Joey

May 30, 2012 7:53 pm I thought this was a very well done annual. It stands on its own as a complete story but also ties into the Night of the Owls storyline logically. It was also a good reintroduction to Mr. Freeze and the twist to his origin was a good way to tie him to Batman. I'm not too sure about his little tuft of hair though, if only because the bald look from the animated series was so iconic. However, that's a minor nitpick that I can easily forgive, considering the guards at Arkham are all wearing Captain Grid-Iron's helmet.

April 11, 2012 2:31 am This is the exact point I came here to make. Superman definitely has his problems but so did the Fantastic Four. I don't remember where the point was made (I want to say it was on the podcast around the time Millar and Hitch were on FF), but the question was asked, are the Fantastic Four relevant anymore? Can the family as a superteam work in today's market or is it too hokey and outdated? What Marvel got right was turning the book over to a writer from outside the mainstream, who had a singular story to tell and they let him do it without interference. Hickman embraced and strengthened the supposed weakness of the family aspect and used the cliche villians (Galactus and Dr. Doom) but did it in a way that made you remember why these guys were cool in the first place. Superman isn't anymore broken or outdated than the FF were. I know DC is conservative with Superman because he's their cash cow but I feel that DC has been too conservative with Superman in only letting established writers work on him. I respect Keith Giffen and Dan Jurgens but Jurgens was the writer on Superman during the death storyline that got me into comics almost 20 years ago. Even Morrison, as great as he his, has already done his turn on Superman (plus how do you top All-Star Superman?) I know great writers aren't a dime a dozen but I would love to see DC take a chance and give the book to next Jonathon Hickman, someone on the fringes of the mainstream who has a Superman story that he's always wanted to tell. Someone that could embrace Superman's perceived weaknesses (he's a boy scout, he's too powerful, etc.) and show why those qualities work, why they're cool, and why the world needs them. It might not work but at least DC would have tried, plus they can always go back by hitting that 'return to status quo' button. C'mon DC! You're bold enough to reboot your entire line but not bold enough to take a chance on Superman? Make me believe a man can fly (again.)

March 12, 2012 4:41 pm Here's two that I haven't seen mentioned yet. Grant Morrison's JLA run. To me, this is such a definitive run, so much so that for me the book hasn't been the same since he left, no matter which creative team they put on there. It's also the most accessible Morrison work that might act as a gateway for his more eccentric stuff. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's Fantastic Four run. I feel like no comics canon would be complete without this run. I bought the first two omnibi on this pretense but still haven't read them yet which I totally feel bad about. Still, I know much of the Marvel Universe was built in that run and we probably won't see something like that again.