Mmmm... DEATH!

It's just not what it used to be when it comes to comics. We used to know what to expect. Marvel had a revolving door instead of pearly gates, while over at DC if someone died they usually had the common decency to stay dead. Well, that's certainly not the case anymore.

Barry Allen has followed Oliver Queen and Hal Jordan and returned from the great beyond. That's right, DC's patron saint, he who sacrificed his life for the universe, is back and will be featured in his own title. This is easily the stupidest thing I've seen DC do.

Here's the thing, death in comics should mean something. Now, villains can return from the dead as much as they want. It goes back to the old gothic notions of unstoppable, undying evil. Heroes for the most part should stay dead. The thing they makes them heroes is their willingness to sacrifice themselves for something greater than them. Death being the ultimate sacrifice. Well, that's not really a big deal anymore. Even in the depiction of the Martian Manhunter's funeral in FINAL CRISIS #2, Superman is speaking of hopes for resurrection.

This is to say nothing of the fact than in the cases of Allen, Jordan and Queen the torch had been successfully passed. Wally West has been the Flash for over twenty years, and now they're bringing back his predecessor? This spits in the face of not only the fans of characters like West, Kyle Rayner and Connor Hawke, but the writers who toiled to build these characters into ones with their own followings and solid stories. It's as if the writers and editors at DC are not interested in progress, they want to regress back to when they were kids and watching SUPERFRIENDS on Saturday mornings.

It seems like DC is almost inviting me to leave, and I've actually given though to taking them up on the offer. Guess Dark Horse and the indy comics may be getting a boost in sales if this keeps up.

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