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Guess what everybody?! It’s 2005! And you know what that means don’t you?

That’s right…the Earth only has 5 more years. Then…well, I don’t want to spoil anything for you. Suffice to say, things will get very interesting, then very hot, and then…very quiet.

But we need not concern ourselves with such things now. Especially not with there is comics news to discuss.

Kitson: Lord of the Future

Mention the words “Legion of Super-Heroes” to just about any fan and you’re sure to get an opinion on DC Comics’ premiere teen team. Whether the fan is a diehard Legionnaire or merely intimidated by the sheer cast size, there’s no denying that the Legion is a tremendous force in the superhero world. Creators from Jeph Loeb to Jim Lee to Phil Jimenez all want to work with the team; the book was one of DC’s best sellers throughout the Eighties and the fanbase remains one of the most vocal & dedicated. The Legion will be getting a fresh start on December 29th, as writer Mark Waid and artist Barry Kitson (whose previous collaborations on “JLA: Year One” and “Empire” earned much acclaim) promise to take the team to new heights. Having spoken with Waid recently, CBR News caught up with Kitson to discuss the highlights of this series and exactly how he became attached to the book.

Take the Delorean and travel back to the future at Comic Book Resources

The real treat of this piece is all the sketch work that Kitson provided to go along with it. The interview itself is quite “eh”, but the art is definitely worth a look.

Kitson: Also Master of the Future

The Legion of Superheroes has been through the wringer since the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Zero Hour, and the Final Night. They’ve been Lost, rebooted, and altered. We’ve seen an older Legion, a younger Legion, and an all-new Legion. Now, just a few years since the latest version of the Legion was recreated, we’re getting another brand-spanking-new Legion from the Empire team of Mark Waid, a writer many think helped redefine the Legion; and Barry Kitson, an artist who is no stranger to working on team comics. Both huge Legion fans, Kitson told us how he came to be a member of this team, how he earned his flight ring, and provided us with a peek inside his sketchbook to see the character designs.

Hope in the phone booth and dial up the 30th Century at The Pulse

So the funny thing is this. I write a weekly column about news from the DCU and how I feel about it. I read articles, talkbacks, etc. All week, every week. And I had no idea that anyone had any issue with Star Boy being black. I didn’t read that anywhere, hear anyone complain about it, or even see anything anywhere where someone hinted at having a problem with it. Yet, both these interviews make much hay out of it. How the heck did I miss the controversy?

DC Has Quietly for Two

Fan-favorite artist Frank Quitely (THE SANDMAN: ENDLESS NIGHTS, New X-Men) has signed a two-year exclusive contract with DC Comics. Following his spectacular work with writer Grant Morrison on the current VERTIGO miniseries WE3, Quitely will team up with Morrison again in 2005 for the 12-issue maxiseries ALL STAR: SUPERMAN.

If that headline, the most boring ever, does not get you to click this link then…well, I guess I would not be particularly surprised. But if I asked you to please go to The Pulse and you didn’t? That, that would make you pretty darn rude.

Hmm…Quitely is not known for speed so DC already essentially had him exclusive for the duration of his All Stars run. This way, however, he gets some health insurance in the deal. That’s cool.

When Retailers Chat!

With the announcement of this summer’s debut of the DC All-Stars line, THE PULSE thought it would be interesting to ask a variety of retailers what each thinks about the upcoming comic series. Two All-Star books have been announced so far: All-Star Superman written by Grant Morrison with art by Frank Quitely and All-Star Batman and Robin which will feature art by Jim Lee, but whose writer at this point in time is unknown.

Sit in on the roundtable (not The Roundtable, silly) at The Pulse

I guess I expected more from this article. A little something to sink my teeth in. Sadly, (for the purposes of writing a response) the retailers are fairly genial and quite excited about the project. I think, as several of them pointed out, the Ultimate line did much to ease fears about this sort of thing so there is less outrage this time around.

Now if I could just find out who will write the Batman title…

Ferry and Strange: Saving the Worlds

Since he began drawing comics, Pascal Ferry has worked on some of comics most recognizable superheroes. When his run on Superman ended and Editor Eddie Berganza asked Ferry what he wanted to do next, one character in the DC stable came to mind: Adam Strange. The eight-part Andy Diggle scripted series reaches its halfway point this week as issue # 4 hits stores. Ferry told us he views Adam Strange as “a real hero – a man that doesn’t need superpowers to be special.”

See Ferry “being himself” all over the pages of Adam Strange at The Pulse

Marz Autopsies “Homecoming”

It was what set the stage for Rebirth, and yet it was also something more. The recent “Homecoming” story, which closed out the second volume of Green Lantern from DC gave Ron Marz, who originally brought Kyle Rayner, who assumed the mantle of Green Lantern, into the world, a chance to close Kyle’s story – in a fashion.

All told, it was a pretty rare chance for a writer in the realm of work-for-hire, that is, a chance to tell an effective ending chapter of a character who they helped bring into the world – that is, Marz got the chance to come back and close the circle. Not to kill Kyle, but to complete the circle, to put him back in similar circumstances to when he first become a hero, and show how he’d changed over the years.

With “Homecoming” a few months completed, we caught up with Marz to talk about the high points and low, as well as all the others in between in the story for a Post Mortem.

Newsarama

I love these Post Mortems. They’ve only done it a few times at Newsarama, but I’d love to see one a week. Heck, I’d settle for one a month. With the industry always driving towards the “next” thing, I like the idea of a creator sitting down and discussing the “just passed” thing.

This one is particularly neat because it explains a lot of what I found to be holes in the “Homecoming” arc. The abruptness of a lot of the events, be it Jen’s quick shacking up routine or Kyle’s decision to cut out on Earth (without even checking to confirm whether or not Force was telling the truth about his mom), seems to owe a lot to editorial interests. Marz never comes out and says it, but those scenes read as though his heart was, perhaps, not as into it as it was with other portions of the book. If they were parameters given to him, then the change in tone makes a lot of sense. I also enjoyed that Marz’s initial proposal was a bit larger in the scope of character it effected, but that had to be nixed for the similarities it had with Reborn. Great minds and all that, right?

What really blows my mind is that, in the talkbacks, people are still debating Emerald Twilight. 10 years later! With Hal back and soon to take up the ring once more! If you’re HEAT, then the battle is won, why not enjoy that feeling? Hal is back, mission accomplished. It’s like if Bush, after he won the election, continued to question Kerry’s “flip flop-ness”. It isn’t that these individuals are being poor winners; that I could handle. It is as though they are unaware that they won; like, after 10 years of arguing, they cannot let go of that bone in their mouth. It’s very strange to me.

Okay…Now We’re Just Out of Control

Three weeks after arriving in stores on December 1, the GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH #1 Third Printing has sold out at DC Comics, with a new, fourth printing of the miniseries’ debut issue already on press. GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH #1 Fourth Printing SEP048399 is scheduled to arrive in stores on January 12.

Written by Geoff Johns with art by Ethan Van Sciver, this new Printing will feature a recolored version of Van Sciver’s cover art from the issue’s second printing.

To read more about printing the fourth, go to Silver Bullet Comic Books. Four times.

Just in case any of you are interested in what the fourth printing cover will look like, it will look like this, only reprinted.

Wow…four printings. What are the total numbers for this thing then? They must be massive. Bravo to DC, Johns, Van Sciver, and everybody else working on the title.

What if…It Wasn’t Jean?

EDITOR’S NOTE: The killer of DC Comics’ Identity Crisis has been revealed, and by now, all the reviewers and fans have reacted. Many have enjoyed the mini-series, and plenty of other readers have voiced their disappointment that the mystery ended with Jean Loring as the killer. They expected someone else: a more iconic DC super villain or a second-tier super-hero. Anyone except Jean Loring.

So in order to appease those readers, the SBC reviewers have put on their thinking caps and provided alternative Identity Crisis killers. We have replaced Jean Loring with a different culprit(s) and in the process, of course, re-wrote some of the events of the mini-series. Whether we’re trying to be playfully clever, provide a more logical solution, or pick a bone with a creator or two, we hope you enjoy our alternatives.

With all apologies to Marvel for stealing their gig, please check out Silver Bullet Comic Books.

These are all pretty good ideas, but we all know that they aren’t the real deal. The real deal goes down like this.

EXT: The Dibny Household.

A man in a trench coat approaches.

INT: Dibny house, Sue wrapping a present for Ralph birthday.

SOUND EFFECT: A knock at the door.

Sue opens the door, the man whips off his hat and trench coat and it is…Nightwing!

SUE
Oh goodness, you frightened me!

NIGHTWING
Oh, I’m sorry. All I meant to do was…kill you!

SUE
But that doesn’t make any sense at all.

NIGHTWING (shrugging)
Eh…

SUE
I mean, seriously. According to the script, I die from an aneurysm and then am badly burnt, post mortem. All without forced entry or signs that I let anyone into the house. So, you being the killer makes no sense.

NIGHTWING (thinking about it for a moment)
Hmm…well, people on the internet seem to think its possible.

SUE
Like who? Those guys at Comics Nexus?

NIGHTWING
Yeah, so what?!

SUE
Nothing…they’re cool I guess. I like their earlier stuff. You know, the stuff with 411.

NIGHTWING
Oh…you think they sold out?

SUE
No, it’s not that…well…yeah kind of.

NIGHTWING
Yeah, I can see that. But you gotta admit, that DC News and Views column is always fun.

SUE
Not really my thing. All that “irony”. I mean, who does he think he’s fooling?

NIGHTWING
Oh…(long pause) Anyways, we should probably get on with this.

SUE
Sure, sure. Come on in.

Nightwing kills her, almost kills Jean, sets up Boomerang and Drake, drive Jean mad with hypnosis to the point that she believes she is the killer. End of story.

And DC thinks it is so clever.

Or maybe it really did happen like issue #7 would have us believe.

But I doubt it.

OPINIONS ON THE WORK OF PEOPLE FAR MORE TALENTED THAN I

Very tiny week for me, DC-wise. With BATMAN#635 already reviewed on the site, that leaves me only two books to say anything about.

MONOLITH #11

A good story, but I am disappointed in the fill-in art. Besides a pretty good looking Monolith, the rest of the interiors fall decidedly flat for me. Besides, with only one issue left, it is a little bit off putting to think that the series will finish off its short run without Winslade or Coker on pencils. Oh well. Hopefully this guy will find an audience in the back issue bins and more people will get a chance to appreciate it.

TEEN TITANS #19

God, that was some good stuff. Dug this storyline from first chapter to last (that being this issue here). Best part of the book, bar none, was the coda. Trying desperately not to spoil it, let me just say that the future Superman (our Superboy) discusses his about to change present with an authority figure. And it is excellent. A great three issue arc well worth picking up if you love superhero stories or dark future stories or dark future superhero stories.

Wow…quick issue this week. Sorry if the enthusiasm was lacking on some of the entries. Perhaps it is a bit of post- New Year’s comedown. In any case, come back next week for me being back to my old self again. If that is your sort of thing. Apparently, it isn’t Sue’s. But whatever. Not like I care.

Un Gajje is. And you aren’t. So suck it.