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 Rob Kelly, keeper of The Aquaman Shrine, has responded graciously and explained his position on the rumors that Aquaman is also being considered for the chop at DC Comics...
I'm sort of assuming that Aquaman has a good chance of being on the chopping block, but since the Aquaman I know, love, and obsess over has already been "killed off" in the pages of Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis, I'm assuming that if "Aquaman" is killed off, it'd be the new version, the Arthur Joseph one.
While it'd be a shame to kill the character off so soon after his debut, I think I'd find a way to go on living if it happened.
Take that with the classic Aquaman being a part of the upcoming toy tie-in book Super Friends, and the rumors going around that Geoff Johns just might be working on a new Aquaman book, I'm sort of assuming that killing AJ off sets the stage to bring the classic one back, with a new mega-popular writer with a Jones(sorry) for the original version, to boot. So I don't necessarily think this is bad news for AquaFans.
 While also adding a word of solidarity with The Martian Manhunter, and the campaign to save J'Onn J'Onzz...
But! I am a fan of lost causes (that's why I have an Obama '08 bumper sticker on my car), and I think killing off such a venerable character like Martian Manhunter is dumb. It doesn't get you much other than a limited-to-one-month sales spike, and you just keep some other hot writer who loves the character the chance to do something really cool with him.
Also, With Manhunter's enduring participation in Justice League Unlimited, more people outside of comics know about him than ever before. Can a Manhunter Super Friends figure be far behind? Why choose this moment to off him?
So, Mike, count me in--us Aquaman and Manhunter fans have to stick together. Let's Save our the Manhunter From Mars!
He has also placed campaign banners at Aquaman Shrine, and at his JLA Satellite site. Noteworthy about Rob is his talent as an illustrator, as seen at NAMTAB.COM, and the exceptional regard he holds for the classic comics form, seen in the 7 other comics sites he keeps, Treasury Comics, All in Black and White for 75 Cents, Digest Comics, Hey Kids, Comics!, JLA Satellite, Power Records and Coming Super Attractions.
Amazing about all these is that Rob updates them with thoughtful and relevant content on a daily basis. Certainly a good incentive for a special Aquaman/Manhunter sketch that I've begun (see digital work in progress detail preview above), and which is taking a more painterly direction than other recent work. Coming soon Rob, and thank you for the good words and solidarity. Your devotion is an inspiration.
And What About Ray Palmer?
 A few thoughts come to mind from Rob's comments, and also considering Damian's enthused response to the Atom sketch at The Tiny Titan in two new posts at his blog, The Martian March Towards Death Row... and Michael Netzer Atom and The Martian Manhunter Sketch.
To date I've never had a Ryan Choi sketch done. Generally when I'm talking to someone, "Ray Palmer" will involuntarily blurt out. It's particularly ineffective when speaking to someone with no knowledge of comics, and not named Ray Palmer.
 Along with the above sentiment for the characters that comics readers have grown up with and hold in special regard, the Pandora's Box that this campaign is opening on the evolution of comics characters is also noteworthy. But first, and for the sake of satisfying Damian's devotion to Ray, in the Palmer blog which inspired the Choi Atom sketch, I've produced the Silver Age Atom sketch (right), hoping this strikes a better balance for the character that Damian's site commemorates.
Which all raises an interesting aspect of the develpment of these, and other comics characters.
On Character Evolution
For the sake of intellectual integrity, Ray Palmer himself can also be considered an evolution or bastardization of the original Al Pratt Atom, created by Ben Flinton and Bill O'Connor, and who first appeared in All-American Comics in the Golden Age of 1940. So, simply longing for the integrity of characters, as envisioned by their creators, might also raise a sentiment for returning the Atom to his Golden Age identity.
While this is in itself an interesting proposition, how can a publisher who owns the intellectual rights to these characters, and has published their stories, marking their evolution for more than 60 years, ever hope to satisfy the accumulating generations of readers that comics fandom comprises today?
The difference between these eras might best be summed up in that the Golden Age characters were never killed in the stories for the sake of a marketing campaign. Their era came to an end after WW2, causing a hiatus of their comics universe adventures, as they were enlisted to support the war effort. Soon after, the comics form came under the heavy criticism of the McCarthy era and repositioned itself in what became the more wholesome Silver-Age continuity. Many of the pre-WW2 characters then evolved conceptually. Some, such as The Atom, Green Lantern and Flash, took on a new persona, while others simply faded away not to return again, except in their original form within the several rebirths of The Justice Society.
The trends of the last decade or so, however, stand in sharp contrast to this type of evolution of characters. As the fast paced frenzy for marketing gimmicks accelerates, established characters are finding themselves in a tougher struggle for survival as the corporate perception of feeding what's perceived as a somewhat addictive need for sensationalism from the comics readership, scurries to supply a progressively stronger marketing drug than the one they pushed on the readers previously. A vicious cycle that's left the publishers with little idea of how to feed this frenzy without the sensationalist destruction of their entire comics universe... which both DC and Marvel have pretty much already done in recent mega-events, anyway.
Where all this is leading greatly depends on the comics readership itself. While this sensationalism continues to be a best seller in the comics (The big screen remains more stable in this regard), perhaps an awakening within comics fandom, and a call for a stronger integrity of stories and content, is likely to eventually become a marketing force within itself, and have a notable effect on changing the somewhat foreboding tides that the present condition of the comics content is declining into.
And yes, other aspects of this situation must also be considered at any future junction that the comics industry finds itself in. For now, however, it might be enough that in the strongly voiced desire of comics fandom, as this campaign is revealing, to halt the destitute lunge into frivolous character assassination, lies the essence, thrust and strength of the effort to save J'Onn J'Onnz.
A sounding board for addressing the somewhat foreboding and death-enshrouded state of affairs for the Superheroes in general, and for their readers in the comics.
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
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