Comics are Awesome III

[Dominic]

Given that DC is resetting in a few months, they can do whatever they like with Alfred (or any character). It is cheap shock value. Newer fans might buy in. But, those of us who have been reading for more than a few years have been here and done this before.

[BWprowl]

I don't know that DC's going to be resetting to the same degree as Marvel is (oh man, what a topsy-turvy time to be alive!), so undoing stuff like that may not be so much on the table. It might be funny though, for now-handless Alfred to encounter some alternate Alfred, then he dies, and he takes his hand. Or something silly.

[Onslaught Six]

I don't know that DC's going to be resetting to the same degree as Marvel is (oh man, what a topsy-turvy time to be alive!), so undoing stuff like that may not be so much on the table. It might be funny though, for now-handless Alfred to encounter some alternate Alfred, then he dies, and he takes his hand. Or something silly.

Can't he just take the Robot Devil's hands?

[BWprowl]

Given the way it happened, I'd think a Revolver Ocelot joke would be more apropos.

[andersonh1]

Apparently Snyder wanted to have the Joker cut off Alfred's hand and mail it to Bruce back in "Death of the Family". I guess when you're the writer of DC's best selling book, you get some leeway sooner or later.

It is cheap shock value.

Yep,

[Dominic]

Better writers should have more freedom. (I still say that this will be undone after "Convergence" resolves though.) If nothing else, having the Joker know where Batman lives and keeps his stuff only works in the long term if DC is willing to have Batman kill the Joker off (which is not going to happen).

Well yeah, but that's half the fun of these things.

True, speculation is half the fun.

I really liked the end of "Spider-Verse". How many of the people who are no doubt happy about May surviving and becoming Spider-Woman know that she and all of the other surviving alternate Spiders are likely going to get aced when "Time Runs Out" leading up to "Secret Wars". (Incursions are specifically mentioned.) I can imagine Dan Slott writing that allegedly happy ending.....knowing full well what is coming in a few months.

[andersonh1]

Better writers should have more freedom. (I still say that this will be undone after "Convergence" resolves though.) If nothing else, having the Joker know where Batman lives and keeps his stuff only works in the long term if DC is willing to have Batman kill the Joker off (which is not going to happen).

It does read like a story that's burning bridges which writers aren't usually allowed to burn. I guess it will depend on how it ends.

[Sparky Prime]

Green Lantern #39
Something is transforming planets to stone, gaining the attention of several magic based heroes on Earth, and the Guardians, who summon Hal. Hal is in the middle of apprehending some criminals in an asteroid belt, and finds the local cops a bit mistrusting of his help. Talking to Kilowog, Hal finds out this is the the attitude towards all Green Lanterns across the universe. The Guardians however, commend Hal on the job he's perform under the conditions much to the surprise to Hal who is more used to the attitude the old Guardians gave him.
Like the last issue, this focuses on the downtime for Hal, albeit in his duties as a GL rather than as a civilian. With all the events the GL titles have gone through, it's nice to see Hal getting back to focusing on just the routine operations like patrols, and just how badly the Corp's reputation has become. Meanwhile, there is some hints towards the next threat, but this issue doesn't really get into it, other than to introduce it.

Green Lantern New Guardians #39
Carol battles with Oblivion, who is seeking the woman that Kyle will pass the White Lantern ring to. Somehow he has the ability to see the future now. Kyle eventually breaks free, and realizing Oblivion is different than the last time he faced him, he asks Carol to get out there. The showdown begins, but Oblivion explains as Kyle's mirror opposite, he can match and undo anything Kyle does. Oblivion eventually gets the upper-hand, when Carol arrives with some reinforcements.
Normally I don't care much for books that focuses primarily on a battles as they doesn't generally feel like they progress the story very much, but I think this issue really handled it well actually. The banter during the fight really explains a lot about what Oblivion is and can do. I also thought that it's a much better showing of the villain than his first appearance in the Annual. Only one issue remains in this series before it comes to a close. It'll be interesting to see how it'll end.

Sinestro #10
Turns outs the Apex League is partnered with Mongul. Realizing he's outmatched and his ring is almost out of power, he sends a distress call to his Corps and surrenders. Mongul explains his ring draining technology was salvaged from the battle with Relic, and now Mongul plans to bring the rest of the Yellow Lanterns back under his control when they arrive. One of the Apex members stays behind to talk with Sinestro, telling him Mongul has promised to help with fight the Paling. But Sinestro knows Mongul is just using them for his own purposes. While Venomous Shade doesn't trust Sinestro either, Sinestro explains at least he's exactly what they think he is. The Sinestro Corps begins the attack on Warworld, and Sinestro while he knows his Corps is walking into a trap, he also reveals he'd sent two signals out, as we find out the New God Bekka accepted the ring Sinestro offered her.
Apparently the Apex League has shown up before, despite my previous research when the last issue came out turning up nothing. They showed up in the Future's End tie-in. Which is interesting as this is the second GL title to focus on events of that issue. Nice to see Sinestro is still one step ahead of his foes, despite them thinking they have the upper-hand over him. And they're still following up on the thread introduced back in Gods Head with Bekka showing up as a Sinestro Corps member.

[andersonh1]

Green Lantern #39
The Guardians however, commend Hal on the job he's perform under the conditions much to the surprise to Hal who is more used to the attitude the old Guardians gave him.

I think this was my favorite part of an already good issue: seeing Hal actually commended for doing a good job. Let's face it, the guy usually gives his all to being a Green Lantern, and gets the job done when no one else can. He deserves a lot more credit than the original Guardians often gave him.

And since I'm reading through the first GL omnibus, reprinting the original GL series from the 60s, it's interesting to note how complimentary the original Guardians are towards Hal when they send him on his first mission into space in Green Lantern #1. He hasn't actually met them at that point, and they send instructions to him through the power battery. But they watch him and evaluate his performance and are quite happy with the results. I've thought for awhile now that it was Denny O'Neil who turned the Guardians into unreasonable jerks and sent them down "the path to the dark side", and it makes me wonder how long it will be before some writer decides to send the Templar Guardians down the same path as the originals. Hopefully not any time soon.

What do you think of Vendetti's run as writer on Green Lantern, Sparky? I see people giving him a lot of flak on other message boards, but I've really enjoyed the book since he took over. I think it's been a really well-written, enjoyable series.

[Sparky Prime]

What do you think of Vendetti's run as writer on Green Lantern, Sparky? I see people giving him a lot of flak on other message boards, but I've really enjoyed the book since he took over. I think it's been a really well-written, enjoyable series.

I've enjoyed his run for the most part, although I feel he has made several mis-steps along the way. I didn't like introducing the emotional reservoir concept, and doing away with all the entities save for Parallax. Especially when that was the first storyline he did for the book. It almost seemed like he was trying to back-peddle on some of the concepts Geoff Johns had introduced when that's a part of what had made the books so popular. I kinda think some of his storylines could be stronger as well. It seems to me like he'll start out with some interesting ideas, but doesn't really follow through with it to the end.