Newslets

Some other bits of big DC news recently:

• ]"Justice League" is getting the widely-anticipated delay suggested ever since Jim Lee was announced as the penciller. Hopefully the book can quickly get back on track, even if it means bringing some fill-in artists in, but it doesn't bode well for the flagship title to slip a week.
  
• Steig Larsson's Millennium Trilogy is getting a graphic novel adaptation at Vertigo. I had no interest in the series, but I watched the American version of the film, and it was entertaining enough (except, unsurprisingly, the extended and graphic rape scene). I'd actually be much more inclined to read the graphic version, though I doubt that I'd want to pay for the full price of two graphic novels to get one story that I'm kind of lukewarm on. Maybe I'll look into the digital pricing when it comes around.
  
• Rumor has it that CW is developing a Green Arrow series as a follow-up to "Smallville" it's definitely an odd choice (though not too odd, given that GA was basically "Smallville"'s Batman), but maybe it'll lead to the wheels turning on that old "Supermax" movie project. The idea of Green Arrow (or almost any other superhero, really) going undercover in a supervillain prison would make a great, original superhero movie. Or a terrible one, but hopefully the former.
  
• Rob Liefeld is joining the creative teams for three more titles, what with the cancellation of "Hawk & Dove." I...I don't understand this at all. Okay, sure, keep the guy working, his name is still a draw for some folks. But his name is also synonymous with lateness, and he wasn't enough of a draw to keep his last book afloat sales-wise. It might actually be interesting to see a title that he's writing but not drawing, because the interview makes him sound like an excitable child talking about the storylines he's concocted with his action figures. And that's...kind of awesome, that after all the hate and jokes, this is a guy who still loves the hell out of comics and gets super-excited about the things he's working on. I wonder what a book written by Rob Liefeld and drawn by Ethan Nicolle would be like.
  
• With the revelation that "Huntress" is following Earth-2's character, I'm wondering what other glimpses of Earth-2 we've gotten already. "The Shade" almost has to be an Earth-2 title, because it's the only way that the long Starman history makes sense. I'm willing to bet, though, that "The Ray" is on Earth-2 as well, if not a modern Earth-X. There's the casual and oblique references to an earlier hero using "The Ray" as an alias before, but also the specific reference to Happy Terrill's ballooning origin story. Plus, this world is apparently quite used to superheroes zipping about in the sky, something that really can't be said for the "heroes showed up five years ago" fear and distrust in the New 52 Earth.
  
• Which brings up a point that I talked about with my retailer: the Earth-2 Earth is probably going to look a lot more like the pre-Flashpoint DCU we're used to. That could mean good things for people who miss the fun/whimsy of a world saturated with superheroics, and the legacies that are missing from the New-52 Earth, and could provide a story outlet for folks who want that material. It, of course, means making the universe potentially so confusing that it needs a major reboot in 20 years, but that's the way these things go anyway.

Open the Fortress

Close the Fortress

The New New 52

By now you've all heard that six DC titles are getting cancelled, and six new ones are starting. I'd like to say that this will result in me buying fewer titles, but it really doesn't look like that's the case. Some thoughts, first on the outgoing books:

• O.M.A.C.: The only book on the list that I'm actually sorry to see go. I kind of wonder how this title would have done if Dan Didio's name weren't attached. It's a shame, but I think the low expectations that set at the start helped keep the book from ever finding a footing, despite widespread acclaim from the Kirbyphiles of the Internets. It was crazy fun, and I'm sad to see it go. Hopefully, though, we'll see Cadmus and Co. popping up in Giffen's run on Superman--because honestly, Cadmus ought to be closer to Jimmy Olsen anyway.
  
• Men of War: I thought this might not have been long for this world when they didn't announce a creative team beyond issue #6. This title ended up being kind of a mess, without a consistent tone or concept; it might have done better if that early backup hadn't been so...bad. The later ones--with mech-battlesuits and something like the Sea Devils--were a step up, but the main story was kind of incomprehensible.
  
• Mister Terrific and Static Shock: Both books I wanted to like, both books that just didn't do it for me. It makes me fairly uneasy that DC's cancelling two titles featuring minority characters, especially when none of the new books (apparently, so far) have minority leads. I wouldn't be surprised to see Static popping up soon, but I'd like to see DC do a real push with some of the other Milestone properties. Innaworld where superheroes are mistrusted and feared, a book about superhuman gangs like "Blood Syndicate" seems like it'd be a really good fit. In fact, I'd love to see a "Steel" book where he became the primary superhero in a city where ostracized metahuman teens found acceptance (and too often, violence) in meta-gangs. Wrap Intergang around it as the reason for the explosion in meta-gene activations and a recruitment agency/old-mob rival to the rising Blood Syndicate of meta-gangs, and you've got the recipe for a pretty good superhero crime comic.
  
• Hawk and Dove and Blackhawks never made my pull list, so I can't say I'm sad to see them go. It's probably for the best for "Hawk and Dove," because past history suggests that "Rob Liefeld scripting and drawing a monthly comic" is not a sustainable situation.
  

And for the newcomers:

• Batman, Incorporated is no surprise, although I didn't expect to be getting it quite so soon. I should probably finally read the "Leviathan Strikes" book.
  
• Earth 2 is the other previously-announced title, James Robinson and Nicola Scott's Justice Society book. I'll be interested in seeing how this title works out; I've been pretty cold on Robinson in recent years, but I'm enjoying "The Shade" well enough, and he helped put the Justice Society back on the map in their last big relaunch, so maybe the return to more familiar environs than the Justice League will result in a marked improvement. I'll at least be checking this one out, and I'm cautiously optimistic. At the very least, though, it'll be pretty.
  
• Worlds' Finest seems like a pleasant surprise. Based on various interviews and some dot-connecting, it looks like Huntress, Power Girl, and possibly Black Canary are stranded on Earth-New-52, which makes BC's whole relationship with Starling and Barbara interestingly wrinkled. It also makes me wonder just what Helena's connection is to Italy, without the mob background, but it's not as if there's no reason for a Wayne-kid Bat-family member to go globetrotting.
  
• G.I. Combat sounds like it's poised to succeed where "Men of War" failed, with a little more well-defined focus and a better distribution of interest between the main and backup stories. I kind of wish it were called "Weird War Tales," given its stated focus of Haunted Tank and War that Time Forgot stories, but I suppose that leaves it open to more Sgt. Rock or other stories--and there's not necessarily a "Weird" element to the Unknown Soldier. I'll definitely give this one a shot.
  
• Dial H: As a big "Dial H for Hero" fan, I'm excited to see the concept making a comeback, and with a nice Brian Bolland cover to boot. This is probably the book that most excites me from this announcement.
  
• The Ravagers: And this is the one that least interests me. I'll re-evaluate once we see who the characters are (no doubt Rose Wilson, spinning out of "Superboy"), but I have no desire to read "Teen Titans," Howard Mackie and Ian Churchill aren't exactly a draw, and I'm barely even interested in the "Superboy" title, despite being more inclined toward reading it. The "Young Justice" line of the New 52 is the one that least holds my interest at this point, which is a shame, because you'd think it would be a focal point to draw in new readers. Then again, I'm not exactly a new reader.

Open the Fortress

Close the Fortress

A resolution

I've decided to resolve to be a bit more positive and less reactionary in 2012. I started this blog, after all, way back when I was a young'un of 21, and any time I look back to some of those old posts, I feel pretty embarrassed. So I'm going to do something I never thought I would: I'm going to prune away some of those negative nelly posts that I wrote in the rage of an angry, nerd-entitled youth. If you've got favorites in the archives where I've done a bit of petty namecalling, I recommend looking at them soon, because they're not long for this world.

2012 is the year that I write a little more professionally...if nor more regularly.

Open the Fortress

Close the Fortress

New 52 Year-End Review

As we enter month five of DC's New 52 initiative, I figured I'd take a look at my own stack of DC comics, and explore the state of things in the Internet's favorite format, the bulleted list.

1. Action Comics: I love it. In fact, the only things I don't love about it are the rushed-looking fill-in art, and the two-issue break from the main story. Hopefully the latter helps Rags Morales catch up on the former. I'm also not thrilled with the jump ahead to the present, and I hope this isn't the last we're seeing of young firebrand Superman.
   
2. All-Star Western: One of the best titles of the New 52. There's very little to not like about Jonah Hex fighting the Crime Religion in Gotham City.
   
3. Animal Man: Possibly the best book of the line. Lemire is knocking it out of the park with this mix of pitch-perfect family characterization and creepy superhuman horror, and Travel Foreman's art handles both with aplomb. I'm looking forward to the inevitable collision between this book and Swamp Thing.
   
4. Aquaman: Probably the most surprisingly enjoyable book of the New 52. I've hypothesized before that Geoff Johns does best when he's writing fewer books, and it became clear toward the end of the old DCU that he was spread too thin and treading water on various characters. Aquaman marks a nice change of scenery for him, and I think that's part of why this book is so much fun. It also seems like Johns is taking a more intentionally upbeat approach to this comic, and so there's a lot less death and gore and limb-removal than you might expect from a Johns book of late. I'll stick with this one, at least for the time being.
   
5. Batgirl: I've liked this first arc well enough, but I'm pretty lukewarm on the title as a whole. I like Barbara Gordon, but so far there's not a lot to her character. Simone's doing a slow burn, setting up Barbara's recovery as a mystery and building a small supporting cast, but there just isn't a lot of momentum here. It doesn't help that Barbara's defining characteristic right now appears to be "damaged and out of practice." I'd like to see a character that integrates who she was as Batgirl and as Oracle, but that's not the case yet.
   
6. Batman: Oh man, Batman is probably the best straight-superhero book DC is publishing right now. Intrigue, action, secret societies and Batman out of his element? It's fantastic. It's not surprising, given how good Snyder's "The Black Mirror" arc was. Capullo's art is something of a surprise; I didn't know a lot about him going in, but his fluid, somewhat animated style is generally great. There are some talking head scenes that look a little funny, but I think that's just a matter of not being used to his particular style quirks. There are few comics I look forward to each month as much as this one.
   
7. Batman & Robin: A theme that seems to be running through the Batman titles I'm reading is that Bruce is doing some much-needed growing up. In Batman, he's learning that he's not indestructible and moving beyond his parents' death. Some of that is explicitly happening here, too, as he also tries to become a father to the son he never knew. I'm not entirely thrilled with yet another new villain from Bruce's past who knows his identity, though so far NoBody is better than Hush by leaps and bounds. I'll stick with this one at least until the NoBody story ends, and we'll see after that.
   
8. Batman: The Dark Knight: I wasn't reading this pre-Flashpoint, and I didn't pick it up afterward. So far, I haven't heard anything to make me change my mind.
   
9. Batwing: Another surprisingly good comic, if only because it skirts, so far, Winick's various plot quirks. I like how David is clearly distinguishable from Batman, and I like that Winick is building a global superhero community, fleshing out the younger New 52 world quite a bit. The only thing that I dislike is that there's yet another black superhero with electrical powers. I don't quite get why that trope is so common.
   
10. Batwoman: I've finally been catching up on Rucka's Detective Comics run, so hopefully I'll have an opinion on this book soon. But I don't expect to have any actual problems with it.
    
11. Birds of Prey: Another surprising hit book. Birds of Prey is fresh and fun and action-packed, and it's a shame that so much of the press on female-centered DC books has been spent on Catwoman and Voodoo. Swierczynski and Saiz are turning in an excellent comic full of interesting characters, and consequently Birds of Prey is really better than it's been in awhile.
    
12. Blackhawks: Never quite cared enough to pick it up. How is it?
    
13. Blue Beetle: I really, really want to like Blue Beetle, and maybe once it's done with this retread of the origin story, I will. Right now, though, Tony Bedard and Ig Guara feel like a pale shade of Keith Giffen, John Rogers, and Cully Hamner, and the book's focus on pain and violence over characterization doesn't help that. I'll give this book a little more time, but I really hope it takes a turn for the better soon.
    
14. Captain Atom: Another surprising comic for me; I didn't intend on picking it up at first, but I've quite enjoyed it since. I've especially liked Captain Atom's more godlike presence as a hero, and how he's trying to deal with that. It's a nice mesh of the classic Captain Atom with Dr. Manhattan, in a way that doesn't feel entirely derivative or repetitive.
    
15. Catwoman: If I wanted hentai, I'd buy hentai.
    
16. DC Universe Presents: This Deadman story probably didn't need as many issues as it's taking up, but it's a fun ride. I'm interested in seeing the Challengers of the Unknown in a couple of months, but I'd really like to see this series become less of a TPB farm and more of an anthology title. Why doesn't this book have a second feature?
    
17. Deathstroke: I've heard surprisingly good things about this title, but it just doesn't appeal to me.
    
18. Demon Knights: Easily the better of Paul Cornell's two books, and one of the most entertaining titles of the New 52. If it feels like any previous title, it's Secret Six, with a quirky mix of characters and over-the-top threats and settings. I hope it goes forever.
    
19. Detective Comics: I know some people who like this, but everything I've heard suggests that I picked the Batman titles that are right for me.
    
20. Flash: This book is amazing, and would be even if only because the last Flash title was so underwhelming. Manapul and Buccellato are not just turning in the best Flash book in years, but they're doing it by taking a fresh approach to the character's powers, and playing with the medium in ways that you usually only expect from a J.H. Williams III. It's a beautiful, excellent title, and possibly the biggest turnaround from pre- to post-Flashpoint.
    
21. Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E.: There's a nice Morrisonian feel to this book, with crazy concepts stuck on top of crazy concepts, and given only enough explanation to get you through the action. I love the pacing and characters, and I can't wait to see the big O.M.A.C. crossover.
    
22. Fury of Firestorm: I'm on the fence about this book, and I suspect that I'll be dropping it when Gail Simone does. I like the characters well enough, even if the tension between Ronnie and Jason is kind of grating by this point, but there's just not enough meat on the bones.
    
23. Green Lantern: Who would have thought a buddy-cop book starring Sinestro and Hal Jordan would be so enjoyable? It's not my favorite title, by any stretch, but it's a good-looking and entertaining superhero book, and I think the change of status quo has really refreshed Johns' writing.
    
24. Green Lantern Corps: Another one I'm kind of on the fence about; it seems like all the Johnsian dismemberment and over-the-top violence has been shunted to this title. I'll keep reading through the beginning of the next arc, I think, but I'm not sure after that.
    
25. Green Lantern: New Guardians: Dropped after the first issue. There just wasn't enough there for me.
    
26. Grifter: Dropped after that disappointing and dull first issue.
    
27. Hawk & Dove: Yeah, right. No remorse for not picking up this one.
    
28. Huntress: This book feels like one that's been sitting in a drawer somewhere, waiting to be published. I like Levitz, I like Huntress, and I like that this story is more globe-trotting action-thriller than superhero book. It's "The Bourne Supremacy" or "Quantum of Solace" with tights and crossbows, and that's just fine with me.
    
29. I, Vampire: I wasn't planning on checking this one out, but I liked Fialkov's "Superman/Batman" story, so I gave it a shot. It's the kind of book that I might revisit in trade, but not something I felt like sticking with on a month-to-month basis. The most recent cover, with Constantine as a vampire-hunter, was intriguing enough that I'll almost certainly pick up that first volume.
    
30. Justice League: Hoo boy, Justice League. It's easily both Geoff Johns' weakest and most uneven title. I've described it as a big dumb Michael Bay action movie, and that continuously seems to fit, down to the unnecessarily complicated character designs. Seriously, Darkseid could probably have done with an update to the skirt, but that redesign is a lesson in excess. This book is problematic on several levels, and is a pretty good example of why, for instance, the original Justice League of America introduction wasn't an origin story. This would be better as a prequel, and it'd be way better if it didn't feel the need to form the League (and Cyborg) in the middle of the largest possible threat. Where do they go from here? Fighting the Key?
    
    But the biggest problem is consistently the one-note characterization. I understand that ensemble books sometimes need those shortcuts and shorthand methods of developing character, but the problem is that this is the flagship title, literally the book that was meant to introduce us to these characters. So far, the characters with any depth at all, surprise surprise, are the ones whose solo titles Geoff Johns is writing (or has recently written, in the case of Flash). That, plus the book's weird place between eras of the New 52, makes this a frustrating book. Hopefully it might get better? But I kind of doubt it.
    
31. Justice League Dark: Didn't pick it up, despite some good press.
    
32. Justice League International: Yeah, I'm pretty well done with this book when the first arc is over. It's way, way too uneven in terms of tone, plot, and characterization.
    
33. Legion Lost: Dropped after that jam-packed (and not in a good way) first issue.
    
34. Legion of Super-Heroes: I'm lukewarm on this title. I guess when it comes to the Legion, I really prefer a teenage version, and I don't feel like I know enough about the Legion Academy kids to really care about them. There's nothing really wrong with this book, though it often feels pretty densely-packed, but there's nothing that really stands out enough for me to want to keep buying it either.
    
35. Legion: Secret Origin: I'm not a fan of the behind-the-scenes machinations that are framing this series, but it scratches my teenage Legion itch. The one thing I don't understand is whether or not this is a limited series. The other minis that DC's publishing all have "# of #" on the cover, but Secret Origin doesn't.
    
36. Men of War: I still really want to like this comic, but every issue feels like some key pages fell out. The last page of the main story of the first two issues basically negated everything that happened up 'til that point, and issue #3 referenced none of it. I'm all for comics not holding the reader's hand and trusting in their reading comprehension abilities. But there's a difference between that and making no damn sense. I understood "Final Crisis," I didn't understand "Men of War." I dropped it, but there's a chance--based on a stronger #4--that I may pick it up again, especially with the changing creative team.
    
37. Mister Terrific: Probably the title that most disappointed me. I really wanted to like the science genius hero title, but the bad science and bad stereotypes were just too much for me to handle.
    
38. Nightwing: Not a book that I anticipated buying, but one that I'm pretty happy with. Higgins was largely unknown to me at the beginning of this, and I wasn't a fan of Barrows' art, but I think the only things I've disliked about Nightwing are the red in his costume, the "adopted at 16" origin, and the '90s-style villain Saiko. The actual plot and art? I'm in for a while, at least.
    
39. O.M.A.C.: I keep saying this, but this is totally the most surprising book of the New 52. Sure, Keith Giffen is usually good for good comics, but Dan Didio's not known for being a great writer. So surprisingly enough, O.M.A.C. turns out to be among the best titles of the New 52 in terms of all-out crazy fun, and it's the best Kirby-esque comic I've read since Tom Grummett did Kamandi with Superboy. I wouldn't mind this book going weekly.
    
40. Penguin: Pain and Prejudice: The Penguin is not my favorite Bat-villain, and I can't say I was super-familiar with this creative team going into the title, but I've been on a big Batman kick, and I thought I'd give it a chance. I haven't had any problems with this book, and I like the idea of the Cobblepots as one of the major cornerstones of Gotham, but it doesn't really stand out either.
    
41. The Ray: That first issue had a lot of infodump narration, but it was pretty fun, and it's nice to see a book whose entire core cast is all people of color. It's also nice to see a character whose power set is kind of reminiscent of Superman Blue. I'm interested in seeing where this title's going.
    
42. Red Hood & the Outlaws: DC cares so little about this book that they can't even remember the title. Don't see why I should care either. Avoided.
    
43. Red Lanterns: Of the rainbow corps introduced over the last few years, I find the Red Lanterns the least interesting. I haven't heard a word about this title since issue #1 came out, and that suggests that it's not really anything to crow about.
    
44. Resurrection Man: I feel like this series is moving a little too slowly, but I'm sticking with it. The creative team and premise is too promising not to. And I like the crazy cosmic aspect as well.
    
45. Savage Hawkman: How's this one? I never bothered.
    
46. The Shade: Cully Hamner is one of the best artists in the field, and this is Robinson returning to characters he wrote quite well. I wish this series made sense in light of the New 52, but that's a small price to pay for great globetrotting adventures with the immortal Shade.
    
47. Static Shock: Another book I wanted to like, but despite the Batman Beyond feel and the Milestone connection, it just wasn't doing anything for me. McDaniel's art wasn't helping that, and the fact that Rozum's leaving doesn't fill me with confidence for the future of the title.
    
48. Stormwatch: This book has never felt like it found its footing, and while it was filled to brimming with crazy ideas, it was equally filled with characters who spent most of the time explaining who they were and how their powers worked, like a Chris Claremont book. I'm looking forward to the creative team, and I hope Paul Cornell's next project is a little more stable.
    
49. Suicide Squad: By all accounts, this book is an exercise in scraping deeper into the barrel with each issue. Could it be a meta-plot to cause readers to commit suicide? Only time will tell.
    
50. Superboy: I'm kind of tired of the "I have to learn why I should be a hero" plot, and it sucks that the New 52 has made all the Superman Family characters into fish-out-of-water types. If it's got an S-shield on it, though, chances are I'm buying it, and there's nothing actually wrong with the writing or the gorgeous art here. I just want to see the Superman Family go in some new directions.
    
51. Supergirl: I'm enjoying Supergirl a lot more than Superboy, if only because this feels like the introduction the character should have gotten under Loeb and Turner. I guess that's the curse of being such a Super-fan...I can't look at things outside of the context of the last twenty-odd years of Superman family stories. Where Superboy already went through this kind of development and whatnot, Supergirl spent years without a consistent characterization, background, or creative team. This is a much more reasonable take.
    
    One thing I do like is how they're differentiating the powers of the Superman family, which should be good for making them distinct characters in the future.
    
52. Superman: I'm sad to see Pérez going, especially since I've generally enjoyed the old-school feel of this book. Giffen and Jurgens will probably keep that sort of thing up, and I hope Giffen's presence means we'll get a little higher quality than Jurgens' usual workmanlike scripting. Jurgens isn't bad by any means, but he's rarely great on his own. Giffen has a midas touch, though, and I'm excited to see that play out.
    
    That being said, I kind of wish we'd get a smart--perhaps even super-smart--Superman. He's not a lout or anything in this book currently, but he's also not the super sci-fi genius I'd kind of like to see after 30 years of a more down-to-Earth version.
    
53. Swamp Thing: I've been really enjoying this take on Swamp Thing, and I kind of hope we see the protagonist keeping his Alec Holland form...at least as an option. I don't know, I like that there's this tension and reluctance in him to become the monster again, and I'd like to see it play out like something other than a Ben Grimm story. That said, the overall mythology of the Rot and the Arcanes is fantastic, and makes for some great body horror.
    
54. Teen Titans: One Lobdell too many. I just have no interest in this book at all, and even the crossovering with Superboy isn't really making me reconsider.
    
55. Voodoo: I think I might just have to start avoiding books where the solicits and descriptions say "sexy" more than any other adjective. If I were buying periodicals based on sexiness, I wouldn't be shopping at a comic store. Dropped.
    
56. Wonder Woman: Quite enjoyable, even if I'm not thrilled with the change of Diana's parentage--or the recent "all the Amazons are gone again" cliffhanger. But this is the best take on the Olympian gods since Rucka left, and I'm excited to see where it's all going.
    

Overall, it's been pretty good. I'm buying more DC titles than I was before, and I'm pretty excited about most of the ones I'm buying. I'm also buying more Marvel books than ever, which generally means I spend way too much money on comics--and that may come to a breaking point in 2012 sometime. I'm neither made of money nor longbox space. But right now it's a pretty cool time to be reading good comics. Some things I'm anticipating for the New 52 in 2012 and beyond:

• New old characters: There are a lot of MIA characters in the New 52 DCU, and I suspect that, in addition to the Atom and JSA, 2012 will bring us the Fifth World, maybe a new Doom Patrol, WildC.A.T.s, and of course some variety of others. I'd really like to see a book with Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown, but who knows about that.
  
• Retcons: There are some things that just cannot hold. I suspect that the first non-Palmiotti-and-Gray team to get their hands on The Ray will forget about his constant nudity. The iconic image (and thematic resonance) of a young Robin will eventually win out over the silliness that Bruce adopted Dick as an older teenager. In fact, the whole "five year history" thing will be expanded before you know it--if it hasn't already. We've already seen how well the absolutes and edicts of a line-wide reboot hold, and when it comes to the things that people really recognize and enjoy, the momentum of history will bowl right over arbitrary ultimatums.
  
• Renumbering: I still fully expect to see Detective Comics #900 in early 2013.
  
• Superman Family: The new Baltazar and Franco title focusing on the Superman crew? Count me in. I hope there's a Lois Lane feature!
  

And that's it for now. See you in 2012!

Open the Fortress

Close the Fortress

In other news, water = wet, Pope = Catholic

I hate linking this, but here you go. Short story: J. Michael Straczynski posted a graph that shows the declining sales of "Amazing Spider-Man," implying that it was due to his departure and (by extension) the current creative team/direction failing to live up to his prodigious skill.

Naturally, the people who actually work on the comics--namely, Steve Wacker--responded in kind. Now, maybe it's just goodwill from "52," or maybe it's that I'm enjoying the current Amazing Spider-Man series a lot more than I enjoyed JMS's after a couple of arcs, but I'm willing to take Wacker at his word that the graph is, at best, misleading. After all, the economy's in a pretty nasty downturn since JMS left the title back in 2007 or so, and I imagine you could find a similar graph for most of the industry.

But I did a little quick Googling, and while it looks like JMS's Amazing sure was a pretty good seller (especially around the end, with the One More Day hype), even a partial picture of the sales show a more complicated picture, with sales of ASM just a year earlier in the 80,000 range--only a fairly small amount higher than where the graph puts Slott's ASM now. Taking into account the economic downturn--and the availability of digital comics (whose sales don't appear to be reflected in the graph), and the switch to a bimonthly release schedule, that doesn't seem like a huge drop. Also, the graph shows no comparison with JMS's run at all, and strangely omits the first two issues of Slott's run for some reason, which add to its shadiness. Just sayin'.

And I wonder what a similar graph would look like for Superman or Wonder Woman. Especially if we casually omitted the fact that the rising New 52 tide raised all boats. Heck, I wonder if the inflated sales for One More Day were just casual observers tuning in to see the landmark event of J. Michael Straczynski actually finishing something. Just sayin'.

But I agree with Mark Waid (who also had the best comment): this was a dick move. I just don't know why anyone was surprised.

Bitter sniping from the guy who jabbed at the originality of DC in the pages of "Amazing Spider-Man," during a story where he created Molten Man II? Unprofessionalism from the guy whose history in comics is littered with chronic lateness and unfinished projects? Who could have foreseen it?

Just sayin'.

Open the Fortress

Close the Fortress

Mark Millar has some qualms with digital comics, and I can understand his sympathies for the retailers. It doesn't look, from the bit quoted on Comics Alliance, like he understands the effect that piracy has on our small industry (and those same retailers) or how opening up cheap, legal, and easily-accessible channels to obtaining comics is a way to mitigate some of those effects.

But that's largely beside the point, which is that Millar's concern seems to be wrapped in an advertisement for the next issue of Kick-Ass. As I said, I understand his sympathy for the retailer, but I also have sympathy for people who read comics and other creators. To that end, I corrected some issues with Millar's simple ad:

Much better.

Open the Fortress

Close the Fortress

My Arkham City Wishlist

As I think I've mentioned, I've been playing a lot of "Batman: Arkham City." I've completed the main story and all Batman's side missions, gathered all of the regular Riddler trophies, and I'm mostly done with Catwoman's stuff as well. I figure I'll probably make sure I get some medals in most of the Challenge maps before I go on to the New Game Plus content. I know there's still the costume DLC in December, last I heard, but I kind of hope that's not the last hurrah for new content. What with the holidays coming up, I figured I'd put together my dream list of Arkham City DLC, in hopes that maybe some of it will come true:

New Challenge Map Characters: Playing as Nightwing and Robin and Catwoman is great--often more entertaining than playing as Batman. It makes me think that it'd be great to have some other character options. Ideally, Batwoman would be first up, but I'd be happy with Batgirl too--the difficulty being that I can imagine the alt-costumes for the latter (Cass's, Babs's, Steph's, maybe animated), but can't imagine them sharing the same voice when they're such different characters, and when Barbara is Oracle in the "Arkham" timeline. Again, ideally it'd be Steph, with Spoiler and the Cass-suit as alt-costumes, but I'm not sure how likely that all is. I'd also like to see Joker return as a playable challenge map character (especially since, as an XBox owner, I never got to play his maps the last time around), and I wouldn't mind playing as Talia or Ra's. In any case, some new characters for the challenge maps seems like the most likely route for DLC.

New Challenge Maps: This seems like the second most likely route (barring "new costumes"). I haven't played through everything yet, but it seems like that Wayne Manor map is screaming for some more action. I'd love to see maps that featured other characters as well. Black Mask is great (and ought to be involved in more than just the one map that I've seen him in--in fact, another map/campaign featuring Black Mask would be a natural fit for a Batgirl download pack), but I'd love to have that battle alongside Bane as a challenge brawl--especially if it ended with having to beat the brute who broke the Bat.

New In-World Side Quests: I've loved all the missions and side quests and so forth that the game has already offered, so I'd love to see more of the same. There's still plenty of potential material to mine, with saving hostages, fighting street-level villains, and so forth. Just upgrading some of the thugs around town would be fine, but I wouldn't mind the occasional encounter with the League of Assassins outside of Wonder City, or Clayface offshoots, or Titan goons, or Bane or Killer Croc or Poison Ivy. Heck, I'd even be interested in chasing down Zsasz or...ugh, Hush again. When you swap characters, Batman says there's still work to be done in Arkham City--let's see some of it.

And, of course, my offer of lots of dollars still stands for some Music Meister DLC.

DLC Characters Playable in Free-Roam Mode: This would be my holy grail, and sadly probably won't happen until the inevitable third game in the series. But man, I'd love to zip across the city as Nightwing or Robin, knocking heads with thugs and so forth. Every time I try to imagine that this would be difficult, though, I return to the fact that Catwoman gets by pretty well for not being able to access all the same places that Batman can, and the Predator maps seem to suggest that they could move around pretty easily on their own. I don't think this is likely, but boy would it be nice.

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Top 1 Wrongest Wrongs in Wrongville

I was perusing Newsarama today, as I am wont to do, and took a look at their list of the "10 Greatest Batman Villains of All Time!" Now, Batman's got a great rogues gallery--quite possibly the best in comics (and if not, only second to Spider-Man's), so such a list should be beyond easy. In no particular order, Joker (of course), Two-Face, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Hugo Strange, Riddler, Ra's al Ghul, Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, organized crime (e.g., the Falcones, the Maronis, Rupert Thorne). Honorable Mentions: Penguin, Harley Quinn, Clayface, Joe Chill, Darkseid.

I didn't read past number 10. What's a clear indicator that your top ten list of Batman villains is utterly wrong and full of it?

That'll do it.

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