It begins.
Next month, DC Comics will split in two. When "Absolute Power" comes to an end -- and we have a thread on that HERE -- something happens that creates, for lack of a better term, a new Earth-2. This new parallel universe will be published in DC's new "Absolute" line (not to be confused with their upscale reprints of the same name). Meanwhile, the "regular" universe is being described as having a, cough, rebirth of sorts, titled "All In." DC describes this as "a line-wide initiative combining an exciting, reimagined universe of DC’s Super Heroes and an ongoing line of core titles, featuring bold new directions for DC’s mainstay Super Heroes."
I am getting lots of info. Too much to just hang onto until October! It seems a shame not to share it. And then: Discussion! We bring to bear the Legion of Superfluous Heroes joint super-power of talking something to death! It will be awesome!
First, here's the information I have so far:
DC ALL IN SPECIAL #1
Written by SCOTT SNYDER and JOSHUA WILLIAMSON
Art by DANIEL SAMPERE and WES CRAIG
Cover by DANIEL SAMPERE
Variant covers by WES CRAIG and RAFA SANDOVAL
1:25 variant cover by JOHN GIANG
Foil variant cover by DANIEL SAMPERE
$4.99 US | 64 pages | Variants $5.99 US (card stock) | Foil variant $7.99
ON SALE 10/2/24
As Absolute Power ends (issue #4 on sale Oct. 2), DC’s All In initiative begins with a single-issue mega-event, presented as a startling, symmetrical flipbook!
Following the events of DC’s blockbuster storyline Absolute Power, the heroes of the core DC Universe have fought against the deep divisions in the world around them to usher in a new era of unity. And it’s just in time, too—because Darkseid has returned. Superman must gather every hero on Earth to hold the line against a very different version of the Lord of Apokolips, as they raise our cosmic defenses and prepare for war…and when the first blows land, the shock waves will ripple into every series in the DCU and shake the nature of their reality to its core!
But little do they know…the greater threat is still to come. For there is another Earth: the Absolute Universe. Here, DC’s biggest icons are coming of age with fewer advantages and facing greater opposition than ever before…while miraculously retaining the immutable heroism that has inspired fans for decades. But can they really protect the light that shines inside them when the world in which they live is hurtling toward a terrible destiny?
Co-written by Scott Snyder (Absolute Batman) and Joshua Williamson (Superman), the flipbook DC All In Special #1 features art by Wonder Woman artist Daniel Sampere when read in one direction and Deadly Class co-creator and series artist Wes Craig when read in the other direction. The 64-page one-shot features a main cover by Sampere, with variant covers by Rafa Sandoval, Wes Craig, and John Giang.
“The creation of the Absolute Universe is how I always imagined coming back to DC, and DC All In will be a great jumping-on point for new readers as well as lapsed fans to discover new stories to love and the chance to explore the new directions in store for DC’s core series lineup,” says Snyder.
ABSOLUTE BATMAN #1
by Nick Dragotta and Frank Martin
by Jim Lee, Scott Williams and Alex Sinclair
by Mitch Gerads
by Wes Craig and Mike Spicer
byIan Bertram
Written by SCOTT SNYDER
Art and cover by NICK DRAGOTTA
Variant covers by WES CRAIG, JIM LEE, and MITCH GERADS
1:25 variant cover by IAN BERTRAM
1:50 variant cover by MITCH GERADS
1:100 black and white variant cover by JIM LEE
Foil design variant
$4.99 US | 48 pages
Variants $5.99 US (card stock) | Foil variant $7.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 10/9/24
Without the mansion…without the money…without the butler…what’s left is the Absolute Dark Knight!
Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta introduce fans to a new Batman with the release of Absolute Batman #1. In this iteration, fans will be introduced to a version of the Dark Knight that doesn’t have the money, mansion, or butler of his core-line counterpart. Readers will quickly find out what makes this the “Absolute” version of Batman when the debut issue, with colors by Frank Martin and letters by Clayton Cowles, arrives at participating comic book shops and digital retailers Wednesday, October 9. Absolute Batman #1 will publish with a main cover by Nick Dragotta and Frank Martin, plus variant covers by Wes Craig and Mike Spicer, Jim Lee, Scott Williams and Alex Sinclair, Mitch Gerads, and Ian Bertram (1:25).
Snyder launches this new universe with the release of Absolute Batman #1, featuring art by Nick Dragotta. In this iteration, fans will be introduced to a version of the Dark Knight that doesn’t have the money, mansion, or butler of his core-line counterpart. Readers will quickly find out what makes this the “Absolute” version of Batman when the debut issue arrives at participating comic book shops and digital retailers Wednesday, October 9.
ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #1
by Hayden Sherman and Jordie Bellaire
by Jim Lee, Scott Williams and Alex Sinclair
by Jeff Dekal
by Wes Craig and Mike Spicer
by Dan Panosian
Written by KELLY THOMPSON
Art and cover by HAYDEN SHERMAN
Variant covers by WES CRAIG, JIM LEE, and JEFF DEKAL
1:25 variant cover by DAN PANOSIAN
1:50 variant cover by JEFF DEKAL
1:100 black and white cover by JIM LEE
Foil design variant
$4.99 US | 48 pages
Variants $5.99 US (card stock) | Foil variant $7.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 10/23/24
Without the island paradise…without the sisterhood that shaped her…without a mission of peace…what’s left is the Absolute Amazon!
For Diana, there is no island paradise, no sisterhood to shape her, nor a mission of peace—so what is the purpose of an Amazon warrior in this new universe? Eisner Award-winning writer Kelly Thompson and breakout artist Hayden Sherman reinvent her from the ground up in Absolute Wonder Woman #1, with colors by Jordie Bellaire and letters by Becca Carey, on sale Wednesday, October 23. Absolute Wonder Woman #1 will publish with a main cover by Hayden Sherman and Jordie Bellaire, plus variant covers by Wes Craig and Mike Spicer, Jim Lee, Scott Williams and Alex Sinclair, Jeff Dekal, and Dan Panosian (1:25).
For Diana, there is no island paradise, no sisterhood to shape her, nor a mission of peace—so what is the purpose of an Amazon warrior in this new universe? Eisner Award-winning writer Kelly Thompson and breakout artist Hayden Sherman reinvent her from the ground up in Absolute Wonder Woman #1, on sale October 23.
ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #1
by Rafa Sandoval and Ulises Arreola
by Jim Lee, Scott Williams and Alex Sinclair
by Matteo Scalera
by Wes Craig and Mike Spicer
Written By JASON AARON
Art and cover by RAFA SANDOVAL
Variant covers by WES CRAIG, JIM LEE, and CLAYTON CRAIN
1:25 cover by MATTEO SCALERA
1:50 cover by CLAYTON CRAIN
1:100 black and white cover by JIM LEE
Foil design variant
$4.99 US | 48 pages
Variants $5.99 US (card stock) | Foil variant $7.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 11/6/24
Without the fortress…without the family…without a home…what’s left is the Absolute Man of Steel!
Writer Jason Aaron and artist Rafa Sandoval join forces to present a new Man of Steel with the launch of Absolute Superman #1. This Superman has no family, no Fortress of Solitude, and no home. Will he still stand for truth and justice in this new universe? Readers can find out when Absolute Superman #1, with colors by Ulises Arreola and letters by Becca Carey, hits participating comic book shops on Wednesday, November 6. Absolute Superman #1 will publish with a main cover by Rafa Sandoval and Ulises Arreola, plus variant covers by Wes Craig and Mike Spicer, Jim Lee, Scott Williams and Alex Sinclair, Clayton Crain, and Matteo Scalera (1:25).
Writer Jason Aaron and artist Rafa Sandoval join forces to present a new Man of Steel with the launch of Absolute Superman #1. This Superman has no family, no Fortress of Solitude, and no home. Will he still stand for truth, justice, and a better tomorrow in this new universe? Readers can find out when Absolute Superman #1 hits participating comic book shops November 6.
All three launch issues will also have a “foil design variant” featuring the new crests for each of DC’s new Absolute Trinity. Look for these at your local comic book store when Absolute Batman #1 publishes on October 9, when Absolute Wonder Woman #1 publishes on October 23, and when Absolute Superman #1 publishes on November 6.
Here are the "All In" titles that DC has identified so far:
BATMAN #153
Written by CHIP ZDARSKY
Art by JORGE JIMÉNEZ
Cover by JORGE JIMÉNEZ
Variant covers by TONY HARRIS & JEREMY CLARK and DAVID NAKAYAMA
1:25 cover by MARCO MASTRAZZO
1:50 variant cover by WALTER SIMONSON
Trick or Treat variant cover by KELLEY JONES
All In foil variant by DANIEL SAMPERE ($7.99)
$4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 10/2/24
Batman is back with a vengeance and Bruce Wayne’s new public initiatives have Gotham on the verge of finally becoming a great city! Does that bright future include the Riddler, who’s seemingly gone legit? Or the new, unnerving hero, Commander Star? And can Gotham survive the shocking murder of one of its greatest citizens?
The Dying City starts here with a case that only Batman can solve, but the answers may unravel his world and all of Gotham!
BATMAN #154
Written by CHIP ZDARSKY
Art by CARMINE Di GIANDOMENICO
Cover by JORGE JIMÉNEZ
Variant cover by TONY HARRIS & JEREMY CLARK and GABRIELE DELL’OTTO
1:25 variant cover by NICOLA SCOTT
1:50 variant cover by JAMES HARREN
$4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 10/16/24
Murder has rocked the heart of Gotham! Batman and Jim Gordon will have to piece together the clues and discover the truth, no matter how dark. Has the Riddler really gone legit? Is the Court of Owls involved? Meanwhile, public sentiment is turning against Wayne Enterprises’ public initiatives, with new hero Commander Star sowing the seeds of discontent.
SUPERMAN #19
Written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON
Art and cover by DAN MORA
Variant covers by SIMONE DI MEO, CARLA COHEN, and CHRIS SAMNEE
1:25 variant cover by BEN OLIVER
Trick or Treat variant cover by KELLEY JONES
All In foil variant by DANIEL SAMPERE ($7.99)
$4.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 10/23/24
THE MANY DEATHS OF DOOMSDAY!
Superman and Superwoman must deal with the return of the rampaging Doomsday and…wait…Superwoman?! After the events of Absolute Power, Lois Lane has new powers…but how long can they last?! And waiting in the shadows is one of Superman’s greatest enemies…the Time Trapper.
Jump on to a new exciting story arc that will shape the future of Superman!
WONDER WOMAN #14
Written by TOM KING
Art by DANIEL SAMPERE
Cover by DANIEL SAMPERE
Variant covers by DANIEL SAMPERE and DAVID NAKAYAMA
1:25 variant cover by STEVAN SUBIC
Trick or Treat variant cover by KELLEY JONES
All In foil variant by DANIEL SAMPERE ($7.99)
$4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 10/16/24
With the tide of the war against the Sovereign turning, Wonder Woman’s greatest love takes matters into his own hands with deadly consequences. Could Steve’s end be the beginning of Diana’s greatest adventure yet? Behold the birth of Trinity!
ACTION COMICS #1070
Written by MARK WAID and MARIKO TAMAKI
Art by CLAYTON HENRY and SKYLAR PATRIDGE
Cover by CLAYTON HENRY
Variant covers by WES CRAIG, EDDY BARROWS, and DANNY MIKI
1:25 variant cover by MARK SPEARS
All In foil variant by DANIEL SAMPERE ($7.99)
$4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 10/9/24
An otherworldly horror, tearing its way through Metropolis, has emerged from the Phantom Zone. Something’s wrong in the Zone—something terrible—and Superman must enter alone to find out what! From the pages of Absolute Power and Batman/Superman: World’s Finest comes a new Action epic unlike any you’ve seen before from the visionary creative team of Mark Waid and Clayton Henry!
Plus, the Woman of Tomorrow is here today! Supergirl Special’s Mariko Tamaki and Skylar Patridge return to bring Kara to the farthest reaches of space in pursuit of a mysterious threat only she can handle.
ACTION COMICS #1071
Written by MARK WAID and MARIKO TAMAKI
Art by CLAYTON HENRY, MICHAEL SHELFER, and SKYLAR PATRIDGE
Cover by CLAYTON HENRY
Variant covers by WES CRAIG and STEVAN SUBIC
1:25 variant cover by MARK SPEARS
$4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 10/16/24
Trapped in the Phantom Zone!
Investigating the ethereal prison created by his father, Superman finds himself helpless before the dreaded Phantom King. But what surprise reveal is in store for him? A clue lies in Superman’s teenage years!
Plus, Supergirl finds herself on trial as she comes face-to-face with the judge of the United Planets’ highest court!
ACTION COMICS #1072
Written by MARK WAID and MARIKO TAMAKI
Art by CLAYTON HENRY, MICHAEL SHELFER, and SKYLAR PATRIDGE
Cover by CLAYTON HENRY
Variant covers by WES CRAIG and IBRAHIM MOUSTAFA
1:25 variant cover by MARK SPEARS
$4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 10/23/24
The secret history of one of Superman’s oldest friends, Mon-El, is revealed…and his deadly connection to Xa-Du, the Phantom King, leaves Superman speechless! The Man of Steel’s mission into the corrupt heart of the Zone continues in the most shocking installment yet of the Action Comics weekly as the grand villain behind its peril stands poised to strike!
Plus, Supergirl finds herself in pursuit of an assassin seeking justice of their own!
ACTION COMICS #1073
Written by MARK WAID and MARIKO TAMAKI
Art by CLAYTON HENRY, MICHAEL SHELFER, and SKYLAR PATRIDGE
Cover by CLAYTON HENRY
Variant covers by WES CRAIG and IBRAHIM MOUSTAFA
1:25 variant cover by MARK SPEARS
$4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 10/30/24
It’s a race against time for Superman and Mon-El to prevent the lethal forces of Xa-Du and Aethyr from converging! But to save the present, the Man of Steel is forced to face the past! It’s the dramatic return of Krypton’s last son to his homeworld as the Man of Tomorrow voyages to the City of Yesterday!
Plus, Kara meets the being at the center of her quest! What could they have done to cause the whole universe to unite against them? Find out in the next thrilling chapter of Supergirl!
DETECTIVE COMICS #1090
Written by TOM TAYLOR
Art and cover by MIKEL JANÍN
Variant covers by DAN PANOSIAN, BRUNO REDONDO, and TONY HARRIS
1:25 variant cover by ASHLEY WOOD
All In foil variant by DANIEL SAMPERE ($7.99)
$4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 10/23/24
Long ago, the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne changed Gotham forever. But there is something you never knew about the Dark Knight’s tragic origin, which has been lying in wait to strike at Batman ever since that fateful night in Crime Alley. And now, all these years later, this ghost of Gotham’s past begins to reveal itself.
Superstars Tom Taylor and Mikel Janín team up to bring you a Batman tale that will rattle the very foundations of the Dark Knight. Things may never be the same again.
GREEN ARROW #350
Written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON and CHRIS CONDON
Art by AMANCAY NAHUELPAN and MONTOS
Cover by TAURIN CLARKE
Variant covers by SEAN IZAAKSE and CLIFF CHANG
Black sketch variant cover
All In foil variant by DANIEL SAMPERE ($7.99)
$4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 10/23/24
This oversize anniversary issue features legacy numbering as writer Joshua Williamson closes out his acclaimed run on DC’s Emerald Archer. Oliver Queen faces the aftermath of his actions in Absolute Power, having done the unthinkable to protect his loved ones, and the ramifications of his involvement may have gone too far for his family and friends to forgive. This can’t-miss issue also debuts the opening chapter of Green Arrow’s next adventure, from the new creative team of writer Chris Condon (The Enfield Gang Massacre, That Texas Blood) and artist Montos (Green Lantern: War Journal).
Replies
This is a bit silly, but did anyone else who read the All In Special notice the three vertical lines in Batman's cowl, placed at the forehead? Are they a new feature? The way the ears are joined to the cowl also seem to be a bit strange in a panel or two.
I could do without yet another use of Darkseid, but I can do with bringing Booster Gold to the spotlight again. This situation he finds himself in is promising.
Not a fan of military names for the Marvel Family. Too bad Freddy can't very well be called Blue Marvel now.
Today's the day.
DC ALL IN SPECIAL:
All In: I started with the "familiar" side. (Why do I want to hypnenate that?) It starts by reminding me of all the reasons I've pretty much steered clear of the DCU for the past 13 years: "But recently there have been times of... Darkness. Loss. Betrayal. Nightmares. Change." But that's okay, as long as they can successfully move beyond it. "When our enemies came together... to take advantage of us... we survived like we always do, but knew if we were coming back we needed to do something different." One of the title I had been reading and enjoying at the time of Flashpoint had been Booster Gold. (I know... it surprises me, too.) But the New 52 brought even the possibility of that series to an abrupt end. the POV character of the "all In" section is none other than Booster Gold. So far so good.
Absolute: I found this half of the book virtually unreadable, but I soldiered on through it. Luckily, as with John Byrne's Man of Steel, Miller/Mazzuchelli's Batman Year One and George Perez's Wonder Woman, I don't feel it will be necessary to have read the lead-in. I don't know who DC's main audience is these days, honestly I don't. (Teenagers?) There seems to be a deeply ingrained broad-based cynicism permeating this new direction, and if so I'm out. I have been looking forwad to the launch of the "Absolute" titles, but that line about "needing to do something different" may just compell me to read the "All In" titles instead.
My LCS, amazingly, was sold out -- so I had to read this on the always-disappointing Kindle comics reader. (Where double-page spreads are smaller than a single page, and largely unreadable! Fun!) So I didn't read this under the best of circumstances, but I have to say:
That center spread! The climax of both stories of the flipbook! OH MY, I WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT. Looking forward to discussing this in a bit with whoever wants to.
Also, given the end of the plotline of the first DCU half of the book, there's definitely an element of the Absolute Universe that we weren't anticipating.
I can't wait to read this in a decent format, either on paper (and there are some tricks in here that really seem made for paper) or on the DCUI reader in a month.
I gave the second half -- Omega -- another reading today, and I liked it more than I did initially. For one thing, I really like Wes Craig's art. The figure work is shadowy and expressive (if a little more cartoony than standard DC art), and the page layouts are dynamite, often breaking up a moment into several panels for maximum effect. I admit, when it gets to the whole multiverse gobbledygook, it loses me a bit, but that usually happens. But the scenes up front -- the sacrifices Darkseid makes, for instance -- are out of this world. I didn't need to see a lot of Darkseid again, but I'm in.
I'll reread Alpha again soon, too. Sampere's layouts there are more of the grand double-page spread variety, so the Kindle reader won't be kind to them. But I think knowing the story in Omega will help me wrap my head more around what happens once things start going haywire in Alpha.
Inspired by that "needing to do something different" line, I went to my back-up LCS today and bought two more "All In" books.
BATMAN #153: This was pretty good, actually. I'm not going to go into too much detail here because I'm sure everyone reading this has read a "Batman" comic more recently than I have.
SHAZAM! #16: This is weird. The last issue of this series I bought was #15 in 2020. Has this series been rebooted of has it been on hiatus? If it's the latter, how odd that it came back with its "legacy" numbering... especially in light of this line-wide soft reboot. I wouldn't sweat the "Commander Marvel" moniker; that's just Freddy being an obnoxious (foster) brother.
Regarding Darkseid... the one thing that struck me about the All In special is that it was all "Uxas" this and "Uxas" that. It seems to me I have looked into this once before, but IIRC it was John Byrne who intoduced this "pre-Darkseid" identity. BUT... he set everthing up to indicate that Uxas was going to become Darkseid, then he pulled the ol' switcheroo and the other guy became Darkseid while Uxas became the Forever Man. Even Wikipedia supports the "Uxas became Darkseid" story, but I don't think that's right... at least not according to Byrne's original ending.
Mark Waid and Dan Mora restarted Shazam with a new #1 last year. I don't think it was rebooted -- the Shazam Family seemed to be following its recent continuity, including the preceding Mary-starring New Champion of Shazam miniseries -- but it was restarted. The series has been a lot of fun, though I think it lost a half-step when Waid and Mora left. Still worth reading, though!
Just an odd coinky-dink then. I don't generally follow the developments in comic after I've dropped them, buit I thought this one had continued beyond the point I dropped it. Yeah, it wasn't rebooted, just renumbered. I was just tired of that "family dynamic" crap. I wish DC would reprint more of the Golden Age material; Captain Marvel (I cannot bring myself to refer to him as "Shazam" or "The Captain") works best in his own millieu.
Waid & Mora have really scaled back the Marvel Family. The kids are still around, but largely they don't have their powers (although he did give them access to some other powers briefly, using Fawcett-era gadgets & such in one story). But up till this issue, when Freddy has his powers back, it's only been Billy and Mary as the Marvels -- their sibs have largely been supporting characters, not fellow heroes.
The one All In book I've read so far, Birds of Prey, seems completely in line with its (perfectly enjoyable) pre-AP status quo. If Black Canary got new powers (I think she did), they weren't mentioned (although she didn't use her powers at all this issue). I've got Shazam, too, but I haven't read it yet.
Jose: This is a bit silly, but did anyone else who read the All In Special notice the three vertical lines in Batman's cowl, placed at the forehead? Are they a new feature? The way the ears are joined to the cowl also seem to be a bit strange in a panel or two.
I saw them. Maybe a vent of some kind? Those lines aren’t in evidence on the Batman #153 cover, so maybe he has more than one cowl.
Jose: I could do without yet another use of Darkseid, but I can do with bringing Booster Gold to the spotlight again. This situation he finds himself in is promising.
I haven’t read as much Darkseid as you others, I guess, and only have a mild case of Darkseid Fatigue. I figure him to be the Big Bad of the entire DCU, including outer space, so he has to be at the center of something like this. The alternative is Luthor, who I’m genuinely sick of (and currently has amnesia), and the Legion of Doom, which is just a cartoon in my mind.
Jose: Not a fan of military names for the Marvel Family. Too bad Freddy can't very well be called Blue Marvel now.
Gotta call them something. And for the first time ever, Captain Marvel Jr. has a name he can actually say out loud! I just asked the other day what CMJ was called these days, and now I know.
Jeff: Today’s the day.
You mean, there came a day, a day unlike any others?
Jeff: DC ALL IN SPECIAL:
All In: I started with the "familiar" side. (Why do I want to hyphenate that?) It starts by reminding me of all the reasons I've pretty much steered clear of the DCU for the past 13 years: "But recently there have been times of ... Darkness. Loss. Betrayal. Nightmares. Change." But that's OK, as long as they can successfully move beyond it.
As Alan Moore keeps telling us, grim-n-gritty is just the result of a bad mood he had in 1986. It really is time to move on.
"When our enemies came together ... to take advantage of us ... we survived like we always do, but knew if we were coming back we needed to do something different."
This was a major point of “Absolute Power.” Mark Waid, who had nothing to do with dissolving the Justice League, keeps telling us (and DC) what a bad idea that was. And I agree with him 1,000%. See my comments on Absolute Power #4.
I hope we are now seeing the launch of the MarkWaidVerse, in that his sensibility – which I share – permeates DC. Even if Scott Snyder seems to be the face of it.
Silver Age optimism + modern characterization = what I’d like to read.
One of the titles I had been reading and enjoying at the time of Flashpoint had been Booster Gold. (I know... it surprises me, too.) But the New 52 brought even the possibility of that series to an abrupt end. the POV character of the "all In" section is none other than Booster Gold. So far so good.
I enjoyed Booster being elevated above “joke” level. It worked for Justice League International and the Bwah-ha-ha era, which I enjoyed. But that was 35 years ago, before Millennials and Gen Z readers were even born. If Booster Gold is going to work today, he needs to have a status quo that doesn’t rely on a context that doesn’t exist any more.
Also, note it’s said that the future has changed, so he can’t go back to the 25 th century even if he wanted to. His past – our future – has been erased. He’s a blank slate, which I think is a good idea. All that future-theft baggage reduces him in my eyes. Now he’s basically a contemporary. And Superman says some very nice things about him in V/O.
Funny thing is, his Legion flight ring is now probably the prototype for the ones that will be built 1,000 years from now. Assuming we will still have an LSH. (And we will.) It’s the who-wrote-Jimmy’s-novel paradox!
Jeff: Absolute: I found this half of the book virtually unreadable, but I soldiered on through it. Luckily, as with John Byrne's Man of Steel, Miller/Mazzuchelli's Batman Year One and George Perez's Wonder Woman, I don't feel it will be necessary to have read the lead-in. I don't know who DC's main audience is these days, honestly I don't. (Teenagers?) There seems to be a deeply ingrained broad-based cynicism permeating this new direction, and if so I'm out. I have been looking forward to the launch of the "Absolute" titles, but that line about "needing to do something different" may just compel me to read the "All In" titles instead.
I had no problem with the art. I like that it’s a little impressionistic, as everything Darkseid does expands beyond the simple action into myth and metaphor. Just walking up the stairs, when Darkseid does it, is more than just walking up the stairs!
In fact, I kinda appreciate that this is not another Jack Kirby homage. We’ve seen every conceivable crack at it from almost every modern artist. It’s gotten old. Maybe that’s why everybody here is tired of Darkseid.
It’s hard to face, fellow fans, but the Kirby era is also 50 years agone. His artistic sensibility is evident all over the place, even in some anime. His impact lives on, and he is honored in that legacy.
But just like with Booster Gold, the context in which Kirby worked and thrived is gone – half-a-century gone. Just like we need to move on from Bwah-ha-ha and Alan Moore’s bad mood, I think we need to move on from Fourth World Kirby homages. Let Hunger Dogs be the end of it, and let “All In” re-conceptualize New Gods for us.
Rob: My LCS, amazingly, was sold out -- so I had to read this on the always-disappointing Kindle comics reader. (Where double-page spreads are smaller than a single page, and largely unreadable! Fun!)
I actually asked my LCS to pull it, so I got it. I’m getting the “All In” launch titles off the shelf, since I don’t know more than a week or two in advance which issues they are, which means I will miss one or two.
Rob: I have to say: That center spread! The climax of both stories of the flipbook! OH MY, I WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT. Looking forward to discussing this in a bit with whoever wants to.
Yep, we have an Absolute Legion of Super-Heroes right off the bat! I’m going to make some guesses on who’s who:
Clockwise from center left: Saturn Girl, Star Boy, Shadow Lass, Ultra Boy, Chameleon Boy, Ferro Lad, Brainiac 5, Sun Boy (now female), Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Shrinking Violet, Element Lad, Triplicate Girl, Colossal Boy, Phantom Girl and Timber Wolf. Darkseid, of course, is in the center.
Of course, they won’t be using those code names. And I should probably put “Absolute” in front of all of them. But that’s who they look like. They still have their chest symbols, those that had them to start with, albeit reconfigured to include an omega symbol.
Weirdly, this has a “Five Years Later” vibe to me. RIP Keith Giffen.
Also, I want to mention that for years I’ve argued (and many on this board have argued) that it’s silly that Barbara Gordon was in a wheelchair (when she was), and that Batman couldn’t fly, and so forth, in a world where super-people have access to cutting-edge technology and magic, not only from the U.S., but also Atlantis, Themyscira, Thanagar, Krypton, Mars, Oa and Mt. Olympus. Well, Batman still won’t use any of that tech or magic to fly (which he should), but the Justice League is going to, and I can only say “it’s about time.”
And as long as I’m making lists, let me see how many characters we see in the “All In” section, because, amazingly, I seem to recognize them all.
Group shot: Super-Man (Kong Kenan), Power Girl, Doctor Light (Kimiyo Hoshi), Green Lantern (Guy Gardner), Supergirl, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Starfire, Green Lantern (John Stewart), Hawkgirl, Swamp Thing, Arsenal, Red Hood, Firestorm, Fire, The Captain (Marvel), Green Arrow (Oliver Queen), Donna Troy, Black Canary, Blue Beetle (Ted Kord), Spoiler, Black Lightning, Detective Chimp, Doctor Fate, Vaporlock (Natasha Irons), Tim Drake, Yara Flor, Zatanna, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Mr. Terrific, Superman, Batman, Barabara Gordon, Cyborg, Wally West, Aquaman, Mera, Ice, Nightwing.
Seen elsewhere: Booster Gold, Jon Kent, Deadman, Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes), Robotman (Cliff Steele), Metamorpho, Damian Wayne, Green Lantern (Jessica Cruz), Green Lantern (Jo Mullein), Green Lantern (Alan Scott), Jade, Obsidian, Raven, Black Adam, The Question (Renee Montoya), The Spectre.
I assume most of these will be seen in early days of Justice League Unlimited.
Rob: I gave the second half -- Omega -- another reading today, and I liked it more than I did initially. For one thing, I really like Wes Craig's art. The figure work is shadowy and expressive (if a little more cartoony than standard DC art), and the page layouts are dynamite, often breaking up a moment into several panels for maximum effect.
Agreed!
I admit, when it gets to the whole multiverse gobbledygook, it loses me a bit, but that usually happens.
Oh, I liked that part, too. DC has been re-imagining its cosmic subtext for some time. Going back to at least the New 52, Highfather is no longer Darkseid’s polar opposite: Superman is. That shifts everything, but it wasn’t completely taken to its logical endpoint at the time.
And Superman has also been established, I think also in the New 52, as the crux of our multiverse. No matter the planet, there is always a Superman, and his advent kicks everything into overdrive. And Darkseid is always his opposing force.
This has been marching to what’s said in this issue for some time, but then Dark Nights: Death Metal #7 threw a monkey wrench into it, establishing “The Elseworld,” a second center of the universe.
Oddly, it was also called “Earth Alpha” there, when it is now -- formed of Darkseid’s energy -- more of an Earth Omega. Given the Omega symbol on the Daily Planet building, it probably will be renamed that.
And this is what Earth-3 should have been. The up-is-down, black-is-white cartoon that it has been isn’t conceptually very deep. But in this world, it is. In this world, “hope is the underdog.” No, Superman and Batman and Wonder Woman aren’t cartoon villains Ultraman, Owlman and Superwoman. They’re still heroes. Up is still up, black is still black. Good is still good, and evil is still evil.
But the ODDS are reversed.
Rob: But the scenes up front -- the sacrifices Darkseid makes, for instance -- are out of this world. I didn't need to see a lot of Darkseid again, but I'm in.
Oh yeah, that was terrific. Well written.
BTW: Who is Darkseid’s daughter? I must have missed her debut.
Rob: I'll re-read Alpha again soon, too. Sampere's layouts there are more of the grand double-page spread variety, so the Kindle reader won't be kind to them. But I think knowing the story in Omega will help me wrap my head more around what happens once things start going haywire in Alpha.
I may have to read “The Great Darkness” again … which you’ll note was just reprinted again in TPB last week, and will be out again soon in HC. I suspect it will inform Darkseid’s Legion in ways I can’t guess. So I’ll have to re-read it.
Suddenly I’m very worried about Absolute Daxam.
Jeff: Regarding Darkseid... the one thing that struck me about the All In special is that it was all "Uxas" this and "Uxas" that. It seems to me I have looked into this once before, but IIRC it was John Byrne who introduced this "pre-Darkseid" identity. BUT... he set everthing up to indicate that Uxas was going to become Darkseid, then he pulled the ol' switcheroo and the other guy became Darkseid while Uxas became the Forever Man. Even Wikipedia supports the "Uxas became Darkseid" story, but I don't think that's right... at least not according to Byrne's original ending.
Maybe that got Mopeed. In everything I’ve read for years, Uxas became Darkseid instead of his older brother Drax, who became the Infinity Man. I had forgotten Byrne did anything different, TBH. That, too, was a long time (and several reboots) ago.
Speaking of bad memory, I was interested in seeing that Eclipso’s real name is Kaala. If I ever knew that, I forgot it.
Is Darkseid destroying the characters he meets along his journey? Honestly, I wouldn’t mind that. The chick he meets in hell, Blaze, was a stupid supervillain, as was Lord Satanus. Would devils really call themselves such silly names and act like supervillains? You can zap Zauriel out of existence, too, with no complaint from me. He as just a Hawkman substitute anyway.
If we’re starting over, let’s start over. Eliminating some of the sillier elements of the Bronze Age won’t bother me at all. I sure wish they’d eliminate Neron, too. I don’t think demons and angels should dress in Spandex. That’s a very comic-booky convention whose time, I think, has passed. Demons and angels should look and act like they did in Vertigo comics.
I would hate to lose the Quintessence, though. (Current lineup: Phantom Stranger, Hera, Highfather, Ganthet, Shazam.) It’s a great concept that could use some fleshing out. Although Phantom Stranger needs to have DiDio’s reboot sent down the memory hole, if that hasn’t happened already.
I like The Spectre, although he’s 75 years old. He’s always been just cool, with one of the most iconic looks in comics. I understand that he’s hard to write, but that just makes me hungrier for more Astral Avenger.
Jeff: BATMAN #153: This was pretty good, actually. I'm not going to go into too much detail here because I'm sure everyone reading this has read a "Batman" comic more recently than I have.
I did read the last few issues of Batman, but they were “Absolute Power” tie-ins and not set in Gotrham City. So I don’t know what’s going on here.
I know Bruce Wayne, James Gordon (now a P.I., apparently), Vandal Savage (the police commissioner, somehow), Edward Nygma (a legitimate businessman, somehow) and Leslie Thompkins. There are at least that many more major players that I do not know. I wonder if that’s because it’s “All In,” and everybody has to catch up, or if this started before Absolute Power.
I did like that Bruce calls himself a “philanthrocapitalist.” Everyone always says he’d do more with his money to fight crime than dressing up as a bat, so here we go. (He had a flirtation with this in the ‘70s and ‘80s, but then began the era of Bat-Psycho, and Bruce Wayne basically ceased to exist.)
Another criticism of Batman is that it was basically a rich guy beating up on poor people. I assume that was the germ of the idea for Absolute Batman.
Jeff: SHAZAM! #16
My LCS was shorted this, so I haven’t read it. All I know is what you’re telling me.
Jeff: I wish DC would reprint more of the Golden Age material; Captain Marvel (I cannot bring myself to refer to him as "Shazam" or "The Captain") works best in his own millieu.
Agreed! Sadly, my hope that PS Artbooks might reprint the Golden Age Captain Marvel titles seems to have been dashed. I had thought, “Well, they’re reprinting Bulletman and Ibis and Spy Smasher and so forth, can Billy and Mary and Freddy be far behind?” But recently I read that when DC bought the Fawcett characters, some were already in public domain – and I assume those are the ones that PS is reprinting. I’ll bet DC is zealously guarding their Golden Age Captain Marvel rights.
Rob: Waid & Mora have really scaled back the Marvel Family. .... But up till this issue, when Freddy has his powers back, it's only been Billy and Mary as the Marvels -- their sibs have largely been supporting characters, not fellow heroes.
Good. There should only be three, not an army. And they should have independent adventures, so they’re not always outnumbering their foe. Three on one isn’t very heroic.
Rob: The one All In book I've read so far, Birds of Prey, seems completely in line with its (perfectly enjoyable) pre-AP status quo. If Black Canary got new powers (I think she did), they weren't mentioned (although she didn't use her powers at all this issue). I've got Shazam, too, but I haven't read it yet.
This was amusing – well, the sparring match between Barda and what I assume are Amazons was. (I know Grace is Bana-Mighdall. I don’t know about the other one, but she seems pretty Amazon-ish.)
This is a better book than when I read Birds of Prey back in the Dark Ages. More characterization, wider variety of characters.
POISON IVY #26
Nobody mentioned this one. It starts with someone named Janet nearly getting killed in an eco-terrorist bombing and it turns out she’s either Poison Ivy’s gf or her employee. (Maybe both.) Oh, and she’s friends with Croc. I don’t know if she’s new or not, but I sure don’t know her. I thought Harley Quinn was Ivy’s gf, but I guess that’s too many A-list eggs in one basket.
There’s a mystery about an old town reappearing in a swamp, and Ivy isn’t as lethal and crazy as she used to be (which is a good thing) and the cops are blaming the eco-terrorism on Ivy (who isn’t doing it). There’s a literary reference. (“The Green Knight.”)
It’s all well done, but I don’t know if I really care enough about Ivy and her troubles to keep reading it.
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