DC Comics’ big summer crossover, Flashpoint, began today and out of the gate it’s showing a lot of potential. There’s an element of mystery to go along with the strange new world we’re seeing and some intriguing redesigns for DC’s heroes. After the disappointing finish to Brightest Day, having this book on the shelf is a welcome sight as creators Geoff Johns, Andy Kubert and Sandra Hope are off to a strong start.

We’re going to spoil plot points for the issue and series here.

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Last week saw the conclusion to DC Comics’ Brightest Day maxi-series that spilled out of the wildly popular Blackest Night story. Blackest Night was the culmination of years of Green Lantern stories by writer Geoff Johns, while Brightest Day turned the spotlight to other DC mainstays like Aquaman, Hawkman, Maritan Manhunter and Firestorm. The story was driven entirely by the recently discovered White Lantern Battery that represents life and is the opposite of the zombie generating Black Lantern Battery that plagued the cosmos during Blackest Night. Brightest Day is the latest in a line of year long maxi-series from DC that unfortunately couldn’t stick the landing. After seeing the run cut from 26 issues to 24 and the unexpected reintroduction of the Swamp Thing in issue #23, a shaky ending shouldn’t be much of a surprise.

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I’ve gone on record professing my love for the MLB AtBAt app for the iPhone. I’ve listened to countless games that I would have otherwise missed and caught up on highlights I didn’t get to experience live using their incredible condensed game videos. Imagine my dismay when I attempted to download the 2011 version of the app this afternoon and was met with a message saying MLB AtBat 2011 requires iPhone OS 4. I’ve been hanging on to an original iPhone since launch and I have no real reason to upgrade. In fact, upgrading would represent a significant loss.

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Last week saw the relaunch of DC’s Xombi series with a new #1 issue by writer John Rozum and artist Frazer Irving. The debut issue has been getting positive attention from a number of outlets, but it was an MLD reader request that got us to take a closer look at the book. It’s not something either of us would have normally picked up, but I think it’s fair to say we both enjoyed it.

Spoilers for the issue will follow.

KevinMLD: Xombi is a character that I don’t have much previous exposure to. I know he was created as part of DC’s Milestone line in the mid ’90s by the writer of the current relaunch of the character, John Rozum.

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I’m absolutely a fan of the Philadelphia 76ers, but at a time when a team needs (at least) three legit All Stars to have a realistic shot at a championship it’s hard to get excited about them. A month ago, they were sitting as the number seven playoff seed in the NBA East with a losing record. As bad as that is, there was a still a team with an even worse record going to the playoffs at number eight. It was a sad commentary on the state of the East.

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