If sales are good enough then editorial should do their job properly and have the new guy carry on where Heinberg left off rather than do the obvious and hit the big red cosmic reset button. I realise of course that the word should is probably the weak link in that sentence.

Still, I really wouldn’t mind seeing him go back to Young Avengers, so I guess we win either way.

As for Heinberg dropping out so soon I don’t see that as automatically a bad thing. If he has an Idea to get this book off to a good start, which he clearly does, better he jump ship after that rather than carry on without any real Idea of what he wants to do with the characters.

Tan disappearing for an issue from Uncanny, truthfully I didn’t even notice. His work is solid, but not so spectacular that I missed him the month he was gone, especially as the fill-in was perfectly decent as well. Truthfully, having grown up on comics of the ’80s, I’m OK with fill-in artists and even the occasional inventory story to keep the book coming out on a regular schedule.

Well, it’s time to move on from the book at that point.

On a related note, I would just about kill for some collections of Gruenwald’s Cap. I’ve got a fair amount of it, but not all of it, and I’d rather have trades than issues. I’ll definitely buy the DVD of Cap that the folks who did the FF, X-Men and Avengers DVDs are planning.

I’m cautiously optimistic about Picoult, though. Certainly it’s nice to have another woman writer in an industry that is sorely in need of them, and if she can bring to bear the right skillset, maybe she can build on the momentum that Heinberg has started.

On a semi-related note: What does everybody think a good, solid run for a creator is? I’m actually OK with short runs from time to time, although I agree that if you’re launching a book, you should put your stamp on it by staying with it at least a couple years. I’ve also seen creators stick around way too long on books, such that all their “tricks” become exhausted and start to reflect poorly even on their early great stuff. This happens to Bendis a lot, as I thought both Daredevil and Ultimate Spider-Man would have been stronger if he’d gotten off the stage a lot earlier. Changing titles and characters can recharge batteries, both for the creator and the characters.

Me, I’m a big fan of the Vertigo “60 issues and out” model, although for superheroes, a “24 and out” or “36 and out” might be better. Although Morrison’s New X-Men was of that relatively short length, and I found myself wishing he was staying longer, but that might be because nobody seemed able to follow his work in any way.

That being said I really am enjoying this book right now. The only time I’ve really enjoyed anything with Wonder Woman over a long period of time has been on Justice League. I wanted Greg Rucka’s run on the character to be great but it never really lived up to my expectations. I did however love the Hiketeia hardcover he did with her.

For someone who didn’t really grasp the trappings of the comic book world, she certainly emersed herself in it for the project, and she’s very good at characterization.

And at the very least, she’ll be the kind of person who brings in more readers - women readers at that. I work at a small book store,, the only guy in a pack of 20 something women, and they all *love* her work, and would follow her anywhere. So I think this could have the potential to go very well.

Man, I’m mostly liking Heinberg’s stuff, but it’s probably gonna be dispensed with the instant the new writer hits the ground, and Wonder Woman will once again be left to flounder without the support structure of a dedicated creator.

Like the guy in Airplane! said: “What a pisser.”