Just For The Hell Of It Monday's: Papinacho's Rebirth Christmas Wishlist Part 1

Good evening, everybody.

For those of you who don't know, DC has recently announced another major relaunch in the wake of DC YOU's massive commercial failure. This new project is titled Rebirth and a lot of the specifics have already been announced. We now know the titles, the frequency they ship at and that they'll all be priced at $2.99. What we don't know is what creative teams are involved with this huge project. So, in order to indubitably disappoint myself with whatever the final product ends up being, I have created a list of my hopes and dreams for Rebirth. So without further ado, here is my wishlist for the the Rebirth Month of June.


1. Aquaman:

Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Ivan Reis

Now, I know what you're thinking, you're thinking Geoff already had his chance with Aquaman and he left Justice League precisely because he didn't have much time to write ongoings anymore. All that is true, but on the other hand Geoff Johns has expressed regret about leaving the title as soon as he did and has confirmed that he will be writing an Aquman crossover (Rise of the Seven Seas) with Ivan Reis. If he's left Justice League then how could he write an Aquaman lead crossover? Well by writing Aquaman. And frankly since this is my wishlist I'd place him here anyways. Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis had an epic run on Aquaman that I think was cut too short and should definitely continue.

2. Batman:

Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Artist: Patrick Gleason

Here's were my list starts to diverge a little bit from what will probably happen. Bleedingcool has already announced that Tom King will take over the main Batman title. Unfortunately, Bleedingcool has so far been right on the mark when discussing Rebirth. That is not to say that I would be unhappy if Tom King took over. Tom King is an excellent writer. I'd just think his talents can best be utilized elsewhere. There are other characters who desperately need some more help than Batman. And as for Tomasi, he has already proven his stripes as both a Batman writer and a writer of the entire Batman family. As the author of the criminally underrated series Batman and Robin I think he deserves a shot at the big guy. Also, I think Patrick Gleason definitely has the skill required to pencil the main Batman book.


3. The Flash:

Writers: Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray
Artist: Emanuela Lupacchino

Why is there a picture of Supergirl instead of the Flash, you ask? Well because I couldn't find any Lupacchino Flash art on the internet. Anyways, this might be my most controversial choice of all, but let me explain.What the Flash book needs at the moment are three things: great art, a better supporting cast and humor. Right now,  I don't care about Captain Frye or Iris or Barry's dad. That shouldn't be the case. And sure, you can argue that when writing Harley Quinn most of Jimmy's and Amanda's supporting characters are shallow and their humor is repetitive. But that isn't the case in their Starfire book, and it wasn't the case when Jimmy and Justin P. wrote All-Star Western. With Justin P. on board, I trust them 100% to write the Flash, a character who (like Starfire) lends himself to more mature humor and who already has a potentially interesting cast. Here, all they have to do is develop what's already there, not create out of scratch. Either way, one thing is for sure, with them on board the book will sell like gangbusters. And ultimately that's what we all want.


4. Green Arrow:

Writer: Brian Azzarello
Artist: John Paul Leon

Who is the perfect man to tell a tale as dark as Green Arrow's and endow it with meaning? Brian Azzarello. Brian Azzarello made Luthor relatable and almost worth cheering for without having to fundamentally alter his character like Geoff Johns did in Forever Evil. On the other hand, he also took heroes; like Wonder Woman and Batman and expanded upon their already existing thematic relevance. And he did this all the while telling the dark types of stories in which Green Arrow thrives. As for John Paul Leon? Well look at the picture above and tell me he wouldn't be perfect for this type of story.


5. Green Lanterns:

Writer: Tom King
Artist: Doug Mahnke

First of all we have to define which Green Lanterns this book will be about. Well look at the list and tell me how many characters are not at least aesthetically Caucasian. The answer is none. Can you imagine the backlash if DC went an entire month with only white leads? I can't either, so I must conclude that the Green Lanterns have to be Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz. Now, which one of DC's writers can make a character into an A-Lister? Well Geoff Johns, for one, but he is busy. But Tom King did it for Grayson and he isn't. After all that P.R. that went into signing King, it would frankly surprise me if he didn't get a book opening month. My pick for him is Green Lanterns. King's already proven his mettle as a Lantern writer (with Kyle and Hal) and would be the best pick to handle these new ones. As to the artist, who better than the man who created Baz, Doug Mahnke?


6. Superman:

Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: Mikel Janin

Few people can draw the hell out of New 52 Superman. One of those few is Mikel Janin. That's why I picked him. Now, onto much more complex matter of the writer. Bleedingcool reports that it will most likely be Pete Tomasi. While normally, I would be down for Tomasi to write anything; I cannot in good conscience pick him after the Truth fiasco. Same goes for Greg Pak. So with that in mind, lets go through the list of other good New 52 Superman writers. 1. Geoff Johns: Stepped out of Justice League because of time issues, unlikely to return. 2. Scott Snyder: Stated in interviews he had a lot of problems writing two major series at a time (I've got another pick for him), and never stated interest in writing Superman again. 3. Dan Jurgens: I attribute a lot of his success to the fact that he basically writes the Superman from the 90's (which he has plenty of experience doing). In fact, his previous New 52 Superman work wasn't very good. 4. Max Landis: I attribute a lot of his success to the fact that he is writing his own version of Superman, bound by rules of Landis' creation. Also after, writing the version of Superman that he wants to write, I don't think he'd settle for the New 52 version. 5. Tom Taylor: This is the guy to go for. Now, I've said before that his Superman is a bit too Spider-Man for my tastes, but honestly that's a minor quibble. Not to mention, he wrote some compelling Superman stories in a universe that rejected the character itself (Injustice), so I absolutely think he can pull it off.


6. Titans:

Writer: Dan Abnett
Artist: Eddy Barrows


This choice was a bit harder to make. I don't exactly know what Titans team DC will choose to use and that may or may not alter my answer. At the end of the day thought; Dan Abnett has been laying the groundwork for Titans in his Hunt series and I appreciate that continuity.While Hunt hasn't been the best, I think the Titans as a team are often pulled in different directions way too quickly. So with that in mind I pick him and Eddy Barrows (whom impressed me with Martian Manhunter) to take the Titan reigns.


7. Wonder Woman:

Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Jason Fabok

Remember when I said I had plans for Snyder? These are those plans. As a member of the Trinity, Wonder Woman deserves A-list, top level talent, talent that can propel her to new heights. Snyder fits those requirements like a hand to a glove and has expressed interest in writing her before. It should be a no brainer for DC to offer him the book. On the other hand, Jason Fabok has drawn one of the best versions of Wonder Woman since Cliff Chang, and recently abandoned Justice League. This is the time and this is the team. Now, is this likely? No, because it sounds too good to be true and Bleedingcool has reported Margueritte Bennet as the successor to the title. Personally, I'm not happy with that news because: A. I strongly dislike her writing and B. Whatever your opinion of her may be, she is not an A-list writer. That said, would I pick up her Wonder Woman? Of course, I love Wonder Woman, and I'm not a mindless hater (gotta try it out before deciding to keep reading).


8. Action Comics:

Writer: Dan Jurgens
Artist: Lee Weeks

Remember when I didn't pick Jurgens for Superman? Well that was because that was modern Superman. There is definitely a place for classic Superman, classic writers and classic artists. That place is the classic series: Action Comics. I'm not ignoring all the recent good work Jurgens has done and I hope that this series is a continuation of the adventures of Lois and Clark. Plus, Lee Weeks is just an amazing artist.


9. Detective Comics:

Writer: Peter Tomasi
Artist: Fernando Pasarin

As we have seen from the solicits; Bat-Gordon isn't going away. Is there a place for him? Yes, Detective Comics, the place in which he has been written at his best. I love Snyder, but it was only Pete who managed to make Bat-Gordon interesting and plausible. I want to see him continue to do so while telling the classic detective type stories that you can only tell in this title. Also, Pasarin makes the Big G look good.


Anyways, those are my thoughts on the first month of Rebirth and what I wish it to be. Agree? Disagree? Leave your comments below.