DC Comics - The New 52 FCBD Special Edition #1 (June, 2012)

At the Rock of Eternity, a trio of the "greatest transgressors mankind has ever known" were tried. One was a leanly muscular Caucasian male with reddish-blonde hair and numerous bodily scars. "I will not beg, wizards. I defy the authority you claim! Do what you wish to me! But if you do not kill me, I will rise to power again! And you will fear my name as does the world!" Or not, since the beings made this guy forget his own name, along with everyone else. Further, they stripped him of his face, turning it into a mass of flesh. "You will forever question your identity and forever search for answers you will never find."

I really have to applaud DC for giving away a free comic book featuring their biggest names. Shame it was so cheesy. The first four pages were drawn by Ivan Reis. We learned that the Phantom Stranger is probably Judas, that the Question is most likely now a mystical being, and that the actual Pandora is the mysterious anti-heroine who was shoehorned into all the New 52 #1s. Together, they form the "Trinity of Sin." These are all still terrible ideas. Having 8th century B.C. Pandora being tried alongside thirtysomething A.D. Judas and Rorschach by a bunch of Crossgen sigil-bearers does not impress. Was the historian consulted named Kirk Cameron by any chance?

Kenneth Rocafort drew pages 5-6, and I wish that he hadn't happened, because I didn't like looking at them. They were preoccupied with trying to convince folks that Cyborg is a worthy addition to the JLA. Not likely. Then there's this thing with five pages of Gene Ha art involving Steve Trevor and Pandora's Box, except the box is a skull. Whatever.



Finally, there was a flash forward to the future drawn by Jim Lee, which was so disconnected from the main narrative that you know this is literally pages Jim Lee has already drawn for a script a year in advance because he doesn't want to blow his deadline (spoiler: he'll blow his deadline.) I've been over Jim Lee a damned long time now, and dual gatefold battle scenes that are sparsely populated by action figures amidst lazy props/backgrounds (wooo, nondescript pillars and rubble) had a lot to do with that. It foreshadows "The Trinity War," which is about how the Puerto Rican Vibe (?), the African American Green Lantern, and the Asian (?) female (?) Atom aren't as good as their Caucasian betters, while hurling unjust accusations at the Anglo-Saxons Supreme. Oh, and Cyborg (eyes roll...) I'm not sure who is on which side, but Black Adam, Deadman, the Flash, Aquaman, Mera, Wonder Woman, Element Woman, Batman, Green Arrow and Hawkman were also present.

Twelve pages of back matter reprints incomprehensible excerpts from the New 52 Wave Two titles ordered at a fraction of the levels of Wave One books. Even Captain Atom.

New 52's Day

• Aquaman #7 (April, 2012) @ Justice League Detroit
• Stormwatch #7 (May, 2012) @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• The Huntress #6 (May, 2012) @ Diana Prince is the New Wonder Woman
• Steel in Action Comics #7 (May, 2012) @ DC Bloodlines

1985 Captain Atom, Blue Beetle and The Question art by Rob Liefeld

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Image Style

• 1990 Martian Manhunter art by Jim Lee @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• 2007 The Question convention sketch by Whilce Portacio @ DC Bloodlines
• 2005 Wonder Woman San Diego Comic-Con sketch by Whilce Portacio @ Diana Prince
• 1986 Vixen fan art by Rob Liefeld @ Justice League Detroit
• 2010 Zatanna Commission by Rob Liefeld @ Justice League Detroit

1995/96 Nightshade and the Question animation concept art by Bruce Timm

Superman: The Animated Series ran on The WB network from 1996-2000. According to a 1998 interview with producer Bruce Timm in Wizard's JLA Special magazine, while that show was in development, a JLA team-up format was considered. That prospect only lasted about a week, but the production team worked up a bunch of character sketches for the proposal. "I sat down and did designs for a bunch of characters, even some that had never even been in the JLA, like The Question. We tried to put in as weird a mix of characters as we could so it wasn't just Superman, Aquaman, Hawkman. So that's how that came about, but it never went further than that." Aside from the aforementioned characters, Hawkgirl, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Vixen, Nightshade, Black Lightning, Green Lantern John Stewart and Doctor Fate were also proposed. Jenette Kahn put the kibosh on the idea, believing Superman deserved his own show and the chance to be reintroduced into animation by himself. However, the talks led to Zatanna's appearances on Batman: The Animated Series and a slew of guest spots for other heroes on Superman, including the New Gods and Supergirl.

While the Question made a splash when he finally made it into animation on Timm's Justice League Unlimited, Nightshade has yet to mount a significant dent in animation (aside from a cameo in the direct-to-DVD Superman/Batman: Public Enemies .) Curiously, the Atom had co-starred in a Superman show back in the '60s, didn't make the cut in these preliminaries, but did have several notable appearance on JLU.

Bruce Timm Bits

• The Huntress moon color art @ DC Bloodlines
• Wonder Woman Flying color pin-up @ Diana Prince
• The Vixen animation concept art @ Justice League Detroit
• 2001 Justice League Lunar art by Bruce Timm @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu

Wonder Woman Annual #1: “Backstory” (2007)

At the Department of Metahuman Affairs in Washington D.C., Sarge Steel assigned agents Diana Prince and Tom Tresser to target Wonder Woman for observation. This served as a narrative device to cover the histories of Sarge Steel, Wonder Woman, Wonder Girls Donna Troy & Cassandra Sandsmark, plus Tom "Nemesis" Tresser.

Sarge Steel didn’t trust anyone. He was originally Special Forces assigned to Army Intelligence overseas, until a terrorist’s grenade blew up in his hand. “Outfitted with a high-tech prosthetic made of solid steel, Sarge became a high ranking government agent… and proved himself particularly adept at working with superheroes.” These included Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, Nightshade, Peacemaker, the Question, Judomaster, and a thinly disguised Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt. The Central Bureau of Intelligence and Task Force X were under his supervision before he was transferred to his current assignment, where his paranoia kept him in the field and his own agents under surveillance. Only his assistant Bess Forbes was exempted, “the only person on the planet he’s afraid of.”

Nightshade also had a cameo appearance in Nemesis' biography, as a member of the Suicide Squad (but still wearing her Charlton costume.) Also: dated Tom Tressor.

“Backstory” was by Allan Heinberg, Gary Frank and Jon Sibal.

IGN's Top Atom/Charlton-related Comic Book Heroes of All Time

In 2009 or so, the comics department of the popular video game website IGN.com put together a list of their Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time, and have finally followed up with the vastly less well considered Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time. I decided to take the highly dubious list apart line by line, but in the process I'll do highly posts for my various blogs. Check out DC Bloodlines for the full list as I make it available...

87) Renee Montoya

She's a lesbian and a Latina, both rarities in mainstream comics, and about the only example to appear in cartoons. Still, I resent the hell out of her for taking over the role of the Question, and she's never carried more than a mini-series.

82) Eric O'Grady (Ant-Man)

The Irredeemable Ant-Man was awesome, but also short-lived with negligible impact.

67) Hank Pym (Ant-Man)

I do not like Hank Pym. I do not like the original Ant-Man. I do not like Giant Man. I do not like Yellowjacket. He has never worked, he has never been loved, and he serves no purpose others couldn't handle better. I can't believe he hasn't died spectacularly and stayed that way.

64) The Atom

I love how the article with this entry is entirely about Ray Palmer, but they picture Ryan Choi. No respect for either, and it's hardly uncommon. Doll-Man might have been the biggest of the early tiny heroes, but the Silver Age Atom clearly eclipsed him to become the best of a bad lot. I've got love for the Ray Palmer version, and contrary to popular misconception, the guy has a lot of cool potential that remains less than fully realized. At least he ranked above the wife beater.

61) Blue Beetle

The original was one of the bigger Golden Age heroes from a smaller publisher, and the star of his own radio show. The new kid just appeared on Smallville, and is a positive image of a young, Latino super-hero. The one in the middle is the only one acknowledged. Ted Kord was an industrialist recasting of Steve Ditko's Spider-Man more in that co-creator's image. He was funny in JLI, and I know he has a vocal following, but I just fell very "meh."

56) Hawkman

Obviously, the Winged Wonder is one of the most famous and long-lived B-listers in comic book history, even if he was just a blatant lift from Flash Gordon, complete with Alex Raymond swipes. He's gotten a hell of a lot more done than Prince Vultan, and his marriage to Hawkgirl has been one of the best examples of how to make matrimony work in comics. He was one of the first overtly political (ideologically, anyway) characters in mainstream comics, and still the killjoy to beat in super-hero teams.

16) Rorschach

I kind of hate Rorschach a little bit. I suppose he's here to represent for Watchmen, but he's also the poster child for pretentious, pointless deconstructionist super-heroes and anti-heroes with nauseating motivations (not to mention personal hygiene.) He's also at heart just a proxy for Steve Ditko's the Question, who is not on this list at all beyond such legacies/knock-offs.