Seriously, we’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s just get to it.
Links
Our DC Boards has thoughts on the next weekly, co-features and how awesome Detective Comics is going to be when it returns!
Blog-some (some awesome other reads)
BBWW: The Big Beautiful Wonder Woman Blog is a great way to spend some time.
Glyphs home of the fabled Glyph Awards.
Building Batman one of the best projects on the web!
Looking to the Stars is home to one of the best.
X-Ray Spex is Will Pfeifer’s blog!
That Bootleg Guy is a good read.
Low Resolution is always insightful.
Work in Progress is a great description.
Fish & Spaghetti random awesomeness.
Valeria D’Orazio a solid comic pro.
Project Rooftop is my latest passion!
Occasional Superheroine is something you should already know about.
What I Read Last Week
Hellblazer #253 – I’m really enjoying what Milligan is doing here. Camuncoli’s art looks fine and provides suitably creepy visuals.
X-Factor #41 – Good stuff. I’d say more but then PAD would kill me.
Air – This issue was a trip. It’s sort of off-putting so why they decided to make
this one the $1 issue is beyond me. Still it’s a good read as always.
Vigilante #4 – Wow, this book could easily get dropped. We’re in a recession and I’m not make of money.
G.I. Joe: Cobra #1 – Man, this was a good read. I’m completely sold on this title. I never liked Chuckles as Joe, but now I’m all about him. This looks to be like a Sleeper Cell or Donnie Brasco. I’m pumped.
House of Mystery #11 – I’m very interested in the tidbit that was dropped about Harry. This book is very intriguing and lives up to it’s name.
Justice League of America #31 – I liked this issue. I really felt it showcased the trouble that Dinah was having with being leader of the JLA. I liked the stuff with Hal and Ollie. I liked the stuff with Diana and Kal. I’m sure this would have been better if Robinson’s JL book was on the stands, but what can you do?
Superman #686 – I like how Robinson is expanding Metropolis beyond the Kryptonian. He’s doing a good job of making me care about this city and it’s other champions. Still part of me wishes he’d get his hand on Mr. Z. Y’know a mysterious, long lived dapper gent who dresses in black and sports a cane. How awesome would that be?
Wonder Woman #30 – I’m loving this book right now. The previous arc was sort of boring, but this one is on fire. The coming of Achilles is something pretty powerful.
G.I. Joe Origins #2 – An enjoyable read. I like seeing how Snake-Eyes, Scarlet and Duke joined with the team. Hama is done some fine work.
Unknown Soldier #6 – Man, what a tragic story. What a tragic character. This book is so good, but it’s so truthful that it’s hard to “enjoy” reading it. This book is pretty close to art.
Soak1313’s looking for some VD;
give me a history of vril dox so i may understand REBELS a bit more.
Well the first thing that you’ve got to understand is that Vril Dox is completely awesome!
Ok, here’s a bit of back-story first. Vril hails from the planet Colu. They’ve got green skin and are pretty keen on the intellect. But one day on Colu (just like in The Matrix and The Terminator) the computers took over. Thus the Computer Tyrants of Colu ran things.
So the brightest mind on Colu Vril Dox was working for the Computer Tyrants, he was their Coluan agent and they did their best give him what he wanted, within reason. Thus when he wanted an heir, they allowed him to create one. And that’s how Vril Dox II was engineered.
As part of the engineering process, Vril Dox II was aged to full adult as opposed to y’know growing and experiencing stuff. And sadly Vril Sr wasn’t really “Father of the Year” type material. He was definitely more Joe Jackson than Heathcliff Huxtable.
Fortunately a Durlan, who’d crashed on Colu and was held Vril Sr, bonded with Vril Dox II. They had good times. The Durlan taught Vril about things beyond Colu. Vril would perform experiments on the Durlan. Good times.
Eventually Vril Sr’s physical form was destroyed by the Computer Tyrants. His mind went over to Earth and took over a certain circus mentalist and became a thorn in a kryptonian’s side.
Without Vril Sr, the Computer Tyrants didn’t really have much use for Vril Dox II so when they heard about a group of other planets getting ready to invade Earth they came up with a plan. While they didn’t want to take part in the invasion, they didn’t want to irk the alliance. So they gave up Vril Dox as a sort of peace offering for their neutrality.
Vril allowed the Durlan to come with him, but as a result the Durlan was forever indebted to Dox.
Dox and the Durlan ended up in the Starlag set up for the prisoners of war from the Invasion. Those prisoners included Adam Strange, Garryn Bek, the Omega Men and Snapper Carr. The Invasion eventually failed and during the ensuing chaos Dox, Durlan and Bek hooked up with Stealth, Strata and Lyrissa Mallor.
After the Invasion, Dox took his new comrades back to Colu with him. He felt the need to overthrow the Computer Tyrants. They did indeed overthrow the Computer Tyrants of Colu, who then took up a humanoid form. Unfortunately the Coluans didn’t really know how to live without the supervision of the Computer Tyrants, and things devolved into chaos.
But Dox grew super bold. He decided to create a sort of intergalactic police force that could take the place of the (then) defunct Green Lantern Corps. He even recruited Lobo as a means to that end. While Bek, Mallor, Stealth and Strata weren’t really sold on joining up with Dox’s organization, they thought it was better than leaving Dox and Lobo unsupervised.
From there lots of stuff happened. Dox got killed. Dox became a father. Dox doubled crossed Lobo. Dox fell in love. Dox got ousted as leader of L.E.G.I.O.N. Dox got L.E.G.I.O.N. back.
And that’s pretty much were the current R.E.B.E.L.S. begins. Sort off. I mean Vril’s lost L.E.G.I.O.N. again, but we don’t know who, how, why or when. Yet.
Dhaise’s looking for a very specific alien;
Where is the Durlan?!
Oh the Durlan. How I loved that character.
Ok, so what happened is just when L.E.G.I.O.N. was just getting to situated the Durlan up and disappeared.
Now at this point we’ve got to go into the future for a few minutes. Specifically the Pre-Zero Hour 30th Century. Ah, I’ll let mathan from the past explain this;
Y’see in the 30th Century Ultra Boy ran afoul with Glorith, who possessed the abilities of the Time Trapper and specialized in time displacement. So rather than strike at Ultra Boy directly, she chose to bide her time and wait for the best time to strike.
She struck by sending the love of Ultra Boy’s life, Phantom Girl, to the past, making it look as though she’d been killed. However, the caveat of her moving someone through time was that she needed to bring someone from the 20th Century to the 30th in return to balance the scales. Thus the Durlan was sent to the early 30th Century and eventually took the identity of R.J. Brande.
Now it’s sort of unclear if this still really happened given the various reboots that the Legion has experienced. Since the Pre-Zero Hour Legion is essentially the Legion that’s taken center stage in the Legion of 3 Worlds, it’s possible that this is still in continuity. Except that all fo the stuff with Ultra Boy and Glorith happened during the Five Year Gap, which apparently didn’t happen to the current Legion. So it’s murky.
Babos’ is more of the general overview type of guy;
Can you explain the evolution of the “Dox team” concept from Invasion! to LEGION to REBELS and beyond?
Gee Babos, I was really trying to gloss over that stuff in Soak’s answer, but since you want me to get all explicit, I guess I’ll have to dig in.
Ok, before L.E.G.I.O.N. was L.E.G.I.O.N. they were just a ragtag bunch of freedom fighters who’d helped thwart an invasion of Earth. This team consisted of Strata, Garryn Bek, Lyrissa Mallor, Durlan, Stealth and Dox. As I mentioned Dox got them to go to Colu and help free the planet.
From there Dox wanted to fill the Green Lantern Corps void and actually created L.E.G.I.O.N. They set up their headquarters on Carin, Bek’s homeworld and a notorious drug planet. They cleaned it up and went into business.
Over time the core of the team shifted. When Stealth raped and killed Dox, Mallor stepped into command. When Mallor was killed her daughter Lydea joined the team. Lar Gand was duped into joining the team, while Bek’s Marij’n also became affiliated with the team. And eventually Bek and Marij’n became acquainted with the Emerald Eye.
L.E.G.I.O.N. grew and more recruits were added, including one who was actually sent to infiltrate the team and plot it’s demise. L.E.G.I.O.N. survived, but not unscathed. Captain Comet and Lady Quack also joined with the team.
Stealth gave birth to Dox’s son, Lyrl, who despite being a baby developed intelligence as a vast rate. So much so that Dox actually appointed his son to a powerful position within L.E.G.I.O.N. Unfortunately Lyrl was backstabbing and duplicitous and actually usurped L.E.G.I.O.N. from his father. Thus Dox and a handful of his trusted associates became R.E.B.E.L.S.
They were hunted by L.E.G.I.O.N. and the power mad Lyrl. Eventually Dox regained control of L.E.G.I.O.N. Dox stepped down and Captain Comet took control of L.E.G.I.O.N. Dox looked after Lyrl, who’d lost his incredible intellect.
Dox retook control of L.E.G.I.O.N. at some point because he was in charge during the Adam Strange mini a few years back. He was also in control during the recent Omega Men mini.
Sadly Dox has apparently lost control of L.E.G.I.O.N. yet again.
Dhaise is not above name calling;
Where is Dox’s naughty bastard kid?
I guess that Lyrl is technically a bastard because Dox and Stealth never married. But I mean, Lyrl’s conception was such a complex affair, I don’t know if name calling is really appropriate.
Anyway, after Dox made a deal with Neron to take down Lyrl, he was just a normal baby boy. Dox had retired to care for his kid and live a simple life.
But then Brainiac 5 came to get some help from Dox. Apparently Brainy had freed Vril Dox Sr also known as Brainiac. Brainiac had gone to Colu to cause trouble and Brainy needed Dox to help clean the mess up. So Dox went to ask his baby’s mom for a solid; he needed her to watch Lyrl while Dox fixed a fiasco his descendant made.
I mean really, who hasn’t been in that situation?
And I’m pretty sure that was the last time we saw Lyrl Dox, way back in the pages of Showcase ’96.
Hey, I wonder if that title will ever got a Showcase edition?
Glen is all about picking faces out of a crowd;
Who are all of those villains in the last panel of Secret Six #2?
Ok, I’ll start with the characters who should be the most recognizable. Cheshire, King Shark, Killer Frost, Bolt, Cheetah. Everyone should either know those characters or be able to discern them based on the names I’ve provided and their appearance.
From there you’ve Mister Terrible who’s cringing from Bolt’s lightning and who also happens to be a favorite of Tim Stevens. The large blog like character is Humpty Dumpty who made his debut in the Arkham Asylum mini a few years back.
Standing behind Killer Frost is Brutale, a Nightwing villain. Another Nightwing villain can be found front and center in the form of Lady Vic. The guy with goggles and a huge collar is Sting who messed with the Atom back in the day.
Amos Fortune is the guy with the Caesar cut behind Brutale. Black Spider is the guy in the purple mask with the orange spider on the forehead.
The colorful woman behind Humpty appears to be the all new Crazy Quilt. While I don’t know much about the all new Crazy Quilt here’s a rundown of the original recipe Crazy Quilt;
For those of you unfamiliar with Crazy Quilt here is a short run down. This guy, known only as Quilt, was an artist/crime boss who gave instructions to his men through his paintings. As often happens to crime bosses this guy was shot. Fortunately he didn’t die unfortunately he was blind. Desperate to regain his vision he underwent experimental surgery (is there any other kind of surgery in comics? Don’t they have any established surgeries that have been done numerous times, successfully?) Anyhow the surgery was a success, sort of. He could see, but only in vivid, bright colors. Well that sent him over the edge. He took the name Crazy Quilt and began a career of crime. He got locked up and escaped. He got right back into crime again, this time using a helmet to see. But he was no match for Robin who put him back in prison.
Everything was going well Quilt was doing his bid, then right before he was going to be released the prison doctor told him that his condition had worsened and that he would be blind again. Well Crazy wouldn’t hear that so he stole some new fangled technology (in this case a laser) and kidnapped a doctor to fix his peepers. Everything worked out perfectly, and he regained his vision. But then when he was fighting Batman and Robin (Dick Grayson), our favorite boy wonder reflected a laser in Crazy’s eyes, and poof, blindness again.
Well that sent him over a completely different ledge, so he got some guy to make a new helmet that hook up to the optic part of Crazy’s brain, in some wacky attempt to see again. It worked and he sought his revenge against Robin for blinding him. He kicked the snot out of the Jason Todd Robin (guys don’t be so hard on Crazy, he was blind. Even with my contacts in I have a hard time telling the difference between Dick and Jason.) But then Robin defeated him and sent him back to prison. Apparently Crazy’s helmet emitted light that could “bedazzle and befuddle” and had laser that could burn through “a bank vault door.” Nifty.
Man, that’s one Silver Age character that I’ll never tire of.
Jag thinks that the Titan franchise needs fixin’;
I’m a big old-school Teen Titan fan but find the current series as well as “Titans” to be sorely lacking. How would you fix the team? Personally, I think having two Titans series is dumb and the current Teen roster is lacking. It’d probably be best for the two to combine with a roster of young Titans (Blue Beetle, Wonder Girl, Kid Devil, STATIC!!!) with the old (Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven). I know that’s what they did years ago and I think it’s better that way. What do you think?
Y’see, I was never really a fan of the Teen Titans. The New Teen Titans was just before I got into comics and thus I never felt the need to get any of the subsequent books. In fact the only reason I’ve been reading the current book is because it’s the reason why Young Justice was cancelled.
In fact the only reason I read the previous version of Titans was because I was reading Nightwing and The Flash, so I wanted to see them even more. Yeah, so I’ve really got no affinity for the team.
The current Teen lineup is constantly being attacked on the web. I really don’t have that much of a beef with it. I love Blue Beetle and he interacts with Red Devil rather well. I can’t wait for Static so show up. I like Wonder Girl.
I think that problem with the current Teen Titans book is that there are far too many “less than established” characters. It was great when you had Superboy, Kid Flash, Robin and Wonder Girl on the book because three of the four had long running solo titles and they were teammates in Young Justice.
But Red Devil was plucked from obscurity to be in the title. Static hasn’t appeared anywhere in over a decade. Miss Martian and Bombshell are new creations and even Blue Beetle’s book only lasted three years. They’re all pretty much unknown quantities.
You need a mix of known and unknown. Wonder Girl is the most known and she’s only had a solo mini.
To fix things I’d bring Speedy back. She’s a relatively known quantity and she’d spice things up a bit. Plus she’ll add things in the way of “non powered vigilante.” I’m also tempted to include Stargirl or Jakeem Thunder, but I won’t.
I’d get rid of Bombshell but I’d keep Miss Martian. I’d also add Son of Vulcan. He’s got ties to both Miss Martian and Wonder Girl so it would be interesting. Plus he’s a legacy hero who’d bond with Blue Beetle.
So I’d have Kid Devil, Miss Martian, Son of Vulcan, Wonder Girl, Blue Beetle, Static and Speedy. And in a supervisory role I’d have Tempest looking over things.
As far as Titans, I’d ditch the whole “New Teen Titans” reunion vibe for the book. It didn’t work last time around I don’t think it’ll work this time.
For my Titans lineup I’d have Supergirl, Connor Hawke, Aquagirl, Coldcast, the All-New Atom, Grace and Thunder. My notion of the team would be characters who aren’t really ready for Leagues or Societies. They aren’t cool enough with Batman to be part of Outsiders. So they band together. Actually Grace and Thunder get the team together because they’re bitter about how the Outsiders ended.
And that’s how I’d fix the franchises.
Kyle Jordan likes to reopen old wounds;
A Young Justice related question. I just read the Secret Files and orginis issue and was wondering what happened to Claire and Casey, the two young girls that choose to stay behind at DEO and continue training. Did they ever appear in the DCU again or were they just forgotten about?
Wait you mean Casey Kim who could create mental illusions and Claire who could open portals to nearby places?
No, they never returned.
Man, I wish you’d have brought them up to me before I answered the question about fixing the Titans/Teen Titans. I totally would have included them in my remaking of those teams.
Ah, it’s probably better that I don’t pluck them from obscurity.
Toast has an insatiable appetite;
I just finished watching the animated Wonder Woman DVD and Justice League: The New Frontier.
I’ve gotta know.. are there other movies like this out there? I know Marvel has a few… but I haven’t really seen too many other than the few Batman films out there.
I really like the style they presented WW and JF:TNF in. They kind of geared it up for adults.. so now I don’t feel near as bad watching them.
I’m pretty sure that at this point the only other DC movies from that line are Batman Gotham Knight and The Death of Superman. I’ve heard that Gotham Knight is pretty strong, while Death of Superman left some wanting more.
Last I heard there was a Teen Titans animated flick that was based on The Judas Contract, so that sounds promising. I think that Kingdom Come was also a potential movie, but that may have been my imagination.
Personally I’d like to see some of the Authority stories (from Vol 1) be made into animated flicks, particularly the Millar/Quietly era. I think that’d really shake things up a bit.
And of course who wouldn’t love a Wildcats 3.0 animated movie?
Toast is back for more, I wasn’t kidding about the “insatiable” part;
How about comics. Are there any good DC comics (other than Watchmen please) that are geared for a more adult audience?
I guess I should point you in the direction of DC’s official site set up to answer this very question. It’s got some good suggestions, however I’ve got a few additional suggestions too.
First up I’d suggest Starman. It’s one of my favorite titles of all time. I’ve gushed about it on numerous occasions. It’s an epic tale of a reluctant hero who takes up a legacy. It’s really good stuff and 100% accessible, plus it’s getting the omnibus treatment as we speak.
Wildcats 3.0 is unlike any other superhero comic you’ve ever read. It’s a fascinating read that makes you lament that it didn’t last longer. Plus it’s pretty accessible to someone who’s never read Wildcats stuff before.
DC’s Vertigo imprint has plenty of “adult” books, but nothing in the way of superheroes. But if you’re interested I’d suggest 100 Bullets, which is just about to wrap things up (but it’s readily available in trades), Scalped and Unknown Soldier. Those last two are stark and graphic, but compelling. 100 Bullets is just a great crime noir comic.
Vertigo was also home to another one of my all time faves; Human Target. That book is just perfection. I can’t recommend it enough.
And that brings us to the end of yet another edition.
Next time we may cover how Krypton went “boom”, Barry Allen’s return and possibly some Gotham Central casting. Maybe.
Plus if you drop me a question I’ll answer it.
Here’s my question to you; What do you think about Wednesdays Comics, DC’s new weekly.
“We know a place where no planes go. We know a place where no ships go.”
