Once Upon a Geek

I bought a DC Comics Snuggie?!?!  First off, it’s not really a “Snuggie”, it’s a “Comfy Throw”.  What does that mean?  That means it’s a body-length blanket with sleeves made of fleece material; similar in design to a bathrobe that is worn backwards.  Yeah, I know.  That’s the definition of a “Snuggie”.  This is DC Comics’ off-brand version of a Snuggie.

I picked it up at F.Y.E. in Tampa for $10 (originally priced at $20).  The dimensions are 48″ x 71″.  Upon seeing the box (and after finishing rolling her eyes), my wife stated that no woman would be caught dead in that thing, and the only reason a woman is wearing one on the box is because it will help sell the product to geeks.  Y’know what, I think she’s exactly correct!

When I bought it, I never really thought I’d wear it.  However, my Comicatorium (a.k.a. Shag’s Sanctum Sanctorum) is about 10 degrees colder than the rest of the house.  So on cold winter nights this thing could actually come in handy!  In fact, I’m wearing it as I type right now.  It’s currently 32 degrees outside and freakin’ cold in the Comicatorium, but I’m all mosty-toasty in my DC Comics Snuggie.

Here is a sample of the pattern featuring: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Shazam, Justice League of America, and the Super Powers logo.

Finally, proof positive that I have no sense of shame.

For those of you following DC Comics and Blackest Night, you may be aware that our first glimpse of a Red Lantern was in 2007.  But did you know it could have been a lot sooner?  A lot sooner as in … 1940?  Given slightly different circumstances, Alan Scott the original Green Lantern may have been named the Red Lantern.

An excerpt from Alter-Ego #5 (published in Summer 2000), an interview with Martin Nodell on his creation of Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern.

MARTY NODELL: I was going home to Brooklyn, and I tried working out some ideas as I got to the station. I was writing down everything I could possibly think of. I thought, “Gee, I’ve got to do this real quick, because if I think of something, other people will, too. It might have some meaning to them, too.”

As I entered the subway, there were a number of people standing around, and there was a train man in the subway station, in the trough of the tracks, and he was waving a red lantern, which meant, “Hold the train, don’t come in.” When he checked the tracks, he waved a green lantern. The green lantern meant, “Come in.” As the train would come in, he would get out of the way, get behind a pole and stay there, and that was the end of his part in “Green Lantern.”

But when that green lantern meant something to me, I just wrote it down: “The Green Lantern.”

ROY THOMAS: Since “green lantern” meant “okay, everything’s all clear,” but “red lantern” meant “danger,” which of course one would associate with adventure stories, I wonder how come we got a Green Lantern instead of a Red Lantern.

NODELL: Well, just simply that the green lantern appeared to me as being important.

RT: Well, it obviously worked, right? Sixty years later, people still know that name. It’s oddly popular. For instance, on the old Route 66 in Missouri, there was a Green Lantern restaurant in the early 1960s. There was also a bookstore called The Green Lantern in the early-’40s movie serial The Secret Code. But both are long after your character. I always wondered, “What’s with this fascination with green lanterns?” [Laughs]

NODELL: To me, it was just a matter of how I put everything together. The possibilities, to me, were a characterization, or pictures, of a meteor falling into a small Chinese town, and that became the method wherein a green lantern was built in.

RT: Do you think the kind of lantern that train man used in the subway station was pretty close to the kind you drew on your hero?

NODELL: Quite close. That was the only important lantern to me, and I didn’t think of any other kind of lantern at all. And then, thinking of Greek mythology, I designed a costume, and that costume seemed to me to be very important to the eye.

Just imagine, Marty Nodell could have easily decided instead to name Alan Scott the Red Lantern!  So what would that have meant for readers if he’d been the Red Lantern, instead of the Green Lantern?  Not much really.  He probably would have had the same powers, just with a different color.  In fact, Alan’s costume already has nearly as much red as it does green.  Just change the color of the lantern in his chest emblem.

If he’d been the Red Lantern, I imagine some writer would have eventually tied-in his powers with fire somehow.  If you look at the early Green Lantern stories, his energy often looks like green flames.  If the color had been red, I think it would have been an easy extrapolation to connect his power with fire somehow.  Perhaps something like a Fire Elemental connection.  I can envision a recon like this taking place in the mid-80s around the time Swamp Thing and Red Tornado were retconned as the Plant and Air Elementals.

Just for interest sake, below you’ll find images of a couple red train lanterns I came across in an antique shop in Savannah, Georgia.  Having heard Marty’s story previously, these train lanterns attracted my attention.

……………………………..

The multiverse is one of my favorite aspects of DC Comics, but it’s also one of my least favorite.  I found myself thinking about this after yesterday’s post on Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths.

My first exposure to the multiverse was in the 1979 issue Justice League of America #171, “The Murderer Among Us: Crisis above Earth-One!”  The comic was a gift from my older sister and I must have read it a million times.  It was one of the first superhero comic books I ever owned.  Remember being seven years old and reading the same comic over and over until it literally fell apart?  I watch my kids do that nowadays and it brings a smile to my face.

This issue was one of those classic JLA/JSA annual crossovers by Gerry Conway and Dick Dillin.  Having watched numerous episodes of the Super Friends, I was already familiar with most of the JLA.  However, these strange doppelgangers called the Justice Society of America were confusing to me.  I didn’t understand why there were two guys both named Hawkman.  They looked similar and had the same powers, but were different folks.  Hmmm… now what about these Green Lanterns and Flashes?  They didn’t look similar at all and yet they shared the same name and powers.  Weird.  So I went back and re-read the first page several times until I began to grasp that two parallel Earths existed at different vibrational frequencies.  Once I got it, I thought that was pretty cool!

In this issue, Golden Age hero Mr. Terrific was murdered!  After an investigation it was determined that the murder was committed by a member of the JLA or JSA!  But who?!?!  I was kept in suspense for nearly 15 years.  It took that long before I managed to get my hands on a copy of issue #172.  Sorry, I can’t tell you who the murderer was.  I don’t want to spoil it for you.

So there I was, officially indoctrinated into the philosophy of the multiverse.  In particular, I was fascinated by Doctor Fate and the Alan Scott Green Lantern.  Sadly it would be another six years until I encountered a multiverse crossover again.  It was 1985 and I was buying some comics for a long road trip.  I was already a Marvel zombie by this point, having read Secret Wars, Uncanny X-Men, Power Pack, and many more.  The only DC comics I was buying at the time were The Fury of Firestorm and Blue Devil.  While looking for road trip reading material I spied Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 on the shelf of the local drug store.  It featured both Firestorm and Blue Devil on the cover so I decided to give it a try.  Little did I realize at the time that I was opening a door into a whole new level of comic geekdom.

I was instantly hooked.  As we made our way across the country, I searched for other issues of Crisis at every stop.  I began making lists of all the characters, categorizing them by the Earth they came from.  While Secret Wars vol I #2 may have started me on the path of collecting comics, Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 started me on the path of comic book fanaticism. It was my gateway drug into the DC pantheon of characters.  Then I started picking up Who’s Who, devouring each issue and learning more about obscure characters and further worlds in the multiverse.  There was no turning back after that.

Crisis on Infinite Earths brought the multiverse to a close in 1986.  Around that time I began buying back issues featuring old cross-world adventures.  In particular the All-Star Squadron and the annual JLA/JSA crossovers were some of my favorites.  The story “Crisis on Earth-Prime” which ran through both Justice League of America and the All-Star Squadron is still one of my all-time favorite multiverse stories.  Curiosity drove my interest in these old adventures.  I was starting to appreciate the legacy of the Golden Age to the Silver Age, so I was intensely curious about the JSA.  Also, it was fun to read some of those kooky Silver and Bronze Age tales.  A fair number of the multiverse stories were just plain far-fetched and the resolutions were sometimes hilariously out of left field.

Since I started with DC hardcore in 1985, I was pretty much a post-Crisis reader (or a Tween-Crisis reader if you like).  Any story I read featuring the multiverse was a back issue and was read with the benefit of hindsight. I grew comfortable with the idea that the multiverse was a thing of the past.  When DC started publishing Elseworlds in the late 1980s, I was fine with it.  After all, these were basically DC’s answer to Marvel’s What If.  By the mid-90s I was reading the majority of DC’s superhero line.  I felt invested in the DCU as it existed at that time.  Many of my favorite titles used formerly-multiverse aspects incorporated into the singular continuity like the JSA, the Shazam family, Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, Huntress, Power Girl, and more.

After thirteen years in the grave, Mark Waid resurrected the multiverse in the 1999 mini-series The Kingdom.  This time around they called it “hypertime” instead of the “multiverse”.  I was ticked!  How dare they bring back the multiverse after all this time?!?!  Were they simply throwing away the past 13 years of continuity and resetting everything to the Pre-Crisis status quo?  It quickly became obvious that wasn’t the case.  Hypertime was introduced simply to provide some freedom to the writers to tell different stories.  While hypertime was used occasionally (i.e. Superboy in “Hypertension” and the graphic novel JLA: Earth-2), it quietly faded into the background.  I eventually accepted the seldom-used hypertime and became comfortable once again in my Post-Crisis dominion over the DC Universe.

Then in 2005 Infinite Crisis came along.  Here we were again, 19 years after saying goodbye to the multiverse it was being dragged back into existence and to a place of prominence in the DC Universe… oh wait, I guess I gotta say DC Multiverse.  Once again I was ticked.  I felt like the writers were coping-out by resetting everything to the way it was when they started reading in the 70s and early 80s.  They were bringing back the elements from an era they felt comfortable with.  Didn’t they understand, this wasn’t about their comfort zone, it was about mine!

Admittedly my outrage was over the top.  While my emotions were strong, I had my reasons.  First, I felt betrayed.  I felt the past 19 years I invested in reading DC Comics was wasted.  The universe I’d come to know in-and-out was being chucked in favor of a multiverse that existed back when Loni Anderson was a sex symbol and disco was cool.  Second, while I love the old multiverse stories, many of them really don’t hold up under a critical eye.  My love for these multiverse adventures comes from a sense of nostalgia rather than from the quality of the writing.  Often the old multi-Earth plots were outlandish and more for fun than serious storytelling.   Third, I was concerned about the quality of new stories that would be written using the multiverse concept.  If the old ones were often weak, what guarantee existed that new ones would be any better?

Okay, so the last 19 years of DC continuity didn’t get chucked.  However, given the quality of Countdown and Final Crisis stories and tie-ins, I feel my concern about modern multiverse adventures was merited.  Countdown was an abysmal train wreck of a series.  An overall direction for the series was non-existent, the individual stories were weak, and it was far too dependent upon multiverse-hopping.  Like any series, there were certain moments in Countdown that were good, but those moments were few and far between.  In all fairness, not all modern-day multiverse stories have been bad.  Geoff Johns has written some really good Justice Society of America multiverse adventures, like the one featuring the Justice Society Infinity.  However, those good stories are the exception and are heavily outweighed by the bad ones (who isn’t sick of Superboy-Prime?).

So far, the modern-day multiverse stories have been a let down.  Would the DC Uni-/Multi-verse have been better without the reintroduction?  Has the return of the multiverse really brought anything fantastic?  Sure I’m glad to see Earth-2 Superman up and around again, but have they actually told any really good stories with him since bringing him back?  I don’t think so.

Call me a stick in the mud, but I’m really disappointed with the return of the multiverse.  However, the old school multiverse stories will always have a place in my heart, even if it’s as ridiculous as the Super-Sons of Superman and Batman.

I can’t wait!  Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths comes out next Tuesday, February 23, on Blu-Ray and DVD!  This has the potential to be one of the best DC animated movies yet.  Here is the description from the official movie web site:

In a parallel universe, the lone survivor of Earth’s Justice League-Lex Luther-travels through other-world dimensions to join forces with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, and J’onn J’onzz in a desperate attempt to save his world and its people.  But the villainous Crime Syndicate controlled by Ultraman, Owlman and Superwoman will stop at nothing to maintain their domination.  It will take wits, might and a sacrifice to defeat these unforgiving enemies in this spectacular DC Universe Animated Original Movie with a stellar voice cast headed by Mark Harmon, James Woods, Chris North, Gina Torres, William Baldwin, Bruce Davison and more.  Two Earths, two Leagues and one epic battle collide for a thrilling experience that will leave you breathless!

This story written by Dwayne McDuffie is loosely based upon Justice League of America #29-30 written by Gardner Fox in 1964, as well as the 1999 Grant Morrison JLA: Earth 2 graphic novel.  While Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths isn’t a direct adaptation of either source material, certain elements originated in those stories (i.e. The Crime Syndicate, the good Lex Luthor seeking help from the Justice League, etc).

Here is the trailer for the film:

There is also the Spectre animated short to look forward to:

DC Showcase – The Spectre: The first animated short in the all-new DC Showcase series focuses on a detective story with an ethereal twist, featuring the otherworldly character originally introduced by DC Comics in 1940. The short is written by Steve Niles (30 Days of Night), and the voice cast includes Gary Cole (Entourage) and Alyssa Milano (Charmed).

Finally, Firestorm and the Justice League Detroit folks make cameos in the film.  Next Tuesday can’t get here soon enough!

Tonight is officially “Must See Shag TV”!  Two of my all-time favorite superheroes are appearing on the small screen tonight!  Doctor Fate and Firestorm, two different TV shows, on the same night! What are the odds?!?!?!?

Doctor Fate is making his first live action appearance ever on Smallville tonight!  We’ve seen him in animation on Superman: The Animated Series and the Justice League cartoons, but never in the flesh.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we get to see some Ankh bolts tonight.   Click here to read an interview with actor Brent Stait on playing Doctor Fate in Smallville.   Here is a lengthy episode description:

A man named Sylvester Pemberton tracks down Chloe (Allison Mack) and tells her he knows about her team of superheroes and needs their help. However, before he can explain who he is, he is attacked and killed by Icicle (guest star Wesley Macinnes). Clark (Tom Welling) and Chloe’s (Allison Mack) investigation leads Clark to the former headquarters of the Justice Society of America where he meets up with Nelson AKA Dr. Fate (guest star Brent Stait), Carter Hall AKA Hawkman (guest star Michael Shanks) and Courtney AKA Star Girl (guest star Britt Irvin). Courtney pleads with Hawkman and Dr. Fate to help her catch the killer that is targeting their group but they are reluctant to resume their duties as superheroes. Clark, John Jones (guest star Phil Morris), Green Arrow (Justin Hartley) and Chloe team up to help the JSA stop Icicle before he murders another member of the group. Meanwhile, Lois (Erica Durance) receives a package from a mysterious agency called Checkmate, run by Amanda Waller (guest star Pam Grier). Geoff Johns wrote the two-hour episode. Glen Winters directed the first hour and Tom Welling directed the second hour.

My thanks to Luke over at the Hawkman blog (Being Carter Hall) for sending me tons of great information on Doctor Fate’s appearance on Smallville.

Firestorm finally returns to animation after nearly 25 years!  Firestorm was a regular on the last two seasons of the Super Friends in the mid-1980s.  Since then, he has been absent from our airwaves.  He didn’t even get a cameo in Justice League Unlimited.  Well tonight he returns in a big way on the animated series Batman: The Brave and the Bold.  Click here for an interview with Michael Jelenic, Producer and Story Editor for Batman: The Brave and the Bold, about Firestorm’s appearance on the show.  Here is the brief episode description:

A school field trip goes awry when Dr. Double X causes a lab explosion that fuses slacker science teacher Ronnie to his genius pupil Jason, creating the reluctant hero Firestorm…and unbeknown to them, it leaves Batman divided into three parts!

Smallville “Absolute Justice” airs tonight at 8pm-10pm eastern time on the CW network.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold “A Bat Divided!” airs tonight at 7:30pm eastern time on Cartoon Network.

Hooray for Doctor Fate and Firestorm!

Welcome to ONCE UPON A GEEK’s part of the Crisis on Earth-Blog: The DC Challenge! ONCE UPON A GEEK is a blog that focuses on a variety of geeky topics, including: comic books, Doctor Who, Star Wars, role-playing, 80’s TV shows, and science fiction in general. If this is your first time here, welcome aboard! If you’re a regular, I think you’ll enjoy this crossover event.

Today and throughout the next few weeks on comic book-themed blogs across the internet, DC Comics characters are being spotlighted in a series of challenges. In my case I’ll be representing Doctor Fate, one of my all-time favorite superheroes. Your DC Challenge, if you choose to accept it, involves visiting each of these various blogs and tackling their particular challenge.

The objective of these challenges is to go from blog to blog until you reach the goal-page featuring a lush scan from an obscure George Pérez pin-up of every major character involved in this crossover event. We all hope you enjoy this online scavenger hunt, and the new comic blogs you’ll be exposed to! Many thanks go out to mastermind Frank Lee Delano (of the blogs: Idol-Head of Diabolu, Justice League Detroit, and …nurgh…) for coordinating this massive effort! Way to go, Frank!

Your ONCE UPON A GEEK challenge is the crossword puzzle below. I couldn’t embed the crossword puzzle itself, so you’ll have to click the image to be taken to the interactive puzzle.  Each question in the puzzle relates to either Doctor Fate, a character participating in this crossover, or other well-known DC characters. Just a heads-up, I removed any spaces or hyphens from the answers. For example “Captain Amazing” would simply be “CaptainAmazing”; or “Locust-Man” would simply be “LocastMan”. Once you’ve finished the challenge, follow Doctor Fate’s mission beneath the puzzle. Have fun!

Hope you enjoyed the crossword puzzle!  Now you’ll have to work your way through Doctor Fate’s mission and a few of the blogs below if you want to reach the goal-page featuring an obscure George Pérez pin-up of every major character in this crossover.  Some of these blogs are participating in the crossover today, others will be in the coming weeks.  Visit them now, visit them later, visit them often!

1986

Inza Nelson sat on an antique couch, working a personalized other-dimensional crossword puzzle, within her invisible tower home in Salem, Massachusetts. Many wives find themselves “widowed” by their husbands’ obsessions with sports, gambling or what have you.  You could say Inza was a sorcery widow, as the unnaturally youthful woman had been since meeting her husband-to-be in the 1940s. It was then that Kent Nelson began his career as the crusading mage Doctor Fate, serving the cause of Order alone, and later as a member of the Justice Society of America. In the years since, Kent has become withdrawn from humanity and increasingly isolated in his studies, leaving poor Inza to her own devices.

Or not. Dr. Fate strode into the room, his features almost entirely obscured by his mantle of power, the gleaming Helm of Nabu. “Take cover,” he demanded, “I’m expecting uninvited guests.” Just then, otherworldly luminescence filled the room, followed by the material forms of three strangers.

The first looked like a derelict, with his unshaven face and long, unkempt black hair, streaked with crimson. He scowled, “I remember you two, even if you were withered old prunes when we met.” This menacing fellow, with a red ankh tattooed over his right eye, drew a golden blade on Dr. Fate. “I took that helmet of yours, and turned it into something useful. I was supposed to be the balance between Order and Chaos, but everything turned rotten, and I’ll end up with my own blade stuck between my ribs.”

The second figure exactly like Dr. Fate, but his tone was less haughty. “We took on your duties, and it will destroy us, body and soul. They warned us. We will stop you from cursing us.”

The third figure was also strikingly similar to Kent, but less poised, and with a costume bearing an ancient Egyptian motif. “I am Hawkman’s son. Why couldn’t I just defend the skies? Why did magic rot away my life, killing me, taking my lover’s mind and my son’s soul? Why couldn’t you do your own job?”

If Dr. Fate found any of this disturbing, he showed no sign of it. “I can sense the touch of Nabu in each of you, but you are not in a time of your own, and you each forget your place. Not a single one of you will carry the weight of my responsibilities for a fraction of my length of servitude. One day, you may each claim my place as Fate, but for now, begone.” With that, Dr. Fate dismissed these future inheritors of his mantle, seemingly with all the effort of an afterthought.

Inza rushed to the being who was both her husband, and something else entirely. She wondered who these Fates were, and what their appearance meant. “They were representatives of a possible future, manipulated into adulterating our present, and they are not alone. All across the Earth, these agents of a grim tomorrow haunt other superhumans. They do not belong, and I will see to their removal.”

With that, Dr. Fate exited his tower, leaving Inza to fret and displaced super-heroes to dread his pursuit.

Follow Dr. Fate’s mission through these blogs…

• The Aquaman Shrine
• The Atom: Tiny Titan
• Hawkman/Hawkwoman at Being Carter Hall
• Metal Men at Comics Make Me Happy
• Flash at Crimson Lightning
• Green Arrow at Dispatches from the Arrow Cave
• Black Lightning and Unknown Soldier at El Jacone’s Comic Book Bunker
• Firestorm Fan
• Black Canary at Girls Gone Geek and Wonder Woman at Girls Gone Geek
• I Am The Phantom Stranger
• Martian Manhunter at The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• Elongated Man and Zatanna at Justice League Detroit
• Captain Comet at …nurgh…
• Doctor Fate at Once Upon a Geek
• He-Man and Battle Cat at Pretty, Fizzy Paradise
• Mister Miracle at random picture day
• Adam Strange at Reilly2040’s Blog
• Supergirl Comic Box Commentary
• Sgt. Rock at when is evil cool?
• Batgirl at The Anti-Didio League of America
• Plastic Man at The Continuity Blog
• General support from Toyriffic

If you enjoy blog crossovers, then you may want to check out the previous comic blog crossovers we’ve done. The first major Crisis on Earth-Blog celebrated the gorgeous George Pérez/Alex Ross painting from the Crisis on Infinite Earths 1998 hardcover. The next blog crossover was a celebration of the Super Powers Collection’s 25th Anniversary.

Marvel Comics made a surprising offer to comic book retailers earlier this week.  Marvel announced that retailers may trade unsold copies of DC’s Blackest Night “ring” comics for an extremely rare Siege #3 Deadpool variant.  For more information on this story, check out Newsarama.

Now we go to our man in the field for his opinion.  Hitler, what do you think?  … Wait a minute … Seriously?  Hitler?

While I don’t agree with several things Hitler says here (and who would want to agree with Hitler anyway, right?), it is funny as heck.  My thanks to Vanessa G from Girls-Gone-Geek.com for sending this my way.  Hilarious!

If you can’t view the embedded video above, please click here.

Sorry for no post yesterday.  Time lost to three hours of Chuck, two hours of Battlestar Galactica: The Plan, several Blackest Night crossover issues, and a sick child all caught up with me.  Sometimes other things just get in the way.

To pour salt in that wound, I’m not even going to give you a real post today.  Instead I’m going to direct you over to my other blog FIRESTORM FAN where I’ve posted the first part of my interview with the amazing Gerry Conway!  Gerry Conway is a comic book legend!  He was one of the most prolific comic book writers of the 1970s and 80s. His writing credits go on for miles! He’s probably best known for co-creating the Punisher and scripting the death of Gwen Stacy in the Amazing Spider-Man. He also wrote for and produced such TV series as Law & Order and Diagnosis Murder. Back in 1977, Gerry created Firestorm the Nuclear Man along with artist Al Milgrom. Gerry continued to write the character of Firestorm for about nine years. Gerry recently returned to comics after an almost 20 year absence with the insightful mini-series, The Last Days of Animal Man.

Gerry was kind enough to sit down and talk with me for about 80 minutes about Firestorm the Nuclear Man!  We discussed things like Firestorm’s creation, artists, the writing process, creator rights, the DC Implosion, merchandise, where the character has journeyed since his involvement, and much more! I believe any comic book reader, even if you aren’t a fan of Firestorm, would genuinely enjoy this interview.

So head over to FIRESTORM FAN.com and check out comic book legend Gerry Conway.

We here at ONCE UPON A GEEK wish you and your loved ones a wonderful Christmas and a happy holidays! To help celebrate, please enjoy the DC Comics snowball extravaganza below.  Click the image to enlarge.

Merry Geekmas!

First, THE HYPE… If you missed it, last week DC Comics announced a bunch of projects for 2010.  Simultaneously, DC had the propaganda machine turned up to 11 as they had other media lined up to cover each project.  Here is a quick recap with links:

• EARTH ONE: A series of original graphic novels featuring Superman and Batman on a new Earth with an all-new continuity.  Superman: Earth One will be written by J. Michael Straczynski and drawn by Shane Davis, while Batman: Earth One will be written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Gary Frank.  These stories will cover their first years and earliest moments in this new continuity.  Ain’t it Cool News spoke to writers Geoff Johns and J. Michael Straczynski about their respective original graphic novels.
• BATMAN: RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE is a six-part mini-series featuring Bruce Wayne time traveling his way back to the present. Writer Grant Morrison spoke with USA TODAY about this upcoming mini-series starting in April.
• WAR OF THE SUPERMEN launches on Free Comic Book Day in May and promises to be the culmination of years of Superman-related stories.  The Techland blog spoke with Superman Group Editor Matt Idelson about this project.
• THE RISE OF ARSENAL and THE FALL OF GREEN ARROW: The aftermath of Justice League: Cry for Justice will leave the Green Arrow family of characters in chaos.  If you are reading the series, you already know some of what’s going on.  In March there will be a one-shot called Justice League: The Rise and Fall that bridges Justice League: Cry for Justice with the current monthly title.  Additionally, there will be a four-issue mini-series entitled Justice League: The Rise of Arsenal.   Finally, starting in Green Arrow #31 will be a storyline entitled, The Fall of Green Arrow.  All three of these projects are being written by J.T. Krul and he spoke with IGN about them.
• LEGACIES, HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE, and WHO’S WHO: DC celebrates its rich and legendary history with three projects.  Len Wein will write the Legacies 10-issue mini-series starting in May, with each issue focusing on a different era of DC history.  It starts at the dawn of the Golden Age and runs right up to the moments before Countdown to Infinite Crisis begins.  The other two projects are new editions of The History of the DC Universe and an all-new Who’s Who 15-issue series, profiling some of the best and lesser-known characters populating the DC Universe.  Dan DiDio and Len Wein talked with Comic Book Resources about the Legacies project.
• WONDER WOMAN #600: Because the fans demanded it (and I mean that literally), Wonder Woman will publish her 600th issue in June and continue the numbering from 600.

Now, THE GRIPE… with the official news out of the way it’s time to share some of my opinions.  I apologize in advance for my negativity.  Normally I try to be upbeat and positive here at ONCE UPON A GEEK, but some of these projects get under my skin.  Don’t get me wrong, I still love comics.  I’m just becoming increasingly more selective as time goes on.

• EARTH ONE: I won’t be buying them.  I don’t mind stories being told about iconic characters using the “classic” trappings (i.e. Lois, Daily Planet, Jimmy Olsen, Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, etc) as was done with All-Star Superman, but to go out of your way to create a new independent continuity is bothersome to this old school fan.  I understand the hope is to allow new fans to get in on the ground floor.  Perhaps that will work, but I feel its just DC’s attempt to create a new, separate universe similar to Marvel’s Ultimate line.  Maybe I’m in the minority, but I’ve always felt the clock is ticking on the Ultimate universe anyway. It’s just a matter of time until all the series are canceled and it becomes a memory (i.e. Marvel’s New Universe, Marvel’s M2, Marvel’s 2009, etc).  On a positive note, I will say that I find DC’s efforts to publish original graphic novels rather than monthly comics very interesting. This is a HUGE change for DC. Maybe they see the future coming and are trying to make a new model work for them. Good idea to try this now.  Finally, given that Johns and JMS are writing the stories, they will probably be very good. I just refuse to get sucked into a separate continuity; I spend enough money on the current continuity.  It also makes me wonder how the Superman titles in the prime DC universe will hold up without Johns involvement.
• BATMAN: RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE: I won’t be buying this.  Bruce Wayne is time traveling his way back to the present?  Didn’t Captain America just do the same thing?  Seems poor planning for DC to announce this series after Marvel already plowed this road so recently with Cap.  I’m sure the story will be different and interesting, but it’s just too much of a coincidence for fans to ignore.  Also, given how much of a promotional push DC gave Dick Grayson as the new Batman and the reorganized Bat-family, it seems unfair for Bruce to come back so soon.  Poor Dick Grayson, always a Bride’s Maid…
• WAR OF THE SUPERMEN: I won’t be buying this.  It actually sounds interesting, but I dropped the Superman books about a year ago and don’t plan to get sucked back in.
• THE RISE OF ARSENAL and THE FALL OF GREEN ARROW: I’m considering picking these up.  While I’m not thrilled with all the inconsistencies in Justice League: Cry for Justice (don’t get me started on Firestorm in that book), these aftermath books sound good.  Also, J.T. Krul is GREAT!  I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read of his (all Titans related).  I dropped Green Arrow back when Judd Winick was writing it.  I’ve been looking for a good reason to come back to the character.  This just might be it.
• LEGACIES, HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE, and WHO’S WHO: I’m DEFINITELY in for a new Who’s Who!  Without Who’s Who all these years, I’ve been devouring the Secret Files comics and the DC Encyclopedia (both editions).  I about flipped when I heard a new Who’s Who was coming!  Hooray!  I’m on the fence about Legacies.  I’ll probably give it three issues to see if it grabs me.  There isn’t enough information about The History of the DC Universe book to make an informed decision yet.
• WONDER WOMAN #600: Good for her and good for her fans!  Way to go Wonder Woman.  You deserve a numbering that’s up there with Action Comics and Detective Comics.

With all that said, I do have to admit I’m impressed with DC Comics PR folks right now. They are doing an impressive job getting the word out on their new books.

So now that I’ve mouthed off… what do you all think of these upcoming projects?