Thursday, March 31, 2005
Stomped On Like a Blue Beetle
If you are not a comics geek, don't want to know how DC's Countdown to Infinite Crisis turns out, or just want to stick your fingers in your ears and go "LALALA" while pretending it never happened, then skip this post.
For everyone else:
Wow. Between this and Identity Crisis, I am led to believe that there are DC board meetings that consist entirely of the editors kicking Giffen and DeMatteis in the balls while shouting, "What is the frequency, Kenneth?"
And for the really, really curious who want to know what the hell I'm talking about:
Back in early 2004, DC put out a comic book series called Formerly Known as the Justice League, written by former Justice League creative team Giffen/DeMatteis. The book featured on some of the less-glorified members of their Justice League run- like the Elongated Man Ralph Dibny and his wife Sue, the Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Fire, and Captain Atom. The book was warmly received, and filled with the slightly-mocking humor that Giffen's run was famous for.
And then Sue Dibny became beef jerky in the pages of Identity Crisis, DC's "dark" "long-reaching" summer miniseries event. Oh, and she was pregnant- with twins- at the time of her death. While fanboys raged, the worst is yet to come.
Then came the sequel to Formerly Known, "I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League", currently running in the pages of JLA: Classified. And among the subjects featured is a not-yet-well-done Sue Dibny. Who's just found out she's pregnant. Which leads to severely uncomfortable feelings when you read about a woman who's joking about baby names with her superpowered husband, when you know that she will soon be killed by the Atom's ex-wife in a horrible fit of womb crazy.
Then came the preview for DC's latest "long-reaching" crossover event, Countdown to Infinite Crisis, wherein the Blue Beetle (who gets treated like shit by everyone else in the DC Universe) finds out about some horrible fate that's about to befall the world.
And then gets shot in the head for his troubles.
So, basically, DC now has a series running full of light humor and gentle reflection on the Silver Age of comics featuring a pregnant victim of a murderous aneurysm and a guy who got double-capped. Aren't comics supposed to be kind of, well, fun?
For everyone else:
Wow. Between this and Identity Crisis, I am led to believe that there are DC board meetings that consist entirely of the editors kicking Giffen and DeMatteis in the balls while shouting, "What is the frequency, Kenneth?"
And for the really, really curious who want to know what the hell I'm talking about:
Back in early 2004, DC put out a comic book series called Formerly Known as the Justice League, written by former Justice League creative team Giffen/DeMatteis. The book featured on some of the less-glorified members of their Justice League run- like the Elongated Man Ralph Dibny and his wife Sue, the Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Fire, and Captain Atom. The book was warmly received, and filled with the slightly-mocking humor that Giffen's run was famous for.
And then Sue Dibny became beef jerky in the pages of Identity Crisis, DC's "dark" "long-reaching" summer miniseries event. Oh, and she was pregnant- with twins- at the time of her death. While fanboys raged, the worst is yet to come.
Then came the sequel to Formerly Known, "I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League", currently running in the pages of JLA: Classified. And among the subjects featured is a not-yet-well-done Sue Dibny. Who's just found out she's pregnant. Which leads to severely uncomfortable feelings when you read about a woman who's joking about baby names with her superpowered husband, when you know that she will soon be killed by the Atom's ex-wife in a horrible fit of womb crazy.
Then came the preview for DC's latest "long-reaching" crossover event, Countdown to Infinite Crisis, wherein the Blue Beetle (who gets treated like shit by everyone else in the DC Universe) finds out about some horrible fate that's about to befall the world.
And then gets shot in the head for his troubles.
So, basically, DC now has a series running full of light humor and gentle reflection on the Silver Age of comics featuring a pregnant victim of a murderous aneurysm and a guy who got double-capped. Aren't comics supposed to be kind of, well, fun?
