What's Geoff Johns Going To Write Next?

Over at the excellent Slay, Monstrobot... blog, snell asks the following:

Whither Geoff Johns? 

So, Geoff Johns has left Green Lantern, he's leaving Aquaman, he's leaving JLA. When Forever Evil (eventually) ends, the only book he's known to be writing is Justice League. 

Which is interesting, because Johns is the Golden Boy, the one writer guaranteed to goose sales substantially. Remember how they had him co-write the first issue of Vibe, just to trick people into reading it? 

So it seems unlikely that DC is going to allow their "indispensable man" to script only one book, even if it is the flagship. Surely he has to be writing at least one more mag?

He then offers up a few "wild ass guesses", leading off with what I think is an inevitable series, Shazam! Following the success of the back-ups in Justice League that launched the character, it makes sense for Johns to continue with it.

Snell makes plenty of other guesses, as do some of the commenters but one title popped into my head as I awoke this morning around 6:45 and, selfishly, I thought rather than post it as a comment on snell's blog, I'd do it on mine!

Monday Memories #29 - Justice League Annual #1

Each Monday this year I'll be taking a look back at a random comic, prestige format issue, graphic novel or collection of reprints from amongst my 3,000 or so comics that date from 1962 to 2003 - I figured anything in the last ten years would be too recent to hark back to.

The comics are chosen completely at random and apart from a four week lead-in period, even I don't know what I'll be looking at in the weeks to come!

Perusing Previews - March 2013

Sure, he may not have been on our screens for years now, but Jeremy Brett is still the go-to reference for Sherlock Holmes.

Monday Memories #3 - Justice League America #37

Each Monday this year I'll be taking a look back at a random comic, prestige format issue, graphic novel or collection of reprints from amongst my 3,000 or so comics that date from 1962 to 2003 - I figured anything in the last ten years would be too recent to hark back to.

The comics are chosen completely at random and apart from a four week lead-in period, even I don't know what I'll be looking at in the weeks to come!

Multiversity Is Finally Coming

Well, if all goes according to plan, that is.

DC announced that Grant Morrison's much talked about but little seen series will be out late 2013. From the announcement:

MULTIVERSITY is an 8-issue series comprising 6 one-shots and a two-part conclusion with each issue featuring a 38-page lead story followed by an 8-page backup. Each issue takes place on a different parallel world from the main DC Earth and functions as a number one issue. Each world in the Multiverse publishes comic books about the heroes on the OTHER worlds. Once the characters realize this, they then unite to respond to the villains!

Additionally, each universe (which have been brewing in Morrison’s mind for years) will open up an endless series of worlds and realities for future writers and creators to use, expand upon and enjoy.

Global Guardians #4 - Breakdowns

For the next few weeks, I'm going to be running through the DCU appearances of the Global Guardians post-Crisis, pre-Flashpoint (or at least all the appearances I have) and wonder why they never had a title of their own and find out where they are now. Or were, pre-Flashpoint.

Last week saw the establishment of the Justice League Europe and their initial battle against the Global Guardians as controlled by the Queen Bee who was putting them forward to the world as the new heroes of Bialya.

This week we skip forward some months (story time) to the start of the last  storyline of the Giffen/DeMatteis era, Breakdowns. This was a sixteen part crossover between Justice League America and ...Europe where a number of big battles changed the make-up of both versions of the League.

And the Global Guardians were right at the start of it.

Global Guardians #2 - Moving On

For the next few weeks, I'm going to be running through the DCU appearances of the Global Guardians post-Crisis, pre-Flashpoint (or at least all the appearances I have) and wonder why they never had a title of their own and where they are now.

Following the events of Legends, the Justice League was revitalised (to say the least) and from its beginnings as simply a new version of the JLA, was transformed into a United Nations sponsored world-wide group of superheroes with embassies in most major countries.

Thing is, there was already a group with the same mandate, one which had a more international membership than the fledgling JLA/I. Sure, the League had a more interplanetary membership (with J'onn J'onzz and Mr Miracle) but the Global Guardians were already in place and as we saw last week, represented more of the globe than the League.

Still, politics being what they are, with the UN sanctioning the League, there was no need for the Guardians.

Justice League International #9 featured the first of several back-up appearances of the Guardians as they dealt with the closure of the Dome and while some, such as Belphegor and Dr Mist were quite philosophical about the affair, the Irish hero Jack O'Lantern was definitely not.

Who Was Who Is Who #5

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 who's made it over to the new DCU, who might make it and who hasn't got a Bolt's chance.

BLACK LIGHTNING - he got some love during Final Crisis and kicked around with the Justice League for a time but we haven't seen much of him lately. Will he be back before the end of 2012? Possibly, though it's sort of difficult to say where he'll turn up.

BLACK MANTA - when Aquaman surprised everybody by being the breakout character of Brightest Day, an ongoing series was sure to follow. In Brightest Day, his long time enemy Black Manta showed up and caused him some trouble along with being revealed as the father of the new Aqualad before being defeated by Aquaman and Mera. At the time of writing (early December 2011) there's been no hint that the storylines from Brightest Day will be carried over into the New 52 but I'd be really surprised if we don't see a version of Black Manta before the end of the year.

BLACK ORCHID - here's one where I find myself wondering if I've actually read something on the net or have just imagined it. Is Black Orchid appearing in Justice League Dark? The internet would make me believe not, but I'm sure I read something. Oh well, I'll put her down as a possible.

Jurgens League #6 - Blood Secrets

And here we go again, casting our eyes back over an older incarnation of the Justice League, this time from the early 90's when Dan Jurgens was in charge. With that in mind, I had to call this the

JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #76 - #77 - written by Dan Jurgens with art by Dan Jurgens and Rick Burchett.

Jurgens League #5 - Destiny's Hand

And here we go again, casting our eyes back over an older incarnation of the Justice League, this time from the early 90's when Dan Jurgens was in charge. With that in mind, I had to call this the

JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #72 - 75, written by Dan Jurgens with art by Dan Jurgens, Rick Burchett, Bob Smith and Romeo Tanghal.

Jurgens League #4 - Doomsday!

And here we go again, casting our eyes back over an older incarnation of the Justice League, this time from the early 90's when Dan Jurgens was in charge. With that in mind, I had to call this the

JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #69 - 71, written by Dan Jurgens with art by Dan Jurgens, Sal Velluto and Rick Burchett.

Jurgens League #3 - Atom And Aliens

And here we go again, casting our eyes back over an older incarnation of the Justice League, this time from the early 90's when Dan Jurgens was in charge. With that in mind, I had to call this the

JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #66 - 68, written by Dan Jurgens with art by Jurgens, Rick Burchett and Jose Marzan Jr.

Jurgens League #2 - Starbreaker

And here we go again, casting our eyes back over an older incarnation of the Justice League, this time from the early 90's when Dan Jurgens was in charge. With that in mind, I had to call this the

JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #63 - 65, written by Dan Jurgens with art by Jurgens and Rick Burchett.

Despite Superman's protests, Max Lord still has a hand in the League's business and after defeating the Weapons Master (see last week's entry) Lord does a deal with the UN which gets the team their own, brand new building right next to that of the UN.

Jurgens League #1 - A Spectacular Rebirth

And here we go again, casting our eyes back over an older incarnation of the Justice League, this time from the early 90's when Dan Jurgens was in charge. With that in mind, I had to call this the

JUSTICE LEAGUE SPECTACULAR #1 - written by Dan Jurgens and Gerard Jones with art by Dan Jurgens, Ron Randall, Rick Burchett and Randy Elliott.


JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #61 - #62 - written by Dan Jurgens with art by Dan Jurgens, Rick Burchett and Jackson 'Butch' Guice.

Before we delve into the issues, a quick bit of background as to how we got here. The Giffen / DeMatteis (and Jones) runs on Justice League America and Justice League Europe came to an end with the Breakdowns storyline which saw both branches of the League dissolve after facing various foes. The one-off Justice League Spectacular featured new writers Dan Jurgens, who would take over the American branch, and Gerard Jones who was now writing the European team without Giffen.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #122

You hear that, science? Superman wants you to bring back dinosaurs.

It's Sunday so that means comics!

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #90

The new Rocket Red gets into the spirit of the JLI

• BOOSTER GOLD #34 - this may be the first time I've looked at Giffen's artwork and just thought "Ugh!" Still, the issue as a whole was great with Giffen and DeMatteis teaming up Booster and Blue Beetle once more, just like it was back in the good old days. Mr Miracle and Barda were welcome guest stars - they're sadly missed after the whole Death of The New Gods things and it was great to see them back. This book is easily top of the list right now.
• THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #35 - I think this might be the first issue of this title that I've really enjoyed since Straczynski took over. Don't get me wrong, his earlier issues have been good, but with my fondness for weird and wacky stories, this stands out.
• JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST #5 - things get a bit serious as the reformed in all but name Justice League International agree to stick together and take on Max Lord. One very slight gripe: I know it's an artistic device but that last panel when they're all standing and looking out at the reader with grim expressions, having decided to get Max Lord . . . why aren't they stood around facing each other?!
• MAGOG #11 - sadly Scott Kolins's run on this title is being cut short as it's only got a couple of issues to run so it feels a little like marking time. I just wonder if James Robinson knows someone's going to make a mess of Opal City.

And what made me laugh:

The fourth wall gets broken, Dan Didio is confirmed as a character in the DCU just like Grant Morrison and John Ostrander, and the Inferior Five return to mainstream continuity!

So Should He Call You 'Wart?

Last week's issue of Green Lantern Corps contained a conversation between Lanterns Kilowog and John Stewart which contained a line that made me wince and remember something from years gone by.

In the midst of the battle with the Black Lanterns, Stewart and Kilowog discuss the approaching planet of Xanshi which Stewart has a history with and is determined to stop. And then this crops up:

Now I don't know where you're reading this from (probably America as most of my hits come from the States) but here in dear old Britain, the word "wog" has something of a history and nothing about it is good. From the Wikipedia article on the word:

"Wog in the UK is usually regarded as a racially offensive slang word referring to dark skinned, non-white people from Africa or Asia. It can be applied to any darker-skinned people, but is particularly applied to Afro-Caribbeans, as well as immigrants from the Indian subcontinent. Use of the word is discouraged in Britain, and most dictionaries refer to the word with the caution that it is derogatory and offensive."

Now I'm not for one second suggesting that either John Stewart or through him the writer Pete Tomasi is referring to Kilowog in a derogatory or offensive matter; in all likelihood it's a simple mistake: Tomasi simply contracted Kilowog's name without realising the implications.

It's a shame, though, as it certainly jarred with me.

Twenty years ago (dear god, have I been reading comics that long?!) the same situation cropped up in Justice League America #45 when Blue Beetle approached Kilowog with a crazy idea (they did that a lot back then) which Kilowog was initially reluctant to go through with. The whole thing started with this:

Back then, writers Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis used the same contraction and made it clear Kilowog wasn't in favour of it.

Shame Pete Tomasi hadn't read that issue.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #63

I'm off enjoying a family Christmas get together but managed to get this done before I left,

• Booster Gold #27 - Booster lays Ted to rest and we finally get to catch up with Goldstar . . . and she is so in the wrong place at the wrong time!
• DC Universe Holiday Special '09 #1 - as I've said before, the thing about anthologies is you can never tell what you're going to get. On the whole, though, these short stories were pretty good - particularly liked the Red Tornado one, myself.
• Doom Patrol #5 - the Doom Patrol take on the Black Lanterns with everyone ending up going through a Boom Tube.
• Metal Men second feature - "Giffen, Dematteis and Maguire? I didn't know those guys were still alive!"
• Green Arrow/Black Canary #27 - so Dark Arrow's Everyman, yeah? Okay . . .
• second feature - an origin story of Cupid which is actually interesting! Why did it take Kreisberg so long to come up with this?!
• Magog #4 - that's Magog's mother?!
• Punisher Max #2 - man, that Kingpin is one seriously messed up fella.
• Secret Six #16 - yay! Black Alice - that mental teenager with the really short temper - is back and has joined our favourite band of villains.

And what made me smile this week:

Black Alice shows why she is just perfect for this team!

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #60

As I was away last week, this week's Cocktail is yet another bumper sized double issue!

• The Boys #36 - the violent yet poignantly tinged origin of Mother's Milk comes to a close.
• The Boys: Herogasm #6 - Ennis's ability to lay sub-plots down that probably won't be referenced or see fruition for years to come is often overlooked by those concentrating on the profanity/violence or humour of his stories. The repercussions of this series will be worth looking out for.
• Doom Patrol #4 - the Blackest Night comes to the rest of the DCU and there's got to be nothing weirder than fighting your own resurrected corpse as Robotman finds out!
• Metal Men second feature - oh, I swear, it's like Justice League all over again with these guys! And hey, I'm not complaining!
• Magog #3 - more Giffen this week and while the main character isn't engaging me fully yet, I'm happy to tag along for Keith's writing.
• Project Superpowers: Chapter Two #4 - hmmm, that's a different take on Zeus.
• Project Superpowers: Meet The Bad Guys #3 - kinda strange introducing a bad guy for Samson considering what happened in Chapter Two #4 . . .
• Red Tornado #3 - ah, the old bad guy fooling newbie ploy. Like that isn't going to back fire on Red Volcano.
• Secret Six #15 - how cool is it to have John Ostrander writing Deadshot again? And how gratifying is it to have it be a damn good story?

And what made me smile:

Magog tuning out the usual supervillain blabbering!

And here's what I picked up this week:

• Black Terror #5 - honestly? I thought this series ended last issue. I'd forgotten all about it. Saying that, when it does turn up, it's still pretty good.
• Booster Gold #26 - nice to see Jurgens hasn't forgotten a couple of things left over from earlier issues (like the whereabouts of Goldstar for example) but at the same time this was something of a sentimental issue; you couldn't help feeling sorry for Booster and his inability to find the right words at Blue Beetle's eulogy.
• Chronicles of Wormwood: The Last Battle #2 - man, this series just gets better and better!
• Green Arrow / Black Canary #26 - still don't like Sienkiewicz's art. Sorry.
• Black Canary second feature - hmmm, you know, for once Kreisberg has me interested again in the story he's thrown together here.
• Green Lantern Corps #42 - that last page: damn it. I really liked that guy. Yeah, yeah, Hal's the one and only and all the rest of that but I've been with this guy from the start. Crap.
• JSA vs Kobra #6 - I've really enjoyed this story and it's a shame to see it end.
• Punishermax #1 - I pay next to no attention to Marvel continuity but isn't Kingpin the long time Daredevil/Spider-Man foe? Does this take place before then or what> Methinks I need to hunt round on the interwebs for the answer . . .

And what made me smile this week:

Steve Dillon, back on the Punisher!