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The Brad Meltzer Justice League

Here’s the image, courtesy of Newsarama (click on it for a larger view):

And here’s the money quote from the DCU panel and Meltzer:

“He went on that he ‘hated the league when there were lower members that didn’t belong.’ He praised Geoff Johns’ use of the JSA’s history and hopes to embrace the JLA’s history in a similar fashion, while still finding something new.

Meltzer final tease was, again referring to the image, that viewers can pick ten members who will be on it, adding that there is one character who will be on the team that is not in the collection of heroes, ‘So you can all go through your Who's Who and figure out who's missing.’"

I don’t generally engage in too much of the type of idle speculation this kind of thing drags out (and when I do I’m generally wrong), but the JLA is near and dear to my heart, so I’m going to take a stab at this.

There will be 10 members, nine of which are in this picture. The tenth is the mystery member. Meltzer clearly loves the silver age JLA so expect a huge tilt in that direction.

Okay, first off, there’s got to be a Flash. Period, end of conversation. We don’t know who the new Flash is going to be, but he’s in, red costume and all. And you know there will a Green Lantern. There are four in this picture, only one gets the nod. I’m making Hal Jordan the odds on favorite, although John Stewart may get the call as sort of a hat tip to Justice League Unlimited. There’s two.

I figure one of the Hawks gets in – probably Hawkgirl to reinforce her own title. She also fills that impetuous, act-without-thinking role that’s so important to good team storytelling. Taking Hawkgirl also leaves Hawkman for the JSA. (I’m operating under the assumption that there will only be one universe after INFINITE CRISIS plays out.)

Superman and Batman are kind of obvious and I don’t see DC launching this thing anew without their big guns in it. However, I won’t be surprised if Wonder Woman is the odd big gun out – remember how she sat out for a long stint back in the late seventies? I think Meltzer may be channeling that roster, so I’m putting her on the bubble for now, leaving us with five Leaguers and five to go.

There are eight other characters in this picture with pre-crisis JLA ties: Green Arrow, Black Canary, Aquaman, Zatanna, Red Tornado, Firestorm, Elongated Man and Phantom Stranger. The Aquaman of old seems to be on ice while Kurt Busiek plays around with the sword thing; Phantom Stranger is slated for a role in Shadowpact; Firestorm is a different character altogether and seems an unlikely choice; Zatanna’s an intriguing character but she’s a living plot hammer (“ekam dab syug esol!”) and probably isn’t in too big a hurry for an encore mindwipe performance; we haven’t heard from Red Tornado or Elongated Man in a while and I’m thinking one of these two will be back, but not both, so I’m choosing Reddy, cause I like him better; and we know Green Arrow will be busy as Star City’s mayor – too busy for the JLA? I think so, but not Black Canary, who I’m predicting makes the cut. So Black Canary and Red Tornado make seven.

Two slots from the picture to go. A couple of interesting characters jump out at me: The Question, Dr. Mid-Nite and Cyborg, none of whom -- to the best of my knowledge -- have actually been JLA members in the past, although The Question has appeared on JLU. Dr. Mid-Nite is tied pretty closely to the JSA, so I’m ruling him out. Cyborg is interesting. His profile has been raised a bit by the TEEN TITANS cartoon and an appearance on SMALLVILLE and he’s probably ready to grow up a bit, but from the sounds of things he’s still a Titan for a while, which leaves The Question. I don't think of The Question as much of a team player, but he’s an exceptionally cool character and I think DC has been chomping at the bit to find a place for him. It might very well be here -- every team needs an outsider and he fits the bill -- although I have seen nothing to set this up.

I’m kind of assuming the JLI/JLE rosters will be largely ignored, but we can’t automatically eliminate everyone who was in some version of the League during those various incarnations so let’s pick one. Hmmm…if it were up to me it would be Captain Atom -- the League needs one more powerhouse and he provides somewhat of a military/tactical point of view -- I’m just not sure if his little WildStorm excursion will wrap up in time. Hey wait, is that Donna Troy next to The Question? The group needs another female and it seems likely she’ll be the next Wonder Woman – so there you go. I don’t believe she was ever in the League before either, so that might explain her presence here (unless that’s not her – feel free to straighten me out on that). Donna Troy, ladies and gentlemen.

Which leaves us with the one member not pictured. There are two very notable Leaguers not shown. Did you spot their absence? J’onn J’onzz is one and the other is, drumroll please…the Atom. My logic here is that since it was Meltzer who sent him away, he’ll be the one to bring him back.

So the list I came up with is Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Black Canary, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman (Donna Troy), Red Tornado, The Question and the Atom.   

I’ll be amazed if I get more than seven of these right but surprised if it’s less than six. I could easily see Green Arrow in and Batman out (but always around somehow) or the Elongated Man back simply to create that awkwardness between he and Ray Palmer. I could even see Meltzer throwing curve and putting in two Green Lanterns. Red Tornado doesn’t excite me much either, but there’s always a plot or two to be found with an android and with the Martian Manhunter gone someone has to fill the detached, analytical role.

Whatever the cast may be, my only real hope is that the stories are better than the last year or so of the latest run. In retrospect, it wouldn’t take much to achieve that.

Marvel 2005 Fourth Quarter Earnings

The earnings report is up (here is the overview) and as expected, the fourth quarter of 2005 was pretty solid. This despite the fact that toys sales stunk up the joint. Net sales for toys were $12 million versus $21.8 million in fourth quarter 2004 – and then there was a $12.5 million dollar write down for terminating an early contract with, er, themselves. Anyway, the whole thing can probably be blamed on the nasty little warning the Thing Hands received.

The short term affect has been to bump Marvel stock about 8% to high of $17.5o, although things don’t look great for the bulk of 2006 as this article reports. (Hat tip: The Beat.) But 2007? Blue skies, baby.   

A couple of interesting notes from the announcement:

• The Publishing Segment finished with a net of $92.4 million for 2005, up from $86.0 in 2004. That makes at least six consecutive years of increases (2000 is as far back as my records go) and marks a doubling of revenue from the $45.2 million reported in 2000.
• Apparently there’s a Fantastic Four cartoon to debut this year, with Wolverine and Iron Man animated shows in development.
• The rights for Iron Man have reverted back to Marvel and Hulk may soon do the same. That’s a good thing. 
• A Luke Cage movie seems to have dropped off the development radar, but Ant-Man, The Avengers, Black Panther, Captain America, Cloak & Dagger, Doctor Strange, Hawkeye, Nick Fury, Power Pack and Shang-Chi are all possibilities for the new Marvel Film segment. We should see something from this group in 2008. (Even money on Captain America.)
• Revised guidance has Marvel raising the diluted EPS (earnings per share), largely as a result of their on-going share repurchase program.

The New Avengers 16

Marvel Comics
Script: Brian Michael Bendis
Art: Steve McNiven & Dexter Vines

You’ll have a hard time convincing me this was meant as anything more than a filler or setup issue. Twenty one page story with no less than 11 full page (or two page) spreads? With the only plot movement being the arrival of some ultra powerful threat, possibly of mutant origin. Oh, and SHIELD’s miffed because they didn’t get an invite to the New Avengers coming out party.

This was weak, folks, by almost any standards. There are guys who pride themselves on decompression thinking, “Man, the bar has been raised!” By the time I was through reading I was dizzy, partially deaf, couldn’t see straight and was experiencing partial paralysis in my lower body. You scuba divers will know what I’m talking about.

What the book lacks in actual storytelling it makes up for with vagueness. Apparently, if you followed all the HOUSE OF M postscripts you would know this new threat was something called “The Collective” – sort of off-campus housing for all those mutant powers that didn’t find a home on Earth. (And here I figured it was Johnny Storm all worked up because Ben had hidden his iPod again.) I’m told The Collective has taken up form in Professor X, which should make for some interesting maneuvering when it comes time to explain the body count. I’m not sure you how you’d know any of this if you didn’t follow other title(s) and I can’t even tell you which ones.

And is Alpha Flight dead? Is this even the real Alpha Flight? I read somewhere this may actually be an Alpha Flight from a different timeline, so yes, they did die, but no they didn't die. And there’s Ronin on the cover, looking very much, well, like a guy. Apparently in the end he might actually be Daredevil. Or not. I think what we have here is a new trend in comic books. You read an issue and then spend two hours trolling the message boards to figure out what might have happened. We’ll call it “interactive”; the kids will love it.      

I haven’t read any of the titles that fell on the heels of HOUSE OF M. They all seemed to be directly X-related and I don’t read X-books. Maybe once they're collected. But it appears this may be an attempt to more directly tie the Avengers back into the original event, which is fine by me - I’d just like a little more of hint of what’s going on. And barring that, more going on period would be nice.

I don’t carry any particular enmity or adoration for Bendis or the New Avengers. One or two more issues like this and that could change.

   

Defenders #’s 4 & 5 (of 5)

Marvel Comics
Script & Art: Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis & Kevin Maguire

Do you think Quesada is regretting the offer to pay Giffen and DeMatteis by the word?

In these final two installments the Dreaded Dormammu has succeeded in remaking the world in an image more to his liking. It’s never made entirely clear what that means except all the world’s heroes are now evil demons, the Dr. Strange doppelganger is Dormammu’s head henchman, Namor’s, er, Prince Namor’s is human and Banner’s is a sniveling, Gollum knock-off. (New rule: no more Gollum references, no matter how vague.) The evil demon supertypes are dispensed with in issue four, despite what you see fronting issue five above – which is actually pretty cool cover. 

The hallmark of this series, and the finale is no release, has been the incessant bickering amongst pretty much everybody. I would compare it to the bickering of children but I have three children and even they take breathers now and again. No luck here. Strange bickers with Dormammu who bickers with Umar who bickers with Namor who bickers with pretty much everyone, including his human self and Banner, who somehow manages to bicker with Hulk. The whole thing reminds me of Giffen and DeMatteis' recent JLA: CLASSIFIED run except that arc actually had some nice moments and a lot more imagination.

At the end of the day everything is made as it was; no surprise there. But sadly we’ve gotten no character movement, no insight and the story itself isn’t very fun. The humor is spotty and worn out by the books end and the few straight moments are labored and pointless. If you were planning to pick this one up in trade I would advise you to save your hard-earned sheckles.

Big Dumb Superhero Stuff

I have a confession to make. I own every issue of SUPERMAN/BATMAN. Every. Single. Issue. Not trade paperbacks mind you. The real floppy deals. Some of them I paid a premium for as I bought the first dozen or so issues off eBay, during the height of SB’s popularity. I know, I know. I’m pretty lousy at picking stocks too. Thing is, I can’t really explain why I keep buying it. I think it’s the logo.

It’s certainly not Jeph Loeb. Although I like his work fine. To me, Loeb is like a career .270 hitter with some power. He’s interesting to watch because he knows how to work the count (tell a story) and on occasion he can go yard. (HUSH, THE LONG HALLOWEEN, SUPERMAN FOR ALL SEASONS) His big problems seem stem from consistency and focus. But he is also a guy who can turn it on for two or three issues -- mid-story -- and then, mysteriously, shut it off again. Now in the case of SUPERMAN/BATMAN he seems to shut it down just as he’s headed for a wall, creating lots of groaning on the part of his readership. (I think this tendency is another reason I’ve kept reading. It’s like watching NASCAR for the wrecks.) (Two sports analogies in one paragraph. Is anyone still reading?)

The reason I’m thinking about all this is Greg Burgas’ recent vivisection of the first half dozen issues of S/B over at Comics Should Be Good. The title of Greg’s post was "Anatomy of a bad comic book - Superman/Batman: Public Enemies". As I read through the post I found it really hard to refute many of Greg's points, largely because I couldn’t remember a whole lot about the books. So I pulled them out and reread the first three story arcs (issues 1-18), straight through. Twice.

What?

Firstly, I didn’t mind the retelling of the origins - I saw it as not so much a rehash of things we already know, but as establishing the voices of the book. Although I’ll admit we probably didn’t need it again in issue 12, but hey, origins never get old, right?  I like the idea of Batman and Superman working together not because they’re old drinking buddies but out of respect and, on occasion, necessity. They come from different places and represent vastly different viewpoints and I thought that was where Loeb was trying to work from – giving each hero's perspective as the story evolved. The Metallo storyline seemed well suited to exploring this but was derailed all too quickly by alternate reality Supermans, giant asteroids and Luthor. Big, dumb, superhero stuff.

This also brought about the story’s greatest failing (which Greg aptly identified): The all too quick transition nearly everyone is willing to make in their regard of Superman. Presidential status notwithstanding, with his track record no one should be buying into Luthor’s claims. I was glad to see Greg point this out because I thought it might be my own little issue with this iteration of Luthor. You see, coming back to comics from a 25 year hiatus and finding Lex Luthor the president was bit jarring - the Luthor I remember was a grade A felon who spent half his time running around in prison blues, presumably to save everyone some processing time after Superman inevitably sends him back to the hoosegow. (I use the term “hoosegow” to further illustrate how old and possibly senile I am.) And yet there they all are out to bring down the world’s greatest hero with barely a question asked; pretty hard to accept from a reader’s perspective.

I leave you to digest Greg’s post for the rest of the plausibility gaps in this story arc, and while I don’t want to bore you with specifics I can testify that this sort of thing is fairly common throughout the series. Like how Darkseid, the ultimate schemer, doesn’t suspect  that Supergirl has been transported away, or how a Bruce Wayne who hasn’t trained like Batman can suddenly fight like Batman or…sorry. 

What I found the most interesting is how many Infinite Crisis precursor events and deja vu moments are in this title. The main examples are Luthor’s ouster from the presidency and the arrival of Supergirl, with a nice bit of foreshadowing punctuating the former.

In issue three of S/B the two battle what looks like the an early version of The Society from Villains United:

Obviously Luthor’s removal from office was essential to setting up many of the INFINITE CRISIS events. I’m not sure it would have made any sense to have Luthor so overtly setting up The Society if he was still president. Never mind that The Society’s Luthor is actually Alexander Luthor - the other villains don’t know that. 

In the Absolute Power storyline (the third arc) the Legion of Super Villains alter the timeline, turning Superman and Batman into Earth’s less than benevolent dictators. They are soon met with a superhero uprising led by Wonder Woman and the Freedom Fighters. Superman deals with WW in manner eerily reminiscent of Max Lord’s fate:

The Freedom Fighters fair just about as well in IC as they did in S/B:

I'm thinking the Freedom Fighters are maybe a group to avoid if you're a new hero to the DCU and looking for a team to hook up with.

Both books also involve an alternate reality Superman coming back to try and make things right -- something that happens several times within the pages of SUPERMAN/BATMAN -- and inevitably toeing up with the current iteration of Superman.

One of the undercurrents in Absolute Power is the idea that the world Superman and Batman now live in isn’t so great a place -- despite, or perhaps because of, the presence of superheroes -- and that maybe the two have not done enough. (No argument from Alexander Luthor, Superboy or Earth II Superman, eh?) This, along with a markedly increased bond between Bruce and Clark, become the anchors from which Loeb can make the two do some pretty horrific things without completely losing the characters. It compares well with the direction Alexander Luthor appears to be taking. 

In the epilogue (of sorts) of Absolute Power (S/B #18), WW and Superman have this exchange:

A little more foreshadowing of things to come.

For many readers this may have been their first real look at a more hard line Wonder Woman -- especially considering her own title was selling at about 1/5th the clip of SUPERMAN/BATMAN -- it was certainly the first introduction I’d had to this facet of her character. And looking back on how things have played out, doesn’t it seem like it should have been WW threatening to blow up Apokolips instead of Batman? Who has really shown they have the “strength of character it would take to destroy an entire planet”? (If that doesn’t make sense, see the SUPERGIRL storyline for specifics.)

One thing in evidence throughout the build up to INFINITE CRISIS and INFINITE CRISIS itself is DC’s desire to recapture some of that Silver Age magic. The return of a teenage Supergirl, Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern Corp, and Donna Troy; the emergence of a more traditional Lex Luthor character, presaging (I think) a return to a clearer delineation between good and evil across the board; and even the possibility of a return of the multiverse, all seem to be efforting this cause. Does this mean we’ll see Snapper Carr and all those wonderful, if slightly goofy, Silver Age tropes The Absorbascon has been exploring lately? Not likely. But I do think we’ll eventually see the return of a Bruce Wayne Batman -- especially as he relates to Superman and other heroes -- that is much more in line with what Loeb has shown us here rather than the Dark Jerk of the past decade or so.

One exercise which can be interesting when examining large crossover events is to look at an individual issue or story and ask what the impact would be if the events therein had never occurred. Would the overall story now be unclear or incomplete? Would the missing events have to occur somewhere else in order for the narrative to maintain any kind of logical flow? Many of the so called “tie-ins” scattered across the DCU might just have easily carried a HOUSE OF M banner for all they actually lent to the main story, but SUPERMAN/BATMAN, for all its flaws, contained several key developments that had to occur somewhere and a number of clues (intentionally placed or not) as to the direction IC would take. This isn't really surprising since it has served as DC's flagship title for most of its existence, but I think some of the themes and events of the book get lost amid all the big, dumb, superhero stuff.

Sidenote: If you haven’t already, check out this panel from the recent WonderCon. Tons of post Crisis info.

Stream of Comicness Thursday

First, a thanks to Heidi for linking my post on Platinum Studios last week – despite my mildly calling her out in same. If you didn’t see this you can be forgiven as it was less than strategically positioned directly below a picture of the ever-gorgeous Angelina Jolie. This is likely the closest I’ll ever get to the future ex-Mrs. Brad Pitt. And for the record, The Beat is generally the very first comic book related stop I make on the Internet each day.

Yes, I passed on this meme. I tried, really, but got nothin’. And I’m still trying to figure out how I’m going to remember all this stuff, you know, always.

Have you been following Marvel’s Max series SUPREME POWER: HYPERION? An okay story, by and large, but the fact that it’s taking place in an alternative to an alternative of an alternative universe is giving me a headache.

So I’m in the local Borders the other day and what should I see next to the magazines? Comic books. The equivalent of maybe two spinner racks worth. I knew some Barnes and Noble stores carried them but didn’t realize Borders had jumped on board as well. And there were three people reading them including a 10-year-old (roughly) boy thumbing through the latest issue of TEEN TITANS GO. I quickly wandered over to the manga section to find exactly zero readers. It’s a trend, I tell you.

Awhile back I read some interview with Chuck Dixon where he referred to himself as “persona non grata at Marvel” and wondered what could possibly have caused that? I dug around the Internet, never really gettin an answer and then stumbled across this beauty in one of my own long-boxes (click on image for larger view):

From Argosy, circa 1993. And yes, those are tentacles, from a villain called Octopus. This probably still doesn’t answer the why, but it would surely help get you to non grata if you weren’t there already.

If it’s February, it must be comic book convention season.

First, be sure to attend the WonderCon at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, February 10-12. Frank Miller will be there. That’s a good get.

Next fly out to New York for the Comic-Con at the Jacob Javits Center, February  24-26. My buddies at Buzzscope/PopCultureShock are hosting an After-Party on Saturday – so leave time for that and Guy’s Independent Comics Roundtable on Sunday. (Oh, and the aforementioned Heidi, will be moderating a Comics and Hollywood panel with the aforementioned Scott Mitchell Rosenberg and couple of other guys you may have heard of: Bendis and Sienkiewicz.)

If you can’t make it to New York then how about Orlando for the MegaCon going on that same weekend? George Perez will be there and you can ask him in person to explain INFINITE CRISIS.

Finally, swing back over to Los Angeles Convention Center on March 17-19 for the west coast edition of Wizard World. I may actually make that one.

Once you’ve hit all the cons head over to this site and rate them! This is also a great place to keep track of all this stuff.

Sgt. Rock: The Prophecy # 1 & Fury: Peacemaker #1

Sgt. Rock: Prophecy DC Comics Script & Art: Joe Kubert	Fury: Peacemaker Marvel Comics Script: Garth Ennis Art: Darick Robertson & Jimmy Palmiotti

Westerns and war stories finding their way back to the new release racks may be one of the better signs of health in the comic book industry. While by and large we’re seeing a return or rehashing of well established characters (Rock, Fury, Jonah Hex, Rawhide Kid), the simple fact that Marvel and DC feel comfortable releasing books which don’t revolve around capes and tights is a positive. In these two entries we have solid, although very different, offerings in the war genre.

Although the covers are vaguely similar, they provide hints as to each books direction. The Rock book is a throwback; we get muted, military hues and an olive drab backdrop for the logo. And what was the last comic you read with a word balloon on the cover? FURY: PEACEMAKER has a more modern sensibility about it.

Both comics intertwine real life events: The Prophecy is based on a true story about a young rabbi trying to escape Europe in hopes of bringing the Holocaust into the world view (that took place in 1939, but Rock’s version is placed in 1943, possibly meaning his young rabbi will have a different secret); FURY: PEACEMAKER takes place in Sidi Bou Zid and Kasserine Pass, Tunisia (also in 1943), sites of some very costly failures the US suffered early in the Mediterranean Theater.

The similarities more or less end there. PEACEMAKER is an origin tale, THE PROPHECY is simply a tale. Kubert’s dialog is a bit awkward in places and he seemed to be unnecessarily forcing a brief spotlight on to each member of Easy Company -- plenty of time for that in a six issue run -- but the man can still tell a story and he does a great job of depicting “war-torn”.

Hard to know where Ennis will go with this Fury run. I haven’t read his earlier FURY mini but I’ve read more than a few comments from people put off by it. This looks to be more about character evolvement – Fury moving from tough but inexperienced soldier to the leader we’re all familiar with. As such, Ennis will need to be especially clever in structuring the events and narrative because there’s not much mystery about where Fury ends up.

Of the two, THE PROPHECY is more compelling as there seems to be an actual plot and maybe because Rock isn’t a lynch pin of modern DC continuity – in other words, he hasn’t been exposed as much. But despite the limitations of the format, Ennis is generally pretty inventive so I’m willing to give PEACEMAKER an issue or two more to develop. I’ll see THE PROPHECY through to the bitter end. 

Killing Demons

Engine Press
Script: Peter Siegel
Art: Brent White

As you may know, either from my longish Platinum Studios post or from other sources, the graphic novel KILLING DEMONS is now slated for the big screen, with Platinum Studios and Atmosphere Entertainment producing. You can read the presser for yourself but of particular note is that Atmosphere’s Mark Canton was the Columbia exec who worked with Scott Mitchell Rosenberg to produce MEN IN BLACK and that Atmosphere is currently producing Frank Miller’s 300. 

I had not seen this book before but was able to get my hands on a copy through the good graces of Platinum Studios. Chances are I might not have bought it even if I had seen it since I don’t typically gravitate towards the horror genre -- in books or movies -- but the exceptions I’ll make are for those that are done well. KILLING DEMONS is done very well.

The story is simple enough: a boy, whose family is killed by demons, is raised to fight them. Years later the demons are methodically killing “pure light” mortals - whose goodness unknowingly makes it difficult for other demons to cross over into our dimension, and the boy -- Joshua Brand,  grown up now -- is recruited to battle them by a female police detective. There are a some nice twists and turns and of course your standard boy meet girls stuff. It all makes for rather gory, morbid fun as Siegel subtly winds in a number of horror genre influences, crafting a smart little tale that wraps up in under 80 pages while leaving the door wide open to further stories.

Brent White’s work is very strong -- his inks in particular -- and somewhat reminiscent of Ben Templesmith albeit with clearer, crisper lines. His use of shadows and gradients compliments the narrative well. No color for this book, and none really needed.

Will this translate to the big screen? Well, much can happen through the course of development but the concept is fairly high level and should provide a good foundation for whichever screenwriter(s) lands the assignment. As it sits it has a whiff of CONSTANTINE about it (although the Joshua Brand character is less of an anti-hero) which may or may not create problems in marketing. If the producers are able to bring a MEN IN BLACK style of humor to it (the book isn’t really very funny although there are some weak attempts at it - of course the MIB comic book wasn’t a comedy either) I think it could be very successful as so many movies in this genre are so very earnest about themselves.

Green Lantern #7 & #8

DC Comics
Script: Geoff Johns
Art: Carlos Pacheco & Jesus Merino

***Semi-Spoiler Warning***

Full confession: I don’t really like Green Arrow. He’s an annoying whiny, cranky, Batman-wannabe who always seems to be just a few feathers short of a fletching. And that goatee? Please. Even as a kid I wanted Hawkman to beat the crep out of him. I was really hoping we could get at least a year into the new GL title before Oliver Queen made his inevitable appearance. I also knew that was wishful thinking.

From a nostalgia standpoint I’ve enjoyed this series so far. It hasn’t been great, but it has been solid, interesting and, well, faithful. It almost seems as though Johns is working from the “Hal Jordan as Green Lantern” playbook. Hal’s a pilot. Check. An unapologetic hound. Check. He lives in Coast City. Check. Establish GL rogues gallery. Check. His best superbuddy is Green Arrow. sigh...Check. It’s not hard to figure out where this title is going and that's too bad. Hal Jordan should have a great deal of baggage to carry around but DC seems intent on glossing over that in a rush to mainstream the character back into prominence. 

So here we are. The premise of these two issues is neither particularly interesting nor original. In fact, if you got to page two of issue seven and didn’t know exactly what the final page of the book would look like your only excuse was that you’ve never read the Alan Moore Superman story “For the Man Who Has Everything”. Which is your loss because that story is light years better than this. (It’s in the new Alan Moore anthology DC just released.) And Carlos Pacheco’s art is solid, although under little stress to actually do much. 

Maybe the problem is that I can’t decide what it is I want from this series. The plan seems to be one of establishing all the old Hal Jordan/GL tropes as quickly as possible and then, one assumes, move forward with lots of good-ol’-days-like stories. There’s certainly a passing nod given to the rebuilding of Coast City and the more unpleasant aspects of Hal’s past but this feels somehow empty or incomplete. And yet I’m not sure I want issues and issues of angst and redemption either. For right now though, I feel like I’m sitting in a restaurant picking at hors d’oeuvres when what I really want is the main course.

Seth Fisher

Very sad to hear this news. I’m never completely comfortable eulogizing -- however remotely -- a person I’ve never actually met, but Fisher’s artistic voice was uniquely vibrant and certainly worthy of the vast outpouring this news has received. Rest in Peace, Seth Fisher.