Comic Book Resources

... who?

NOOOOOOO!

As an Avengers fan, this distresses me, as Blue Jay first appeared way back in Justice League of America #87 (February, 1971 for those keeping track) as part of the unofficial Avengers-Justice League crossover between that issue and Avengers #85-86. It's too bad the Assemblers never quite caught on the way the Squadron Supreme did, but I was glad when Blue Jay reappeared in the 90's and got the spotlight for awhile.

You will be missed, little man. You will be missed.

Is this the same guy? If so, he's a lot older than 1992.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Jay_(comics)

On the one hand I think that the DCU is overpopulated and could stand to lose about half of its superheroes.

On the other hand I like Blue Jay and always wanted DC to do something with him. All his teammates from Angor are dead; _one_ survivor isn't too much. Besides, he doesn't take up much space.

Oh well.

I thought he was already dead. But anyway, cue the "James Robinson is killing off all gay superheroes," what with this and the death of Tasmanian Devil. (Blue Jay was gay, right?)

Didn't Blue Jay guest-starred way back in Giffen/DeMatteis' JLI series?

So, who gets Dyno-Mutt now?

@Michael: HA!

No worries, he'll be resurrected within a few years.

I'm surprised Johns hadnt already killed him.

I'm pretty sure Blue Jay was in the "Back In Action" story in Action Comics, just a few months after the Infinite Crisis/One Year Later transition in 2006. He was one of the heroes kidnapped by that Auctioneer character. So...really not in limbo that long.

I also thought Blue Jay was long dead.

Oh James Robinson. How you have fallen.

... and yet people will still claim that there's no bias against the JLI.

I guess in a way he's lucky to be dead, otherwise who'd have ever really noticed him? haha poor jay

You can see it can't you...

'What's the deal with this guy? He just gets small and can fly.... that's pretty lame'
'Yeah, he's good for a laugh though - good heart, but his powers are a bit shit - nice for a bit of comic relief'
'Comic relief? Superheros are serious, not jokes... we've got kill him'

Next time someone see's Robinson at a con, double-dog dare him to write a story that feels epic and has impact - without killing a character off.
See if he's up to it.

DC killing off a member of the JLI? I've never HEARD of such a thing!

James Robinson really needs a new gimmick.

Remember when comics were about a sense of wonder and fun?

@Chad: Remember when James Robinson's comics were about a sense of wonder and fun?

Damn.

Remember when James Robinson's comics were about a sense of wonder and fun?

Like in Starman, when Robinson had a bunch of JLE killed off (including the Crimson Fox) just to make the Mist look like a better villain?

Yeah, much as I loved *most of* Starman, I can't say I've ever associated the man with "fun." I mean,. he started killing off JLI members he didn't like way back in that series.

Like in Starman, when Robinson had a bunch of JLE killed off (including the Crimson Fox) just to make the Mist look like a better villain?

Two things.

1. That was one issue - there was plenty of fun, wonder and love of superheros in Starman.
2. It was a pretty good issue.

It's weird, since Robinson's come back into comics, he seems interested in making all his books like all the other books that were going on when Starman was published.

He wrote the book that was the fresh air from all that, and now he's come back and it seems he just wants to fart in the corner to remind us of what it was like.

Oddly enough, Robinson said at the time of that Starman issue -- #38, for the record -- that the JLI heroes were made the victims by editorial request, not as his own choices.

Two things.
1. Starman is one of my favorite comics of all time. But I really can't imagine anyone with a straight face calling it "fun" or "light-hearted." From the beginning the story was about a guy (who was often a d-bag), who didn't get along with his family, and who belittled the family business (heroism) until he finally Learned A Lesson. In the first issue, the erstwhile title character (the red herring set up in the pages of Zero Hour as the next Starman) takes a bullet to the chest and dies. The real title character eventually gets raped by his sociopathic arch-villainess. A couple of the most memorable comics pages in my life are the two that show what happened to the other Starmen- one is in a freakshow. Creepiness and death were regular occurances in Starman. Well-written? You bet. Fun? Ummmmm....
2. Like many people, I liked Robinson's early work and loathe his current stuff. But unlike them, I'm neither surprised nor baffled by this at all. The thing is, James Robinson is basically a "Mary Sue" writer- which is to say that, like 95% of writers in the world, he likes his own characters and writes them very well. "Mary Sue" is of course a term used to describe genre writers who work on shared properties and then make their own favorite characters the focal point of the story beyond any logical reasons of plot and characterization. Again- this is true of most "real" writers- it only becomes a problem when you're working on characters that have been established by other creators. I think Robinson should be given carte blanche to write any series he wants with characters he either created or developed (no, he didn't create Mikaal Tomas or Ted Grant, but they were both sufficiently blank as slates to be considered "his.") But, from the very beginning, he has been not-so-good writing "other people's characters." I don't think he's necessarily become a worse writer- I just think he's being allowed to play in the wrong sandboxes.

I want Giffen to go back in time and make Dan Didio a member of the Justice League so he can be killed off at his own request.

Actually, a third thing- whether he chose the characters who got killed off in Starman or not is pretty much irrelevant. His plot required that a bunch of heroes get killed so that his villain could look badass. WHO they were doesn't matter- if TPTB at that time had mandated it be the New Guardians or the Conglomerate, the fact would still remain that Robinson's longtime quick and easy shortcut to making a villain look bad is to have him kill off heroes- and more importantly, give them as ignominious a death as possible. Apparently killing Tasmanian Devil, for example, isn't enough. It's absolutely necessary to have him turned into a rug, as well.

Yeah Starnan was a great series. I loved it when he found out that he could change his face to look different, when he would have those fights with the Power Elite and when he got the new red and black suit. What a great series. whatever became of it? Strangely I don't remember a lot of heroes dying in it. Hmmm.

But I really can't imagine anyone with a straight face calling it "fun" or "light-hearted."

I said fun, but not light hearted.

You can list all the deaths you want, and the fact the main character was raped and all that - but it was a fun book.
Even when the character was upset, he still got out there and did stuff and had adventures, as opposed to moping around.
Maybe some people think that for a book to be fun it has to be written by Bob Haney, but I disagree, and think Starman was a fun book.

he fact would still remain that Robinson's longtime quick and easy shortcut to making a villain look bad is to have him kill off heroes-

It was a shocking, yet very fun, issue to read.
He did it before such things were common place - I'd say it was less a short cut and more a ballsy move at the time.
Normally I'm against characters killed to 'big up' another character, but I'll make an exception for that issue - Mist had already been developed as a bad-ass and a crazy, to have her still go and do that pushed her off the chart.
(Remember, she'd been around for over thirty issues at that point and was established as his main nemesis, willing to bear his child just so she could raise it to hate him - so not sure how much of a short cut the issue was).

Strangely I don't remember a lot of heroes dying in it. Hmmm.

Don't worry, no one else remembers that series.

Really? I'm pretty sure James Robinson did, considering he made one of the main characters his main character's love interest. I reckon the people who kept it going for four years remember it, too.

Really? I'm pretty sure James Robinson did, considering he made one of the main characters his main character's love interest.

He made every Starman, no matter how brief, a player in the series - doesn't mean he cared for all the stories.
In fact, he made it so that Will Payton was dead, and was actually Prince Gavin all along.

I reckon the people who kept it going for four years remember it, too.

In that time period a Blue Jay series would last four years.
Four beautiful years.

In today's Didio DCU, I don't even get fazed about cannon fodder anymore. I'm just impressed, not being sarcastic here, that they managed to keep it somewhat tasteful and not so gruesome. Compared to a lot of the gruesome deaths we've been seeing the past few years, that one at least is somewhat tame in comparison.

I just googled the Assemblers. GEEZ LOUISE were they lame in comparison to the Squadron Supreme. That was the best they could do?

This sure looks like the character from Justice League of America #87 (February 1971). Check your info, Brian!

Now...where's the Silver Sorceress and Wandjina?

And apparently, Robinson has heard the outcry, and twittered that Blue Jay may not be out of the game yet.

"I thought he was already dead. But anyway, cue the "James Robinson is killing off all gay superheroes," what with this and the death of Tasmanian Devil. (Blue Jay was gay, right?)"

You're right Bill Reed. It is weird that Robinson killed three gay character in a few months (Blue Jay, Tasmanian Devil, and Starman's lover). It's weird because Robinson drafter two gay characters (Starman and Batwoman) onto his CFJ team. But neither are making the leap to his ongoing JLA roster. I think there seems to be a messed up pattern here. I didn't even realize DC had so many gays until Robinson started picking one off every other months.

Maybe he felt the need to show how straight he is after all the 'Gay For Justice' jokes.

I think what Brian was saying was that Blue Jay had been living on New Earth unmolested since 1992, not that he first appeared in 1992.

Wait! When was it revealed that Blue Jay was gay? I thought he was in love with Silver Sorceress?

He made every Starman, no matter how brief, a player in the series - doesn't mean he cared for all the stories.

Oh, no doubt. Still doesn't explain why he would make the main supporting character of Starman v1. the love of Jack's life, still living with him in San Francisco, huh?

In that time period a Blue Jay series would last four years.

Huh?
In the four years Starman ran, DC launched 50 ongoing series. Out of them, all but 14 were canceled before making it as long as Starman v1 did. Those series included 2 Justice League spinoffs, a Batman spinoff, and a Superman spinoff. So basically, yeah, "huh?"

Rob, I'm pretty sure Blue Jay was never revealed as gay in continuity, though it was frequently discussed in JLA letter columns, and nobody ever denied it outright. I don't recall any issues that showed him romancing the Silver Sorceress. So, as far as the comics have shown, he was just a little asexual birdie.

This isn't that bad in itself, if it were an isolated thing. But coupled up with what DC has been doing for years and continues to do now, it only makes me shake my head and go, "Nope, still not time to read DC comics safely again."

Oh, no doubt. Still doesn't explain why he would make the main supporting character of Starman v1. the love of Jack's life, still living with him in San Francisco, huh?

Because he fit in every supporting character from the other books he possibly could, and that one had the connection to launch the character into space?

So basically, yeah, "huh?"

It was a boom time - I didn't say it was a time for glunk.
Blue Jay is greater than Will Payton, let's face the facts.

Just so you know,

and

, without spaces between the brackets and the words, is the way to get the quote function to work on the blog.

Heh, I remember Blue Jay. He was a wiener.

I'm not sorry he's gone, though I am sorry about how drearily predictable Robinson's writing is becoming.

Thanks for the tip. BTW, we're in agreement that Blue Jay trumps Will Payton. I just don't tend to think it's wise or warranted to ever assume that just because you don't like something that your view is the universal one. I recall there being a fairly vocal Will Payton fanbase- enough so that just about every issue of JLA has someone write in to say he should be on the team- and again, his book lasted a hell of a lot longer than most of the others released in the late 80's/early 90's. And you still didn't answer the question- once Jack got into space, why didn't Robinson break him up with Sadie if he hated the previous book so much? She'd served her purpose. Hell, it would have been appropriately comic-book dramatic for Nash to kill her, frankly.

"I just don't tend to think it's wise or warranted to ever assume that just because you don't like something that your view is the universal one."

The converse is also true.

No kidding. Which is why I like or dislike something, I say, "I like/dislike this" because of this reason," rather than, "Don't worry, nobody/everybody liked that." Note the difference in tone? For what it's worth, I liked Robinson's Starman because I found the story engaging. I neither liked nor disliked Stern's Staman because I never read it.
See how easy that is?

Holy shit! They're killing superheroes?!??.....Holy shit! There's gay superheroes?!??

Things really have gone to hell in a hand basket, haven't they?

recall there being a fairly vocal Will Payton fanbase- enough so that just about every issue of JLA has someone write in to say he should be on the team- and again, his book lasted a hell of a lot longer than most of the others released in the late 80's/early 90's

I'd assumed he was a nothing as I had never even heard of his book, or character, until it was referred to in Robinson's Starman.

. And you still didn't answer the question- once Jack got into space, why didn't Robinson break him up with Sadie if he hated the previous book so much? She'd served her purpose. Hell, it would have been appropriately comic-book dramatic for Nash to kill her, frankly.

I never said he hated the book, just that I didn't exactly feel the love for that book, that I felt for all the other incarnations of Starman - he did the least with Will Payton, and if anything, reduced that characters importance to 'he was the spirit of Prince Gavin'.
Was his Sadie the same in character and attitude to the one in the Payon title?
Because she felt pretty Robinson to me - and he only kills other people's characters!

without spaces between the brackets and the words, is the way to get the quote function to work on the blog.

Apparently you need more than a space between the words and the brackets.... and without the hyphens will give you the quote.

See how easy that is?

Easy, but not fun.
Take a hardline stance every now and again, it'll give you belief's you never knew you had!

And it turned them into quotes again!
Sorry Chris, can't show you how it works without it turning them into quotes I'm afraid!

blockquote and /blockquote with these bad boys around the words.

LOL. My hardline stance is basically to make it my (quixotic, and admittedly, sometimes off-putting) mission to get comic book fans to argue rationally, using things like supporting evidence, rather than trying to make people feel stupid for liking what they happen to like. That kind of purpose happens to a man when he's spent a decade reading comments from people that "Nobody liked how Giffen turned the Justice League into a joke," or, "Everyone has been waiting years for someone to undo the damage John Byrne did to Superman," in opposition to all reasonable evidence.

Sorry I made you my target this time- I appreciate your good humor. And I got the tip, anyway, since I get email updates- it was readable in those even though it wasn't here. Not sure WHY this website uses a different system from just about every other message board I've ever been on, but it takes all kinds.

Anyway, let's get off of this digression- it's much more fun to predict which character Robinson is going to claughter next. I'm going with, "Robinson is going to kill Looker by drowning her in a tub filled with Holy Water and garlic."

Y'know, speaking of, when did Looker become a vampire? Was it that 90s Outsiders series? I remember a vampire in the first issue.

Yep, you got it. I'm actually amazed that it's "stuck"- most writers would have conveniently forgotten it by now.

We should have a new column: Who's the next JLI character that is going to be popped?

Just based on history, I'd say Metamorpho (since he's been killed about four times) but my gut says "Maya."

I've decided to start working on an article about how every couple of years DC decides its goal is to increase "diversity" in its lineup and then, a year or two later, sets about killing off all of their minor ethnic and non-heterosexual characters.

Maya would be a good, clean kill. Female, obscure, and colored...a trifecta!

hat kind of purpose happens to a man when he's spent a decade reading comments from people that "Nobody liked how Giffen turned the Justice League into a joke," or, "Everyone has been waiting years for someone to undo the damage John Byrne did to Superman," in opposition to all reasonable evidence.

Man, those two are easy - 1. Best selling titles at the time, snd 2. Yeah, I can't wait for Jimmy to start cross-dressing again either!

Tasmanian Devil wasn't gay. It was the JLI Australian embassy attache, or liason, or whatever, that was gay.

I can't believe no one did the "That's what she said" bit yet...

Who...

...is Bluejay?

He's from an alternate world, and has the powers of flight, and the ability to shrink to the size of your fist!

Bloody genius if you ask me.

I think what Brian was saying was that Blue Jay had been living on New Earth unmolested since 1992, not that he first appeared in 1992.

Bingo.

Tasmanian Devil wasn't gay. It was the JLI Australian embassy attache, or liason, or whatever, that was gay.

True.

Maggie Sawyer wasn't gay, either. Just her girlfriend was.

I'm pretty sure Blue Jay was in the "Back In Action" story in Action Comics, just a few months after the Infinite Crisis/One Year Later transition in 2006. He was one of the heroes kidnapped by that Auctioneer character. So...really not in limbo that long.

It wasn't "finally got pulled out of limbo," it was "finally got pulled out of limbo to be killed."

He's made a couple of appearances since he first entered limbo in 1992.

Man, those two are easy - 1. Best selling titles at the time, snd 2. Yeah, I can't wait for Jimmy to start cross-dressing again either!

Yeah, so you kinda see my point.

And actually, Taz made it very clear that he, himself, was gay, in an issue of Justice League Quarterly. Don't ask me to dig it out. But it was there. Yes, Tasmanian Devil was gay and worked alongside an embassy ambassador who was gay himself. (and actually, Brian, I don't know that they ever dated- gay guys can work together without ever being in a relationship.)

But yeah, I distinctly remember an issue of JLIQ where High Dawkins (Tasmanian Devil) confides that it's easier, but still tough to be a gay super-hero. If he dated the JLI embassy chief, than lucky him- that guy seemed pretty cute.

Blue Jay, eh?

I could have sworn some other writer had offed him already.

"Who gets Dyno-Mutt now?" Best response ever.

Hairs well split, Brian.

This sure looks like the character from Justice League of America #87 (February 1971). Check your info, Brian!

Now...where's the Silver Sorceress and Wandjina?

Killed in the pages of JLI. Or possibly JLE. Blue Jay was the only survivor of that crowd.

I also liked Will Payton. Collected his series for, oh, thirty or forty issues. It wasn't bad at all!

I don't want to throw fuel on the "Robinson should get a new schtick" fire, but if you really want to see Robinson go to town on some superheroes, check out his run on Firearm, which ended right as Starman was starting up. The last half of the series is essentially a giant epic about a guy who runs around murdering people with superpowers for no good reason. As set up, the prologue issue is literally an entire comic just showing the guy murdering one hero after another on every page of the comic, with Firearm hardly even appearing at all in the whole issue. An excellent series and a good story too, but kind of funny in retrospect given what Robinson has become (in)famous for since.

Aw man, not Blue Jay. Dang it, Robinson! I also kind of loved that he'd somehow managed to duck the ax this long.

It's funny, Scott, I liked Firearm as well, but re-reading it now, I wonder if it wasn't a little bit of 90's Good.

I just recently re-read Firearm and the main issues I had with it were the random art, since every issue seemed to be by a different penciller, and the forced crossovers with horrible Malibu comics like Prime. I think a lot of the 90's vibe you rightly mention comes from those two things. Some issues still hold up pretty well now and others are pretty much submarined by the art and by appearances from Night Force or whoever. It sort of feels like Robinson was given the title and then spent the whole series trying to force it into something else -- something better -- as evidenced by the fact that the character is never actually called Firearm (and the one time he is, he basically curses the guy out) and that his gimmick, the gun that can shoot any ammo or whatever it's supposed to be, gets destroyed and he just grabs a regular gun in the next panel without even caring.

I still want to track down a copy of Firearm #0 so I can watch the live action movie half of the story. That promises to be horrifically bad.

Yeah, I think that's it exactly, Scott.

The standalone stuff was really quite good (and that last arc was mostly detached from the rest of the Ultraverse, so that was good, too).

My favorite issue is the one where he talks the lady out of killing herself.

I miss the Will Payton Starman series. I wasn't really that happy with Robinson's "revelation"/retcon, though at least in part I'd been reading the Robinson Starman series up to that point just in the hopes of getting something about my dead-then-not-dead favorite DC character.

Will Payton Starman is actually still my favorite DC character who I would consider to be inactive or essentially destroyed/deleted.