Comic Books

The only thing that keeps me reading non-manga, American comic books is the Ulimate Marvel line. Why? Because, for all of it's flaws (I had a problem with The Ulimates that you could hack into a SHIELD heli-carrier externally and shut it down. If I could figure out safeguards against that, a whole bunch of smarter people could have, too), it has remained more consistant. More interesting. And, damn it, more fun than any other comics that aren't on the web. I own all the trade paperbacks of the series, and buy new ones every time they come out.

And, once Girl Genius went to on-line, there isn't anything else that I really buy that isn't manga.

I haven't bought DC comics in years. Why? DC is just begging for a continuity reboot. The only way I can see that being done is to do a "Year One" for the big six. Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, and the Flash. Start them out at the start of their careers-no history other than a general sort of DC-esque history, all the heroes are new and fresh and off the plane/boat/subway. They're all getting established into their lives and situations, early-to-mid 20s at best, and they have to grow into the characters that they'll become, the shoes that they'll fill.

I can easily see a Superman/Clark Kent that has come to the Daily Planet that is trying to recover from a scandal that makes the Jayson Blair scandal look like a typo. A Batman/Bruce Wayne that has finished his training and is trying to figure out what he has to become. A Green Lantern/Hal Jordan that has just discovered what he can do. A Wonder Woman that has only grown up on an island full of women...and is going to college. You put Gil Grissom with super speed, you have The Flash.

I can see all of these stories. And, I can write them, too....