shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 10, 2016 10:42:52 GMT -5
Superman #39  "Jimmy Olsen's Excellent Adventure" writer: Jerry Ordway pencils: Kerry Gammill inks: Bob McLeod letters: John Costanza colors: Glenn Whitmore assoc. editor: Jon Peterson editor: Mike Carlin grade: B- Ordway appears to be taking a break from penciling for the moment, and maybe that's why he plots and writes this issue so much better than the last one. Sure, the only plot point he managed to get around to in the last confused issue ends up totally forgotten now (and seriously, couldn't the construction crew Superman rescued have been a repair or demolition crew instead? How easy would it have been to drop some reference to the devastating tidal wave that blew through Metropolis just last issue??), but he offers us a lot of new instead, suggesting no less than four new potential story arcs in this issue. Plot point 1: Jimmy's mom and the extraordinary backstory with his father is FINALLY (slowly) getting addressed.  (no, that's not Nathan Summers). Plot point 2: Going along with this, Jimmy's father worked for Project Cadmus, and there is apparently a mad scientist and two escapees from The Project that we now need to be concerned about:  Plot point 3: Professor Hamilton vows to help out Tehra (the girl who keeps getting referenced from waaay back in Adventures of Superman #443). Plot point 4: Something's wrong with Superman's noggin (again).    Considering how long it's taken us even to get to the plot about Jimmy's father, I worry that Ordway has bitten off more than he can chew here. That being said, this issue felt more like a series of loosely connected ideas and teasers than an actual story, but I did enjoy the visual look of that weird dimension Jimmy gets teleported to:  So, within a span of two months, we've had two weird new dimensions that follow their own laws of physics introduced in the Superman books. Important Details:- Jimmy Olsen's father was involved in the creation of Project Cadmus. - Clark Kent accepts the job at Collin Thornton's rival publication. Minor Details:- Morgan Edge is out of the hospital and about to stand trial. In the last issue of Action Comics, Superman wrongly suspected that Intergang was back in action. Seems like something big is being planned for Edge's return. - What's up with Lois drastically changing her look over the past two issues, once to look like Perry, and once to look like Clark? Ordway is calling a lot of attention to it and specifically noted last issue that this was beyond the normal extent of fashion shake-ups Lois usually employs. - We get a sixteen page comic insert promoting "Lightning Racers". Clearly, expensive advertising in comic books did not correlate with massive market success. - The title of this story is a bad reference to the 1989 film "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" - Ordway's "syms"  seems a lot like Claremont and Buscema's "S'ym"  Similar looking, similar named creatures in similarly alternate dimensions. Just sayin'. Plot synopsis: Superman rescues a man from a transforming construction vehicle only to recognize the brother from Adventures of Superman #443 as the cause (and again, I marvel at how we are continually expected to recall the events of this old and forgettable storyline). He takes him to Professor Hamilton but then runs off quickly to deal with the pre-trial of Morgan Edge, Jimmy is stuck in some other dimension where he meets some kind of echo of his father who explains how his father was involved in Project Cadmus, how his mother is in danger, and how there are escaped creations from Project Cadmus to watch out for, but Superman and Professor Hamilton are able to rescue Jimmy from the dimension before he can learn everything, and we cut back to The Daily Planet, where Clark announces that he's taking Thornton's job offer and leaving The Daily Planet.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 10, 2016 14:19:37 GMT -5
The Adventures of Superman #462  "Home for the Holidays!" writer: Roger Stern breakdowns: Dan Jurgens finished art: Art Thibert letters: Albert Deguzman colors: Glenn Whitmore assoc editor: Jon Peterson editor: Mike Carlin grade: B+ Jurgens' cover here is one of the finest from this stretch. I've been wanting to read this issue for a long while now, both because I've been intrigued by Alice and because I've been looking at this cover. But if you were expecting some deep insight into who Alice is and what makes her tick in this issue (as I was), that's not quite where it goes. The surprise that Alice is living in the storage closet is uncovered quickly, and it's the aftermath instead that gets most of the focus of this issue, the Daily Planet crew reflecting on how homelessness can happen to anyone (and nearly did to both Jimmy and to many families Lois knew while growing up on army bases):  and Perry writing up an editorial on the homeless problem in reaction to all this, which ends up taking four pages of the story.  There's nothing profound in the editorial, but it's thorough, describing the different challenges many homeless face, the different ways that people can help (even listing specific charities), and also discussing the reasons why we don't lend a hand and talking us past them. It's a commendable effort. I respect a Christmas story that actually tries to get back to the "reason for the season," not just engaging in empty holiday fervor. But, speaking of "the reason for the season," it's a little odd that Clark spends the entire first page feeling such reverence for Christmas to the extent that he decides someone cursing on Christmas is cause for alarm and a job for Superman:  It ends up being some construction workers' whose generator broke down. That's it. But Clark seems to take Christmas very seriously. And that brings us to this panel, much later in the issue:  I don't know if the Pre-Crisis Superman ever touched upon this, but our Post-Crisis one is a practicing Christian (or was at least raised by a practicing Christian family). Interesting to see that addressed. And, of course, it's more interesting still since both of Superman's original creators were Jewish, but at least Stern throws us this little bone clarifying that not everyone who works at The Planet is Christian:  It's a nice gesture, and I do like the implicit meaning throughout the issue -- Christmas is a time to live up to Christ's example (even if the name, itself is never given. Making Superman a practicing Christian was probably already a drastic departure from the secular nature of most mainstream comics). In fact, even Brainiac, an evil alien, gets in on the fun, impersonating Luthor and making his underlings give all his employees overly generous bonuses, presumably just to mess with him:  In the end, things work out for Alice. Perry petitions the Planet to give her a higher paycheck since she'd been spending all those extra overtime hours working at The Planet for three years, and he invites her to move in with him and his wife (also named Alice) until she's back on her feet:  I do worry that this is it for Alice, though. All along, I liked the idea of having someone completely ordinary hanging around in the background of Superman's world. I wanted to learn more about her perspective, how these people we all take for granted as heroes and cherished favorite characters would appear to someone like us living in their world, but I doubt we're going to get that now. Alice's problem is resolved and, thus, we don't need to spend any more time on her. Important Details:- Confirmed that Clark was raised as a practicing Christian Minor Details:- Lana Lang is out of the hospital after her experience in Action Comics #644. Nice continuity there. - And yet, intertitle continuity isn't as strong as it could be here. Just the other week in Superman, we saw Supes flying off, ditching everyone who needed him (especially Jimmy Olsen) in favor of attending to other pressing duties because it was the "logical" thing to do, but now he spends an entire morning helping a construction crew make their Christmas bonus at the expense of going to The Planet on his last day working there:  How is that logical? Really, once he gets there, and everyone gets nostalgic that this is the end of an era, I struggle, because it doesn't seem like Clark has ever made The Planet much of a priority beyond Man of Steel #1, 2, and 4 way back in the day. Heck, we just established recently that an entire week had gone by without his reporting to work. We haven't seen him spend much time there, getting in deep with the supporting cast there, so how can we care that their time together is now up? And, of course, it isn't really. We know that. - Stern suddenly and inexplicably reverts Cat Grant to her original tramp/harlot persona, undoing all the careful progression that's occurred to turn her into a real and respectable three dimensional character:   Even just the way Jurgens is penciling her now is a drastic reversion. Here's how he drew her just recently in Adventures of Superman #458, where she was a single mother struggling to get her life back and also kicking her alcoholism:  So what happened? plot synopsis: Clark reflects on how much he loves Christmas and then, as Superman, ends up helping out a bunch of construction workers to make their Christmas bonus before showing up for his last day at The Planet. At first everyone is giving him the silent treatment, but it was an act, and there is a surprise party as they commemorate the end of an era. Then Clark discovers Alice crying in the supply closet she secretly lives in. The crew comforts her, Perry writes an editorial on homelessness, and Alice gets to live with Perry while she gets her life back together, all while Brainiac has figured out how to appear like Luthor over video screens, further amassing control of Lexcorp with Luthor as his hostage.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 10, 2016 14:33:20 GMT -5
For what it's worth, I just checked out of curiosity, and that was this thread's 170th review. Nice to be back in the saddle again  |
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Post by Action Ace on Jun 10, 2016 15:28:06 GMT -5
The Superman holiday issue, often done by Dan Jurgens, will continue for the next several years.
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Post by dupersuper on Jun 11, 2016 10:58:24 GMT -5
Jun 10, 2016 0:09:46 GMT -3 shaxper said:
dupersuper Avatar
Jun 10, 2016 0:01:43 GMT -3 dupersuper said:
Well, also he no longer has the ring...
(Dark Knight Over Metropolis is coming!)
I'd almost forgotten about Luthor losing the ring. Do we get any indication as to when that happened/happens?
I believe Amanda McCoy steals it, then drops it when mugged/attacked. |
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Post by dupersuper on Jun 11, 2016 11:00:26 GMT -5
Jun 10, 2016 0:09:46 GMT -3 shaxper said:
dupersuper Avatar
Jun 10, 2016 0:01:43 GMT -3 dupersuper said:
Well, also he no longer has the ring...
(Dark Knight Over Metropolis is coming!)
I'd almost forgotten about Luthor losing the ring. Do we get any indication as to when that happened/happens?
I believe Amanda McCoy steals it, then drops it when mugged/attacked. How did I manage to do that??? |
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Post by dupersuper on Jun 11, 2016 11:12:13 GMT -5
Superman is one of those rare heroes that doesn't need any food and water to survive on Earth as long the Sun gives him the nourishment that he needs. His Kryptonian name is Kal-El and it's broken down to two parts. Kal means Child ... El means Star ... when spoken together - Kal El means Star Child and that's why our Yellow Sun gives him Super Human Strength, Speed, and other out-worldly powers that's beyond the comprehension of human understanding and that's why he doesn't need any food and water. When, I first heard of this ... it's boggles my mind of powers and the abilities of Superman of what he posses during the heydays of the Silver Age of Comics of where his Super Powers are way off the charts! In Justice League Target Earth - From the 3:25 to 3:40 mark of this video - showcases Superman's vast superhuman strength of moving the Earth to it's rightful orbit. I watch this video once in a great while and still marvel of the superhuman strength of Superman and that's why as long the Sun's is a Yellow Star - Superman is immortal and never dies unless our Sun becomes a Red Giant. That's Panel that you shared illustrates that sometimes he needs human nourishment to ponder what to do next and take the time to ponder it. I don't consider that a nit-picky thing to do because that what humans do to take time off and think what to do next. I know everyone here knows about this but I like to share these points that I made because I just wanted to let everyone here to know how unique Superman really is. Thanks for this, but keep in mind we're discussing a specific incarnation of Superman in this thread that only existed between Man of Steel #1 (1986) and Zero Hour (1994). Thus, some of the information you've amassed does not pertain to him. I've compiled a complete list of this particular Superman's powers and abilities here: classiccomics.boards.net/thread/217/superman-post-crisis-reviews-shaxper?page=1&scrollTo=11283I'd say Man of Steel Superman's the same incarnation up until at least Infinite Crisis and maybe Flashpoint. Zero Hour really didn't do anything to Supes. The Zero issues retcon in 1 childhood-friend-turned-villain and add 1 or 2 minor supporting characters, all written by the same team as before and during Zero Hour (1 of whom wrote Zero Hour) who mostly continue on the titles until 1999/2000. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 11, 2016 11:24:56 GMT -5
I'd say Man of Steel Superman's the same incarnation up until at least Infinite Crisis and maybe Flashpoint. Zero Hour really didn't do anything to Supes. The Zero issues retcon in 1 childhood-friend-turned-villain and add 1 or 2 minor supporting characters, all written by the same team as before and during Zero Hour (1 of whom wrote Zero Hour) who mostly continue on the titles until 1999/2000. I thought they also changed which war Pa Kent fought in and some other details. More than that though, it opened up a Pandora's box in which any previously stated fact could just be pronounced no longer canon at any point down the road. |
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Post by dupersuper on Jun 11, 2016 11:33:32 GMT -5
The Adventures of Superman #462  "Home for the Holidays!" writer: Roger Stern breakdowns: Dan Jurgens finished art: Art Thibert letters: Albert Deguzman colors: Glenn Whitmore assoc editor: Jon Peterson editor: Mike Carlin grade: B+ Jurgens' cover here is one of the finest from this stretch. I've been wanting to read this issue for a long while now, both because I've been intrigued by Alice and because I've been looking at this cover. But if you were expecting some deep insight into who Alice is and what makes her tick in this issue (as I was), that's not quite where it goes. The surprise that Alice is living in the storage closet is uncovered quickly, and it's the aftermath instead that gets most of the focus of this issue, the Daily Planet crew reflecting on how homelessness can happen to anyone (and nearly did to both Jimmy and to many families Lois knew while growing up on army bases):  and Perry writing up an editorial on the homeless problem in reaction to all this, which ends up taking four pages of the story.  There's nothing profound in the editorial, but it's thorough, describing the different challenges many homeless face, the different ways that people can help (even listing specific charities), and also discussing the reasons why we don't lend a hand and talking us past them. It's a commendable effort. I respect a Christmas story that actually tries to get back to the "reason for the season," not just engaging in empty holiday fervor. But, speaking of "the reason for the season," it's a little odd that Clark spends the entire first page feeling such reverence for Christmas to the extent that he decides someone cursing on Christmas is cause for alarm and a job for Superman:  It ends up being some construction workers' whose generator broke down. That's it. But Clark seems to take Christmas very seriously. And that brings us to this panel, much later in the issue:  I don't know if the Pre-Crisis Superman ever touched upon this, but our Post-Crisis one is a practicing Christian (or was at least raised by a practicing Christian family). Interesting to see that addressed. And, of course, it's more interesting still since both of Superman's original creators were Jewish, but at least Stern throws us this little bone clarifying that not everyone who works at The Planet is Christian:  It's a nice gesture, and I do like the implicit meaning throughout the issue -- Christmas is a time to live up to Christ's example (even if the name, itself is never given. Making Superman a practicing Christian was probably already a drastic departure from the secular nature of most mainstream comics). In fact, even Brainiac, an evil alien, gets in on the fun, impersonating Luthor and making his underlings give all his employees overly generous bonuses, presumably just to mess with him:  In the end, things work out for Alice. Perry petitions the Planet to give her a higher paycheck since she'd been spending all those extra overtime hours working at The Planet for three years, and he invites her to move in with him and his wife (also named Alice) until she's back on her feet:  I do worry that this is it for Alice, though. All along, I liked the idea of having someone completely ordinary hanging around in the background of Superman's world. I wanted to learn more about her perspective, how these people we all take for granted as heroes and cherished favorite characters would appear to someone like us living in their world, but I doubt we're going to get that now. Alice's problem is resolved and, thus, we don't need to spend any more time on her. Important Details:- Confirmed that Clark was raised as a practicing Christian Minor Details:- Lana Lang is out of the hospital after her experience in Action Comics #644. Nice continuity there. - And yet, intertitle continuity isn't as strong as it could be here. Just the other week in Superman, we saw Supes flying off, ditching everyone who needed him (especially Jimmy Olsen) in favor of attending to other pressing duties because it was the "logical" thing to do, but now he spends an entire morning helping a construction crew make their Christmas bonus at the expense of going to The Planet on his last day working there:  How is that logical? Really, once he gets there, and everyone gets nostalgic that this is the end of an era, I struggle, because it doesn't seem like Clark has ever made The Planet much of a priority beyond Man of Steel #1, 2, and 4 way back in the day. Heck, we just established recently that an entire week had gone by without his reporting to work. We haven't seen him spend much time there, getting in deep with the supporting cast there, so how can we care that their time together is now up? And, of course, it isn't really. We know that. - Stern suddenly and inexplicably reverts Cat Grant to her original tramp/harlot persona, undoing all the careful progression that's occurred to turn her into a real and respectable three dimensional character:   Even just the way Jurgens is penciling her now is a drastic reversion. Here's how he drew her just recently in Adventures of Superman #458, where she was a single mother struggling to get her life back and also kicking her alcoholism:  So what happened? plot synopsis: Clark reflects on how much he loves Christmas and then, as Superman, ends up helping out a bunch of construction workers to make their Christmas bonus before showing up for his last day at The Planet. At first everyone is giving him the silent treatment, but it was an act, and there is a surprise party as they commemorate the end of an era. Then Clark discovers Alice crying in the supply closet she secretly lives in. The crew comforts her, Perry writes an editorial on homelessness, and Alice gets to live with Perry while she gets her life back together, all while Brainiac has figured out how to appear like Luthor over video screens, further amassing control of Lexcorp with Luthor as his hostage.
As to Supermans religion: he was definitely raised Christian, but I often wonder how that aspect of his upbringing holds up after he gets into his sci-fi life, to say nothing of his working with/encountering Spectre, Dr Fate, Zatanna, Etrigan, Zauriel, the Greek gods, the New Gods, Kryponian gods, Dream, Neron...but then I struggle to understand the religious mindset even in our humdrum world without multiple tangible pantheons and afterlives...
As to Clarks brief resurgence of sentiment and Cats flirting, I just chalk it up to the Xmas spirit. I can relate...despite being baffled by actual religious beliefs, I love the holidays...
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Post by dupersuper on Jun 11, 2016 11:36:24 GMT -5
I'd say Man of Steel Superman's the same incarnation up until at least Infinite Crisis and maybe Flashpoint. Zero Hour really didn't do anything to Supes. The Zero issues retcon in 1 childhood-friend-turned-villain and add 1 or 2 minor supporting characters, all written by the same team as before and during Zero Hour (1 of whom wrote Zero Hour) who mostly continue on the titles until 1999/2000. I thought they also changed which war Pa Kent fought in and some other details. More than that though, it opened up a Pandora's box in which any previously stated fact could just be pronounced no longer canon at any point down the road. The war's just a victim of the sliding timescale; they really shouldn't have tried to tie Pa to a specific war in the first place. Do they not know how comic book time works?
If you think Zero Hour opened that box, you must've LOVED Infinite Crisis...
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Post by Icctrombone on Jun 11, 2016 17:19:03 GMT -5
- This is really really nerdy/obsessive for me to note, but I'd never considered until seeing this panel  whether or not Superman needs to drink. We've been told he doesn't get hungry and yet can process 100% of anything he eats into pure muscle with no waste/byproduct, but does he need water? He didn't take a drink during most of the time he was wandering through space in The Exile storyline, but whereas he doesn't need food because the sun's energy provides his body with sustenance, doesn't he need moisture? Did his body just manufacture that stuff while he was in space or something? Shax, as you can see, Superman NEEDS to drink.   |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 11, 2016 18:41:15 GMT -5
Say what you will; I still love that film |
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Post by Icctrombone on Jun 11, 2016 19:09:37 GMT -5
So YOU'RE the one person that liked that film...
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 11, 2016 19:26:51 GMT -5
So YOU'RE the one person that liked that film... It definitely helps that it was being re-run on TV (where I first saw it) when I was still in elementary school. I was not smart or mature enough to be disappointed by that film and, thus, only enjoy the fun nostalgia factor in hindsight |
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Post by Icctrombone on Jun 11, 2016 19:34:14 GMT -5
After that film, I couldn't watch another Richard Pryor film.
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