Who's Who of whodunnits: Brad Meltzer talks to Newsarama about his upcoming seven-issue DC murder mystery, "Identity Crisis."

I love crime stories/mysteries, and Meltzer can certainly write a thriller. But I was more than a little nervous when I read in the lead that the miniseries "vows to change the status quo."

A good comics rule of thumb is that any "event" that promises to change the status quo won't. Luckily, the phrasing is Matt Brady's, not Meltzer's. The writer is tight-lipped, and only teases the plot in vague terms:

"It's a murder mystery set in the DC Universe. Pure and simple. But the consequences of what unfolds ... well, that's the real story. Characters live ... characters die -- and hopefully, you'll never looked at these masked men and the villains they fight quite the same way again."

Which characters will die? Hm. Let me break out my dusty copies of "Who's Who" and see who hasn't appeared in the past 10 years or so.