Quesada still can't shake his biases: now he declares "Civil War" on Stamford

Stamford, Connecticut, gets one of its suburbs turned into rubble in a new Marvel miniseries called Civil War, and to make matters worse, it's politically charged. From the Hartford Courant:

The flaming "Welcome To" sign lying in the rubble next to Spiderman and Iron Man made it clear he wasn't looking at the smoldering ruins and bombed-out buildings of a generic comic book metropolis or a section of New York City, the traditional stomping ground of Marvel's characters.

It was Stamford.

The cataclysmic destruction of a portion of the City That Works and the repercussions for Marvel Comics' superheroes is the subject of a seven-part comic book series titled "Civil War" debuting this spring.

"People are just shocked," said Salerno, owner of A Timeless Journey comic book store in Stamford, who has been telling customers about the event. "Everybody's trying to figure out 'Why Stamford?' It's just really cool."

The politically charged story, according to Joe Quesada, Marvel's editor-in-chief, was inspired by post-Sept. 11, 2001, America and debates over the Patriot Act and presidential wiretapping. Though the details remain under wraps, a preview of May's first issue -- which Marvel labels as appropriate for readers 13 and older -- hints that the tragedy occurs when a battle between superheroes and villains causes a mammoth explosion outside of the fictional "Stamford Elementary School."

There you have it. Quesada, as the EIC of Marvel, is still not letting go of his moonbat biases. And the use of an elementary school in the plot smells of exploitation of children as a propaganda tool. And who might the writer of this upcoming miniseries happen to be?

The mini-series was conceived and is being written by Mark Millar, who lives in Scotland.

"He's not American (so) it gives him the ability to stand outside the hurricane and not be in the eye," Quesada said.

Let me get this straight. That Millar wasn't born in the US enables him to get away with a potentially biased viewpoint that could attack America's right to defend itself from terrorists? Keep on babbling, Quesada.

And even Jeph Loeb may have gone overboard:

It was comic book writer Jeph Loeb, who grew up near Riverbank Road, who recommended during a Marvel editorial conference that the civil war kick off in his hometown.

Why? Doesn't he like his hometown? This doesn't tell everything, but I do wonder if Loeb agrees with Millar's viewpoints - and Quesada's.

Quesada said Marvel, whose heroes have since their introduction in the 1960s flown, swung and smashed through real world metropolises such as New York City, wanted to make the tragedy more effective by using a less prominent locale.

With a writer like Millar helming this, I'm afraid I find it doubtful.

Although his name is not in "Civil War's" credits, Loeb said he is one of Marvel's current writers "who stick our noses into any project of this size."

"My job is to make sure they blow up the right cities," Loeb joked. "Look out, Boston! You're next!"

Loeb jokes about exploding cities? I'm sorry, but in this day and age, that's not funny anymore. I think I've found another in a long line of entertainment reps whom I'm losing faith in.

Salerno is uncertain whether Stamford's inclusion in the story line will draw more customers to his comic book store, but as a Marvel fan he is excited about the "Civil War" miniseries and its impact on future Marvel story lines.

But not me. Because if it's politically charged, and meant to be an attack on policies which are meant to provide safety and defense for American citizens, as this is quite likely to be, then what's the use of wasting time upon it? And that's exactly why this comes as another Marvel "project" I can pass on.

Robin the Teen Fugitive Suspect

Well now isn't this a classic one: in Robin #148, one of the OYL storylines, the following takes place:

DC has embroiled the Boy Wonder in a mystery, and it’s a doozy. In an ambushed fight, Robin apparently kills “Batgirl” (who he soon reveals as Lynx, the Gotham gang boss) and is now on the run to clear his name. Sound familiar? Nightwing is in a similar predicament in his ongoing, although Dick seems much less proactive in clearing his name than Tim. Tim immediately sets out to try and uncover a.) who killed Lynx and dressed her up in an imitation Batgirl suit, and b.) who attacked and tried to frame him. Robin also has to break into a police station to examine the evidence that was removed from the crime scene. He’s got a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it in. Unbeknownst to him, there appears to be a Batgirl / Lady Shiva-esque figure following him around Gotham. Weirdness abounds.

As do insults to the brain. Bill Willingham may be gone, but this new writer, Adam Beechen, isn't doing much better. Do we need to read about even a female crime boss being knocked off? This is just too silly for words.

I'm really not surprised it would turn out to be as crummy sounding as this story does. And something tells me that Nightwing may not be doing much better. Mainly because it almost sounds like another crossover/rip-off is in motion!

Comics hero as a school mascot

It's from a film clip that they got it, but it's cool to know:

Sherman Oaks, CA, March 26, 2006 --(PR.COM)-- Charter High School of the Arts – Multimedia and Performing, or CHAMPS, located in Sherman Oaks, California, has chosen the teen superhero from the award-winning animated short film Zoom Suit to be their official school mascot. CHAMPS’ curriculum places a strong emphasis on academics and every student is required to maintain a high level of competence in all subjects required for entrance to a state university.

Aw, now isn't that nice? Innovative too.

Top five Roger Stern Avengers storylines

On this team blog, Topfive Reviews, I found an item with just what I enjoyed seeing: the best five Avengers storylines written by Roger Stern.

It's interesting though, that this could explain why in the end, Stern left writing such books for a time: because fans didn't want to see Magneto turn back into a literally evil mode, so as a result, the last part of Avengers Vs. X-Men was rewritten by Tom DeFalco and Jim Shooter. It's true that even I'm one of those who'd rather Magneto not go that route either, but even so, it's a shame that Stern may have taken things that far as to leave the Avengers.

Miller explained just what's lacking - and needed today

The Colossus of Rhodey provides some details from Captain America #255 from 1981, which shows just what Batman could - and should - be putting across in Frank Miller's upcoming miniseries in which the Masked Manhunter takes on al Qaeda.

As Miller said in an earlier discussion of the book:

The reason for this work, Miller said, was "an explosion from my gut reaction of what's happening now." He can't stand entertainers who lack the moxy of their '40s counterparts who stood up to Hitler. Holy Terror is "a reminder to people who seem to have forgotten who we're up against."

It's been a long time since heroes were used in comics as pure propaganda. As Miller reminded, "Superman punched out Hitler. So did Captain America. That's one of the things they're there for."

And the same goes for many many other superheroes too, Batman included.

Another thing that's needed is to avoid political correctness. As Captain America tells the neo-nazis he's battling in #255, "You bundists disgust me! You're native born Americans, most of you, yet you'd sell out your own country to the most horrific tyrant ever to walk the earth?"

IMO, it would not be PC at all for Batman to voice something similar to any Islamofascists he'd be fighting, which is why for Batman to say, "You Islamic fundamentalists disgust me! You're native-born Americans, most of you ... yet you'd sell out your own country to the most horrific ideology on earth!"?? would be quite appropriate.

And Miller, to say the least, is anything but PC himself, and I certainly hope that'll hold true here as well. But that said, everyone should be on the lookout for if CAIR, which I'd describe as a real life variation on HYDRA or the Kingpin's own mob, is someone we should all keep an eye out for, because it wouldn't be surprising if they were to start complaining if this were too "insensitive". (If they do, all I have to say to them is - sit down and SHUT UP.)

And if this turns out to be the truly bold project it should be, then I do wonder: will Marvel, what with their very bad editors in charge today, be willing for a change to go the bold route many superheroes usually do in their own fictional worlds, and show that they're not afraid to publish a similar story for Captain America, the superhero whose main job it is to battle scum like the al Qaeda? I do hope so.

But to really get such a fearless direction going, that's exactly why the argument in favor of it needs to be stressed, and exactly why it's a good thing that we've got the 'Net to help us out.

C for Continuing Controversy

Some more's just been reported on the movie adaptation of V for Vendetta, including how Alan Moore's disassociated himself from the production. First, what the NY Times has to say (registration required):

THE most vivid characters in Alan Moore's graphic novels are antiheroes of ambiguous morality and identity: costumed avengers like Rorschach, the disturbed street vigilante of "Watchmen," or the crusader known only by the letter V, who commits catastrophic acts of terrorism in the dystopian tale "V for Vendetta."

With inventions like these, and a body of writing that spans nearly three decades, Mr. Moore, a 52-year-old native of Northampton, England, distinguished himself as a darkly philosophical voice in the medium of comic books — a rare talent whose work can sell solely on the strength of his name. But if Mr. Moore had his way today, his name would no longer appear on almost any of the graphic novels with which he is most closely associated. "I don't want anything more to do with these works," he said in a recent telephone interview, "because they were stolen from me — knowingly stolen from me."

In Mr. Moore's account of his career, the villains are clearly defined: they are the mainstream comics industry — particularly DC Comics, the American publisher of "Watchmen" and "V for Vendetta" — which he believes has hijacked the properties he created, and the American film business, which has distorted his writing beyond recognition. To him, the movie adaptation of "V for Vendetta," which opens on Friday, is not the biggest platform yet for his ideas: it is further proof that Hollywood should be avoided at all costs. "I've read the screenplay," Mr. Moore said. "It's rubbish."

Not that this really makes it clear why Moore finds it rubbish, but then, I'm sure that no matter his standings, he never intended for the original book to be seen as something that literally disrespects victims of terrorism, and makes everybody out to look like a jihad worshiper.

And after how books like From Hell and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen were exploited by Tinseltown as well:

...he [Moore] has refused to allow any more movies to be made from work he controls. In the case of work whose rights he does not control, he has refused credits on any film adaptations, and has given his share of option money and royalties to the artists who illustrated the original comic books. That position is so radical that though his colleagues say they respect his position, few in the film industry can understand it.

"It's very simple, but they don't seem to hear it," said John O'Neill, the illustrator of "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen." "They just gravitate towards offering more money."

Last year, when Mr. Moore received a phone call from Larry Wachowski — who, with his brother, Andy, had written and directed the "Matrix" movies — to discuss the "V for Vendetta" film that the Wachowskis were writing and producing for Warner Brothers, Mr. Moore felt he had made it clear that he did not want to be involved in the project.

"I explained to him that I'd had some bad experiences in Hollywood," Mr. Moore said. "I didn't want any input in it, didn't want to see it and didn't want to meet him to have coffee and talk about ideas for the film."

But at a press conference on March 4, 2005, to announce the start of production on the "V for Vendetta" film, the producer Joel Silver said Mr. Moore was "very excited about what Larry had to say and Larry sent the script, so we hope to see him sometime before we're in the U.K." This, Mr. Moore said, "was a flat lie."

"Given that I'd already published statements saying I wasn't interested in the film, it actually made me look duplicitous," he said.

In a telephone interview, Mr. Silver said he had misconstrued a meeting he had with Mr. Moore and Dave Gibbons nearly 20 years ago, when Mr. Silver first acquired the film rights to "Watchmen" and "V for Vendetta." (Mr. Silver no longer owns the rights to "Watchmen," though Warner Brothers is still planning an adaptation.) "I had a nice little lunch with them," he said, "and Alan was odd, but he was enthusiastic and encouraging us to do this. I had foolishly thought that he would continue feeling that way today, not realizing that he wouldn't."

Mr. Silver said he called Mr. Moore to apologize for his statement at the press conference, but that Mr. Moore was unmoved. "He said to me, 'I'm going to hang up on you if you don't stop talking to me,' " Mr. Silver recalled. "It was like a conversation with a tape recording."

Through his editors at DC Comics (like Warner Brothers, a subsidiary of Time Warner), Mr. Moore insisted that the studio publicly retract Mr. Silver's remarks. When no retraction was made, Mr. Moore once again quit his association with DC (and Wildstorm along with it), and demanded that his name be removed from the "V for Vendetta" film, as well as from any of his work that DC might reprint in the future.

Man, reading this, I sure feel sorry for Moore, for the abuse he's suffered at the hands of Horrorwood. With the way that the movie industry is floundering now, it's to be hoped that Moore won't have to put up with any more of this embarrassment much longer. IMO, he's right to just stick to comic books and other literature. It works much better that way.

The British Telegraph also gives a report on the movie, giving a few more clues:

The script, by the Wachowskis, differs considerably from Moore's novel, which is set in the 1990s and contains allegorical digs at Margaret Thatcher's Britain. The film, set in a ravaged, crumbling London in 2020, when most of the rest of the world has been destroyed by biological warfare and viruses, has been updated to reflect current fears about what a future totalitarian state might repress - free speech, homosexuality and Islam, among other things.

Moore's outspoken denunciation of the project has proved a major embarrassment, although the filmmakers have attempted to brush it aside.

They can try, but, if free speech and Islam* clash with each other, then all I can say is - they've failed.

Update: Andrew Cochran at The Counterterrorism Blog has more to say on the movie.
Some commentary from Right, Wing-Nut.

Update 2: Most amazing. Alan Moore, in an interview with MTV (Hat tip: Monitor Duty), explained almost perfectly what's wrong with the film:

Those words, "fascism" and "anarchy," occur nowhere in the film. It's been turned into a Bush-era parable by people too timid to set a political satire in their own country. In my original story there had been a limited nuclear war, which had isolated Britain, caused a lot of chaos and a collapse of government, and a fascist totalitarian dictatorship had sprung up. Now, in the film, you've got a sinister group of right-wing figures — not fascists, but you know that they're bad guys — and what they have done is manufactured a bio-terror weapon in secret, so that they can fake a massive terrorist incident to get everybody on their side, so that they can pursue their right-wing agenda. It's a thwarted and frustrated and perhaps largely impotent American liberal fantasy of someone with American liberal values [standing up] against a state run by neo-conservatives — which is not what "V for Vendetta" was about. It was about fascism, it was about anarchy, it was about [England]. The intent of the film is nothing like the intent of the book as I wrote it. And if the Wachowski brothers had felt moved to protest the way things were going in America, then wouldn't it have been more direct to do what I'd done and set a risky political narrative sometime in the near future that was obviously talking about the things going on today?

[...]Presumably it's not illegal — not yet anyway — to express dissenting opinions in the land of free? So perhaps it would have been better for everybody if the Wachowski brothers had done something set in America...

Who knows, maybe he's right. Maybe that's what they should've done - be honest about where they stood, and not try to hide their true leanings behind a ludicrous metaphor.

* Under Islam and the Caliphate, homosexuals and lesbians were given a choice of being beheaded or crushed with heavy stones. How some homosexuals and lesbians today can overlook that is beyond me.

It's D for disaster alright. A for Abomination too

Earlier this week, the MSM's comics representative, Captain Comics, wrote the following about the upcoming movie of V for Vendetta, scheduled to debut March 17:

...McTeigue might turn the property into a simple morality tale, or worse, an action film. But hopefully the movie will make us think just as much as the graphic novel does.

For my part, I'm looking forward to it - and to the ensuing debate about who and what "V" is.

Or, maybe not. Because the great radioblogger Debbie Schlussel has just published an advance review of this very wretched movie that not only refutes what Capt. Comics is saying about making us think just as much as the novel, but might also make him want to think twice about looking forward to any other such debates either. From Debbie's article:

Based on the graphic novel series of the same name, "V" comes complete with all the bogeymen the far left loves to hate: NSA spying and wiretaps; government renditions and torture complete with Abu Ghraib hood fashions; lecherous, elderly Christian clerics in collars raping young girls; Islam, gay rights, and free speech under attack; and even a Bill O'Reilly-esque evil cable talk show host/wicked pharmaceutical billionaire/heinous military officer combo rolled into one character.

And I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't even attack O'Reilly for any of the right reasons either (no, I can't stand O'Reilly; he interrupts people, and he's basically a right-wing moonbat himself). But that aside, if the similarities here make sense, then that shows that this could certainly be an attack on America for "violating" the rights of terrorist scum being held in Abu Graib, with total disregard for innocent victims of Islamofacism such as Daniel Pearl.

...America and the war on Iraq are the enemies--along with Christians and the right--in this movie. We are treated to newscasts about how "America's War [on terror] spread to England." One character--a gay, British Jay Leno type who hosts a latenight show--keeps a secret vault of prohibited items, including a giant poster of "the Coalition of the Willing," depicting the American and British flags surrounding a swastika. Think about our troops fighting and dying in Iraq, before you decide to give your dollars to this film. Do you really think they are Nazis?

Also in the secret vault of sacred prohibited items: a Koran. Portman, whose Evie is the "heroine" of "V," asks, why the Koran? "Are you a Muslim?" she asks the late-night host. "No, but its [the Koran's] images are beautiful." Then he comments about how he can be executed for possessing the Koran. (Not a peep in this film about the thousands who've been executed in the name of the Koran and "its beautiful images.")

Puh-leeze. If anything, both Britain and the U.S. have bent over backwards not only for the Koran, but for its extremist Muslim followers. Where Christian displays are absolutely forbidden in any schools, despite so-called "freedom of speech"; where Ten Commandments are removed from the Alabama Supreme Court, despite their being the basis for our legal system; children are required to learn about Islam, read from the Koran, and behave as Muslims in elementary schools, in the name of "tolerance" and "education."

In "V", while Islam and the Koran are treasured but prohibited, Christianity is pure evil. Nice juxtaposition, when in real life, the 19 hijackers, the '93 WTC, U.S. Embassy, U.S.S. Cole, and British subway bombers were hardly Christians. Hmmm . . . what religion were they? We don't recall Mohammed Taheri-Azar, saying on Friday in his post attempted-murder 911 call, that he tried to use his jeep to kill Americans in the name of Jesus. No, he mentioned someone else's name, another religion . . . which are both nowhere blasphemed in "V."

I agree, it's the screenplay for this movie that's evil, and yet one more in Hollywood's increasing attack on Christianity.

It gets worse:

We've already mentioned the high-ranking Christian priest, who regularly rapes young girls procured for him through an "agency." Before the priesthood, he was an evil military officer at a hospital where politically dissident youth had experiments conducted on them for the government (complete with Abu Ghraib-style hoods).

Then, there's the government. It's run by a religious Christian zealot. But not just any Christian zealot.

No. Chancellor Sutler is the supreme evil Christian. In order to get elected, he and the Bill O'Reilly-esque character (remember, before he became a cable host, he was a pharmaceutical CEO and made billions) arranged for hundreds of Brits to die from chemically poisoned water. The government said that terrorists did it, a story which became accepted fact and the conventional wisdom in media coverage....

It's no coincidence that the symbol used for his government is some sort of Cross-come-Swastika combo. Not offended yet?

Under religious Christian zealot Sutler, gays are rounded up, imprisoned, tortured, and executed. Ditto for any dissidents, any left-wing activists, anyone who dares speak out against or flout the Chancellor's actions. Tell that to the ACLU, which seems to be running legal policy in our country, these days, and its partner in crime, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the wealthiest "public interest" group in the U.S., to the tune of hundreds of millions. We don't see any prospect of them being rounded up by the government anytime soon, unfortunately.

Nor the filmmakers who exploited Alan Moore's property for their own brainless biases, angering him so much that even he wanted out of this whole nightmarish project. I wonder what the moviemakers would say if they knew what Islam believes in, on the other hand.

Overall, the most outrageous thing about "V" is the ending. Instead of vanquishing terror, all of Britain sides with the terrorist hero of this movie. They celebrate his murder of all the top officials in government, his blowing up of the Houses of Parliament and other government buildings.

Terrorists and terrorism are the heroes, the government fighting them and trying to keep us safe are the enemy.

This is the glorious revolution? Osama Bin Laden must be very proud.

And tragically so. How DARE Capt. Comics act totally oblivious to what Debbie has the guts to let us know about! And as far as I'm concerned, if this is what moviemaking and even comic book adaptations are going to amount to, then it's best for the film industry to just close down.

Quad Cities has its first comics convention

The Quad Cities Times of Iowa writes about the area's first comics convention and one person here says:

The comic books of today are more geared toward young adults in their 20s and 30s, said Larry Wiese of Superstars and Superheroes shop of Davenport. “Now there’s more talent that goes into them and the superstars of the comic books are the artists,” he said. “The artists are demanding more money which has priced kids out of the market.”

Good gosh! So the artists - or illustrators - are to blame for the rise in price? Whoa, how I long for days when plenty of artists weren't trying to differ from each other by too far a margin.

Not to knock most artists and writers, but if they were to stop trying to fleece the industry of only so much cash, maybe the prices could go down a bit.

Still, there's something here that I can certainly appreciate:

Comic books might not be as popular today were it not for the talents of the late artist Will Eisner who pushed the genre into new directions with 60-plus years of work and the popularity of Marvel Comics with the baby boomers, said Bruce Reynolds of St. Louis, Mo.

Yeah, I think I agree with that alright. Eisner was the man indeed.

Million dollar Manga

The Birmingham News says that manga is a $125 million business in the US, and is even bigger in Europe. Yep, that's good to know.

Here's someone who found inspiration through comics

Philadelphia's KYW-TV writes about a collector, who'd once been dyslexic, who found a lot of inspiration in what he'd read. Very good.

Can't they let him rest?

The Spartanberg Herald-Journal talks about the One Year Later project at DC, and tells us that:

Something will happen to Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman during the crisis. They won't be around, at least for a year. Drastic changes are happening across the board, but those are the Big Three.

Beginning this week, every DC comic book starts a new storyline "one year later."

Batman, for instance, returns to a crime-infested Gotham. Supergirl has joined the Legion of Super Heroes. Green Arrow is mayor of Star City.

After "Infinite Crisis," a weekly series called "52" -- which will be told as close to real time as possible -- debuts to fill in the one-year gap.

Nothing like this has been tried before.

Nope, I guess not, but in any case, I really don't see the point of absenting any of the threesome for over a year. But also, I really don't get it why:

...old Jim Gordon came out of retirement to take up the reigns as police commissioner again. They even let that slob Harvey Bullock back on the force.

They couldn't have let Jim Gordon get the rest he deserves? Or even Harvey Bullock? Considering the damage DC did when the Joker slew Gordon's wife several years back, I'd think that having him come out of retirement reeks of something ludicrous.

Being counseled by DiDio

It's like, mind-boggling, dude! But anyway, here's now my dissection of Newsarama's Crisis Counseling for IC #5 with Dan DiDio:

Newsarama: First off Dan, Infinite Crisis #5 has jumped around a little on the calendar before finally settling in on this week. What happened?

Dan Didio: While the book was originally solicited for the second week of the month, we always knew we had the option of sliding the issue to the last week if we needed more time for production. Which you can clearly see, we did. But the reason why issue #5 is coming out March 1st rests solely on my shoulders.

NRAMA: How so?

[DD:] Just as the issue was about to ship to the printers, I asked for a couple of last minute changes, which I felt enhanced the emotional impact of certain scenes. Geoff and Phil were great in understanding my concerns and they worked with Eddie Berganza to come up with some excellent fixes in a matter of hours. This meant adding a couple of extra pages to the story… so here we are.

Uh huh. Here we are, in Confusionland. To say nothing short of...editor's mandate?

NRAMA: Along with the time shift, Phil hasn’t been the sole artist on the book since issue #3. How related is that the book’s scheduling?

DD: The plan was always to bring in Jerry Ordway to do the Earth 2 sequences and George Perez to do scenes that paid tribute to the original Crisis. Phil is a huge fan of the original series and wanted to make sure they were involved in the sequel. Phil is also a perfectionist and realist, and he has always put the project first. As the schedule got tighter and tighter, he saw that Eddie Berganza needed to move heaven and multiple earths to keep this book on schedule, Phil volunteered to give up pages so that we keep the series on track. Eddie brought in Ivan Reis to help on the middle issues, that way Phil could focus on the final two. There has been a lot of crazy planning and juggling on these books, but everyone involved, from George to Jerry to Phil to Ivan to Geoff to Eddie and all our inkers, have been consummate professionals in their handling of this series.

NRAMA: But still, and not to beat you up too much about this, but how did this happen? It’s not like this was a sudden addition to the DC schedule or Phil’s speed was an unknown…
DD: There is a reason we call this book Infinite Crisis. In any true creative environment, what you plan at the start rarely becomes the final product. This series, not surprisingly, took on a life of its own. And while I consider Phil the ultimate perfectionist, I think Geoff Johns his main challenger for the title. If there is a fourth stage past big, bigger, biggest, that’s were Geoff wants this story to be. With each script he continues to up the ante in regards to scope and characters involved. But each change and addition takes time to research and reference for design and coloring, and this is one of the places where the editorial team of Eddie and assistant editor, Jeanine Schaefer are working overtime.

This series has one of the greatest pedigrees in comics to live up to. Everyone involved in this production understands that and will settle for being nothing less than the very best.

In artwork, that is. In all due honesty, since when did artwork become far more important than storytelling? I don't know, but this almost makes it sound that way.

NRAMA: Fair enough. Moving on to some topics raised by issue #4 – first off, the destruction of Bludhaven. What larger point does that serve in the story? Did the villains’ ante need to be upped by that much?

DD: The destruction of Bludhaven shows the true evil and power of the villains as they begin to take the offensive. When we have an organization of villains set on world domination, I don’t consider that “upping the ante”, I consider it “sending a message.”

NRAMA: Message being, “this is the stage we’re playing on now?”

DD: Exactly.

Oh, I see! Looks like we're onto something, and if I'm not mistaken, DiDio is hinting at where he stands regarding his political positions as mentioned last year. But what isn't mentioned here is that Deathstroke has something to do with it, and I needn't point out that Slade Wilson, as anyone familiar with his history as a character, wouldn't take part in citywide slaughter, or any slaughter of innocent lives, certainly not after the Judas Contract in 1984. Where exactly are the characterization experts when it comes to things like that?

Now, I may as well take a look at what's said here about Doom Patrol:

NRAMA: Just for the sake of absolute clarification – Doom Patrol. Specifically Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol. Given it’s appearance in Teen Titans #31 – in continuity, or out? And then how does that now work with John Byrne’s Doom Patrol?
DD: All Doom Patrols are in continuity.

NRAMA: All?

DD: All of them. And some of the shifts have been explained away with the “Continuity Wave.” See, its working already.

NRAMA: So then, John Byrne’s Doom Patrol series was started with this in mind? That is, the unexplained re-appearance of the Doom Patrol in the present day was done so with Infinite Crisis and how it would realign it in mind?

DD: Right.

NRAMA: But DC and Byrne took a tremendous amount of heat for the Patrol’s return without mention of their past…in the end, was it worth it?
DD: Absolutely, you cannot publish a large line of comics with out taking some risks and if it had worked better, we would have been having a different conversation. As you’ll soon see with some of the new series planned, we will continue to add a level of risk in everything we do.

Frankly, I think I'm quite disillusioned with the whole notion of risks. At best, I'm bored with it. And for heaven's sake, there is no reason, IMO, for DiDio to remain unclear about whether or not Byrne's Doom Patrol is in continuity or not (IMO, it's not, and I guess Johns himself must've confirmed it).

As far as risks go, I'm feeling uneasy about DiDio's announcement of "risks". Because it could be risks similar to what they took two years ago to begin with.

Better than ever? We'll see about that

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.