Posted By Dan Greenfield on Mar 29, 2015 | 2 comments

Starring everybody! More or less.

DC‘s two-month Convergence event begins 4/1 with Issue #0, a publishing scheme designed to give the company breathing room while the editorial offices move westward from New York for the Burbank unification.

DC insists that these two months’ worth of comics — a 9-week main storyline supported by 40 two-part minis drenched in DC‘s past — will Matter.

I have my doubts. It looks to me like the DC Universe in June will more or less pick up where it left off, save some cosmetic changes and a new focus on a variety of characters.

I’m not even sure I understand what the story is about, other than the chance to pit different versions of heroes and villains from DC’s history against each other in the publishing version of the Great Comic Shop Debate of Who Would Win This Fight?

From Convergence co-writer Jeff King’s Twitter

But in large measure, that’s not important to me. What’s important is that we get to revisit some of my favorite versions of favorite characters by some seriously front-line talent.

By the way, throughout the two months, we’ll be checking in with a bunch of writers and artists on the books I’m most excited about, or at least intrigued by. More on that soon.

So. With it all starting in a matter of days, here are 13 Quick Thoughts About DC’s Convergence:

1. I think Shazam! is the book I’m most looking forward to. I have a real soft spot for the star-crossed Big Red Cheese and this looks like it hews closely to the Morrison/Stewart Earth-5 (Earth-S, get it?) version we got in Multiversity. Which is pretty close to my Platonic ideal for Captain Marvel. This is a hero who really belongs on his own world. And if I were going to hand pick a creative team, I’d be hard pressed to do better than Jeff Parker and Doc Shaner. That spells magic to me. Get it? Spells magic.

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2. But I also can’t wait for The Atom. I fully recognize the limited commercial appeal of many of the characters getting the Convergence treatment. Don’t care. In my fantasy world, The Atom can sustain his own comic. Why is a tiny superhero so compelling? Dunno. It’s just a neat idea and I’d like to see more.

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3. Hawkman. Same thing. Hawkman has arguably one of the least practical outfits in all of comics. I still want a Hawkman comic. And, hey, Tim Truman‘s here!

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4. DC has a really neat interactive guide to the worlds of Convergence. But even after watching this video, I’m still not sure what to make of it all.

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5. Missing in Action. Where are the Metal Men? The Doom Patrol? The Inferior Five? Angel and the Ape? Dolphin? Jerry Lewis? Binky? THE CREEPER? HAWK AND DOVE? Maybe they’ll all pop up in the main Convergence story, but still!

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6. The New Teen Titans. I really wish DC went to town and reunited Marv Wolfman and George Perez. But Wolfman and Nicola Scott? That’s a pretty good substitute.

The original and still the best

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7. I love the Crime Syndicate. And I really like seeing their original incarnations. That’s just a treat, even if Owlman has a goofy outfit.

By the way, what’s up with Ultraman? I always thought the shoulders on his costume were really awkward and strange. But so what! Crime Syndicate!

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8. Oddest-looking title: World’s Finest Comics, starring the Seven Soldiers of Victory and Scribbly Jibbet.

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9. Ron Marz, Denys Cowan and Klaus Janson on Batman and Robin. Whew.

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10. Len Wein and Kelley Jones on Swamp Thing. Whew again.

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11. Len Wein, Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz on Detective Comics, starring Earth-2 Robin in his Silver Age duds? What are they trying to do to me? I may pass out!

With the Huntress!

I so want an action figure with this outfit.

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12. They don’t move me: Nightwing/Oracle (surprise!); Speed Force; Green Lantern/Parallax; AzBats in Shadow of the Bat; Superboy.

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13. If only DC had broken the bank — or brokered a diplomatic deal — for a Denny O’Neil/Neal Adams reunion on Batman. Or Green Lantern/Green Arrow. One can dream, right?