Excelsior??

Amidst the all the San Diego announcements that made DC sound like they were on a bad 90's acid flashback (Archie heroes?!? Milestone?!?), a thought occurred to me.

Geoff Johns is currently the Stan Lee of DC.

Whoa, whoa, back down, people. Let me clarify.

I'm not talking about in terms of creating a whole universe. And I'm not at all discussing in terms of talent. That's not what this post is about.

But just look at what we've got, in terms on impact on DC's output.

He's writing half the Superman Universe, and working closely in tandem with James Robinson on the other. He's writing Green Lantern, and directing all things Oan. He's writing the Justice Society, the cornerstone intergenerational legacy series of the DC Universe. He's writing the upcoming Legion of 3 Worlds, which is all about "building the Legion back up" and defining "who the Legion of Super-heroes are, and what the next step is for the Legion." (You'd think that would be a job for the man actually writing the main Legion title, which has led to plenty of speculation that Johns might be replacing Jim Shooter as the permanent author on Legion)

And now it's been announced that he is writing Flash: Rebirth, bringing back Barry Allen. And if you go by both the example of Green Lantern: Rebirth AND all of the plans Johns and artist Ethan Van Sciver discussed, it seems most likely that Johns will be taking over Flash, whatever form that mag takes.

Now, I'll emphasize again, I'm not here to discuss the pro or cons of Johns' plots, or writing style. But just look at how much DC he "controls" right now. He's in charge of Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, the JSA, and the Legion of Super-Heroes. In the modern comics' age, that's pretty darn unprecedented, isn't it? About the only thing missing from that portfolio is a Bat title. So many major properties, all in the creative hands of one man? And when you throw in the fact that DC seems unable to keep a creative on most of their other books for longer than 6 months at a time, well, it just looks more impressive by comparison.

I'm sure someone will correct me, but I think you have to go back to the late 60's, when Stan was writing or editing every Marvel title, to find the last time 1 creator had that much influence over the entire line of one of the Big Two.

Again, I'm neither approving nor disapproving. Hell, since DC editors don't seem capable, maybe having the same writer on so many titles will restore some sense of continuity to the DC Universe. I just find it curious that DC is putting so many of their eggs into one basket, as it were.

DC is Geoff Johns' world, and we're just living in it.