Welcome to a new feature for the Revolution. Revolutionary Reactions will be a showcase of news in the world of comics. Why not just read the news on other sites? Because then you would be missing out on my (Thom) comments on the news. I will be telling you what I think of the latest news stories. Feel free to leave your comments on my opinions.
Now it’s time to get to the news…
LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES IS CANCELLED WITH ISSUE 50
This was the big news of the week in the Bunker. Rokk has devoted a thread to this story. One of the things that really makes me mad about this is Jim Shooter planned the storyline to wrap up in issue 54. Why couldn’t DC let him have the additional issues? If they are trying to show the fans that they care, let the story be completed as planned. DC continues to support comics that are not even close to the Legion in sales.
Title August Sales
Jonah Hex 12, 962
Manhunter 12,693
Blue Beetle 12,662
Spirit 12,352
100 Bullets 10,716
What sales does the Legion title have?
Legion of Super-Heroes 25,769
Based on the numbers, this decision does not make any sense.
TONY BEDARD IS WRITING A NEW “L.E.G.I.O.N.” BASED SERIES
Okay. This is the new Legion type series? I was never a big fan of the old series, but maybe it is time to go back and read it again. I will wait to see what Bedard is doing with this one
THE PARASITE, METALLO, AND CHRIS KENT WILL RETURN IN 2009
I am looking forward to seeing how Geoff Johns handles the Parasite and Metallo. Both are classic Superman villains. On an interesting side note…Jim Shooter is the creator of the Parasite. Cancel the series he is writing but we’ll bring back an old character he created.
Chris Kent has been quickly forgotten. I am curious to see what role he will have in the current continuity. I don’t think that he will be back as a regular character.
KON-EL WILL RETURN IN THE BLACK LANTERN STORY
It sounds like all the dead DC characters will return in this story. Based on the great job Johns has done with Green Lantern and his big storylines, this should be a classic. Will Wonder Girl and Robin get to meet up with the new Kon-El?
THE IDENTITY OF THE NEW MASTER OF THE MYSTIC ARTS WILL BE EXPLORED IN THE NEW AVENGERS IN 2009
I have to be honest. The New Avengers was number 3 in sales in August but it just does not appeal to me. I have not been impressed with Bendis’ take on the Avengers. With a storyline like this, I wish Steve Englehart and Frank Brunner were the Avengers team. They did some great work on Dr. Strange and Englehart was one of my all-time favorite Avengers writers.
SPIDER-WOMAN BOOK IN MARCH 2009
Brian Bendis and Alex Maleev fans will be excited over this series. Does this mean that Jessica Drew is still alive? I thought the Skrull queen killed her.
MAN-THING TO APPEAR IN SPIDER-MAN
Man-Thing was a very unique comic book when it was written by Steve Gerber. I will pick up this book to see what Marvel is doing with the character.
DARK REIGN IS COMING
Bendis previously announced that Dark Reign would follow Secret Invasion. I thought it was the next event/crossover. He clarified that Dark Reign is the new status quo following Secret Invasion #8.
SKRULL KILL KREW MINI-SERIES
Since Dan Slott announced this, it is probably safe to assume he is the writer. 3-D Man is joining the Krew. I liked the original series written by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar. I will be anxious to see what Slott does with this one.
2 CHARACTERS NAMED FOR NEW JUSTICE LEAGUE
2 of characters named for James Robinson’s new Justice League are Batwoman and Freddy Freeman. No matter who is in the group, it will be good. Robinson is a great writer. This will be on my list of books to look forward to.
RETURN OF MILESTONE
The Justice League and the Shadow Cabinet will meet. Icon will be a major part of the JSA. By the end of next year, Static and one other Milestone character/group will be in their own books. The DC universe will be busting at the seems with the addition of the Archie heroes and the Milestone characters.
MORE WEEKLY DC BOOKS
Dan Didio announced that a “less than a year long” weekly will follow Trinity. After that will be another weekly series that might be open-ended. I know my son loves the weekly series. I really liked 52. Countdown and Trinity have not come close to it. It will depend on who works on the book. I think the format is viable but it does need tweaked. I would let the creators tell the weekly story but not have to make it go a set number of issues. So the next series might appeal to me.
Until next time, this is Thom in the bunker signing off.
7 thoughts on “Revolutionary Reactions”
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Is it certain that Johns is using Kon-El for Blackest Night, or just part of his running joke of late whenever a dead character is mentioned? I think so many of us have been expecting to see Zombie Conner that having him not show up would be the big shock. Either way, I expect Blackest Night will make Final Crisis look like filler.
Wow. I don’t even read LSH and I am mad that they didn’t let Shooter finish his run til 54. I am excited about LEGION (and about Bedard) although it really is not a replacement for LSH as it takes place in a different era. Where can I find the press release about this?
I am pumped for slotts Kill Krew mini, hes doing an amazing job with the krew over on avengers: the initiative and i cant wait for him to show Ryder, Riot and 3D man kicking some more ass.
-hobosk8er
On the LoS cancellation: I am a Captain Marvel (Marvel Family) fan and I’ve dealt with since I discovered them. LoS, to as Captain Marvel is with many others, something that kind of exists but doesn’t really seem necessary. Having said that, I am completely appauled that smaller (i.e. “outside”) comic books (like Shazam and Legion of Super Heroes) have a fan base that can keep them existing despite what the companies feel about them. LoS to me is niche but we are entering the era of niches and if we keep shutting down things like this, we’ll never get what we’re all looking for: our favorite characters.
Personally, I blame everyone who continues to support DC’s “big 3”. If there was more openness towards the LoS or Shazam and less emphasis towards Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, I think we’d all be a lot better off. I’m not a supporter of LoS, but I support its existence because that means we’re being open to other ideas.
On the Batwoman/Freddy Freeman addition to Justice League: There are numerous comparisons made between the Avengers and Justice League but the only difference I see is that the Avengers include a wide swath of characters, many of which are “B-list”. Justice League has always been headed by the “A-list,” and adding these two names seems like a “we’re trying to include some popular characters, even though they wouldn’t be invited to the popular people party.”
I honestly believe that Justice League would fold without Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Aquaman, and Green Lantern being in the forefront. Avengers routinely exists without a Captain America or Thor. I love the Marvel Family, so I’m excited to see the new Shazam involved in a mainstream book. I’d just like to see them in their own.
On more weekly DC books: Great… let’s have a better story going on them than we’ve had to deal with up til now. Countdown was mediocre, 52 was great “now and then,” and I’ve been completely unimpressed with Trinity. If you’re going to do things this way, DC, do them with some serious effort.
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I’m a big supporter of the lesser characters in both major companies (and Image, too). I love Invincible, for instance, along with Shazam as two of my major favorites. There are a lot of people looking to break into this business as mainstream artists and writers that would be willing to work on a smaller title for free in order to get some recognition. Me, personally, I’d be willing to write a Shazam series pro-bono in order to get regular work because I love the characters, I love the history, but I want to put my mark on all of it. Hell, let this idea be an “alternate universe,” so it won’t affect what is happening in the regular universe.
The other thing that I’d like to touch on is the industry’s firm resistence towards having online comics rather than just the print versions. I’d read far more digital comics if they were available but the ones I have access to are just not ones I’m interested in.
I’m a writer, trying to be a published novelist, and I have had an idea to re-imagine the Shazam mythos to make one, solid continuity without relying on simply redoing the same stories over and over. I want to “Smallville” the Shazam mythos and when I’m done with it, I’ll make it free for all to see… this will also show that I am willing to work free in order to get into the industry that I’ve been interested in for so long.
In high school, I was more into the idea of drawing comics but I see that my strengths are more in the writing. Places like the Bunker complain about teams of writers or artists that leave them unimpressed, yet, the industry keeps them in these positions because (ta da!) we keep buying the books. If you don’t like what they are doing, stop getting the books. If a sports league is doing something that displeases, stop going to their events. Buying that book or ticket and complaining about what you got in return just means you don’t mind what you’re paying for as long as you get to complain about it. I don’t buy books with artists or writers I don’t like. I’ve stopped collecting books for large lengths of time because this is how to get things done.
Do I believe the A-listers are ever going to be anything less than in the spotlight? No. People like Superman so Superman will continue to have great sales. However, there is no reason to have 6 Superman titles. He should have 1 book and 1 book only. Use the Spider-Man theory, if you want more Superman stories, put out the book more often. Having only 1 book will allow other characters, teams, or stories to be told and have these companies keep the books we want to see like Legion of Super Heroes and Shazam out there rather than being constantly started and cancelled.
Sorry for the lengthy rant but I like threads like this that allow for more of a broad discussion.
you make a valid point there, the_matrix_has_you, about supporting the characters/books we really like instead of buying into the big 3 hype.
will keep that in mind. thanks.
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On Bendis’ Avengers:
I don’t care if he tortures the characters anymore, just stop doing it to the readers. It’ll “dark” and “edgy” and….this is what happens when you HAVE to fill book after book, title upon cross-over title, but only have enough ideas (plot) for four issues. Bring back Waid. At least his convoluted, self-indulgent, externally referential, right-up-to-the-edge-of-fanfic “stories” ENDED and when they ENDED a new plot would begin. Bendis is simply beating us over the head with repetition and single-thread, recycled continuity-porn.
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Great review of BM RIP, BTW.
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Ordway was awesome, Thom, and I think he spruced up the old image quite nicely… unfortunately, DC made Billy STAY young… the kid has to grow up and move on now and then, other than that a stellar run for Ordway.
MY Shazam take is going to be a little bit different than that, but I’ll keep things grounded in reality.
Glad to see the dedication to those indy books, too!