Once Upon a Geek

Since Geoff Johns left “Teen Titans”, I’ve felt this was a book looking for direction.  I’ve toyed with the idea of dropping the title from my monthly pull list, but the characters themselves have been interesting enough for me to hang around.  I find the make up of this incarnation of Teen Titans to be quite fascinating:

• Robin
• Wonder Girl
• Miss Martian
• Kid Devil
• Ravager (off the team right now, but will be back in about six months I’m sure)
• Blue Beetle
• and assisted by Marvin & Wendy (yes, Marvin & Wendy from the classic “Super Friends” cartoon)

On this blog yesterday, I talked about how I felt the X-Men weren’t really taking any chances with their roster.  Well, here you have almost the complete opposite.  Besides Robin & Wonder Girl, none of these characters would qualify as “classic” Teen Titans.  I feel selecting these particular D-list heroes was a very brave choice.

This particular incarnation of Teen Titans started during the “One Year Later” storyline towards the end of Geoff Johns’ tenure on the book.  Since then, Sean McKeever has been guiding these characters.  While there hasn’t been any major shake-ups on McKeever’s watch yet, he has been trying to develop the characters further.  For the most part, the character moments is where I’ve been finding my fulfillment from this book.  The overall plots and adventures haven’t been terribly compelling to me.

Now we get to issue #61 - The Red & the Blue… SPOILERS AHEAD

I found myself pleasantly surprised by this issue.  From early solicitations, I knew they were going to try and popularize the pairing of Kid Devil with Blue Beetle (in the mold of Booster Gold & Blue Beetle).  I wasn’t expected to enjoy this quickly-manufactured relationship, but after reading issue #61 I’m warming to the idea.

The basic premise of this story is that Kid Devil is trying to hunt down the supervillain Shockwave in an effort to prove himself an asset to the Teen Titans.  Kid Devil enlists Robin’s help in honing his own detective skills, rather than asking Robin to be involved in the search for Shockwave.  Kid Devil then fails to uncover a pattern to Shockwave’s attacks, but is able to confront the villain after seeing him on a live news broadcast.  Blue Beetle also shows up to confront Shockwave.  The chip on Kid Devil’s shoulder prevents him from willingly accepting Blue Beetle’s assistance.  The two heroes bicker and basically get in each others way, thus allowing Shockwave to escape.  Kid Devil eventually accepts Blue Beetle’s help begrudgingly as BB’s team figures out the pattern to Shockwave’s attacks.  All the attacks are taking place at former Kord Industries locations.  With that uncovered, Blue Beetle now feels vested in the hunt for Shockwave (as the former Blue Beetle was Ted Kord, owner of Kord Industries).   Shockwave attacks again and our heroes finally work together to stop him.  During the battle, Kid Devil’s frustration allows him to unlock the full might of his demonic powers; including teleportation and transfer of intense heat through touch.  After the fight, Blue Beetle and Kid Devil talk.  Once Kid Devil is made aware that Blue Beetle isn’t romantically interested in Ravager, he’s more than willing to be pals with BB.  During the wrap-up, Blue Beetle accepts full membership on the Teen Titans.  Finally, feeling that he’s earned his place on the team and has truly mastered his powers, Kid Devil takes on a new name and costume… Red Devil!

As I mentioned, I found myself pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this issue.  Some of the reasons come from the story itself, while other reasons come from the character backgrounds:

• It was a small story (not epic) featuring a small cast with lots of character moments.
• I like both Blue Beetle and Kid Devil individually.  I thoroughly enjoy the current Blue Beetle monthly series.  And I’ve been interested in the exploration of Kid Devil in Teen Titans (i.e. the impending consequences of his pact with Neron, and the glimpse at the future version of himself).
• I found that the pairing of Kid Devil and Blue Beetle worked.  They bounced off each other well and I think this partnership has potential.
• I’m an old school fan of Blue Devil, which is where Kid Devil originated.  It was cool to see Kid Devil ask Robin for help with detective skills this issue.  Back in the 1980s when Kid Devil was pretty much comedy relief, he spent time working with Robin (Jason Todd, I think).  So I felt this was a nice nod to that old story.  Additionally, Shockwave is an old Blue Devil villain (his first appearance was Blue Devil #2).  It was satisfying to see Shockwave going toe-to-toe with Blue Devil’s former protégé.  Finally, Kid Devil’s new costume (Red Devil) is very reminiscent of Blue Devil’s original costume.

• There is a subtle linkage between Kid Devil and Blue Beetle through an artist by the name of Paris Cullins.  In the 1980s Paris Cullins was the artist that launched both the Blue Devil monthly series, and then the Blue Beetle monthly series two years later.  He was a phenomenal artist with a really great style.  I wish we saw more of his work nowadays.

So at the end of the day, I enjoyed this issue more than I have the last several issues of Teen Titans.  I admit I am biased about these characters, so it’s possible I’m giving this particular issue more leeway than it deserves.  I guess next issue will help me determine whether Teen Titans is steering towards greatness, or if I simply read this issue through rose-colored glasses.  Next issue features Wonderdog, so it could go either way.

I picked up the recent Uncanny X-Men #500.  I used to be a major X-junkie.  We’re talking MAJOR junkie.  I’d read every single Uncanny X-Men story from Giant-Sized X-Men #1 (1975) through Uncanny X-Men #320 (January 1995).  While I only started reading the series in 1983, I’d gone back and read all the earlier stories.  This includes most of the spin-off series as well; New Mutants, X-Men Classic, X-Factor, X-Men (adjective-less), Excalibur, X-Force, Generation X, tons of mini-series, etc.  So shortly after the Phalanx Covenant I’d just had enough and walked away from 20 years of continuity and over 400 comics.

Every so often I’ll pick up an issue of X-Men just to see what is going on.   I picked up a handful in the 350s, 360s, 370s, and a couple others here and there.  Issue #500 seemed like a good one to pick-up.  It was billed as a “jumping on point” and I’m always a sucker for an anniversary issue.

To start with, it had an awesome Alex Ross cover celebrating several eras of the book.  Well, at least the version I got was an Alex Ross.  The inside notes at least four different variant covers.  Another example of why I walked away previously.  The story was by Ed Brubaker & Matt Fraction.  I hear these guys on the Word Balloon podcast frequently, so I was hopeful this would be good.  The art was by Greg Land and Terry Dodson; both well known for their gorgeous ladies.  So far, so good.

Warning.. SPOILERS ahead…

As expected the art is great and the ladies are hot.  By the third page, we get to see a Sentinel, so that’s cool.  The early part of the story provides the reader with a tour of the new X-Men headquarters in San Francisco, along with an explanation of the X-Men’s new found popularity with the masses.  Then the story moves to a swank San Francisco art opening featuring three decommissioned Mark One Sentinels.  Suddenly Magneto attacks and reactivates the Sentinels.  Our heroes are there to protect their new hometown.  Lots of action in downtown San Francisco, ultimately leading to Magneto’s defeat.  It’s discovered that Magneto (who lost his powers a while back) was simulating his powers with an exo-suit designed by the High Evolutionary.  In fact, Magneto’s attack was merely a distraction, and he’s in cahoots with the High Evolutionary in a mysterious plot surrounding a stationary Celestial that’s chilling in San Francisco.  The next day, Cyclops sends out a psychic broadcast (sent via Emma Frost) to all mutants on Earth inviting them to their new headquarters in San Francisco.  The X-Men have turned their headquarters into a mutant sanctuary.  And finally in an epilogue we see some anti-mutant hate crimes begin to appear in San Francisco.

Overall, I guess I pretty much enjoyed the issue.  Nothing like a decisive opinion, eh?  It was definitely a great “jumping on point” and the art was phenomenal.  However, I had some concerns with the issue. First off, Magneto’s attack really seemed ridiculous.  Even in hindsight with his attack simply being a distraction, it seemed forced.  I had a hard time believing this was really the brilliant strategist he had been portrayed as in the past. I honestly expected him to be revealed as an impostor.  I was shocked when it turned out to really be Magneto.

I think my biggest issue with the story was the lack of change within the team.  I stated that I gave up reading the series on a regular basis back in 1995.  Well… not much has really changed since.  In fact, it seems not much has really changed since the mid-80s either.  I can quickly run down the changes to the X-Men that appeared in this book since the “classic” days:

• Emma Frost is a good guy and dating Cyclops
• Beast looks more like a blue lion nowadays
• Cannonball has graduated to the X-Men
• Storm is the Queen of Wakanda
• The X-Men are popular and trendy
• The majority of mutants have become de-powered thanks to the Scarlet Witch.  There are only approximately 200 mutants left on Earth.  However, I gotta say I don’t think there were all that many in the “classic” days anyway.  So maybe this is simply another reset to the “classic” era.

20 years later and those seem to be the only changes to the series based upon this issue.  Now I know there have been TONS of other changes, but they apparently either didn’t stick or weren’t worth mentioning in this issue.  Even things that were changed previously have reverted back to their “classic” state; for example Colossus is alive again, Angel has his feathered wings back, Jean Grey is dead again, and Professor X is absent again (he was always going away for long periods of time in the old days).  By way of example, here is the X-Men roster for this issue:

• Cyclops
• Storm
• Colossus
• Wolverine
• Nightcrawler
• Angel
• Beast
• Cannonball
• Emma Frost

With the exception of Emma Frost and Cannonball, this is pretty much the classic team.  Since those classic days, they’ve introduced tons of new characters.  Were those characters not popular?  Were they that forgettable?  Who knows, maybe they’ve been de-powered, are on other teams nowadays, or have become villains.  Here are a handful of X-Men from more recent years that I guess didn’t make the cut:

• Jubilee
• Gambit
• Bishop
• Revanche
• Cecilia Reyes
• Marrow
• Maggott
• Sage
• Chamber
• Stacy X

With all that said, I realize that resetting a comic back to its “classic” era is commonplace. Just look at what DC has been doing for quite some time.  I guess I was just disappointed to find the X-Men weren’t that different than I remember.  Most of the time that would probably be a comfort.  But in a team that is known for lots of change and dynamic storytelling, it just seemed somewhat sad that they were taking the “safe” approach by making it too approachable for folks like me.  Part of the fun with the X-Men growing up was being thrown into the deep end with all these characters I didn’t know and discovering for myself who they were and what they were about.  After issue #500, I already know all the characters and there really isn’t much mystery to bring me back.

On Monday I featured quite a few comic book related t-shirts from my closet.  Today I’m finishing up the tour of my wardrobe by showing off my DC comics shirts.  Please feel free to share any of your favorite t-shirts you own either by commenting or via e-mail!

A great Superman t-shirt given to me by my family a couple years ago.  I really like that the “S” symbol is large.  I strongly believe the “S” on a Superman shirt should stretch across the entire chest horizontally.  Additionally, I like the “ringer” look of this shirt.  A “ringer” t-shirt typically features the jersey shirt fabric in one color, but the ribbing used for the collar and the sleeve bands are of a contrasting color.  I wear this one a lot.

A fun classic Superman style shirt I picked up in the 1990’s. I love the squinty 1940’s Superman!  The primary image above is the back of the shirt with the insert being the front left hand side.

A present from my friend Ed back in the 1990’s.  This shirt came in a cool telephone booth shaped box.

Another gift from the family.  Obviously this one was pre-stressed.

This was a clever idea for a shirt.  The primary image above is the back of the shirt, with the insert being the front left hand side.  I liked the idea of having a Daily Planet staff shirt.  The fading on the word “Staff” happened after one wash.  I was kind of bummed, but it sort of makes it look cooler.

Okay, what comic book reader in the 1990’s didn’t have a crush on Death?  I’m not talking Thanos-style, but the Death character from the Sandman comic.  She was absolutely adorable.  This 1993 shirt was the first Death shirt and was drawn by Chris Bachalo.  It’s still my favorite Death shirt.  The fading/stress on this shirt is genuine; I wore it a lot.

Here is another Death shirt.  I believe this one was done by Chris Bachalo also.

A great Death shirt from 1995 featuring a line from her first appearance.  You can clearly see the Bjork influence on the artwork at the time.

I got this Barry Allen Flash t-shirt from Target just a few months ago.  This was a pre-stressed item that looked so classic I had to get it.  Interestingly enough, if Target had waited just a few more months this wouldn’t have been “classic”, it would have been “current”.

I got this shirt in the 1990’s specifically because I thought it was awesome they made a Jay Garrick Flash t-shirt.  Additionally, this is the only comic book t-shirt I own that’s long sleeve.

A very thoughtful present from my friend Ed.  DC has never produced a t-shirt that just focuses on Firestorm, so Ed made me one!  The image is taken from a cover during Firestorm’s elemental period.  You can see the fading on this shirt is pretty severe.  I wore the heck out of it back in the mid-1990s.  Once it started fading, it became a frequent nightshirt.

Another present from a friend.  This one was a gift a couple years ago from my old college roommate, Serv.  You can see the image is a classic version of Aquaman; early 1970’s Super Friends era.  I really like the “ringer” look on this one along with the pre-faded image.

Another great classic Aquaman image; this time from the late-1970’s/early 1980’s.  The image has a little bit of pre-faded effect which suits it well.  This particular shirt was also given to me by Serv last year.  So do you think by giving me all these Aquaman shirts that Serv is trying to tell me he’s gay for me?

A white pocket t-shirt from the WB store with an embroidered Aquaman swimming out of the pocket.  I got this in the mid-1990s.  Fun!

Not truly a T-SHIRT, but still a comic book related SHIRT.  This embroidered denim shirt came from the WB store in the mid-1990s and is all kinds of awesome.  The top image is obviously the front, with the bottom image being the back.  Interesting observation, Aquaman and Green Lantern look all buddy-buddy here.  However, did Green Lantern freak out when Aquaman was killed (like he did when Martian Manhunter was killed)?  Nope.  I’m not even sure Hal has realized that Arthur kicked the bucket.  Well… Hal will know for sure soon enough.  C’mon “Blackest Night”!

This is a really fun take on superhero t-shirts.  This shirt presents the one-page origin of Batman from the earliest days of Detective Comics.  If I remember correctly, I got this shirt in a record shop in Atlanta in the mid-1990s.

This is another unusual item (and I know, not a t-shirt).  It’s a silk robe featuring the Superman “S” symbol.  If you look closely, you can see small versions of the symbol all over the fabric.  Then there is the obvious red “S” symbol on the front pocket and backside.  The robe is really pretty to look at, but somehow a silk robe just doesn’t scream manly to me.  Especially Super-manly.  Needless to say I haven’t worn it much.  But on my wife it looks hot!

Well there you go, a brief look into Shag’s closet.  Don’t forget, share your favorite comic book t-shirts if you’d like!

Check back here tomorrow for the conclusion of my comic book t-shirt gallery.  Meanwhile…

If you haven’t been listening already, be sure to swing by “Views from the Longbox” and check out the week-long mini-series BAT WEEK!  From this past Sunday (August 17) through this coming Friday (August 22), there is a new episode of “Views from the Longbox” available for download each day.  All six of them are dedicated to the film exploits of the Caped Crusader himself, the Dark Knight Detective, one half of the Dynamic Duo … Batman.

Michael Bailey, host of “Views from the Longbox”, was kind enough to invite me to join him on this deep-dive into the Batman films. Along the way we mention peripheral items (such as trading cards), and even dedicate a whole episode to the Clown Prince of Crime himself, the Joker. To enhance BAT WEEK even further, Michael has been posting related YouTube videos on his site.

So be sure to check out the podcasts and his site!  It’s more fun than a barrel full of missile-launching penguins!

I bought a new comic book t-shirt this weekend at Kohls and it got me thinking about what to wear to Dragon*Con.  I looked through my closet and was amazed at how many comic book t-shirts I had amassed.  I mean seriously, these things pile up.  Back when I managed a comic book store, you could consider  these to be work clothes.  Nowadays, I don’t get many chances to wear these t-shirts.  So I decided they needed to see the light of day one way or another.  Therefore, today and tomorrow you get to stroll through my wardrobe.

Over the past 15 years, I have gotten so many t-shirts that I’ve split them across two days.  Today I’ll be showing off my new shirt, Marvel comics shirts, Scud the Disposable Assassin shirts, and Astro City t-shirt.  Some designs were purchased pre-faded (or pre-stressed).  Unless specifically mentioned, assume any fading occurred naturally with these shirts.

To see the other comic book t-shirts I’ve previously displayed here at ONCE UPON A GEEK, please click here and then scroll down.

Here is my new shirt!  The image is of the late-Bronze Age Justice League of America (with a few extras thrown in for good measure).  I love the strong white outline on each character; it’s really sharp.  Also, it’s nice to have Aquaman, Flash, and Firestorm all on one shirt!  This is  the second officially-licensed shirt I’m aware of that features Firestorm. Poor Matchhead, he doesn’t get much play.

Cool Marvel Comics t-shirt bought by family a couple years ago.  Certain parts are high gloss (like Cap’s shield).

Pre-faded Marvel t-shirt from Target bought by my wife and kids within the past year or so.  The faces are very reminiscent of the 1980s corner box images.

“Daredevil Yellow” t-shirt by Tim Sale.  I bought this shortly after the series because I’ve always loved Daredevil’s original costume.

Andy Warhol-style Spider-Man shirt.  I believe this is Mark Bagley art from his original run on Amazing Spider-Man.  I wore the heck out of this shirt in the mid-1990s.

Havok from X-Factor drawn by Joe Quesada.  I bought this shirt around the time he was drawing X-Factor, long before his tenure as Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics.  The faded design on this shirt is genuine.  Because I enjoyed Peter David’s run on X-Factor so much, I wore this shirt all the time.  Once it started to fade, it became a frequent nightshirt.

Jim Lee Xtinction Agenda shirt.  Got this for my birthday around the time this story was published.

Astro City shirt I bought in Colorado on vacation a few years ago.

Fantastic Scud t-shirt I bought back in the 1990’s (when Scud was being published the first time around).  Back then you didn’t have internet shopping; you had to order shirts like this via the mail from an ad in the back of the comic book.

Another Scud t-shirt I bought back in the 1990’s.  The stress on this shirt is genuine.  I did everything I could to get people to read Scud, even promoted it on my own body.

Another Scud t-shirt.  The primary image above is the back of the shirt, with the insert being the front left-hand side.  This shirt was designed to look similar to the body of the Scud robot.  The only downside to this shirt was that it was bright yellow.  It takes a brave man to wear a bright yellow shirt.

Drywall, Scud’s sidekick.  Great shirt!  Very colorful and fun!

This is a fairly unusual one.  I got this for attending Diamond Comics 11th Annual Retailers Seminar.  It was held in Baltimore in 1994.  Diamond Comics distributes the majority of comic books in the United States.  That particular year they took us to a Baltimore Orioles game; thus the baseball jerseys.  Very cool!

As promised in a previous blog entry, here is my “Tony Was Right” t-shirt!  I can’t wait to wear this to Dragon*Con!

There were a few other comic book t-shirts I owned previously that I’ve gotten rid of over the years.  A few that spring to mind:

• A Rob Liefeld drawn “New Mutants” shirt from around the time of issue #90.  This was before his art got too wild.  If you exclude Superman t-shirts as a kid, this was the first comic book t-shirt I ever owned.
• A mega-print shirt of Jae Lee’ Doctor Doom from the “Namor” comic book series.  Mega-print shirts were all the rage in the 90’s.  A mega-print shirt would feature one primary image that had been blown up to cover the entire shirt.  For example, this Doctor Doom shirt featured a close-up of Doom’s face, but was blown up so the image spread to the entire shirt (including the sleeves), and was then repeated on the back side.
• A mega-print shirt of Todd McFarlane’s Spider-Man.
• A Kyle Rayner Green Lantern t-shirt.  Essentially designed to look somewhat like Kyle’s original uniform.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this installment of “Shag’s Closet”.  Come back tomorrow for the DC shirts…

This t-shirt design is crazy funny, but I’m sure also very controversial.  It was worn by Matt Fraction, writer of The Invincible Iron Man comic book, at the recent San Diego ComicCon.  I’m not entirely certain who to thank for this awesome design, but Matt was pointing everyone to “Tony Was Right.com”.  Personally, I stumbled across it on the “For the Love of Comics” blog.

I am so very tempted to get this printed on a shirt and wear it to Dragon*Con.  Oooooooooo… I think I’m gonna have to do it.  I love stirring up trouble.

So my new pet theory is that Geoff Johns & Ethan Van Sciver will give Aquaman their “Rebirth” treatment within the next few years.  I’m going to put a target date of 2013 on it simply because there was four years between “Green Lantern: Rebirth” and “Flash: Rebirth”.  With “Flash: Rebirth” coming out in 2009, four years later would be 2013.  If you do a quick Google search on “Aquaman: Rebirth”, you’ll discover I’m not the only person that has come to this conclusion.   However, since I’m “Irredeemable”, I’m going to claim the theory to be completely mine.  :)  Therefore, you heard it hear first… “Aquaman: Rebirth” shipping in 2013 by Geoff Johns & Ethan Van Sciver!

Believe it or not, I really think this series could happen.  First off, both Johns and Sciver has publicly admitted their interest in working on Aquaman (see article snippets below).  Second, if you look at the “Big Seven” characters from the Justice League, Aquaman is the next obvious choice for them to revamp.  The “Big Seven” consist of the following: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter.  For the “Big Three” (Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman), they most likely won’t be receiving a “Rebirth” style make-over anytime soon.  They’re simply too established and currently moving forward.  Johns & Sciver have already tackled Green Lantern & Flash.  That just leaves Aquaman and Martian Manhunter.  Well… Martian Manhunter is currently dead.  I’m sure DC will bring him back at some point, but he doesn’t have the rich legacy-filled history that Johns typically likes to dive into.

Maybe I’m wrong here, goodness knows most of my theories don’t pan out, but I’m putting pixel to screen on this one.  So in 2013, you may hear me shout across the inter-web, “I told you so!”

Below are the snippets from various articles showing both Geoff Johns & Ethan Van Sciver’s interest in working on Aquaman.

Ethan Van Sciver interview from Comic Book Resources…

Any other DC Characters that you’d really like to take a swing at?

Yeah, I’d like to work on Aquaman. But the only way I would do it is to take the original Aquaman and restore him. I’d want to re-present him in away that’s accessible to more fans. I really believe that all of these characters have a pure essence to them. You can go back and read the first ten issues of a character’s first appearance and then just use that [as a starting point]. If you’re going to do Batman then go back and read “Detective Comics” #27 on up for a little while and bring him back to his roots, for God’s sake.

The original intent of the creator is what I’m most interested in. So take Aquaman and just bring him back. Just straiten him out and untangle him. Give him to the audience as simply as possible and in a refined manner that people will find appealing.

And then, I always add a little touch of horror. There is always something a little scary about what I do. I believe in creepy, scary villains. I believe in dark shadows and really contrasting good and evil in my comics. Because I’m a DC Comics artist, I think that line is very definite in our books. So a character like Black Manta would be great. It would be an awful lot of fun to work on. I get shivers. I have goose-bumps right now just thinking about it. So I’d like to do an “Aquaman” book and work on our boy Arthur.

DC Nation Panel at Wizard World Chicago…

- Are we ever going to see the original Aquaman again?

At that point, Johns and Van Sciver began whispering, saying “can we say it?” Finally, Van Sciver stated, “We’d like you to refer to Blackest Night for the answer to that.”

DC Nation Panel at San Diego ComicCon…

A fan asked [Geoff] Johns what other DC books he wanted to write, with Johns rattling off a nearly-exhaustive look of titles, including “Mystery In Space” and “Aquaman”. “And he’s got proposals in for all of them,” joked DiDio.

Tell you what, I’ll meet you at the comic book shop on Wednesday in 2013 and we can buy our copies of “Aquaman: Rebirth” together.

As usual, I will be attending the upcoming Dragon*Con convention.  If you’re not familiar with it, Dragon*Con is the largest multi-media, popular culture convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film in the US.  Dragon*Con 2008 will be held Labor Day weekend (August 29 - September 1, 2008) in Atlanta, GA.

Several of my buddies from THE UNIQUE GEEK will also be there.  We’ve started a Dragon*Con countdown over a THE UNIQUE GEEK website.  The countdown is basically daily lists of things to keep in mind and pictures from Dragon*Con’s past.  Check it out!

And if you’re thinking about going to Dragon*Con, drop me a line! 

I went to the comic shop on Monday to pick up the past two weeks worth of stuff.  I was pretty shocked to find so many big books waiting for me.  I knew I had ordered them, but for all of these to come in within such a short period of time - Yikes!  When the heck am I going to find the time to read them all, on top of my normal monthly pull of single issues?!?!?!

Scud The Disposable Assassin: The Whole Shebang!
Same dimensions as a comic book - 764 pages … Dude, 764 PAGES!

Queen & Country Definitive Edition Volume 01
6″ x 9″ - 362 pages

The Flash Companion by TwoMorrows
Letter size - 219 pages

Maintenance Volume 3
6″ x 9″ - 104 pages  (this is the basic cover image, but with issue #8 dressing)

Dude … Friggin’ Sweet!  Mattel keeps finding ways to get my money!  They are planning to put out quite possibly the coolest Aquaman figure of all time!  In 1986, there was a fantastic Aquaman mini-series by Neal Pozner and Craig Hamilton.  In this series, they gave Aquaman a new costume (supposedly designed to be underwater camouflage).  Regardless of the reasons for the new suit, the design was great.  This was a costume that looked like it belonged on a water-based hero.  While the mini-series is still fondly remembered by just about everyone, the costume did not last.  Tempest (formerly Aqualad) now wears a modified red version of this suit.  Nice job, Mattel!  As long as you keep making quality figures like these, I’ll keep buying them!

My thanks to Rob over at The Aquaman Shrine for the heads up on this new figure.  Here is the whole group of Mattel DC Universe Classics figures they showcased at San Diego Comic Con.  The Blue Beetle figure looks great!  Also, check out these awesome JSA figures from DC Direct!