I’m reading Siege and enjoying it. I like the art, I like the story, and I especially like the pace. At four issues, things are moving along nicely. With the Heroic Age set to begin in May, I was a little surprised that Siege #4 was not on the schedule for April (it’s been pushed back to May 12). Instead, Marvel is giving us a series of 5 Siege one-shots focusing on Captain America, Spider-Man, Loki, the Young Avengers and Secret Warriors. The first of these shipped last week and I really wanted to give them a chance, but I’m sorry Marvel, I’m not buying into this. I didn’t read any of these books but it’s pretty clear that at least the Captain America and Spider-Man issues are extended fight scenes and essentially filler. The Loki issue might be great since he’s the mastermind behind what’s happening in Siege and this should give some insight. I didn’t buy it on principle alone. This is not Marvel’s fault, but I know myself. If I buy one of these, I’m going to want them all. They even have interlocking covers. No, I’m out for this.

You know who you are.  I like to call you blog stalkers.  You look at everything, everyday, methodically.  Don’t get me wrong – I love that we have an audience.  Really, I do.  I blog for the attention.  I can’t deny it.  BUT!  Something I have always loved about blogging is the interaction.  You don’t interact.  You read, you read some more, and then you read again and then you click links and read even more.  Clearly – you are interested in what we have to say….so why not interact?  You know who you are.  Mr. (or Ms.) Cambridge Entrepreneurial Network, I am calling you out.  Comment for Pete’s sake.  Well – for mine too….because frankly….the googling of my name all the time is creeping me out.

Cry for Justice! launched on the heels of Final Crisis with Green Lantern Hal Jordan and Green Arrow deciding they needed to seek revenge… Scratch that Justice!… for the deaths of guys like the Martian Manhunter at hands of supervillians in recent years. The two heroes form their own seperate Justice! League to proactively dish out their new brand of Justice!

The book was originally announced as a second ongoing Justice! League title to be written by James Robinson. The series was mercifully shortened to just seven issues. Robinson has since, however, taken over the main ongoing JLA book. Spoilers below…

Since the publication of the first issue of CFJ! the book has been controversial. Fourth-tier DC characters were killed off seemingly without regard. The dialogue was at times ridiculously bad and the whole package desperately sought to be edgy. Hell, several supporting characters never even interacted with the books stars and had no reason for being in the series at all.

As the story progressed, I took it all in with a grain of salt because the art looked kind of nice and it all seemed to be done in the name of turning the villain Prometheus into an upper tier force in the DC Universe.

I’m always in favor of more top heels.

The final issue of the series landed yesterday and proved every single one of the book’s naysayers correct.

I really don’t know what DC was thinking with this one.

This book destroyed virtually the entire Green Arrow universe.

GA’s former sidekick Speedy, also known at one point as Arsenal and most recently known as JLA member Red Arrow, had his arm torn off. That’s a pretty big problem for an archer, but DC can always tack on a cyborg arm ala the Winter Soldier or Cable.

Why? Because it’s edgy.

Speedy’s most interesting characteristic has always been that he was a single father doing his best to raise the daughter, Lian, that he fathered with the supervillain Cheshire. Lian is a decades old character though maybe only six years old in continuity. (People age oddly in comics.)

Of course the most noted casualty in CFJ! had to be this little girl. The only interesting part of Speedy’s character is gone.

Why? Because it’s edgy.

Robinson went further by destroying GA’s hometown likely killing millions.

Why? Because it’s edgy.

All of this would have been a major price to pay to push Prometheus back up to the upper echelon of DC villains, but most troublesome of all, CFJ! ends with Green Arrow firing an arrow through Prometheus’ skull and basically nailing his face to a wall.

Why? Because it’s edgy.

It’s bad enough that the biggest developments in Green Arrow’s life since his own death and resurrection happened not in his own title but in a Justice! League mini-series… But what did any of this accomplish? Producing a suddenly edgier Green Arrow?

Why didn’t they kill Black Canary and Connor Hawke while they were at it? That would have been really edgy. Hell, for all I know Hawke may already be dead. Who can keep score?

DC has promised to follow up on this story throughout the Spring, but CFJ! has generated nothing but cheap heat and I can’t imagine people will buy those follow-up books en masse.

Ulimately, I know some of this stuff will be written out of DC continuity in the years to come War Games-style. It has to be. It’s all too stupid. But that just serves to cheapens the DC universe even further.

Cry for Justice! should never have been published.

After looking at our visitor logs over the last year, I feel I have to do something about a group of states that never visit. You know who you are…well, you really don’t know who you are, do you…

Vermont…I actually like Vermont.  I had the pleasure of visiting in January once and remember it being impossibly cold. I didn’t mind it so much after seeing there were boats actually frozen into Lake Champlain. That’s really fascinating to me for some reason. I was even told there’s a ferry of some sort that goes between Burlington and New York that’s an ice breaker! How cool is that?

I’ve been as far North as St. Albans but never had the pleasure of seeing the actual town of Podunk, Satan’s Kingdom, or your very own lake monster, Champ. The UVM area seemed like a really nice place to go to school, but I would have withered and died in a place like that. Skiing for my degree just wouldn’t have been my scene. Credit is deserved for giving us Newhart, Ben and Jerry’s, and being the original home to Chester A. Arthur and his epic sideburns. Your faux French name also scores you some points, but nearly every time I’ve typed it today it initially came out “Vermin.”

Your ongoing battles with Bigfoot are always amusing, but I hear some of your citizens want to secede from the United States. I can’t get behind that. You have the smallest largest city in any of the 50 states and are second least populated, so I realize there aren’t that many Vermonters, but you should join the rest of this great nation and visit our site.

Image courtesy of Greenwich Mean Time.com.
Frozen vessel image by CArthur.

Other states that never stop by: Utah, Nebraska, Maine

No sooner do I criticize Marvel for revealing members of their upcoming Avengers team and as a result cutting the legs off any suspense contained in their current epic story Siege which is basically leading up to the formation of that team than DC decides to get in on the action. DC via their official blog the Source is unveiling their post-Blackest Night plans starting with the return of Aquaman in Brightest Day.

Aquaman is currently one of the major Black Lanterns terrorizing his former friends. Why is it necessary to reveal now that he’ll be back from the dead and no longer a zombie-like thing come Brightest Day #1. This reveal of course suggests that other Black Lanterns will be returning to life as well… Granted this was assumed by most readers to be one of the end results of Blackest Night, but now any questions about an upcoming mass resurrection have been put to rest.

And how does spoiling Aquaman’s return help DC sell more comics? Because that’s the only excuse for the ruining part of the ending of possibly the company’s most popular mega-event of at least the last decade. Time and again, Aquaman has been relaunched and failed to sell books. Almost no one is going to buy Brightest Day on the strength of an Aquaman appearance. In fact, Aquaman and his talking to fish gimmick may drive some readers away.

DC has actually now gone further and announced that the underrated Tony Bedard will be taking over as writer of their Green Lantern Corps title. This is good news in my opinion. The book will follow the adventures of Green Lanterns John Stewart, Kyle Raynor, and Ganthet. Yep. That’s three more main characters that we now know will survive the war of light! And Ganthet is going to remain a Green Lantern? Who saw that coming? Why are you telling us this DC? Why?

This would suggest that the only major Green Lantern character who could face any peril in the final issues of Blackest Night would be the currently rage consumed Red Lantern Guy Gardner. But DC has further announced he’ll be starring in the new monthly Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors title.

And I guess no one should feel stupid continuing to pay $3-$4 an issue to find out how this story concludes? I feel like I’m screaming at a wall, but really it’s why things like HTML Comics exist.

Marvel had it right when they were refusing to release any solicitation information except basically titles and prices for post-Civil War and Secret Invasion books… Captain America 25 which was spoiled by national newspapers aside… But since they’re releasing spoilers now too maybe that policy hurt sales.

Who knows.

More on the series can be found at our Brightest Day hub.