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.

Meeting Equinox

Because this blog is so awesome ;-) you've known for a while what DC's new Canadian character to appear in Justice League Canada United would look like (roughly, because it was quite a small picture).  Sure, DC Women Kicking Ass got credit for it, but I posted it about it more than a week before they did (but their image was far better, granted).

In any event, the young lady in question, code-named Equinox ("real" name, Miiyahbin), was introduced to the world this morning in a CBC article. And damned if she doesn't seem pretty great.

Oh, if you click on the CBC article link, avoid the comments section.  Just the standard narrow-minded sarcasm from the miserable people who frequent those areas of the cbc.ca website.  Trust me on this; your brain will thank you.

Comic Book Resources' Kevin Melrose describes her thusly:

Code-named Equinox, Miiyahbin is a 16-year-old from Moose Factory, Ontario, whose power comes from the Earth and changes with the seasons.

And I love that. I can't think of another character who has an ability with that specific "limitation".

With this revelation, the cover to the issue #0, due in stores on April 23rd, has been updated accordingly.

Supergirl is far less prominent now, which might explain her absence from the cover to #1.  It may be that her involvement is actually quite limited but that's just a guess.

I admit to still being disappointed in the name change from Justice League Canada to Justice League United and with the scarcity of Canadian characters on a team based in northern Ontario. Our new Cree teenager was really the main source of my optimism in regards to this book (I couldn't care much less about most of the rest of the cast) and in that regard, the creative team has nailed it, in my view.  I can't wait to get her complete story.

One last thing: Bleeding Cool clearly has no clue as to what the word "Keewatin" means, apparently because it is spelled slightly differently in the preview material (note the extra "h") and because if Google can't answer the question, no one can (since it's obvious that was the extent of their research).

It means "north wind", which appears to be entirely appropriate to the character, and makes for a nice touch.  Pleased to meet you, Equinox.

A small look at DC's new Canadian character in JLU.

DC Comics released their May 2014 solicitations earlier in the week, including the cover to Justice League United (previously Justice League Canada) #1.  I was excited to have a look at the Canadian character writer Jeff Lemire had promised, but she was blacked out on the cover I saw displayed.

Yet oddly enough, she is not blacked out on the DC Comics website (and there she is at bottom right). Unfortunately, I have yet to be able to find a larger picture than the one at right, but it gives a pretty good idea of her appearance.  I don't why she remains a mystery; hopefully it's because they plan on making a big deal out of her introduction.

Got to say, Adam Strange looks pretty cool in this image.  And I know it's somewhat irrelevant, but...I can't help but notice that Supergirl is not on this cover as she was on the cover of #0.  Perhaps our noob takes her place?  We'll find out in April/May.

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.