If you’re one of those who thinks that the JLA’s series has been of weak standing in the past few years, it’s not going to get much better with the following news:

And I’m not saying that because I think the comic book answer to Al Franken, overrated as he is, could do the same with the League that he did in Identity Crisis. No, I’m saying that because, after that monstrosity, it’s impossible for me to pick up a book with his name on it.

I’m sorry, but anyone who writes something as lugubrious as IC is not someone whose work I can pick up at ease, if at all. Sure, I wouldn’t be surprised if he were far more respectable of the characters in what he writes (for a year? Too long, I’m afraid). But that still doesn’t wash away the damage of yore, and so, I’ll pass.

Thank goodness Paul Levitz will be the writer on JSA (and during the Bronze Age, he wrote plenty of Earth-2 adventures for them as well).

the upcoming writing task he’s got on Hawkman, that’s now being changed with its 50th issue to Hawkgirl.

I should hope this doesn’t mean that Carter Hall’s being literally ditched, just four years after being revived from limbo. But other than that, I’m certainly looking forward to having someone as talented as Simonson on board the Winged Warriors’ title, that’s for sure!

I found and all I can say is…wow. After all this time, when Kevin Smith, much as I find his writing style questionable, just put it all off for - what was it? Two years? - finally has his miniseries’ 4th part published.

All the same, does that mean that I’m interested? Nope, not really. What I want is a Black Cat miniseries written by Roger Stern, to name but one truly talented writer. And when thinking back on how Smith’s own mini is actually titled Spider-Man/Black Cat, meaning, in other words, that Felicia Hardy get second billing, well, I’m really not sure about it’s being a star vehicle for her, as it ought to be.

another fluff-coated gush upon corpses in comic books:

- “Infinite Crisis” continues in DC’s mainstream superhero titles, and the body count is growing higher as Superman, Batman and other major characters undergo some startling changes. If you’re confused, DC is releasing “Rann-Thanagar War” and “Villains United” ($12.99 each), TPBs collecting two of the four miniseries leading up to the Crisis. (The other two, “OMAC Project” and “Day of Vengeance,” are already available.)

Sorry, not interested. Been there, done that. Not to mention that “body count” is nothing new either, nor is it any fun. This sensationalizing of death in comics is getting old and tired by now.

- Marvel’s own crisis continues this month in a number of books, detailing how the Marvel Universe is going to look now that most mutants (including many X-Men) have lost their powers. A highlight is “Son of M” No. 1 ($2.99), following the de-powered Pietro Maximoff, formerly Quicksilver of the Avengers and the son of Magneto. But, like with DC’s Crisis, all of the books are surprising in their ambitious efforts to change everything we’ve come to expect from our friends in Spandex.

And to change everything back again, no? Yawn. I think I’ll go to sleep. This is neither surprising nor ambitious, I’m afraid. It’s just run-of-the-mill, is all. And we can certainly do without it, if you ask me.

on whether or not Batman is responsible for the crimes being committed by the OMAC robots (Hat tip: ).

There are plenty of interesting arguments this way and that (Troy Brownfield’s is by far the weakest, IMHO), but now, to voice MY take on the whole issue, if the Masked Manhunter is guilty of something, well now, here’s something to ponder: is he guilty of sympathising with a rapist, presented in the form of the one, the only…Doctor Light?

In my opinion, to make it seem as if Batman were more concerned about what the League was doing to Light than what the scumbag, as out-of-character as it was to begin with, did to Susan Dibny, wife of Elongated Man, in Identity Crisis, is quite disgusting. And let’s not forget that the miniseries bore an exclusively masculine viewpoint, and totally obscured the following question: if Doctor Light committed an offensive crime of the sort featured in IDC, well then, isn’t he supposed to be punished for his crimes?

IMO, yes, Dr. Light SHOULD be punished, whether by legal action in court, or even by breaking his legs, I dare say. And that IDC failed to address that part was just one more very offensive problem with it.

Speaking of which…

we find out some very interesting things about what our oh-so super-popular adversary, Dr. Light, is up to on the west coast:

Green Arrow and Black Lightning get Killer Frost to tell them where Dr. Light is. She tells them that Light is going after Ollie’s family.

In Star City, Dr. Light follows Mia, the current Speedy, at her high school. He eventually attacks the student population, forcing Mia to come out in the open to confront him. Light tells her that he’ll fight her later, but first he’s going to visit Conner. After Dr. Light disappears, Mia races to get to Conner to warn him. It was a trap, though, as Light didn’t know where Conner was until he followed Mia to him. Mia and Conner arm themselves with bows and are about to fight Dr. Light.

Putting aside for now that the storyline here sounds as dumb as it does, I find it interesting that, while Light may not be trying to rape any of the students at the school, he most certainly does seem to be menacing them with physical assault (or, more precisely, he’s trying to fry them with his photon beams). Considering this, shouldn’t the supervillain population of the DCU with real moral codes of ethics be frowning upon him by now?