Relationships

You know what the sweetest/creepiest/most hilarious relationship in comics is? It's not any of the romantic pairings you see out there. And it's not even any real paternal connection. Truly, the most brilliant character relationship in comics is the really strange relationship that Bane and Scandal Savage have in Secret Six.

Did your read the Suicide Squad "back from the dead" one shot? It was really good (it's Ostrander and Simone, how could it not be?). And there was a fantastic bit of Bane/Scandal interaction in there.

It's a very weird relationship. Bane -- the guy who never had any parents -- trying to be a father figure to the woman who had the worst father in history (and pre-history). And the strangest thing about it is how it seems to work. At first it seemed kind of off but now it seems bizarrely natural.

If Geoff Johns writes the best "epics" for DC then Gail Simone writes the best relationships. Really, all the relationships between the various characters in Secret Six are fantastic. I just happen to like the Bane/Scandal one the best.

Rise From Your Graves

Well well well. I'll be if this isn't some interesting news. The return of dead titles? That's a clever bit of trickery. A great idea, really. If they have to skip a month (and I'm going to cut Ivan Reis some slack because it looks like he's actually going to finish this big event without any help) this is certainly a clever way to do it. Let us exam each resurrected title in turn:

The Power of Shazam! #48: Black Lantern Osiris? Yes please. But could that really be all? Do the members of the Marvel Family have any other serious dead adversaries? I can't think of any... But there's always Billy and Mary's parents...

The Question #37: Ah, I've been waiting for this since Blackest Night was announced. No one else could write it but Greg Rucka. I'm wondering how exactly they'll do the Black Lantern Question. Most of the Black Lanters are distinguished by their gruesome faces. That won't work with the Question...

Suicide Squad #67: Booyah! More John Ostrander Suicide Squad is always good. And there are a lot of dead guys on that team...

Phantom Stranger #42: I loves me the Phantom Stranger. And Peter Tomasi does good work. This is a definite buy.

Catwoman #83: Black Lantern Black Mask, eh? I suppose it was inevitable... But I didn't see it coming. Sometimes my prognostication skills are better than other times.

The Atom and Hawkman #46: Oh, this oughta be fun. The Atom stuck up against three Black Lanterns? One his loopy, loony, murdering ex-wife? Craazy.

Weird Western Tales #71: Black Lantern Jonah Hex will be worth the price of admission alone.

Starman #81: This is the biggest surprise, I;d say. I never thought James Robinson would ever return to Jack Knight. But there you have it. I hope it lives up to the standards of the original series.

Which one are you looking forward to the most?