The scariest proposition that is being bandied around is that DC plans another One Year Later type event, dropping readers into new stories after some alleged gap of time, like they did after Infinite Crisis.

I shudder at the thought. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the ’52′ series, it hardly covered the activity of a worlds-worth of characters, and favourite titles such as the Titans appeared to descend into nonsense. Earlier plotlines were left hanging; characters appeared and disappeared with no thought of reader loyalty to those characters at all.

After all, why do we read comics in the first place? You may have a particular loyalty to this writer or that artist; but it is the characters themselves that attract us. Even in titles such as the Avengers or the Legion Of Super-Heroes, if these were restarted from scratch with none of the familiar faces and no reference to what had gone before, would this be half as appealing as the current titles are?

There’s a time and a place for a universal revamp. After the phenomenal Crisis On Infinite Earths (and the error-ridden subsequent material), DC had the decency to at least wait ten years before revamping again with Zero Hour, and another ten years for Infinite Crisis. Even though Final Crisis was technically a reboot of the universe, very little was made of this. (Remember the Miracle Machine recreating everything after the collapse of space-time?)

Now a revamp for characters not seen for a long while, that is often necessary. (Sometimes regrettable, but necessary.) Case in point – the Mighty Crusaders, the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, or the compelling relaunch of the Atlas characters by Arrden. Out of today’s shipment, we can number Magnus Robot Fighter or the Mighty Samson, the latter of which is my recommendation for today.

Yet ‘updating for the modern age’ is not always a requirement. Why else is there such an interest in the Golden Age heroes? Or a market for DC’s upcoming Retrospective specials?

In conclusion, I hope DC is going to launch a new story in September, NOT a new universe. We have barely settled into the last one. After a shaky start, it’s not so bad, so if it ain’t broke…….

This week saw the Grim Ghost and the Phoenix, old staples from the Atlas/Seaboard range back on the shelves courtesy of Ardden, a release I had been eagerly awaiting since I first heard about it, and I must confess I have mixed feelings about the offerings. Nevertheless, I have every intention of supporting the titles to give them a chance to bloom.

As much as it pains me to say however, bloom is exactly what they need to do. To start with the Phoenix; written by Jim Krueger, a man from whom I have come to expect great things after series like Earth X and Justice; I found the lead character to have a total absence of personality. Admittedly there is only so much personality a man can demonstrate after waking up on a slab to find aliens trying to repeatedly kill him and fail, but rather than the issue making me want a little more, I felt that there was a little something missing. On the other hand, the art perfectly suits the title, the colouring and texture evoking that entire pulp atmosphere the original titles possessed. Art by Dean Zachary and colours by Mai, this is not Alex Ross, but fits the character and title, comparable in effect to the early days of Valiant comics.

In contrast, the Grim Ghost is neither short on plot nor the beginnings of characterisation, but the art lets the overall presentation down somewhat, feeling more like a small print run independent from a company you will not ever hear about again in three months time than a serious contender for the Top 50 sales list. I was concerned that the Grim Ghost would suffer from being too analogous to other characters out there, from the Spectre and the revamp of Red Circle’s Hangman to AC’s Haunter; yet Tony Isabella and Stephen Susco carve out a niche that is entirely this character’s  (at least I think they do, this is one title where I have not read the original). Think of this as a cross between Defiant’s Dark Dominion and any of the aforementioned characters is a more accurate analysis. Kelly Jones’ art however does not convey the moodiness that I would expect from such a between realm in which this tale takes place.

If you have a loyalty to these characters, then do buy this book. I would hate to see the Atlas relaunch stymied before it has a chance to get started. Just be patient for the first few issues, I think it will take that before the titles really get into their stride.

Meanwhile, citing different visions of direction for the Atlas Comics relaunch, JM DeMatteis has stepped down as Editor-In-Chief at Arrden. This has to be one of the most good-natured resignations I have seen for a while; reading much of the history of comics (especially around the subject of Atlas Comics) one would almost think it a rarity, but I am sure that is merely the natural tendency to remember scandal and forget anything less spectacular. DeMatteis’ writing has only improved over the decades, I would love to see his input in the relaunch, but then I also trust his judgement. If he has faith in Brendan Deenan, Rich Emms and Jason Goodman, then so do I.

The former screen-writer for The Grudge movies, Stephen Susco, has been announced as the writer on The Grim Ghost, while the creative team for Wulf has been announced as Stephen Niles and Nat Jones.

Back to today, my recommendations have to include IDW’s Locke & Key: Keys To The Kingdom #2 (which I seem to have been waiting a long time for). For the very first time, I have been tempted by one of the busts, today sees the release of the Dormannu mini-bust. A favourite villain of mine, this is one of the most impressive busts I have ever seen. The art of modelling fire in plastic has improved so much in the past decade, and I cannot think of a better Marvel character to watch over my lounge when I am absent, or to greet me as I arrive home!  Sculpted by Jeremy Lloyd of Bowen Designs, this is perfect for the Halloween season. (Yeah ok, just call me Mordo!)

Now, I wonder if the magic of asking and receiving will work on this!

The recent success of the Atlas team of Jimmy Woo, Venus, M-11 the Killer Robot, Namora and the Uranian, allegedly the original incarnation of Marvel Boy (I have my doubts) has been masterful marketing,  Yet it is only now, with the addition  (and hopeful redemption) of Triathlon Daniel Garrett, former Avenger and successor to the original 3D Man that the entire topic of the so-called 50′s Avengers has risen its head. Not a whisper of this has been mentioned in the relaunch of these characters over the past few years.

The 50s Avengers were introduced in the ninth issue of the original series of What If, back in 1978. Locked in combat with minions of the Yellow Claw in an effort to prevent the kidnapping of President Dwight Eisenhower. These Avengers were successful is saving the President but that never prevented him from asking them to disband.

seemingly ret-conned out of existence. However, in a personal communication with Kurt Busiek (on the Avengers Message Board), he specifically stated that he did not wipe the Avengers of the 1950s from existence. One alternate timeline containing them was wiped out. The group may well have existed in the mainstream past, but they just weren’t called the Avengers. He suggested the name: “The G-Men”. (Thanks to the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe for that little tidbit of information).

This was still not the end however, Immortus did not erase all such timelines as seen in Paradise X Heralds #3, and as such the 50s Avengers occurred as one of the many repeated memes throughout the multiverse.

Now Triathlon is having dreams of this hidden or alternate history, while the Agents of Atlas face once again the badly named villain Skull Face, the skeleton of an alleged demon burnt at the stake centuries ago and restored to life in this century (well, last century) by fifty million volts of  electricity (sic) in Mystic #6.

Talk about a bygone era, but even today such simplicity has it’s appeal.  I rather think that the story being unvieled however will be far from simple, but I eagerly await more.

Written by John Graham-Cumming, The Geek Atlas showcases the most significant places on earth. Significant in what way? Well, this travel book’s full title is The Geek Atlas: 128 Places Where Science and Technology Come Alive.

The title pretty much sums up this great piece of work. It features locations in the world wherein discoveries in science, math, and technology were made. Lest someone say that these discoveries are mere things of the past, the book also features places where more recent discoveries occurred and locations where significant studies are currently happening as well.

To give you a bit of a teaser, how would you like to visit these places?

-Bletchley Park in the UK, where the Enigma code was broken
-The Alan Turing Memorial in Manchester, England
-The Horn Antenna in New Jersey, where the Big Bang theory was confirmed
-The National Cryptologic Museum in Fort Meade, Maryland
-The Trinity Test Site in New Mexico, where the first atomic bomb was exploded
-The Joint Genome Institute in Walnut Creek, California

I don’t know about you, but I AM SOLD. Get a copy at Amazon for less than $20.