A couple of very pretty GLC preview covers, and some sad Doctor Who news...

[icon_uk]

First up....



In which Kyle deals with his Invincible cosplaying fetish, Hal goes Sinestro (again?), Guy seems to be part of a 1980's psuedo-glam rock group "The Red Lanterns" and John seems to be sending mixed messages, with an Indigo (Compassion) Lantern outfit and a gun slung across his back

On the other cover, there's a whole lot of green and George Perez proves that no one, but no one, can do a crowd scene like he can....



And the fact the throws in a little "Hal in chains" action doesn't hurt it either...


And on an unrelated note, sad news for Doctor Who fans, as the news has been released on the sudden and unexpected death of Classic, New and spin-off series actress Elisabeth Sladen. (Details here). For more than one generation of fans, as investigative journalist Sarah-Jane Smith, she proved to be an excellent foil for more than one Doctor (She started with the Third Doctor, and left during the Fourth's reign, as well as meeting the Tenth and Eleventh), and a strong character in her own right.

Far from a helpless female, Sarah-Jane was practically the Lois Lane of the Who-versel; sharp, witty, brave, no fool, inquisitive and a professional career woman during the early 70's when that was still fairly uncommon on TV.

When she returned in the new series in 2006 (Not counting the "Five Doctors" episode since she seemed to have no memory of it) it was as if she'd never left, older (Though you'd never know it to look at her) and wiser, but a little bitter over how the 4th Doctor abandoned her, until she came to terms with it when she met the 10th Doctor and his latest companion.

Then, joy of joys (And full credit to Russell T Davies for using his pull to get that project off the ground), we got a spin-off series devoted to the further adventures of Sarah-Jane Smith, and it was good... DAMNED good. It was everything Torchwood wasn't IMHO; clever, funny, with engaging characters (The genetically engineered super-genius she adopted as her son managed to avoid every pitfall such a character might obviously provide) and a refreshingly "grown up" approach to things (one of the first stories dealt with senility, and didn't end with a cure-all to the problem) as well as actually making the Slitheen actually MORE scary than they had been on Who by removing the comedy trappings. But at the core was Lis Sladen's performance as Sarah-Jane, as someone mature enough and wise enough to actively seek a more peaceful approach to communicating with aliens than UNIT (Who she respected up to a point, but whose methods she often disagreed with) or Torchwood (Who she actively avoided, though Captain Jack did flirt a little with her), but was quite prepared to kick several shades or arse in her own unique way if the aliens proved less than friendly

Her death at the age of 63 from cancer means that we won't get to see the next two season the show had already been guaranteed, and we don't know what will happen with the three episodes that may have been finished.

So on behalf of the kids who loved her, the grown ups who appreciated her and the kids who are now adults who did both (and those of us who would admit to her as an early crush), fare well Ms Sladen, and thank you for your work. Our thoughts are with your family and friends, and you wouldn't believe how many friends you probably had, though I hope the acclaim you received at Doctor Who Conventions and the like gave you a hint.

Comments

[miss_s_b]

thank you for the Lis Sladen tribute. It's nice to see how far the love for her goes.

[akodo_rokku]

Damn, I was a big fan of Sarah-Jane Smith ever since being introduced to her during the new series. This is a damn shame.

[deepspaceartist]

I think you mean 'Kyle in chains action' about that second page there.

Also, it's kind of fun to see Kyle with a blue ring after that Kyle Rayner:Blue Lantern hoax. I would have used my Kyle icon, but my only one has him saying 'cool', and the news in the second half of your post is definitly not cool.

And as for Elizabeth Sladen, I only ever got to see her when she crossed over with Doctor Who, but I liked her everytime I saw her. Every death is a tragedy, and my heart goes out to Mrs. Sladen's family and friends.

[darkblade]

The problem is that icon acompaning any form of bad news makes my brain automatically says "Oreno Decaido!"

[icon_uk]

I think you mean 'Kyle in chains action' about that second page there

Do I? I'm not sure I can tell the difference, with the hair unseen and the face partly obscured and their uniforms being... well, uniform.

[thanekos]

On the one hand, I like the effect.

On the other hand, fatigues of that shade? Automatically chuckleworthy.

[darkknightjrk]

Yeah, John's Indigo costume's a bit of a miss--on one hand, I get the idea that lately they've been focusing on John's military background, and having the sole black guy in the usual Indigo tribal gear would have been a BAD IDEA, but having blue-ish fatigues just looks kinda uncreative.

[lorriek]

I'm so sad about Elizabeth Sladen. Sarah Jane was the Companion in the very first DW episode I ever saw. I was shocked when I heard the news. I didn't know she was sick.

[ebailey140]

She was the original Companion for us Yanks, since we were introduced to Dr. Who with the Tom Baker run.

[crabby_lioness]

I can't talk about Lis yet. All I can do is bawl like a baby.

[endis_ni]

I know, honey, not long out of that stage myself.

[aaron_bourque]

Y'know, without Hal's wingtips, it's sometimes tricky to really tell him from Kyle.

[ex_trafalgar217]

I love John's look so hard.

Also lskdfjlsdkfjkfjkdf at Hal with (I'm guessing) Sinestro's ring. <3

[icon_uk]

Lilac tinted army fatigues are just so very 1980's....

[silverzeo]

Wow... you know, for a bunch of Immortals who lived through nearly since the dawn of time, the Guaridans of the Universe have really started to SUCK at their job now a days...

Plus you gotta love the originality in John's uniform.... ironically, that Hippie natural general from Captain Planet...

[darkknightjrk]

Lately? It seems like they've been the epitome of the corrupt and dinosaur-like police chiefs since the VERY beginning.

[q99]

Yes, Kyle finally gets a Blue! The ring that most befits him.


---

That's really sad about Ms Elizabeth Sladen :( I hadn't watched a lot with her, but in what I have she looked fun.

[long_silence]

I haven't watched much Doctor Who, I only just started to get into the new series.

But I saw School Reunion recently and Elizabeth Sladen was amazing. She made me want to go and watch the old series when she was a companion and the Sarah Jane Adventures. It's sad to know she's gone.

[curlyjo1]

God, that's unbelievable about Elizabeth Sladen. When Nicholas Courtney died back in February, it was a surprise, but not as much of a shock. This, though...!

*wraps Tom Baker in bubble wrap*

[icon_uk]

Yeah, with Nick Courtney and Michael Gough (Not just Alfred, but the Celestial Toymaker, one of the iconic Who villains, despite only being in one, mostly lost, story) they had more or less retired, and were of an age where such things are less of a shock, and Nick's health had been poor for a couple of years. Lis was in the middle of a hit show built around her which had years left in it.

[long_silence]

The rifle slung across John's back seems to be his Indigo Tribe staff thing.

[icon_uk]

I wondered about that, but I think it was the end of the sights on the visible bit, and the army fatigues that made me think "rifle" rather than "weird looking power staff".

[citygod]

Nice tribute, well said.

[likeaminx]

I approve of Blue Lantern Kyle!!! And Red Lantern Guy forever! That would mean more Red and Blue Lantern stories and YES THANK YOU

[aeolos_sakya]

I wonder who didn't call Kyle as a Blue Lantern. Seriously, it was so obvious Kyle would get a blue ring at some point.
Nice to see Guy as a Red again. Let's hope he won't go as crazy as last time.
Also, do all the Sinestro Corps members wore their ring in their left hand? I thought only Sinestro does that, since he also did that back when he was a GL.

[keeva]

Well, there's the whole etymology of the term of "sinister."

[darkknightjrk]

CALLED Hal as a Sinestro, I SO called it! :D

And I think I've only seen one episode of Who with Salden, but she was pretty good in it. Sad to hear. :(

[korvarthefox.livejournal.com]

That Liz Sladen tribute was lovely. I just came to the "Sarah Jane == Lois Lane" realisation myself. She was definitely "my" companion, as I grew up with her next to Pertwee and then Baker. Seeing her in School Reunion was just amazing, and her work on The Sarah Jane Adventures just so good. Sadly missed :(

[icon_uk]

Jo Grant was the first assistant I remember properly (I remember brief flashes of stories which I now know had Liz Shaw in them, but don't recall her), but Sarah-Jane was the one I grew up with too, from her yelling at Irongron's men for manhandling her in "The Time Warrior" to complaining about the TARDIS still not getting it right to the passing dog at the end of "Hand of Fear" (A sad, and rather contrived reason for her leaving, but carried off with aplomb). Good times, good times...

[wizardru]

My daughter will be heart-broken about Elisabeth Sladen. My kids love the new Who and my daughter loved Loved LOVED the new SJA. In my mind, it was the closest of the three new Who shows to the original series in terms of tone and approach. And yet it wasn't campy...on the contrary, it tackled some difficult topics, like Clyde's absentee father or Sarah Jane dealing with the loss of her parents.

Sarah Jane was my first and remains my favorite Companion. Sladen has left us too soon.

[icon_uk]

Yes, RTD gave a short interview about it last night, and did note that there would be a LOT of little boys and girls needing an extra hug this morning when they found out. Very true... (and a few older than "little" too)

[schala_kid]

I have to say I didn't have the opportunity to grow up with Doctor Who, and I don't know much about it either since I just found out about it a few years ago. I'm not that familiar with most of the characters but the character of Sarah Jane was probably one I liked the most. Truthfully the reason she caught my interest was because she had the same name my Grandma gave to her rifle (Also Thirty-Thirty's rifle in Bravestarr) and after watching episodes with her and finding about her show I just became enamored with her.

I'm really saddened that Elisabeth Sladen passed, IMO Sarah was the best companion.

[christianconnor]

Nothing to add ... except much love for Sarah-Jane and Elisabeth.