaires spinoff was introduced as part of that setting, but both Legion books were rebooted during Zero Hour, adopting a “biweekly” format and keeping their original numbering.

When both LSH and Legionnaires were cancelled, the Legion book itself went on hiatus for a while. Filling the void were two miniseries: the year-long Legion Lost and the six-issue Legion Worlds. After that was another relatively short-lived series, called simply The Legion; and then the whole thing was rebooted a third time (thus, the “threeboot”) under Mark Waid and Barry Kitson. That series lasted fifty issues, but the originals were making a comeback over in Justice League, Justice Society, and Action Comics. Said comeback culminated in the Legion of Three Worlds miniseries, and now we have LSH Vol. 5. Here are the numbers:

1. Superboy/LSH/Tales: 197-325 (reprints thru -354)
2. LSH v.2: 1-63
3. LSH v.3: 1-125 (with #0 and #1,000,000)
4. Legionnaires: 1-81 (with #0 and #1,000,000)
5. Legion Lost: 1-12
6. Legion Worlds: 1-6
7. The Legion: 1-38
8. LSH v.4: 1-50
9. Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds: 1-5
10. LSH v.5: 1-13

Picking up from the Superboy numbering, excluding the Tales reprints, and counting the extra #0 and #1,000,000 issues, yields a current issue number of #720. (Taking out Legionnaires and the three miniseries would yield #615.) That’s about six-and-a-half years away from #800 (or, alternately, eight years from #700). Even though Legionnaires started out (before Zero Hour) telling its own stories, for simplicity’s sake I would put all of Legionnaires in the renumbering mix. As convoluted as the Legion’s history has been, for the most part it’s stayed consistently in one book (Legionnaires and the current Adventure Comics notwithstanding), so renumbering looks pretty simple.

The Doom Patrol. Not much complication here.  The DP’s original book took over the numbering of My Greatest Adventure, lasting through issue #121. 1987′s Volume 2 eventually found its way into Grant Morrison’s hands (and then to Vertigo), lasting through #87. Volume 3 lasted 22 issues, John Byrne’s present-day reboot lasted 18, and the current series is set to go through #22:

1. MGA/DP vol. 1: 80-121
2. Vol. 2: 1-87
3. Vol. 3: 1-22
4. Vol. 4: 1-18
5. Vol. 5: 1-22

That gets us up to #270, but at the rate Doom Patrol is going — two 22-issue series separated by an 18-issue one — it’ll take a couple more volumes to reach #300.

LONG SHOTS

Jonah Hex. Of all the series I’m discussing here, this is the one I least expect to see renumbered. However, it is one of DC’s steady sellers, and might get some sales bump from a big anniversary issue.

Back in the ‘70s Jonah left Weird Western Tales for his own 92-issue series, and wandered through a post-apocalyptic future (and a couple of Vertigo miniseries) before finding new life in the current series. While there is every possibility that the latter series will surpass the original’s 92 issues, let’s just see what the numbers say:

1. Vol. 1: 1-92
2. Hex: 1-18
3. Two-Gun Mojo: 1-5
4. Shadows West: 1-5
5. Vol. 2: 1-62

By my count, that would make the current issue of Jonah Hex #182, a year and a half away from #200. That’s an attainable goal, and I give JH an outside shot at renumbering.

Justice League International. Yes, we’ve been over this — but upon further reflection, I wonder if a new JLI series isn’t at least in the talking stages once Justice League: Generation Lost wraps. In fact, DC would have a couple of options for renumbering, because there have been a couple of different JLI series.

The first one, of course, was the post-Legends title which was renamed Justice League International with issue #7, and Justice League America with issue #26. The JLI cast was reunited twice since then, in a JLA Classified arc (which wouldn’t count for our purposes, since it was part of a separate and distinct Justice League book) and in the miniseries I Can’t Believe It’s Not The Justice League.  Adding Generation Lost’s 24 issues to JL/I/A’s 113 (remember, don’t count #0) and the six-issue ICBINTJL gets us to #143, only 7 issues from #150 and 57 from #200. It would also leave the main JLA book at #442, or 58 issues from #500.

The other avenue involves the renamed Justice League Europe, whose last seventeen issues came out as Justice League International. That series ended with #67, so adding JL:GL’s 24 issues yields #91, tantalizingly close to #100. However, the big problem with this route is the connection between the old JLE/I and the current miniseries. Although Captain Atom and Rocket Red were associated with the JLE for its first few years, JL:GL has more members from the American branch. Therefore,  I’d feel more comfortable with the first option, but I think DC would be more inclined to include the original JLI in a JLA renumbering anyway; and a new JLI series would probably never be renumbered.

BRIGHTEST DAY ALUMNAE

Aquaman. With a new Aquaman series already announced, let’s look at the King of the Seven Seas’ various titles. Vol. 1 lasted a total of 63 issues, including a 7-issue ‘70s revival. Following that were a series of miniseries before Vol. 2 debuted in 1990. That book didn’t last long, but Vol. 3 (written mostly by Peter David) lasted to issue #75. Vol. 4 lasted 57 issues, the last 18 subtitled Sword Of Atlantis.

1. Vol. 1: 1-63
2. Miniseries #1: 1-4
3. Mini #2: 1-5
4. Vol. 2: 1-13
5. Time & Tide mini: 1-4
6. Vol. 3: 1-75 (with #0 and #1,000,000)
7. Vol. 4: 1-57

Note that I am not counting a couple of Aquaman Specials or the Atlantis Chronicles miniseries. Even so, if DC decides to renumber Aquaman, the last issue of Vol. 4 would be #221. It’d give DC seven-and-a-half years (and, as with Doom Patrol, probably two more volumes) to think about #300.

Hawkman. It’s not so much that no one likes Hawkman, but it does seem like he’s best taken in small doses. The character started out in Flash Comics before being revived in 1962. A tryout in Brave and the Bold and a few appearances in Mystery In Space led to his own title in 1964. Of course, he became a regular member of the Justice League, appeared in various short features, and had a three-issue run in the ‘70s Showcase revival; but as far as ongoing series go, I was surprised to see a pretty big gap between the end of Atom And Hawkman in 1968 and the Shadow War Of Hawkman miniseries in 1985. I wasn’t even alive in 1968, but I was in high school when Shadow War came out.

Anyway, from that point, things picked up for the Hawks, albeit in a good-news/bad-news kind of way. A 1986 series lasted 17 issues, and the Hawks returned to the Justice League. However, 1989′s Hawkworld miniseries threw existing continuity out the window. The Hawkworld ongoing debuted in 1990 and ran for 32 issues. Six months after it ended came Hawkman Vol. 3, which (among other things) tried to use Zero Hour as a continuity fix.  After Vol. 3 ended, DC put the Hawks in limbo for several years. 2002′s Vol. 4 spun out of JSA, running five-and-a-half years and ending as Hawkgirl.

1. Vol. 1: 1-27
2. Shadow War: 1-4
3. Vol. 2: 1-17
4. Hawkworld miniseries: 1-3
5. Hawkworld ongoing: 1-32
5. Vol. 3: 1-33 (plus #0)
6. Vol. 4: 1-67

It all adds up to issue #183, fairly close to #200 if DC wants to go that way. I can’t see Hawkman #200 doing much for the readership, though.

Firestorm. Even speaking as a longtime Firestorm fan, I think it’s improbable, albeit not impossible, for the character to score a new ongoing series in the wake of Brightest Day. If it does happen, it would be the character’s fourth series since his 1977 debut. The original series ran just five issues, but soon afterwards ‘Stormy got a backup feature in Flash and co-creator Gerry Conway started using him in Justice League of America. A second series, originally called Fury Of Firestorm, debuted in 1982 and ran for a very respectable 100 issues, ending as simply Firestorm. After that, the character made various appearances here and there, eventually being killed off (or so it appeared) during Identity Crisis. That facilitated 2004′s Volume 3, starring Jason Rusch as Firestorm and running for 35 issues. Thus, the first issue of the still-hypothetical Vol. 4 would be #141 — close enough to #150 if DC is trigger-happy; or five years from #200 if it wants to think things over.

* * *

Where would all this math leave these various series? Here’s a rough timeline, with other series’ big numbers for comparison.

2012: Firestorm #150, Jonah Hex #200, Hawkman #200
2013: Green Lantern #500, Detective Comics #900
2015: Doom Patrol #300
2016: Firestorm #200, Justice League of America #600
2017: Flash #700
2018: Batman #800, Superman #800, Wonder Woman #700, Aquaman #300, Green Arrow #400, Legion of Super-Heroes #800, Adventure Comics #600
2019: Action Comics #1000

As I’ve been arguing over the past few weeks, big issue numbers tend to equal stability. By the same token, though, that stability has to be somewhat well-founded. Renumbering Firestorm, Jonah Hex, or Hawkman to issue #200 doesn’t carry quite the same weight as renumbering a title like The Flash or even Green Arrow which has, for all practical purposes, been published in perpetuity across the decades. In fact, it points out that those lower-numbered titles haven’t produced the amount of issues you’d expect from decades-old features. I mean, the Silver Age Hawkman is almost fifty years old and is only one issue closer to #200 than Jonah Hex, a character ten years younger.

So should there be a 200- or even 300-issue threshold for renumbering?  Probably.  Wonder Woman and Adventure were renumbered because their roots go back to the Golden Age, and besides they are/were pillars of the DC superhero line.  Firestorm and Hawkman, as entertaining as they may be, just don’t command that kind of respect.  At least not yet.

In any event, I don’t think we’ll have to worry about the less-prolific series being renumbered. In a couple of years, Green Lantern will be eligible for #500, and I’m willing to bet DC makes it happen. A few years after that, JLA #600 and/or Flash #700 may be the last titles renumbered — unless DC has gotten serious about Sgt. Rock….

Teen Titans 93

For longtime comic readers like myself, there’s nothing quite like when a team book introduces a new character to the mix. This Wednesday, artist Nicola Scott gets to bring Solstice, a character she designed, into the Teen Titans mix with the release of Teen Titans 93. In addition to discussing Solstice, Scott notes the shift in tone/sense of fun that series writer J.T. Krul has brought to the series; how she considers herself a character-driven artist; as well as the lessons learned from collaborating with the likes of writer Gail Simone/dealing in subtext (among other topics). At the end of the interview, she invites fans to suggest characters we’d like to see her draw in the future–be sure to chime in with your ideas in the comments section.

Tim O’Shea: Over at the Source, you expressed part of what appealed to working with J.T. Krul on Teen Titans. ” Character, tone, direction. He has blown me away.” What is it about Krul’s approach to character and tone that appealed to you?

Nicola Scott: Over the last couple of years the tone of the book seemed to have become quite dark, and seemed to be missing youthful energy and a sense of fun. The characters weren’t quite connecting in the way DC hoped for them to. Straight off the bat JT had them feel exactly like their regular selves. The comradery had returned too and that’s such an important ingredient with the Teen Titans. The script for the first issue was fun, a great recap of the characters and who they are to each other. There were some gags and some drama and it felt like young people with huge responsibility. Another ingredient that I think was important, was bringing it back to the core members. A couple of new additions is fine but when most of the cast is unrecognizable to outside readers, it’s hard to grow the audience.

O’Shea: Some artists dread working on a team book, because of the demands involved with multiple characters. You seem to relish working on a team book, why do you think you can approach it so enjoyably on assignment than many others cannot?

Scott: I consider myself a character driven artist. I like to know the characters, their body language, their emotional range and their personality types. That’s what I like to draw. With team books you get to play around with so many different types of heroes (and villains) and how they interact with each other. I make a point of making all my characters as different from each other as possible so that what plays out between them is more satisfying for me and, hopefully, the reader too. It really is more interesting to look at. As exhausting as it is, I’m really grateful to have worked on so may important DCU teams. I had not worked with teams previously so it was a great learning curve.

O’Shea: Teen Titans 93 features the introduction of a relatively new character, Solstice. Were you involved in designing the character? How enjoyable is it to help define the look of the character (given that you’re the first artist to draw her on a regular basis)?

Scott: I did get to design her. I come from an acting background where I’ve also worked as a production/costume designer so creating new characters is extremely satisfying. As artists we’re all constantly designing looks for new characters, from passing extras, to bit parts, to fully fledged new leads. Solstice came about over a few months of communication with JT and Rachel Gluckstern, our editor. JT and Rachel refined her personality and power set and provided me with some general guidance regarding her look. I played around with some ideas, doing a bunch of sketches and eventually we ended up with how she appears in the book.

O’Shea: What advantages does your art gain when it is inked by Teen Titans inker Doug Hazlewood?

Scott: Doug and I have worked together now for five years. It was my first editor at DC, Mike Carlin, who hooked us up. My pencils are extremely tight and as I’m very fussy about the details of my characters, especially their faces, I get really disappointed when they look different after the inking stage. With Doug, I know it’s always going to look right. He’s incredibly reliable and always delivers what I want. Doug has a really nice clean, smooth, old school style that really suits my work. Luckily, most the the work we’ve done together has suited that kind of clean finish.

O’Shea: You’ve made no bones that Teen Titans is a book you’ve wanted to work on since starting your career, can you single out an issue or scene that has been most enjoyable to take on so far?

Scott: I love these guys so much and I love it when they’re happy but the story line I’ve most appreciated drawing is the relationship between Conner and Cassie. I see them as one of the genuinely loving couples in the DCU and I have every faith that their future lies together. But every relationship has it’s bumps and they can really be confusing when you’re young. It’s very clear to me that these two still love each other very much so drawing their separation is a subtle art. JT is really pulling on the heart strings in a very delicate way.

O’Shea: While you’re not currently collaborating with writer Gail Simone, you have clearly enjoyed working with her in the past on a variety of DC titles. What kind of storytelling lessons have you taken away from working with Simone?

Scott: Gail and I have this incredibly easy, synchronized approach and understanding of what we want from our collaborations. In terms of tone, character and humor, we’re on the same page but more importantly we build on each others ideas in a really effective way. Gail writes a lot of subtext that isn’t always evident on the scripted page but reveals itself as you’re drawing. That’s how I feel anyway. Not every artist see’s it but it’s there. I love finding these layers and bring them to the surface. In turn, Gail writes layered, complex and subtle scenes, specifically for me, because she knows I’ll hit the right mark. I think we both have a similar view of just how absurd real life can be and we’re both really interested in capturing those moments, often for their humour, but also for their tragedy.

O’Shea: As impressive as your art consistently is, I’m curious, which of your fellow creators do you most look forward to reading these days? Who impresses you?

Scott: I generally tend to get really behind with my reading as I don’t get too much time and my comp box is, as a rule, months late. I always read Gail’s work but I’m also a huge fan of Greg Rucka and Grant Morrison. There’s all kinds of art that really appeals to me. J.H. Williams through to Ivan Reis. George Perez and Adam Hughes were and are at the top of my favorite lists.

O’Shea: Enough answering questions–let’s switch the dynamics–are there any questions you’d like to toss out to our readers?

Scott: I don’t get to many American conventions so I don’t get to make contact with many U.S. readers. What would they like to see me draw in future?

Jonah Hex, stability's poster boy?

The first two parts of this little exploration looked at DC’s attempts to launch ongoing series in the ‘80s and ‘90s, when line-wide events became regular occurrences in the superhero line. However, as those surveys made abundantly clear, said events didn’t seem to relate much either to concurrently-launched ongoing series or to the relative success of said series.

Instead, the number of new ongoing series debuting in a particular calendar year looks somewhat cyclical. There were five new ongoings in 1985 (the year of Crisis On Infinite Earths), up to 14 in 1988 and 17 in 1992, then easing down to 15 in 1994, 13 in 1996, and 10 in 1997. In 1998 and 2000, DC launched only four new ongoing series; in 1999, six; and in 2001, seven. At the risk of exciting you too quickly with more numbers, a later year will have sixteen.

For now, though, we pick up in 2002, at the beginning of a quieter time.

* * *

PHASE VII: THE “UNEVENTFUL” YEARS

DC launched six new series in 2002, among them the creator-driven Power Company (written by Kurt Busiek; 25 total issues), and Lab Rats (from John Byrne; 8 issues). Aquaman got another revival (57 issues), as did Hawkman (66 issues). Coincidentally, both ended up being relaunched in the wake of Infinite Crisis.

2002′s other new ongoings were the luchadore adventure Big Daddy Danger (9 issues) and the cop-centric Gotham Central (40 issues). I suspect Big Daddy Danger was just too quirky for DC’s main audience, and GC’s fate was also eventually tied to Infinite Crisis.

Most of the straight-up superhero books had some kind of lead-in from, or similar tie to, an existing title. Power Company was previewed in an issue of JLA, and introduced its various characters through a series of seven one-shots whereby they interacted one-on-one with DC stalwarts. The one-shots all appeared in January 2002, paving the way for February’s actual issue #1. Meanwhile, Aquaman and Hawkman each spun out of storylines in JLA (“The Obsidian Age”) and JSA (“The Return Of Hawkman”). They also were associated closely with particular professionals, namely Rick Veitch on Aquaman and Geoff Johns, James Robinson, and Rags Morales on Hawkman.

In 2003, one miniseries took care of two relaunches. The summer’s Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day repurposed those series into new Teen Titans and Outsiders books. TT is still chugging along today, at 93 issues and counting; while Outsiders lasted 50 issues before being relaunched (which itself has been cancelled)..

2003 had two revivals: “Dial ‘H’ For Hero,” this time titled simply HERO (22 issues); and Kyle Baker’s Plastic Man (20 issues). Actually, it’s not fair to call Baker’s Plastic Man a revival — more like a unique marriage of professional and subject. Other new superhero titles were the SHIELD-ish Human Defense Corps (6 issues) and Keith Giffen’s Reign of the Zodiac (8 issues). Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning’s video-game-oriented iCandy was not a DCU book, and lasted six issues.  Finally, from what I can tell, the Peter Bagge-written Sweatshop was an ongoing series under the DC bullet, but it too lasted only six issues.

2004 was kind of a strange year for DC in terms of new ongoing series, in part because the new books came from a variety of sources. In February, the “DC Focus” line kicked off with Hard Time (12 issues; written by Steve Gerber), followed by Kinetic (8 issues), Fraction (6 issues), and Touch (6 issues). These non-DCU series featured superpowered people in real-world settings, such as Hard Time’s prison. Hard Time was the line’s longest-lived series, getting a seven-issue sequel (subtitled Season Two) in 2006.  DC also published a fantasy/horror book called Toe Tags Featuring George A. Romero. It ran six issues, and like Sweatshop it looks like a miniseries; but (like Sweatshop) I don’t see anything on the cover indicating it was a miniseries.

Back in the superhero line, new ongoings were mostly revivals and/or reboots: Richard Dragon (12 issues), John Byrne’s “starting over” Doom Patrol (18 issues), the Jason Rusch Firestorm (35 issues), and the Kate Spencer Manhunter (38 issues). Grant Morrison returned to the Justice League to launch JLA Classified (54 issues) with a three-issue arc which (incidentally) also led into “Seven Soldiers.” However, the year’s biggest relaunch/reboot was Green Lantern: Rebirth, followed by Mark Waid and Barry Kitson’s Legion of Super-Heroes (50 issues).

Otherwise, new superhero ongoings included Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti’s Monolith (12 issues; currently the subject of a collect-this-now! campaign); and Bloodhound (10 issues), whose crossover with the new Firestorm apparently didn’t help its sales.

Astute readers will notice I’ve avoided talking about Identity Crisis as 2004′s Big Event. This is because at the time, it wasn’t promoted like the traditional line-wide event. What crossovers it had were more in the nature of tangentially-related storylines in books like Flash, Firestorm, and Manhunter. Instead, Identity Crisis was touted as a standalone mystery from novelist Brad Meltzer.

Today, though, we know differently….

PHASE VIII: THE CRISIS CYCLE

2005: Infinite Crisis. The most recent round of line-wide event mania began in earnest with March’s DC Countdown special, which also served as a bridge between Identity Crisis and the miniseries ahead. Accordingly, while DC spent much of 2005 on Infinite Crisis and its predecessors, it still found time to launch a handful of ongoing series. Green Lantern (63+ issues), Supergirl (60+ issues), and Jonah Hex (64+ issues) are still going strong, although JSA Classified (39 issues) and the aforementioned Hard Time: Season Two (7 issues) have since folded.

Now, all of those five series are “unoriginal,” in the sense that each is either a relaunch, spinoff, sequel, or some combination thereof. However, of the five, Jonah Hex’s success is most remarkable to me. Not only had it been a while since Jonah’s last title (1999′s Vertigo miniseries Shadows West), Jonah’s new book wasn’t spun out of anything in the main DC line. Yes, I know it’d be hard to craft an Infinite Crisis lead-in around DC’s Old West characters; but hey, the original Crisis had an Old West sequence. I’m just saying, if DC wanted to do it, it could’ve.

2006: 52. Anyway, we skip ahead to the spring of 2006, when the events of Infinite Crisis #5 had rewritten history in minor but noticeable ways, thereby allowing DC to jump all its books ahead “One Year Later.” Again, this process focused on the existing books, but DC did launch the new Blue Beetle (36 issues) during the initial “OYL” push.

Of course, running alongside much of “OYL” was the year-long weekly series 52, which charted a year in the life of DC-Earth without Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, or the Justice League. This allowed the publisher to focus on some of its lesser-known characters, while still building up to the big titles’ inevitable relaunches.

Indeed, as the year went on, DC got more productive. Three of the four miniseries which led into Infinite Crisis also spawned ongoing series: The OMAC Project begat Checkmate (31 issues), Day Of Vengeance begat Shadowpact (25 issues), and Villains United begat … another six-issue Secret Six miniseries. 2005 had had a Green Lantern Corps miniseries, so 2006 saw its ongoing sequel (57+ issues). Over the summer, the Brave New World special hyped various miniseries spinning out of Infinite Crisis but it also led into the new Atom series (25 issues), starring Ryan Choi as Ray Palmer’s successor. As for those relaunches, only the new Flash: Fastest Man Alive (13 issues) suffered an early end. Still around today are Wonder Woman (51+ issues), Justice League of America (55+ issues), and Justice Society of America (49+ issues).

Taking their cue from the JLA and JSA anthologies, Batman Confidential (54 issues) and Superman Confidential (14 issues) debuted at the end of 2006, along with the new Spirit series from Darwyn Cooke. Finally, a new Warlord series (10 issues) debuted early in 2006 from writer Bruce Jones and artist Bart Sears, but it was received poorly and exited quickly.

2007: Countdown. By the time 52 ended in the spring of 2007, DC was well into a constant-crossover groove. Countdown was supposed to knit the superhero books together into a coherent whole, while at the same time preparing the readership for 2008′s Big Event. As such, it didn’t leave much room to spin off its own ongoing series.

Regardless, spinning out of 52 were Booster Gold (42+ issues) and Infinity, Inc. (12 issues). 2001′s Green Arrow series was relaunched as Green Arrow/Black Canary (32 issues), The Flash returned (with Volume 2 (1987)’s numbering, so not really a “new” ongoing), and Outsiders gave way to Batman and the Outsiders (39 issues). 2007′s only other new series was Simon Dark, about a Gotham-based monster/vigilante, which lasted 18 issues even without an overt Batman connection.

2008: Final Crisis. Only three ongoing series debuted in 2008: Titans (32+ issues), Secret Six (30+ issues), and Vigilante (12 issues). Vigilante was another relaunch of Marv Wolfman’s ‘80s antihero, Secret Six was the ongoing continuation of Gail Simone’s antisocial band, and Titans was another attempt at recapturing the New Teen Titans’ glory days.

That’s about it for the new series of 2008, unless you want to count a Hawkman Special which upended the character’s history and ended up going nowhere; or, more concretely, the Final Crisis: Legion Of Three Worlds miniseries, which paved the way for the new-original Legion to resume the spotlight. Titans has since been retooled and Vigilante is gone, but at least Secret Six is still around.

PHASE IX: POST-CRISIS, AGAIN

2009: Blackest Night. This year was much busier, although not because of its Big Event miniseries. Blackest Night was an adjunct to the Green Lantern books, not really a breeding ground for new ongoing series. Instead, 2009′s sixteen new books came from all over.

Most fertile was the Batman line, adding Batman And Robin (20+ issues), Batman: Streets Of Gotham (21 issues), Gotham City Sirens (20+ issues), Red Robin (20+ issues), Batgirl (18+ issues), and Azrael (18 issues). Almost a generation later, DC tried again with the ex-Archie superheroes, but The Web and The Shield lasted ten issues each. Justice Socialites Magog (12 issues) and Power Girl (21+ issues) each got their own series, and a big chunk of the team spun off into JSA All-Stars (15+ issues). REBELS (25+ issues), Doom Patrol (22 issues), and Warlord (16 issues) returned, and Adventure Comics got a new no. 1 before resuming its old numbering (20+ issues). Finally, The Mighty (12 issues) debuted to some critical acclaim, but it was outside the main DC Universe and didn’t last long.

Indeed, almost sixteen months later, over half of the Class of ‘09 has been cancelled, with the survivors being Bat-titles, Power Girl, and the we-just-renumbered-it-why-would-we-axe-it Adventure.

2010: Brightest Day. Actually, I take back some of my characterization of Blackest Night. If you don’t count GL: Emerald Warriors (7+ issues) — and I’m not sure I do — it didn’t expressly launch any new series in 2010; but it did lead into many series’ relaunches. The Flash (12 issues), Green Arrow (9+ issues), and Birds Of Prey (9+ issues) all fly the BD banner, thanks to characters revived at the end of BN. The Legion got its own title again (10+ issues), as did the Freedom Fighters (8 issues), and the Batman line expanded further with David Finch’s Batman: The Dark Knight (2+ issues) and Grant Morrison’s new Batman Incorporated (4+ issues). The long-promised Batwoman title got a zero issue in November, but it’s since been delayed until the fall of this year. Otherwise, 2010 saw the debut of “First Wave” titles Doc Savage (11+ issues) and The Spirit (11+ issues), both of which have yet to be officially cancelled.

* * *

And that brings us to 2011, with its most excellent newbies Batman Beyond and Xombi, probably some familiar relaunches for the cast of Brightest Day, and the promise of more Batwoman in the fall.

Unfortunately, I think this exercise has, for me, reinforced the conservative leanings of both DC and its superhero-comic readers. The more familiar a series, the longer it can expect to run. Here are DC’s ongoing main-line series launched since 1985 and lasting at least fifty issues:

1. Hellblazer (277)*
2. Flash (1987) (249)
3. Superman (1986) (228)
3. Wonder Woman (1986) (228)
5. Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight (214)
6. Robin (186)
7. Green Lantern (1990) (183)
8. Nightwing (154)
9. Green Arrow (1988) (139)
10. Superman: The Man Of Steel (136)
11. Birds Of Prey (1999) (127)
12. JLA (126)
13. Legion of Super-Heroes (1989) (125)
14. Justice League/JL International/JL America (114)
15. Superboy (1994) (102)
16. Azrael (101)
17. Batman: Shadow of the Bat (96)
17. Catwoman (1993) (96)
19. Teen Titans (2003) (93)*
20. Impulse (90)
21. Animal Man (89)*
21. Doom Patrol (1987) (89)*
23. JSA (87)
24. Legionnaires (83)
24. Starman (1994) (83)
25. Catwoman (2002) (82)
26. Superman/Batman (82)*
26. Supergirl (1996) (81)
29. Aquaman (1994) (77)
30. Sandman (75)
30. Green Arrow (2001) (75)
32. Batman: Gotham Knights (74)
33. Batgirl (2000) (73)
34. LEGION (70)
34. Shade The Changing Man (70)*
36. Justice League Europe/JL International (68)
37. Lobo (66)
37. Suicide Squad (66)
37. Hawkman/Hawkgirl (2002) (66)
40. Green Lantern (2005) (64)
40. Jonah Hex (2005) (64)
42. Supergirl (2005) (62)
43. Deathstroke The Terminator/D. The Hunted (61)
43. Hitman (61)
45. The Spectre (1992) (62)
46. The Demon (1990) (59)
46. Captain Atom (59)
48. Green Lantern Corps (58)
49. Aquaman/A.: Sword of Atlantis (57)
50. Young Justice (56)
51. Justice League of America (2006) (55)
52. Steel (1994) (53)
53. Batman Confidential (54)
53. JLA Classified (54)
55. Wonder Woman (2006) (53)
56. Secret Origins (50)
56. Outsiders (2003) (50)
56. The Titans (1999) (50)
56. Legion of Super-Heroes/Supergirl and the LSH (50)

[Current series are in bold; * = moved to Vertigo]

Not counting Hellblazer, only eight of those 59 are still being published. The oldest, somewhat ironically, is Teen Titans: as of next week, 93 issues and counting. Moreover, only Jonah Hex stands out among the high-profile superhero books.

To be sure, books like Green Arrow, Aquaman, and Doom Patrol are perennial favorites. Green Arrow’s three ongoing series have produced some 214 issues, more than enough to establish the character pretty firmly in DC’s lineup. Likewise, the two Catwoman series produced almost 200 total issues; and all the Doom Patrols together would also stack pretty high.

However, starting with a new No. 1 isn’t just an all-clear signal for potential customers. It’s also a bow tied on the old series. When DC wanted to start a new Superman series in 1986, to show the world that John Byrne and his collaborators were rebuilding from the ground up, it used the first volume’s final issue for a pretty final-sounding storyline. Part 1 of “Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow?” appeared in Superman #423, and a few months later, Marv Wolfman and Jerry Ordway inaugurated a new era in The Adventures Of Superman #424. In fact, when Adventures reclaimed its old name in 2006, the final issue of Superman Volume 2 was an Infinite Crisis-related sendoff.

Accordingly, recapturing those numbers restores a certain stability, if not permanence, to the book in question. It’s more than bragging rights, because as we’ve seen, anybody can slap a big number on a single issue to overinflate its significance. Those numbers gain their power from the history supporting them. I’d argue that’s why it’s valuable to see what DC has chosen to support over the years, and (conversely) what the publisher has decided it can tweak. In that respect, I’m impressed that Teen Titans and Jonah Hex have survived somewhat intact. Barring any sudden makeovers, I suspect DC will let its younger books grow and develop without the threat of cancellation and relaunch. That’s what happened in 1986 after the first Crisis, and I think a similar cycle is playing out here.

Paradoxically, though, buying what’s familiar might not go so far if the consumer thinks that a “venerable” Green Arrow or Aquaman won’t need his particular purchase to survive. If a big number intimidates a potential reader, a series of periodic relaunches with new No. 1s seems like a practical compromise.

Nevertheless, the more a feature is relaunched, the less relevant those relaunches become. More importantly, the more DC has to promote the next Flash #1, the less it has to devote to (let’s just say) hyping a new Icon series. If DC would put some of its series on hiatus, as opposed to cancelling one volume so a new one can begin a few months later, it would acknowledge the reality of cancellation-proof series and let more attention linger on the stragglers. Who knows — given time, maybe some of them could become cancellation-proof too.

I know people throw around the term “editorial mandate” like it’s some great horror, but I was actually really grateful for everything they had in place for me. Titans [of] Tomorrow was a story that I really wanted to revisit, and it was also really nice to have a premise thrown at me that I could dive into, so that while I was working on that, I could think a little more on my long-term plans for the book.

Here’s McKeever talking to Titans Tower earlier this month, after leaving DC for Marvel, about co-writing the Deathtrap crossover with Marv Wolfman following Judd Winick’s departure from the companion Titans series:

Marv and I were left to put together this story that was never our idea, and we gave it our best, but we couldn’t read minds and so we weren’t making editorial happy. After two passes on the plot, we were sent a new document with a terse message like, “here — write this.”

It was really, really great to work with Marv, but I won’t kid you — the poor guy had to talk me out of quitting altogether more than once during that period.

McKeever also asked that credits be changed on some of his comics because “my approved-and-drawn scripts were altered by other parties to my dissatisfaction.”

McKeever’s varying opinions are entirely understandable and may reflect the difference between the enthusiasm he felt when he was new to the series compared to the burnout when he left. It also is a good reminder for journalists, though, that a creator doing a promotional interview for a publisher who is still paying him is likely to present only the positive side of the story. Often you have to wait for the creator to be cut free to find out what he really thinks, which is why it is always worthwhile to go back and ask.

Teen Titans: Cold Case

This week saw the release of Teen Titans: Cold Case, written by Mark Sable (Unthinkable) and drawn by Sean Murphy. Originally titled “Father’s Day,” Sable details the book’s long road to getting published, as well as what the book means for him personally after his dad passed away earlier this year. I’d pull a quote from it, but really, you just need to go read the whole thing.