A Collection of Random Thoughts, Vol 2

A quick follow up to the last installment of A Collection of Random Thoughts where I talked both about One More Day and the cyclical nature of comic book story telling. Kirk pointed out to me that Mephisto was originally going to be part of the end of the Clone Saga, I'd forgotten since it had been a while since I'd read The Life of Reilly (relevant posts here and here). Interesting, definitely, but there is more. Tom Brevoort was part of the team of editors of the Spider-Man books at the time and they were the group pushing for the Mephisto ending, called the "Time Loop" solution (unsurprisingly, the writers at the time were against it). Currently, Brevoort is an Executive Editor at Marvel and while he is not listed as an editor on any of the OMD books, I can't help but wonder if he had a part to play in the development of the story that was used.

Also, if there is something you would like to hear me talk about, feel free to email me at ericrcrisis_at_gmail.com. Anyway, this week I shall be discussing who the new Batgirl series might star, Adam West and Frank Miller plus some thoughts Top Cow so hit the jump to find out more.

Who is...THE BATGIRL?!

Candidates for the starring role of the new series starting in June.

1)Barbara Gordon (Batgirl/Oracle) - The obvious choice, if not the most controversial. Now, there are plenty of ways to get her back into the costume, some contrived and some not, but, ironically, the biggest problem is also the easiest, - getting her to walk again - which is probably going to happen in the Oracle: The Cure miniseries. The whole her being paralyzed is entirely another matter itself and something I'm not going to deal with here.

For the record, I would read a Babs as Batgirl title, but the only writer that would cause me to try out the book right now would be Gail Simone. There are, of course, other writers whom I'd be interested in but she's the only that I could think of that's possibly available to actually write the book.

2)Charlotte "Charlie" Gage-Radcliffe (Misfit) - She originally appeared as an impostor Batgirl, so she is another possibility. She could assume the mantle under Barbara's tutelage and go from there, obviously playing up the rookie heroine aspect of the character. It would probably be a fun book as well and stand out from the rest of the Bat Family of books. Of course, "fun" type books don't do well in the direct market.

3)Helena Bertinelli (Huntress) - She has taken up the Batgirl mantle before when Batman had vanished during No Man's Land, why not again? It would obviously be a very different Batgirl book from either a Babs or Misfit based one.

The one problem with having Helena as Batgirl is that she wouldn't stand out from the Bat family. Helena isn't a "girl", but, then again, Babs isn't either even though she used the name before at one point.

There's going to be a Batman back in Gotham around this time already so she would not have a strong as a reason to take up the title. Of course, Babs could be part of the reason why she takes up the mantle, either through her request or some sort of emergency.

4)Cassandra Cain (Batgirl) - Unlikely, given the sales of her last mini. Now, I understand fan opposition to that book but it didn't sell well, which is all DC cares about. Plus, it was Adam Beechen, and Dan Didio, thinking they were "fixing" the problem and fans still didn't buy the book. From their angel, fans don't care enough, or not enough fans care enough, to support a Cassandra Cain as Batgirl book.

5)Team Batgirl - Since it looks there may be a possibility of multiple Batmen post-Battle for the Cowl, why not multiple Batgirls? You would have Babs, Charlie, Helena and possibly Cassandra each running around in the Batgirl costume. It would provide some nice diversity and give groups of fans something they each want. Plus, it would be an interesting team dynamic and a something of a possible replacement for Birds of Prey.


I'm Calling It!

Apocalypse returns in the X-Force/Cable: Messiah War one-shot.


Grow A Pair DC!

And print a collection for Flex Mentallo already! You won the first lawsuit and have the probably unstoppable killing machine that is Time Warner's legal department! I demand my Flex Mentallo TPB or HC!

Also, I need a way to get Zenith that doesn't cost an arm, a leg and a couple of organs.


Event of the Decade? Really?

Invincible #60 is calling itself "the crossover event of the decade". Really? I get that books need hype, marketing and what not, but can we at least be honest? There is no way Image, or Robert Kirkman, can possibly make that claim with a straight face. I do have to give Kirkman credit for the one issue event idea though because we are never going to see one of those from Marvel or DC. Ever.

To be fair, I hate it when Marvel and DC make the same claims, because they do it for. Every. Single. Story. But at least they have the possibility of living up to that claim. Rant over.





I'm The Gosh Darned Batman!

Adam West should do public readings of Frank Miller's Batman works. Stuff like The Dark Knight Returns, The Dark Knight Strikes Back and All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder. It would be glorious.


Should Marvel Buy Top Cow?

In a recent CBR interview, Joe Casey talks about how the Velocity series he and ChrisCross were working on was basically canceled after their editor was fired by Top Cow. It makes sense that Top Cow, being a smaller publisher, would be having some problems. If worse does come to worse, I'd like to see them be acquired by Marvel similar to what happened with DC and Wildstorm. Might seem weird at first, but it does make some sense.

First and foremost, there is a lot of crossover between the two companies. Marc Silvestri, owner of Top Cow, still does work for Marvel on occasion. Most recently, he's done work on Morrison's New X-Men and the X-Men: Messiah Complex one-shot and, most recently, he's got the Alpha and Omega issues of the Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men crossover coming up.

Former Ultimate Fantastic Four artist Tyler Kirkham and recent X-Force artist Mike Choi are both from Top Cow, too. There is also a inter-company crossover, Fusion: Cyberforce/Hunter-Killer/Avengers/Thunderbolts (good lord that's a long name) coming up between the two in May.

Secondly, there would be a benefit for both groups. One, Top Cow would get stability and security. It's not likely that Marvel would go under anytime soon. Two, Top Cow could get some of Marvel's top writers to do minis or specials or even some ongoing work on their properties, like Cyberforce or Witchblade. They would also be able to put out more books on a more regular schedule. Marvel would also get to diversify their output a little and Top Cow's Pilot Season project could go to a whole new level with Marvel's resources.

Anyway, I'm sure that is enough idle speculation for one day.

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