Who’s Editing #3: Black and Blue

Fire and Water Presents: Who's Editing Episode 3! Siskoid and the Irredeemable Shagg open an issue of Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #3 and imagine a line of books based solely (and obligatorily) on the heroes found within. Shagg has a liiiiiittle experience with the encyclopedia series AND a pretty strong connection to one of the heroes within. This one's gonna leave Siskoid... black and blue.

This podcast is a proud member of the FIRE AND WATER PODCAST NETWORK:

Credits:
Theme: "Révolution" by Les Sherpas.

Bonus clips: "Blue Devils Fanfare" by the Grand Terrace High School Band; and Comic Culture interview with Gary Cohn.

Thanks for leaving a comment to the editors!

27 responses to “Who’s Editing #3: Black and Blue

  1. AQUAGIRL #3
    Written by ANNA OBROPTA and LOUISE SIMONSON
    art by BRET BLEVINS
    cover by MATT WAGNER
    LexCorps’ digging through S.T.A.R. Labs project files leads them to search for their missing representative Buck Samson, formerly the Metaman, lost in infinite space. However, millionaire investor Payson Maxwell has a more personal reason for exploring the matter: the presumed death of his Harvard graduate son and presumed heir Michael. The boy’s ridiculous adventuring had supposedly cost him his life, but Payson has retraced the path that led him to Mount Kilimanjaro in denial of this fact. Now possessed by The Antagon, can the novice Sea-Shifter Aquagirl halt his rampage before it reaches the level of death and destruction Tristess witnessed in their first encounter? And what will become of the B’wana Beast legacy?
    ON SALE 07.29.20
    $3.99 US | 32 PAGES
    FC | DC

    ARCANE ASYLUM #3
    written by DAVE WIELGOSZ
    art by SUMIT KUMAR
    cover by SCOTT KOLINS
    Anton Arcane continues his unholy experimentation, this time presenting Arnold Wesker with a curious replacement for Scarface, his ventriloquist dummy. It’s a pale, spindly doll with a raggedy blond mop on his head. “The Geek,” as it’s called, has seen many bizarre sights, even by the standards of Gotham. Given how he reacted to a toy only simulating life through his fractured mind, what will Wesker be compelled to do with one the other patients can hear telling them things?
    ON SALE 08.05.20
    $3.99 US | 3 OF 6 | 32 PAGES
    FC | DC

    ATOMIC KNIGHTS #3
    written by CHUCK DIXON
    art & cover by GRAHAM NOLAN
    In the 1940s, the Boy Commandos helped the U.S. battle fascism. Today, via a secret cabal within the highest reaches of the government, child soldiers are outfitted with cutting edge weaponry in service to fascism. How can Gardner Grayle and his Knights combat this perversion of the Boy Commandos, when they have superior killpower and no reservations about deploying with extreme prejudice?
    ON SALE 08.26.20
    $3.99 US | 32 PAGES
    FC | DC

    BABE #2
    Written by MARK RUSSELL
    art by SETH DAMOOSE
    cover by ANDY MACDONALD
    Even with physically enhancing LEX-0-Suits, Alien Containment Enforcement cannot handle Babe. They need detainee assistance, and have a perfect candidate in the Changralyn. A member of a species of very large and superhumanly strong pacifists should be able to make Babe “mind,” while being easily managed themselves. Charis-Nar even has paternal inclinations. But you see, this alien recognizes that A.C.E. must be receiving extra-terrestrial intelligence with an agenda to even know of the existence of Changralyn. Also, it’s clearly not The Citadel, who could have warned A.C.E. that their new “daddy” is better known as the violent rebel Broot of the Omega Men…
    ON SALE 08.26.20
    $3.99 US | 32 PAGES
    FC | DC

    BARDA #2
    written by JAMES TYNION IV
    art by TRAVIS MOORE
    cover by JUN BOB KIM
    The trouble with being an escape artist by osmosis is that you don’t necessarily have the training for an attempt that would force death to accepted your defiance. The Black Racer has been especially busy of late, which begs the question, where exactly do New Gods go when they die? And if finding out means reuniting with her beloved husband, might Barda happily race there?
    ON SALE 08.05.20
    $3.99 US | 32 PAGES
    FC | DC

    MOURNINGSTAR #2
    written by DAVID BARNETT
    art by ANDREA SORRENTINO
    cover by DEREC DONOVAN
    SOCIETY OF SHADOWS TIE-IN! Lost 1,000 years in the past and separated from his companions, Blok fell on bad old habits. Now he’s in Zandia to complete his induction into the League of Assassins by silencing Brother Blood. However, Bounty is still trying to win the trust of the Church of Blood, and Azrael’s life may count on his regaining it, but not all is as it appears…
    ON SALE 08.19.20
    $3.99 US | 32 PAGES
    FC | DC

  2. BLACK ORCHID #1
    written by KAMI GARCIA
    art by JASON BADOWER
    cover by MARK KUETTNER
    Nearly a half-century after her creation, Sheldon Mayer’s mysterious heroine returns, with none the wiser as to her true origins. Masked vigilante? Supernatural provocateur? Secret agent? Sentient plant? Sugar, you’re not even close. You think she’s an ally, just because she helped you put down a monster that threatened her secret agenda? Please. She was perfectly content with an assumed identity in a cushy position at LexCorp… until she was uncovered by a United Broadcasting Company reporter and blackmailed by their president, Samuel Tanner. Now the Black Orchid is forced back into action, exclusively covered by UBC News. The ball may be in Tanner’s court now, but Orchid’s going to spike it when she has him say hello to her little friend. She’s been at this a lot longer than you think, with a secret garden whose language only Cecil Wilson understands…
    ON SALE 08.12.20
    $3.99 US | 32 PAGES
    FC | DC

    THE BLUE BEETLE #1
    written by RAVEN GREGORY
    art by FERNANDO DAGNINO
    cover by BRANDON PETERSON
    By chance, El Paso teenager Jaime Reyes happened upon an ancient scarab jewel. Unbeknownst to him, this was a sentient life form created through the blending of sorcery and alien technology. The scarab bound itself to Jaime, allowing him to generate a morphing armored exoskeleton of incredible resiliency that can craft powerful weaponry, afford him superhuman strength, and provides for an array of advanced scanning features. Jaime spent months as the latest incarnation of an heroic line of Blue Beetles, until the weight of its responsibility and the dangers it imposed on his loved ones caused him to seek a remedy. Through the combined efforts of the mystical Dr. Fate and the technological wizardry of Ted Kord, the scarab was finally removed from Jaime’s spine. Kord, the previous Blue Beetle, then “hacked” the scarab and resumed the role with this extraterrestrial asset. Kord even used his wealth to pull strings to see Jaime attend a prestigious prep school and pave the way toward a bright future…

    Except Jaime was barred from attending, caught up in a federal criminal investigation of an admissions fraud scheme. Worse, background checks cast doubts on his parents’ status as U.S. citizens, threatening the entire family with deportation. Then Booster Gold showed up, warning that the scarab had only been given to a Ted Kord, not the Ted Kord he had served alongside in Justice League International, until his murder by corrupt billionaire Maxwell Lord. Also, the transfer of the scarab triggered an alert among its creators, the evil insectoid aliens The Reach, with a global invasion forthcoming. Plus, there’s a nuclear-powered super-soldier knocking on the door with questions of his own…

    Blue Beetle returns in a new ongoing series that will finally address the full legacy of the scarab and its bearers, as well as Jaime Reyes’ greater role in the DC Universe as its (former) bearer!
    ON SALE 08.12.20
    $3.99 US | 32 PAGES
    FC | DC

  3. Another great and fun episode. Love the re-imaginings, even if one of them invoked the odious Pacific Rim 2.

    I have decided that I will limit myself to one proposed title per episode. This time, no surprise given how much I love the character, is Black Orchid. I really want to play into the mystery of the original Black Orchid. We never knew her real identity. We never really knew her powers. There was a brief fan theory it was Supergirl. And then Vertigo/Gaiman gave her the plant being origin. And I loved that series so I want to keep that alive as well.

    So I am going to make a sort of Birds of Prey style book.

    Black Orchids #1
    Written by Marguerite Bennett
    Art by Emmanuela Lupacchino

    Black Orchid is a super-hero, a minor plant elemental, and in touch with magic. She fights crime big and small. But sometimes her power set doesn’t fit the mission. And so she reaches out to other female super-heroes in the DCU and asks them to don the Black Orchid outfit and pretend to be her to accomplish the goal. How did Black Orchid have xray vision that time? It was Supergirl. How did Black Orchid go undercover in the mob? That was Batgirl. How did Black Orchid incapacitate an army of ninjas? That was Jessie Quick. How did she fight Felix Faust? That was the ‘real’ Black Orchid. How can she be on both coasts seemingly simultaneously? Because they were.

    Welcome to the craziest super-hero team ever, an army of one … The Black Orchids.

  4. First off, I’m upset the CW never tapped into the awesome that Black Orchid. So much potential in that character!

    I have my pitch for her. One day…

  5. Black Orchid: The last thing Juanita Rodriguez remembered was getting a delivery of black orchids, until she woke up and was accused of being a member of the infamous Black Orchid terrorist group, seeing as she just killed the Board of Directors of Galaxy Communications. She narrowly escapes the police, and now has to track down the person behind the group and clear her name. This is a supernatural-tinged take on The Fugitive, with nods to 100 Bullets and film noir.

    Black Lightning: I like the idea of Jefferson Pierce having been a hero since the late 70’s, but he used his Olympian fame and powers not to teach, but enter the political arena. We start with Jeff announcing his candidacy for President, and follow his campaign while flashing back though his career.

    Blue Beetle: This is going to be straight-up body horror. Cop Dan Garrett is having strange dreams, where he sees an unknown woman with a blue gem set in her forehead, but wakes up before he can understand what she’s saying. One night on patrol, he shoots and kills a blue-skinned creature with four arms, and a blue mask, that he peels of to realize that it’s the same woman from his dreams. Her body then ages to dust, and the scarab he thought was a gem, leaps up and embeds itself in his forehead, like in his dreams. Now he’s hallucinating, his colleagues are looking at him like he’s crazy, he seems to be transforming into an Egyptian woman, and he just remember what she said in the dream “Khaji-da”.

    Boy Commandos: They’re 12 year olds with machine guns, and they’ve been fighting wars since 1945, and they’re still 12! They’re functionally immortal, and whatever force cursed them is coming to collect. What sort of toll does that take on someone who can’t even shave yet?

  6. BLUE DEVIL #1
    written by ELLIOTT SERRANO
    art by KEVIN SHARPE
    cover by BRETT BOOTH

    Hollywood never gave Santiago “Santi” Ramírez a break. He spent the best years of his life doing every lousy job in Tinseltown– transportation, best boy, lighting, construction, stunts– whatever was needed for whoever was hiring. Some performers with a sharp wit would get pegged as lovable rogues or smart alecks. Santi was just told that he had an “attitude,” and locked down whatever drug dealer roles Trejo passed on. For a passionate artist, it was a slow death, until he packed it in and went back home to “Steel City.” Santi didn’t give up on filmmaking though, becoming a local legend of Pueblo, Colorado with his low budget, gonzo, gory pictures.

    Being a cult classic may keep you in company and beer on a Saturday night, but it doesn’t do much for your overhead. That’s why he took the call from scandal plagued mini-mogul Jock Verner after everyone on the A, B, and C-list had hung up on him. Following years of mismanagement and poor performers, the once esteemed Verner Brothers Studio was on the verge of bankruptcy. But for Santi, it was his last, best chance to finally make a real picture. No DIY special effects! Union labor! Craft services instead of an ice chest full of Mama’s tamales and a comal.

    The devil’s bargain, as always, is in the details. The studio can’t survive on a quirky horror-comedy with a modest return. They want what everyone wants– a blockbuster super-hero franchise. Wayne Tarrant is very affordable, being as he’s just a few weeks out of rehab. Sharon Scott’s snakeoil lifestyle brand frees her up for a multi-picture deal, and Verner Brothers’ most valuable IP is Blue Devil. You know, the notoriously cursed film with a body count that includes its producer, her gopher nephew, and the creator of the cutting edge prosthetic that allowed for the hit film to shoot 100% practical.

    The Blue Devil rig was the beginning of the curse, when it was enchanted by a literal demon and somehow merged with the body of Daniel Cassidy. Dan is long dead, and the suit was technically the studio’s mysteriously recovered property. There’s no clear mechanisms, and they would be painfully outdated by now, plus wouldn’t this technically be Cassidy’s flayed skin? Yet when Santi wears the Blue Devil, he has all the same powers and abilities. Santi’s soul might have been safer back in Pueblo, because the Blue Devil “suit” still seems to be a weirdness magnet, and what happens if Dan shows up one day, asking for it back? It wouldn’t be the strangest thing to happen on this set…

    A new ongoing series by Elliott (Army of Darkness) Serrano and Kevin (Vengeance of Vampirella) Sharpe that returns to the entertaining meta roots of Blue Devil, only sharpened with time, and just a “slice” of the supernatural.
    ON SALE 08.19.20
    $3.99 US | 32 PAGES
    FC | DC

    AMBUSH BUG #3
    written by KEITH GIFFEN & J.M. DEMATTEIS
    art by RONAN CLIQUET
    cover by JAKE ZECK
    The Wall sends your second favorite increasingly mentally imbalanced merc-with-a-mmmattitude to capture the totally doomed cannon fodder draft pick Dreadbolt, so’s ya don’t forget why they’re called a Suicide Squad. Because joining them is like committing suicide. ‘Cuz people often die during their missions. Is this getting through to you? See, this is exactly why she needs another Dead-bolt. Speaking of, did you know his father Bolt was a member of an eviller faux Suicide Squad before getting blown up as part of a “real” one that was run by Sgt. Rock (not actually Sgt. Rock, who was in fact very dead, since he was a grown man in 1945.) Oh, but y’know Bolt survived that, despite leaving a crispy skeletal corpse. Ya know, Bolt was supposed to be dead a whole bunch of times, including the one where he was murdered by his own son, Dreadbolt. Under the circumstances, you’d think Bolt would just let Ambush Bug slide on consigning his son to a suicide mission, but noooooo, he seems really averse to doing that. Also, he’s still not dead, but not for Bug’s lack of trying!
    ON SALE 08.19.20
    $3.99 US | 32 PAGES
    FC | DC

    ATOMIC #3
    written by TOM KING
    art by RAGS MORALES
    cover by Tyler Kirkham
    Ryan Choi’s investigation into his own murder triggers a conflict between his killer, Deathstroke, and Aquaman’s archenemy Black Manta. At the same time, Atom Smasher is confronted by the new Damage. Meanwhile, Ray Palmer uncovers the long mothballed files of Laraine & B. Eric Blairman, and is shocked to learn of the existence of a semi-covert super-team affiliated with the American Security Agency in the 1960s & ’70s. How could their activities have been covered up so thoroughly that no one in the JLA knew of them?
    ON SALE 08.05.20
    $3.99 US | 3 OF 12 | 32 PAGES
    FC | DC

    BRONZE TIGER #1
    written by BRYAN HILL
    art by DEXTER SOY
    cover by TYLER KIRKHAM
    variant cover by EDDIE NUNEZ
    SOCIETY OF SHADOWS TIE-IN! If Batman wasn’t already dead, Ben Turner would have to kill him. For years, Turner was haunted by the memory of murdering Sara Lance at a circus, of all places, while brainwashed by Ra’s al Ghul. Today, facial recognition technology picked up a very much alive (if now blond) Lance enter the United States, and Amanda Waller alerted Turner as a personal courtesy. Sh’yeah, right. But that’s a favor to be leveraged at a later time. One red-eye to Gotham City, and if that doesn’t pan out, Bronze Tiger will have more than words with his old sparring partner, Richard Dragon. In fact, their former employers at G.O.O.D. may have had a lot more information on this so-called “White Canary” than they had let on, and Turner will get it, if he has to rip the whole organization to shreds along the way!
    ON SALE 08.12.20
    $3.99 US | 32 PAGES
    FC | DC
    This issue will ship with two covers.
    Please see the order form for details.

  7. BOUNCE BACK #1
    written by TY TEMPLETON
    art by STEPHEN DESTEFANO
    cover by SKOTTIE YOUNG
    So you want to be a super-hero but you’ve flubbed the big team tryout. You’ve gone after that bank robber but tripped over your cape instead. It’s your media debut but you accidently blow up the ice cream shop.
    It’s not the end. What you need are the services of Chuck Taine, mysterious ex-hero and now teacher to the hapless, to help unlock the hero within and BOUNCE BACK!
    ON SALE 08.19.20
    $3.99 US | 32 PAGES
    FC | DC

    1. Bounce back like a tennis ball
      Bounce back, bounce back like a basketball
      Bounce back, bounce back like a soccer ball
      Or really any kinda ball, except a football
      Bounce back, bounce back like a tennis ball
      Bounce back, bounce back like a racquetball
      Bounce back, bounce back like a volleyball
      Or really any kinda ball, except a football

  8. CONQUEST OF THE BARON EARTH #2
    written by PETER J. TOMASI
    art and cover by SERGIO DAVILA
    Black Lightning’s refusal to confront police brutality at BLM protests in Brick City may be the final straw in his fraying relationship with his daughter, Thunder. Is his answering the call for aid from Markovia simply an excuse to run from their problems? Blitzkrieg relies on an increasingly ancient history to persuade General Immortus’ latest incarnation of the Brotherhood of Evil to serve him against Bedlam. Has Baron Winters’ resistance died in the cradle beneath the weight of Blackbriar Thorn, and what role might The Aristocrats play?
    ON SALE 08.12.20
    $3.99 US | 2 OF 12 | 32 PAGES
    FC | DC

    DEEP SPACE S.T.A.R. SQUADRON BLACKHAWK #2
    written by MARC ANDREYKO
    art & cover by V KEN MARION
    Ladybird card stock variant cover by BILLY TUCCI
    Tensions rise as Tim “Talon” Drake feels undermined as leader by the more aggressive John “Condor” Trujillo, especially following his insubordinate execution of Black Hand. Zinda “Ladybird” Blake continues to be amazed by the advanced S.T.A.R. craft at her disposal, and gives in to wanderlust. While abroad, her fighter is compromised by the Thanagarian shapeshifter Byth, intent on compromising Blackhawk Island and ending the threat posed by the Squadron before they turn their sights on his evildoing. Can Wenonah “Strix” Littlebird and Bluejay overcome their distrust of Vanessa “Cygnus” Kapatelis to stop Byth from snuffing out the entire team?
    ON SALE 08.26.20
    $3.99 US | 32 PAGES
    CARD STOCK VARIANT COVER $4.99 US
    FC | DC
    This issue will ship with two covers.
    Please see the order form for details.

    CRISIS ACROSS INFINITE TIME #2
    written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
    art by DAVID FINCH
    cover by STEVE LIGHTLE
    “Charles Foster Taine” arrives in 2049 Big City to recruit Rickenbacker and Killer to help him get past Boss Angel’s stormtroopers and reach Kaine Salinger/ORCOM2 . Meanwhile, the former Legionnaires Gates, Inferno, Kid Quantum, Shikari & Gear must reroute the Five Warriors from Forever before they can reach the Palace of Eternity for their own ends.
    ON SALE 08.26.20
    $3.99 US | 2 OF 25 |32 PAGES
    FC | DC

    BRAINIAC’S 5
    written by DAN JURGENS
    art by MIGUEL MENDONÇA
    cover by SCOTT KOLINS
    CRISIS ACROSS INFINITE TIME TIE-IN! We’re living in the darkest timeline… The Greatest Darkness. It isn’t that the Justice League could not die, but not this soon. And worse, the Age of Apokolips now extends for more than a millennium. The only thing uniting the planets is the Anti-Life Equation, and the Legion of Super-Heroes never existed.

    The individual Legionnaires are another matter. So long as the boom tubes open on time, the Computer Tyrants are allowed their fiefdom on Colu. However, by their calculation, the absolute dominion of the New Gods is inevitable. Unable to tolerate being overthrown by such an inferior intellect, Pulsar Stargrave sends his only “son,” Querl Dox, back 1,000 years to cripple the false gods at the dawn of their expanding empire.

    Arriving in a time sphere on 21st Century Earth, Dox soon recognizes the limitations even a being of his enormous intelligence has when faced with an entire pantheon of metahuman entities in an inaccessible dimension. Dox cannot yet even overcome the incalculable distance to reach his targets. He would require a brain trust, some of the most powerful minds available in this backwards time, including his “ancestor” Brainiac, The Brain, Brain Storm, and the father-son Brain Waves. Can a collective of such genius build a stairway to New Genesis, and if so, what then?
    ON SALE 08.19.20
    $3.99 US | 1 OF 5 | 32 PAGES
    FC | DC

  9. Thanks for another great show. While I come up with an idea, a few comments on yours!

    I loved Shagg’s idea for Black Lightning, yours too, Siskoid… has Tony Isabella yelled at you both yet for your disgraceful hubris? I love the idea of a much older Jeff – maybe call the book ‘Grey Lightning – Black DOES Crack’.

    Siskoid, shouldn’t a female Black Pirate be called the PINK Pirate (ducks). The idea of an old pirate ship with modern tech is just brilliant, I’d buy that book!

    I love how both of you made ‘Willie Walker’ sound like Willie Wonka – that would make for a very different Black Racer. I’m not sure about Shagg’s notion of him spending his time between jobs contemplating his existence, he’s already seen as a bit of a Silver Surfer rip-off. Shagg, you are such a serious fella… and then you’re also giving us Blok as a deep thinker? Maybe combine them into the Blok Racer?

    Growing up Brainiac is also something I’d buy, but what would our totally adorb hero’s slogan be? Gotta have a slogan in an Art and Franco book!

    I love that idea of the Dryad people as Easter Island folk, nice one Siskoid.

    Shagg, well done on your Chuck and Luornu idea – how about calling it 30thCenturySomething?

    It is important to be culturally sensitive, but I just love the way ‘B’wana Beast’ sounds, so, how about moving him from fauna to flora – lo, there shall come a Banana Beast! (I could be waiting some time for my invitation with material like this…)

    I’d tweak Brain Storm because I love the name. I’d lean into it and give him Validus-style electrical lightning, plus electrical versions of other weather types – sizzling hailstones, snow that fries the flesh, and his big move, sheet lightning that stuns the soul, putting his opponent into a lifelong stupor.

    1. You know, I grew up on Captain Harlock (Albator in French), so a high tech pirate ship is just floating in my head naturally.

      30thCenturySomething. IS. BRILLIANT.

  10. When you mentioned the possibility of Black Racer being written by a writer with a disability, drawing on their own experiences, one name jumped to my mind immediately: William Messner-Loebs (who has lived his entire life with only one arm, his right arm having been amputated in infancy due to a cancerous growth). I loved his run on Flash, and his Dr. Fate run showed that he could balance heavy cosmic/mystic concepts with down-to-earth humanity and empathy, which would be perfect for your Black Racer proposal.

  11. DC Comics Entertainment, in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and in cooperation with the NAACP, LULAC, OCA, SAALT, & NCAI, begins an initiative to spotlight creators and characters of color in stories that explore systemic inequality and the lived experience of minorities. While DC continues its commitment to featuring our traditional heroes of color in fantastic stories, the RISE IN POWER subgroup will develop newly created and boldly re-imagined properties with a greater social consciousness and topical bent involving an emphasis on outreach to creators that represent their communities.

    DC BLACK S.T.A.R.S SPECIAL #1
    Written by AKWAEKE EMEZI, VITA AYALA, EMMA BEEBY, HENA KHAN, MICHAL MCMILLIAN, MICHAEL MORECI, ERICA SCHULTZ, CHRIS SEBELA and ADAM SMITH
    Art by BARNABY BAGENDA, JUAN FERREYRA, SONNY LIEW, DAVID MESSINA, KHARY RANDOLPH and more
    The Spider cover by JEREMY DALE

    Even as S.T.A.R. Labs was being forcibly absorbed by the military/industrial complex, dedicated scientists like Dr. Sarah Charles have quietly resisted, secreting their most dangerous discoveries from outside forces. As a top researcher, it has been difficult for Dr. Charles to avoid being consigned to some paramilitary operation or other, and her latest proposal may be just what she needs to maintain the integrity of both S.T.A.R. and herself.

    Since the invasion of Earth by the Alien Alliance, the scientific community has been aware on the impact extreme stress has on the triggering of the latent metagene that is unique to humans. Communities of color are historically the least researched population for super-power manifestation, with the highest concentrations of incarcerated and prematurely deceased gene-actives. These groups are currently experiencing the greatest number of stressors since the creation of the field of metagene research. With the logistical support of the S.T.A.R. Corps, Dr. Charles’ goal is to detect and support minority metahumans as early as possible, ostensibly as prospective soldiers in Earth’s defense, but clandestinely to insure they have a choice in the matter.

    BREATHTAKER: Discovering a man in police custody near-death from a chokehold, Ty must decide if his life can be saved, and what kind of reckoning to mete out to the abusive officers. An exclusive introductory story for the upcoming series!

    THE SPIDER: In a prelude to his debut in Red Hood & the Dark Outlaws #50, we flash back to Talal Joudeh’s time as a Syrian refuge. Hungry, isolated, half-blind and sick from chemical weapons, Joudeh spontaneously developed electrostatic powers that allowed him to cling to or propel himself from certain types of surfaces. These metahuman abilities allowed him to route hostile army forces that pursued him, as well as to “fly” on electromagnetic waves to escape the embattled country entirely. Dr. Charles was sympathetic, until she learned the powers came with a high price– a vampiric thirst for human blood! First quenched upon his attackers, the thirst is now driving The Spider to further bloodletting. His powers allow him to manipulate melee and especially ranged weapons, leading toward his preferred hollow-shaft arrows, used to drain blood from his victims. Can Dr. Charles in good conscience allow The Spider to continue to stalk. or will he decide that she’s too a great a threat to his own survival?

    BLOCKBUSTER: Deeptiman Ghimire had his sights set on Bollywood stardom until his explosive powers of shockwaves and flamebursts manifested. Can Dr. Charles reach him before the Indian Army sends him into the Line of Actual Control? How will Blockbuster respond to a third option offered by Baron Bedlam, especially when Bug & Byte will likely sting should he refuse their master?

    Plus an advanced preview of BROTHER POWER!

    PRESTIGE FORMAT
    ONE-SHOT | ON SALE 08.05.20
    $9.99 US | 80 PAGES
    FC | RATED T

    BREATHTAKER #1
    written by AKWAEKE EMEZI
    art and cover by L-ABOMINATION
    Ty Hodges resented being told “thank you for your service,” given the treatment doled out by the military. Ty had done a lot more good for the world as an EMT than while carrying a rifle in Afghanistan, and even though they kept their personal life private, no one could take away this profession by outing them. Ty still presented as male, not only because it afforded more immediate respect, but because of the hurt they felt at the mockery over their physical appearance. Put bluntly, Ty was not pretty, and being a woman seemed to give the world license to cruelly tell them such.

    Serving as a first-responder meant early exposure to COVID-19, before anyone knew what they were dealing with. Before long, Ty was gasping, on a ventilator, slipping fast. A physician with an agenda decided Ty had nothing to lose by being prescribed a typically lethal dose of an untested medication. The shock to Ty’s system triggered their metagene, and from the brittle swollen carcass of Tyrone Hodges erupted Tynisha, their beautiful inner self, like a butterfly from a pupa. Besides finally becoming Ty’s ideal self, Tynisha possessed the superhuman ability to control the flow and volume of oxygen, allowing the generation of force pulses, limited levitation, and manipulation of air. However, Dr. Clint had decided that Ty owed him for their transformation, and it’s difficult to establish your identity when you seem to have literally become a different person. Worse, Clint is convinced that his “wonder drug” will create more metahumans instead of more death. What is Ty willing to do to stop this malpractice?
    ON SALE 08.12.20
    $3.99 US | 32 PAGES
    FC | DC

    BROTHER POWER #1
    written by REGINALD HUDLIN
    art and cover by BART SEARS
    Rebecca Vanderdoes-Coulter has been mourning the passing of her husband for over a year, and in her loneliness has turned to a psychic. During a seance involving an ensorcelled crystal ball, Rebecca reaches the beyond to contact her lost love Deshaun. However, they have pierced not the veil of death, but of the multiverse, unintentionally drawing the Deshaun Coulter of Earth-23 to Earth-0. Just a regular guy on a version of Earth where people of African descent are the dominant heroes and statesmen, Deshaun is at first repelled to find himself on a world filled with prejudice against people of color. His arrival is further strained by an eccentric white woman in no way his “type” proclaiming her everlasting love loudly through tears. However, Deshaun is surprised to find himself developing extraordinary abilities at a rapid clip, harnessing multiversal energies allowing him to perform nothing short of miracles. In a place in desperate need of a superman, how could Deshaun Coulter refuse the messianic call for Brother Power?
    ON SALE 08.19.20
    $3.99 US | 32 PAGES
    FC | DC

  12. Whew. Last one…

    THE BUG-EYED BANDIT TP
    written by PETER BAGGE
    art and cover by PETER BAGGE
    Peter Bagge, the New York Times bestselling author (Woman Rebel: The Margaret Sanger Story, Fire!!: The Zora Neale Hurston Story, ) and iconic Generation X Libertarian cartoonist (Hate, Reason Magazine) returns to comics for another great story of our times.

    Comic books have been going steadily downhill since Alan Moore ruined Swamp Thing and John Byrne neutered Superman, at least according to Dale Patrick. Every Wednesday for twenty-six years, while picking up his $10 weekly allotment of new releases as soon as the front doors opened, Dale has offered his hours-long sermons on the industry’s (and country’s) ills. Many is the time during an oratory on how the SJWs are ruining everything, his shop’s proprietor Roy would get so excited that he could barely keep his oxygen mask on. Yet, with absolutely no warning, Roy suddenly retired to hospice care, and sold off Plantation Comics to some tattooed weirdos. Dale couldn’t believe his shop had been sold out from under him, without Roy even letting him bid, though it would have meant dipping into his 401K after decades of service to the Best Buy Geek Squad.

    Worse, these pierced “alternative lifestyle” types planned to liquidate comics backstock to “diversify” the shop. Dale knew what that meant, and he’d be damned if he’d allow Plantation (DBA alteration TBA) Comics’ grail piece, Showcase #4, the debut appearance of the Silver Age Flash, to be slabbed and auctioned off on eBay. And let’s be honest, it’s not the only time Dale had ever swiped a little something from Roy, though never anything this brazen.

    A little too brazen, actually, since the new owners had sprung for shrinkage-reducing, high-definition security cameras. Before long, the “Bug-Eyed Bandit” is trending on social media, an industry pariah. Everyone knows his face and secret identity now. No physical or mail order shop will sell to him. He’s even been barred from conventions. Utterly alienated and deprived of his one true love/endless anger fixation, to what lengths will Dale Patrick go to in living down his unasked-for nom du crime?
    ON SALE 09.30.20
    $16.99 US | 200 PAGES | 6″ x 9″ | FC | DC
    DC Graphic Novels For Young Adults
    ISBN: 978-1-4012-9639-1

  13. Under Shagg’s leadership I see Blue Devil becoming DC’s Inhumans. The guy in charge is convinced it’s going to be a hit and keeps plugging away for years regardless of sales.

  14. Impresive Pod cast most impresive. Lets see what would I do? Blue Beetle. I would also go out of comics as well. And have it writen by Jim Butcher. If you read his Dresdien files books he is the perfect guy to write this comic. Since his Spider Man fan dome shows a lot there. And the few Dresden file comics he’s put out. Not the TV show, but hey the guy who plqyed Harry in it did become Detective Lance. So their’s that. He’s perfect for the good guy who’s a dork and a hero and has the flirt with every gal personality. Art … Greg Capullo.
    Black Lighting. Ex Prez and ex Super Hero. Was now an ex princable at a high School. And now in his 50s and almost retired. He’s slightly sad that the new Prez Max Lord does a much better job than he did. And when he was president Jefferson Pierce about screwed up the country and now he realizes that Max has pretty much say that even though for a while Max is basically thought of as a villain.. So now he’s trying to fix his legacy and every so once in a while someone will stop him and point out how badly he did in his job. Note even open the paper and sometimes others give him crap though they will acknowledge that he saved the day a few times. So you kind of have the lovable loser character trait as he saves the day. Will almost be a comedy thing, but mostly a superhero story. I would have it written by Chuck Dixon with art by EVS’s.
    The Black Pirate. Renee Montoya I’ll have her in modern day. And to be kind of a Mark of Zorro like character. She’ll probably be hated by the blood Haven PD. As she still works as a detective now freelance. And sometimes takes out the identity take care of things she can’t as a detective. I want her to be an antihero that’s not loved by the police. She’ll kill anybody that wouldn’t fit. But in blood Haven Academy corrupt enough to where they would be against her. As she still uses the sword and whatnot. Though her costume look like a pirate costume but with a mask. As she fights different enemies within that area. She’ll use a pirate boats when out in the sea. But it will be more of a modern submarine than anything else giving her away to stay hidden from the cops and that guys like. With a big O Jolly Rogers on the side of it. And sometimes she will team up with her new girlfriend Scandal Savage. The former criminal known as Scandal . As scandal tries to redeem herself from her past sins having worked years with her father’s organization.
    Mostly the back pirate will operate like the scarecrow a.k.a. Captain Clegg.

    But, now is mostly retired and helps with getting information for Renée.BLOCKBUSTER Being her main foe.

    Art by Dale Eaglesham. Writer BMB. (He’s a good writer with street-level characters. And if nothing else is getting off Superman..)

    Big Barda

    I would make this kind of a heroes for hire type. Having her come from the fourth world to escape dark side. And she’s gonna pay the bills somehow so she use her skills to save lives and opens a detective agency. Where she gets paid to do that sort of thing. And sometimes works as a bodyguard. And since I explained do something similar with black tiger I will have them team up from time to time. So she’ll still be dating scot-free who’s working as an escape artist and will sometimes help them with things they need to break into ticket to solve cases. But he doesn’t operate regularly as Mr. miracle outside of his escape show. Only daunting the costume when they need him to help them. In his regular routine he just wears a suit. While Florida does use her full apocalypse style armor.
    Writer Christopher Priest Artist : GRAHAM NOLAN

    Bronze tiger

    He will keep his entire origin. Including at one time teaming up with Richard Dragon. But after everything that’s happened including one time being used in the league of assassins. And momentarily working for the government to suicide squad. These now become a detective teaming up with big Barda from time to time. I’ll probably have him dating vixen like you did in the suicide. And he’ll work on building up his reputation again since his work with the assassin’s had damaged it a lot. And frequently he will fight with Merlin and Lady Shiva. Merlin will be difficult for him because it reminds me of his past where he was mine wife input into the illegal assassins. Lady Shiva will be problematic since they were once friends since she did team up with him and Richard Dragon. Mostly this is his job now he’s just trying to pay the bills and maybe fix up his messed up past a little bit. Every so once in a while Nightwing will show up to try to convince him to go back into superhero full-time. But bronze tiger is done with that. At this point is just trying to make an honest living and not fall back to where he was. The only wears the costume when working with Barda. Mostly he just wears camouflage pants and a black shirt are a complete black outfit. So he’s not seen that well when having to do a case overnight.

    The costume set is something that he’s completely cut himself off from. He doesn’t wear camouflage on his face. The tiger mask is only something uses when working with artists and she’s already in that costume anyway.

    Writer: Beau Smith Art: Cary Nord

    Brainny 5 and Broot
    they become a weird team up. Where braying stays in a hidden base. Calculating things and setting up different missions for brute to go on. Kind of like Nero Wolfe. And from time to time Broote brings in other people to help like the bug eyed bandit. But for the most part Broot is the Archie Goodwin of this team.

    Writter John Byrne Art: Greg Ruth
    Blok
    and here’s where I go way off from a characters origin. What if he was a golem. And instead of being created by a rabbi. That being housed the spirit of a soldier. Rather an ex-soldier I got help with from a rabbi so she could protect her city coast city. When it was under a tack from Kalibak and a few Parademons. This soldier was able to use her skills and the powerful form of the Golem to save coast city. She had just finished her poor and left the military. And enjoyed the power she had as this creature and decided to continue to use it to protect coast city. Ever mindful that if one letter was removed from the words written on the four head of this column should be undone but, for now she could use it to defend her city. Although that’s not quite accurate to use the identity of her. The soldiers born name was Kate” Kane.

    . But Kate had long since stopped going by that and realized there true name was Carter Kane. This soldier had just started their transition. Obviously while in the military they were not allowed to do this. Which is unfortunate. However the woman Kate Kane no longer existed and the man that took her place was now known as Carter Kane. And just started waring his Binder and paker. Still every so once in a while some one will call him a her. He hated that. But, while in the body of Blok. No one mis genders him. In this verson Blok is a handsome almost made of marbel type statude. And in that form he gets to fully live his life. So kind of a reverse Thing. Ware Ben is most happy when he’s in Ben Grim form, but sad as the Thing. Carter Kane is happy when he’s in Blok form. She just kind of gave the form that name. Cause at first she thought the Golem looked like a big block. Though after hearing his new Booming voice Carter was happy. Sine Carter has yet to get on the T yet. So there is verry little masscalenty to his form. And his dad Jacob Kane while he loves his child. Still refures to Curter as Kate and her.

    He’s not use to it yet, but knows Kate dates women. Even meeting his curent Girl Friend Maggie. But, slowly but, surely Jacob is geting use to his daughter becoming his son. And they have a good relationship. So Carter just have to wait and live his life. His hair is cut short and he’s stoped shaving. But, with out the T his feminine DNA doesn’t help. So misgendering has happened tro him. But, after a while Carter stoped arguing with them, but as Blok no one bugs him. And his job as a security consultsnt Carter has been ok. Mostly just letig him do his job. Though once im a while some new person whould opps and call him her. Any way other than that. Blok ends up with a decent amount of enamies. Mammoth cause I can see them having a decent fight. Billy Numerous (An evil muiltapul Man could be a threate.) Psimon just cause that would be fun.
    Solomon Grundy and this verson can be his mother. “Gabi” Kane brought back by his Sister Elizabeth Kane. Alice. Whom Blames Carter and their Father for her mothers death. And she has Intergang contacts that make her weapons and androids based on other Alice and wonder land charcters to fight Blok. Twittle Dee and Dumb giving him the most problems. Dark Side sends her the best stuff to take out Blok indirectly so he and the Apocolipse folks can focus on bigger threats. Kalabaks defet at Bloks hands was imbarising. And if he is to come here to look for the anti life equasion. He needs this hero taken care of. His men are to go after other threats. Like Super Man, Bada and many others, Kalabak also fights Blok hear and there. Wanting to fix his honor, but only anoys Dark Side further with the atempts. Still He has his furies and others to set up his plansd for earth. Kalabk can waste time fighting Blok till Intergang Alice or another removes this knight.

    Dark Side wants the Bishop Super Man, the Rook WW or Bat Man. Removed. The Krytons are the only one that he feels he must invlove him self with. Or his army. While Blok is a threat, he can have pawns remove him from the board. Also every so once in a while Carter gets the “You were such a perty Woman .” Line. And just srugs and will latter become Blok just to feel like his true self./ So while it’ll mostly be a crime fighting tool. The Blok form will give Carter Kane an out let. To be close to who he truely is.

    Writen and drawn by Wendy and Richard Pini

    Brainwave Jr. Just basicly the hero he was from Infity Inc. Only his girl friend dumped him for Kyle Raner Who may be the Green Lantern here… or he was. Not sure yet. But, now he finds him self teamed up with the reformed Black Fire. Though they don’t get along great. But, there is sexual tention. Kind of like Moon lighting. Only Black Fire is the David Adison of the 2. Mostly though even though they save the day… they never get credit. People make jokes. And don’t trust them. Brain Wave is his father after all. And Black Fire has tried to destroy the earth and kill her sister. Geez people can hold a grudge. 😀 And Some times Kyle will show up at the end and acsadently take the credit. and it won;’t be his fault, but Brainwave Jr. Does speak his name like Senfield says Newman.

  15. Great show.

    I’m with Siskoid regarding Black Orchid….that Gaiman mini was a waste. When all Gaiman could come up with was a riff on Moore’s Swamp Thing, I wish it HAD been a ‘revival’ of Blackhawk Kid instead.

    I have given this character a lot of thought over the years, even imagining she might be one of Batman’s Outsiders when that title was first announced. Yet, the one thing I keep coming back to is those three appearances in Adventure Comics, where on several occassions it is implied that the denisens of this Earth have never seen a super-human before.

    Hmmm….and in the Spectre series that immediately follows in Adventure Comics, at one point a cop asks a reporter that looks like Clark Kent if he really is Superman .

    Could these two actualy exist together on Earth Prime? An Earth where super-heroes only exist in comic books? That would be my jumping off point.

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