Comics are Awesome III

[andersonh1]

Green Lantern #51
At the end of GL #50, Hal was apparently turning into the green energy of willpower. This issue picks up right there, and with some help from his brother, Hal regains his sense of self and becomes a physical being again. Disturbed, he decides that it's time to leave Earth and go find the Corps and even the Guardians, to try and figure out what's going on. For once, he thinks this may be an "envelope he shouldn't push".

The rest of the issue returns to the group of space pirates/constables who were last seen some time ago as they attack Hal's ship and crewmates. Though all three put up a good fight, they're outnumbered and outmatched. As they learn that Hal went to Earth and get ready to follow, Hal arrives on the ship and gets ready to put the beatdown on all of them...

I think Vendetti may well be executing a forced change in story direction here. It's time to wrap up loose ends and get ready to go back to something like the old status quo with Hal and the Corps prior to Rebirth. That's fine with me... the book has been enjoyable, but I'm ready for Hal to put the uniform back on and start acting like a Green Lantern again.The idea of Hal turning into willpower itself doesn't really go anywhere, and while I assume it will come up again down the road, you never know. Vendetti will still be writing Hal after Rebirth, so maybe it won't be dropped.


I also picked up Coming of the Supermen #2 and #3, but have yet to read them. Neal Adams isn't the artist he used to be, that's for sure, though he's still pretty good. I saw him at the Greenville Comiccon this weekend, but didn't want to spend the money for some signed artwork. I had more fun getting my picture made in the 1960s Batmobile.

[Sparky Prime]

The idea of Hal turning into willpower itself doesn't really go anywhere, and while I assume it will come up again down the road, you never know. Vendetti will still be writing Hal after Rebirth, so maybe it won't be dropped.

There is yet one more issue before Rebirth, so it may yet be be explored there before Hal returns to wearing a ring.

[Dominic]

"Infinity Entity" spent 4 issues not covering much new ground. Maybe there will be pay-off in "Infinity Finale". But, "Entity" seems easy enough to skip.


And, if solicits are to be believed (which they probably are), "Red Wolf" and "Illuminati" are going away soon. (Actually, "Illuminati" might be ending next week.) Looks like my pull-file is going to be shrinking.

[andersonh1]

Lots of DC Rebirth spoilers and such:

http://www.bleedingcool.com/tag/dccomicsrebirth/

It's looking a lot like this isn't so much going back to old continuity as it is recreating some form of the many lost characters and continuity that DC dropped in the last five years. It'll be an ersatz history that resembles in some ways what came before, while keeping some of the pointless changes.

If they hadn't erased it, they wouldn't have to come up with convoluted ways to recreate it...

I do like that cover with the JSA and retro Justice League though. And a Superboy who is actually Superman's son? Not a bad idea at all.

[Dominic]

Most reboots have involved back-writing and recreating a degree history. It just happened that "Flashpoint" was exceptionally clumsy about it. CoIE dumped more history (both as a percent and as an absolute) than "Flashpoint". "Zero Hour" had plenty of back-writes that were forgotten inside of a year.

I am annoyed with the JSA. DC is doing a half-assed back-write that rips off Captain America's Silver Age origin ("frozen in time....derp derp derp") to keep the characters artifically young....just like they have always been. (If DC is going to use an old idea, they could at least use the 1970s concept for the Golden Age heroes, which is much less of a cliche'.)


Marvel has lost a certain amout of focus and consistency after "Secret Wars" (made especially evident in the recent handbook), but individual series (and editorial families) are still worth reading. I am less annoyed by the inconsistencies on questions about who knows about the incursions and "Secret Wars" (Doctor Strange apparently does not remember, but Maria Hill is talking about it on TV?!?!?) or how Tony Stark got flipped back to being a good guy than I am by the apparent lack of planning by Marvel editorial (and the inability to shuck baggage).

[andersonh1]

I wondered how Marvel's new universe was going. Would you say that Secret Wars was their Crisis on Infinite Earths equivalent? How different is the new Marvel?

I am annoyed with the JSA. DC is doing a half-assed back-write that rips off Captain America's Silver Age origin ("frozen in time....derp derp derp") to keep the characters artifically young....just like they have always been. (If DC is going to use an old idea, they could at least use the 1970s concept for the Golden Age heroes, which is much less of a cliche'.)

I think they have an aversion to older characters, honestly, despite the fact that they allowed the JSA to age all through their history. It got to the point in the 90s and 2000s that the characters were all old and died one by one, with the exceptions of Jay Garrick, Alan Scott and Ted Grant. Wesley Dodds/Sandman out and out states that he's 86 years old right before he dies. Ted Knight/Starman is an old man dying of cancer when he pulls a heroic sacrifice. Dinah Lance dies off-panel while the characters had been written out for awhile after the Crisis. They did indeed do something different with these guys and let them age and die, and have children and grandchildren take up the cause after them, as well as allowing them to see their example still inspiring others decades after they began. I enjoyed that approach, but I can't say I'd mind going back to younger versions of the characters in the modern day.

[Shockwave]

I think DC should just take a break. Just stop everything for about a year and then just start completely fresh. Everything brand new, no more referrencing anything that came before at all. That would allow new readers a jumping on point while allowing DC to bring back classic characters in their original form and still allow them to do something new with those characters and it would also allow them to still do new stories that could appeal to new and old fans alike. Everybody wins!! But they'll probably just keep trying to forcefully hamfist everything together and try to make sense even though they've screwed it up so bad that it never will make sense.

[Dominic]

A cold stop is not an option. But, DC needs to slow down and step back. There are no good specific options after 5 years feckless editing and no direction. Hopefully, DC's post "Rebirth" plans will turn things around. (I want to like DC more than I have been able to the last 8 years, never mind the last few years.)

I wondered how Marvel's new universe was going. Would you say that Secret Wars was their Crisis on Infinite Earths equivalent? How different is the new Marvel?

"Secret Wars" was the best damned Reed/Doom story I have read. If you ever wondered what Doom's mind would look like if given form, Battleworld (as shown in "Secret Wars" and the various tie-ins) is probably the best depiction you are likely to get. It followed nicely from Hickman's "no-win scenario" lead-in.

But, as an event, "Secret Wars" under-delivered. "Secret Wars" was billed as, and likely meant to be, a "Crisis" scale event. But, aside from the addition of some back-written characters from the "Ultimate" imprint, there have not been many changes.


There is no real clarity about a number of details (and Marvel's recent handbooks are not terribly helpful on this front).
Marvel tried to get rid of the multiverse, before realizing it was simply not practical. They tried to get rid of numbering the alternate worlds, right before launching one or two series that would obligate numbering. There is no real clarity about who knows how much about the incursions and "Secret Wars". (The handbooks imply most people do not know much, if anything. The current "Iron Man" series supports this. But, other comics state otherwise. Others serve to muddy the waters.)


"All New All Different" Marvel is fundamentally the same as pre-"Secret Wars" Marvel. The company still has the deepest and broadest talent pool in the industry. Quesada, Alonso and Breevort are still pushing away from the idea that consistency and continuity are the highest priorities, focusing instead on making comics work as runs/compilations.

Aside from the sloppy handbooks (a problem with Marvel in recent years, not unique to "Secret Wars"), I am generally happy with current Marvel. Most of my pull-file is Marvel, and likely to stay that way.

[Sparky Prime]

And a Superboy who is actually Superman's son? Not a bad idea at all.

In a way New52 Superboy is Superman's son... At least, he's the clone of Superman's son. But yeah, I really like the idea of Superboy being Superman's actual son. But at the same time, I hope they don't get rid of Kon-El. It looks like they're setting things up for the New52 Superman to die so that his predecessor can take his place, but there's no indication of what will become of Conner yet...

I think DC should just take a break. Just stop everything for about a year and then just start completely fresh. Everything brand new, no more referrencing anything that came before at all. That would allow new readers a jumping on point while allowing DC to bring back classic characters in their original form and still allow them to do something new with those characters and it would also allow them to still do new stories that could appeal to new and old fans alike. Everybody wins!! But they'll probably just keep trying to forcefully hamfist everything together and try to make sense even though they've screwed it up so bad that it never will make sense.

Like Dom said, a cold stop wouldn't be an option. I think that'd pretty much kill most of DC's fanbase. And what you're describing kinda sounds like what they tried to do with the New52 in the first place. Reintroduce the classic characters but allowing for them to do something new with them. And... Well that hasn't exactly gone over so well.

I wondered how Marvel's new universe was going. Would you say that Secret Wars was their Crisis on Infinite Earths equivalent? How different is the new Marvel?

Again as Dom said, it didn't really change anything. Secret Wars pretty much ended with everything right back to the way it was before the story began with the only major difference being the end of the Ultimate universe and a couple of its characters joining the 616 universe.

[andersonh1]

But at the same time, I hope they don't get rid of Kon-El. It looks like they're setting things up for the New52 Superman to die so that his predecessor can take his place, but there's no indication of what will become of Conner yet...

I think 90s/2000s Superboy/Connor is a great character. But I think they already altered him so much with the New 52 that the version I liked is already gone, and has been for years. If they could restore him to what he was before Flashpoint, I see no reason he couldn't coexist with Jonathan. The two characters are completely different in concept, so they could inhabit the same universe with no difficulty.