Lego Galore

I am so looking forward to this:

and if this gets a Lego game, I'll be buying that as well:

Wednesday's World Wide Web #6

Never one to let a theme fall by the wayside, I'm resurrecting the Wednesday World Wide Web thanks to last week's Blue Beetle #7 which gives us this DCU website:

At superfail.com, you can watch costumed adventurers smacking fifteen year old girls in the face.

Or you could if you have $10,000 to spare:

You need to be quick, though - only one day to go!

New Justice League Villain

So a couple of days ago, the DC Source blog revealed Jim Lee's design for the new "mysterious" Justice League villain.

A mystery? Really? It seems fairly obvious, having read Justice League #6 and #7 that the villain's going to be David Graves, author of Gods Among Men as seen at the end of #6. It appears in the intervening five years between #6 and #7, something's happened to him to shake his faith in the superheroes which, I'm guessing, is going to involve the death of his kids, hence the tattoo like images on his arms.

Though I could be wrong, I suppose.

Who Was Who Is Who #13

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, and with DC's New 52 well under way (how long are they keeping that title do you think?) I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of 2012, who might make it and who hasn't got a Duke of Deception's chance.

DOCTOR PSYCHO - another Wonder Woman villain who doesn't really fit into the new status quo of that title, I'm going to go with a no here.

DOCTOR REGULUS - a Legion villain, I'm afraid I'm not educated enough to make a guess. Hopefully Dave Sopko, the official COEP Legion go to guy can let us know in the comments.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #172

Don't be too sure of that, Jaime

Kids Today, They Got No Respect

While that may be true, it seemed they had no respect twenty five odd years ago, either.

As regular readers know, I'm going through my old Who's Who and taking a stab at guessing which characters from the old days will make it into the New 52 and in #13, I came across a letter from "M" in Spartanburg, South Carolina who listed various things they thought could be improved. In the list was this little gem:

Yep, M from Spartanburg was complaining about the amount of Kirby artwork in the pages of Who's Who. It's not like Kirby did anything for comics, is it? I mean, why have so much of his stuff?

To be fair to DC, they did address it in their response:

I like to think of M reading this issue and realising what an idiot he/she has been.

Prometheus Trailer

Sweet Cthulhu's beard this looks like it could be good.

Global Guardians #8 - The Last Days

Over the last few weeks, I've trawled through my comics, looking at the Global Guardians and how they fared in the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths and pre-Flashpoint DCU.

For most of their appearances, they were closely linked with one branch or another of the Justice League, appearing mostly in their titles and on more than one occasion acting as foils against them.

Following the events of the last post, much of the team had been lost, though the League had handily supplied them with potential new members to help them get over things.

It didn't work.

Who Was Who Is Who #12

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, and with DC's New 52 well under way (how long are they keeping that title do you think?) I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of 2012, who might make it and who hasn't got a Dr Cyber's chance.

DESTINY - ever since Neil Gaiman pinched Destiny and decided he was one of the Endless, he's pretty much been off limits. Even with the recent relaxation between the Vertigo and DCU lines, I can't see him arriving soon.

DETECTIVE CHIMP - one of best characters in the sadly short lived Shadowpact series, I'd love to see him back in action as the ex-alcoholic, surly genius that he is. Kind of doubt it'll happen, though.

DIAL "H" FOR HERO - had I been writing this just a couple of weeks earlier, I'd have said not a chance of ever seeing this series again. As it is, it's been picked up as part of DC's Second Wave of comics so even though it hasn't been published yet, it's going in the "in place" column.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #171

Oh yeah, Ray Palmer shows he's still got it.

Zombies And Playboy Bunnies

Over the last few months, I've picked out various things in issues of Previews that either make me laugh or just plain baffle me. One thing I've seen cropping up fairly frequently is the mixture of zombies and sexy ladies like so:

and, frankly, I'll be darned if I see the connection.

Ceiling Cat Is Watching You

Regular readers will know that when I'm running short on time and don't have much to post, one of my fallbacks is a quick look at the search terms people use to find this blog. Here's the latest:

Eunuchs and that bloody picture in second place have long appeared on the list but for the first time quite a few of you ended up here after searching for "power girl rule 34"

Your mothers would be ashamed of you.

Ghost's Back

Ghost makes her return to the pages of Dark Horse Presents in #13 according to Dark Horse's June solicitations:

"Dark Horse's woman in white returns with a whole new twist as Kelly Sue DeConnick and Phil Noto reboot Ghost—a new incarnation of Elisa Cameron revived in the pages of Dark Horse Presents!"

and I for one will be picking it up.

Worlds' Finest #2 And Before Watchmen

Honestly, I saw that cover and thought "Sweet Cthulhu's beard! They've brought back the Anti-Monitor as an enemy for Power Girl and Huntress!"

"HUNTRESS and POWER GIRL versus THE IRRADIATED MAN!
Learn what our heroes have been doing since they arrived here five years ago from Earth Two!"

No such luck - he's apparently The Irradiated Man.

Say What You See

From Our Valued Customers

Sorry if you're expecting your usual Tuesday Global Guardians post - things got away from me, I'm afraid. Normal service will be resumed next week.

By the way, saw John Carter and thought if was okay. Nothing brilliant, never made me go "Woah!", didn't do anything new story-wise but still looked good, had a bunch of British character actors turning up for five seconds each, Dejah Thoris was easy on the eye and the Tharks were cool.

So yeah - it was okay.

Who Was Who Is Who #11

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, and with DC's New 52 well under way (how long are they keeping that title do you think?) I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of 2012, who might make it and who hasn't got a Demolition Team's chance.

DAILY PLANET - yes it's in place, no I'm not counting it. Why? It's a newspaper, people!

DARK CIRCLE - Legion villains, I'm pretty sure they're not coming back any time soon but that's where Dave Sopko, the official COEP Legion go to guy comes in. He says "Doubt we'll see them in the near future, short of a conversational mention here or there. I think that they will show up eventually, but probably a few years down the line."

DARK DESTROYER - villain from Atari Force. Do I have to say anything more?

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #170

You have no idea how many times I've said that to my wife.

More Earth-2 Info

James Robinson finally gets to talk about Earth-2 in a little (emphasis on little, there) detail over at Newsarama a day or two back.

From the interview, we get confirmation that this Earth-2 is, not surprisingly, a brand new version of the concept. After all, DC aren't going to reboot / relaunch their main universe and then allow an old version to keep on running in the background, are they? As much as some of us might have wanted / expected that very thing to happen just because they're using the term "Earth-2".

Anyhow, Robinson is asked fairly early on about what sort of world we can expect, the interviewer saying that based on the previews we've had - where Batman's willing to kill, Wonder Woman's the last Amazon, Superman's mourning Lois Lane's death and ready to kill - it seems Earth-2's going to be darker than expected. He replies:

"It isn't darker. It's just taken a different turn based on key events unfolding differently than on [the main DCU Earth]. And as the series progresses, you're going to see that, while it isn't a completely different world that's so alien to us that we can't recognize it, or even a world with a gimmick, kind of like the old Earth X where it hadn't won the war. Those kinds of things, which are very easy and pat to put down. 

This is an earth that in some ways is very like [the main DCU Earth], but in very key important ways, it's also very different. And obviously, I can't reveal too much now, but by the end of the first issue, I guarantee you you'll get a sense of how this world is different and then how it's familiar at the same time."

I'm more inclined to believe Robinson's take on this rather than DC editorial and am figuring that all the stabby, grim and gritty talk is DC shouting "Look how menacing this all is!" just to get people talking. I'm not saying that's a good tactic (I really don't think it is) but Robinson's reply gives a little more hope, I think.

New Look And Name For Captain Marvel

So Captain marvel gets a new look, complete with hood, electricity and a grim and gritty snarl. M'eh.

Oops, sorry, he's also changed his name to Shazam.

DC revealed his new look (via the New York Post) saying that they changed his name in part because

"a lot of people already thought that was his name, anyway."

which, I guess, is a fair enough reason to do it.

It's not like there's any other reason to change his name, is there.

Perusing Previews - March 2012

Seriously, Previews? This is a Featured Item? After all the flack DC took for Starfire and Catwoman in the early days of the relaunch Zenescope get away with this? And they're charging $149.94 for it?!

Blimey . . .

Global Guardians #7 - Final Fight

For the next few weeks, I'm going to be running through the DCU appearances of the Global Guardians post-Crisis and pre-Flashpoint (or at least all the appearances I have) and try to find out where they are now. Or were, pre-Flashpoint.

Having been used as little more than cameo guest stars in the end of the Red Winter storyline as seen last week, the Guardians next appearance was in Justice League Quarterly #17. In a couple of issues prior to that, a new Jack O'Lantern was seen, one Liam McHugh, the cousin of the original but as his were solo stories, I'm not dwelling on them.

Instead, we rejoin the Guardians at their HQ in the Pacific where Tuatara has been having visions of the future, mostly about his friends being in danger.

Who Was Who Is Who #10

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, and with DC's New 52 well under way (how long are they keeping that title do you think?) I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of this year, who might make it and who hasn't got a Crazy Quilt's chance.

CONGO BILL / CONGORILLA - a surprise addition to James Robinson's run on Justice League of America the big ape played a big part in most of the adventures. Doubt we'll get to see him in the new DCU though.

THE CONSTRUCT - long ago robotic enemy of the Justice League who popped up occasionally, possessed someone's body then got defeated. Won't be seeing him any time soon.

CONTROLLERS - sort of cousins of the Guardians of the Universe, I wouldn't be too surprised to see Geoff Johns bring them back in the pages of Green Lantern at some point down the line; it would be nice to see them come in and teach the Guardians a thing or two. Thing is, there's so much planned in the GL titles, while I think they may come back, I don't think it'll be before the end of 2012.

COPPERHEAD - killed some time ago by the latest Manhunter, I doubt he'll be resurrected.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #169

Mmmmm, plump piggies . . .

Earth-2 Superman

And no surprises for guessing which character DC's blog finishes up with in their week long reveal of Earth-2 character designs.

"“What would you have to do to teach Superman to kill?” asks EARTH 2 editor Pat McCallum. “He’s endured the loss of his home world, and now the Last Son of Krypton must weather the death of his soul mate Lois Lane. Just how far can you bend the Man of Steel before he breaks?”"

So Batman's willing to kill to save his daughter, Wonder Woman's lost the Amazons and is mightily pissed off, now Superman might kill because Lois is dead.

Jeez, Earth-2 ain't going to be a barrel of laughs any time soon, is it?

Earth-2 Supergirl / Power Girl

And the Earth-2 heroes keep coming; here's E-2's Supergirl before she becomes Power Girl.

"“Superman’s cousin loves her adopted world with a passion, seeing how the people of Earth have adopted her and taken her to their hearts,” said EARTH 2 writer James Robinson. “She is the definitely brightest light among this first group of Earth 2 heroes.”"

That line about PG being the "brightest light" certainly gives me hope for Worlds' Finest as just about all we've heard about Earth-2 so far is fairly grim - Batman willing to kill, Wonder Woman being all "stabby" to use Martin's phrase.

One thing, though: head over to the DC Source blog (the first link up above) and check out the HUGE hi-res picture of Supergirl. Is it me or has Kevin Maguire taken to using MS Paint to colour his drawing?

Why didn't Jim Lee do that with his Wonder Woman sketch?

Earth-2 Wonder Woman

Here's Jim Lee's redesign for Earth-2's Wonder Woman. No pants this time round, Jim? According to James Robinson,

"Due the events that open the saga of EARTH 2, Wonder Woman is already the last Amazon of this world and she is determined to avenge her sisters…at whatever cost,"

I wonder if those events tie in to the cover of Earth-2 that was previewed a few weeks back which saw Wonder Woman, Batman and Superman fighting against parademons. That cover also begged the question about where are the other heroes that people were expecting to see on Earth-2, ie the Justice Society?

This has me even more intrigued about Earth-2 if nothing else!