Pompousness, etc.

The more I look at the meme post, the worse I feel about myself. Damn, do I come off like a pompous ass or what?

I had a pretty good Free Comic Book Day. My five-year-old brother assaulted a Stormtrooper. The guy behind the counter said "see, that's why you guys lost."

X-Men/Runaways turned out to be just as bad as everyone has said, though I wasn't too disgusted by the artwork. It was cartoony, sure, but it had a streamlined quality and told the story well enough, unlike some people (Carlos Meglia, I'm looking at you). Too bad there wasn't much story to tell.

I'm dropping Jonah Hex, I think. It's a good series and all, but I just don't have much passion for it anymore. I'll buy trades if they get released, though.

Supergirl, JSA, and Teen Titans are on the chopping block. I might stick with JSA until the end, since there are only a few issues left. Teen Titans OYL has suffered from terrible art, inexplicably-dickish Cyborg, and forced conflict. The only reason I'm still reading it now is because I want to see how the Superboy plot pans out.

Supergirl has fifty times the personality now than she did under Loeb, and I still don't like her. I think the idea of hanging out in Kandor is neat, and I like the return of the "Godfall" Kandor, but I'd really like to know exactly what Kandor is supposed to be in this continuity. I like how Kara's quest for Argo here sets up her delusions in S&LSH. Despite all this, I just don't feel anything for this book, and I blame Loeb's tendency to jerk readers around for that.

Superman/Batman and the Classifieds may be on the way out as well. I don't know about Verheiden and Van Sciver, especially after that one really ugly solicit cover, and the Classifieds haven't managed to hold my attention since JLA finished their second arc and JSA their first. Though Vandal Savage is pretty interesting.

So, uh, what's up with Alan Scott's eye? I've seen it patched, not patched, and strangely glowing, all in OYL shots. Will this be explained, or is the tighter continuity already falling apart?

The 52 Website is pretty cool.

More stuff later.

A Subconscious Meme

I'll claim responsibility for starting this one, since the guy Dorian credited posted his two hours after mine.

Edit: Looks like I even beat the first altered banner on the Newsarama discussion which kicked it all off, not to toot my own horn or anything. Lots of fun ones in there, including the Speedball and Stupid ones that I'd wished I'd thought of first.

To that end, I'll post links to all the ones I find. If you guys would like to tell me at tfoss1983@gmail.com, I'll get the links up more quickly.

Rann, Pantha's Head, DC
Aquarian
Wildcat
Doc Samson
Brother Eye
Her, U-Man, Dr. Bong, Inbetweener, Midget, Howard the Duck, Frigga, Pip the Troll, It, Gardener, Cancer, Angar the Screamer, Awesome Android
Stupid
Groo/Not Reading It
A Whole Bunch
Jarvis
Matter-Eater Lad
Grant
Hawkeye, Internet Jesus
Roger & Jessica Rabbit/Attractive Redhead, Gay Pimp, Lex Luthor/Bryan Singer
Another bunch
Ding Dong Daddy
The Question, the Spectre
Josie and the Pussycats, Them, Ambush Bug, Mr. Miracle
Booster Gold
Wolff and Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre
Friendoug
Neilalien

Banners, neither Bruce nor David

Joe Quesada grasped furtively at straws trying to clarify his statement's about Spidey's marriage today. In addition to making himself look even less coherent, he offered up two Civil War banners, not unlike the ones that Robby Reed made for Rann-Thanagar War, which are still inexplicably in my sidebar.

Anyway, since I don't care at all about Civil War, I decided to make a couple of my own. This is a grand total of an hour in Photoshop, so don't expect much. Feel free to use 'em whenever.


Props to Devon and Scipio for the idea for that second one.
Edit: Here's 'nother, which about sums up my feelings towards Civil War.

Joe Quesada Addendum

So, what exactly

is so unbelievable

about an everyman

getting with

an attractive redhead?

I mean, I just

can't see how

it makes the character

less accessible to the readers.

Can you?

Not really a spoiler

Did anyone else notice this?

Looks like Infinite Crisis is a sequel to all the Crises.

Infinite Crisis #7 Spreadblogging

Wow, that title sounds dirty. Spoilers below the fold.

So, uh, who the hell are these people? Is that Raven on the right?

So, which Flash is this? Jay Garrick is elsewhere in the spread, and Bart wasn't wearing Wally's costume (which this appears to be), and furthermore retired. I hope Wally's back.

Wow, what a crap costume. I thought that was J'onn on the cover of Brave New World. Thank goodness it won't last long; everything reverts eventually.

Is that Northwind? Black Condor?

Either this is a new black superhero with a bland costume, or it's a horribly miscolored Dr. Mid-Nite.

Neat Batwoman costume, I wonder who's inside it. Rumors say Kathy Kane, and I could go for that.

New Starman, it looks like. Could it be that James Robinson is working on some more Starman material?

Big changes in store for the Marvel family. Looks like Cap grew a mullet, and someone's been taking fashion tips from Mike Grell's Green Arrow.

When did Sand become so religious?

Yay! Steel's back! I kind of miss the bug-helmet, though.

Uncle Sam would look cooler if he didn't look like a Confederate soldier.

So the new OMAC's a hero? That's actually pretty cool.

Read More!

One-Word Reviews

Infinite Crisis #7: Crazy.
Supergirl #6: Uninteresting.
JSA #85: Boring.
Teen Titans #35: Frustrating.
Y: The Last Man #45: Unpredictable.

Blue Prints 1: Superboy

"Attempt one hundred sixteen unsuccessful."

Robin's quest to resurrect Superboy has not yet been successful. He doesn't know what he's doing wrong, whether it's a matter of technology or knowhow or something else entirely. He studies the various logs he has regarding Superman's deaths and rebirths, and finally stumbles across some reports from the Y2K fiasco, where an Electric Superman, generated from B13 tech by our Brainiac, helped fight the futuristic menace. Robin finds the process detailed in various files that Luthor still had stored from the B13 Tech, and manages to duplicate the effects using Superboy's brainwave pattern. Sure, main power shuts down to the entire west coast for thirty-seven seconds, but Kon-El is reborn.

Being alive again doesn't exactly make life easier for Superboy. He has an easier time adjusting to his new powers than Superman did; his previous abilities derived primarily from telekinesis, using concentration and focus to manipulate energy fields isn't too different. It's the rest of his life that he has problems with. In his superheroic form, he is made of energy, and is generally immaterial or untouchable to some degree. He can become flesh and blood, but the transformation leaves him utterly powerless. So now, the divide between his superhero and civilian life becomes even more distinct, and while he once chafed under a civilian guise, now he needs it to retain some semblance of humanity. His questions about his legitimacy as a person and the existence of his soul are only complicated further by the knowledge that he has died, and his issues with cloning are greatly exacerbated.

Besides all this, he has been gone a year, though it doesn't seem that way to him. Wonder Girl has moved on, and while she still has strong feelings for him, she has already come to terms with his death, and his return only complicates their relationship. Having come back as a result of Robin's efforts have made Conner's friendship with Tim awkward, to say the least.

Despite all this, Conner has rejoined the Teen Titans and continues to fight the good fight, trying to regain some sense of normalcy. Ultimately, he hopes that Robin is successful in cloning his body, and he spends quite a bit of time trying to use his new powers to assist in that cloning process. Until then, he'll do the best he can with what he has.

Advantages: Well, there's the practical advantage that this character, as Jon mentioned, might be different enough from 'Superboy' to avoid any of the legal troubles currently associated with that name. Besides that, it brings back Superboy in an interesting way which isn't just a "reset button" on his death. Coming back in this fashion allows for the team to play him up like a ghost of sorts, since he is immaterial, and even when human he's a shadow of his former self. It develops some of the preexisting conflicts inherent in Conner's character, brings up new questions about the nature of identity, life, death, and cloning in the DCU, and gives a new source of drama for the Teen Titans. Plus, it leaves open, if not necessary, the possibility for a return to his real body. Besides this, it leaves some interesting options for Conner's visual depiction, and makes him very distinct from the rest of the Superman family.

Drawbacks: Bringing Conner back so soon might cheapen his sacrifice, but given the circumstances, I think it would be worth it. Having Robin recreate a process done by Brainiac might be a stretch, but that could be remedied with any number of Macguffins.

Of all my Blue Prints ideas, I think this one probably has the best options for story development. Maybe I should have saved it for last. Or maybe I just miss Superboy.