Letters to Justice League Annual #1

Holy crap in a hat.

-UDC

What does that mean, exactly...?

Wow.
My favorite parts were when Cloey told Hal she was pregnant and when Batman fought Lex in the Hall of Justice.
"There's a third option!" That's soooooooooooooooo Batman.
Loved it. Great story. Great Epiloge! Looking forward to see what Lex is going to do with the "thing" (didn't want to spoiler it for the ones who didn't read the story.

No one does battle sequences like you two shmoes. Everything from the mall fight to the Hall of Justice Smackdown was done pitch perfectly. This ending had a very "Justice League Unlimited" feel to it, and that is a huge compliment given how big a fan of that show I am. Kudos once again to all involved.
And Ramon...well done. Clap, clap, clap.

I'll get back to you...

Glad you liked it, UDC!

We wanted this issue to push the envelope and really have some impact! The fight scenes were fun to write, and it was important to us to give everybody their scene (though some came off better than others, I think).

It seems like whenever we do one of these big events the Golden Age characters come out of it the worse for wear! In actuality, this crisis (along with the events of All-Star Comics Annual #1) will be the impetus for the triumphant return of the JSA: look for Justice Society of America #1 to debut early in 2008!

I promise.

And how about that killer centerfold of the Secret Society by Babs...! Huge kudos to her for stepping up and delivering a beautiful pic of some scary people. Thanks for fitting it into your schedule, Anja; you can have a nap, now!

So glad that somebody picked up on the Lovecraft touches!



The thing is with these big events, there are consequences, and sometimes the price of freedom, and the wages of selfless heroism, can be pretty high. Starman's sacrifice was not in vain. This is on a par with the heroic sacrifice of Captain Marvel (I) in the first Crisis (unlike the death of Jay, which we always knew wasn't permanent), or the death of Barry Allen in the DCU. Starman proved to America that they'd been duped by Luthor and Checkmate. This was not the murky, morally-conflicted waters of Civil War: at the end of this story, you know exactly who's wearing the white hats.



Me too! And with Roy on Action Comics, I'm sure we will!



Ditto!




FYI, for more on the Canary/Shiva rivalry, see my early run on New Outsiders (issues 0-2), some of my best work (if I might humbly suggest)!

*wearing a reporter's outfit* Aw, come on! The guy's a combination of robotic shell and tornado god! He's practically unkillable!

Does Area 51 exist?

Well I've slept for a week and now have time to reply to some of the comments here. However, since my partner in crime pretty much took care of all the specific comments, I'll just say what I always say, what's on my mind and in my heart.

This issue was the most fun I've had in ages, and a lot of it has to do with the fact that I got to work with David so closely on this. In fact, one of the high lights was actually speaking with him on the phone (and for the record, I don't think he sounds anything like a telemarketer, Ramon. )

I really do hope that all of you have enjoyed this years major event. And I want to thank all of you who were such a huge part of it. I'm afraid if I start naming names, I'll leave someone out, but the writers, the artists, RIZ (okay, had to throw out one name cause the guy did four covers and the logo's) all deserve a standing ovation and lots of money, and Mark, who edited this monster of a series with great finesse. Couldn't have done it without you, my friend!

Most importantly, though, I want to thank everyone who keeps coming back week after week, month after month, to read everyone's stuff, to show us their own stuff, and who makes this one of the greatest fan/fic sites on the web.

As for my favorite parts of this conclusion: Starman's death and the epilogue with the JSA was probably my favorite. Although the battle with the Society and the revelation that Chloe is pregnant is also at the top of my list.

Happy 2nd Anniversary, DC2! And from the bottom of my heart, thank you all for two wonderful years of great stories, and great friendships.

Brian (I'm never doing a Crisis again) Burchette

This crisis was the best thing the deuce has done since I started reading you almost two years ago. Every issue of the series except #4 rocked. I'm not quite sure why I didn't like last issue I just know it seemed different in tone from the rest of the series. And it's not cause of the Black Ops stuff cause I love that stuff if its done right. But in any case you more than made up for it with this issue. I couldn't stop reading it once I started. I hung on every word
and thought it was nearly perfect in format. Although you could easily have broken the story down into two or three parts and give more depth to each of the battles. I.E Battle on the Mall, Invasion of the Hall of Justice, Fight below the Capitol. I think it would have worked. But then we wouldn't have known how it ended before the end of August.
A couple or three comments I thought of while reading this.
How long has Starro been lying dormant under the Capitol anyway? Has he been able to influence anything else in the DC2 like say during the Golden Age? Has he always been under the Capitol or did he move or was moved during his long sleep?
Captain Comet is back already! His dissappearance into the spacewarp last issue could have served as an interesting special or All Star Comics adventure. Maybe even crossover with the Challangers of the Unknown so we finally find out what happened to them .

I guess my biggest dissappointment was that Snapper Carr didn't appear at all. Having him debut in the Outsiders and cross into Detective Comics tie-ins it seemed like you were setting him up for a major role in the story. While I didn't expect him to play the same role as he did in the mainstream DC I fully expected to see him show up in the Hall of Justice as part of Batman's precautions. Ah well.

Finally there's the death issue. As you may be aware there is a debate going on as to whether or not there is too much death taking place in the comics these days. And once a character is dead if he should stay dead. I'm among the let em stay dead crowd once its proven they are dead. So it was with some interest that I noticed you left yourself a way out with all three deaths this issue. The Riddler was never declared officialy dead and neither of the bodies of the Red Tornado or Starman were found. Although Starman's resurection is probably more problematic than Reddy's. But then I have picked up hints that there may be a multiverse out there so I suppose that could be an easy out if you wanted to bring him back. Just shift him to another earth. For the most part however I would prefer it if death was rare and permanent in the DC2.

Starman is dead.

Brian really wanted to do a scene with Jay or Alan finding the body, to give the reader some indication this was a "real" death, and not one he could come back from, but the fact is I could not imagine a way his body could have survived the flash he generated. Jay finding the mangled cosmic rod was the next best thing (at least on an emotional level).

Ted Knight was a hero. He gave his life, willingly and knowingly, to save the world. He's not coming back.



Glad you liked the issue, a2uton! We were concerned its size would be off-putting, so it's nice to hear some of our readers wanted more! Certainly there are some scenes that warranted some expansion...



This was an idea that developed pretty late in the game, and was intended to give the villain depth, not to be used as fodder for future (past?) story material... That being said, Starro was beneath the Capitol ever since John Adams signed the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798 (always wanted to be able to explain those away ), presumably crawling into the sub-basement, still in a kind of slumber, since his lair was disturbed by the D.C. city planners.

And while he slept for centuries, his malignant purpose could be felt in such government initiatives as the Native American Relocation program, the interment of Japanese Americans during WW2, the HUAC hearings (so Starro did contribute to bringing down the JSA), and both Bush presidencies.

Also, American Idol: Starro's idea.



Can't speak too much to the Captain Comet thing (perhaps John Elbe can), but as for the Challengers, you will be seeing more of them in our upcoming weekly title DC2 Challenge--- and in a new mini of their own by Mark Bowers!



I think Snapper's job was pretty much done by the annual--- and I sure Batman would have wanted all civilians out of the way at the Hall (plus, Power Girl was a pretty good Hall monitor on her own!), but I'm sure Snapper Carr has not made his last DC2 appearance!

And I'll bet that the Dick Cheney shooting incident was Starro's idea of humor.