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?

New Detective

Batwoman in Detective Comics kicks off tomorrow. I for one am ridiculously excited.

I am a great admirer of Greg Rucka's work, especially when he's let loose to do whatever the hell he feels like. He's had that freedom with Action Comics so far, and if you read the recent annual and don't agree that he's doing something amazing with a couple of nobody characters, well... You have my sympathy.

I get the feeling that Detective is more or less the same deal. I don't think there are really many restrictions on what Rucka's going to be doing. Kathy Kane and Rene Montoya are more or less Rucka's characters. And I have no doubt that he'll manage to tell a heck of a story with them.

What do you think?

Looking Good

Have you seen these gorgeous sketches of Renee Montoya as the Question? Go take a quick look and then come back here to hear me gush.

Ready? Good.

Holy crap, those are phenomenal. To me, it looks as though Renee's getting her own look as the Question rather than simply apeing the look of Vic Sage. The hat and the clothes look just slightly different in Cully Hamner's art. But this new look really seems to fit Renee better than anything has so far.She looks comfortable in those sketches. I haven't seen her look comfortable in a long time.

I also love the short hair. Greg Rucka is exactly right: it makes sense that if she's going to be fighting in the thick of things she'd keep her hair short. It follows along with the same reason why Aquaman should keep his hair cut short. You've got to dress for the occasion.

Look's like the Question is doin' fine.

No Answers

You know who I really miss? Vic Sage. I mean, Montoya's all right and everything. But I just don't get the same vibe from her as I used to get from the old Question.

Vic Sage just had a certain panache, you know. It wasn't just about the costume. It was his outlook and the way he talked. He had this wild mix of Objectivism and Zen Buddhism that somehow -- though I have no idea how managed to mesh together to make a fascinating character.

And his last year of life was one of the most astonishing stories ever told about a single character. To see someone who knows he is doomed continue fighting... To see him struggle to pass on the mantle of the Question to someone he saw as deserving. Well, it was a sight to see.

But more than anything, I think, it was the way that he asked questions. I guess that's not surprising, given the name he took. But he made a point often that I think people ignore. It's not always about the answers that you find. Because to find the real answers -- the important answers -- you first have to ask the right questions. And Vic Sage did that.

Is anybody doing that anymore?