Most Viewed Posts in May 2012

It's that time of month again, folks! The time when we get to see which of my posts were the most-viewed over the last 31 days. Oh and one more thing, I know this is a rather small goal, but I managed to break 1,000 views this month for the first time ever. I really thank you all for reading this! I know that I'm probably not getting anywhere near what X-Man & JT are getting over at their blog, but then again they've been at this for longer. So thanks for those of you who have been reading from the beginning and welcome to any new readers! But anyway, back to business...
This month the most viewed post was my interview with Brett Booth from right after Teen Titans Annual was released. Click the link here!
The second-most viewed post, coming in a not-so-close second place is the review of the Teen Titans Annual. You can read that here!
The third-most viewed post, which came in just two views behind the review of the Annual issue, is my interview with Scott Lobdell, which came in the same day as my interview with Brett Booth! Check that out here!
The next most viewed was the preview for Superboy #9, which was part of "the Culling" crossover. You can read that, even though the issue is already out, here!
The fifth-most viewed came again from the Teen Titans Annual and was the preview of the issue. You can check out that right here!

The Runner-Ups:
This month's runner-ups come in the forms of the Green Lantern #9 preview, Batman #9 review, my thoughts on the teased "Trinity War" event, The Confirmed Cast of Earth-2, & the Earth-2 #1 Review! Those are all links so click 'em up and read 'em if you want!

In any case, I'll be back in the coming weeks with a few interesting announcements about the blog and we'll get some interesting changes around here. I hope you guys are as excited as I am for the comics coming out this month and in the coming months! In any event, I'll see you again in a month for the most-viewed of June 2012. 

What Will DC Do to Celebrate the "New 52"s One Year Marker?

Note: Okay I totally typed this up last week on Friday I think but I never got around to finishing it. I decided that I won't edit it to make it current, but instead I'd just type this out. So...here we go!
Can you guys believe that in a week from yesterday we will be at exactly one year since DC announced the New 52? I certainly can't. And you know that DC would never miss on the chance of announcing something big on the one year anniversary of their "New 52" announcement! So what could they be announcing?

The Identity of the Gay Super-Hero
Sure, it's not as big as relaunching your entire line of comics, but since many people have already taken an interest in it, maybe it's time for them to announce who the character will be. It's possible that they will, in fact, announce this on that day but it's very unlikely that it will be DC's only announcement on the 31st of May.

5-Week August
The significance of August in 2011 was huge, despite the fact that many people didn't pay much attention to it. Not only did it mark the ending of the "old" DC Universe, but it marked the beginning of the "New 52" Universe. This August there are also 5 weeks, just like there were last year. And just like last year, DC is taking advantage of it and releasing several "Annual" issues on that date. Will they also announce something else to come on that day next week? Quite possibly.

New Justice League Book?
When the "main" League continuously denied Green Arrow membership to the League, Steve Trevor approached Ollie and offered him to join another team...could this be the book that replaces Justice League International? Quite possibly, I think, because they could even offer membership to several of the JLI members in #12 or in the Annual. I would not be surprised at all if Geoff Johns slipped in a scene where Steve Trevor invites Booster or any number of the JLI squad to join his secret team.

"Zero Issue" Event!
The biggest rumor going around the internet is that there will be a "Zero Issue" event. The rumor is that in September, each DC ongoing series will take a break from everything and tell a one-off story that gives the history of what happened with the character before the "New 52" series began. So, for example, in Justice League we might find out how Green Lantern and Flash met, or how Steve Trevor and Wonder Woman met, or Batman keeping an eye on all of the soon-to-be Leaguers (except Cyborg, of course since his origin WAS in Justice League's first 6 issues). It'd be an interesting idea and maybe we could also get a new hint to the new storylines coming up and such.

Thoughts? I really hope it's the last option. That'd make me very, very happy. Gimme your thoughts and opinions down below!! And keep your eyes out on May 31st (which is TOMORROW!!!) for news of what is to come at the end of August and throughout September. 

A Letter to One Million Moms

Dear One Million Moms,

While I can honestly say that I have never heard of you until about 20 minutes ago, I have to say that you have immediately gotten on my bad side. Your "current issue", which happens to be focused on Northstar marrying his boyfriend, Kyle, in next month's "Astonishing X-Men" #51 and DC's announcement that a "major iconic" hero will be homosexual soon, is rather ridiculous. I would like to take a few moments to prove to you exactly why you are wrong.

Gay People Do Need Role Models
"Why do adult gay men need comic superheroes as role models?"

Why do they need superheroes as role models? Why shouldn't they be represented in comic books as well. I mean honestly...if you're going to have sexual orientation be part of comics, then it's only realistic to have gay, bi-sexual, and even transgender people represented among the ranks of comic book superheroes. 

Comics Aren't Just For Kids...

...if anything, they're for teenagers, young adults, and adults. If you ever read a comic book, you know that comics are generally focused for adults. Now sure, both companies put out series (Green Lantern: The Animated Series from DC and Ultimate Spider-Man for Marvel) that are focused for kids but if you look at the comics that are put out each month by the big two (Marvel and DC) are focused for older people. Teenagers can understand the concept of gay marriage. Young adults and adults understand it even more. If you ever crack open a comic, you'd realize how much more grown up they are than they were in the 50s and 60s. Go buy one comic. Go get one issue of "The Flash" or "Green Lantern" and you'll see exactly how much for kids these comics are.

Last Time You Tried This, It Failed

You guys tried this with the even-less popular "Archie Comics" series when there was a gay marriage issue. If anything, you guys helped bring attention to the issue and probably helped it sell out in the first week. So I'm predicting that "Astonishing Comics" #51 will sell out in the first week or so after it's release and also whatever issue DC's new gay hero is released in will sell out soon after we figure out who the hero is and which series it's gonna be in. So thank you for your contributions to the comic sales! You should do this every month!

I'm sure there are many more points that I could make negating your statements mentioned in your call-to-action, but I honestly am tired of dignifying it with a response. Thank you for your time!

-DC Comics Fan Caz

What Might Replace "Justice League International" In September?

Last week when DC announced their August solicitations, Justice League International #12 was marked as “FINAL ISSUE.” Now this series is nowhere near the bottom of the sales charts, so the question must be asked: “Why is it being cancelled? And what will replace it?" Well speculation has risen for many different options.

“Justice League Elite” or “Extreme Justice”

The U.N. brought the original team together, but after the team’s failure on the U.N.’s front yard they officially disbanded the team. Since the second story arc takes place immediately after the first, it would be hard to change their team’s name so quickly, but would it be such an outrageous assumption that the team might be changing their name to disconnect themselves from the U.N. for the 13^th issue and third story arc of the series? It sure seems to be okay for the Thunderbolts changing to the Dark Avengers over at Marvel.

“Cyborg”

The entire main Justice League team has at least one solo series right now…except for Cyborg. He has been moved up to one of the World’s Greatest Heroes Sure, that was usually the case when Martian Manhunter was a leaguer, but does that mean that Cyborg shouldn’t have his own series? The thought is something I wouldn’t put past Didio, Lee, or Johns, even if it is a stupid one. 

"Booster Gold"

If DC won't give us a new series starring multiple characters from the JLI, then I'm sure most fans would be perfectly fine with Booster getting his own solo series. He's done it in the past, and I'm sure he could pull it off again. And not only that, but Dan Jurgens is out of a writing job and Aaron Lopresti is out of a penciling job...and I would really love to see a Booster solo series from those two. 

"Brave and the Bold"

DC's other anthology title, DC Universe Presents, isn't a huge smashing success like it could have been. But what did DC expect? Poor advertising, lack of big-name talent, and so on and so forth. What with people knowing about the Batman: The Brave and the Bold tv show, it would probably be an easier way to success. The first story arc could even be about the JLI, for us fans. 

And I'm sure there are many more options. But I'm just not creative enough to think of them at the moment. Those are the most obvious ones that I can think of. Thoughts? Sound off below.

Justice League #9 Review!

Justice League #9

Written by: Geoff Johns

Art by: Jim Lee, Scott Williams, & Gary Frank (back-up story)

Summary

Justice League

-Apparently four years ago, David Graves was really old and sick and then killed his doctor and began his "journey"

-Back in the present, Steve Trevor (who is my least favorite character in this series now) is getting too much press

-Batman is in the Cave and learns that they Key broke in to Arkham

-Clark feels left out from lunch plans at the Daily Planet when Bruce "invites" him to lunch

-Then, shortly after at Arkham, Superman and Batman are taking down a bunch of inmates at Arkham, trying to get to the Key

-Then Steve Trevor gets kidnapped

-GL and Flash just took down Weapons Master

-Flash wants to be bad cop

-Fails miserably

-They call in Wonder Woman

-Supes, Bats, and Cyborg find Key in Arkham and he says that he wants to be locked away

-Key & Weapons Master both say that a man took everything they knew about the League and his name was Graves

-Trevor gets tortured and the new baddy claims that unless he tells him how to get onto the JL's satellite that he will kill Trevor's family

-Trevor tells him that he will tell him everything

Shazam!

-It's Billy's first day of school

-Some rich kids are bullying his foster family

-Billy kicks their asses

-He nearly gets expelled

-Billy threatens the kids again with their dad around and he grabs Billy and tells him that if he "even looks" at his kids again that he'll have to deal with their dad

-Billy's foster dad shoves him off 

-Billy tells him that he could've handled it himself

-Doctor Sivana comes across what seems to be the Tomb of Black Adam

-He gets shocked

-A lightning bolt star over his eye appears

-He claims he can see magic now

Thoughts

I really, really loved this issue. Idk what else to say, beyond that the art was great and that the story seems pretty good. Especially if Steve Trevor dies in this storyline. That'd be great, honestly. Can't wait for the rest of this storyline. I loved the character development. Can't wait for #10. Oh and my only issue with the Shazam story is that we haven't actually seem Shazam himself in a long ass time. This issue gets a 9/10.

The Flash: "All right, Weapons Master. You better, uh, talk or..."

Weapons Master: "Or what?"

The Flash: "Or I'm going to...I'm going to get really... Upset."

Weapons Master: "*tt* I'm not telling you anything."

New Reviewing Style

Okay, all, so I'm basically just going to be ripping of X-Man's review style from over at X-Man's Comic Blog. It's basically set up like this:

Summary
-Some bullet points...
-...with key plot points...
-...summarize the issue...
-...until it's over.
Thoughts
Will more or less just be a paragraph about my thoughts on the issue and will include a rating from somewhere between 1-10/10.

So starting with my next review (Justice League #9) later tonight I will use this style of reviewing. Hope X doesn't get mad at me for stealing his style! Haha.

Batman #9 Review

Batman #9

Written by: Scott Snyder; Back-Up Story Written by: Scott Snyder & James Tynion IV

Art by: Greg Capullo & Jonathan Glapion; Back-Up Story Art by: Rafael Alburquerque

Issue title: “Night of the Owls”

Summary

The issue opens with Bruce, in his “Iron Giant” Batman suit fighting off like 10 Talons in the Cave. The Cave’s temperature is steadily dropping so that the Talons will slow down and be unable to fight back eventually. He is throwing out the freezing batarangs and taking down Talon after Talon. But then the Talons fight back and knock him down(!). They’re about to kill him, when the giant T-Rex comes to life(!!!) and begins stomping on them. Ha! Sure, those Owls might be able to fight Bats, but can they fight T-Rex’s??? The Talons stab the armor and are about to kill him, when a horde of bats fly out and somehow that scares the Talons and confuses them enough that he can kick their asses enough so that Alfred can come out and put a serum in their blood stream to keep them “on ice.” One Talon begins to escape, but Bruce hops in the Batmobile and knocks him out. We find out that all around the city, the majority of the Talon’s targets have been killed, but Robin, Nightwing, and the rest of the Bat-family are fighting to protect the city. Apparently there are two targets that are unprotected but still alive: One is Jeremiah Arkham & the other? Lincoln March, Bruce’s new friend and Gotham mayoral candidate. Apparently if you read Detective Comics #9, you can see Bruce defending Arkham from the Talons, but they skip ahead to when Bruce goes to help Lincoln. He walks into the room, Lincoln shoots a gun, and we realize he shot a Talon in the head that was about to kill Batty-Boy. Lincoln has a message for Bruce Wayne, which is that he found several names of the Court members, but he dies soon after since he was stabbed with a knife by the Talon. Bruce declares that he is going to take the fight to them now. The back-up story was all about Jarvis Pennyworth (Alfred’s dad) and how he came across the Talon and how it was hunting him down. The story ends with the Talon of his time standing above him, knives at the ready.

ThoughtsThis issue was really good. The first half was almost entirely fighting, and then Bruce went and found Lincoln about to die and this time, Lincoln saved Bruce’s life from a Talon. The art was amazing as always. I was sad to see Lincoln go, but I suppose that it’s just even more motivation for Bruce to fight. I cannot wait for next month’s issue, as always. This issue gets a 9.5/10.

Alfred: “Master Bruce. The Talons have been contained. I have news on the other assassination attempts, as well.”

Batman: “I know where they live, Alfred.”

Alfred: “But, sir—”

Batman: “They came to my house…now I’m going to burn theirs to the ground.”

Batman is such a fuckin badass!

Check out my review of Green Lantern #9 and my many other Opinions, Reviews, and Previews here on OPR. Next week, I will have reviews for Justice League #9 and in two weeks I will have reviews for The Flash & Teen Titans #9. 

Green Lantern #9 Review!

Green Lantern #9

Written by: Geoff Johns

Art by: Doug Mahnke, Christian Alamy, Keith Champagne, Mark Irwin, & Tom Nguyen

Issue title: "The Secret of the Indigo Tribe" part 3

Summary

The issue opens with Sinestro being transformed into a Tribesmen and we see him remembering something from the past...his wife, who happens to be Abin Sur's sister, dying. Then we cut to the entire Tribe pinning Hal to the ground. Hal pushes them off, asks why the Tribe is attacking him and Indigo-1 states that they are trying to send him home but Hal will only leave with Sinestro. He leaves the Tribe behind and goes off to find the Indigo Central Battery, which is apparently in the "Forbidden Jungles." Then we see the Guardians killing Starstorm (the guy who helped Sinestro get the Book of Black in #6) since he doesn't know where the Book of Black is. Hal finds the battery and with it a man who isn't a member of the Tribe, but has their markings all over him. A lot of talking occurs with many revelations about the Tribe, which I won't reveal because of the fact that this issue is definitely worth reading asap. I will tell you, however, that the Guardians of the Universe will cause the "End of the Corps." Natromo (the old guy with the markings) tells Hal that once Abin returns to lead them, that they will attack the Guardians. Hal tells him that Abin is dead, and then Natromo simply states "It is over." and destroys the Indigo battery, at which time the Tribe appears and the entire Tribe goes "off-line." Sinestro wakes up as a GL again and we see the entire Tribe, without their power rings, as hardened criminals about to attack.

Thoughts

This issue was really, really good. I am really appreciating this attention towards the Indigo Tribe. The story is really, really good. I like that the Tribe wants to force Sinestro to be a member so as to make him atone for his sins. There were a lot of revelations in this issue and it’s really frustrating that I’m holding them back from you, but spoilers are too tempting to read if you haven’t read the issue already and, as I said earlier, this issue is worth reading. We found out that the Guardians will definitely be the enemies in an upcoming GL storyline and I can’t wait for more. This issue easily gets a 9.5/10.

Hal: “Sinestro?”

Sinestro: “Jordan?”

Hal: “You’re free. Uh. And so are they.”

Check in later for my review of Batman #9, which is part of the Night of the Owls crossover event!

Slight Change

So there is going to be a slight change in my comic scheduling, I will be getting Justice League, Batman, Green Lantern, and two new additions in The Flash & Teen Titans starting next month with #10. But that doesn't mean that I won't be getting JLI until August when the series ends, because I certainly will. Especially #12 where we will see Rocket Red's funeral and is also the last issue of the series. The only reason I'm changing it, is because DC decided to make it so they won't send Red Lanterns or Justice League International via mail anymore.

So in the coming months, here is what I think will be my list of comics:

1. Justice League #9-12 $3.99/issue (but free due to subscription)
2. Green Lantern #10-12 $2.99/issue (but free due to subscription)
3. Earth-2 #2-4 $2.99/issue
4. Worlds' Finest #2-4 $2.99/issue
5. Teen Titans #9-12 $2.99/issue (but free due to subscription)
6. Batman #10-12 $3.99/issue (but free due to subscription)
7. The Flash #10-12 $2.99/issue (but free due to subscription)
8. Justice League International #9-12 $2.99/issue
9. Detective Comics #10-12 $3.99/issue
10. Legion Lost #9 $2.99 (part of the Culling)
11. Superboy #9 $2.99 (part of the Culling)
12. DC Universe Presents #12 $2.99
13. Green Lantern Annual #1 $4.99
14. The Flash Annual #1 $4.99
15. Justice League International Annual #1 $4.99

And honestly, I've been considering getting Animal Man because of the new artist, so maybe even that series starting in August, too. I might just reboot my entire list of comics for September. It'll be the one year anniversary of the DC relaunch/reboot, after all. 

Justice League International being CUT!?

The solicit for Justice League International #12 was just released today, and the issue is going to feature Rocket Red's funeral (finally). But they also had something that surprised me in the solicit: the words of death, aka "final issue."

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #12

Written by DAN JURGENS

Art by AARON LOPRESTI and MATT RYAN

Cover by DAVID FINCH and RICHARD FRIEND

On sale AUGUST 1 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T • FINAL ISSUE(?!?!?!?!?!)

• It’s the funeral for ROCKET RED.

• Several members resign from the team – who will be left?

The solicit says that many members quit, which is very likely that it would leave just Batman, Booster, and maybe the General-In-Iron. But why? Beyond the fact that Rocket Red died, Ice broke both her legs, Vixen's spine is probably broken, etc... Okay well actually those are valid reasons. BUT is it fair to end a series this quickly? I sure as hell don't think so. If anything, the JLI should continue on. And who knows, maybe it was a typo? One can only hope. Because I've decided that if this is the truth, I will finish out the year with DC and if there are any storylines that haven't been wrapped up, I'll finish them off. Then I'll shut down the blog and think about how badly I really want to have more DC stories. Which will probably be very unlikely. Oh well. 

Justice League International Annual #1 Announcement

"...JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL #1, written by Geoff Johns and Dan DiDio on their debut collaboration.

“This is the final fate of this incarnation of the Justice League International,” DiDio teased to THE SOURCE. “There will be also be a big showdown of events that played out in the final issues of O.M.A.C. The ramifications of this will be felt across the board and will lead directly into a major event spanning across all the Justice League group titles later this year.”

Illustrated by Jason Fabok, JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL #1 will tie into the shocking events of JUSTICE LEAGUE #12. Guest-starring Blue Beetle, this special 48-page issue will be available in stores on August 29th."

So...explain to me why it is that Geoff Johns and Dan Didio are doing Justice League International's annual? Not, I don't know...Dan Jurgens!? I mean at least we'll see Blue Beetle, but come on!! I mean I get that Dan Didio's book (OMAC) just got cancelled to make way for better books like Earth-2 and Worlds' Finest, but that doesn't mean he gets to take over the Annual for an already-great book. He just needs to quit. Byebye, Didio. And how the fuck is Justice League International's Annual tied into Justice League #12. What? Ugh. I might get it. Depends on how Justice League #12 is, which apparently is important to the entire DC Universe. Wow. I'm tired of crossovers, honestly. Night of the Owls and the Culling are both good thusfar, but I'm not a huge fan of this whole crossover business. 

Interview w/ Scott Lobdell: "Nothing is ever what it seems" in Teen Titans

So what's going on with Artemis? [Teen Titans artist] Brett [Booth] told me that she may or may not be dead. Can I get a little more of an explanation of this? 


Nope. 

Well that kinda sucks.

But seriously, what if Chris Claremont had given an interview after Uncanny X-Men 100 and said "Don't worry, Jean isn't dead she's actually going to become the Phoenix and then she's going to be seduced by Mastermind (in disguise!) and then become Dark Phoenix and kill billions and finally have to kill herself in about thirty issues!"?  Wouldn't THAT suck?

Sit back, enjoy the ride!

Fair enough. How about how the team's roster came about? Did you pretty much have every character you wanted in mind going in, or did you and the editorial staff at DC have discussions about the characters?

Well it is hard because we were told to use the Core Four, but as they were all white people and I really wanted to use people of color it meant that I had to edit myself a lot.  I would have loved to have used Offspring or Miss Martian and Beast Boy (but I don't feel green counts as a person of color) and so, like I say, there was a lot of self editing going on.

And while there might have been other characters (heck, there are LOTS of teen characters) I also felt that there was a tradition that Marv and George started where the non-Core members should be fresh new characters (Raven, Starfire and Cyborg) -- and so I felt strongly that the other three spots should be taken up by newbies (or mostly newbies as in the case of Solstice).

Will we ever see characters guest-star for periods of time? Since we already saw Static in #6, I figure we could see any number of characters appear, like Miss Martian?

Certainly the world is our oyster. And while there are no PLANS for anyone else to show up soon, all things are possible.

Which one of the characters is your favorite to write? Red Robin seems to be the main character thusfar, but are we going to see any more of the group kind of take the narrator-ship away from him sometimes?

Hmm... I don't know if that is true, as Kid Flash opened the series, issue two and issue three.   

Can you give us some hints for the stories that we might see coming up soon? Like, hopefully, Artemis: Rebirth! Haha.

Well certainly Wonder Girl is going to be moving front row and center as Red Robin and Superboy help her get to the bottom of the same armor that gives her her powers might actually be killing her.   (No wonder she doesn't like the notion of being Wonder Girl.)

So I kind of want to know what is going on with Kid Flash's origin. Pre-New 52, he was from the Legion's time, is it something similar? If you can't tell me, are we going to find out some time in the near future?

Yes and yes.

What about Solstice? Where did her character come in? Is she still the Solstice that we saw Pre-New 52, just with the charcoal-colored skin or is she a new character entirely? 

Well technically she is the same character... but as much of her pre-52 story is no longer available to us she is tweaked:  Rather than meet the Titans, she was kidnapped by N.O.W.H.E.R.E. about a year prior to Teen Titans #1 (I'm guessing as I wasn't there.) and their experiments (we assume) are what lead her to her current state.  But as far as I am concerned, this is the same character that was created brilliantly by JT Krul and Nicola Scott!  

If a new fan was standing in the comic store deciding whether or not to buy Teen Titans, what would you say to him/her to make them definitely want to?

"I will give you five dollars if you buy this book."

And for my last question, I asked Brett [Booth] this as well when I last talked to him earlier today:  Can sum up some hints of things to come in Teen Titans in 5 or 6 words??

Nothing Is Ever What It Seems.

Thanks for the interview! Issue #9 of Superboy (part 2) and Legion Lost (part 3) of the Culling storyline, which Scott is co-writing with Tom DeFalco. Part 4 comes out in Teen Titans #9 later this month. Check in later this week for my own personal reviews of Superboy #9 and then Legion Lost #9. Thanks!

Brett Booth Interview!

So with Teen Titans Annual #1 being released last week, I got to chat with "Teen Titans" artist Brett Booth about his thoughts on the Multiverse, Beast Boy's now-red fur, his work on the Annual issue and things to come in Teen Titans.


With Earth-2 & Worlds' Finest both starting last week...What are your thoughts on the Multiverse? 

Very cool! I really enjoyed both of them. I did a few designs for Earth 2 so I'm hoping I'll get a chance to draw something for it!

Might we ever see a Earth-2 (or another Earth)'s Teen Titans? I think that'd be very, very cool.

I don't know. What I've read makes me think Earth 2 will not have the same heroes. So if there is a younger team I think it would be Infinity Inc. Which were the TT of Earth 2 originally. As for a crossover... I have NO idea. Would be cool, but I think we'll have to wait and see what James has planned for Earth 2 first:) As for another Earth... no idea.

What, if any, titles would you want to read out of a "Third Wave" of New 52 books? 

Lets see... a New Wonder Woman book that shows what happened between JL6 and WW1. Booster Gold, Ted Kord, Wally West Flash book (longshot I know!) Kid Flash, Red Robin, Maybe another youth team book. I've read the Bleeding Cool Robin's book idea... that might be cool. An Earth 2 Hawkgirl and Flash book:)

Switching over to the Annual...I have to say, there are so many beautiful panels and pages in that issue that I can't even count. I've never seen so many amazing pieces of art in one place. I want to save up money for when the Annual's pages go on sale! But anyway, how much time did it take you to draw the issue? 

I have some up already but some are just pencils, a few pages were done on blue line to get it done on time. Took me 6 weeks to do that... I'm still recovering!

Also, how long did it take you to get down the designs for Tyroc, Dawnstar, and the rest of the Legion Lost-ers, let alone the new characters we see around? 

I did designs for Leash and Omen a month or so before for TT8. All the ravagers were done by Ian, so really I just did the 'reverse tron' ones. And I just went straight into them designed them on the page.

I think we all deserve an explanation as to why it is that Beast Boy is red. Do you happen to know any of the thought-process behind it? 

All the animal stuff in the DCnU is tied to the Red, so it would be strange make a guy who turns into animals green... the plant force thingy. Plus I'm sorry green is just not that cool for animals... they look like jell-o;P

So the Beast Boy stuff is tied into the events happening in Animal Man and Swamp Thing?

I wouldn't say tied as much as reflecting. Red=animals. Green=plants. Strange to have a green kid turning into animals;) They might have some plan for it but I don't know what it is:)

And, as you could see by my conversation with you and Scott on Twitter, I must know what happened to Artemis! I thought she was dead, but Scott is being so mysterious and I just can't wait to find out more!

She had that hypertaxis virus and was 'killed'. Whether she's dead dead I don't know. I did do a design for her though!

Is the Culling storyline JUST about the individual event inside of N.O.W.H.E.R.E. that is named the Culling, or is it going to be the entire story of when the Titans and the Legion are inside and how they take down Harvest (if they do)? I've been kind of curious about that. 

The Culling is like Easter or Arbor day in the colony, it happens ever so often. Will it happen again as an event? No idea. 

When I asked about the Culling, I was asking more of whether the current story/crossover that is happening would be the entirety of just one Culling and the story itself will end when the Culling ends, potentially leaving the team inside of N.O.W.H.E.R.E.'s clutches still...or if it was just the name of the crossover and didn't indicate that the whole crossover is for the..."holiday", let's say, known as "the Culling." I know that's long-winded and confusing, but yeah.

The Culling is an event that happens at the Colony I can't tell you if the story wraps up at the official end of the Culling 'holiday' as that would give away the end! 

Fair enough! Obviously, the team is keeping the Tron-looking outfits for at least one month after the crossover, since we see Bart & Solstice wearing them on the cover of [Teen Titans] #10, and Superboy and Wonder Girl wearing them on the cover of Superboy #10. Is it just through issue #10, or are they going to be around for some period of time?

Just through issue 10, they get rid of them (Solstice and Cassie have other options so they aren't wearing them in 10.) I'm even trying to change SB's. I'm Troned out;)

And for my last question, can sum up some hints of things to come in Teen Titans in 5 or 6 words?? 

Cassie gets pissed! There, I did it in 3;)

This Wednesday: 5/9/2012 Edition

This seems to be both a pretty minor and a pretty major comic week, with the only two issues I am getting on my own without the subscriptions are Superboy #9 and Legion Lost #9, aka parts 2 & 3 of the Culling. So I can't wait for that, but on the flip side that means that overall I'm only gonna have two issues this week. Well, I never got Justice League International #9 or Red Lanterns #9 so I guess I'll hopefully be getting those this week, along with Green Lantern #9 and Batman #9. And speaking of, you can see previews of those here and here. I will hopefully have the reviews up soon.

Batman #9 Preview!

Earth-2/Justice Society Unconfirmed Cast

 

Wildcat-Ted Grant-Unconfirmed Character/Soon-to-be-Active
Ted Grant, in the pre-New 52 Universe, was always a member of the "Big 3" for the JSA (alongside Jay Garrick & Alan Scott). He helped shape the next generation of heroes by training them in boxing, as he was the world champion for a long time. It is very likely that Ted will be making an appearance and likely joining the Justice Society when the team is formed. He will likely be the World Champion in boxing when he introduced to the story. Neither he nor his son have been seen in the New 52.

 

Dr. Fate-Hector Hall-Unconfirmed Character/Soon-to-be-Active

Hector Hall was also one of the original JSA-ers back in the 1940s.  He is the person in charge of the Fate helmet which is one of, if not, the most powerful mystical weapons of all time. It would also be a good way to tie into something that happens with the Trinity of Sin on Earth-1(? Prime?). He is also one of my favorite Earth-2 characters and I really hope for him to be in there.

 Hourman-Rex Tyler or Rick Tyler-Referenced but Unconfirmed/Soon-to-be-Active

The only type of confirmation we've seen about either Rex or Rick Tyler is Joan (Jay Garrick's ex-girlfriend) mentioning her job in Los Angeles at Tyler-Chem. Obviously this is an easy way to keep Joan in the series and introduce Rex/Rick into the series. Very simple and very obvious. Kind of like Alan Scott's referencing his trip to China. 

Wonder Girl/Wonder Woman/(Just plain old) Donna Troy-Donna Troy-Unconfirmed, but hinted/Soon-to-be-Active
The only possible hint that we've gotten that she may be a character in the series is James Robinson stating that Diana wasn't ACTUALLY the last Amazon and that we will see more Amazons soon. Hopefully, we can get Donna Troy back. And if we can get Donna back, Wally West and Stephanie Brown can't be far behind, right!?

There are several other ones, but these are the main characters that I definitely want to see coming from this series.

Green Lantern #9 Preview!

Earth-2/Justice Society Cast

Superman-Kal-DECEASED

In the first issue of Earth-2, Superman is KIA fighting parademons while buying Batman time to finally win the war against Apokolips. He is seemingly blown up by a boom tube.

Wonder Woman-Diana-DECEASED

Alongside Superman, Wonder Woman also died at the hands of Darkseid’s soldiers, except she was killed more personally than Superman. She was killed by Steppenwolf. Her powers are apparently based from the Roman, rather than the Greek, Gods.

Batman-Bruce-DECEASED

He died winning the war against Apokolips by blowing up the towers and destroying the parademons along with them. His daughter is Helena Wayne (aka Robin/Huntress), and he also has a Dick Grayson-esque look, but we definitely know that Bruce was Batman. 

The Flash-Jay Garrick-Soon-to-be-Active

Jay is a 21-year-old who just graduated from college, but his girlfriend left him to move to Los Angeles to work at Tyler-Chem (See: Rex Tyler aka Hourman). He has been claimed to be an “everyman” and the narrator of the series as a whole. We will see the stories through his eyes. His powers of super-speed will be coming from the Roman God, Mercury, tying his origin into Wonder Woman’s history.

Green Lantern-Alan Scott-Soon-to-be-Active

Alan seems to be doing very well for himself, seeing as he is a CEO of a seemingly-major corporation. He is on his way to China as of #1, which is, in his Pre-New 52 origin, where he attained his GL lantern and ring. He has been described at the “Superman” of the modern E-2 stories as the leader and most heroic of the group. Although the cover to #3 does show him burning alive. Not a good start.

Hawkgirl-Kendra Saunders-Soon-to-be-Active

We do not know anything about Kendra other than what her outfit will look like and the fact that she will seemingly tote dual pistols with her. She seems to be of Native American nationality by the fact that there are beads in her hair and that her hawk outfit has taken on much similarities to a real hawk and the facial paint on her cheeks. But we do know that she, since Batman’s death, is going to become the World’s Greatest Detective.

The Atom-Sgt. Al Pratt-Soon-to-be-Active

All we know about Al thusfar is that he was in the first issue as part of a military squad delivering the “back-up-plan” in case Batman’s plan didn’t work. He is extremely short. But beyond that, we do not know anything about the manner of his powers (or if he will even have any) and what he has been doing for the 5 years since Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman won the Apokolips War.

Mr. Terrific-Michael Holt-Active

The only thing that I know about the New 52 Mr. Terrific is that he is from the “Main” Earth and in the last panel of his final issue, he was sucked into a portal, seemingly into the Multiverse. He has been confirmed to be on Earth-Two now so we'll find out how he is going to fit in soon enough!

Now that's it for the confirmed cast of Earth-2 by either image or solicit. I'll post a series of unconfirmed characters and why it is likely that they will be in the series soon.