Who'd Like A Cocktail? #207

Hawksmoor paraphrasing Oscar Wilde. A Haaaawwwksmoooor?

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #198

You hear that, Justice League?

Trinity War Speculation

DC's unveiled a big picture of the four page gatefold in the Free Comic Book Day issue (which I didn't get - need to speak to my comic book guy)

and Newsarama has a link to an absolutely massive version of it.

Not wanting to miss out on the speculation about Trinity War, I thought I'd have a quick look and see what we've got:

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?

The New Protector

So the DC Source blog revealed what follows Brightest Day - Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search - with the following description:

"Following the exciting conclusion to Brightest Day, the new protector of Earth has been chosen - but one reluctant hero makes a return to try and convince Batman, Superman and the rest of the DC Universe’s heroes that this may not be a good thing at all."

as well as showing the art for the cover:

I'm guessing the figure on the right is the "reluctant hero" while the one in front is "the new protector" so here goes my guesses:

The reluctant hero is Deadman - he's been one of the main character's of Brightest Day and has yet to fulfill his mission (at least at the time of writing) When he does, as with all the others, the white ring will then kill him hence him making a return for this Aftermath series.

The new protector? Judging by the silhouette and how pissed Superman looks, I'm going for Lex Luthor which is why the reluctant hero has to convince the heroes "that this may not be a good thing at all."

Of course, if I'm right it probably won't take much convincing!

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #112

Ah, Hourman - how often have I felt like that?

DC start their run of gorgeous, minimalist covers and what do I do? Go and splash a whole bunch of text over them.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #107

Because he's the Batman! Duh!

• THE BOYS: HIGHLAND LADDIE #4 - I really like Starlight. She's honest and smart enough to realise that something's fishy with how Wee Hughie got sight of that footage. And she's willing to put them both through the wringer in an attempt to salvage their relationship. Another excellent issue.
• BRIGHTEST DAY #14 - Deadman gets taught a lesson as we have a quick tour through his past and hey, what do you know, the resurrected Batman turns up. Oh, and Deadman and Dove get together at last - Hawk's going to be pissed!
• DC UNIVERSE: LEGACIES #7 - wait, John Stewart became Green Lantern after Armageddon 2001?! That makes no sense at all! Nice to see the highlights of the Death of Superman as well as Knightfall, though. And hey, Brian Bolland artwork on Camelot 500! Damn fine issue.
• GREEN LANTERN #59 - "You can't erase your crimes by putting on a ring." Ummm, isn't that kinda what you did, Hal? I don't see you serving time in a Sciencell for the death of Kilowog or Sinestro. Oh and I don't know what's funnier: Larfleeze stealing Flash's wallet or the fact that somewhere in that skin tight uniform Flash finds room to keep a wallet!
• GREEN LANTERN CORPS #54 - interesting bit of back story on the Weaponer and who knew that skinny Sinestro could fight so well hand-to-hand?
• JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #51 - heh - the Atom explaining about parallel worlds to Alan Scott; like he needs a lesson on the Multiverse! Another big fight with lots of exposition.
• POWER GIRL #18 - you know, with the recent balls-up of Ice's origin over in Justice League: Generation Lost, I was expecting Winick to mess this title up as well. Thankfully, he's surprised me by turning in a decent story again of Power Girl vs Divine, but I'm still nervous about the long-term prospects.
• THE STAND: HARDCASES #5 - the Free Zone Committee are in place and everything starts to gear up now.
• ZATANNA #7 - a fill in issue is always a bit worrisome but Adam Beechen turns in a great one-shot issue. This really is a charming series!

And what made me smile:

I shall now be using this repeatedly for the Friday Night Fights!

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #105

See, there are worse things than pelicans

• THE BOYS #48 - with one of the best pastiche covers ever, the new Boys storyline gets underway. The Homelander's plans seem to be underway and Butcher's previous bastardry comes back to haunt him.
• BRIGHTEST DAY #13 - a Hawkman-heavy issue is never a bad thing even when all he's doing is beating the crap out of things which, let's face it, is what he does best. A quick cameo by the Resurrection Man reminds us that Deadman still has a mission to find the Chosen One and as a certain Batman has recently returned, there's no prizes for guessing who next issue will feature.
• CROSSED: FAMILY VALUES #5 - for a moment at the start of this issue there was a flash of what the Crossed world offers to writers: an exploration of how normal people deal with the extreme crap they find themselves in. Then they had to go and bring the corseted and stockinged mother into things as a cartoon villain out to get them. Ah well, not long to go now.
• DOOM PATROL #16 - would it be remiss of me to mention that I've met Brian Keene, author of this issue? And that he's a good friend of my mate Tim? Probably, so I won't. Even though it's something of a fill-in, this is still a good fun issue with some wonderful Giffen artwork. It manages to further Robotman's character as well, pushing him towards the horrible realisation that he may be turning into the Chief. Talking of Robotman, just about any other issue would have ended with that wonderful splash page of the alternate reality Cliff roaring in and I'd have been happy with that. Carrying on with an excellent next panel was just laugh out loud funny! A damn fine issue.
• FREEDOM FIGHTERS #3 - Phantom Lady turns out to be the ace in the hole to get rid of the renegade shamans before Firebrand's conspiracy theories take over. And hey, Miss America's back! Another cool issue of paranoid politics and superheroics.
• JSA ALL-STARS #12 - despite the cover depicting a big space battle, the vast majority of this issue deals with Cyclone and her attempts at leading a normal, de-powered life in university. Until not one but two apparent clones of her super-powered self turn up . . . or do they? Neither Roxy nor one of Cyclone's university friends seem to notice the doubles . . .
• LADY MECHANIKA #0 - finally managed to get my hands on this even though it's been out for a couple of weeks. The art's gorgeous and the steampunk genre is one I enjoy so I'll be sticking with this. The only slight quibble is Benitez's dialogue. Mostly it's okay but every now and then it's just a bit clunky and forced. But hey, it's an introductory issue so here's hoping it'll improve.
• SECRET SIX #27 - both teams go berserk in Skataris and Catman makes a passable Warlord. It's all a bit hectic, to be honest, and I'll be glad once they're back in the real world again.

And what made me smile:

Recipes at the back of Lady Mechanika! This is what we want!

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #103

Even demonic cat familiars like Lolcats, apparently

• THE BOYS: HIGHLAND LADDIE #3 - poor old Hughie's well messed up and the arrival of Starlight at the end of the issue probably means #4 isn't going to be a laugh a minute either.
• BRIGHTEST DAY #12 - I am so glad that the other green Martian didn't turn out to be J'onn's wife - that would have been dreadful. 
• DC UNIVERSE HALLOWEEN SPECIAL 2010 - another anthology title so a little hit and miss; the Scarecrow story was good, Wonder Woman and Deadman in their first real team-up worked but the best was Blue Beetle and Miss Martian.
• DC UNIVERSE: LEGACIES #6 - the tail end of Crisis on Infinite Earths, the formation of Justice League Detroit and the whole, sorry Legends event get featured in this issue.
• GREEN LANTERN CORPS #53 - despite being mostly one big fight, this was an okay issue with new villain the Weaponer kidnapping Soranik Natu and forcing Kyle Rayner to work with Sinestro. One query, though: the Korugarans that Rayner saves - why aren't they red skinned?
• JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #50 - so if you're planning to totally wipe out one of the alternate Earths (off screen as well) why pick on the only one out of the 51 available that has any sort of real exposure? Bang goes Earth-9 and the whole Tangent heroes universe. And why were the Crime Syndicate after the body of Alexander Luthor? He's from the pre-Crisis Earth-3 while the Syndicate's from the Anti-Matter Universe.
• POWER GIRL #17 - so Divine gets her first full appearance and, unless I'm mistaken, she seems to be a clone of Power Girl herself.
• RAGMAN: SUIT OF SOULS #1 - I was hoping for a bit more than an origin retelling, maybe featuring the Shadowpact, but it wasn't bad.
• THE STAND: HARDCASES #4 - I'd almost forgotten this series was going on it's been so long since the last one.

And what made me smile:

The Daily Planet's post-Crisis headline!

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #89

Robotman gives Negative Man fair warning in Doom Patrol #12

• THE BOYS #44 - I swear, seeing the Homelander singing the Bee Gees almost made the Cocktail post this week! Garth Ennis mixes in evangelical Christianity with his take on superheroes and I think we all know it's not going to be pretty. And that last page . . . poor Hughie and Starlight . . .
• BRIGHTEST DAY #5 - Mera and Aquaman are attacked by a foe from the past, forcing Mera to reveal a secret she's been keeping for nigh on fifty years; while Deadman is forced to attempt a resurrection; and the Hawks... the Hawks don't look as though they're in a good place right now.
• DOOM PATROL #12 - the Doom Patrol have their behinds kicked while behind the scenes the Chief is forced to compromise. The end of the first year is traditionally a round up of a major story arc but that doesn't happen here; instead more hints are laid for upcoming issues. Here's to the next year!
• JSA ALL-STARS #8 - still one of my favourite reads every month, a superhero team that works well together and, while having plenty of action, also has characters that develop as well: Anna Fortune drops a nice hint about her origins when she says "The only flying machines they've got in my day are hot air balloons." Really enjoying this title.
• Co-feature LIBERTY BELLE & HOURMAN - for me, it's the character interaction that still leaves this story rattling along; I've long forgotten what the plot is about this book and statue the heroes and villains are after. Still, I'm not complaining as it's a quick, fun read.
• SECRET SIX #23 - a done-in-one guest slot from John Ostrander was something I was looking forward to. As it is, it's a little disappointing. A not entirely original set-up and the Six are very quickly shown to be in no real danger so we pretty much know nothing's going to happen to them. All in all, nothing special.
• THE STAND: HARDCASES #2 - As Flagg continues to draw his followers to Vegas, this adaptation continues to be solid and dependable.

And what made me smile this week:

Roxy gives the All-Stars plenty of warning!

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #83

Backwards spells - Zatanna deals with creeps in her own style.

• Battlefields #6 - I think we all knew the mostly lighthearted story couldn't end well, but even so, those last couple of pages were a bit of a shock.
• Brightest Day #2 - Firestorm appears to have an unwanted (and unknown) passenger; at least one White Martian has shrugged off their human disguise; and the Martian Manhunter shows why he's been described as the soul of the Justice League, dealing with a tricky situation in a calm and compassionate manner. Oh, and those last two pages? See below.
• The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Journey Begins #1 - easily picking up the longest title award, as my wife said: "Hasn't this journey been going on for some time already?" We get more flashbacks, though, this time dealing with the aftermath of Jericho Hill. My only gripe - as it starts the adaptation of The Gunslinger, how can it miss the classic opening line of the book: "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."
• DCU: Legacies #1 - comparisons to Marvels may well be made as this story romps through various generations of heroes as seen by an everyman character, but right now it's off to a great start. Appearances from the Crimson Avenger and other Golden Age characters along with the less well known "Scoop" Scanlon make this a treat for those of us who like DC's history.
• Justice League of America #45 - didn't I say last time that this series seemed to be getting better? This issue, once more, seems to sprawl - there's no real sense of pacing, it's simply one scene after another that barely seem to connect. Such a shame.
• Zatanna #1 - the last thing I read that had Paul Dini credited as writer was Countdown . . . and we all know how that turned out. It's an absolute joy, then, to read this first issue and come away with the intention of adding this to my pull list. Zatanna's always been a cool, if underused, character and it's nice to see her get an ongoing. The story races along, setting up for the next issue, and the art is nice and clean. Good job all round.

And what made me laugh out loud:

Deadman vs the Anti-Monitor!? It took most of DC's heroes to beat him in Crisis on Infinite Earths; took dozens of Green Lanterns to have any effect in the Sinestro Corps Wars; the combined Lantern Corps still had problems with him in Blackest Night.

Now Deadman has to fight him on his own?!

A Little Research Needed

Back in the late 80's, well before the success of 52, Trinity or *cough* Countdown, DC's experiment with weekly comics wasn't as well received.

Action Comics, the one that launched Superman and could be said to have started the whole superhero thing, took their main character and, between #601 and #642, squeezed him into a two page spread while the remaining pages were filled in an anthology style with stories starring other characters. Oh, and they published it weekly.

Action Comics Weekly was an odd title - it had it's minus points like the time when Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show; or there was the laboriously plotted and dreadfully illustrated Black Canary tale Bitter Fruit; but it also had some plus points.

One of them was the gorgeous Mike Mignola cover of #614 shown on the right but there was also that time when Deadman met D.B. Cooper  (who turned out to be the Devil/an alien astronaut); it had Blackhawk doing what he does best (flying planes and trying to pull anything in a skirt); and had Catwoman frame Holly Robinson's husband for the murder of two security guards which she threw out of a hotel room window to their deaths, all in retaliation for him killing Holly.  That's right - Holly died and Catwoman killed people.

Re-reading them recently, though, I did come across something that made me chuckle. I've picked up the woeful attempts of American writers to come up with believable British dialogue before in the Cor Blimey Guv'nor posts and while this isn't speech, it's the same sort of thing:

That's Speedy and Nightwing rushing to save the life of an ambassador who's attending a rally for the Labour party. That's Labour party.

See, over here, we spell that L-A-B-O-U-R.

Don't even get me started on using the Union Flag as a symbol of Labour . . .