An encouraging aspect of DC Rebirth is that the company seems to once again realizing that they don't have to jettison existing characters to introduce legacy heroes. Indeed it seems like we will be seeing some of them working side by side. Ted Kord is back and looks to be sharing adventures with Jaime Reyes, the new Blue Beetle. Ryan Choi is back as well, summoned by none other than Ray Palmer. I wouldn't mind slight name changes on the newer versions though, if both heroes are going to be in operation. Let Ted Be Blue Beetle and maybe Jaime could be renamed Scarab or something? Likewise, Ryan Choi could call himself Micron to avoid confusion in their shared tales. Thant's a minor nitpick though, I am just glad all of these guys are back in action.
Poor Ray! I'll bet he was hoping to be ensconced--always wanted to use that word--between Sonja's mithril-looking cups.
ReplyDeleteHe's probably better off being kept at sword's length. Dynamite Entertainment turned her into a vampiress during some big crossover mini-series!
ReplyDeleteCan everything go back to the way they were in 1983? Please?
ReplyDeleteAnon - That's a very sworded suggestion.
ReplyDeleteRoss - Well done cover. The two figures sort of go together naturally, and even suggest each other for placement, which only makes it all the more natural-looking -- almost like a unit piece.
General - Back when I was trying to start my own comic company, I determined that most of the heroes would turn into legacy heroes. Most often they'd turn over their mantles to their children, though not always. And about half the time -- especially for non-familial legacies -- the passing would happen when the older hero died in action. What's wrong with keeping the older characters dead? My vision included things like flashback stories, time travel, and other ideas that would keep those characters in the reader's mind while letting their successors keep the limelight. In my (not so humble) opinion Barry Allen, Hal Jordan, Ted Kord, and many others should have stayed dead in this manner. It's not that I don't like those characters -- Barry remains my all-time favorite Flash (albeit with occasional surges from Mary Maxwell) -- but I just prefer to let death stay permanent, as it is in reality.
Awesome cover, Ross! What a great idea....
ReplyDeleteRegarding the DC Universe, I'll repeat (basically) what I said yesterday:
I feel like the DC Universe is like a document that has been shredded and scotch taped back together so many times now that no matter how carefully they try to repair it now, it will still be impossible to read.... But I hope I'm wrong because I would love to start liking DC Comics again.
Yea, I'm an old dog as well. I saw Red Sonja and Atom listed as the team up and thought of the early Sonja and I never even looked at Sword and the Atom.
ReplyDeleteThat looks like Mary Jane Watson to me.
I always think of that miniseries as "sort of the Atom."
ReplyDeleteI always think of that miniseries as "sort of the Atom."
ReplyDeleteBTW, after 25 years, Silver Age Batman artist Joe Giella is retiring from the Mary Worth newspaper strip next week. How about commemorating that with a team-up: "The Brave and the Old."
ReplyDeleteBTW, after 25 years, Silver Age Batman artist Joe Giella is retiring from the Mary Worth newspaper strip next week. How about commemorating that with a team-up: "The Brave and the Old."
ReplyDeleteYou know, back in the day, we had two Atoms, two Green Lanterns, two Flashes (sometimes three or four) and no confusion. Hawkman... well, Hawkman is why we can't have nice things. :)
ReplyDeleteSure, I like Red Sonja's appearance as much as the next straight male nerd, but seriously, how much protection is a bikini, even one made of chainmail? *rolls eyes*
ReplyDeleteNice cover Ross. It's almost a parody oƒ Hawkeye/Ant-man from Civil War!
ReplyDeleteIsaac... Hawkeye/Ant-Man predates Civil War by a good 30+ years
ReplyDeletehttp://www.comicbookresources.com/imgsrv/social_post/0/0/1/ant-social_33.jpg
Also I wish Red Sonja and Conan were back at Marvel.
@ The Two Bobs: One wrong move with her sword and Atom will have a "eunuch" piece!
ReplyDeleteBoth left-handed :)
ReplyDeleteHey, that's right! I'm a lefty too and I didn't even notice!
ReplyDeleteHow about Lady Deadpool vs Ravager?
ReplyDeleteHow about Blade vs. vampirized Batman from RED RAIN?
ReplyDelete@Kaptain Kobold: They are not left-handed. It's just that if they fight with the right hand, it's over too quickly.
ReplyDelete@Bob Greenwade: Ah, si! The Domingo Montoya School of Fencing.
ReplyDeleteRichard Fuller said...
ReplyDelete"That looks like Mary Jane Watson to me."
There was an issue of Marvel Team-Up in which MJW canonically was temporarily possessed by Red Sonja's spirit in order to fight the revived [Hyborian Age] sorceror Kulan Gath, and wielded one of Sonja's own swords from a museum's 'Gold of Hyboria' exhibition...
Yea, I remember that Team Up, but she 'turned into' Red Sonja and didn't just look like herself in Red Sonja's costume.
ReplyDeleteOf course, that was before she became a model and a soap actress or whatever else there was.
I'm very happy the generational aspect of DC's heroes is coming back. Seems reasonable to me at this point in DC's history to have the Silver Age veterans, a generation of "mature" Titans (Wally, Roy, Dick, however many other Robins they want to classify this way, etc.), and then the current teen heroes setting the stage for the next phase of supers.
ReplyDeleteThe handling of the Golden Age will be interesting to see. Also the name thing.