Action Comics #1

What would you do if you found a copy of Action Comics #1 or one of those other rare comics?

If you found it in a box in your attic or in a box at a rummage sale. If you owned a copy what would you do? I like to tell myself that I'd turn around right away and sell it. After all, a million bucks can make a huge difference in a person's life.

But then, it's Action Comics #1. So there's that to consider. I wish I could simply say that I would do the smart thing. But would that be the right thing? I don't know.

Logic says you sell it. But there would still be that little voice inside that says "keep it." Am I the only one who hears that voice?

Thursday Night Thinking #136

Thursday Night Thinking returns with another classic thought from DC's Silver Age!

Wait, what?

Blackest Night #7

Well, there's one issue of Blackest Night left. Then I'll be able to stop talking about it... Until the next big story comes along.

Anyway, I don't want to give too much away as some of you may not have read Blackest Night #7. I'll probably talk more about it on Friday, but I just want to hit of a few of the beats that I really enjoyed.

First of all, I think Lex Luthor got one of the best lines in the comic. "What I really want... Is to be Superman." does a pretty good job of encapsulating who Lex Luthor is and what drives him -- even though he doesn't want to admit it to anyone.

Secondly, there's Atrocitus. Atrocitus is, I think, one of the most interesting of all the Corps leaders. He's not simply a mindless brute. He's not a simple "bad guy" either. I really think that Atrocitus -- as Saint Walker hints -- is a deeper character than we've been led to believe. I hope we'll be seeing more of that during the Brightest Day.

Finally, I think it's safe to say that most people got that final page at least partly right. But as far as I can tell very few people accurately guessed who would wear that ring. I know I didn't...

The Future of the JSA

I'm going to come right out and say it: this preview for tomorrow's issue of Justice Society of America leaves a baaad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Now I know that this "twenty years later" future will never come to pass. Stuff like that doesn't happen in comics and especially not in the DC Universe. But there mere hint of it. The mere possibility gets me shaking with fear. It's not the idea that Neo-Nazis have turned America into some sort of twisted "Fatherland." It's not even the idea that the Nazis won.

No, the thing that makes me really uneasy is that Michael Holt -- Mr. Terrific -- seems to have given up. Michael Holt gave up once. After the death of his wife he nearly committed suicide. But he found a greater purpose. And in doing so one of the smartest men in the world became one of the world's greatest super-heroes.

But would he give up again? Could something so terrible happen that it might make him lose all hope and beg for the end? Beg to forget? The very thought of it sends chills down my spine.

Perhaps that is the key. After all, if such a characterization of Mr. Terrific seems so off to me, maybe that's because it is off. Perhaps this little preview of a "future" is the surest sign yet that it will never come to pass.

Previews

After a week of solid announcements all the Source seems to be feeding us these days is previews. That's okay, though. Previews can be useful. Like when a comic blogger who should be rested from the weekend is actually exhausted after Monday and doesn't know what to write about. So he writes about previews.

Two preview were released today: Cry for Justice #7 and Superman #697. Both of these books are written by James Robinson and make for an interesting dichotomy.

Take Cry for Justice. The comic has turned out to be an interesting beast. I'm not really sure what to think of it. It's been violent and bloody, sometimes weird, and other times stiff. Sadly, the one thing I don't think I can say about it is that it's good.

Cry for Justice may not be bad, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's good. Apparently for our final issue Star City suffers a big disaster. Hey, does anybody remember the whole "One Year Later" thing? Do you remember what happened to Star City right before that? Yeah, Star City suffered a big disaster. Then Green Arrow was elected mayor. I don't think Cry for Justice is going to end like that.

Superman is almost exactly the opposite of Cry for Justice. Superman may not be in between the pages, but the book is a rock solid super-hero tale. As far as I'm concerned James Robinson's work with Mon-El has been more than good... It's been great.

Now we're starting to see some of the seeds from Robinson's early days on Superman bear fruit. The secret Legionnaires are showing up. General Lane is clearly ready to start something. And Mon-El still doesn't seem to know where he really belongs.

Both books come out this week and we should get some sort of resolution. What won't be resolved is how one man can be so inconsistent when it comes to his comic stories...

"DC Entertainment"

It should come as no surprise that I'm pretty happy about the news about DC's new team. I may not be a big fan of Dan DiDio's writing, but with a few exceptions I've been very happy about his stewardship of DC comics.

And Geoff Johns in charge of what Geoff Johns' is in charge of? That's like... A match made in heaven. Here's a guy who gets the iconic things about DC's characters. The idea that he may have influence on future DC movies, TV shows, etc. is a big deal.

Other than that? I'm not sure that a whole lot is going to change. Obviously we're going to get a new DCU Editor-in-Chief. But I don't imagine that will change the direction of things all that much.

All in all, like most people I doubt this will change much on the comic side of things. But it could have an effect on other media. Those are the things to watch.

Thursday Night Thinking #135

Never failing... Never faltering... Thursday Night Thinking!

I'll be honest with you; I really miss Hawkman. Good, old school Hawkman. The kind that wrecks stuff up with a mace.

We need that Hawkman back.

Avatars

Parallax is the personification of fear. Ion is the personification of willpower. The Predator is the personification of love. What about the others?

Green Lantern got me thinking about it again this week. If you've read it, you know that Atrocitus tries to snag the the Spectre as his own entity of rage. The Spectre, of course, isn't having any of that. But the Spectre does have some interesting information to impart to Atrocitus:

"I am God's rage, not yours! But I know of the crimson creature of anger, Atrocitus. I have faced him! If you seek him out, he will destroy you!"

It should come as no surprise to anyone that Geoff Johns is setting things up for the post Blackest Night universe. And with Parallax's little disappearing act and Hector Hammonds little "oh no!" I've got to wonder if the emotional entities won't play a big role in whatever Johns has coming up.

I'm thinking that the "crimson creature of anger" might have been seen before. I can't quite put my finger on it, but that description sounds strangely familiar...

May Solicitations?

I'm not actually going to talk about May's DC solicitations. I'm going to talk about how the monthly solicitation reveals aren't fun anymore.

It used to be (and it wasn't really that long ago) that when solicitation day came we got to see all the solicitations at once. Everything was new an exciting. Superman, Batman, Green Lantern and everything in between was revealed in one glorious moment.

Nowadays DC likes to release previews. A week or so before the "official" solicitation reveals we'll get a preview of given month's Superman books. And the Batman books. And the Green Lantern books. Oh, and the JLA and JSA too.

Now the only thing we actually have to look forward to is maybe the Legion books and Secret Six. Of course, Secret Six is worth the wait... But I'd rather get them all at once anyway.

Does anyone else prefer an en masse solicitation reveal? Or do you like having it trickled out over the course of a few weeks?

Return of the King

There's a lot of speculation going on about Brightest Day. But one thing is very clear: Aquaman is coming back.

He's certainly not the only one who'll be coming back. Martian Manhunter and others will very likely be returning. But to my mind Aquaman's return is the most significant.

Why? I think it's because Aquaman is going to be Geoff Johns's new pet project. Whatever you think about Geoff Johns and his work, you can't deny that he's done a fantastic job of revitalizing floundering franchises. If someone had come to me in 2002 or 2003 and said that Green Lantern would be one of the hottest books in comics with a spin-off (and a third on the way) I would have said they were crazy.

But there you have it. And I imagine the new Flash book will be a big success as well (assuming all the Rebirth delays haven't crippled it before it even hits the starting line).

To me, all signs point to Geoff Johns taking on Aquaman next. Johns has already said that he has big plans for Mera in the coming year. Now, when he said that he clearly couldn't come out and also say that he had big plans for Aquaman. But with Aquaman pretty obviously returning in Brightest Day, how exactly could Johns work on Mera without touching on Aquaman as well.

Aquaman deserves a place of honor among the DC pantheon. He is one of the true "Big Seven." Hopefully by the time Geoff Johns is done with him everyone else will see that as clearly as I.

Thursday Night Thinking #134

What astonishing thoughts await you in this week's Thursday Night Thinking?

I don't care what anyone says. Geoff Johns didn't make Sinestro cool. Sinestro has always been cool. And it's stuff like this that proves it.

Re: Secret Six #18

You know, I really do love Bane in Secret Six.

Of course, I like Scandal Savage even more.

I hope Gail Simone writes these characters forever and ever.

Superman Reboot

They say that Christopher Nolan (of Batman Begins and Dark Knight fame) will be overseeing the reboot of the Superman movie franchise.

Now, this could be good or it could be bad. Superman needs some love on the big screen. Despite what some say, I believe a correctly done Superman movie has the potential to be bigger that Batman or Spider-Man.

That said, since Warner Bros. is never going to hire me to make that correctly done Superman movie they're going to have to find someone else. And it seems they're hoping lightning will strike twice (or three times) by having Christopher Nolan take the reins.

As I said, this could be good: Nolan may be able to get to the heart of Superman in the same way he got to the heart of Batman and help bring us the definitive super-hero film of the 21st century. Or it could be bad. It would be bad if Nolan took the gritty, realistic approach that worked so well with Batman and tried to apply it to Superman. We all know that won't work.

Of course, I'm hoping he succeeds either way. With also-ran comic characters getting the movie treatment it's a travesty that the first and greatest super-hero hasn't gotten the movie he deserves.

Just A Quick One

It seems that there's a chance that DC might publish more comics set in the Watchmen universe. Honestly, that doesn't bother me all that much. Watchmen isn't as good as everybody thinks it is.

This, however, would be awesome.

Absolute Justice

I got the chance to see the "Absolute Justice" episode of Smallville this weekend. That's the one written by Geoff Johns and featuring the Justice Society of America. Fair warning: here there be spoilers.

Now that that's out of the way, let me say that I really enjoyed this episode. Smallville has been on a real uptick the past couple of seasons and I always enjoy the interesting ways in which they pull things from the DC Universe into the sort-of "realistic" Smallville Universe.

They managed to employ the Justice Society in a way that didn't seem too silly. Doctor Fate was really cool, and Michael Shanks makes a surprisingly believable Hawkman. It was cool getting the chance to see Amanda Waller, and it almost seems that they're setting things up for a potential tenth season, though I'd be kind of surprised if they do that. Sometimes I can't believe Smallville has lasted as long as it has.

Despite everything else, though, there was one little moment that really got my geek mojo going. Something I've been waiting (and hoping) for every since the "death" of Lex Luthor a last season (that was last season, right?). The Superman mythos really can't exist without Lex Luthor, and the way I saw it Smallville could never arrive at Superman (even in its own roundabout way) without Lex Luthor being a part of things.

So you can imagine my geeky giddiness when Doctor Fate said the following:

"Although Lex Luthor is your ultimate opponent you will triumph over him."

What does that mean? It means what I've suspected all long: Lex Luthor isn't really dead in the Smallville Universe. He can't be. Superman can't really exist without him.

Anti-Matters

I'm sure most of you have seen this image by now:

First of all, that's a beautiful piece of art. I'm usually not a big fan of Greg Horn but he hit this one out of the park.

Secondly, holy crap the hits just keep coming. It seems that everything just keeps getting worse and worse for the heroes of the DC Universe. Nekron was bad enough, but the Anti-Monitor? The Black Lantern Anti-Monitor? That's not a villain who will be easy to deal with.

Still, I have to wonder... If I'm not mistaken the Anti-Monitor wasn't willingly turned into the Black Power Battery. And when he gets out do you think he'll line up like a good soldier and do what Nekron wants him too?

I don't think so. I think when the Anti-Monitor gets free he's going to be trouble for everybody... Nekron included.

Thursday Night Thinking #133

Returning once again, as always it is Thursday Night Thinking!

As we know, Batman can do anything. Including paint. Too bad he's been afflicted with Strange-Compellification!

I'm a real appreciator of Bat-Art...

Re: Mera

Okay, I'm going to ask for some help here. I don't ask for help often, but I'm not usually at a loss as to how to interpret something in my comics for the week.

Anyway, this plea for aid goes out to everyone who read Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #3. Most of it was straightforward and I rarely come away from a Greg Rucka comic feeling anything but satisfied. But right now I'm kind of confused. So here's the question: what exactly is Mera's terrible secret that she's been bottling up or whatever it is?

It seems like a big deal is made out of something that Mera has kept secret for a long time. Something she didn't tell "him." I'm assuming that "he" is Aquaman, but who knows? The comic isn't very clear. What is it that she kept a secret? That she loved Aquaman? She married him so I thought that was self evident. That she hated him? Maybe it's that. Really, I don't know what the big reveal is supposed to be.

Maybe I'm being dense here, but I could really use an assist. Use your superior powers of observation to aid me, loyal readers!

New HeroClix

RRARRR, Black Lantern Azrael here again with some seriously good news for all my fans. In the same way that I and the other forgotten heroes of the DCU have risen from our graves, WizKids' HeroClix game also seems to have been reborn.

Why does this matter? RRARRR! I'll tell you. I only got one HeroClix to represent me, while guys like Hawkman, Booster Gold, and Aquaman got two or more. What are the chances that we'll be seeing HeroClix representing the legions of Black Lanterns? Pretty good, no? And don't you think they're likely to include most of the Lanterns who got lines in the mini-series?

Black Lanterns like me. Don't deny it: when you see those new Azrael HeroClix you'll be feeling avarice. RRARRR!

The End of New Krypton

World of New Krypton ends this week, and I for one am glad. That maxi-series ending means that in a few months Superman will be back where he belongs.

That said, it has been an interesting tale they've told over the past year. Indeed, for the greater story that DC is trying to tell (I'll leave you to decide whether or not it's one worth telling) World of New Krypton was probably necessary. Without Superman in the midst of those other Kryptonians we would never have been able to see exactly why Superman is so special.

The entire point of the story (besides giving us a glimpse at the technological marvels and alien flora/fauna of Krypton) has been to show why Superman is one of a kind. If nothing else, the story has managed that. We see a host of Kryptonians who think that their powers make them, well, powerful.

But even with the raw physical power to move planets they lack the real power that Superman has always had. This story may have tried to take that away (with the "World Against Superman" malarkey) but that is not something so easily destroyed. For the people of Earth Superman is someone special. And even twelve months away from the planet can't change that.