The Four Color Media Monitor

I read the Newsarama coverage (via the Titans Tower Monitor) for the coming schedule of DC at the NYCC, and what do I see? Something odd in what their overrated darling, Brad Meltzer, said:

Upcoming Justice League of America writer Brad Meltzer joined the stage full of guests, and, pointing to the now familiar double-sized promo image of dozens of heroes, said, "This is not the team" when asked by DC’s VP – Sales Bob Wayne what he could say about the new Justice League title.

Praising artist Ed Benes, Meltzer said, "This is going to be the League that I hope you all love, and hope you want to see again, and it is going to be new," Meltzer said.

I do want to see the League again, but not with you on board, I'm afraid, Mr. Meltzer. Sorry.

Meltzer said he's ready for the debate about which members should be on the team, adding that he hopes everyone will feel that this is what the League should be, and who should be on it. The writer added that it will not alter or tweak continuity.

Whether or not it alters/tweaks continuity is not what bothers me. No, what bothers me is Meltzer and what story elements and ingredients he could put into it! While it's possible that this'll be far from the offensive mess Identity Crisis was, that's still not saying he couldn't put something noxious in another sense into the script (Chomskyism, pointless anti-war diatribes, to name but a few examples).

He went on that he “hated the league when there were lower members that didn’t belong.” He praised Geoff Johns’ use of the JSA’s history and hopes to embrace the JLA’s history in a similar fashion, while still finding something new.

Aha! Here's where things really start to take a turn for the unclear. Exactly what's so wrong with "lower members" as he puts it? True, some can be or turn out to be redundant, but there are others who can really shine if given the chance. This doesn't really sound all that different in setup from the way things were in 1997, when JLA was relaunched.

Meltzer final tease was, again referring to the image, that viewers can pick ten members who will be on it, adding that there is one character who will be on the team that is not in the collection of heroes, "So you can all go through your Who's Who and figure out who's missing."

But not with you writing the title, I'm afraid, Mr. Meltzer. When a better writer comes around (Dan Slott, maybe), then I'll take the time to make my picks. Until then, dosvedanya.

Labels: Justice League of America, moonbat writers