I can't believe I overlooked Elektra! I'll give her and Zatanna a pass on the feminine "a" because it's far subtler than a name that includes either "girl" or "woman."

Yeah, I overlooked that line. Definitely a ding.

Not that DC asked me, but I think what they really should have considered doing is released at least a list of specific stories and events that are still in-canon for this relaunch. Maybe even issued a slate of specially marked trade paperbacks, like "History of the DCU" or something. Just something so that new readers or even reconnecting ones like me would know which back stories are dead ends (at the moment, anyway) and which ones are still relevant.

Better still, I wish DC had had the guts to go all the way and negate everything. Maybe keep something like Batman: Year One because, let's face it, it's hard to imagine an improvement on that specific part of Batman's story.

But, they didn't ask me. It'll be interesting to see over the next six to twelve months how many titles rehash old stuff, either through direct references or by trying to give us a 2.0 remake. Like I noted previously, Justice League #2 features Batman and Superman fighting one another and that couldn't be any less interesting to me in large part because it's been done before and no one since Frank Miller has done it as well as he did in Dark Knight. Supergirl is also fighting Superman in her second issue. Did they forget that DC also created a lot of villains over the years?

I feel like we already know what those stories are going to be like, because we've read issues in the past that were solicited the same damn way. Maybe not; maybe they've got something actually unique and new this time. But it damn sure doesn't feel like it right now.

By the way, is anyone going to a midnight event tonight? There appear to be none in my area, but I know there are several LCSes around the country that will be hosting special events for the release of Justice League #1 tonight. I'd go just to be around the atmosphere, really.

The X-Men always played fast and loose with code names, particularly once Claremont came along. Jean Grey was intorduced in 1963 as Marvel Girl, and she stuck to that name pretty much until she turned into Phoenix in the llate 70s/early 80s. Then she used the Phoenix name until she died. Of course, throughout this time, her teammates often referred to her as Jean, just as they referred to Cyclops as Scott, Nightcrawler as Kurt, Storm as Ororo, etc.

A few years later, they brought in Rachel Summers (the child of Scott and Jean from an alternate future), and she used the name Phoenix. Then a few years after that, they brought Jean back in X-Factor as Marvel Girl. By the time they merged X-Factor and X-Men with the launch of the Jim Lee X-Men #1, Jean was pretty much always being called Jean.

Since they killed off Jean Grey (for the second time), I think Rachel Summers has started using the Marvel Girl name.

I tried the first issue of Milligan's Shade the Changing Man Flashpoint book and I thought it was terrible, so that's keeping me away from this book. If it gets good buzz, though, I'll definitely pick it up.

I thought the Veitch and Delano runs that followed Morrison were pretty good, though not in the same league as the Morrison run. Then again, I think Animal Man was the best thing Morrison has done in his entire career.

X-Men history/continuity makes my head hurt. It should be an upper level college program unto its own.

So I just had the following exchange on Twitter with Gail Simone:

Of course, she may like it for reasons that you or I would be indifferent or even dislike it, but I believe I'm not alone in being curious about Justice League Dark so I thought I'd share that.

So they are turning Superman into Linus from Peanuts...

Since when does a 20+ year old guy need a security blanket? Does he still think girls have cooties too?

Also, his suit being made from indestructible fibers that came with him in the ship has been done before. The only thing that nobody has ever truly depicted is Superman as Linus.

To be fair, Justice League takes place in the past, when the League first formed, so that's probably why there's a rehash. And they pretty much did reinvent Supergirl from scratch, she is nothing like any other incarnation of the character, and in some ways is the polar opposite of the pre-Crisis Supergirl... with her backstory of not being fond of humanity, a confrontation like that probably makes sense.

I'm actually glad they didn't go out and tell you which trades are still in continuity, because as others have said before you still have to pick and choose stuff from there. Death of Supes is supposedly in continuity, but if you read the story Lois is married to Clark. I agree that it would have been better for them to start fresh if they were going to do this at all, since it is going to be confusing, and somewhere along the line writers are going to get nostalgic and either make nods to classic continuity or blatantly redo the same stories to pander to the fans. Not that I don't enjoy that, but it will happen. Look at the Ultimate Marvel Universe, where pretty much everyone did wink-wink connections to the main universe, or did the opposite out of some sense of irony, so that it got so bogged down in it's own continuity that it had to be rebooted. Look at post-Crisis DC, where slowly but surely they erased every single thing that Crisis brought about, bringing back the multiverse and Superman as a boy and everything else. Look at the post Zero-Hour "Archie" Legion, which couldn't help but retell classic Legion stories with a new twist until they were replaced too.

I think they tried to just create an alternate universe where creators could tell good stories without being dragged down by continuity. That's kinda what the All-Star lineup was. That's also what Earth Two seemed to be. But it didn't make as big of a splash as this did. And they got caught in a tough position, because they couldn't just trash their top selling Batman and GL books. So the compromised, and we'll see where that gets us.

As an aside, Brian Hibbs put up a new Tilting at Windmills column about the comixology storefront deal with comic stores... he's not happy.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?p...ticle&id=34091

I'm working on my final post form my blog offering an overview of the New 52 and I've encountered what may be the most boneheaded thing in the entire damn relaunch. Here's the solicitation text for Stormwatch #1:

Fine and dandy, right? Except Stormwatch comes out 9/7 and Superman doesn't come out until 9/28! Seriously, no one thought about that when scheduling this stuff?

It makes sense to use it in some form as a hero if the cape truly is indestructible. I like the reversion back to the Silver Age version in that regard. It became utterly ridiculous since Byrne that the costume would get torn to shreds in almost every single battle. Was there one battle in the past thirty years where the costume remained intact? It was a cheap artistic crutch for every artist to show Superman wearing an obliterated costume.

I dunno; I think there comes a point where it seems ridiculous for the guy to be thrown through skyscrapers and his clothes not be tattered. It looks good on a cover or in a splash page, anyway. It does get a little out of hand, like old Star Trek episodes where they used the flimsiest excuse to rip Shatner's shirt open.

I'm looking over the forthcoming issues and such and here's what I see:

First of all, I should add Men of War to my Maybe list. It's Sgt. Rock, and the premise sounds good enough to me. I might check it out.

Secondly, in just the first three issues, here are the following hero-on-hero showcase bouts:

Batgirl #3 - Batgirl vs. Nightwing
Captain Atom #3 - Captain Atom vs. The Flash*
Catwoman #2 - Catwoman vs. Batman*
Justice League #2 - Batman vs. Superman
Red Hood and the Outlaws #3 - It appears the team is fighting other versions of themselves, maybe?
Supergirl #2 - Supergirl vs. Superman
Voodoo #3 - Voodoo vs. Kyle Rayner

*The solicitation text only suggests they're rivals, but clearly the guest hero is an antagonist for the purpose of the issue.

That's not counting team books where conflict is written into the group dynamics, such as Green Lantern: New Guardians or Teen Titans (issue #3 solicitation suggests Superboy is initially at odds with the team). I admit, though, there are some mighty fine looking covers in all this. All three issues of All-Star Western, Batgirl, Batwoman, Catwoman and Men of War look good to me. The Flash #3 is cool looking, and I like Green Lantern Corps #3, too. DC Universe Presents #2 is trippy!

Isn't it easier to draw stuff without rips and tears?

I thought the Byrne revision was that he had some kind of small force field that made his costume nigh indestructible but that it didn't extend to his cape, which is why it was always torn and destroyed. I thought that was a cool revelation back in the day. I also liked that they depowered him. Of course, now he needs Kryptonian armor and a security blanket/cape.

Yes, but it's easier to draw a torn cape than it is to draw a pained and anguished expression on Superman's cape.

Well I just read Justice League #1. That was a whole lot of absolutely nothing.

JLA 2 Inks

CBR agrees http://www.comicbookresources.com/?p...review&id=3854

"One punch!"

R.I.P. Modern Era DCU (July 1986 to August 2011).

You will be missed....

I don't think Jean herself ever actually used the name "Phoenix" until the middle Grant Morrison's run, did she?

The original Phoenix (from Uncanny X-Men #101-137) wasn't actually Jean Grey, but rather the "Phoenix" using her appearance and memories. The real Jean Grey was in a cocoon at the bottom of the ocean.

Not sure I remember Jean going by "Marvel Girl" in the X-Factor comics, though she could have.

Hrm... I vaguely recall the "Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix" miniseries from 1995-ish, though, where Scott and Jean traveled to the future to raise Cable of something... don't know if she was going by "Phoenix" then or if they just used that for the title.

Flashpoint #5 was a lot better than Justice League #1.

Can anyone tell me how DCBS operates? I thought all 52 were coming out at once.


They charged me in full two weeks ago. Do they ship weekly or once a month when all titles are released?

It depends on what kind of shipping option you chose chief. If you chose once a month shipping, you will get your books the first week of October. If you chose weekly, then you'll get them early next week. Check your invoice to see what you are paying for.

For that 52 #1 package they didn't offer me a choice, it was $6.25 shipping charge. I hope they come at once.

They will. For future reference at the top of the checkout page you can select different shipping options. You can also email them to make changes to shipping if needed.

Thanks for the help, but I'm still not seeing a choice. I guess I'll email them.

I put in another test order, just to be sure and it just defaults to a flat $6.95 shipping charge with no way to change it.

I'm just excited to read these.

This brings up something that concerns me about the book. John Constantine and Shade both seem to be more recognized as Vertigo characters, even if they didn't start out that way. So how will integrating them into the regular DC Universe work? Do they ignore the Vertigo stuff with Shade? And what about Constantine? Hellblazer is still being published and nearing its 300th issue. That's a whole lot of continuity. And though JLA Dark will be one of DC's darker titles, I can't imagine it being nearly as dark as Hellblazer.

And Milligan's current run has been a mixed bag, so it doesn't exactly fill me with confidence.



I've read a bit of the Veitch and Milligan runs on Animal Man and they were fine but forgettable. But when they made him a Vertigo character, it just became a monthly PETA/Meat is Murder campaign.

I agree that Animal Man is Morrison's best work. I also enjoyed his JLA run, though I haven't read it since the issues were first published. Arkham Asylum is good, but Dave McKean's art is what makes it special in my book.

I hated his Doom Patrol. The Invisibles started off okay and quickly became tiresome. I seem to be in the minority, but I thought WE3 was mediocre and All Star Superman spotty, at best. Batman:WTF and Final Crisis were incoherent messes.

Morrison does have some good ideas, but I usually fing him lacking in executing them in an entertaining and coherent fashion.