52 Week 16 Interview

Steven Wacker: How ya doin’, Geoff?

Geoff Johns: Awesome.

SW: That’s great!

GJ: Awesome.

SW: Thanks for coming on as a guest this week.

GJ: Dude!

SW: What?

GJ: Sweet.

SW: Umm…I think we’re going to need you be more expansive.

GJ: Awesome.

SW: “Awesome” what?

GJ: Dude. It’s just so sweet.

Ladies and Gentlemen: Geoff Johns, Writer

(Whole interview here)

Motherhood in Comics

I'm still feeling rotten and overworked, but I need to get some thoughts out into the open for sanity's sake. For a while the posts will be coming out in their "Formative Stage" as opposed to the completed and structured form that regular readers are used to (spoiled by). This one is the first, struggling thoughts of a post I've been wanting to do for months, but I've been unable to turn off Rant Mode long enough to get a coherent set of paragraphs out.

I wasn't originally going to comment on this post because, to be brutally honest, complaining about pathos in Gotham is like complaining about idiocy in Green Lantern. Still, this comment, and how it relates to a pet peeve about comics, stuck out at me:

So apparently, Babs can't be a strong woman who wants to try to help make gotham a better place, she's merely trying to connect to the men in her life. Right. That's us told then.

This is a natural turn of the character of Babs Gordon, yes, she has always had very strong paternal ties. But it still is an underlying problem with a lot of superheroines. This particular one, the daughter fixation on her father wouldn't be a problem if Batgirl had been created with a substantial maternal presence in her household.

As it is, I can think of very few heroes (Black canary II, Wonder Woman) with mother fixations, and quite a few (Zatanna, Power Girl, Oracle, Stargirl, Cameron Chase, Manhunter, Black Canary I, Arisia) with father fixations. That's not to say I don't like the character, or the dynamic, but damned if the imbalance isn't sending a nasty message about the value of motherhood.

It gets even worse when you try to think of male characters with female role models, or even mothers who had nearly as much of a positive impact as their fathers did. I can't think of any, actually. Maybe the new Zatara in teen Titans, if his mother is Zatanna (I hope it is).

And then, look at the hero-villain couples that produce a child. How many of those are heroic/semi-heroic fathers with villainous/semi-villainous mothers? Arsenal and Chesire? Batman and Talia? Alan Scott and Thorn?

Hell, one of the reasons I like the very same writer that the linked comment is complaining about is because he took Hal Jordan, a character with standard superhero father issues, and added a strong maternal influence (I think his mother's death has been referenced in three storylines since the last series restarted? And I'm sure it'll lead back to his romance problems). He couldn't make her a role model with the setup, but at least he made her count which is more than the previous writers had.

And I know that DC Comics is generational, and that First Generation of Heroes was overwhelmingly male. However, it doesn't help that the few women in that generation have been killed off (Hippolyta, Dinah Lance I), aged (Red Tornado, Sandra Knight), pushed to the background (Sandra Knight), and not many heroes have picked up their legacies, and everywhere I look I see the overwhelming important of Fatherhood over Motherhood even the newly created characters tend to have Father issues or Fathers to live up to or Absent Fathers they constantly angst over (though the ones with Absent Mothers barely bring them up) and are just inspired by their Fathers while their Mothers bake apple pie in the background--

And that's when the fledgeling thought pattern descends into inarticulate blind rage...

And...

Because I missed a whole day of blogging (having felt like crap), here's a special bonus Steve Trevor panel to mock!

Disordered Thoughts on Character Appeal

I blame my deteriorated mental state for the Kalinara-esque title. I'm still sick, but this was rattling in my head and needed to be written. Pardon my structure.

This is a tricky one to start, because the comment that got me thinking, was a slight misstatement on the part of the commenter. However, there's sometimes truth in tired miswritings, and the misreadings in them. Especially when they echo vague ideas we've seen before. Retraction aside, this quote has me thinking about writers, and how they market characters to women, and how they market female characters to men.

Guy resonates with people because his problems are our problems, well .. except brain damage maybe.. Fiancee stolen by someone he thought was a friend who lied to him, left for dead, taken advantage of. Guy wasn’t feminine.. he was innocent. As in young and idealistic. Eventually he got hurt badly enough that it fractured his mind and put him into a Coma that the Guardians had to heal him from. Girls just like Guy because at least he’s upfront and is really a nice guy deep down.

What gets me, and again I'm not personally going after the commenter, but it says a great deal that the two thoughts are separate.

Here it is again, the first thought:

Guy resonates with people because his problems are our problems.

And the second:

Girls just like Guy because at least he’s upfront and is really a nice guy deep down.

And no, I'm not about to take someone's head off over "People" and "Girls." I just find it interesting that the commenter felt a need to bring up a "girl reason" for liking Guy in his comment. I think this attitude about fans of opposite sex characters needs closer examination.

We already talk, all the time, about how female characters suffer when written as objects rather than people. They are written that way, at times, because the writer is writing a character as a person the reader "wants to be with" rather than someone the reader "wants to be."

I've seen the "excuse" for this, that most writers are male, most readers are male.

The idea that, to write for a female audience, women will be categtorized as "want to be" personalities and men as "want to be with" personalities is along the same lines as the one where female characters get objectified. Without even getting into the heteronormativity of the matter, it bothers me on the front because it pretty much says that a man cannot identify with a woman, and vice versa. It really bugs me because that's not how I, personally, pick my favorites.

Oh, you've all seen this site. You all know I like to get down to the jokes about Green Lanterns and their assets. The first thing Chris Sims said back when I mentioned I was making a list for Tom Bondurant's 50 Greatest DC Characters Survey was "Lemme guess, 1) Kyle Rayner's Ass, 2) Hal Jordan's..." and to this day I'm sure he'd still claim I only put Kyle on that list by virtue of his hindquarters.

He'd be wrong, though, because I don't pick my favorites based on "hawtness." Rather, I am insistent that certain characters are "hawt" because I like them so much.

And while I have mentioned the appeal of Kyle as "The artistic guy who actually does have a core of strength" that's not why I enjoy reading him. I enjoy reading him, particularly when Marz writes him, because it's very easy -- with Kyle's attitude and narrative voice -- to place myself in the story through Kyle. That's why in JLA Kyle was such an anchor early on, because he was an easy character that way.

That's also why, when it changed to Winick, many of the Kyle fans through Marz despised the character changes (Kyle's narrative voice was traded in for moral superiority), and why now, fans who got into Kyle through Winick think he's gone "backwards" with the new writer.

That is an entire other series of posts, though.

My point is, though, that while I can see the appeal of Kyle as a romantic interest, and make cracks about his appearance, I wouldn't really give a shit for the character if I didn't have a personal connection to him. Kyle's a character who thrives on relatability.

While the idea of the fantasy man who never occurs in real life is appealing, I believe that that's more of a reason to like them if you prefer the character's love interest to the character themself. I think people as a whole tend to gravitate towards characters because they see something of themselves in them -- either a character trait they have and identify with, or a character trait they would like to emulate.

That's not to say every character I enjoy needs to be a carbon copy of myself, there only needs to be a spark there. A sliver of personality. A trait I can step into, or a trait I would like to step into.

John Stewart, for example, would be a favorite for idealism. I never thought much of John until I read his origin story by Denny O'Neil. The first page, where he stands up to that policeman for picking on those kids really resonated with me, and I've been completely mad about the character ever since. Because it's a compulsion that I, in my best moments, act on, and I wish I was able to do something so courageous as effortlessly as John does.

That's just a little something that gets to me when I see a "Girls like character X because..." statement about a male character (or a "Guys like X" about a female character). It usually describes a reason for a a fan who doesn't really like the character, but has a fetish for whatever trait. Not that there's anything wrong with that, in theory, it's just not a line of thinking that leads to solid writing that will appeal to a wide audience. In my experience, I, and most readers of both genders, prefer to follow a character they personally relate to as opposed to one that they would just like to fuck.

Green Lanterns Can't Joust

Wow, I'm too tired to post, or reply to your comments tonight. Rough day at work.

Instead, I have something for Sleestak's Hal Jordan Head Injury Project. From Super-Team Family, Vol 3. #12...

On a happier note...

I was the fill-in blogger for 52 Pickup this week.

It seems I spent much of the post ranting about the colorist, though.

Okay, I'll have an actual happier note sometime later this week, I'm sure.

DC Owes Us Another Green Lantern Collection

As solicited by DC Comics: "The greatest adventures of the Emerald Gladiator, collected in one volume! Thrill to the exploits of several Green Lanterns in stories from GREEN LANTERN ('40s) #1; ALL-AMERICAN COMICS #89; GREEN LANTERN ('60s-70s) #1, 9, 87, 172; SUPERMAN #257, TALES OF THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS ANNUAL #3, GREEN LANTERN ('90s) #3, 0; GREEN LANTERN: MOSAIC #5; GREEN LANTERN GALLERY and GREEN LANTERN SECRET FILES 2005."

What was in the actual trade?

Showcase (60s) #22; Green Lantern (60s,70s, 80s) #1, 31, 74, 87, 172; Green Lantern (90s) #3; Green Lantern: The Brave and the Bold (1999) #2 , DC First: Green Lantern/Green Lantern (2002), and Green Lantern Secret Files and Origins 2005 -- The Flight story.

I'd hardly call the Brave and Bold miniseries or the DC First special one of "The Greatest Green Lantern Stories Ever Told."

You know what are some of the Greatest Green Lantern Stories Ever Told? Well, the Elliost S Maggin story about Tomar Re (Superman #257) that was originally solicited for one; and some of the issues from Mosaic -- not just #5, but some whole storylines there; Green Lantern (Volume II) #30, the introduction of Katma Tui; and maybe, just maybe, some of the Golden Age stories (all of which were cut) that I've never read.

I want that Tomar Re story from Superman #257. I've only found it online. You know how shitty reading comics over a computer is. I only know how awesome it is by reading over a computer. I want to hold that story. I want it in my hands. I want to run my fingers over the paper. And I was all excited that it would be reprinted until I actually got the trade.

Where is it? Where's my Tomar Re story?

Damn you, DC!!! First you make Hal crazy, then you take away Kyle's face, then you put the wrong Lantern in JLA and now this!!!!

And this one, this one is not just my crazy fan entitlement speaking, you promised me this one.

Guess what my question is at every panel next convention.

You'll be sick of seeing my face, Levitz.

(Crossposted to Zamaron)

Thoughts on Current Events

I've seen this everywhere...

Harlan Ellison groped Connie Willis at the Hugos. (Point #3)

..and I should say something about it, but.. Ach.. I'm too disgusted about it.

But one blogger (found through Lis) brings up the best point, something to be addressed.

It makes me wonder–how must a woman just entering the field feel about this? Younger female readers? What could they possibly think about this? Could they possiblly think anything good about SF/F? As a field? A community? I tend and like to think as a field we have our shit together. But, much as we have the “digital divide” on the Internet, we have the “sanity divide” or “asshole divide” in science fiction! I’m sure shit like this happens in other fields–but in such a public arena? Where the award-winner gets treated like shit?

And he naturally has me thinking about comics. When the stories about female professionals and the behavior they face at cons get out -- hell, when stuff like Miller's ASBAR SCRIPT gets out -- and we see the harassment and unprofessionalism and general disregard for women behind the often defended as harmless surface material, what do you think we think?

I was nervous going to Chicago. The last con I'd been to was GenCon and that was when I was a teenager, with my sister and two friends (one of whom was such a HUGE guy that only an idiot would threaten him or the little 15 year old talking to him). Here I was a grown woman, nervous that I'd run into trouble there. Making "Group" plans to avoid it.

I've spoken to a number of other young female fans online, and they expressed the same trepidation. Worried that the fanboys at Wizardworld were as bad as they heard. And who wouldn't be? It's sponsored by Wizard Magazine, notorious for pandering to the adolescent male mentality -- we've all seen the cover and the contents.

It turned out to be an enjoyable experience, but Wizardworld Texas (which is far closer to my home) is rounding the corner and I can go there alone. So, of course, the same nervousness is rearing its head. I won't be backed up by three girls in matching shirts. I'll be a single woman. I've told other women not to worry, to just go. If I can get the time off, I will just go, but still... Most of us would rather stay home than risk it.

And it comes back to the horror stories online about how we're treated in male-dominated fan communities, and comic book stores, in addition to conventions. We've all heard them and gone "so that's how it is," and it makes sense, because of the "Sex sells" attitude that actually translates to "Sexy Women sell" in comic book marketing. What are we supposed to think? What kind of message does it send? It all combines to tell us that we are not welcome there.

If you guys wonder why you never see many female fans in person, this may have something to do with it.

Oh, no...

(Via Johanna)

Please note that beginning now, WONDER WOMAN will be published on a bimonthly schedule.

WONDER WOMAN #3 (JUN060222) is available for advance reorder and is scheduled to arrive in stores on October 11.

All orders on WONDER WOMAN #4 (JUL060198) have been cancelled. This issue will be resolicited in the October Previews (Volume XVI #10), scheduled to arrive in stores in December.

Good Guy Hierarchy of Superhero Comics

Icon -- Icons have been headliners for decades by this point, and have recognition outside of comic books due to enough exposure through movies and cartoons that a person who hasn't read comics for a number of years, or who has never read comics can name them. They are known by their civilian identities almost as well as their superhero identities. They often have multiple books, and a number of headliners as satellites. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spiderman, and Robin (Dick Grayson) are all Icons. There are varying degrees of Iconism (Hal Jordan's status is arguable, for example, as DC is making the push for Iconic status, and he has recognition for Superfriends, but John Stewart has more recent recognition for JLU. However, John Stewart is not a Headliner, like Hal is, and is rarely used as more than a supporting cast member in the comics) but it's safe to say that an Icon naturally leads a Franchise. A Franchise consists of more than one book, and some exposure outside of the insulated comics community in the form of merchandising or alternate media. An Icon is the sort of character that will be proclaimed the "The REAL ____" by people who have never actually read more than a couple isolated issues of a franchise (Kalinara has a story about this one for you).

Headliner -- Headliners come in two basic forms. Independent Heroes with their own ongoing solo books (such as Firestorm, Manhunter, Black Panther, Iron Man) who do not have Icon status, or Franchise members who are not dependant on an Icon's or Team's constant presence for the storylines (though sporadic guest appearances will occur). A Franchise will often have several Headliners who receive occasional guest help from their Icons. Supergirl, Catwoman, and Kyle Rayner are Headliner members of Franchises. They get guest appearances from the other Franchise members, but the Icon's presence is not in every issue, and their plots do not revolve around their relationship to that Icon (other than, he is the lead of the Franchise).

Team Player -- Members of a teambook who do not have solo ongoing series. If a member of a teambook has their own ongoing series, they are promoted to Headliners or Icons. Team Player is the status of a character who has no home other than the teambook itself (Stargirl, Power Girl), and guest appearances or supporting roles in other Headliners's books (Jay Garrick, Alan Scott). Team Players will often have their own miniseries once they gain enough popularity, or need a storyline away from the rest of a group, but their ultimate home is the teambook itself. The Team Player works in shared spotlight, though internal group dynamics do often make some characters outshine others (You have your Leader, your Peacemaker, your Anchor for the audience to play into, your Token Characters, and your Useless Romantic Soap Character, just to throw some examples out). Team Dynamics are a post for another day.

Backup Feature -- This is a now defunct status, as most comics no longer have backup stories, but some characters were created for solo stories in the backup features of Headliner and Icon books. They had their own plots and the stories were centered on them. They have pretty much all been demoted to Professional Guest Star or Heroic Support.

Professional Guest Star -- Usually a Headliner after her book's been cancelled, or a Team Player who is no longer on the team (or the Team Book is cancelled), but sometimes someone is created specifically for this role. This is a Hero, not a Civilian, who shows up to help the Headliner or the Team. They have no home, they are a nomadic people. They do have fans, and they do show up from time to time in various books. Sometimes this is just an excuse for a writer to use a character they like. Sometimes this leads to a promotion to Team Player or Headliner as it serves as buildup for the character's new role. Sometimes it leads to a demotion to Heroic or Civilian Support. Sometimes, they die.

Heroic Support -- The hero here is a regularly occurring member of the Headliner/Icon's cast, rather than a guest star. This is lower on the hierarchy than a Professional Guest Star because you have less independance. Heroic Support is completely subordinate to the Headliner. Their character development depends entirely on how it affects/reflects/leads into the Headliner's plot. Like a Professional Guest Star, Heroic Support is often a character rescued from Limbo (when their home book was cancelled), but sometimes they are a reformed bad guy or actually created for this purpose (Sidekicks?). Yes, a Heroic Support can become an Icon through exposure (Dick Grayson), but this leads to a promotion to Headliner. You can get a miniseries, but usually not an ongoing. Oftentimes they are captured/injured/in over their head and need to be rescued by the hero, who will solve the plot themselves. Sometimes they rescue the hero (this is usually so that the hero can come back stronger next plot, or so that the next storyline the hero can reflect on their weakness and relationship with the Heroic Support who rescued them). Black Canary (Green Lantern/Green Arrow, Green Arrow) Shade (Starman), Pied Piper (The Flash), Donna Troy (Green Lantern), and Jade (Green Lantern) have all been Heroic Support in the past. Todd Rice/Obsidian (Manhunter), Nemesis (Wonder Woman), John Stewart (Green Lantern), and Storm (Black Panther) are currently Heroic Support. Most Law Enforcement professionals count as Heroic Support, because if they get names and recurring roles they are usually badass enough to pull their weight (Jim Gordon, Cameron Chase, the O'Dares, Chyre and Morillo).

Note About Villains: Villains exist in their own hierarchy, though I would say that when a hero is turned into a villain, they would fall about here on the Good Guy Hierarchy of Superhero Comics, between Heroic and Civilian Support.

Civilian Support -- The lowest level of Character Status in Superhero Comics where you can actually have a name. Yes, some civilian supporting cast members are infinitely cool (Lois Lane, Alfred) but ultimately they are Civilian Support. It's a perfectly respectable position, for a civilian. For a hero, its the pits. And usually, when a hero loses their powers, this is where they end up (Mark Shaw in Manhunter, Mikaal Tomas in early Starman -- he was promoted to Heroic Support by the end) unless they have such impressive non-super abilities they can pull their weight like a member of the Batclan. While even Civilian Support can get a miniseries or even historically an ongoing (Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen), their entire storyline revolves around the Icon to which they are attached and their relationship to the Icon is announced in the book title. Everything about Heroic Support applies, except you don't get a costume and you aren't expected to pull your weight, which makes it all the more impressive when you do get to do something.

Background Hero -- You get to fight in the background. Pretty much every unnamed Green Lantern is on this level. If they were ever named, they are Professional Guest Stars (Former Backup Features, msot likely), Heroic Support (Green Lantern and Ion), or Team Players (in Green Lantern Corps)

Background Civilian -- "Look! Up in the Sky!"

Kirby Day

In honor of the Anniversary of Jack Kirby's Birth, an image from Kirby's run on Jimmy Olsen. There were far more innovative and interesting panels, but I'm particularly fond of this one as it, unlike the other Jimmy faces (the inkers were redrawing Superman and Jimmy's faces to match Curt Swan's interpretation), is done in Kirby's style. I guess they let this one go because it was a monster.

Looks like this does need to be said.

Everyone does realize that taking Character A, when Character A is one of the major players in a teambook, and putting her into the supporting cast of Character B's solo book is a demotion, right?

It makes Character A subordinate to Character B's story. Character A will be hurt, maimed and writtne out of character in roder to advance Character B's story.

This happened with Black Canary as Green Arrow's girlfriend. In Green Lantern/Green Arrow she showed up, and was immediately put under mind control, so that Ollie would rescue her. I cannot recall any point in the O'Neil/Adams run where Ollie was put in danger so that Dinah would have something to do. In The Longbow Hunters she was captured and tortured so that Ollie would rescue her. Again, can't recall a comparable story where Ollie was put in danger so Dinah would have something to do.

So, you all realize, this is very, very likely to happen to Storm in Black Panther? Which is why I'm so damned pissed about this pairing, right?

Should Oracle and Nightwing actually get together... Well, you can't have Nightwing in Birds of Prey, he'd take over. Guess where our beloved Babs goes. And guess what would happen to her?

You Dick and Babs fans do realize you are cheering for a demotion of Oracle, right?

Couldn't Resist This One

A Joke In Need of a Punchline

This panel begs for mocking, but I can't quite word a joke right tonight. Can anybody help me out?

Justice League of America

I just finished reading it, I still hate the Red Tornado, but the story seems worth finishing on the first read. We'll see how it holds up on a second read. I'm getting more and more attached to the idea of Arsenal as a member, I hope this one isn't a fake-out. The interior art was good, Benes is very talented, but I still have one overwhelming complaint about it...

Mild Spoilers
(Mild Spoilers)


I hate the Platinum redesign. It's gaudy, unbalanced, and overaccessorized. Please change her back immediately.

Final Call: Carnival Submissions

Submissions for the Fourth Carnival of Feminist Science Fiction and Fantasy Fans are Due Wednesday, August 23rd on the Official Shrub.com Blog. Send submissions and nominations here (subject heading Feminist SF Carnival) or through the BlogCarnival Submission Form.

The Carnival will posted on August 25th, 2006

If you are interested in hosting a future edition of the Carnival, please contact ragnellthefoul AT hotmail DOT com for information.

Please crosspost everywhere applicable.

Peculiar Search Terms

I was, sadly, not surprised to see someone get to my blog with what are my teenage breasts supposed to look like because teenagers can be pretty insecure.

I was pretty damned surprised not only to see someone get here with it, but to actually see a search for Hermes/Apollo slash. That's fandom on a religious level.

My Newest Infatuation

I think I've in love.

He's been working on it for a while already, and seems to have one hell of a plan.

“My plan is to start with Steve Trevor crashing on Paradise Island, and hilarity ensues,” Hughes said. “The way the All Star line was pitched to me, and this was several years ago, was that this was going to be the iconic interpretation."

I like that part where "hilarity ensues." It will be nice to have an All-Star book that's funny on purpose (Unless Miller truly is the Kaufman of Comics, in which case the joke is on all of us -- critics and buyers alike.)

“My take on Wonder Woman is that she’s the perfect woman, but perfect characters are boring. It’s the weaknesses that make people interesting. Superman running through the criminal world, with bullets bouncing off of him saying, ‘It tickles!’ - that’s not as interesting as it is when Superman gets to the villains’ lair, and the bad guy whips out a piece of Kryptonite, and Superman’s weakness now must come into play.

“Wonder Woman’s this perfect character, so her weakness can’t make her look like a bad person, or even a weak character, really, and I came up with insatiable curiosity. All of my favorite, larger than life, fictitious characters seem to come from farms, and they all seem to have what I think is called a Dorothy complex – they have everything they need at home, but they want to see over the rainbow. That’s it with Wonder Woman – she lives in the perfect place – and she wants to go to man’s world, and meet people, and talk to strangers, and learn their ways. I thought, in the hands of a writer who’s halfway decent, that insatiable curiosity, that Marco Polo, ‘I have to see the world’ kind of thing, could get any character into a world of trouble. She has this insatiable need to know and see the world. She’s Dorothy Gale, She’s Luke Skywalker, she’s James Kirk – she wants to get off the farm.”

He seems to have realized the importance of Hermes being the only patron she has that she doesn't share with the rest of the Amazons.

"There’s a difference between curiosity and naiveté. Wonder Woman standing in the middle of traffic asking, ‘What’s a car?’ is not what I’m talking about. She’s out somewhere, in strange new lands, meeting new people, and while she’s there, she needs to slay a dragon…or something. She’s almost addicted to learning new things. Anybody else would look at her and think she was perfect – wise, strong, beautiful, but she’s like a mental anorexic, and would be thinking, ‘I haven’t learned Japanese yet.’ But there’s no pessimism – there just aren’t enough hours in the day to learn all the new things in the world. That’s where her fascination of man’s world comes from – it’s so big and wide open – there’s just so much. Where she’s going to get into trouble is that…there are certain things we do in man’s world that they don’t do on Paradise Island. Likewise, she’s never seen a baby…or an old woman. Somewhere in amongst all of that, the stories start to write themselves.”

That's... That's a little creepy. Adam Hughes can read my mind, and has decided to use the Wonder Woman approach he found there.

And as for that aforementioned Steve Trevor? After 25 odd years as not being even perhaps a love interest, he’s back to his more traditional role, that of a contemporary to Diana in age.

“To make this all an interesting journey, I’m trying to turn up the interest level in Steve Trevor. He’s going to be her guide through man’s world, and if romance blossoms between them, well…we’ll have to see…”

Marry me, Adam.

“If I can pull him off the way I want, picture Steve Trevor as Steve McQueen who’s been hanging out with Race Bannon from Jonny Quest, and they go over to Chuck Yeager’s house for drinks, but it’s the Chuck Yeager played by Sam Shepherd from The Right Stuff. Steve Trevor is the prototypical laconic, cowboy pilot, because that would make an interesting balance with Wonder Woman.”

Or, to go totally geekspeak, Hal Jordan wishes he could be Steve Trevor one day – and not just for the possible shot at Wonder Woman.

If marriage is out of the question, I have this reproductive equipment I'm not using right now and wouldn't mind bearing your child.

As Hughes sees it, he’s the perfect match for Wonder Woman.

And he's not the only one. So long as he keeps the vital Steve characteristic -- which is that being saved by a woman turns him on as opposed to hurting his pride. The proper reaction to getting his butt saved by Diana is not "I'm being saved by a girl" but "So, what are you doing after the fight's over?"

“Everything Wonder Woman says and does makes the world a better place. If you aske her to pass the salt at the dinner table, she’d do it in a way that would make you think, ‘Gosh darn it, I am going to go back and finish college! She could cure cancer with a smile. She’s this positive, outspoken person, so her companion for the story will be this laid-back, laconic, cowboy poet of a pilot who balances her completely. Again - it’s not a story about a superhero, it’s about a princess from a foreign country coming to America, and her handler/tour guide is the Marlboro Man.”

Okay, if he can pull it off, this could be a lot of fun.

Finally a Wonder Woman writer who sees things the way I do. Hopefully he can convert enough to this viewpoint that some of the All-Star continuity makes its way to the regular continuity, and Steve Trevor lives forever!!

Coming in November... (Yes, these would be Spoilers)

The full DC November Solicits are up featuring... The Shocking Return of Kyle's Face!

Other things of note:
-- Detective Comics will not be by Paul Dini in November.

-- All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder is late even on a "bimonthly" schedule, resoliciting the issue with Wonder Woman's butt on the cover. You know, the one we'd have to buy so to see how badly he fucks up Diana and the rest of the JLA. Yes, I was going to read it. Kalinara and I have a bet about how he degrades Green Lantern. I've got money down on how angry I'll get.

-- Catwoman is still fighting the Film Freak?

-- Cassie Cain's really been getting around since she turned evil. She'll be in Supergirl #12 this time.

-- 52 WEEK 26: The Origin of Power Girl by Waid and Adam Hughes.
WEEK 30: Get ready for the story you never expected! "Batman...No More” — a full length 22-page adventure featuring Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd and...Batwoman?!?

-- Ken Lashley is still drawing The Flash. This makes me sad. Why won't this book let me love it?!

-- Okay, Johns, I'm holding you to this Green Lantern solicitation. You've played with us way too long. You've teased us in other solicits and not followed through. This, this is the last straw. I had better see John Stewart this issue, dammit!!

-- "On the planet Korugar, a Lantern faces hatred and rejection and, across the cosmos, another Lantern’s heart is broken."
The lesbian subtext in the first Green Lantern Corps storyline was so thick that it took two readings to figure out which character they actually meant by the second clause of that sentence.

-- Green Lantern Archives, Vol 6, "Advance-solicited; on sale January 3"
Tease.

-- Without even reading the writeup for Green Arrow #68, I'm guessing Monsters.

-- Just for the record, I'm purposefully avoiding the slash joke about Ion #8.

-- "Hot on the stardust trail of the oldest artifact in the universe, the Omega Men crash land on earth — dragging with them the battling Spider Guild, L.E.G.I.O.N., and a mysterious female alien. Only one thing stands in the way of a planet-wide cosmic doomsday: the heroes of Earth!"
I'm sold on Omega Men. All it needs is Adam Strange, Captain Comet and a Green Lantern and it has the whole Outer Spaaace! set.

-- Sachs and Violens TP
There was seriously more demand for this than a collected Green Lantern: Mosaic?

-- Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes once again does not have Starboy on the cover or in the solicitation. Dude, you don't just change his appearance and shunt him to the background. Khallor-fans, unite!! We want Thom! Well, we think he's Thom... We'd like to know if he's Thom or not...

-- This image was four hundred times better when Alex Ross drew it for a Vertigo series.

-- Where the hell is Wonder Woman? Someone handcuff Heinberg to his typewriter.

JLA Lineup Spoiled

I don't know where he found it, or if it's a hoax, but some joker on CBR (in addition to a commenter here) found the revealed lineup JLA#1 cover and sweet Venus, is it hideous. It has to be a real Turner drawing. Any imitator could only improve on his style. Anyway, below the cut, the cover I saw on CBR (which will be subject to serious, serious mocking and criticism once the actual issue comes out and its not a spoiler), and my personal letters to the characters.

Potential (Very likely) Spoilers

Spoilers



Dear Diana,
Enclosed is a Victoria's Secret Gift Certificate. Get a big enough bra.

Dear Bruce,
Enclosed is a laxative. You look a bit stuffed up.

Dear Clark,
You seem to have been replaced by a beady-eyed imposter. You may need to look into that.

Dear Dinah,
Are you going to be able to be in the JSA too? Because that would rock, to see you in three teams at once. I think the record is Wally West, and that was two team books and a solo book. You could totally bury that if you could swing a miniseries too.

Dear Kendra,
At least this cover wasn't by Chaykin.

Dear Mari,
Welcome back from limbo. You've gotten quite a push lately, so there's a bit to live up to. Watch out for Green Lantern. I don't think you've dealt with him yet.

Dear Roy,
I'm happy you got your break and look forward to reading your adventures. Please remember to smile pretty for the camera, and turn around as often as Uncle Hal does.

Dear Jefferson,
Congratulations on your new job. I'm surprised you found a hairstyle that makes the Afro look good in retrospect.

Dear Hal,
I love you. You are one of my favorite Lanterns. Top 2, at least. I would enjoy seeing your butt your clumsiness your work any other time. I'm a HUGE fan. But get the fuck out of John's book, you rotten spotlight hog.

Dear stupid, garish, Silver Age android,
Rust and die. The real Red Tornado is Ma Hunkel.