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I never liked the old Multiverse. That should come as no surprise to anyone who's read my sparse posting on the subject. But I should be clear that I didn't dislike it because I found it "confusing" or "difficult to understand."

What I hate about the old Multiverse is how incredibly easy and simplistic it was to get from one Earth to another. Interdimensional dinner parties seemed like par for the course. Just hop on a treadmill and you're in another dimension. To me, that cheapens the entire concept. It weakens it.

The other problem with the old Multiverse was that everyone seemed to know about it. There was no mystery or secrecy to the fact that there were other universes. There was no drama or surprise. It was as obvious as the fact that Canada borders America to the north.

But I remain cautiously (very cautiously) optimistic about the new Multiverse. Because it seems that there are already safeguards in place to prevent the abuses (as I see them) of the concept in the past.

As much as some might like the idea of people crossing over from Earth to Earth for friendly barbeques, It's probably not going to happen. Because according to Ion, these different realities are separated by the Bleed. And the Bleed is full of horrible, ravenous monsters. But I don't hold out much hope they'll keep it that way...

As for everyone knowing about the Multiverse, well... I'm not so sure about that either. Rip Hunter made it clear to Booster that he wanted to keep it a secret. But the Countdown preview has already made it clear that a few others know. And that'll probably spiral out of control quickly.

Wow, I started this post out cautiously optimistic, but I've made myself pessimistic in the process. Mostly because in this era of nostalgia, I can't help but feel that the people at DC Comics are going to repeat the mistakes (as I see them) of the past regarding the Multiverse.

I hope I'm wrong. And I hope I like it. I really do.

I was perusing the DC solicits earlier today (as I do every month). Pretty standard stuff. But there was something that caught my eye. Specificially, the solicitation for a trade paperback titled TANGENT COMICS VOL. 1.

Most of you know that Tangent Comics -- as conceived by Dan Jurgens -- was a DC "fifth week" event that first ran in 1997 (and returned again in 1998). Tangent Comics took familiar DC names (The Flash, Green Lantern, etc.) and radically reimagined the characters. In almost every case the reimagined character bore no resemblance to the original apart from the name.

The characters of the Tangent Universe showed up briefly in Infinite Crisis, where we learned that they were just another universe within the greater Multiverse. More importantly, a few of the Tangent characters made an appearance in Ion. There, the Tangent Green Lantern tried to resurrect her fallen comrades -- under red skies.

So the Tangent characters have been popping up in a few places. But are those few appearances enough to warrant a Tangent Comics collection? Or does the solicitation of that particular trade paperback portent something more? I think you know what I'm going to say.

In an interview with Ron Marz after the release of Ion #10, Mr. Marz talks about the inclusion of the Tangent characters. He is very cryptic, but what is clear is that their appearance -- as well as the appearances of the Bleed and Captain Atom (in Monarch guise, natch) -- are part of the bigger event that DC has brewing.

So when July rolls around, keep your eyes open. Because I think we'll be seeing more of the Tangent characters. And I know they won't be alone...