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The Kryptonian Cybernet Issue 23
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T H E K R Y P T O N I A N C Y B E R N E T
Issue #23 -- March 1996
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Homepage: http://www.ms.uky.edu/~sykes
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CONTENTS
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Section 1: Superscripts: Notes from the Editor
News and Notes
Even the best of intentions...
Just the FAQs
"Who is Supergirl?", Part 3: Matrix
by David T. Chappell
Section 2: Jerry Siegel
A Word of Correction
An Appreciation, by Rich Morrissey
Section 3: Reviews
The "Triangle" Titles
Superman: The Man of Tomorrow #4, by Arthur LaMarche
Action Comics #720, by William J. Nixon
Superman: The Man of Steel #55, by Arthur LaMarche
Other Super-Titles
Superboy #26, by Arthur LaMarche
Section 4: Reviews
Specials
Marvel Vs DC #3, by Rene' Gobeyn
Spider-Boy #1, by Rene' Gobeyn
Super Soldier #1, by Rene' Gobeyn
Merchandise
Section 5: After-Byrne
Introducing the Mysterious Mister Z!
Superman #51, by Mark Lamutt
Manuscripts of Steel
Superman For Earth, by Denes House
The Phantom Zone
Super Friends
Superman meets the Flash in DC COMICS PRESENTS #1-2
by Joe Crowe
Section 6: The Phantom Zone (cont)
The Girl Friend and the Pal
JIMMY OLSEN #132 and LOIS LANE #75
by Jon B. Knutson
Into the Archives
Superman #2, by Neil Ottenstein
The Mailbag
Section 7: TELEscopic VISION: Superman on the Small Screen
Tick ... Tick ... Tick
by Zoomway
Episode Reviews
#3-15: "I Now Pronounce You...", by Jeff Sykes
#3-16: "Double Jeopardy", by Marta Olson
Section 8: TELEscopic VISION (cont)
Episode Reviews (cont)
#3-17: "Seconds", by Shane Furlong
Contest Results
The winner of and answers to the pre-Crisis trivia contest!
Coming Attractions
EDITORIAL STAFF:
---------------
Jeffery D. Sykes, Editor-in-Chief
Arthur E. LaMarche, Executive Editor of Reviews
LEGAL DISCLAIMERS:
-----------------
Superman and all related characters, locations, and events are
copyright and trademark DC Comics. Use of the aforementioned is not
intended to challenge said ownership. We strongly suggest that each
reader look to the media sources mentioned within for further infor-
mation.
Opinions presented within this issue belong to the authors of
the articles which contain them. They should in no way be construed
as those of any other particular member of the editorial or contributing
staff, unless otherwise indicated.
This magazine should be distributed freely via e-mail. Should
you desire to share this publication with other on-line services, please
contact me at sykes@ms.uky.edu for permission. Feel free to advertise
subscription information on other on-line services which have internet
mail availability.
THE KRYPTONIAN CYBERNET is available by e-mail -- to subscribe, send
the commands
subscribe kc <address>
end
in the body of an e-mail message to "majordomo@novia.net" (without
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e-mail address. The program ignores the subject line of the message.
Back issues are available via ftp at acm-ftp.creighton.edu and at
ftp.hiof.no. Archives are also reachable via the Kryptonian Cybernet
Homepage (http://www.ms.uky.edu/~sykes/kc).
____________________________________________________________
SUPERSCRIPTS: Notes from the Editor
------------------------------------
NEWS AND NOTES:
SUPERMAN REBORN UPDATE
Trying to squelch a few rumors and answer the eternal "What have you
heard about a new Superman movie?" questions I've seen recently on
Usenet... Here's what we know. Apparently Jon Peters (the force
responsible for initiating the BATMAN franchise) will be producing the
new Superman movie. According to several sources, Jonathan Lemkin has
been (and may well be done) working on the script. Also from several
sources, the tentative title of the movie is SUPERMAN REBORN. Of course,
titles are very subject to change.
As for new information, all I have is a comment from a recent DC Online
message (from AOL) which mentions that the movie is scheduled to begin
production later this year. I imagine that this means the film would
hit theaters in 1997, probably in the summer, but that's only my guess.
More information as I find it!
MIKE CARLIN ON S:TAS
A couple of weeks ago, Mike Carlin (ex-Superman editor and the DC editor
of DC VERSUS MARVEL) mentioned on AOL that he reviews all scripts for
SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES. He indicated that he was thrilled with
the scripts he has seen so far, calling the series "perfect!" He also
indicated that the animation will be very reminiscent of that of the
1940s Fleischer cartoons!
DAN JURGENS BITS
Near the beginning of DC VERSUS MARVEL, Dan Jurgens was the guest at an
online session on AOL, and he revealed a few interesting tidbits
concerning the future of the Superman comics. First, he indicated that
while he will not be returning to art duties on any of the main titles
anytime soon, he will be providing artwork for some super-secret
Superman projects!
Second, he hinted at some plans on continuing the tale begun in SUPERMAN
VERSUS ALIENS! Dark Horse Comics has asked him for a sequel to the
wildly popular mini-series, but he did not indicate whether or not it
would happen. However, he did reiterate the fact that SUPERMAN VS
ALIENS took place inside current Superman continuity, and the story
*will* have repercussions on the Superman titles in the future. In
fact, he specifically mentioned that he has very special plans for Kara,
the teenage girl introduced in the series!
Finally, Dan also revealed that he wrote the original toy line proposal
that was presented to Kenner! He also mentioned that his proposal
included a playset which has not yet been implemented, but that he (and
I) would love to see -- a Fortress of Solitude playset!
NEW SUPERMAN FIGURES!
Scott Gordon recently sent me a list of new Superman action figures
which were shown at the recent Toy Fair (by way of a Usenet posting
from Sean P. Aune of Combo Magazine). The current line of Superman:
The Man of Steel figures will be gaining seven new regular five-inch
figures:
Lex Luthor
Kryptonian Eradicator
Metallo
Street Guardian Superboy
Street Guardian Superman
Solar Suit Superman
Ultra Shield Superman
The line will also add two deluxe five-inch figures:
Blast Hammer Superman
Ultra Vision Superman
Two new two-packs:
Cyber-Link Superman and Cyber-Link Batman
Superboy Vs. King Shark
And:
Kryptonian Battle Suit
10" Ultimate Superman
In the fall, a new line of Superman figures will debut to coincide with
the premiere of SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES. These "animated" figures
will include nine regular five-inch figures:
Brainiac
Darkseid
Lex Luthor
Capture Net Superman
Deep Dive Superman
Krypton Shield Superman
Neutron Star Superman
Quick Change Superman
Solar Energy Superman
and three deluxe five-inch figures:
Speeding Bullet Superman
Techno Armor Superman
Vision Blast Superman
SECOND PRINTINGS
DC has, for the first time in some while, that they and Marvel have had
to go back to press for second printings on a few recent books. These
can probably be attributed to attention given to the titles by media
outside the comics world, as the three issues are DC VS MARVEL #1,
MARVEL VS DC #2, and ACTION COMICS #720.
THE DEATH OF LEX LUTHOR
Jim Lesher forwarded me a brief obituary for Lyle Talbot, who died
recently at the age of 94. Talbot, who played Lex Luthor in the 1950
serial, "Atom Man vs. Superman", appeared in more than 150 movies,
including "Three on a Match", with Bette Davis, and "There's No Business
Like Show Business." TV viewers may also remember him as the Nelson's
neighbor, Joe Randolph, in "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet." Talbot
died in his home in San Francisco. A private memorial will be held.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Even the best of intentions...
------------------------------
Before we get into the new issue, I want to take a moment and address the
erroneous biography of Jerry Siegel which we ran last issue. It was never our
intention to print false information, it just so happened that we finally ran
across some information of which I had no knowledge. As I have mentioned
several times, my experience with Superman comics began with the John Byrne
era, and my knowledge of what came before is slim to none.
As several of our columnists and reviewers can attest, I am quick to point out
mistakes when I see them, and we do our best to make certain that such
mistakes do not see print. However, for most of us involved in the production
end of KC, the magazine is at best our second priority. I believe that we do
a very good job at catching mistakes, and I hope that our readers can
understand when something slips by. There are instances when we simply do not
have the time or resources to factually check every article.
However, I do not want this to seem as though I am making excuses. Believe
me, nobody feels worse about this particular screw-up than I do. After all,
this wasn't a review with a misattributed credit. This was meant to be a
tribute to a man without whom there would be no Kryptonian Cybernet. This was
a tribute to a man who has had one of the most profound impacts on the world.
We wanted to do right by him, to honor his memory.
And we blew it.
No sugar-coating. We screwed up.
The only way I know to make it right is with a public apology, and an attempt
to get the facts straight. As I write this, we are working on a follow-up
article to replace the one which we ran last month. It will present the
facts in a more accurate manner.
My deepest and sincerest apologies to each of you, and especially to Jerry
Siegel. May your creation continue to represent the best in mankind.
Jeff Sykes
Editor, The Kryptonian Cybernet
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Just the FAQs
More Details about Frequently-Asked Questions about the Man of Steel
by David T. Chappell
In the past two months, I have discussed two other incarnations of Supergirl.
This month, I cover Matrix, the current Maid of Might. Moreover, I have
decided to extend this series by combining two other, lesser versions of
"Supergirl." Now it's time to describe one of the heroines that fans love and
hate the most as I continue to ask,
"Who is Supergirl?"
Part III: Matrix
Introduction
To many super-fans, the one and only Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the heroine who
sacrificed her life to stop the Anti-Monitor in the Crisis on Infinite Earths
(see my article from the January KC). Other, newer fans have come to know and
love the Matrix of today. Whatever your opinion of her, however, today's
Supergirl has been shaped by the same artful minds that have created the
modern version of Superman. John Byrne introduced the new Supergirl in one of
his last (and, IMHO, greatest) Superman stories; Jerry Ordway and George Perez
handled Mae's next major appearance; and the entire Super-Team from the Death
and Reign eras further developed the Girl of Steel. Thus, this quick tour of
Matrix's story will also show us many of the highlights of modern Superman
continuity
An Alternate Supergirl from a Pocket Universe
The full story of the Pocket Universe is rather complicated, but a brief
summary is necessary to understand Matrix's origin. In order to preserve the
existence of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the remade universe after Zero
Hour, the original (i.e., pre-Zero Hour) Time Trapper stole an instant of time
from the universe and fashioned from it a pocket universe. The Time Trapper
fashioned this universe to his liking so that it bore subtle differences from
its parent: life developed only on the planets Earth and Krypton, and the
only super-hero on Earth was Superboy.
The resulting Superboy, his adventures, and his powers were practically
identical to those of the pre-Crisis Superboy. The first appearance of the
pocket universe, and the noble death of Superboy, appeared in an epic cross-
over with Superman that started in THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES (Vol.3, No.37)
in August 1987. Following Superboy's death, the Lex Luthor of the pocket
universe unwittingly released three powerful Kryptonian villains from the
Phantom Zone. These criminals attempted to conquer the Earth and eventually
killed billions of lives. A small band of rebels stood against them, but the
humans fared poorly against the super-powered Kryptonians.
After the death of Lana Lang, Lex Luthor created an artificial lifeform by
creating protomatter using Lana's molecular matrix. Luthor endowed the
resulting matrix with superpowers, modeled it after Superboy, and called it
Supergirl. In a last-ditch effort to save Earth, Luthor sent Supergirl out of
the pocket universe to Earth to recruit Superman to save them.
The Supergirl Saga
After failing to dupe Superman into a meeting by masquerading as Lana Lang,
Supergirl chased after him in her super-costume. Superman was initially
confused by this "flying woman in a variation of my costume," but after
hearing her talk of the destruction of Metropolis and the kindness of Lex
Luthor, Superman realized that she must be from the pocket universe. With her
memory restored by Superman's explanation, Supergirl continued to carry out
her duty by activating the device that returned both heroes to the pocket
universe. (SUPERMAN #21, Sept 88)
Within the pocket universe, Superman met Luthor and the other remaining human
forces in Smallville. They fought valiantly against the Kryptonian villains,
but even Superman's help could not save them all. As General Zod and Zaora
picked off the humans' aircraft, Luthor whispered a secret plan to Superman.
Luthor sacrificed himself to distract the villains while Superman rushed to
the remains of Smallville, wherein he located Superboy's destroyed secret lab.
As the brutal Quex-Ul threatened to kill him, Superman found and opened a
container holding gold kryptonite--the form of kryptonite that permanently
robs Kryptonians (in the pocket universe, not the real Kal-El) of their
powers. After securing Quex-Ul, Superman chased after his remaining foes and
quickly de-powered them as well. Though Superman had succeeded in defeating
these ultra-powerful enemies, he did so only after they had destroyed all
other life within their universe.
Even without their powers, the Kryptonian survivors did not feel defeated. The
murderers gloated that they would one day regain their powers, find a way to
reach Superman's reality, and destroy his Earth. The Phantom Zone projector
was destroyed, and Zod reveled that "You cherish life, even ours. And that is
what makes you weak!" Kal-El realized that Zod still presented a true threat
to Earth, but to stop the ruthless murders from carrying on further
destruction, Superman chose to do something "harder than anything I have ever
done before." He opened the canister of green kryptonite that slowly killed
the three treacherous villains and ended their reign of terror. Before
leaving the pocket universe, however, Superman saw the humanoid lump of
protoplasm that had been Supergirl, and he carried it back to his Earth as the
sole survivor of a dead world. (SUPERMAN #22, Oct 88)
Superman's execution of the Phantom Zone villains soon came to haunt him, and
a mental breakdown led to his exiling himself from Earth. It was on that trip
into space that Superman found the Eradicator and fought Mongul, but that is
another story. His guilt over the execution caused Superman to create a code
against killing, and this code continues to play an important role in
Superman's ongoing saga (e.g., ACTION #719, Mar 96).
By the end of the Supergirl Saga, all of Supergirl's powers had been revealed,
though it was not until her 1994 mini-series that her powers were thoroughly
tested. Supergirl can turn invisible by warping light, though she is not
super-silent when invisible. She is super-fast but noticeably slower than
Superman. Supergirl is strong, but it is with her psychokinetic blasts that
she can deliver her strongest blows. With her chameleon power, she can alter
her appearance and change her physical form at will. She can fly and has a
protective force field surrounding her. When faced with a fatal attack, the
Matrix will revert to its protoplasmic state to regenerate.
Identity Crisis
When Superman returned from the pocket universe, he left "Supergirl" with his
parents in Smallville. Though the creature was just a confused lump of
protomatter when she came back to Earth, she slowly came to develop again in
mind and body. Under the care of Jonathan and Martha Kent, as well as Lana
Lang, the Matrix -- as she insisted on calling herself -- was like a child.
Matrix was simple but kind, and the Kents taught her well, but her mind was
still confused.
As Mae lived with the Kents, Ma and Pa kept reminding her about Clark and
repeated stories of their son's escapades. Faced with an identity crisis,
Matrix finally took the physical form of Clark and set out for Metropolis to
take over Clark's life (ADVENTURES #453, Apr 89). With the real Superman
still in outer space, Clark's friends in Metropolis readily assumed that
Matrix was the real Kent. Though Clark seemed a bit out-of-it, the Daily
Planet staff tried to guide their confused friend. Kal-El soon returned to
Earth, and Matrix seemed amazed to see Superman flying by, but a full day
passed before the two Clarks got together.
During his journey through the galaxy, Superman had obtained the Eradicator,
an ancient, powerful Kryptonian artifact. When Matrix returned to Clark's
apartment on the day of Superman's return, he found the Eradicator sitting on
a shelf. A silent blast knocked Matrix unconscious and damaged Clark's
apartment. Afterwards, Matrix confirmed his mental state: "Matrix is
artificial protomatter. I am Clark Kent!" Jimmy Olsen reached the apartment
in time to take a memorable picture of Superman with Clark Kent before Matrix
returned to Smallville (SUPERMAN #34, Aug 89).
Following his exposure to the Eradicator, Matrix regained a clear head, but he
continued to think he was Clark. With Matrix in Smallville and Kal-El in
Metropolis, the two Clarks started having flashes of sensing each other's
experiences through a mental link. As Matrix's problem grew worse, he
mimicked Superman's good deeds in a way that harmed innocent people
(ADVENTURES #457, Aug 89). After Lana called the real Clark to tell him about
the problem, Superman rushed to Smallville to face his doppleganger. Matrix's
insanity reached its culmination when Superman appeared, and the two began to
fight. Matrix used his shape-shifting ability to fashion a dark mockery of
Superman's costume, and he charged after the real Man of Steel to protect the
Kents and Lana. After reminding Matrix of his pocket universe origins and
insisting that "A Superman must not kill," Kal-El finally forced Matrix to
realize what he was. Rather than continue to endanger his loved ones, Matrix
left the Earth and flew off into space, still bearing the form of Superman
(ACTION #644, Aug 89).
Back in a Panic
Matrix's exploits in space went undocumented for years, and it seemed that he
might never be seen again. Then, on the planet Kletus-4, he got into a
fateful bar fight. Draaga and the Cellkeeper (both of whom Superman had
encountered during his exile in space) recognized the famous "S" emblem on
Matrix's costume, and they confronted the man they thought was Superman. Just
as Draaga was about to deliver the death blow, Matrix slipped back to the form
of Supergirl. Brainiac's Warworld revealed itself at that moment and
teleported the three aliens onboard.
After a reunion of several old characters, Warworld headed towards earth.
Maxima had already aligned herself with Brainiac, and Draaga had been a former
champion of Warworld. Brainiac used his mental powers to dominate the mind of
Matrix, who remained in the form of Supergirl. With these allies plus the
power of Warworld and its many alien warriors, Brainiac formed his strongest
attack against the Man of Steel. In the eight-part "Panic in the Sky" story
line, Superman led Earth's mightiest heroes in a desperate fight against
Brainiac and his invasion forces. At the conclusion of the story, Matrix had
been freed from Brainiac's control and had to decide where to go: "This
'skin' feels right, and the name 'Supergirl' does suit me." Thus, in the
aftermath of disaster, Supergirl returned to Earth. (ADVENTURES #489, Apr 92)
A Super-Heroine
When Supergirl's rocket ship crashed on Earth, she was rescued by the man she
recognized as her creator: Lex Luthor. The new, young Luthor looked nothing
at all like the bald man she met on her first visit to Earth, and she saw
within Luthor, Jr. the same love she found in the Luthor of the pocket
universe. Thus, through a twist of fate, Lex Luthor finally achieved his
long-time dream of controlling a super-being (ACTION #675, Apr 92). Supergirl
quickly fell in love with Lex and joined his Team Luthor in the fight against
crime. She continued to do his bidding even as she helped make Metropolis
safe.
For a while, Supergirl was content in this state of affairs. She occasionally
aided Superman and other heroes of Metropolis in major events such as the
Blaze-Satanus War. Superman tried to warn Matrix about Lex Luthor, but she
would hear nothing of his warnings. Supergirl became Luthor's girlfriend and
bodyguard, and she often used her shape-shifting powers when accompanying him
in trips around the world. Despite her strong association with Luthor,
however, Supergirl remained good at heart and recalled the good lessens Ma and
Pa Kent had taught her.
Supergirl's next major role came in the Death of Superman Trilogy. Although
she had established herself as a super-heroine in Metropolis, she was
noticeably absent when Doomsday came. She wanted to rush to aid Superman, but
Luthor kept his Supergirl at home in Metropolis until the monster came to
them. When it became apparent that his home city was in danger, Luthor
finally urged Supergirl to join in the fray. Though she managed to keep
Doomsday off Superman for a few seconds to give him a breather, Supergirl
quickly fell prey to Doomsday when a single, powerful blow from the creature
returned Matrix to her protoplasmic state (S:MOS #19, Jan 93). Despite her
intense pain, she crawled though the city rubble to reach the site of the
final fight to assist Superman, but she was both too late and too weak to
help.
At Luthor's urging, Matrix managed to pull herself back to her Supergirl form,
and she joined the world in mourning the death of its greatest hero. Supergirl
fought to keep Superman's corpse from falling into the hands of Project
Cadmus, and she later battled to recover his stolen body from the Project.
Meanwhile, Supergirl began making a stronger effort to be visible in her fight
for crime as she did all she could to fill the void left by the Man of Steel's
death. She continued to work by the side of Team Luthor and even earned a
co-starring role in the SUPERGIRL AND TEAM LUTHOR one-shot comic. When the
false Supermen started to appear on the scene, Supergirl met Superboy and used
her beauty to encourage him to join Lex's staff (ADVENTURES #502, July 93).
She fought side-by-side with Superboy and later rushed to the harbor when
Kal-El's Kryptonian battle-suit reached Metropolis. After being convinced
that the true Superman had returned, she joined the assault team that headed
to Engine City; as Superman's secret weapon, she flew invisibly and fought
valiantly against Mongul and the Cyborg. Her presence was vital in the fight,
but she also played two important roles in the aftermath of Superman's return.
Matrix's telekinetic powers reconstructed Superman's costume at the battle's
conclusion, and she later used her chameleon powers to make the world believe
that Superman rescued Clark Kent from a storm shelter in Metropolis.
Supergirl essentially returned to her role as a second-string player after
Superman's return, but she soon earned her own four-issue mini-series. In the
1994 SUPERGIRL story, Matrix learned how Luthor planned to clone her to make
an army of Supergirls, and she finally accepted that he was evil and
malicious. After she confronted Luthor, Supergirl left him and joined one of
his former wives to tour the world and learn from her (SUPERGIRL #4, May 94).
Supergirl has made several sporadic appearances since she left Metropolis. She
played a minor role in Zero Hour and most notably joined other heroes in a mad
race through time to stop Parallax at Coast City (WARRIOR #24, Sep 94).
Later, she briefly joined the New Titans on a few of their adventures.
Supergirl had a few starring roles in SHOWCASE '95 when her travels took her
through Charlotte, NC. When the Alpha Centurion told her about Superman's
troubles with the Tribunal, Supergirl left the Titans to join his Superman
Rescue Squad (ADVENTURES #529, Nov 95). After helping bring the Trial of
Superman to a happy ending, Supergirl returned to Earth with the Squad and
resumed her super-heroic duties.
The Girl of Tomorrow
Current plans by DC Comics will help further establish a permanent place for
Matrix. The 1996 SUPERGIRL ANNUAL #1 will feature three stories set in the
distant future. Furthermore, Supergirl will gain her own regular title
starting later in 1996, with Peter David set as the writer.
She came to Earth as the sole survivor of a dead world. For a brief time, she
thought she was Earth's greatest hero. She joined an invasion force against
Earth, only to turn around and join the ranks of our planet's heroes. She
happily served the will of Superman's greatest enemy yet nearly killed him
when she learned of his treachery. In times of need, she travels through time
and space to save mankind and her friends. She is Supergirl, and she is here
to stay.
____________________________________________________________
*********************************************************
End of Section 1
____________________________________________________________
JERRY SIEGEL
------------
A Word of Correction:
As I indicated in Superscripts, last month's Jerry Siegel bio contained a few
factual errors. The most notable of these was the remark that Mr. Siegel
never worked on another Superman comic after 1947. As several readers pointed
out, Mr. Siegel did begin writing Superman stories for DC again in the late
1950s, and he continued to do so through the mid 1960s.
In addition, it seems our sources were misinformed about the relationship
between Mr. Siegel and DC Comics through recent years. In fact, as Dan
Jurgens informed me,
"To the best of my knowledge, the current relationship between the Siegels and
DC was extremely good. I base this on first hand observations as well as
comments made to me by both parties. The fact that Paul Levitz and Jenette
Kahn managed to bridge what once seemed a very wide gap in relations is
commendable considering the situation they inherited. It's good to know that
despite the terrible treatment of Superman's creators in the past, all parties
concerned managed to build a good relationship...as it should have always
been."
Again, we regret the errors printed last issue and hope that the following
piece helps to set the record straight.
____________________________________________________________
Jerry Siegel: An Appreciation
by Rich Morrissey
The world knew Jerry Siegel, who died on January 29, 1996, as the co-creator
of Superman, but his contributions to the field of comic books went well
beyond that. It's literally true that superhero comics as we know them would
never have existed if not for Siegel, and many other successful characters,
some still running, emerged from his typewriter.
Jerome Siegel was born in 1914 in Cleveland, Ohio. He grew up reading science
fiction and the early comic strips, with his favorites including Wash Tubbs by
Roy Crane and Flash Gordon by Alex Raymond. He dreamed of being a writer or a
cartoonist, but his lack of artistic ability seemed to preclude the latter
career. Then he met Joe Shuster, a Canadian-born classmate who also enjoyed
science fiction, and who could draw with a simple but effective style.
Shuster was enthusiastic about Siegel's ideas, and the two teamed up to
produce an early science-fiction fanzine, and attempted to break into the
field of comic strips.
After unsuccessfully approaching a number of syndicates and individual
newspapers, Siegel and Shuster sold several continuing features to one of the
first comic book publishers to feature original material. National Allied
Publications (which would later have a number of names including Detective
Comics, Inc., Superman, Inc., and National Periodical Publications, Inc., but
was best known over the years by its current name of DC Comics) was founded by
Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, but soon taken over by publisher Harry
Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz. Since it wasn't able to afford the rates
charged by the syndicates to reprint the famous newspaper strips, it survived
by purchasing new material from writers and artists trying to break into the
field, including Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
Siegel and Shuster's early work for DC included Doctor Occult, featuring a
sleuth of the supernatural, and various police features like Radio Squad and
Federal Men. Their most successful early feature was Slam Bradley, whose
title character was a hard-boiled private detective who plunged into adventure
with both fists flying. Slam's sidekick was a diminutive comic-relief figure
named Shorty Morgan who demonstrated the influence of Roy Crane, having been
clearly inspired by the title character of Crane's influential strip Wash
Tubbs. Slam himself owed a great deal to Wash's companion Captain Easy,
introduced to the strip in 1929 and becoming its true lead long before the
title of the strip was changed to match. Still, it was a cleverly written and
drawn feature, headlining Detective Comics for 26 issues before Batman came
along to displace him. By that time, however, Siegel and Shuster had finally
sold their greatest creation.
Siegel had had the idea of Superman as early as 1931, when his fanzine
featured a text story called "The Reign of the Superman." The title character
was a man named Dunn whose brain power had been artificially increased, and
who almost succeeded in taking over the world before the effects wore off.
Dunn ended the story bitterly regretting the fact that he hadn't used his
powers for good instead of evil, and, in 1933, Siegel and Shuster came up with
a new version of Superman who would do just that.
What happened then is one of the best known stories in the history of comics.
How Siegel and Shuster initially submitted Superman to the newspaper
syndicates only to have him wind up at DC when the McClure syndicate passed
them on; how M. C. Gaines, Sheldon Mayer, and DC editor Vincent Sullivan
persuaded publisher Donenfeld to try out the character as the lead feature of
the new title Action Comics, how DC published the character only by insisting
on its standard practice of buying all rights to the character for $130, how
from his first appearance in the June 1938 issue Superman brought the sales
figures to phenomenal levels, and how Superman was tried out in an
unprecedented solo title that became the field's top seller for several
decades, are events that have been told and retold for decades. What is less
well known is what Siegel and Shuster, suddenly finding themselves "the
royalty of comicdom" in Joe Simon's words, did in the wake of their new-found
success.
Joe Shuster very quickly found himself overwhelmed with several continuing
features to draw, plus a regular Superman title that quickly switched from
reprints to new material and from quarterly to bimonthly, plus a newspaper
strip that the McClure syndicate suddenly decided wasn't such a bad idea after
all. He hired several other artists including Paul Cassidy, Wayne Boring,
John Sikela, Ed Dobrotka, and Ira Yarbrough to help with the art and
eventually draw entire stories, although Siegel and Shuster continued to be
the only credited people. He gave up Slam Bradley, Radio Squad and the other
features so he and his shop could concentrate on Superman. But Jerry Siegel
continued to write his features until well into the 1940's, writing every
Superman story (with one or two possible exceptions) until he was drafted in
1943. As other superhero features came to dominate comic books, Siegel found
time to launch several new ones for DC with different artists.
For More Fun Comics, Siegel and artist Bernard Baily (who, in a grim bit of
irony, died within days of Siegel) created The Spectre. The Spectre was a
ghost who carried Superman one step further, possessing near-omnipotent powers
beyond even Superman's. Yet in several significant ways Siegel created him as
the antithesis of Superman. Superman's powers were rooted in super-science,
The Spectre's in the supernatural. Superman's civilian identity, reporter
Clark Kent, was upper-middle- class, timid and shy, rejected by the woman he
loved; The Spectre's civilian identity, police detective Jim Corrigan, was
lower-middle-class, tough and domineering, forced by his ethereal status to
reject the woman who loved him. Where Superman, barring a few very early
stories in which he was seen to kill in the heat of battle, had pledged never
to take a human life, The Spectre was literally the instrument of divine
wrath, often killing criminals by such means as forcing him to look into his
deadly eyes. The Spectre failed to win the success Superman had, but he
appeared for several years in More Fun, and has been successfully revived a
number of times right up to the present day.
Siegel's next project was much more ambitious: a pair of patriotic heroes to
compete with others in the field such as The Shield and Dusty at MLJ and
Captain America and Bucky at Marvel. As usual, Siegel added his own unique
twist to the idea: instead of a man with a boy sidekick like the others (an
idea going back to Batman and Robin), The Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy were
a teenage boy with an adult sidekick. Star-Spangled Comics took its name from
the leader and brains of the team, but it wasn't a runaway success, possibly
due to the less than spectacular art of co-creator Hal Sherman. The Kid and
Stripesy were quickly displaced by the team who'd created their most
successful rivals, Captain America and Bucky, when Joe Simon and Jack Kirby's
Newsboy Legion took over the lead position with Star-Spangled Comics #7. But
with the same issue, Jerry Siegel, this time reunited with Joe Shuster (or at
least with his shop) introduced a more long-lived character, Robotman, a man
whose brain was placed in a robot body. Although soon taken over by others
(notably artist Jimmy Thompson and writer Joe Samachson), Robotman remained a
successful backup feature well into the 1950's, and a revived version of the
character was the star of DC's later team, the Doom Patrol, into the 1990's.
Today the name of Robotman is carried on by another unrelated character, the
title character of Jim Meddick's newspaper strip.
In 1941, Siegel had suggested to DC a strip called Superboy, featuring
Superman as a boy fond of practical jokes. DC trademarked the name but did
nothing else with it until after Siegel had been drafted during World War II,
perhaps considering practical jokes inappropriate even for the youth of their
most famous and upright hero. When he had a chance to fit a story into his
military schedule, Siegel instead applied the idea to Superman's villains,
such as The Prankster and Mr. Mxyztplk.
But in 1944, faced with the declining popularity of some of the superhero
features, editor Jack Schiff took another look at the Superboy concept. He
asked Don Cameron and Bill Finger, who had become the primary Superman writers
after Siegel's enlistment, to provide stories of Superman's childhood,
assigning Joe Shuster himself to draw. Although Schiff acknowledged the
inspiration of Siegel and Shuster and credited the stories to the team (as
Superman's continued to be), Siegel wasn't flattered by the unauthorized use
of, and changes in, his original idea, especially since Superboy quickly
usurped the position in More Fun Comics formerly held by The Spectre. After
the war, Siegel's relationship with DC continued to become more and more
strained.
For years Siegel had seen DC make money off his character, not only in comics
but in licensing. Paramount had done a very successful animated cartoon
series with Superman, he'd appeared on a radio show and in several books, and
now a live-action serial starring Kirk Alyn as Superman was in the works.
DC's executives felt they'd treated both him and Shuster well, but there was a
genuine case for both sides. Siegel and Shuster launched a lawsuit to attempt
to recover the rights to the character, eventually accepting a cash settlement
usually given as around $400,000, and set out to repeat their success with a
new character.
On the whole, the move made much more sense in the context of the times than
it appears in retrospect. Creator's rights had long been a major issue in
newspaper strips, with many early cartoonists like Richard Outcault (The
Yellow Kid) and Bud Fisher (Mutt and Jeff) changing syndicates several times
to gain control of their characters. Often in the early days, multiple
versions of the same strip were the result, as when Rudolph Dirks lost control
of The Katzenjammer Kids to King Features Syndicate but was able to launch a
new strip, The Captain and the Kids, with a virtually identical cast. But
syndicates were getting more and more careful, not only copyrighting strips
but trademarking the names and likenesses of the characters, so the current
generation of cartoonists was forced to resort to other tactics.
And many creators had discovered that, even without their characters, their
talents and track records were valuable in launching new properties. In the
late '30's, Hal Foster had left Tarzan (owned by creator Edgar Rice Burroughs)
to create Prince Valiant, which he owned. Siegel and Shuster's early
influence, Roy Crane, had left Wash Tubbs, owned by NEA, in 1943 to create his
own Buz Sawyer, and in 1946 Milton Caniff, creator of the Chicago Tribune
Syndicate's Terry and the Pirates, had departed that strip and launched the
creator-owned Steve Canyon. With the example of Siegel and Shuster in front
of them, other comic book creators including Will Eisner, Walt Kelly, and the
team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby had retained ownership of some of their
characters. Even at DC Comics itself, Bob Kane and "Charles Moulton" (William
Moulton Marston) had retained partial ownership of their characters, Batman
and Wonder Woman. (It says a great deal for Jerry Siegel that, although he
had originated the concept of Superman and had attempted to sell the character
with at least two other artists, Mel Graff and Russell Keaton, he always
insisted on listing Joe Shuster as Superman's co-creator, and entitled to a
share of the profits. While Kane had developed Batman with writer Bill
Finger, and Marston developed Wonder Woman with artist H. G. Peter, neither
co-creator was given a share of the profits.)
So Siegel and Shuster were taking a logical course of action when, following
the lead of others in the field, they left Superman in 1947 and launched a new
character, Funnyman. Very likely incorporating some of their original concept
of Superboy, Funnyman was really comedian Larry Davis, who had no super-powers
but used tricks and practical jokes to fight crime. Superman's original
editor, Vincent Sullivan, was now the publisher of his own company, Magazine
Enterprises, and had long felt his one-time proteges had deserved a better
deal. He agreed to give the new character a try, but, despite sparkling
scripts and art with a lighter touch, 1947 wasn't the ideal year to start up a
new comic book, especially one that straddled the superhero, detective, and
humor genres. Funnyman's comic book died after seven issues, around the time
Siegel and Shuster sold the character's newspaper strip to the syndicates.
As a newspaper strip, Funnyman was only slightly more successful. He had to
compete with Superman's more polished strip (now produced largely by writer
Alvin Schwartz and artist Wayne Boring, both of whom had been working under
the names of Siegel and Shuster for years), and Shuster's art continued to
decline due to the artist's ever-worsening vision. In a final attempt to save
the strip, Siegel turned to pure comedy and retired Larry Davis in favor of
his friend Reggie Van Twirp, who eventually took over the title. A rich,
good-hearted, but very fluffyheaded bachelor who was always getting into
trouble, Reggie was clearly inspired by Bertie Wooster, the narrator of a
series of short stories and novels by the British humorist P. G. Wodehouse.
Reggie's tyrannical Aunt Lucy and resourceful butler Higgins paralleled
Bertie's overbearing Aunt Agatha and his brilliant valet Jeeves, but he was no
more successful as a lead character than Funnyman had been, and marked the end
of the long-standing Siegel/ Shuster collaboration.
Joe Shuster went on to pencil a few stories for Charlton before his vision
deteriorated to legal blindness, and Siegel spent the next several years on
new projects for several other companies. At Toby he collaborated with Alex
Schomburg, one of the most popular cover artists on pulps and comic books, to
create Jon Juan, an immortal ladies' man born in ancient Atlantis and still
alive today, whose romantic adventures could take place anywhere in history.
Jon only lasted a single issue. Barely more successful was Lars of Mars, a
Ziff-Davis comic book by Siegel and Murphy Anderson, about a TV star who,
unknown to the world, was an actual Martian. Siegel also collaborated with
John Buscema, who would one day be one of Marvel's top artists, to create a
boy with powers taken from nature, appropriately called Nature Boy. In an
unusual twist on his original Superman/Superboy concept, Siegel had occasional
adventures of Nature Man, apparently Nature Boy in the future as an adult, but
this too didn't last long.
For these and many other publishers, Siegel produced a number of individual,
non-series stories in the science-fiction, Western, horror and other genres.
But as comic books continued to decline after the Wertham scares and the
inception of the Comics Code, Siegel decided to let bygones be bygones and
return to his original publisher and character. Editor Mort Weisinger had
lost several regular writers and was delighted to have Superman's originator
back, and, between 1959 and 1966, Jerry Siegel introduced a whole new
generation to his unique blend of adventure, occasional tragedy, and sometimes
very wacky humor.
Working on Superman and his entire extended family, including the new Lois
Lane and Jimmy Olsen titles, Siegel could outdo even Otto Binder for
wackiness, as Jimmy became a giant turtle man, Superman went through an entire
story full of April Fool jokes, and Bizarro #1, created by Alvin Schwartz and
Otto Binder (in the daily newspaper strip and comic book respectively) as a
relatively tragic figure, turned into the leader of a completely outrageous
square planet of people like himself who did everything backwards. Even the
occasional tendency to bend, if not break, the law that Superman had shown in
his earliest stories occasionally resurfaced. After his return, one of
Siegel's first stories had Superman drafted through the machinations of an
overbearing Army captain, and Superman used one of his frequent early tactics
(obeying orders to the letter, but interpreting them in original ways) to make
life so miserable for the officer that he was happy to discharge the
Kryptonian soldier. The implied comment on the ethics of martial law and
peacetime conscription that Siegel could never have gotten away with during or
immediately after World War II was startling for 1950's DC, yet the story was
not only published but successfully reprinted years later.
But Siegel also had his serious side, revealing the repressed jealousy and
deprived childhood that had turned Lex Luthor from a friend into Superman's
greatest enemy, and scripting two of the all-time favorite Superman stories.
"Superman's Return to Krypton" brought Superman through time and space to the
planet of his birth before the explosion, prepared to die in it and enjoying a
doomed romance with the lovely actress Lyla Lerrol. And "The Death of
Superman," the Imaginary Story (which would now be termed an Elseworlds story)
that showed what might happen if Luthor actually succeeded in killing
Superman, won fandom's Alley Award for the best story of 1961. It was also
Siegel who carried the Legion of Super-Heroes from the one-shot group of three
that Binder had introduced through a number of guest appearances in various
stories, eventually launching them into a regular series that he wrote
regularly at first, and irregularly until 1966. His final two-part Legion
story featured a renegade computer called Computo (contrary to occasional
published credits, Edmond Hamilton had nothing to do with it), several years
before the infamous HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Ironically enough, Jerry Siegel's second tenure at DC ended for the same
reason as his first. The law then in effect required that all copyrights be
renewed 28 years after publication, and that the originator of any work had
the first right to do so even if he had sold the rights in the interim. In
1966, 28 years after 1938, Siegel filed such a renewal for the earliest
Superman stories on behalf of himself and Joe Shuster, challenging DC's right
to renew the copyright under its own name. The case dragged through the
Federal courts for years, but once again led to the severance of relations
between Siegel and DC. Even the Superman newspaper strip, which Siegel had
taken over again upon his return to DC, was cancelled. Perhaps it was too
much a memory of happier days for all parties, but Superman's strip was soon
replaced by a new one featuring DC's latest TV star, Batman.
Siegel again picked up work elsewhere, and wrote several stories for
characters as diverse as the Angel at Marvel and the Junior Woodchucks at Gold
Key. But the vast majority of his work was done for Archie Comics, which was
trying to reenter the superhero field it had largely abandoned in favor of the
redheaded teenager's comedy adventures. Expanding on its few superhero titles
like The Fly, Archie brought back both old and new heroes from its line
including The Web, The Black Hood, and The Hangman, bringing them all together
as the Mighty Crusaders. Alas, editor Rick Goldwater seems to have instructed
Siegel to attempt to blend several styles, ranging from the campiness of the
phenomenally popular Batman TV show with Adam West, to a bad imitation of the
angst-ridden conflict of the increasingly popular Marvel Comics line. All of
this mixed with Siegel's own sense of tragedy and humor about as well as water
with gasoline and mercury, and soon the "Mighty Comics Group," whose very name
reflected the Marvel influence, was nothing but a memory.
Jerry Siegel himself was reduced to getting work where he could find it,
sometimes in comics and sometimes in obliquely related fields. I remember
watching the live local host in Boston, dressed as Captain America, of the
Marvel Super-Heroes cartoon series providing commentary for the series. His
disdain for DC, "Brand Ecch" to Marvel editor Stan Lee, seemed far more
sincere than Lee's tongue-in-cheek quips, but he'd flip 180 degrees at the end
and praise Superman, whose show followed Marvel Super-Heroes on the schedule.
His dialogue, it turned out, was written by the man with plenty of personal
reasons to love Superman even as he disliked his publisher...
The case of Siegel v. National Periodical Publications Inc. made it to the
appellate level, and the Supreme Court declined to hear it. The Federal
judges denied DC's contention that Superman qualified as "work for hire"
(Siegel and Shuster having proved that the character had been conceived
independently of DC), but held that the prior settlement in 1948 had precluded
reopening the case. In despair, Siegel decided to appeal to the court of
public opinion. He wrote impassioned letters stating his case to several
trade publications, most of them failing to print them.
But others in the field sympathized, most notably Neal Adams. A popular
artist who had worked for DC on Deadman, Batman, Green Lantern, and briefly
for Marvel on the X-Men and Avengers, Adams was struck by the tragedy of
Siegel's situation and even more by the blind Joe Shuster's. Making use of
his contacts in comics and other media, Adams got Siegel and Shuster onto The
Today Show and enabled them to get attention from other high-profile media.
The news was just beginning to break about the then-in-production series of
Superman movies that would eventually star Christopher Reeve, and the millions
of dollars spent on the project at the same time Superman's creators were in
financial straits was a story worth telling.
At first DC publisher Carmine Infantino took a hard line with Siegel and
Shuster, insisting, not entirely incorrectly, that they'd always been treated
fairly. But the publicity didn't reflect at all favorably on DC or its parent
company, Warner Communications, and several people higher in the conglomerate
became involved before a settlement was reached. According to some reports,
the situation with Siegel and Shuster played a part in the replacement, soon
after, of Carmine Infantino as publisher.
The terms of the settlement were announced early in 1976 by Siegel, Shuster,
Adams, and new DC publisher Jenette Kahn. They included a pension for each
man with provisions for their survivors and certain other details that
remained undisclosed by mutual consent, and also included restoration of the
names of Siegel and Shuster on each Superman story, no longer an actual byline
(writers and artists had been credited since 1970) but acknowledging them as
creators. To top it off, Siegel and Shuster were invited by DC to be Guests
of Honor at the one and only convention run by DC Comics itself in February
1976 (Marvel had had two, but would have no more). It remains their only
joint convention appearance.
There was even talk of DC's publishing further stories by Siegel. He sent
them a plot, which E. Nelson Bridwell had to explain was slightly outdated at
the time because of the changes made in Superman since Siegel's departure. He
also scripted a story about his creation of Superman, on which Neal Adams
would do layouts for Shuster to finish, but to the best of my knowledge it was
never illustrated. Years later, Superman editor Julie Schwartz considered
offering Siegel the chance to script the final Superman story before John
Byrne rewrote the continuity in 1986, but the assignment ultimately went to
Alan Moore.
As a result, Siegel's last published work was at Eclipse Comics in the 1980's,
on a revived Lars of Mars and his new creation, The Starling. Unfortunately,
neither character took off, and some fans claimed that Siegel's style was no
longer appropriate for the current market, however that was defined. A
debatable point, to be sure, but it's indisputable that Jerry Siegel, together
with Joe Shuster, created an important body of work, delighted several
generations of children and many adults, and created one of the best-known
fictional characters of all time. Very few other people accomplish as much in
their lives.
____________________________________________________________
*********************************************************
End of Section 2
____________________________________________________________
REVIEWS
-------
Ratings Panelists:
AL: Arthur LaMarche JS: Jeff Sykes RG: Rene' Gobeyn
AW: Anatole Wilson MC: Matt Combes SF: Suzanne Fleischauer
DS: Dick Sidbury WN: William J Nixon
As always, the first rating given after the average is that of the reviewer.
The average rating given for each book may correspond to a larger sample
of ratings than what is printed following the average.
THE "TRIANGLE" TITLES:
---------------------
Uniform Credits:
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Separator: Digital Chameleon
Assistant Editors: Mike McAvennie
Editors: KC Carlson
13. SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF TOMORROW #4, "...The World's Mightiest Mortals"
Writer: Roger Stern
Artists: Tom Grummett and Brett Breeding
Letterer: John Costanza
Cover: Grummett, Breeding, and Color Works
Spring 1996
$1.95 US/$2.75 CAN
RATINGS:
Average: 3.5/5.0 Shields
AL: 2.5 Shields - Average.
MC: 4.5 Shields - Loved it!!! Usually Cap appearances make me yawn, but
Stern did a great job working Billy in, and the wizard
Shazam toting along was a great added bonus. I'm glad
we finally got to see more of Satanus, AKA Collin Thornton,
as we haven't seen him since like way back in ACTION #700.
The only downside of this issue is the fact that they
didn't cover more of the relationship between Lois and
Clark, seeing as how they ARE breaking up in the next issue
right after.
JS: 3.5 Shields - Since Grummett will soon no longer be drawing SUPERBOY,
maybe Pete Krause (POWER OF SHAZAM!) could use a little
vacation? Powerful art! However, while Stern writes a
good Lex, this DMN thing *has* to go.
The arrival of Captain Marvel and Shazam gives Collin Thornton a headache. As
Shazam gets a pretzel, Billy Batson sees a crane break free of a skyscraper
construction site. As it plummets towards the ground, he transforms into
Captain Marvel and saves the day.
To prevent detection, Satanus delivers more of the DMN drug to the patients
still going through withdrawal symptoms from their last exposure. With the
aid of the drug, they transform into Demons and begin to tear up the city.
Lucky for Metropolis, Superman, Captain Marvel and Bibbo are on the scene!
Captain Marvel and Superman contain the demons while Bibbo "rescues" Shazam.
But Satanus feeds some of the drug to a kitten, which transforms into a huge
flying cat. The Demoncat grabs Shazam and flies off as Bibbo grabs its tail.
Once in the air, Bibbo looses his hold and falls to the Earth. But he is
rescued by Captain Marvel. Then Shazam transforms the demon back to a kitten,
and both are rescued by Captain Marvel. Superman and Captain Marvel
eventually control the demons, and Shazam transforms them back to humans. In
addition, they no longer suffer from the withdrawal symptoms. Seems that the
DMN is not just a drug, it is a potion.
As the comic ends, Superman and Captain Marvel engage in an arm wrestling
contest for charity, and it appears that Bibbo will keep the kitten. Hmmm...
More "superpets"?
I was glad that they made DMN a potion rather than a drug. A drug should obey
comic book biology, if there is such a thing. It is easier for me to suspend
my disbelief for a magic potion than for a man-made drug which does all the
things that DMN does to a human. The art was nice, but nothing really struck
me. The friction Lois feels continues to build. I am not looking forward to
the pending doom, but I am wondering how they are going to do it.
Arthur LaMarche (DrArt95@aol.com)
=========================================================
14. ACTION COMICS #720, "Love Breaks"
Writer: David Michelinie
Artists: Kieron Dwyer and Denis Rodier
Letterer: Bill Oakley
Cover: Dwyer, Rodier, and Color Works
April 1996
$1.95/$2.75
RATINGS:
Average: 3.8/5.0 Shields
WN: 4.5 Shields - Some great art, bad loss for the happy couple, and a
welcome glimpse of Jonathan and Martha.
SF: 4.0 Shields - Understated "event". The breakup makes sense even if
it does break one's heart.
AL: 3.5 Shields - But just because I think it was handled well does not
mean I liked "IT".
DS: 3.5 Shields - Striking cover. Actually considering that I'm predisposed
to disliking the arc this issue covered it reasonably well.
AW: 3.5 Shields - I give all the creative teams credit -- the breakup was
handled with sensitivity, and it even made sense. But it
would have been such a beautiful wedding...Sniff! Sniff!
Well, here it is. After the hype, Letterman, and yellowing next issue boxes,
Clark and Lois' engagement is off. We know it's off because the cover screams
"The engagement is OFF!" on a striking white cover. The only cover image is a
single ring whose diamond reflects Superman's shield in its many facets. Nice
ring.
This was a relationship issue: Clark and Lois, Lois and Superman, Ron and
Lucy, Jonathan and Martha Kent. Michelinie deftly handles each. There was
also some obligatory action, a retiring Admiral steals a high-tech cruiser to
sell it to the highest bidder, but it was just backdrop for the main feature.
The seeds of doubts in last month's ACTION COMICS #719 have grown and given
Lois a lot to consider. The issue opens with an Admiral stealing the X-17
cruiser and moves to a Dwyer/Rodier splash page of Superman in flight over
Metropolis. He's heading home for a date with Lois. Meanwhile, Lois loses
her cool when Lori is again in Lois' bath as she gets ready for her date.
Lori urges Lois to tell Clark how she feels.
Ron and Lucy hook up outside the Planet building for a Pearl Jam concert.
Jimmy is out with some 'Dana' person, and Lucy has won the concert tickets,
which is odd because she doesn't remember entering it (the good luck plague
begins in Metropolis?!)
At a coffee shop, Lois and Clark have met up for what looks like a
relationship summit. These scenes were done really well, with hints of
impending doom etched in their faces. Lois has beenthinking about the
pre-Clark days, when she had a life and was happy. She is still happy, but
delivers the line "it's only snatches of happiness... teases of what might be"
as Clark looks on, unsure and serious. I loved the way she reached over and,
without missing a breath, stubbed out the cigarette of the guy at the next
table.
The conversation peaks with the ring. Clark takes her hand, and as he talks
about his responsibilities, she pulls away from him. He chose to let her die,
but because saving her would have destroyed him [Superman] <ouch>. 'Someone'
else is taking him away from her, and they leave to go back to his apartment.
I have to congratulate the Super-team for the way they blind-sided this
reader. It's all so simple when you look back at it. Clark (and myself)
thought that the 'someone else' was Lori -- after all, her arrival really
turned on the heat in this story line. Lori was, if you will forgive the pun,
a red herring (but a damn fine one), and the other person is Superman. Pretty
obvious now, I guess. Unfortunately, this is a much less easy problem to
solve. If it was Lori, she could kind of disappear and Clark could work
really hard at dispelling Lois' doubts. Superman, though, is quite a
different matter (especially with some of the excellent writing and life
choices made in the following S:MOS).
Back in his apartment, Clark realizes this and throws his arms in the air. In
a scene reminiscent of L&C on TV, Clark is listening to Lois as he hears
sirens. She tells him that they need to finish this, and he stands there,
half Clark, half Superman, chastened by the woman he loves. She knows she
can't stand in his way and tells him to go. The Dwyer and Rodier art this
month really worked, from their details of holding each other's hands, to
Clark changing. Good stuff.
He defeats the missiles and heads home, and as he returns, the scene switches
to Kansas, as Jonathan and Martha come home. Their dialogue plays over
Superman's return. They acknowledge that they can't deny who they are at the
core. The apartment is empty, Lois is long gone, and on the table by her
photograph is the ring...
This relationship just isn't big enough for the three of us. This is the
ultimate dilemma for Lois and Clark (and Superman's) relationship, and it will
be interesting to see how things move on from here. The introduction of Lori
was a clever twist. It's taken five years to get here, and I think we can
look forward to some serious depth and development in the next few months and
years.
These are great characters in escapist mass market fiction and it is a
testament to the writers of these books that, month after month, they keep us
entertained, interested, and coming back for more. I will be definitely be
back for more. I thought this issue was well-handled and the Dwyer/Rodier art
was great. There's an old romantic part of me that hopes that things are
patched up between them. The engagement and Clark's admission about being
Superman have been big events in current continuity. They have also provided
us some great storylines. I don't believe that the 'Death of Superman' or
'Funeral' storylines would have been as compelling without Lois' loss. It is
this humanity which is so compelling.
William J Nixon (W.J.Nixon@lib.gla.ac.uk)
=========================================================
15. SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #55, "Something Fishy"
Story: Louise Simonson
Penciller: Jon Bogdanove
Inker: Dennis Janke
Letterer: Ken Lopez
Cover: Jon Bogdanove, Janke, and Color Works
April 1996
$1.95 US/$2.75 CAN
RATINGS:
Average: 3.4/5.0 Shields
AL: 4.0 Shields - Powerful stuff here. L&C each have valid points. I hope
they understand each other's soon.
SF: 3.0 Shields - Would have been better if they gave Clark enough sense to
figure out why for himself.
DS: 2.5 Shields - Well, this issue just didn't do anything for me. The
premise was weak and nothing much of importance really
happened. I hate long story arcs that have too much
filling.
JS: 3.9 Shields - I've tried like crazy to hate this story, but the writers
have done such a wonderful job of presenting it. While not
quite as strong as last week's ACTION 720, Simonson does
an excellent job of expanding on the ideas put forth
therein. My only complaints are of the wild variations in
Bog and Janke's art from page to page.
This issue opens shortly after the close of last week's ACTION. Lois is trying
to question a source on the commercial fishing docks while a couple of
suspicious characters look on the meeting. Across town, Superman arrives at
Lois' apartment only to find a towel-clad Lori. He goes out in search of
Lois, but unbeknownst to him, he only rescues Lois' informant after a mob hit.
He stops searching for Lois to bring the man to the hospital. Somewhere else,
Lois breaks into the local labor union and makes off with a disk proving mob
involvement. As she is making her get-away and thinking about Superman, she
is approached by a dark-caped figure. Somehow, Alpha Centurion has stumbled
across her when Superman couldn't find her, and he knows that her and Clark
are no longer betrothed.
If one suitor is not enough for you all, the very next day Jeb shows up with
flowers in hand. Lois and Jeb mix business with pleasure as they discuss the
recent break up and play the lottery, and Lois tries to pump Jeb for
information on the Mob, since he was involved in the union since its
inception. Jeb is unaware of the information that Lois has and lies to her.
Later that night, the Mob gives Jeb the shakedown as Lois looks on from
outside the window.
Lois catches up with Jeb, and she finds out that Jeb's union joined the Mob to
save the pension plan of the union. After that discussion, she meets up with
her parents, who want to know the details of her engagement's demise. Lucy
shows up, beaming a huge smile and raving about the concert and Ron Troupe.
Soon, Lois continues her investigation and calls her informant, who is now in
the hospital. Before Lois can get all the answers she wants, the Mob finishes
what it started. Lois arrives at the hospital as the coroner's office is
wheeling out the corpse. Lois attempts to put the mob out of business, to
save Jeb, and to get her story. To do this, she has to bluff the mob. They
call, and she loses. She is captured by thugs and hauled off to a large boat.
Things heat up when Lori calls Clark. Meanwhile, Jeb also rushes to save
Lois. Just before Lois is to be blown away, Jeb arrives with guns blazing. He
rescues her but is shot. During the getaway, Jeb shields Lois and takes
another bullet, square in the chest. The large boat catches up with the
getaway boat and rams it. Superman arrives and snatches up Lois, but he is
unable to find Jeb's body.
In the final page, Superman tries to patch things up with Lois, but she will
have nothing of it. She is still lamenting Jeb, how he would kill for her,
and how he was willing to die for her. She says he loved her. When Superman
tells her that he loves her, too, she tells him that he loves being Superman
more, and it is still over.
I do not know what is up with Lois. Things have been rough in her life and
her relationship, but instead of talking about it, she just calls it quits.
She has been through a lot, but this is not the way I picture her. Then, she
goes gaga over Jeb. This upsets me even more. Here is a guy who lied to her
because he did something he is ashamed of. He risks his life to save her, but
he kills people in the process. Killing someone in a crisis situation is a
lot easier than not taking a life. Then, OH BOY, he lays his own life down to
save her. Again, this is much easier then what Superman had to choose. He
chose to let Lois die, but HE would have to live with the consequences. Again,
Jeb takes the easy way out. He is the one who got the Mob involved, which
ultimately put Lois' life in danger. He quits, and Lois is forced to live
with the thought that he died protecting her. Lois falls for this hook, line,
and sinker (pun intended), rather than seeing that Jeb is just scum. I hope
Lois clues in, and I hope Superman gets a clue too. He must put more time
into their relationship. He can be Superman and a fiancee, but his role in
the world will have to change somewhat.
Arthur LaMarche (DrArt95@aol.com)
=========================================================
OTHER SUPER-TITLES:
------------------
SUPERBOY #26, "Strange Bedfellows" (Losin' It: Part 2)
Writers: Karl Kesel and Steve Mattsson
Penciller: Staz Johnson
Inkers: Dan Davis and Doug Hazlewood
Colorist: Tom McCraw
Letters: Richard Starkings and Comicraft
Assistant Editor: Chris Duffy
Editor: Frank Pittarese
Cover: Tom Grummett and Doug Hazlewood
April 1996
$1.95 US/$2.75 CAN
RATINGS:
Average: 2.4/5.0 Shields
AL: 3.0 Shields - Interesting developments, but why the B.E.M. Brawl?
DS: 0.0 Shields - Already the clear winner in worst comic of the decade.
JS: 3.0 Shields - Staz Johnson is no Tom Grummett, and B.E.M. is a rather
dull villain/character. But at least there's some great
characterization and some interesting "larger plot"
developments.
AW: 3.75 Shields - With most comics, I'd say that so many "smash'em up"
issues would grow tiresome. While they're almost to that
point, SUPERBOY still manages to keep plot development
going enough to keep me enjoying every issue.
Superboy and Knockout are at it again as the innuendo and the rubble flies.
Before things really heat up, the two are reminded that this is a crime scene.
In addition, Superboy is expelled from school, in the interest of protecting
the public property. As Superboy and Knockout fly off, the innuendo
intensifies, but is again interrupted, this time by a mechanical crab arriving
on the beach. Across town, Dubbilex arrives at police headquarters. He scans
the minds of all the officers involved to determine how the officer was killed
in the battle with the Female Furies. What XX pieces together is that
Knockout struck the officer and broke his back, which resulted in his death,
while saying, "Out of my way, cannon fodder!"
As the two battle the crab, it morphs into a flaming beast, and then many
other substances. Superboy figures out that this is actually Bernie Morlock,
a.k.a. B.E.M. Superboy overloads B.E.M.'s powers of transmutation in hopes
that he will revert to his true form. It works, and Superboy introduces
B.E.M. to knockout. As Tana Moon arrives, Knockout plants a huge kiss on
Superboy and urges him to fly her out of there before Tana can get them on
film. Superboy feels guilty about running out on Tana like that, but Knockout
tells him that he has to figure out what he wants, Kindergarten (Tana) or
College (her).
Back at the police station, cadet Leech is being tested and recruited for a
special assignment. She does not have the finesse of a martial artist, but by
combining her street fighting tactics she learned in Metropolis and what she
has learned so far at the academy, she impresses all concerned. The police
department also attempts to recruit the services of Deathtrap, but the job is
usurped by his daughter, who seems to have a deep-rooted hatred for
Superboy....
I am not sure what to make of this issue. I think the idea of prosecuting
Knockout has very interesting implications. Clearly this is not a simple case
of Blue on Blue. There is evidence that Knockout showed malicious intent.
This must be addressed. B.E.M. is an interesting character, but only served
to fulfill the fight quotient. I think it would have been a better story
without it. Also, this issue again opens with the ocean floor, which must
have implications in the future story arc. [Check out Coming Attractions for
a sneak peek at where these opening scenes may be leading... -- Jeff] Stay
with us, it should get interesting. Will Superboy and Knockout be arrested?
What is Deathtrap's daughter's motivations? What is the significance of the
ocean floor? These and many more answers will be delivered in future issues
of this arc.
Arthur LaMarche (DrArt95@aol.com)
____________________________________________________________
*********************************************************
End of Section 3
____________________________________________________________
SPECIALS/OTHER APPEARANCES:
--------------------------
MARVEL VERSUS DC/DC VERSUS MARVEL #3 (of 4)
Written by: Ron Marz (with thanks to Peter David)
Pencilled by: Dan Jurgens and Claudio Castellini
Inked by: Josef Rubinstein and Paul Neary (thanks to Sean Hardy)
Lettered by: Bill Oakley
Colored by: Gregory Wright
Separated by: Digital Chameleon
Assistant Edited by: Joe Andreani and Chris Duffy
Edited by: Mark Gruenwald and Mike Carlin
Cover by: Castellini and Neary
$3.95 US/$5.55 CAN
RATINGS:
Average: 2.4/5.0 Shields
RG: Story: 3.0 Shields - Mostly fights, little story development.
Art: 4.5 Shields - Excellent work, the best yet.
SF: 2.0 Shields - Predictable action. Art and panel flow made some of the
fights very hard to follow.
AL: 2.0 Shields - They should have made it bigger and given the duels more
room. But, then again I'm surprised it took Superman as
long as it did.
JS: 1.8 Shields - And that's being a bit gracious because of the wonderful
art. But not even the art saves this travesty. The
"battles" are too short, and Marz simply blew two of
the fights. Surely more believable victories could
have been written for Storm and Wolverine.
AW: 2.5 Shields - Three pages doesn't do justice to a Superman/Hulk battle.
In fact, all the battles were rushed -- I felt a little
cheated. One exception: I nominate the Robin/Jubilee
"fight" as All-Time Cutest Confrontation.
This was the big one. After all the hype of the last few months, I was more
than a bit disappointed by this book. Sure, the votes are in and whether I
agree with the outcomes of the battles doesn't matter. What caused my
disappointment was the almost complete lack of continuing story. After all
the hype, this book didn't do much to advance the plot of the mini-series.
While the story in this book wasn't up to the standards that I use to judge
such things, the artwork clearly was. The book was worth the cover price for
the art alone. In some of the most dramatic visuals I've ever seen in comics,
the story and battles almost came to life. The quality of the details,
backgrounds, and perspectives added a great deal to the feel of the story.
As the book opens, Jubilee and Robin are in a jungle setting, courtesy of one
of the X-Men's danger rooms. Jubilee is updating her diary and recaps what
has happened so far. They are transported to a warehouse full of parade
balloons. This one was something of a walk for Robin. I really don't think
that anyone actually expected Jubilee to win, but I did hope that the contest
would be a bit more even. Robin wins in just seven panels.
Meanwhile in "deep space", Green Lantern and Silver Surfer are going at it.
After the crossover that started all this out, I was really hoping that this
would be better than it turned out. Surfer takes out Green Lantern in another
seven panels.
It took Elektra nine panels to beat Catwoman.
The story finally takes a few pages to advance the plot a bit, with an almost
comical interlude where Peter Parker (Spider-man) asks Lois out on a date,
only to have her flash her engagement ring at him as Clark comes up from
behind. As Peter excuses himself to the dark-room, J. Jonah Jameson breaks in
at this point to tell them that The Hulk and Metallo are trashing the harbor.
A fast scene change to the alley, where the keeper of the gateway transforms
young Axel Asher into Access, who learns that his mission is to bring the two
universes back into balance.
Back to one of the main bouts, between Wolverine and Lobo, taking place in
some deep space bar (where else!) This one takes three full pages, but as
with anything that Lobo is involved with, it is completely mindless. Too bad
we don't get to see Wolverine win.
The fight between Storm and Wonder Woman was a bit better, but still a
walk-away for Storm, because WW gives up Thor's hammer (she picked it up in
#2), thinking it would give her an unfair advantage. Considering that Storm
uses lightning to defeat her, it would probably have made the difference.
Next up came the fight between Superboy and Spider-Man. This one almost
worked. Both characters were well handled, and (mostly) consistent with their
abilities and personalities from their own books. Spider-Man took the
contest, but it was mainly due to luck and his experience, and Superboy's lack
thereof. This one (I believe) was well handled and could easily have gone the
other way.
The next one up was the contest between Superman and The Hulk. On a pure
power rating, Hulk was obviously outclassed. Superman has a wide range of
abilities (but didn't use them), while Hulk is limited to pure physical power.
While I think Superman deserved to win, I didn't like the way the fight was
handled. It should have been a walk-away, and Superman had to work way too
hard.
The last battle was really the one that I had been waiting for, that being the
contest between Batman and Captain America. Neither of them clearly
outclassed the other, and both are the epitome of the unpowered hero. While
we were promised a definitive contest, I don't feel that we got it. Cap was
beaten more by the flood, than Batman. This one was a cop out.
This finished the contests between the two universes. In yet another
non-decision, the two brothers combine both themselves as well as their
respective universes. The resulting AMALGAM universe will be the subject of
the next issue.
Rene' Gobeyn (gobeyn@kodak.com)
=========================================================
SUPER SOLDIER #1, "Secret of the K-Bombs"
Script: Mark Waid
Co-Plot: Mark Waid and Dave Gibbons
Art: Dave Gibbons
Colorist: Angus McKie
Lettering: Dave Gibbons
Editors: Mike McAvennie and KC Carlson
Cover by: Dave Gibbons and Angus McKie
April 1996
$1.95 US/$2.75 CAN
RATINGS:
Average: 3.9/5.0 Shields
RG: Story: 4.5 Shields - Nice background, complete in one book.
Art: 4.5 Shields - Excellent details, textures, perspectives, and
backgrounds.
SF: 4.0 Shields - This was a good combination of two heroes with a nice
story and fine art. This was the best of the Amalgam lot.
DS: 4.5 Shields - I'd subscribe to this comic. Best comic in the Super
Soldier continuity now. Highly recommended.
JS: 4.0 Shields - Wonderful story overcomes sub-standard (for Gibbons) art.
Sets up an interesting premise -- too bad we may not see
it again.
AW: 2.5 Shields - Lacklustre Gibbons art and bland merging of the Captain
America and Superman legends made this just a so-so comic.
Mark Waid has earned his position as one of my three favorite comic writers.
His stories are solid and very well paced, and this book is no exception.
Excellent use of story details to give hints into the characters, their
backgrounds, and their emotions. Little to nothing in this story is wasted.
Dave Gibbons outdid himself on the art, using shading and details to give rich
textures to the robot and machinery that are about the best I've ever seen.
Of all the AMALGAM books that came out, this one ties with LEGENDS OF THE DARK
CLAW #1 as my favorite. The story was able to bring us up to speed, to tell
us the necessary background of how Super Soldier is really different from
Superman, and to tell a very satisfying story in the bargain. You could do a
lot worse than buying this one.
Like all the other Amalgam titles that came out this week, you don't really
need this book for your collection. Your continuity won't suffer if you don't
have it. However, if you decide to skip them, you will miss what may be a
once in a lifetime chance to see these wonderful "What If" or "Elseworlds"
stories.
The story opens with a re-cap of the Super Soldier's origin, as told by Jimmy
Olsen as he saw it unfold during the days of World War II. He has been
captured by Lex Luthor (the Green Skull) and HYDRA. He manages to escape and
works his way back to The Daily Planet, where he is managing editor. Before
collapsing, he manages to pass on a message to Clark Kent (Super Soldier's
secret identity) about where he had been held.
Clark changes to Super Soldier, flies to Washington DC, and, following Jimmy's
clues, bursts into Hydra's hideout, where he comes face to face with Lex and
Ultra-Metallo -- the giant robot that he had been fighting at the end of
W.W.II. Ultra-Metallo still has its original programming intact, which is to
set off the K-Bomb hidden in its chest inside the White House. Super Soldier
tries his best to stop the robot, but he grows steadily weaker. It turns out
that the K-bombs that ended W.W.II and the one in Ultra-Metallo's chest were
built out of Kryptonite! Clark does notice that he recovers his strength
faster when he is behind some lead pipes at a construction site. He uses a
pipe to contain the K-Bomb and defeat Ultra-Metallo, saving the White House
and defeating Luthor.
Rene' Gobeyn (gobeyn@kodak.com)
=========================================================
SPIDER-BOY #1, "Big Trouble!"
Writer: Karl Kesel
Penciller: Mike Wieringo
Inkers: Karl Kesel and Gary Martin
Colorist: Joe Rosas
Letterer: Bill Oakley
Assistant Editor: Glenn Greenberg
Editor: Tom Breevort
Cover by: Wieringo and Kesel
April 1996
$1.95 US/$2.75 CAN
RATINGS:
Average: 3.8/5.0 Shields
RG: Story: 4.0 Shields - Mostly action, but not bad characterization.
Art: 4.0 Shields - Very nice, but needed some detailing.
SF: 3.0 Shields - Nice little asides. Keeps you working to try and figure
out all of the references to Marvel and DC history. Loved
the name Pete Ross.
DS: 3.0 Shields - I bought 5 Amalgam comics. It's worth a read and the
letters to the editor in all these books are very clever.
JS: 4.5 Shields - While many of the Silver Age references slipped by me, I
still found this to be a wonderful romp!
AW: 4.5 Shields - As much fun as Superboy with Silly String! Definitely the
most fun Amalgam book of the month!
While the story in this book seemingly starts in the middle, goes in three
different directions, and ends in a mild cliffhanger, it is strangely
satisfying and complete. It's great fun to check who's in what panel and spot
all the drifts between the two universes. Some supposedly throw-away lines
are actually clever clues to backgrounds and happenings in other AMALGAM
Universe titles appearing this week. All the clever by-play between the
characters is entertaining to the max. It's amazing to see how much
information the writers have been able to cram into the actual story without
resorting to many pages of boring exposition. All-in-all this book is a romp
and just plain fun. I started keeping a list of the crossover characters and
bits that I was noticing in the book, but I gave up after I had three pages
and the book wasn't half done yet.
Do you *need* this book in your collection? Probably not. I suspect that
there won't be too many issues of the Arach-Kid produced after this. However,
you would miss a great ride.
The art in the book is just short of awesome. Well designed and laid out, the
panels are a beautiful mix of the early Marvel style books, combined with the
detail, inking, and coloring of today. My only complaint (and it's a small
one) was the lack of detail and backgrounds in some of the panels.
This book (as are all the others) is written as if the AMALGAM Universe has
been around as long as DC/Marvel have. The book is full of throw-away
references to things that happened in earlier books or other titles, much the
way current continuity books do, to allow curious readers the ability to go
back and find even more detail, should they want to do so.
As this book opens, The Amalgam Universe continues to unfold in this new
Spider-Boy title. Continuing the story from Spider-Boy #37, we find the
Amazing Arach-Kid locked in battle with the D.N.Alien known as Bizarnage in
the labs of Project Cadmus.
Busy protecting the scientists Tom Harper, Reed Richards, Johnny Storm, and
Dabney Donovan, as well as Senator Ben Grimm, he doesn't realize that damage
has allowed the King Lizard to escape from his cell. Spider-Boy easily
manages to corral Bizarnage. While assessing the damage, Sue Storm, agent of
S.H.I.E.L.D., arrives on the scene with an injured Dr. Connors, letting them
know that King Lizard has escaped from his cell, badly damaging Dr. Pym's lab
as he broke out of the project.
Spider-Boy charges off to save the city from King Lizard, getting some much
needed help from Dr. Octopus <his mentor and friend>, who reminds our hero
that he is expected to meet his blind date back at the lab that evening. After
a quick recap of our hero's origin in the cloning tanks of the project, and of
how his Uncle Gen <General Thunderbolt Ross> was killed, we get back to our
story, where the Kid uses his catapult to get to his job at the Daily Bugle
and his secret identity of Pete Ross. After learning the King Lizard is
tearing up the docks, he webs back into action, where he takes on the King
Lizard, who is growing to giant size. He is aided in his endeavor by the New
York SCU, under the command of Captain Makoa and "Brooklyn" Barnes. The kid
quickly realizes that the Lizard's growth is being caused by the Pym Particles
that he absorbed while breaking out of the Cadmus Labs. He races back to his
loft, where he grabs Dr. Palmer's prototype White Dwarf Ray. He gets the now
gigantic King Lizard to swallow the device, and the Lizard shrinks down to
sub-microscopic size. Spider-Boy barely makes it back to Cadmus in time to
meet his date, Mary Jane Watson, the Insect Queen.
Rene' Gobeyn (gobeyn@kodak.com)
____________________________________________________________
SUPER MERCHANDISE
-----------------
Information on Forthcoming Superman Merchandise
Assembled by Jeffery D. Sykes
The information which follows is reprinted without permission from Diamond's
PREVIEWS and is in no way meant to serve as a replacement for that magazine.
For further information on (and in many cases, pictures of) the below
merchandise, see recent issues of PREVIEWS!
ABBREVIATIONS:
-------------
FC: Full color
HC: Hardcover
PB: Paperback
PI: Inquire about price
SC: Softcover
Unless otherwise indicated, the product is from DC Comics.
Also keep in mind that dates listed are when Diamond will be able to
distribute the product in question. For some merchandise (books and toys
especially), you may be able to find the item at a retailer earlier
than this given date.
These monthly updates only list new merchandise solicited by PREVIEWS.
For a full listing of Superman-related merchandise, visit the Kryptonian
Cybernet Homepage!
____________________________________________________________
APRIL:
-----
SUPERMAN VS THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
Written by Gerry Conway
Art by Ross Andru and Dick Giordano
DC once again offers this DC/MARVEL CROSSOVER CLASSICS reprint, available
only while supplies last, featuring a metallic gold fifth color framing
the original cover art. This is the first DC/Marvel crossover, in which
Marvel's Web-Slinger and DC's Man of Steel face the combined villainy of
Lex Luthor and Dr. Octopus!
Scheduled to arrive on April 17
FC, 96 pgs, no ads
$5.95
SUPERMAN AND SPIDER-MAN
Written by Jim Shooter
Art by John Buscema, Bob McLeod, Al Milgrom, Steve Leialoha, Walter
Simonson, Bob Layton, Joe Rubinstein, and Bob Wiacek
DC once again offers this DC/MARVEL CROSSOVER CLASSICS reprint, available
only while supplies last, featuring a metallic gold fifth color framing
the original cover art. This is the second meeting between the DC and
Marvel flagship characters, this time in battle against Dr. Doom and The
Parasite!
Scheduled to arrive on April 17
FC, 64 pgs, no ads
$3.95
____________________________________________________________
MAY:
---
SUPERMAN/DOOMSDAY: HUNTER/PREY Collector's Set
By Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding
This set collects the explosive 3-issue mini-series by writer/penciller
Dan Jurgens and inker Brett Breeding. The story of Superman's rematch
with his monstrous killer, Doomsday, is told in three Prestige Format
issues. This set also includes a free SkyBox DC trading card.
Scheduled to arrive on May 1
Set, PI
KINGDOM COME T-Shirt
Painted by Alex Ross
Tying in with the release of KINGDOM COME #1 is this beautiful T-shirt
featuring a montage of 4-color art by Alex Ross, reproduced from the
pages of the series and designed to evoke a stained-glass window. This
black, %100 cotton T-shirt is available in Large and Extra-large sizes.
(Design prominently features Superman.)
Scheduled to arrive on May 8
L-XL, $15.95
Basic Superman (Symbol) T-Shirt
Graphitti Designs
Wear a symbol recognized world-wide. Features the colorful Superman "S"
logo screenprinted in color on a navy blue 100% cotton shirt.
L-XL, $14.95
XXL, $17.95
Complete Golden Anniversary Edition Superman Collection Videos
Offered Again, Company Not Listed
The complete, original SUPERMAN cartoons! Produced by the Fleischer
Studios for Paramount in the 1940s, these unsurpassed superhero cartoons
-- 17 in all, transferred from mint 35mm prints and negatives -- are
presented in "letterbox" format to preserve the original image area. An
outstanding value on outstanding animation!
VHS, Two volumes
$19.95 each
____________________________________________________________
JUNE:
----
SUPERMAN VERSUS ALIENS Trade Paperback
Dark Horse Comics
By Dan Jurgens and Kevin Nowlan
He came to earth in a rocket, a strange visitor from another planet.
Now, years later, signals from space could be the beginning of a trail
to his home planet Krypton. Can anything stop a man of steel from
discovering his long-lost heritage? Can anything stand between Superman
and that which he longs for most? How about the most feared and deadly
species in the galaxy? It's the ultimate hero against the ultimate
horror in SUPERMAN VERSUS ALIENS, a 152-page spectacular by Dan Jurgens
and Kevin Nowlan! All three issues of this best-selling crossover are
included in this collection, a must for any fan of either side of the
battle!
Scheduled to arrive on June 25
SC, 152 pgs, FC
$14.95
____________________________________________________________
*********************************************************
End of Section 4
____________________________________________________________
AFTER-BYRNE: Reviews of the post-Crisis Man of Steel
----------------------------------------------------
INTRODUCING THE MYSTERIOUS MISTER Z!
------------------------------------
by Mark Lamutt (markdl@netcom.com / mdlamut0@wcc.com)
Title: SUPERMAN #51
Written by: Jerry Ordway
Penciled by: Jerry Ordway
Inked by: Dennis Janke
Cover Date: January 1991
Cover Price: $1.00 US/$1.25 CAN/50p UK
"Mr. Z!"
Carrying two unconscious workers from the core of the nuclear reactor, Superman
trudges through the radioactive cooling water towards the safety area where
the coworkers are waiting. Dropping them off, Superman goes back into the
core to repair the leak, preventing a nuclear meltdown in the heart of
Metropolis. After going through decontamination, he tells the supervisor he
is going to report the incident to the nuclear safety commission.
Meanwhile, a plane lands at Metropolis International Airport, carrying an
unusual visitor to the city. At customs, he mesmerizes the official into
believing that he has nothing to declare and that he may proceed. He then
approaches a group of waiting drivers, makes one of them believe he is the man
the driver is waiting for, and exits the airport. During the drive to his
airport, he ponders how long it has been since he has been in Metropolis --
fifty years, a hundred? Time loses all meaning after so long.
Cat Grant and Jose Delgado walk hand-in-hand down the street. Cat tells Jose
that her work will take most of the day to complete, and that she will meet
him at a formal banquet later that night. As Cat walks off, Jose thinks about
his growing need to find employment. Walking past a convenience store, he
sees that the lotto jackpot is now 14 million. Feeling his luck is about to
change, he buys a ticket.
Passing Jose on the street, the strange visitor encounters a group of young
street thugs. The leader steals the man's jewel-tipped cane and starts to
run. Raising a hand in the air, the man visualizes the thug's heart beating
in his chest and makes it stop. The gang leader falls to the ground, dead.
The man retrieves his cane, and continues down the street. Jose comes down
the street, and as he bends over the dead body, the lotto ticket he just
bought blows out of his coat pocket and lands at the feet of Bibbo. Picking
it up, Bibbo thinks that today just might be his lucky day. [Bibbo ends up
winning the lotto jackpot, and he buys the Ace of Clubs with the winnings.]
In the Daily Planet newsroom, Perry White gathers the crew together to make an
announcement. He is taking a leave of absence to deal with the recent death
of his son, Jerry, and with the problems he and his wife Alice are having.
Leaving Sam Foswell in charge of the Planet, Perry takes his leave.
As Perry leaves the room, Clark Kent receives a message from the mysterious
stranger. "Welcome to the blackness, Superman. At long last we meet again.
Meet me at the Museum of Natural History." Clark wakes up, realizing that he
has passed out. Sam sees that Clark is not looking well, so he tells him to
take the rest of the day off.
Clark heads for the exit, but instead of taking the stairs down, he rushes to
the roof, by which time he has become Superman, the Man of Steel. Arriving at
the museum, Superman realizes that it is deserted inside. He calls out to the
stranger, at which time pictures flash up on the wall. The stranger says that
he has come to Metropolis to confront Superman, and that they had met
previously during World War II in Germany. [Note - this is foreshadowing the
"Time and Time Again" story arc that would be written later in 1991.]
Appearing behind the Man of Steel, the stranger thrusts the jewel on the cane
in Superman's face, and Superman is pulled from his body into the jewel. The
man is a collector -- of the essences of great people.
Inside the jewel, Superman meets people from all periods of time. They
quickly realize that he is not from earth, and he confirms it. As they speak,
the world inside the jewel begins to quake. Thinking that it cannot hold his
alien essence, Superman begins speaking in Kryptonese, causing the jewel to
shatter and the essences to be released.
Superman returns to his own body. He tells the police that the stranger is a
man named Mr. Z. Unfortunately when the jewel shattered, Mr. Z died from the
shrapnel. The coroner takes the body away.
At the morgue, a naked body crawls out of a coffin. Arriving at the airport,
Mr. Z, now calling himself George Baily, boards a plane for Saudi Arabia.
First, the writing. I liked the way that all of the supporting cast of
characters was worked into the story. Jerry Ordway was always very good at
using the supporting characters to fill in the gaps in the action in these
stories. But, that's really all I liked about the story. It was choppy all
the way through, and the scenes did not tie together very well. Jerry has
done better work, but the purpose of this story is really just to introduce
the character of Mr. Z, so looking at it as a transitional story, it serves
its purpose.
The artwork, however, is once again superb -- as it is most of the time with
Mr. Ordway at the helm. The scenes where Mr. Z is mesmerizing people are both
very funny and very creepy -- not an easy combination to draw. Once again, a
well-done job.
Out of 5 shields, this book gets 2 shields. Stay tuned next month when
"Blackout" begins in THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #484.
____________________________________________________________
MANUSCRIPTS OF STEEL
--------------------------------
Reviews of After-Byrne Superman special stories
by Denes House
(dhouse@itsmail1.hamilton.edu)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Superman For Earth
Written by Roger Stern
Art by Kerry Gammill and Dennis Janke
Colored by Tom McCraw
Painted Cover by Jerry Ordway
1991
Prestige Format, $4.95 US/$5.95 CAN
Rating:
4.0 / 5.0 Shields
---------------------------------------------------------
Great Lines: "There's no monopoly on stupidity around here, is there?"
------------------
In John Byrne's landmark miniseries MAN OF STEEL, Lana Lang confesses to Clark
Kent why she had decided not to romantically pursue him after he resurfaced
from a behind-the-scenes "guardian angel" role to appear as Superman.
"Superman belongs to the world," she said. In SUPERMAN FOR EARTH, Superman
takes that role very seriously.
Ironically, the story starts with some musings by the recently-engaged Lois
and Clark (interesting how in just three short years, I have gone from calling
them "Clark and Lois" to "Lois and Clark") as they relax with a nice beverage
in Clark's apartment. Lois is disturbed by the background research she's been
doing to prepare for her coverage of the upcoming "World Environmental
Congress." She is upset by the environmental devastation humans have
inflicted on our planet, and at her perception that there seems to be no end
in sight. Clark reminds her that her reporting will do much to focus
attention on the problem and bring the issue close to home for her readers.
"We all have to do our part," says Clark, "and as you well know ... I can do
plenty." His overshirt discarded, Clark stands revealed as Superman. It is a
brief scene, but one that sets up some of the most insightful moments of this
book.
Superman's thoughts echo the readers': "Nice promise, Clark...very reassuring.
Now, how do you propose to keep it?" Superman keeps his promise by embarking
on a series of initiatives to clean the air and water and preserve the land of
his adopted homeworld. Along the way, some of the environmental problems
confronting our planet become clear. The initiatives Superman takes flow
logically out of the characterizations presented, and they show that even for
a Superman, there is no quick fix.
The story gives no easy answers. As Superman tracks down a source of Dioxin
poisoning in Hob's River, he discovers it is a paper recycling center! As
Superman stops illegal deforestation in Brazil, a workman forcefully
interjects - "Yankee pig! You level your own forests and then preach to us to
leave ours uncut! Do you expect us to starve to protect your world?" Even the
invulnerable Man of Steel is cut to the quick.
In the midst of it all, Lois wonders if they should even have children. There
are so many unwanted children in the world, and a swelling population
exacerbates many of the already staggering environmental concerns. It is
clear that the issues the two are dealing with confront them on a very
practical level, and a difficult one.
The climax of the story takes place at the Environmental Congress itself.
Mired in petty bureaucratic squabbling, some delegates prepare to storm out in
frustration. It is the striking figure of the Man of Tomorrow who galvanizes
the assembly with a rare public speech. Superman poignantly sums up his fears
in a great paragraph of dialogue: "I am more fortunate than most of you. If
present trends continue ... I could, with my powers and abilities, withstand
worsening world conditions. But ... I do not wish to live alone on a
poisoned, dying world. ... I have lost one world already, I don't want to lose
another."
Superman's speech not only challenges the Congress, but it influences the
choices that Metropolitans make in the coming days -- and in that we see the
real benefit of his actions, and the reasoning behind the creation of this
book. Superman is an icon, a hero. What he does can have an influence on
people.
The story is a good one, which will come as no surprise considering its
author, Roger Stern (see last month's Kaycees voting if you don't know what I
mean). Stern highlights just a few concerns and ties them strongly into the
Superman mythos and storyline. The actions and opinions expressed in this
book are appropriate to the characters who voice them. Superman's motivations
make sense, as do Lois' and everyone else's. But Stern does not spoon-feed
easy answers. In fact, a highlight of the book is the complexity of the
solutions that exist, and the difficulty in finding a purely good alternative.
Environmental stories can often be preachy, but this one flows from the
characters themselves and stands up as a solid story. There is plenty of
crackling dialogue here (as evidenced by the many quotations in this review),
and the resolution of the tale makes sense.
There are great touches throughout, like TV directors being forced to use a
medium shot of Superman because their close-ups are always out of focus (in
MAN OF STEEL, Superman muses that he vibrates his head so that clear facial
photographs of him are impossible).
Gammill's pencils reminded me of something an actor friend of mine said while
critiquing Jack Nicholson's performance as the Joker in the first Batman
movie. He remarked that Nicholson was a master of acting "beats," or dramatic
shifts that occur almost imperceptibly. Gammill uses "beats" to great effect
here, like the Psalmist's "Selah," a place to pause, reflect, then plunge back
in to the story. Gammill conveys much through facial expression, and his
layouts are dynamic and dramatic. Janke's inks are acceptable, if uninspired,
and the cover showcases Ordway's then-blossoming painting skills.
The book is printed on recycled paper, resulting in a dark, gritty look to Tom
McCraw's colors, which is very effective.
Capsule review:
Story: Well-written, touching on important issues without preaching or
violating the characters' integrity. Snappy dialogue and well-constructed
plot. 4 Shields out of 5.
Art: Crisp and dynamic, with a keen sense of pacing. Janke's bland inks do
little to enhance the artwork, but McCraw's moody colors more than make up for
it. 4 Shields out of 5.
Overall: A good read, with solid art and characterizations. Well worth the
purchase price. 4 Shields out of 5.
Along the same lines: The Concrete Earth Day Special, by Paul Chadwick,
Moebius, and others.
Denes House
March, 1996
____________________________________________________________
THE PHANTOM ZONE: Reviews of the pre-Crisis Man of Steel
--------------------------------------------------------
SUPER FRIENDS
-------------
by Joe Crowe (j.crowe4@genie.com)
This month my review is hot off the request lines. I'm sending this one out to
Calvin Hall in Raleigh, North Carolina.
DC COMICS PRESENTS #1-2: Superman and the Flash
Sept/Oct 1978
Story: Martin Pasko
Art: Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez with Dan Adkins
Cover Price: $0.50
Rating: 3.25 shields
A small town was about to be destroyed by a beam from space -- Superman and
Flash stop it, but are captured by two spacecraft. It's two alien races at
war with each other, the Zelkot (purple with big pointy ears) and the Volkir
(yellow with big pointy ears). They roamed the universe, settling on lots of
planets, then they split in civil war. Their spaceships were living
creatures, and in the waste matter left behind were microscopic organisms
which evolved into humanoid life. So the Zelkots and Volkir planted life all
over the universe, including on a planet which circled a red-sun called
Krypton.
The Volkir lived on Krypton for awhile, preventing it from exploding in the
distant past. The Zelkot wanted to end the eons-long war and sent an agent
through time to prevent the civil war from ever happening. But the Volkir
don't want the war to end, so they planted booby traps throughout time to trip
up the Zelkot agent. If Flash doesn't help the Volkir, they'll blow up
Earth...and if Superman doesn't stop the Zelkot agent, then the Volkir will
never have saved Krypton in the past, and Superman will cease to exist.
The Zelkot and Volkir cannot travel into the past, only into the future, but
at the end of time there's a Cosmic Curtain that separates the past from the
future, and once through the curtain, you end up back at the beginning of
time.
Superman and Flash don't understand each other's motivations. Due to a
malfunction of the alien communicators they wear, the heroes can only be seen
by the aliens when they stop in a time period, but not while they travel--when
they can only be heard.
Along the way, Superman punches out the alien agent and writes a message for
Flash saying "Trust me." Then Superman gets stuck in the 30th century. He
identifies the time period by the presence of Superboy and the Legion of
Super-Heroes. The alien communicator screwed things up so Superman and
Superboy could physically coexist, so they decide to slam into each other at
super-speed. It works, and both guys end up in their proper times.
Then Superman catches up to Flash. Both of their communicators have been
broken in their travels, so they freely compare notes. They reach the Cosmic
Curtain, and the alien agent busts through ahead of them. The aliens have
told Superman and Flash that only one person can go through the curtain once
an opening has been made. They've missed their chance, Flash says. But
Superman has an idea. Flash vibrates through the hole, becoming insubstantial,
and Superman flies through him. Together they subdue the alien. But they
can't reopen the hole in the Cosmic Curtain...
So they have to run through the entire span of history to get back to where
they started. When they arrive in the present, they zip into outer space on
the tail of the aliens. Several severe thrashings later, Flash disables the
beam that would've destroyed Earth, and Superman tosses the ship into the
furthest depths of space. Then Flash invites Superman back to his place for
some coffee. Superman says, "Why not? I have all the time in the world!"
Man, what a story! I was a little disturbed, though, at the tossed-off
explanation that all human life on Earth was begun by *waste matter* from the
aliens' ships. In other words, we are all descended from spaceship poop? What
the heck is up with that? I like Darwin's theory better. Heck, I like *any*
other theory better than that. But I managed to get past that, somehow. Then
Superman and Flash reach the end of time and start over at creation, then run
through history to get back to the present. This all occurs in one page.
Luckily this wasn't made a legitimate part of DC continuity, like such a thing
would've been if it had appeared in that *other* company's books ... but then,
there wasn't much of anything pertaining to continuity at DC back then. The
stories were fun, and it didn't bother anybody. Eventually, of course, that
would change. Ah, youth. :)
Martin Pasko's heroes have always seemed to have an extra emotion or two than
they did with other writers. Superman here is analytical, as you might expect
someone with a super-brain to be, but he doesn't mind thumping a few aliens
around, and he is desperate to prevent himself from ceasing to exist. Flash,
on the other hand, has absolutely no clue why Superman is acting like a jerk.
Their interplay was great.
Another early favorite of mine was Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. All the heroes
were wiry and muscular, and their jaws were always clenched determinedly. When
Flash finds Superman's message of "Trust me," he breaks into a wide grin. And
when Superman and Flash decide to go for coffee after a job well done, they
seem to be winking at each other, and at the reader.
As a startup for DC COMICS PRESENTS, this story was pretty good. It had a
grand scale, a race against time (literally), and two very popular characters
of that time. I never really thought DC PRESENTS could hold a candle to BRAVE
AND THE BOLD, though. Maybe it's because B&B was more consistent with writing
and/or art, or maybe it's because Batman seemed to adapt to his guest stars,
while most of Superman's allies were forced to fit into his style of story.
But that's just my two cents. What do you think? Are there any Superman
team-ups you want to see reviewed? The request lines are open at
j.crowe4@genie.geis.com. Thank you and good morning.
____________________________________________________________
*********************************************************
End of Section 5
____________________________________________________________
THE PHANTOM ZONE: (cont)
------------------------
THE GIRL FRIEND AND THE PAL: LOIS AND JIMMY IN THEIR OWN COMICS
----------------------------------------------------------------
By Jon B. Knutson (jonknut@eskimo.com)
And here we are with the second installment of my reviews of SUPERMAN'S GIRL
FRIEND, LOIS LANE and SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN. I'm going to try to keep
the rest of my reviews a bit more succinct than the first one (in the Feb.
KC)...
The Jimmy Olsen story I picked to review this time around is from the same
rough time period as the Lois issue reviewed last time. Issue #132, September
1970, has cover artwork that looks like Swan pencils with Murphy Anderson
inks, and shows Jimmy with a tear in his eye, clutching a handful of money,
while two criminals haul off Clark Kent, his shirt torn to reveal his Superman
costume, his wrists bound in Kryptonite chains. Clark is calling Jimmy a rat
and asking him why he betrayed him, but Jimmy doesn't know, and begs
Superman's forgiveness. The cover is blurbed "When Olsen Sold Out Superman."
Once again, the story has the same name.
The interior artwork looks like Anderson inks, as well... but the pencils look
to me like Costanza. Jimmy is investigating a crime wave at Metropolis
Airport by the Mod Mob when he is captured, and his signal watch broken. The
Mod Mob plans to force him to reveal Superman's secret identity, but Jimmy
refuses, pointing out he doesn't know Superman's identity. After a threat to
drop him out of a plan, Jimmy tells them that Superman's really his Boss at
the Daily Planet to buy some time. The Mod Mob won't let Jimmy go, because
they want to test him first, using artificial Kryptonite.
The K is delivered to Perry in a package, and when it's revealed, Perry
doesn't react. Clark, a few desks away, is affected. It takes a moment for
them to notice this, but when they do, they open Clark's shirt and spot the
Superman costume. It happens that Clark has been chosen to be
editor-for-the-day for the Planet... and thus, today at least, he's Jimmy's
boss. Taking Superman away, the crooks kayo Jimmy and leave him as payment
fifty thousand dollars. Jimmy, naturally, is upset, and fears someone might
discover the money has something to do with Superman's betrayal.
The next day, the underground displays the captured Superman on TV, telling
him that a friend of Superman's revealed his secret identity for fifty grand.
In the headquarters of the Jimmy Olsen Fan Club, Jimmy's watching the telecast
with his fans, stupidly keeping the money on him. Jimmy notices that the
background on the telecast is of a log cabin wall, and he and his fans scour
the hills. The next day, they return to the clubhouse, and Jimmy pulls out a
handkerchief to wipe his brow... a handkerchief which is kept in the same
pocket as the gangland's payoff -- Jimmy's fans realize where the money came
from and quit the club. The final insult is when they throw Jimmy an
assortment of dimes and quarters -- 30 altogether -- which Jimmy realizes
symbolizes the 30 pieces of silver given to Judas. Jimmy wants to redeem
himself, and gets an idea from the picture of George Washington on one of the
quarters.
Taking a plane to CIA headquarters, Jimmy tells them that the syndicate's
headquarters must be in old Fort Washington, at the abandoned state fair
grounds. The CIA, of course, owes Jimmy a favor it seems, and they help him
out. At Fort Washington, Jimmy uses smoke grenades to mask his movements
until he can find and release Superman. They help the CIA wrap up the
syndicate, and Superman reveals that he's really a Superman robot, which was
disguised as Clark to trap the syndicate. The real Superman flies in, and
Jimmy is told that Superman baited his own trap.
However, Superman's lied to his pal... it was really him all the time, until,
using the cover of the smoke, he called a robot in via Super-Ventriloquism,
programming him with the story. After Superman clears Jimmy in front of the
members of his fan club, the kids are happy to learn Jimmy's no Judas.
The second story in this book, "The Winner's Prize... The Loser's Grave!" is
definitely Costanza artwork. Jimmy's on a yacht in a tropical sea as a guest
of a rich man, when an undersea volcano creates a new island before their
eyes.
"Within a few days," according to one panel, plant life begins to sprout on
the new island. In Washington, the President's worried that the Communists
will claim it. In Russia, similar sentiments are felt. The President
(obviously Nixon) calls the Premiere, and they agree to each send a champion
to the island to fight a duel. Whichever champion wins the duel, his country
gets the island. Jimmy gets to cover the event. Superman is disqualified
because the Soviets have no match for him, however.
Jimmy covers the selection process for the USA's champion, and sees the robot
combat tester defeat Green Berets, FBI and CIA agents. Jimmy volunteers to try
his skill against the robot... and defeats it! Shortly, Jimmy and the Soviet
champion, equipped identically, are flown by Superman to the new island, where
he drops them off. after a series of brief encounters between Jimmy and Bors,
the Soviet champion, the two of them decide to play "chicken" to settle the
match. Each of them holds a stick of lit dynamite, and they approach each
other from opposite directions. Whichever one throws away his dynamite first
will be the loser. At the very last second, both throw the dynamite away.
The explosions cause the newly-formed island to sink, and Superman rescues the
two, who reveal to each other that they respected the other too much to kill
him. Superman moralizes, saying that perhaps both sides could learn something
from the experience.
While both stories in this issue were entertaining, they each had their
faults. The first one relies overly much on coincidence, while the second one
has bad science galore (plus, of course, Jimmy's amazing combat skills). I'd
have to rate them both at two stars out of five.
And for this month, I'm also reviewing LOIS LANE #75 (July, 1967), which
features great Kurt Schaffenberger artwork throughout. "The Lady Dictator!"
begins with Superman crashing into the famed Sun Springs winter resort, where
Lois is ready to take a swim (and Schaffenberger gets to draw a lotta lovelies
in swimsuits, to boot!). Superman flies Lois away from the resort, and he
tells Lois he has amnesia, but he found a picture of Lois in his cape pouch.
Lois tells him his name, and his powers, but that he's a champion of crime.
Meanwhile, in a hidden criminal lair, the Maestro is watching all this on a
viewscreen, where he's coaching Lois in her lines. It's revealed that Lucy,
Lois' sister, has been captured by the Maestro, forcing Lois to do his will.
Meanwhile, Lois has convinced Superman they're partners in crime and has him
fly to the capital of Santoro, Manzilla, to meet with General Tigre, the
dictator, the following day. The next day, at a bullfight in Manzilla, we see
that Lois, herself, is General Tigre, and Superman flies in just in time to
save a bullfighter. Lois/Tigre reveals that Superman is her secret weapon.
At that moment, a gigantic statue of Lois is brought in, with her dressed like
the Statue of Liberty, sitting on a chair. The citizens are presenting the
statue as a "gift" to General Tigre. Lois/Tigre throws some coins to the
crowd as some conspirators mention that there's a bomb in the statue.
Superman spots it before it goes off, and flies it into the air. Superman
flies Lois back to her headquarters, where she meets with the Maestro. She
tries to tell the Maestro she won't cooperate any longer, but her parents have
also been captured. The Maestro plays an organ which can force people to feel
certain emotions, which he'll use to drive Lois' relatives mad.
Lois is brought to where the real General Tiger lies in suspended animation,
and is then shown a giant artificial jewel, which the Maestro wants Superman
to x-ray. Moisture on the lens of an x-ray machine prevents him from
demonstrating what will happen then, but after it's cleaned off, the jewel
explodes with a violent fury. Lois is then told she has to execute the
sculptor of the booby-trapped statue, as well as his family. Superman flies
in as the execution is being readied, and Lois forces him to shoot the victims
instead. The jewel is then brought out, and Superman is told to x-ray it when
the Maestro says so. The rebel army approaches, and Superman x-rays the jewel
on schedule, which causes the ammunition in the rebel guns and tanks to
explode.
The Maestro reveals that he's going to sell bases in Santoro to hostile
foreign powers for an atomic attack against the US. Superman tries to stop
him, but discovers that the jewel also changed into Gold Kryptonite, and he's
powerless. Superman is bayoneted to death.
Well... not really. Whoever wrote the story "cheated" us... by presenting a
"flash-forward," revealing what *might* have happened. What *really* happened
was that after Superman was told to x-ray the jewel at the right time, Lois
went to the Maestro's emotion-altering organ, and caused Superman to feel
unbearable grief by transmitting memories of howhis parents died when Krypton
exploded. This causes Superman to cry, and ruins the x-ray effect, so the
jewel is powerless. Lois reveals that Superman's really a champion for good,
and when Lois changes out of her dictator's uniform, she leads the rebels in
an attack against the Maestro and his soldiers.
Captured by Lois, the Maestro is compelled to feel remorse after exposure to
the organ. The Maestro then reveals that he'd tried to take over Superman's
brain by remote control, using a "tyranno-baton," which gave him amnesia. The
General Tigre plot was his alternate plan. After Superman rescues Lois'
family, Lois also reveals that Superman didn't kill the family and sculptor,
but that they were protected by bags of jewels placed over their hearts (she
knew she could trust Superman's super-aim).
As crazy as it sounds, the story really worked for me on several levels...
especially if one takes into account the time period it was written in, and
what else DC was doing at the time (Deadman aside, of course...). Any issue
of Lois Lane with Schaffenberger art is going to be at least visually
pleasing... in fact, the main disappointment for me with this issue is that
Lana Lang isn't around at all (Schaffenberger's Lana was one of the sexiest
ever... often looking better than Lois herself!). I'll give this one 4 out of
a possible 5 stars.
If you have a particular issue of LOIS LANE or JIMMY OLSEN you want reviewed,
e-mail me at jonknut@eskimo.com, and if I have it in my collection, or I can
track it down, it'll be reviewed in a future issue. Next time... a review of a
multi-part story from Superman Family... which will remind many readers of
recent Lois and Clark episodes...!
____________________________________________________________
INTO THE ARCHIVES
-----------------
by Neil A. Ottenstein (otten@gluon.umd.edu)
SUPERMAN #2, Fall 1939
According to the Overstreet Price Guide, the three main stories were all
reprints from the daily syndicated newspaper strip. The afterward in the
Superman Archives gives the dates for two of the stories.
1) The first story is 16 pages long and concerns Superman's efforts to
restore an ex-heavyweight champion boxer to his crown and also to oil the
gamblers who caused his original fall from grace. He is once again a master
of disguise in this story, similar to the third story in the first issue. The
story originally appeared in newspaper strip form over the dates 2/20/39
through 3/18/39.
2) The second story bears the title "Superman champions universal peace" and
is 24 pages long. Working for the Daily Star, Superman interviews a professor
who has discovered a new deadly gas. Armament profiteers kill him and take
the formula to the civil war in Boravia, and Superman follows along, putting
an end to both the munitions men and the war. This story originally came from
the newspapers of 5/1/39-6/10/39.
3) The third story is titled "Superman and the Skyscrapers" and is 16 pages
long. Here Superman deals with the deadly rivalry between two construction
companies. This story is discussed in greater depth below.
Between the first and second stories, there are Superman's tips for
super-health and an advertisement for the 96 page New York World's Fair
Comics, featuring a Superman story. What is very amusing to this reader is
the notice at the bottom of the advertisement:
"Due to the unprecedented demand for this souvenir book and to our desire to
show our appreciation to our readers for their loyalty, the price of this book
on the newsstands will be 15c instead of 25c as formerly advertised in all our
magazines. Those who have paid 25c will have, by this time, received their
complimentary copy of the SUPERMAN book selling at 10c to make up the
difference in price."
Between the second and third stories is an advertisement for the Supermen of
America club.
After the third story is a two-page text story in which Superman convinces a
racketeer to leave Metropolis. There is a great description of how Superman
is looked at in Metropolis: "He's a will-of-the wisp...a phantom of the
night. He preys on evil- doers who operate in Metropolis...and once that
bozo's on your trail, brother, you're sunk!"
"Superman and the Skyscrapers" starts with an article by Clark Kent about the
death of a construction worker from Bruce Constructions, Inc. at the Atlas
Building site -- the fifth consecutive day with such a death! Superman decides
to investigate the matter personally and sees the night watchman there sawing
through a girder. Superman advances on him wordlessly as he empties his
revolver to no avail to Superman. The watchman retreats and falls with his
own sabotaged girder. Superman catches up with him inches from the ground,
throws him back into the air, while he himself lands, and then catches him.
The watchman dies of a heart attack from the excitement after revealing that
he works for the gang of Butch Grogan.
Superman pays a visit to the residence of Butch Grogan to discern the motive
behind the deaths. After the front door is slammed in his face, he breaks
through it and inquires the whereabouts of Butch. After tossing the henchman
in the air a few times, he is ready to talk, but Butch arrives. Before Butch
can fire his gun at Superman, Superman relieves him of it and crushes it.
Superman takes Butch to the Atlas Building. After having his arm threatened
to be crushed as easily as the gun, Butch reveals that he was hired by Nat
Grayson, the president of Akme Construction Company. Grayson wanted to
prevent Bruce Constructions, Inc. from completing the building within the
contracted time. When a policeman arrives on the scene, both Superman and
Butch flee. Butch gets to a phone to warn Grayson of Superman's inquiries, and
he is shot while fleeing when the policeman catches up to him.
Upon arrival at Grayson's residence, Superman is warned to leave. Bombs have
been planted at various spots and photoelectric cells keep him informed of
Superman's exact position. Superman advances, avoiding the worst brunt of the
explosions and breaks into Grayson's metal room. He forces Grayson to phone
in a confession. Clark Kent's Daily Star headline tells of Grayson's
conviction and sentence to the electric-chair.
Once Grayson was arrested Superman proclaimed, "the dead men are avenged ...
and so my work is done!" The Superman in this story is quite violent in how
he deals with the criminals here and has no wish to encounter the police. He
is not yet well known by the criminal element, as they express great surprise
over his invulnerability to bullets. Early in the story, the night watchman
thinks he is a detective and, after firing at him, exclaims, "Die! Die!--I've
shot you! Why don't you fall dead?" This story features many Super-deeds with
Clark Kent appearing only in the last panel and by his byline in the Daily
Star.
____________________________________________________________
THE MAILBAG
-----------
KC Responses are indented and begun with ****
=========================================================
From: Rich Morrissey (RMorris306@aol.com)
Dear Jeff,
Really liked the latest issue of KC! A lot of reviews of recent stories, but
just enough of the older ones to keep the variety I like. It seems almost
everyone liked SUPERMAN VS. ALIENS (I did) and hated SUPERMAN AT EARTH'S END
(as I also did, changed from mediocrity to travesty by the Big Gun in
Superman's hands). Has anyone noticed that Batman still seems to be the core
character in the Elseworlds series, even those ostensibly starring Superman?
Admittedly, this one wasn't quite as blatantly Batman-derived as SPEEDING
BULLETS. (A series which messed up by avoiding the principle of an Elseworlds
story...how would the same person be different in the same situation as
another character? By his very nature, Superman was less obsessive than the
real Bruce Wayne, so he should have become, if anything, a kinder, gentler
Batman like his '60's incarnation.) But it took place in Gotham City (not, as
one might think, Metropolis) and used Batman and his milieu as major elements.
**** Aside from the 1994 annuals, there haven't been many Elseworlds tales
which didn't involve Batman in some form. The only one I've read which
comes to mind is SUPERMAN: KAL. I can only think of a handful of the
Elseworlds stories that I didn't read -- THE GOLDEN AGE, KAMANDI: AT
EARTH'S END. Wasn't there a GREEN LANTERN story?
However, it seems to me that few characters (at least of those popular
enough to support the additional project), none lend themselves to the
alternate time/place idea like the Dark Knight. His being one of the
few heroes without powers and his simple yet compelling origin make the
translation or "What If?" process much easier.
A couple of comments on the older reviews. "Why has Superman met the Joker, but
Batman never met Luthor?" The two villains have joined forces several times
against the heroes, originally in WORLD'S FINEST #88, and at least twice after
the Crisis (in the Gibbons/Rude WORLD'S FINEST mini- series and in UNDERWORLD
UNLEASHED). Indeed, Luthor was the villain in at least one Batman story
without Superman: "The Hand from Nowhere," by Bill Finger and "Bob Kane"
(ghosted by Shelly Moldoff) in BATMAN #130 (1960).
**** My take on this question (and I'm sure Joe can correct me if I'm wrong)
was that we've seen the Joker drop in on Superman without Batman showing
up in the story on several occasions. Yet I can't recall a single
instance where Batman had to deal with Lex Luthor -- and Superman didn't
make an appearance.
LOIS LANE #82's "The Tragic Fate of the Superman Sweethearts" was drawn by Irv Novick (not, as your reviewer said, Ross Andru). The writer was Leo Dorfman, who, like many in his generation, sometimes did have a tendency to make sexist slips like Superman's proposal. Though I always thought it was forgivable, perhaps even a clue to the fact that he was brainwashed at the time.
=========================================================
From: KalElJr@aol.com
I love the article called "JUST THE FAQs: "Who is Supergirl?"". I never
realized how extensive and intricate her history was. I had thought of
something, though. In part 1, you said that it was believed that Kara almost
made an appearance during Zero Hour and that she did appear in CHRISTMAS WITH
THE SUPER-HEROES #2. Well, either you forgot to put something in part 1,
where I believe it would belong if it was mentioned, or you decided to dismiss
it. Nothing has been said about the Kara and Argo City from SUPERMAN VS.
ALIENS. I would think that you would have at least mentioned this. If I'm
wrong or you just didn't want to use this, then forget about this e-mail. If
I'm right and you did forget about it, then maybe you can put it in part 3 of
the article in KC #23. Just a thought.
**** I forwarded David a copy of your letter. His response:
I originally planned to include Kara from SVA in Part III along with
Matrix, as part III became "Post-Crisis Supergirls." However, when I
saw just HOW MUCH I knew about Matrix (since I've read ALL her
appearances and only SOME of Kara Zor-El and Power Girl), I decided
to delay SVA for the new Part IV. Now, Part IV will include that Kara
as well as the Superwoman from pre-Crisis days.
In addition to David's remarks, I also want to point out that you
should check this month's News and Notes, in Superscripts, for some
teasers about the new Kara's future...
=========================================================
Keep your letters and comments coming! We always welcome your feedback
about how we can improve KC!
-- Jeff Sykes
____________________________________________________________
*********************************************************
End of Section 6
____________________________________________________________
TELEscopic VISION:
------------------
Superman on the Small Screen
All three wedding/clone trilogy episodes are up this month, so I won't
keep you long here. We've only had one new episode air since last month's
issue, so I'll hold off on its credits until next month.
The entire story arc (amnesia and all) is rumored to be resolved in
March 24's "Oedipus Wrecks", so hang on FoLCs! And Teri's episode,
in April, will involve Lois and Clark dressing as Barbie and GI Joe!
Stew on that! More next month...
Jeff Sykes
____________________________________________________________
TICK...TICK...TICK
------------------
By Zoomway (Zoomway@aol.com)
Well, as of this writing, the rollercoaster ride of the Lois and Clark wedding
arc continues. Since it has turned into a 'wave' that also encompasses
episodes 18 and 19, the first of which will have aired by the time this
article has been distributed, but not seen by me at this time, I will, as
promised, talk about the reaction to the first three installments of the arc.
There is no single word that would best describe fan reaction to the first
three episodes of the arc, but there is one word that has no place here --
apathy. All of the responses have been passionate, in the extreme in some
cases. What can you say about a trilogy that so upsets a cyberspace fan club
president that she suspends the fan club pending the outcome of the entire
arc? How about a number of fans threatening to quit watching if the traumatic
events are not reconciled with Lois and Clark happily married? The comments
have ranged from "Brilliant!" to "This sucks!" It seems the episodes have hit
a nerve among fans, and for some, it's their last good nerve. When passion and
frustration are mixed, the combination can become toxic, or in this case,
explosive.
Less than a year ago, fans were saying it was too early for Lois and Clark to
get married, and then there were the doom and gloomers who predicted the show
would end once they actually were married. Despite this, fans, and I would
say easily the majority judging by the tons of posts I read, were bitterly
disappointed with the wedding being tainted by Clark marrying a clone of Lois
Lane (remember, at press time I have not seen the whole arc, and though it
looks doubtful Clark married the real Lois, anything could happen). There
were howls of protest everywhere that TPTB (the powers that be) had sold the
fans out. They had promised the wedding of the century, and then took it all
back.
The PTB had to have a ratings grabber for February sweeps, and so starting
with the wedding, hoping to draw in new viewers, and then making the wedding a
fraud (or appearing to be one) to keep the old and new viewers hooked was the
plan. As far as ratings go, the first three parts were a success. With the
fans, the reaction was mixed. Some reacted purely on the basis of how the
episode impacted them emotionally. That is, it did not matter how well
written, directed, or otherwise executed, if their emotions were toyed with in
a negative fashion, they reacted negatively. The younger fans were a bit more
liberal with adjectives than the older fans, but the hurt and disappointment
were fairly universal. One young fan commented that the writers had broken
her heart. That of course was not their purpose, but it does not alter the
fact that shattered aortas were strewn all over cyberspace.
This speaks of a kind of mistrust of TPTB, and perhaps understandably so. In
the first season, after strides had been made to move Lois and Clark closer
and closer together, it was all erased and reset to friendship by the season
finale. The disappointment was such that some fans did not come back. The
friendship, though wonderful in first season, was becoming stale in second
season, and with the 'been there done that' feel of everything, the fans
started to depart in ever greater numbers, and the ratings were falling. With
nothing to lose, the PTB decided to goose the show by starting a romance
between Lois and Clark, and the number of fans, as well as the ratings, began
to rise. The romance was a hit.
When third season debuted, it became clear, almost instantly, that letting
Lois in on Clark's secret, and having them in love was a ratings bonanza (to
quote Tempus). When a wedding was announced for the February sweeps, the more
TV savvy fans were already suspicious. Weddings are usually saved for the
season finale and the big sweeps in May. Some already believed the wedding
would be a fraud, but still managed to be disappointed when it appeared to be
exactly that. It really didn't matter that the first three episodes contained
some of the best acting of any season (particularly by Teri Hatcher) and some
very inspired, albeit off-the-wall plots (frog-eating clones and amnesia),
because the fans were upset, and that was that. What long term effect this
will have, is yet to be seen.
When the dust clears, and the fifth and final episode of the arc has aired,
then the numbers, wounds, and reactions can all be tallied. Will it have put
off some fans permanently? Will the warm and fuzzy feeling at the end of the
arc make up for all the hurt and angst which preceded it? More importantly to
the network's interest, will the gamble of stringing along the rabid fans with
the newbies have a good payoff as far as overall and future ratings? That
would be the hardest part to speculate on.
The third part of the arc ended with Lois remembering who she was, but
forgetting who Clark was, and there was no 'to be continued' printed across
the screen. That would give the impression, at least to newbies, that the
third installment was the end, and everything had been reset. That may have
meant that a majority of the first-timers shrugged, felt they'd been taken for
a looping buggy ride, and had been dumped right back where they had boarded.
Deciding to bypass such a frustrating ride in the future, believing TPTB have
no intention of letting Lois and Clark get married. The long time fans know
this isn't true, well, most of them, but tricking the newbie viewer may have
been a tactical error, as well as stringing the arc out so long.
There is also the impact this all has on the characters. Clark has not looked
his biggest, brightest or boldest in the first three parts of the arc. Though
confused by the clone's behavior, it still took him, what some fans feel, way
too long to realize she was an impostor, especially after the series seemed to
have made a big deal about the 'bond' between the two of them. Lois, thus
far, comes out of the first three parts of the arc unscathed, because she was
not herself most of the time anyway. Having the characters separated so long
is also a drain on the show's main draw of charm. The interaction, and
chemistry between these two characters is what really drives the show, and
having them torn from each other for an extended time means that peripheral
elements (secondary cast members, plots, villains) have to carry the show, and
that often is a weak link for the show to hold the chain together. Not to
mention an unrelentingly downer storyline. The show has never really delved
into something so heart-rending, and this is no doubt due to the fact that
Lois and Clark have never been so romantically close to each other before.
In the first season, when the stakes were not high, there was no urgency, and
there were no expectations, really, that the characters would even start
dating, much less fall in love. The angst level was kept fairly low until the
season finale. Even here though, the finale was two episodes, and no
cliffhanger. The stakes were raised in second season. Lois and Clark began
dating, and then falling in love, with Clark's Superman job and secret getting
in the way. To up the angst level a bit more, Dan Scardino was introduced to
be competition for Clark. Fans got that creepy-crawly feeling and started
getting antsy. One thing the second season had to its advantage was the
ability to place a very warm and romantic episode, "Tempus Fugitive", in the
middle of the Scardino storyline and kind of give fans a break from the
frustration. This was not possible this year, lending to the unremitting
nature of it all.
I'll be back next month with my view of the complete storyline, and an
assessment of damages or gains the story arc caused. Whatever the outcome, it
seemed unusually gutsy (or foolish) for a show gaining in popularity to
attempt.
=========================================================
EPISODE REVIEWS:
----------------
Episode #3-15: "I Now Pronounce You..."
---------------------------------------
by Jeff Sykes <sykes@ms.uky.edu>
US Airdate: February 11, 1996
Guest Starring: Fred Willard, Beverly Garland, Harve Presnell, Brad Garrett,
Wesley Mann, Oliver Muirhead, and Tony Curtis as "Dr. Mamba"
Written by: Chris Ruppenthal
Directed by: Jim Pohl
Four days before their wedding, Lois has begun to panic. Her past history
"assures" that something will have to go wrong! Clark rushes to reassure her,
but even as he does, her fears are heightened when she receives a delivery of
dead roses. Thus begins the "wedding episode".
The main plot of the story involves Lois and Clark undertaking what is
expected to be a minor investigation of an exotic pet store robbery. However,
the incident turns out to be much more than the couple bargained for, as the
stolen exotic frogs are mixed up in a plot to kidnap the President! This rare
breed of frog is known for extremely fast growth and healing rates, and they
have been used in the exploration of cloning techniques.
As Lois and Clark eventually discover, Lex Luthor has orchestrated a plot to
replace the President and the head of his Secret Service detail with clones.
Controlling Dr. Mamba, the scientist whose techniques are used to produce the
clones, from prison, Lex plans on obtaining a federal pardon and reuniting
with Lois. However, a genetic flaw in the clones makes them ravenous for the
frogs used in the cloning process, which leads to their eventual downfall and
the foiling of Lex's plans.
The real focus of the episode is on the impending wedding of Lois and Clark.
The couple have to deal with jittery nerves, the arrival of their parents, and
a slew of minor disasters. For example, Lois continues to receive tormenting
gifts, such as the dead roses above, leading to much more paranoia on her
part. Weather problems in Metropolis lead to the cancellation of their
parents' room reservations. Lucy can't make it in to serve as Lois' Maid of
Honor. The minister takes a job on a cruise ship at the last second, bailing
out of their ceremony. The rehearsal dinner is cancelled, and Superman has to
fly to India to combat a deadly typhoon. It's certainly a hectic four days
given to us!
But through everything, Lois and Clark's love for each other circumvents all of
the disasters. There's a wonderful scene at the Daily Planet where Clark
calls Lois "Honey" for the first time, calming her and bringing them closer
together. Later, in lieu of the rehearsal dinner, Lois and Clark hold a
private dinner for two, where they exchange the toasts they expected to hear
from their parents. Several warm and romantic scenes such as these help to
emphasize the fact that nothing will prevent their wedding.
Finally, things seem to fall into order for the wedding, and with a few
changes in their plans (Perry serves as minister via the First Church of Blue
Suede Deliverance, Lois' cousin serves as Maid of Honor), the two are finally
married! Or are they?
As the ceremony ends, we discover, via the Limousine's television, that Lex
Luthor was released from prison, by order of the fake president, and he
remains at large. And later that night, as Lois prepares for their wedding
night, we are stunned as she opens a small container and proceeds to eat its
contents -- one of the exotic frogs! To be continued...
I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. Aside from the "comic book" clone plot,
the story was very well written, and the cast did a wonderful job of
portraying the hectic emotions involved with an impending wedding. This idea
of stringing along the viewers with continued plots has been met with a lot of
negative reactions, but I must admit that it's been quite some time since the
show has had me quite this interested in what's going to happen next. I can't
wait to see the ultimate resolution!
=========================================================
Episode #3-16: "Double Jeopardy"
--------------------------------
by Marta Olson <molson@raisinets.den.mmc.com>
US Airdate: February 18, 1996
Guest Starring: Billy Dean, Troy Evans, and John Shea as "Lex Luthor"
Written by: Brad Buckner and Eugenie Ross-Leming
Directed by: Chris Long
When I first saw the previews for the new Superman series three years ago, I
almost didn't watch it. Dean Cain, who played Clark Kent, was very good
looking, but with Teri Hatcher as Lois, well, I wasn't sure I wanted to see
it. Keep in mind, my only reference for Ms. Hatcher at the time was her
recurring role as the nasal, whiny Penny Parker on MACGYVER I tuned in to see
what the show was like and have been hooked ever since. I really couldn't
picture anyone else as Lois after that. There was no trace of Penny Parker,
and now, after having seen the recent arc beginning with "I Now Pronounce
You", I can fully appreciate her acting skill. Wow!
The show opens with Lois coming into the bedroom and getting into bed with
Clark. Clark says, "We have been through so much to get to this place."
Little did he know, the worst was yet to come. Pleading tiredness, the clone
turns her back to Clark and fakes going to sleep. When Clark tries to talk to
her, she ignores him, leaving him no choice but to try to sleep.
Lois is unconscious when she is brought to the hideout. The deacon from the
wedding is there, and she is tied to a chair. As she watches, the deacon
removes a mask, showing that he is really Lex. Lois is stunned. And so
continues the emotional roller coaster we began last week.
The ride continues for Lois, the Lois clone (named Clois by the LOISCLA
mailing list), Clark, and even Lex. We see a side of Lois we haven't really
seen before. Throughout the episode, her conversations with Lex are full of
sarcastic wit. At one point Lois asks Lex, "Why do you want me? I was going
to marry someone else." Lex replies, "You almost married me, so obviously you
are flexible." When Lex kisses her, she spits in his face, "Don't ever do
that again." Lex replies, "Have I been away so long that people tied up in
chairs have room to negotiate?" Later, when he is talking to her and comments
on her beauty -- "the fire in your eye, color in your cheek, the sultry curl
of your lip" -- Lois replies, "It's nausea."
At the same time, we see several sides of Clois. At first she is upset when,
their first morning together, she is going to make coffee for Clark but can't
find the coffee cups. He reminds her they changed them around two weeks ago.
Later she goes shopping and buys lots of new clothes. When Clark comes home,
he kisses her, picks her up and carries her into the bedroom. Trying to
distract him, she says she feels it would be a perfect evening if Superman
were there. Clark is surprised, but decides to play along with her. He steps
back and spins into Superman, and gets a different reaction than he is
planning on. "You're Superman? Want some dinner?" and she leaves the
bedroom. When she is out of earshot she says, "I'm Mrs. Superman! I can have
anything I want. Cool!"
This leads to a funny scene later when Superman is trying to save some people
in an accident in the subway, Clois runs up to him saying "Honey, honey!" He
is shocked and tells her she can't call him honey in public. He leaves then
to save two more people in the subway. Afterwards we see the petulant side of
Clois. "You're ignoring me and I don't like it." "I'm not ignoring you, I
just had some lives to save." "You never have time for me. Maybe I should
just move to LA and become a Super Model." Clois later decides that in order
to have Superman, she must eliminate the real Lois, so she decides to kill
her, but lets her get away. She also makes a pass a Jimmy, stunning him.
It's shortly after this that we meet Wanda Detroit. Wanda is the main
character in a novel that Lois wrote two years before. Wanda is a lounge
singer, who has a jerk after her named Clark, who had a secret. She'd be
ready to pour her heart out to him and he'd take off. She found out later he
was knocking off gas stations. He left her with the loot surrounded by cops.
Not only is he after her, but there's a crazy woman who looks like her who is
trying to kill her. Some of Wanda's dialog is great. "My life reads like a
bad novel." When asked to describe Clark, she replies, "All I can see in my
head are a bunch of words."
My favorite scene in this episode is between Lex and Clark. Lex is waiting in
Clark's apartment after Clois has thrown a temper tantrum and trashed the
place. They decide to work together to find Lois before Clois. They finish
each other's sentences. Clark starts, "Fearless." Then Lex, "Stupidly so."
Then Clark, "I try to get her to take it easy," then Lex, "but she won't
listen." Lex continues, "When she's sad, she cries." Then Clark, "You want
to die." Then Lex, "Tell me about it."
Another one of my favorite scenes is when Clark finds out that Lois is
pretending to be Wanda and he goes to the bar to find her. When he comes in,
Red and Bibbo confront him when they find out his name is Clark. Red hits
him. Clark reacts slow -- "uh ... ow." They continue to punch him while he
tries to convince them he just wants some information. Finally he says he
gives and leaves.
I have to mention the metaphor scene. Martha and Jonathan come in to Lois and
Clark's apartment with the intention of straightening up the wedding presents
and find Superman there. "Christmas tree lights. You're all excited, you
want your house to explode with warmth and love, so you go out and buy a new
box of lights and hang them on the tree. You wait for the warmth and love,
and then you plug in the lights and nothing happens." Jonathan asks, "No
sparks? No flickering? No electricity at all?" Clark replies, "The power is
out."
There is also a wonderful montage of scenes that showed Superman flying, Lois
singing, both thinking, Lex sitting, Clois eating frogs while looking through
the yellow pages, Superman sitting on a ledge, and ending with Wanda singing.
I really can't say enough about Teri in this episode. Each character was
portrayed so differently and so well that it is hard to believe they were
played by the same person. If you haven't seen this episode, it's worth
watching.
____________________________________________________________
*********************************************************
End of Section 7
____________________________________________________________
EPISODE REVIEWS: (cont)
-----------------------
Episode #3-17: "Seconds"
------------------------
by Shane Furlong <Shane.Furlong@evolving.com>
US Airdate: February 25, 1996
Guest Starring: Kenneth Kimmins, and John Shea as "Lex Luthor"
Teleplay by: John McNamara
Story by: Corey Miller and Philip W. Chung
Directed by: Alan J. Levi
This episode was the third part of the Clone/Wedding saga. It opens with Lex
and Lois/Wanda still together, while Clark is stuck with Lois/Clone. One
hanging plot point from a previous episode is dealt with quickly as Clark
tells his parents, "I shouldn't have just let Luthor go!" Well, yea, that's
what I thought too, but at least they sort of explained Clark's inaction as
sort of from shock.
Superman meets Lex at the corner of Kirby and Steranko. Great little nod to
the comic fans there. The speech from Luthor here is quite good as he
explains that he and Superman need each other. I agree wholeheartedly. The
villains on this show are sometimes very lame, and having John Shea appear
several times a season helps the show tremendously. Luthor tells him he has
planted bombs all over the city, and as Superman flies away he lets Superman
know this is war.
While the folks at STAR Labs try to figure out the clone, Lois/Wanda is
starting to have dreams of her real life as Lois Lane. An informant at STAR
Labs alerts Luthor that Clark has taken the Lois/Clone out of the lab, and Lex
needs her to get some money that he placed in the bank in Lois' name prior to
their aborted marriage two seasons ago.
Lois/Wanda and Lex break into STAR Labs to steal 2 clone fetuses. Lex intends
on growing them into new bodies for he and Lois to move their souls into. He
has a guy that can do this. It reminded me of that movie with Steve Martin
and Lily Tomlin where her soul was moved into him. We start to see that Lex
in his own way does really love Lois, even if it is not all that healthy of a
love.
The clone withdrew the money in an attempt to draw out Lex for Clark, but then
in a turn-about for her, she lets Lex know that Clark is Superman. Lex lets
her know that she will not live more than two more days, and then he leaves to
prepare to kill Clark.
He buys a secret weapon stolen from the government in a scene meant to be
funny, but it was really pretty stupid. Comedy is not the strong point of
this show. Lex uses this weapon to kidnap Clark's mother and set up the final
showdown, where he plans to kill Clark.
Lex's plan is to have Lois/Wanda kill Clark with the stolen weapon. He hopes
that by killing him, she will be able to expunge Clark's memory from her mind
and give herself over to him completely. When the climatic scene happens,
Lois is unable to kill him, but she does cause Lex's secret hideaway to cave
in. Lex is injured by his weapon and the clone is also killed. As the
ceiling crashes down around them, Clark saves Lois and his Mom, but Lois is
hit on the head again.
Luthor is presumably dead, but remember, no body = no death, so expect to see
Lex again. (I hope) In the final scene, Lois now knows who she is, but she
doesn't know anyone else. I guess the wedding will have to wait a little
longer. This was a good ending to the Clone Saga, especially with the
performance of John Shea and the real emotion showed by Dean Cain over the
loss of Lois. Teri Hatcher also shines as she plays two characters here, and
neither are her regular self.
I just hope this current amnesia storyline doesn't stretch out very long.
This waiting for the wedding is getting frustrating, but if the episodes can
be this good maybe it will be worth the wait.
____________________________________________________________
PRE-CRISIS TRIVIA CONTEST RESULTS!
----------------------------------
Several readers responded with entries to our trivia questions about
pre-Crisis Krypton. And of all the entries, only three managed to get
every single question correct. These were Andrew Gould, Jeff Metzner,
and Bill Hoppe (in order the entries were received)!
Because I'm in a good mood, I've decided that each of these three will
win a prize! As promised, one name of these three has been drawn at random
to receive a set of DC VERSUS MARVEL trading cards and the limited edition,
oversized Superman vs Hulk trading card. As consolation prizes, the other
two "perfect score" entrants will receive a set of DC VERSUS MARVEL trading
cards (but not the oversize card).
And the winner, by random drawing, is Bill Hoppe!
I'll be contacting each of you personally at the beginning of next week
(after I return from Spring Break) about how to send you your prizes!
Congratulations to our winners, and to everyone else, keep an eye out for
our next contest!
And now, for the answers to the questions...
1. What was the oldest city on Krypton?
Erkol
2. What was the highest peak on Krypton?
Mt. Mundru
3. What was the most precious metal on Krypton?
Boradium
4. What was the strongest metal on Krypton?
Kryptium
5. What was the most commonly spoken language on Krypton?
Kryptonese
6. What metal, common on Krypton, was erupted by a volcano of the same name?
Gold (Volcano)
7. What Kryptonian jungle's name had a hue to it?
Scarlet Jungle
8. How many moons did Krypton originally have?
Four.
9. What was the capital city of Krypton before Kryptonopolis?
Kandor
10. What was the independent island of thieves on Krypton?
Bokos
11. What was the main defense center on Krypton?
Fort Rozz
12. What was the "ghost city" of Krypton?
Jerat
13. What city was Supergirl (Kara Zor-El) born in?
Argo City
14. Name two Kryptonian oceans.
Morstil, Dandahu, Gorv, Red
15. Name two seas on Krypton.
Sea of Banzt, Cogo Sea, Sea of Olo, Eiu Sea, Boiling Sea
____________________________________________________________
COMING ATTRACTIONS
------------------
A List of Upcoming Comics Featuring The Superman Family of Characters
Assembled by Jeffery D. Sykes
This monthly section is dedicated to giving you official information
concerning which comics you should watch for in the near future in order
to keep up with Superman, Superboy, Supergirl, and all the rest of the
Superman family of characters.
The information which follows is reprinted without permission from Diamond
Previews and is in no way meant to serve as a replacement for that magazine.
I strongly recommend that each reader find his or her own copy for additional
detailed information on the entire DC Universe! Note that Diamond is the
exclusive distributor of DC Comics!
NOTES
---------------
Before we get to the new comics for May, you should know that in April,
DC is reoffering the four DC/MARVEL CROSSOVER CLASSICS reprints,
previously packaged in pairs and now available individually. These
include SUPERMAN VS THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN and SUPERMAN AND SPIDER-MAN.
See our Merchandise section for more information on these books.
May is a *massive* month for the Man of Steel! First, in the Superman
titles, it's the wedding you've all been asking for!!! ... No, not
that one -- the other one! Lex and the Contessa wed, but not without
some strong objections. Then beginning with ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #536,
the super-team gets some much-deserved time off as Tom (LEGION OF
SUPER-HEROES) Peyer and Mark (FLASH, IMPULSE, SUPER-SOLDIER) Waid take
over for at least three weeks (and probably more -- we'll see next
month). With the help of legendary guest-artists Dick Giordano and
Curt Swan, they spin a tale of Brainiac's return!
The "Losin' It" storyline reaches its penultimate chapter this month
in SUPERBOY, and STEEL begins to face life without a secret identity.
Catch a new episode of SUPERBOY: THE ANIMATED SERIES in SHOWCASE '96,
and read a new "Legend of the Dead Earth" in the ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN
ANNUAL #8.
On top of these, Superman is a focal character in DC's new landmark
Elseworlds tale, KINGDOM COME. Written by Mark Waid, with painted art
and covers by Alex (MARVELS, KURT BUSIEK'S ASTRO CITY) Ross, KINGDOM
COME is already being hailed as the next BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT
RETURNS, the next WATCHMEN. This promises to be one of the best comics
of the decade, folks!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LIST OF TITLES BY EXPECTED ARRIVAL DATE
---------------------------------------------
Arrival Date: Comic title and information:
------------ ---------------------------
March 6: DC Versus Marvel #4 (of 4)
Written by Peter David
Art by Dan Jurgens, Claudio Castellini, Josef Rubinstein,
and Paul Neary
Cover by Jurgens and Rubinstein
48 pgs, $3.95
Showcase '96 #4
Firebrand and Guardian
Written by Brian Augustyn
Art by Scot Eaton
Cover by Lee Weeks
48 pgs, $2.95
Superman #111
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art and Cover by Ron Frenz and Josef Rubinstein
$1.95
March 13: Adventures of Superman #534
Written by Stuart Immonen and Karl Kesel
Art and Cover by Immonen and Jose Marzan Jr
$1.95
Steel #26
Written by Louise Simonson
Art and Cover by Phil Gosier and Rich Faber
$1.95
March 20: Action Comics #721
Written by David Michelinie
Art and Cover by Kieron Dwyer and Denis Rodier
$1.95
March 27: Superboy #27
Written by Karl Kesel
Art by Staz Johnson and Doug Hazlewood
Cover by Tom Grummett and Karl Kesel
LOSIN' IT: Part 3 (of 6)
$1.95
Superman: The Man of Steel #56
Written by Louise Simonson
Art and Cover by Jon Bogdanove and Dennis Janke
$1.95
April 3: Showcase '96 #5
Green Arrow and Thorn
Written by Darren Vincenzo
Art by Steve Erwin and Gerry Fernandez
Cover by Ty Templeton
48 pgs, $2.95
Steel #27
Written by Louise Simonson
Art and Cover by Phil Gosier and Rich Faber
$1.95
Superman #112
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art and Cover by Ron Frenz and Josef Rubinstein
$1.95
April 10: Adventures of Superman #535
Written by Karl Kesel
Art and Cover by Stuart Immonen and Jose Marzan Jr
$1.95
Supergirl Annual #1
Written by Chuck Dixon/various
Art by Ron Wagner/various and Bill Reinhold/various
Cover by Ron Wagner and Bill Reinhold
48 pgs, $2.95
April 17: Action Comics #722
Written by David Michelinie
Pencils by Darick Robertson
Cover by Tom Grummett and Denis Rodier
$1.95
Superboy #28
Written by Karl Kesel
Art by Staz Johnson and Doug Hazlewood
Cover by Tom Grummett and Karl Kesel
LOSIN' IT: Part 4 (of 6)
$1.95
April 24: Superman: The Man of Steel #57
Written by Roger Stern
Art and Cover by Jon Bogdanove and Dennis Janke
$1.95
May 1: Steel #28
Written by Peter J. Tomasi
Art by Andrew Robinson and Jim Royle
Cover by Phil Gosier and Keith Champagne
$1.95
Superman #113
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art and Cover by Ron Frenz and Josef Rubinstein
$1.95
May 8: Adventures of Superman Annual #8
Written by Tom Peyer
Art by Derec Aucoin and Jason Martin
Cover by Jerry Ordway
48 pgs, $2.95
Kingdom Come #1 (of 4)
Written by Mark Waid
Painted art and Cover by Alex Ross
48 pgs, Prestige Format, $4.95
Showcase '96 #6
Superboy: The Animated Series
Written by Kelley Puckett
Art by Mike Parobeck and Ande Parks
Cover by Mike Parobeck and Howard Porter
48 pgs, $2.95
Superman: The Man of Tomorrow #5
Written by Roger Stern
Art and Cover by Tom Grummett and Brett Breeding
$1.95
May 15: Adventures of Superman #536
Written by Tom Peyer and Mark Waid
Art by Dick Giordano, Curt Swan, and various
Cover by Alan Davis and Mark Farmer
$1.95
Superboy #29
Written by Karl Kesel and Steve Mattsson
Art by Staz Johnson and Doug Hazlewood
Cover by Tom Grummett and Karl Kesel
LOSIN' IT: Part 5 (of 6)
$1.95
May 22: Action Comics #723
Written by Tom Peyer and Mark Waid
Art by Dick Giordano, Curt Swan, and various
Cover by Dave Johnson
$1.95
May 29: Superman: The Man of Steel #58
Written by Tom Peyer and Mark Waid
Art by Dick Giordano, Curt Swan, and various
Cover by Howard Chaykin
$1.95
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPOILERS
------------------
May 1:
-----
Steel #28
With his secret identity exposed, Steel has become more of a target than
ever -- with nowhere to hide. First to come gunning for him is Plasmus,
who burns his way through Washington with plans to make Steel's armor
his own.
Superman #113
Wedding plans continue apace as Superman returns to Metropolis and finds
himself caught in the middle of a conflict between Lex Luthor and the
Contessa. Meanwhile, Jimmy Olsen faces an ethical choice when he comes
across some hot news uncovered by Lois Lane. Plus... it's feeding time
for the monsters at S.T.A.R. Labs!
May 8:
-----
Adventures of Superman Annual #8
The "Legends of the Dead Earth" Annuals continue: Near the beginning
of Superman's career, a holographic program of his father, Jor-El,
revealed to the Man of Steel his Kryptonian heritage. Half a million
years in the future and half a galaxy away, the hologram of Jor-El
reactivates... convincing an unlikely witness that he is the Last Son
of Krypton.
Kingdom Come #1 (of 4)
ELSEWORLDS. First there was BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS. Then
WATCHMEN. Now DC electrifies the comics community yet again with the
eagerly awaited 4-issue Prestige mini-series from the creative dream-team
of writer Mark (FLASH, IMPULSE, SUPER-SOLDIER) Waid and artist Alex
(MARVELS) Ross. Featuring one of the most astounding visions of the DC
Universe ever presented, KINGDOM COME is an ELSEWORLDS story set in an
apocalyptic near future. In issue #1, the proliferation of reckless,
volatile new metahumans has brought the world to the brink of chaos and
destruction, forcing the previous generation of heroes to make terrifying
choices. Readers hungry for a gripping story fraught with tension,
intrigue, action, and staggering characterization will get their money's
worth and more in a powerful story that unfolds with art so breathtakingly
vivid it's almost as if it reaches out to touch you!
Showcase '96 #6
In the latest episode of SUPERBOY: THE ANIMATED SERIES, the cartoon Kid
of Steel visits Project Cadmus, where all hell breaks loose when he's
tricked into summoning The Demon Etrigan! Backup stories feature
Firestorm and The Atom.
Superman: The Man of Tomorrow #5
It's the wedding of Lex Luthor and the Contessa -- and Superman objects
in a *big way* as Metropolis becomes a battleground when Jimmy Olsen
crashes the secret ceremony in a GBS chopper.
May 15:
------
Adventures of Superman #536
A scrawny teenage boy in a psychiatric hospital just outside of
Metropolis is convinced he's Superman. But his pleas for truth and
justice fall on deaf ears, especially after the youth suffers a
debilitating psychotic episode. But the awful truth is that the boy
really is the Man of Steel -- the victim of Brainiac's latest
mind-swapping scheme.
Superboy #29
LOSIN' IT: Part 5 (of 6) - It may be the end of the fugitive road for
Superboy and Knockout when Victor Volcanum causes an eruption of lava
off the coast of Hawaii -- creating a major disaster and setting the
stage for a big change in the Kid's life.
May 22:
------
Action Comics #723
Victim of Brainiac's latest mind-swapping plot, Superman, trapped in
the frail human body of a teenaged boy, struggles to free himself from
a psychiatric institution. Meanwhile, Brainiac revels in his own new
body -- that of the Man of Steel!
May 29:
------
Superman: The Man of Steel
Powerless and trapped in the body of a teenager, Superman escapes from
the psychiatric hospital only to be pursued for a murder he didn't commit.
Meanwhile, in the body of Superman, Brainiac takes to the air-waves and
electronically seals Metropolis from the rest of the world.
____________________________________________________________
*********************************************************
End of Section 8/Issue #23
