JSA Jaded

Despite the hype, and despite my general fondness for a lot of DC's crossovers during the last decade (even Zero Hour), I'm just not into "Infinite Crisis." I didn't buy Identity Crisis, the only tie-in minis I even tried were OMAC (for which I tried the first issue at 75 cents, but didn't feel like reading further) and Villains United (which I continue buying, even though I'm not digging it nearly as much as others seem to), and I'm feeling virtually no anticipation for the big event itself.

Thus, it should come as no surprise that I'm not terribly thrilled about having the DC books I *do* buy being turned into tie-in books. I don't buy many of the DCU superhero books these days, but JSA is among the ones I do. So the 3-part "Day of Vengeance" crossover that just wrapped up aggravated me.

Now comes this news from Newsarama: JSA #76 and 77 are also going to be official "Day of Vengeance" tie-ins. This is in addition to the previously-announced Keith Champagne arc in #78-80, which will also be a "Day of Vengeance" tie-in.

That makes for eight consecutive issues that are tie-ins to a six-issue mini-series. (Even if we assume the unlikely prospect that only the first of Keith's issues is a tie-in, that's still six issues.) Why is DC, or at least Geoff Johns, insistent on co-opting this title for tie-in purposes for a full 2/3 of a year, and for two months longer than the title it's being tied into?

I'd drop the book tomorrow if it wasn't for the equally aggravating fact that Johns (and presumably Champagne) are still advancing certain ongoing subplots in these issues. So if I skip them, it's at my own peril. I get to continue plopping down $2.50 a month, even though I'm only getting the equivalent of half a true JSA issue. It certainly looks like by the end of eight months, I'll have more or less spent $10 on JSA stories and $10 on DoV material I didn't want.

When it was just three issues, I just chose to suffer through it. But the notion of another five months of "Day of Vengeance" crossover-fever might well drive me off a title I've been buying for five years. Perhaps I should just vote with my wallet, and buy a lot of the issues off eBay after it's all over.