Angel got pooped out of Hell and had a couple of episodes of nightsweats and that's it. They never even really alluded to his 200 years in hell that much

But Angel going to hell for a couple centuries wasn't about Angel. It was about Buffy, and as such, had narrative consequences for the remainder of the series WRT her ability to open herself up and trust.

You could argue, I suppose, that it would have worked as well if he'd stayed dead, but I don't think it would have, because an Angel remaining dead is one where your friends aren't looking and saying that it all turned out okay anyhow.

Stargate kills their people (or duplicates) as much as any show I've seen -- and it still gets me. And they're not even an example of stellar writing. Whether or not they come back, the death is painful and wrong (or noble and wrong, but still with the wrong).

I don't think the killing (or killing and resurrecting) principle is a bad thing. I think doing it crappily is a bad thing.

Well, and doing it often. If a character is killed, I want it to mean something. Which is why I don't want to see Jason Todd return. (Do we know who's Red Hood yet? I haven't been reading the Batman title.)

Of course, I'm curious about Firestorm (another title I don't read), because his eponymous title is still going even though Shadow Thief killed him. (It's the whole Show-Called-Buffy conundrum.)

I'm curious about Firestorm (another title I don't read), because his eponymous title is still going even though Shadow Thief killed him

It's not still going. It's a new title, starting over from #1, with a new Firestorm.

I also think that killing a character often can be done well. Gets harder, but if you're killing them for good narrative reasons, there can also be good narrative reasons to kill them a lot.

David is amusingly outing himself as to how far behind the comics times he is...

It's not like I don't have references and little history capsules bookmarked either. But fuckety it's convoluted. I'm just not committed to relearning my post-Crisis continuity, especially when they fuck with it so much.

Probably explains why I enjoy The Outsiders or JLE more than most superhero titles. So many new characters, I don't have to worry about the backstory.

Barry's still dead, although there've been so many time travel and flashback stories about him that he's kept pretty much in the public eye. Still, Wally's the Flash, and everyone's pretty used to him, in ways that Kyle was never accepted as Green Lantern. (Although Hal's rather bad end probably had a lot to do with that.)

Very few characters are "dead forever" in comics. Maybe Barry, and maybe Bucky. That's about it.

Nightwing? They might kill Nightwing? Or maybe he'll kill himself? (He kind of seems headed that way.)

Umm, is there a Green Lantern: Rebirth thingy coming out tomorrow?

Very few characters are "dead forever" in comics

Which is why Jean Grey's (last) tombstone made me smile. They just didn't know when they'd see her next.

It's not still going. It's a new title, starting over from #1, with a new Firestorm.

Hmm. Interesting.

There will be no killing of the Nightwing.

Do we know who's Red Hood yet? I haven't been reading the Batman title.

Nope. We find out this week, I think.

Probably explains why I enjoy The Outsiders or JLE more than most superhero titles. So many new characters, I don't have to worry about the backstory.

I think that's more a function of the odd treatment of continuity in most team books. I don't need much, if any, backstory to get into team books. (The current exception to this rule is JSA, which *is* exceedingly history rich.)