What’s different: I guess it depends on what you mean by “different.” Story-wise, I’m guessing this picks up exactly where Brightest Day left off. Geoff Johns spent the better part of a year building up to that status quo. No way DC flushes it as part of some relaunch.
The biggest differences are 1. Ronnie and Jason are sharing a book and 2. Geoff Johns is no longer shepherding Firestorm anymore.
The cover suggests that Ronnie and Jason are going to find a new way to work together. It looks kind of Wonder Twins or Voltron to me. But thanks to the presence of Gail Simone, I’ll withhold judgement until I see the book.
What’s the same: Pretty much everything near as I can tell. The solicit reads:
Jason Rusch and Ronnie Raymond. These two high school students are worlds apart – and now they’re drawn into a conspiracy of super-science that bonds them forever in a way they can’t explain or control. The dark secrets of the murderous Dog Team and its Firestorm Protocol force them to put aside their differences to confront a threat so terrifying that it may lead to a new Cold War! Welcome to a major new vision of nuclear terror.
Firestorm, being one of the characters (or in this case, two of the characters) graced by the touch of Johns seems to be exempt from any reboot shenanigans.
Chances for success: Up until now, the books have been pretty sure bets. But things start getting a little iffier with Firestorm. Neither Ronnie nor Jason has ever had a really strong following. I don’t know that their combined readership is all that great.
Add to the mix another untested writer in the form of artist Ethan Van Sciver and quality becomes a concern. Although I have a lot of faith in Gail Simone to smooth out the rough edges. Yildiray Cinar is a strong artist, so we’ve got two thirds of a good creative team with one third uncertain.
Based on the information available, I’ll bet on Fury of Firestorm.
Final Thoughts: I consider myself a casual fan of both Ronnie and Jason. But I hated most everything Johns has done with the characters since Blackest Night. During Brightest Day, he made me dislike both characters. So I actually wish we were getting a brand new status quo on this one. But with Gail on board, I’ll give the book a few issues to hook me.
Green Lantern: The New Guardians #1
Justice League International #1
So, as part of DC’s effort to improve, they are asking me to spend money to watch Gail teach Ethan how to write? Seriously? I dont know whom this insults more, their customers or their creative team?
lol – sad, but still funny
Ethan Van Sciver’s CyberFrog was awesome. Although that series was mostly humor I have no doubt he can write…but it helps to have interesting characters to write about.