It seems like just last week I was listening to a podcast talking about how DC has J. Michael Straczynski in their corner yet are criminally underusing him. He’s got Brave and the Bold (which is a great read) and the upcoming Superman: Earth One book, but other than that nothing. Then, out of the blue, Straczynski is given the keys to Wonder Woman and Superman, and everyone is going crazy with excitement! On top of that, we’re also getting an original graphic novel set in the DCU called Samaritan X (as told to us by Comic Book Resource).
The book is to take place in the Gotham City hospital from which it gets it’s name, and it will feature various villains and heroes interacting with it (with the potential for a spin-off book). I think the concept sounds great because, if you ask me, the books that explore the world in Gotham are more interesting than the Batman books. Gotham City Central and Streets of Gotham are both great books that show how to explore Gotham with Batman while not being overly Bat-centric. Heck, even Batman: Year One by Frank Miller is like that. So now a JMS penned title that doesn’t overly rely on a man in a bat costume fighting a clown? Count me in.
Here’s a quote from the man himself about the book:
Samaritan X is as impressive outside as it is inside: a twenty-story gleaming glass and steel tower with two landing platforms on the roof, bullet-proof glass three inches thick, a staff of the best and the brightest in a variety of disciplines, and every high-tech, cutting-edge medical, scientific and diagnostic tool ever created, all in service to an area of specialization, and a clientele, that is utterly unique.
In a world where super-powered individuals fight a never-ending battle against evil, Samaritan X is where those wounded on either side of that struggle come to be treated and saved. Within its walls the essential human drama of life and death is made even more intense by its application to those whom the world calls heroes or villains, the celebrated and the vilified, the nearly immortal and the previously invulnerable.
When an eternally young character suddenly begins aging…when Metamorpho discovers that he can no longer control his chemical reactions and is a danger to himself and others…when Supergirl needs a life-saving operation but her skin cannot be pierced by any known science…when a female hero is about to have her first child, and fears that the strength of her contractions in birth could kill her normal son…when Cyborg discovers that his life-sustaining cybernetic implants are failing…when a hero with fiery powers discovers he can no longer turn it off and may have to live the rest of his life never touching another human being, even his own children…when a hero is wounded in battle and brought to the hospital for treatment only to be pursued there by his enemy, who is determined to finish what he started regardless of who gets caught in the middle…when a hero on the edge of collapse suffers a psychotic break…when young men and women from all over the world discover for the first time that they have powers and don’t know how to handle them..when those or a million other things go wrong with people strong enough to tear apart whole cities with their bare hands…their best hope for survival is Samaritan X.
That’s about all the details we’re given! No release date or artist yet, but I believe that that pitch right there is enough for me and the rest of the MC team. Hopefully you’re good with that too!
