I was reading through Beau Smith’s new column extolling the virtues of the DC Showcase / Marvel Essentials and it hit me that I’m only seven days away from having in my hot little hands the book that I have dreamed of for ten years: Showcase Presents: Elongated Man. The fact that this book actually exists makes me wonder if someone in DC’s publishing wing read my “How To Save the Comic Book Industry” and thought my suggestion was a good idea. All right, enough ego…perhaps it’s just that “Identity Crisis” and “52” have raised Ralph Dibny’s profile. (I do think it would have been smart to have such a book out ahead of “Identity Crisis” so that I wasn’t the only person in the world who thought the loss of Sue Dibny was a tragedy.)

I’ve noticed something odd. Amazon still doesn’t have cover art. Nor does DC! I’m sure it’s a problem because Ralph’s best stories are backup stories and they don’t have a dramatic cover that can be recycled. Hopefully they have someone working on it. They only have seven days.

Seven days! Glee! Huzzah! IT MUST BE MINE!!!