Elsewhere... Some Gorillas Rode Some Dinosaurs

I've written a couple of Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs columns that I haven't told you about.

What Looks Good for September



The best-looking adventure comics for September include new Mouse Guard, Firefly, Good Neighbors, Atomic Robo, new printings of Alison Dare, and a Frankenstein pop-up book.


Atomic Robo vs. the X-Men in… “The Time Topic”



I'm doing something new with Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs lately. Rather than just do straight reviews, I've been focusing on specific elements that make comics awesome and talking about how to do them right (while soliciting readers for their own ideas). It's a lot more fun and interactive now, so if your eyes usually glaze over at my comics reviews, I hope you'll give the column another look.

I started this by talking about stand-alone issues a couple of weeks ago and this week it was all about time-travel.

Comics News: He talks to fish

Geoff Johns discusses Aquaman



Johns keeps his Brightest Day cards hidden really well in this interview, but he does talk a bit about why Aquaman is cool:

He's a character that everybody knows. He has had successful runs in the past, and I guess he's probably more well known to the general public than Green Lantern even is at this point...

And defends him against those who think he's lame:

The whole thing is, they always say, "Well, he talks to fish." It's part of who he is. I think there are some inherent things that may be there, but every character is like that. I think the key is to embrace what Aquaman is and not turn away from it. So often, we turn away from the core of what Aquaman is. I think the key to success is embracing exactly who Aquaman is while adding some dimensions to it, building off the strong foundation that's already there. There's a reason the character is popular. There is a reason that people like that character. If you look at the mainstream DC t-shirts that they sell in stores, Aquaman is always there. He definitely has an audience.

I understand the need for secrecy about story details, but I do wish he'd said more about who exactly he thinks Aquaman is. That "iconic interpretation," as Dan Didio calls it, is going to be what makes or breaks this relaunch of the character. Surely Johns could've talked about that without revealing Brightest Day story details?

A masked Nazi-fighter, a Daring contest, and the Day of Death after the break.