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Sign the Petition to Save J'Onn J'Onzz
Click here to leave a comment and sign the Petition
and get banners to help promote the campaign.
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Save J'Onn and the Superheores
PRESS RELEASE
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Save J'Onn J'Onzz
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Comics Fandom worldwide awakens to the call to save The Martian Manhunter!
The comics web community is awakening to the campaign to save J'Onn J'Onzz and internet connections are being made for an international coalition to get behind the effort. At home, and also abroad, voices of
support for J'Onn are being heard loudly and the petition campaign is gaining momentum to show DC Comics that comics fans worldwide stand in solidarity with their support of our favorite Martian, in his hour of need.
SPAIN stands by J'Onn J'Onzz!
 In spain, The Martian Manhunter Fotolog is translating the content of this campaign, first into its Spanish language website and then spreading it out to the Fotolog network and neighboring European countries, while brandishing the Save J'Onn J'Onzz banners in its headers.
Hello.. I translate this initiative for the Spanish people. This month is 'Martian Manhunter Month' here, in Spain!
SAVE J'ONN J'ONZZ, SAVE THE WORLD!!!
I am supporting your campaign to save J'ONN J'ONZZ:
1 - Because I like the character.
2 - Because I am tired of seeing marvelous characters die in the macro sagas. And especially if they are of the JLI.
3 - Because I will have to close my fotolog...
4 - Because I am in the house with the flu and do not have another thing to do.
The decree to save 'Martian Manhunter' has been given!
More from Spain...
Hi from Spain,
Let's try to spread this initiative through the world from country to country, from Earth to Mars...!
Spanish comic fans do support this petition...!
Save the Martian, Save the World...!
Crist from Chile adds...
I do not write English but nevertheless, I ask them not to kill J'Onn J'Onzz. Do not do it, they can eliminate another hero but not J'Onn.
 While back in the continental United States, Bob Mitchell in the 21st Century covers the campaign in an article which targets, with pinpoint precision, the spirit behind it, and explains why the Martian Manhunter means so much to him.
One of the first comics I ever read was DC Comics Presents #27, which featured the Martian Manhunter.
Battling Superman after Mongul had forced him to do his bidding, J’Onn showed tremendous bravery and nobility against overwhelming odds, something which resonated deeply with the seven-year-old me. A scene where Superman used his heat vision to surround J’Onn in fire, which is a Martian’s weakness, was very powerful. J’Onn never gave up. Now it’s our turn to battle on for J’Onn.
So let’s sign Netzer’s petition to save J’Onn. In an industry where the people in charge seem to think that killing off much-loved characters is the one sure-fire way to generate sales, let’s strike a blow for nostalgia. Daniel Best, over at his 20th Century Danny Boy blog, already explains more eloquently than me why it’s probably already too late to save J’Onn, but let’s not allow him to slip away quietly into the night. And maybe, just maybe, if enough people show the kind of passion for the Martian Manhunter that Netzer has, then someone at DC will sit up and notice. Or kill off Aquaman instead.
 "Noo Yawker", actor, arts lover, husband to an understanding wife and father of a hard to understand son.... who is also keeper of the sprawling Atom blog: The Tiny Titan, has placed the large header banner linking to this campaign, front and center, at his well viewed abode.
Thank you Damian! Come by and sign the petition if you haven't already. And who knows, I have a hunch there's an Atom/JJ drawing churning around somewhere inside waiting to be born.
 Brian Cronin at CBR's Comics Should Be Good cites the plea to DC Comics and wonders whether they would really kill the Martian Manhunter:
Michael Netzer has a plea on his site to DC to not kill J’onn J’onnz, which you can visit by clicking on the picture below, but I really would be amazed if DC actually killed him off. I know Rich Johnston reported that J’onn is on the “People who we could kill during Infinite Crisis” list, which makes perfect sense, as all these lists really are are “Here are characters that you could kill without severely affecting our comic book line,” and J’onn is certainly not a character whose death would be THAT big of a deal. I mean, let’s be frank, the guy was out of comics period for about a decade in the late 60s until the late 70s, so DC knows they CAN live without the character.
That said, I doubt they’d actually kill the guy off, because, first off, he’s too minor of a character for his death to have that much of an impact, but at the same time, he’s both
A. a good character,
B. a classic character (founding member of the Justice League), and (and I think this is most important of it all),
C. there’s no one to replace him. You could kill Hal Jordan and have a replacement. You could kill Aquaman and have a replacement. You could obviously kill a Flash and have a replacement.
You kill Martian Manhunter - you got nuthin’.
Now, if only he could go back to his original appearance…
Meanwhile... at 20th Century Danny Boy, Daniel Best and Frank Lee Delano debate the merits of the campaign:
Daniel: My point was, and remains, that DC won't kill off a character that no-one has interest in. Your blog equates interest, hence you'll have a small role in the characters demise. It's heartening to see that you fully support the death of your beloved character though and that you're not in screaming denial.
However, by virtue of comment you are feeding into the hype. Each time you mention Michael on your blog or a forum, and his proposal, then you're feeding the hype. Food for thought perhaps?
But if any comment is feeding into the hype, then Daniel's poignant and insightful article must also feed into the same hype which he denounces. Such circular thought processes can certainly keep one sleepless, but perhaps, in the end, this is what it's all about, the hype. Perhaps, the show of concern for such editorial decisions on the fates of characters deeply rooted in the hearts of comics lovers of all ages, perhaps this is all that matters now so that DC Comics can weigh its decision knowing the attachment that its readership has for J'Onn J'Onzz. Perhaps the hype in such a case is far more preferable than silence, complacency, or defeatism, irregardless of what the publisher's final decision might be.
Frank Lee Delano responds:
 I don't think it's fair to call Martian Manhunter a "fading" character. He's actually more famous and popular now than he's ever been, thanks to "Justice League," "Smallville," "The Batman" and so on. Less than ten years ago, if you approached random people on the street asking about the "Martian Manhunter," they'd call the police. Today, a solid 1-in-50 might know something about him, if you employed targeted demographics, racial profiling, and coached them a little. Point being, he's always been a loser, but he's now he's also notable also-ran with some market viability in video games, action figures, etc. Hence, there being some mileage in killing him. I'd like to shake off the multitudes-- er-- dozens of worldwide Johnny-Come-Latelys to Manhunter fandom.
...
As for my blog-- before Mike Netzer started referencing it, had you heard of it? I get less than 100 page loads on most days, even though I update every single day. My hits to date over the last five months are barely over the 6,000 mark. I've never had a post receive more than 5 comments, and I actually only receive about one comment for every five posts. I am envious of the traffic to the Atom's blog, and the heights of the Aquaman Shrine are dizzying from my vatagge point. If anything, my blog is an excellent sign of how little interest there is in the character. I'm fighting the good fight by showing what a personal and generally unappealing obsession the Manhunter from Mars happens to be.
 In an aside follow up to this debate, Daniel reveals that Dave Simons supports the public relations strategy of the campaign to save J'Onn J'Onzz, and is adopting it in an Open Letter to Marvel from Dave Simons, asking to revive their almost forgotten feline wonder, Squirrel Girl:
Just when I was bemoaning that Marvel can't do "cute" and "fun" any more, they come out with Squirrel Girl in Great Lakes Initiative. I just discovered her online.
This is the kind of character that I love! It was no accident that I cut my inking teeth on Howard the Duck.
Just a few words about my design choices... I gave Squirrel Girl squirrel ears. Consider it a further mutation (actually, it would be an atavism, like her tail). The kneepads are to keep her knees from getting scraped up on rough bark. The goggles are there to have another design element on her head as well as being a nod to another squirrel-based character. I also got rid of that weird eye make-up. Otherwise, I tried to design something a human might be able to wear. The colors are autumn themed, because that's what I think of when I think of squirrels.
Since she's already defeated Dr. Doom and Thanos, I don't know who's left for a villain.
So if there's a writer who wants to do a pitch, let me know!
And no, there is nothing nutty about this proposition. Marvel gets to revive a slumbering property and David gets to draw the type of fun, clean, all-ages comic book, of the type we don't see too much of anymore.
Much gratitude to everyone signing the petition. Let's spread it around and talk it up this week... and help let the voice of comics fandom be heard.
Enough for the weekend, more tomorrow.
Sign the Petition to Save J'Onn J'Onzz
Click here to leave a comment and sign the Petition
and get banners to help promote the campaign.
Click here to download and distribute the
Save J'Onn and the Superheores
PRESS RELEASE
Click here for the
Save J'Onn J'Onzz
ARCHIVES
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