... but a whimper
Well, would you look at that. Heh. T'would seem I called it.
It's not exactly a shocking, right-out-of-left-field plot twist (I'm sure Blind Freddy saw it coming), but it's nice to have at least one stable element within the Green Lantern franchise. You see, in the lead-up to the soft reboot, DC has re-solicited all the books. Ugh. I'm left with a sinking feeling about September. How much of this new publishing initiative has actually been thought out, and how much is being made up on the fly?
Our "must buy" list of new DC #1s has been in constant flux. No sooner do we add one book than we take it away again. News items, creator interviews and solicitations have piqued our interest for some titles and utterly sunk others. Right now, our September purchases look like this:
- Green Lantern: The New Guardians
- The Fury of Firestorm
- Blue Beetle
- Wonder Woman
- Batgirl
- Birds of Prey
- Justice League Dark
For those keeping score we've given up on both Justice League books, Action Comics, Nightwing and a host of others before they've even left the gate. stareyednight and I have decided it's best to steer clear of the "big seven" characters, and focus instead on second (and third) stringers whose continuity will either be left alone or hard-rebooted. No middle ground for us.
The other big loss is Green Lantern Corps. I've decided to come clean and be honest with myself: I only give a shit about the GL mythos if I'm seeing them through the eyes of Kyle Rayner. Yeah I like the overall concept, but I don't connect enough with Hal, John or Guy to drop $8 a month on their adventures. Let the boys do their brooding/egotistical soldier thing; I'll be over here with the artsy kid and his Crayola cavalry.
Justice League Dark, meanwhile, is the latest (and likely last) addition. stareyednight is pissed Zatanna has lost her solo book. We're both hoping it's just being rested (there are rumours writer Paul Dini is unwell) and will return in due course. In the meantime, my girl needs her monthly fix of her girl. Please, Mr Milligan, do right by us.
October looks a little more promising. There's going to be a Huntress mini-series that ties into Birds of Prey, making my wife a very happy camper (mayhaps DC is rolling out some heroine titles after all?). And, for me, there's this.
----------
GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS #2
Written by TONY BEDARD
Art by TYLER KIRKHAM, HARVEY TALIBAO and BATT
Cover by TYLER KIRKHAM and BATT
By their rings betrayed! Who - or what - has the might to tear power rings from each of the seven Lantern Corps, murdering their former bearers in the process? And why have the rings all chosen Kyle Rayner as their new master? As members of each Corps target Kyle for death, we learn more about the shocking fate of Ganthet!
----------
Maybe I'm just a geeky fanboy (maybe?), but that sounds damn good to me. Certainly makes a hell of a lot more sense than "Kyle Rayner leads a team that includes psychotic murderers and is not troubled by his conscience 'cause DC likes its merchandising dollars". Hooray for in-universe rationalisation!
It's hard to put my current feelings about the relaunch into words. They're somewhere above "apathy" and "resignation", but well below "excitement" and "anticipation". An event that should be awesome instead feels hum-drum and mildly annoying, and that's a real tragedy. I hope it's not having the same effect on new/lapsed comic readers because, if so, DC may just be wasting everyone's time.
Greet the Fire as Your Friend,
SF
It's not exactly a shocking, right-out-of-left-field plot twist (I'm sure Blind Freddy saw it coming), but it's nice to have at least one stable element within the Green Lantern franchise. You see, in the lead-up to the soft reboot, DC has re-solicited all the books. Ugh. I'm left with a sinking feeling about September. How much of this new publishing initiative has actually been thought out, and how much is being made up on the fly?
Our "must buy" list of new DC #1s has been in constant flux. No sooner do we add one book than we take it away again. News items, creator interviews and solicitations have piqued our interest for some titles and utterly sunk others. Right now, our September purchases look like this:
- Green Lantern: The New Guardians
- The Fury of Firestorm
- Blue Beetle
- Wonder Woman
- Batgirl
- Birds of Prey
- Justice League Dark
For those keeping score we've given up on both Justice League books, Action Comics, Nightwing and a host of others before they've even left the gate. stareyednight and I have decided it's best to steer clear of the "big seven" characters, and focus instead on second (and third) stringers whose continuity will either be left alone or hard-rebooted. No middle ground for us.
The other big loss is Green Lantern Corps. I've decided to come clean and be honest with myself: I only give a shit about the GL mythos if I'm seeing them through the eyes of Kyle Rayner. Yeah I like the overall concept, but I don't connect enough with Hal, John or Guy to drop $8 a month on their adventures. Let the boys do their brooding/egotistical soldier thing; I'll be over here with the artsy kid and his Crayola cavalry.
Justice League Dark, meanwhile, is the latest (and likely last) addition. stareyednight is pissed Zatanna has lost her solo book. We're both hoping it's just being rested (there are rumours writer Paul Dini is unwell) and will return in due course. In the meantime, my girl needs her monthly fix of her girl. Please, Mr Milligan, do right by us.
October looks a little more promising. There's going to be a Huntress mini-series that ties into Birds of Prey, making my wife a very happy camper (mayhaps DC is rolling out some heroine titles after all?). And, for me, there's this.
----------
GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS #2
Written by TONY BEDARD
Art by TYLER KIRKHAM, HARVEY TALIBAO and BATT
Cover by TYLER KIRKHAM and BATT
By their rings betrayed! Who - or what - has the might to tear power rings from each of the seven Lantern Corps, murdering their former bearers in the process? And why have the rings all chosen Kyle Rayner as their new master? As members of each Corps target Kyle for death, we learn more about the shocking fate of Ganthet!
----------
Maybe I'm just a geeky fanboy (maybe?), but that sounds damn good to me. Certainly makes a hell of a lot more sense than "Kyle Rayner leads a team that includes psychotic murderers and is not troubled by his conscience 'cause DC likes its merchandising dollars". Hooray for in-universe rationalisation!
It's hard to put my current feelings about the relaunch into words. They're somewhere above "apathy" and "resignation", but well below "excitement" and "anticipation". An event that should be awesome instead feels hum-drum and mildly annoying, and that's a real tragedy. I hope it's not having the same effect on new/lapsed comic readers because, if so, DC may just be wasting everyone's time.
Greet the Fire as Your Friend,
SF