Reprinting STATIC #1-4′s “Trial by Fire,” with beautifully remastered art and color as well as the rarely-seen “Rebirth of the Cool” mini-series that I wrote in 2000, this is the first in a series of reasonably-priced Milestone trade editions from DC Comics. I think it’s a terrific book, with superlative work from John Paul Leon, Robert Washington III, Steve¬ÝMitchell, and our much¬Ýunder-appreciated¬ÝMilestone painters. Look out for a remastered “ICON: A HERO’S WELCOME” this fall, and HARDWARE: THE MAN IN THE MACHINE, next spring.

Secret inside stuff: The careful reader might consider the subtext of “Rebirth of the Cool” in light of my ongoing creative relationship with DC Comics.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #33

Justice League of America #33 will arrive in stores on May 28 from DC Comics. The issue is written by Dwayne McDuffie, with art by Rags Morales and a cover by Ed Benes.

It’s Dharma vs. Starbreaker for control of the greatest source of power in the DC Universe. No matter the victor, the Justice League loses!

Justice League of America #33 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.99.

Including one for “Outstanding Special Class Animated Program.” Congratulations to Glen Murakami and his team for making the best boy’s action show on TV!

On Sale Now!

I’m featured in Upper Deck’s new Marvel Masterpieces trading card line, one of the rare “Writer’s Autograph Cards” randomly inserted into packs. This is particularly cool, because as a lowly assistant editor back in the late eighties,¬ÝI worked on the original set of Marvel Trading Cards! The folks at Upper Deck were good enough to send me a very limited quantity of the cards, and after I skim a couple for my Mom and my personal collection, I’m going to unload the rest at conventions over the summer.

So if you’re a serious trading card collector with money burning a hole in your pocket, come see me and we’ll do business. Otherwise, just bring me anything at all, and I’ll sign it for free.

Keeping score, this is my second trading card and I still can’t hit a curveball. Who’s a “big nerd”¬Ýnow!

Okay, who else?

May 15-17: Novi, MI. Motor City Comicon

I'm returning to my home town, sort of, for a big show with more media guests than you can shake a stick at. Actually, I've shaken sticks at larger crowds than this, but it's still a substantial list, including: Carrie (Princess Leia) Fisher, Kate (Captain Janeway, Mrs. Columbo!) Mulgrew, Julie (Catwoman) Newmar and wrestler Kevin Nash, who is bigger than me, a fact which makes me uncomfortable. Comics guests include my old boss Tom DeFalco, and artistic legends Frank Brunner and Guy Davis.

Autographs are free, I’ll sign anything of mine you bring to me. I’ll also have a very limited quantity of JLA hardcovers for sale at inflated prices, and if my shipment arrives on time, I’ll also have copies of my new book.

I was egosurfing this morning and just found one of my earliest comic book stories has been posted at Scansdaily. It’s a four-pager I did for Marvel’s Hellraiser, featuring some terrific art by Kevin O’Neill.

WARNING: THIS STORY IS NOT FOR CHILDREN.

If you’re interested, look fast, I don’t know if it’s a legal post, but I suspect it’s not.