How many roads can a girl walk down...?

(Warning... Not quite logical something-or-other ahead.)

So I guess the DC Universe really isn't bad. There are some characters I can't seem to get excited about, sure. Green Arrow. The Hawks. Catwoman. Superman is likable enough, though, and so is Robin. Manhunter, too.

I look forward to reading Blue Beetle and The All-New Atom every month and, because I am clueless, I do want to see where Wonder Woman goes. (If I somehow gain a clue and realize that my instincts aren't untrustworthy and the book is actually as bad as so many people say it is right now, then I'll drop it in favor of another Fantastic Four title.) Manhunter, I should probably just read in trades. Yes, I know that's a sacrilege, but I'm not following the subplots, which make up maybe half the book. I need to start at the beginning. Trade sales are good, right? ...

Anyway...

I'm a little scared about the Green Lanterns.

No, seriously, hear me out.

See, the Lanterns are involved in Blue Beetle, and they are also in The Brave and the Bold (which I am actually reading because of Jaime, not Kyle or Batman or whoever. That's not too weird, is it?) And the Lanterns... Well, it turns out that they're kind of fun. That's great and all, but I do not want to become a Green Lantern fan, not because being one is a bad thing (It's not a bad thing!), but because I just don't want to go down that road. Or further down than I've already gone, what with the three or four DC titles (not counting Wildstorm) I'm regularly reading right now. Reading good Lantern-related stories puts me at risk. (They are everywhere, those Lanterns.)

See, I read Fantastic Four stories for a grounded sort of cosmic-level adventure escapism. (And family. And humor. And because I just plain like it, but I digress.) Sue is quite a bit like a Green Lantern; she just doesn't need a magic ring from outer space to wield her force field powers. She doesn't fly nearly as well, but that's the price you pay, I guess. See? I'm reading about Green Lanterns already! They're just in a more familiar universe, wearing blue costumes that are tight but not, you know, that tight. Point is, I'm in a high-risk category, Lantern Fandomwise. And I have got to resist. Seriously.

There might be hope, though. DC has this Countdown Event coming up. If this makes DCU, as a whole, inaccessible to me, I might be in the clear. If Blue Beetle and Atom are too heavily involved in Countdown, I may have to drop them temporarily. Which is unfortunate, but it does kind of beat the alternative, which would no doubt be bad for my pocketbook. Which will already be suffering due to Marvel's next Event, which I am looking forward to because I do not learn. (Or maybe it's just that She-Hulk is involved, and there is the possibility that Hulk will smash Tony.)

But yeah. Standing on DCU Path, and in the unfamiliar darkness ahead a bright green will o' the wisp beckons. I do not want to go down that road.