What really breaks my heart about the end of the Sub Diego run is that they had JUST, and I mean JUST brought Aquaman back to a good place. He was dressed in the classic costume, he was at peace, Mera was back in his life, and he was set to begin his career as an adventurer and hero again. For some reason DC felt the need to go from there to squid, then dead. What a waste.

Well, I seem to have wandered into somewhat negative territory here, and that was not really my intention. Anyway, I enjoyed hearing about this storyline, and I’m glad to hear, for Shag’s sake, that Firestorm seems to be a key player. Speaking of which:

In response to my listing the comics I like to read in public, Shag zeroed in on my omission of Firestorm! What a terrible oversight. Sorry Shag, I’m sad to admit that I don’t own any Firestorm comics…yet! Your love for and devotion to the character, combined with the really interesting retro reviews y’all have done, have piqued my interest in the Nuclear Man. Look for this particular lit. professor to add some of Firestorm’s adventures to his collection soon.

In regards to the late and truly lamented Sub Diego run of Aquaman, I don’t meant to disparage the Sword of Atlantis series, even though I sing the praises of the previous book. While I was quite unhappy with Vol. 4’s cancellation, that does not invalidate the Sword of Atlantis run that came afterward. It’s a true shame that the destruction of the one was necessary for the creation of the other, much like Ray Palmer and Ryan Choi, and while that did engender a good deal of resentment in my heart at first, much like like the aforementioned shrinking super-hero switch-up, I eventually grew to love that which replaced the original. The Sword of Atlantis was a really good book, but I would have greatly preferred that the Sub Diego run had been able to finish on its own terms before Busiek, one of my favorite writers, explored his take on Aquaman. I love a lot of the elements he brought out, though. I really enjoyed the idea of a barbaric, savage underwater world, though the main hero was admittedly a very poor replacement for Aquaman. The setting and the ideas proved far grander than the execution, methinks. In fact, while I really love the ideas that Busiek broached, I think that Tad Williams run at the end of the series was, in many ways, even better. It’s a shame they didn’t allow him to bring Arthur back.

All of this just goes to prove something I’ve often said. Aquaman’s greatest foe is neither Ocean Master, nor Black Manta. It’s the powers that be at DC Comics.

Frank, don’t be silly, Shag’s Chaotic Good at best.

I’ve got to agree with Luke on the George Clooney thing, Rob. First Lord of the Rings, now affirmations of Bruce Smarm? I’m losing even more respect for you! (And to be fair, I didn’t think that was possible after you too philistines trashed the last great literary work of the 20th Century.) Clooney has one speed, and it’s smug. Neither Bruce Wayne nor Batman really do smug all that well.

Luke, I’m glad you’re enjoying the New 52, but I’m sorry that you’re a soulless husk. 😛 Ha, seriously though, if you enjoy it, good for you.

Imagine

I felt I was in a unique position in the Earth-2 Aquaman debacle because I have never read any of the stores in question, so I simply had fun listening to both sides of the argument. I was going through an incredibly rough personal situation (like, one that if things had worked out differently, my entire life would be different in a very, very bad way) at the time, so hearing geeks argue really helped me forget about it for a little while. I told Shag this on an email a while back but I wanted to put it out there for everyone to know. So thank you for that fellas.

I thought Clooney was a perfectly fine Batman, but its hard to tell as he was buried in pile of dung that was Batman & Robin. But I think everyone can agree(?), Clooney has done fine, subtle work in other movies, so there’s no reason to think that if he had been handed a Batman movie that wasn’t an affront to God he would have been thought of as a pretty decent Dark Knight Detective.

Rob also put over George Clooney as Batman. Riiiight. That’s why they make 31 flavors, I suppose.

Concepts blown up 6 months in — best example of this is the Illuminati over at Marvel. Great concept, great cast of characters (Tony Stark, Reed Richards, Namor, Black Bolt, Charles Xavier, Doctor Strange), lots of potential for all sorts of stories, but all Bendis can think of to do with them is break them up. What a WASTE.

Thanks for the show, guys.

As far as “Forever Evil” and the New 52 in general, I’m with Count Drunkula (that “Weird Science” reference is GENIUS!) I’ve been a pretty diehard DC guy all my life, and still was all the way through “Flashpoint”. When the New 52 launched I picked up the first issues of about 45 of the titles…by issue #3 I was down to about 20-25, and now there are less than 10 DC books I read regularly. I got excited about “Trinity War”, “Forever Evil” and “Villains Month”…like Siskoid, I’ve had fun with books like “Suicide Squad” and “Secret Six”, and I usually enjoy Crime Syndicate appearances, but lately…it’s not the same and my reading of the newer stuff is drying up quicker than Aquaman in the Sahara! What’s a fan to do? Find my comic joy…my comfort food…and that’s where I’ve found myself, re-reading old adventures in trades and back issues (just bought volume one of “The Phantom the Complete Series: the Charlton Years”, and reread DC’s 1987 Cary Bates/Gene Colan series “Silverblade”), and discovering new favorites like…Firestorm…got to admit, when I first started listening I wasnt a big fan but now…I’m a matchhead, and proud of it!

And Shag, if you reconsider the DC Classic idea, please tag me in! I’d love to talk about Blue Beetle, Blue Devil, All Star Squadron…heck, the list is endless!