Big(gish) News From The Big Two

I was expecting a big announcement from Marvel and/or DC to come out of Fan Expo, similarly to how a new Alpha Flight book and Justice League Canada were announced at past Expo events. Of course, Alpha Flight was scaled back to a mini and Justice League Canada was stripped of much of anything that made it Canadian, so any news would be looked at with a suspicious eye anyway.

Instead, the news came within the last 24 hours or so but predictably involves both of those properties.

First things first, Justice League United is done as of December.

Written by JEFF PARKER
Art and cover by TRAVEL FOREMAN
On sale DECEMBER 9 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T • FINAL ISSUE 

Artist Travel Foreman returns for this “trippy” trip to the House of Secrets to reveal at last how Adam Strange came to be trapped in the Zeta Beam! And just what will that mean for the mysterious, reality-warping Breakers that have brought so many disparate heroes and villains to the team?

Can't say I'm crushed, but I'm somewhat surprised. That I knew of, the book was selling well and DC had just installed a new creative team with issue #13. Perhaps early reactions to that new team and direction were not encouraging?

In any event, Equinox ultimately feels like a huge bunch of wasted potential and while I loved the Adam/Alanna Strange designs, I couldn't really think of them as Canadian. I'm sure they'll pop up again somewhere at some point but I won't agonize over it in the meantime.

And following JLU's exit comes yet another comeback by Alpha Flight. In some form, anyway. The Captain Marvel News Twitter account shared some info gathered at the Long Beach Comics Convention.

Let's get some specific quotes from the Comic Book Resources article referred to in the top tweet above.

"[Marvel] wanted to give her a specific mission," (co-writer Michele) Fazekas continued. "I think they wanted to give Carol her own thing that was hers, separate from the Avengers." 

This mission involves Carol being on a space station above Earth -- with some unexpected teammates. "One of the things that's exciting about the space station," (co-writer Tara) Butters said, "is Carol is starting to be Earth's first line of defense -- on the station with Alpha Flight."

Some familiar members, some new ones. Marvel's record with new Alpha members hasn't been very good over the past 20 years or so (Murmur, Flex, Radius, Yukon Jack, Centennial, Earthmover, etc, etc), so I can't help but be a little apprehensive there too.  But honestly, I'd pretty much given up on Alpha Flight so the bar is set pretty low at this point.

Ironically, as Marvel bends over backwards to provide "diversity", Alpha Flight is probably the most diverse team they've ever had. Yet they have been given little attention or respect throughout Marvel's newfound age of enlightenment. Go figure.

Justice League Canada concludes

Justice League United #4 came out yesterday, closing the fledgling book's initial Justice League Canada storyline.

I was originally excited about the book when it was announced as Justice League Canada last year, less so when the name was changed to JLU and the JLC handle was shifted over to the first story arc.  Now the team won't even carry that name going forward so I think we can pretty much set it aside altogether.

Yes, of course it would.

I can't say I hated the book entirely.  Not at all.  In fact, if the expectation of a Canadian team had not been set well before its release, I'd probably be pretty happy with it.

But as I read it, I can't help but notice how little Canadian content there actually is and it irritates the hell out of me.  I'm reading Amazing X-Men right now for the Alpha Flight appearance and even that team has Canadians Northstar and Wolverine among its lineup, so as many Canucks as the JLU includes.

There may be third but without giving too much away to those who have yet to read #4, the story makes it sound like we'll either get her OR Adam Strange.

Admittedly, Alanna Strange could be quite cool.  And of course, there's also our new, much-celebrated Canadian rookie in Equinox...

...who was by and large non-existent throughout the entire story.  In issue four, she appeared in a little more than three pages, which sadly is pretty much her recent average.  Mind you, she does finally get a spotlight in issue #5, due in October, including (main) cover treatment. Her previous cover starring moment was in a variant.

This issue (#5) spotlights the newest member of the team: Equinox of the Moose Cree First Nation! As a rite of passage, Equinox must take down a mystical beast that’s terrorizing her people!

Speaking of covers and the likely disappearance of the JLC name, I won't complain if we lose the so-called Justice League Canada variants.  I made no effort to acquire them because in my opinion, they're weak.  All right, they changed the logo to read "Canada" but so what?  It's otherwise just the same cover with a different background colour, and often not even including the very few Canadian characters in the book.  Big damn deal.

On the flip side, I admit to getting a huge kick from this variant:

It's fun, it's entirely different from the original, it includes a little Canadiana...And it figures, it was done by Montreal's Karl Kerschl.

So what can we look forward to from this team?  Well, September's issue is a tie-in to Future's End, a story which speculates as to the DC Universe's status five years from now.

In the concluding chapter of the epic story that began in this month’s JUSTICE LEAGUE: FUTURES END #1, the armies of Mars rise against the unsuspecting population of Earth – and only the combined might of the Justice League and the Legion of Super-Heroes can stand against them!

Oh, look!  Alanna Strange disappears!  Just like nearly every Canadian aspect from this title!

That's followed by #5 in October, described above, along with an annual.

The Infinitus Saga begins as the Legion of Super-Heroes arrive with the shocking news that the 31st century has been destroyed! Now it’s up to the Justice League United to save the future!

The November solicitations should be available soon, and we'll see what that brings but at the moment I don't know if I'll continue with this book, at least on a regular monthly basis, beyond #5.  I've enjoyed the portrayal of Martian Manhunter and Stargirl but the characters that I buy the book for have too little of a presence for me to bother.

I'd be all over an Adam/Alanna Strange book though...

"Look What I Found!"

I can't pretend that I'm totally caught up in Justice League United.  I find it awkward for the same reason (well, one reason, anyway) that I hated Astonishing X-Men with Northstar and (of course) Wolverine two years ago; There doesn't appear to be a reason for this group to be, or stay, together.  And still along the same lines, I'm not a fan of most of the non-Canadian characters.

But this I enjoyed:

The more I see Adam Strange's updated look, the more I dig it.  That's pretty sleek right there.

Now he does appear to be something of a dork.  Shortly after that panel, he loses control of his flight and crashes.  As he should; I doubt he has much experience with jet packs.  Done well though, watching the hero grow into his role can be very entertaining and hopefully we get to see that play out.

I'm even more hopeful that we get to see Equinox in the next issue since she is a no-show in this one after a well-hyped debut last month.  Puzzling, and frankly, disappointing.

Anyway...We need to acknowledge the possibility that those criticisms will get sorted out later in the story.  Maybe Equinox becomes more prominent.  Perhaps an actual reason for being for this team will be identified.  But early in the game I'm the furthest from being blown away.

Final note: For those who are into such things, Bleeding Cool reported that the second and third issues of the series will also have Justice League Canada variant covers.  Would have been nice to get those in the digital version too, but no dice.  I would at least hope then to have that option with the trade paperback down the road.  We'll see.

We Have a "Justice League Canada" Option of Sorts

Ah, I hate coming across this stuff at work.  I end up distracted the rest of the day because I so badly want to find out everything I can about whatever news I've just heard.

I first saw the cover at right on Bleeding Cool.

...what of those who got all excited about the Justice League Of Canada publicity?

Well, with no restrictions, retailers are now able to order a recoloured version of the issue 1 cover by Mike McKone with a relogoed version as well, reading Justice League Canada rather than Justice League United.

So that’s all right then! And just in time for Niagra Falls Comic Con.

Oh, what a lucky break!

There seems to be a trend of announcing news at Canadian conventions that will undoubtedly be met with great enthusiasm only for plans to change later.  I believe Marvel announced the last Alpha Flight ongoing series at a Canadian Con, but in no time reduced it to a mini.  Justice League Canada was announced by DC at a con in Canada, only for it to be changed to Justice League United a few months later.  The "con" abbreviation is starting to take on a whole different meaning.

But...This is still pretty damn nice, even if the most prominent character is covered in stars. ;-)

While looking for a larger version of the cover, I found a preview of the zero issue on comicbookmovie.com.

I'm embarrassed to note that it's from several days ago.  I have no idea how I missed it.  There's one page below, which you can view in larger form in a separate tab, and clicking on the image will take you to the page from which I copied it to check out the rest.

Got to admit, Adam Strange looks pretty damn cool in that shot.

Justice League United #0 hits stores next Wednesday.

Forget "Canada", the Justice League is now "United".

24 hours after convincing myself to remain excited about Justice League Canada, I admit defeat.  The more I hear about this title, the less I care.

The image posted yesterday was still identified as a "Canadian-based team" by writer Jeff Lemire.  I didn't pick up on the fact that he didn't simply call them Justice League Canada.

And that's because they aren't going by that name anymore.  They are now justice League United.  This was revealed in an article in USA Today...huh...today.

In addition to telling a big honkin' superhero story with his new comic book, Jeff Lemire wants to teach everyone there's more to his native Canada than hockey, poutine and maple syrup.

DC Comics' Justice League of America series ends in April, and then later in the month Lemire relaunches it as Justice League United with a zero issue and a diverse superhero team that will split its time between Northern Ontario and cosmic locales.

Split time?  I gathered there would be some of that with Adam Strange as a member, but now time is split to the point that "Canada" is removed from the title.  Splendid.

"It keeps the book fresh when you have those two very different settings or landscapes to go between," says Lemire, who's working with artist Mike McKone on the new effort.

"It's very much a swashbuckling, world-jumping space adventure."

Lemire was going to call the book Justice League Canada but as he worked out the series with DC co-publisher Dan DiDio and others, "we decided it was a good idea to expand the scope of the series."

There has never been a Justice League team based in Canada, let alone northern Ontario.  How much more "fresh" can that get?

United kicks off with celebrity superheroes Animal Man and Stargirl signing autographs at a convention in Toronto, but duty calls for both up north in Moose Factory and Moosonee near the James Bay coast, just below the Arctic. That's where the main adventure starts and also where the United team will be based after the first arc.

...

"One thing I wanted to do with the book was really touch on every corner of the DC Universe in one team," Lemire says. "Thus the United title."

...

Lemire didn't want to make the mistake that a lot of "cosmic" comics make in that they're too disconnected from the main universe "or what's happening on Earth, basically," the writer says. So United will act as a bridge between worlds — much of the first arc takes place on the planet Rann, which acts in contrast to the heroes' "very stark, rural Northern Ontario location."

And the second arc sends the team off to Thanagar for a story line revolving around Hawkman and his past, Lemire says. "The character is going to continue to evolve, pretty dramatically actually."

So based in northern Ontario, but active everywhere but.  Noted.

The rest of the article, which you can read here, is specific to the Cree character the Lemire has planned and who is my sole remaining reason to give a shit about this book.

The only positive I take from this is that the team can continue to be based in Canada long-term, for what that's worth.  It'll be mostly filled with Americans and aliens, but they'll be in northern Ontario.  On occasion.  Yippie.

Justice League Canada line-up revealed!

The source is writer Jeff Lemire's Twitter feed, so a rather credible source. ;-)

This will be DCComics' first Canadian-based team and will feature a brand new Canadian First Nations superhero.

So much for my prediction that Booster Gold would finally be "outed" as a Canadian.  Including the rather youthful-looking Adam Strange, that'll make all of two Canadians after all (though the newly-created one does sound very interesting.  Check the DC Comics labels at right for more about her, if you missed it).  There are as many aliens on Justice League Canada as there are Canucks.

I love the female content, am not crazy about the male content.  Overall the line-up doesn't set the heart racing but I remain optimistic that it'll lead to bigger things.

JLoC and the Teachings of the Seven Grandfathers

The Toronto Star has been quite supportive of Jeff Lemire's upcoming Justice League Canada work.  It may be coincidental, but the majority of articles that I find in regards to the book (coming in May) are from that publication.

Lemire appears in their "people to watch" section this morning and a few additional details are revealed about JLC.  The complete version is right here.

The action takes place in northern Ontario, in the largely Cree communities of Moosonee and Moose Factory, just south of James Bay. Isolation, a theme that runs through Lemire’s work, is a fact of life in these towns, which are not accessible by road.

Lemire won’t reveal the complete makeup of the superhero team just yet. Animal Man and Green Arrow will be there, and the big three — Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman — won’t. The iconic characters that do appear will be helped by a new Canadian superhero Lemire has created.

She’s a 16-year-old Cree girl attending a Moosonee high school. It’s too early to divulge her powers, name or costume, but a recent trip Lemire made to the area gave him the idea for her qualities.

He discovered what First Nations call the “Teachings of the Seven Grandfathers,” based on the words wisdom, love, respect, bravery, honesty, humility and truth.

“I thought, Oh my God — that’s the archetype for a great superhero,” he says, sitting in his cosy Toronto studio in Leslieville.

“If I’m going to do something in Canada, addressing our First Nations is important because it’s a side of our Canadian identity that’s often overlooked,” adds Lemire, who has a 5-year-old son. “I also felt that First Nations youth could use a positive role model — they have so many hardships.”

The article goes on to mention that "so far" he has produced six issues of Justice League Canada (or Justice League *of* Canada, whatever). Now I don't know that anyone expected this to be a permanent change, so six is probably the most anyone could wish for. The speculation is, and I hope it turns out to be accurate, that this will lead to a number of regular Justice League books based in different countries / areas. And perhaps Justice League Canada can then become a book of its own.

In terms of the cast, it was announced earlier in the year that Adam Strange would be "reimagined" as a Canadian character so there's no question that he's in the book, if not an official member.

What I'm still waiting to see is whether Booster Gold is involved.  The New 52 version of the character was said by DC Comics editors to also be Canadian but, that I know of, this was never confirmed in-story.

This would seem like a good opportunity to do that, but based on the articles and interviews I've read to this point, only Strange and Lemire's new character will be Canadian.

Jeff Lemire's "Barbalien" to appear in True Patriot 2

The Kickstarter Campaign for the second volume of True Patriot, launched earlier today, revealed a couple of surprises.

Most of "Crew Patriot" are returnees, for which I'm grateful because I was hoping that the adventures of the characters if the first volume would continue.  But there have been a couple of additions to the roster.

New patriots joining us this time around include Paul Rivoche (Mister X) and Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth)!

That cracks me up a bit.  Lemire is working on that Justice League of America book, too (soon to be Justice League Canada, at least for a while).

No knock though; I know the people responsible for the campaign can't very well list every single credit for each creator.  It must have been hard to pick a single one for each individual.  Here is Paul Rivoche's line-up and Lemire's is right here.

This project is getting some good buzz early (and is already about 25% funded in less than a day, as I write this).  Comic Book Resources interviewed Lemire and J. Torres (Family Dynamic.  Huh...And a bunch other stuff.  It really IS hard to pick just one) about the project and Lemire revealed some details about his plans for both True Patriot and JLC.  Read that after the boss Grey Owl image below.

Jeff, why did you agree to be part of "True Patriot 2," and what will your contribution be?

Jeff Lemire: I loved the first volume, and I'm a huge fan of all the cartoonists and creators involved. Also, anyone who reads my work knows I'm a proud Canadian boy, so I couldn't resist.

My contribution will involve a new superhero I'm creating called Barbalien. He's -- well, he's an alien barbarian. He crash landed on Earth in the '60s and posed as an RCMP officer by day, fighting crime in the north by night -- sort of a mash up between Dudley Do-Right, Martian Manhunter and Conan.

You write a lot of superhero stories already for DC, and when you take over JLA next spring it will be (temporarily) retitled "Justice League of Canada" due to some roster additions from the Great White North. Why is it important to include Canadian characters in this lineup, and what makes them special?

Lemire: Well, like I said, I'm a proud Canadian. I love my country. It's a complex, diverse and beautiful place. And I love to reflect our identity in my work whenever I can. Adam Strange will be re-imagined as a Canadian, but I will also be creating a new teenaged superhero from Northern Ontario who is Cree.

I really wanted to create a character that reflects our First Nations, an often-overlooked part of the Canadian identity. And I wanted to create a character that wasn't just a stereotypical First Nations character as well.

I'll be going up to two remote Northern Ontario communities, Moose Factory and Attawapiskak, later this month to visit the local schools and talk to the kids about comics and drawing. I'll also be involving the kids in the creation of this new character. Details on that should be coming soon...

Read the full interview here.

Justice League Canada!

I'm still struggling with accepting that this is not an April 1st type of situation.

I've abbreviated the article below.  Click on the Star link to read the ful version.

Toronto Star: ...On Friday afternoon, at Toronto’s sprawling Fan Expo convention, DC Comics will announce that its flagship superhero team — which has included such celebrity superheroes as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern — is going to uproot from the U.S.A. and be headquartered north of the border in the spring of 2014. The ongoing Justice League of America series will be renamed and feature a new Canadian character alongside some of the world’s best-known heroes.

Better yet, it will be written by Toronto’s own Jeff Lemire, who has become one of DC’s superstar writers, and now gets the chance to bring those heroes to his familiar stomping ground.

Much of the action will take place in Toronto, Lemire says, but the actual team will be based around James Bay and Moosonee.

...

“It’s not really like Alpha Flight, as we’re not creating a bunch of very Canadian characters,” Lemire says.

“Like those characters are all almost clichéd Canadian archetypes. This is still very much set in the regular Justice League universe and the team will still have some of the bigger named superheroes, but they will actually be located in Canada now, and there will be a couple of new members who are Canadian. So obviously as a Canadian, and as a Canadian storyteller, it’s something I’m very proud of.”

Lemire said the idea initially came from Dan DiDio, DC’s publisher, and he admits that he, too, first thought it was a joke. But when he realized his boss was being serious, he gladly accepted the challenge and “has kind of gone crazy with it.”

The northward migration will come after the ongoing crossover comics event Trinity War, in which the current three Justice League teams clash, and the ensuing Forever Evil, in which the villains of the DC Universe take over.

“As a result of that, without spoiling any of that story, there will be major changes in the Justice Leagues, and in the spring, the current Justice League of America team goes through a dramatic change and some of the pieces that are left behind will evolve into this new Justice League Canada team.”

Lemire says that the new Canadian character is going to be a big story point, and he can’t reveal too much, but he says: “I’m trying to make a character that reflects a real part of our cultural identity, who could be a real Canadian teenager. That’s what I’m really after with that.”

In addition, Lemire says that he will be bringing back Adam Strange, a Silver Age DC character, a swashbuckling archaeologist who is transported to the far-off planet of Rann. In this new incarnation, he will also be Canadian. Comics continuity can be a mind-bending thing to try to explain, but one of the reasons Lemire has a free hand with characters is that DC relaunched all of its titles two years ago in an initiative called The New 52, giving all of their long-standing characters a fresh start.

Lemire can’t say who will make up Justice League Canada, but says it is a “dream team” of A-list DC characters and some of his favourite oddball and more obscure heroes.

“It really is just trying to make an honest portrayal of the places and the country and people that I know. That’s why I’m setting it in Toronto and Northern Ontario, because those are the places that I really know well,” he says.

“I’m just trying to create a genuine backdrop for these stories that are big and cosmic in scope, but are still really grounded in a real place. As long as I keep that focused, I’ll probably avoid clichés, but sometime those clichés are clichés because they’re true, so I’m sure some of that will slip in there.”

So it's more Justice League IN Canada than a true Canadian Justice League, but assuming that we're not getting punked, it's still pretty damn cool.

Never thought of Adam Strange as Canadian, but I don't know that his nationality was ever a huge factor in his stories.  It may have never been stated, for all I know.  I've always liked him as a guest appearance character but have never read books specific to him, that I can recall.

So between Booster Gold supposedly being Canadian (can we assume membership?) and Sandman on Earth-2, DC now has a few "converts".  I would prefer new characters, or existing Canadian characters fleshed out since most have had limited exposure, but I'll take what I can get.  I have a feeling this is a temporary change for the series, so let's enjoy it while we can.