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Tim, please tell me that you’re watching Mad Men on AMC? It’s like the best thing on television right now.

You’re damn right it is!

Although Damages is pretty darn good too. If not for the lead woman’s (read: not Glenn Close, the other one) total lack of depth it might be this summer’s champ.

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Our DCU Boards is full of buzz about SDCC announcements!

Tim, I know you’ve got links for us this week!

Oh, you do, do you?

Wow…that’s a lot of pressure. Umm…jeez….let me think here.

If you don’t Tim, we can just—

I SAID LET ME THINK!!

How about this? The Comic Book Art Gallery home to many of the pics you see in this very column.

What I Read Last Week

Green Arrow Year One #2 – Seriously Diggle and Jock make a great team. Jock’s art is really blowing me away on this book. I really dug seeing Ollie get his life in order and seeing his instincts take over. Good stuff, really.

It looks great and I appreciate Diggle’s writing, but nothing here has convinced me we needed this story. There’s no new insight, no new twist. Remember when Year One stories spawned Batman: Year One and Superman: Man of Steel? Those days appear to be done.

Wonder Woman #11 – When is Gail taking over? I can’t take much more of this.

Black Panther #29 – While I’m all zombified out, I’m loving Portela’s art. Seriously it’s the best thing about this book.

JSA Classified #28 – I really enjoyed this issue. I didn’t think it was too heavy-handed. I thought that Nicieza did a good job of getting in Jakeem’s head and capturing the stubbornness of a kid. And I really enjoyed Uy’s art style. It grew on throughout the issue.

A nice Jakeem focal issue, especially given how little spotlight he’s gotten in the past four plus years (probably even more) since his breakout role in Stealing Thunder.

Blue Beetle #17 – Does it get any better than this book? I loved Jamie’s conscience. I liked the millionaire reveal. I loved Jamie tried to play the game and still had to break his word. There was nothing about this issue that I didn’t love. Rogers and Albuquerque are magic together.

It seemed odd that that particular DC millionaire would own oil rigs, but otherwise I 100% agree. Mathan and I both love this title. So that means it must be about to get cancelled.

Deathblow #6 – The picture gets a bit clearer. The issue wasn’t packed of action, but it had a killer cliffhanger. That’s some creepy stuff right there.

Teen Titans #49 – Seriously, this book might as well be called just “Titans” for the diminished quality lately. This book better get better because I’m looking more forward to Titans East than the next issue of this book.

Changing of the guard next issue, guest appearance (or more?) by Blue Beetle. Keep hope alive Mathan.

On a side note, how cool is it that Son of Vulcan is part of Titans East? YAY!

Batman #666 – I really enjoyed this one-off. It was Morrison’s imagination at its best. Loved Damian’s origin. I equally loved the scenes in his cave. And that last line of dialogue is pure greatness.

No resolution, but still a good issue. I was hoping for a bit more of a “and this is what this opening arc has been all about” but, hey, I can live with ambiguity.

I do appreciate how Batman’s (Bruce Wayne edition) prophetic nightmare was not really derailed though. If you recall, he mentions a Batman who sold his soul to the devil and Gotham ended up destroyed because of it. Well, the last Batman standing is the one who sold his soul, so…

All-Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder #6 – I have no idea what Frank Miller is doing or where he’s going, but I’m enjoying every minute of it. This really is almost like All-Star Superman, in that it’s such a pure story that it’s really enjoyable. Kudos to Miller and Lee for not being crushed under the pressure of this title.

Countdown #40 – As usual the Rogue stuff was the best part, followed closely by Mary Marvel and then Holly. But the Evolution of Hunger is really growing on me.

Fallen Angel #17 – I’m glad that this story is actually taking place as opposed to an imaginary team up. Lee was hilarious this issue. And Shi’s growing on me.

Supergirl & the Legion of Superheroes #32 – Really strong issue. Loved Calero’s art. Loved the introduction of Validus. I really loved the interaction between Sun Boy, Mekt and Star Boy. And the glimpse into Mekt’s past. Actually I just enjoyed this issue all the way around.

Green Lantern Corps #14 – Great portrayal of Sinestro. I didn’t really care for Enkafos, who’s clearly Salaak’s sinister counterpart. The introduction of Sodam Yat slayed me completely! But easily the best thing about this issue was Tim’s breakdown of it for Wizard. Great job!

Thank you very much. I’m just happy to serve the fans.

I get the feeling Neil has some bias towards a particular two year period in comics

What comics from late 1998 to 2000 were good?

Neil, c’mon man. We’ve got limited space in this column and you want me to cover, lets say around 29 months worth of comic books?

That’s a ton of work, but let’s get to it.

I’m starting in July of 1998. I think that’s late enough. I mean the year is more than half over, right?

What I Read Nine Years Ago

Aquaman #46 – It’s Peter David’s last issue. The end of an era.

Chase #6 – This book is almost half done. Scoop it up and savor it.

If only we knew then what we know now…maybe we could’ve saved it.

Chronos #5 – This book will barely make it to next year. Enjoy it while it lasts.

See Chase #6 above.

Creeper #8 – Surprise this book won’t see the New Year. But it’s a solid read.

The Flash #139 – Remember when Mark Millar wrote for DC? The Black Flash makes his debut, while Mark Waid is on vacation.

LOVE THE BLACK FLASH! WHEEE!

Green Lantern #100 – The return of Hal Jordan. The first time!

Was this Emerald Knights? I dug that story.

Impulse #39 – Remember when Bart was alive, starring in his own book, which was readable, and was a likable character? Good times.

Nightwing #22 – Remember when Nightwing’s title was enjoyable? Remember Tad?

I do remember Tad. He was fun, in a scary, twisted way.

So, like I said, fun.

Starman #44 – True story; this was the first new issue of the title that I picked up. It was right after I picked up #43 and the Secret Files and Origins.

Resurrection Man #15 – Oh Mitch! DnA working for DC. Butch Guice on a cool book. Those were the days.

Another title I mourn for.

Supergirl #23 – Peter David and Leonard Kirk working for DC on the same book? A Supergirl that Tim didn’t loathe? Bittersweet memories.

I can hardly believe it ever existed.

Now for the most part all of those books stayed pretty good, except for Aquaman where #47 began a steady decline in quality. From this point on, I’m only pointing out books ending and books debuting, and the occasional event or one-shot.

September 1998Young Justice makes it debut. It’s a great book that apparently Dan Didio hates.

I didn’t much like it either in the beginning and never just the cult that it built. Maybe someday, when DC gets a sensible trade policy, I’ll give it another shot.

October 1998Martian Manhunter makes his solo comic debut. It’s a critically acclaimed book that will introduce us to the Justice Experience.

Another one I wanted to like, but just…couldn’t.

Also, I didn’t realize the Justice Experience popped up here first.

November 1998 – DC One Million is the event of the month, where every DCU title is #1,000,000. The glory of the crossover overshadows the demise of Chase and Creeper both of which publish their last issue this month.

I can remember reading portions of this in a hospital bed, with an IV of morphine in my arm, because a car accident had left me with a fractured hip. Thank you comics for distracting me from the blinding pain. (Seriously, how do people get hooked on morphine? It did nothing for the pain, at all.)

December 1998JLA/Titans begins. It’s a fanboy dream as both teams fight and eventually team up to battle a menace. It also launches a new book about former sidekicks and teen heroes.

In retrospect, not nearly as good as I was hoping for.

January 1999Birds of Prey debuts as an ongoing. Despite the glory that some claim it contains, I don’t read it.

BOOO!

February 1999Legends of the DCU has a Crisis on Infinite Earths Special which pretty much functions as Crisis on Infinite Earths #4.5. It features an Earth where 90% of the heroes aren’t white. Oh and Chronos ends this month too.

March 1999Doctor Mid-Nite #1 comes out and it rocks. It’s a great mini and a prestige that is worth the price. Titans #1 also comes out and it’s good, for awhile.

Love that miniseries. And Titans…well, let’s not dwell, shall we.

April 1999Human Target makes it’s Vertigo debut as a mini. Hourman #1 comes out. Whatever happened to Tom Peyer anyway? Oh and Bart Saves the Universe appears as a one-shot and furthers the notion that Extant hates the JSA. Whatever happened to Extant anyway? (I’m joking on that one.)

God, Hourman is more than 8 years old? Wow…that came out two months before I graduated high school. Which means I’m old too. Dandy.

May 1999Anarky finally gets his solo title and it’s a great read. JSA Returns is the event of the month which features one-shots set in the Golden Age. It equally rocked.

July 1999Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E. debuts. It’s the beginning of Geoff Johns stranglehold on the DCU. A. Bizarro a largely forgotten mini also debuts. I enjoyed it, so I’m pointing it out.

Completely missed Stars and STRIPE when it came out. Ended up circling back to it some 2 years later. So, yes, it is all my fault the title was cancelled.

August 1999JSA #1 hits the stands and proves that formerly popular concepts can be resurrected. Coincidently and probably ironically Resurrection Man ends this month.

I was thrilled when JSA hit stands and I knew nothing about the team, basically. Behold the power of the JLA brand for me back then.

October 1999The Flash & Green Lantern: The Brave & the Bold a mini that chronicles the friendship of Barry Allen and Hal Jordan and also serves as a follow up JLA Year One debuts. It’s a fun mini.

But not nearly as good as JLA: Year One.

December 1999 – Not even a year old, Anarky ends.

January 2000Beast Boy #1 comes out. Again Geoff Johns set up in a franchise he’ll later become associated with.

February 2000JLA Earth 2 an amazing graphic novel comes out. Years later a follow up completely tarnishes the original.

Still one of my favorite one-shot graphic novel. I bought it in hard cover which was a bit of a big spend for me back then (I was a college student after all) and have never once regretted it.

May 2000Sins of Youth is the event this month, which sees young characters become adults and adult characters become kids. It’s like Freaky Friday only with powers and spandex.

September 2000DC 2000 a sort of thematic follow up to DC One Million comes out. It’s virtually ignored, but I dug it. Also virtually ignored and beloved by yours truly; Hourman and Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E. both of which end this month.

Wow…sad month.

October 2000Batman: Ego an amazing one-shot is released. Green Lantern: Circle of Fire is the event of the month. It’s a decent concept that probably could have been executed better.

But, it should be noted, Circle of Fire featured early (the earliest?) DC work by a certain fella named Brian K. Vaughan. And yes, Ego is awesome.

That’s pretty much it for the span of time that you were out of the scene. There were also a variety of 80 Page Giants and Secret Files & Origins which came out over that span of time. I’d pick up anything related to The Flash, Starman and probably Green Lantern.

Tim, since you’ve already added your two cents, care to give your thoughts on being a fan in that period?

This was, more or less, my baptism period in comics so I watched my pull list grow ever larger and first felt the sting of cancelled titles. If I was inclined to comic related nostalgia, I would label this my Golden Age.

That Bootleg Guy exposes Mathan for the hater he is, then asks a question.

One of the most endearing Mathan traits is your staunch hatred of a certain genre of music from a certain time zone of the United States. Along those lines, do you or Tim have any particular writers or artists or characters or titles that you simply will not buy or read, regardless of recommendation, etc?

Wow. I really have to think on this one. I mean I like to think that I’m open-minded enough to try anything, um in terms of comics of course. But I guess that I can think of some things that I probably won’t ever get.


World War Hulk – I’m pretty much crossover-d out. At this point I’m not picking up anything that requires a ton of reading or a checklist. I’ve heard it’s great, but I’m not along for the ride.

It is a load of fun in a smash everything sort of way, but I hear you on the crossover thing.


Joss Whedon – Apparently this guy’s amazing. Yet I’ve managed to live my life without watching any of his shows or reading any of his comics. I’m not going out of my way to avoid the guy (though is rabid fanbase kind of creeps me out) but I’m also not going that extra distance to pick up something with his name on it.

That’s a shame that the fanbase scares you off (although I do get it) because there is some great stuff to be found in his ouvere.


Sin City – I saw the movie, but I’ll probably never read the books. I’m just not that much of a Frank Miller fan.

If you saw the movie, there is no reason to read the books. That’s how faithful it is. As for that being a good or bad thing? That’s up to individuals. (Although, the right answer is, yes, it is a bad thing.)


Crossgen – This probably means nothing to anyone reading this column. But a few years ago, this site called 411Comics went crazy over a company called Crossgen and their comics. Flash forward, neither the site nor the company exists. Coincidence?

I THINK NOT!


Birds of Prey – Many people have often questioned why I don’t buy this book. Well, here’s my official answer; women should be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, not globetrotting and fighting crime. Are you happy now?

YES! Someone else thinks like I—

I’m obviously joking.

Right…me too. Heh……..

It’s just that the book starting getting huge buzz when it was too far along for me to jump on. I’m a complete run type of guy (at least for books that began since I’ve been collecting) so it’d have been too much for me to track down.

I can’t really think of any artist or character that I’ll try out. Obviously if Cliff Chiang is the artist on Character X’s solo title, I’m there. And if Artist X is doing the art on The Flash I’ll still read it.

Tim, I really can’t wait to see what your “never in a million years” list looks like.

I sort of lean toward “never say never” but I’ll give you some “wildly unlikelies” to chew on.


Legion– Yes, it is partly a joke. I have read Legion stories and liked them. That said, despite having read and liked Legion stories, I’ve never been able to motivated myself to buy one. That leads me to believe that it will never is wildly unlikely to happen.


On that same level, I am wildly unlikely to ever pick up a core X-Men title. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Cyclops and some Beast (and yes, the movies helped me appreciate Wolverine) but it just is almost certainly not going to happen.


A Power Girl centric ongoing or mini is most likely never going to find its way to my longboxes or bookcases. If Johns writing one that connected to both Infinite Crisis and JSA couldn’t persuade me, it seems clear that damn near nothing could. The character is fine for me in small doses, but I’ve never developed an affection for her.


A Willingham written Bat book? That’s about as closed to a guaranteed never as exists in nature. That bridge is burned burned BURNED!


When Bruce Jones appears as the credited writer, that book will almost certainly not end up in my hands.


And, last but not least, a solo Guy Gardner ongoing or limited series will almost certainly never be read by myself, or by Mathan.

Go ahead, run and tell Ben! Tell him how we hurt your widdle feelings when we said all those mean things about Guy!

Neil would never crash on your couch more than a night or two. He’s good like that.

I think we tackled this before, and if so, maybe you can update the list, but what creators do you think overstayed their welcome on a title (in terms of having some really good stuff when they started, but petered out in the end)?

The two that spring immediately to mind would be Geoff Johns and Mark Waid because both of them kind left a bad taste in mouth over their exits from The Flash.


“Chain Lightning” was, to me, a bloated mess. It tried to extrapolate and map out a Flash legacy and it came off convoluted. Family feuds that span generations work in Starman, not so much in The Flash.

And while “The Dark Flash” saga was kind of cool, it felt like it was trying too hard to swerve, like Waid was struggling under the pressure of “The Return of Barry Allen” in an attempt to fake out the reader.

And the more that I think about the more I find that I’ve never enjoyed Geoff Johns exiting a book. Not in the “man, I’m going to miss this guy” way but in a “that’s how you want us to remember you by” way.

Let’s look at his leaving JSA. He gave us the whole “Black Vengeance” storyline which was cool, but then we get some tie in issues and that’s about it.

Now let’s go over to The Flash check out “Rogue War” which so never lived up to a) the build up or b) the title of the story. And with that he’s gone.


And most recently Johns has exited Teen Titans on a lackluster storyline. Sure it may not have been overstaying his welcome, but in each case he exited leaving readers not with a bang, but with a “huh?”


A current personal pick for me would be Marv Wolfman. I know the guy is a comic legend but his run on Nightwing isn’t an awe-inspiring return to the character, it’s a yawn-inducing return. I used to love this book but it’s been pushed so far back in my read pile it’s not even funny.

Sadly we don’t really live in a world where creators are given extended runs. I loved Devin Grayon’s run on Nightwing but it was cut short. The same goes for Judd Winick on Green Arrow. I honestly think that I’d rather have the opportunity to complain about someone overstaying their welcome than have a revolving door of creators that we’ve got right now.

Tim, can you think of anyone who’s overstayed his or her welcome?

I completely concur with Mark Waid on Flash which is why I’m not as thrilled as most about his return to the Scarlet Speedster.

I disagree on the Johns front with JSA, Flash, and Titans. For Flash, in retrospect, it seems clear he had to hustle off the book so Wally could disappear. I don’t think he stayed too long, I think he left too soon. JSA I don’t count because, while those issues in question weren’t good, I see Justice Society of America as the same title and he’s doing a bang up job there so, no burnout to me. On Titans, however, I think he definitely overstayed his welcome. Everything post OYL flip was just…off. A shadow of the goodness that came before.


Other overstayers include Bruce Jones on Hulk (so good and then so very bad), Devin Grayson on Nightwing (she was so treading water after Blockbuster was killed), Dixon on Nightwing and Robin (it kills me to say it, but…it’s true), and Judd Winick on Exiles (he just seemed to drift away).

That Bootleg Guy is looking to develop painful memories.

What have been some of the more memorably bad runs by writers or artists? I’m talking the kinds of disasters that readers still talk about years after they happened. Along those lines, has there ever been a run that’s bad enough to kill the career of a writer/artist?

Dude, there have been so many runs that were terrible. So bad in fact that they were beyond memorable and went into “I wish I could forget that story ever took place.”

And it’s funny that this question should follow the previous one as some of the stories I’m talking about followed those aforementioned clunkers. So let’s get those out of the way.

Joey Cavalieri’s “Finish Line” was the storyline that closed out the previous Flash title. It was a confusing mess of a storyline about a cult that Vandal Savage had begun. While I appreciated the symmetry of having that title begin and end on Vandal Savage arcs, it was a horrible way to end the first book I ever collected.

Paul Levitz wrote the arc that ended JSA and it sucked. It involved the origin of the Gentleman Ghost and was oddly enough worse than you can imagine. It made you feel that the book ending was a mercy killing.

Obviously Nightwing’s “Brothers in Blood is probably the most maligned story in recent history. And it deserved every word written about it. It’s the reason I just Bruce Jones as a punch line.

The entire “Black Circle: Urban Knights” crossover between Green Arrow and Green Lantern was might have been the single story that most fanboys have tried to forget ever happened. It was so bad and savaged that I really kind of felt bad for Judd Winick and Ben Raab.

Ooh, another story that most fans wish never happened was Kurt Busiek’s “Syndicate Rules” arc in JLA. It was probably over hyped, but was certainly an, at best, under whelming story. It didn’t hurt his career.

But those are all bad runs by writers. I can’t really think of bad runs by artists, at least not off the top of my head.

Tim, can you think of any bad runs in general?

Hmm…almost anything in the JLA when they went to the “one team, one story” format qualifies.

People hated Austen’s work on Superman.

Mark Waid’s first shot at Legion is supposed to be pretty memorably bad.

Larry Hama’s Batman, following No Man’s Land, was atrocious.

Willingham’s Robin shook me to the core. How could this guy who wrote Fables miss the mark so badly?

Plenty of people hated Byrne’s Doom Patrol, but it is hard to say if that was a personality issue or a story one.

Let’s be honest, I could keep this up all day. But, those are some examples of the top of my head you can feel free to seek out if you wish to hate comics for some reason.

Soak1313 reminds us, “Where Mogo, we go!”

The newest issues of the Sinestro Corps stuff has got me thinking about Mogo. Have we ever seen him cut loose or has he always been a place where Lanterns go to hang out?

How about “neither?” Mogo’s really only had a handful of appearances in the over two decades since debuting. Even in his debut who he was was pretty much the reveal of the story.

He also showed up for a two issue stint in Mister Miracle #13-14 which also guest-starred Lobo.

Kyle Rayner first encountered Mogo in Green Lantern #87 and again encountered him in Green Lantern #158-159. In that latter story is the closest we’ve seen to him “cut loose” as his natural defenses are displayed in that issue.

But he was never used as a place for GL’s to hang out before, it’s a new concept and a pretty cool one if you ask me. That said you should enjoy every moment with Mogo as it appears his days are numbered.

Tim, any thoughts on Mogo?

I love Mogo and would almost certainly buy a Mogo/Ego the Living Planet DC/Marvel intercompany crossover book.

That said, I wonder if DC is running the risk of overexposing the planet sized GL. I mean, he has probably quadrupled his lifetime appearances in the past two years alone.

Julian L. Smith wonders if we are all in danger

After (the very excellent) SCS#1 we now have a free Superboy Prime. Did the red sun keep him de-powered and now he has to recharge? Or does he have all those crazy powers, a cracked mind AND a yellow ring now?

Oh, Superboy-Prime! That kid’s a card I tell you.

The red sun did indeed keep the kid depowered. And he does need to recharge his abilities. But that’s what the armor is for. That Anti-Monitor inspired get up is to allow him to keep his powers under a red sun. It’s a nutty contraption but it’s what makes him so threatening. I mean aside from his cracked mind.

The thing that gets me is that he’d be immune to kryptonite, which is really kryptonite radiation, so why would he be vulnerable to a red sun, which is just red solar radiation?

Just because you’re immune to one radiation doesn’t mean you are immune to them all? That’s my guess anyway.

Eh, who cares? I can’t wait to see him go toe to toe with Sodam Yat. That should be a battle to remember. It’ll certain be someone’s final night.

Tim, is Superboy-Prime’s appearance a good thing or a bad thing?

Officially, I have no idea who this Superboy Prime is. As far as I know, DC has a Superman Prime character who is running around in the Sinestro Corps crossover now. No Superboy though. Anywhere. Ever. Never did. Never will.

Deal with that Schuster estate!

As far as him being back…it was a cool reveal. But…I don’t know. Too soon, maybe?

Mark Poa speaks of a different sort of iron man

Speaking of Final Night, when I read through it, it seemed that the Sun Eater concept was a homage to an older story, but I couldn’t place it. Was it a Legion of Superheroes story and why Ferro Man was prominent in the mini?

Yes it was indeed an homage to a story that took place in Adventure Comics #352-353. The stories were entitled “The Fatal Five” and “The Doomed Legionaire”.

In the story the Legion must battle a Sun Eater with the aide of the Fatal Five. Tharok builds a bomb to destroy the Sun Eater, but has no way to deliver the payload. Superboy is weak from the red sun radiation, so Ferro Lad takes charge. He takes the bomb to the center of the Sun Eater and detonates it. He’s vaporized for his trouble.

However he’s also the first Legionnaire to fall in the battle, which earns him all sorts of props.

Tim, as an avid Legion fan, don’t you mourn Ferro Lad’s passing to this day?

You know, I did like Ferro Lad. So deal with that.


Be honest now…you never really thought Ferro Lad could look this cool, did you?

Colin questions Mathan’s judgment

You did mention it briefly, but how long might you give the new Legion creative team to knock your socks off? I know #31 underwhelmed me, to say the least. The art was awful, like something from a bad limited series that pencillers are given to test them out, and the Ranzz brothers were mixed up in one scene. (Mekt calling Lightning Lad Mekt, Lad calling his brother Garth) Why does Mekt Rannz still hate Cosmic Boy, now that I think of it? His whole issue before was, “Cos doesn’t have the stones to do what has to be done”. As far as Mekt knows, Cosmic Boy killed the entire planet of Dominators. So who’s the panty-waist now?

Where to start, really?

I guess I’ll start with my re-falling in love with this book. Tony Bedard has big shoes to fill, but #32 was much better than his previous issue. And I’m a big fan of Dennis Calero’s art. Honestly #32 made me completely forget about how much I didn’t dig #31. So this book is back in good graces with me.

As for Mekt’s attitude toward Cosmic Boy, I think it’s an alpha male type thing. Mekt doesn’t like the respect that Cos is getting, particularly from his Wanderers. He’s resentful that Cos didn’t bow down to Mekt. It’s a more of an “I’m threatened” type of posturing than anything else.

Admit it Tim, you love the fact that we get so many questions about Legion.

Sure…why not.

Ooh, I just looked at my clock and it’s time to bring this column to a close. But we’ll be back next week in a column that might cover Dinah’s husbands, Ollie’s kids and origins, Jim Gordon’s kinfolk and is the DCU really a brighter place?

And if you’ve got a question that you’d like to see answered just email it to me or post them our thread!

Before I go here’s my question to you; what creators to you think overstayed their welcome on a comic?

“I’m not unfaithful but I’ll stray.”