Okay, so I know it’s been a few weeks since my last column, but life is still kicking my butt. The good news is that as of the 18th, I’m on vacation for two weeks. Therefore, look for me to be a little more visible as far as this column goes. I feel like I have quite a bit to make up for.
DCU in 2010
The big news this week comes from DC’s Source blog. They decided to be in the holiday spirit and give us some big announcements this week, so I’m going to take the time to talk about some of my favorites from this last week.
Earth One OGNs
I was sold on these just from the art that was released. I made the image of Superman by Shane Davis the wallpaper on my computer at school. And I’ve never read anything by JMS, but his take on the character of Superman sounds interesting and unique, so I’m definitely going to be buying this immediately.
The Batman OGN with Geoff Johns and Gary Frank also looks like a winner. I was completely blown away by the image of Alfred that was released. Now that’s a guy I believe could kick some ass.
But as excited as I am for each of these separate projects, I’m even more excited that we seem to be getting another line of “Elseworlds” tales that stand on their own. My understanding at this point is that these will be ongoing. Love it. We have tales of the Multiverse again. And really, what’s not to love about original stories that aren’t tied down by continuity?
War of the Supermen
We knew this was coming. And now, we know when. Free Comic Book Day brings the #0 issue, much like last year’s FCBD brought Blackest Night #0.
The super-books have really been heating up lately, especially with the events of this week’s Action Comics #884. I honestly never thought I would see the day where Lois Lane would quit the Daily Planet and Perry would let her leave. This situation with her father and his little division of Kryptonian haters is escalating quickly, and I can only imagine what is going to be done to amp it up in preparation for this event.
Wonder Woman renumbering to #600
I’m sure many of us have been following this to some degree, whether we’ve been advocates of it or not. Personally, it doesn’t matter to me because I didn’t even start reading this volume until issue #17 (or so). Sure, I have the trades since the re-launch, but I don’t have the history that some people have with the character.
Still, I love that Dan DiDio recognized how passionate some fans were about it and came up with a plan that he followed through with when the fans came out in mass.
Return of Bruce Wayne
Okay, I know I said this was full of my favorite pieces of news the Source put out last week, but I have to mention this even though I don’t really like that it’s happening so soon. Sure, the art from Andy Kubert of a pirate Bruce Wayne is crazy good, but it’s just too soon.
I think my hope with this mini-series is just to show that Bruce is still out there somewhere, but not necessarily ready to come back to the present just yet. I’m really enjoying Dick and Damien as Batman and Robin right now. It’s a change of pace that I think will really pay off once Bruce does come back. But for it to pay off fully, I think he needs to be gone—really gone—more than a year.
Legacies and History of the DC Universe
As a fairly new reader, I’m not really familiar with some of the older characters. So naturally, I’m all over this. I’ve always tried to learn as much as possible about the legacy characters so that I can better understand the current ones, so this will be a treat for me.
And this week’s comics…
I have just one thing to say about this week’s comics. Booster Gold. One panel. Wow.
Okay, so maybe that’s three things. But still, I stared for a good five minutes.
Oh, and I really enjoyed the Donna Troy story in Titans #20. I was a little weirded out that the blond waiter’s name was Tom, though. As much as I would like to see Donna happy, I don’t want her to have Diana’s sloppy seconds.
One more thing
I just have to say that I had a very engaging conversation with Mart on the forums about the direction of Renee Montoya’s character in the Question co-feature. The last time I mentioned it on here, my comments were strictly based on the art. Through our conversation though, I was able to figure out why I was bothered. Part of Renee’s allure in the past has been how messed up her life was. But now, she appears to have it all together, even though we haven’t had the luxury of seeing how she did it. I don’t believe for a second that taking up the mantle of The Question automatically solves all her problems. And that’s the main problem I have.
Thanks, Mart, for breaking my mental block and for engaging in some interesting conversation. It came at a time for me when I needed something to talk about other than teaching.
By Mandy Stegall