Once Upon a Geek

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.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you geeks here in the United States! For my international readers… sorry, our country is closed today for parade watching, massive turkey consumption, and tryptophan-induced comas. Come back tomorrow for the craziest shopping day of the year.

Today we’ll be looking at the Monopoly Justice League of America Collector’s Edition from 1999.  This was a great piece produced by USAOPOLY representing the Silver Age Justice League.  The premise of the game is identical to Monopoly, the difference being simply in what things are called.  Instead of the properties being named after places in Atlantic City, they are named after Justice League member’s abilities.  For example, instead of “Boardwalk” and “Park Place”, you have “Strength of Steel” and “Heat Vision”.

Below is the box cover.

Below is a shot of the game board and the insert explaining the characters.  To see all the properties, click the image below to enlarge (big image – 1.4 MB).

Below is the bank, some of the Title Deed cards (called “Power Cards” in this edition), the “Chance” and “Community Chest” cards, a reprint of The Brave and the Bold #28 (the first appearance of the Justice League of America), and the instructions.

Below are the replacement Utilities cards.  Instead of the “Electric Company”, you have “Green Lantern’s Power Battery”.  Instead of “Water Works”, you have “Aquaman’s City of Atlantis”.

Below are the replacement Railroad cards.  In this set you’ve got: Flash’s “The Cosmic Treadmill”, Green Arrow’s “The Arrowplane”, Batman’s “The Batmobile”, and Wonder Woman’s “Invisible Jet Plane”.

Below is a shot of the player tokens and the houses/hotels.  In this edition, green houses are replaced by blue “Powers”, and red hotels are replaced by red “Super Powers”.

Here is another shot of the pewter player tokens.  They include (from L to R): Superman, Green Lantern, Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Flash, and Green Arrow.

Here is a better shot of the “Powers” and “Super Powers” pieces.  You can see the star on the blue pieces, and you can see the Justice League of America logo on the red pieces.

Here is the JLA currency for the game.  Poor Martian Manhunter, everyone else got a bill except him.  Maybe he’s on the three dollar bill.

The orange “Daily Planet” cards replace “Chance” in this edition.

Below are some of my favorite “Daily Planet” cards.  There are tons more, these are just the ones I chose to feature.

The yellow “Batcomputer” cards replace “Community Chest” in this edition.

Below are some of my favorite “Batcomputer” cards.  There are tons more, these are just the ones I chose to feature.  It’s interesting that Hawkman and the Atom managed to sneak into the game on these cards.

What a cool version of Monopoly!  It definitely puts a fun spin on the game for us comic geeks.

I just finished watching the animated movie Superman/Batman: Pubic Enemies.  I liked the film, but I don’t think I have it in me to write a full-on review of the movie right now.  Bottom line, it was enjoyable.  Give it a try.

What did catch my eye was the sneak peek for an upcoming DC animated film entitled Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths due in Spring 2010.  This looks to be a great story featuring the Justice League’s evil counterparts from a parallel Earth, the Crime Syndicate.  I’ve always been a fan of the Crime Syndicate, so this is something I’m really looking forward to.  More importantly, looks like Justice League Detroit have cameos in the film!  Or to be more specific, Crime Syndicate versions of the Justice League Detroit.  Hooray!  That will make Frank and I happy.  Not sure if anyone else cares.

Here are some screen shots I took from the Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths featurette on the Superman/Batman: Public Enemies DVD.

Below is a shot of the Crime Syndicate Vixen with Crime Syndicate Elongated Man in the background.  In this shot she looks a little like Kraven the Hunter.

Below is another shot with Crime Syndicate Elongated Man, but this time he’s joined by two other women.  I believe the woman in the center is the Crime Syndicate Halo, but I can’t be sure.  If so, I’m not entirely sure how Halo fits into the Justice League Detroit scene.  The woman on the right is the Crime Syndicate Gypsy.

During the scene with the Justice League Detroit, the person below walked across the room.  We didn’t see anything other than their legs.  I’m hoping this is the Crime Syndicate Zatanna.

Below is the Crime Syndicate Vibe along with Superwoman (Wonder Woman of the Crime Syndicate).

Below are a couple shots of Crime Syndicate Vibe in action.  I love how they modernized his look.  The only thing missing is a hoodie, then he’d look just right for nowadays.

The footage we’ve seen shows the Martian Manhunter quite a bit.  Hopefully there will be a Crime Syndicate version of him.  Additionally, it’d be nice if we saw Crime Syndicate versions of Aquaman and Steel too.  If we’re really dreaming big, how about Dale Gunn?

Below is a sneak peek of Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths.  It’s not exactly the same as the featurette on the DVD, but quite similar. Be sure to watch for the Justice League Detroit appearances.

If you’re a fan of Justice League Detroit, be sure to check out Frank’s blog dedicated to that team.  Oh yeah, the casting of Mark Harmon as the voice of Superman was brilliant.

I recently participated in a team-up between my Firestorm blog and a friend’s Green Arrow blog.  That inspired me to dig out the various Green Arrow action figures I own.  There are TONS of Green Arrow action figures out there.  Click here to see how many come up on Google Images if you don’t believe me.  I don’t own even a fraction of them.  However, I’m pleased with the ones I have and thought I would showcase them today.

The Green Arrow figure below is from the DC Direct Hard Traveling Heroes line released back in 2000. They did a great job capturing Neal Adams’ Green Arrow.  The figure stands about six inches high and includes a boxing glove arrow, a drill arrow, and a handcuff arrow.  Love it!  Without a doubt this is my favorite Green Arrow action figure.

The classic Green Arrow action figure below came out in 1999.  It was in the DC Super Heroes Silver Age Collection, and was designed to emulate the classic Mego style.  He stands about nine inches tall.

The Connor Hawke Green Arrow figure below also came out in 1999 as part of the Total Justice line of action figures.  He stands nearly five inches tall.

The figure below isn’t really an action figure, it’s a posed PVC piece of Green Arrow.  It’s from the DC Direct Justice League of America PVC Set.  He stands about four inches high.

The final item below is a Heroclix of Green Arrow.  It stands nearly two inches high.  I purchased it in 2003 while at DragonCon and got Judd Winick to sign it (he was the writer of the Green Arrow comic).  In my own defense, I didn’t realize what a tool he was at the time.  It was actually during that convention when I realized it.  Cool looking Heroclix though.

..

For more Green Arrow excitement, be sure to follow the Green Arrow blog – Dispatches from the Arrowcave!

Seems like I’ve picked up several trades in the past few weeks. When the heck am I going to find the time to read them all, on top of my normal monthly pull of single issues?!?!?!  I’ll make the time somehow, all of these look really good.

Eureka – I love me some Eureka!  And this story is done by the show creators and officially in continuity!

Sci-Fi Channel’s smash hit TV show comes to BOOM! The first arc of Eureka is collected in this volume, masterminded by the creators of the show and told completely in continuity! It’s a game of cat and mouse when Sheriff Cater is on the hunt for an escapee from Global Dynamics. But what connection does this dangerous stranger have to Carter’s partner, Jo Lupo?  This is apparently volume 1 of 4.  112 pages, Full color, 9″ x 6″, MSRP $15.99

Showcase Presents… Justice League of America volume 4 – Gotta love classic JLA!

The JLA continues to fight evil in this new bargain-priced volume collection JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #61-83. These epic tales feature the JLA debuts of the Red Tornado and Black Canary, plus the annual adventure with the Justice Society of America!  544 pages, B&W, 10.2″ x 6.6″, MSRP $16.99

Doctor Who: A Cold Day in Hell – These old Doctor Who Magazine strips are great! Love McCoy as the Doctor also!

The first volume collecting the Seventh Doctor’s complete strip adventures from the pages of Doctor Who magazine sees the famous Time Lord in no fewer than 11 thrilling adventures through time and space! The Doctor encounters Death’s Head, Heat Vampires, Ice Warriors and even himself! The original black and white strips are digitally mastered and collected for the first time ever.  180 pages, B&W, 11.6″ x 8.3″, MSRP $31.95

Nexus: As It Happened volume 1 – Cool way to read Nexus from the beginning.

On the distant moon of Ylum, an enigmatic man is plagued by nightmares. He is forced to dream of the past. He dreams of real-life butchers and tyrants, and what they have done. And then he finds them, and kills them.

The year is 2841, and this man is Nexus, a godlike figure who acts as judge, jury, and executioner for the vile criminals who appear in his dreams. He claims to kill in self-defense, but why? Where do the visions come from, and where did he get his powers? Though a hero to many, does he have any real moral code? These are but some of the questions that reporter Sundra Peale hopes to have answered. 208 pages, B&W, 6″ X 8.5″, MSRP $9.99

Queen & Country the Definitive Edition volume 2 – I loved the first volume.  Can’t wait to read these stories! Greg Rucka is great.

SIS agent Tara Chase is put through the ringer as she must contend with industrial espionage, ghosts from her director’s past, and politicians eager to use the service to their own ends! Collects issues 13-24.  344 pages, B&W, 9″ x 6″, MSRP $19.95

Iron Man: The Many Armors of Iron Man – Stan Lee, David Michelinie, Bob Layton, Denny O’Neil – great stuff!

Constantly revamping and improving his suits of armor through the years to meet new adversaries and environmental conditions, Tony Stark is a modern man of science and technology, yet also an Old World man of integrity and discipline. Now, journey into the past and relive comicdom’s greatest invention, Iron Man’s armors: the Space Armor, the Stealth Armor, the Deep Sea Armor and more! Collecting IRON MAN #47, #142-144, #152-153, #200 and #218.  208 pages, Full Color, 10.1″ x 6.5″ , MSRP $24.99

Love & Capes: Do You Want to Know a Secret – A Superhero Sitcom! Can’t wait to read this!

Abby and Mark are a typical couple. At least, that’s what Abby thinks. Unknown to her, her boyfriend is not just an accountant, but also the super-powered crime-fighter, the Crusader. And, tonight, Mark’s going to let her in on the secret. Abby always knew he was a good guy. She just didn’t know how good.  Collecting issues #1-6 of the Love and Capes original comics.  152 pages, Full Color, 10.2″ x 6.6″, MSRP $19.99

This last one isn’t a trade, but I bought all three issues in a pack together…

Twilight – This was recommended to me by Ravenface, so it should be good and eclectic.

Twilight was a three issue prestige format mini-series by Howard Chaykin and José Luis García-López published in 1990 by DC Comics.  The story attempted to bring in all of DC future science/space characters, many originally from the 1950s and 1960s, into one series (despite the fact that many occurred in different time periods). It was another radical revamp of DC characters, including Tommy Tomorrow, Star Rovers, Star Hawkins, Space Ranger, Manhunter 2070 and Space Cabbie.  Combined 144 pages, Full color, 10.2″ x 6.6″, original MSRP combined $14.85.

So what trades have you picked up recently, or would recommend?

The DC Blog The Source has just announced that writer James Robinson and artist Mark Bagley will be the new ongoing creative team on the Justice League of America monthly book starting in October.  That’s freakin’ awesome!

You may have heard that writer Dwayne McDuffie was recently fired from Justice League of America.  Also, you may be aware that James Robinson is writing the upcoming mini-series, Justice League: Cry for Justice.  Well, these two dove-tailed quite nicely into each other.  I was sad to hear that McDuffie was off the book, but Robinson is definitely an acceptable trade. And Bagley is one of the best artists around!  If this is half as good as Robinson’s Starman, then it will be phenomenal!

Here is one of Bagley’s upcoming covers for JLA.  My only concern is… Where’s Firestorm!?!?!

Hey gang!  The internet at my house has been out since a bad storm on Sunday.  No internet = no posts.  Sorry for the interruption in service.  I’m doing this during my lunch hour at work.

To tide you over until things return to normal, enjoy this George Perez drawing from his JLA/Avengers work.  This should appeal to both DC and Marvel fans, whether you are an old school or current fan. Click the image to see it full size.  It’s gorgeous!

I picked up some new action figures recently.  From the DC Direct Justice League International line, I picked up Black Canary and Ice.  I’ve got Fire on order, but she’s not due for a while.  This will help me fill out my DC Direct JLA collection of figures.  I’m one of the few people that actually liked this Black Canary costume.  The more I think about it, I believe I’ve liked every Black Canary costume.

I was also given a new Brave and the Bold Aquaman action figure from a very generous friend.  If you haven’t seen him on the show, you are really missing out.  He’s hilarious!  They write him as a true hero, but also full of bravado.  It’s a riot!

I picked up for myself this cool Doctor Fate action figure from the DC Universe Infinite Heroes line.  It seems to me that the Infinite Heroes line is hit-or-miss.  While the smaller size in neat and they’ve done some really cool characters (i.e. Reverse Flash, Guy Gardner, and Adam Strange), the detail quality and paint jobs are often disappointing.  This Doctor Fate came out really nice.  And it’s the JSA Hector Hall version.  Sweet!

Finally, I was given this fantastic old school Super Friends t-shirt from another friend!  Check out the retro-Aquaman!  Also, don’t miss Wendy, Marvin, and Wonderdog.  If you haven’t been reading the Teen Titans comic book, you should really check it out for an interesting take on Marvin, Wendy, and Wonderdog.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you here in the United States!  For my international readers… sorry, our country is closed today for massive turkey consumption and tryptophan-induced comas.  Come back tomorrow for the craziest shopping day of the year.

Continuing my passion for Norman Rockwell… here is his 1943 “Freedom from Want” image representing Thanksgiving.

On a geekier note, here is the cover of the Justice Society of America Thanksgiving celebration from 2003.  In this issue the JSA and JLA get together for Thanksgiving dinner

And now for your geek WTF moment… Here is the cover of the upcoming Fantastic Four #564.  First, this cover is obviously an homage to Rockwell’s Thanksgiving image, however, they are celebrating Christmas on the cover.  Huh?  Second, this Christmas-themed issue is being released in February 2009.  Double huh?

Whatever, Marvel.

Happy Thanksgiving!