Good lord, yes. As that early comics critic Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." (And no, he was not referencing any Spider-Man villiains.)

JMS has gone back on Swamp Thing and Constantine appearing pending Vertigo's ok. I think he even took them out of the list the second time he read it off.

And I completely agree, Brian. It's terribly unfortunate that Marvel/DC comics need to arbitrarily "mean" something in order to be a success.

For example, this month's B&B features a Batman / Golden Age Flash team-up that seems to be a done-in-one. That to me seems like a real interesting pairing that could yield a great story dynamic, but even though it features Batman of all characters it still probably won't sell.

The reasons have ranged from “it’s too old school” to “it isn’t ‘important’ to continuity” to “it’s too hard to follow” depending on what message board posts you read.

My personal opinion (and it's sad to say) is that I think the second one is the most likely.

The "Too old school"/"Too fun" stuff sounds more like what you tell yourself when something you do doesn't work out. Like Aaron Sorkin blaming the stupidity of America for Studio 60 not working.

Batman and the Spectre- been done.
Lex Luthor and Swamp Thing- has been done, sort of, as mentioned above.
Deadman and Wonder Woman- Not been done AFAIK, but I don’t see much potential for it.
Constantine and Eclipso- I don’t care for either. Maybe they’ll kill each other? >:)
Superman and Sgt. Rock- been done (Pre-Crisis)
Challengers of the Unknown and the Metal Men- I’m sure they have met already.
Legion of Substitute Heroes with the Inferior Five- I would love this one- IF handled well: not too silly, not too serious- but I doubt it. Besides, given current trends, they’ll probably all be killed off.

Yeah, some of them have been done, but if they've been done, it was twenty-plus years ago. I think that's enough time that these team-ups will have a new flair to them.

1. It's JMS

2. They want B & B to succeed

3. Swamp Thing doesn't even have a title right now.

I also liked his MIDNIGHT NATION lots & lots. I've got a RISING STARS run coming via an eBay seller as well.

*Or since he wrote one on a regular schedule.

I might have to buy the sequel despite the author.

Denial isn't just a river in Egypt, you know.

Yes, on second thought, it just might be more effective if I were to set someone else on fire in protest, instead.

If the Subsitutes/interior Five issue happens, isn't an utter trainwreck & *doesn't* become an ongoing (which of course it wouldn't anyway, because as we've more or less established elsewhere, the companies hate "fun" books & the market follows suit, or maybe vice versa), I will set myself on fire in protest.