Artist Bill Walko has done some really nifty images. Check out his Deviantart page. He's got quite a few really nice Teen Titans illustrations and I was DELIGHTED to see his take on The Power Squad, the aborted all-female super team that I discussed here.
Looks like I'm not the only one who found this idea delicious! Here are a couple more images from his page that I particularly enjoyed!

Modernized Wonder Twins!
The Spider Friends!
The Herald and Bumble Bee! (This was later integrated into a larger Teen Titans group scene, which you can see on his site.)
Best of all... Jem & The Holograms!
This one is entitled "Who Is He Kissing:"
I like how Rio actually looks Latino here! All of his stuff is super adorbz! I think I'm actually going to order prints of a couple of these!

Wonder Wednesday - Props! - Phil Jimenez

Today, I wanted to pay my respect to another of my favorite creators in comics, super star illustrator Phil Jimenez!
Jimenez's hyper detailed line work, without a doubt makes him the heir-apparent to George Perez, whom Jimenez is unabashedly inspired by. Like me, Perez's New Teen Titans run was a huge influence.
One of Perez's most legendary runs as a creator was on Wonder Woman, and like his idol, Jimenez also enjoyed a celebrated run on that title. (More on that later...)
And also like me, Jimenez is actually an even bigger fan of Donna Troy, originally Wonder Girl, and has shepherded her through many of her recent travails at DC, including returning her to life after she was unceremoniously killed off in a Teen Titans miniseries.
He redesigned her costume, melding the lines of her old Wonder Girl costume with the "space"/"stars" motif she'd worn in more recent years, in her identity as Troia. As a fan of hers, it makes me happy that she has such a champion in comics looking out for her.
This is one of his earliest published works for DC, a pinup from the 80s miniseries War of the Gods, depicting Wonder Woman, Troia and Captain Marvel, the three biggest name heroes to derive their powers from the gods of legend.
It was, however, another former sidekick/Teen Titan, that helped Phil make one of his earliest big splashes, Aqualad.
In 1986, DC exec Neal Pozner wrote a miniseries starring Aquaman, in which, he ditched his classic orange and green suit for a mostly blue "underwater camouflage" costume. Despite the audacity, the look was embraced by fans and the miniseries sold well enough that a sequel was developed but due to editorial shifts, was ultimately scrapped. As beautifully rendered as the camouflage suit was, by Craig Hamilton in the miniseries, it was too complicated for most artists, and in his subsequent appearances, Aquaman reverted to his classic costume.
Phil Jimenez and Neal Pozner were romantically involved until Pozner's death in 1994. Jimenez dedicated the miniseries Tempest to his memory. By this point, many of the original Teen Titans had grown up. Robin became Nightwing. The Flash died and Kid Flash adopted his mentor's role and as previously stated, Wonder Girl became Troia (and lost all connection to Wonder Woman, due to continuity conflicts). Now, Aqualad became Tempest and gained vast magical powers, differentiating him from his mentor. His new suit, though, is an obvious homage to the blue camouflage suit worn by Aquaman in Pozner's miniseries.
His intricate art style continued attracting fans, despite it not fitting the normal exaggerated art style popular during the 90s. He achieved a career high drawing the massive Justice League vs. Titans miniseries that found two generations of heroes battling it out, with either the fate of the world OR Titan Cyborg's life on the line.
The above image is an homage to Perez's original illustration for Justice League versus Avengers from the 80s, before the project was scrapped. That image however had been reprinted often over the years. I think George would've been proud.
As I said, a crowning moment came when Jimenez took over both writing and drawing Wonder Woman, after a lackluster run in the late 90s. His love for the Amazon Princess was obvious on the page as he lovingly rendered her and her cast, drawing on characters from throughout her history, including of course, Perez's run.
In one cool move, he redesigned Themyscira into this magical fantasy locale, not just an island in the ocean.
While his run was respectable and vastly superior to the run before it, it had its problems. One was that during an important storyline, he was forced to suddenly deviate from his plot to tie into a company-wide crossover featuring The Joker. That was out of his hands, really, but even so, one thing that may have hampered him was his sheer love and respect for Wonder Woman, which sadly came across as him making her his "darling," completely flawless and yet uninteresting. It's a matter of taste, I suppose. A lot of fans seemed to hate how curly he drew her hair, calling it "mall hair." I... I mean, I've seen worse and it's not like it was all poofed in front! It was just curly band long!
In another Perez-like move, Jimenez drew Infinite Crisis, the sequel to Perez's 1984-85 history-changing Crisis on Infinite Earths. Possibly the most controversial moment from the story (which actually occurred BEFORE the series began) was Wonder Woman killing criminal mastermind Maxwell Lord on live television. The move haunted Wonder Woman for years and soured many in the public's perception of her. Then she started wearing pants and I think this all went away... maybe?
His most recent work was on Legion Academy, a Legion of Super Heroes tie-in, featuring the homolicious Power Boy and Gravity Kid.
Once again, JUST LIKE ME, Storm is his favorite X-Man, so when he became the artist on one of their 27,000 books, he reintroduced her as part of the team, after she'd been absent for several years.
In this image, he pays tribute to one of John Byrne's legendary classic X-Men covers... although why the fuck is Iron Man on there?!
He also took a stab at the X-Men's Canadian counterparts, Alpha Flight.
Phil Jimenez is one of the most skillful and respected illustrators out there. His work isn't flashy or stylized, it's hyper detailed and realistic. I think sadly, though, that because his work is so similar to Perez's fans haven't quite embraced or recognized the quality of his work, because they see him still as a student to the master.

But regardless, he IS a master on his own and I will continue to look forward to whatever work he puts out!

Wonder Wednesday - Teenage... Nightmare?

Okay, I've been message boarding and I have a serious case of the can't-types today, so get ready for some typos. (Unless I catch them and fix them, which is taking me at least twice as long to type anything. I should just leave them and see what comical results occur, but then it would just look like English wasn't my first language. I swear, without corrections, it looks like I'm typing with my fists.)
First off, for Moh who was curious about Demon Knights, here is the full solicit. Set in the Middle Ages, the Demon leads an unlikely team to defend civilization and preserve the last vestiges of Camelot against the tide of history. Critically-acclaimed writer Paul Cornell and artists Diogenes Neves and Oclair Albert combine sorcery, swords and superheroes in DEMON KNIGHTS #1.

Onto today, DC unveiled their teen-centric titles. It *groan* looks like they are going dark with these. First up is Legion Lost about a group of Legionnaires tossed back into the present day.

Seven heroes from the 31st century have traveled back to the present day. Their mission: Save their future from total annihilation. When the future tech they brought with them fails, they find themselves trapped in a nightmarish world and an ultimate struggle to survive. LEGION LOST #1 will be written by Fabian Nicieza and illustrated by Pete Woods, fresh off an acclaimed run of Action Comics.

Set in the present... nightmarish world. Well, Teen Moms IS one of the highest rated shows on, right now. And MTV just did that Twilight-y "remake" of Teen Wolf. But nightmarish? That's harsh.

I like the looks of this. I like the artwork. They've done the Legion-in-the-present thing before, so that's not really that interesting a concept. But I like the characters they are using, like Tellus and Gates. I LOVE Dawkstar's new costume. Oh, someone tell Mr. Terrific his lost jacket has been found... on... is that Tyroc? Or did they make Cosmic Boy black, which would be a bold move. I tend to think it's Tyroc, though, what with his mouth wide open like that. I'll check this one out. It looks good, although, like I said, the LAST thing the Legion needed was to get rebooted again!

Meanwhile, back in the 30th Century...

In the 31st century, the Legion of Superheroes is reeling from the loss of seven of their finest — and trying desperately to keep their youngest recruits alive against a series of terrible new threats. LEGION OF SUPERHEROES #1 will be written by fan-favorite Legion writer Paul Levitz and illustrated by Francis Portela.

It's interesting that the most notable thing about the Legion is that there are 27,000 of them, yet there are only three on the cover. And "reeling from the loss of seven of their finest"? I mean, there are so many of them, that it probably took them two weeks to even realize those seven were missing! This one may be okay. I am a Legion fan in general, but with all the reboots and stuff, I dropped them ages ago and haven't really looked back. I'll probably give ALL the DC books a shot, though. Even the monster ones, because even though I don't THINK I'll like 'em, you never know until you try them and over the years, I've come to enjoy a lot of non-traditional super hero books. So we'll see...

Virgil Hawkins has been gifted with incredible electrical powers. Adopting the persona of Static, he faces super-powered street gangs, raging hormones, homework, and girls in STATIC SHOCK #1, co-written by John Rozum and Scott McDaniel, with McDaniel also illustrating along with Jonathan Glapion.

Static is a character that people tend to like, but he's never been that big a seller. He was in the Teen Titans for a while, but it wasn't a very good run on the book, so that didn't do much for him. I'm glad to see him back and getting another shot, as I see him as having a lot of potential. Let's hope fans can get on board. He and Firestorm look to be the only teen heroes getting their own books and teen heroes have always done well, so here's hoping!

This is gonna bomb.

It’s up to the living avatars of war and peace to root out the hidden forces who look to plunge the country into a deadly civil war in HAWK AND DOVE #1. The exciting new series will be written by Sterling Gates and illustrated by legendary superstar comics artist Rob Liefeld.

NO ONE like's "superstar comics artist" Rob Liefeld. NO ONE. Not even his mom. This once again points toward the fact that DC is looking back to the 90s too much. Maybe they think, "Comics sold their best at that time." But they sold their best because it was nothing but gimmicks and speculators thinking they were gonna pay their kids' college tuition with those Death of Superman and chromium cover Ninjak comics. Guess what? Most of those comics are now in the 25 cent bin... where they stay because no one even wants to pay a quarter for them today! I like Dove. She got a big boost from her roles in Blackest Night and Brightest Day, but putting Liefeld on her book isn't doing her any favors.

Even so, I can just imagine the brainstorming session. "Comics sold their best in the 90s. What were comics like then? Let's make our books more like that."

"Well, they were poorly written."

"Check. Written by monkeys. Okay, what else?"

"Oh they were ugly! Everything was over stylized and hyper detailed and everyone's suit had all these pouches and shoulder pads and excessive shit all over them!"

"Hmmm, overly accessorized. Okay and how did the characters look?"

"X-TREEEEEEEEEME!!! The guys were all roided up with muscles on top of muscles and the were always flexing EVERY muscle on their body at the same time and their jaws were clenched like they were taking a painful shit. And the girls all had tits bigger than their heads and giant asses that would put the Kardashians to shame and they ran around in thongs and bras that had to have been made out of magical miracle fabric to keep that shit contained. And they were so limber that they could somehow pose with their asses AND tits facing the reader at all times!"

"Even the teenage characters?"

"ESPECIALLY the teenage characters." (Translation: Everyone wants to fuck teenagers.)

And thus, I present to you... Teen Titans.
Tim Drake is forced to step out from behind his keyboard when an international organization seeks to capture or kill super-powered teenagers. As Red Robin, he must team up with the mysterious and belligerent powerhouse thief known as Wonder Girl and a hyperactive speedster calling himself Kid Flash in TEEN TITANS #1, by Scott Lobdell and artists Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund.

Looks like they covered everything on the checklist.

DC Relaunch Week 2

DC has announced more titles added to their upcoming re-boot including all(?) the new Batman books. The one non-Batbook they announced is Swamp Thing (above). As for the rest...

There's Batman...

Detective Comics...
Batman: The Dark Knight and...

Batman & Robin. Oh hey, wouldja look at that?! That's Damian Wayne as Robin! So what happened to all that "this isn't a reboot we're just setting the books back a couple of years" nonsense? This most certainly IS a reboot! They're just picking and choosing and reshaping however they see fit! Otherwise, like I said before, Damian would either not even have been born yet or would be like five, depending on how far back they were going. So Damian Wayne is Robin, but Clark Kent and Lois Lane will no longer be married... just cause! Cause that's how the powers-that-be want it. So fuck off, old comic fans!

There's more...
Catwoman... although after all that hubbub about them making their women look more modest... ahem...
Batwoman, officially confirmed as part of this initiative...
Nightwing... presumably Dick, but no one is sure since there's no sign of Tim anywhere. Obviously Tim isn't Robin, since Damian is, but wouldn't you think they're announce a new Red Robin title at the same time as all these other Batbooks? The use of red in his costume, replacing the light blue may... or may not... support that perhaps this is Tim inheriting his "big brother's" identity... but if so... what happened to Dick?

Definitely the most surprising announcement for me was Red Hood and the Outlaws, starring Jason Todd, the second, fuck-up Robin, teamed with Speedy, arm restored and of all people Starfire, Dick's old girlfriend. This just looks terrible. Nice baseball cap! Moving on...
Birds of Prey, starring Black Canary, Poison Ivy, Katanna and someone who may be Grace Choi formerly of The Outsiders. You can see the ladies are rockin' DC's new "modest" super lady look. Is Black Canary wearing Mary Janes?! The fuck?! I don't so much care that she has tights under her fishnest. She's looked like that at other times, including when I was a kid. You know what I don't like? That she isn't wearing a jacket! That's just such a huge part of her aesthetic! Also, this book is HARDLY a Batbook, now that Barbara isn't in it. Oh yeah, about that...
Batgirl, officially confirmed to be Barbara Gordon! I am excited about this! I just love the classic Batgirl and this is her, written by Gail Simone, who did such a WONDERFUL job on her in Birds of Prey, through the majority of that title's existence. She's in good hands! I like the detailed costume as well!

So, let's recap:
1. Justice League of America
2. Action Comics
3. Detective Comics
4. Wonder Woman
5. Aquaman
6. Green Lantern
7. GL Corps
8. GL: New Guardians
9. Green Arrow
10. Hawkman
11. Flash
12. Captain Atom
13. DC Universe Presents (I mistakenly called this Braver & Bolder before)
14. Nightwing
15. Batgirl
16. Justice League International
17. Mr. Terrific
18. Justice Society of America
19. Firestorm
20. Teen Titans
21. Birds of Prey
22. Red Lanterns (I forgot this one last time)
23. Batman
24. Batman: The Dark Knight
25. Batman & Robin (I just KNEW DC wasn't gonna let Green Lantern have more titles than Batman!)
26. Nightwing
27. Red Hood & The Outlaws
28. Catwoman
29. Batwoman
30. Swamp Thing

Over half-way there and still, this line up is whiter than a Tea Party rally. And don't try claiming that Swamp Thing counts as a person of color. They did state that there will be seven Teen Titans and only four (over half) would be white. Once again, don't try and pass off Beast Boy (left) as being one of the other three! I think everyone is assuming that the four white characters will be Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Superboy and Tim Drake under whatever guise he's using.

Since that whole going back in time thing is now hogwash, I say that it's probably a given that the JUST introduced Indian heroine Solstice will be among them. The other two slots? I say Aqualad, because they seem to be really getting behind his character. The last spot? It could be any number of people, Static, Aquagirl, Firestorm, Blue Beetle (Jaime)... But y'know what? That joke I made about Swamp Thing and Beast Boy? I bet you my spleen, the other member is...

Miss Martian. I guarantee it!

It's nice that they are making the teams integrated, but that's easy and honestly in this day and age, expected. But that's it. It's nice. It's not enough. Mister Terrific remains the one minority in his own book, with John Stewart and Jason Rusch sharing titles. Batwoman represents the GLBT side. (Maybe The Question, Renee Montoya will get her own book... she's a lesbian of color! Or... and here's my guess, since they've returned The Demon to being Jason Blood, and flat out said they wanted their characters to be more recognizable, they'll bring back the original Question, whitey Vic Sage.) Vixen is in Justice League International, so I doubt she'll get her own title. Black Lightning probably has the best shot. I doubt Steel will since Cyborg is being positioned as DC's premier black cyber hero. Too much overlap. It would be nice if they gave a gay male character a book... but I'm not that big a fan of the ones they have, Obsidian and Mikaal/Starman, being the most notable.

Hmmm... switching gears, there are still 22 more books to be announced and a few titles that currently exist that haven't been confirmed as coming back. Let's take a look...
The Legion of (Perpetually Rebooted Almost Like Clockwork Every Three Years) Super Heroes. If there was one book I wished could escape this reboot it's them, just because they just got rebooted, what? Last year?! Alas!
Red Robin... as previously discussed. I'm a fan of both Dick's and Tim's so I hope nothing bad happens to either one... especially since that ass clown Jason Todd is still going to be running around!
Wally West. Like with Red Robin, you'd think they're announce ALL the books that are connected at the same time, so if there was going to be a second Flash book, rumored to be called Speed Force, they're have done so when they announced The Flash's main book. So that puts poor Wally in the same boat as Tim. Or Dick. Whoever isn't Nightwing.
And for that matter, what about the original Aqualad, Garth and Wonder Girl, Donna Troy?
Power Girl and Zatanna. Like I said before, I'm not sure how well their books were selling, so I'm not sure if they're on the chopping block or not. Plus, how will either of them deal with having to cover up their womanly assets? (Although Starfire is still spilling out of her corset, so it doesn't look like these ladies are being forced to cover up entirely.)
Justice Society of America... I have it listed above, but it hasn't officially been solicited. I'm sure it's coming though, although I freely admit, I don't get why this team exists. Can't everyone just be in the Justice League?
Shazam/Captain Marvel/Captain Thunder and Family. Captain Thunder is currently playing a role in Flashpoint, so I can see him spinning out of that into his own book, hopefully starring a Mary Thunder who's has the stank of the past couple of years scrubbed thoroughly from her. And like I said before...
Hopefully featuring Isis, as a full heroine this time, free of Black Adam's sway. That under-boobie cleavage isn't going to work, though.
Martian Manhunter... he doesn't have his own title, but fans have taken note of his absence on the cover of Justice League.
Blue Beetle... out of all the recent attempts to ethnic-ize characters, I'd say he was one of the most popular, if not THE most popular, depending on how well you liked Jason Rusch as Firestorm. He even warranted an appearance on Smallville! Yet he's not in JLI. Teen Titans hasn't yet been solicited. But could he maybe even score his own title once again? Hmmmm.... And on a related note...
Booster Gold. He has his own book right now. He's confirmed for JLI. But like with Zatanna and Power Girl, I don't know how well his book sells, so who knows if he's coming back in a solo title.

Speculation as to other characters who may get new titles?
Nightrunner, the infamous "Muslim Batman" from Batman Inc., a title which appears to be kaput. This guy even made it onto The Daily Show. I would expect DC to try capitalizing on that.
In Flashpoint, he's that parallel time line's Superman and he's in the new Justice League, apparently taking Martian Manhunter's spot! I'm fairly sure he'll get his own title when all is said and done.
Sensation Comics starring Wonder Woman. Yeah, I know, no chance in hell. But the Amazing Amazon DID have two books back in the 40s and fuck, Batman has four and SIX spin-offs and Green Lantern of all characters has four! You're telling me no woman, no matter how Wonder-ful, can sustain even TWO?
The Spectre and Dr. Fate... I'm not saying they're getting their own books back or anything, BUT I guarantee that they will be reverting to the alter egos of Jim Corrigan and Kent Nelson, their Golden Age (and most famous) counterparts.

Beyond that, who knows? Will they sneak in a couple of new concepts? (No.) More news as it breaks... well, y'know like the day after it breaks... and keep in mind, the Superman books haven't yet been announced!