A few months back I wrote about Marvel’s Heroics figures. A series of tiny, blind boxed, 97 cent non-articulated figures. The figures walk an odd line between featuring detailed costumes while having almost blank faces. It was a sad tale about a quest for a Hulk or Captain America figure neither of which I found. This is a very different article. This is all about DC Heroics. And this time it didn’t matter who was in the plastic balls, because I wanted them all anyway. I’m a sucker for all things DC. Always have been. One thing I learned in purchasing this batch of DC figures is that if you turn the plastic ball so that the wrapper runs perpendicular to the split in the ball, you can place just a little pressure on the crack and it will open enough to allow you a peek at what figure is in the ball without actually opening it. Blind box foiled!

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The penultimate issue of DC’s year long series, Brightest Day, arrived in stores today preceded by a monster spoiler for the issue hitting the Internet last night. There’s no way to discuss this issue in any meaningful way without discussing that spoiler so be warned. We were kind of down on the series after seeing it cut from 26 to 24 issues with no satisfying resolution in sight. Issue #23 may have changed all that as it finally brought everything happening throughout the series together and unleashed some huge surprises. There’s plenty to talk about, but the question remains: after what amounted to a shaky flight, can Geoff Johns and crew stick the landing?

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Brightest Day heads into its final four issues last week and we’re seeing a lot of characters coming together now that they’re done with their subplots that had little to do with the main story of the series. Martian Manhunter is the focus of the issue in his battle with the other last Martian in the universe, D’Kay, but there are also appearances by a host of Justice League members including Superman and Batman. Some of the other resurrected characters from Blackest Night show their faces as well, and we get some questions as to what’s in store for Hawk, Jade and the ones we haven’t seen the White Ring use Deadman to collect.

Also, PTB has a baby in his house.

Spoilers to follow.

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DC Comics’ Brightest Day spent another issue focusing on a single character last week, with Martian Manhunter getting all of the attention this time. While the previous issue dedicated to Dead Man (with a special appearance by Bruce Wayne as Batman) advanced the plot of the series, that’s not necessarily true here. It was still a decent book, but we end up spending more time talking about Aqualad and Batman Beyond of all things.

If the content of Brightest Day can be interrupted by one digression after another, it only seems fair that our discussion of it follow the same course.

Spoilers ahead.

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Welcome back for our ongoing discussion of DC Comics‘ Brightest Day series. As these posts have begun to pile up, we’ve created a new hub to access previous issues and even some of the things we had to say about Blackest Night. Brightest Day #12 is all-Martian all the time, which proves you can’t judge a book by its cover (unless it’s the variant cover).

Spoilers to follow.

PTB: I’m not so crazy about the cover this time around. It has nothing to do with the art, it’s more about the use of text. “DEATHSTROM RETURNS!” From where? He’s been in nearly every issue including the last one.

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