Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis 40…pretty much everything Mennochio said as my main point…I can’t wait to find out the Dweller’s origin after this.
I wish they’d gone with a renumbering, though.
Re Alan Scott
So the retcon about the green meteor actually being the remains of GL Yalan Gurr has been undone or ignored? Og, how I hated that retcon.
I plan to stop by the funnybook store in the next few days. I keep not getting Previews in on time.
I was willing to give Alan a pass on the comment, with regards to his own abilities - because his powers certainly aren’t the traditional form of magic. I don’t think the Spectre even bothered him during the whole rampage - and his ring is an odd blend of magic and Oan science.
Of course, the thing I find most odd, really, is the Thunderbolt’s comment, since…
5th dimensional entities don’t use magic, they use technology so advanced as to be indistinguishable from magic.
But that’s been an inconsistent point forever, now, so it doesn’t bug me.
On Wally’s costume:
Three primary points of difference (aside from eye color, which was useless here.) The belt - most obvious of the three. Wally’s forms a sharp downward ‘V’ in front, Barry’s is a straight line. One of the afterimages of Flash’s entrance does have a slight downward ‘V’ - not really consistent with either costume - but the foremost image has the standard straightline Barry-belt. Second, the earpieces - Wally’s are a little inconsistent - sometimes they’re a checkmark, sometimes they have the stylized ‘wings’ with two narrow feathers, like Barry’s… however, Wally’s earpieces are sharply angled. In most depictions, they angle forward, then sharply back - Barry’s go straight up, then back. And are shorter. Lastly, tiny winglets on the boots. Barry has’em, Wally doesn’t. There are more subtle points - Wally’s costume has been drawn as “shinier” in recent appearances, but these three are the big ones.
Ummm…is Alan’s ring the same one he was wearing a year ago? If not, it is an Oan ring, & non-magical. Didn’t he pass right through the wooden wall, in one scene?
I’m going to talk in-depth about Infinite Crisis (and the associated series leading up to it, since Identity Crisis), and I’m going to avoid using spoiler boxes. I’ll use them if I need to reference something specific from Infinite Crisis #5, but for the most part I’ll stick to generalities and older stuff. If you’re staying pure and waiting for the trade, this is your warning.
Infinite Crisis is, IMHO, the best superhero story to come down the pike in a good long time. The scale of the thing and the fact that almost the entire DC line is supporting it helps, of course, but what really makes this thing stand head-and-shoulders above the rest of its spandexed contemporaries is how it works on several different thematic levels.
The first, of course, is the superhero smackdown. It’s a fine one. Epic stakes, great fights. Just below that is the continuity glitter for the fanboys. Seeing your favorite obscure character or historical detail mentioned. Johns is better at this than most.
Then there’s the exploration of heroism. What it means to be a hero, what one must sacrifice and what are acceptable means for achieving good ends. We’ve seen good people make some dubious decisions (Batman, Wonder Woman, the Justice League and Zatanna). We’ve seen some bad people make good decisions (the Six). We’ve seen some good people commit atrocities in the name of a greater good (Max Lord, the Spectre). Hell, even the Society is more about mutual protection than world conquest and crime. And now Alex wants to tear it all down to build a perfect world. At the end, I think we’ll see the heroes recalibrate their moral compasses and truely by heroes again.
And then there’s the meta-commentary and in-jokes. Look at our antagonists:
Alex Luthor: An arrogant creator that thinks he knows better than everyone else. He’ll pick what he likes and toss out the rest to create a universe that conforms to his personal vision.
Superboy-Prime: The whiny fanboy that throws a tantrum when the story doesn’t go the way he likes, and when his pet character (himself, in this case), is left out.
Superman-2: Kal-L is much more reasonable than SB-P, but still has an overly rosey estimation of his favorite period in comics, as compared to the modern day. He also takes the death of his favorite character very personally.
So it’s as much about the creators and fans finding their center again as it is about the heroes themselves.
And finally a guess at how this will end: Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman will take a year off to reconnect with humanity. Wonder Woman, frankly, has nothing better to do, and cn blow a year bumming around Europe or something. Batman’s cognizant of the fact that he’s perilously close to the line, if not over it, and can be talked into a sabbatical. Superman, the most “human” one, ironically, would be the least likely to do it, I think. But he may be able to convinced if somone, say Steel, promises to look after things while he’s away.
Having read every issue of JSA since launch, I’m wondering when Alan would’ve acquired this normal Oan ring. As of Green Lantern : Rebirth, Alan was not a wielder of an Oan ring, but rather still imbued with the power of the Starheart mixed with that of Oan technology. His powers are internal - if he manifests a ring on his hand, it’s cosmetic.
Menocchio - Newsarama has preview pages available for some of the One Year Later titles, including Superman, giving us a glimpse of his status-quo, post Crisis.
Actually, there’s a lot of interesting stuff up there, from 52, including a page showing us the depths of Ralph Dibny’s despair.
Ooh, Newsarama has something I was working on - a lis tof fatalities in Infinite Crisis and the build-up thereto.
Spoilerific, of course.
http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=61480
http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=61597
Yeah. I’ve been keeping my eye on that stuff. 68 Years Ago… Interesting.
Anyway someone can post that stuff in a spoiler. That site is a tad too graphics intensive for me to read it at work.
Thanks in advance.
Just names. Also removing a couple confirmed alive since.
Starting with Identity Crisis:
Sue Dibney
Firestorm I
Captain Boomerang I
Jack Drake
Blue Beetle II
Overthrow
Max Lord
Rocket Red
Fastball
Firefly
Bug
Hyena
Fiddler
Pariah
Amos Fortune
The Paradaemon
Possibly (but not likely) Cheshire
Black Bison
Shazam
Hawkwoman
Onimar Syn
Sparta
Hyperion and Thia
Black Condor II
Human Bomb
Phantom Lady II
Possibly (but probably not) Uncle Sam
Dr Polaris
Ratcatcher
Carrissa
Neptune Perkins
Stallion
Unknown numbers of the citizens of Atlantis and Bludhaven.
Pantha
Baby Wildebeest
Bushido
Mick Wong (the other half of Firestorm II)
The Lois Lane, Steve Trevor, and Wonder Woman of Earth-2
Nabu
Jade
Hector and Lyta Hall (AKA Dr Fate and Fury)
Fisherman
Crispus Allen - sort of.
Rag Doll I
Satanus
Tekla
Koryak
Vulko
Sam Kurtis (Father of Stargirl)
Fel Andar
And, a direct quote:
I <3 Marvel: Masked Intentions - ahem SQUEEEE!
I have been waiting for this book ALL MONTH.
I’m a little disappointed they wasted half the book on the Justice/Firestar story*, but the first story, the story I wanted the book for…it was love. True love. Love with a cute little tail on. The there’s a dozen lines in those 12 pages that make me fall over laughing. And…well, you can never go wrong with Squirrel Girl. I adore her new costume. Art’s a little on the variable side, but when it’s good, it’s GREAT, and when it’s not so good…it’s not terrible. Squirrel Girl’s positively adorable, and there’s a few shots that I can’t help but stop and look at again and again. And when she finally gets her kiss…sigh
- Keep in mind I say this as an unabashed Squirrel Girl fanboy. Even with the fact I think the pages could have been better spent on 12 more pages of Miss Doreen Green [del]stalking[/del]romancing Speedball, I have to admit it was a good story. As depressing as the other was fun, but good. But still…we need more Squirrel Girl, dammit!
Speaking of things that make me fall over laughing:
Hack/Slash: Trailers - Brilliance. Especially the Skottie Young drawn story, featuring Chippy the Slasher Slayer. In which Skottie himself dies.
Also read 'Tec, finally. Not a bad book. Interesting that Poison Ivy’s back. Robin’s costume really looks good here. And, of course, it lured James Robinson back to comics, so it’s got that going for it, if nothing else. I’m still hoping the same part I mentioned above is just a red herring.
Hmmmm…
Another point that your post reminded me of? Wally doesn’t have afterimages (as a rule) he generally has the yellow bits of his costume turning into lightning trailing behind him. BARRY is the one who leaves afterimages. (and it’s much better effect, even if it takes longer to draw
I picked up Outsiders OYL. Disliked it. Nothing happened till the end. Yes this is a danger, yes they must do something, but they spend too much time talking and not enough doing. Added to that: this is not really the team I’d pick for this work, personally.
Also…
[spoiler]
Did they pimp Thunder out for the good of the mission?[/spoiler]
So enjoy this extra-long post:
Fathom #6: Love the Aspen stuff, indifferent to the underwater stuff. Unfortunately this issue was about 30% Aspen/ 70% underwater politics. Still good.
Firestorm #22: Heh, flaming hair. An interesting look at what makes Firestorm tick, but low on action. Love the idea that Ronnie just made the costume because it looked “cool.”
Freshmen #6: Excellent conclusion of the first arc.
GL Corps: Recharge #5: Ditto.
Infinite Crisis #5: Just keeps getting better. Loved the Action Comics homage.
JLA: Classified #17: Eh. Not sure that Simone’s really good with the epic stuff. Interpersonal things (like Diana’s reasoning for staying with Wally) she’s great at, but I’m not hooked on the story as a whole. I’ll give it one more issue to wow me.
JSA #83: PG lives! Hooray! I know that’s been common knowledge for weeks now, but nice to see her. Looks like the entire JSA survived, unless I’m missing someone… ah, Sand and Hawkgirl. Well Kendra has her own series now, but Sand…
Anyway, okay issue. Its’ basically setting the pieces up, so not a lot of action.
Legion of Super-Heroes #15(568): Kiss me, I’m buyonant!
Action Comics #835: This is where Simone shines. Relationships, love, caring. Even the twisted have some sense of love. Interesting that Livewire seemed to have electric abilities before her power boost.
She-Hulk #4 and #5: #4 was a great story. I can understand changing artists for a “serious” story, but I just didn’t like the style. In #5 we get back to the normal art and the light tone. Poor Awesome Andy. He likes 'em abusive.
Supergirl #5: Zor-El is a dick. Rucka has huge shoes to fill.
Teen Titans #32: Excellent.
A question on Marvel Zombies; is there any explanation on why the Black Panther and Magneto were uninfected? Was it just that they were lucky and didn’t happen to get bitten by another hero when the zombie virus struck? And has there been an explanation of why the zombie virus seems to only effect super powered beings?
Perhaps the virus is both sentient and A nazi? Thus, it refuses to infect the black Tchalla and the Jewish Magneto?
Total WAG- I haven’t been reading the series, but I remember seeing a mention of Asteroid M in a Previews issue description or Wizard article. Not being on the planet when the virus hit would help. Magneto’s lairs generally have very well equiped infirmaries/laboratories. Magneto may have found a way to prevent himself from being infected.
For T’challa, Pym was extremely - extremely - careful to avoid infecting him. That’s why he was carving him up, not taking bites straight out of him.
Magneto was just lucky enough to avoid getting bitten until they ate him.
The Accolytes were offworld.
No, it infected Luke Cage and Ben Grimm. (I know your post was intended as a joke. But I felt the need to show off my geek fu.)
Although Kirby fully intended Ben Grimm to be a Jew, and did several dawings showing the Thing wearing a yarmulke, and tallis and holding the Torah, Ben Grimm is a Catholic. There are canon instances of his going to confesion, and to Catholic services. Various What Ifs that have him marry, show a Christian ceremony.
Now that I think of it, when the Scarlet Witch married the Vision, did Magneto once ask if this synthezoid was Jewish?