How was Batman a deadbeat dad? He didn't know about Damian, then tried to raise Damian, then died at the hands of a god. It's not like Talia was taking him to court to get a support order.
I agree that getting rid of Wally West was problematic for a lot of reasons. Honestly, I think Geoff Johns had plans for Barry Allen's return, but had no idea what to do with Wally, but didn't want to kill him. So now no one knows what to do with him.
And they really didn't know what to do with Bart. Which is a shame, because Bart, at one point, was really, really, really great. You know what would have been excellent, in a different world? A Flash with pictorial thought balloons and a JLA where Kyle Rayner was picking on Wally's replacement.
I actually kind of liked Infinite Crisis (it had aspirations far beyond its means, but unfortunately I'm pretty sure no one involved in its production actually realized it), but as a retcon-machine it was pretty unneccesary. Superman was a baby on his rocket ship again, huh? Batman caught his parent's killer? Something ineffable occurred to Wonder Woman's history? My heart exploded again just remembering the excitement. So yeah.
Piling Final Crisis on at that point was, also, a really bad mistake. (If for no other reason than Final Crisis itself wasn't a very good story, was told much better when it was called Rock of Ages*, and--I feel--will be remembered as Morrison's worst major work; but more importantly, it tied down the entire DC line with another universal cataclysm so rapidly after the last.)
Then Blackest Night came, and it was probably less disruptive, but artistically at least as much of an albatross.**
Event garbage is part of why the only books I actually read on a regular basis are Booster Gold and Secret Six.
But the larger part? Most of DC and Marvel's lines just suck, in a way that seems beyond editorial interference to explain, and $2.99 or more for shitty disposable entertainment is a ridiculous trade.
I don't know. It's like there's this talent shortfall, or at least a perception on my part of one. When I say I can name only six-to-seven writers at DC whose work is definitely worthwhile***--even when I personally have grave reservations about their current output--am I drastically underestimating how many good writers are there?
*Much as I suspect The Return of Bruce Wayne was better when it was called The Invisibles, but I have to reserve judgment on that. I'll probably eventually get to this, since it's been raved about by so many, but I'm incredibly hesitant, given how many times I've tried to enjoy Morrison's Batman and failed.
**As a fun thought experiment, imagine Grant Morrison writing Infinite Crisis and Blackest Night, and Geoff Johns writing Final Crisis. Honestly, I think that would solve 90% of my problems with them.
***Morrison (with reservations), Johns (with severe reservations), Giffen and deMatteis (buy Booster Gold!), Simone, and Cornell, and possibly including Bedard, but I haven't really been following R.E.B.E.L.S. I know some folks here would include Levitz.
That's... interesting.
The Peter Parker thing was a Joe Q decision stemming from his need to have Peter be like he was when he was growing up and reading comics. I wouldn't have been surprised if that decision pissed Millar off at all. Steve Rogers was always gonna come back, and has already returned. Jean is still dead.
