Review: Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint Featuring the Flash trade paperback (DC Comics)

Some of the themes of the other Flashpoint tie-in collections have been harder to place -- the Wonder Woman volume was mostly about "Whatever happened to Europe," sure, but the Superman and Green Lantern books split the fate of the DC Universe aliens, and the Batman book quickly strayed from "Whatever happened to Gotham City?" World of Flashpoint Featuring the Flash, however, lives up to its tagline if not its title -- page after page this book details "Whatever happened to the world's greatest super-villains" in the Flashpoint universe.

What emerges is Flashpoint's super-villain crime book, the Flashpoint equivalent of Villains United or Salvation Run. The stories here run the gamut from beautiful and brilliant to tired and gory; as with the other Flashpoint books, collecting different series by different teams, what we end up with is a mixed bag.

Answers on New Teen Titans Vol. 2 Omnibus missing issue #38

DC Comics released the New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol. 2 last week, the first-ever hardcover collection of the famous "Judas Contract" story. By all accounts the binding of this volume is better than the first volume, though DC's collections still have a little ways to go before they're up to Marvel standards.

The only problem is, this book that was originally solicited to include issues #21-45, actually contains #21-37 and #39-45. No issue #38.

Fortunately, via our friends at ComicList, DC has announced to retailers that issue #38 will be in the New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol. 3 (so there's your confirmation on that) "along with other issues in the same storyline."

Couple of things this could mean:

Issue #38 is a "Who is Wonder Girl?" story. New Teen Titans (at that point actually Tales of the New Teen Titans) #50, which would more than likely appear in the next omnibus volume, is the wedding of Donna Troy and Terry Long. So, it might be that DC skipped over #38 here and will include it before a string of issues in the next volume.

For me, this would be the best-case scenario. I don't really like that DC took #38 out of the second omnibus -- I like reading these stories in their original publication order, just like they were meant to be read -- but if DC picks up with Tales #46 and keeps going from there and just sticks #38 in the beginning, everything turns out OK in the end.

However, we should note that before these omnibuses, DC released the Terra Incognito trade collecting Titans #28-34, and then the Judas Contract trade collecting Titans #39-44, and then the Who is Donna Troy trade collecting #38, #50, and New Teen Titans #51-54 -- the latter, essentially, is a trade that jumps all over the place. What I really hope DC will not do is make New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol. 3 some kind of crazy Donna Troy-spotlight collection that varies from the "collecting in order" pattern.

What I like about these omnibuses is that they're collecting stories that have never been collected before (Titans #35-37, among others) and collecting the stories in order. Reprinting, essentially, the Who is Donna Troy collection verbatim in volume three omnibus would be a big disappointment.

Relieved? Worried? What do you think?

Previous coverage of the New Teen Titans Omnibuses:

* Judas Contract in hardcover with New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol. 2 solicitation

* New Teen Titans Omnibus - Death of the DC Archive editions?

Flashpoint trade reading order

It wouldn't be Flashpoint week without a chronology guide to the trade paperback reading order for the Flashpoint miniseries event and all the World of Flashpoint tie-in collections.

We're going to do this two ways -- a reading list for the entire Flashpoint saga in TPBs, and then how to read the entire Flashpoint saga issue by issue (with a guide to which miniseries appears in which trade).

All of this information will also be updated on the DC Comics Trade Paperback Timeline and in a new update, coming soon, to the DC TPB Timeline ebook.

Flashpoint Trade Reading Order

* Flashpoint
* Flashpoint: Batman
* Flashpoint: Wonder Woman
* Flashpoint: Superman
* Flashpoint: Green Lantern
* Flashpoint: The Flash

Flashpoint's tie-in miniseries are in my estimation about the least connected to the main story than any other DC Comics crossover. It is entirely possible to read just the main Flashpoint miniseries and get a full story without reading the tie-ins; those tie-ins, however, flesh out major parts of the story and add much depth to the actions of the main characters; you'll see Wonder Woman and Aquaman differently, especially, if you just read the main series or read the tie-ins as well.

Because DC has mixed and matched the tie-in miniseries into five collections, often pairing stories that take place during radically different times in the Flashpoint saga, it's very difficult to read the tie-in collections cover to cover and get a linear story (for that, see our issue by issue list next). Basically I recommend reading Flashpoint itself first, and then the other books will fill in the details. The most significant connection between the tie-in books is that the "Project Superman" story in Superman takes place after the "Lois Lane" story in Wonder Woman; the "Deadman" story in the Batman collection takes place before the "Lois Lane" story in Wonder Woman, but that connection is much, much less important. A character from "Project Superman" also appears in the "Frankenstein" story in Green Lantern (but that appearance, I believe, is a continuity error); the "Green Arrow" story in Green Lantern and the "Legion of Doom" story in Flash are related, but also not in an important way.

Flashpoint Reading Order by Issues

Most of the major events in the larger Flashpoint saga take place in either the Flashpoint miniseries or the Wonder Woman and the Furies tie-in miniseries. Issue #3 of Wonder Woman includes an eight-month gap, and it's there that most of the Flashpoint miniseries takes place.  To read the entire Flashpoint saga in issue order, a reader has to deal with a certain amount of "flashback" -- the third issue of Wonder Woman takes place both before the Flashpoint miniseries, and then in time with "current" events.

The Emperor Aquaman miniseries takes place both concurrent to Wonder Woman and also during the eight-month gap, so I've placed that series in its entirety after Wonder Woman; also the Lois Lane and the Resistance miniseries takes place mostly during the eight-month gap and then concurrent to Flashpoint, so I've placed that miniseries entirely after the last issue of Wonder Woman.

I have placed other books in line with whether they pre-date or intersect with Flashpoint, or where they intersect with the other tie-in miniseries.

Flashpoint: Reverse-Flash #1	Flashpoint: The Flash
Flashpoint: Project: Superman #1	Flashpoint: Superman
Flashpoint: Project: Superman #2	Flashpoint: Superman
Wonder Woman and the Furies #1	Flashpoint: Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman and the Furies #2	Flashpoint: Wonder Woman
Green Arrow Industries #1	Flashpoint: Green Lantern
Legion of Doom #1	Flashpoint: The Flash
Legion of Doom #2	Flashpoint: The Flash
Legion of Doom #3	Flashpoint: The Flash
Grodd of War #1	Flashpoint: The Flash
Deadman and the Flying Graysons #1	Flashpoint: Batman
Deadman and the Flying Graysons #2	Flashpoint: Batman
Deadman and the Flying Graysons #3	Flashpoint: Batman
The Canterbury Cricket #1	Flashpoint: Superman
Abin Sur - The Green Lantern #1	Flashpoint: Green Lantern
Hal Jordan #1	Flashpoint: Green Lantern
Flashpoint #1	Flashpoint
Abin Sur - The Green Lantern #2	Flashpoint: Green Lantern
The Outsider #1	Flashpoint: Wonder Woman
Secret Seven #1	Flashpoint: Batman
Secret Seven #2	Flashpoint: Batman
Secret Seven #3	Flashpoint: Batman
Citizen Cold #1	Flashpoint: The Flash
Citizen Cold #2	Flashpoint: The Flash
Citizen Cold #3	Flashpoint: The Flash
Flashpoint #2	Flashpoint
The Outsider #2	Flashpoint: Wonder Woman
Deathstroke and the Curse of the Ravager #1	Flashpoint: Batman
Deathstroke and the Curse of the Ravager #2	Flashpoint: Batman
Deathstroke and the Curse of the Ravager #3	Flashpoint: Batman
Hal Jordan #2	Flashpoint: Green Lantern
Batman: Knight of Vengeance #1	Flashpoint: Batman
Batman: Knight of Vengeance #2	Flashpoint: Batman
Batman: Knight of Vengeance #3	Flashpoint: Batman
Flashpoint #3	Flashpoint
Flashpoint #4	Flashpoint
Wonder Woman and the Furies #3	Flashpoint: Wonder Woman
Emperor Aquaman #1	Flashpoint: Wonder Woman
Emperor Aquaman #2	Flashpoint: Wonder Woman
Emperor Aquaman #3	Flashpoint: Wonder Woman
Lois Lane and the Resistance #1	Flashpoint: Wonder Woman
Lois Lane and the Resistance #2	Flashpoint: Wonder Woman
Lois Lane and the Resistance #3	Flashpoint: Wonder Woman
Flashpoint: Project: Superman #3	Flashpoint: Superman
The Outsider #3	Flashpoint: Wonder Woman
The World of Flashpoint #1	Flashpoint: Superman
The World of Flashpoint #2	Flashpoint: Superman
The World of Flashpoint #3	Flashpoint: Superman
Booster Gold #44	Flashpoint: Superman
Booster Gold #45	Flashpoint: Superman
Booster Gold #46	Flashpoint: Superman
Booster Gold #47	Flashpoint: Superman
Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown #1	Flashpoint: Green Lantern
Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown #2	Flashpoint: Green Lantern
Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown #3	Flashpoint: Green Lantern
Hal Jordan #3	Flashpoint: Green Lantern
Abin Sur - The Green Lantern #3	Flashpoint: Green Lantern
Flashpoint #5	Flashpoint
Kid Flash Lost #1	Flashpoint: The Flash
Kid Flash Lost #2	Flashpoint: The Flash
Kid Flash Lost #3	Flashpoint: The Flash

There you go! I'm happy to answer questions about this reading order. Come back Monday for our final Flashpoint review, World of Flashpoint Featuring the Flash ... and then be here Thursday for the first Collected Editions review of the DC New 52, Justice League Vol. 1: Origin. Don't miss it!

Review: Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint Featuring Green Lantern trade paperback (DC Comics)

World of Flashpoint Featuring Green Lantern offered some of the strongest Flashpoint tie-in miniseries so far, faltering only unexpectedly at the end. In addition to stories about Green Lantern characters Abin Sur and Hal Jordan, and Green Arrow, this World of Flashpoint volume also debuts writer Jeff Lemire on the Frankenstein character that he'll subsequently write in the DC New 52 (what ties all these stories together, perhaps, is that "it's not easy being green").

For the first few stories, for Lemire's Frankenstein, and for a brief nod to what the term "Flashpoint" might mean for the DC Universe going forward, Green Lantern ranks for me as the second-best Flashpoint tie-in collection, behind Batman but before Wonder Woman and Superman.

[Contains spoilers]

I thoroughly enjoyed Adam Schlagman's Abin Sur: The Green Lantern miniseries that started off this collection, perhaps because of all the Flashpoint tie-ins, it felt the most familiar -- like Abin Sur's back-story, instead of his alternate life. This is due largely because Schlagman mines the rich mythos Geoff Johns has created for the Green Lantern title of late; the Project Superman miniseries had nothing to do with ongoing events in the Superman titles, but Abin Sur is full of Atrocitus and White Lanterns and the untold romance between Sinestro and Abin Sur's sister, and on and on.

Review: Aliens vs. Predator: Three World War trade paperback (Dark Horse)

[Guest post by Doug Glassman]

When I reviewed the Aliens vs. Predator Omnibus Volume 1, it was during the lead-up to Predators. I wasn’t the only person excited for the film; Dark Horse Comics used the opportunity to release a number of new Predator comics into the market, much like how Marvel used their various films to launch all sorts of mini-series and collections. These Predators tie-ins include a surprisingly good prequel, adaptation and sequel trilogy for the film. But Dark Horse’s best move was using the film’s popularity to release the long-awaited sequel to the original Aliens vs. Predator story.

Randy Stradley returns to write Aliens vs. Predator: Three World War and complete the story he began all those years ago. Also returning are the planet Ryushi and its most famous resident, Machiko Noguchi, now living among the humans, apart from her clan. As is typical in these stories, the conflict revolves around the relationships between humans and Predators, especially whether the latter should hunt the former, despite the humans' ability to kill both of the titular species when necessary.

Review: Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint Featuring Batman trade paperback (DC Comics)

World of Flashpoint Featuring Batman distinguishes itself among the Flashpoint tie-in books I've covered so far in that it's the first to tell stories truly removed from the events of the main Flashpoint storyline. Superman and Wonder Woman (and with that, Emperor Aquaman) weaved in and out of the front lines of the Atlantis/Amazon conflict, as did Lois Lane, Traci's 13's World of Flashpoint and others, whereas the Batman book often demonstrates the "average citizen's" point of view.

Notable also in the book is Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso's much lauded Batman: Knight of Vengeance story, significant not solely for the surprises it offers but also for what it has to say about the legacy of the Batman.

[Contains spoilers]

Azzarello's three-issue Knight of Vengeance, collected first here, tells us early on that the world is a bad place, and let's not mistake this as a commentary on the Flashpoint universe alone. The Flashpoint Batman succeeds where "our" Batman has failed, bringing a small semblance of sanity to the Joker, but what sparks the Joker's insanity again is this knowledge: that in at least two universes and likely more, the murder of Wayne family members drives the survivor to become the Batman. When Thomas dies, Bruce becomes Batman; when Bruce dies, Thomas becomes Batman; the family is locked in a vicious cycle with the so-called Knight of Vengeance. This fact is so horrific, Azzarello suggests, as to completely fracture the Joker's hard-won sanity.

Review: Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint Featuring Superman trade paperback (DC Comics)

The stories collected in World of Flashpoint Featuring Superman are all well done enough, if only hampered by their role as a tie-in and not the main event. In DC's last most recent crossover, Blackest Night, the tie-in miniseries felt more complete, usually with the hero defeating a Black Lantern villain; here, so much care is taken not to interfere with the main story that these miniseries feel impeded.

[Contains spoilers]

Flashpoint: Superman contains the Project Superman and World of Flashpoint miniseries, the Booster Gold tie-in issues #44-47, and the Canterbury Cricket one-shot. Of these, World and Booster Gold are neck-and-neck for the best (each succeeds, but fails in similar ways), though Project Superman and Canterbury Cricket are no slouches themselves with art by Gene Ha and Rags Morales respectively.

Uncollected Editions: Top Uncollected Marvel Stories

[Guest post by Doug Glassman]

Here at Collected Editions, there’s a feature called “Uncollected Editions,” investigating comic book runs which have never been collected. DC Comics isn’t the only company behind on its collections, however.

Below are five runs which I think need to be put to trade. Naturally, there are others, so feel free to mention in the comments your favorite Marvel issues that you'd like to see in trade paperback.

During the research for this article, I discovered that a few of my suggestions, such as Untold Tales of Spider-Man, have finally been collected, to my relief.

5. Rom: Spaceknight Vol. 1 #1-75.

It may be a bit unfair to push Marvel to collect this, as Rom was a toy tie-in comic. Like the Transformers and G.I. Joe books, however, it transcended its toy roots and became a classic in its own rights. His supporting characters and the villains of the series, the Dire Wraiths, continue to make appearances, while Rom has even been turned into a human. The Rom character and design are owned by Parker Brothers, which is a subsidiary of Hasbro ... which now makes Marvel’s toys. There’s a chance that we may yet see Rom both in toy and comic book form in the near future.

Review: Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint Featuring Wonder Woman trade paperback (DC Comics)

To read the main Flashpoint miniseries is not to get a good sense of Aquaman and Wonder Woman's conflict. A tragic murder took place, we know, and perhaps there's some unrequited love on both sides, but the "why" of the conflict is less important than the effect it has on the Flashpoint universe and those who try to end the war.

World of Flashpoint Featuring Wonder Woman therefore, is integral if the reader wants to understand what underlies this war -- allegiances and betrayals not even hinted at in Flashpoint. Wonder Woman mitigates the otherwise-severe characters of both regents; the separate stories of Wonder Woman and Aquaman are both entertaining, though complex narrative devices make each hard to navigate.

Programming note: Flashpoint and the DC New 52

It's an exciting time here at Collected Editions. Next week, we begin our run-up to the first Collected Editions review of the DC New 52 -- Justice League: Origin, due out at the beginning of May.

To prepare, this Monday begins our look at the Flashpoint tie-in collections -- we'll have reviews of all five collections, plus some great special features. And when those are complete, we'll launch our first series of DC New 52 reviews with Justice League and more.

So stick around -- news, reviews, and the DC New 52, all coming up. Thanks for being a Collected Editions reader.

Review: Batman: Year 100 trade paperback (DC Comics)

[Guest reviewer Zaid Alawi very occasionally posts his ramblings, thoughts, and stories on his personal site, Frakking Off.]

One oft-overlooked Batman story in recent years is Paul Pope's Batman: Year 100. This is a shame, because it's a real gem. Written and drawn by Paul Pope, Batman: Year 100 is a mix of Frank Miller's Batman: Year One with Ridley Scott's Blade Runner and George Orwell's 1984, along with a dash of Phillip K. Dick's Minority Report and a pinch of Miller's The Dark Knight Returns.

Though billed as an "Elseworlds" story, Year 100 might very well be a possible future for the modern continuity's Batman. Year 100 takes us to the year 2039, exactly 100 years after Batman's first published appearance, where America has since transformed itself into a dystopian police state. We are introduced to Batman, framed for murder and hunted by federal agents who are chasing -- for all they know -- the ghost of an urban legend. The story also follows James Gordon (grandson of the original) as he contends with all of this from the perspective of a local city cop.

Review: Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers hardcover/paperback (IDW Publishing)

[Guest review by Doug Glassman]

Sometimes, I long for the days of Transformers: Stormbringer, when IDW’s Transformers titles had one writer who kept the story along a simple path. Since then, a variety of writers have made the franchise uneven and hard to follow, which in the world of Transformers is not a good thing. An attempt to clarify everything, called Transformers: Continuum, was so bad that the continuity fell apart even more.

In the midst of the seemingly interminable All Hail Megatron and the fair-to-middling ongoing series, IDW decided to reach out to the long-term fans (myself included) with Last Stand of the Wreckers.

Written and drawn by two staunch Transformers fans from the United Kingdom, Wreckers concentrates on the titular Autobot assault team. The Wreckers are known for two things: charging head-first into dangerous situations, and dying in droves because of it. Despite an incredible amount of fatalities, there are numerous applicants, and the series follows four of these recruits.

DC Trade Solicitations for July 2012 - Absolute Final Crisis with new material, and more

How do you get me to buy an Absolute edition of a book I already own? "Seven new story pages by [Grant] Morrison and [Doug] Mahnke" should just about do it.

* Absolute Final Crisis

I've got to hand it to everyone who pushed for DC's Absolute Final Crisis to include the two Batman tie-in issues, #682-683. DC announced in their solicitations yesterday that Absolute Final Crisis will be resolicited now with those two issues included -- plus seven new story pages.

 While I'm glad to see Final Crisis collected "complete" with the Batman issues, that wouldn't be enough for me to pick up an Absolute edition of a book I already own; however, new material absolutely does the trick. This is what an Absolute book should be -- not just a larger-size reprint of the original, but something value-added to really make it Absolute.

This is a win for the fans.

* Aquaman Vol. 1: The Trench
* Deathstroke Vol. 1: Legacy
* Green Lantern Corps Vol. 1: Fearsome
* Hawk and Dove Vol. 1: First Strikes
* O.M.A.C. Vol. 1: Omactivate!
* Resurrection Man Vol. 1: Dead Again
* Superboy Vol. 1: Incubation
* Swamp Thing Vol. 1: Raise Them Bones

It's our monthly spate of DC New 52 collections (not that there's anything wrong with that). Lots that I'm excited about this month -- the new Aquaman, Peter Tomasi back on Green Lantern Corps, Scott Snyder's Swamp Thing, and Dan DiDio and Keith Giffen's OMAC. Both Hawk and Dove and OMAC are "complete" editions of the series (that is, cancelled after these books), which I'm actually looking forward to because it might make for a solid reading experience.

Perhaps even more interesting than the first round of DC New 52 collections will be the second round, however; the Superboy collection ends just before the "Culling" crossover with Teen Titans and Legion Lost and I'm curious to see if DC will release a combination crossover collection for the next round, or how that will be handled.

* Batman: Odyssey

This is a large collection (thirteen issues), which is always a good thing, but all I've heard is how weird, weird, weird this story is. The temporary cover image that DC's showing, of a bullet passing through Batman's bloody arm, does nothing to mitigate the book's reputation.

* DC Universe Online Legends Vol. 3

I was discussing the other day that preview pages of this series have been interesting, and I like the general idea of a world-ending, no limits story told using the old DC Universe characters, and by Marv Wolfman and Howard Porter, to boot. If DC would release a hardcover of all three of the paperbacks together, I might very well give it a look.

* Batman: No Man's Land Vol. 3
* Hitman Vol. 7: Closing Time
* Green Lantern/Green Arrow

Plenty of newly collected material in the third new Batman: No Man's Land book, including Robin stories by Chuck Dixon and an Azrael story by Dennis O'Neil. (Though reader Bobby Barrett correctly points out that the book lacks the Harley Quinn one-shot that introduced the character to the comics DC Universe, which is an integral part of the story and ought be included.)

DC finishes collecting Hitman here, another favor to the fans that we should be grateful for. Includes a bunch of Hitman extras like JLA/Hitman and Hitman/Lobo, which is a nice touch.

The solicitation for the new Green Lantern/Green Arrow collection says it's the first time all the stories have been together in paperback. I guess that explains the new release (plus Neal Adams's art here coincides with the release of Batman: Odyssey), though I really thought this had been collected complete before.

Absolute Final Crisis! New story pages! Hooray! What's on your buying list for this month?

Review: Batman: Gates of Gotham trade paperback (DC Comics)

The miniseries collection Batman: Gates of Gotham has a number of notable elements -- which is important, because whereas no single aspect of Gates is strong enough to recommend it, together the parts form a satisfactory whole. The true test of Gates will be whether it ultimately matters in the DC New 52 universe; otherwise most can probably give this book a pass except for ardent fans of certain creators or characters.

[Contains spoilers]

There's a general trend among DC's Batman titles right now toward exploring the make-up and "secret history" of Gotham City. Perhaps this was spurred on by the popularity of Grant Morrison's Return of Bruce Wayne, which presented the Wayne family throughout the ages (based, similarly, on Peter Miligan's Dark Knight, Dark City); Scott Snyder's The Black Mirror picked this up to an extent as Batman Dick Grayson battled the corrupting influence of Gotham in Commissioner Gordon's son James.

Review: Superman: Reign of Doomsday hardcover/paperback (DC Comics)

After the long, well-regarded, and highly intellectual storyline The Black Ring, writer Paul Cornell could be forgiven for a more action-packed follow-up with Superman: Reign of Doomsday.

As the final post-Crisis on Infinite Earths Superman story, however, Doomsday left me wishing for a little more. In comparison to recent new classics like Superman: Brainiac or Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes, Doomsday lacks pizazz. There's nothing terribly wrong with Doomsday, and Cornell handles all the characters involved in a right and respectful manner, but at the same time this Superman's last story is not as strong as I might have hoped it would be.

[Contains spoilers]

Reign of the Doomsday reprints Action Comics #900 -- which also appeared in Superman: The Black Ring Vol. 2, but now with the "Reign" parts that were removed from Ring added back in -- as well as Action #901-904 and the short stories from #900. There's stark difference between Cornell's Action #900, an adroit exploration of why Lex Luthor can never win for losing, and the rest of Cornell's issues here, in which Superman and his extended family chase errant Doomsdays for four chapters.

Review: Captain America: The Captain trade paperback (Marvel Comics)

[Guest review by Doug Glassman]

Captain America: The Captain is the third review for Collected Editions of what I like to call the “Eighties Marvel Epic” trilogy. The first was my review of Iron Man: Armor Wars, and Collected Comics Library's Chris Marshall reviewed the second, Avengers: Under Siege. What makes them a trilogy is how they interlock. Events from Under Siege are alluded to in The Captain, which it is a direct crossover with Armor Wars, even reprinting an issue from that story.

It’s a bit of an unfair comparison, since Armor Wars is only eight issues long and the actual Under Siege story is only five issues, while The Captain collects eighteen. However, what makes them epic is their scope and creative brilliance. Like the other two trades, The Captain sets up the modern version of its main character in a story done by an excellent and influential creative team. Amazingly, not a single issue could have been removed from The Captain to save room, and in fact, it could have benefited from adding in some of the Avengers tie-ins from that period.

Review: Green Arrow: Salvation hardcover/paperback (DC Comics)

J. T. Krul's Brightest Day tie-in in Green Arrow: Salvation is not the "Green Arrow: Rebirth" that Krul might have hoped. Fill-in writer James Patrick's concluding story, however, just might be.

Krul and Patrick split the final Green Arrow collection before the DC New 52 reboot 60/40, with Krul finishing his year-long epic and Patrick filling in for three issues as the book ends. We saw this phenomenon recently at the end of Birds of Prey, when Marc Andreyko subbed in for Gail Simone, and DC printed some inventory stories from Peter Tomasi to close out his run on Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors. Unlike Andreyko and Tomasi's stories, however, Patrick's are entirely related to ongoing Green Arrow events, not one-offs or inventory stories at all, and present a new direction for Green Arrow that I would have loved to see explored.