ALL STAR SUPERMAN #5

On sale July 26, 2006

Written by Grant Morrison
Penciled by Frank Quitely
Inked and Colored by Jamie Grant
Edited by Bob Schreck
Cover by Frank Quitely

and now..."THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LEX LUTHOR"

We open with the sentencing hearing of Lex Luthor. He claims Superman made him do all his crimes and that he should be on trial. The judge is unimpressed and sentences him to death by the electric chair. Lex seems strangely satisfied with this verdict.

In the present day, Clark Kent, mild mannered reporter for the Daily Planet, arrives at Stryker's Island to have an interview with Lex Luthor. He's got one hour. He finds Lex working on his Bibliobot Mark 2, a roving library that will read classic books to you. Clark clumsily trips over a wire and fries the robot, meanwhile saving Lex from being electrocuted. 

Lex goes to a the gym for a run. Lex notices Clark's scribbling and wonders what code it is. It's shorthand and Lex calls it something else he needs to learn. The topic returns to Superman and Lex asks how different the world would be if Superman hadn't landed here. Would Lois Lane notice Clark Kent? He also mentions that next to all powerful Superman she must think Lex Luthor is an idiot. He gets a little frustrated and throws a barbell at Clark's feet. Lex has Clark feel his muscle, earned from work not given to him by a yellow sun. At the punching bag he asks Clark if Superman is looking a little pale and tried these days. Clark says he looks fine and Lex, knowing what is really going on, says Superman isn't fine he only looks that way. They walk across the prison and Clark asks Lex about his obsession with Superman. Lex answers about prison being like home since he spends so much time there. Lex asks Clark what he would do with Suoperman's powers and Clark responds that it really does seem to be all about Superman to him. Lex notices that Clark has his eyebrows shaped like the "Superman swoosh" and notes 66% of men trim them that way to be more like Superman.

 A yell rings out from the Parasite declaring that he's going to gut Luthor and suck him dry. It startles Clark, but Lex isn't worried because brains always beat brawn. As he nears Clark though he gains power and breaks free of his restraints and guards. Clark is trying to get away and a riot starts. The room is filled with tear gas, but Lex tells him not to worry he'll protect Clark. Unnoticed, Clark saves Lex from a prisoner trying to shoot Lex in the back of the head.  Clark loses his glasses and Lex ushers him away as Clark uses his heat vision to set of the sprinkler system. A cough freezes the water and puts the rest of the prisoners on ice. Lex tells Clark as much as he'd love to see the prisoners tear him apart, he wants Clark to tell his story. The story of someone who dared to ask the question, "Who does Superman think he is?" Then the Parasite breaks through the wall. As they run away Clark begs for Lex's help as there will be an earthquake. Clark causes one as the Parasite falls through the floor and is crushed. Lex decides to run over and start punching the Parasite and claims that this is what happens to those that get in his way. He also claims it is the final fate for Superman.

Lex takes Clark to his cell. Clark says he knows Lex isn't all bad. Lex calls Clark a humble, modest, uncoordinated human. He's everything Superman isn't. In his cell, Lex has a baboon in a Superman suit named Leopold. Below him is an escape tunnel out of the prison. It seems it was carved out by the Bibliobot Mark 2 by playing "Moby Dick" at sufficiently high speeds. At the end of the tunnel is a boat manned by a young woman named Natasha. Her goal is to someday rule the world. She says to call her "Nasty" and that LEx needs to draw himself a new eyebrow. He doesn't do a very good job of it. Clark wonders why Lex isn't escaping. Lex is going to the chair fulfilled. Clark notes that Lex and Superman could have been friends. Lex says Clark is insane, he's a born dictator. He then reveals his plan. Lex used the sun to overload Superman's cells. He killed him and that Superman will die first. This is the story Lex wants Clark to break to the world. As Nasty paddles Clark away Luthor shouts that he'd be in charge of the whole planet if it weren't for Superman and now he's dying. What more could Lex want?

To be continued!

STORY: A
Morrison writes the best Lex Luthor since Elliott S! Maggin. Incredible super science combined with a gentle veneer of super superiority with just a touch of savage evil. The Clark disguise gets a real workout here as well.

ART: B-
With Quitely it's always great ideas and set up for the art combined with the actual drawn lines that leave a lot to be desired with me. The real art star in this series is the coloring of Jamie Grant.

COVER: C+
A scene that makes me want to pick up the comic combined with art that just doesn't work for me.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: B+
A landmark series in Superman's history. To date, it is the only All Star series to reach a conclusion.

HYSTERICAL SIGNIFICANCE: A-
Like a lot of Morrison's stuff, this series had a lot of detractors. The fans who hated anything that violated the holy writ of Byrne's Man of Steel and Post-Crisis continuity bashed the series as "Silver Age nonsense." They also hated the way Clark was presented and Quitely's art. .


up next...It's Read a Graphic Novel Week!

I would fall very solidly on the pro garlic and pro Morrison side of the fence.

X-Men would be among the very few mainstream Morrison super hero works I've never read because there is no force in the multiverses powerful enough to get me to read an X-Men comic.

In that alternate reality, I quit buying comic books.

You're not the first person that I heard dislike Porters work in this run. I thought he captured all the looks of the characters nicely. I liked his art. 

JLA may well be my favourite super hero ongoing ever.

He still fought an angel though.

SHAZAM!: POWER OF HOPE

On sale November 22, 2000

Writer: Paul Dini
Plotter/ Artist: Alex Ross
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Cover: Alex Ross

One in a series of graphic novels by the Dini/Ross team that was collected in World's Greatest Super-Heroes.


The story opens with a two page recap of Captain Marvel's origin.

It's a typical day for Captain Marvel. He's stopping an erupting volcano, arresting criminals and stopping a nuclear plant meltdown. These events are told to the public by Billy Batson, radio reporter for WHIZ. Billy's a little run down from the busy week and thinking about attending a baseball game. However, another employee shows him a huge bag of letters for Captain Marvel that arrived at the station. He takes the bag home to an apartment he shares with his "father" who travels a lot. The one that gets his attention is from the City Children's Hospital. A doctor wonders if Captain Marvel could stop by and visit. Included in the letter are drawings from the kids. In a flash of lightning, Billy transforms into Captain Marvel and goes to the Rock of Eternity. There he meets the wizard Shazam who tells him that children have the most faith in their champions, but it must be nourished or it will dies out. He tells Captain Marvel that one day a special child will face despair and look to Captain Marvel for hope. He must be ready.

Billy arrives at the hospital and has to make a quick change to save a child from being hit by a truck. Captain Marvel arrives and all the kids gather around and are happy to see him. The doctor arrives and Captain Marvel tells her that he plans to spend a few days with the kids. The kids are all happy except for one boy in a wheelchair who leaves the happy scene. For the rest of the kids Captain Marvel tells them stories of fighting super villains, stopping trains and demolishing giant robots. One girl named Nadia needs extra help. There is a doctor in Japan that can help restore her sight, but she's not well enough to travel to him. Captain Marvel flies to Japan and brings him, in his own car, to operate on her. He then resumes his wish granting for the other kids taking them on flights, to the zoo and into the sea. He takes a group of kids in a van to a national park. He hears an explosion and it results in a rockslide and damage to a nearby dam. He sets down the van and confronts a group that's mining illegally and setting off the explosions. He captures them, but the dam is breached and a flood is headed toward the van. He grabs the van out of the water and the kids aren't scared, but excited as if they'd been on a roller coaster.

He decides that now is the time to meet the kid in the wheelchair from earlier. His name is Bobby and the doctor says his father told them that he had fallen down a flight of stairs. Captain Marvel tries to be as friendly as possible and looks at the injuries. He doesn't need the wisdom of Solomon to know that the injuries were deliberately inflicted. the boy is afraid of adults and won't talk. This looks like a job for Billy Batson! They both share a love of baseball and he is able to strike up a conversation. Billy reveals he had a tough childhood as well and Bobby asks him if his dad was angry all the time too. Billy goes to Bobby's home to meet his dad. He doesn't want to talk about his son and tells Billy to mind his own business. He slams the door in his face. He hears another knock and shouts that he's going to get tough and grabs a baseball bat. Captain Marvel is at the door this time and flings the bat away. He firmly tells the father to go to Bobby, apologize and never hurt him again or Captain Marvel will find out and come back. I've seen Captain Marvel machine gun people mister, you do NOT want to mess with him!

Captain Marvel returns to the hospital and visits the intensive care ward. It cheers up the patients, but there are some people that even Captain Marvel can't save. He comforts one child and makes her last moments as happy as possible. His hospital visit over, Captain Marvel flies back to the Rock of Eternity to consult with Shazam. He tells Captain Marvel that he has given hope to those kids. It's a powerful force that the wizard feared someone close to him was losing. Captain Marvel realizes that these experiences have restored hope to him and to Billy. Captain Marvel flies home with the happiness of a child burning brightly inside him. He ends the story playing catch with his new friend Bobby.


STORY: A-
The story may be a simple one, but it's a good heartwarming one. It also shows the dynamic of the hero, part child and part adult, that sets him apart from Superman.

ART: A
As good as it gets and in the large tabloid size as well.

COVER: B+
I love the art, but the full head shots on these covers were not my favorite look.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: B-
Alex Ross would continue to build an audience outside of the usual comic shop crowd.