Before I continue, a word about what makes a comic-book "print worthy" for me (vs. just buying it digitally). At this point, really, the main standards are that it has to be very high quality (such as Gail Simone's Batgirl), and it has to be about characters I can find myself following and liking long-term. The reason for this second criterion is that my plan (once I buy a house later this spring) to create some sort of "display" with my favorite comic-books and the collectibles associated with them. For instance, I plan to have a bunch of Supergirl issues on display, and I already have some statues of her. I will also have a Batgirl display for sure, though nowhere near as extensive as the Supergirl one. And I plan to have some Justice League characters to display with the main JL series, so I have started getting that on paper (though I did not bother to get the back-issues on paper like I did with Supergirl and Batgirl).
Justice League of America now... I am not sure about that. The characters are not generally ones that would inspire me to buy statues or other collectibles. And the series is new, so I don't know if I will like it. I'm getting it on paper for now, just because it is no harder or easier to get it on paper than it is to get the digital versions (unlike, say, Wonder Woman, which is on #17 already, and for which would be a pain, and expensive, to acquire all 16 back-issues). I'm trying it (and the companion book, Katana) on paper for now. Either it will be a stand-out series that will win me over by issue #6, or it won't be. If it's not, then I will either drop it or switch it to digital. If it's good enough for me to keep getting on paper, then maybe a JLA display, or a JLA side of the JL display will be in order. We will just have to see.
Speaking of JLA, I did not bother with the "North Carolina" flag variant on the cover, nor any other variants. I think the "50 variant cover" business +DC Comics pulled with this title is absolutely disgraceful, and I think DC should be ashamed of themselves. I came this close to not buying it at all. However, I have very much liked the way Geoff Johns writes the main book (Justice League), and I bought it for his writing. This book is on much thinner ice than most other new series would be with me, however, just because I have a bad taste in my mouth from even buying it at all. Even more disgusting than DC putting out the 50 variant titles is the fact that the comic-fans of the world seem to be stupid enough that they are lapping it up. Seriously, people, why are you applauding this kind of behavior from DC? Want to buy one copy of the issue to read? Fine, do that -- I did. But why are people rewarding this kind of shameful money-grubbing behavior with multi-copy purchases. Where is the outrage over this sort of blatant market manipulation? There sure as hell should be some.
Additionally, I get to breathe a huge sigh of relief this week that issue 17 is the final Supergirl part of the awful "H'el on Earth" storyline that has polluted this series since issue 14 (it ends next week in Superman 17, which is the last issue of that series I will collect). I can only hope the series will improve once this awful story arc is over, because if things don't get better on this series soon, I may have to contemplate the unthinkable, and actually, for the first time in 30 years, stop collecting a Supergirl series that is still on-going even though I am still collecting comic-books (in the past, one series was canceled, and I only stopped collecting another two months after I had given up on all other comic-books). That has never happened before. It should not be possible, because I love Supergirl so much as a character. Me voluntarily giving up Supergirl should be like Romeo voluntarily breaking up with Juliet - beyond the pale. But they have so destroyed this character in the last 12 issues of stories (4 of hers, 4 from Superman, 4 from Superboy) that I almost can't even look at her anymore. Here's hoping that, before he leaves, Mike Johnson can fix her. Because it not, I may have to stop reading her series. Ouch.
Speaking of Supergirl, along with the three new issues, I also picked up the last 5 issues of Supergirl vol. 4 that my comic-shop had. Now that is a series that has some good writing. I should never have liked that series because Supergirl was not Kara Zor-El. But Peter David wrote it so damn well, and made her act so "correct" for the character (i.e., an awful lot like the original Kara), that he won me over and has kept me won over for all 43 issues I have read so far (my buying is ahead of my reading). Peter David knew how to write Supergirl, I'll give him that. I now have 69 of the 80 issues (though not all in order, after #61). I have 11 to go, but those will have to be mail-ordered. I've only read about half of them but I have absolute no qualms about shelling out money for the last 11 ahead of time, because I know Peter David will not disappoint me. Wish I could say the same for the current version of the Girl of Steel.
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