Hey Folks!
Another week and another Editorial! This will be a short note as I don’t have much to add and I am dealing with an abscessed tooth as well as an upcoming root canal! I can’t tell you how much I enjoy extensive dental work. The root canal, coupled with the wedding I am attending on Saturday morning, means that I may be out of the office for at least part of Friday and I will definitely not be here on Saturday. Plan accordingly if you just have to have your fix of “Ed-Time” this week…lol.
There was a rather large shipment this week which translated to a plethora of excellent titles! There were so many good books out this week that I’ve only managed to read a handful so far, but among the top spot is the delayed issue of Superman! I don’t think it is much of a spoiler at this point to mention that the All-New Legion of Super-Heroes debuts in Superman this week!
I’m incredibly excited by this new reveal as I have been a huge Legion fan for over 20 years now and it has been a minute since they have been around the DCU. I started reading Legion back in the 80’s when it was still Paul Levitz’s baby and I will admit that at first it was nothing more than another superhero title on the rack. Of course, back then it was much easier to read the whole DC line because there were far fewer titles than there are now. In any case, I started the “baxter” Legion title around issue #20 and read it through the end of the Levitz era which culminated in the excellent Mystic Wars storyline.
The Legion debuted a couple of months later, this time under the helm of long time Legion artist/co-plotter Keith Giffen, with an exciting new direction. Giffen (along with co-conspirators, Tom and Mary Bierbaum) set the Legion five more years in the future. The United Planets was slowly returning to prominence after nearly falling apart during the “Mystic Wars” storyline, Earth had been infiltrated by the evil Dominators, and the Legion had disbanded and its varied membership had scattered across the galaxy. Giffen gave us a new look at the Legion, one where they had all moved on from their teenage superhero experiences and were now adults in a new and sometimes hostile galaxy. It was a far cry from what I had initially liked about the Legion, but I couldn’t deny the brilliance of the story and the way he handled the characters. It really made me dig in and strive to follow the rich history of the Legion so that I could understand everything that was going on. That was when I really fell in love with the world and its history.
Of course, the Legion has been uprooted and rebooted several times since that historic run and while I haven’t always liked the direction the book has taken, I’ve never lost my love for the world or its characters. So it is with great pleasure that I read this week’s Superman and saw the interesting way Brian Bendis has returned the Legion to the DCU. It is ever-so-slightly different than the original narrative, but still managed to give nods to the Legion’s Silver Age greatness! Seriously looking forward to the upcoming Legion miniseries followed by the new monthly book.
The new Batman Superman title was also a good read. It picks up from the ending of the recent Batman Who Laughs miniseries with a new creative team and a threat so large and ominous that it takes both Batman and Superman to tackle it. The Batman Who Laughs, an evil, Jokerized, alternate universe Batman, has continued hid campaign against Batman by threatening to poison various Batman allies and turn them into the same sort of monster that he is. Batman brings Superman into the loop, hoping that the two of them can trust one another long enough to figure out who are the BWL’s targets and without being changed themselves. There’s also the problem of a certain police commissioner who may have been compromised at the end of the last miniseries…
Along with those gems we also have the continuing mutant epic of House of X where we finally get to see some X-Men action as a team is drawn up to combat the growing Sentinel threat. In my humble opinion, one of the best miniseries of the year wraps in Spider-Man Life Story #5 as we see Peter Parker enter the 2010 decade with both triumph and tragedy. Absolute Carnage continues as well for those of you into the whole symbiote thing and we also have the continuation of Sean Murphy’s popular White Knight miniseries. All that, PLUS the new issues of Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, Batgirl, Detective Comics, Justice League, and Marvel Comics #1000!
So swing on by the store and take a gander at our new release rack this week! Also remember that my August initial Previews orders are due today, so if you have any special requests to make now is the time to speak up. Remember I will not be here on Saturday, but I will endeavor to follow up on any Messenger messages or questions on Sunday morning. Monarch will also be closed on Monday, September 1st, for the observance of Labor Day!
Have a great weekend!
Eddie