I give up. I wasn't sure what that kiss meant as she was leaving Smallville.

Back to my original understanding then, lickety split. But has anything happened in TT between WG & SB? I thought BG was it because at least there's been the hint of stuff.

Oh! About Bruce Wayne, Murderer -- I gather it was Cain all along, but how did that play out in the comics that aren't BG? How did they work out who did it, and what's the status of Bruce Wayne in the real world right now?

In TT, Kon and Cassie kiss on the roof of Titans Tower in the first 3 or 4 issues. Which is interrupted by Wonder Woman showing up and tossing Kon off the roof, precipitating a TT/JLA rumble that gets broken up by Nightwing. It's a beautiful thing.

ita: the Cassie and Conner stuff has roots in Young Justice. She's had a thing for him for ages, he's just been starting (this may be only in TT, I'd have to check, and Jilli has my TT at the moment) to like back that way recently.

Thank you. I have little to no memory for things that didn't happen ten years ago. Reading parallel comics serially doesn't much help with that little brain problem.

PMM -- I've just downloaded those, and they're next on my list to read. Which'll mean more confused questions in a couple days.

I spent yesterday morning at Barnes & Noble, reading their comic books. It was GREAT. Read a ton of Green Arrow-- Archer's Quest, and whatever trades came before and after it-- the first Outsiders trade, some Authority, and a couple of other things.

Read a ton of Green Arrow-- Archer's Quest

Meltzer needs to stop writing novels right now, and just write comics, damn it.

Okay, fine. So he's, y'know, a well-reviewed, well-selling novelist. I don't care. He's also shaping to be one of the best of all the current crop of comic writers.

He's a fanboy writer with whom the former doesn't overtake the latter at any point in time. (Which is my main issue with the Kevin Smith run on Arrow: gratuitous fanboyishness.)

(Which is my main issue with the Kevin Smith run on Arrow: gratuitous fanboyishness.)

Heh. He gets pretty fanboyish toward the end of his Daredevil run too. But it's amusing.

Catching up --

Batman #629 - now that really kicked up the run! I though the tension was palpable while Bruce was trying to hold onto reality, then when he was trying to get back to the cave. It is rare that I feel that much tension in a book (maybe the Batman vs. Superman issue in the "Hush" run compares). I find it fascinating that Jim Lee's depiction of the older, faux-Jason Todd has been so quickly picked up. Good design.

Batgirl #53 - yes, Batgirl was a supporting character in her book this issue. I do like additonal Stephanie-as-Robin storylines, so I'm not complainig. This artwork is so much cleaner than that on Robin.

Batman: Harley & Ivy #3 - laugh out loud funny. I loved the inside joke of the "Joker's" response when Harley & Ivy took out the "actors" portraying Batman and the Joker.

Now, can someone please get me up to speed? Pardon the pun.

What do you want to know, victor? I've been reading since about #183 or so. I can fill you in on what's up since then.

There seems to be an ongoing debate among the DC writers and editors as to how old their characters are. Judd Winick, Brad Meltzer, Kevin Smith and others have Green Arrow, Batman and most of the old guard pushing 40, at least. (Green Arrow, particularly, may well be over 40.)

I think it's important to note that Mike Grell had Ollie celebrate his 43rd birthday right at the beginning of his run, and he was clearly one of the "elder statesmen" of his generation of heroes (non-JSA members). The body brought back in Kevin Smith's "Quiver" arc seems to be from just before the start of Grell's run, but the knowledge of all the years was eventually restored to Ollie.

Brad Meltzer, in Identity Crisis, upped the ante a bit by having Elongated Man say he's been a hero for nearly 20 years--which means Flash and the other original JLAers have also been active for about that long.

As Plei pointed out, the Flash that Ralph worked with was Barry Allen. The current Flash is of the next generation of heroes. I think Meltzer is bringing in his own take on the "age" of the superheroes, and is actually treading a little outside of established continuity to get a truer emotional impact. He did the same thing at the end of his Green Arrow run.

Batman: Harley & Ivy #3 - laugh out loud funny. I loved the inside joke of the "Joker's" response when Harley & Ivy took out the "actors" portraying Batman and the Joker.

I read through it in the store - really sharp dialogue and jokes.