With this issue, we’re halfway through, and there’s a lot to digest. (Please forgive the unintentional Thanksgiving pun….) There’s not so much in the way of trivia this time, but I’m starting to look at this series a little differently now.

SPOILERS FOLLOW

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LEAD STORY

“Worldsoul” was written by Kurt Busiek, pencilled by Mark Bagley, inked by Art Thibert, colored by Pete Pantazis, and lettered by Pat Brosseau; Rachel Gluckstern, associate editor; Mike Carlin, editor.

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Now it can be told: this is, in fact, the last “Grumpy Old Fan” column here at Blog@Newsarama.

So … happy Thanksgiving?

Actually, I had been working on a couple of things for this week and the next. One was a “modern superhero canon” piece centered around JLA/Avengers. Another essay postulated that there really is no DC Universe, just a loose confederation of franchises held together by Justice League of America.

However, since this won’t be the last you see of me on the Interwebs, I think we can hold off for a while. Besides, it is Thanksgiving, and I’ve been a little crabby towards DC lately. Time for some happy talk.

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This issue is all about getting together the groups which will carry the fight to the Troika. Some of them even start to remember the Trinity. You might say they’re … what’s the word? … avenging the Trinity’s displacement.  First, though, they have to assemble….

Okay, that was a long way to go for a lame punchline. At least now it’s out of my system.

In other news, I am now a happy owner of Jack Kirby’s The Demon! Wish it had come out 25 weeks ago, when I needed it more; but better late than never.

On to the issue at hand!

SPOILERS FOLLOW

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You’ll forgive me if I include some of the news from Dan DiDio’s LA Times interview in this little roundup. Between that article and these solicits, there’s a lot to sort through … and, obviously, not all of it good. Cancellations, character shuffling, and general restructuring seem to be the order of business for the first part of 2009.

Any more of this and DC may need its own bailout–!

Wow, that’s a dark sentiment, isn’t it? Well, the days are getting shorter….

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Things are heating up both in space and on the Troika’s altered Earth.  What this issue might lack in trivia it makes up for with action!

Still, there’s always room for trivia, so….

SPOILERS FOLLOW

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LEAD STORY

“Dead And Burnt To Ash” was written by Kurt Busiek, pencilled by Mark Bagley, inked by Art Thibert, colored by Pete Pantazis, and lettered by Pat Brosseau; Rachel Gluckstern, associate editor; Mike Carlin, editor.

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Note: This was written before Tom had read the latest Newsarama interview with DC Comics Executive Editor Dan DiDio.

Longtime readers know that Nightwing — and specifically, DC’s continuing struggle to do right by the character — has been a reliable source of blogging fodder (blodder?) for this column.

Why, just last month I wrote that Mr. Grayson should

embrace fully his ties to the Wayne family and to Batman. Nightwing requires a lot less explanation next to Batman (or even next to Robin) than he does out on his own, so if he’s there all the time, it might cut down on all the existence-justifying contortions.

If that means cancelling his solo title in favor of making him a regular supporting character in Batman and Detective (and Titans, of course), so be it.

And, uh, well … I’m sorry–?

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Before we get started, just a note on Hawkman. Basically, I’m ignoring the recent Jim Starlin Hawkman Special unless/until it is referenced explicitly here. Also, it might also be the case that the altered timeline excuses somehow the events of the Special.

With that out of the way, I thought this week was pretty solid, with both stories ending on intriguing cliffhangers. Looks like lots of carnage in the issues to come — but let’s knock out this installment first!

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Recent remarks from Dan DiDio invite us again to ask what constitutes a character’s “definitive” vision.

Almost a year ago I came to the firm conclusion that, at least with regard to DC’s characters … well, it depends. While we should look first to the original stories written by the characters’ creators, DC’s characters tend to get farmed out across multiple media platforms, and therefore are subject to more influence by those adaptations. This makes it more difficult to pin down any one interpretation (in some cases including the creator(s)) as having produced the “definitive” version of a particular character. Last November I wrote that “[t]oday those characters ‘work’ because they’ve become aggregations of details which have accumulated over the years.” These details, in turn, have replaced a “definitive” version with what I called an “ideal aggregation of qualities.”

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This week examines the reach of the Troika’s plans with a look at DC antiquity; and introduces a couple of new mysteries about the altered timeline. Let’s get on with it, shall we…?

SPOILERS FOLLOW

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FIRST STORY

“A Hope For Tomorrow” (pages 2-10) was plotted by Kurt Busiek and Fabian Nicieza, scripted by Nicieza, pencilled by Scott McDaniel, inked by Andy Owens, colored by Allen Passalaqua, lettered by Pat Brosseau; Rachel Gluckstern, associate editor; Mike Carlin, editor.

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Welcome to the second in a periodic series of posts on my list of “canonical” superhero stories. (The original post, which includes a link to Tucker Stone’s call for such a canon, is here.) Last time I talked largely about “Beware My Power,” the introduction of Green Lantern John Stewart from writer Denny O’Neil and penciller Neal Adams. This week brings another O’Neil/Adams tale, “Night of the Reaper!” from December 1971’s Batman #237.

Now, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea — my standards certainly don’t begin and end with O’Neil and Adams. In fact, timing has placed “Reaper” at this particular point on the schedule. Not only does it take place at Halloween, but it strikes me as a fine way to remember the late Tom Fagan of Rutland, Vermont. As the man behind Rutland’s Halloween parade, Mr. Fagan helped inspire this story, as well as a few others.

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This issue featured a little more background in the lead story and a little more plot advancement in the backup, so overall it made for a good blend.  I honestly did not see the twist at the end of the lead story coming, which was nice.  Then again, it’s not like I catch everything the first time around….

SPOILERS FOLLOW

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LEAD STORY

“Moment Of Truth” was written by Kurt Busiek, pencilled by Mark Bagley, inked by Art Thibert, colored by Pete Pantazis, and lettered by Pat Brosseau; Rachel Gluckstern, associate editor; Mike Carlin, editor.

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Going by DC’s latest round of solicitations, the last two installments of Final Crisis should just about  bookend the last days of the Bush (43) Administration. Naturally, though, DC follows up with “Faces Of Evil,” and, well … make your own jokes, folks. I’ve had a long day.

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In this issue, Gehenna quotes Batman: “when you’re not sure what to do next, get more facts.”  Words to live by, Gehenna … words to live by.

I really did like the last Firestorm series, and it’s been good to see Jason and Gehenna in the spotlight here.  While I don’t expect Trinity to spawn any new series, at least this raises Firestorm’s profile somewhat.

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The comics blogosphere has been talking about mediocre superhero comics for a little while now, and I suppose I should be grateful that “mediocre” and “superhero” haven’t become entirely redundant.  While he doesn’t appear to have picked up directly from the “mediocrity” discussion, I’d still like to thank Tucker Stone for giving us this week’s topic:

There aren’t a lot of very strong canons for super-hero comics out there…. Most of the serious comic canons that show up don’t deal with super-hero comics anyway, and if they do, it’s usually the standard names checked: Kirby! Watchmen! Something Frank Miller wrote! That’s indicative of a lot of variables — a portion could probably be attributed to snobbery, sure, but at least part of it will have to deal with the nature of creators who didn’t really care that much about the subject, a lack of ethnic and sexual diversity, and all the inherent mechanics involved with stories that, by their very nature, can never reach true conclusions….

Still, while a super-hero canon that isn’t beholden to a bunch of message board noise and voting may not be a current, actual product, it’s one that would certainly be an interesting little jack-in-the-box to take a look at…. Canons aren’t, for the most part, the purview of the fan …  but that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth trying out, even from the fan side.

Well, for good or ill, I have picked up this little gauntlet, and will probably return to it in the weeks to come.

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Issue #19 continues the tour of the altered timeline from a couple of ground-level perspectives.  Neither of these stories takes a particularly new approach to this kind of material, and the mechanics of the “reboot” remain rather elusive; but we’re still in an information-gathering period.  The potential trouble I see with Act Two is that, unlike the first act, it may end up focusing entirely on this new timeline — and because altered-timeline stories can play out in very similar ways, the issue becomes whether Trinity will distinguish itself from the other variations on this theme.

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This week we’re talking about a couple of spinoff series.  Nightwing #149 finds our hero hallucinating a series of bloody, violent encounters with familiar Batman villains, and has been roundly criticized for it.  Supergirl #34 has been praised largely for returning Supergirl to some semblance of respectability, if only in the “now I don’t feel bad for reading it” sense.

Therefore, because not every second banana is a Frasier Crane, let’s look at their latest attempts to stand alone.

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The start of Act Two means a target-rich environment for research-happy nerds. Let’s get going, shall we?

SPOILERS FOLLOW

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LEAD STORY

“Brave Men And Women” was written by Kurt Busiek, pencilled by Mark Bagley, inked by Art Thibert, colored by Pete Pantazis, and lettered by Pat Brosseau; Rachel Gluckstern, associate editor; Mike Carlin, editor.

In Brief: “A whole new world/ A new fantastic point of view/ No one to tell us no/ Or where to go/ Or say we’re only dreaming…”

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[Warning:  In this post I will probably misuse horribly the word "metatextual" at least once.]

If you’re reading this, odds are you have a favorite superhero team. More than likely, that superhero team has a high-concept hook, like “teenagers in the future,” “hated and feared by the world they’ve sworn to protect,” or “creating heroic legacies since the 1940s.”

Now think about the Justice League.

There is nothing like that at the heart of the Justice League.

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With issue #17 of Trinity, the year-long limited series’ fourth month comes to a close; and so does its first big arc. Trinity is the third of DC’s fifty-odd week series, but unlike its predecessors 52 and Countdown (To Infinite Crisis) it has no immediately recognizable place in the DC superhero line. DC already has books about Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, both solo and in various combinations. Trinity hasn’t been billed as a game-changing Big Event, after which nothing will ever be the same. It doesn’t cross over with its heroes’ solo or team-up titles. It’s just a story which has these characters’ relationships at its center.

So what have we learned, and why should we care?

SPOILERS FOLLOW

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Not much this week in the way of Easter eggs, but look for a first-act wrapup in the next couple of days.

As for this issue … well, it’s the official end of the first act! Any more and I’d have to say…

SPOILERS FOLLOW

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