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Fantasy Booking...but with comics

Quick questions: 
 
You are given the pen at DC or Marvel.  You can write any single book for a year (12 issues) and you don't have to fit things in with a giant crossover.
 
Who would your write?
 
What would you do with them?

Are we talking currently established titles, or just whatever I want to do?  Because my dream book would be JLI-era Booster Gold & Blue Beetle, just hanging around the DC universe and having wacky adventures ala Hawkeye right now.  

Second choice:  I would take Superman and carry on with the Grant Morrison Action Comics thing of the t-shirt and jeans version of the character going after crooked stockbrokers and stuff.  Those first few issues were top notch stuff and so fun.  Alternate idea:  Do a throwback with barrel-chested Mort Weisinger Superman with coked-out continuity and crazy Silver Age plotlines and stuff.  



Comments

  1. I'm here for the Jesse Baker post.

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  2. When DC was reshuffling the Justice League following Infinite Crisis, I thought Jay Garrick should've gotten a cup of coffee as their resident speedster. Would've been interesting to see him play off of "youngsters" like Clark and Diana.

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  3. Booster Gold & Blue Beetle in a whacked out universe, like Batman: Brave & the Bold or Adventure Time would be awesome. I would do a Morph solo-series in the same vein, set in the Age of Apocalypse.



    I'd also make The Punisher into a paranoid new world order conspiracy terrorist, who creates chaos all over the world. Always wanted to see that.

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  4. I'm not a huge comics guy, but I read Marvel's civil war, and while enjoying i thought it was also a bit of wasted opportunity. I guess if I was to write something it would be along that template except more factionalised.

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  5. I'm here for Dougie's post bitching about Jesse Baker's post (and Grant Morrison).

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  6. The Punisher is always going to be my "go to" for characters I'd love to write for.

    As for the 12-month arc, I'd have Frank finally get caught, and have him battle corruption (and the other inmates) within the prison system itself. Creating a story that sheds light on where criminals go when they get caught in the Marvel universe, as well as why criminals can never be rehabilitated when put into a system that is more interested in the bottom line than actual justice, would be really fun.

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  7. I think there's actually a "Trial of the Punisher" mini slated for release this year. Supposedly it's been in the works since Civil War, but they kept pushing it back.

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  8. While we're here, if you haven't checked out MGK's ideas for the Legion of Super-Heroes let me assure you, it's worth your time.

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  9. 1. I would write a Magneto series where he gets his cred back by beating the shit out of everyone "cool." Deadpool: ass kicked. Iron Man: ass kicked. Punisher: ass kicked twice. Then he gets The Hand to resurrect Fabian Cortez so he can kill him. Then he magnetically grabs a pair of scissors to cut Exodus' hair and kicks his ass.


    2. Uncanny X-Men. With the Phoenix dispelled, Jean Grey is finally resurrected. With Scott as Marvel's new wild card, it seems at like the obvious is going to happen and she's going to end up in Logan's arms. But then she fools EVERYONE by going back to Scott because it's destiny and stuff. Then Joey Styles joins the X-Men so he can call the Jean/Emma CATFIIIIGHT! CATFIIIIIGHT!!!!!

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  10. I love the idea of writing the pants and jeans Superman.

    My dream project was always The Hulk where he's being manipulated and Banner thinks it's the Abomination or the Leader again but it's really the long forgotten Maestro from Future Imperfect trying to finally speed up the results of his particular timeline where Hulk takes everybody out and rules a desolate Earth. (He was revealed as being alive in one of Peter David's last Hulk issues, years ago.)

    Oh, and I'd work the U-Foes in there somewhere because I always liked them when I was a kid.

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  11. I'm so happy to see some love for the sitcom era JLI, that may be my favourite ever run of any comic series.

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  12. Scott, I take it you've read All-Star Superman? Wacky stories and beautiful art; my kind of Superman.

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  13. ha, "pants and jeans superman." That really cracked me up. "he wears both pants.....AND JEANS. AT THE SAME TIME? HOW CAN HE BE STOPPED?"

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  14. Bah. Superman jumped the shark when Lex Luthor gave him "Virus X", and never looked back.

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  15. Anyone else want a thread to discuss Man of Steel? Saw it yesterday. I haven't gone to see the same movie in the theater twice since Dark Knight and I'm seriously considering it for this one.



    As for the question, I would absolutely want to write Superman for one year, in the "Superman" book, just so we can save the world from whatever Lobdell is doing for the next few months.

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  16. Marvel is the king of awesome ideas, crap execution.

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  17. Go check out the short lived Ultimate Marvel Team Up series that had an arc with Spidey, Punisher, and Daredevil for a taste of what you're talking about.

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  18. Supposed to be pants and t-shirt Superman, not a lot of sleep this week. Glad you were amused. If you're the Grammar Police, you got your work cut out for you on a wrestling blog.

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  19. Unless it is "erase them from continuity" I'll pass.

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  20. #2 is great. Gets Wolvie a ton of sympathy heat, makes Scott a bigger dick (maybe literally depending on Jean's reasoning).

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  21. Maestro really needs to have another story and your idea is pretty great.

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  22. As a complete comics neophyte I have no idea if anything like this has been done, but my idea for a Robin spinoff movie that could work as a comic would be: Batman in exile, Joker in Arkham, so the main two are off the table. Robin hasn't learned how to be the kind of ace detective that Batman was. Harley Quinn starts trying to wage war on Gotham, creating anarchy to get Joker out of Arkham. So basically you've got the two second in commands trying to learn how to fill the shoes of Batman and Joker. Probably as a secondary villain to wreak havoc while Robin is trying to keep up with Quinn i'd have Zsasz killing people and Robin attempting to track him down. Since this would be a comic and not a movie and Joker could actively be involved, i'd have flashbacks showing Joker and Quinn, showing the early stages of their romance and how he taught her his worldview (think like Sid & Nancy meets V and Evey from V for Vendetta). In the end i'd have Quinn get locked in Arkham, and she'd be glad to be reuinted with Joker, only to leave it on the cliffhanger that Joker had already escaped.

    Like I said, I know next to nothing about comics so such a thing probably already exists.

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  23. If I was writing Superior I'd do something like this:


    -Ock continues to be a dickish Spider-Man but he's haunted by the influence of Peter. It has changed him. Combine that with the fact that he actually has a support system of real friends and family instead of backstabbing supervillains and he begins to turn the page and become more heroic.


    -Somehow Peter is able to come back and regain his body, but Ock is still in there for a few issues of fun.


    -Peter finally goes to erase Ock, but can't do it since it is sorta like murder. Instead, he transfers Ocks mind into a computer database or something.


    -Peter fights some new foe who kicks his ass, until WHAM! A tentacle hits the baddie and we see a new doctor octopus in a cloned Peter Parker body, new look, etc. Now as an anti-hero that has no problem killing if he needs to.

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  24. I know, right? 2099, Clone Wars saga, Onslaught, Age of Ultron or whatever, and it sounds like some people hate Superior Spidey too.

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  25. I thought about it from the opposite standpoint: Peter ends up in the body of the clone, marries MJ and gets his life back. Ock becomes Spider Man full time, but sometimes consults with Peter when he needs to.

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  26. Very interesting and well done, but which Robin do you use: Drake, Grayson, or Wayne?

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  27. Doc Ock is more entertaining than Peter Parker ever was.

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  28. I would write Taskmaster. He's such a cool and popular character but aside from a couple of mini-series and the occasional appearance in a Deadpool comic, he hasn't had much of a...hehe..."push".



    My story would be Taskmaster just going around beating the fuck out of dudes like Daredevil, Captain America, Spidey, Punisher, Wolverine, etc...

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  29. Who's your Robin? Dick Grayson? Tim Drake? Jason Todd? Carrie Kelley? Stephanie Brown? Damian Wayne?

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  30. I only care when the errors are fun. THIS IS A CELEBRATION.

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  31. JLI was awesome. And Suicide Squad. Man, DC used to be so great when they let creators just have fun instead of now following the 90s Marvel way of doing business.

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  32. Nah, Wolverine is like the John Cena of Marvel. It's hard to build sympathy for a guy who just smiles/heals everything off.

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  33. I've never read it... but what was so crappy about Onslaught (as everyone I have heard talk about it has said)? It seemed like a cool idea to me to have this crazy powerful bad guy end up being the X Traitor...

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  34. " as well as why criminals can never be rehabilitated when put into a system that is more interested in the bottom line than actual justice,"


    Sadly a story like this could probably be done in the real world also.

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  35. But he wears tights and pants so there isn't that much of a difference is it?

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  36. Clearly, this all leads to future superman, who is wearing full length pants with capris over them, then knee length shorts over them, short shorts over them, traditional trunks on top of that, and then a swimmers speedo ON TOP OF THAT. FEEL THE EXCESSIVELY CLOTHED MIGHT OF THE MAN OF STEEL.

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  37. AverageJoeEverymanJune 16, 2013 at 9:40 AM

    I love villain books so my dream project is a marvel/dc crossover with Deadshot and Deathstroke vs Deadpool and Taskmaster.

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  38. 1-Red hood with no team,Jason tries to be a better man,so decides stop the violence and goes into a journey with no place to stop,he goes to a town controlled by the Mob,so he starts to fight for the town with no violent measures,and sees how the citizens like him and realizes how to be a true hero,not a big style story,it would be in the vein of the hawkeye comics,it's more interested in Jason the man,not the costume.

    2-Rachel alves(female punisher) spin-off,Rucka's runs with the punisher only loses to Ennis,it was such a cool interpretation of the character,finally Frank look like he would fit with the other Marvel universe characters,sadly the run is over,Frank is wasted on Thunderbolts,Rachel could be awesome in the role.

    3-I Would continue Lex luthor Man of steel Series,luthor in good hands is such a interesting character,basically his paranoia with Superman grows bigger.Now Luthor uses the media to his advantage,and I would love to see more of that narcisit nature were he sees superman as a block on society and him as messiah figure,his role save us from Supes.

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  39. The others series or at least a Prisioner series,so much potential they have.

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  40. If you can working in a scuba suit and a suit of armor you'll have a winner.

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  41. I'd be down for a new Batman movie that features Blake taking over.

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  42. Maybe as Nightwing.

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  43. Seriously I want to write a comic book about the Attitude Era into 2001(ish), call it the Squared Circle, do it up like that "Primary Colors" movie a few years back with real personalities and made up names.

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  44. Robin John Blake.

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  45. I guess John Blake, but like I said I don't know shit about the comics, all my knowledge comes from the movies and the Arkham video games.

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  46. Riddler P.I. - Riddler gets released from Arkham and never wants to go back. He starts a detective agency and solves local crimes. I'd love to see him go against someone like The Joker and totally outsmart them. Maybe even team up with Batman now and then.

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  47. i have a couple:


    1. a 12 issue run of UXM where the New Mutants finally become real X-men and not sidekicks or junior X-men.


    2. A good definite LoSH story


    3. A reboot of the Claw Force (X-Force v3) team. i think they had way more legs as a team.


    4. Another UXM space opera (like Brood/Dark Phoenix/Rise&Fall)

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  48. Man do I hate me some Mort Weisinger Superman. Just no interest from me.
    Anyway, to answer the question, my dream project would be a year-long arc of Nightwing. I'd want to give him his definitive story, sort of his version of all the classic Batman tales. A story that both embraces his ties to the Bat (rather than run from it as too many Nightwing runs have) and also establishes what makes Dick Grayson unique among all heroes (another thing too many stories have run from). I'd fill it with his most famous rogues -- Blockbuster, Two-Face and Deathstroke being the most prominent, along with a new villain or two along the way. I'd also have him once and for all put aside all the differences with Bruce, because frankly Bruce-and-Dick-at-odds has been done to death.
    I would embrace the fact that he's got a very unique hybrid persona of Spider-Man meets Batman. There's a balance between the dark, brooding Bat lineage and the wisecracking swashbuckler.

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  49. Also a Green Lantern Corps arc.

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  50. I prefer a more grounded Superman. I have nothing for the Silver Age version that Morrison adores.
    But All-Star Superman is essential reading nonetheless.

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  51. Superman Unchained looks to be pretty good. I also enjoyed the first Tony Daniel/Andy Diggle issue of Action.
    But yeah, Superman's main title is a mess.

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  52. Pete as the Shade to Ock's Starman?

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  53. Yeah, but would comics readers really buy the Tree of Woe and the Double Stomp?

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  54. Holy shit, I totally agree. Prisoner of War is an awesome, awesome concept, and I am really hoping Johns does a spinoff at some point about the Others.

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  55. I think they started doing that post-52, but I'm not sure what became of it before the reboot.

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  56. the guy basically made aquaman a badass,it's my favorite new 52 series.

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  57. They moved him to Chicago for the moment. Maybe this is the break he needs to define himself.

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  58. I was actually fine with him being in Gotham, though Chicago is interesting. My problem with all the "Nightwing has to become his own man" stories is that they usually try to completely distance him from the Bat family.
    Higgins has done a fine job (though I still liked Tomasi's Nightwing better) but my biggest wish for a creator on a title would be for Scott Snyder to do a Nightwing run. Black Mirror was so good.

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  59. Same for me, after GL. Never thought I'd say that in a million years.

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  60. I dug the John Blake character. Like an homage to Dick, Tim and even Jason.

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  61. Dick Grayson is my favourite character, to the point that I was actually sad that Bruce Wayne took back the mantle of Batman from him. Dick as Batman was fresh and his dynamic with Damian was great, too.


    I think the definitive Nightwing story would need to have him away from Bruce and anything Batman-related. He's always going to be defined as an accessory to the Batman mythos so something radical would have to be done with him.

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  62. Written by Paul Dini!

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  63. The first Punisher mini-series, IIRC, had him going to jail in order take criminals out. It was an awesome read.

    I'd love to see Garth Ennis write an updated version of that.



    I'd definetly write a Punisher story arc that has him going after a child porn ring. I loved nothing more than seeing him take down a sex slavers.

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  64. I HATED when they killed Damian. He and Grayson were a good team.

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  65. No. Whoever wrote the "Fuji Vice" skits.

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  66. It's such a breath of fresh air; colourful and angst-free. I've not read Morrison's recent Action issues, but I'm guessing they're more grounded?

    I've not seen it, but my friends gave me the impression that Man of Steel was exactly the Superman film I'd feared Snyder would direct and Nolan would produce - portentous and laugh-free.

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  67. He's also my favorite character. I miss him as Batman so much. Black Mirror, Batman Reborn and other stories established a freshness to the characters of both Dick Grayson and Batman that had been missing.
    I kind of disagree about taking him away from Bruce, though. I love the father-son dynamic there, and how Bruce looks at Dick as being a better hero than him in many ways. I think the ideal and definitive Nightwing story would embrace his individuality as well as his status as Batman's first son. Peter Tomasi probably came closest to striking that chord with "The Great Leap" and "Freefall," though Chuck Dixon did a good job through Blockbuster's death. We shall not speak of Devin Grayson's awful run.

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  68. It was exactly the Superman film I've wanted since I was a kid.

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  69. As a team, Dick and Damian were more interesting than Bruce and Tim.

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  70. It's certainly divisive, then!

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  71. Dini was doing something similar, but they really just scratched the surface. Pretty sure he went back heel (boring) but not sure where he's at post-New 52.


    I really think Batman needs at least one reformed rogue, and Riddler is the best one for that role.

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  72. I think Johns is a great writer but he does have a bit of the Boy King that Jesse gripes about. No reason to bring Barry Allen back other than that is what John's grew up on.

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  73. I've tried reading Nightwing and this is my problem with him, his rogues suck. Seems like he gets a lot of meaningless one-off villains. He needs a rogues gallery closer to what Batman has. I'd probably make one of Batman's second string villains focus on him. Someone like Firefly. Then I'd make some new villains. FInally, his nemesis should have been Jason Todd. None of this "Jason is a good guy" BS. Jason Vs Dick as a sort of twisted version of Cain and Abel fighting for Bruce's favor.

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  74. Doom: The Infinity Armor - Doom uses his time machine to go back in time and screw over Thanos and get the Infinity Gems for himself, fusing them with his armor. He immediately kills Reed and finds it unsatisfying. He kills the FF hundreds of ways using the gems to reset time and reality. Finally he realizes he doesn't want to kill Reed, he wants the satisfaction of being better. He stops the accident that created the Fantastic Four and lets them live ordinary lives.


    But here's where the series veers off. Doom starts to build the world into what he thinks it should be and it isn't all that bad. Spend a year having Uber Doom go against Galactus and all the other super powerful cosmic entities.

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  75. I absolutely loved Man of Steel. I saw it yesterday and have since been seeing all of this hate for the film, and I just don't get it. Is it because it's not the Donner version? Because I'm pretty sure everyone (including me) hated Superman Returns because it tried too hard to be the Richard Donner-Christopher Reeve Superman.

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  76. Really enjoyed Unchained, I broke my "wait one month before buying" rule to pick it up on Wednesday (DC's new policy of waiting 8 weeks before dropping the price helped that, too... don't wanna wait two months).



    I'm a little disappointed Andy Diggle is off Action, because I was excited about what he was planning to do, and I'm not sure Tony Daniel can keep up with what Diggle wanted to do.

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  77. In your vision, does Batman seem like he's actually willing to accept a reformed rogue? It seems like part of the Batman mythos that bleeds through is that he's a miserable shit who is constantly suspicious and paranoid.

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  78. Dick's by no means my favorite character, but I loved the shit out of his run as Batman. Snyder on Detective and Morrison on Batman and Robin was a great one-two punch and something I miss. I'd say Morrison's best Batman work was done with the team of Dick and Damien. I never cared for Morrison's Batman until that point. I think they really had something special with Dick and Damien and I was also bummed that Bruce came back so quickly.

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  79. Jonah Hex. I'd love to restart the series, and just do gritty Western shit with Hex in Old Gotham. Maybe have Amadeus Arkham as the sidekick too.

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  80. I'd also love to do a year of Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne as Batman and Robin.

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  81. Hell yeah. Smart-ass Batman and deadly serious Robin was one of the great teams of the modern era.

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  82. Yep, that would make for some great Riddler/Batman team ups. Riddler doing the right thing, but Batman being an untrusting D-Bag.


    And Riddler would really walk the line to make you wonder if he's legit. Maybe going to Penguin for info and resources. Working with the less dangerous crooks to get to the more dangerous ones.

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  83. To bring this back around to wrestling: kind of like the Tommy Dreamer/Raven dynamic from 99 then?

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  84. I'd buy it just to watch Reed Richards get killed every month.

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  85. I agree with all of that. Higgins is currently using The Prankster, but I'd rather see a Batman villain.
    It was really cool when Blockbuster was the big bad, and I think Deathstroke should be a Nightwing villain as well.

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  86. I'd always heard that Johns didn't want to do that, that it was a DiDio thing and he wanted Johns to write it. Geoff has said he grew up with primarily Wally as the Flash, and he did spend three or four years writing him.
    Wally's my Flash too, and I think Barry was more valuable dead, but I can't complain too much about it, as I've enjoyed plenty of Flash comics since Barry came back.

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  87. Here's mine, from over on Panels on Pages:

    Clobberin’ Time by Robert Eddleman, with Matteo Lolli & Sean Parsons

    He’s the Ever-Lovin’ Blue-Eyed Thing, and he’s back in his own series, Clobberin’ Time! As a member of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, Ben Grimm has connections all throughout the super-hero world. In the tradition of the classic Marvel Two-in-One of yore, each issue of Clobberin’ Time sees The Thing fight alongside some of the most outrageous characters Marvel has to offer in wall-to-wall action!

    When Thor goes missing, Ben, Sif and the Warriors Three are on the trail, with Frost Giants and Rock Trolls in their sights! Can Ben & Iron Man handle a rematch with the newly reunited Blood Brothers when the villains bring the rest of their brood? War Machine & Rescue sure could even the odds! In space with the new Smasher battling the threat of the Badoon, can the original Guardian of the Galaxy lend a hand? When vampires overrun Yancy St. it’s up to the Thing, Blade & Deadpool to defang those determined Draculas! Because nobody demanded it! The Fin Fang Four return to stop the heinous Mole Man, whether Ben wants their help or not! When Dr. Strange goes missing, it falls to Ben & Wong to rescue the Sorcerer Supreme! The UCWF (Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation) has reformed, and for its first main event Ben tag teams with Rockslide against Hercules & the Armadillo! But will even four heroes be enough to stop the All-New Grapplers? And speaking of wrestling, there are smackdowns galore as the Thing is hired to protect WWE Superstar C.M. Punk from the gregarious Grizzly!

    Writer Robert Eddleman and artists Matteo Lolli & Sean Parsons (Deadpool Killustrated) bring you more rollicking adventures of the Idol ‘o Millions! All together now: It’s Clobberin’ Time!

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  88. Yeah the first Punisher mini-series started out with him in jail with him trying to figure out who drugged him(which was a means to retcon his previous villainous escapades) then he breaks out and takes down a radical group with similar aim called The Trust. Mike Zecks artwork was awesome too.

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