BRIGHTEST DAY #21-22I guess by this point J'Onn's pointless solo arc should have wrapped to make way for the big group brawl. D'Kay was just O'Kay, so proclamations of her being the Martian Manhunter's greatest menace came to a wet fart. At least Malefic was important enough to piss me off. This chick was a non-concern.
Written by GEOFF JOHNS & PETER J. TOMASI
Art by IVAN REIS, PATRICK GLEASON, ARDIAN SYAF, SCOTT CLARK & JOE PRADO
Covers by DAVID FINCH
1:10 Variant covers by IVAN REIS
As the end of BRIGHTEST DAY approaches, our returned heroes and villains begin converging in one area as the ultimate protector reveals itself against the ultimate menace!
Retailers please note: These issues will ship with two covers each. Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.
Issue #21 on sale MARCH 2
Issue #22 on sale MARCH 16
32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
DC COMICS PRESENTS: SUPERMAN/DOOMSDAY #1I don't really want to think of Doomsday as a member of the Vile Menagerie, and his upcoming company-wide tearing of ass should help dilute his ratio of general appearances to those where he beats on Martian Manhunter (or a reasonable facsimile.) However, this particularly collection features Doomsday beating on Martian Manhunter one-on-one, so there you go.
Written by DAN JURGENS, JERRY ORDWAY, LOUISE SIMONSON, ROGER STERN and JEPH LOEB
Art by DAN JURGENS, JERRY ORDWAY, CHRIS BATISTA, GIL KANE, DENNIS JANKE, BRETT BREEDING, JOHN NYBERG, ED MCGUINNESS, WALDEN WONG and CAM SMITH
Cover by CARLOS PACHECO & JESUS MERINO
Reprinting tales of the dread being known as Doomsday just in time for the “Reign of Doomsday” storyline marching its way through the DCU! First, from DOOMSDAY ANNUAL #1, a host of writers and artists look at Doomsday’s early rampage through the cosmos before his fateful first encounter with The Man of Steel, guest-starring the Green Lantern Corps, Darkseid and more. Then, in a tale from SUPERMAN #175, the Red Hulk team of Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness present a disturbing vision of Doomsday, as the creature is “Jokerized” and reborn as Doomsday Rex!
On sale MARCH 2 • 96 pg, FC, $7.99 US
BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL #54Next month: Batman's Secret Diary begins, because there hasn't not been a Batman anthology series in what, twenty-two years?
Written by MARC GUGGENHEIM
Art and cover by JERRY BINGHAM
The dramatic conclusion of the 5-part “Super-Powers” arc reveals the final outcome for Bruce Wayne’s revelatory journey from driven loner to the young Batman who would be able to work side-by-side with the other heroes of the DC Universe!
FINAL ISSUE • On sale MARCH 2 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
BOOSTER GOLD: PAST IMPERFECT TPGiffen & DeMatteis on Martian Manhunter again is good, but sadly, not especially plentiful.
Written by KEITH GIFFEN and J.M. DEMATTEIS
Art by CHRIS BATISTA, RICH PERROTTA and PAT OLLIFFE
Cover by KEVIN MAGUIRE
The shocking events of JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST leave Booster Gold bloody and beaten in these tales from issues #32-38. The only way for him to put right what went wrong and save the people he loves is to travel back into the past. But what happens when Booster comes face-to-face with himself and Justice League International?
On sale APRIL 13 • 168 pg, FC, $17.99 US
BRIGHTEST DAY VOL. 2 HCThe second hardcover collection of meandering, repetitive story snippets by artists that don't compliment each other drawing characters seemingly drawn from out of a hat.
Written by GEOFF JOHNS and PETER J. TOMASI
Art by IVAN REIS, PATRICK GLEASON, ARDIAN SYAF, SCOTT CLARK and JOE PRADO
Cover by DAVID FINCH
Once dead, twelve heroes and villains were resurrected by a white light expelled from deep within the center of the earth. Now, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Firestorm, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Deadman, Jade, Osiris, Hawk, Captain Boomerang and Zoom must discover the mysterious reason behind their return and uncover the secret that binds them all.
In this second volumes, which issues #8-16 of the series, find out whether Deadman is truly destined to wield the White Lantern and who the new Aqualad is. Plus, Firestorm’s dueling alter egos take a bizarre journey, while Martian Manhunter returns to Mars to learn about the strange creature that’s stalking him.
On sale MAY 4 • 240 pg, FC, $29.99 US
Miss Martian
SUPERGIRL #62This sounds cool! Shame the new writer has already bailed on this book, and for all I know, this "generation definer" is a throwaway done-in-one.
Written by NICK SPENCER
Art by BERNARD CHANG
Cover by AMY REEDER & RICHARD FRIEND
Nick Spencer (Morning Glories) assembles the cream of the crop of the next generation of DCU super-heroes in this issue – Robin, Static, Miss Martian, Blue Beetle, Batgirl, the new Impulse – to team up with Supergirl and take on a new villain who promises to define this generation as much as Darkseid, Lex Luthor and The Joker did prior ones. Good luck, kids!
On sale MARCH 23 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
YOUNG JUSTICE #2
Written by ART BALTAZAR & FRANCO
Art and cover by MIKE NORTON
Based on the highly anticipated, all-new hit animated show from Warner Bros. debuting in January on Cartoon Network!
Superboy discovers that an unwanted guest in the team’s cave is not really what he appears to be! Is the threat deadly to only The Boy of Steel – or is the enture Justice League in danger, as well? Superboy struggles to find the balance between fighting for himself and for the sake of others!
On sale MARCH 16 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
12 comments:
Re: Brightest Day
Yeah, I wanted to love it, and I still like the art and a number of aspects of the story, but D'kay has underdelivered on interesting direction and overcompensated with the grotesque JLA-icide. It ain't over yet, but it'd have to cure cancer in the remaining issues to get a gold star from me at this point.
I second the lamentation that JLI has not included J'onn nearly enough in these hindsight issues. He, Gardner and Beetle are the only ones on the cover of both the first and last issues of Giffen and DeMatteis's run. Some respect is due.
Also, Supergirl Miss Martian Team up is pretty much a dream book.
It'll be interesting to see, especially in light of the Young Justice cartoon whether Miss Martian ends up being to Supergirl what J'Onn J'Onzz is to Superman. That is, the inheritor of abandoned characteristics once associated with the more famous character. Until Sterling Gates, Kara Zor-El v2.0 was an obnoxious, rebellious, yet directionless bimbo. If there's another opening in the super-smart, capable, futuristic and respectful super-heroine department, M'gann should take it.
There's a part of me that just wants Miss Martian to be forgotten and go away already. If she turns out to be a flop, she'll muddy up J'onn's "dynasty." If she winds up being a hit, she'll overshadow him. J'onn's a character already suffering from major premise issues, so why add another half-baked element to the mix? She's a round peg in a square hole that's already inside another round peg. If that Young Justice cartoon takes off, J'onn will be forver known as "Miss Martian's uncle" and not the other way around, just like Ted Kord is now the guy who was Blue Beetle before Jaime to younger fans.
Brightest Day is pretty dull and pointless at this point. I really wanted DC just to bring back some fan favorites and get back to business as usual, not lead right into another crossover/year-long series. Which will probably conclude by kicking off ANOTHER year-long series.
After reading a whole slew of comments on Facebook today ripping on Aquaman and how he was only "cool" when he had the "bad ass" hook-hand and the long hair I want to go cry in a corner and/or put my fist through a wall. These are the fans DC is pandering to, and no meaningful or thoughtful story is going to come out of that strategy.
Martian Manhunter as the adopted uncle to a White Martian with multiple personality disorder who decapitated her own evil future self? That is full of win, because it builds the Martian Manhunter Dynasty as a unique and gamier alternative to the Superman Family. I increasingly lover Miss Martian's look, and having missed the Young Justice pilot, I'm anxious to see how she works in animation. Honestly, I have no problem with J'Onn being "overshadowed," because he belongs in the back alleys, not the spotlight. Also, she's one step closer to bringing back the other Martians of the Silver and Bronze Ages. I want my B'rett, Bel Juz, and Marshal back!
I'm looking forward to Aquaman, dreading Martian Manhunter, and hoping for a return to the glory days of the pantheistic JLA. I will be happy to avoid future (bi-)weeklies, though.
PAD Aquaman was such a colossal disappointment, and only children of the '90s would think otherwise. A pox on their houses and Golden Mullets in their gaming systems!
Ehhhh. Letting J'onn have a family is too Bronze Age for me, and too similar to Superman for me. Then again, you know that nothing short of stripping him down to his Silver Age roots will make me happy. For me it's less aliens, not more, and down-to-Earth stories with only a hint of the fantastic that make him interesting. And simplicity.
I'll take Bel Juz and Commander Blanx, and maybe Miss Martian if a good writer comes along and gives J'onn a recurring human alias and lets him be a detective like he was meant to be. Why Geoff Johns can't give J'onn the Hal Jordan treatment, I don't know.
You put "Martian Manhunter" in italics....did I miss an announcement that there's a solo series coming along with the Aquaman one?
That's just it: M'gann and J'Onn still have a tenuous non-relationship. She's relatively autonomous. However, she could easily be brought in if given a bit more of an attitude and some transgressive elements (tattoos, piercings, riot grrrrl hair.) She could be Lisbeth Salander to John Jones' Joe Friday, or more to the point, an updated Gypsy.
I referred to a presumptive Martian Manhunter spin-off series, probably by Peter Tomasi. Nothing confirmed yet, but I don't want either of the Brightest Day guys writing such a beast. John Arcudi, Tom Peyer, or Len Kaminsky would be by far preferable.
Nah. If two Martians are living on Earth as humans, that's what the story would be about: how they relate to each other. That's why I disliked the whole Cay'an series, and same with Brightest Day.
Why not just use Gypsy? Swap out Miss Martian for Gypsy as his smart-mouthed human friend and I'll be more than happy. To me, Miss Martian is a throwaway character created on a whim to impress some guy's girlfriend and not to enhance or compliment J'onn's premise, and they stuck her in the Martian Manhunter "family" because he's the only JLAer who was minor enough to do so. Besides, I'm tired of White Martians and the whole, "wait, one's still alive!" retcon.
J'onn's a lens through which to view humanity, and I think he's the most interesting when observing and seeking to understand us (e.g. DC: New Frontier, American Secrets) and relating to his human "family" and friends (e.g. Justice League International.) If he's not relating to humans, then he's not living up to his original intent of a Martian forced to live among humans. I don't want to see two Martians sitting around talking about Mars, the Plague, recreating Mars, or what have you, because that's all backstory.
I'll be flogging this dead horse forever until I see "American Secrets: The Ongoing Series."
I'll give you that Gypsy might as well be the wiseass sidekick, but I'm just saying that once you've got a decent character with a following, why not try to realize their potential? She's here, so deal her in. Also, perhaps a more adversarial relationship would make her more appealing?
I definitely want Martians around, because I don't want humanity to be J'Onn's consolation for his own dead race. I want him to choose us over his people, not to be stuck with us by default and abandon Earth every time a reborn Mars comes calling.
Eh. Okay, maybe. Only if Miss Martian showed up very infrequently. Sure, she's around, but that doesn't mean she couldn't suffer a *cough* unfortunate accident...(or sent to repopulate Mars, if you like happy endings.) I'm just not a big Titans fan and sometimes I think Batman should be a solo act, too.
There's some good reasoning behind your logic, and I hadn't thought of it that way before. That being said, I still like to think of his choice as between doing something (heroics) or nothing, or a choice beween life and death rather than Mars or Earth, similar to the push destiny gave Bruce Wayne. If Thomas and Martha were still alive, Batman's choice would just be one between two career paths: vigilantism or philanthropy, and which gets his full attention. If Mars were alive and J'onn chose us, that'd be one hell of a choice. It would be interesting to see, but I doubt any writer would be sophisticated enough to pull it off well.
I like Bel Juz and Commander Blanx, et. al., (perhaps becuase they're so "human") so I'm torn between having them around and the quasi-amnesiac solitary Maritan Manhunter from American Secrets. Maybe someone can come along and reconcile those two separate visions. The only thing I can think of is a "Batman Confidential"-type title set in the 50's prior to J'onn joining the JLA.
Well, to be clear, Mars is a dead world. I want Mars II to have existed, but it need not continue to in the present. Perhaps some surviving Martians are still there, while others continue to roam, and others still covet worlds like our own. Rather than running off with J'en to make babies on Haven, J'Onn chooses to continue his life on Earth, often in its defense against the more misguided or plum evil examples of his race. Basically a return to the Silver Age dynamic, but with the added pathos and sophistication of the modern era. In fact, maybe Miss Martian can fight some of those battles on her own, while John Jones minds his own business until thge ghosts of Mars get in the way?
"and others still covet worlds like our own." Now that's an interesting idea. Another displaced Martian protecting another world. That could be a pretty interesting tangent to explore. Sort of like a Martian Adam Strange/Green Lantern. Or a Martian in L.E.G.I.O.N.
Miss Martian fighting the sci-fi battles and John Jones fighting the Earthly ones, with an occasional foray into his roots? I'm cool with that. Now that we both figured this all out, let's hope DC can do the same. A slim chance, but I can dream. What I don't get is why Hal Jordan, Barry Allen, and now Aquaman have all gotten the Silver Age treatment, but J'onn is stuck in a perpetual 90's loop.
Hal, Barry, Arthur and Carter Hall were all active in the '70s & '80s when most current creators grew up, and were either largely unaffected or late adopters of Post-Crisis revision. Also, they all appeared in cartoons broadcast during that span of decades based on their Silver Age incarnations.
Also, teen Captain Marvel comes from the '70s live action show and cartoon, while unfunny Plastic Man dates back to his terrible show.
Most Wonder Woman writers still nod to Perez, but her TV appearances also skew her toward this weird middle ground.
The vast majority of current creators had little to no exposure to Bronze Age Martian Manhunter, and there were no cartoons to reinforce the original model. Therefore, the "right" interpretation is the one they were introduced to by Gerry Conway, Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis or even Grant Morrison.
Post a Comment