DC The New 52

Alright as promised I am finally getting to the relaunch break down. As you might recall from my last post on the DC relaunch it was just announced and not a whole lot was revealed and i was doing more complaining and speculating. Now that all the official #1s have been revealed I can break them down through my view point. I’ve been doing a lot of forum reading, checking dccomics.com everyday, and keeping up to date thanks to twitter. I’ve been gathering as much information so that I can properly gauge and prepare myself for what is about to happen.

For those of you that don’t know, here are all the titles I’m about to break down:

http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/the-new-52/

This is a heads up, what I’m about to say is my own personal viewpoint and opinion on these titles that DC is putting out. All linkage and characters I’m discussing are credited to DC Comics, I’m not trying to make a buck off this lol *note I don’t get paid to give you all my opinion!*

Superman Titles:

Right off that bat I have to discuss the most iconic hero to arguably ever be introduced (Captain America is the other). When you think of ‘hero’ you automatically think Superman, much like when you think of vigilante you think of Batman.

The relaunch has not shown much on Superman other than his new suit (no underwear but now he has a belt! totally in fashion this days i guess…). Like pretty much all the other main characters he’s getting de-aged to reach out to younger generation of fans that know very little about Superman’s story so that they can rehash already told stories being that no one can seemingly write an original Superman story anymore. I wonder if Superman is still American or if they’re keeping his denouncement of it?

While I’ll admit my Superman knowledge is _> Alex (admin of this fine site), I know the essentials of Superman and most of his story. My biggest gripe with the relaunch as far as superman goes? looks like they’re de-marrying Superman/Lois so that this generation can see Lois as the Top reporter and we can see rehashed super-genius capture her and Superman having to save her time and time again, though Morrison/Didio really just want to ship Superman/Wonder Woman (lame). So they’re getting rid of probably the 2nd biggest marriage in comics, behind Susan Storm (Invisible Woman)/Reed Richards (Mr Fantastic) of Marvel. Much like BND (brand new day) did for Peter Parker (Spider-Man) and Mary Jane Watson, aka ‘it never happened’. Good times, way to be original DC.

Superman:

From the looks of it, It’s just about Superman and what he’s doing in this brand new world. Expect a lot from Superman: Earth One aka emo/angsty/Twilight Superman to take shape, because that’s what the new generation wants. A bunch of characters all based off the same essential mind set, dark in some form and tortured mentally.

Then again if anyone actually read a Superman comic they would see just how tortured Clark Kent/Kal-El really is. Step outside your little soap boxes for a second and think like him for a second, he lost his world and everyone that cared about him, was raised by strangers, and now bares the weight of the world on his shoulders as it’s hero having to be a constant example at all times. Yeah, Superman really had it easy. #fansfailing.

This one has George Perez righting, not sure on this move, but I’m sure it’ll be at least worth a look at issue #1.

Action Comics:

Pretty much read the last one, but i think this one is suppose to show more Lois and Jimmy? or at least that’s what I heard. This title is homage to where Superman first appeared in so it only makes sense that they would keep one of the longest running titles in the mix. I think it’s DC’s attempt to not completely alienate older generations, I’m talking about my parents generation that loves Superman not my older brothers generation that is obsessed with Batman (not even the good one).

I will say that DC made a bold move in giving this title to Grant Morrison, He has done really well in the Batman titles over the past few years (though some are critical of his work), Superman is a completely different monster I’m not 100% sold that he can handle this burden.

Superboy:

Well Kon has had many faces over the past few years: 90s child with the jacket, 2000s child with dual daddy issues, death, rebirth, and now what is in store?

From reading the synopsis on DC it sounds like they’re going with the new version of Superboy that’s becoming very popular, Earth-16 aka the Kon from the Young Justice cartoon. He plays this bullheaded tough guy that has a lot of anger issues. The writer makes me want to check this out, but the story they’re giving makes me want to avoid it’s trash.

I am just really curious what they’re going to do about his appearance after ‘the death of Superman’? Sounds like he might not even have been there and considering Blackest Night happened here it makes me also wonder if Final Crisis happened at all? so many questions on this one…

Supergirl:

Now I could rattle off the reasons why I fell out of love with the Kara of old, namely poor writing (look at the arc where she tries to cure a kid from cancer, it’s basically about how Supergirl will become a self absorbed Heroine if you read the undertones… but who does that?), but This Kara has sparked a very interesting debate between Alex and I.

My theory is that this is Karen Starr (Kara Zor-L aka Power Girl) de-aged and not Kara Zor-El (aka Supergirl). I think that they’re combining the two to allow for a greater story. Now that there is no Power Girl in this world there are a lot of opportunities for things like this to happen, because if this Kara thinks and acts like Karen? Holy crap we could actually be reading something that could compare to the very good selling Power Girl series instead of the ‘is she going evil?’ stuff we all have been forced to read for the past decade-ish.

A de-aged Karen has so much more story potential than Kara had. Michael Green and Mike Johnson have a lot to prove to me in a very short time.

Batman Titles:

I don’t even know where to start to be honest. I guess i can start off with saying that I respect and even like Batman sometimes, but I’m not obsessed with him. I do however hate his fan-base, they are an irrational bunch that lost the ability to put together a solid argument for anything. ‘he has a plan’ if I had a nickle for every time I heard that in a Batman vs *insert person here* debt, I’d be a trillionaire.

Anyways, the Batman titles for the most part look to be almost untouched, well at least Bruce Wayne lol! Batman Inc will return eventually once the relaunch is settled. Death and Return of Batman are all still canon. Damian still exists and is his Robin now (score!). All in all you are getting what DC always does, a forced feeding of Bat-Titles. Not that I’m surprised at all…

I miss the detective side of Batman, now he’s all world’s best everything. Very little human left and a whole bunch of peek human in everything. Takes the fun out of reading Batman for me.

Batman:

All i really have to say is that Scott Snyder is a good writer, It’ll be interesting to see what he does with the reigns in his hand.

Detective Comics:

Well all you bat-nerds out there this will be the first time ever that Batman appears in Issue #1 of Detective Comics, for those of you that don’t know he appeared in Issue #27 of the original series. Tony S Daniel is not only writing this, he’s also drawling this also. Should be intriguing to see how the flagship Batman title is handled.

Batwing:

Black Batman basically, DC’s attempt to have a Black Panther/Ironman combo pack. This is the one title that shows that Batman Inc is still alive and kicking in DC’s relaunch canon. Judd Winick is writing it, doesn’t draw me in at all.

Batman:

The Dark Knight: batman faces the legal ramifications of Batman Inc apparently in this title, David Finch is writing it so Batman fans be sure to check this one out.

Batman and Robin:

This is probably the only Batman title I’m even interested in at all. Bruce Wayne is finally teamed up with his son Damian (eat your heart out fans that were hoping he’s not Bruce’s real son). Damian has went through so much character development over the past two years its almost unreal, but he’s still that completely annoying always getting out of trouble arrogant son of the bat.

It’s going to be really interesting to see how Damian fairs as Bruce’s more strict version of teaming up compared to Dick’s more lack/care free team work. Peter J Tomasi is writing this and he’s even bringing in a character called ‘NoBody’ to start.

Batgirl:

Only thing i like about this comic is Gail Simone, everything else? I cannot stand. Barbara Gordon can walk again? Well there goes DC’s handicap hero. Also they lose probably there most important cyber character in Oracle now that she’s demoted herself back to Batgirl.

Sure I guess I could get on the bandwagon of ‘she taught herself to walk again and that gives those out there hope!’ While I don’t disagree with this logic, I also know that there a lot of handicap people out there that will never be able to walk again no matter how hard they work at it.

But that’s not even my biggest gripe with this comic, Stephanie brown is no longer Batgirl. Most wanted Cassandra Cain, but her Mary-Su Rearend is going by Black Bat or something like that now fighting in Hong Kong I believe. But Steph? So much character development from Spoiler to death, back to life and as spoiler, told to stop being Batgirl by Tim, and then she took up Batgirl under the training of Oracle. It was a dynamic that was simply amazing to read.

Some readers did not like the ditzier version that Steph portrayed to be in the series? but her character has always been some what of a goofball, but she made strides and resembled Barbara’s Batgirl days (I think that’s why DC did that in the first place, to see if Barbara’s version of Batgirl still sold…tragic). So… yeah.

Oh and I heard a rumor that Barbara Gordon and Black Canary may be an item in the Relaunch? I’ll address this when i get to BoP.

Batwoman:

This title has a lot of potential. While I’m not the biggest fan of Bat-titles, I think this is a very smart and well deserved push in the right direction. Why? because Kate Kane is a lesbian, no sugarcoating the reasoning other than that. Comics have a huge gay/lesbian following so it’s about time they gave the characters they have with those lifestyles the chance to shine.

I am interested in how Bette Kane aka Flamebird is going to appear in this relaunch history? She’s the same congress woman that teams up with Jason Rausch to be Firestorm all the time. But now that Jason has Raymond to form with to be Firestorm things with Flamebird could find a new story. JH Williams III and W. Haden Blackman are teaming up to write this so there is some heavy hitters writing this title.

Nightwing:

I’m just so… annoyed with this. I was a big fan of Dick finally becoming Batman. It was such a great move and could have shifted the balance in DC for years to come. Dick could have been the JLA Batman and teamed up with Damian all the time, while Bruce could of been Gotham’s Batman, but that seems to not be the direction fans/writers/DC want it to go…

So once again I’m disinterested in Nightwing. Sad, because I don’t mind Kyle Higgins writing. They are keeping his time as Batman canon I guess? good for him, another mantle step up and step back down, because DC doesn’t have enough of those under Johns.

Catwoman:

Another bat-title written by Judd Winick. Not that big on Catwoman, I’ve always been more of a Talia Fan to be honest. Sounds like it has all the makes to be a decent read though?

Birds of Prey:

I really wanted to read more on Black Canary because she was one of my favorites, but from the sounds of it? They’re overhauling the character, removing her from Green Arrow and making her interested in Batgirl? Who knows what’s going on here really.

Black Canary is teaming up with Starling, Poison Ivy, and what looks to be Katana (from the Outsiders). So really the only BoP left is BC. I wonder if Huntress will be integrated in or if they have other plans for her? I know Huntress is getting a mini-series during the #2s (October) so we’ll see if that’s connected. Duane Swierczynski is in yet another BoP reboot lol!

Red Hood and the Outlaws

Scott Lobdell has just inherited a bunch of misfits and by that i mean former Titans with nowhere to go and a lot of History baggage. The former Green Arrow sidekick now once again Arsenal has his arm back along with all of his angst/outcastedness. Starfire is still a sexually comfortable princess from another world that just wants someone to love her, and Red Hood the gun wielding black sheep of the bat-family. I honestly don’t see this being a very good read. Look for Raven and Beast Boy to eventually join this batch of DC rejects.

Green Lantern Titles:

Probably the hottest Titles in the past 2-3 years thanks to Geoff Johns, the GL comics have been nothing but awesome since Sinestro Corps War during Countdown. We’ve seen War of Light, Blackest Night, Brightest Day, and Green Lantern War in recent months. The introduction of the other Colors, entities, and finally bringing the prophecy of Blackest Night to life has given this branch of DC a much needed lift. Not to mention the new GL movie only helped bring in new fans.

Green Lantern

From the sounds of it Green Lantern #67 sets the tone for the relaunch. And judging from Issue #2′s cover Sinestro is back as a Green Lantern I can only wonder what the heck is going on? I figure Hal will be making regular appearances in this title when he’s not strutting his stuff in the JLA. Johns’ keeps his hands firmly planted in GL stories by writing this comic.

Green Lantern Corps

This comic has been one of the best to read when it comes to expanding the Green Lantern/DC universe beyond Earth. This comic has been teaming up 2 of earth’s GLs at a time for awhile now and it only gets better. My personal favorite 2 GL‘s Guy Gardner and John Stewart headline this comic along with a GL strike force of the top GLs to battle outerspace’s biggest threats. Peter J Thomas will get the reigns on this exceptional team.

Green Lantern: New Guardians

Probably the only Green Lantern Title with a lot of questions still unanswered. Each color (except for Black and White Lanterns) will be represented in the New Guardians of the Universe; Green (Kyle Rayner), Violet (Looks like Fatality), Indigo (Munk), Yellow (Akillo), Orange (I think it’s Glomulus), Red (Bleez), and Blue (Saint Walker). It’ll be interesting to see what Tony Bedard will be doing with this run.

Red Lanterns

This title will be featuring probably the coolest thing to come out of War of Light, the blood thrust rage-a-holic Red Lanterns. Peter Milligan has the chance to write what Atrocitus and his corps will be doing in this brand new universe.

Justice League Titles:

These titles will set the tone for the relaunch and tell us if it is going to last, because while other branches may have big fan bases the world of the relaunch is centered around the new Justice League roster. If Johns and Lee do this right these titles will be the best that the relaunch puts out.

Justice League

Note that they took out ‘Of America’ so I wonder if they’re going to make this be more World based team than before? that could make things interesting Considering Superman denouncing himself as an American (not sure if that’s staying canon, but i assume it will be). Geoff Johns writing, Jim Lee and Scott Williams doing the art this comic is the flagship of the relaunch and ultimately will decide what this relaunch will do in my opinion. Because if this title is not the highest selling (that means it has to sell more than any of the Batman titles too) comic of the relaunch then that does not bode well for DC.

The best of the ‘best’ are doing this book, it better at least compete with how great Vol 4 was. I have high expectations for this new roster of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Flash (Barry Allen), Aquaman, Cyborg, Hawkman, Firestorm, Elemental Girl, Deadman, Atom (not sure if it’s Palmer or Choi), Green Arrow, Mera, and a female that no one seems to know the name of yet.

Justice League International

This comic will be written by Dan Jurgens, he has the most diverse roster in the relaunch thanks to this title; Batman (American), Booster Gold (from the future, American), Green Lantern (Guy Gardner, also American), August General in Iron (Chinese), Fire (Brazilian), Ice (Norwegian), Vixen (African), and Rocket Red (Russian).

There was also a Donna troy look alike (that was allegedly going to be named Greece) in the original cover. The dynamic of all these characters put into one comic will be simply hilarious to watch unfold. Look for the likes of Captain Atom and potentially Blue Beetle to join the ranks of this roster. Maybe even a Judomaster like character.

Aquaman

Geoff Johns has his work cut out for him here. Since Blackest Night and his return into Brightest Day Aquaman has been given a new chance at life. Now… the question is after the awesomeness that was Aquaman in Flashpoint, how will this follow up?

Johns has to do something that no Aquaman writer has been able to do in my lifetime; keep Aquaman relevant and interesting for more than a year without making him die, lose another hand, sink Atlantis, or kill all of his family again (not sure if Aquagirl/new Aqualad will stay in the relaunch but I do know Mera survived). What of Tempest? Johns has been revamping and making characters other than the Trinity relevant again (see Green Lantern, Flash, Atom for examples).

Wonder Woman

Brian Azzarello has in my opinion the toughest, yet at the same time easiest, job in the world; get Wonder Woman’s canon under control again with the new costume. JMS was given a simple task, give wonder woman a story for her new look, what we got was a vigilante woman (basically Black Canary/Batman storyline) that had no real connection to the rich history that was Diana Prince. Now we get yet another WW ‘reboot’ in such a short amount of time, but from reading the synposis it looks like Brian is on the right track.

Reintroducing WW with her loyalties split between humans and the Greek Gods, this could be some really good reading if done right. Oh and yes WW leads DC’s new campaign ‘all girls where tights/pants now’ (harley quinn & Starfire did not get this memo).

And with the rumors of WW being shipped with Superman once again I am left wondering why not make her bi/Lesbian? that would be the boldest move ever not to mention it would be more In Character than Black Canary or Batgirl flipping sides. It would also make a ton more sense in the reboot, but we’ll see.

The Flash

*sigh* It’s Barry Allen, which means I could care less about this comic. To Be 100% honest with the rest of you I was excited about Barry’s return in ‘Flash: Rebirth’ that Johns did, but I quickly had a realization that I had no idea what DC was going to do with Wally West.

Knowing that Johns’ has a huge Silver Age hard on I knew that Wally was probably destined to be like Ryan Choi (to be killed off randomly to kick start some crappy title), but instead we got nothing at all. Wally has been MIA since Blackest Night basically. They could have easily thrown him on the Justice League, but nope that was given to Barry as well.

And they are not de-aging Wally, because Bart is kid Flash. That leaves 3 likely scenarios; Wally doesn’t exist now, Wally is dead again, or Wally is going to be a new villain. All of those suck. And Barry Allen’s return means that all the character development for my generations Flash went out the window. Wally was the first sidekick to take up his mentor’s mantle and succeed/do even better than his mentor. He was the most connected to the Speed Force out of any Flash, now they’re having Barry play catch up while texting his wife on the side. Francis Manapul is writing this book.

Captain Atom

JT Krul is writing this and I can only imagine that it won’t be all that good. I could think of quite a few other heroes I’d like to see get this spotlight, but oh well. Captain Atom’s story will probably only last a year and he’ll either be on the JL or the JLI. More than likely the JLI because of his history.

The Fury of Firestorm

This is probably going to be one of the must read comics of the relaunch. Because finally we get to see what Firestorm would be like from the start if Raymond and Jason merged instead of all the craziness that spawns from Brightest Day, not to mention Gail Simone is writing this book.

Raymond was a good Firestorm, but he died. This launched the new Firestorm comic with Jason which I liked a lot more (it’s not just because he is from Detroit MI or that he is African American lol). Now with the relaunch and Gail Simone/Ethan Van Schiver writing this, the Firestorm mythos can reach an all new level of epic-ness.

I cannot wait to see what the new story is for these two!

Green Arrow:

JT Krul keeps the reigns of Green Arrow with his new look, i wonder if they’re going to keep that giant star forest in star city? I think they should *nod* Though it does look like they are going to combine comic book green arrow with the high-tech version in the Smallville TV series, which could make for some interesting changes to the character.

Krul gets one issue to impress me.

The Savage Hawkman:

Tony S. Daniel picks up the reigns of a very interesting JSA character that has been getting a push since his appearance in McDuffie’s Starbreaker arc (from there Hawkman died in Blackest Night, revived and went through Brightest Day). So what new stories/adventures does this relaunch spell for the cursed winged archaeologist?

Mister Terrific:

DC did one thing right, they made sure they put their most notable African American in his very own title. Though I’m not too sure what is up with the change in costume, he’s still the world’s 3rd smartest man (presumably behind Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor). He is being moved to Los Angeles which is awesome and the title will be written by Eric Wallace, the stories ahead should draw in some new comic readers.

DC Universe Presents:

This looks to be the new version of ‘the Brave and the Bold’, where they spotlight different characters in each issue. Deadman is first up and is being written by Paul Jenkins. So I’m interested to see exactly what characters they’re willing to spotlight.

The Dark Titles:

Most of these are going to be skipped over by me to be honest, a lot of these just are not my taste in comics.

Justice League Dark:

Shade the Changing Man, Madame Xanadu, Deadman, Zatanna and John Constantine form the team that has to take down the mystical forces that Enchantress has released on the world that the main JLA cannot stop. The team basically is the new Shadowpact and should be a very good read. Peter Milligan is in charge of these dark Leaguers.

Swamp Thing:

Scott Snyder gets the reigns of the ‘Big revival’ at the end of Brightest Day. What he does with this character is anyone’s guess, I just hope he does this long time character some justice.

Animal Man:

Jeff Lemire gets to write probably one of DC’s more intriguing oddballs in Buddy Baker. Not to mention the story looks to be an interesting one to start out.

Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E.:

Jeff Lemire is writing this one too… If they wanted to do a team of random people they should of brought in Xombi or replaced this book with the Outsiders.

I, Vampire:

This title is a waste of space. I don’t even care who’s writing this. They should replace this title with Captain Marvel or a Constantine Solo in DC (though Vertigo is still running Hellblazer, Batman has 6 titles Constantine can afford to be in 3) or hell a Kent V Nelson Dr Fate title, because that Dr Fate was a mess as a person but a great read.

Resurrection Man:

Another person I don’t get why they’re getting a solo run when DC has so many other characters they could replace here. Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning get to creatively kill this character each issue to give him a new power… yay?

Demon Knights:

Paul Cornell gets to do mid-evil storytelling with Etrigan, this could possibly save/justify Etrigan getting his own title (I assume he’ll eventually join the JLD which would be beyond awesome).

The Edge Titles:

This is the one area of the relaunch I will be avoiding like the plague and get my vote as the most useless batch of comics; though Stormwatch, Deathstroke, and the Suicide Squad look to be good, the reason are just so awful/could be replaced by better characters.

Stormwatch:

Wildstorm flagship title with the addition of the Martian Manhunter. This team is a a dangerous super human police force whose existence is kept secret from the world. Apollo you learn is project Superman in Flashpoint, cool right? He and Midnighter are both gay which means more push for the gay/lesbian community. Other than that the addition of J’onn shows that this title will have deep connections to the world/universe grand scheme. Smart move DC.

Paul Cornell has a lot to work with in this title.

Voodoo:

Another Wildstorm character push, no surprise that all Lee’s Wildstorm characters are getting a push and McDuffie’s Milestone Character’s only get one representative over all? Oh well another skip. Ron Marz writing.

Grifter:

Nathan Edmondson is writing this wannabe Deadpool/Gambit hybrid. Another Wildstorm character. So disinterested in this title, if i wanted to read another Deadpool/Punisher rip off I’d read Red Hood and the Outlaws.

Deathstroke:

Kyle Higgins gets his hands on probably one of the greatest villains/anti-heroes/whatever he is going by these days in Slade. This character has a tone to work with and not to mention a crap ton of stories to tell. This is a long over due title run.

This is to make up for the horrible Titans comic he was apart of.

Suicide Squad:

Adam Glass writing this one. Not too sure what to make of this comic. Deadshot, King Shark, and Harley Quinn all get new looks. Harley Quinn’s is getting the most buzz because she’s not following DC’s new ‘no leg skin showing’/too provocative clothing guidelines. Whatever the case may be now, her story is probably going to be what draws readers to this comic.

She has a big online following so I can only image what they’re going to do with this Joker obsessed clown girl.

O.M.A.C.:

‘Kevin Kho has become an unwilling participant in a war between Checkmate and Brother Eye as he is transformed into the One Machine Army Corp known only as O.M.A.C.!’

Well that sums up what Dan Didio and Keith Giffen are going to be wasting our time with now instead of bringing back Checkmate with a new roster or the JSA. Keep failing Didio, it makes me feel better about myself.

Blackhawks:

Mike Costa is writing this new version of DC’s pilots of yesteryear that Lady Blackhawk was apart of, Linda is probably going to be the only character any of us recognize in this series. Another waste on the relaunch page.

Men of War:

Ivan Brandon writing this new story that’s basically trying to appeal to the new generations obsession with FPS’s. I’m sure they’re draw in a few fans, but they could of easily done this with another character in DC. Name anyone really, DC has a ridiculous amount of characters to pick from not to mention they have Milestone and Wildstorm to take from also.

All-Star Western:

Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti are writing the retconned tale of Jonah Hex now in Gotham City. Rumors are we’ll get to see all the gun-slinging DC characters from back in the day, this should be one of those titles that you read when you have a spare few bucks to read. Nothing to dedicate to though.

Young Justice Titles:

This branch here is the one that caught my eyes the most, because it has my Favorite Comic Book Character in Static here and my favorite DC team in the Teen Titans.

Teen Titans:

Let me take a moment to laugh at all the Teen Titan fans out there complaining about the relaunch more than Batman fans did about Batman’s death in Final Crisis. Why? Because you all are just so irrational. I have to take this moment because I’ve had to endure countless idiotic comments one after another about the past 3 years worth of Teen Titan comics. Most notably Krul and Henderson’s runs.

While Krul’s run wasn’t anything too great or bad, Henderson’s run caught a lot of heat and quick. She used themes and character traits to separate her interpretations of the Titans to give them more human-like characteristics. The biggest hate on Henderson other than her ‘one liners’ or the deaths of Red Devil/Eternity (I didn’t like either of those characters anyways lol) was her portrayal of Wonder Girl, why? Because Wonder Girl was written to be something more than just Kon’s girlfriend — I know Heaven forbid!

Cassie had to weigh all the issues of Kon’s death/return, leading the Teen Titans because Tim had more Batman-ish things to do, and being attached to the Wonder Woman mythos, among what others thought of her. So when Kon was revived I thought Henderson did a good job of showing how tough being a leader was, having to balance love-life and lead the team without them thinking she only had it because she was dating Superman’s sidekick. Some powerful messages, but who thinks of those things? Nope, Cassie’s just being a ‘moody bitch’. Funny how narrow minded people can be.

Then again I have to sit back and realize most people that read TTs are 10-20, so more adult/mature themes are lost on them. Believe it or not 14 year-olds you’re not as mature as you think you are nor do you have all life’s answers. I’m a quarter century old, have a ton of knowledge in random things but i don’t even have all the answers to life’s greatest questions.

Anyways back on topic here the Teen titan’s probably have gotten the most heat in this relaunch because DC has decided to seemingly remove the ‘Young Justice’ history and give the TTs roster an overhaul/fresh start. I didn’t like Young Justice anyways, so that doesn’t bother me as much as it does a whole bunch of others that grew up during the 90s.

Kon’s a tough guy, Bart is his classic self, Cassie is a former thief? probably to make up for a lack of a Ravager, Tim’s Red Robin suit is cool (he can glide now, no longer having to be carried around by the others lol), and 3 other no named charries I don’t recognize yet (a girl that looks like Sunspot from Marvel, a spider looking girl, and a guy/girl not sure which that has the Elongated family attire?). Rumors are that this series will have Milestone and Wildstorm character appearing in them.

Also Scott Lobdell is writing this (along with Superboy), he has clarified that they will run along with one another but won’t cross over one another (at least immediately). You can read both and see their connections, but you can read one without HAVING to read the other.

Hawk and Dove:

Sterling Gates gets the nod here. Not too sure if I like the writer or not, but apparently Dove and Deadman are an item now, Hank Hall hates everything (surprise). This title is another one I’m not too sure on, I think they could of easily left them in the BoP or threw them into a team like the Outlaws or Outsiders or even the JLD. But alas they get a solo lol

Blue Beetle:

Tony Bedard not only is writing GL stuff he also is writing Blue Beetle, probably one of the best new era remakes on an old mantle. The newest Blue Beetle Jaime Reyes solo series that went 36 issues was one of the best reads in recent memory. It will be interesting to see what direction they take Jaime and if they’re going to eventually have me teaming up with the TTs or the JLI, I’m sure we’ll see him in both but one cannot help but wonder where DC will push him. I will say this, Thank you DC for not bringing back another Silver Age character in Ted Kord. Amazing they are leaving some people dead lol

Legion of Superheroes & Legion Lost:

these two I’m lumping together because they equally disinterest me. Though I’ve been reading Legion of Superheroes lately it has only been because of the resurgence of Green Lanterns in their universe, other than that I’ve been losing interest in it’s overall story. a lot of good characters with a lot of stories to tell. I think the relaunch will allow them to reintroduce themselves to the next generation of fans.

Static Shock:

And the Best for last! Scott McDaniel and John Rozum (currently writing Xombi) are doing a lot right off the bat with my favorite comic book character and McDuffie’s legacy. Static’s moving to New York City from Dakota City (at least they’re keeping the city around lol) after a tragedy befalls the Hawkins family (I’m assuming it’s linked to Static Shock Special where his uncle dies). Here he dons a new look, establishes a new headquarters, starts at a new high school, and also an internship at S.T.A.R. labs. can you say holy cow!?

I am excited to see how Milestone Characters will integrate themselves into DC’s relaunch, what ones will follow Static to NYC and what new friends will the electric hero make? How long before the TTs come calling? I’m just really excited about this.

Concluding Thoughts:

There you have it, my personal break down of what DC’s doing with the 52 new titles. There apparently are going to be mini-series launched when the #2′s come out (The Shade, Penguin; Pride and Prejudice, and Huntress are already announced). Not to mention DC has already stated some titles will just pick back up where they left off (Batman Inc, Xombi, Batman Beyond, Superman Beyond, etc).

With all that you can tell I’m all over the board emotionally on this relaunch which is what DC was going for. Because not everyone is going to like everything coming out or being changed, but if they can appeal to the mass majority, snag a few new old fans back in with the restart along with some brand new fans while also poking at a few big fan-bases like vampires or gays/lesbians that will give them even more sales. At the end of the day that’s all that matters to them. Which is what keeps them in business. So I can respect why they are doing this. I’d say about half the titles will make it (26-32 titles) past a year.

Finally… My Pull List:

And last, but not least, here is going to be my personal pull list after I get all the #1′s (so this will be my pull list from #2 on) in the order of the most excited I am to read to just excited to read:

1. Static Shock
2. Teen Titans
3. The Fury of Firestorm
4. Justice League
5. Blue Beetle
6. Green Lantern
7. Green Lantern Corps
8. Justice League International
9. Justice League Dark

Alex's Antidote - favicon.png

OK so today I was showing off my new mobile theme on my iPhone while at work. My buddy Bran was checking out the icon I made (with a little help from GIMP and the logo Bran had made for my website — thanks again man) and he made a great suggestion… why not use use the icon for my favicon on my main website?

So I did…

If you have a website, want a custom favicon, but don’t know how to go about it, then you’re in luck because it’s really quite easy.

Step 1: Make an icon

It should be 32 x 32 (pixels) and 32 bit color.

You can use GIMP (or some other program) to make the icon, save it as a PNG.

You can name it whatever you want, but I recommend going with something simple and clear like: favicon.png

Step 2: Upload the icon/image to your website

via FTP or SSH. Be sure to put it in a place that’s easy to remember… like the root of your web directory…

Step 3: Edit your template’s header

Between the <head> and </head> tags and paste the following code:

<link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="/wordpress/favicon.png" />

Save (and upload if you cannot dynamically modify your template).

Alex's Antidote iPhone icon

That’s right folks, my website is now iPhone friendly. (Note: from what I understand it should also work in certain other fancy phones too)

Here’s how it goes:

Step 1 – Open Safari -> Navigate to: alexsantidote.com

find Alex's Antidote in iPhone's Safari Browser

Step 2 – Check out my fancy mobile theme

New Mobile Theme

Page Menu

Step 3 – Bookmark for future reference

Bookmark Options

If you’re really awesome you’ll bookmark it to your Home Screen

Bookmark to iPhone's Home Screen

And you’ll see a nice shiny icon that will take you straight to this website when you touch it!

Shiny Bookmark Icon!

How’d I do it?

• Install the WordPress plugin called: WPtouch Mobile Plugin + Theme for WordPress
• Make a custom icon in GIMP (sudo apt-get install gimp)
  • The icon should be saved in .png format.
  • You will need 2 different sizes: 57 x 57 and 32 x 32
    • Name the 32 x 32 icon something that reflects the name of your blog (I used: Alex`s Antidote)
    • Name the 57 x 57 icon “apple-touch-icon.png” without the quotes.
• In WordPress Settings you will find a menu called: WPtouch, upload the 32 x 32 icon there (look around, you’ll figure it out), then make necessary adjustments below (lots of settings to play with).
  • Be sure to save!
• FTP/SSH into your root (and/or wordpress) directory for your blog and copy over the 57 x 57 icon you named “apple-touch-icon.png”
• Done!

Let me know what you think in the comments (if you have time).

4yr old Logitech mouse (by Alex)

So I was looking for a book that I needed for a class (an old APA Manual) and came across my old (about 4 years old) Logitech Wireless Mouse. I do all of my school work upstairs in my “office” on my 17″ Acer laptop (running Ubuntu of course).

I plugged in the USB receiver and pushed the power button on the bottom of the mouse. The mouse worked just fine – as expected.

What surprised me (just a little bit) was that the extra buttons (it’s a 5 button mouse) worked instantly (no special setup needed). Click one and the browser page goes back one, click the other button and it goes forward… nice!

I also noticed that the side-scroll (tap the scroll wheel to the left or right) works not only in Firefox (tested by adjusting the window dimensions to force side scrolling necessity), but it also adjusts the volume on VLC  media player! I wonder what else this little baby can do!

…

Ok now back to homework…

…

(p.s. beat that windows haha)

OK I know it’s been a long time coming, but I’ve posted a quick guide to fixing the nasty Jaunty System Crash that seems to happen to users with NVIDIA and some Intel video cards…

I need to update the guide with some screen captures of how to add the X-Updates repository and its key, but I figured most people experiencing this problem would prefer to have something rather than nothing!

You can find the page here: http://alexsantidote.com/ubuntu/fix-ubuntu-9-04-jaunty-crash-problems/

More updates are coming soon, including a new Firefox section (you may already see it in the menu) which will offer some nice guides to making Firefox even more useful to your individual needs!

As always, if there’s something you’d like to see, please let me know (see the request an antidote page in the menu)…. Some have already made some requests which I am working on and hope to have antidotes posted soon!

Take care,
…Alex

Alex’s Antidote has a new look!

Please tell me what you think by taking the poll (found in the side bar on the right).

More changes, including new content comings very soon! If you have any suggestions, requests, questions, or comments, please leave them here and I will do my best to consider each suggestion/request, answer each question, and respond to your comments.

Thanks!
…Alex

Alex’s Antidote is currently undergoing some major changes….

During the transition process there will be few or perhaps no new posts.
Most, if not all, of the old content will be removed, hidden, or replaced.

Some changes you can expect to see:
- New theme/layout
– with better navigation
– better look and feel
– better functionality

- New Features
– New Content (purpose and direction)
– User-Specific Options
– And More!

If you would like to be placed on the mailing list to receive newsletter updates by email, please send an email with your request to: alex@alexsantidote.com
Until then… Take care!
…Alex

Welcome to Alex’s Antidote Blog. Here you will find updates regarding the website http://www.alexsantidote.com and this project.

If you would like to know more about this project then stay tuned as there will be more blog entries to come with interesting details on the project as well as its progression and updates!

Until next time…
…Alex