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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2016 21:29:45 GMT -5
Wasn't he supposed to be starting the Titans OGN Games with Wolfman at this point (the one that never got released at the time and was only finally put in print a couple of years back)? -M Wolfman claims '87 or '88 in his introduction to Games. Hmm, I first heard it mentioned in the fan press (probably CBG or Amazing Heroes)when he came back to Titans around issue 50 or so for the Wonder Girl origin revamp as the reason he was going to leave the title again after Lonely Place of Dying. But then my memories are fuzzy. -M |
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Post by shaxper on May 3, 2016 21:31:47 GMT -5
Wolfman claims '87 or '88 in his introduction to Games. Hmm, I first heard it mentioned in the fan press (probably CBG or Amazing Heroes)when he came back to Titans around issue 50 or so for the Wonder Girl origin revamp as the reason he was going to leave the title again after Lonely Place of Dying. But then my memories are fuzzy. -M Your memories need not be incorrect. Wolfman explains that it was an on and off discussion over a long period of time. It began in '87 or '88 but may not have amounted to anything worth announcing until '89. |
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Post by shaxper on Jun 8, 2016 8:45:44 GMT -5
Action Comics #646  "Burial Ground" script: Roger Stern guest plot/pencils: Keith Giffen inks: Dennis Janke letters: Bill Oakley colors: Glenn Whitmore assoc. editor: Jon Peterson editor: Mike Carlin grade: B While once intended to be the creative anchor behind a new direction for the Superman franchise, we've seen less and less from Perez in recent issues, and in this one he is totally absent, Keith Giffen filling in instead. We've debated in this thread whether Perez's failure to launch was due to health issues or overcommitment to other projects, and the explanation given in the letter column of this issue is pneumonia. Whatever the case, when Perez returns next month, it's in a far more limited capacity, no longer plotting for any of the titles and only providing the layouts for Action Comics while Kerry Gammil and Brett Breeding do the rest for him. Even his covers during this time are less than inspiring. And, eight months from now, he waves goodbye. I wonder how fundamentally different the "Triangle Era" of Superman would have been had Perez stuck around. Whatever the case, the team that ends up staying will go on to do a bangup job once they aren't waiting for someone else to lead them anymore. Up until now, Ordway, Jurgens, and Stern have been living in the shadows of first Byrne and now Perez. Right around the time Perez finally leaves, the Post-Crisis Superman franchise finally begins to hit its stride after four years of rough starts. Coincidence? I'm not blaming Perez, mind you. I'm arguing that the creative teams in place couldn't truly shine while they were trying to follow someone else's vision, especially when that person was severely midguided (Byrne) or not a regular presence (Perez). Anyway, on to the story itself. We have a page of flashbacks catching us up on much of what has transpired in the title over the past few months (Cleric, The Eradicator Device, Matrix, and Jimmy's elasticity), a page recapping what's been going on with Brainiac and setting up the forthcoming Brainiac Trilogy, and the rest is space for Giffen to tell whatever story he wants in this guest outing. He has fun.  It's a totally brainless "action comic" in which Superman battles a giant space worm, but Giffen really brings his best to the fight. Just check out this page:  He also has fun with light symbolism, as when the creature first arrives on our planet 300 million years earlier, the passing of time and its enduring presence are marked by a single stone (that somehow never erodes):  and, when Superman goes to town on the creature  he destroys what time and nature could not  Don't look for any deeper meaning than that. This was a very surface story where Giffen just seemed to have a lot of fun with the art. Considering his work on Justice League right now, where he plots and does breakdowns, it must have been a satisfying change of pace to get to actually finish the art on this story. Minor details: - Though Superman originally checked to ensure that The Eradicator Device was safely encased before abandoning it in the Arctic, his fight with the space worm causes the casing to get damaged, and Superman does not go back to check again. - Stern and/or Giffen are very meticulous with their details in this story. The space worm doesn't come out JUST when Superman happens to be there. It had destroyed an automated research station and gone underground, so there's no telling how long it had been active before Superman stumbled upon it. Also, when Superman tells the officials who arrive that he wants to be briefed on what they learn from the monster's autopsy, he also explicitly tells them how to reach him (via The Daily Planet). It's a minor thing to most, but I really respect when writers don't rely upon lazy conveniences in their stories. - It's also important to note that Superman gets to end this story as an untarnished hero once again. He recognizes that the worm cannot be allowed to continue to exist on Earth but, with no other options available to him, accidentally destroys it in self defence before he can decide what else to do with it. This team, Post-Byrne, is being very careful to keep Superman unfailingly upstanding. plot synopsis: 300 million years earlier, an alien race dumps something on Earth that has been eating up all their nitrogen, explaining that it has entered a dormant stage. Fast forward to the present where Superman has just buried the Eradicator Device, he discovers a large ditch in the ground and, ultimately, the space worm that was dumped 300 million years earlier. After a long slugfest, Superman accidentally blows it up when he uses his heat vision to irritate it from the inside, and (unbeknownst to him) the Eradicator Device is freed from its protective casing during the explosion.Simple story that delivers on the promise of the title "Action Comics," and while I'm generally not someone who craves slugfests, this one was remarkably well done, and I respect the pains the creative team went to in order to avoid conveniences and deliver a character who behaves like the Superman I've always known and believed in. |
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Post by shaxper on Jun 8, 2016 11:05:15 GMT -5
Superman #37  writer/pencils: Jerry Ordway inks: Dennis Janke letters: John Costanza assoc. editor: Jon Peterson editor: Mike Carlin grade: C- Once again, the Superman franchise feels like it's stuck in neutral, working furiously to rehash old continuity without really getting anything new and exciting started in contrast. Worse yet, this issue goes beyond the need of reminding us of all the loose continuity points still out there and being addressed (at the speed of an inebriated turtle) and dredges up some old resolved plot points that no one really needed to see the return of. I could care less about Jose Delgado at this point, about Project Cadmus and the Newsboy Legion (the least interesting element of Kirby's Fourth World, in my opinion), and we even got this little bit of foreshadowing:  I had to go back and look it up. With all the plot points Byrne left unresolved after his abrupt departure, Ordway wants to go back and dredge up a plot point from a totally forgettable filler story that was published over a year ago? In short, absolutely nothing that occurs in this issue or that is suggested to be coming up in future issues interests me in the slightest. It's a good thing I know that these titles start to pick up in a major way less than a year from now. Important Details: - Jimmy Olsen is from "Bakerline". We're told that he has a driver's permit. The writers have been evasive about Jimmy's age all along, but we can surmise here that he's at least sixteen (the minimum age for earning a learner's permit in New York, both the city that Metropolis is based upon and the home of DC Comics and its staff at the time). - Jimmy is told the cure that he is administered for his elasticity will take a few years to run its course. Looks like Ordway's leaving the door open for Jimmy to learn some control over his slowly diminishing condition and make a few Elastic Lad appearances. Fortunately, I don't think that ever got revisited. Minor Details:- The cover is an homage to Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #133:  but, more than that, it's an homage to the entire storyline contained in that issue, as it revisits The Wild Area from that storyline and references many of the visuals and facts pertaining to that region that we first encountered in that story. - It's also interesting that, for once, a cover in which Jimmy or Superman turns on the other was not a trick/gimmick. Jimmy really does try to gun down Superman in this story:  - I was incredibly displeased with Ordway's handling of Lois Lane. She's supposed to be strong, independent, and unflappable except in the most dire of circumstances. So it's troubling to see her reduced to an emotional wreck just because she broke things off with Jose Delgado (who we haven't even been thinking about since before the Exile storyline nearly a year ago!):  She spent most of the scene crying, and that final panel just took the cake. This is not Lois; this is a bad female stereotype. - Dennis Janke really gave it his all on that title page. Easily the best part of the issue (actually, it was probably the only good part):  Plot synopsis: Superman takes Jimmy to Project Cadmus against his will in order to get cured, Jimmy is resenting Superman for infecting him with the Eradicator Device in the first place, Lois breaks up with Jose DelGado and he tries to stop an armed bank heist in order to redeem himself, later resenting being rescued by Superman, Jimmy is having hallucinations in which he is being called back to the Middle East in order to revisit the entirely forgettable events of Adventures of Superman #443, the Newsboy Legion is feeling cooped up at Cadmus and decides to break out with Jimmy Olsen so that he can drive the Whiz Wagon and buy them movie tickets, Guardian allows them to go for unexplained reasons, and Superman stops them, but not before Jimmy orders the Whiz Wagon to attack him, making for an awkward/unsettling reunion by the close. So what was the point of this issue? Your guess is as good as mine. |
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Post by shaxper on Jun 8, 2016 13:41:38 GMT -5
The Adventures of Superman #460  "Be It Ever So Deadly" writer/pencils: Dan Jurgens finished inks: Andy Kubert (does that mean Jurgens did some inking?) letters: Albert Deguzman colors: Glenn Whitmore assoc. editor: Jonathan Peterson editor: Mike Carlin grade: B+ Not too long ago in Action Comics Annual #2, Perez laid out a plan for the three Superman titles in which Adventures of Superman would focus on Clark and the Daily Planet, and Action Comics would focus on Clark's Kryptonian heritage. Instead, this issue does an impressive job of tackling both, with Clark heavily considering the repercussions of his Kryptonian heritage on his human life:  Note Lois, of all people, second guessing Superman. The issue goes on to spend a lot of time having Clark reflect on the two worlds he is a part of, and it also watches those two worlds both putting plans in place for him. Rival publisher Collin Thornton has big plans for Clark, but beyond even the welcome new plot point (we're not just rehashing old storylines for once!) I like how his interest in Clark allows Jurgens to define his persona a bit better. Clark isn't just a second identity. While Carlin/Wolfman/Byrne's original concept of Clark being the real person and Superman being the facade has largely gone by the wayside at this point, we clearly see in this story that BOTH personas are real in some sense. Clark and Superman are both true, authentic dimensions of one thinking/feeling being. Anyway, here's the insight we get about Clark's character from Thornton:  It's nice to know that he isn't just a big time journalist because he gets the scoop on Superman; his personality comes across in his writing and truly makes him something unique. And, of course, Clark's Kryptonian world has plans for him too. This new (I presume) Fortress of Solitude built by The Eradicator is visually quite interesting:   and The Eradicator's plans to remake Earth in Krypton's image sets another compelling new plot in motion. I'm still a bit surprised at how fast The Eradicator turned "bad" after Cleric spent so long convincing Superman and us that this former weapon had evolved into something more spiritual and meaningful, but it still makes for a good story. Important Details:- 1st appearance of rival publisher Collin Thornton. He met Lois Lane at a party "several years ago" and something bad went down between Thornton and Perry White in 1977, leaving Perry to assume that Thornton's going after Clark is a means of enacting revenge. - We're given the full origin of The Eradicator Device, which I have now added to The Post Crisis Superman Timeline: Minor Details:- Waaaaay back in Adventures of Superman #429, Superman installed an energy dampener in a prison cell on the fly in order to keep a super powered villain in check. I'd always inferred from this that, in addition to having enhanced versions of most physical human abilities, Superman was also super smart and had a natural talent for advanced technology. That was certainly true in the Pre-Crisis. Well, upon finding The Eradicator's fortress in the Antarctic, he's able to surmise that part of it is a solar energy collector but is at a total loss for the rest. Hard to determine whether this means the technology is so advanced that it's beyond even Superman or that Jurgens is unaware that Superman is supposed to be super technologically advanced. - Early on in the Post-Crisis relaunch, there was a conscious effort made to only have Mike Mignola draw scenes that took place on Krypton. That eventually fell by the wayside, but Jurgens and Kubert look like they're trying to invoke Mignola's style during the Krypton flashback:  It looks more like Mignola's Post-DC style as opposed to anything he drew for the Superman books, but it's a nice nod all the same. Plot synopsis in one sentence: Collin Thornton is headhunting Clark while Clark deals with the guilt of what has happened to Jimmy, and he starts to hallucinate images of The Eradicator Device and realizes it is still a threat, heading to the Antarctic to see what has happened (and briefly stopping to neutralize an illegal whaling ship), while Thornton and Perry have it out about Thornton wanting Clark. Superman gets to Antarctica to discover an elaborate fortress built by The Eradicator Device, pulling equipment through some sort of portal to another dimension, and the Eradicator Device reveals its partial origin to Superman, having been built by his ancestor. However, it will not listen to Superman and, when he tries to stop it, it neutralizes him. He then appears back at The Daily Planet as Clark Kent, seemingly with no memory of having been in Antarctica trying to stop The Eradicator Device. |
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Post by Action Ace on Jun 8, 2016 15:16:31 GMT -5
Three in one day! Someone get this man a cold drink.  |
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Post by shaxper on Jun 8, 2016 17:45:10 GMT -5
Three in one day! Someone get this man a cold drink. Still hoping to get in another tonight |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2016 17:56:20 GMT -5
Three in one day! Someone get this man a cold drink. Still hoping to get in another tonight That's would be a Super-Feat itself!  |
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Post by sabongero on Jun 8, 2016 19:46:22 GMT -5
Shaxper reading through your reviews here, it just renewed my interest in reading Superman comic books. The Superman I am familiar with aside from the movies, is the Superman of the Superfriends and Justice League Animated series Superman. By the way, I know people talked about the so called "wusification" of Superman from the Superfriends era to the Justice League Animated series era. Being less invulnerable makes for better stories. But I was told the Verheiden written stories of Superman had the character being too emotional that it lessened the character too much.
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Post by shaxper on Jun 8, 2016 20:09:41 GMT -5
Shaxper reading through your reviews here, it just renewed my interest in reading Superman comic books. Wow, my friend. I take that as a very serious compliment. Thank you. Pretty much me too. As a quick recap of what's gone down in this thread thus far (at least in terms of characterization), at the time of the reboot it was agreed that Superman would be depowered and would have to struggle more, but writers John Byrne and Marv Wolfman read that in very different ways. Byrne had Superman get thrashed twice a month while Wolfman had Superman struggle more with high minded issues of ethics. Both writers agreed that this Superman wasn't the perfect embodiment of justice and righteousness that you and I grew up with. Byrne regularly depicted him as tempermental and sometimes even surprisingly ignorant, while Wolfman just had him screw up a whole lot and feel bad about it as a result. Once the two were gone, George Perez got very serious about bringing back a more classic depiction of Superman, so in the time since Byrne's departure (and Wolfman left before him), Superman has been a righteous upholder of justice once again, and while he faces internal struggles, he's hardly as moody and whiny as he was earlier on in the reboot. He's just the Superman you and I know so well with a few more problems and doubts for heightened drama. |
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Post by shaxper on Jun 8, 2016 21:03:35 GMT -5
Action Comics #647  The Brainiac Trilogy, Part One: "Brain Drain" writer: Roger Stern layouts: George Perez finishing: Kerry Gammill inks: Brett Breeding letters: Bill Oakley colors: Glenn Whitmore assoc. editor: Jon Peterson editor: Mike Carlin grade: A So the creative teams get shuffled again, and now here comes Roger Stern with something to prove. It is GREAT to see the Superman franchise finally headed in new directions again and, most impressively, in the process Stern cleans up some significant lingering problems from the Byrne Era. Problem #1: Byrne's Brainiac sucked. Stern has now completely eliminated Milton Fine's mind, and it sure looks like we're losing the body in favor of the classic Pre-Crisis android design in the next issue!  I cannot wait. Problem #2: Metallo was utterly wasted and unceremoniously killed off after his first story (way back in Superman #2). While Stern doesn't bother to explain how Metallo is still alive (I assume this is "the Mystery of Metallo" that we're promised in the next issue), it's at least nice to see him being put to use once again. Problem #3: Superman and Luthor's relationship. They didn't have much of one. Luthor had a lame reason for resenting Superman (he embarrassed him in Man of Steel #4), and Superman had no reason to particularly hate Luthor beyond knowing he was corrupt and had his hands in everything. Add to that the facts that the two seldom ever actually interacted AND the problem that Luthor could have killed him as early as Superman #2 but, for reasons never really explained, decided he'd rather let him live and mess with him instead (which he then did a poor job of accomplishing). Stern solves both problems -- the latter by having Superman save Luthor's life (leaving Luthor reluctantly wondering if he owes Superman a debt -- thus, he might now have a reason not to whip out the Kryptonite ring and end Superman at his earliest convenience), and the former by giving the two this really cool (albeit brief) exchange:  No threats, no dramatic posturing and speeches, no action -- just two enemies who frequently work towards each others' undoing engaging in an uncomfortably civil conversation with some strange degree of mutual respect. It's powerful in ways I can't fully explain. Luthor knows he owes Superman now, and Superman knows he won't touch Luthor if Luthor isn't actively doing something wrong, so where does that leave them? Here. So really, Stern is doing absolutely everything right in this issue. Perez, on the other hand, is not. Not only are we getting less of Perez these days; what we're getting from him is less good. Each Action Comics story thus far has striven to live up to the title's name and brim with rich and intense action. Stern's script calls for as much as Superman must rescue Luthor and two of his underlings from an automated factory line that Brainiac has turned against them  but, after this first page of action, the visuals pretty much drop out. It's honestly boring to look at once Superman gets involved. I don't know how you ruin Superman fighting a series of assembly line robots firing laser beams and, ultimately, the entire factory exploding, but Perez did. Still, this was a fantastic story, and the building mystery throughout (in regard to who was by Brainiac's side) was riveting. I guessed Metallo right away, but I wasn't totally sure and kept fighting the urge to flip to the last page and find out. Important Details:- Return of Brainiac (now without Milton Fine's consciousness) - Return of Metallo - Superman saves Luthor's life, seeming to leave Luthor feeling that he is in Superman's debt. - Superman's "Gangbuster" persona was caused by Brainiac and was not just a consequence of his actions with the rogue Kryptonians. Minor Details:- For a franchise/office that's hit us over the head with so many recaps explaining prior points of continuity, it's weird how Stern goes in referencing Superman's past episodes as Gangbuster all over the place without making any effort to explain this for new readers. That storyline transpired nearly a year ago and hasn't been re-explained recently. plot synopsis: Brainiac has been trying to probe Superman's mind, but Superman finally recognizes this in a dream and uncovers his final repressed memory from his experiences as Gangbuster -- he saw Brainiac ALIVE at Lexcorp! Superman heads there while Brainiac becomes aware that Superman now knows and, thus, speeds up his plans to escape his catatonic prison and get revenge upon Luthor. It all goes down at a Lexcorp manufacturing plant in Houston that Luthor is visiting. Brainiac turns the automation against him, and Superman (seeking Luthor in Houston for explanations) jumps in and saves the day. However, neither he nor Luthor realizes Brainiac has already assumed control of Lexcorp and has a newly revived Metallo by his side as he makes plans to improve upon or replace his ailing human body. |
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Post by Action Ace on Jun 9, 2016 0:30:06 GMT -5
In the words of former WWF announcer Jim Ross, "Business is about to pick up!"
Perez is my all time favorite comic book artist, but Gammill/ Breeding is an excellent substitute.
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Post by shaxper on Jun 9, 2016 9:31:19 GMT -5
Superman #38  "Unnatural Disasters!" writer/pencils: Jerry Ordway inks: Dennis Janke colors: Glenn Whitmore letters: John Costanza assoc. editor: Jon Peterson editor: Mike Carlin Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster grade: B- Whereas Adventures of Superman and Action Comics are now finally and clearly headed in new directions, this title is still scurrying around, trying to pick up tons of old continuity, and its attempt to find a new direction with this issue fails as a consequence. We've got Superman revisiting Milton Fine's old travelling circus, which does nothing to further any plot points. Sure it makes sense that Superman would check this out, but with ALL the plot points still left hanging in the air, did we really need to spend five pages on a fruitless search? Admittedly, the run-in with Milton Fine's replacement was endearing  and there's a conscious effort to address animal rights once again. Last time around, Superman took on illegal whalers, and this time its animal cruelty at circuses, but we also get this little moment that irks me:  Ordway is expecting us to recall a minor exchange with a bit character that occurred over two years ago; that's far too much to ask of any reader. Even Chris Claremont would never try a thing like that (and, if he did, he'd at least give us an issue number to reference!). But this is the crux of the problem I see with Ordway's work right now -- priorities. We can't move forward when Ordway keeps reopening minor past conflicts that were better left forgotten. Speaking of which, we've still got this reopened can of worms going on (referencing back to the events of Adventures of Superman #443), and it is progressing at a snail's pace:  I was, however, glad to see the return of Alice, a supporting character who was given a small amount of attention across several issues of the Byrne run (beginning with Superman #7) -- just enough to make us wonder why attention was being called to her. Here she is, resurfacing in this issue:  I've been intrigued all along, and I know something big is coming up for her in next month's Adventures of Superman. I really like the idea of giving importance to characters who aren't super powered and aren't going to end up in a throwdown with Superman or one of Superman's villain. Alice feels very real, and I'm intrigued both by the depth of character I sense she has the potential for and the repercussions her story might hold for Clark and the Daily Planet crew. But, with all this going on, plus Jimmy Olsen still working out his trust issues with Superman:  This issue takes forever to get where it's actually trying to go and, while powerful, that story comes out of absolutely nowhere:  and gets cut short really abruptly:  And it's weird watching Superman just flying around, catching individual people while a major disaster is threatening the lives of hundreds. Considering both his heightened intelligence and heightened senses, how did he NOT see that tsunami coming until it was too late? Why wasn't this story about him using his brains and powers to try to stop or reroute the tsunami, or even just to evacuate people? And surely he wasn't able to save everyone -- are we going to get the story of the folks he didn't manage to save in time? This could have been a powerful story (and maybe it will still continue into next issue??), but it was a wasted effort here, cut short so that too many other unimportant side plots could be (barely) further developed. For what it's worth, on the letters page Carlin acknowledges the slowness with which the Superman office has been revisiting these old plot points throughout 1989: Okay, so maybe I'm reading this wrong, but wouldn't "last summer" mean a year ago and not two months back (this issue was published in October of '89)? If I'm right, why no mention of a Super Summit '90? Perez's ailing health? Clearly, these guys hadn't planned out any of the best stuff coming up in 1990 yet (Day of the Krypton Man, Dark Knight Over Metropolis, Clark and Lois beginning to date, the deaths of Jerry White and Lex Luthor, etc) or Carlin would have been dropping hints about them the way he's been talking about Superman racing the Flash (coming up in two more months) for several issues now. Clearly though, with The Brainiac Trilogy and The Eradicator, stuff is beginning to happen, but this is not the first time I've noted that Ordway often feels like he's in his own world, not quite onboard with Stern and Jurgens (and sometimes Perez). Maybe it's the fact that he was here first and, for a while, had total creative control over one title, but this is the one place where I still feel the Superman Office is languishing. Minor Details:- Did The Eradicator Device (coming back next week in Adventures of Superman) cause the earthquake that caused the tsunami? Superman had noted with concern that its fortress in the Antarctic was burrowed deep into the Earth's surface. The title of this story would suggest that something caused the earthquake. - Despite everything I don't like about what Ordway's doing in this issue, I loved his characterization of Professor Hamilton:  Characterization and art are the two things he's getting right in a big way; we just need him to get better at plotting -- and soon! plot synopsis: Superman tracks down Milton Fine's old traveling circus in search of him and ends up rescuing abused circus animals in the wake of an earthquake, Jimmy Olsen is suffering symptoms from his treatment at Project Cadmus and has Professor Hamilton run some tests on him, he ends up merging with a character he last saw in Adventures of Superman #443, Professor Hamilton doesn't know what happened to Jimmy and tries repeatedly to contact Superman, torrential rain hits Metropolis, Superman ends up rescuing some boaters and completely misses a Tsunami heading for Metropolis until it's already too late, and so he saves a bunch of people but has to brush off Professor Hamilton while he is doing so. |
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Post by shaxper on Jun 9, 2016 10:21:05 GMT -5
As we're now finally getting some old Byrne stuff concluded, I thought it was time to whip this out again and give it an update:
Old Byrne Plot Points Still Left Unresolved (as of Superman #38, Novemember 1989)
This is based upon memory, not thorough research, so chime in if I've missed something.
Note: I'm not including villains that left and might show up again or who still have mysteries involved in their backstories. It goes without saying that we'll see more from Draaga, Mxyzptlk, and the like.
Needs to be resolved:
- There has now been a laboratory floating in orbit of Earth containing ALL of Superman's secret information since Superman #1, and yet no one has noticed it yet.
- Elinore Lane (Lois' mother) is still battling a deadly illness. Luthor is controlling Lois in exchange for treating her mom.
- Amanda McCoy is trying to prove that Clark Kent is Superman and was inadvertently involved in the death of the private detective aiding her.
- When is Perry going to learn his "son" Jerry is the biological son of Lex Luthor?
- What's up with the new director of STAR labs who was implied to be shady and have questionable motives? And is STAR labs still under the control of Morgan Edge's company?
- Luthor and the Kryptonite radiation.
Getting addressed right now:
Jose as Gangbuster. Will that continue to be a thing?
Alice, the Daily Planet research assistant
Jimmy Olsen's mom is still trying to find his dad now that she has a photograph proving he is alive
Probably should be revisited:
-Jimmy Olsen dating Lucy Lane (last mentioned in Superman #4)
-Cat Grant's son. We had some serious foreshadowing that things were going to go bad for that young man.
-Will there ever be a "real" Bizarro in the Post-Crisis, or are we stuck with the lame clone concept we got in Man of Steel #5?
-Lois and Superman shared a kiss during The Earth Stealers
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Post by shaxper on Jun 9, 2016 11:55:53 GMT -5
Adventures of Superman #461  "Home" writer and layouts: Dan Jurgens finishing and inks(?): George Perez letters: Albert Deguzman colors; Glenn Whitmore assoc. editor: Jonathan Peterson editor: Mike Carlin Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster grade: B While not as pronounced as with Ordway, Jurgens is struggling with his pacing at this point too. The Eradicator Device, which has been an ongoing plot point for more than half a year now, was first introduced as the greatest threat ever created on Krypton, then revised to be something that was mysterious but certainly not a threat, then revised again to be (once more) the greatest threat ever created on Krypton, now made into something benign and mysterious, and yet I just know this thing is coming back as a threat again later on. But even more than that, the story itself seems to jump back and forth in arbitrary directions rather than progressing along a linear path. What was the point in Clark having his memories erased if he was just going to get them back this issue? Seems the only point was to allow Superman to engage in two other adventures in Superman and Action Comics without being too preoccupied with this one ( Action Ace did point out that juggling three simultaneous story arcs around this time was going to get weird), and the whole thing with travelling through time to Krypton in order to super quickly go through a rite of passage just so that the Eradicator Device would now listen to him whereas it didn't last issue just felt rushed, abrupt, and thus semi-pointless. The visit to Krypton, in particular, could have made an amazing multi-part story in and of itself, but it gets compressed into three pages instead. I mean really -- Superman's first and only visit with his long-dead biological parents gets shoved aside so that we can get more time with The Eradicator Device. And, thus, everything about that reunion comes off weird, from the rushed and highly anticlimactic rite of passage he undergoes, to Jor-El instantaneously believing that his son is from the future because time is fluid and weirdly accepting the fate of his planet without even considering trying to save it:  (note: Superman never once told him Krypton ended up blowing up. For all Jor-El knew, this reunion has always happened, and Krypton has always been saved at the last moment as a result) to Lara's abrupt rejection of her son which, while in keeping with Byrne's obnoxious depiction of her way back in Man of Steel #1, is delivered here without furthering any dramatic purpose nor plot point; it just happens and sucks.  We've also got to talk about the logic lapses in this story. We begin the issue being told that We then have an emergency crew worker comment that Superman then concurs with this sentiment, but, four panels later, we get this:  I...I'm sorry. What?? The city that is underwater and without power can handle things itself now because suddenly you have an impulse to go back to work? I'm sure the emergency crew working around the clock that we just saw desperately try to stop a floating oil tanker from colliding with a building would like to get home to their families too, Supes. So there goes any hope of anyone making a compelling story out of the random Tsunami that hit Metropolis. But the logic lapses continue when Clark gets to work in the next panel, and Alice (she's back again) tells Clark that Colin Thornton has been looking for him.  So, let's be clear -- Clark hasn't been at work for a week now?? How does that not raise alarms, especially with Jimmy Olsen missing? Also worth noting, one month in real-time equals one week in the comic (at least in this issue). We end up getting an action-packed story that makes a lot of big contributions to the Post-Crisis Superman franchise, and it definitely held my interest, but it was also rushed and poorly planned. Important Details:- 1st appearance of the Post-Crisis Phantom Zone (called as much by the recording of Kem-L):  but it is now a conduit that lies "between Krypton's past and [Superman's] present". Has Jurgens created a way for Superman to later revisit Krypton again, or to encounter other Kryptonians? - 1st appearance of the Post-Crisis Fortress of Solitude, created once Superman gets control of The Eradicator Device:  (is that Kandor under the glass?? And maybe a Phantom Zone projector beside it?) - Superman actually travels back in time to meet Jor-El and Lara just prior to the destruction of Krypton. - We learn that journalism isn't just what Clark does to make money and stay on top of the news; it was his dream long before he became Superman:  - The Superboy television series is now airing, and a comic book series based upon it is being published by DC.  (incidentally, I sent in that coupon and had that poster hanging over my bed as a kid) Carlin is careful to explain in the letter column that there are now two Superman continuities -- one that incorporates the three Superman titles and his appearances in other books, and one based upon the Chris Reeve movies and Superboy television series (which the Superboy comic is a part of). Minor Details:- If the Phantom Zone allows Superman to travel back in time to Krypton's past, why show up minutes before Krypton's destruction? Why not go back six months before the destruction in order to get to know his parents better, spend some time there, and maybe help to avert the planet's destruction? Sure, you could choose the absolute last moment precisely so as to pollute the time stream as little as possible, but Superman clearly wasn't thinking of that, as he immediately starts talking about saving Krypton from destruction once he arrives. - We're finally getting somewhere with Alice:  Plot synopsis: Superman is helping Metropolis in the wake of the Tsunami (Metropolis is partially underwater and without power), Clark is offered a job by Colin Thornton and is conflicted, Jimmy Olsen is still missing, Superman visits professor Hamilton, realizes his memory was wiped last issue, and decides to go after The Eradicator once and for all, he travels through the inter-dimensional portal it has been using in search of a way to stop it, meets a recording of Kem-L (which the Eradicator has created to run The Phantom Zone for it) and learns from it that he can use the Phantom Zone to travel back to Krypton and undergo the Kryptonian rite of passage so that The Eradicator will listen to him, and it does, undoing all the harm it wrecked and building Superman an underground Fortress of Solitude in place of the structure it had there previously that was re-geoengineering the planet. |
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