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The Kryptonian Cybernet Issue 38
_____________________________________________________________________________
T H E K R Y P T O N I A N C Y B E R N E T
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http://www.ms.uky.edu/~sykes/kc
Issue #38 -- May 1997
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CONTENTS
--------
Section 1: Superscripts: Notes from the Editor
Absolutely Shameful
News and Notes
The Road to Recovery, Is Superman Less Animated?, Superman
Lives is Stricken, Steel on the Summer Track, Farewell Lois
and Clark, Quick Bits and Bytes, Help Wanted
Section 2: The 1996 Kaycees!
Results in Continuing and Limited Series categories
Section 3: The 1996 Kaycees!
Results in Lois and Clark and Write-in categories
And Who Disguised As...
Tim Burton's Superman!?
by J.D. Rummel
Section 4: New Comic Reviews
The Superman Titles
Superman: The Man of Steel #68, by Thomas Deja
Superman #124, by Jeff Sykes
Adventures of Superman #547, by Anatole Wilson
Section 5: New Comic Reviews
The Superman Titles (cont)
Action Comics #734, by Shane Travis
Super-Family Titles
JLA #6
Steel #39, by Dick Sidbury
Superboy #39, by Rene' Gobeyn
Section 6: New Comic Reviews
Super-Family Titles (cont)
Supergirl #10, by Thomas Deja
Superman Adventures #8, by Cory Strode
Amalgam 97
Spider-Boy Team-Up #1, by Rene' Gobeyn
Super Soldier: Man of War #1, by Rene' Gobeyn
Section 7: The Phantom Zone
Super Friends
DC Comics Presents #85, by Joe Crowe
The Mailbag
STAFF:
------
Jeffery D. Sykes, Editor-in-Chief
Shane Travis, Executive Editor: New Comic Reviews
Nancy Jones, Executive Editor: Lois and Clark section
Neil Ottenstein, Executive Editor: S:TAS section
Editors:
Chip Chandler Steve Hanes D.M. Simms
Joe Crowe Curtis Herink Shane Travis
Trevor Gates William O'Hara Steven Younis
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 information.
All original material published in The Kryptonian Cybernet, including but not
limited to reviews, articles, and editorials, are copyright 1997 by The
Kryptonian Cybernet and the respective authors. Reprinting in any format is
expressly forbidden without the permission of The Kryptonian Cybernet and the
contributing author.
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 can be distributed, in whole, 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
end
in the body of an e-mail message to "majordomo@novia.net" (without the
quotation marks). The program ignores the subject line of the message.
Back issues are available via ftp at oasis.novia.net. These archives can also
be reached via the Kryptonian Cybernet Homepage:
http://www.ms.uky.edu/~sykes/kc
_____________________________________________________
SUPERSCRIPTS: Notes from the Editor
------------------------------------
Before I get into this month's column, I want to take just a moment to point
out that this issue marks the third anniversary of THE KRYPTONIAN CYBERNET!
The past year hasn't been a bucket of roses for KC -- our "terrible twos" were
anything but easy, though I believe we grew through these adversities. With
some fresh blood moving into place on the magazine this year, and with all
sorts of new ideas in the planning stages (a *super* new feature is coming
next issue, but I'm going to keep a lid on it for now), things should just
continue to get better and better!
And now, without further ado...
ABSOLUTELY SHAMEFUL
Superman has *really* been mistreated of late. Before you start claiming
victory and cheering that I've turned against the so-called "Man of Sparks"
storyline, I'm still firmly on the side of the comic creators. So far,
Cavalieri and company have turned out solid stories which remain true to the
nature of Superman. If you've been boycotting the titles because of the
pre-publication furor, then you're really missing out on some good writing!
No, my anger is directed at Hollywood -- and for the most part, this means
Corporate Hollywood. There are groups of money-grubbing, power-hungry
executives in charge of the fate of the Man of Steel on film and TV, and none
of them have the dignity or honor to treat the character with any respect
whatsoever.
Let's begin with the least of the offenders, Warner Brothers' television
division. Why are they on my hit list? Simple. SUPERMAN, the animated
series. Here we have a show which is, by all counts, absolutely fantastic,
but because of WB's insistence of using it to bolster their unnecessary
network, the show gets zip for ratings. You see, the WB network is simply not
available to a large portion of the country -- and what audience the network
*did* have took a substantial hit earlier this year when the cable giant TCI
dropped WGN from most of its markets. There are other reasons for the poor
ratings, but anyone who has seen the show *knows* that there's nothing wrong
with its quality. I have recently heard rumors that the original 65-episode
order has been reduced to 26 -- and 13 have already been aired. I imagine
that after the success of the Batman series, WB could have sold SUPERMAN to
*any* of the four major networks, and the show would have been a ratings
smash. Instead, we may lose the best adaptation of Superman available in any
medium today.
Then we've got ABC's gross mishandling of LOIS AND CLARK. I realize that LOIS
AND CLARK has never been some people's cup of tea. This show was never
intended to be about Superman and his heroic feats. Its primary goal has
always been to focus on the relationship between Lois and Clark and how having
Superman as half of the couple would affect such a relationship. For the most
part, the show has done a wonderful job of that. Whether you agree or not,
however, is irrelevant to this discussion. The issue here is commitment and
honor.
Those people who are still watching the show can tell you that the quality of
the program is at least as good now as it was during its ratings peaks of last
season. Certainly the show itself is partly to blame for some of the audience
drop, as the so-called "non-wedding arc" from the third season drove viewers
away in droves. This year, however, to lay the blame at the feet of the
producers would be to ignore the evidence.
With only one exception, *every* major drop in LOIS AND CLARK's ratings has
come immediately following a pre-emption or a time change. In each such
instance, there has been little or no advertising to let the viewers know
when, or even if, LOIS AND CLARK would return -- certainly the time changes
received little fanfare. I'm still finding people who believe that the
program was canceled in December! Had ABC simply advertised the show a bit
more, the ratings would not be in the dire straits they are in now, and the
show would be returning in the fall.
Finally, we come to the disaster in the making currently known as SUPERMAN
LIVES. To this point, we've seen jaw-dropping announcement after
head-scratching rumor. Kevin Smith, an excellent screenwriter by all
accounts, but inexperienced in the genre to say the least, was brought on
board to write the script. After his final draft was turned in, word spread
that both DC and Warner Brothers were ecstatic about the script. Then things
got weird.
WB is coming at this from a "franchise" point of view. They want a series of
Superman films to rake in the cash, a la the Batman movies. It's become
clear, however, that they have not a care in the world what they have to do to
Superman in order to accomplish this. First we had the Nicolas Cage casting
rumors, which have since grown to reports of a signing (ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
#379, May 16, 1997). I'll admit that I've been hesitant about Cage in the
past -- he doesn't much look the part, and he's never shown that he can handle
such a role. But you know, I thought and thought and thought, and I couldn't
come up with a single *good* actor who *would* look the part and who *has*
shown that he can handle such a role. So I began warming up to Cage. In
fact, I'd pretty much began to accept it when the following came over the news
wires earlier this month:
"Nicolas Cage hasn't given up unusual roles. For the Tim Burton remake
of Superman, he wants to make the man of Steel 'a freak, but a beautiful
freak in that he really cares about people....I wouldn't be afraid to
talk about his loneliness and his feeling so alien, never fitting in
and...needing to do heroic acts so people would love him and he would
feel loved,' Cage said."
What!? Cage is a self-professed comic fan, but from this statement I have to
wonder if he's ever actually *read* a Superman comic. Superman is not in the
business to "feel loved." Anyone who believes that has no place in this
movie. Period.
So what else has gone wrong? Well, WB so badly wanted to land Tim Burton
(BATMAN, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, ED WOOD) as director that they allowed him to
trash the Kevin Smith script that everyone was nuts about. Now Burton has
hired Wesley Strick (THE SAINT) to rewrite the script. At least it wasn't
Akiva Goldsman, the BATMAN FOREVER writer originally rumored to be Burton's
choice.
Burton himself seems like an extremely odd choice for SUPERMAN LIVES. The man
has a history of dark and quirky films, none of which remotely suggest the
heroic nature of Superman.
While these developments are certainly ominous, perhaps an even larger problem
centers on producer Jon Peters. Let me give you an idea of how clueless
Peters is about the character. When he hired Kevin Smith as screenwriter, he
gave Kevin a few directives about the script. One was that he didn't want to
see Superman flying. Perhaps this is a budget/special effects thing, so it's
not completely unreasonable. He also wanted a scene involving Superman
fighting a giant spider, as well as a scene with a small army (of police, if I
remember correctly) guarding the Fortress of Solitude. When Smith pointed out
that nobody *knows* about the Fortress, Peters suggested that polar bears
could be on guard. Seriously. And perhaps most insulting of all, Peters
didn't want Superman running around in his traditional costume. In fact, word
is that he referred to it as "that sissy pink costume."
Warner Brothers is following the BATMAN example, trying to sell the movie with
a big budget and big stars. In addition to Cage, casting rumors have also
centered around Sandra Bullock, Patrick Stewart, Jack Nicholson, and Michael
Keaton. Just this past week, reports surfaced that WB is pursuing Jim Carrey
to play Brainiac, though Carrey's press agents have denied this. No, I don't
understand it either.
We also know that WB is in a rush to get this project underway. Filming is
scheduled to begin in October, for a July release next year, presumably so the
film can be out as part of Superman's 60th anniversary celebration, but it
just sounds to me like we're going to get a flawed, rushed film about a
character who will be Superman only in name.
Look, if WB wants a big budget superhero film by Tim Burton and Jon Peters for
next summer, then by all means let them make one. But don't let them warp a
classic character for the sole purpose of satisfying these clowns, especially
not on his 60th anniversary. Let them make the movie they want, but don't
call it Superman. They should set that one back onto the shelf until they can
find someone who will do it right, of a quality befitting the legacy and
nobility of this character.
Anything else would be absolutely shameful, and a slap in the face to the men
who created him.
Jeff Sykes, Editor
_____________________________________________________
NEWS AND NOTES
--------------
THE ROAD TO RECOVERY
From Reuters/Variety:
Former movie "Superman" Christopher Reeve, paralyzed from the neck
down in a horseback riding accident two years ago, says he has started
regaining feeling in his arms, hands and back.
In an interview on the CBS News "48 Hours" program broadcast Thursday
night, May 15, Reeve said he can finally feel the touch of his 5-year-old
son, Will, and his wife, Dana. His doctors said Reeve's progress was
"phenomenal," but it was too early to tell whether he would ever walk
again. Reeve told CBS that he had sensation "all the way down to the
base of my spine, which is really a big breakthrough, because to have
feeling in the base of the spine is really important. About six months
ago, I couldn't feel down there."
During his stage and screen career, the 44-year-old Reeve was a handsome
leading man. He is best known for his title role in the "Superman" motion
picture series, playing the Man of Steel and his alter ego, the fumbling,
mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent.
"I can feel his hand on mine. I feel his arm on mine," Reeve told CBS,
referring to a picture of his son leaning against him. "A lot of times
he climbs up into the bed, next to me, and he'll scratch the top of my
head, or he'll just put his face against mine ... I have all that
feeling." In a poignant moment of the interview, Reeve added: "The
thing I want more, though, is to be able to put my arms around him.
That's what he's entitled to. That's what Dana is entitled to. And I
believe that day is coming."
One of Reeve's doctors, Harlan Weinberg, credited the actor for his
recovery, saying he had shown "incredible inner strength." The actor
has suffered from pneumonia and other potentially fatal respiratory
problems and uses a respirator to breathe. Weinberg said Reeve had a
good chance of coming off the machine.
Since his accident, Reeve has directed a television movie and appeared
at the Academy Awards ceremony and the Democratic Party's national
convention. He travels the country raising money for research and
speaking on behalf of the handicapped.
IS SUPERMAN LESS ANIMATED?
I've recently heard rumblings that the original 65-episode order for
SUPERMAN, the Kids WB animated series, has been reduced to 26 episodes
because of low ratings. If anyone has any concrete information on
this, please contact me!
SUPERMAN LIVES IS STRICKEN
Tim Burton has essentially jettisoned Kevin Smith's SUPERMAN LIVES
script, hiring Wesley Strick (THE SAINT, CAPE FEAR, ARACHNOPHOBIA) to
pen a new script. Rumor has it that Burton wants to play up the
Brainiac involvement and is working on preliminary designs for both
Brainiac and his head ship...
There were rumors last week about Jim Carrey (THE MASK, ACE VENTURA)
being in negotiations with Warner Brothers to play Brainiac, but
Carrey's agents have since denied these rumors. Patrick Stewart
has also been rumored for the role.
In recent news reports, there may be a snag in the Nicolas Cage
casting. There is some disagreement between Warner Brothers and
Paramount over which upcoming project Cage would film first. Cage
is committed to starring in Paramount's SNAKE EYES and is probable
for SUPERMAN LIVES. But the two studios each believed Cage would
film their movie first. The hubbub began when Cage's casting agency
suggested that SUPERMAN LIVES delay filming involving Cage by one
month, to November 1. This would seriously hamper the film's chances
of being ready by the July 4th weekend of next year.
STEEL ON THE SUMMER TRACK
While everything else on the summer schedule seems to be moving to
the Thanksgiving/Christmas season (TITANIC, STARSHIP TROOPERS, ALIEN:
RESURRECTION, and MORTAL KOMBAT: ANNHILATION, to name a few), the
Shaquille O'Neal driven STEEL motion picture is set for an August 8
release.
FAREWELL LOIS AND CLARK
On Wednesday, May 21, producers Brad Buckner and Eugenie Ross-Leming
posted on AOL that ABC had finally managed to negotiate its way out
of the fifth season agreement with Warner Brothers, and that the
current fourth season would be the final season of LOIS AND CLARK.
Speculation and rumor had run rampant in the past few weeks, as ABC
sought to back out of the deal agreed upon in October. Then on
Monday, May 19, ABC announced its new fall schedule, and LOIS AND
CLARK was nowhere to be found. Though this only increased the
speculation, no official word of cancellation came down for another
two days, as passed on by the producers.
The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER is reporting that in exchange for the killing
of LOIS AND CLARK, ABC agreed to pick up 13 episodes of a new Warner
Brothers drama, as well as to pay a substantial monetary penalty.
The final episodes three episodes of LOIS AND CLARK are still yet to
air, though the first of these, "I've Got You Under My Skin," is
scheduled to appear on Saturday, May 31. The remaining two episodes
should be broadcast on the following two Saturdays.
QUICK BITS AND BYTES
The Legion of Super-Heroes will be appearing in both SUPERBOY #45 (in
September) and ACTION COMICS #741 (November). Note that the ACTION
guest-appearance will likely be scheduled for the same week as the
anniversary issue LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #100, and it could tie in to
the big Legion event planned for that issue.
Has anyone noticed that Sal Buscema is pencilling both SUPERBOY #42
and SUPERBOY #43, and not current penciller Ramon Bernado? According
to the DC Online Newsletter, Bernado will pencil part of SUPERBOY #41
and then be replaced by a new penciller. Could Buscema be the new
regular?
HELP WANTED
We've got several writing positions available with the magazine, and
are looking for Superman fans with good writing skills and the ability
to meet a deadline. To be specific, we have a position open for the
monthly review of new issues of SUPERMAN, one of the core titles, and
we're also looking for new blood in our AfterByrne and Phantom Zone
sections -- you'll recall that these sections focus on classic comics
featuring the Man of Steel in his post-Crisis and pre-Crisis
incarnations, respectively. We are *very* interested in projects
which focus on the Golden and Silver Age versions of Superman.
In addition, we're interested in a general interest column to cover
something other than reviews and opinions about the new comics. As an
idea, it would be interesting and informative to have a regular column
featuring behind-the-scenes information. How does one write a script
for a Superman TV episode? How exactly does Glenn Whitmore color the
Superman titles so well? What goes into lettering a comic book? What
background did the creators have before their Superman days? These
sorts of questions which still keep a center on Superman, but move
away from the same old thing month after month.
If you're interested in such a position, please contact me, and provide
a sample of your writing. If these don't appeal to you, don't give up
hope. There may be another review position opening up in the near
future, and we've got a hot new feature debuting next issue for which
we'll be looking for participants -- I think most of you will be *very*
pleasantly surprised by this one. :)
_____________________________________________________
THE 1996 KAYCEES!
The Third Annual Kryptonian Cybernet Readers' Choice Awards
-----------------------------------------------------------
Well, it's certainly later than I would have liked, but here, finally, are the
results to the 1996 Kaycees! What was the best and worst about Superman in
the comics and on TV? Your votes have been counted, and the results are
straight ahead.
Before we get to the winners (and losers), I want to make just a few comments
about the voting. There were approximately 115 people who voted in at least
one category this year -- this is an insignificant increase over last year's
awards, though these were significantly more difficult to count. Several
voters chose to ignore the rules about which books were eligible, voting for
titles with 1997 cover dates, and several other pranksters took it upon
themselves to cast their ballots several times (these duplicates were not
counted). Next year, I hope to improve the ballots, so that at least the
first problem will not happen.
Finally, you'll recall that we've got this little contest going as part of the
awards. Something about drawing a name at random from those who voted. This
year's winner, and the recipient of original artwork by ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN
artist Stuart Immonen, is Stuart Reid! Congratulations, Stuart!
And without further delay, the results...
CONTINUING COMIC SERIES AWARDS
------------------------------
Results tabulated and prepared by Dick Sidbury (sidbury@cs.uofs.edu)
Here are the results for continuing series books. The rules stated that the
votes were to consider books that had a cover date of 1996, which were
published from about October 1995 through the end of September 1996. SUPERMAN
ADVENTURES (rapidly becoming my personal favorite book, especially during the
reign of Blueperman) was not eligible, none of the Priest-written issues of
STEEL were eligible, and only the first four issues each of SUPERGIRL and
SUPERBOY AND THE RAVERS were eligible to be judged. As well, SUPERMAN: THE
WEDDING ALBUM, though part of the ongoing continuity and though it sported a
triangle number, was technically a special, and therefore not eligible in
these categories. In all categories below, only those books/creators that
were both eligible and received more than one vote are listed.
Creator Awards:
--------------
CS1: Best Writing in an ongoing comic series
----------------------------------------------------------
PETER DAVID, SUPERGIRL 33
Roger Stern, Superman: The Man of Tomorrow 24*
Karl Kesel, The Adventures of Superman 20
Dan Jurgens, Superman 12
Louise Simonson, Superman: The Man of Steel 5
Karl Kesel/Steve Mattsson, Superboy & the Ravers 4
Karl Kesel, Superboy 4
David Michelinie, Action Comics 2
CS2: Worst Writing in an ongoing comic series
----------------------------------------------------------
RON MARZ, SUPERBOY 19
David Michelinie, Action Comics 16
Louise Simonson, Superman: The Man of Steel 12
Louise Simonson, Steel 11
Karl Kesel/Steve Mattsson, Superboy & the Ravers 9
Dan Jurgens, Superman 4
Peter David, Supergirl 3
Karl Kesel, Adventures of Superman 3
Karl Kesel, Superboy 3
Roger Stern, Superman: The Man of Tomorrow 2*
*One ballot listed Roger Stern as both best and worst writer. [Whenever I
found strange results I decided to count it and report it and you could make
of it what you wished.]
Note that every book was listed as worst written by someone, and every writer
(but not every book) was listed as best by someone. Both categories were
dominated by a few of the writers. Many more individuals didn't vote for
worst than didn't vote for best.
CS3: Best Art in an ongoing comic series
----------------------------------------------------------
IMMONEN & MARZAN, ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN 28
Frank & Smith, Supergirl 18
Grummett & Breeding, Superman: The Man of Tomorrow 17
Grummett & Hazlewood, Superboy 15
Bogdanove & Janke, Superman: The Man of Steel 8
Frenz & Rubinstein, Superman 4
Pelletier & Davis, Superboy & the Ravers 3
Ryan & Breeding, Superman: The Man of Tomorrow 3
Dwyer & Rodier, Action Comics 2
Morgan & Rodier, Action Comics 2
CS4: Worst Art in an ongoing comic series
----------------------------------------------------------
BOGDANOVE & JANKE, SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL 30
Bernado & Hazlewood, Superboy 20
Dwyer & Rodier, Action Comics 9
Immonen & Marzan, Adventures of Superman 6
Frenz & Rubinstein, Superman 5
Grummett & Hazlewood, Superboy 4
Frank & Smith , Supergirl 3
Morgan & Rodier, Action Comics 3
Pelletier & Davis, Superboy & the Ravers 2
Ryan & Breeding, Superman: The Man of Tomorrow 2
All but one art team (Bernado and Hazlewood, SUPERBOY) got a vote for best.
Every art team got a vote for worst.
Story/Storyline Awards:
----------------------
Twenty-four ballots did not list any selections in the categories of
best/worst story line. This was a very difficult category to count and to
analyze. The following vote tabulation does not list any story which received
only one vote. If you want complete results, e-mail me and I'll send them to
you. It also lists two combinations -- the Mxyzptlk story was part of the
breakup and the Commando Lois story was part of the honeymoon, but both
received several votes specifically mentioning them, so they were counted in
both areas. [The fact that both Jeff and I chose them as our best/worst
stories had nothing to do with it. Honest.]
CS5: Best Story/Story Arc in an on-going comic series
----------------------------------------------------------
Triangle Stories (50 votes cast)
LOIS AND CLARK BREAK UP (including Mxy story) 11
Mxy tries to stop breakup 8
Trial of Superman 9
Identity Crisis 9
Final Night Crossovers 5
Bottle City 3
Hazard's Choice 2
Non-triangle Stories (15 votes cast)
Supergirl = Linda Danvers 7
House Rules 4
Losin' It 4
The Mxyzptlk issue (MOS 56) was interesting because it received more votes
that any other issue of a triangle title and was written by Louise Simonson,
the writer who received more negative votes than any other writer (although it
took two books for her to beat Ron Marz and David Michelinie.)
CS6: Worst Story/Story Arc in an on-going comic series
----------------------------------------------------------
Triangle Stories (45 votes cast)
TRIAL OF SUPERMAN 16
Lois & Clark's Honeymoon (including Commando Lois) 11
Commando Lois 3
Identity Crisis 5
Lois and Clark's breakup 4
Bottle City 4
Non-Triangle Stories (12 votes cast)
Losin' It 5
Family Feud 2
Supergirl = Linda 2
Meltdown 2
Cover Awards:
-------------
More than half of the ballots (fifty-five) didn't list an entry in either
category, and another twenty voters didn't list a worst cover, myself
included. Only forty-six eligible votes were received for best cover of the
year, with about one-third of them going to two books. Only thirty eligible
votes were received for worst cover of the year, and that's counting the votes
for "any SUPERBOY done by Bernado" and "any SUPERBOY done after Grummett".
SUPERBOY, in fact, took it on the chin in this survey. Not only were the two
votes listed above anti-SUPERBOY but three specific SUPERBOY covers were
listed (32,33,34) as well as SUPERBOY AND THE RAVERS #2. All but one of the
non-triangle votes for worst cover went to SUPERBOY books.
No particular cover was singled out for worst cover by more than two people
and four of the eight books to receive at least two best cover vote also
received a worst cover vote. The cover receiving the second most votes for
best cover (MOS 56) was drawn by the art team to receive the most negative
votes, Bog and Janke. Only three books received more than one vote for worst
of the year. Only seven (eligible) books received (at least two) votes for
best cover of the year. SUPERGIRL #1 was the only non-triangle title to
receive more than one vote. Only nine other votes were cast for non-triangle
titles.
CS7: Best Cover from an on-going comic series
---------------------------------------------
SUPERGIRL 1 9
Superman: The Man of Steel 56 7
Superman 115 3.5
Superman 114 3
Action Comics 720 3
Superman 117 2
Adventures of Superman 531 2
CS8: Worst Cover from an on-going comic series
----------------------------------------------
Action Comics 717 2
Action Comics 721 2
Superman: The Man of Steel 58 2
Overall Series Awards:
---------------------
CS9: Best Ongoing Comic Series
-------------------------------------
SUPERGIRL 28
Superman 22
Adventures of Superman 17*
Superman: The Man of Tomorrow 17
Superman: The Man of Steel 6
Superboy & the Ravers 5
Action Comics 4
Superboy 4
CS10: Worst Ongoing Comic Series
-------------------------------------
SUPERBOY 19
Superboy & the Ravers 17
Steel 14
Superman: The Man of Steel 13
Action Comics 6
Adventures of Superman 4*
Supergirl 3
Superman 2
Superman: The Man of Tomorrow 2
The asterisk here is because on one ballot ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN was listed
as both the best and worst book. ACTION COMICS got very few votes in either
category but all the other books got strong support for either best or worst.
Summary and personal observations
---------------------------------
Two new books appeared in the Superman family during 1997 and one book changed
creative teams completely. Other books had parts of the creative teams
change. One new book, SUPERGIRL, had very impressive support. Number one in
writing, number two (or three depending on how you count) in art, number one
overall, number one cover, and solid support for the story line, at least
through the four issues of 1996. There were in fact several ballots that
essentially were from individuals who had given up on the triangle titles and
were only reading SUPERGIRL and perhaps the new SUPERMAN ADVENTURES, which was
ineligible for this year but which I predict may well be number one next year.
SUPERBOY AND THE RAVERS was also new and received mixed reviews. The writing
got a few bests and a few worsts, the art got twice as many worsts as bests
but the book was middle of the pack in all four of these categories, as well
as for best book. Based on this data it's hard to see why it finished second
on the worst book overall list. The new creative team on SUPERBOY was
generally hated. I don't know whether this is justified because I dropped the
book after laboring through "Losin' It".
MAN OF TOMORROW got consistently good ratings in both writing and art. MAN OF
STEEL was very polarizing. It received twice as many worst votes as best
votes, but still received substantial support. Despite the unpopularity of
Simonson and Bogdanove, MAN OF STEEL #56 got rave reviews in both story and
cover art. ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN was also very polarized but in the opposite
direction, receiving mostly positive votes, but it still managed to receive
more than half a dozen worst votes.
SPECIAL AND LIMITED SERIES COMICS AWARDS
----------------------------------------
Results tabulated and prepared by Jeff Sykes (sykes@ms.uky.edu)
Limited series and specials eligible for these awards included all Superman
family comics not included in the continuing series awards. Miniseries were
eligible only if their final issue was cover dated 1996. This eliminated
WORLD'S FINEST 3 and WHOM GODS DESTROY, each of which began with cover dates
of 1996 but ended with cover dates of 1997. These miniseries will be eligible
for 1997 awards.
As in the continuing series results, only eligible titles/creative teams
receiving more than one vote will be listed below.
LS1: Best Writing in a special or limited series
----------------------------------------------------------------
MARK WAID AND ALEX ROSS, KINGDOM COME 57
Karl Kesel, Spider-Boy #1 11
Karl Kesel, The Final Night 8
Fabian Nicieza and Mark Waid, JL: A Midsummer's Nightmare 6
Peter David, DC Versus Marvel 5
Kurt Busiek, Superman: The Man of Steel Annual #5 4
Ron Marz, DC Versus Marvel 3
Peter David, Showcase '96 #8 (Supergirl) 2
Karl Kesel, Superman/Toyman #1 2
Mark Waid and Dave Gibbons, Super Soldier #1 2
LS2: Worst Writing in a special or limited series
----------------------------------------------------------------
RON MARZ, DC VERSUS MARVEL 15
Karl Kesel, Superman/Toyman #1 9
Ed Hannigan, League of Justice 8
Peter David, DC Versus Marvel 4
David Michelinie, Action Comics Annual #8 4
Kelly Puckett, Showcase '96 #6 (Superboy: TAS) 4
Ivan Velez, Eradicator 4
Brian Augustyn, Showcase '96 #4 (Firebrand/Guardian) 3
Chuck Dixon, Supergirl Annual #1 3
Barbara Kesel and Stuart Immonen, Alpha Centurion Special #1 3
Karl Kesel, The Final Night 3
Fabian Nicieza and Mark Waid, JL: A Midsummer's Nightmare 2
Paul Castiglia, Showcase '96 #10 (Bibbo) 2
Beau Smith, Showcase '96 #1-2 (Guy Gardner/Steel) 2
Jordan Gorfinkle, Showcase '96 #3 (Lois/Oracle/Black Canary) 2
I'm not going to say much here about the "Best" category. The blow-out speaks
for itself. It's interesting to note that at 8 votes, DC VERSUS MARVEL
received respectable support, while its 19 votes in the "Worst" category
easily makes it the least favorite writing. This is really the only title to
come close to equally mixed reactions. The only other conclusion I can draw
from this voting is that people must not care for titles whose primary purpose
is to advertise a new toy line :)
LS3: Best Art in a special or limited series
----------------------------------------------------------------
ALEX ROSS, KINGDOM COME 74
Dan Jurgens and Josef Rubinstein, DC Versus Marvel 8
Stuart Immonen and Jose Marzan, The Final Night 7
Dick Giordano and George Perez, Supergirl Annual #1 5
Dave Gibbons, Super Soldier #1 4
Stuart Immonen and Wade von Grawbadger, Superman/Toyman #1 2
Mike Wieringo and Karl Kesel, Spider-Boy #1 2
LS4: Worst Art in a special or limited series
----------------------------------------------------------------
CLAUDIO CASTELLINI AND PAUL NEARY, DC VERSUS MARVEL 8
Denis Rodier, Showcase '96 #10 (Bibbo) 7
Kieron Dwyer, Action Comics Annual #8 5
Ed Hannigan and Dick Giordano, League of Justice 4
Jeff Johnson and Jon Holdredge, JL: A Midsummer's Nightmare 4
Darick Robertson and Hanibal Rodriguez, JL: Midsummer's... 4
Roger Robinson and John Lowe, Eradicator 4
Stuart Immonen and Jose Marzan, The Final Night 3
Dean Zachary and Wade von Grawbadger, Alpha Centurion Spec #1 3
Derec Aucoin, Jason Martin, and Ken Branch, Showcase #11-12 2
Stuart Immonen and Wade von Grawbadger, Superman/Toyman #1 2
Kevin West, Tom Grindberg, et al, Superman Annual #8 2
And you thought the best writing category was a blowout...
We seemed to much prefer the Jurgens/Rubinstein half of DC VERSUS MARVEL to
the Castellini/Neary half. I think this category also illustrates how Stuart
Immonen's style is either loved or hated by most fans -- as I've mentioned
before, there's not much middle ground. And notice that Denis Rodier's solo
work is highly unappreciated -- perhaps more evidence that *he* has been the
reason that ACTION COMICS' art has been disliked in recent years?
LS5: Best Special or Limited Series
------------------------------------------
KINGDOM COME 64
Superman: The Wedding Album 24
JL: A Midsummer's Nightmare 7
DC Versus Marvel/Marvel Versus DC 3
The Final Night 2
LS6: Worst Special or Limited Series
------------------------------------------
ERADICATOR 15
DC Versus Marvel/Marvel Versus DC 13
Superman/Toyman #1 13
League of Justice 12
Spider-Boy #1 4
Super Soldier #1 4
Alpha Centurion Special #1 3
The Final Night 3
Action Comics Annual #8 2
More dominance by KINGDOM COME. In fact, of all three categories, KINGDOM
COME was the only title to receive no negative votes. Even THE WEDDING ALBUM,
which was obviously well-liked, received one worst vote...
Worst series/special, however, was a dogfight, settled only in the last few
votes that I counted. ERADICATOR barely edged out its "competition." I must
admit that this year, none of the limited series or specials really stood out
to me as terribly bad (unlike last year's glaring AT EARTH'S END), so I wonder
if these were actually as bad as the voting makes them look.
If you'll notice, almost every "Worst" category received substantially fewer
votes than the corresponding "Best" category. When I was deciding my own
votes, I felt compelled to vote for something, even though I really didn't
think anything was deserving as worst. Perhaps the same thing occurred with
other voters.
_____________________________________________________
THE 1996 KAYCEES CONTINUE!
--------------------------
LOIS AND CLARK AWARDS
---------------------
Results tabulated and prepared by Jeff Sykes (sykes@ms.uky.edu)
Episodes eligible for these awards were declared to be all third season
episodes. Fourth season episodes will be eligible in the next version of
these awards. As in other categories, only eligible episodes receiving more
than one vote will be listed below.
Of special note here is that few people distinguished between the best/worst
and best/worst-written episodes. Perhaps such a distinction needs to be more
clearly defined, or tossed all together. I'm open to suggestions about how
exactly to define categories for the fourth season.
LC1: Best-Written Season Three Episode
-----------------------------------------
TEMPUS, ANYONE? 23
Ultra Woman 8
We Have A Lot To Talk About 7
I Now Pronounce You... 4
Home Is Where The Hurt Is 3
Just Say Noah 3
Ordinary People 3
Seconds 3
Contact 2
The Dad Who Came In From The Cold 2
Don't Tug On Superman's Cape 2
LC2: Worst-Written Season Three Episode
-----------------------------------------
I Now Pronounce You... 16
Forget Me Not 9
Super Mann 6
Ultra Woman 6
Never On Sunday 4
Double Jeopardy 3
When Irish Eyes Are Killing 3
The Dad Who Came In From The Cold 2
Don't Tug On Superman's Cape 2
Just Say Noah 2
Tempus, Anyone? 2
"Tempus, Anyone?" was a clear winner here, as people just like the Tempus
character and how he is written. The top two worst-written episodes were both
parts of the so-called "non-wedding arc," and in particular, "I Now Pronounce
You..." was the episode in which Clark married Lois' clone. The voting seems
to support the ratings decline which followed the arc -- every episode in that
five-part arc received at least one negative vote, for a total of 30 of the 61
negative votes cast. Also interesting is the mixed support for "Ultra Woman,"
for which I have no explanation. I seem to remember the response to that
episode as primarily positive.
LC3: Best Season Three Episode
-----------------------------------------
Tempus, Anyone? 17
Ultra Woman 11
We Have A Lot To Talk About 6
Seconds 5
I Now Pronounce You... 4
Just Say Noah 3
Big Girls Don't Fly 2
Chip Off The Old Clark 2
Contact 2
Virtually Destroyed 2
LC4: Worst Season Three Episode
-----------------------------------------
I Now Pronounce You... 14
Forget Me Not 12
Never On Sunday 5
Super Mann 5
Big Girls Don't Fly 3
Contact 3
Double Jeopardy 3
Oedipus Wrecks 3
Ultra Woman 3
Just Say Noah 2
Virtually Destroyed 2
When Irish Eyes Are Killing 2
All but one episode, "Don't Tug On Superman's Cape," received at least one
vote for best episode. Strangely enough, this episode also did not receive
any votes for worst episode. Interesting to note that the Tempus episode
received fewer votes for best episode than it did for best-writing, while
"Ultra Woman" fared much better here than it did in the writing categories.
Naturally, it takes more than good writing to make a good episode.
Also interesting is that the episodes of the "non-wedding" arc received a
total of 12 votes for best episode, including the fourth and fifth favorites.
However, while some of these episodes were individually well-received, the arc
as a whole once again received almost half (29 of 62) of the worst-episode
votes.
Also of note is that one person, who obviously does not care for the program,
voted for "None of 'em" as best and best-written episode, and "All of 'em" as
worst and worst-written episode. Ah well, LOIS AND CLARK isn't meant for
everyone...
WRITE-IN AWARDS
---------------
Compiled and prepared by Jeff Sykes (sykes@ms.uky.edu)
In the interest of conserving space, I'm not printing every write-in award
that was submitted. The following are the best, and generally most
entertaining, of the write-ins submitted. Here's a tip for next year -- if
the award made me laugh hysterically, then I definitely decided to run it!
The write-ins separated themselves essentially into three categories. First
up, "awards" given to individual creators...
Creator Awards:
--------------
First, several people mentioned Curt Swan's final Superman work, in both the
triangle story written by Mark Waid, "Identity Crisis," and in SUPERMAN: THE
WEDDING ALBUM. To exhibit the former:
I don't know what award to give, but I was really pleased with Curt
Swan's work in the Brainiac Story in the triangle titles. I'm really
pleased that he had the opportunity to do one last work in this series.
Dick Sidbury (sidbury@cs.uofs.edu)
But perhaps the best way to sum it up is:
Best all-time Superman artist: Curt Swan
Nathaniel Morgan (rao@tiac.net)
As for current creative teams, we received varying opinions on the often
overlooked inkers:
Best Inker: Josef Rubinstein
Rodrigo Cetina (gcetina@sureste.com)
Worst Inker: Denis Rodier
Joe Hudon (jhudon@brunnet.net)
And then the David Michelinie bashing began:
The "You *DO* have an artist, you know" award to David "I'm using my
heat vision on the bad guy!" Michelinie.
Brad Lile (mlile@indiana.edu)
The Best Author to "suck the life out of a Superman/Batman team-up,
reducing the entire issue to a complete waste of pulp" award to David
Michelinie for ACTION COMICS #719.
Blair S. Stewart (Blair3138@AOL.com)
Various Comic Awards
--------------------
We now switch to awards given to the various titles and events within those
comics, and we begin by maintaining the ACTION #719 theme:
The "Just Thump Batman and Rip the Joker's Head Off" Award to Superman,
in ACTION COMICS #719.
Jarod Cates (fizban@expert.cc.purdue.edu)
In addition to this one, the Superman titles received its share of "awards":
The "Where's Johnnie Cochran when I need him?" award to The Trial of
Superman.
Willie Berkovitz (berkovw@alleg.edu)
Most prolific use of unnecessary multiple issue story arcs: Superman
titles.
Richard (RDvoid@aol.com)
Take it as you will:
Character least likely to undergo a major change: Superman. He is the
second most popular fictional character of all time. His symbol is
recognized around the world. No one would ever make the mistake of
changing Superman. It would be sheer folly.
Richard (RDvoid@aol.com)
As if the continuing series voting weren't enough evidence that we don't care
for the current workings of SUPERBOY, The Kid took some knocks here as well:
The "Remind me again why I buy this comic..." award to Marz and Bernado
for scuttling Superboy faster than an iceberg scuttled the Titanic.
Shane Travis (travis@SEDSystems.ca)
The "How the mighty have fallen award" to the downhill slide SUPERBOY has
taken this past year.
Scott Devarney (devarney@ll.mit.edu)
And just to show you that I'll print creative awards that I don't at all agree
with:
The "Worst Comic Using a Well-known, Once-Revered Character and Trashing
Not Only the Character But Every Principle of Good Story Telling,
Imaginative Character Development, and Lots of Other Offenses I Haven't
Even Considered" award to SUPERBOY AND THE RAVERS (also known as "The Best
Way to Waste Good Paper and Ink.")
Mark J. Roy (markjroy@univrel.pr.uconn.edu)
Even the overwhelmingly popular SUPERGIRL title has its detractors:
Most "Not at all what I expected" comic title: SUPERGIRL
Jim Lee (axekick@erols.com)
The "Why did he bother calling it Supergirl?" award to Peter David for
totally ignoring the post-Zero Hour history of an interesting character
who _wasn't_ Kara Zor-El but _was_ Supergirl in her own right.
Shane Travis (travis@SEDSystems.ca)
Finally, some praise and levity about two really good stories...
Thanks To DC Comics for re-releasing "Whatever happened to the Man of
Tomorrow," simply the best Superman story ever.
Dick Sidbury (sidbury@cs.uofs.edu)
The "All right, who forgot to pay the bill?" award to THE FINAL NIGHT
Willie Berkovitz (berkovw@alleg.edu)
Wedding Awards:
--------------
Of course, no write-in awards section would be complete this year without some
"awards" for the event of the century, be it in the comics or on TV. LOIS AND
CLARK kicked off the weddings, so we'll begin with it. Unfortunately for L&C
fans, there's not much in the way of positive remarks. To begin, there's the
inevitable:
Tail Wagging The Dog Award to LOIS AND CLARK: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF
SUPERMAN, for allowing the "real" Lois & Clark to marry in the comics.
Sean Hogan (shogan@intergate.bc.ca)
The "Mixed Media, Schmixed Media" Award to LOIS AND CLARK, for screwing
up the timetable of the wedding, overshadowing the comics version in the
public eye, and their own hideous portrayal of the blessed event. (Mike?)
Jim Smith (5smith@wworld.com)
Segueing into the comics event, we have:
Best Rushed Comic - SUPERMAN: THE WEDDING ALBUM
Steven Younis (younis@dot.net.au)
The Dennis Rodman rebound award to the Superman writers, for rebounding
from an awful "Quest of Lois Lane" issue to the absolutely wonderful
WEDDING ALBUM.
Len Leshin (lleshin@davlin.net)
Though others seem to disagree:
Best thing to happen to Superman in 1996: Superman's Wedding
Worst thing to happen to Superman in 1996: SUPERMAN: THE WEDDING ALBUM
Leo Castillo (lpcastillo@vnet.ibm.com)
And, as mentioned above, some more praise for a legend who left us too early.
The Golden Tribute Award: Fitting In Swan's last art so he could be part
of THE WEDDING ALBUM.
Andy E. Nystrom (wo991@freenet.victoria.bc.ca)
Legacy Award/Best Pencil Art: Curt Swan in SUPERMAN: THE WEDDING ALBUM
for showing just how good comic book art can be; if not for Alex Ross on
KINGDOM COME, he would have won the best artist award hands down.
Danni Segal (Danni_Segal@Stream.Com)
Parting Shots:
-------------
In closing, I want to pass along my own special awards.
The "Then there were three award" to ABC, whose grossly underhanded
treatment of LOIS AND CLARK this season has convinced me that I have
one less network to worry about in the fall...
The "Helping Hand" award to Dick Sidbury, without whose assistance you
would *still* be waiting for these awards to be completed.
The "Even Energizer couldn't have held up" award to former Editor of New
Comic Reviews Art LaMarche -- your help in keeping the magazine going for
the first two and a half years was absolutely essential in making us what
we are today. Best of luck in wherever life may take you.
The "Life Preserver" award to new Editor of New Comic Reviews Shane
Travis for being observant enough to realize I needed help when I
couldn't seem to ask for it.
Thanks to all who participated in this year's awards. I look forward to
hearing from you all again next year!
_____________________________________________________
AND WHO DISGUISED AS...
---------------------------------------------------------
A Column of Opinion by J.D. Rummel (rummel@creighton.edu)
Tim Burton's Superman!?
Well Mr. Jeff, it's our third year coming to a close. Is it just me, or was
this one a little bumpier? Regardless, like the battery bunny we're still
going. I have to again compliment you and the other folks who put together
this magazine. Good work (yeah, I know, you can all sleep better now).
Okay, now to the issues:
To those of you who _didn't_ write in to tell me I was mistaken about Lee and
Kirby creating Adam Warlock, but wanted to, I will explain myself yet again:
Lee and Kirby created a character they called, "Him," a golden guy in a cocoon
both literally and metaphorically. He was powerful but sort of a cipher;
anything could have been done with him. Thomas and Kane took "Him," gave him
clothes, a jewel in his forehead, a name, and a purpose. _They_ created Adam
Warlock, the same way an inmate makes a spoon into a shank. The book (_The
Comic Book Heroes_) says Lee and Kirby created Adam Warlock, and it just ain't
so.
Next, I saw the incredible _Chasing Amy_ by erstwhile Superman screenplay
scribe, Kevin Smith. Those of you who go to conventions, who love comics for
what they are, and can sometimes be, those of you who can laugh at yourselves
and are not upset by FRANK language must see this flick. It is truly a
wonderful work of art. Visit Smith's web page at: http://www.viewaskew.com
That Smith is off the Superman project and Tim Burton is on it is a sad thing,
and shows once again that Hollywood got no handle on How Things Should Be.
With typical Hollywood wallet-think the powers allowed Burton's good box
office record with funny book stuff to push the argument that he can handle
any funny book translation. Those of us who read the news with that creeping
"uh-uh" feeling on our necks know better.
Let's look briefly at Tim Burton's work. On the plus side, he has a wonderful,
twisted vision. It was partly this vision, this sense of darkness, that made
his first attempt at showing a man in a rubber bat suit fighting crime an
oddly real thing--Burton can make the ludicrous plausible (Sam Hamm's
screenplay cannot be ignored either). On the down side, he has a real hard
time telling a cogent story. His second Batman film is a mess. Burton so loves
darkness you don't know whose side he's on, and he probably doesn't, either.
His films are a mixed bag of fascinating vision and often apparent lack of
interest in the audience. When he's at his best (_Ed Wood,_ _Batman_) he can
score BIG. When he stinks, he commits the worst sin any artist can make: he is
boring. _Beetlejuice_ is nearly unwatchable when Michael Keaton isn't on
screen, and for all its charm, _Edward Scissorhands_ is right up there with
Halcion for getting the eyes to close.
Want some insight into how Superman the New Movie will be helmed? Watch _Mars
Attacks_. What could have been an epic, a paean to fifties Sci-Fi, a great
ride, is just a pointless disaster lacking any direction or point to redeem it
(oh, okay, Rod Steiger is funny, and there are some moments, but the whole is
mighty pale).
You know, the other day I saw a trailer for _Volcano_ . As the sale was
pitched, the big screen displayed this fantastic menace, this incredible
disaster stretching into our peaceful world. I was caught, I got the sense of
awe inspiring menace they hoped would bring me to the theater with my coin in
hand. And as I felt overwhelmed by impending doom, I wondered how we'd
survive. What occurred to me was that the perfect response to this threat
would have been a cut to a close up of the S symbol and the opening strains of
John Williams' theme. Although that would be a wholly different film than
whatever the producers of _Volcano_ set out to make, that's what the Superman
movie needs to be.
Superman is a hero. He rises out of our need for something bigger than we are.
He is not conflicted about his purpose. He fights for truth, justice, and the
American way. Superman is epic material and Tim Burton can't do an epic. It's
not in his scope; he is too quirky. Superman is golden legend and myth. He is
sunshine and panoramic vistas. Tim Burton is shadows and closets.
Here's hoping someone else gets the job. Here's hoping real hard.
Away!
And Who Disguised As... is copyright 1997 by J.D. Rummel. Its contents may not
be reproduced in any format without the written permission of the author.
_____________________________________________________
NEW COMIC REVIEWS
-----------------
Ratings Panelists:
AW: Anatole Wilson JL: Jon Lang SF: Shane Furlong
CS: Cory Strode JS: Jeff Sykes ST: Shane Travis
DC: David Chappell MC: Matt Combes TD: Thomas Deja
DS: Dick Sidbury PS: Patrick Stout VV: Vic Vitek
JG: Jack Grimes RG: Rene' Gobeyn 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 SUPERMAN TITLES:
-------------------
22. SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #68 June 1997 $1.95 US/$2.75 CAN
"Power"
Writer: Louise Simonson
Pencils: Jon Bogdanove
Inks: Dennis Janke
Lettering: Ken Lopez
Color: Glenn Whitmore
Separations: Digital Chameleon
Assoc. Ed.: Mike McAvennie
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Cover: Jon Bogdanove, Dennis Janke and Patrick Martin
RATINGS:
Average: 2.4/5.0 Shields
TD: 0.8 Shields (Story 1.0; Art 0.5)
JG: 3.0 Shields - An average issue, but a thankful conclusion to a too-long
storyline. Jimmy's "betrayal" was way overdone.
JS: 3.5 Shields - Normally I don't go for these campish stories (Metallo and
Supes towering over Metropolis in battle? Come on...), but this one
worked for me. The souped-up Metallo is quite formidable, and Bog
and Janke's art is quite complimentary to the grand-yet-absurd
nature of this episode.
ST: 1.6 Shields (Story 2.0; Art 1.0) Pro: I like Simonson's Ceritak in that
we can hear what he thinks. Makes him much more real. Con: Horrible
art, even for Bog, and lousy colours too. Love the jalopy; couldn't
care less about Scareware.
VV: 3.0 Shields - Maybe the new Superman is getting to grow on me. Either
that, or Metallo is growing on me. But you know, I really miss the
old days when previews did not give away what was the "cliffhanger"
at the end of a story.
I've recently been of the opinion that the bulk of Team Superman is burning
out; that Jurgens, Michelinie, and Simonson need to take a breather and
recharge their batteries. This has never been more apparentthan with the
stories we've been seeing lately. First we got the unintentionally hilarious
SUPERMAN #123, then the lackluster ACTION COMICS #732 featuring a woefully
out-of-character Ray (one of my other favorite characters), and now this -- a
lazy, sloppy mess from a team that really should've known better.
"Power" begins with a non-sequitur of a sequence in which the Man of Sparks
has a subway encounter with a Metallo wannabe named Scareware who makes off
with an experimental safety device. As for the Real Machine Deal, he's running
all over the place, first setting off a gas main explosion with the help of a
subway car, then torching a row of tenements and finally--after listening to
an interview between Jimmy Olsen and Professor Hamilton and learning about
Superman's limited ability to absorb energy--grabbing hold of a nuclear
submarine in a bid to force The Big S to explode. And, in fact, after Supes
puts paid to Metallo in a battle reminiscent of Godzilla movies (i.e. these
guys get BIG), it looks like Metallo succeeds.
Throughout all this, Ceritak--now being called Scorn by pretty much everyone
but me--tries to help Superman by saving people from the burning buildings and
catching nuclear weaponry, but gets slapped down pretty bad. Both Jimmy and
Hamilton question their intentions when they realize Metallo was using their
interview to gain info on the new Superman.
In summarizing this tale, I haven't begun to hint at how all over the place
this issue is. Every page features some new plot twist or escalation--which
wouldn't be bad if it wasn't done so sloppily. About midway through, Simonson
loses control of the narrative flow in an effort to hide the fact that "Power"
is nothing more than a badly done Saban kid's show fight scene. And, like a
Saban kid's show fight scene, the story reaches an all-time stupidity level
when the two combatants grow to immense size and duke it out. There's
something so ludicrous about Superman stepping over buildings and trying to
catch missiles with his 'solid energy field' that it just breaks your
suspension of disbelief clean in two. I have to question who Simonson is
writing this pap for--the comic book fan or the impulse buyer who picked up
this issue just to see what all the fuss is about.
The Scorn subplot continues to drag on. Part of the reason why it's gotten so
tedious is because the writers don't seem to know exactly what they want to do
with the character. Scareware's very brief appearance promises nothing but
another forgettable villain in the mode of Bloodlust (remember him?) and
Brawl.
The real shocker, though, is the art. Bogdanove must've really been sleeping
at the switch this month--his Superman looks like something out of a
Filmation cartoon and his figure work is horrible. Jimmy Olsen looks the
worst; at times, he looks more like Howdy Doody than Superman's Pal. And
maybe I was spoiled by Stuart Immonen's brilliant version, but Bog's Metallo is
sketchy and ridiculous in the extreme (Metallo's final form, as a walking
aircraft carrier, makes some of the ludicrous monsters' in Power Rangers look
credible). Even the layouts--usually Bog's strength--are sloppy, and ill
conceived. An example of this occurs on the last page of this issue, where
Supes supposedly explodes. For some reason, Bog chooses to place the most
dramatic incident of the sequence--the explosion--in a tiny, backgrounded
panel and favor a cheesy shot of the Man of Sparks flying into the atmosphere
with a constipated look on his face and a shot of Professor Hamilton standing
behind Jimmy which makes it look for all the world that Howard Hughes has come
back to take Buffalo Bob's place. To be fair, Bog also gives us a startling
and dramatic cover image, but we've come to expect that from him. All I can
say is I'm glad Scot Eaton is taking over MAN OF STEEL for a brief stint
starting next month.
"Power" is a real low point for MAN OF STEEL. Hopefully, Eaton will
revitalize the book and keep things cooking for a rested, relaxed Bogdanove's
return.
Thomas Deja
manciniman@rocketmail.com
=========================================
23. SUPERMAN #124 June 1997 $1.95 US/$2.75 CAN
"A Hard Days Night!"
Story: Dan Jurgens
Art: Ron Frenz and Joe Rubinstein
Letters: John Costanza
Colors: Glenn Whitmore
Separations: Digital Chameleon
Assoc. Ed.: Mike McAvennie
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Cover: Ron Frenz, Joe Rubinstein, and Patrick Martin
RATINGS:
Average: 3.0/5.0 Shields
JS: 3.6 Shields - This is *exactly* the kind of characterization of Booster
Gold which has been missing for some time. And Frenz and Rubinstein
draw Booster quite nicely. I'm not very pleased with the way Jimmy
has handled himself of late, but I think everyone came down on him
a bit hard in this instance.
JG: 3.0 Shields - Another mediocre issue from Jurgens, complete with grating
dialogue. At least Booster got to ditch the old clunker.
ST: 3.9 Shields - I've been a Booster Gold fan since Day 1, and it was nice
to see him back in the style of his old comic. I wish they would
settle once and for all, though, if Superman can still fly...
TD: 2.0 Shields (Story 1.5; Art 2.5) - Last time I check, the title of the
book was SUPERMAN, not BOOSTER GOLD'S PAL CLARK KENT. Really badly
disguised plea for a new Gold series, which Jurgens won't get if
there is a God.
VV: 2.5 Shields - Another "okay, let's explore Superman's new powers" story.
What should be interesting is that if Lex/Contessa have anything up
their sleeves with the containment suit, Booster should also be
involved.
If there was one major problem with this issue, it happened on page two. I
realize that one of the primary thrusts of the Byrne Superman is to show that
Clark Kent is just as human as the rest of us, but the moping and whining
shown at the beginning of this issue just rings flat-out untrue. Maybe I'm
being a bit idealistic, but Superman doesn't whine about things he doesn't
like -- he fixes them. Perhaps instead of simply accepting the current
situation, he should be trying to repair it.
Anyway, the primary thrust of this issue is the visit by Booster Gold. Shortly
after Superman and Scorn battle with Metallo, Booster soars up from among the
crowd and helps Superman pull himself together -- literally. If you'll
recall, Supes was quite dispersed from the explosion that resulted when he
absorbed Metallo's energy. Unfortunately, aiding Superman fries Booster's
power suit, leaving him as helpless as any other human, not to mention
plummeting to Earth.
After a quick rescue by the suddenly recomposed Man of Energy, Booster reveals
that he has come to Metropolis in order to solicit Superman's assistance in
improving his costume. Never mind the fact that Superman's new threads
haven't exactly been a resounding success with the fans...
Professor Hamilton takes the leftovers from the construction of Superman's
containment suit, as well as the remaining shreds from Booster's power suit,
and he builds a brand-spankin' new costume for Booster, complete with his good
buddy Skeets built into the computer circuitry.
Booster was perfectly characterized by Jurgens in this issue, which I suppose
is only natural -- Jurgens *did* create Booster Gold, after all. The style-
conscious, publicity-hunting, money-grubbing Booster with a heart of Gold that
we all grew to know and love in his original title and the Giffen JLA returns
here in force. I'd love to see someone, perhaps even Jurgens, take a stab at
a new Blue and Gold series with Booster and the Blue Beetle!
In the subplot front, *everyone* comes down on Jimmy for his blunder in MAN OF
STEEL #68, though I must admit that the only thing I see him guilty of is a
little bit of narrow focus. I can't say that it would have been completely
obvious that Metallo was using Jimmy's broadcast to his advantage. Jimmy
claims to have learned a lesson here, however, and all wounds seem to be
healed by issue's end. Wonder how long that'll last? And Perry returns to
work, his cancer in remission, just in time to keep the Planet out of Simone's
control.
Superman discovers a new invention in Hamilton's lab which allows them to keep
an eye on Kandor without actually traveling to the Fortress. Unfortunately,
neither realizes that when they look in, their large and ominous visages
appear in the bottled skies above the city, causing fear and panic in the city
below. Kandor's Council of Elders take this sign, along with the city's
failing environment, to mean that Tolos is dead, with the city soon to follow.
Back in Metropolis, Scorn follows his nose to the Kents' apartment, where he
discovers the Man of Steel's former costume!
Frenz and Rubinstein illustrate my favorite rendition of the new costume, but
I suppose that's to be expected since Frenz was the one who designed it.
Immonen and Marzan also illustrate the costume quite nicely, but their
Superman doesn't have any eyes -- just whites. Incidentally, Grummett's
Superman also doesn't have eyes, while Bog's does. Consistency, guys!
What really struck me was the wonderful Booster Gold artwork. Booster is
drawn exceptionally, down to the perfect facial expressions and body language
to capture his attitudes and emotions. Plus, it's nice to see an extended
number of pages where Superman isn't using his new powers, meaning no
electrical effects to clutter the pages...
In all, this is a solid read, primarily because it's obvious that Jurgens
enjoys writing the character of Booster Gold, but also because there are solid
character and subplot developments. Just ignore the whiny Clark on page two.
Jeff Sykes
sykes@ms.uky.edu
=========================================
24. ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #547 June 1997 $1.95 US/$2.75 CDN
"Rude Awakening"
Writer: Karl Kesel
Penciller: Stuart Immonen
Inker: Jose Marzan, Jr.
Letterer: Albert De Guzman
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Separations: Digital Chameleon
Assoc. Ed.: Mike McAvennie
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Cover: Stuart Immonen, Jose Marzan Jr, and Patrick Martin
RATINGS:
Average: 3.6/5.0 Shields
AW: 1.5 Shields - Overdone humor with little action makes this issue hard
to take seriously as anything but filler.
JG: 4.8 Shields - Very nicely done. A great guest-star and an interesting
(and thankfully slow-paced) plot.
JS: 4.6 Shields - Excellent issue. Strong storytelling by writer and artists
alike, beautiful art by Immonen and Marzan, and I love Professor
Hamilton's arm collection! What exactly is this link between Scorn
and Superman, and why would it disappear when Supes visits the bottle?
ST: 3.4 Shields - Individual parts of the book were good, and humorous, but
overall it sort of grated. Loved the opening six pages, enjoyed seeing
Nightwing and Flamebird again (sorta). Do not appreciate what's been
done to The Atom (although it isn't the super-team's fault), or being
reminded about it every 6 panels. Also do not like how dependent Supes
is becoming on Prof. Hamilton.
TD: 3.5 Shields - The first six pages of this story is exactly the kind of
thing I want upcoming Man of Sparks stories to be like. The rest of
it wasn't bad, either--although that new 'hip' Atom gives me a
migraine. Oh, and I *loved* the gratuitous ID4 bashing.
VV: 4.0 Shields - I've always like the Atom (don't forget, I'm a Silver Age
fan). So seeing him here, and actually being a lot more help than
the last two "guest stars" (Ray and Booster Gold) was a good selling
point. I'm not so sure I like the "face of death" idea. Did I miss
something, though? Wouldn't it have been a good idea to bring the
Kandorvision set with them to Antarctica?
Well, I would have titled this story, "Message in a Bottle," or "People Who
Live in Glass Bottles Shouldn't Throw Stones," or maybe even "It's Not the
Size That Counts...". I'm just not sure what's "rude" or "awakening" about
this issue. Amazingly enough, Kesel has cut down to three plot threads in this
issue. Even more amazingly, there's still nothing happening here.
Essentially in this story-set-up issue, Superman discovers that while he has
some power to control kinetic energy, he can't do much about those sonic booms
he sets off when he flies at high speeds. While consulting Professor Hamilton,
he sees on a view screen that civil war has broken out in the bottle city of
Kandor, and resolves to do something about it. Naturally, he calls the DC
Universe size expert, The Atom to help. They both go down to Kandor and are
attacked by the locals. To be continued in ACTION COMICS.
Oh yes -- and Ceritak decides he has some sort of connection with Ashbury
Armstrong. Also to be continued.
So with so little going on, you might ask how Kesel manages to fill 22 pages.
It's simple -- the balance of this issue is devoted to visual gags, like one
page devoted to Professor Hamilton's invention to get a cup of coffee, or
another page showing the Atom standing in front of a TV set and pretending to
warn the doomed victims of "Fourth of July" that the aliens are up to no good.
It takes three pages at the beginning of this issue just for Superman to get
out of his building, and they even take time to poke fun at his new costume.
Now I'm not an all-action grouch -- the segue into Titan headquarters was kind
of neat, and I'm glad Kesel took some time to have fun with this issue, but
there are two reasons why I found this lackadaisical approach aggravating in
this issue.
The first reason is that there was too much of it. I'm all for comics being
fun; any one of these scenes would have been enjoyable on their own, or spread
out over a couple of comics. The number of such scenes in this issue crossed
the line, though, and upset the balance of action to characterization that
marks a good comic -- leaving us with little more than air as filler.
The second reason is that the light-hearted approach seems spurred by the
presence of the Atom. Once a mainstay of the DC Super-hero line, the Atom has
been reduced to a minor character, not meant to be taken seriously. It began
in the '80s, when the powers-that-be decided to make him a Tarzan-like figure,
living with a group of minuscule barbarians. Then they broke up his marriage
(I believe that the Atom has the distinction of being the first super-hero to
have a wife cheat on him, then divorce him). They turned the final screw when
they brought the Atom back for Zero Hour, only to steal his age and his
intellect. The last super-hero/scientist in the DC Universe was thus dumbed
down and made a comical figure. I won't even talk about this new "Teen Titans"
wannabe team.
I still haven't figured out what grudge people have against an intelligent
super-hero, but apparently nobody wants them anymore. Barry Allen was killed
off, an AfterByrne Superman stupefied, and the Atom given a new, minuscule
intellect. It's a terrible loss to comics that heroes these days can no longer
find their own answers--they have to rely on a growing cast of scientists --
or luck -- to tell them what to do. Superman, who relies frequently on the
eccentric Professor Hamilton and the often diabolical Cadmus or LexCorps
organizations, is one of the most tragic victims of this trend. The Atom has
been denigrated so much that he really should consider going back to high
school and getting his diploma.
Immonen and Marzan turned in an adequate art job this issue, but even a
two-page spread scene at the beginning failed to be dynamic or exciting. I
blame this at least partially on the new costume, which just doesn't light up
the excitement meter. Even the cover is just lies there.
On a final AOS note, I'd like to mention the letters page, which is full of
pinings that the new costume and power change marks the final decline and end
of Superman. It just ain't so. I have to admit, I'm not particularly fond of
the new costume and haven't been particularly interested in his new powers,
but I'd at least like to applaud the creative teams for continuously taking
chances. Maybe if each story arc didn't have to be stretched out over months
and months of consecutive titles, it would be less painful for all of us and
reduce the risk to sales. Then they'd be free to take even more creative
risks, and I'm all for that.
I'd like to take a final moment to mourn the loss of the Milestone line of
comics, and in particular, ICON. I've mentioned ICON before as an example of
Superman done right--an intelligent hero who stands for something and isn't
afraid to be a role model. The stories told in ICON were original and full of
meaningful characterization. I will miss Icon and Rocket.
Anatole Wilson
awilson@us.oracle.com
_____________________________________________________
THE SUPERMAN TITLES (cont):
--------------------------
25. ACTION COMICS #734 June 1997 $1.95 US/$2.75 CDN
"Bottle Battle"
Writer: David Michelinie
Artists: Tom Grummett and Denis Rodier
Letterer: Bill Oakley
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Separations: Digital Chameleon
Assoc. Editor: Mike McAvennie
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Cover: Tom Grummett, Denis Rodier, and Patrick Martin
RATINGS:
Average: 3.2/5.0 Shields
ST: 2.6 Shields - (Story 2.0, Art 4.0) The story is advancing nicely, but
there are too many things that just don't seem to have been well
thought-out.
DS: 3.5 Shields - Michelinie seems to have a better handle on the man
of Sparks than the other super team writers.
JG: 3.0 Shields - The Rock and Scorn bit was pointless, and Faern bores me.
Couple that with David's usual stilted dialogue and, well, I'm glad
Immonen is taking over.
JL: 3.0 Shields - I liked this because Superman and the Atom got free and
were helped by someone new. I also liked how Ceritak a.k.a. Scorn
is helping out in Metropolis (and is learning the language.)
JS: 3.0 Shields - So whose idea was the scantily-dressed Faern? *Must* we
pander to teen hormones so much? Love the art, though, and the bluff
at the end is classic! But if Superman can change his costume into
that of a Peacekeeper, then why can't he change it back to his
traditional costume?
VV: 4.0 Shields - Good use of the Atom again, this is the kind of thing he
used to do. It would have been good if Superman's powers didn't work
inside the force field that is holding Kandor together, though.
Synopsis:
Superman and Atom are surrounded by Kandorian Peacekeepers, and Supes has been
neutralized by some sort of taser, when both are rescued by the intervention
of Faern -- a scantily-clad, blue-skinned woman who can mentally control her
shuriken-like weaponry. The three escape down an alley, and Superman sends
their pursuers on a wild-goose chase by morphing his outfit into the uniform
of a Peacekeeper and pointing them in the wrong direction.
The head Peacekeeper, realizing that Superman and the 'Face of Death' are one
and the same, decides that he can best cow the populace by taking down the man
who took down Tolos. He finds them just as Faern is updating our two heroes
(with a heavy pro-Tolos bias). Superman tries to fight him hand-to-hand,
unaware that his foe has the ability to control any energy he touches --
including Superman's. Supes is captured and contained in a fist-sized sphere,
while Faern and Atom barely escape.
Faern uses her intimate knowledge of all things Kandorian to formulate a bluff
which tricks the Prime Peacekeeper into freeing Superman. They knock out the
head honcho and escape once again into the streets -- just in time to see all
power go off inside the bottle. Faern realizes aloud that the rebels must
have knocked out the Environmental Generator, and explains that if it is not
restored, everyone in Kandor will suffocate within the hour.
Meanwhile, outside the bottle... careless driving by the SCU releases the
transformed-astronaut-cum-Luthor-assassin Rock from incarceration. Ceritak/
Scorn witnesses the escape and tries to recapture Rock, but is prevented from
doing so when the SCU gets in the way. In halting English, Ceritak berates
the guards and points out that he wears the outfit of Superman. As Ceritak
leaps away, the guards are left wondering if Supes has undergone yet another
transformation...
Thoughts:
The art, as usual from the team of Grummett and Rodier, is dynamic, exciting,
and technically excellent. My only complaint is that there are a few too many
empty-background panels to be seen. Whitmore's colours are again good, but I
wonder at the purple colouration of the Peacekeepers' faces on page 9: was it
a conscious (if confusing) choice, or some sort of problem with the
separations? In either case, the art nicely complimented a story which is
moving along at a decent pace.
Overall, I have been pleased with the quality and consistency of the Electric
Superman stories. They have been a good read, and have had some good guest-
stars show up to strengthen them further. I do have a problem with some of
the smaller details found within the story, though. Such details might be
glossed over on first read, but become perplexing when considered more
closely. Examples are:
- When hit with the taser, why didn't Supes either turn intangible and allow
them to pass through him, or simply absorb all the energy and suck
the guns dry?
- In a city whose inhabitants have been captured and imprisoned primarily for
their special abilities, why are the Peacekeepers nothing more than
grunts with guns? (Or wait... maybe it's all _one_ Peacekeeper and
his ability is to split off hundreds of idiot copies... <grin>)
- When displaying a hologram of the 'costumed invader', why is Superman shown
wearing his old red-and-blue costume?
- How do you get snow inside a cloudless bottle-city?
- Why do the SCU drivers choose to ignore the escaped felon, Rock, and instead
use the equipment _specifically designed with Rock in mind_ to try and
capture the guy wearing the Superman outfit -- especially given that
Ceritak did nothing but help them from the time he showed up?
Other shortcomings in the story also come to mind. Yet again, Superman shows
new powers which help get him out of a jam. In this issue, we are treated to
vision-bolts, repulsing energy-waves, and the ability to change not only the
shape but also the colour of the containment suit when Supes changes back into
human form. These new powers are getting more and more convenient for
Clark/Superman. Cut yourself shaving? No problem -- just zap into Big Blue
and that'll fix that. Belt clashes with your socks? Also not a problem -- a
quick transformation to Electri-Kal and back will have you looking the height
of fashion in no time.
Limits, people, Limits! When at his best, being Superman is all about
overcoming the barriers which face you -- about knuckling down and doing the
best you can with what you have and succeeding because you believe you can.
If you don't make it the first time, you pick yourself up, dust yourself off,
and start all over again -- only this time, you do it smarter. It's nice that
Supes is finally starting to learn what he can and cannot do, but it's
beginning to look like there is nothing he cannot do. When every tough
situation degenerates into another excuse for the Man of Sparks to discover
his power-of-the-week, then we lose so much of the drive which makes Superman
the icon he is.
Final Note: I hate what they've done with The Atom. Turning him into a
teenager again was cheap and degrading to a long-lived character. Having him
constantly remind us that, "I used to be JLA!" only frustrates the Silver Age
fans and underscores the indignity of his current plight. Palmer remembers
*just* enough to know that he used to know a lot more, but not enough to
actually do anything useful. He has to go through the hell of growing up and
maturing emotionally all over again. In fact, hell is exactly the proper term
for it; Palmer's situation parallels the punishment of King Tantalus in Greek
mythology. Tantalus was sent to Hades and punished for his misdeeds by being
forced to stand in water which receded when he tried to drink it and under
fruit trees which moved away as he reached for them (hence the word
tantalizing). The difference is, Ray Palmer hasn't done anything to deserve
such punishment. Our memories and our skills define who we are; show a little
respect for Palmer and give him back his.
The irony of it is, the powers of The Atom are not intrinsic; they are
mechanical in nature (or were originally). If TPTB wanted a younger, hipper
Atom, they could have just had him pass off the suit and the title to his kid,
to his nephew or heck! even to a stranger. If it worked for Green Arrow, for
the pre-Crisis AirWave, and for Kyle Rayner respectively then I don't see why
the Atom should be forced to endure these indignities.
Shane Travis
travis@sedsystems.ca
-- 30 --
_____________________________________________________
SUPER-FAMILY TITLES:
-------------------
JLA #6 June 1997 $1.95 US/$2.75 CDN
"Fire in the Sky"
Writer: Grant Morrison
Pencils: Howard Porter
Inks: John Dell
Colors: Pat Garrahy
Separations: Heroic Age
Letterer: Ken Lopez
Editor: Ruben Diaz
Cover: Howard Porter and John Dell
RATINGS:
Average: 4.0/5.0 Shields
AW: 4.5 Shields - Grant Morrison continues to impress me with his ability
to combine strong characterizations with tight plots. The other
SuperMags should use Grant's depiction as their model.
JG: 4.8 Shields - Zauriel's attitude was a bit more quirky than I had
expected, but the issue was fine regardless.
JS: 3.5 Shields - I still am not thrilled with Porter's art, I don't care for
the idea of renegade angels, and I don't have much of a clue what
Neron's up to. But darned if I'm not completely intrigued by and
hooked on this book! :)
TD: 4.0 Shields (Story 4.3: Art 3.7) - Now THIS is the Morrison I'd like to
see--deep, disturbing, wrestling with concepts we haven't seen in
super-hero comics in AGES. Plus he understands Supes better than
most of the people working on the book these days.
VV: 3.5 Shields - Not one of my all-time favorites, but not bad.
<No review submitted for this issue>
=========================================
STEEL #39 June 1997 $1.95 US/$2.75 CAN
"Crash"
Writer: Priest
Layouts: Denys Cowan
Finishes: Tom Palmer
Letterer: Pat Brosseau
Colorist: Stu Chaifetz
Assoc. Ed: Ruben Diaz
Editor: Frank Pittarese
Cover: Dave Johnson
RATINGS:
Average 4.5/5.0 Shields
DS: 4.0 Shields - An interesting story about John Henry's search for the
person behind his implant and his finding out some things about his
family.
JS: 4.9 Shields - Wow. Priest, Cowan, and Palmer just served up the best
single issue of any comic that I've read this year. Bar none.
Intrigue, mystery, and a good dose of confusion. But along with
the same strong characterization and dialogue we're used to. This
team is *really* clicking with this one.
Story:
The story opens with the typical Dragnet opening that Priest has favored
lately: "This is my house.", "This is my Delta mower I saved eight months to
buy.", "This is my neighbor.", "This is my mail carrier." DUM-DA-DUM-DUM. A
black sedan drives by and spews gunfire killing everyone except Reggie Glover,
the guy who was narrating. Next page: guy gets gun, knife, grenades, flame
thrower, one-way bus ticket to DC.
Meanwhile, Steel is flying around in Africa in his light-weight armor and
lands in a clearing where he decides that a lion probably won't eat him. He
meets Double, who took his family away on witness protection about five or so
issues ago, and finds out that they are safe. John Henry is trying to find
whether Hazard or Amertek is responsible for the implant that Steel discovered
last issue, and asks Double for help in locating Hazard.
Meanwhile, we discover that Reggie, the avenger whose family was killed, was
actually a hood who testified for the State in return for anonymity and no
jail time. The family who was shot was not his real family. Too bad. The
informant, whose name appears to be Crash, talks to a guy in jail who
apparently was head of the gang that got busted. They threaten each other.
Crash finds the headquarters of the rest of the gang and uses his rocket
launcher, grenades, and radio-controlled machine guns to eliminate the rest of
the gang.
Returning to the USA, Steel flies to Washington rather than Newark. He calls
Natasha to tell her where he is, and also talks to Amanda. Amanda is staying
with Natasha -- and away from her apartment -- since she's apparently being
stalked. Amanda receives a delivery of flowers at John Henry's house which
were not sent by John Henry, indicating that her stalker knows where she is.
While in Washington, John talks to Col. Weston, former head of Amertek. He
claims that he had nothing to do with the implant, so it must be Hazard.
Crash/Reggie shows up at the Abraham Lincoln housing project where he meets a
teenage girl who he thinks may be his daughter. The girl, Candace, is talking
on the phone to Natasha, and thinks that Reggie may be 'on the prowl'. Steel
drops in just in time to save her. The two men look warily at each other and
Reggie leaves. John goes into the house with Candace, and looks around at the
stuff he left behind when he and Nat moved to Jersey City. Candace tells him
that Hazard left a package with Nat. Steel flies away realizing that
Crash/Reggie is actually his brother and thus Natasha's father. [Normally I
don't do this, but I'm going to intercede with a disagreement. It appeared to
me that the narration indicates that it's Crash who recognizes John, and not
the other way around. Discussion? :) --Jeff]
Reggie buys a bus ticket to Jersey City. Steel arrives home and finds that
Hazard's package contains a video tape. On it, Hazard claims that he had
nothing to do with the implants. The issue ends on this note with questions
to be answered.
The pacing of this issue was very good, with both brothers behaving in a
similar manner. For a change, John Henry wasn't involved in any combat.
Art:
The art was similar to what Cowan and Palmer have given us in the last several
issues. I can appreciate the cinematic cutting during the playout of
individual scenes to show movement a la Hitchcock, but there's still too much
scratching around in Cowan's drawing to suit me. Much of it makes the scenes
look too busy -- like scenes where a lot is going on, though none of it
important.
Johnson's cover shows Steel fighting a big black cat of some kind in the
jungle -- in other words, a cover that has nothing whatsoever to do with the
story.
I also wonder why it is that on some issues, Cowan is the penciller and Palmer
the inker, and on other issues, Cowan does layouts and Palmer does finishes.
Summary:
A nicely paced story interweaving the movements of the two brothers towards
each other. There's a lot of jarring transitions between the two parts as
shown by the different styles of artwork. I can't wait for the next issue.
Dick Sidbury
sidbury@cs.uofs.edu
=========================================
SUPERBOY #39 May 1997 $1.95 US/$2.75 CDN
"Meltdown 2: Freakshow"
Writer: Ron Marz
Pencils: Ramon Bernado
Inks: Doug Hazlewood
Colors: Tom McCraw
Letters: Richard Starkings & Comicraft/AD
Assoc. Ed.: Ruben Diaz
Editor: Frank Pittarese
Cover: Ramon Bernado and Doug Hazlewood
RATINGS:
Average: 2.3/5.0 Shields
RG: 2.5 Shields (Story) - Getting better, good story so far
0.5 Shields (Art) - Style just does not work for me
JS: 3.0 Shields - Superboy exhibits his true heroic nature, a theme in both
of the SB titles recently, and shows some intelligence and ingenuity
at the same time. A fairly nice read by Marz. Now if we could just
do something about the art...
ST 2.3 Shields (Story 3.0, Art 0.5) Superboy shows more gumption,
decisiveness and heroism in this story than he has recently in this
title. This is more the kid that we know and love. Unfortunately,
Bernado's art is so jarring and so _wrong_ that it gets in the way
of enjoying the story.
This book, while in the middle of an ongoing story, would actually make a good
jumping on point for a new reader. There is enough back-story and exposition
to bring somebody up to speed so that they could follow the current plot
without too much trouble.
The writing is getting better in some ways and worse in others; better in that
the characters are beginning to act consistently, worse in that the way they
are acting is angst ridden. Angst does not make up for a lack of story;
luckily Marz seems to know this it may get better.
In the past, this book has always had a more upbeat, fun, hopeful feel. Marz
seems to have lost this aspect in the current plot. I know that Superboy is in
danger of dying, and this is not to be taken lightly. My problem comes from
the fact that Superboy is starting to whine about it, instead of taking it in
stride and maybe joking about it as he normally would. He sure didn't act this
way when he was in a similar danger during the clone plague.
The Superboy in this book seems to only have two modes; "pity me I'm a clone",
and "I was created to be a hero". These two modes might work in some other
context, but they fall flat here. Whatever else Superboy might be, he has
never been a whiner. The hero stance seems more true and comes across that way
in the story as well.
Tana and Roxy seem to have (mostly) put aside their differences in favor of
helping Superboy get better. The friction is still there, but they seem
willing to tolerate each others company for his sake. Why is it that it seems
that all the superteam writers seem to think that love triangles are more
interesting than couples trying to solve their problems together?
While the writing seems to be getting better, the art just doesn't work for
me. If I wasn't reviewing this book I would probably drop it and wait for
another team to take it over. I can forgive a lot of things, but bad
perspectives, joints that don't have any correlation to human anatomy, and
sharp angles instead of smooth curves on people just make me wonder why DC is
putting this out to the public. I thought that I could get used to it, and
that it was just a stylistic approach that I would come to appreciate. Well, I
think I'm going to have to back down on this and just get used to hating the
art.
The Story opens minutes after his collapse (last month) with Superboy being
examined by a STAR Labs doctor. He doesn't seem to be quite in the miracle
worker category of the Drs. at the Metropolis site, but he is trying. Not
wanting to wait, Dubbilex calls in Project Cadmus and the Guardian hoping that
their experience with cloning problems might be of help. Before they can
arrive, Tana gets word of a cruise ship in danger from a bad storm. Superboy
goes to rescue them not knowing if he will have the strength to help, or if
he'll die in the attempt.
Rene Gobeyn
bedlam@frontiernet.net
_____________________________________________________
SUPER-FAMILY TITLES (cont):
--------------------------
SUPERGIRL #10 June 1997 $1.95 US/$2.75 CDN
"Hidden Things"
Writer: Peter David
Pencils: Leonard Kirk
Inks: Chuck Drost
Lettering: Bob Lappan
Color: Gene D'Angelo
Separations: Digital Chameleon
Editors: Chris Duffy and Frank Pittarese
Cover: Phil Jimenez and Patrick Martin
RATINGS:
Average: 3.4/5.0 Shields
TD: 3.0 Shields (Story)
2.8 Shields (Art)
JS: 3.8 Shields - The stock cover has little to do with the issue, but on
the inside, Peter David lightens up on the tone of the book, and we
get to learn a bit more about the characters. Lovely art by Leonard
Kirk, somewhat reminiscent of the Adam Hughes/Terry Dodson style.
ST: 4.0 Shields - I enjoyed this look at Linda's life _far_ more than I've
been enjoying all the supernatural, quasi-religious overtones. An
interesting delve into the lives of the supporting cast. Glad to see
PAD referring to Matrix/Supergirl; I was wondering if he'd forgotten.
One question though -- how old is Linda supposed to be? Usually she
acts 25-28, but that whole skateboarding scene seemed 18-20.
VV: 3.0 Shields - A little too supernatural, not enough forward motion for
me. Maybe I've just read Stephen King's _IT_ too many times...
PETER DAVID has been taking a lot of risks with his darker, more horror-tinged
version of Supergirl, and it's made the book the odd woman out. Let's face
it, the Superman mythos has never handled horror themes very well, and David
was taking a big risk in making this version of the character walk the shadowy
side of the street. Luckily, David has always realized that humor makes the
horror not only easier to take, but more pronounced when it comes.
"Hidden Things" is a humorous breather between all the horror, something
lighter to bridge the gap between the Buzz story line (which, after #8's
excellent "My Dinner with Buzz," became ever-so-anticlimactic) and the
upcoming Silver Banshee story. As such, it's primarily a bunch of loose ends
being wrapped up and new ones being dangled. The focus is on a double date
(sort of) initiated by Cutter Sharpe. After the store owner who killed
Mattie's brother during the Final Night story is found not guilty, Cutter
invites her, Linda and rich man's son Dick Malverne to check out a comedian.
The comedian turns out to be Cutter's ex-wife, who has used their relationship
as fodder for her act. Meanwhile, Linda's mom looks into studying for the
ministry and two of the local skate rats see something spooky in a cave
outside of Leesburg. Since the guys are friends of Linda's, she checks it out
as Supergirl and finds herself in a weird cave...where the Banshee waits.
David chooses to keep the focus on the supporting cast, particularly Cutter
and Malverne. Malverne, you'll remember, was the human host for Tempus in the
last two issues; it's a typical David ploy to start filling out a character
after he's been an unreasoning monster, especially if he's set to become the
main character's love interest. However, even though we spend most of the
issue with him, the character's personality is a rehash of typical David
role-reversal and southern gentleman' stereotypes. I expected more from this
writer.
As for Leonard Kirk--we're dealing with a guy who wears his Stuart Immonen
influence on his sleeve, and its a definite change. One of the nicer things
about Kirk is that he excels at the quieter moments; a stand out is on the top
of page 14, depicting Mattie and Linda getting ready for their dates; with
just a few telltale pictures, Kirk conveys it all. Judging from the small
amount of time he's given Supergirl, Kirk has also managed to give both her
and Linda separate, distinct appearances. In fact, this may be the first
artist who prefers to draw Linda--his Supergirl is a bit regulation, but one
sequence on pages 10 and 11 show us a naturalistic confidence in drawing the
Maid of Might's alter-ego that's very, very appealing.
"Hidden Things" is an okay issue as breathers go. It cleared the air, set up
a few things, and kept us entertained, and that's all we really need. But
David should be careful--there are signs of his coasting with this series, and
that's always a dangerous thing.
Thomas Deja
manciniman@rocketmail.com
=========================================
SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #8 June 1997 $1.75 US/$2.50 CDN
"All Creatures Great and Small, Part 2"
Writer: "Massive" Scott McCloud
Penciller: "Behemoth" Rick Burchett
Inker: "Towerin'" Terry Austin
Colorist: "Super-Sized" Marie Severin
Letterer: "Big" Lois Buhalis
Editor: Li'l Mike McAvennie
Cover: Rick Burchett, Terry Austin, and Marie Severin
RATINGS:
Average: 3.9/5.0 Shields
CS: 4.0 Shields - A fast-paced issue with a fun premise and excellent
storytelling. A few story flaws keep it from being a 5 shield comic,
but still an excellent outing.
DS: 4.0 Shields - fast becoming the best of the Superman books.
JS: 3.8 Shields - Some wonderfully powerful scenes in this issue, as well
as some classic plot developments. Having Superman in the belly of
the whale, so to speak, was an absolutely priceless resolution.
This issue has one of the most striking covers on the stands, which is one of
the things I love about this series. A giant Jax-Ur, set against a background
of stylized Art Deco buildings, is holding a miniature Superman and is ready to
devour him as if he were an appetizer. Since the advent of the direct market,
very few comics have covers that try to entice the casual buyer to pick up the
book and find out what is going on. This one does and succeeds.
The story doesn't waste any time getting going, opening with a splash page
that could have been taken from any Godzilla movie crowd shot. People are
running for cover as a giant-size Jax-Ur begins a rampage through Metropolis.
We are brought up to date on the events of last issue by Lois Lane who, in a
single panel, gives us more information and back-story than the entire
previous issue. Superman and Mala (Jax-Ur's companion) are still miniaturized
from the previous issue. They were shrunk by Professor Hamilton's size
changing device which he originally used in the Animated Series to aid in the
imprisonment of Jax-Ur and Mala. (Is it just me, or is Professor Hamilton the
human counterpart of Gyro Gearloose?)
Professor Hamilton tries to restore Superman to regular size, but instead
accidentally restores Mala. Jax-Ur devours the size-device, telling Mala that
he can be the only one who has the power of being a giant. He then proceeds
to smash the building, forcing mini-Superman to save Lois and Professor
Hamilton. Jax-Ur begins to trash the city. It doesn't take long for the Army
to show up, and then we've got buildings crumbling faster than Marvel's stock.
As he rampages, Dan "Terrible" Turpin opens fire from the top of building. He
gets in a lucky shot which annoys Jax-Ur, who swats him away for Superman to
rescue. Superman takes him to the hospital as the battle rages on. After
Turpin is bandaged up in a head-to-toe cast, Superman tries to think of a way
to regain his normal size and save Metropolis. Turpin gives Superman an
inspirational "half-time speech" which gives Superman an idea.
Jax-Ur continues his rampage, unfazed by the police or the Army. Superman,
wearing a new suit of armor created by Professor Hamilton, dives into Jax-Ur's
mouth to extract the size-shifting device. Jax-Ur attempts to keep his mouth
shut so that Superman won't be able to escape and use the device, but our hero
prevails. Superman shrinks Jax-Ur and Mala and restores his own size, saving
the city and returning the Kryptonian criminals to prison.
The story was well told, with a lot of small (no pun intended, or was it?)
touches that made it more than a simple slug-fest. The page in which the
armored Superman flies through the city toward Jax-Ur is masterfully done,
showing the scene from a point behind Superman. The scene changes, but
Superman remains at the bottom of each panel, giving an effective feeling of
flight and speed, and drawing the reader into the page. Other touches --
action taking place at the corner of Dini & Timm streets, a mini-Superman
saying "That's about the size of it" after Lois's recap, and the Godzilla
homages -- gave something other than surface elements. There is also the fun
of a fight scene between characters of three different sizes.
The problems with the story were ones that could have been corrected by
tighter editing. Mala's relationship to Jax-Ur is still a mystery, although
the panel where he tells her "There can be only one such as I," her body
language shows that there is more than just a boss/henchwoman relationship
between them. The hospital sequence is also poorly done, slowing the story to
a halt and causing me to wonder about the damage being cause to the city.
Superman is there long enough for Turpin to regain consciousness and have both
his broken bones set and a full-body cast applied -- all the while doing
nothing because of the President's order. After that, the narration says that
it took six hours for Hamilton to create the mini-superarmor. I have a lot of
trouble believing that Superman would sit around and not be out rescuing
people, or that Jax-Ur had not destroyed the entire city in all of that time.
Oh, and what *was* Jax-Ur's plan to rule the world? Smash a lot of buildings?
Hardly a plan worthy of a megalomaniacal mastermind, in my opinion. Maybe I'm
spoiled by watching too much "Pinky and The Brain."
Even with those problems, this was a solidly entertaining story and is highly
recommended, especially for those who don't like the "Smurferman" story in the
continuity titles.
Cory Strode
c.strode@genie.com
_____________________________________________________
AMALGAM 97:
----------
SPIDER-BOY TEAM-UP #1 June 1997 $1.95 US/$2.75 CDN
"Too many heroes -- Too little time!"
Published by: Amalgam Comics (via Marvel Comics)
Writer: R.K. Sternsel (Roger Stern and Karl Kesel)
Penciller: Jo Ladronn
Inker: Juan Vlasco
Letterer: Bill Oakley
Colorist: Joe Rosas
Separations: Digital Chameleon
Editor: Ralph Felder
Editor in chief: Bob Harras
Cover: Jo Ladronn, Juan Vlasco, and Karl Kesel
RATINGS:
Average: 4.3/5.0 Shields
RG: 4.5 Shields (Story) - consistent, well done time travel story.
5.0 Shields (Art) - Well detailed, clean inking, excellent perspectives.
AW: 4.5 Shields - A bit confusing (as it was meant to be), but a wonderful
parody of both the Legion's many versions and the cliches too often
invoked in time travel. Spider-Boy is one of Amalgam's most
interesting characters.
DS: 3.0 Shields - Not nearly as good as last year's.
JG: 5.0 Shields - Second best Amalgam this year. As usual, it didn't take
itself too seriously, and that's a plus with these books.
JS: 3.5 Shields - Nice, detailed art by Ladronn and Vlasco, and fun parody
by Kesel and Stern, but most of this centers on parodies of the
Legion of Super-Heroes, including a classic take on Giffen's LSH;
Spider-boy contributions to the mix are few.
VV: 5.0 Shields - I like time travel stories. I like stories that poke fun
at things that make no sense in comics, like time paradoxes. This
was a fun read, and, after taking a few aspirin and sleeping on it
for a few days, it actually seemed to make sense.
Well, it's that time of year again. I think the good folks at Marvel and DC
have finally come up with the perfect time to produce the Amalgam books. Think
about it, April Fool's day seems some how appropriate. I hope next years books
are as good as these.
This year the entire crew seems to be having an overall better time producing
the books without the pressures of the whole Marvel vs. DC fight going on as
well. The books (all of them, not just the two I'm reviewing for KC) were very
nicely done with a sense of style and humor that were missing in last year's
run.
This book seems to have been done primarily for the fun of trying to see just
how many Amalgam characters could be crammed into a single story and still
have it make (some) sense. I lost count around 30, and I know I missed a few.
We get to see not just the Amalgam heroes of the current time, but also two
different sets of heroes from the Legion of Galactic Guardians 2099. For those
of you who don't keep up with the Marvel Universe this is a cross between the
Legion of Super-heroes (DC), the Galactic Guardians (Marvel) and to throw a
twist in, the heroes of the Marvel 2099 universe. Strange as it seems it
actually worked. Not only was the story complete in one book, it managed to
add a few more details to the ongoing (?) Arach-kid story. It even managed to
give a bit of a lead-in to the happenings in one of the other Amalgam titles
of the week, "Challengers of the Fantastic".
All in all a pretty good track record for a character we only see once a year.
Rene Gobeyn
bedlam@frontiernet.net
=========================================
SUPER-SOLDIER: MAN OF WAR #1 June 1997 $1.95 US/$2.75 CDN
"Deadly Cargo"
Publisher: Amalgam Comics (via DC Comics)
Plot: "Dauntless" Dave Gibbons and "Malevolent" Mark Waid
Script: "Dauntless" Dave Gibbons
Pencils: "Dauntless" Dave Gibbons
Inks: "Jocular" Jimmy Palmiotti
Colors: "Anxious" Angus McKie
Letters: "Jumpin'" John Costanza
Asst. Ed.: "Flying" Frank Berrios
Editor: "Kaleidoscopic" KC Carlson
Cover: Dave Gibbons
RATINGS:
Average: 3.7/5.0 Shields
RG: 4.5 Shields (Story) - a romp, kept moving read like a silver age book
4.5 Shields (Art) - a fitting tribute to the Kirby/Ditko silver age
war stories
AW: 1.0 Shields - Super-Soldier tries to capture the look and feel of a 40's
comic, but only manages to capture the cliches. The story is
predictable and the artwork lacking in vitality.
DS: 4.5 Shields - This years issue is the prelude to last years. Very nice.
JG: 4.5 Shields - Not as good as last year's, but still enjoyable.
JS: 3.0 Shields - Not bad, but not as good as last year's SUPER SOLDIER.
Last year's story was a great blending of two legends, in that the
story itself actually depended on aspects of both. This story,
however, felt like a Captain America tale with the Amalgam
characters dropped into the Marvel characters' roles.
VV: 4.5 Shields - This was a good comic, despite not knowing a lot about
the comics that depicted the WWII era. Super Soldier's sidekick
has got to go, however <g>.
What do you get when you cross Superman, Captain America, Sgt. Rock and Easy
Co. and Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos? Answer: One great story.
While not my favorite of this years Amalgam titles it ran a very close second
to Generation Hex (What can I say, I've got a weakness for the old western
books). If you were ever a fan of any (or all) of these titles, I think you
will enjoy this one. Waid and Gibbons managed to get the feel of one of the
early Silver age war stories just about perfect. There was the all the action
and humor of the early Marvel war stories, and it even managed to plant a few
of the plot lines that were shown in the Amalgam Super-Soldier book from last
year.
The art was about perfect. A nice blend of the Kirby and Ditko Silver Age
styles that meshed perfectly with the story.
Like all of the Amalgam titles, Super-Soldier's story feels like it starts in
the middle. There is little real exposition to bring us up to speed, but with
the way the story is written, we do manage to catch on quickly enough. As the
story opens we get to (briefly) meet a few of the other Amalgam Golden Age
heroes like American Belle, Whiz, Aqua-mariner, Brooklyn Barnes, and Human
Lantern. From here we are quickly informed of Super-Soldier's mission;
tracking a load of stolen government equipment to Europe.
When Clark (Daily Planet front line artist) and Jimmy Olsen (Daily Planet
photographer) are boarding a troop ship, we are 'reminded' that Lois is
married to Luthor. Later on, we get to meet Sgt. Rock and the Howlers aboard
the ship. Mark Waid must have been in heaven -- who else would have saddled us
with a soldier by the name of "Ice Cream" Cohen?!
>From here the story moves on in a more tradition vein of espionage and
super-heroics. The cargo Clark and Jimmy are watching is stolen by the Germans
while Super-Soldier is distracted, leaving them no way to track it.
Meanwhile the Howlers have been captured and taken to Castle Zemo. When they
escape they get pinned down by Zemo's War Wheel. The resistance agent
(complete with bad French accent) Mlle. Peggy manages to get to a radio and
call the Super-Soldier for help. Needless to say, it doesn't take him long to
finish things up. As the story comes to a close and Zemo is making his escape
on a submarine, we learn for a fact that Luthor is a traitor and is secretly
behind everything that happened.
Rene Gobeyn
bedlam@frontiernet.net
_____________________________________________________
THE PHANTOM ZONE: Reviews of the pre-Crisis Man of Steel
------------------------------------------------------------------
SUPER FRIENDS
---------------------------------------
by Joe Crowe (j.crowe4@genie.geis.com)
DC COMICS PRESENTS #85
Superman and Swamp Thing
"The Jungle Line"
Sept. 1985
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciller: Rick Veitch
3.75 Shields
Every month I review a Superman team-up from the pre-Crisis era. The Crisis,
to sum up, was DC's company-wide, continuity-altering miniseries which was
published in DC's 50th anniversary year, 1985. Most books started their
post-Crisis continuity, um, immediately post-Crisis.
The story I'm covering this month came in just under the wire, literally. This
was DC PRESENTS #85, and issue #86 was the Crisis crossover. This issue
featured one of the very last appearances of the pre-Crisis, really-super
Superman. Alan Moore was the acclaimed writer of SWAMP THING at the time. He
recreated and rejuvenated Swamp Thing, whom I liked prior to Moore's run.
Nonetheless, Moore certainly changed him for the better. However, not much of
Moore's influence is present in this story, even though Moore himself wrote
it.
Of course, the book *is* about Superman. The story begins with a sickly Man of
Steel driving down a lonely Southern highway. Being from the South, I know all
about those. I don't know that much about being a galactic superhero, but hey,
I'm still young. Superman has feverish flashbacks to an alien rock that's on
display in Metropolis. He began to lose his powers and became ill. His super
Kryptonian recall remembered the rock -- it's a fungus that causes certain
death.
Superman wanted to be alone when he died, for some reason, so he drove to
where there were no superheroes. Down south, where I live. Thanks a lot, DC
Universe! What if we needed something down here?
Anyway, Superman crashes into the swamp and is found by Swamp Thing. Superman
is going through the symptoms he remembered about the fungus. He freaks out,
and Swamp Thing uses his connection to the Green to figure out what the deal
is with the rock. The rock causes death by forcing its victims to overdo it,
and that's what Superman is doing. Swampy calms him down, which breaks the
fever. Swampy knows that he'll live, and retreats into the swamp. Superman
wakes up, feeling all better. He flies home, never knowing how Swamp Thing
helped him.
After his brief first series back in the 1970s, Swamp Thing took a place
alongside Human Target, Creeper, and Phantom Stranger in the squad of
interesting DC co-stars. This was prior to his revival in the early 1980s,
which came about because of his movie. In his team-ups with Batman in THE
BRAVE AND THE BOLD, he was a monster with a heart of gold. Written by Alan
Moore, he became a mystical and spiritual guardian of the environment. In at
least one appearance I recall, Swamp Thing was one of the saddest superheroes
ever -- he contemplated committing suicide throughout the entire issue. Of
course, he was redeemed at the end of that particular story, but Alan Moore's
redemption came, quite literally, from the roots up. I highly recommend
reading the first Moore SWAMP THING collection and any issues from then on you
can grab. Some of the best comics ever.
Moore contributed an incredible chapter to the Superman mythos as well. He
wrote "Whatever happened to the Man of Tomorrow?", a two-parter in the final
two issues of SUPERMAN and ACTION COMICS before John Byrne came on board, and
the official post-Crisis Superman came into existence. He managed to coalesce
all the goofy elements that the Superman continuity had built up in 30 plus
years, and turn it all into one of the singular best Superman stories ever,
complete with Superman winking at the reader at the end. [This story was
recently collected in one volume, partly to honor the memory of the recently
deceased Curt Swan, who illustrated the two issues. If your local comic shop
does not have a copy in stock, they can order one for you through Diamond's
Star System. --Jeff]
But both of these achievements came about after he wrote "The Jungle Line."
Swamp Thing here is neither the all-powerful lord of the Green, (not to be
confused with the Lord of the Dance) nor the shambling muck monster (also not
to be confused with the Lord of the Dance). He empathizes with Superman's
plight. His wisdom and serenity win the day.
Moore addresses Superman's cosmic power level in trivial but beautifully
spelled out details. When his power loss becomes erratic, the Man of Steel is
humanized. He loses his invulnerability, then puts his hand under hot water
until he feels it return. But Superman accepts his approaching death with
dignity. He wants to die alone, for some reason. A major theme of this time
was that Superman was the last son of a dead civilization, one that he knew
everything about and missed terribly. Superman today, with his Ma and Pa and
Lois, is much more complacent.
Moore tapped deep into the heart of Superman in this story. Even his role as
Superman is addressed. Swamp Thing is awed by him and his feverish outburst.
Swamp Thing says, "The most powerful creature on the planet ... has gone mad."
When he realizes that Superman's overexertion will kill him, he muses, "Even
him."
Rick Veitch's art vividly depicts the emotion in Moore's words. When his
powers begin to fail, Clark Kent is depicted with wounded, betrayed shock at
the unexpected pain of a paper cut. He considers flying home -- then imagines
falling from the sky. A single panel shows a claustrophobic Clark, boxed in by
people on a subway car. When Superman's powers run amok in the swamp, heat
vision devastates the landscape. Even the much-joked about power of super
breath is shown to be a powerful and destructive weapon. Swamp Thing cradles
the dying Superman in his arms. Then when Superman flies into the dawning sun
at the end of the book, Swamp Thing watches him go with a proud smile.
Many of thestand-alone issues of DC COMICS PRESENTS left much to be desired.
Most were one-offs with forgettable villains we hadn't seen before or since,
who could have fought (and been beaten by) anybody. I've reviewed many of the
stories I've enjoyed most, and this one is in the top five. Rather than hard
action, it explored the nature of Superman, while containing a vital need for
the costar to appear. Alan Moore has authored many different stories, in
almost every genre, but his work on Superman amazes me.
I usually ask for requests from readers at the end of the column. This time,
however, I have a request of my own. Next month I'd like to review a Superman
team-up with Batgirl, to tie in with that new movie coming out, maybe you've
heard about it? I have one meeting -- but it's pretty bad, for the reasons
mentioned in the paragraph above. I understand that they met in some much
better stories. In WORLD'S FINEST, maybe? I think I can get hold of these
issues if I just know where to look. Thanks in advance for your help. And feel
free to drop me a comment or two. I'd love to talk team-ups with you.
_____________________________________________________
THE MAILBAG
-------------------------------------
(sykes@ms.uky.edu, KryptonCN@aol.com)
KC Responses are indented and begun with ****
=================================
From: David Joseph Young, Jr. (dayoung@luna.cas.usf.edu)
Dear Mailbag,
First off, I'd like to thank you for running my request on information about
material in my LIMITED COLLECTOR'S EDITION. You guys are great!
**** Aw, shucks... :)
I hope it garnered some helpful responses!
Now, what I want to comment on are two of the remarks made in your editorial
about this year's Kaycees. They are about two particular artists who I've
seen a lot of and have been considering for quite awhile. First, Ramon
Bernado. You wrote, "...I'll also admit that I don't like Ramon Bernado's
style -- but with him it's more than that. Proportions are awful, the angular
bodies are hideous, and there's *no* reason he should *always* have Tana and
Roxy in such skimpy clothing. I won't even go into the broken appendages
thing..."
I first saw Bernado's work on DC's JUSTICE LEAGUE TASK FORCE. I actually
liked him quite a lot on that book (initially at least--I haven't gotten
around to reading the last half a dozen issues yet). I saw a good bit of John
Buscema in his art. When I first heard he was going to SUPERBOY, I thought
cool! But then I saw it. It was at best inconsistent, at worst awful. I
couldn't figure out what it was that made his art so different on SUPERBOY
than it had been on JLTF. It may have been the inker. Some inkers just don't
work well with some pencillers. (More on that below.)
**** I've only seen Bernado inked by two different inkers, Doug Hazlewood
on SUPERBOY, and Dan Davis on SUPERBOY AND THE RAVERS #10. I saw very
little difference in styles. I *love* how Hazlewood blends with Tom
Grummett, and I *love* how Dan Davis gels with Paul Pelletier. So from
my perspective, it looks like Bernado's the culprit. But you're right.
Perhaps a different inker would make a difference.
I really think, however, that Bernado's style is more situated towards big
massive figures (like Martian Manhunter) than smaller, younger ones (like
Superboy). His big figures are impressive. They are not very accurate, but
the sheer size and power of the figures mostly outweighs this. Maybe if
Bernado had done a few issue of one of the Superman titles instead of
Superboy's. (Of course, it could have been just as bad and we would have liked
the art less since it would then have been on the big guy himself.) Still, it
is something to consider. Hopefully, Bernado will find a book and character
more attuned to his art style. Although I may not like a particular artist's
style myself, I don't like seeing such opinions become personal. I hope he
can find work elsewhere.
**** I hope that my comments didn't sound like personal attacks. My
intention was simply to explain why I don't care for his art.
In SUPERBOY #40, he drew both Superman and Steel, certainly massive
figures. Neither one worked for me. And I've noticed a new trait to
his work that irks me: huge hair on his female characters. Check out
Supergirl in SUPERBOY #40 and Aura in RAVERS #10... The only character
his style has come close to working on for me has been Hardrock, in
RAVERS #10.
Next, Denis Rodier. You wrote, "...we spent the first ten months watching
Denis Rodier's inks mangle first Kieron Dwyer's and then Tom Morgan's pencils.
True, he inexplicably clicked with Tom Grummett, but two months doesn't make
up for ten."
When I first read that Jackson Guice was going to draw ACTION a few years ago,
I got excited. I had seen his art on various books (FLASH, IRON MAN, DR.
STRANGE) and I was very impressed, especially with his first work on FLASH.
He was the first person in years who actually made the man look like he was
running instead of standing still with a bright streak behind him. However,
when he started working on ACTION, it was almost like this was a different
artist. It was much rougher and "blockier" art than Guice's earlier stuff.
**** My favorite example of exceptional Guice artwork is the first few issues
of Dark Horse's ALIENS/PREDATOR: DEADLIEST OF THE SPECIES, written by
Chris Claremont. Eduardo Barreto later took over the art chores from
Guice. Those were beautiful comics -- a far cry from the later part of
his run on ACTION.
Than Guice left and was replaced by several others (Dwyer, Morgan, Grummett).
By the time Grummett came along, my suspicions were confirmed. I think
Rodier's inking muddied up all of these artists. The same rough/blocky
texture has shown up in all four artists' work for the book. These artists
all have very different styles from each other, so it must be the inker. Now
I don't think I'd say the inking "mangled" the pencils. I think "muddying"
them up would do personally. However, I do not feel Rodier has "clicked" with
Grummett. His inks make Grummett's pencils seem rough and unfinished. Just
compare a Grummett/Hazlewood page with a Grummett/Rodier one.
**** Let's set some benchmarks here. I don't think Grummett/Rodier come
anywhere near Grummett/Hazlewood, one of my favorite combinations ever,
but the Rodier inking of Grummett is a much better combination that
Rodier has made with the previous artists. I can live with this art.
I think Rodier may be a victim to some extent. He's certainly to blame
for the thickening/darkening of his inks which has occurred over the past
few years, but the trend to larger art panels and the slick paper seem
to magnify these inks. Perhaps the inks don't dissipate into the paper
as well...
Once again, I'd hate to make personal attacks on the man himself (who I don't
know from Adam), but it may be time for a new inker on ACTION. Otherwise, the
book may keep losing good artists.
**** On the other hand, he worked *really* well with Bob McLeod (see the
issues of ACTION during "Panic in the Sky"). It's the same as above,
perhaps he just needs to find an artist that he compliments better.
(Maybe Michelinie, Bernado, and Rodier should get together and start a new
book. Who knows? It could be awesome!)
**** I'm sure it might be, but I'd never know it. From my experiences with
these three, I simply couldn't justify trying something new by them.
-- Jeff Sykes
_____________________________________________________
End of Section 7/Issue #38
