Letters to GG's: 2 Minutes to Midnight #1

I had high hopes for this series, and whilst the potential for brilliance wasn't fully realised, there was still a lot of cool stuff on show.

Black Lightning seemed to go back to what I feel were his character roots-- he was headstrong and kind of immediate in his wanting to get stuff done, bit disconcerting considering what I'm used to with the character, but I understand that it's because of Anissa (who was very cool to see in the DC2, bravo right there). Interesting to see him in a position of leadership, and nice to see Justice League versus America referenced, even if it was a good two years back now!

I'm not all that familiar with Harry Stein, but his name does ring a bell. Nice character moments between him and Jeff, reminds me of Green Arrow and Eddie Fyers when written by Brian, so nothing wrong with that. I do enjoy seeing the more political side of the DC2, that's why this and Checkmate are high up on my reading list when they eventually hit. Should be good to see the power-structure of the DC2 American government!

Tula was brilliant. The complete nonchalance of her escape was a kick-ass moment. One of the highlights of the issue. She's an interesting character, one of my favourites from when she was featured on Justice League Unlimited, so it should be really interesting to see her in an ongoing environment. Very cool.

Black Condor seemed out of character for my tastes. I'm aware that we've not yet seen him on DC2 but I remember his appearances in the tail end of Starman, and he wasn't the kind of guy there to say "Cool!" that was a head-turner for me. I do like the character though, so I can't wait to see more. Blame that, again, on Starman

Fire and Ice are brilliant characters, wherever they are, and I loved their dialogue whenever they appeared. The internal voice of Tora was very unsettling-- where does she need to get back to? Why has she been away for so long? Can't wait to see that followed up. That sang out as one of the best aspects in this issue-- the potential for more. Great work there.

The story itself held a lot of promise, but the one thing that threw me was the story structure. It didn't feel like it was written with the major flashbacking sequences, more like you wrote it linearly and then cut and pasted. The fact that I couldn't remember Black Condor was also Ryan Kendell threw me when you refereed to the character as Ryan in the narrative, but hadn't reminded me of his actual name. A minor fault, but still one that took me out completely.

I'll be back next issue of course, should be interesting to see where this whole story goes, and I liked the little hints toward more stories yet to come. The covers by Mischief and Paul were fantastic, and I hope to see more of their stuff on this title as it continues? What do you say, Mischief, you going to be working on some more covers? Be nice to see some of the older members contributing again, especially since Roy announced his return to the site!

Hey thanks for taking the time to check out the issue as well as provide some detailed feedback. Both are greatly appreciated!

There's a lot for me to comment on so I better get started:



He's been a big fav of mine from way back when. I even pulled out some old Batman and the Outsiders issues for reference. I am glad you got where I was going with the character. Yes, it some what has to do with his daughter, but mainly he was portrayed as a hothead of sorts long before his recent Justice League appearances over at DC.



If you like seeing Jeff in a leadership role wait until a certain someone(s) challenge him for the position! And I know the JL vs A reference appears outdated, but in "real" DC2 time I gather its only been about six months roughly, so still sort of relevant right?



Harry Stein was the original King of Checkmate back in the original DC Checkmate series. I like the comparison to GA and Fyers and anytime my name is referenced in the same breath as Brian ;D. Harry will have some interesting parts to play in the grand scheme of things as the series moves on.



You are a good man for providing me such a wonderful plug Charlie! (Checkmate #1 hits your newsstands next week). And yes there will be some interesting opportunities to explore the DC2 American government in both series.



Tala will be a character to watch as her story continues to unfold. Wish I could say more but I won't ruin the surprise yet. Very cool indeed.



Being a huge Starman fan, (as I know you are as well), I wanted to make it clear from the beginning that Ryan was a teenager who isn't the same hero he was in Robinson's Starman. And to be honest, I believe that Robinson took libertys of his own and changed Black Condor to fit into his series better. But who's gonna complain right? I also thought it would be fun to have a younger character to balance out the team, especially when the "older kids" arrive on the playground in the next couple of issues.



Fire and Ice are two of my all-time favorite characters so your kind words mean a lot. I have big plans for those two very soon. Ices story begins to be revealed in issue #5.



Sorry for that. For the record, I have never written a story following a true linear structure. I write scenes out of order all the time. I certainly can see your point and could have done a better job with the overall flow and scenes. I always liked when a story begins somewhere in the middle where everyone knows each other and you have to play catch up for a bit. That's why the opening was written in a more personal text. But even given that, I understand your point.



Thanks again Charlie. I want to give a big shout out to Paul for doing such an awesome job on the cover! I hope he can contribute more. Maybe even next issue? And of course a Mischief cover appears this issue as well as the next. I would love to see more from him either on this title or any title on the site. And speaking of someone I'd love to see more from...did you mention Roy is back? That is too cool for words! ;D



No worries. I tried to ramble on in my responses so no one would notice!