shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 11:24:59 GMT -5
Action Comics Weekly #605
Now a full month into the ACW experiment, we see some of these stories wrapping up, and others taking a change of direction. And, in these endings and new beginnings, it's easier to get a sense of what each of these features can truly deliver. I'm surprised by how much my rankings changed as a result of this:
Blackhawk -- I once doubted this book could go the distance, but it was the most fun part of my reading experience this issue. I'm kind of liking the new antagonist, Red Dragon.
Secret Six -- The ending was hardly the bang I'd hoped for; more of just a wrapping up. Hopefully, their next adventure will prove more climactic.
Deadman -- Not a particularly interesting installment, but the premise finds new potential with Deadman randomly being transported to "hell" by an as of yet unknown kindred spirit.
Green Lantern -- What a non-ending to one of the most shocking GL storylines I'd ever read. Star Saphire is just...gone, whisked away by some unknown antagonist to be revealed at a later date, and thus the storyline appears to be done, just like that.
Wild Dog -- Why am I still pushing myself to read this crap?
And then there's Superman...
"After the Math"
writer: Roger Stern
pencils: Curt Swan
letters: Bill Oakley
colors: Tom Ziuko
editor: Mike Carlin
grade: B+
Both a resolution (as a random officer hears the explosion that occurred last issue and races over to find Superman, ready to provide him with a recap for the sake of new readers) and a transition into the next phase of our story (as the dude Superman saved in the first installment returns to worship him like a god and, presumably, offer new information and a new problem in the next chapter). Swan has a nice, dynamic arrangement here that makes even the denouement of the story come alive with visually exciting panels that are entirely appropriate to the script, and Ziuko does a great job with crisp, cool colors that clearly establish a sense that the storm has passed. Of course, as the man's overzealous drop to his knees in order to worship Superman literally shoves The Man of Steel out of the final panel, it's clear we have a new adventure on our hands.
GREAT art make a decently written chapter come alive.
Minor Details:
- In the second chapter, the man Superman protected claimed he had no idea why those hitmen were after him. Yet now he is willing to tell all. Hard to accept that someone who worships Superman like a god would have also lied to him at their first meeting.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 11:25:12 GMT -5
Action Comics Weekly #606
Definitely starting to feel some fatigue with these features. Most have their own charm, but none seem able to maintain it across a long story arc.
Blackhawk remains charming, and the art is great, but I can't say I'm invested in the plot, nor the mysteries it's attempting to hold over us.
Green Lantern is at least touching as Hal suddenly feels his world is falling apart, but so is this feature. There is no conflict, there's no means yet for Hal to arrive at any sort of redemption, and it's hard to feel bad for him considering what John Stewart is going through. All that was worthwhile was the reunion with Ollie, which was remarkably well done. Oh, and it's an absolute crime to downshift from Gil Kane to Tod Smith.
One important note on this GL installment: Neil Gaiman's script for the final Action Comics Weekly storyline was nixed based on the simple idea that DC editorial felt Hal Jordan and Clark Kent shouldn't know each other, yet he and Hal clearly know each other's identities at this point and have history since Clark is the second person Hal calls upon when he finds himself with no one to turn to here. What the heck? Also, Alfred's dismissive cruelty to Hal at Wayne Manor seemed woefully out of character, and while I loved Clark's soft-spoken lecture to Hal, it felt inconsistent for the character we've watched develop in the Post-Crisis continuity over the past two years who is far too inexperienced and self-doubting to carry that kind of well-intended moral superiority.
Deadman failed to make Hell interesting for me, aside from the minor detail that Baron has 10,000 Maniacs playing there (love the band, still find the joke hysterical).
Secret Six is losing me fast. I dont' care about all the side characters they're suddenly trying to get us to invest in. What intrigued me about the feature thus far has been the intrigue, so let's remain focused on that instead. As for who Mockingbird is, I can't imagine an answer that would be satisfying. I don't know or care muc about the original team, and I LIKE Mockingbird as an anomaly. Oh, and I'm not invested in the core characters either.
Wild Dog still has appealing artwork, and the plot and dialogue are only slightly over the top this time, but still I care nothing for the character at all and, in fact, view him more as a Marty Stu cliche of a anti-hero vigilante.
And then there's Superman...
"The True Believer"
writer: Roger Stern
pencils: Curt Swan
inks: John Beatty
letters: Bill Oakley
colors: Tom Ziuko
editor: Michael Carlin
grade: C+
Superman revered as a god -- it's not that original of an idea. Still, I find it interesting just how uncomfortable the whole affair makes Superman, and I'm curious to see what this will do to Bob Galt, the firm believer who has just been denied by his god and told that he has been worshipping at the wrong temple all this time.
Swan seems to have fallen asleep this time. The panel arrangements are incredibly dull and generic. Ziuko is still being clever with his coloring, though. While the whites and blues remain to suggest relative calm, a lot more red works its way into the panels this time, suggesting a building danger.
Minor Details:
- Apparently, Bob wasn't lying after all in Chapter Two. He pretty much explain this time that he truly didn't know who the assailants were nor why they were after him.
- Having Superman go "Uh..Bob..." while Bob lectures those present about the divinity of Superman was positively priceless.
Still waiting for this feature to come alive. Swan makes it visually exciting sometimes, but Stern's plotting just isn't getting us there yet, and six weeks is too long to wait and still not have a true pay-off (a few fun action scenes aside).
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 11:32:20 GMT -5
Adventures of Superman #443
"Prisoner of Conscience"
writer: Jerry Ordway
pencils: John Statema
inks: Doug Hazelwood
letters: Albert De Guzman
colors: Julianna Ferriter
editor: Michael Carlin
associate editorL Renee Witterstaetter
grade: C-
What goes on here?
Just as the most recent issue of Superman seemed like two different stories cut and pasted together in a disjointed manner, this issue has its own share of dual identities going on. What begins as a grounded and powerful extension of Wolfman's exploration of terrorism abruptly shifts into a story involving alien abductors, with the life of Jimmy Olsen on the line. It's the type of fluff we've come to expect from Byrne, carelessly tacked onto the second half of this story, and yet there's no indication that Byrne was involved.
There are other oddities this time around -- 30 pages of content instead of the normal 20, a fill-in penciler, inker, and colorist. Does this all have something to do with Byrne leaving and the mad rush to get all his ideas in before he does so? After all, the next issue of this title is going to be hijacked by Byrne in order to get the three part Supergirl storyline done before his departure.
So, essentially, we're evaluating two only loosely related and entirely different stories. The first was a fantastic return to Wolfman's work on Qurac, showing the natural result of Superman just going in and dismantling the military by force. Now terrorist groups are rising up and using Superman's image/reputation to fan the fires that rally their base. Yet another ingenious way of exploring the post-Crisis concept of limiting Superman's powers. Instead of doing so literally, we see that even his use of brute strength, as well as his image, can work against him with devastating results.
The second story was just ridiculous. There's little more to say about it beyond the idea that I feel like we're drowning in stories of ancient alien races that have been visiting Earth all along. We had that group from Superman #5 and 6, The Circle (which, at least, gets a minor acknowledgement in this issue), and even the ancient race Deadman recently encountered in Action Comics Weekly (though, to be fair, that feature is overseen by a different editor). Only a year into the Superman relaunch (not counting Man of Steel, since it was only six issues) Superman has already come across THREE such ancient races. Seems like a bit much.
Minor Details:
- Superman rescues two hostages who were about to be executed after being held for a year, ties up their captors, gives them the guns, and tells them to call the police while flying off to save Jimmy Olsen. THAT was the story I wanted to see -- what kind of psychological ordeal it would be to suddenly have your captors/would-be-executioners at your mercy; I could give a f**k about following Superman to instead discover whether or not the space aliens will suck the life out of Jimmy Olsen.
- How is Clark going to write up his article for this adventure? "And then I took out six heavily armed terrorists all by myself and, by the way, I'm not Superman"?
plot synopsis in one sentence:
Terrorist activity is on the rise across the Middle East in response to Superman's actions in Qurac several months back, a woman with connections to Perry White is demanding to find out what happened to her husband, a reporter taken hostage a year ago by one such terrorist group, Clark and Jimmy are sent to Jordan to find out, they meet with a group of terrorists, they attack him as a means of trying to draw out Superman, Clark takes them out as Clark Kent, Jimmy and their guide/connection escape, they end up in another dimension controlled by space aliens who have been visiting since the time of ancient Egypt and need Jimmy's body in order to augment their own, Superman follows and gets a history of their people (which I won't go into here; it's truly not worth it), and he manages to enable a righteous insurrection while also rescuing Jimmy and learning the fate of the reporter he and Jimmy came to find in the first place (he died a year ago and had his body used by the alien leader since then).
So really, what the heck was all that?
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 11:32:34 GMT -5
Action Comics Weekly #607
I'm continually staggered by the immensity of ambition and risk that was involved in the Action Comics Weekly experiment. This time around, we're starting to see the very first letters come in responding to the preview edition of the first issue of Action Comics Weekly. If I recall correctly, it takes a company at least 3 months to get a semi-reliable sense of how well a comic is doing (looking at sales numbers and fan reaction). Generally speaking, that isn't much of a problem, but in the case of ACW, they've already put out 7 double sized issues involving 5 creative teams and are already planning new features, creative teams, and story arcs, and yet they have next to no idea how people are responding to the title or if it's even being read.
Wow.
As for the features, themselves, this felt like a better week for most as their first story arcs approach their final chapters next week.
Blackhawk is winding down well. Less humor and personality this time around, but the plot is finally advancing, and I'm slightly curious to see where it goes.
Green Lantern still feels utterly directionless, but Hal's characterization is beginning to come through a bit, and we're starting to see our first indications that Owsley is capable of throwing in some humor even at the darkest of times.
Deadman is trying far too hard to be clever, but it isn't hitting the mark. This installment, in which Deadman seeks to escape from Hell and encounters the Man in the Mountain, was intended to be a mind-bender, but it just came off as nonsensical and trying too hard to look like a mind-bender.
Secret Six just isn't doing it for me anymore. I don't care about the old team's back story, nor about thwarting Mockingbird nor uncovering his identity. I just want to see more cool espionage, and we're not going there.
Wild Dog still has great art, vibrant coloring, and absolutely nothing else.
And then there's Superman...
"Familiar Face?"
writer: Roger Stern
pencils: Curt Swan
inks: John Beatty
letters: Bill Oakley
colors: Tom Ziuko
assistant editor: Renne Witterstaetter (wasn't she an associate editor previously?)
editor: Mike Carlin
grade: B
Stern segues into a new story arc (though continuing from the old one) in which Superman seeks a motive for the attempt on Bob's life in the previous story arc by attempting to determine the identity of the head thug who blew himself up to escape capture. It's a tough challenge to convey such information in only two pages while also keeping things interesting. To be blunt, Stern fails in this regard, ending with a shock ending that really isn't all that shocking -- the man was vice president for a high tech firm, and a cover for his death was provided to the news sources that he was badly burned in an electrical fire (but then presumably still alive?).
Still, this is a strong outing for Swan, who changes up the panel arrangements and finds dynamic camera angles to keep things visually interesting. John Beatty, who's been doing a heck of a job on coloring up to this point, also works hard this time around to find dynamic shades of purple and green in order to keep things exciting to the eyes, even while nothing is really happening.
So are we to infer that "Charles Culper," the head thug from the previous arc, is actually still alive, or should we instead infer that a double of his will be taking his place? The high-tech firm angle, along with the fact that Culper seemed somehow alien in his inner thoughts previously, suggest to me that he's either an alien, a robot, or a clone (perhaps one of many). I'll admit this leaves me somewhat intrigued. Some good sci-fi would really liven up this feature, especially with Swan and Beatty on the job.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 11:32:51 GMT -5
World of Metropolis #2
"How I Spent My Summer Vacation"
writer: John Byrne
pencils: Win Mortimer
inks: Dick Giordano & Sal Trapani
letters: Bill Oakley
colors: Tom Ziuko
assistant editor: Renee Witterstaetter
editor: Mike Carlin
featuring characters created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster
grade: D
There've really only been two things I was looking forward to learning about in World of Metropolis -- Lex Luthor's rise to power (which, it turns out, we're not going to get) and the story of how Lois got her job at the Planet. We've known from Action Comics #594 that Lois was 16 when she got hired (though now she's only 15. Oops), but I wanted to learn how she did it and what that was like for her. Most importantly, especially after we saw her hero worship Perry White in the previous issue of World of Metropolis, I wanted to see what their relationship would be like. Instead, we get a 15 year old Lois Lane bumbling around with dumb luck towards an unclear goal (she, or is it just we, have absolutely no idea WHAT she's supposed to be digging up about Lex's new corporate acquisition), and the story simply drops off once she's gathered some piece of evidence, with a summary then quickly provided by Lois of the present day.
Couldn't we have cut out that UTTERLY USELESS six page intro of Lois risking her life to save Lucy's dog in order to get the story we were actually waiting for?
Important Details:
- Lois got her first job at the Daily Planet by swiping a piece of evidence from Lex Luthor's desk at the age of 16 which was not enough to prove guilt, but enough to finally convince Perry White that Luthor truly was crooked. Of course, we NEVER learn what the evidence actually was.
- Lucy Lane was not yet deaf as of this story
- The constant reference by both Perry White and Lex Luthor to the idea that Lois would be worthy of them in about ten more years suggests that Lois might be exactly ten years older in the present day. This is just a hunch, of course, but that would make Lois 25 while Clark is 29.
- Heavily implied in this issue (though with more tact than usual for Byrne) that Luthor was attracted to a sixteen year old Lois and spanked her with a ruler(?), video taped the whole thing, and mailed her a copy. What is wrong with you, Byrne?
Minor Details:
- Perry's reaction to not remembering Lois was priceless; truly the only worthwhile part of this issue. Why couldn't Lois reversing that impression have been the focal point for this story?
- There are MANY plot lines barely begun that Byrne will not be addressing before he leaves (not the least of which is the laboratory in orbit of Earth containing Superman's secrets that's been there since THE FIRST ISSUE), but two in particular come to mind this time around: The fate of Lois' mother and Luthor's role in it, as well as the hinting provided way back in Superman #4 that something illicit was going down at Lucy's work that Jimmy wanted information on. Lucy refers to hating her work and her boss in this issue, but any hint as to illegal transgressions going down has been forgotten here.
plot synopsis in one sentence:
Lois is in a burning building trying to rescue Lucy's dog, she is rescued by Superman, she allows Lucy to stay with her for the time being, the two reminisce on how Lois got her job at the Planet at the age of sixteen by recklessly breaking into Lexcorp in order to indiscriminately steal papers from Luthor's desk, she gets caught but hides a crumpled paper in her mouth, and that paper is enough to get her a job at the Planet.
Truly disappointing how badly Byrne misused the potential of this story. I wanted to see a 15 year old Lois fighting to earn the respect of her hero, working to prove she belongs at a world class newspaper at such a young age, and experiencing something other than rising action in meeting Lex Luthor for the first time.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 11:33:01 GMT -5
With Byrne's tenure on Superman ending, here's a list of unresolved plotlines that he probably had no plans to return to anyway: PLEASE DON'T POST ANY SPOILERS IN RESPONSE TO THESE. A simple, "It gets resolved in issue #blahblahblah" will suffice  1. A laboratory orbiting the Earth since Superman #1 containing all of Superman's secrets within it (I hear this gets resolved later on) 2. Lois Lane's mother being near death, presumably because of Lex Luthor (I know this gets resolved later on) 3. What's going on at Lucy Lane's place of Work. 4. Mxyzptlk can still visit Earth every 90 days. 5. Vril Dox and the carnival performer he is controlling (I assume this gets resolved later on) 6. Lex Luthor's Kryptonite ring -- what happened to it? (I know this gets resolved later on) 7. What happened to Jimmy Olsen's dad? 8. What will happen to Jose Delgado (I know this gets resolved very soon) 9. Was Superman ever a member of the Justice League in the Post-Crisis? Post-Zero Hour stories will sometimes depict him as a founding member. 10. Who mailed Ma Kent's scrapbook to Clark Kent? (I know this gets resolved later on) Feel free to add to the list, as I'm sure I've forgotten some. |
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 11:33:28 GMT -5
Superman #21
"You Can't Go Home Again" (The Supergirl Saga, Part I)
writing/art: John Byrne
inks: John Beatty
colors: Petra Scotese
letters: John Costanza
editor: Mike Carlin
assistant editor: Renee Witterstaetter
grade: B
At most points in his Superman run, it has felt like John Byrne was half assing the whole thing. Yet now, in his final major storyline before his (presumably, at this point) imminent departure, he comes alive on this story, at least in terms of art. This is a beauty of an issue to look at, with exciting panel arrangements, vibrant art, and some really fun ways of expressing movement/momentum (something Byrne always seems to do well when at his best).
The story, on the other hand...
There's A LOT I've outright hated about Byrne's run that I wish would be washed away from continuity. probably #4 or 5 on that list is the absurd "pocket universe" concept he introduced as a means of restoring his favorite aspects of the Silver Age while also allowing the Post-Crisis to move forward. In actuality, all it did was manage to make the concept of a Post-Crisis universe even more confusing and problematic. So, sure enough, we're returning to that terrible concept again as a means of explaining where this Supergirl came from.
And yet why is Supergirl Lana Lang??
Important Details:
What we know about this Supergirl who, most likely, isn't sticking around beyond this storyline anyway:
- Modelled after Lana Lang
- Has "chameleon" power that allows her to change her appearance
- Can become invisible (even to Superman's senses)
- Does not possess most of Superman's powers, including his X-Ray vision
- Cannot fly as fast as Superman
- Has a psycho-kinetic blast
Minor Details:
- How can Perry just keep ordering Clark and Lois to drop everything they're doing in order to go on long trips in pursuit of minor stories? In this case, Lois is essentially being Jimmy Olsen's chaperon. The Daily Planet's top reporter has nothing better to do for a week or so???
- Why would Superman automatically assume Supergirl is from the Pocket Universe? My mind immediately went to her somehow coming out of the Crisis.
- Is Byrne still planning on explaining how Supergirl was buried beneath the surface of the Earth for thousands of years before being uncovered?
Plot synopsis in one sentence:
The Pocket Universe Earth(?) is in the process of being destroyed, the Pocket Universe Pete Ross and Alex Luthor (now ten years older than they were in Superboy continuity) are monitoring Supergirl and counting on her bringing Superman to them as a solution to what is occurring, Supergirl is at first convinced Superman is some imposter Kryptonian but gradually comes to her senses, Superman learns that she tied up Ma and Pa Kent and the real Lana Lang (presumably because she thought they were lying too???), he convinces Supergirl that she is from a different Universe and helps to jog her memory, Jimmy Olsen persuades Perry White to send him and Lois Lane to Ireland in search of the Silver Banshee's past, and Supergirl and Superman are transported back to the universe she came from, where he meets that version of Lex Luthor and is reunited with the Pocket Universe Pete Ross.
A fun issue in terms of action and art, but I dislike the return of the Pocket Universe and am not at all confident that this story is going to pay off. Plus, dangling Supergirl in front of the readers for all these months only for us to learn that she's from the Pocket Universe and, thus, probably not sticking around, must have been infuriating to fans at the time.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 11:40:56 GMT -5
Action Comics Weekly #608
The letter column to the previous issue indicated that all story arcs would be culminating in this issue. It would appear that, by "all," they meant "one." So, while Blackhawk arrived at a timely conclusion, Green Lantern, Deadman, and Wild Dog just keep meandering along (GL and Deadman without any sense of direction whatsoever), and Secret Six continues its second story arc that just isn't exciting me anywhere near as much as the first because the attention is not on espionage this time around. I thought getting Peter David on Green Lantern would shake things up a bit, but no luck there. And I swear Wild Dog is actually getting worse. My interest in this series has gone from over the top excitement to absolute impatience and boredom over the span of only a few issues.
And then there's Superman...
"Questions and Mysteries"
writer: Roger Stern
pencils: Curt Swan
inks: John Beatty
letters: Bill Oakley
colors: Tom Ziuko
assistant editor: Renee Wittserstaetter
editor: Mike Carlin
grade: C-
If there was an award for depicting the most visually interesting scenes of characters doing absolutely nothing, Swan and Beatty would have clinched it in 1988. It's utterly AMAZING how good they are at making these panels look interesting when absolutely nothing is happening, week after week. Seriously, how many weeks can Stern spend having Clark uncover small teasers of information about the nemesis he is pursuing without providing any major revelations, opportunities for action, nor even scene changes???
Minor Details:
- Culpepper used a "mass teleporter" to escape from the explosion he staged in front of Superman, and that explains how he was in two places at once, but the technology malfunctioned, severely injuring him.
- Culpepper has a larger organization behind him (we could have guessed this previously).
plot synopsis:
Clark is still wondering how Culpepper was injured in two places at once, two men working for Culpepper's organization explain it all to each other, Bob is being interrogated by the police as to why men were trying to kill him, and a shadowy figure enters the interrogation room, claiming to want to hear what Bob has to say.
Really, Stern is still struggling with how to properly pace this series in two page installments. If it weren't for Swan and Beatty's art, this feature would be terminally painful by this point.
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 11:41:13 GMT -5
Action Comics Weekly #609
Fascinating to me that, while 9 issues in, the team behind ACW still has no fan feedback nor reliable sales figures, and yet they're already promising when they'll be bringing back the features that have already ended. What if no one actually WANTS Wild Dog to come back???
(in order of preference, as always)
Deadman got downright amusing this time around. It still feels all too directionless, but having Deadman and Satan battle it out, first, in the bodies of Reagan and Gorbachev, and then in the bodies of their wives, was outright hysterical, especially as Gorbachev's wife pulls out that ancient super weapon to use on Nancy Reagan at the close.
Green Lantern took a semi-interesting direction in this issue. While this feature also feels directionless, and while the idea of Hal's major conflict being PR and thus appearing on Oprah for two issues now feels absurd, his beginning to question himself about what it means to have never felt fear is somewhat intriguing and certainly fertile ground for good post-Alan Moore character exploration.
Wild Dog (yes, I actually ranked it above last this time around) was visually its most interesting yet, even as the climax and resolution to this nine part story felt unnecessarily rushed. This is a series that SHOULD have been all about the action, as Beatty's pencilwork in these scenes is priceless. The rest is all just blather.
Secret Six -- I've just stopped caring. I'm really not concerned about the lost live life of a character for whom I feel nothing, nor about the secret workings of Mockingbird. If you're not going to tell an espionage story with these characters, then you'd better SELL me on the characters before assuming I'm ready to invest in them.
Black Canary -- Granted, it's only the first chapter, but I was severely underwhelmed. The art was substandard, the plot progression dull (as the focus was almost entirely on the plight of undocumented migrant workers without any strong characterization nor conflict/complication to entice us), and we didn't even get to see Dinah in costume. Her rapport with Ollie (not the witty one-liners we've come to expect, but still earnest and real) was the only highlight of the story. Still, that cover was priceless.
And then there's Superman...
"And there will be a sign!"
writer: Roger Stern
pencils: Curt Swan
inks: John Beatty
letters: Bill Oakley
colors: Tom Ziuko
editor: Mike Carlin
grade: C-
And after last chapter's mildly interesting cliffhanger in which a shadowy stranger enters the room to interrogate Bob, we learn it's...Clark Kent, and that this chapter is yet ANOTHER issue of Clark Kent just walking around, figuring stuff out. Even Curt Swan is bored, as is clearly evident from his layouts and panel arrangements which have clearly stopped trying to cover up for Stern's lack of action and plot advancement. Beatty still does an excellent job keeping the contrasts high and the colors vibrant, but you can only put so much lipstick on this pig (woohoo, dated reference!). Can't we AT LEAST have him appear as Superman once every four chapters? Is that too much to ask??
Yeah, it's kind of sort of almost clever that Clark secretly uses his heat vision to burn a message from Superman into a wall instructing Bob to "trust Kent" with the information he has that might lead to the arrest of his would-be assassins, but it was hardly worth setting up an entire chapter to deliver.
I am SO bored of this story and, with Swan seeming to stop trying in this issue (even his lackluster work is still beautiful, but it isn't dynamic), it's really just Beatty's vibrant colors keeping me even remotely interested at this point.
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 11:50:01 GMT -5
Adventures of Superman #444
"Parallel Lives Meet at Infinity"
writer/co-plotter: John Byrne
pencils/co-plotter: Jerry Ordway
inks: Dennis Janke
letters: Albert DeGuzman
colors: Petra Scotese
assistant editor: Renee Witterstaetter
editor: Mike Carlin
grade: B-
So which aspect of the cover for this issue is more misleading? Having Superman scream before the tombstones of Ma and Pa Kent, or calling this "Part II of the Supergirl Saga!". One is an intentional misdirection, and the other seems to be the product of Byrne simply changing his mind. This story is clearly no longer about Supergirl, a supporting character in a far larger story who has now been stripped of all her mystery.
Perhaps odder still is that the entire issue is backstory. All it seeks to do is provide an explanation of how General Zod and crew managed to take over the Pocket Universe Earth since the time of the big Superman/Superboy storyline. It isn't particularly creative stuff. In fact, the evil Kryptonians' plan to conquer the world feels insultingly cliche (who ACTUALLY wants all that responsibility?), and their desire to destroy it all because one small pocket of the planet remains unconquered by them seems even more absurd. If it's a byproduct of some maniacal compulsion of theirs or something, SHOW THIS. Otherwise, it's just too hokey for a Copper Age story.
And the charm of nostalgia doesn't really work for this story either because, after all, this pocket universe ISN'T the Pre-Crisis Earth, as we're frequently reminded in this story. Things happened differently here. Now, not only would this Superboy and Legion NEVER have encountered the adult Superman, but they never would have encountered any other heroes on Earth either.
But one redeeming quality for this story is the presence of the Pocket Universe Lex Luthor. Byrne has a lot of fun with this character, especially as he's the one to point out that the Time Trapper prevented "the various events that caused those men and women to become super-heroes...and super-villains." Additionally, we have that moment when, alone in Superboy's lab, we're led to expect that Luthor really is a villain after all, misusing Pete and Lana's trust, and yet he ends up being the one betrayed by trusting General Zod only a scene later. Excellent irony.
The other major plus of this issue is Ordway and Janke's art, which seems to come alive moreso than usual, especially as it's called upon to portray larger than life events of world creation, conquest, and destruction. Truly excellent work.
But, overall, if you aren't already intrigued by the concept of the Pocket Universe, then this issue isn't going to do much for you, and it leaves us with a plot line to follow into the final chapter that's pretty problematic -- if Superman and his pocket universe allies are already too late to prevent the destruction of the Earth, then the only real purpose behind their pursuit of the rogue Kryptonians is vengeance. How in the world do you paint this in a heroic light?
Important Details:
- Origin of Pocket Universe Supergirl, who is actually that reality's Lana Lang, given super-powers by Lex Luthor in order to help fight against General Zod, Zaora, and Quex-Ui.
- First appearance of the Pocket Universe Lex Luthor, Bruce Wayne, Hal Jordan, Oliver Queen, General Zod, Zaora, and Quex-Ui.
- Pocket Universe Earth is destroyed (in flashback)
Minor Details:
- I struggle to understand the logic of Lex Luthor sending Supergirl into Earth's past so that "with his ability to travel through time there will be plenty of opportunities for Superman to find you." I mean, yeah, but why, 200 years later, would he even know Supergirl had ever been there? Why not just send her to the exact moment after Superman returned from the Pocket Universe the first time? Or, better yet, why not send Supergirl back in time to stop Lex from freeing the rogue Kryptonians from the Phantom Zone in the first place, or even back further to prevent Superboy's death in the first place???
- Mighty good coincidence, then, that Supergirl's stasis pod was found in Superman's present day, and so soon after his first dealing with The Pocket Universe.
- Come to think of it, if Supergirl was programmed to recover her memory by flying to Smallville once she was found, how would this have played out 200 years prior to the present day? Would she just have hung around a frontier version of Smallville until she died of old age? Great plan, Lex.
- Why would a Bruce Wayne who never committed himself to avenging his parents be of any use to Lex Luthor? Luthor claims he has "some great talents as an inventor," but what would have led him to this path? Going further, what use would a Hal Jordan sans the intervention of Abin Sur be to anyone?
- Okay, so the Time Trapper created the Pocket Universe by "reaching back one million years into the past...and removing a slice of the cosmos, a fraction of time so small it could not be measured...yet contained within it all the stars and planets of a whole universe." But, if I go back in time one hour, and capture an entire nano-second of time in order to obtain shaxper from an hour ago, then shaxper from an hour ago ceased to remain on that timeline and thus is not here now. You can't go back in time and steal the universe yet have the universe continue uninterrupted a moment later unless you somehow put it all back a nano-second later on that timeline. Does the Time Trapper have a message pinned to his refrigerator that says, "Reminder: Put the entire universe back, one microsecond after you stole it, eventually"? I mean, we clearly see him eradicate most of the universe as this origin story continues, so I doubt he had plans to put it all back after anyway.
plot synopsis:
We learn in hindsight that, after Superboy's disappearance from the Pocket Universe, Lex Luthor showed up, seeking to help him, met Pete Ross and Lana Lang instead, and inadvertently freed General Zod his his crew from the Phantom Zone, they enslaved the Earth, Luthor developed a resistance team and housed them in Smallville, the rogue Kryptonians destroyed the entire planet in retaliation, Luthor sent Lana (now Supergirl) to the real Earth in order to seek out Superman, and (now in the present) the three have been joined by the Pocket Universe Bruce Wayne, Hal Jordan, and Oliver Queen, with the intention of stopping the Kryptonians once and for all.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 11:50:16 GMT -5
The Supergirl Saga Part 2.1: "Parallel Lives, But One of Them is Stupid"
writer: shaxper
Lex Luthor: ...and that's how our Earth got destroyed, but we can still stop General Zod.
Superman: Wait a second.
Lex Luthor: What?
Superman: Okay, so you could send Lana back to Earth at any time period of your choosing?
Lex Luthor: Yes, but that didn't work. We have to keep our focus on Zo...
Superman: ...but couldn't you send her again? Or me? Or anyone?
Supergirl: You mean to find you earlier on so that you could prevent the destruction of our Earth?
Superman: Heck, why not go back to my childhood and warn me about this BEFORE I travel to the Pocket Universe for the first time? You've got a 25 year window there, and if I'm too young when you find me, tell my parents. They'll pass the message along.
Supergirl: We could even send a few of us just to ensure that ONE of us gets to Superman prior to his traveling to the Pocket Dimension.
Superman: Yeah. Tell me to warn Pete Ross to keep Lex Luthor away from Superboy's lab. Heck, you could even warn me to find a way to keep Superboy from being killed. That would solve the problem.
Supergirl: Or even write a note addressed to Lex, telling him what will happen when he goes into Superboy's lab, ultimately leading to the destruction of the planet.
Superman: Bruce Wayne, Oliver Queen, and Hal Jordan -- each of you into a stasis pod. We're doing this.
Supergirl: Lex, that's twice now when your stupidity has nearly led to the Earth's destruction.
Lex: ...
Supergirl: Technically, that makes you twice the menace Zod was.
Superman: And also actually MORE effective as a villain than your evil counterpart.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 11:51:18 GMT -5
World of Metropolis #3
"Mr. Kent Goes to Metropolis"
writer: John Byrne
pencils: Win Mortimer
inks: Dick Giordano & Sal Trapani
letters: Albert De Guzman
colors: Tom Ziuko
ass't. editor: Renee Witterstaetter
editor: Mike Carlin
grade: C+
Byrne boxed himself into quite a corner when it came to this issue. If his plan was to use each issue of World of Metropolis to tell the origin story of one member of Superman's supporting cast, and if he was planning on using one of these issues to show a young Clark Kent first arriving in Metropolis, then there wasn't much material to work with. After all, we already have Clark's life from birth to right before arriving in Metropolis (Man of Steel #1), we already have the story of his college years (Superman #12), and we already know when he first gets his job at the Planet, when he first meets Lois Lane, when he first creates his dual identities, and when he first appears to the world as Superman (all Man of Steel #1). What's left to tell?
This issue tries to answer the question in two ways. First, it spends a lot of time on an absurdly fun adventure in which Clark tries to help the police stop some well armed bad guys without making his presence known. It's hard to accept that NOBODY in Metropolis sees the flying guy in a suit, but the story is quite amusing otherwise, and often laugh-out-loud funny.
However, the second story comes off as entirely unnecessary. Yet another opportunity for Byrne to throw Clark into a series (and implied sexual) relationship with a woman prior to Lois Lane. First it was Lori Lemaris during his college years (Superman #12), and now, even earlier than that, we have him share a committed two year relationship with Ruby, an older and sexually aggressive waitress. No indication is ever given of what an aspiring young man with a strong sense of responsibility has in common with an aging waitress who throws herself at college kids; it's just Byrne living out a combination Mrs. Robinson/social ladder-tumbling fantasy through Clark. Worse yet, his first serious relationship, and lasting two year??? This plus his proposing to Lori Lemaris shortly after both seriously water down the importance of any hint of a relationship he might share with Lois or with Lana; and why haven't either of them had any serious relationships in this time? It's such a Byrne-style male fantasy that it's embarrassing.
Important Details:
-At the time that Clark first arrived in Metropolis, Lois had been working at the Daily Planet for five years. Working from the timeline I've constructed of all post-Crisis continuity references thus far, Clark moved to Metropolis in 1981, meaning Lois joined the Planet in 1976, and since she was fifteen at the time, that makes her 20 in this issue (two years younger than Clark, if my timeline holds true), and 26/27 in the present day.
- Lois is working on her novel in this issue. It's been referenced only once previously (Action #597) that she is a published author.
Minor Details:
- Whether intended or not, there are odd echoes of the present day first episode in the flashback second episode. The head criminal looks similar in both cases (but they are separate characters with different names) and Clark's ability to fly in tight spaces pops up both times, as well.
- Byrne makes some reasonable efforts to add more authenticity to the idea of Clark coming from a rural farming community, realizing for the first time that he has an accent he needs to get rid of (I might find that notion offensive were I Midwestern), and adding the twist about Smallville High School not having the proper accreditation to get its graduates into post-secondary school.
- So much about how Clark uses his super powers to complete those tests on time makes no sense at all. Where did he get all those pencils from? Wouldn't super fast writing create friction that would tear or char the pages (especially while he's super-heating the tips to keep them sharp)? I'm sure this entire episode exists because, as a student in college, Byrne wondered how Superman would take an exam.
- Should I care at the end who this "Ed" is that Clark introduced Ruby to? Incidentally, those kids in the final panel are AT LEAST five years old. If the flashback occurred only six years earlier (as my timeline suggests), then "Ed" moves pretty fast.
plot synopsis:
There really isn't one. Superman flashes back to first arriving in Metropolis, which included stopping armed bad guys anonymously, having a two year relationship with a fast-moving older waitress, and taking four college entrance exams in two hours.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 11:51:34 GMT -5
Superman #22
"The Price"
story/art: John Byrne
letters: John Costanza
colors: Petra Scotese
assistant editor: Renee Witterstaetter
editor: Mike Carlin
grade: B+
It's your final issue. After a long run, you're leaving the company under bad terms (they don't even mention Byrne's going in the letters page) and relatively unexpectedly. In my mind, there are essentially four options you can take with your final story:
1. Carry on and do what was planned all along.
2. Haphazardly attempt to bring everything you've been building for two years to a forced conclusion
3. Make a significant and difficult to reverse change to the character as a final "screw you" (though editorial wouldn't be likely to approve it)
4. Throw your all into it, and leave mouths gaping.
Who'd have ever thought Byrne would have the class to go for option #4?
It's not that this is the best Superman story ever; It's not even Byrne's best, but it's impressive. The art is strong, the scope is immense, there aren't the usual logic gaps, and (of course) the surprise ending (well, not really a surprise -- but I didn't want to believe what the cover was telling me) definitely qualifies as a memorable moment in Superman history.
Plus Byrne got Supergirl (or a version of her) reintroduced to continuity, as he'd planned all along (thus calling it "The Supergirl Saga" for the first two chapters, even though the scope veered away from that once Byrne realized this would be his last storyline).
And now, having read this, I find it funny that so many Superman fans take issue with what Supes did to Zod in the new Man of Steel film. Believe me, I'm hardly a defender of that film, but his actions there seem to be a clear homage to this issue (as well as possibly Wonder Woman #219).
Well, now I know why this was one of only two issues in the entire Post-Crisis run that cost me more than $2 to obtain. I paid $25 for this issue, and angrily so since I couldn't figure out what the heck the big deal was.
So I suppose the question people will want to debate is whether it was out of character for Supes to execute the rogue Kryptonians. Truthfully, I wasn't bothered by this. Even Superman frames it by explaining that it's the most heinous crime ever committed, far worse than the Holocaust, for which there is no prior template. He also acts as an agent of the Kryptonian justice system (being it's last law abiding citizen and feeling responsibility for these rogue Kryptonians), conducting what he feels is their brand of justice. So Byrne covered his bases. Since Byrne has been consistently lousy at providing this Superman with any kind of real characterization, I can't tell you if it's consistent or not. It certainly comes out of left field rather than as the product of an in-depth exploration on Superman's part, but I think that's necessary to execute (poor choice of words, there) the shock value effect.
Do I believe in the death penalty myself? No. Would I in the case of a super powered mass-murderer who was a threat to all life? Maybe? What if it was a super powered mass-murderer, and there was no one left to kill? No, but that's me.
And besides, wouldn't leaving them in a universe absent of life and civilization be a far worse fate? Seriously, what the hell was their desired outcome in all of this??
Important Details:
- Superman kills General Zod and his compatriots as final punishment for their wiping out the entire human population
- Supergirl revealed to have been created from a Proto Matrix. She is an artificial life form led to believe she was Lana Lang (who had died) in the Pocket Universe.
- Death of all inhabitants of the Pocket Universe aside from Supergirl
- Supergirl brought back to the Post-Crisis Earth to heal and be nurtured by the Kents and Lana Lang.
Minor Details:
- Implied for only the second time (the first being in Superman #1) that Supes has a photographic memory. How else would he have been able to find the Pocket Universe Kent home amidst all the rubble, even while acknowledging he'd only been there once and was distracted at the time?
- Upon his death, PU Lex Luthor laments that he could have done more to stop Zod and the gang, but he allowed his ego to get in the way because he wanted it to be HIM that stopped them. Apparently, though, he's still not smart enough to realize he could have used HIS technology to go back and prevent all this from happening (as explained in my review of Adventures of Superman #444 and then senselessly parodied here).
- It's also still unclear what Superman ever hoped to gain by fighting the rogue Kryptonians. Earth was already destroyed. Did he know all along that he was intending to bring them to (Kryptonian) Justice? And was his motive justice or revenge, and does Byrne see a difference between the two?
plot synopsis in one sentence:
Superman, PU Supergirl, PU Luthor, PU Pete Ross, and PU Bruce Wayne, Oliver Queen, and Hal Jordan face off against PU Zod, Quex-Ul, and Zaora, everyone but Superman gets toasted, but not before Lex communicates a final plan of attack to Superman, who then finds the remains of Superboy's lab in order to obtain the sample of Gold Kryptonite there, he uses it to subdue the villains while Luthor has a touching final lament about being blinded by ego, shockingly, Superman makes the final decision to execute the three as punishment for the slaughter of the entire world population, and he returns to the regular Earth, bringing a badly damaged PU Supergirl with him, charging the Kents and Lana to look after her while considering that, since executing the rogue Kryptonians, things can never be the same for him.
Quite a note to go out on.
Of course, we've still got Byrne on World of Metropolis #4 coming up next month, but he certainly didn't write that story (which I already suspect is going to be a flaming bag of poo) with the intent of it being his final exit.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 11:57:45 GMT -5
John Byrne -- The Life Flight that Failed (an opinion/speculation)
In 1938, an exceptionally healthy and quickly growing franchise was born to adoptive parent National Periodicals and birth parents Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel
His childhood was a healthy and prosperous one, with comic sales exceeding 1 million at times, and an exceptionally popular radio broadcast, as well as movie serial keeping the franchise thriving and at the forefront of the hearts and minds of most of America.
Though Superheroes were on the wane after World War II concluded, the Superman and the Molemen movie, followed by one of the most beloved television series in all of TV history, kept the franchise healthy and growing throughout its adolescence. Meanwhile, the comics themselves, the very core of the mythos, remained fresh and imaginative under the controversial but wildly successful watch of Mort Weisinger.
However, the first signs of illness set in during the franchise's twenties. As the deaths of the Kennedys and MLK Jr set in, as well as the increasingly questionable war in Vietnam, followed only a few short years later by the Watergate scandal, America became more and more disillusioned with the "establishment" with which Superman had now become so closely associated. Additionally, for the first time since its birth, the franchise had no wildly popular multi-media platform to sustain it. Superman was beginning to seem irrelevant, if not a little hokey.
Fortunately, by the end of the 1970s treatment arrived in the form of the 1978 motion picture, which gave the franchise a resurgence of health that it hadn't felt since it's early childhood, with people of all ages and demographics finding new affection for the franchise. This continued with the 1980 sequel.
But the illness recurred. The comics failed to capture much of the new energy found in the films. Superman was still out of touch with the current pulse of America, even if he represented ideals we all wished we could blindly embrace again. The third Superman film was no help here, which while fun at parts, was also laughably absurd. The franchise, now in its forties, was slowly beginning to bleed life.
In 1987 though, a reputable doctor was called to the scene. John Byrne, the biggest name in comics at the time (it would seem), would be starting Superman over from scratch, revitalizing him with a believability and edge that would make him relevant to modern day America, and he and colleague Marv Wolfman would even be brought aboard to help draft a concept for the next Superman film. Everything was going to be alright.
But it wasn't.
Chris Reeve got his own way with the fourth Superman film, and it effectively stopped the franchise dead in its tracks. Meanwhile, as so many posters have attested in this very thread, the massive throngs of fans who flocked to Byrne's Superman left soon after, shaking their heads in disbelief. Byrne's decisions had been controversial at best, and often downright tacky/embarrassing at worst. He left the franchise quietly and on bad terms while (I assume) sales had dipped noticeably. The patient was hemorrhaging life, Byrne was in a position to life flight him to health, and ended up taking the helicoptor on a joyride that crashed into a mountain instead.
An overstatement, you say?
It was just a bad run, you say?
Consider this. In the wake of Superman IV, DC was looking to do something to reclaim the success of the first two Superman films. At various times, they toyed with both creating a new Superman film and with making a Batman film. The final push towards making the wildly succesful 1989 Batman film that shot the character to the #1 superhero spot in nearly everyone's mind, trumping Superman for the first time since his creation, was Frank Miller's ambitious new take on Batman in Dark Knight Returns, which (for better or worse) succeeded in making the formerly hokey character relevant to modern Americans.
This is what Byrne was supposed to be doing with Superman.
Byrne didn't just create a bad run; he missed a critical opportunity -- Superman's last chance to reclaim his prominence in the minds of the average American. Instead of making Superman edgy, he just made him a bit of a sex maniac and placed him in unsettling circumstances that made us cringe. Miller began with a philosophical conversation in his own mind about who Batman would truly be; Byrne attempted to live out his childhood fantasies. The fanbase responded appropriately, DC looked at that reaction in making its decisions about which property to take to the next level via film.
Sure, Superman garnered attention again a few years later with the Death of Superman, but there was only so much DC could do with this increased attention in order to make it last. Jurgens and Ordway, though doing an absolutely fantastic job with the franchise by this point, had to work off of the character Byrne had left them in the post-Crisis recreation. This Superman wasn't really inherently different than the now irrelevant Pre-Crisis character. Most of what Byrne had done with him had involved circumstances and situations, not characterization. America was looking for something that better matched its own jaded views of justice at this point, maybe a character that begins with disillusionment and then seeks heroism and idealism from within himself,but Byrne missed his chance to find a characterization beneath the red and gold "S" that could deliver on this.
And so, while Superman continues to this day, remains DC's #2 most popular hero (though probably not the second most popular superhero overall) and flirts with bouts of attention in the limelight from time to time, the opportunity for a true renewal on life was missed. The patient has been dead for too long now. America doesn't really remember its romance with Superman anymore; the chance has been passed up to rekindle it. A different writer/approach in 1987 could have made all the difference; maybe even just a writer doing a reasonably competent job and riding on all the hype that DC had built-up for the relaunch. Maybe Marv Wolfman, unhindered by Byrne, could have delivered just enough depth and complexity to keep all the new readers entertained. Some of his stories and ideas in the pages of Adventures of Superman tried to deliver exactly the kind of disillusionment/rise to heroism conflict America was looking for, even while Byrne kept placing restrictions on what Wolfman could and could not do, including banning him from using Luthor and Lois Lane in his stories. Maybe Wolfman's approach would have been enough to keep Superman on the map and to convince DC to go ahead with a fifth Superman film, and Byrne sabotaged that opportunity in favor of his own embarrassing joyride with the franchise.
What do you think?
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 12:08:08 GMT -5
Action Comics Weekly #610
As some new properties and creative teams take over slots in this weekly showcase magazine, it's becoming more and more evident that the title is beginning to stall badly, even before they've managed to publish their first letter column (remember, we're only 9 weeks in to this experiment!).
Phantom Stranger -- Unique approach, doing done-in-ones instead of a continuing arc. I like the idea, I like the characterization, and the art is nearly as good as Mignola's was on the limited series from a year earlier, but the story did nothing for me and, in fact, left me unsatisfied by the conclusion.
Secret Six -- The team is FINALLY on an espionage mission, but Pasko depends more upon something going wrong in order to create tension/suspense than on the thrill of the mission itself and the ingenuity it requires. A tad unsatisfying. I'm reading in order to be impressed by ideas. I don't care for these characters enough to be concerned if one is about to be captured.
Green Lantern -- I could have a good time spending 15 minutes discussing the idea with a friend that there might be something wrong with Hal if he is truly without fear. However, I wouldn't want to read an entire ongoing storyline about it. Semi-interesting premise dragged out far too much.
Deadman -- This turkey is done. Stick a fork in it. It was fun (at times) while it lasted, but put it out of its misery.
Black Canary -- I know there are some overly heavy attempts at symbolism going on here. It's obvious Sharon Wright cares a lot about what she's pumping into this. I just find it entirely uninteresting. Entirely.
And then there's Superman...
"Show & Tell"
writer: Roger Stern
Pencils: Curt Swan
inks: John Beatty
letters: Bill Oakley
colors: Tom Ziuko
editor: Mike Carlin
grade: B (based on art alone)
If there was ever any doubt as to just how frustratingly slowly this story is progressing, the big reveal at the end of this issue (which Swan's panel arrangements literally gravitate towards) was also revealed on the cover of issue #606 (published four weeks earlier). Oops. Is Stern taking just a little bit longer on these stories than he'd intended to? Granted, doing a weekly two page feature is a pacing challenge, but this story has barely progressed at all since its genesis. Time to move on.
In contrast, as already mentioned, Swan does some fantastic work this time around. His panel arrangements are breath-taking, clearly building to the major reveal at the end (too bad it was already spoiled). Additionally, Tom Ziuko continues to do some absolutely gorgeous coloring here.
Still, were I a Superman fan back when this was on the racks, there's no way I would keep up with this title just for these almost completely insignificant weekly installments that progress the plot about a millimeter each time (if at all). The justification for keeping a Superman feature on this title was more to maintain tradition than to continue to attract Superman fans, and thus I'd say they're getting exactly what they planned for. As someone coming to these comics largely (though not entirely) for Superman, this is beyond frustrating at this point.
Boo to Stern and Carlin. Cheers to Swan and Ziuko.
Minor Details:
- "Bob" and his fellow congregates believe they have gained powers by worshipping Superman. One of these is the ability to create visual projections.
plot synopsis: Bob decides to follow Superman's advice by trusting Clark Kent, Clark takes him to Perry White, Bob creates a vision of his congregation worshipping a statue of Superman and reveals that they all have gained powers by doing so.
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