The Walking Dead (Not That One)

When it comes to creative teams, DC’s New 52 is turning into Thunderdome: 52 teams enter… one team leaves… and if recent DC history’s any guide, that team will be Grant Morrison, an A-list artist to be named later, and a terrifyingly large pile of mescaline.

Last week it was John Rozum walking away from Static Shock, which was a shame because I had some hope for it; sure, the first issue didn’t grab either Amanda or I enough to review it, but Rozum’s responsible for writing 2002’s terrific and woefully underrated Midnight, Mass. from Vertigo, so I was hoping things would improve.

Instead, he chose to leave the title, absolving pretty much all parties involved of any blame by name, then saying with one breath that he was looking forward to doing more books with DC Comics and with the NEXT saying, “…if you are in the position to give me work, please let me know.” Which only tells me that if you want to know what REALLY happened there, you should attend next month’s New York ComicCon and fill that man with bourbon. And then send us an email. And then fill US with bourbon. But I digress.

Yesterday afternoon brought us another man down: Green Arrow writer J. T. Krul announced that he was leaving the book after the third issue:

Hey everyone! Effective as of issue #4, I will no longer be writing Green Arrow. As many of you know, Oliver Queen is one of my favorite characters in the DC Universe, so this decision was not easy to make. Getting the chance to do the fall of Green Arrow and my run during Brightest Day was a dream come true, and I was excited to bring a new yet familiar take on Green Arrow in the new 52.

Wow. Normally when you read a resignation announcement that starts like that, the next paragraph includes the phrases, “Spend more time with my family,” “Looking forward to being exonerated in a court of law,” and / or “I have a wide stance.” PLEASE let there be some good news here…

But, I’ve been writing him for a few years now and an opportunity came up that I really wanted to tackle. I had to make a choice. In a way, my decision to leave is more a testament to how incredibly thrilled I am about [writing] Captain Atom.

Okay, despite the fact that the words “thrilled”, “Captain” and Atom” only belong in the same sentence if it’s 1995 and you’re trying to name your grunge band, this is not terrible news.

Sure, it’s a blow to lose Krul from Green Arrow – he’s been doing solid – not flashy, but solid – work there for the past couple of years and any man who can put urban avenger Green Arrow into a forest with a guy who thinks he’s an Arthurian knight and keep it interesting for a year without once having someone say “Ni!” is doing the Lord’s work.

And clearly Krul has another project for DC in the pipeline, and for a guy who made his bones (At least in my mind) by writing a scene in Blackest Night: Titans where Wonder Girl kills a BABY? That’s enough to keep me interested.

Besides: DC’s Green Arrow #4 solicitation shows that Keith Giffen and Dan Jurgens are taking over writing duties (Jurgens and George Perez are remaining on art), which means that not only that the book should remain a decent read, but that Grant Morrison won’t get his hands on the title… yet.

If and / or when he does, the over/under on how often he uses the word “Ni!” per issue stands at 722.