Who's Who in the DCU

Columns

Spoiler HeadshotWhere the heck have Mathan and Tim been? The answer may shock you (but probably won’t). Also this week: What’s Wrong with DC, Can DC Have a Secret Invasion, and Why are DC and Dixon Feuding?

.

Tim, I’ve got no cable, no TV reception and now I’m lacking the internet. Mathan unplugged is nowhere near as great as Nirvana Unplugged.

I don’t know Mathan…I think you are pretty great.

(And if I had a photo of you, I would have totally photoshopped your head onto that angel on the cover of In Utero.)

Links

Diehard GameFAN

The DVD Lounge

Inside Fights

MachineGunFunk

Moodspins

Radio Exile

Popcorn Junkies

Primetime Pulse

Tailgate Crashers

Our DC Boards is a cornucopia of topics and discussions. Are Hawkman and Aquaman franchises or properties? Why are mini’s getting downgraded from six issues to three issues? Is Soak the only one reading House of Mystery?

What I’ve Read Recently

Simon Dark #10-11 – I really like the monsters. I liked the back story. I like Simon having to make a choice. This title has seen a spike in goodness.

Which, of course, means it is cancelled.

Allegedly.

Crossing Midnight #19 – Fern’s art seem rushed and there wasn’t much closure. In fact it seems wide open for a follow-up. Which is why as an ending, this issue sucked.

Superman’s Reign #5 – Nice to seem some plot development and getting the DCU characters separated. Superman is also growing on me as a villain. I’m still enjoying this mini.

Batman & the Outsiders #9 – Technocrat and Breach must be rolling over in their graves. And not just at how much this issue sucked.

Breach is not dead! You’ll see!

Hellblazer #246 – Wow, I’ve been reading this book for 100 issues? Crazy. Good conclusion to the opener. Aaron is really doing some good work now that he’s gone across the street.

Rogues Revenge #1 – I swear some of the panels in this issue looked like Brendan McCarthy’s art, it was weird. I liked the story and the art. I like the notion of the angry Rogues. Strong opening salvo.

I love this book a lot. Almost as much as I love sleeping in bed with the comforter on. Which is to say, a whole lot.

Dreamwar #4 – Wait a minute. This entire war is someone’s dream? Why didn’t I pay attention to the title of this book sooner?

That’s a kick in the teeth, huh?

X-Factor #33 – Really? This is a tie-in and a crossover? Malarkey.

Is David rapidly becoming to Marvel what Dixon was to DC in the late 90’s and early 2000’s? The guy forever run over by crossovers?

The Flash #242 – I like this book. I enjoy any time we get to go to Gorilla City.

Who doesn’t? Peyer has definitely pulled this book out of the cancellation pile for me. Good think #243 is his last then, right?

The Programme 12 – At first this final chapter felt disjointed and abrupt. But the more I dwelled on it the more it resonated with me. This mini really grew on me. I’m sorry it’s over.

I’m going to have to go back and read it again because I really like quite a bit of it, but I think I was in a mood when I read the finale because it left me with almost no impression at all.

JSA Annual #1 – So it’s Earth-2 but it’s not? Crazy. I liked the homage to the old Earth-2 and the differences. And I liked the twist. But Gog wouldn’t have sent her to the wrong Earth right? The other Power Girl is a villainous plot, right?

Does anyone care? I mean, like, at all? Honestly?

JLA #23 – Tons of action. I do wish we hadn’t gone back to the Amazo well this soon, but it was still a good issue.

Green Lantern Corps #26 – How could they kill Space Liberace? Creepy visuals, great dialogue. This is another issue of typical Tomasi/Gleason greatness.

Don’t worry, no way is Mongul really dead. And even if he is, he’ll just come back. Sure, he’ll be like Mongul’s nephew or something, but he’ll look and act exactly the same so, in essence, he’ll just be Mongul.

Superman #678 – I really liked the Kirby homage pages. One of the things I dig about Robinson is his knowledge of DC’s past. I also liked Atlas’ reception.

Catwoman #81 – Why must this book of unbridled greatness end? Where is the justice in that? Where is The Spectre to smite those who cancelled this book and those who never read it?

That’s an awful lot of avenging for Spectre to take care because there’s an awful lot of people not reading this book. And, if you think about, the fact that they aren’t is probably a worse fate than Spectre could ever dish out. ‘Cause this book is great.

Manhunter #33 – I was confused by the flashforward at the beginning of the issue. But after that I caught on. I’m really digging the building that Andreyko’s doing and how he’s utilizing various elements of the DCU in this arc.

It is so good it makes me angry about having to wait so long for it to come back. But then I realize it is back which makes me thrilled. But, then I realized it could be up to like 50 now if it hadn’t gone away in the first place and I get angry again.

It’s a vicious circle, it is.

Nightwing – Tomasi makes it look easy. He references R.I.P. and the missing year. Plus he references the bad blood between Dick and Harvey. And he makes Two-Face a fleshed out character. On top of it all he crafts a story that’s not weighed down by all of the above.

Loved it. And finally the plot is interesting me as much as the characterization has been all along.

Detective Comics #847 – Good issue. I’m so glad to see Hush in capable hands again. I’m darn near excited.

Agreed.

Robin #176 – Poor Tim. Poor left out of the loop Tim.

You’re not talking about me, are you? Because I’ll have you know that I totally know stuff, okay?

Ambush Bug Year None #1 – This is such a perfect comic. I’ve never loved a comic as much as I loved this one. Giffen, Fleming and Milgrom haven’t missed a beat.

Cyborg #3 – Boo. This is a paint by numbers tale. It’s a waste.

Now here’s the question. Better to have this mini or no mini at all? Ponder.

Legion of Super-Heroes #44 – This book is so dreadful that it’s making me desire Legion of 3 Worlds more, and I’m not sure that’s even possible.

Two-Face Year One – Apart from the end of the issue with Harvey having a custom suit and attacking so quickly I liked the issue. Especially that, based on Weinstein, Saiz is apparently a fan of The Wire.

The Exterminators #29 & 30 – I knew this book was building to a conclusion, but it still seemed to come out of nowhere. It felt forced and rushed. I’m sorry to see this title end.

The Spirit #19 – I wish there had been a theme like previous issues with multiple stories, but it was still a decent read.

Blue Beetle #29 – I looked at the cover and I was overjoyed. But then I realized it was Sturges’ debut. It was pretty solid. Of course I’m a fan of Rafael’s art, but the story was solid as well. Villains fighting for a name and a fem fatale? Great start Sturges.

I really thought the battle for Hellhound’s name was a clever idea and that this is not the first time villains have done this for the rights to be called by a dead or retired villain’s name, but rather an established protocol was a nice touch. The rest was decent enough, except that very awkward ending. It was like Sturges had two more pages worth of story and only one page to depict it so he cut out any transition words or scenes at all.

Green Lantern #33 – Oh my god, can Hal become Green Lantern already?

Please? So I can read the book again?

Infinity Inc #12 – Wow, that was abrupt. No closure or nothin’ Poor Terror Titans, the place that has to tie up loose ends and launch long delayed minis.

Ugh…less and less excited for that book with every announcement of what is going into it.

Black Panther #38 – Eh, good issue. I liked the fight and the blood feud.

Project Super Powers – I’m digging the fleshing out of this universe. Still I can’t wait until it’s developed so the building can stop.

Special Forces #3 – Heavy read. It’s troubling and sobering. But this is a really good mini.

Brave & the Bold #15 – I loved how every wrapped up nicely this issue. I liked how Nightwing’s status in the DCU is explicated stated and how he manipulates it. And I liked how Deadman got a shot in at Ollie.

Teen Titans #61 – I don’t like forced teams. I liked Blue Beetle and just started to like Kid Devil, but this issue made me turn against Kid Devil a little. But the subplot with Miss Martian was continued, so that’s a plus.

See, I kind of liked the forced bonding. Granted, the change from hating one another to being friendly rivals happened in a split second with no really definitive moment to explain why, but overall it was fun. That said, Beetle is totally right about that new costume for Devil.

House of Mystery #4 – I’m liking how we’re finding out more about the house. I liked the story this issue and how it was rendered in a cartoony style. And I’m interested that Rina’s still a character in the title.

Supergirl #32 – I loved this storyline. I liked the flashforward to the future and how driven Kara was. Really powerful stuff that Puckett is writing here.

Black Panther #39 – Once again Aaron’s writing some good stuff. I dug the military perspective from both sides. I really liked Palo’s art. This is one tie-in I actually enjoyed.

Final Crisis #3 – I’m loving this event. The cameos, the character moments. This is happening in the DCU and it feels like it matters. Good stuff.

So full of dread. Digging on it.

Trinity #7-10 – Sometimes I liked this book and sometimes I don’t. Sometimes it’s got Busiek’s strengths of playing up the awe and mystique of a character. Sometimes it’s full of his flaws, overly complicated jargon that feels unnecessary and wordy. Still it’s much better than Countdown.

I actually agree with all that. And that’s why this week’s #12, barring a miracle, will be my last purchased issue.

Dirk misses us. Well, misses Mathan anyway.

What’s happened with Who’s Who? I found it a few months ago, came to the site only for it and Marvel Handbook and it seems like it’s dead? I had to google Who’s Who just to find the thread. So much for the weekly or even monthly posting.

I apologize for the lack of steady columns. On my end, the transition from Las Vegas to Baltimore could have been smoother. First off, I moved without my pc, which I had sent to me after about a month.

Also, the place that I moved to wasn’t wired for cable, but had DSL instead. Unfortunately it only had one phone jack in the entire house and it was in a room where a computer just wouldn’t fit. Thus I had to get a wireless card.

So whenever I took a step towards getting things hooked up, it was like a new hurdle was placed in my path. Even as I type this now, that singular phone jack hasn’t worked in days, keeping me from any email access at all. But hopefully things will reach a pleasant status quo soon. (One Month Later, and still no progress has been made.)

Tim, anything happen in your life in the past few months?

I put the finishing touches on my wedding, went through with it, and then went on a honeymoon for two weeks. So there’s that.

Wedding Shot!
What Are We Drinking? Who Cares, It is Big and It is Blue!

See, look! Proof! There’s me with my new wife in the church and there’s us on after the reception, rocking rings and sipping on a blue drink of some kind, It really happened!

There was also freelance work for Marvel.com (plug, plug) that required me to alter the way I work.

However, I’m wed now and I have a system for balancing things so I hope to do my part to bring this baby to you on a consistent basis.

Glen is a gossip

What’s your take on the DC/Dixon split?

My take is that Chuck Dixon didn’t take too kindly to “Batman R.I.P.”

I mean I’m guessing that when Dixon signed on to both Robin and Batman & the Outsiders and really pull DC’s fat out of the fire, he was probably told that he’d have a certain degree of creative freedom when it came to plot and direction.

And I’m guessing that “Batman R.I.P.” was probably originally limited in scope to Batman and Detective with a bit of the fallout landing in Nightwing and Robin. But once that scope grew grander and included massive changes like introducing Red Robin and all of the other stuff we’ve heard about, Dixon decided that he was done with DC.

Clearly Dixon was told one thing by his editors and then when “Batman R.I.P.” expanded it meant that Dixon’s corner of Gotham would be affected, something he didn’t take kindly to. It obviously caught him off guard and felt, to him, like it was a rash decision.

Now I’m not one for burning bridges, so I don’t really think that his comments are that kosher, but if the guy thinks that his career as a writer is viable, more power to him. I really just hope that he doesn’t regret his comments.

What do you think about the split, Tim?

It’s Dixon…I miss him like candy already and he is barely gone. That said, I haven’t really given much thought to the inside baseball aspect of it. I expect you are on to something, Mathan. As I joked about above, the poor guy’s plans were pretty consistently screwed by crossovers and events (which is why I maintain that Dixon pitched Joker’s Last Laugh as a joke and proceeded to make it as weak as possible as punishment to his corporate overlords).

Last Laugh...Least Funny Joke Ever

Best practical joke ever.

As far as whether or not Dixon was out of line when he told people he was leaving and such, I vote no. He created a lousy situation for himself by defending those who fans initially speculated as being the cause (I forget who they were) and thus made it clearer who it was that was the motivating factor in leaving. However, it was a wrong thing done for the right reasons, if you will. I do think his motives were pure so while he should have anticipated that it was a short-term fix that would lead to long term problems, I don’t think what he did was selfish, mean-spirited, or jerky in the least.

Neil focuses on the negative.

I ask you to answer the question Kirk Warren posed to his blog readers: What Do You Think DC Comics Doing Wrong?

Well, when this whole thing broke, over in the forums John Babos posted some pretty interesting analysis on the whole deal. And I think that he sort of put things in a better perspective without resorting to “the sky is falling” type scenarios.

But I suppose that one of the things that DC is doing wrong is that it holds the Vertigo line to a lower standard of success. Sure Vertigo books have lower prints runs meaning they don’t have to sell as many units per issue, but if we’re looking at the bottom line Vertigo books reside on the low end of the sales spectrum. How many Vertigo books are “Top Ten” titles? Or even “Top Fifty?” From a strictly sales standpoint, Vertigo books are books that DC publishes but will never break any sales records, so they should be axed and replaced with titles that will blaze up the sales charts.

I think DC could also stand to not try new things and just imitate what Marvel does. DC has a group of misfits lead by a wheelchair bound genius, why aren’t they everywhere with multiple titles and spin-offs? Why are Clark and Lois married, when DC has plenty of devilish underworld characters that can make such a mistake a thing of the past? There are approximations of both Wolverine and Hulk running around the DCU, how about they get some time to shine?

DC should also give serious considerations to axing books that don’t clearly take place in the DCU. Sure the Spirit operates out of Central City and Simon Dark allegedly lives in Gotham, but have we seen any DC characters crossover? Axe ’em!

Why doesn’t JSA have spin-off? It’s a successful title with a ton of characters. It’s a franchise that needs to be squeezed until it’s dry.

Every major book needs to have a Final Crisis tie-in miniseries. I want a Final Crisis – Batman mini and Final Crisis – Blue Beetle mini so that I can see just how the event affects these characters. I mean this is the DCU tent pole for the year right? It should have far reaching effects for every characters, and I want to see those in their own mini-series or in tie in issues.

And that’s pretty much all that I can point out that’s “wrong” with DC right now.

Tim, what do you think DC is doing wrong?

For the sake of being slightly less sarcastic than Mathan, let me try to answer this one a bit more seriously.

First, as Mathan eludes to above, it should be noted that sales figures are not the only measure of a product’s goodness. If it was, Spawn #1 is one of the greatest comics ever written, Michael Bay is the finest director in Hollywood, and Danielle Steele should be mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Twain and McCarthy. So, yeah, a decreased market share does not necessarily translate into a lack of quality.

That having been said, comics are not just art, but “commercial art” so there is an undeniable business side. So even if DC was, far and away, producing better works than Marvel (which I’m not saying they are) there is still “something wrong” when a company begins to lose market share.

So what is the problem?

Not to be overly simplistic about things, but I think it is hustle, pure and simple. On the ground, in the press, on the internet Marvel is doing a better job of “selling” (in terms of getting a person’s interest) their product than DC is. The battle for sale supremacy is won and lost on the casual fan because, frankly, the hardcore fan always buys. Think of it in terms of the presidential election model. Are you a Southern Cold War veteran? Guess what, the Republican party is not going to spend much money getting you to vote for them because they are about 98.5% assured they already have you. Similarly, are you a big city intellectual? Then the Dems appreciate your vote, but they aren’t buying ad time to demonstrate it. The “casual fans” are the undecideds of the comic book industry and Marvel’s gotten to them quicker and persuaded them to stay better.

Additionally, Marvel has utilized its summer crossover more winningly. It might drive some people nuts, but the fact is that the trifecta of Civil War, World War Hulk, and Secret Invasion has proven to be a tide lifting all boats. The interconnectedness of these endeavors can be dangerous long term (I give Marvel one more bite at the apple, tops, before they start to see diminishing returns) but in short bursts they are remarkably effective.

The hustle is also about the spin and Marvel has it all over DC in this place. What’s the spin

Spin

This guy?

No, no. Well yes, but that’s not what I meant. I meant it more in the real world, damage control sense.

Karl Rove, Friend of the Column

Oh…you mean Marvel’s better at what this guy does?

Stop that!

Anyway, where was I? Oh, right. Consider this: when’s the last time a Marvel writer went to the press and complained about how things were going in the company? And DC has had it happen, what, twice in July by people who were still on the payroll at the time, including the guy writing this massive summer title? That’s just sloppy. And in the game of perception, DC has lost to. They’ve built themselves up as continuity heavy and paid the price with every subsequent mistake or error. Marvel, on the other hand, has become largely the same with its plethora of crossovers and tie-ins, but they continue to successfully push the idea of themselves as casual reader friendly and thus, the mistakes and gaffes are largely ignored. People expect Marvel Comics’ continuity to not quite fit right, but lose their minds when DC’s doesn’t.

Creatively, do I think they are doing anything wrong? Eh…hard to say. I feel like a lot of that comes down to personal taste. You hate Winick, you hate his Batman. I don’t, so I like his Batman. Creatively, you think DC is making a huge mistake when they put Winick on a Bat book, while I look forward to it. I’m tempted to point to delays as being an issue here, especially when it comes to Superman, but Marvel more than its fair share of delays, too. The difference? Again, the spin.

So, to conclude that long winded statement, the problem with DC these days? They just aren’t playing the game well.

Glen seems like the type to combine his carrots, his corn, and his potatoes and eat them all at once.

What is your reaction to DC getting the Archie Heroes and putting the Milestone heroes in the DCU?

Eh, I’m kind of torn about the whole thing. On one hand I was a fan of the Impact universe and titles. I loved The Comet and really enjoyed The Crucible.

But on the other hand, we won’t be seeing the Impact characters in the DCU, we’ll be seeing the Archie Heroes. The image that I saw looked like Jesus Saiz’s art work, which is a plus, but the actual characters that I care about won’t be present, just some new versions. I really don’t know if I’ve got room in my life for an entire new stable of characters.

In terms of the Milestone news, I’m more excited by that. First off I’m really glad that Dwayne McDuffie is going to be involved to some degree with their stories. I’m also kind of excited that he’s going to be given the opportunity to provide an ending to the original Milestone saga.

I’m also pumped about the prospects for seeing those characters in other media. Sure Static had a show, but now that comics are huge for the big screen, having the Milestone characters back in print seems like an opportunity for bigger things.

I like that Static is finally making his way into the Teen Titans, something that Geoff Johns teased before the title even launched. I’m also glad that the Milestone stuff with get the trade treatment.

However I’m worried a bit too. I never really experienced the Charlton characters before they were DC characters, so I didn’t really miss their dynamic as a group, but I’m very familiar with the dynamic in the Milestone Universe so I’m worried about seeing how that’s altered. For instance, I really enjoyed the Blood Syndicate and they existed in an interesting part of the Milestone Universe. But I don’t think that the DCU has the same gray area. I’m worried that those characters will become “bad guys” for lack of a better term. Even Pyre had nuance, and I’m scared that it will be lost in the DCU.

And I think that Rich Watson brought up a valid point on his blog where he notes that since none can surpass Superman, Icon will face a Captain Marvel like limbo when he enters the DCU.

I’m also kind of sad that back issues of Milestone books will probably jump in price as they were some of the comics that I was looking forward to collecting.

Tim, what do you think about this influx of characters in the DCU?

See, this is why I cringe at the idea of DC having a multiverse (beyond the inevitable rampant crossovers than will ruin the specialness of each Earth in short order).

Allow me to explain.

DC now has 52 Earths out there and from day one they’ve been off to the races telling us which Earth is which. We have Red Son Earth and CSA Earth and, I don’t know, Pirate Batman Earth. Seems like a bad idea to cross off so many of them within the first year or so of the Multiverse, but there it is.

However, the one Earth that confounded me the most was Charlton Earth because DC has already incorporated those characters. Why bother making an Earth with them when they are already on your main Earth. Is it just so you have a dude Question and a Ted Kord Blue Beetle again?

And yet, for characters like these that have not been incorporated into the main DC Earth (New Earth) and who have established worlds of their own (especially the Milestone characters) you don’t find them a nice plot of land on Earth 29 or Earth 18. Instead you drop them, splat, right into New Earth.

I would never let DC do any sort of urban planning, I tell you what.

So while yes, I am excited for the prospect of Milestone trades (I missed out on the books the first time around) and am always happy for a little more diversity in the DCU, I cannot help but ponder how little sense it makes to me for them to become part of New Earth.

Neil reminds us that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Would Secret Invasion work in the DCU? Similar plot, different aliens, let’s say the White Martians or some Durlans.

MilleniumNo, no it doesn’t. It doesn’t even really work if you use evil androids created by Guardians of the Universe.

The thing about Secret Invasion is two-fold; first off, it’s a grudge match. The Skrulls have a beef with the heroes of Earth. But there’s also the “people have been acting strange and this is why” angle too.

Now in the DCU Earth doesn’t really have any alien civilizations that they’ve got major beef with. Sure, there was that whole Invasion!, but none of those alien groups held grudges or if they did, they didn’t boil over until like a thousand years later.

The White Martians don’t have a beef that stretches far enough back to make such an attack viable and the Durlans don’t have a strong enough beef, nor really the means to attack in such a manner.

Secret Invasion works because it takes place in a fractured Marvel U. It isn’t just a matter of not trusting a guy against you during Civil War, it’s not trusting someone on your side during Civil War. The DCU isn’t fractured, so that dynamic wouldn’t be the same.

Secret Invasion wouldn’t work without the prelude of Civil War, so you’d need a Civil War type event in the DCU before you could even begin to think about creating a Secret Invasion. You’d also need an Illuminati mini to remind people that there actually was a threat in the first place.

But if you really want some “alien/paranoia/attack on Earth” action in the DCU check out the 5YG Legion. It’s got long simmering beef, “who do you trust” moments and aliens trying to destroy the Earth’s heroes. And it’s 15 years old, so you can probably find it for cheap.

Tim, do you think that Secret Invasion would work in the DCU?

Just for the sake of having it? No.

I don’t necessarily think there is anything wrong with one company looking at another, seeing what they are successful at, stealing it, and repurposing it.

If that was “wrong” we wouldn’t have the Fantastic Four today. Or Wolfman’s Teen Titans. Or God knows how many other books and characters.

Nothing wrong with learning from the competition.

That said, one to one transitions are usually a dumb idea. Yes, sleeper Skrull does remind one very much of Manhunter robots, but if you dig deeper, you see that both storylines are uniquely rooted in their own personal universes. And they happened some 20 years apart. Similarly, Spider-Man: Brand New Day was very much inspired by DC’s weekly comic series (52 in particular). However, beyond the release schedule, you’d never know it.

On the other hand, you have things like the gritted teeth, leather, chains, and pouches phase that comics went through were everyone got facial scrub, sunglasses, and bad attitudes. It was dumb as could be and it was based on simple mimicry of the Image movement.

Doing a Secret Invasion, DC Style now would most likely fit into the latter category.

Glen is catching the Vapours

The new Japanese Superteam in Final Crisis is brand new? How did you like them?

Young Super TeamI dig them. I really like the way that Grant fleshes out the DCU. We live in a world where celebrities are worshipped and emulated, so it makes sense that in the DCU heroes would be worshipped and emulated. Super Young Team makes complete sense.

I also like seeing a more international flair in the DCU. Super Young Team and the Great Ten are two of the concepts that Grant’s introduced to the DCU recently that I’ve fallen in love with. Hopefully Super Young Team will survive Final Crisis and provide awesomeness for years to come.

Or, more likely, fade into obscurity.

I mean, once FC is done, do we really ever expect Super Young Team to have a miniseries? A one-shot? Or, more likely, to just show up in the background of show group shot in the next big crossover.

Sorry, sorry…too cynical. At least we have them right now, I guess, right?

Brock recognizes Tim’s clairvoyance

So, Stephanie Brown’s alive and kicking, exactly as Tim called it a year ago. He’s so totally gloating, isn’t he? :) What kind of odds does Vegas give her on getting out of Final Crisis alive? And assuming she survives, does this make girlwonder.org obsolete?

I can’t speak for Tim, but I really miss “Teaching the Hard Lesson” Leslie. She was second only to George Bluth Sr. in terms of teaching life lessons. “…and that’s why you don’t employ teenage sidekicks in your nocturnal war on crime” ranks right up there with “…and that’s why you always leave a note.” (Or “…and that’s why you don’t yell.”) She was one of the best things to come out of “War Crimes” or whatever that storyline was called.

I’m pretty confident that Stephanie’s safe for the time being. I mean not only would it be cruel to Tim to kill her off again, but it’d be cruel to readers and unnecessarily so. I don’t think that Steph’s going to be in danger anytime soon. I’d put Batgirl, Huntress and Jason Todd above Steph in terms of “most likely to be killed off.”

And nothing will make girlwonder.org obsolete. Sure, it may have originally been about getting Steph a memorial, but really, for me at least, it’s about the portrayal or treatment of female characters. It’s like an advocacy group or a watchdog organization; it’s there to keep the industry in line. Girlwonder.org brought attention to a problem, a problem that’s not likely to disappear anytime soon.

Tim, care to chime in on this one and gloat a bit?

I just get a kick out of HOW right I was. I mean, I couldn’t have been more on the dot. If I was a litigious man, I might go after DC for a little slice of that Spoiler pie.

That…that didn’t sound right.

Anyway, my excellence is extensive. About time people started to see that.

And that brings us to the end of another column. Bear with me as I try to figure out my new status quo and figure out how to write the column and post it without internet access.

We’ll be, um, as soon as possible, with a new column that answers questions Mary Marvel, who killed J’onn, Jim Gordon and maybe what DC’s not doing wrong. And possibly your question too if you send it so me.

Oh and here’s my question to you; what do you think DC is doing wrong?

“I ain’t sayin’ that I’m Nas here, I’m just sayin’ rap’s dead when I’m not here.”