Wait, What?

William Messner-Loebs was a really, really fun writer, you guys. (Christmas with the Super-Heroes #2, 1989.)

Remember in the late 1980s, when “superheroes act like regular people, but we don’t mean that in the sense of ‘everyone is depressed’” was a thing at DC Comics? I do. (Christmas with the Super-Heroes #2, 1989) -- Graeme

Also changed between the serialized release of Infinite Crisis #7 (2006) and the collected edition (2008) -- this climactic double page spread showing the One Year Later DC Universe, which not only got busier, but even changed artists entirely from Joe Bennett to George Perez -- Graeme

Top: How pages 2 and 3 of Infinite Crisis #7 appeared when the issue was released in 2006. Bottom: How those same pages appeared in the collected edition in 2008, when the deadline pressure was off and they had time to fully ink and color Phil Jimenez’s pencils -- Graeme

What if there’s a way to make Mega-City One a better place that isn’t just hitting and shooting things? (2000 AD Prog 2201, 2020, by Rob Williams, Arthur Wyatt, and Boo Cook) -- Graeme

Defund the Justice Department. (2000 AD Prog 2200, 2020, by Rob Williams, Arthur Wyatt, and Boo Cook) -- Graeme

Jeff talks about this on Drokk!, but these two pages in “Mechanismo” one after another is a really great one-two punch -- Graeme

New Drokk! and shownotes up on the main site, for those who need a little bit of dystopian future policing to accompany their Mondays -- Graeme

What a difference 25 or so years make -- top image is Greg Staples art from 1992, courtesy of Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files Vol. 18, and the bottom is Staples from 2015, in Judge Dredd: Dark Justice. Now you get what I mean when I talk about artists evolving over time...! -- Graeme

I said this on Twitter earlier today, but these pages from Represent! #1, DC’s new digital-first series, feel particularly welcome and somewhat important. Why isn’t Marvel doing something like this? (Oh, that’s right; Marvel has a Donald Trump supporter in charge.) -- Graeme

These covers, at least, have a visual differentiation — an evolution, even — but, please, can we do something about the cover text?!? (Cover artwork by Ivan Reis, taglines by unknown) — Graeme 

Three issues in a row, and the covers feel uninteresting and interchangeable. Look, it’s Mongul threatening the United Planets! These could be variants for the same issue — or pitches for the same cover — instead of three different comics. It’s a problem. (Cover art by Ivan Reis, taglines by unknown) — Graeme

This is, perhaps, an odd thing to say, but Superman has a cover problem. Look at these two covers, just two issues apart — they’re so similar, and so generic in terms of image and tagline. (Also, the coloring is very overworked, but that’s an entirely different issue.) Isn’t there a better way to do this....? (Cover art by Ivan Reis, taglines by unknown) — Graeme

How do you defeat a bad idea? With a good idea. “What power triumphs over sheer absurdity?” (The Multiversity #2, 2015, by Grant Morrison and Ivan Reis) -- Graeme

Action Comics #9 (2012) remains a key Morrison work, if one that feels as if it’s forgotten for any one of a number of reasons -- but if DC ever puts out a new Multiversity collection, I really hope this gets included in there. (By Grant Morrison and Gene Ha) -- Graeme

I’ve been thinking a lot about the infected meme warfare idea Grant Morrison had in The Multiversity (and other projects; he mentions it in The Invisibles and The Filth, too) a lot lately, for perhaps obvious reasons. (The Multiversity: Ultra Comics #1, 2015, by Morrison and Doug Mahnke) -- Graeme

Thankfully, Dredd under Ennis’ guidance still feels as uncomfortable in these times as you could image. (Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files Vol. 18, 1993, by Garth Ennis and Jeff Anderson) -- Graeme