Kevin Maguire fired off the upcoming Justice League 3000 #1

At the end of July, I identified Justice League 3000 #1 as a book I was really looking forward to getting in October. I already ordered it from dcbservice.com. Then I found out from the good folks at thegothamrogue that Kevin Maguire was replaced by Howard Porter.

While Howard Porter is a great artist, I was looking forward to the legacy team of Keith Giffen, Kevin Maguire, and J.M. DeMatteis. They brought the action and the funny to Justice League and Formerly Known as the Justice League. I’m a huge fan of the team and would have purchased a phonebook they’d all collaborated on.

It’s reported that Justice League 3000 #1 is going for a darker tone which makes the creative team puzzling. Believe me, DC Comics, you put the best team on the book and it would have paid dividends. I’m still going to get it with Howard Porter on it (as I mentioned, it’s already ordered) but I’m only going to give it 2 issues to make an impression before I cut it from the subscription list. The industry could use a lighthearted, fun book, not another grim and gritty snoozefest.

The good news is that as soon as Maguire got on twitter to let people know he was fired, Brian Michael Bendis offered him Guardians of the Galaxy. Brian Michael Bendis is writing it, they’ve added Angela to the mix, and now I have Kevin Maguire’s art to look forward to? Guardians of the Galaxy is quickly becoming an event-title. DC’s loss is Marvel’s gain. With Guardians of the Galaxy set to explode into theatres, Guardians of the Galaxy could be a top ten book soon.

Neil Gaiman’s “Angela” Joins the Marvel Universe

A few days ago Marvel announced that Neil Gaiman’s character “Angela” would join the Marvel universe starting with an epilogue in Age of Ultron #10 before appearing in Guardians of the Galaxy #5.

I haven’t read Spawn in over a decade but I remember Angela fondly. She was a popular character. Hopefully Marvel has purchased Angela and isn’t just using her to generate short-term excitement. Don’t get me wrong, I love things like when Invincible appeared in a Marvel Team-Up issue, but if you’re going to do something significant with a character in continuity you want to have the ability to refer back to it.

But I’ll see how I feel about it more when Guardians of the Galaxy #5 comes out.

But wow, tough break for Todd McFarlane. It seems like ever since he started Spawn it’s been a tough road of lawsuits. That’s why am hoping that Marvel has purchased the rights to Angela and isn’t just borrowing them or licensing them from Neil Gaiman. McFarlane made that mistake once by making Rob Liefeld’s character, Chapel integral to Spawn’s origin. When Liefeld made an angry exit from Image Comics and a clean break from his friendship with McFarlane, McFarlane lost the ability to include Chapel in future stories.

I don’t want to rehash old history I just think it’s a poor idea to co-mingle characters in important events. If you want to have a crossover that’s fine but if Angela’s going to have any lasting impact in the Marvel Universe, Marvel needs access to the character beyond the event. As for the title, Spawn itself, I was a huge fan at one time and it might be time to revisit it. I did enjoy the first few issues of his new title, Haunt.

So for now, I welcome Angela to the Marvel Universe and hope that she stays for good.