Things that would've excited the hell out of me as a kid...

...if I'd known they were going to happen when I was an adult, and yet even as an adult, it's possible I wouldn't have even known to ask for something that would've excited me in this way - and here it comes!

Ya got that? No? Yeah, I'm not sure I did either.

Oh, and just for the record, this postings going to bore most of you, or just show how geeky I am. Peter and Weeding are probably the only ones checking in here who'll appreciate this. Are ya ready? Ok, let's get nerdy!

I grew up on the Legion of Super-Heroes - and loooooved 'em! They're like brain candy! So a couple years ago they went and rebooted the Legion of Super-Heroes...AGAIN! They had a good thing going this time - at least I was enjoying it. Sure, there were still some of my favorite characters lost in a previous reboot, but they occasionally reintroduced them, or came up with an entirely new spin that got fun (ie the insect-humanoid Shikari who was a pathfinder amongst the stars, sort of replacing the winged Native American Dawnstar of so many years ago). Anyhow, while I like the creative cast of the current LSH, I'm really not fond of their take on the characters, story lines, Legion-verse, etc. Why do I still buy it? I don't know? I guess because they didn't start from the ground up with this title, beginning with origins of the recreated characters, I felt it might be a temporary thing - an alternate universe version that would get written over shortly.

Then they tossed Supergirl from the present into the LSH. Hm. Maybe they're planning to keep 'em around? I should dump it. But wait - it seems like there's some sort of odd continuity things that could be affecting the title, the multiverse, etc - perhaps my wishes were coming true?!


And we recently got a starting over of the Justice Society of America. Not a favorite title of mine as I was growing up, but back they they originated on Earth-2, and took place during the wartime period. Not my interests... Nowadays, with history rewritten, the JSA represent the heroes of yesteryear that helped influence, mold and inspire the heroes of today. And then they started coming back and added themselves to the list of "the heroes of today"...training new heroes, helping the children of heroes of the past, etc. Damn good stuff!

But all heroic teams have to undergo turmoil. Someone or something tears them apart. And the publishing company loves the chance to throw on a new creative team and start over with a new #1. First issues sell like hotcakes!

So we've got our new JSA, and they're up to a whopping issue #4. And...WOW! Not only is it a good origin for the new superteam, a gathering of old and new, but there's something else going on...something very interesting.

First it started with the introduction of a new Starman. The JSA has almost always had a Starman of some sort. And the Legion of Super-Heroes has often had a Starboy. Heck, looking back, I had a major crush on the Starboy of the late 70s / early 80s I think! And then sometime in the 90s (early 2000s?) a connection between the Starman (men) of yesteryear and the Starboy of the future was hinted at. We didn't get much info - it was just a "hmmm, what if" teaser.

Well - this new JSA has a Starman who appears to be a bit loopy. No one knows his real name, nor his origin. He chooses to live in a psych ward. Annnnnd, he has the costume of Starboy from the LSH!!??! (NOT something the JSA'ers would know). This sort of draws a connection, also, to the "possibly an alternate universe" Kingdom Come story line from about 10 years ago that was a MAJOR hit! (Notice him here, in the black/starfield costume, only with a mask - which was really only seen in Kingdom Come)


I think it was just the second or third issue that we saw a part of Dawnstar's arm in a foreshadowing scene. We haven't seen Dawnstar since...hm....the early 90s maybe?

And in the most recent issue, we got another shocker. In the future, Starboy's longtime love was Dream Girl (she would have premonitions in the form of dreams). Now there's a revamped version of Dream Girl in the revamped LSH title, but she supposedly got killed awhile back. But in this new issue of JSA, we get a sneak peek of Dream Girl held prisoner somewhere...only it's the Dream Girl from the GOOD times in LSH - back in the 70s! MUCH like the new Starman's costume!!! Woo hoo - what's going on here!??! And there's a "next issue" teaser reminding us that there's a Justice League of America/Justice Society of America crossover coming next month. Oh - AND in the second panel in the scan below, there's hints of other LSH characters from the 70s - Lightning Lord (yellow lightning bolts on a green chest), Cosmic King (the purpley sleeves), and Tyr (red skin, mohawk) - all members of the Legion of Super-Villains - again, from waaaaay back when!


And today I got the new Justice League of America #7 in the mail...nailing down the new roster for the regrouped team. The JLA had some REALLY bad times over the last couple of years, so it's time for a breath of fresh air, some new members, some classic members, some really old members, etc. I mean, when was the last time the Red Tornado was a member?? Here's my fast-and-sloppy scan of the three-page fold out showing the new roster.


They just wrapped up the intro-storyline, entitled The Tornado's Path, and wow, it was meaty and good. By "meaty" I mean I need to actually dig 'em all out and read it in one sitting. They had some minor delays as they were shipping, plus sometimes a month apart is a bit too long to follow a story line. I do recommend ya get it if you're interested in what's going on with the JLA these days.

And what's more interesting? This last page in the issue that showed up today - Black Lightning and Batman checking out an unconscious Trident - a cheesy villain of the New Teen Titans from the 80s... He's one of those villains that makes a rare re-appearance, usually when a writer needs an easy-to-take-down villain, or someone to kill off that no one will lose any sleep over. But this is interesting - Batman's pointing out that his fingerprints are those of Val Armorr, otherwise known as Karate Kid (no, not from the silly movie) - from the 31st century, or more specifically, from the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Hunh!?


Oh, and as an added bonus - check out the "Next Issue" box from today's JLA:


OMG I think I just pee'd my pants a little! WOO HOO!!! Just how big a crossover is this going to be??! Well, without having scanned it, I can tell you there's a full page ad for the JLA/JSA crossover called "The Lightning Saga", written by Brad Meltzer and Geoff Johns (two big names known for stirring up craziness AND throwing in a whole lotta fun nostalgia!)

Ahhhhh....it's great when you're so excited about a comic book that you can't wait for the next issue!!!! :)