Superboy v2: Extraction HC

You wanna see something really scary?

Here it is.

I really tried, folks. I saw a few new 52 volume 2 collections listed on my library's website and decided to give them a shot. I think I made it 8 pages into this collection. I'm not even sure where to begin.

I'm not some crazy WildCATs or Gen 13 fan, but wow. I can't believe that Jim Lee is OK with his creations being sent this far off the mark. That is Warblade on the cover of the trade. Remember him? 90's topnot, looked as Image as possible? Now he looks like one of Cameron Hodge's smiley robots from the late 80's!

Grunge is a "Ravager," which evidently means that he's in some kill or be killed group that is trying to find the toughest young superhuman. I got a Terror Titans vibe from it, to be honest. I'm not sure what exactly was happening because I think the Legion of Super-Heroes were teaming up with Superboy, but I never saw them meet up. Seriously, the book goes from a one-on-one fight with a tech'ed up Grunge to a team-up with the Legion in bad costumes. I have no idea what happened.

I know I only read the first couple issues of Superboy with the relaunch, but surely I should be able to understand what is going on in a comic when I read it. Scott Lobdell and Tom DeFalco have done much better work than this, including some great mid-90's stories. But this, I couldn't even get through it.

RB Silva and Brett Booth don't exactly fit in the mold of the new 52 house art style, but the terrible costumes and re-designs make sure that the art is generic and uninspiring.

When I have to return a library book unread, that means it was EVIL!

Happy Halloween!

Superman: Secret Origins HC

A long time ago, in 2009, Geoff Johns had some ideas on how the origin of Superman should work. We know these ideas are clearly outdated and old-fashioned, clearly written for old-timers and hardcore nerds. The hardcover isn’t that old, but it’s all thrown out at this point. The New 52 origin for Superman looks quite different, making this an odd little relic that doesn’t really mean much.

Johns, as always, has some great ideas. I liked the concept that Clark suffered from premature firing of his eyebeams when he got excited. I don’t think Lex Luthor needs to hail from Smallville, but I suppose that doesn’t wreck any concepts. I am not a fan of Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes. The Legion stands well on its own, and having the gangly, big-headed Superboy hanging out with them (and them deferring to him) sort of made the Legion seem a bit more geeky than I ever thought in the past.

The Metropolis era of the story is pretty strong. It should come as no surprise that Johns’ best makeover is on the classic Superman villains Parasite and Metallo. Parasite in particular is a gross, nasty guy (and that’s before he gets his powers)! Metallo’s design is odd, I’m much more comfortable with the Terminator-style design John Byrne used in the ‘80s, but I loved the pig-nosed John Corben. If anyone deserves to be smacked around by Superman, it’s that guy.

I just hope that the new Superman origin doesn’t have Christopher Reeves’ head slapped on a kid’s body! Man, that weirds me out! I usually love Gary Frank’s artwork, but wowza, I kept getting jolted out of the story by Reeves’ uncannily familiar mug! It worked at times, especially when the adult Clark is bumbling around the Daily Planet, but in general, this veered too far into photo-referencing for me.

Fair

DC Comic Relaunch! Part Four!

DC Edge Titles
Stormwatch – Paul Cornell and Miguel Sepulveda – Ok, let’s review, the ONLY Wildstorm comic I have every issue of is Stormwatch. Martian Manhunter is my favorite DCU character. Paul Cornell has proven himself to me with Captain Britain and Dark Young Avengers. This is the easiest sell of the entire relaunch! I’m in!

Blackhawks – Mike Costa and Ken Lashley – I’m not opposed to this book, and I’ve enjoyed Costa’s GI Joe work. If I hear good things, I’ll go back and pick it up later. But I don’t think it will survive too long, unfortunately.

Sgt Rock and the Men of War – Ivan Brandon and Tom Derenick – I’ve tried to read a few Ivan Brandon comics and been unable to decipher what is happening. Pass.

All-Star Western – Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, and Moritat – I’m sorely tempted, but I’m going to pass, since this is looking like a $3.99 title. Plus, my Jonah Hex belongs in Vertigo.

Deathstroke – Kyle Higgins and Joe Bennett – I collected Deathstroke’s series in the ‘90s and enjoyed it, but reading a few issues of the current Titans series has put me off the character. I need a break. No thanks.

Grifter – Nathan Edmondson and CAFU – Ooh, Grifter with Rowdy Roddy Piper’s powers from They Live? And he’s hunted by Condition Red from WildCATS? I’m sorely tempted. I’ll probably pick this up digitally.

OMAC – Dan DiDio and Keith Giffen – the good: Giffen and Kirby concepts. The bad: DiDio. Right now, the bad outweighs the good, and I’m gonna pass. I’ll keep an eye on reviews, though!

Suicide Squad - Adam Glass and Marco Rudy – if there weren’t 51 other titles competing for my dollars, I might try this. But I don’t know Glass at all, so I’m going to pass.

Blue Beetle – Tony Bedard and Ig Guara – I have a soft spot for Jaime Reyes, I’m sure I’ll at least check out the first couple issues. My daughters are big fans too, this may be one of the couple of titles I pick up for them.

RUMORED Super-books
Action Comics – Grant Morrison and Rags Morales – the creative team is there, but I need to see if Superman is really wearing those AWFUL boots. And if he’s a kid. That will make my final decision.

Superman – George Perez – I know it will look pretty, but I remember Perez on Silver Surfer and Crimson Plague. How will this thing actually read? I’ll sample.

Superboy – Scott Lobdell – judging from the cover, he’s some sort of robot. And that terrible tattoo. No thanks.

Supergirl – Michael Green, Mike Jonson, and Mahmud Asrar- I don’t love the costume and I don’t know the creators. Pass for now.

Action Comics #901

Looks like I'm out as soon as I hopped back on to the Super-books. As a fan of the Triangle-era of Superman, I haven't loved anything from the Super comics for a few years now. I've kept up with everything through trades from my library, but it wasn't until Action Comics 900 last month that I decided I missed Superman enough to hop back on a monthly title. (I usually love Paul Cornell's work, but I wanted to protest the lack of Superman in Action Comics or Superman.)

Issue 901 is decent. The pacing is frantic, with the super-family shooting around a gigantic spaceship fighting off the Reign of the Doomsdays, where each Doomsday has taken on aspects of one of the super-characters. For some reason, the "normal" Doomsday is out of it and threatened by the other creatures.

This all sets up a sort of silly new super-Doomsday named Doomslayer. He's some sort of Brainiac/Doomsday hybrid, and in general he's pretty funny looking. I can deal with the simple plot because Cornell does such a nice job writing a heroic Superman and co.

Kenneth Rocafort's pencils aren't a good match for me. They are too soft and hazy. Sometimes he looks a bit like Cary Nord, but on a super-book, I like my comics looking a bit more "classic."

In any case, since this story won't count after the reboot anyway, I'm dropping this book. Perhaps I'll try out the Superman reboot, but I'm thinking that's unlikely.

Fair

Action Comics #900

What a fun little anniversary issue.

I picked this up to continue the Doomsday storyline I've been hopping around the DCU to read, so imagine my surprise when I saw that this is also the conclusion of the Black Ring storyline. I'm getting Black Ring in trade, so I'm a little annoyed to see the story spoiled, but I should have trusted Paul Cornell, he lays everything out nice and clear.


I guess Lex Luthor has become some sort of deity after bonding with some Phantom Zone creature. I don't know what happened, but the idea is straight-forward enough. Having a real, heroic Superman zip away from Metropolis, then face down his greatest foe was wonderful. Supes was confident, brave, and capable. I didn't see any tears or doubts, this is the Superman I want to read about. It was also fantastic seeing Supes take out the immensely powerful Luthor. Luthor had a chance to be the hero he THINKS he is, but destroying Superman is still the most important thing in Lex's life. What a sad life.

The other part of the story has the Superman family facing down Doomsday. I had predicted where this was going, but it is still fun seeing the S-shield crew going up against a problem this big. (And I'm also happy that all the Supes characters are still alive. Even Eradicator deserves better than to die in this story.) It should be pretty fun seeing everyone come together over the next months. (Is the Doomsday story continuing in Action Comics?)

The backup material is decent. The big moment is Superman renouncing his American citizenship, but I can't imagine that will stick. If it does, this issue may become a collectors' item, because people will be ticked. It's not just me, right? I mean, Supes getting so mad at America's place in the world that he decides America is too "small," that's a big deal, right?

Pete Woods does a nice job in the main story. I've always liked his work, so I hope he's going to a high-profile book like the JLA or something. There are a few pages where he aped different artists and it really came out well.

I think I may stick around Action Comics for a bit.

Good

Superboy #6

That Eddy Barrows cover is fantastic. Look at the determination in Superboy's face!

Sometimes it's fun watching the lead character get pounded. Unlike the rest of the Doomsday stories in the past few months, Superboy never has a chance. Everyone else stood up for a bit, even if they never came close to winning. From the moment Doomsday appears, Superboy is a punching bag. He gets knocked up and down the streets of Detroit; it really reminded me how powerful Doomsday was intended to be.

There is really only one little subplot, with Superboy's friend meeting up with the Atom. I haven't read much of this current Superboy series, but this kid is going to be Superboy's Lex Luthor, right? I mean, he has future super-villain written all over him!

Marco Rudy's art is fine, but he draws Superboy and Red Robin looking really young. They still have big kid-heads!

Fair

Comics on the Bubble: Loose Cannon #1-4 (1995)

Hoo boy. Somehow I had fond memories of this thing, and I also seem to remember it was a test run for Jeph Loeb's later run on the Hulk. I was wrong about a lot of things with this one.

Jeph Loeb did indeed write this, but it has little connection to his multi-colored Hulk epic of the past few years. Loose Cannon is a New Blood, a metahuman created when he was bitten by one of those parasite aliens back in the 90's. By day, he's a handicapped police officer, at night he becomes the "mood ring of super-heroes" Loose Cannon. It seems he progresses from blue, to purple, to red, and eventually to white, getting stronger and more mindless the angrier he gets. We've seen countless variations on this idea over the years, and it isn't like this interpretation adds a lot to the comic mythos. Loose Cannon is a generic brawler who blunders his way through these four issues mostly because of his own mistakes. A few conversations and issues 2&3 could be eliminated, and it isn't like we learned a ton about either aspect of Cannon's personality in issues 1&4.

Superman shows up and takes it easy on Loose Cannon, but the Eradicator immediately plunges into a prolonged battle. I remember liking the Eradicator, but now I need to seek out his mini-series to see if that is worse than I remember too. The worst part about this series is the terrible team of bounty hunters out after Cannon. Bounty Inc. is Highkick, Bomber, and Traxx. They look terribly 90's, with long hair and pouches everywhere. Worse still, they are the main opponents for two issues, yet little characterization here to care about. Maggie Sawyer of the Metropolis Special Crimes division gets some face time, but her inability to see through Cannon's simple duplicity makes her seem stupid. I mean, both her employee and Cannon call her "Mags!"

Adam Pollina is a fantastic artist, and you can see that in these pencils. Loose Cannon may have a terrible haircut and costume, but there are moments where he looks great. A lot of the panels look rushed, but you can see that Pollina has got some skills.

Issues 1-4: Sell

Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds TPB

Well color me surprised. I was sure that this new incarnation of the Legion would confuse the hell out of me, but Geoff Johns has done a wonderful job getting me up to speed. I started reading the Legion with Giffen's 5-year later series (one of the only eras being totally forgotten these days) and I kept up during the Zero Hour years. I was crushed when DnA's take finally ended, so it is not an easy thing to get me back into the Legion. But you know what? I'm back.

Johns wisely keeps the focus on a good core of characters. Everyone knows Brainiac, he's a natural central character. I have never really liked Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, or Saturn Girl much, but while they are still central to this story, Blok, the White Witch, Rond Vidar, Wildstar, and Dawnstar have almost equal panel time. Johns spends a ton of time with Superboy Prime, and he's such a compelling villain that he really drives the entire story. Mixing in such a simple villain with all these weird concepts like Takron Galtos and dozens of villains I've never heard of was a really effective way to tackle the story.

It is a thrill seeing the Zero Hour Legion back, even if it was just a short time. I love that Johns leaves them out there as the "New Wanderers" searching the multiverse for other characters marooned after their Earths are destroyed. There's a chance to see them again. Gates and XS actually stick around in the "real" Legion; I'm happy to see it, they were two of the better creations during Zero Hour. Johns shows once again how he's so good at drilling down a core concept and then putting the toys back in the box. (He brings back some pretty big characters in this one too. He loves setting stuff up.) This is a Legion I want to read more about! I can't believe it, but I think I'm in for the upcoming trades on the new series.

Superboy gets a nice (if short-lived) new status quo. Lurking in the "real" world and hanging in the DCU message boards? That's just perfect.

George Perez is the master of crowded fight scenes. There is always another Easter egg, hidden character, or tiny detail to pore over. There was one panel where three fists are punching a villain out, and I grinned at the tiny cameo for Triplicate Girl. Night Girl's revealing costume aside, I loved his take on the older Legion. I do have to admit I'm about ready for something new for Superboy Prime in the costume department.

Good

Kid Reviews: Tiny Titans #26

I like that girl Martian thinks that guy is a dolly. I like it that every time he has someone grabbing on to him, he pushes a button. Kroc wants to be the dolly. Kroc raised his hand to be the dolly. Miss Martian's hair is really super red. Miss Martian liked the dolly more than Beast Boy when he was a puppy.

Why is Cyborg on the cover if he's not green. He wasn't in the comic very much. Kid Flash was only in the comic once.

I like Speedy's green suit and I like that Superboy was in it. I thought their milkshakes were water.

Everything green is flying out of Gizmo's backpack.

This was good. This was a little bit as good as the other Tiny Titans and it was a little bit not as good.

Adventure Comics #5

What was the point of this issue? Superboy Prime smashes around "Earth Prime" and eventually attacks the DCU publishing offices in New York. To be honest, it seemed like the point of this book was to get a bunch of DC staffers drawn into a comic. We didn't really learn anything about Prime or Alexander Luthor and I don't really see how this affects the greater blackest night story either. All in all, I think the people who will appreciate this comic the most all collect paychecks from DC comics.

Jerry Ordway is solid as always, but man, after the somewhat amusing lead in to this tie-in, this was a real disappointment.

I will admit I'm a tad tempted by the backup story. I like the idea that Lex Luthor has some extended family that might make life tough for Superboy. I'm ready for a confrontation between Connor and his "father" too.

Average

Blackest Night #5

Ok, we've got some plot movement! Blackest Night is clearly a GL story; I opened up this issue and was immediately confused on how the rainbow corps got together. So I closed the book and moved GL 48 to the top of my stack and everything became clear. This issue picks up with Barry Allen taking on Nekron, Scar, and the Black Hand. There are some great moments as Barry is in rough shape, outnumbered and outmatched, but Wally West arrives and lends a hand immediately. I dug Barry's acceptance of Wally as an equivalent Flash too, I'm starting to believe "my" Flash won't be totally sidelined after Blackest Night. Green Arrow, Black Canary, Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Teen Titans arrive shortly after Wally does in a nice splash page. Along with Fire and Ice. Hoo boy, I don't like Fire or Ice's odds of making it out of this alive; they have fodder written on their foreheads.

Back in NYC, the JSA is still facing down Jean Loring and the slew of dead villains from the last few issues. There's an odd scene where Jean grabs the Atom and Mera and shrinks them all down into Atom Smasher's Black Lantern ring. I have no idea where this is going. I'm curious if this subplot will end up being important...

The Rainbow Corps arrives with some witty banter between Hal and Barry, as expected. There are numerous bits of dialogue and plot that pick up directly from GL #48; it would be impossible to read these separately. Black Hand gets nasty when he resurrects a Black Lantern Batman, although Bruce Wayne's name is in quotes, so I don't think it is the real guy. However, BH uses the emotional tie the heroes feel for Bruce to send black rings out to a ton of the heroes resurrected in recent years. Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, Ice, Impulse, and more are immediately turned, with rings flying after Hal and Barry too. Things could get mighty ugly very quickly, there aren't going to be any headliners left to lead the good guys! After a slower previous issue, things were flying along again here. Johns knows what he's doing.

Ivan Reis draws great gristle. These zombies look horrific. His post-transformation Scar is spooky too, she goes from creepy to full on scary very quickly, wrapping her tongue around Wally's throat. Gross!

Good

One final thought: Where's my Martian Manhunter?????

Adventure Comics #4

I'm kind of torn on this issue. I'm really quite amused that Geoff Johns is going full-throttle on his Superboy Prime as an angry fanboy thing, but at the same time, not much actually happens here. The issue opens with Superboy Prime (who lives in "our" world) reading Adventure Comics #4 and complaining that he has been included in the Blackest Night crossover. That type of in your face fourth wall breaking is hard to come by, and seeing SBP rage at his local comic store is pretty funny. He's even reduced to scouring the internet for clues about what happens in issue 5. Unfortunately, Alex Luthor gets a black lantern ring and pops off to Earth Prime to rile up SBP and eat his heart. Alex has some great lines, the best ones being dead-on statements about what the fan community thinks about SBP. I also liked his observation about computers, that they are instruments that we use to "channel our rage." It's all a bit on the nose, but like I said, it is amusing. However, not much actually happens here. I do think this was worth picking up just for that sweet Blue Lantern ring though!

I'm confused on the Legion. Brainiac 5 and the Legion are shown in the main story to be in the process of excavating old comics that they can use to try and determine what happened hundreds of years ago. Brainy also mentions that Sun Boy and Element Lad are dead. Didn't I just read about Sun Boy last month, or am I misremembering? It also seems like the status quo is quite different in the backup story. I'm totally befuddled as to the timeline and what is happening. I must confess that I haven't read Legion of 3 Worlds though, maybe that clears it up.

Jerry Ordway is spot on, as always. He's got such a great blend of emotion and action in his pencils that I always love it when he gets to headline a book. Clayton Henry has a clean style that works great for super-stories too; his Dawnstar in particular is quite nice.

Fair

Superman: Secret Origin #2

I'm really just not that interested in this version of the Legion. I know this is the classic take, but their involvement in this issue did absolutely nothing for me. In fact, the whole experience was pretty generic, with Superboy getting a quick team-up against generic thugs. The only interesting parts of this chapter were the bits featuring Lex Luthor. I enjoyed his and Clark's interaction in the library, and Johns is doing a good job showing just how much of a psychopath Luthor was from the start. I suppose it is interesting that Clark couldn't hang out with any Smallville kids, so the Legion was his only chance for real friends, but hasn't that been covered before?

All told though, there isn't much here. The lack of a strong antagonist in the story is hurting my interest.

Gary Frank is a great artist, but I'm not sure he's the right fit for a book with so many kids in it. The youth in this story look very weird, with odd proportions and weird expressions. But then again, I suppose that really is what it is like being a teenager, isn't it? Maybe he's getting it right after all.

Average

Blackest Night: Superman #3

I suppose I'm still glad I picked this up, but there really isn't a lot resolved. The issue closes with the normal "see Blackest Night!" type closer. Typical for a big crossover. I did like that the Super-buddies managed to take out Psycho Pirate and Kal-L. Having New Krypton have a "no-zombies" forcefield is a little convenient, don't you think? If I understand correctly, this takes Supergirl out of the whole Blackest Night story too. She can't leave the planet or their force field will go down and we'd have legions of super-zombies on our hands.

I'm not sure exactly how Psycho Pirate's powers work either. Superboy seemed to overcome his emotions when things got hairy, but I suppose I'm ok with that. I loved Superboy's use of the tactile TK. It felt like the old days, now put him back in black jacket and red shades!

Since the Pirate's mask seemed to totally dissolve the Pirate and Kal-L, I guess neither of them are possibilities to get resurrected at the close of Blackest Night.

Eddy Barrows' art is dynamic. His take on Superman isn't my favorite, but he does a nice job with teens like Superboy and Supergirl. He seems to enjoy rendering gristly zombies too.

Fair

Blackest Night: Superman #2

Things are starting to become a little stale with the Blackest Night crossovers, which could be a problem considering we've got like 5 more months of these things coming up. After reading Geoff Johns' great dead-dialogue from the Martian Manhunter, Kal-L's didn't really impress me as anything new. I enjoyed James Robinson's use of the Psycho-Pirate. I'm not too familiar with the character, but I loved how rather than getting involved in the super-fight, he just wandered around Smallville causing minor problems and ruining lives in minor ways. I don't know if P-P was that petty while he was alive, but its neat seeing a villain who is being bad for badness sake, without a real goal. The Black Lantern Lois Lane of Earth-2 kind of had to be there, but I really don't know anything about her so I'm not too invested in the Ma Kent vs. Lois aspect of the book. The same goes for the Supergirl portion of the title on New Krypton. The last time I read Supergirl she had knocked down the President's plane in Amazon's Attack, so I am totally clueless on her relationship with her Mom and Dad.

What I like the most about this issue was actually just seeing Superman, Superboy, and Supergirl in action. These are top-tier heroes with classic powers, and I liked seeing them go up against villains that give them a run for their money. It seems like Superman is off in another book in a black suit and Superboy is just going on dates, so seeing these guys actually fight someone was really nice. Robinson also uses the emotion-spectrum idea to great effect. His use of strong, positive emotions for the leads makes them more heroic.

Eddy Barrows does a nice job on the gore and dessication of the Black Lanterns. He's more of a Teen Titans-style artist, so his teens look better than his adults, but he does a decent job on Supes.

Fair