If you ever get a chance to read the 90's run of The Spectre by John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake, I'd recommend it. One of the things that run revealed (and I'm spoiling it here only because you asked about Hal Jordan, and this needs some explaining) was that the spectral portion of the Spectre has been around since the Creation, and that this Divine entity must merge with a mortal soul in order to function in the living worlds. Jim Corrigan, the detective who was murdered in the 30's and spent the decades since then as the guiding soul behind the Spectre, finally found his final peace and ascended into Paradise, leaving the Spectre loose for a few years. He was finally merged with the soul of Hal Jordan (who, as Parallax, met his end during the Final Night crossover) during the events of the Day Of Judgment crossover, and served as the new Spectre until the Green Lantern: Rebirth mini-series a few years later.
Unlike some of the other folk here, I rather enjoyed most of the Countdown To Final Crisis series, including a lot of the associated crossover mini-series and specials -- but I will agree that it was still a bloated exercise at best, confusing at some points, and a failure at the end.
One continuity warning about JLA: Crisis Of Conscience, just in case you have some confusions there: the events of that story take place during the Day Of Vengeance story. (Some of the events in several of those books overlap somewhat until you get to 52.)
One question I do have though, and something that had me scratching my head. Hal Jordan, The Spectre, how did that happen? Although he played a very minor role in the story, when he cropped up as The Spectre it did have me wondering how that came to be.
If I'm remembering this right, Hal sacrificed himself to re-ignite the sun in The Final Night event. He was then given a chance to redeem himself as the Spectre, due to being 'evil' at the time because of the Emerald Twilight storyline.
He actually didn't need to redeem himself, Geoff Johns would later do it for him. ;)
Yeah, I must admit this is pretty confusing right now. I'm reading JLA: Crisis of Conscience right now and Hal is now back as Green Lantern. Bit of a gap here between Identity Crisis and these aftermath issues of JLA. I'm assuming the Green Lantern: Rebirth takes place between these two?
One continuity warning about JLA: Crisis Of Conscience, just in case you have some confusions there: the events of that story take place during the Day Of Vengeance story. (Some of the events in several of those books overlap somewhat until you get to 52.)
Ok, so hopefully some of this stuff will become cleared as I get through these Countdown to Infinite Crisis books.
Yeah, I must admit this is pretty confusing right now. I'm reading JLA: Crisis of Conscience right now and Hal is now back as Green Lantern. Bit of a gap here between Identity Crisis and these aftermath issues of JLA. I'm assuming the Green Lantern: Rebirth takes place between these two?
Yeah I didn't realise that Rebirth was taking place at this time. You may also notice Batman doesn't trust Hal anymore due to his actions as the evil Parallax (pre Spectre).
I just noticed The OMAC Project has the Wonder Woman issue involving Max Lord. This may be all you need; regarding the story for that plot point, but you may also want to get Superman: Sacrifice for the complete story. (Sorry yet another book :) )
All this talk about this era of DC is giving me an urge to read along with you. :)
Sacrifice has been ordered. Another hit to the wallet. Pretty close to wanting to pick up Rebirth too. Lucky it's payday today!!!
I almost wondering with these Countdown trades if I'll be better off reading them issue by issue as they came out. Instead of trade by trade. Will probably get a more cohesive reading experience.
I almost wondering with these Countdown trades if I'll be better off reading them issue by issue as they came out. Instead of trade by trade. Will probably get a more cohesive reading experience.
For the most part, it is... but even then there's a glitch or two where an event or three will be slightly out of order no matter how you read the individual books. Also, you'd have to know which order to read them in -- it's not strictly a 'one issue at a time from each mini-series' sort of thing; you might have to read three or four of one, two of another, a single issue of the third, etc. You might be better off, at this stage, just to read the trades, and later, at your leisure, once you're more familiar with the whole story, try to put individual issues in a chronological sequence.
Yeah flicking through these books I'm thinking I'm just going to read trade by trade. Then maybe flick back through if I want after I've read the Countdown to Infinite Crisis books.
Just finished the book and like I said earlier the art is gorgeous, probably the highlight of the book itself.
I'm really glad you guys told me to read Planet Heist first. Otherwise this could have been really confusing. I liked seeing the events following up from Planet Heist and the fate of both Thanagar and Rann. Was good to see Tigorr of the Omega Men again, I'm wondering if they were DCs answer to the guardians of the galaxy?
Intriguing end, left questions that will no doubt be addressed in Infinite Crisis.
I'll say this about Rann-Thanagar -- the art was lovely. Especially Adam Strange's hot wife.
Ivan Reis is one of my favorites. I totally agree with you, the art in this book is great.
Yes, I was being as positive as I could be. I still remember being profoundly disappointed by Dave Gibbons' story. Diggle's Planet Heist was so good, and then Rann-Thanagar (which should have ridden Diggle's coattails) just seemed muddy and pointless. Like one of the Pirates of the Carribbean sequels.
I'll say this about Rann-Thanagar -- the art was lovely. Especially Adam Strange's hot wife.
Ivan Reis is one of my favorites. I totally agree with you, the art in this book is great.
Yes, I was being as positive as I could be. I still remember being profoundly disappointed by Dave Gibbons' story. Diggle's Planet Heist was so good, and then Rann-Thanagar (which should have ridden Diggle's coattails) just seemed muddy and pointless. Like one of the Pirates of the Carribbean sequels.
Yeah I get what u mean. I think there were just too many story threads, which diluted the good stuff.
So after a slight drop off in quality with Rann-Thanagar War boy did they bounce back well with Day of Vengeance!
I love me a good magic book. Demon Knights, great. Sword of Sorcery, great. Justice League Dark, great. Day of Vengeance, again great.
I was a little wary to start with, kicking off the book was a three issue Superman story, who I usually don't enjoy. But then when Eclipso turns up I was one happy bunny. And I love the nod back to Identity Crisis with Eclipso taking over Jean Loring.
On to the Day of Vengeance story itself. I've again never read a lot of the characters in this book. Ragman, Blue Devil, Nighshade and Detective Chimp were all new to me. And they all brought something really cool to the team that would eventually become Shadowpact. I particularly liked the Ragman character, he brings a great visual to the page and he's someone I'd like to read more of. And so I have already taken the plunge and ordered the first two trades of the ongoing Shadowpact book that picks up after Infinite Crisis. If any one read this at the time, is it any good?
The ending has me intrigued to see how all of these endings from the countdown books are going to tie together in Infinite Crisis.
I'm waiting for Superman: Sacrifice to turn up on my doorstep, so next up will be Villains United. With Gail Simone on writing duties I surely can't go wrong!!!
Ragman came about during the 70's, courtesy of silver age greats, Bob Kanigher and Joe Kubert. Blue Devil was popular during the 80's as a light strip about a self-described 'weirdness magnet' of a stuntman who gets trapped in a special effects suit. Nightshade had only made a single appearance during the 60's in a three-part series in Showcase by Denny O'Neil and Berni Wrightson (covers by Kubert). And Detective Chimp had been a back-up strip (drawn by Carmine Infantino -- one of his favorite series) for Rex The Wonder Dog back in the 50's... but the version you're seeing here is an all-new take.
Shadowpact was actually a decent series, up until the last few issues. I'd recommend it.
Ah, Detective Chimp. This reminds me of the joke I heard from around this time. I think it was a DC editor who said that Batman is usually billed as the "World's Greatest Detective", when in fact he's only the world's greatest HUMAN detective. :)
I bought the follow-up series Shadowpact in single issues at the time and enjoyed it enough that I'm also searching out the trades if they're cheap. In fact if you are buying them, I've got an extra copy of the second trade "Cursed", I can post it to you if you want, no charge.
I've managed to get a fair bit if reading done this bank holiday weekend, I was happy that Superman Sacrifice arrived Saturday, so read that. I've never really been a big fan of Superman and this story was a perfect example of why that is. For some reason it felt like I'd read this story before, that's the way it normally feels when I read a Superman story. I did particularly like the big Wonder Woman moment, it shows she's nit just the female Superman. She'll stop over the one for the greater good if, and only if, absolutely necessary. It did progress the story though.
I read the Countdown to Infinite Crisis and the beginning of The Omac Project today and it feels like all these threads are now beginning to come together. I know I still have the rest of Omac and Villains United to go with these Countdown books, but something I was thinking about today is how much of a role the editors play in these huge stories. It's giving me a better appreciation of them and how, when done right, good editing can create an amazingly rich and diverse story. So far this reading project is living up to the hype. I'm getting through this a lot quicker then I was expecting. Which is a good thing, because it's great reading.
Just catching up on this thread. Awesome that you're into (well, asking questions about) the two characters (well, FAMILY of characters AND one SPECIFIC character) that I claim everlasting fandom of: Green Lantern and Ragman.
If you ever want to know more about either or, please don't hesitate to hit me up. There's also LanternCast and my Suit of Souls blog if you would rather just browse...
But I'm always down for a discussion one on one! Them's some great comics you're reading!
I can't say anything here that hasn't already been said, but be SURE to get Countdown to Infinite Crisis at the very least. I have to say it ranks amongst my all-time favourite single issues. The way they portray the heroes through the eyes of its protagonist is second to none that I've read thus far. Just great writing.
@Marathon I had a nice package waiting for me today. Many thanks for the additional books too! It's greatly appreciated. I was actually watching that Ragman one shot book on eBay! By the way your package was sent today. Fingers crossed you'll have it by wed/thurs.
@CageNarleigh I'm looking at a couple Ragman mini series at the moment on eBay, so along with the Shadowpact books and the one shot marathon sent me, I'm really looking forward to getting into Ragman.
@Marathon I had a nice package waiting for me today. Many thanks for the additional books too! It's greatly appreciated. I was actually watching that Ragman one shot book on eBay! By the way your package was sent today. Fingers crossed you'll have it by wed/thurs.
Comments
Unlike some of the other folk here, I rather enjoyed most of the Countdown To Final Crisis series, including a lot of the associated crossover mini-series and specials -- but I will agree that it was still a bloated exercise at best, confusing at some points, and a failure at the end.
He actually didn't need to redeem himself, Geoff Johns would later do it for him. ;)
I just noticed The OMAC Project has the Wonder Woman issue involving Max Lord. This may be all you need; regarding the story for that plot point, but you may also want to get Superman: Sacrifice for the complete story. (Sorry yet another book :) )
All this talk about this era of DC is giving me an urge to read along with you. :)
Sacrifice has been ordered. Another hit to the wallet. Pretty close to wanting to pick up Rebirth too. Lucky it's payday today!!!
I almost wondering with these Countdown trades if I'll be better off reading them issue by issue as they came out. Instead of trade by trade. Will probably get a more cohesive reading experience.
Next up... Rann-Thanagar War!
Ivan Reis is one of my favorites. I totally agree with you, the art in this book is great.
I'm really glad you guys told me to read Planet Heist first. Otherwise this could have been really confusing. I liked seeing the events following up from Planet Heist and the fate of both Thanagar and Rann. Was good to see Tigorr of the Omega Men again, I'm wondering if they were DCs answer to the guardians of the galaxy?
Intriguing end, left questions that will no doubt be addressed in Infinite Crisis.
Think I'm going to go with Day of Vengeance next.
I love me a good magic book. Demon Knights, great. Sword of Sorcery, great. Justice League Dark, great. Day of Vengeance, again great.
I was a little wary to start with, kicking off the book was a three issue Superman story, who I usually don't enjoy. But then when Eclipso turns up I was one happy bunny. And I love the nod back to Identity Crisis with Eclipso taking over Jean Loring.
On to the Day of Vengeance story itself. I've again never read a lot of the characters in this book. Ragman, Blue Devil, Nighshade and Detective Chimp were all new to me. And they all brought something really cool to the team that would eventually become Shadowpact. I particularly liked the Ragman character, he brings a great visual to the page and he's someone I'd like to read more of. And so I have already taken the plunge and ordered the first two trades of the ongoing Shadowpact book that picks up after Infinite Crisis. If any one read this at the time, is it any good?
The ending has me intrigued to see how all of these endings from the countdown books are going to tie together in Infinite Crisis.
I'm waiting for Superman: Sacrifice to turn up on my doorstep, so next up will be Villains United. With Gail Simone on writing duties I surely can't go wrong!!!
Shadowpact was actually a decent series, up until the last few issues. I'd recommend it.
I bought the follow-up series Shadowpact in single issues at the time and enjoyed it enough that I'm also searching out the trades if they're cheap. In fact if you are buying them, I've got an extra copy of the second trade "Cursed", I can post it to you if you want, no charge.
@Marathon thanks that would awesome if you'd be willing to do that. I'm sure I could find something in my collection to return the kind gesture.
I read the Countdown to Infinite Crisis and the beginning of The Omac Project today and it feels like all these threads are now beginning to come together. I know I still have the rest of Omac and Villains United to go with these Countdown books, but something I was thinking about today is how much of a role the editors play in these huge stories. It's giving me a better appreciation of them and how, when done right, good editing can create an amazingly rich and diverse story. So far this reading project is living up to the hype. I'm getting through this a lot quicker then I was expecting. Which is a good thing, because it's great reading.
If you ever want to know more about either or, please don't hesitate to hit me up. There's also LanternCast and my Suit of Souls blog if you would rather just browse...
But I'm always down for a discussion one on one! Them's some great comics you're reading!