shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 17, 2014 11:09:22 GMT -5
Action Comics #585
"And Graves Give up their Dead"
writer/penciler: John Byrne
inks: Dick Giordano
letters: John Costanza
colors: (gravestone credits indicate "PB," but GCD assumes it's still Tom Ziuko)
editor: Andy Helfer
grade: D
A pretty silly team-up in which Byrne provides some bad and disingenuous mis-characterizations (Phantom Stranger is unnecessarily overly dramatic and enigmatic to the point that it threatens the mission repeatedly, and since when is Superman so ignorant and stubborn? I don't recall him ever telling someone he wouldn't accept a critical mission because he was tired before, nor making the argument that he won't help because magic isn't his thing), and culminates with Byrne preaching through his characters once again, this time telling criminals not to see themselves as victims. It's pretty stupid stuff and not likely to change the minds of the millions of serial rapists Byrne apparently thinks are reading this comic and subsequently receptive to his every moral belief and soap box rant.
From a continuity perspective, this issue reminds us that Superman's powers are merely exaggerations of normal human abilities (of course, this doesn't take into account the flight, heat vision, and "aura of invulnerability) and this time even indicates that he's physiologically exactly the same as a normal human (which, I suppose, we expected).
However, there is one minor contradiction when Superman flies out into space and proceeds to have a full conversation with the Phantom Stranger there, surprised that the PS can survive in space. One problem there -- Superman is the one who shouldn't be able to survive there. The Phantom Stranger, as indicated by his very name, is not completely of the living, whereas Man of Steel #3 made it clear that Superman is very much a living being that needs to breathe air and therefore cannot remain in space for a long amount of time; certainly, he can't engage in any kind of conversation there.
So, all in all, a pretty dumb and skippable issue. My confidence in Byrne as a writer is not getting any stronger.
minor details:
- On the cover, the gravestone in the foreground says "Fanto." Is this supposed to mean something to someone?
- We never learn where the heck The Sherabite Stone came from.
plot synopsis: Superman is engaged in combat with Arathaza (Don't bother asking "Who?" She isn't coming back), a new magic-based villain drawing her own power by draining Superman's, Superman figures out that her power comes from her staff and breaks it, a small piece of the staff survives, lands on the ground, and ends up animating a monstrosity controlled by the spirits of dead evil-doers (yes, it's that stupid), the Phantom Stranger summons Superman to help him (against Supes' surprisingly obnoxious will), Superman fights the monstrosity from the outside while the Phantom Stranger preaches at the spirits within, they are successful, and all of this is revealed to have been caused by the magic Sherabite Stone, which Superman then crushes.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 17, 2014 11:18:32 GMT -5
Superman #3
"Legends of the Darkside" (Legends, chapter 17)
writer/pencils: John Byrne
inks: Terry Austin
letters: John Costanza
colors: Tom Ziuko
editor: Andy Helfer
grade: B-
First off, I've never read Legends, and these tie ins are not going to make me start. It's always seemed like an absurd storyline to me, badly misusing Kirby's New Gods in order to commit a bad theft from the core premise of Watchmen, and really -- do they ever explain why Darkseid and his vast legions NEED a religious zealot to make Earth distrust superheroes? Couldn't he just Omega Beam a ton of people and have his Paradaemons do the rest??
Anyway, I'll avoid commenting on the storyline throughout these tie ins since it's essentially beside the point. Like Legends or hate it, this is a Superman story.
I'd say what baffles me the most about this one is just how uneven of a creator it exposes Byrne as being. We've already discussed his inconsistencies as a writer, but let's talk art this time. This is a truly awful cover (and I don't know how an established artist RUINS a picture of Darkseid dangling a battered Superman from his fist) and yet the interior has the best art I've seen Byrne do for Superman yet. It's dense, crisp, consistent, and lively. I've given this issue a B- based on how much I enjoyed the art alone. Truly, the story was nothing worth noting.
The story did nothing for me. As a tie in, it really didn't accomplish anything. I don't know why Darkseid wanted Superman, and I don't really care. I enjoyed Byrne's depiction of the Hunger Dogs, but that was about it. The gratuitous battle that ensued with the giant armored thing afterward did nothing for me, and there really wasn't any kind of tangible plot to follow. Superman gets transported to Apokalypse. That's about it.
Minor Details:
- So, apparently, Superman's "aura of invulnerability," originally introduced as a means of explaining why his pants don't come off every time he gets caught at ground zero of an explosion, has now been extended to the logical conclusion that Superman's face can't get dirt on it. Of course, if you take this a step further than that, how does the man breathe, or even eat or drink? How does he hug and kiss Ma Kent? This is truly a stupid concept at its core.
- The Phantom Stranger gets used as a sorry excuse for Marvel's Uatu, The Watcher, standing beside Darkseid to function as witness to the events unfolding.
- Okay, it's weird enough assuming that the being on Apokalypse speak English (Superman understands them just fine), but even a sign on page 15 actually reads "Slum Area 27" in clear English. And, incidentally, you've got to love an all-powerful tyrant so committed to making his minions suffer that he goes out of his way to officially name their habitation sectors as "Slum Areas." Byrne is an idiot...
Plot synopsis:
Lois Lane gets an interview with G. Glorious Godfrey, he provides far too many hints that he's from Apokalypse, Superman gets teleported to Apokalypse, some stupid stuff happens for the sake of creating short-term conflict, we're supposed to think Superman is dead at the climax, and nothing of note actually occurs.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 17, 2014 11:40:09 GMT -5
Adventures of Superman #426
"From the Dregs" (Legends, Chapter 18)
writer: Marv Wolfman
co-plotters: Jerry Ordway and John Byrne
art: Jerry Ordway
letters: Albert DeGuzman
colors: Tom Ziuko
editor: Andrew Helfer
grade: B-
I go back and forth on this issue. On the one hand, it had great scope. Whereas Byrne's chapter last issue accomplished absolutely nothing, what occurs in this issue could have been decompressed into three tightly plotted issues. Additionally, Wolfman's narration is quite eloquent, even when I find his dialogue for the Hunger Dogs inconsistent and often sounding a little too educated and introspective for the dregs of a society. And finally, Ordway's pencils and inks are absolutely stellar here, and I was particularly amused by the Kirby-esq mechanical frame he created for the panels on page 4. Perhaps my one complaint with his art is how creepy and mannish he makes Amazing Grace appear as she's about to get intimate with Superman (more on this later). I suspect he was trying to make us uncomfortable about the character, but it worked too well.
And then there are straightforward problems with the issue. There's definitely something off in the pacing where a crowd goes from not believing Superman has special abilities to instantly assuming he has come there to destroy them and then quickly rally behind him as their savior to the point that they're willing to publicly blaspheme and plot against Darkseid, their master. Granted, Wolfman is struggling to fit so much into 22 pages, but it threw me.
Then you've got the whole romance bit between a disoriented Superman and Amazing Grace. It goes so far that I'm truly not sure whether or not they slept together after page 15, and that really bugs me. Supes is the morally righteous guy, he's destined to be with Lois, and this would presumably be his "first time" as well. It just really rubs me the wrong way. Even Bruce Wayne is generally depicted as sending the girls home long before it gets this far, and I don't hold the same level of expectation for moral perfection with him, nor am I waiting for him to end up with Vicki Vale in the same way that I expect Clark to get Lois in the end. Maybe I'm just too old school or something, but this truly bothered me.
So this was a pretty mixed issue for me, though, all things considered, it succeeded more than it failed.
minor details:
- So many aspects of the plot of this story still remain a total mystery to me. Did Darkseid want Superman to come to Apokolips specifically to use him in the way in which he did in this issue? If so, how could he have orchestrated events to have worked out in the way that they did in this issue? So much of it could not have been anticipated. Additionally, what's causing Superman's head to be clouded?
- So the fire pits of Apokolips only hurt Superman a little bit, but he can be electrocuted easily (as per Adventures of #424). Considering that these are both forms of energy, I find that a little surprising. I suppose it's possible, but it just seems improbable.
- More issues with this Aura of Invulnerability crap. Supes just survived a plunge headlong into the fire pits of Apokolips, and his cape is only a little torn. I forget the exact measurement Helfer provided in a previous letter column (perhaps half an inch) but he specifically made the point that Superman's aura of invulnerability does not extend out to his cape, and, in MoS #1, Ma Kent even indicated that it would not protect loose fitting clothing.
- That unskilled Hunger Dog clumbed up on Darkseid's statue and recarved it to look like Superman with flawless ease in one very quick session!
- I'd love a poster of page 17. Jerry Ordway seemed to have suspect as much when he took the time to sign the page-long panel.
Plot synopsis in one ridiculously long sentence:
Superman survives the fire pits but is disoriented, the Hunger Dogs find him and take him to Amazing Grace, she sets him up to be their savior and courts him romantically, Superman leads them into battle against Darkseid, Darkseid ends up having been in control of Amazing Grace and hypnotizes Superman into betraying the Hunger Dogs, squelching the rebellion, as Darkseid had planned all along.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 17, 2014 11:41:34 GMT -5
Action Comics #586
"The Champion" (Legends chapter 19)
writer/pencils: John Byrne
inks: Dick Giordano
letters: John Costanza
colors: Tom Ziuko
editor: Andrew Helfer
grade: B
Whereas Byrne's previous entry in this storyline was a little too light on story, this final chapter in Superman's little arc within the larger Legends crossover spends entirely too much time trying to provide explanations for all that we should have been learning about over the past two issues. It's rather funny that, at the climax, Superman yells, "You talk too much!" while striking Darkseid by surprise, mid-monologue -- funny because Byrne has depended upon Darkseid providing such explanations all issue long -- entire pages of explanation to help us understand all that has transpired. Does that mean I get to sucker punch Byrne now?
Truly, the story has good momentum and is pretty entertaining aside from the excessive explanation. Though it is worth mentioning that, in spite of all the filling in of previous story gaps, we're still left with two big questions:
1. How did the firepit of Apokolips cause Superman to lose his memory? It's not like he hit his head and got a concussion. He fell through flames and came out relatively unscathed (minus one lightly burnt hand). It just doesn't make sense.
2. What in the world was Darkseid's reason for bringing Supes to Apokolips and setting this whole story arc in motion in the first place? The only explanation we're given is:
"When I brought Superman to Apokolips, it was to test his vaunted mettle. But he arrived in human guise -- and so, because I was then observed by the gadfly Phantom Stranger..." he changed his plans.
So wait...why? Why bring Superman there just to test his fortitude, especially when he already had a plan in place to take down all the heroes of Earth? And, when Superman sucker punches him in the end, and Darkseid automatically decides this means he was defeated and therefore must let Superman go out of honor, I'm extra lost. What the heck was the point of any of this? Did Darkseid have any true goal other than providing us with a three part story arc? Surely, with a plan to conquer all of Earth's heroes in motion, this was not a great time to randomly experiment with Superman, especially without any true plan in place to conquer or kill him.
I can connect the dots myself -- that Superman might have been too formidable an opponent on Earth, but if Darkseid could crush his morale, Supes could offer only token resistance as Darkseid's plans come to fruition. It's the most logical explanation, but Byrne does nothing to hint at this at all.
To reinstate a second running theme I see in these reviews (the first being that Wolfman isn't as good as he should be on these books), Wolfman, at his current levels of quality, could still do any one of these stories much better than Byrne.
Important details:
- The first experiment with giving Supes a new, cooler costume. This one was no more intended to last than the Krypton Man costume (in fact, it's gone before the issue concludes), but it's hard to deny it looks better than the conventional blue and red tights.
- So apparently being exposed to Kryptonite is not just lethal to Superman, it's also excruciatingly painful to the extent that Darkseid disrupting Superman's very atomic structure does not begin to compare to the sensation of Kryptonite.
minor details:
- Granny Goodness training Superman to be Darkseid's agent was kind of awesome
- Byrne's pencils are still stronger than usual in this installment
- Why did Darkseid need to convince Superman he was his son? He's managed to brainwash him even without this info, and it only provides an Achilles Heel to Darkseid's plan that even he anticipates.
- Orion's true face on page 13 didn't look all that abnormal to me -- just a little grody.
- Superman using Darkseid's omega beams on him (subtly foreshadowed in Superman #3) was pretty enjoyable.
All in all, a pretty good story with just far too much explanation and a few big unanswered questions.
Plot synopsis in one ridiculously long sentence:
Orion and Lightray are sent by Highfather to rescue Superman, Darkseid has convinced Superman that he is his son and must kill Orion for him, Orion stops Superman by revealing he is Darkseid's true son, Amazing Grace tries to seduce Lightray and fails, Orion uses Mother Box to return Superman's memory and make him forget about participating in the Hunger Dog massacre, Superman goes after Darkseid and beats him with a sucker punch, and apparently impressed by this for some reason (though he wasn't when Supes used his own Omega Beams against him!) Darkseid sends Superman home, and Darkseid and Orion agree to put their final battle off for another day (even though Darkseid's Omega Beams are currently depleted, making this a perfect opportunity for Orion).
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 17, 2014 11:41:49 GMT -5
Lois Lane (1986) #1
"When it Rains, God is Crying"
writer: Mindy Newell
artist: Gray Morrow
letters: Agustin Mas
colors: Joe Orlando
editor: Robert Greenberger
grade: C-
Technically, this should have been the first story reviewed in this thread, except that (as you'll see) there's some confusion as to whether or not this title even belongs in this thread.
The background: A story devoted to addressing the issue of missing children in America. Given three pages to address the reader directly, writer Mindy Newell takes the time to further the story's agenda about promoting awareness about missing children cases. No mention is ever made of continuity, the upcoming Superman reboot (this series concluded EXACTLY one month before Man of Steel #1), nor of anything other than the single minded cause of promoting awareness about missing children.
So, IS this story a part of the rebooted Superman universe?
WELL...YES: To quote editor Andy Helfer in the letter column to Adventures of Superman #425:
"Right, Rodger -- there IS a similarity between John Byrne's and Mindy Newell's handling of the Lois Lane character -- because the two writers are constantly checking with each other to make sure both remain consistent. Matter of fact, the response to the first Lois Lane mini-series was so positive that, as this is being written, Ms. Newell is hard at work at a NEW Lois Lane mini series. Keep an eye or two out for it!"
So Byrne was working with Newell to keep Lois' characterization consistent, AND (at least at one point) there were plans to do a second series clearly beyond the point that the Superman continuity had been rebooted.
WELL...NO: This story clearly follows a continuity already in progress and, while I'm not at all informed about the pre-Crisis Superman continuity, I'm assuming this is it, with Clark and Lana Lang (not at all consistent with Byrne's characterization) as already established co anchors for a televised news show, an extensive supporting cast at the Planet with whom I am not familiar, several recent events referenced (Lois botching a Middle East interview, Perry having some kind of health scare, a new City Desk editor on the job who has been butting heads with Lois), and a clear sense that these characters have worked for the Planet and known each other for much longer than their post-Crisis counterparts would even one year into the reboot.
WELL...KINDA': The final answer I'd wager is that this story is not in continuity yet is a critical influence on Byrne's post-Crisis reboot. Just as the critical characterization of the rebooted Lex Luthor was not Byrne's, this issue makes me suspect that the post-Crisis characterization of Lois I have enjoyed so much, as well as the idea of a non-clumsy, confident/bulky Clark Kent, and even the re-introduction of detective Bill Henderson, came from Newell and this story. We know from Helfer that Byrne was talking with Newell extensively, and there's even a character in this issue named "Byrnes". Seems to me that this story is important to be aware of when looking at post-Crisis Superman continuity, but it's not actually IN continuity.
Wow. So Byrne isn't responsible for the characterizations of Luthor, Lois, or even Clark. And yet he is the face of this reboot, receiving all the hype and credit. Just what part of the reboot IS Byrne's contribution beyond some truly sub-par storytelling??
minor details:
- Newell's characterization for Lois is based on a largely outdated portrayal of The Liberated Woman, in which Lois is headstrong and tries to be independent yet regularly depends upon the generosity, understanding, and support of men around her, particularly Bill Henderson. I do think Byrne does a better job with portraying Lois as strong and independent in MoS #2 than Newell does here.
- Newell's letter to the reader addresses us with the assumption that we are women in our early to mid 40s. I kid you not. Was this book explicitly marketed to social agencies with this target audience, or was this just a reflection of some level of narcissism on Newell's part?
- How in the world did they get Joe Orlando to do the colors for this book? Did Newell kidnap his kid??
- The phenomenon of missing children is widespread, regardless of race, color, creed, or socioeconomic background (you're welcome, Ms. Newell).
plot synopsis in one ridiculously long sentence:
Lois arrives at a crime scene where an abducted child's body has been found, the city desk editor buries the story and then attempts to have Lois turn it into a series feature in the lifestyle section, Lucy Lane is trying to reconnect with Lois with the help of Clark and Lana, but Lois is not interested, and Lois visits a missing children agency and gets involved in a specific case.
Truly an overly didactic story with a protagonist I want to respect but don't. Gray Morrow's art is nice to look at, and Newell is a pretty good writer when her characterizations aren't disappointing me. Still, this story couldn't do more to ram its message down our throats, and I find that irritating.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 17, 2014 11:46:10 GMT -5
Lois Lane (1986) #2
"Quicksand"
writer: Mindy Newell
art: Gray Morrow
Letters: Agustin Mas
colors: Joe Orlando
editor: Robert Greenberger
grade: n/a
This just isn't my kind of comic, so it isn't fair for me to grade it. It's not the genre (though I'll admit it's not a genre I generally read -- or can even label appropriately), but more that this Lois just isn't my kind of character. I seriously flipped to the end to see if this independent yet overly sensitive/vulnerable Lois ever attains any kind of new-found sense of strength/purpose, and she really doesn't. This isn't that kind of story, and Newell isn't that kind of writer. So I won't grade this badly; I'll just say it isn't for me.
So...does Byrne really owe his characterization of Lois to Mindy Newell? As much as Helfer claims they planned and discussed together, these feel like two entirely different Lois' to me, and I like Byrne's better.
Continuity wise, it becomes more obvious than ever that this is set in the pre-Crisis continuity. There's a long history of conflict revealed between Lois and Lana (apparently, the problem with the Middle East interview was that Lana scooped her, and this is again referred to as if it was actually portrayed in some pre-Crisis Superman story), and we see in this issue that Jimmy Olsen and Lucy Lane have been dating for years now. Clearly, this is not intended to be part of Byrne's rebooted continuity.
To be honest, I didn't bother to read most of this issue. Once it became clear that this was a pre-Crisis story and that Lois wasn't going to undergo any major evolution in characterization that might serve as some inspiration or template for Byrne, I decided not to waste more of my time. Perhaps, one day I'll pull this one out to read if I'm in the right mindset and more receptive to the kind of character and story Newell was trying to write. Again, I'm not sure she did it poorly. I think it's just so far out in left field from the kind of story I'm looking for when I delve into my Superman short boxes.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 17, 2014 11:46:57 GMT -5
Superman #4
"Bloodsport!"
writer/pencils: John Byrne
inks: Karl Kesel
colors: Anthony Tollin
letters: John Costanza
editors: Andy Helfer and Mike Carlin
grade: B+
Fair warning, folks. I'm actually going to praise Byrne on this one.
I'm truly impressed by all that Byrne pulled off in one 22 page story.
For one, he's updated the "Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen" concept (even bringing back the old logo), giving Jimmy the signal watch again and still having him pursue Lucy Lane (they've been dating for two years in new continuity) but also making Jimmy less goofy and decidedly more capable/heroic. In fact, it's Jimmy who stops Bloodsport in the end with his reporter instincts, succeeding where Superman's powers could not. Best yet, Byrne underplays this fact -- a choice that is unusual and impressive for Byrne considering the other stories he's written for this franchise thus far.
For another, I'm truly impressed by the no-holds-barred depiction of mass killing that Byrne lends to this story. Maybe this resonated more strongly for me in a post-Newtown shootings world, but Byrne's means for making this villain compelling depended less on making him the most dangerous villain Superman has faced yet (though he certainly adds some twists to make him a serious antagonist) and more upon portraying the grim reality of such antics. What begins as a run-of-the-mill opening with Lucy and Jimmy being present when a villain shows up and starts shooting truly caught me by surprise when, a moment later, we survey the aftermath, see dead hands extended from barricaded furniture, and learn that 25 innocents died. We usually don't see this when comic book villains show up to deliver a warning. I was moved.
Finally, there's the message at the end. Whereas all of Byrne's soap box rants up to this point have been so forced and simplistic as to be totally offensive, this one, about dealing with the psychological damage of the Vietnam War (especially for veterans and their loved ones) was damn powerful. Granted, Byrne could have used a little more tact when Superman refers to it as "that useless war," especially while there were many in America in 1987 still unwilling to accept that the war was over, nor that we'd lost. Still, those final panels were powerful, as raging, adrenalized (alleged) veteran is reduced to a crying, quivering mass upon coming face to face with the aspects of the war that are truly possessing him -- the guilt and the loss. For once, I think Byrne managed to be relatively sensitive and non-condescending in speaking out on an issue that didn't directly pertain to him.
Of course, Luthor had to be behind this one, as well. He really didn't belong in this story, but I suppose that, in order to present any kind of physical struggle for Superman in this issue, Bloodsport had to have Kryptonite and a high tech arsenol and, in order to make that believable, it had to come from Luthor.
Important details:
- Jimmy has the signal watch
- Jimmy Olsen and Lucy Lane have been dating for two years
- This is the first significant change up in creative teams since the reboot, with Karl Kessel replacing Terry Austin on inks (which had been planned from the start, as Helfer mentioned repeatedly in the letter columns), Anthony Tollin taking over on colors, and Mike Carlin stepping in to assist Helfer with editorial duties. I can't say I really notice any difference in this issue, though Byrne is drawing Superman's jaw a little too wide again.
- 1st appearance of Police Captain Maggie Sawyer
- Superman has infrared vision
- Whereas Andy Helfer had previously stated that Superman's physiology is identical to our own, a doctor operating on him in this issue refers to his physiology as alien and indicates that Superman cannot accept donor blood from a human. I did find it clever that the doctor used a small amount of the Kryptonite shot into Superman in order to operate on him.
- Superman can use his heat vision to ionize air enough as to disrupt electronic transmissions.
Minor details:
- Lucy works at Intercontinental Airlines, and it's strongly suggested that illegal activity goes on there
- Lucy's hair is now blonde. It was brown in Man of Steel #2 and dark brown/black in pre-Crisis continuity. Was dying/bleaching one's hair another color common in 1987? I'm guessing Tollin just wasn't paying attention.
- Byrne has fun with Superman's aura of invulnerability in this issue. Since Superman has become weakened, his suit can become tattered. You can tell he enjoyed penciling that first panel on page 16, with Supes barely pulling himself up amidst the wreckage, costume tattered, the shadowy figure of Bloodsport looming menacingly in the distance.
- So what was Luthor's plan here? We learned in Superman #1 that he doesn't want anyone but him killing Superman, and we learned in Adventure #426 that he doesn't want to kill Superman just yet anyway. What is Luthor's motivations towards Superman at this point, and what made him recruit an unstable man with a history of mental conditions to do it for him? Just like in the previous storyline (the Legends tie in) it feels as though Byrne uses motivation-less villains simply to create conflicts and stories for Superman.
plot synopsis in one ridiculously long sentence:
A mad masked Vietnam vet calling himself Bloodsport starts shooting up public establishments, threatening that people need to start living up to their potential and recreating the America he "and Mickey" fought for, Jimmy and Lucy are present at the first of these, Superman tracks down Bloodsport but discovers he can make weapons materialize at his command (including a Kryptonite dart gun), Superman is seriously wounded and taken to a hospital only to leave before having fully recovered, we learn (well, we really already knew) that Luthor was behind this but that Bloodsport has become unpredictable, Luthor sends his own soldiers to take Bloodsport down, Superman takes on Bloodsport again, and Jimmy is ultimately able to stop Bloodsport by bringing his wounded brother to see him, we learn that Bloodsport dodged the draft, his brother "Mickey" went in his place, and Mickey lost his arms and legs, driving Bloodsport into guilt-induced mental illness.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 17, 2014 12:04:23 GMT -5
Adventures of Superman #427
"Mind Games"
writer: Marv Wolfman
pencils: Jerry Ordway
letters: John Costanza
colors: Tom Ziuko
editors: Andy Helfer & Mike Carlin
grade: C+
Say what you will about the quality of a given issue of the early Post-Crisis Superman. I at least respect how much Byrne and Wolfman are trying to accomplish, never resting on the laurels of successfully rebooting a character and then drumming up a run of the mill conflict for the next issue. It's clear that extensive planning has occurred and that Byrne and Wolfman are tripping over themselves to get to all of it.
Thus, while this wasn't an exceptional issue by any extent, I like how much it tried to accomplish.
1. We have a focus on Superman's character. Much of the focus of this issue seems to be on the idea that it isn't superhuman abilities that make the rebooted Superman exceptional, but rather the mind controlling those powers that chooses to use them altruistically. It's a great read on the character, a great counterbalance to a drastically de-powered hero who gets his butt handed to him each issue, and a necessary exploration of Clark's internal character, which Byrne has largely ignored up to this point.
2. There's a great little nod to that early story in (the original) Superman #1 where Superman decides to intervene to stop war-mongering foreign dictators. Truly, Superman's involvement in international politics is an issue that's largely been ignored since the publication of that original story. As Supes even says in this issue:
"...if I were around in World War Two, I would have had to confront Hitler, or I'd be shirking my responsibilities."
I'd been bringing up the question of why Superman didn't consider getting involved in such altercations as early as Man of Steel #6, when he referred to witnessing the revolution in Zimbabwe. It's great to see Wolfman finally addressing it here, though it doesn't really get resolved. Superman's visit to Qurac gets side-tracked, and he never comes to a firm decision about the extent to which he should get involved in foreign affairs.
3. This is the first time an antagonist working against Superman is not somehow connected to Lex Luthor. It's becoming increasingly obvious that Wolfman is not permitted to do much with Lex Luthor (outrageous, since the concept for the character was his!) and so, while Luthor played a very minor role in Wolfman's first two stories, he's now introducing a new super secret antagonist working in the shadows to defeat Superman, much as Luthor does. It almost seems as if this was a last minute decision, and he introduced an organization where, he could go to his upcoming scripts and story ideas, white out "Lex Luthor," and replace the name with "The Circle." Of course, since I've never heard of the Circle until now, I'm assuming the concept doesn't last very long.
Important details:
- Suggested in this issue that Jor-El and Lara broke tradition and had physical relations, culminating in Kal-El's birth, rather than by growing him in a birthing matrix. It's possible this is not accurate since it's part of a memory that ultimately proves to be corrupted by the influence of "Prana." Certainly. this idea seems incongruous with what we saw in MoS #1, in which Lara is prudish and seemingly surprised by Jor-El's decision to physically embrace her in their final moment.
- 1st mention of "The Circle," depicted in cameo.
Minor details:
- Why do the soldiers and president of Qurac speak perfect English? I was ready to assume that Clark was worldly and spoke a number of languages until, later, in reaction to Prada's telepathic projections, Superman reflects:
"Still hear voices...insider me? Not in English...In no language I understand."
Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but I take that line to mean that Supes primarily speaks English. Otherwise, had he just spent the whole issue speaking Quraci, one would expect him to say "Not in English or Quraci..." Wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that anyone trying to communicate with him in Qurac speaks that language? Apparently, the native language of this clearly Middle Eastern Islamic country is English.
- Also surprising to see a Middle Eastern Islamic country in which some women are dressed in traditional hijabs to have a female soldier guarding the president. I suppose anything's possible, and they clearly refer to him as "President" as opposed to "Cleric" or any other such theocratic term. Perhaps Wolfman is trying hard to avoid making this country resemble any specific Middle Eastern nation too closely (though that president sure looks like Hussain to me).
- Who the heck is Synapse? Towards the end of the issue, Superman faces a delusion in which he is confronted by every major antagonist we've seen him confront yet. This is a rag-tag assortment (especially since we KNOW he's been fighting lots of other supervillains we just didn't see over the course of three years as Superman -- and where's Darkseid???) including Metallo, the first Bizarro (you know it's slim pickings with those one-hit wonders), Luthor, and Synapse. Okay, I checked everywhere online, and it seems like the only appearances this character ever made were in pre-Crisis Omega Men issues. What the heck is he doing in Superman's subconscious???
Plot synopsis in one ridiculously long sentence:
Superman goes to Qurac to make the president answer for the terrorist attacks in Metropolis, the president explains that he doesn't have control over the diverse terrorist groups in the country, confusing Superman as the answer doesn't prove as simple as he'd hoped, he is mentally attacked by "Prana," a cat-like being connecting to Superman's mind via his wife's abilities on behalf of "The Circle," a shadowy group of exceptional aliens or mutants (possibly both) who need to know if Superman is one of them and feel that knowing why he chooses to help people instead of rule over them is critical to answering that question, they throw a variety of illusions at Superman, pulling from his memories to test his true character and motivations, Prana dies from the effort, his wife swears revenge and fails too, and The Circle swears to continue seeking the truth about Superman and planning what to do with him if he isn't one of them.
Not a great story by any stretch of the imagination, but praise-worthy for its ambitions.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 17, 2014 12:04:53 GMT -5
Action Comics #587
"Cityscape!"
writer/pencils: John Byrne
inks: Dick Giordano
colors: Tom Ziuko
letters: John Costanza
editors: Andrew Helfer & Michael Carlin
grade: C
I can't take much more of Byrne's characterization of Superman. The character is slow on the uptake, quick to judge, and jumps to violence as a first resort once again in this issue. I find it hard to believe that, upon seeing rapidly expanding towers over the Gotham skyline, Superman's first inclination is to start punching them and, when Etrigan warns him to stop, Superman's first assumption is that Etrigan has turned evil again. Furthermore, much like the last two team-ups, Superman always seems like an utter chump, led around like an idiot by his team-up partner and asking stupid questions to prompt explanations that Byrne wants to convey in order to move the story forward. And seriously, how has a super-smart, college educated WRITER that even speaks Latin never heard of Morgan Le Fey??
I think this is more concerted effort on Byrne's part to de-power Superman and make him more real/human, but I don't ever want to see a Superman who is dumber than I am and lacks my level of wisdom. Clark isn't a simple farm boy imbued with super powers who needs to punch anything that doesn't fit into some overly simplified grasp of good and evil. He's frickin' Superman, and as Wolfman pointed out in the last issue of Adventures, Superman's greatest strength is his character.
Anyway, there isn't much else to this story -- just an attempt to promote the post-Crisis Demon (which I don't think this issue did all that well, though I did like the cameos of Randu and Harry -- delivered to the reader TWICE) and to give Byrne some fun things to draw (he certainly enjoyed Etrigan's transformation while plummeting on page 16). So that leaves the details to attend to...
Minor details:
- I've been surprised by the annual Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation reports at the back of this issue and the previous issue of Adventures. Apparently, Action's circ numbers for the past year averaged 189,000 and Adventures of Superman/Superman averaged 240,000. Now, bearing in mind that the most recent three issues for both would have significantly raised the average with hyped post-crisis sales, I have to imagine this means the pre-Crisis titles were selling significantly lower than those numbers (and, by the way, since there was a three month hiatus for both titles while Man of Steel was being published, that means the post-crisis numbers are having an even bigger impact upon the average). I'd always assumed that, before comics moved over exclusively to the direct market, they were selling in much larger numbers. When Action and Superman are in spinner racks in grocery, pharmacy, and stationary stores across the country, I have to assume the circ numbers will be astronomically larger than when just being sold in the direct market. Yet, assuming the pre-crisis circ numbers were more in the range of 150,000 each month, that's really only 3x more than the average Superman title sells now, yet readership has dropped tremendously. So were the Superman circ numbers in significant trouble when compared to other sales of the time period, or were sales numbers like this common in the late 1980s (before the speculator bubble took hold)?
- As the city first begins growing, both Jason Blood and Etrigan take time to comment that the city is almost too big for the shop and about to bust out of it, yet Byrne takes the lazy approach of depicting panels with empty space backgrounds (thus no shop depicted) and a perspective that seems far too large for the shop we'd just seen in those first panels.
- The expanding city that sucks human life by stabbing people in the chest is actually pretty cool. Wish Byrne had found a way to make this a concept that could come back -- an alien plague or something.
- So, if Jason Blood and his friends hadn't been the ones to trigger that mechanism on the antique sculpture that started this whole mess, and the shop keep had done it himself while exploring this new acquisition, there would have been no one to help Superman stop it, and the world would have been destroyed, with Superman stammering and soaked in human blood after trying to punch out all the towers? Yeah, I'd rather see that story.
- Wait. Etrigan and other magic users of similar ability can just go back in time and rewrite history whenever they feel like it? Why, then, is there ever a challenge for them? Why doesn't Etrigan go back further and have someone kill Morgan Le Fey as a baby?
- Sorry, John Byrne. Random denizens of the 12th Century carting off dead bodies do not speak courtly Elizabethan English. Actually, no one in the 12th Century does. They'd be speaking French or an early blending of Anglo and Saxon languages that certainly wouldn't have been courtly and proper, nor would it have come even close to what's depicted here. I love how Byrne and his stupid Superman think that using a bunch of "thou"s will suddenly make people understand him -- and it does!
- Does Jason Blood turn into Etrigan when he completes the rhyme or only two thirds into the rhyme? Make up your mind, Byrne.
- I can't stand illogical time travel stories. Superman solving the problem in the past does not magically whisk the same character back to an altered version of the present. He is still in the past with a different version of him in the revised present that will never need to go back in time, unless Etrigan somehow has a spell to counter this. Also, why is the revised Superman flying over Gotham in the revised present? His only reason for doing so in the first place was because he saw the towers that now do not exist (and never did exist) in the revised present.
Plot synopsis in one ridiculously long sentence:
Jason Blood and friends are in an antique shop (perhaps devoted specifically to magic artifacts??), Glenda is looking at an artifact that just came in and inadvertently triggers a mechanism that causes her to be turned into a rapidly expanding series of towers, the towers continue to attack other people and convert them into additional tower mass, Jason turns into Etrigan to try to stop it, Superman is flying over Earth after visiting the Russian space station and sees the towers, he decides to attack them, Etrigan gets in his way and shows him that, by doing so, Superman has mortally wounded people that were turned into parts of the tower, Etrigan casts a spell to send Superman back in time to stop the creation of the towers, he seeks out Jason Blood/Etrigan in the 12th Century, they take on Morgan Le Fey, Superman beats her with brute strength and absolutely no tact nor intellect, and this automatically fixes the future and sends Superman back to that point in time with no real explanation as to how.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 17, 2014 12:11:50 GMT -5
Superman #5
"The Mummy Strikes!"
writer/pencils: John Byrne
inks: Karl Kesel
colors: Tom Ziuko
letters: John Costanza
editor: Andrew Helfer & Michael Carlin
grade: C-
Superman's fist run-in with DOOMSDAY!
...well, not really. But you've got to admit the similarities are striking. I'm willing to bet this was an influence, intended or otherwise, for that character.
Beyond that, the only truly noteworthy aspect of this issue is it's Byrne's first real attempt to emphasize an attraction between Superman and Wonder Woman, delivered through a Superman sex fantasy -- pretty disturbing. Yeah, on the surface, it makes sense for there to be an allure between two similarly super-powered beings, but I think the real heart of it is that Byrne enjoys watching Superman sleep around with, and fantasize about sleeping around with, a ton of women. Take Amazing Grace, Cat Grant, and whatever the Hell is going to go down in Action #593 as clear examples of this. True, it makes total sense for Superman to have attraction for, and intrigue about, Wonder Woman, but I don't like emphasizing this. As said before, Clark and Lois are destined for each other. There is no more classic couple in comics.
And, beyond that, it again makes Superman too human and fallible. I want my Superman to be someone I look up to, not a horny guy with confused wet dreams. Abraham Lincoln had those feelings too, but we don't feel the need to explore them in his films and biographies. We depict him as the hero we want to see him as. Why can't Byrne do the same for Superman? De-power him to make things more complicated sure, give him doubts about certain things to create internal conflict as well, but don't de-hero him. He can't be an average Joe Schmoe, only with fantastic powers. That isn't Superman.
At any rate, I've read Action Comics #600 before (the culmination of this whole Superman/Wonder Woman thing) and already know the storyline doesn't pay off very well.
Important details:
- Once again reinforced is the idea that the general public does not suspect Superman has a secret identity since he does not wear a mask.
Minor details:
- Why in the world are Clark and Perry so concerned that Lois is having trouble transmitting a video feed? Happens all the time in real journalism. Furthermore, why would Perry feel its appropriate to send his other top reporter to solve the problem, especially when Lois outright states she's aware there's a problem and doesn't seem concerned about it? Doesn't the Daily Planet have people who can assist with this?
- Why was it so imperative to have Superman running around with 5 O'Clock shadow in this issue? Another attempt for Byrne to make him a regular kind of guy?
- I appreciate Byrne having Superman move into space and then re-enter as the Earth rotates beneath him as a means of getting to his destination faster. Smart usage of science.
- Clark really doesn't think. He shows up in another country, moments after having been sent there, with no excuse for how he did it, leaving Lois to deduct that Superman flew him there. How in the world is he going to keep a secret identity by being this stupid?
- Okay, so the professor and Lois had the cylindrical key from the ancient civilization all this time and were just sitting around, NOT using it, until Clark showed up so that they could demonstrate it for him??
- Though we didn't need it, Byrne provides a more scientific explanation for Superman's X-Ray vision than the penetrating beams shooting from his eyes we saw a lot in the Pre-Crisis (and even in Man of Steel #1). Byrne describes it in terms of Clark's eyes being able to receive X-ray spectrum reflected off of objects in much the same way normal eyes receive visual spectrum light. Not positive that explains how he sees through things, though. To be fair, I have no idea how an X-Ray machine works either. Do X-Rays travel through atoms and molecules in a way that the visual spectrum does not?
- Clark lost his glasses in the battle with the "mummy." Isn't Lois going to recognize him??
- At one point, the "mummy" is right on top of Clark as he refrains from dealing damage to it because he's unsure of whether it is a robot or a living being. I have news for you, Clark. Even without my X-Ray vision working, I can tell if something laying on top of me is alive. It's called checking to see if it's breathing and, considering that the two of you are fighting right now, it shouldn't be too hard to tell.
-Are we supposed to recognize this as being a previously established villain from DC's pre-Crisis, or is it a new nemesis? Once the bandages come off, it looks a bit like Validus (of Legion fame) crossed with a Manhunter.
Plot synopsis in one ridiculously long sentence:
Superman has a dream/fantasy about Wonder Woman, gets to work late and learns that Lois is in an unnamed South American nation with a big archaological find, but that there is electromagnetic disruption which ultimately breaks up her message, Perry sends Clark to investigate for some reason that escapes me, Clark flies over and sees that remnants of a cilvilization older than mankind and more advanced than modern day science has been unearthed, the professor who made the discovery inserts a cylindrical key into a hole, and a giant mummy monster comes out, Clark fights it without changing into Superman and gets his butt kicked. To be continued next issue.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 17, 2014 12:13:05 GMT -5
Adventures of Superman #428
"Personal Best"
writer: Marv Wolfman
art: Jerry Ordway
letters: John Costanza
colors: Tom Ziuko
editors: Andy Helfer & Mike Carlin
grade: C+
Once again, presumably given the constraints of having to avoid using Lex Luthor in this title, Wolfman works to expand the focus of the post-Crisis Superman franchise by doing the following:
Introducing Jerry White. What was it about the 1980s that made everyone want to portray troubled kids with bad attitudes that would whine that, "you don't know what it's like to grow up today?" Were 80s kids that much whinier than any other generation, or did writers just portray them that way in movies, TV, and comic books? Whatever the case, Jerry White absolutely rubs me the wrong way. Yes, his dad is detached (and I know we'll soon learn the reason for that), but I still don't see a single likable quality about the kid.
Introducing mobster Jay Falk. I'm assuming he'll end up in bars by the end of this storyline and not remain a major antagonist, but it's nice to see another villain that isn't Luthor.
Giving some rich characterization to Perry White. I'd always known him as the grumpy editor who always exclaimed "Great Caesar's Ghost!" (which Wolfman has him do this issue), but the primary focus of this issue is in depicting a different kind of Perry White. As Clark describes him:
"He's not a young man anymore, but he's just as idealistic as any cub reporter! Nobody can corrupt him! He's brutally fair, and sometimes that rubs people the wrong way. But Perry cares, and I'd rather work for him than anybody else. He has my trust...and my respect."
You've got to get behind a character like that, and Wolfman even manages to get me to empathize with White as he debates and debates endlessly about whether to report the truth or go back on all that he's said against mobster Jay Falk in order to save his son from mob execution. The idea that the TRUTH can mean as much to him as his son...what a powerful idea that could have absolutely faltered had it been portrayed less carefully. We easily could have lost all compassion for Perry in such a moment and easily seen him as a horrible father. And yet, when he swears, "The public trust must never be violated! NEVER!" I can't help but respect him.
Finally, this issue makes a highly conscious effort to rekindle the original concept of the Superman franchise -- a strong man using his power to promote social justice in a corrupt world where only a man who can fend off bullets can make a true difference. Really, this is an issue about a great man (Perry White) risking everything to fight social injustice and still needing an avenging angel to protect him and carry him to the final yard. Add to that the idea that news reporting can be the most viable and trustworthy form of social justice, as Perry and his staff have succeeded in gathering evidence where inept and/or corrupt police agents could not.
Yeah. I liked this idea.
Still, I can't say I loved the issue. I respected it, but I didn't enjoy it. Superman was kind of a non-entity in terms of characterization, Jerry annoyed me quite a bit, and this "back to his roots" Superman story purposefully lacked the imaginative fancy that I generally crave in these books. Essentially, I may respect the early Superman stories, but they're hardly my preferred guilty reading.
important details:
-1st appearance of Jerry White
-1st appearance of Bibbo Bibbowski
minor details:
- This is the second issue in which Superman casually tells a criminal complaining of what he's done to "sue me," and it comes up a third time when Superman visits Falk. Is Wolfman foreshadowing some future problem for the Man of Steel?
- The May Day massacre referred to in this issue, allegedly caused by the Qurac government, and involving the death of 496 Soviet citizens, does not appear to be real, though it definitely SOUNDS convincing.
- The sexual tension between Clark and Cat is really bugging me. What does Clark see in a gossip columnist with no apparent depth? When Clark discusses the ideals Perry lives by that he admires so much in this issue, Cat jokes about it and then comes on to him. I'd like to believe my Superman doesn't think predominantly with his male member. Once again, he's not supposed to be weaker/blinder than I am, and I chose the brilliant, kind-hearted brown haired girl on the other side of the room. Quite disappointing.
- Page 6, panel 3 -- Looks like Perry's gonna shove that cigar down the reporter's throat. Weird shot, Mr. Ordway.
- I swear I've seen that scene before where Superman dangles a criminal who won't talk somewhere high up, the criminal tells Superman that he knows he won't kill him, and Supes' reply is that he won't kill him, but he might be away saving others when he falls. This feels familiar -- perhaps from the old 1940s newspaper strips? Maybe it was a classic schtick for Supes back in the day?
- I'm a little lost by Superman's interaction with Bibbo in the bar. If a guy who just told me no one's going to tell me what I need to know for fear of repercussions offers to buy me a drink, my first assumption is going to be that he's going to tell me something, but Superman just brushes him off. If he wasn't trying to tell Supes something, then why include that otherwise random moment?
- And how did Supes later pass himself off as Bibbo so convincingly? Does he have the ability of voice mimicry? Better yet, how did he know Bibbo was professionally acquainted with the criminal he needed to pump info from? Bibbo was just another guy in the bar who wouldn't talk and offered to buy him a drink, so far as Supes seemed to know.
- A criminal has a gun to Jerry's head, and Superman hasn't a moment to spare, so he uses his heat vision to light the guy's pants on fire? Wouldn't the guy just fire the gun then? I mean, why not light the guy's trigger finger on fire instead???
- I'd always wondered when comics started putting their creative team credits under the final panel of the story instead of the first one (a pretty common practice now). This is the earliest instance I've ever seen of it.
plot synopsis in one ridiculously long sentence:
Superman dismantles the military of Qurac and gets unanimous international praise for it, Perry has been instrumental in helping to prosecute mobster Jay Falk in a trial now in progress, we meet Jerry White as he quits his former gang (The Cobras), he is abducted by mobsters and used to entice Perry to retract all that he has written about Falk, Perry can't decide what the right thing to do is, Clark overhears and intimidates Falk as Superman, ultimately grabbing one of his security guards to learn where Jerry is being held, a trail of informants leads Superman to rescue Jerry while Perry continues to debate and appears to be on the side of continuing to print the truth, Jerry is returned to Perry and walks out on him, criticizing him for loving the truth more than he loves Jerry.
Gotta love a story that ends with a pouty, over-dramatic, self-righteous punk with no redeeming qualities.
Yeah, that kinda' killed this issue for me. I wouldn't have minded if the brat had died and, if I recall, I'll ultimately get that wish fulfilled in a few years' time.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 17, 2014 12:13:40 GMT -5
Action Comics #588
"All Wars Must End, Part Two"
writer/pencils: John Byrne
inks: Dick Giordano
colors: Michelle Wolmman
letters: John Costanza
editors: Andrew Helfer & Michael Carlin
Superman created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster
grade: C+
Every time I read an issue of Action Comics from this era, I'm forced to consider the nature of the comic since Byrne writes it so differently than the Superman title. What I've finally decided about it is the following:
1. I love the idea of introducing us to the entire post-Crisis DC universe via these monthly team-ups with DC's flagship franchise.
2. I think it utterly defeats the purpose of #1 to have John Byrne writing these stories since it isn't truly giving us a taste of those comics; just those characters as according to John Byrne (and he isn't writing them well).
This time around, Byrne goes a little further to entice us to explore the larger DCU by making this part 2 of a four part crossover with the Hawkman title, but I can't say this installment made me all that curious for how the story got started nor how it all works out. Pretty predictable fare (though Byrne's art gets fun with the busy space combat backgrounds), and the characterization is entirely non-existent. Having never read the post-Crisis/pre-Hawkworld Carter and Shayara before, I was truly curious to get a sense for who they were, but I didn't get any kind of a read on them from this story. All they did was discuss plot points aloud and repeatedly call each other "Honey." Again, why was Byrne entrusted to introduce us to his version of these characters? I know John Byrne's name was selling books like mad at the time, but couldn't he have at least co-plotted with the actual writer of Hawkman??
Anyway, not much to tell about this relatively forgettable storyline (and I RARELY call interplanetary space war stories forgettable) in which it takes most of the issue for Hawkman and Hawkwoman to decide to use a deus et machina device they apparently always knew the ship they are piloting had (and yet they never thought to use it until now) to make all the ships of the attacking fleet blast off millions of miles away from Earth, never to return. And, even then, the decision to utilize it is unnecessarily drawn out and dramatic.
Really, it wasn't worth it.
Important details:
- We're reminded that Superman has the ability to make anything he touches while flying similarly defy gravity, although I'm not sure such an ability should have helped Superman to get the Thanagarian ship back on course since they were largely outside of the gravitational pull of the moon at the time. No indication has been given that Superman has any force or velocity associated with his flight ability -- just that he can defy gravity.
- We're also reminded that Superman cannot breathe in space.
- We learn that Superman can hold his breath for about an hour, even when engaging in intensely physical activity.
- As hinted by Andy Helfer in an earlier letter column, Superman cannot fly anywhere near the speed of light. I'm still not sure how he can fly in space at all based upon what we know of his ability, but it's clear that he cannot keep up with a star ship moving at high speed from the Earth to the moon.
Minor details:
- Apparently, one can have heroes say "Hell" in comics now and depict Hawkman strangling Hawkwoman to death (though it proves to be an imposter). I guess the Comics Code had really slackened by this point.
- I've never been comfortable with the fact that the name of the franchise is "Hawkman," and thus the cover simply says "Superman & Hawkman" with Shayara clearly equally present (and, even beyond the franchise name, would you only say "Superman and Batman" if Robin was also on the cover?). Fortunately, the story itself gives Shayara clear independence and a lot of attention.
Plot synopsis in one long sentence:
Hawkman and Hawkwoman summon Superman to help them fend off a Thanagarian invasion of the Earth that is about to commence (continued from Hawkman #10), Supes goes with them to the moon, he starts taking on the attacking ships, Hawkman and Hawkwoman activate the "Overlord" system which causes all the Thanagarian ships to blast off, a mysterious signal takes control of their ship, putting them on a collision course with the sun, and Superman appears knocked out and drifting in space (presumably from the "Overlord" system's activation).
(To be continued in Hawkman #11 and Action # 589)
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 17, 2014 12:24:14 GMT -5
Superman #6 "The Last Five Hundred" writer/pencils: John Byrne inks: Karl Kesel colors: Tom Ziuko letters: John Costanza editors: Michael Carlin & Andrew Helfer grade: C+ On the one hand, this issue was kind of fun. Byrne was quite playful with timing and revelations, especially page two, where we flashback to a single panel page of Lois discovering Clark's Superman outfit that morning (Don't worry. It all worked out for Clark in the end). On the other, this was another stupid stupid story full of ridiculous plot holes, last minute solutions, and blind dumb luck. Having Superman repeatedly say stuff like, "this really shouldn't work, but let's see..." and, "I can't believe that actually worked," doesn't excuse the hokeyness; it just proves that Byrne knows what crap he's writing and is lazily trying to excuse it through tongue and cheek self-awareness. Maybe this plot, in which an ancient non-human race takes over human minds in order to rule the planet, would have worked well in the Silver Age, but it plays off badly here, especially when Superman's final means of destroying them is a crap-shoot that he couldn't have possibly expected to work. In short, this is just a truly silly story. Fortunately, it at least gives us another break from Luthor, whom we haven't heard from since Superman #4 (and even that was a cameo). One other cameo aside (Adventures of Superman #425), we haven't seen him since Superman #2. Four months (12 issues) without Luthor makes for a nice change of pace. I suppose we should be asking ourselves what he's been doing in that down time. Of course, I still don't understand his motivations at this point at all. We know he already has the ability to kill Supes, and that he doesn't seem to be toying with him out of amusement at this point. Oh well. I'm sure Byrne will force-feed it to us sooner or later. important details: -Clark keeps his Superman outfit in a pouch in his "leggings" (is that Canadian for "socks"?). Apparently, he does not wear the uniform under his clothing. I wonder why. And does this mean that, in those few instances where we've seen him racing through stairwells while changing at super speed, he was naked for a brief moment? We know this Superman doesn't move at anywhere near the speed of light, so that's...awkward. -1st appearance of the H'V'Ler'N race and The Host. They are all presumably killed/destroyed in this issue. Of course, Byrne has left the possibility open that there are more H'V'Ler'N out there in space. I wonder if he plans to go somewhere with that. minor details: -We're told in this issue that the H'V'Ler'N race slumbered with the intent to awaken when society had reached a suitable level of technological progress and are told that this is why they have awakened, yet just last issue we saw that the cause of their awakening was the professor utilizing their cylindrical key. Was the idea that only a suitably advanced race would know how to use the key, or did Byrne just change his mind about why they awoke? This requires more explanation. -Why do all the conversations amongst the H'V'Ler'N within The Host body need to be broadcasted for all nearby to hear? Wouldn't it make sense for them to be able to communicate with each other internally, especially within a machine so complex that it can store 500 individual H'V'Ler'N intellects? -Going along with this, as always, why do Byrne's alien races speak English? Superman overhears conversations that clearly weren't meant for his ears several times in this story, so they weren't translating into English for his sake. They seem to just happen to have 20th Century American English dialect as their native tongue. - When did Superman find the time to shave between defeating the H'V'Ler'N and rescuing Lois? Last issue, he couldn't shave because he was late for work, but he'll leave Lois unconscious in the middle of a heavily populated battle scene full or crumbling buildings to fly back to his apartment, pull out a piece of his birth matrix, and then shave off individual hairs from his face with his heat vision reflecting off of the birth matrix surface before retrieving Lois and ensuring she's safe? And all so that she doesn't recognize that he and Clark Kent both had stubble that day?  - Doesn't Superman feel any moral responsibility for the deaths of all 500 surviving H'V'Ler'N? He'd only met the most aggressive of that race, and yet had inadvertently caused the death of all 500. In Wolfman's run in Adventures of Superman, he weighs heavily the moral ambiguity of taking down a terrorist nation and is careful not to kill any of Qurac's SOLDIERS, yet he just killed the only 500 civilian survivors of an entire race without a second thought. Not all of them were necessarily trying to take over the Earth. - Speaking of which, what ever became of that laboratory floating in Earth's orbit with all of Superman's secrets within it? Has Byrne forgotten about this? If I were Superman, I would have gotten back there as soon as possible after Superman #1 and destroyed the place. plot synopsis in one ridiculously long sentence: While fighting The Host, a giant robot, Superman flashes back to the aftermath of his having been rescued by Lois and the Professor last issue, Lois has discovered his Superman outfit, Superman panics but then quickly realizes that their minds have been taken over by foreign consciousnesses, one is attracted to him and explains the entire back story, in which an advanced race from before the dawn of man was ravaged by a plague and, after most left for space, 500 preserved their minds in The Host and slumbered until mankind reached the appropriate technological level to be worth conquering, and Superman defeats them by baiting them into fighting over who would take over his body, which somehow causes The Host to blow up, presumably killing them all. A fun issue at times, but I expect a higher level of intelligence than this from a Copper (or even Bronze) age story. This kind of stuff stopped cutting it as soon as Stan Lee stepped back from writing in order to be an editor at Marvel. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 17, 2014 12:24:31 GMT -5
Adventures of Superman #429
"Old Ties"
writer: Marv Wolfman
art: Jerry Ordway
letters: Albert De Guzman
colors: Tom Ziuko
editors: Andy Helfer & Mike Carlin
created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster
grade: B
Marv Wolfman: So it's agreed that we'll both emphasize that the post-Crisis Superman is de-powered?
John Byrne: Absolutely. How will we do this, though?
Wolfman: Well I figure I'll show him weighing philosophical issues in regard to his mission and responsibilities, maybe show the toll it takes on his personal life at the same time.
Byrne: Oh. I'm just gonna have him seem dumb and try to screw a lot of women.
I have no evidence that this discussion actually occurred, but it sure seems spot on.
Truly, what Wolfman does best in this issue is manage to make the external conflict secondary to the emotional and philosophical conflicts waging in Superman's mind. We begin with a powerful scenerio in which Superman must choose between saving the lives of 500 aboard an airplane about to crash into downtown Metropolis and the lives of everyone that the plane would hit, ultimately finding the inner strength to save both at the last moment. It's pretty powerful drama for the big blue cheese, and I was positively hooked for a moment there.
But it didn't end there. We have Clark truly bumbling over himself on how to react to Cat Grant's advances, Clark misusing his Superman identity to help Cat for the wrong reasons and suspecting as much, Superman truly messing up this morally questionable mission to the point that the young boy he's trying to "rescue" fears him to the extent that Superman has to call the police rather than take him to a hospital himself, and ends with Superman finally asking the question that Byrne tried to speed over in Man of Steel #6 -- Is Clark Kent the "true" identity, or is Superman?
In the end, I was very impressed by this issue, but I can't say I truly enjoyed it. I don't like Cat Grant, I found the situation Superman had placed himself in so awkward and wrong that it made me uncomfortable, and the conflict with Concussion wasn't all that interesting to me. I really really respect what Wolfman is trying to do, and this was certainly one of his better issues thus far, but I'm still not having much fun while reading these.
important details:
- Return of The Circle
-1st appearance of Concussion.
- First kiss between Clark and Cat Grant
- First appearance of Adam Morgan and the revelation that he is Cat's son.
- Implied that Superman has advanced intelligence and an understanding of advanced technology since he is able to install an energy dampener in the prison at the end of the issue to keep Concussion in check.
minor details:
- If Superman can extend his ability to defy gravity to whatever he carries while flying, why couldn't he just fly the falling airliner indefinitely until he reached an open field outside of Metropolis? In the very last issue of Action Comics, he flew an entire spaceship with this ability. Surely, he can handle a 500 passenger plane. After all, it's a product of his flying ability, NOT his more limited post-Crisis Super Strength (though Wolfman and Ordway imply that they see it otherwise).
- The entire plot of an alien race that has been in hiding on Earth for countless ages, waiting to take over is exactly the same as was used by Byrne in the most recent issue of Superman. How could Byrne and Wolfman both be writing the same story at the same time, and why aren't Helfer or Carlin calling them out on this? Surely, someone is inadvertently ripping off someone else.
- Apparently, The Circle has political connections, as someone is already pulling strings to get Concussion let out of jail (which seems like a pretty hard thing to do since he's a giant super powered menace who many witnessed take out the side of a building!). But why aren't Superman and Detective Henderson at all surprised that someone is trying to get Concussion out? Why isn't Superman at all concerned about "The Circle" that Concussion referred to while attacking him?
Plot synopsis in one ridiculously long sentence:
Superman barely saves a plummeting plane from crashing into Metropolis (which was presumably fired upon by Quraci terrorists), Cat Grant shows up at Clark's apartment and coerces him to go on a weekend ski trip with her, they kiss, he tries to rebuff her, she learns that her ex-lover is being tried for connections with the mafia, she explains to Clark that he has full custody of her 5 year old son and is worried for him, Clark decides to visit the father as Superman to petition for custody rights, the ex-lover questions Superman's motives and the son fears that Superman is trying to take him away from his father, Concussion, an agent of The Circle that tried to learn more about Superman last issue, attacks him out of vengeance for the death of Prana last issue, Adam and his father are hurt in the conflict, Superman defeats Concussion but is forced to question his motives and actions when Adam and his father have been hurt by Superman's presence and are afraid to let him take them to the hospital, Concussion is placed in a special prison cell, and Superman overhears Cat finally reuniting with Adam while he recovers in the hospital, comforted that good did come of his actions, even while he continues to second guess his motives and decides to go to Ma and Pa Kent for advice.
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
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Post by shaxper on Jun 17, 2014 12:41:22 GMT -5
Action Comics #589 "Green on Green" writer/penciler: John Byrne inks: Dick Giordano colors: Tom Ziuko letters: John Costanza editors: Michael Carlin & Andrew Helfer Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster grade: C I'd been beginning to ask myself what the point of following Byrne's Action Comics was. In writing these review threads, I often take for granted the concept that readers could choose not to follow all the related titles of a comic book franchise; yet, were I reading Superman in 1987, I would have dropped this title in a heartbeat since it's just poorly written team-ups and doesn't appear at all interested in the larger Superman continuity. And then I read this issue, and it surprised me. Whereas the previous Action Comics stories (aside from the Legends crossover) were all written as stand-alones, this issue works hard to consciously reference two of the four previous Action Comics stories, continuing from where Superman was left at the end of the previous issue (even though that was an entirely different story and team-up), and battling a threat to Earth inadvertently created when Superman teamed up with the Phantom Stranger back in Action #585. In short, though Byrne is writing two out of three Superman titles and is presumably involved in the overall shape of the third, he's writing Action as a self-contained title, referencing only its own events and working carefully to develop its own character. It's an interesting experiment, and I'm curious to see where it goes. It's at least nice to now have the feeling that these aren't throw-away stories, good for nothing more than plugging another DC franchise. That being said, this was a pretty stupid issue, in which Superman and a portion of the Green Lantern Corps fight off some oversized space bacteria that somehow grew from the magically enriched Earth/mud and graveyard bodies Superman flung into space a while back. How any of this makes sense is beyond me, the ending is absurdly predictable, and the GL Corps is characterized poorly and simplistically, but at least Superman doesn't come off like a useless moron for once this time. He's actually so useful that he often makes the Corps seem pointless in this altercation. I guess it's hard to get that balance right in a team-up title? Important details: - Whereas the earliest issues of each of the post-Crisis Superman titles made efforts create a sense of cross-title continuity (most notable in my mind being Clark receiving a phone call in Adventures of Superman #424 that directly led to the events of Action Comics #584), all three Superman titles now appear to be focused upon their own internal continuities, neither contradicting each other nor intersecting or referencing one another. This issue would have been a perfect opportunity for Superman to reflect upon the laboratory he launched into Earth's orbit as another potential problem he threw into space and simply forgot about that may come back to haunt him later, but Byrne avoids making this connection, presumably since it took place in the pages of Superman. -Once again, Superman's "aura of weightlessness" concept appears to be countermanded, as the space bacteria have grown too large for Superman to fly them into the sun. In past issues, it was explained that whatever Superman held while flying gained his natural ability to defy gravity. Add to that both the fact that he is in weightless space while having this supposed problem and that Superman pushed an entire Thanagarian spaceship through space using this same ability JUST LAST ISSUE, but no: "When I lifted this thing off Earth it weighed only a few thousand tons. Swollen with mutant life as it is now, it's far beyond my power to move." Minor details: - Pretty lucky that Arisia just happened to find Superman out in the vast void of deep space. After all, the guy can only hold his breath for an hour while conscious. Truly, what were his chances of survival, floating in space while unconscious? Artistic license, suspension of disbelief, and all that, I suppose. Another term for this is "crap writing," of course. - How do all of these Green Lantern Corps members already know who Superman is? I can accept that Hal Jordan and John Stewart might be familiar with him by now, but Arisia and Kilowag know him at a glance. Did they meet in Legends? Has Superman already done enough for them to know him by reputation alone? - Okay, my knowledge of early post-Crisis GL Corps is lacking here. Upon meeting this team, Superman exclaims, "You're ALL here -- All the Earth-based members of the Green Lantern Corps." So the Corps has assigned SIX members to protect only Earth??? I mean, it already has a ton of superheroes, whereas there are tons of inhabited worlds out there that don't have any. - Another knowledge gap: Where's Guy Gardner? Does his being a member of the Justice League excuse him from regular Corps duties or something? - Okay, okay. Let's accept the fact that the Oans, in their infinite wisdom, have assigned six GL Corps members to guard nothing but Earth. HOW THE HELL DID THEY ALL MISS THE GIANT INVASION FLEET ABOUT TO ATTACK EARTH JUST LAST ISSUE? When Superman mentions it, they check their scanners for the first time, and seem totally confused by the idea. - Now let's make sense of this enormous bacterial infestation that grew out of the chunk of Earth Superman hurled into space a few issues back. So, harmless bacteria in the soil Superman flung into the Sun's orbit, affected both by magic in Action #585 and the sun's radiation, somehow resulted in giant space bacteria. Even accepting that ludicrous premise, there's the little problem that bacteria require air to survive. Surely, Byrne offers some crap about the bunch of earth Superman flung into space having its own atmosphere, but it truly was about the size of a city block back in Action #585, and even appears that size again in the brief flashback provided in this issue. This just doesn't work at all. Still, I like the concept of an antagonist that is entirely amoral and without consciousness. Very sci-fi spooky if done correctly. It wasn't, of course, but it was still a nice try. - Byrne just had to play up the yellow weakness bit, didn't he. Way to promote a franchise by bringing up its stupidist facet, over-emphasizing it in a stupid way, and then making the heroes look marginally intelligent by circumventing it. - Okay, all the Corps members joining their rings together, while Salak proclaims "Beam power increased by twenty percent!!" felt a little too Voltron for me. plot synopsis in one ridiculously long sentence: Arisia of the Green Lantern Corps conveniently finds Superman floating in space in the aftermath of the previous issue, she rescues him and brings him back to the "temporary space citadel" of the GL Corps members assigned to Earth, he learns that the invading Thanagarian fleet was thwarted, meets the intelligent space worms for which the GL Corps members are seeking a new planet, discovers that a giant space organism is approaching the Earth, discovers along with the Corps members that its a collection of mutated space bacteria, they all face the defense mechanisms of the bacteria, they realize it came from the clump of magically enhanced earth that Superman launched into space in Action #585, use their combined rings and will power to push it to an area of space where it is frozen and sterilized, use GL technology to create a new atmosphere for the chunk of earth, and then make it the new home of the intelligent space worms from the beginning of the issue. |
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