Infestation Outbreak #1 The tale of the C.V.O. continues.

Two great first issues this week, one revealing a long awaited history while the other pushes forward to create a new one. Yet one vibrant and multi-layered comics legacy seems yet again to be fading into obscurity.

In an Q&A session on Facebook prior to San Diego Comicon, Dan DiDio answered questions regarding the new DCnU, but there was one little pearl that I found devastating.

Dan DiDio Jerry, sorry but we no longer have the rights to Red Circle.

So, the tales of the Mighty Crusaders have once again bitten the dust, this time before they barely even got started. Which is a crying shame, since the current interpretation of the characters was easily as good if not better than the !mpact versions (and on a nostalgic level, The Comet and The Fly took some beating). They could have fit into the new DC Universe with ease, and been granted the status as characters that they deserve.

I only hope that someone, (hopefully Archie?), continues the brand. Heck, if Valiant can make a comeback, then there’s no reason we can’t see more of the American Shiled, the Hangman and my favourite, The Fly.

However, there is plenty that I can console myself with. The new Locke & Key series, Clockworks has been released and reveals some of the history of the town of Lovecraft, and the appropriately demonic stirrings deep beneath the town. Taking a dive back into the time of the Revolutionary War we see a whole new cast of characters (not that I expect them to last that long bar one or two of them) and within a couple of pages, all thoughts of the contemporary cast flew from my mind. Once again, Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez have delivered an enthralling tale, a great jumping on point for new readers if you have missed the previous series, and exhibit that Locke & Key are not going to run out of steam any time soon.

Another offering from IDW this week is Infestation:Outbreak #1, and the ending certainly took me by surprise. It was great to see the characters of the C.V.O. that I first met in the Infestation crossover, the bookends having been by far the best parts of the event. If, like me, you used Infestation to explore the various IDW titles, then I think you will already be fond of Cross, Brit and the rest of the Covert Vampiric Operations team. This issue sets up the new status quo in the wake of the ‘Undermind Incident’, and a combination of excellent scripting at the hands of Chris Ryall and Tom Waltz and the evocatively moody of David Messina has made me hungry for more.

Neither can we ignore the cheesy or cutesy, from Disney to DC’s Sugar and Spice, legacies that continue through to today. Did you know the original funny animal character Peter Porkchops (who had quite the impressive run of issues for the time, heck, even by today’s standards) became Pig-Iron of the Amazing Zoo Crew? Impressive huh?

Which brings me to the discovery in those back issue bins this weekend gone. I have enthused about the current re-launch of the Red Circle icons by DC, and personally miss the ill-fated !mpact titles. That version of the Crusaders was not so hot, but The Fly and The Comet were excellent reads (and worth digging out.) However, as seen in the image, how could I resist a team-up between the Mighty Crusaders and Thunder Bunny (a character that I had heard of but never actually read)?

Now although this is the Crusaders at their home publisher, this was after they had already been around for twenty years, as they first arrived on the scene back in 1965 and this was dated 1984.  Yet there was no sense of being bogged down by history, but no ignoring that history either. What was interesting was how the issue was a single story, beginning, middle and end, no cliffhanger required. Of course it followed the standard pattern of heroes meet, heroes fight and then team up to beat the villain (with an added dose of morality thrown in), but it was clean and uncomplicated. Oh how I miss those halcyon days, where the strength of a title was not just reliant on that infernal cliffhanger.

Comics have moved on from those days and in many ways for the better.  Still, this is a perfect example of what initially hooked me on comics in the first place. If you have a dollar to spare this week, rather than looking for yet another new title, have a dive into the bins and see what you can find from yesteryear, you may find that love all over again.

Dharma contemplates his er, blind spot

And now, the story that you all have been waiting for. Well, that I have been waiting for anyway.

If you have been reading my column regularly, then you will remember how overjoyed I was that the Shadow Cabinet guest-starred in the Justice League of America last year, and I have been similarly enthralled by Static’s membership of the Teen Titans. However, learning that Dharma had ‘folded’ his world into the DCU, or New Earth, was a bittersweet pill. As glad as I was to see these characters again, I wanted to know how this has occurred, thus I was left feeling a little cheated.

No more however. With last weeks Milestone Forever #1, it looks like we will finally get to see the details of how this happened. More specifically, how this happened on the Milestone/Earth Dakota side of the fence, not Infinite/Final Crisis after-effects in the DCU.  I can’t believe that it has been seventeen years since the beginning of Milestone, and I hope their return to the big leagues remains strong for many years to come.

Milestone was a tidy little line, where you could read as many or as few titles as you liked, and always feel that you received a full story. Except maybe the pre-Zero Hour crossover Worlds Apart where the Superman titles encountered Earth Dakota, which remains one of my favourite crossovers. One of it’s selling points at the time was that just like the world itself, the characters came from a highly multicultural stock. It was never the ‘black’ comics company, but it highlighted a greater diversity than the other major publishers of the time.

To me that was slightly irrelevant, which I would like to think was the point the writers were aiming for. These were good solid characters, believable and flawed, entertaining and ones that you could not help but accept into your heart. Except maybe Holocaust, but then we were all supposed to dislike him.

It was interesting to see all the familiar faces again, but presented in a manner that also introduced many of them to new readers, yet I cannot help but think that the issue is only enhanced by familiarity with the characters, else certain scenes may seem a little blasé, such as Rocket destroying Flashback’s crack pipes. (Actually, even having followed Blood Syndicate from start to finish, I still find the scene a little blasé, but there’s a limit to how much can be fit into an issue.)

For continuity cops there appears to be glaring error however. We see Holocaust burn himself away to a skeleton, but supposedly after this, he appears in one of last years issues of The Brave And The Bold. I detect another rewriting of the universe.

But then again, that’s the point of the series. I highly recommend this, and I look forward to bigger and brighter things for the Milestone crew.

Now all I am waiting for is the Blood Syndicate/Mighty Crusaders crossover. Oh, the Crusaders haven’t happened yet? They will.

DNAgents - long due for a return.

impressed with.

No Kid Flash title. Nor, despite previous assurances that he was not going to be squeezed out, no strip for the Wally West Flash either, it will be Barry Allen all the way.

Which is great for Barry Allen fans, but we have spent the last twenty-five years following Wally, watching him grow as a person and as a hero. I only hope he will get a home in either the Justice League, or the Titans. And as for Bart, so far he appears to be fading away into comic-book limbo, never mind the promised revelations regarding Max Mercury.

Dan’s big announcement was that of the Earth-One graphic novels, to be released at the stunning rate of (drum roll) ……

Two a year.

That’s it. Two.

Although many of us will await them eagerly, that is not a rate that ill garner lots of interest. When I encounter a new universe, I want to know as much as possible, as quickly as possible. He equates Earth One as DC’s answer to the Ultimate Universe of Marvel, but part of Ultimate Marvels success, and Marvel Adventures for that matter, is the fact that these are monthly, that they continue to provide materials for the hungry fans to enjoy, thus maintaining the interest. No doubt these novels will do well through the book store market, but then so do all the other graphic novels and trade paper-backs. Does DC really need a whole new universe where the next issue is always six months away?

In the mean-time, the All-Star projects’ fate have yet to be decided. Okay, we are still waiting for All Star Batman’s final two issues, but I don’t know about you but I adored All Star Superman, and I would love to see more. As for All-Star Wonder Woman? Again, still in hiatus.

The integration of older universes into the mainstream DCU, such as Milestone, Red Circle (Archie) and the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents is more than welcome. However we have seen that separate universes can work – maybe not of the characters I just mentioned, but certainly a clone of the mainstream universe with a twist. How about Superman and the Mighty Crusaders? Batman and the Shadow Cabinet? Having all the appeal of the DCU but maintaining the world prominence of the associated heroes, such as the Crusaders et al.

Speaking of spin-off universes, with the success of Supreme Power, it was a shame to see the relaunch of the New Universe in Newuniversal disappear. How about a relaunch of the Ultraverse? Who owns the Protectors nowadays?

Aside from the Ultraverse, to relaunches I would love to see would be the DNAgents, and the Elementals. If DC are adopting characters left right and centre, how about these guys?

Hangman #1 Cover

I must be regressing.

I mean, what is happening to my comic tastes? Despite my initial reluctance, I found myself really enjoying the Marvel Apes event, and now Marvel have done it to me again, with the culmination of Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers series. I feel like I’m having a second childhood. Again.

I so want to see more of these characters together. I mean, they beat Thanos! That’s big leagues. If only I could remember where Ms Lion came from. I think he, she. Whatever, is something to do with Spider-Man. No matter, Ms Lion adds the perfect comic relief to the title, and to see the return of Speedballs cat is awesome.

However, when talking in terms of returning to my childhood, it is DC that has really stimulated me this last week. I have been awaiting the return of the Red Circle characters since I heard about it, and the three specials released so far did not disappoint.

In story order, we have the Hangman #1, Inferno #1 and then The Web #1, with the first and the last being good origin stories for the lead characters, while Inferno’s tale has yet to be told. I only remember Inferno form the short-lived (but quality) !mpact Comics relaunch from the nineties, but the other two both give a feel true to the characters dating all the way back to their first appearances.

Little care is given to the identity of the being who curses/grants the Hangman his powers, but there’s time indeed for all that. With the Web, we see a PR campaign that could rival that of Booster Gold, except the Web seems to learn his lessons a lot quicker. These issues seem to have been written with a great love for the characters (which I share), and so I am looking forward to the appearances of the Shield, the Comet and especially the Fly. Come back Fly-Girl, all is forgiven.

If you haven’t picked up the Red Circle issues yet, I highly recommend them, and I hope these heroes will come to the prominence in the DCU that they deserve. It is sure getting crowded in there though.

Well, Blackest Night #1 is out on the shelves, and as set up issues go, it was okay. As I feared however, it looks like the Blackest Night is going to swamp the War Of Light storyline in Green Lantern unless that carries on after this crossover is finished, which I doubt. It does run the risk so far of just being a zombie story I think, but I will refrain from criticism until we are at least three issues in.

Speaking of super-zombies however, the Super-Zombies title from Dynamite has sucked me in. A whole new universe of characters, politics and intrigue established from the get-go, and in four issues I have already begun to care about the characters. This has risen to the top of my must-read list, and if you haven’t seen it already, I advise picking the issues up and giving them a chance. Yes you will be confused as to who everyone is to start with, I still am and need to re-read it to check who’s who. However, I started reading the DC Universe with Crisis On Infinite Earths, and you can imagine how much back-reading I had to do to find out who everyone was there. My only regret is that with Super-Zombies, that back material is not available to dip into.

What has me really pumped however is how the return of the Milestone universe is rolling on, this week in The Brave And The Bold #25, starring Hardware and Blue Beetle. Hardware is his usual sociable self and we see the return of his age old adversaries The System. Oh yeah, and the new Blue Beetle was in it as well.

I adored the confrontation recently between the JLA and the Shadow Cabinet, culminating in Justice League Of America #34, where we learnt just how it is that the Milestone Earth is now part of the DCU. The mysterious Dharma used the power of Rift Fred Benson (from Worlds Collide) to merge his universe with the DCU.

(Erm, from pre Zero Hour to the New Multiverse, did he misfire and shoot past the post-Zero Hour earth? Hell of a pattern that, knit one, drop one, knit one. “Ma, I lost a universe, have you seen it anywhere?)

Anyway, for a geek like me that means for once, all the previously titles still stand in continuity. There was some really good stuff in the old Milestone, and I was very disappointed to see it go.

Now, we’ve seen Holocaust, but I can’t wait to see what’s left of the rest of the Blood Syndicate and what they are up to nowadays.

Of course nostalgia seems all the rage at the minute. Anyone else dig that updated sixties-vibe in Superman World Of New Krypton? And how about the latest revamp of the Red Circle characters? !mpact comics was a bit of a flop, although it too had some good stories. However, I am just old enough to remember some of the actual Red Circle comics themselves. The Crusaders, The Fly and Fly-Girl. Villains like the Brain-Emperor and Eterno.

I am pumped about these, and I look forward to seeing the latter four characters again. The legacy of The Fly with the legacy of Shazam – now that would be an interesting mix.

Oh and have you seen Octobers solicitations? The X-Babies are coming back, but get this, WITH PLANET TERRY! I was too old to read Planet Terry the first time round but that didn’t stop me then, and it won’t stop me now.

Recycling in the music industry is bad. But here in the comic world? It’s good to see all of these old friends again.

As long as they are not zombies.