HOT for Firestorm

Yes, I know it's been 6 years now since the new Jason Rusch Firestorm made his debut in Firestorm #1 (vol 3). But give me a break; I'm still playing catch-up with what's happened in the DC Universe since I stopped reading in 1994. Firestorm (aka, the Ronnie Raymond version) was always one of my favorite characters back in the 1980s. I'm not really sure why. He just was. Maybe because he was a teenager still trying to find his way and was thrust into this position of great power (sound familiar, Spidey fans?). Or maybe I liked him because his stories were self-contained. He didn't bleed over regularly into the other DC comics series and had his own cast of supporting characters and villains, including a love interest, Firehawk.

I've seen the new Firestorm (aka Jason Rusch) scattered throughout recent stories I've read in the modern DC Universe in the past couple of years. I haven't been that crazy about him, mostly because I didn't feel he had much depth to him and felt that the only reason that DC Comics chose the new Firestorm to be an African-American was to add some diversity to their superhero base. Plus, he seemed really cocky, which is an unattractive trait in a superhero, unless his name is Booster Gold. Booster's character was built on cockiness, and it suits him.

However, after picking up the third volume of the Firestorm series (#s 1-35) in an eBay auction, I'm really excited about this new Firestorm. Or maybe it's just the writing that excites me. The writer of the first thirteen issues, Dan Jolley, creates Jason Rusch with depth. He doesn't focus so much on action scenes. What he focuses on is character development and does it superbly. We're introduced to Jason, Jason's father, his best friend Mick, and assorted people Jason comes into contact with, both as Jason and as Firestorm. Jason has a job. Or...jobs. Not great ones; he is only a teenager, after all. So dressing in a chicken suit doesn't feel weird to him. Jason is also trying to get into college to make something of himself. Jason is REAL. He's a real teenager, trying to survive an abusive father, crappy jobs, and the seedy world around him.

When Jason meets Green Lantern and is given a Justice League signal device, he is overwhelmed with excitement. When he meets Superman, he's nervous and intimated to be in the presence of greatness. Jolley, by no means, creates this new Firestorm with any form of cockiness.

Lastly, Jolley does a fantastic job of intriguing the reader. He grabs their interest by throwing out question after question without providing answers right away. He keeps the reader begging for more and hooks them into picking up the next issue. To me, that's the sign of a great writer. Always leave them wanting more... (I guess that also applies to the dating world.)

I breezed through Jolley's thirteen issues of Firestorm in no time. His stories (and the superb artwork) tell so much, yet keep us guessing. How did Jason get the Firestorm power? Why did it (if it did) pick him? Why is Jason's dad so abusive toward him? Why is his dad missing a hand? Will Jason get out of the Detroit ghetto and into college?

I look forward to reading the rest of the series of Firestorm's volume 3, but sad that Dan Jolley didn't write it. It won't be nearly as exciting. Here's hoping Jolley returns to DC Comics' mainstream comics soon. I'd love to see what magic he can create with other characters. Look out, Geoff Johns -- you've got some competition!

p.s. Totally off topic, when I searched Google for Firestorm images, the below one popped up. Is this for the new upcoming DC Comics' series, "Superhero Playgirl?"

Mike Mayhew, Artist Extraordinaire

I decided to start picking up and reading The New Avengers by Marvel because it looked like their team contained a lot of the original Avengers that I knew and loved from the 80s, especially Hawkeye (now "Ronin" -- dumb name) and Mockingbird, both from the old West Coast Avengers series when it was in its heyday. Thankfully, my expectations were met and there was an actual enjoyable storyline that could stand alone outside the goings-on of the Marvel Universe.

I also picked up The New Avengers Annual #3 since it came out around the same time I started looking into The New Avengers monthly series. All I can say is: WOW. The art is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Who is this Mike Mayhew and why am I one of the last to discover how fantastic and realistic his art is? I spent longer reading this particular annual than I did other comics, just for the art alone. I had to absorb the detail and realism that Mayhew put into it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have done the comic justice. Of course, it helped that Hawkeye (Clint Barton) was naked in a chair, a la Daniel Craig in Casino Royale.

Sadly, I soon discovered that Marvel is cancelling The New Avengers...along with all their other Avengers comics. I'm not sure what they have planned, but let's hope those plans include Mike Mayhew!

Mockingbird:

Captain America:

The New Black Panther is the Cat's Pajamas

Marvel Comics' new Black Panther comic is fascinating and enjoyable on many levels. First and foremost, it's intelligent. The original Black Panther, T'Challa, is seriously wounded, but his country of Wakanda needs a replacement. In steps...a female version of the Black Panther. Unlike DC Comics' new Batgirl series, Marvel let the mystery of the new Black Panther's identity drag out a few issues to add some suspense.

What's intelligent is that not only is the series about the adventures of the Black Panther as a superhero, but it's about the story of Wakanda, its people, the royal family (including the X-Men's Storm), and people who are trying to cause political upheaval. Perfectly written between scenes of the Black Panther's adventures, a political, biased commentator interviews people on his show, trying to make the people of Wakanda turn against their new ruler, Shuri, T'Challa's sister.

Another positive aspect about the series is that it's mostly separated from the rest of the Marvel Universe, allowing readers to enjoy it for its own merit. Black Panther hasn't been involved with all the crossovers that get readers bogged down with buying multiple titles that sometimes leave them confused about the sequence of events and key story points (case in point, Marvel's Dark Reign mishap). I'm a little worried about the upcoming Doomwar crossover involving the Black Panther, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and Deadpool, though. I hope Marvel doesn't f*** up the quality of the Black Panther for the sake of another ploy to sell more comics. Thankfully, the mini-series Doomwar will be written by Jonathan Maberry, the current scribe of the Black Panther, so there's still hope.

Inside the Outsiders

When Batman and the Outsiders debuted in the 1980s, it quickly became one of my favorite comics to read every month. The concept was brilliant: take a superhero that is well-established and everyone loves, have him leave the Justice League where he's been forever and was a charter member, and then have him start his own superteam with a bunch of misfits and unknowns. Not only did we get more Batman every month (besides his regular self-titled book and Detective Comics), but now we got to become involved with these minor characters that had interesting backgrounds and storylines of their own: Geo-Force, Katana, Halo, Black Lightning, and Metamorpho. The friendship between Katana and Halo was unique in that they had such different personalities, and the tie between the Outsiders' Geo-Force and Teen Titans' Terra was fantastically engineered. Later, the team is joined by the mysterious Looker who stirs things up between the team members, especially between Halo and Katana when she horns in on their friendship by befriending the innocent Halo.

After Batman leaves the team, though, the Outsiders became less interesting to me. Not because of Batman's departure so much as the writing and stories seemed to plummet. Not surprisingly, the book was cancelled soon after. Revivals of the Outsiders were attempted over the years, but never with Batman. In fact, once, Nightwing (from the Teen Titans, and the former Robin) became their leader with a totally new group of Outsiders. I wasn't reading comics during this period, so I can't really comment on the revivals.

However, when DC Comics decided to revive the Batman and the Outsiders concept in 2007, I thought, "Yea!" Sadly, it's been kind of lame, with the worst blow being Batman leaving the team AGAIN, this time because he "died." I continued reading the series, though, because...well, I don't know. I guess I'm a bit nostalgic, and I just felt sorry for them.

Having just read Outsiders 23-25, though, I have to say that they're getting back on track. We begin to see more of their individual personalities and character interactions again. It also doesn't hurt that the events in these issues tie in with DC's crossover Blackest Night event and feature the (dead) Terra coming back to haunt Geo-Force and play with his emotions. These are the Outsiders I know and love.

The prospect of DC Comics' Senior Vice President/Executive Editor Dan Didio taking over the writing duties with the next issue (issue #26) intrigues me, especially since it looks like he's having Superman join the team. This concept harkens back to the days when the original Outsiders were created ("take a superhero that is well-established and everyone loves, have him leave the Justice League where he's been forever and was a charter member, and then have him start his own superteam"). Let's hope he can deliver and make the Outsiders one of my favorites again!

P.S. just please take the Creeper off the roster. He is one of the most annoying characters in the DC Universe. Thank you.

Congrats, Matt Camp!

It's great to see that DC Comics is using Matt Camp again for a regular series. With Supergirl #47, he rejoins the DC family. After the Infinity Inc. reboot was cancelled, I was sad to see his stunning art disappear from DC Comics titles. Congrats, Matt!