The Problem

The Source says that it's "Wonder Woman Week." That's certainly a good idea. But I have a problem with Wonder Woman.

Now, before you start reacting let me explain: I love the idea of Wonder Woman. It think when she's done well she's absolutely fantastic. The problem is, I've only found one writer who I really think does her well. And as much as I usually love Gail Simone, that writer is Greg Rucka.

I really loved Greg Rucka's Wonder Woman. He was able to breath life into her in a way I'd never seen. I wasn't buying Wonder Woman before Greg Rucka came along. And despite all the missteps, I've been buying it since.

People talk about Superman being hard to write. It seems to me that Wonder Woman is even worse. I can think up a few interesting Superman tales. They might night be publication worthy, but they're still there floating around in my head. I have no ideas for Wonder Woman.

This all brings me to J. Michael Straczynski's upcoming run on Wonder Woman. Honestly, I have no idea what to expect. For me his stuff goes back and forth, and I haven't read any of his Marvel stuff anyway. Can Mr. Straczynski solve my Wonder Woman problem? I don't know. If not, I'll have to wait in vain for Greg Rucka to come back...

Too Many Books

I am outraged -- outraged! -- by the proliferation of Green Lantern comics. Green Lantern starring Hal Jordan was bad enough. Then they had to give us Green Lantern Corps starring that insipid pretty boy Kyle Rayner. And now Emerald Warriors starring Guy Gardner? This goes too far.

The worst thing about it is this: with all these Green Lantern comics they can't seem to find room for even a single appearance by Doctor Polaris. I don't care which one of those dullards I get to beat up on. My preference is certainly Hal Jordan. But I'm just as willing to crack Kyle Rayner's skulls. I've done it before.

But instead we continue to be fed new villains. Random cosmic figures and non-Green Lantern villains shoehorned into fighting those pathetic ring-slingers. Though my position is paramount, I wonder if the other Green Lantern villains are as annoyed as I. Where is that fool Sonar? What about Evil Star? Does anyone even remember Evil Star?

Setting this all aside, the course is clear: one of those three writers needs to get me a cover spot. Put me on the cover and his life may yet be spared. I'm willing to be patient... But for how long?

Mea Culpa

I want to apologize to everybody for not having posted much -- okay, at all -- this past week. I'm currently in Japan and will be here until some time in August. That said, I've finally settled in and hopefully I can start blogging again tomorrow.

Watch this space. If there's anybody left out there watching...

Thursday Night Thinking #151

Coming to you fast and furious: Thursday Night Thinking!

Here's a serious question: who do you think will win in this "versus" match? My money's on the Batman-Superman team. Because, you know, heat vision. And batarangs.

Birds of Prey #2

It would appear that Gail Simone is taking a slightly different approach in the new Birds of Prey. I don't know if putting the Birds on the "outside" will last, but it will certainly make for an interesting opening arc.

Also: I don't think that's Cassandra Cain. It seems far more likely that whoever White Canary is, she's got some connection to Black Canaray's almost adopted daughter Sin. Older sister? Time travel? I don't really know. But if it had been Cassandra Dinah would have figured it out.

I wonder if we'll ever see Cassandra Cain again. I know that people occasionally ask about her at cons and whatnot. And I know DC likes to talk about there being a "plan." I think she's one of the characters they say they have a "plan for." Of course, the plan never really seems to materialize.

Anyway, I was talking about Birds of Prey #2. I think it was a strong second part, but I really want to see more of what's coming. What will Oracle do, and how will the Penguin play a role? It's been an unexpected ride so far. Hell, did anybody see that conclusion to the Savant/Creote story coming? I know I didn't...

Green Lantern: The Movie

I saw Sherlock Holmes last week. It wasn't the first time; I saw the movie in the theater. After all, I'm a pretty big Sherlock Holmes fan. I've read all the original Arthur Conan Doyle stories as well as my fair share of Holmes tales written by other others.

But this isn't really about Sherlock Holmes. It's about the fact that I didn't connect the name Mark Strong (Lord Blackwood in Sherlock Holmes to Mark Strong (Sinestro in Green Lantern). That's mostly because I forgot the guy's name. I mean, "Mark Strong" isn't the most common of names.

Now, when I realized exactly who it was who was playing Sinestro my immediate thought was: He's perfect. I still think so. But what it really did was finally drive home to me that this movie is actually happening. So far it's been hard to wrap my mind around the fact that there is actually going to be a Green Lantern movie. This has driven it home for me in a very explicit way.

For some reason Green Lantern never seemed like a likely movie. I always knew it would be a good movie, but how often do actually good comics get made into movies? It's usually really bad comics (or rather, bad adaptations of comics) that get made into movies. And by that I mean the movies have nothing to do with the actual comics.

See Steel. Or Catwoman. Those are the two most egregious examples. But something seems to have happened in recent years: Hollywood is actually making comic book movies that are like the comics. Geoff Johns's new position as Chief Creative Officer is the most shining example of that philosophy.

Will Green Lantern be good? I don't really know. But I think the fact that it's being made at all is a serious win for super-hero fans...

Thus I Return

And... We're back! I had a good week off, but I'm happy to be diving back into the world of blogging. It's become a semi-daily routine for me, and being without it for a week has left a strange, empty feeling inside me.

You know what else has left an empty feeling inside me? A lack of Freedom Fighters comics. I really enjoyed the two Freedom Fighters minis that Palmiotti and Gray put out a few years ago. And I really wish there could be more.

What's that you say? A Freedom Fighters ongoing has been announced? Why, that's exactly what I want!

In all seriousness, I was really surprised to see the new ongoing announced. There hasn't been a Freedom Fighters comic since the last mini, and that was quite a while ago. I enjoyed them a lot, but I just figured that there wasn't enough buzz to warrant another mini-series -- let alone an ongoing.

But then, maybe there wasn't. DC these days seems to like throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. Nobody was clamoring for a Magog ongoing. The new direction of Titans isn't something people seem all that excited about either. And let's not get into The Rise of Arsenal.

Still, I'm happy to see the book. Uncle Sam and his motley gang of patriotic heroes are a lot different from most of the characters in the DC Universe. I feel like there is a place for them, and I hope this ongoing is it.

Vacation

Posting here will probably be somewhat light the next few weeks. It's my vacation time, and I like to take a bit of time off from even things I enjoy (like this blog). Whenever I take time off I always come back refreshed and able to write good posts again.

I mean, I feel like I've been phoning it in the past few weeks. And I probably have been.

There weren't a lot of interesting comics to read last week anyway. But I'm sure I'll be able to find something interesting soon. Like Secret Six this week or Birds of Prey next week. Stay tuned.

Thursday Night Thinking #150

This is the 150th Thursday Night Thinking! It's astonishing that I've kept this going for so long.

Well, maybe not that astonishing. After all, we've got decades of covers like this to go through:

Jimmy Olsen always delivers.

Deadman: The Series

Geoff Johns asks: "wouldn't Deadman be a great TV show...?"

The answer? Yes. Yes it would.

Deadman has all the the features necessary to make a great TV show. Here they are:

1. Deadman: The Series would be episodic. A television about Deadman could easily fit into that most television of television requirements: it would be episodic. In each episode Deadman could be confronted with a new crime/problem/issue. He solves the problem by spying on people who can't see him and then possesses a few people's bodies in order to solve the issue. Kind of like Quantum Leap.

2. Deadman: The Series would have a running plot. It's common nowadays for TV series to have season long or multi-season long plots. While each individual episode has its own focus, there's an underlying story that connects them. The original Deadman comics were the same way. While Deadman tried to right wrongs, his main focus was trying to find out who killed him and why. That would work pretty well on TV.

3. Deadman: The Series would be cheap. Unlike a lot of super-hero stuff Deadman doesn't have flashy powers. His special ability is that he can possess the bodies of other people. That requires absolutely no special effects aside from maybe a CGI glow. This may sound trivial, but in this day and age costs are important. The fact that a good Deadman show could be made on the cheap is important.

4. Deadman: The Series would be comics! Comics are a hot thing right now. It doesn't matter what; people want that stuff even though they don't seem to actually want comics. Deadman fits into the scifi/horror/super-hero genre that is so popular on TV right now.

Clearly Geoff Johns knows something we don't. Clearly a Deadman series is in the work. I am excited about it, even though it does not yet exist. Remember: you heard about it here first.

Wherefore Anti-Monitor?

I just checked out the preview for the latest issue of Brightest Day, and I've got to say... I really dig the "new" Anti-Monitor.

The Anti-Monitor is a strange beast. He was created as the antagonist of the original Crisis and really only made sense in opposition to the Monitor. But the Monitor died, and the Anti-Monitor endured. He keeps showing up, and he continues to be important to many aspects of the DCU, from the Hand of Creation to the Black Power Battery.

How exactly does that happen? How does a character created solely to be the antithesis of another character become the star? Nobody cares about the Monitor, and he's barely relevant without the Monitor. But the Anti-Monitor doesn't seem to want to go away.

I mean, he's even gotten a costume redesign! It combines elements of the first two Anti-Monitor outfits, but streamlines them into something that doesn't look as silly as either of them.

And make no mistake: the Anti-Monitor is silly. He's a bit ridiculous (okay, maybe more than a bit). The concept is utterly ridiculous, but for whatever reason he continues to endure. He's become a starring player with central role in the history of the DC Universe -- and he doesn't seem to want to go away.

For the life of me, I can't figure out how it happened. The Anti-Monitor just keeps coming back. And nobody seems to understand why.