One Beer Later aka My CBR Shame Special aka Here be DC spoilers

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Wait, who is the "new" Aquaman?

Good call on the Aquamang, Tom! That's the one OYL book I bought (yes Daver be spending), and I'm actually more bullish on it than you are!

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(On the Nightwing front: noticed that while Outsiders refers to him as Batman's former sidekick or something like that, it doesn't name him as Dick. I'm guessing that Dick dies or is otherwise transformed in Infinite Sadface, and that the new Nightwing is Jason Todd.)

There's a reason for that, you know.

No-one's asked Matthew about his extraordinary decision?

As of the preview copy of Catwoman that was on display at New York Comic-Con, Batman is definitely Bruce.

Best comic of the week: Bulleteer #4, which neatly ties up the themes of the miniseries (superheroines as unwilling or willing fetish objects) and puts a very interesting twist on the overarching plot of Seven Soldiers. Initially I had no idea how Morrison was going to deal with as much story as he's going to have to deal with in 32 pages. Now they've announced that SS#1 is going to be 48 pages, and I still have no idea how he's going to do it.

Anyway, am I wrong in gleaning that Superman has lost his powers?

So who's actually been out of action for the 52 year? Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman/Robin, obv., but apparently Green Arrow also hasn't been in costume for the year, and there wouldn't seem to have been a Flash, either.

But, you know, Superboy Punched the Universe, so nothing means anything.

Amusingly, this was one of the first GM comic my girlfriend decided to read after being upset by Chubby's death in Seaguy. And then he kills a TEDDY BEAR.

*The dying teddy bear reminds me of a similar scene in "A Game of You."

*A fridge--after the "girlfriend-in-refrigerator syndrome"?

*What the hell is up with the white mouse?

*The "wardrobe of solitude"-is it related to Ali-Ka-Zoom's wardrobe?

*"FREFON"? Wtf? And who is phoning Alix on the page where she hits Sally with it?

*Well, now we know what the "spear that never was thrown" is.

okay, i am going to the comix store tomorrow.

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So you'd think that at some point the editor would have had a conversation with Judd Winick along these lines: "Judd, since we're trailing the mayor thing heavily you can jump right into the story. It's a big deal, of course, but don't build the whole issue around the mayor's identity, or make it the cliffhanger or anything, cos that will look pretty stupid."

No such conversation occurred, of course, for now we have a whole issue which is villains, vigilantes, support cast etc standing round talking to each other about the NEW MAYOR. "Yes things were going fine until the NEW MAYOR", "I wonder what the NEW MAYOR will do about it", "The NEW MAYOR has vowed to demolish 'The Wall'" etc etc HOLD ON JUDD WE KNOW WHO IT IS! It goes on to the degree that you wonder if DC have pulled off a very cheeky trick and the last page mayor reveal is going to be Lex Luthor or someone. But no.

So this is a very clumsy set-up issue, but it's a set-up for something quite interesting. My only other concern is the bit where they stress that the one of the NEW MAYOR's very key policy pledges has not won him much support in the city. So, erm, how did he get elected then?

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On a personal note, I'm glad that 2 of the 4 books going back to press are ones that I (& Tom!) endorse.

Tom, you might want to dive into the back issues boxes (hem hem) and check out Gail Simone's run on BoP. It starts with #56, if you're scoring that way. The art's somewhat inconsistent (& often boobtacular - shocking, I know), but it's pretty enjoyable! Ask Douglas! And possessing up-to-date Batknowledge isn't necessary!

I'm half-tempted to do this sort of thread for CIVIL WAR bodkins. Any ILCsters that want to stroke my ego, or threaten me w/ bodily harm, bring such action hither.

Robin #148: Robin is framed for a crime he didn't commit O NOES that of murdering Batgirl. This might be an interesting mystery in upcoming issues but this set-up creaks horribly. It has an obligatory bit in which various people who know Robin quite well have to act like he might have done it, and just read quite stupidly (hi dere Oracle). It also has an equally obligatory scene in which Robin tells Batman that he has to do this...on his OWNNNNNN, which again makes everyone look like a chump. The underwhelming cliffhanger finds Robin having to break into a cop shop. Nice cartoony art, which unfortunately just accentuates how thin this issue reads.

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One of the least edifying moments of my 'return to comics' was realising that in order to give Nightwing something to do they'd created a city RIGHT NEXT TO GOTHAM which nobody had ever noticed before. They had then called it BLUDHAVEN. You couldn't make it up, except Chuck Dixon did. One Year Later Bludhaven has had a giant supervillain dropped on it and it's all got a bit messy, as a large number of - let's be frank - no-marks stilt and exposite their way around the ruins. The new Freedom Fighters may well be spawned from this mess, having been granted radiation powers. We also have new Atomic Knights and - heaven help us - a new Force Of July.

This is a OYL book which reminds me really strongly of the late 80s post-Crisis DCU. Unfortunately it doesn't remind me of the sharply imaginative comics launched back then, like ANIMAL MAN, SUICIDE SQUAD or the Baron FLASH. It reminds me of comics by the likes of Paul Kupperberg which would be left on the newsagents shelves for months until I was finally bored enough to buy one. What's that? They're bringing back CHECKMATE?

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I had never read an issue of MANHUNTER before. It is tripe. The setup seems to be lawyer by day, superheroine by night, but for an introductory issue this spends a lot of time on tedious support characters who aren't properly introduced. Nobody seems particularly likeable, and the main writing tic seems to be that everyone makes nudge-wink jokes all the time. Penalty points for the - seemingly standard - OYL tactic of not introducing the arc's actual plot until the final page. Double penalty points for the unlooked-for return of that old 80s trope the slasher who thinks all women are EVIL WHORES. Reads - and looks - like a minor New Universe title. Dreadful.

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