Aldo reads DC's New 52 (So you don't have to)

I don't think there's been a decent issue since #2 or #3.

#9 was remarkable, coming from the author of Supergods

agree the series otherwise is wretched though

I don't really understand how wayward it's been -- from either the editor or writer's point of view. And those backups actually cheapen the main content.

So Scott Snyder will write a brand new superman-book, which just reeks of desperation to me. Also, that will be the fifth super-book right? (action, superman, supergirl, superboy, snyder) Still, there is some way to the thirteen bat-books being published at the moment...

Also, I checked the sales-chart. While DC has most of the most popular ones, they also has most of the least popular ones. After the last Marvel ongoing (Captain America and Black Widow, cancelled) I counted ten DC ongoings with lower sales. Three of these were cancelled, but still...

Action #13: Other people have talked about getting off the GMoz bus after the way this book has gone, and after several months of just being unimpressed this drivel has me rapidly agreeing with them. The tale of Krypto has the trappings of We3 in places and although the Phantom Zone is reborn well the whole reason why the bad guy is dressed as a mummy apart from it being Hallowe'en is never explained or even questioned apart from OOH SPOOKY. What next? Jimmy Olsen as a Sexy Pirate? Add to this a Phantom Stranger which is entirely inconsistent with the New52 official version as established during zero month and you just have a mess. Poor old Solly Fisch's backup is even more desperate, the sort of thing a primary school kid would write if given the assignment to tell the story of a ghost dog. Thanks DC for letting me cut one of the books I was still buying. Although I'm not sure that's your intent.

Animal Man #13: I'm going to keep this simple. At least twice, Buddy asks the question we're thinking while reading. "Tell me this is... some alternate dimension or something". And he is reassured that no, this is the real Earth, this is the real Johnsiverse, The Flash, Supergirl, Batwoman, Hawkman (that we actively see) are all dead and consumed by The Rot. I repeat, this is really, asbsolutely definitely what happens to the Johnsiverse in a year's time and is not an alternate Earth or another dimension, or some time wrinkle or anything like that. I'm getting the popcorn, this is the clusterfuck to end them all.

Batwing #13: All Africans can do witch doctor magic. All African police are corrupt. Any Africans that can't do magic are Batwing or have magic swords and are also undercover policemen. Everybody in Africa is related. Oh Winickpaws.

Detective #13: BRUCE WAYNE'S PHILANTHROPY EXPLAINED! He only gives money to charity so that when he beats up thugs the money that gets spent on their medical help doesn't mean that more deserving victims get treatment because he makes sure there's enough cash to treat them all. OF COURSE. We next see him giving money for a Children's Wing. Just who exactly are these "criminals" he's "punishing", eh? FRED WERTHAM WAS RIGHT AFTER ALL. In the actual plot, the bad guys from Nightwing (who are also, it appears, the bad guys in the new Green Arrow TV series) are paid by the Penguin to kill Bruce Wayne as part of a plot to improve Cobblepot's public image. Yeah, I'm not sure exactly how that was supposed to work either. Oh, and there are no superheroes in the Johnsiverse Miami, according to the backup. Really? Not Aquaman then?

Dial H #5: More inspired weirdness even if, as Mieville deliberately acknowledges "it's just a bad pun". We get the partial resolution of the plot to date then the tease of more to come. I'm expecting one month to report that he's got it wrong, but it's not this month. I strongly suspect that a year will be the absolute limit it can get stretched out for, in which case it'll make the first truly essential trade of the modern era.

Earth 2 #5: Gays. You can't trust them not to betray you, eh? What do you mean that's not what I was supposed to think? Then what else were the last pages about? Actually, this is a perfectly adequate book even if the constant Golden Age refs do feel a bit "for the fans" rather than actually adding anything and overall it's telling exactly the same Rotworld/Black Hand story from the real Johnsiverse. It's just kind of pointless really.

GI Combat #5: With JT Krul gone and the Haunted Tank installed this book rises to the top level of this week's output. What initially seems like a bad case of Old Man Shouting At The TV turns into a pseudo-mystical romp featuring some of Howard Chaykin's best-looking work in years. Unknown Soldier is merely competent, but I still can't wait for next month. BRINGING BACK THE FUN.

Green Arrow #13: Ann Nocenti proves she's really Frank Miller with some anti-Chinese Dirty Commie bullshit that is otherwise impenetrable. "China's pride and ambition know no bounds." "I'm sorry Suzie Ming. You seem personally hurt by the history of your China." The whole thing is about China trying to cheat their way to technological advancement by stealing it from America and adds to the confusion by assuming all Asians are the same as we have women with swords and ghosts of ancestors talking to people (like our old friend Katana) and that ancient Chinese tradition of karaoke. Do these people really still live in the 80s? Party on duds!

Green Lantern #13: Geoff Johns fucks continuity a big one up the arse again on page one of this bollocks. You know how I described the problems of his carrying things over into GL:NG and how the proliferation of that story affects any number of other titles? Well, in panel 3 he says Kyle Rayner became a Green Lantern two years ago. So, GL:NG took place two years ago. In which case, so did GL #12. WAIT A MINNIT, WHO BROUGHT US ONE YEAR LATER? Only this time it's through an accident... And Obama is president. So, to be clear, Justice League #1 happened when Shrub was Pres. Yes? If I go back and read that again it'll confirm it? Bush set up Team 7 with Waller in charge, yes? Oh, and Baz is from MIAMI. Who are the editors again? The Mosque have banned the family of somone involvd in terrorism and so have his sister's work DO YOU SEE? The Third Army are looking for Mr Baz. Even if that makes him sound like one of Basil Brush's handlers. As are the Justice League. OOOOOOOOOOOH WHO GIVES A FUCK.

Stormwatch #13: Peter Milligan is a fucking idiot. He manages to make the introduction of Etrigan a chore, which is ever so slightly A GIANT FUCKING MISTAKE. I love Etrigan and you're not treating him very well. With JT Krul and Rob gone, I think Pete is the worst writer on the books. Which would worry anybody if it wasn't Geoff Johns writing the cheques. I hate all of this.

Swamp Thing #13: As in Animal Man, the Johnsiverse is destroyed a year in the future. Or is that a year in the past depending on what books you believe? This cannot end well. Is there really a plan behind this? REALLY?

World's Finest #5: At least we're finish with some intentional light relief. No, we're not. In a stroke of genius, DiDio has cancelled the one part of this book that was actually good and so instead we get a ho-hum villain-of-the-week Huntress and power Girl story which improves my life not one jot.

Two readable books out of 12 does not predispose me to continuing this, I have to say.

Batgirl #13: Bat Cross over prequel! Except it just does the previous Batgirl plot, a needless cheesecake shot and a conspiracy that revives the plots of the previous year. Doesn't seem very Joker-y or prequel-y to me. But why reist the temptation of putting a banner on the cover in the hope of selling another couple of issues, eh? Because it's all about the money, obviously. And not the integrity that our heroes are supposed to have. YOU MAKE ME SICK.

Batman #13: NOW THAT'S HOW YOU BRING THE JOKER BACK. TENSION TENSION TENSION TENSIO TENSION BAM. This is how you write batbooks. Damn. And the betrayal of Harley backup is great too. BOOM that's boom of the week right there.

Batman & Robin #13: A middling book but the page 13 BAM makes it worth reading. All the same, a very good effort and one which ignores both the Zero Month nonsense and the Joker return in order to tell the story it wants to. Which is zombies in Gotham and so still maybe of marginal interest. Ho hum.

Deathstroke #13: Oh God Rob, I thought you were done. "I'm the best at what I do." You're not mate. Seriously. I'd like to say you were the worst, but JT Krul has stolen that even from you. Must Try Harder. Just not on anything I'm reading.

Demon Knights #13: Cornell sends all the Demon Knights to Hell under the thrall of Lucifer and does a pretty good job of it. Yes, it's Etrigan heavy and yes, he makes him kind of a wuss... but we get Vandal Savage being funny and the other characters being themselves so perfectly good but not up there with the great book this week. But better than everything else, so you pays your money you takes your choice.

Frankenstein #13: Rotworld but not Rotworld but Rotworld without Rot except in the real world. Feels tacked-on. Feels inessential. Is tacked-on. Is inessential.

GLC #13: The Guardians decide Guy Gardner is the best Lantern ever and give him a new name to prove it, but in doing so bring out his worst enemy ever (the chap he fought in GLC #0) from their prison and set him free. Guy is compromised during a trade mission they've set him up on and heads to Earth but OH NOES ambushed on the way and all the OH WHO CARES. Some people are dead, some aren't, some might be next month. I can feel the blood draining from my eyes trying to keep the lights on long enough to get to the end of this.

Grifter #13: Rob says Grifter is still great. Marat Mychaels draws Voodoo boss-eyed. Like, PROPERLY boss-eyed. Pontoon eyes - one twists, one sticks. http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8465/8087901108_44ea499e5c.jpg He then eats her face while still speaking. My favourite bit though is Apollo out of Stormwatch dancing while displaying the world's smallest dinkle. http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8190/8087901085_8295a060f5.jpg You'd think any of this made it worth your time. You'd be wrong.

Legion Lost #13: Even I am tired of Tellus being affected by the "death cry of billions". Bored of it now and no amount of sprockin' sprockin' can make it worth the effort.

Suicide Squad #13: Ignoring the Zero Month bullshit, this picks up where it was beforehand (you remember, betrayal, ambush etc) and is great but I'm not spoiling the end other than to say I never saw Floyd doing that. A great read, again.

Superboy #13: So this crosses over into Ravagers while simultaneously crossing over into Superman and Supergirl. None of these things make it any more fun to read. It's sort of ok but all over the place and so really not worth it but in comparison this week is still very accomplished.

Team Seven #1: Holographic Wolverine is the only readable thing in this twenty pages of bollocks. So DiDio, this is going to rejuvenate your line, huh? "I DON'T THINK SO!" http://instinctmagazine.com/images/stories/blogs/jhigbee/july2012/fred%20willard.jpeg This pre-dates Justice League #1, yes? WAIT, WHY AM I PRETENDING I CARE?

Ravagers #5: Oh, I'm past fucking caring. Somebody punches somebody else but they're not the X-Men OBVIOUSLY. Not anything worth your time.

Phantom Stranger #1: Our hero kills a kid with a car in order to chat up a girl inside Stonehenge. But it turns out rather than doing what God wants him to he's actually living a secret life with a wife and children without God knowing. SHH IT'S A SECRET but Pandora has opened her box and found out. This really is not a promising start. Or a promising finish to the week. I've had better ones. Oh well.

Misters Dan Didio, Jim Lee, and Bob Wayne held court in a small room and engaged in a little q and a. One of the items addressed was the trade paperback recon of Tim’s role as Red Robin. Apparently, Tim was never intended to be a Robin-in-name and that the Robin reference was a mistake from the get go, rather than a change of mind later down the line. The panel also confirmed DC’s commitment to maintain a cohesive universe and to correct mistakes in the trade if such a correction would help maintain that continuity.

But Misters! If the continuity is actually planned out, how can such mistakes be made and thus need to be corrected?

"Ann Nocenti proves she's really Frank Miller with some anti-Chinese Dirty Commie bullshit that is otherwise impenetrable."
Worst Ann Nocenti Asides/Monologues/Dialogue

But Misters! If the continuity is actually planned out, how can such mistakes be made and thus need to be corrected?

But Misters Misters! If the Robin reference was a mistake then why was Teen Titan #0 allowed to go on sale last month, since it repeats it?

Sept 18th - DC announces that Ivan Reis will leave Aquaman after #14 and be replaced by Ardian Syaf.

Oct 14th - DC announces at NYCC that Ivan Reis will leave Aquaman after #14 and be replaced by Paul Pelletier.

This is a comic with a shipping date only 9 weeks away.

Kinda underwhelmed by Snyder's new Joker story -- I get that he's a good writer (plus elevated by terrible company) but his stuff doesn't really move me. Happy to keep checking in though.

Batwoman #13: JH Williams is determined to leave Batwoman with a bang, clearly. This is basically 9 splash pages and a complete showcase for the artwork, but for the first time in months it feels like there's an actual story behind the issue. Batwoman and Wonder Woman go and visit the "Amazon Arkham Asylum" on a hunch and find out that although they're wrong in the detail their hunch was right. It does seem to be that Batwoman is being completely played though and not in control of what she chooses to do. I'm still not sure how WW's characterisation here, or in Justice League, squares with the Azzarello book but I've enjoyed reading this for the first time in months and maybe that's enough.

Birds of Prey #13: What is this, 'make all our books suddenly better' week? This is suprisingly readable and drawn well enough, ignoring the previous arcs to a large extent and just being a decent enough team-up book. Yes, the torture scenes (although not shown) feel a bit gratuitous but the pay-off of how Starling gets suckered into the trap which is no doubt going to form the next issue makes that fairly easy to forgive. A significant improvement and one hopefully they can keep up.

Blue Beetle #13: Has something happened when I wasn't looking? This is half-decent too, as the plot hurtles towards a conclusion. We end up on Reachworld and meet a similarly-minded Scarab guy (who I have no recollection of from GL:NG despite a box-out telling me I should) and they head off to destroy the Scarab planet. But OH NOES they're being chased by the guy from BB#0! Incredibly, this means one of the books from Zero Month wasn't a waste of time. Remarkable. http://www.tvcream.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/grandstand2.jpg

Catwoman #13: And just like that, Ann Nocenti gets involved and the week turns to shit. The overall plot isn't too bad (Catwoman playing a giant chess game across the city for unexplained reasons) but as usual the dialogue is dreadful and can't be saved by the art which has retreated to the T&A of the first couple of issues. How many gratuitous bra shots? Yet, curiously, I want to know what comes next. I suspect I won't be interested once I find out.

DCU Presents #13: Oh God, I'd forgotten about this. The Johnsiverse fucks up Blue Devil, as expected. This is a pretty basic "heroes mistake each other for the bad guys" tale - which is odd, because both of them are tracking drug dealers and not supervillains - and with a bit of background. Blue Devil is not Blue Devil yet, he's just a guy in a suit, but we do get a FWOOM and a different speech bubble, so maybe it happens in the last panel. There's a bad guy who is clearly NOT THE KINGPIN. Because Marvel wouldn't be happy if he was. Just like I'm not happy having read it. I'm more angry than disappointed, because I knew it would be like this.

GL:NG #13: So, we left Zero Month not in a zero, but firmly in main GL continuity... we're not really there, but maybe we are and there's just a gap of some description. I mean there must be gaps - in GL:NG #1 we see Ganthet give Kyle his ring and he immediately change into his costume. Yet, in this issue we learn about the girlfriend who designed his costume over a number of weeks (days? months?) after Ganthet gave him the ring. So is this a soft reboot? It can't be, surely, because Atrocitus refers to the events of previous issues (even if he wasn't in them - in fact, I'm not sure he can be in this based on what's happening in Red Lanterns). Anyway, Carol is making sure Kyle can channel the powers of all the other Lantern colours so he can be the best Lantern ever and get Hal back from the dead because he's the best Lantern ever Lantern Lantern Lantern Lantern AAAAARRGH MAKE IT STOP.

Justice League #13: The fallout from Super Horny Snogfest starts here! Or does it? It's the first page, but then never really comes up apart from to say "it was nice" as unemotionally as possible. Instead, we get Sadface about the relationship between WW and the Cheetah, who seems to be powered up in the Johnsiverse. Best of all, Superman seems to randomly hover in the JL Clubhouse. Anyway, Superman gets turned into a cheetah. Not, as all fans of Showcase Presents Superman would have wanted, a lion. http://images4.fanpop.com/image/quiz/561000/561780_1301031534069_400_331.jpg There's a pretty sadface Steve Trevor backup which is essentially Justice League of America #0 and seems to feature the Green Arrow from television's Arrow and not the one from the DC comic Green Arrow. Good. How's that there continuity working out for you?

LoSH #13: As ever, solid enough space opera. Nothing to write home about, then nothing to complain about either I guess. I wish it was better, but it's still fans only.

Nightwing #13: This is rubbish. Moving it back to Gotham has made it pretty redundant as a comic and it has to do a whole scene to remind you this is the one with the circus. It points out that the Joker is back, but then in a boxout says that it's just in Batman so Nightwing doesn't need to help take him down. I really thought beforehand there was a surfeit of Batbooks and this just proves it.

Red Hood #13: Irrespective of what's happening in Batman and Robin, the gang are still in space. But the Joker appears on the last page. Does that mean B&R is taking place after the other Batbooks? If not, then how does Damian encounter Jason in Gotham? Am I the only person that cares about stuff like this? This is a good book, whichever was you look at it, although this issue maybe isn't quite as thrill powered as the last half dozen have been.

Supergirl #13: Kara investigates the Shoe Shop of Solitude, which eats the guy from the first plotline. She then phones up the Byrne Banshee girl to boast about how totes amazeballs it is before the Shoeshop tries to force her into the Superfamily crossover (which, I'm betting, is going to contradict the Superman/Daemonite stuff which the Johnsiverse was founded on). I really don't understand why anybody would willingly read this.

Sword of Sorcery #1: Jesus, after 20 pages this Amethyst strip is interminable. File under "would never have been commissioned if someone hadn't read a one-line review of Game of Thrones in the NYT". The Beowulf backup, on the other hand, chunters along nicely and we get our first view of "iron trolls" i.e. robots. It wouldn't be enough to encourage me to pay for it, but it's pretty moreish.

Wonder Woman #13: Still maintaining a level of excellence that Johns and DiDio don't deserve, Azzarello mines an almost BPRD aspect to the book amid hints from Lennox (not Constantine or Gravel) what she should be doing and alongside a Gods' conference of War. Still well worth your time and effort.

Would I know who the giant head-eater at the start of Wonder Woman 13 was if I was more New Gods-aware? Another great issue, even if I am missing something there.

GL:NG #13:

GL: NNGGGH

All Star Western #13: You know by now whether you like this by now. I do, so it's great. Jingles (which sounds like it should be a reference I should pick up) is a clown at Haly's Circus. In fact, I'm guessing this is the time when Haly's dettles in the greater Gotham area, allowing the plot of Nu Nightwing to take place. Anyway, Jingles is sort of a proto-Joker, who paints his victims with a clown face despite being a clown and this being a BIT of a clue because he was abused by a priest when he was an altar boy. He says STABBY STABBY STABBY while he stabs people, which is kind of endearing. Plus people get eaten by tigers, which is always cool. The Tomahawk backup is kinda meh (and not helped by me watching Rich Hall's "Inventing The Indian" during the week) but, y'know, it's only the backup to a great book. More people should buy this.

Batman Inc #4: GMoz ploughs his own furrow and great though it is you're left scratching your head as to why it's in the New 52 at all, since it can't be happening for about another year based on what's going on elsewhere and assuming nothing happens in those books that means this can't be happening. Any editor worth his salt would be publishing this under a different imprint and that's the only way to think about it - preserved in isolation, like ASS. Which is what DiDio clearly is for doing it the way he has.

Batman TDK #13: Going from strength to strength since Finch gave up on the writing, this take on the Scarecrow could well end up being one of the definitive ones. Are children's tears really one of the prime components of fear gas? Well worth your time if you have the inclination.

I, Vampire #13: Oh good, the book has undergone ANOTHER reboot. There are no vampires any more, except for the ones that are, and the ones that aren't decide to kill the ones that are because a mugger scared them. They all meet up at the house of the character from the cover, who it turns out is an important character in the good old days of these characters pre-Johnsiverse. You know the only thing that goes on longer than the interminable living forever of the undead? Reading this book. After a brief diversion into comedy this has returned to the unreadable pile.

Justice League Dark #13: For everything this does which is great (recasting minor DC horror heroes in the Johnsiverse, Zatanna's powerlessness) it does something which sucks (Nick's whole motivation is, wait for it, coat jealousy; and houses racing each other, seriously? That just feels like 'TARDIS chasing a taxi' level stupid.) and that's what undermines the book. It can't go on much longer, surely?

Red Lanterns #13: Oh, just fucking give up. It's the usual torture porn, then the Third Army turn up and Atrocitus works out how to kill them (making the whole OH NOES THE THIRD ARMY ARE THE BEST redundant already). And does this happen before or after he's shown as a benevolent tutor in GL:NG? Hmm?

Superman #13: Yeah, yeah, yeah, we get it. Superman is sick of Clark Kent's life and usual human shit (actually this is pretty entertaining if I'm honest) and then A DRAGON TURNS UP. But wait! The dragon knocks him all the way over to Europe, to Ireland specifically. Into the middle of a desert oil well. Like what you get in Texas and the like, and the like sof which there is < 1 of in Ireland. Oh wait, it's a Kryptonian dragon, and Supergirl is here and there's another Kryptonian lurking in the background. But never mind that. IRELAND? REALLY?

Talon #1: Wow, this is wordy. It tells the entire plot of all the Johnsiverse batbooks in boxouts on the first page, that's how wordy it is. I'm really not sure what the point of this is. We've got Talon doing Batman's job for him and tracking down the OWLS who are still out there, aided by his Talon Cave, Talon Alfred and his Talon Utility Belt. I'm betting there might be a Talon robin soon. Pointless but by virtue of not being the Phantom Stranger or Amethyst is the best of the new titles this month. Damning with faint praise there.

Teen Titans #13: The origin of Wonder Girl is that a secret ancient cave in Cambodia gave her magic armour, and the boyfriend she had at the time was going to be taken over by it before she 'stole' it. As slight a comic as that makes it sound.

Flash #13: Gorillas! Rogues! Good Rogues! Gorillas! Bad Rogues! Gorillas! A blast, as ever. You like it or you don't, but you do like it. What happens to the Pied Piper is... a surprise, but the final page is pure Kev O'Neill. READ THIS BOOK.

Firestorm #13: DAN JURGENS PLEASE WAKE UP! YOU ARE NOT STILL IN THE EIGHTIES! Everybody knows about Firestorm, Jason and Ronnie's parents are dating, Ronnie's grades are slipping, which cute boy will ask Heather to the Prom? (Scratch that last one, that might be from something else.) I'd say it's impossible to like this, but Dan does and DiDio must as well, because he keeps giving Dan books to write. Can we not just cancel this waste of paper?

Hawkman #13: Liefeld's last stand is pretty much as dreadful as you'd imagine it to be, as the now rebooted Hawkman is simultaneously Thanagarian and a human possessed by Nth Metal, sometimes on the same page. (It finally settles on a complete reboot, with Hawkman being Thanagarian.) I feel like I've wasted a chunk of my life reading this when I could have been doing something far more productive. Like picking a scab.

Aquaman #13: How much sad can a sadface get if a Geoff Johns could write sad? NONE MORE SADFACE. This is like the nexus of Sadface and suck. Manta gets the sceptre from Atlantis which makes his craft into a crazy teleporting device which, handily, Mera has a computer that can track. Because Manta has killed the Russian who has always been Arthur's mate (you know, the one who only turned up a month or so ago) Artur wants to kill Manta but doesn't. Manta's sidekick and/or boss, who Arthur and Mera have randomly decided is a good guy really and therefore don't turn into the police, gets to spend the rest of his life going round to soldiers' widows letting them no their husbands loved them really because he can see their ghosts. Instead of the rational reaction which should be OMG GET AWAY FROM ME YOU FREAK! POLICE! POLICE! instead they coat his shoulders with their grateful tears, giving him a lob on, or something. I hate you, Geoff Johns. Really. You're a worse thing for comics than Rob Liefeld, and I'm not even exaggerating.

Action Annual #1: Can it be true? Is Sholly Fisch really a better writer than GMoz? DON'T BE STUPID, OF COURSE HE'S NOT. Imagine the pain in your heart you feel when you have to read one of his backups, then stretch it out to 10 times the length. Kryptonite Man gets invented in a lab during Action Comics #8 (yes, this takes place 6 months ago) and then gets beaten up by Superman and Steel. The experience convinces Stell he should go off instead and form a startup company in Australia to bring buildings to the natives out there (while learning the digeridoo and how to dance round a fire). Luthor learns from this issue that K hurts Supes, which I thought he already knew (and was shown in Action #2 or #3 as a fact), but feels like OOH PLOT POINT in any case. Despite this, there is a completely unexpected Atomic Skull backup which is very nearly worth the price of admission itself.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7273/8162441531_c9f9d178ff_z.jpg

Steal it and have a look, you won't regret it.

Batgirl Annual #1: MAKE IT STOP. This has the girl Talon that appeared in Batgirl OWLS (although from memory I think the boxout refers to the wrong issue) and it turns out OWLS are still as active as ever, just not in Batman or any of the Batbooks and Batman and the whole Batfamily (including Batgirl) couldn't give a toss about them because it's Catwoman they're after. And despite the fact just ONE OWL was nearly good enough to kill Bats himself, Catwoman is able to take on several and win (presumably, it all happens offscreen). GIRL POWER! Or something. The whole issue is only an excuse to get the girl Talon into Birds of Prey. Deep joy.

Justice League Dark Annual #1: Hooray for sequential storytelling! A book which comes out after #13 actually takes place after #13! But oh no, it takes place before I, Vampire #8! (Although at least it tells you and acknowledges it, which is something at least.) Anyway, nearly every magical hero you can think of ends up at Nanda Parbat. Where the books of magic eventually reveal they're a super alien space computer. Science not magic, you see?

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7130/8162441609_052e6819b5_z.jpg

Go Obama 2012 or something! If not, what is the point of this? It's readable enough I suppose, but... meh.

Swamp Thing Annual #1: Umm. Yes. A prequel to #14, but telling a story from before #0. And it's a pretty good one, all told, or at least very diverting. But as with most of the #0s, adding very little to the plot, really. Can I start another sentence with a preposition? No. Yes? But no. Although yes? It might say something that this kind of wordplay is arguably more entertaining.

You're doing God's work here, Aldo.

DC continuity is really the strangest goddamn thing, I dunno why they bother. continuity is for suckers!

hey! you know how Action costs $3.99 because the story is longer, even though there's only been iirc two issues where it actually was? well don't worry, Morrison's final issue is going to be the full 30-page story you've paid an extra US$1 for 15 or 16 of the previous months!

Oh, and it'll be $4.99, because there's going to be a Sholly Fisch backup too.

Damn, they're slick.

Action #14: Ummm. Yeah. The human terraforming mission to Mars is under threat because other terraformers have dibs on the planet. Then some other terraformers, who are a bit like the bad Angels from Doctor Who, turn up as well as they've been doing this relelntlessly since they tried to do it to Krypton (leaving aside that they've only done 200 planets in the entire time Kal-el has been alive, which isn't exactly startling pace) but luckily the middle terraformers are Mek-Quake from Ro-Busters and so powerful enough to smash the angels, until Superman electrocutes them in the 5th Dimension. Wait, multi-dimensions? After the reveal about Clark's landlady the other month, that can only mean one thing! Yes, it's Vyndktvx, the Johnsiverse version of Mr Mxyzptlk! Only he's a bad, vindictive little multi-dimensional sprite and not the trickster we know and love and he's been behind EVERYTHING! GOSH! Does this sound like fanwank? Thrill-powered as it is, I suspect it might. Still, it all works out all right. We know that because the Sholly Fisch backup takes place the week after it. Way to go, editors.

Animal Man #14: I want to like this. Really I do, but I know it's not real. Rotworld is an Elseworlds book, as in real-time in the Johnsiverse the rot has already started taking over and in the future it has. Enjoying it for what it is then, it's always pleasant to see Grifter get his head ripped off. Beast Boy cares for him as much as I do and you can never be sure it's not just Jeff Lemire channelling directly.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8058/8201843977_aa2465e8aa_o.jpg

So much of this doesn't make sense though. Gorilla City is now in America? And why try and make explicit AGAIN that this IS the Johnsiverse by having Black Orchid talk about Steve Trevor's black projects? The confused mess this ends up is purely because of the attempts to make the 52 universe a tangible thing. If this was just lurking off as a Vertigo book or something everything would be fine. In what I'm sure is a complete coincidence, amid dialogue about turncoats, the heroes who are shown to have gone over to the other side are Grifter, Deathstroke and Hawk & Dove. I mean, it is just a coincidence Rob Liefeld was working on all of those, right? Otherwise them being the only ones picked on would be a really petty bit of whiny bitching, yeah? It would make you wonder what Jeff Lemire could have against him, were it any more than a coincidence? Or what an editorial hold DiDio and Johns had over him to force him to write them in. Were it not just a coincidence that draws a connection between Rob L and being a traitor. But obviously it's a coincidence. OBVIOUSLY. I can't believe I even noticed it.

Batwing #14: Oh God, I had forgotten about this. Africa is full of magic, yes, and everybody has hanging about a special amulet to protect them from the magic. If they're not ancient magic people then they're mercenaries who sometimes work as vigilantes to make up for it. This really is dreadful racist nonsense at the heart of it, about how DIFFERENT Africa is. Not proper, like America. Everyone lives in shacks or ruins. They're all corrupt. They all believe in magic. You just keep telling your self that and you'll fit right in.

Detective #14: Whut? The carefully built plot from the last issue is thrown away in four pages, Brids of Prey is actively dissed and then the plot of the Ivy story ignored... oh, and she's married to Clayface now. It's Helena I feel sorry for, being deserted like that. Is the Johnsiverse really trying to tear itself apart, based on this month so far?

Dial H #6: THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. What happens when the Dial gives you somebody you couldn't possibly go outside with in this day and age? You in heap big trouble. Nelson and Rox pass the day waiting for the effects to wear off in one of those instances, while discussing other times. Maybe my favourite issue so far, and that's a big claim. I'm just sorry we won't see Wingy again.

Earth 2 #6: GRUNDY NOT SMASH MOON! STUPID MOON! If only Jeff Lemire was as clever as James Robinson, hunh?

GI Combat #6: Haunted Tank is as much fun as Iron Sky. That's enough of an explanation as you need. Unknown Soldier is kind of meh, but not enough to drag the enjoyment of the book overall. See DiDio? This is what happens when you get rid of people like JT Krul. People end up ACTUALLY LIKING what you publish.

Green Arrow #14: Hawkman and GA have a fight with lots of other Hawkmen, while chucking out huge chunks of exposition and talking about COMPLETE BATTLE COLLAPSE and the like. Ann Nocenti proves she's the mastermind behind those things people put on Facebook by claiming "you can't unring a bell" is an Ancient Chinese Proverb, when it actually came from a US court case in the 50s. Oh good. It continues in Deathstoke (who hasn't actually been in it yet) and Hawkman. Deep joy.

Green Lantern #14: The Guardians talk to a guy made of light about how much they love Hal Jordan before discussing how they're going to save and/or destroy the universe and ponder the value of the soul. The Justice League turn up, and in a wonder of Superhero Sadface realise that NOT EVERY ARAB IS A TERRORIST. Well, except Aquaman. He still thinks that. Flash is kind of amazed that an imaginary car doesn't behave like a normal car and actually does what the guy who imagines it wants it to do. The Black Hand tries to save the Guardians locked in the box in the middle of space and Hal and Sinestro, who are still dead, go to the House of Mystery. Probably. I can't tell any more.

Stormwatch #14: Etrigan (who might not be Etrigan, as his rhyming is back and he's significantly de-powered) is fighting Stormwatch, who think he was one of the people the Demon Knights fought. Because, as we all know, Demon Knights were Stormwatch before Stormwatch. Of course. How stupid of me. Also, a superhero fight is a bit like the Olympics. No, it seriously says this. Anyway, Stormwatch is now only about the Shadow Lords, whatever they are. And Midnighter realises beating people up can cure him of being gay. You might think I'm just checking you're still reading, but no, this is what happens on the last page. I'd love to pretend it doesn't, but unfortunately this is where DC have got to. Really quite horrific.

Swamp Thing #14: Despite existing in the same Elseworld as Animal Man, this is a rollicking read as the green heroes left move to the same unavoidable fight as the red heroes - except in a convincing and entertaining way. But it' tiring reading and writing so much bad material. I need a nap before I attempt anything else. Night night.

Batgirl #14: A deranged Joker in full flow is always a great thing to behold, but Gail S just doesn't get it. She's too busy playing with the pseudo-hypnosis of Babs right up to the point where we're supposed to believe THIS Barbara Gordon, the one that had her back healed after the events of the Killing Joke, the one who got out of her wheelchair, the one who stared down one of the guys that did it... is reduced to a pathetic, paralysed weeping child by the memory of it. Still, Babs also doesn't recognise her brother's voice so anything is possible. I'm curious to how all the Death of the Family will work together, but not curious to read any more of these.

Batman #14: THIS is how you do a deranged Joker. Hats off Mr Snyder, you might just well be the best Batman writer since the Silver Age. But it's not just Batman - this is a textbook example of writing comics. Set up the mystery, raise the bar with a fake-out during the plot build and take it to a level where you want to read the next part of it. Hell, it almost makes me want to read Batgirl (even if Gail didn't get the memo about how the Joker's doing things). The backup is great too, with just enough hints about how all this is panning out, while telling a completely different story. Why isn't everything DC put out as good as this?

Batman & Robin #14: The Joker has created cannibals, but I can't take my mind of the way Peter Tomasi is channelling Neal Adams' Batman Odyssey. Or Frank Miller's All Star Batman. And neither of those are good options.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8210/8203422640_0d56eb857e_o.jpg

OK, I guess, but very average and I don't think we really need the emo bullshit on the last couple of pages.

Deathstroke #14: And there was me wondering why Deathstroke was involved in all this Hawkman nonsense. It's because his armour is Nth Metal. OH, OF COURSE IT IS ROB. FFS, can you not get one original idea? (By the way, despite all his fun adventures in space and whatnot Deathstroke is now reduced to picking up jobs in bars. Bit of a comedown.)

Demon Knights #14: This has kind of lost its way in the past couple of months. Etrigan and Jason are separate, Morgaine is going to conquer Avalon, everybody is pairing up into couples to have a happy life together. I didn't care for this much and had to check who wrote it as it's well below the standards Paul Cornell has set for the title, but he's put in enough effort in the past to get him a free pass this month. Just make it the only one where I say it, OK?

Frankenstein #14: Why drag your heels like the other Rotworld books? Why not just speed about invincibly across America when everyone else can't go 100 yards without being attacked. I know, why not go to Easter Island, just for the hell of it? Then kill off the rest of the cast and bring in some shiny golden robots? That's bound to help.

Green Lantern Corps #14: So the Guardians are now working against Guy Gardner now, because Guy is the best Lantern of all time now? Is that because Hal is/isn't dead or was Guy always better? And in GL:NG you say that Kyle's the best ever. Is it just that every Lantern is the best Lantern ever because they're all better than all the other heroes because they're Geoff Johns' power fantasy. Except John Stewart. Geoff Johns doesn't seem to like him for some reason. If only I could put my finger on what makes him different to Hal or Guy or Kyle. There must be something... Anyway, Kilowog and Salaak sort of work out what's going on, but don't care enough to do anything about it and the Guardians take away Guy's ring and return him to Earth. Most books would be cancelled at this point, as this one should, but it'll continue on unfortunately.

Grifter #14: Oh shitty Christ, this is awful. Rob has Grifter and Midnighter zapped round the world while they're fighting so he can get some KEWL ideas in. What if they were underwater fighting a shark, wouldn't that be KEWL? Oops, not as good as I thought, but there was a shark so VFFTTT they're in front of a speeding train, but that's a kind of one panel joke so VFFTTT they're in Tokyo. It's like watching a toddler with ADHD playing with action figures. Not being a toddler myself, or a parent with an interest, it's more dereving of sympathy than awe or pride.

Legion Lost #14: Not long remaining, and it definitely shows. This takes place after last month's Superboy, which takes place after next month's Ravagers. Make sense? The writers have given up with this lazy rubbish and so have I.

Suicide Squad #14: Wow, so Floyd's really dead, huh? Not sure I saw that coming, and Harley definitely didn't see the Joker punching her square in the face coming either. The slight change in focus to the Bat tie-in make it less satisfying in previous months as it's more than able to stand alone, but it works well enough I suppose. Compared to nearly everything else this week it's a masterpiece.

Superboy #14: Just so we're clear, Legion Lost 14-16 happen between Superboy 13 and 14. How's that there continuity working out for you, DiDio? This also is taking place at the same time (and is part of) both the Batman and Superman tie in plots. MAKE IT STOP.

Team 7 #2: I think this might genuinely be one of the most pointless books DC has ever published. Team 7's giant flying space doughnut takes them to somewhere that Eclipso might be, which is odd as he was killed during the TINY FOOTPRINTS nonsense, which must still exist because Green Lantern is still from that universe (otherwise Brightest Day can't have happened, which it must have). There's some fighting of sorts, and some standing about. That's all I remember, and I've just finished reading it. That probably tells its own story.

Phantom Stranger #2: Talking of pointless books... actually, the portrayal of football (or soccer, if you must) is one of the most hilariously inept things I've read in a DC book for many years. Really, if you're going to write about a topic you could at least learn SOMETHING about it. Imagine if a Brit was writing about baseball and the guy on the losing team hit four home runs. It would sound kind of stupid, right? Well so does this book. The Stranger is now just a supernatural alter-ego. Like putting on a costume or something. Yes, it's that dumb. Awful stuff.

Ravagers #6: And completing the week of wasted paper comes this, a barely tolerabel team book but I'll take anything I can get at this point. But wait! It takes place before Legion Lost 14, so it takes place before Superboy 14. Good. But they're not done yet - Beast Boy suffers the effects from Rotworld in this issue and a boxout refers to Swamp Thing and Animal Man 14s, so they take place in the Johnsiverse after all and here's the proof. That means it only has a year left before it's all destroyed. Hooray!

Is Scott Snyder's time on Batman just 1-14? I stopped reading after a bit as it wasn't thrilling me, but that's pretty strong praise (particularly coming after GMoz's run).

I think Snyder is doing a good job, but that praise seems a bit much. I think his solid storytelling seems much better because of the dross he's competing with at DC these days.

That's probably fairer to be honest but pretty much everything else is SO BAD it just feels like Nathan's touched by the hand of genius.

Hats off Mr Snyder, you might just well be the best Batman writer since the Silver Age.

I read The Black Mirror two weeks ago, and Mr Snyder is no Alan Brennert. Nor is he an 80s Frank Miller, a Matt Wagner, a Pete Milligan, a Grant Morrison, a Darwyn Cooke, a Paul Pope, a Bryan Talbot, an Andy Helfer, a Neil Gaiman, or a Mike Allred. He's maybe a Scott Hampton?

Batwoman #14: MUST STOP THINKING ABOUT PROMETHEA. But it's so hard, this is so influenced by it. Every page is a splash to exploit the artwork, and the writing is pretty solid (even if it does put Wonder Woman in a kind of Justice League Dark position). After far too many months Batwoman has found its feet again and is about as good as it's ever been. Those of you that remember the Detective run will know that's fairly high praise.

Birds of Prey #14: This isn't going anywhere. Again. The Condor guy, who isn't maybe such a bad guy after all, but then is, but then isn't, but then is, is merely a sidebar in the plot. Which seems to be about getting a lot of ninjas in a room for a big fight - which the BoP run away from in any case. This isn't awful, by any means, it just isn't actively good and I can't for the life of me work out whu anyone would choose to read it.

Blue Beetle #14: So, Jaime and the other good/bad scarab blow up Scarabworld, like it was suggested last month they would, while the dead Mayan dude continues to chase them. There are an awful lot of hints about secrets to be revealed in the near future, but over a year into publication isn't the time to be introducing them. I suppose the adventures in the Reach just about do enough to make you want to read more, but with cancellation already announced it's difficult to raise the enthusiasm. This may well indicate good things for Threshold when it starts, but migrating a cancelled title character into a new book hasn't exactly worked out for Mister Terrific now, has it?

Catwoman #14: Little more than a series of set pieces designed to show Catwoman in various states of undress (including a contrived scenario to get her in the shower), but it's not dreadful at all despite being written by Ann Nocenti. At the conclusion she offers her NEW REVOLUTIONARY take on The Joker - he's gay for Batman! Wow! I never saw that coming! </snark> http://www.comicbooktidbits.com/BATMAN%20BATTLES%20JOKER_files/image022.jpg

DCU Presents #14: STOP GETTING BLUE DEVIL WRONG. http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120123072253/marvel_dc/images/c/c9/Blue_Devil_Vol_1_22.jpg Facepalm indeed. Can I un-read this?

GL:NG #14: The continuing story of Kyle Rayner becoming the bestest Lantern ever sees him meeting the same people he's met before that swanned off at the end of the first plot NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN. But OH NOES Carol Ferris is being conned by the Guardians because they know the whole thing is secretly to help Hal and because they hate him so much they've got a whole secret plot to undermine all the other Lanterns of all colours just in case. That's how ridiculous this book is now, the lead character isn't even what the book is about any more. It's about Hal. Which not even Hal's book is about.

Justice League #14: Superman is still a cheetah, but jungle magic cures him so he takes WW out on a hot date to eat apple pie in Smallville. The ridiculously overpowered Cheetah is captured ridiculously easily (despite her almost killing Barry Allen in the process), which may or may not be part of a secret plot on her part that has to do with the Black Manta. Batman watches Supes and WW having sex in a field on his special Super Sex Scanner. He seems unmoved by the experience, but then again we can only see one of his hands. Geoff Johns' Shazam backup is as Johns-y as you'd expect, take it or leave it.

LoSH #14: SPROING is a sound effect you don't see that much any more. It appears multiple times here, including one panel where it appears three times. That's devotion to a word. A guy with a squid face called M'WIM has lost his sword. This will undoubtedly be a bad thing in future issues.

Nightwing #14: Poor Dick. Not important enough to get a Joker crossover in the first wave. It's really eating him up too, as he can't believe a villain would just turn up randomly and attack him and the Joker must have been behind it. Villains don't turn up randomly? HAVE YOU NEVER READ A COMIC BEFORE, DICK?

Red Hood #14: Superman turns up on the off-chance that what happened in his Annual (which I'm not actually sure I bothered reading), and buggers off in the huff when he finds it didn't. Jason shags an alien girl, only for the Joker to drug her and set him up with the police. See Dick? Even a DEAD Robin gets a better Joker crossover than you. Irrespective of how good this might be, the grammar nazi in me finds this unforgivable in an edited publication:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8061/8231246783_67a197201d_o.jpg

Your kidding me.

Supergirl #14: In which Supergirl is exposed as a Nationalist bigot. Seriously, she is full of contempt for Superman and the human scientist because they speak Kryptonian with an Earth accent, which she doesn't care for. She even thinks an Irish girl (which, as we all should remember, looks just like Texas) speaks more authentic Kryptonian than them. The rest of the issue is really about whether she and H'El (who has the least Kryptonian Kryptonian name ever) should kill everyone that isn't pure blood Kryptonian. Because we all like a nice final solution in our comics, don't we?

Sword Of Sorcery #2: Re-arrange these words. DUCK LAME. Amethyst and her new friend talk about fabrics. She then gets some of her mother's power through the ability of LOVE. Quite what the power is, who knows. Putting out lights seems to be her main skill. The techno-Beowulf backup is still excellent though and well worth your attention - just don't go near Amethyst to get there.

Wonder Woman #14: This really doesn't belong in the New 52, does it. 1) It's good. 2) It's well plotted, as we get the machinations of Gods, Zeus' bastard children, sleeping giants... 3) It's good. Plus Orion turns up at the end. You can't go wrong with the New Gods now, can you.

All-Star Western #14: So, the cover is unrelated to the plot and the Barbary Ghost's clothing is frankly implausible, but there's lots to love in this as ever. Yes, we've seen Mr Hyde in LoEG and he's been as brutal here as there, but it doesn't mean it isn't great to read. The Tomahawk backup isn't the best this book has seen though, and the final panel with the horses leaving the settlement is REALLY badly drawn. But hey, with pickings as slim as DC's output you ignore things like that in a decent book.

Aquaman #14: The thing about Aquaman is, he's king of the sea. Right? So you think you'd get an artist in that can draw fish. Well OK, Pete Woods can technically draw fish, but he draws STUPID fish. The sort who have to go to a special school and aren't allowed to play with the sharp coral. Black Manta doesn't want to join the Suicide Squad, presumably because it's not written by Geoff Johns, but will tie in with Justice League, because it is. In other news, the Trench baddies from the very first plot are being brought back by somebody (and based on the adverts for the impending Throne Of Atlantis I'd bet it's a way they think can... erm... get the Throne Of Atlantis). Johnsy Johnsiness of the highest order.

Batman Inc #5: Ummm. Thrill-powered, yes, but the whole issue is an alternate future Gotham if Damian became Batman. So, back in the DCU, Bruce tells Damian he can't let that happen. Then all the other members of Batman Inc get blown up. A great read, but I'm not sure why DC are publishing this as a New 52 title.

Batman The Dark Knight #14: Wow. Does Batman really skewer the Scarecrow to the ceiling with a rope he shoots from a rocket gun? He gets pissed off because of this and buys a giant dirigible from the Penguin to infect Gotham with fear gas during the Thanksgiving/Christmas parade. The Penguin probably didn't need it any more after it didn't go so well for him in that Tim Burton film. Good stuff though, even if it feels like there isn't much to it.

I, Vampire #14: The fight from last issue doesn't happen and a guy who can't do bar magic gets turned into a vampire. This second soft reboot doesn't feel like it's going anywhere and if I'm honest it's painfully obvious that this is a dead book walking. After the next round of cancellations it's the second lowest DC seller, so it's inevitable really.

Justice League Dark #14: Better than most of the characters' own books. We get a runaround of the House of Secrets, including the big secret of who's spying on the DCU trying to find out secrets. There's going to be a war, apparently. Yes, another one.

Red Lanterns #14: Atrocitus punches a planet to death. The human Red Lantern, the new one, lives in the Middle Ages (based on the village he takes Bleez to, which definitely isn't the one he left from the first time we saw him). The Red Lanterns easily beat the Third Army in any case, which makes them the best Lantern Corps, presumably. This allows Atrocitus to muse on the colour blue, like some kind of rage-filled Van Gogh.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8482/8231580239_6395c2a02e_o.jpg

What next? Larfleeze recites "Daffodils"?

Superman #14: Supergirl's genocidal desires spill over to here, but Superman is largely able to explain it all away in long sentences. H'El gets in a mood because nobody will kill Superboy for him, so he smashes up a car lot. Scott Lobdell has improved the title exponentially, but having to deal with shitty crossovers is affecting his ability to deliver. Get back to Clark & Jimmy in 'One And A Half Men'.

Talon #2: Do we really need this? It's well written and engaging enough, because you can never have too much OWLS, but it really does feel like one BatBook too many, even though it isn't really one. Might be worth taking a 6 month view on, not least because I think it'll read better as a trade anyway.

Teen Titans #14: Cassie takes her armour back, which kills her archaeologist boyfriend. She doesn't seem to cut up about it. Kiran finally realises she's naked and gets all embarrassed in front of someone from the "current" issue of Birds of Prey, by which presumably they mean #15 as I've just read #14 and don't recognise the character I'm obviously supposed to. What are the chances of that, an incorrect editorial boxout?

Flash #14: Grodd back and more powerful than before, with control over the speed force now. I won't spoil the ending, but this is super stuff again and maybe the most consistently good book in the Johnsiverse.

Firestorm #14: Just when you thought this book couldn't get any worse, Captain Atom has turned up. With a really weirdly shaped head. Somebody cancel this, please? It's the actual lowest seller not yet cancelled, and sells less than the already-cancelled Frankenstein. Just put it out of its misery, please?

Hawkman #14: And talking of poor sellers, the third lowest-selling not-cancelled book. Home of the Liefeld retells Deathstroke #14 over two pages, and Green Arrow shoots some arrows into Thanagarians' faces. We get wonders of Liefeld writing like this:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8486/8231768465_6c7ef1cfa3_o.jpg

Can we make it stop please? Pretty please?

Batman Inc was especially non-Nu 52 in that the future bits were pretty much a continuation of that flash-to-the-future part of Batman #666 or whichever.

Yeah, that's where I recognised it from right enough now you mention it.

I think there's some glitched continuity, though. On the first page, I think that's Nightwing talking to Gordon, but then it cuts to the interior of the building with Dick Grayson as Batman talking to Bruce Wayne as Batman? Not sure how Dick is outside and inside in two different costumes. Was there something in the last issue about that, that I have forgotten?

Inside it is Jason Todd as Wingman talking to Batman.

ah, duh

I revived the Batman RIP thread since it's the main Morrison-centric one I could find, if anyone else wants to talk about that stuff.

Superman turns up on the off-chance that what happened in his Annual (which I'm not actually sure I bothered reading), and buggers off in the huff when he finds it didn't

It sure didn

The sort who have to go to a special school

Just wanted to make sure this was recognised.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #1 is available with cover art by DAVID FINCH.
The standard edition cover features the flag of the United States.
This issue is available in 52 U.S. flag variant editions, one for each state plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico
In addition, you may order a shrinkwrapped pack of the standard edition of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #1 plus all 52 variant covers, with a suggested retail price of $149.99 US.

I used to find Previews a fascinating document of the crass extents to which people would go to absolutely fleece nerds with expendable income. And based on some of the crap I've seen people buy at comic shops, it's a business model with legs.

I must have Puerto Rico

Gobsmacked at the sheer audacity of having a mag with more variant covers than pages, just absurd

Really digging on Snyder's Bats and Dial H

And for that I have to thank this thread otherwise I'd never have picked them up

Dial H is fucking great

if you'd told me a year ago that my favorite comic books would be a Dial H reboot and a Hawkeye solo series, I would have laughed myself silly

#hawkguy

any word on a Dial H trade?

Any word on Mieville sticking around after Berger's boned?

Is Berger leaving DC or just Vertigo? It seemed like her being the Dial H editor was a personal favor to Mieville, so maybe she'll continue at least through his planned run. She's around through the spring regardless. I'm assuming he wasn't going to do Dial H longterm, but maybe I'm wrong.

Oh, man, what? Berger's leaving now?? Well, DC, you had a good run. It's too bad you had to piss all over everything. It is a little shocking that it only took them < 2 yrs to hobble the whole operation.

Is Berger leaving DC or just Vertigo?

looooool

Feel like sharing that joke?

someone could look at Berger's entire career at DC, and what work she's edited in that time, and how many other people have been there as long, or half as long, or a quarter as long as her, and what DC have done in toto since Nelson came on, and what DC have done to Vertigo contracts over the last ten years, and how many ppl have series at Vertigo now that aren't also writing at least one ongoing GODCORP.jpg in the DCU, and how many DC-fully-owned properties are being published as discrete series at Vertigo; and type "ayo maybe 'stepping down from Vertigo' doesn't mean she's "~~resigning~~"* from AOL/DC/Time/Warner, maybe she's moving to The Nu-52 fulltime?" = looooool

*lol

Didn't you use to be not a dick?