Return of the Revenge of Shameless Self-Promotion

Well, having totally neglected to mention that I wrote the Origins & Omens back-up story in last week's Justice League of America #30 (still on sale in better comic book shops everywhere if you're quick enough and lucky enough), it behooves me to mention that this coming Wednesday, February 25th, DC in releasing a new Tales of the Green Lantern Corps trade paperback that will include the terrific 3-part miniseries I co-wrote all those many years ago with my old office mate Mike W. Barr. The art is by the always-amazing Joe Staton and it features a couple of villains who you really ought to know about going into this summer's big Blackest Night event. The book is filled out with a number of GLC tales by the likes of Todd Klein, Paul Kupperberg, and Watchmen's own Dave Gibbons, and is well worth your time and effort.

A word to the wise and all that.

Say What?

There's currently an article making the rounds over on the Yahoo! movies site called "10 Essential Facts About 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine'". You can check out the entire article by clicking here. The so-called "fact" that, frankly, makes me quite crazy, however, is "Fact" #2, which states:

Co-creator Len Wein's original idea was that the character was actually a wolverine cub that was mutated into human form. He also intended for Wolverine's signature claws to extend from his gloves, not from his body. But these ideas were dropped when new writer Chris Claremont took over the series.

Let me respond to this as emphatically as I possibly can.

Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! And...oh, yeah...WRONG!

Well, at least, in part.

While I readily admit that my original idea was for Wolvie's claws to extend from the backs of his gloves (I figured that since Adamantium is indestructible, telescoping claws no more than a molecule thick could fit into those casings in the backs of Adamantium gloves, which had then been covered in cloth. Dave and Chris definitely improved on that idea), I absolutely DID NOT ever intend to make Logan a mutated wolverine. I write stories about human beings, not evolved animals (with apologies for any story I may have written that involved the High Evolutionary). The mutated wolverine thing came about long after I was no longer involved with the book. I'm not certain if the idea was first suggested by Chris Claremont, the late much-missed Dave Cockrum, or John Byrne when he came aboard as artist, but it most certainly DID NOT start with me.

Just setting the record straight here. As far as I'm concerned, that idea is spinach, and I say to Hell with it.

New York State of Mind

Well, the lovely wife reminds me that I ought to let all and sundry know that I'm going to be one of the guests this coming weekend at the New York Comic-Con, to be held at the Jacob Javits Center in lively but frigid NYC. Rumor has it I'll be signing the new Flash Gordon 75th Anniversary Special from Ardden Publishing at their booth on Friday and Saturday, and signing my three latest books from DC (Final Crisis Secret Files, Superman/Batman Annual #3, JLA #29) among others, at the DC Booth at various times during the weekend. Beyond that, I'll be on a few panels (check schedule for details) and I'll be available at my own table most of the rest of the time to sign pretty much anything else you've got (within reason).

So come on by, say howdy, and let me know you heard about it all at this here blog. I'll be looking for you.