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The Kryptonian Cybernet Issue 41
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T H E K R Y P T O N I A N C Y B E R N E T
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http://www.ms.uky.edu/~sykes/kc
Issue #41 - August 1997
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CONTENTS
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Section 1: Superscripts: Notes from the Editor
By The Numbers
Ratings At A Glance
Titles Shipped July 1997
And Who Disguised As...
Why Isn't Superman a Mickey Mouse Operation?
J.D. Rummel on Superman merchandising
Section 2: News and Notes
Superman in Legends of the DC Universe, more Superman Lives,
George Reeves, STAS and L&C schedules, August sales numbers
Just the FAQs
"What Romances Were in Lois's and Clark's Past?"
Part I: Clark's Belles, by David T. Chappell
The Mailbag
Section 3: New Comic Reviews
The Superman Titles
Superman: The Man of Steel #71, by Thomas Deja
Superman #127, by David T. Chappell
Adventures of Superman #550, by Anatole Wilson
Action Comics #737, by Shane Travis
Section 4: New Comic Reviews
The Superman Titles (cont)
Superman: The Man of Tomorrow #9, by Dan Radice
Super-Family Titles
Steel #42, by Dick Sidbury
Superboy #43, by Rene' Gobeyn
Superboy and the Ravers #13, by Jeff Sykes
Supergirl #13, by Thomas Deja
Section 5: New Comic Reviews
Other Superman Titles
JLA #9, by Anatole Wilson
JLA #10, by Anatole Wilson
Superman Adventures #11, by Cory Strode
Specials and Guest Appearances
The Superman/Madman Hullabaloo #2, by Dan Radice
Section 6: New Comic Reviews
Specials and Guest Appearances (cont)
Adventures of Superman Annual #9, by Thomas Deja,
Rene Gobeyn, and Anatole Wilson
JLA Secret Files #1, by Dan Silverstein
The Kents #1, by Rene' Gobeyn
Section 7: The Phantom Zone
Tales of Earth-One
"That Old Class of Superboy's!", from Superman #46,
by Bob Hughes
Super Friends
Superman vs. Superboy in DC Comics Presents #14,
by Joe Crowe
Section 8: Sneak Peeks: The Kryptonian Cybernet's Pre-Reviews
Spoiler-Free opinions on some September titles:
Superman Adventures #13
Superman #129
Superman Adventures Annual #1
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.
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_____________________________________________
SUPERSCRIPTS: Notes from the Editor
------------------------------------
BY THE NUMBERS
There have been predictions from day one about how poorly the Blue Superman
story line would sell. Well, let's call this "put up or shut up" time, cause
we're gonna take a look at the numbers. I've compiled the numbers on
Diamond's pre-orders over the last year, and as it turns out, "Blueperman" is
holding his own against the pre-Electric days.
Note first that I don't have any information about re-orders or newsstand
orders, so there is some room for error here. However, I'm going to proceed
with what I consider to be a reasonable assumption -- namely, that the
newsstand sales patterns are fairly similar to what we'll see below.
So here, in one nifty, easy-to-read chart are the sales numbers from August
1996 to August 1997. The first number under each title is the issue number,
and the second is the number of copies pre-ordered through Diamond, in
thousands.
PUB MNTH SUPERMAN ADV OF SUP ACT COMICS MAN OF TMW MAN OF STL
---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Aug 1996 116 - 60.6 539 - 59.2 726 - 59.5 6 - 55.4 61 - 58.5
Sep 1996 117 - 64.5 540 - 63.1 727 - 63.2 62 - 62.0
Oct 1996 118 - 62.8 541 - 94.0 728 - 91.6 63 - 89.2
Nov 1996 119 - 64.2 542 - 61.0 729 - 60.4 64 - 59.6
Dec 1996 120 - 58.1 543 - 56.1 730 - 55.8 7 - 50.8
Jan 1997 121 - 56.4 544 - 54.2 731 - 54.6 8 - 49.2 65 - 54.2
Feb 1997 122 - 54.5 545 - 52.8 732 - 53.1 66 - 52.1
Mar 1997 123 -213.4 546 -100.6 733 - 96.9 67 - 88.4
Apr 1997 124 - 77.0 547 - 74.0 734 - 74.3 68 - 72.3
May 1997 125 - 73.5 548 - 69.6 735 - 69.8 69 - 69.3
Jun 1997 126 - 70.0 549 - 67.0 736 - 66.7 70 - 66.3
Jul 1997 127 - 67.5 550 - 66.6 737 - 66.1 9 - 56.0 71 - 65.0
Aug 1997 128 - 67.6 551 - 65.2 738 - 63.6 72 - 64.8
Starting from the top, note that sales in August 1996 were not what you'd call
spectacular. I wish I had the numbers from the months prior to this, because
if I recall correctly, sales had been dropping for several months, with
perhaps the only exception being the four-part Brainiac story from early last
summer. But since we don't have those numbers, no sense speculating...
September 1996 brought the FINAL NIGHT crossover, which resulted in a mild
sales surge of about 6.3% (percentage comparisons here will be calculated by
comparing the total sales of the four monthly titles -- that is, MAN OF
TOMORROW is not included in any of the percentages). Incidentally, almost
every DC title which featured a FINAL NIGHT tie-in enjoyed just such a sales
spike that month. Is it any wonder that DC continues to have these big
crossover events each year?
Immediately thereafter came October's wedding of Lois and Clark. While
SUPERMAN #118 didn't enjoy the same surge (one, because it wasn't actually
part of the wedding or honeymoon, and two, because there was that whole
resolicitation headache which ignored it...), the three books which
participated in the honeymoon jumped a whopping 45.9%! THE WEDDING ALBUM
itself pre-sold 345.2 thousand -- and again, that doesn't include newsstand
sales or direct re-orders!
However, the glee quickly faded. Within two months, the titles had fallen to
*below* their pre-FINAL NIGHT levels, and they continued to drop. By February
1997, just four months after the wedding/honeymoon event, sales were down to
about 10.6% below what they had been selling before FINAL NIGHT. Perhaps if
the honeymoon hadn't been such a *horrid* story...
Finally, we come to "Electri-Kal." The numbers here are clear. Certainly
nobody expected the titles to maintain the level of sales in March, the
"spike" month caused by the event itself, but few expected the sales to be as
strong as they have. Let's first look at things on a month-to-month basis.
Pre-orders for May were down 5.2% from April's orders. Note that pre-orders
for May were due the same week that SUPERMAN #123 was released, so shop owners
ordering from Diamond did not yet know how well the story was going to sell.
By the time June's orders were placed, the first full month of the new
Superman had taken place, and store owners had some idea of what they could
sell. And June's orders were only 4.3% lower than May's.
By the time July's orders came due, store owners had a full two months of data
upon which to base their orders. This time, pre-orders dropped only 1.8%.
And for August's titles, pre-orders dropped only 1.5%. This could be a good
sign for DC -- the declining sales are actually starting to level off. While
there should still be some concern that sales are declining, they are
declining at a slower rate than they were at first.
Now look at the big picture. If you throw out the three honeymoon issues, the
sales of August 1997's issues are *still* higher than they were at any time in
the six months prior to the Man of Energy's debut in March. And though I
don't have the exact numbers in front of me, I'd guess current sales are at
least as high as they were for most of 1996.
There's yet another argument lurking in these numbers -- a case to be made
that fans are not flocking away from Superman in disgust (as was so often
predicted a few months ago). The entire *industry* has been experiencing a
decline in sales for the past couple of years. Factor this in to the
equation, and the sales decline of the Superman titles for the past few months
is even smaller.
By this time, you just might be asking yourself what point I'm trying to make.
Just this: by the numbers, DC would almost *have* to consider the Man Beyond
Tomorrow to be a success. There was an initial surge of interest which
produced a huge spike in sales, and long-term sales have so-far remained above
the levels seen in the months before the story began.
Now, lest you think I'm going to end this on a positive note (Heaven forbid I
be positive in an editorial! <g>), let me point out something *really*
annoying to me. SPAWN and the X-Men titles regularly sell *well* over 150
thousand copies each month. The Superman titles regularly sell less than half
of that. Superman is the first. He's the icon of all super-heroes. He's the
standard by which all others should be measured. And yet he's being outsold
by a soldier of Hell and more mutants than you can shake a stick at. I just
don't understand.
Before I pass you off to the rest of the magazine, let me throw some more bad
news at you. The Superman family titles aren't really faring well either.
The numbers:
PUB MNTH STEEL SUPERBOY SB/RAVERS SUPERGIRL SUP ADV
---------- --------- ---------- --------- --------- ---------
Aug 1996 31 - 19.5 32 - 38.4 2 - 33.4 2 - 58.7
Sep 1996 32 - 19.2 33 - 42.8 3 - 32.2 3 - 67.0 1 - 47.6
Oct 1996 33 - 19.1 34 - 37.5 4 - 31.8 4 - 67.4 2 - 34.4
Nov 1996 34 - 21.1 35 - 36.3 5 - 29.1 5 - 62.3 3 - 32.3
Dec 1996 35 - 18.7 36 - 34.4 6 - 26.4 6 - 59.9 4 - 28.9
Jan 1997 36 - 17.9 37 - 32.7 7 - 24.7 7 - 57.1 5 - 26.3
Feb 1997 37 - 17.1 38 - 31.1 8 - 22.8 8 - 53.5 6 - 24.3
Mar 1997 38 - 16.8 39 - 30.4 9 - 21.4 9 - 53.3 7 - 23.8
Apr 1997 39 - 16.7 40 - 30.6 10 - 21.8 10 - 53.7 8 - 23.8
May 1997 40 - 16.2 41 - 29.3 11 - 20.3 11 - 50.8 9 - 22.4
Jun 1997 41 - 15.4 42 - 28.0 12 - 19.4 12 - 48.1 10 - 21.2
Jul 1997 42 - 16.1 43 - 28.1 13 - 19.6 13 - 46.2 11 - 20.6
Aug 1997 43 - 18.3 44 - 27.7 14 - 21.1 14 - 47.5 12 - 19.8
STEEL dropped slightly each month until the new team came on board with issue
#34. This didn't last long however, as sales then continued to fall, reaching
a low of 15.4 thousand copies sold in June. It *is* nice to note, however,
that sales have grown a whopping 18.9% in the past two months. Perhaps the
word is starting to get around about how well-written the book has been since
Priest took over.
SUPERBOY has essentially dropped constantly over the past year, with the FINAL
NIGHT crossover issue #33 being the sole exception. Marz-haters should take
note that issue #32 began the Marz era, and in this time the sales of this
once-popular title have plummeted 27.9%. However, I expect a resurgence in
this title when Kesel and Grummett return in issue #50!
Watching the numbers on SUPERBOY AND THE RAVERS has been depressing. I've
discussed by feelings on that title in my reviews, so I won't do so again
here. Needless to say, with sales below 20 thousand in June and July, it's
easy to see why the title is being canceled. At least STEEL had the movie to
buy it some time.
SUPERGIRL once outsold the Superman titles, but in between her fourth and
(unlucky) thirteenth issue, sales fell 31.5%. I'm not sure exactly what the
reason for the decline here is -- sales were already falling *before* Gary
Frank left, so that can't be it. I have a hunch, however, that the dark tone
which permeated the first year of this title is just not what the fans want to
see in a Supergirl book.
And poor SUPERMAN ADVENTURES. This book is perhaps the most consistently
entertaining product coming from the Superman group at DC, and it's probably
the closest interpretation of the "classic" Superman available today -- in
*any* medium. But unless these Adventures titles sell *really* well on the
newsstands, this one is in some serious trouble. Sales have fallen almost 60%
from its first issue, and almost 45% from its second. If *any* of the
Superman titles deserve better sales, it's this one.
Finally, let me close by showing you how popular the JLA revival has been.
The first issue was pre-ordered at 104.2 thousand copies. This issue has
since been reprinted *and* collected in a trade paperback. Sales fell to
about 81.5 thousand while the shop owners were learning how popular the book
actually is, but issues 7 through 11 have all sold above 100 thousand copies.
I'm glad *something* seems to be holding its audience.
Jeff Sykes, Editor
_____________________________________________
RATINGS AT A GLANCE: Titles shipped July 1997
-----------------------------------------------
Prepared by Shane Travis (travis@sedsystems.ca)
Again, we welcome new people to the ratings panel, and this month we celebrate
a mini-milestone: Our first book with ten (that's right, 10!) sets of comments
and ratings submitted! There's always room for more, so if you want to make
your opinions known, see below for how to join up.
Key:
----
Issue -- Issue for which 'Current' Rating and Rank are calculated. The
'Previous' columns refer to the issue immediately prior to this.
Rating -- Average Rating, in Shields (maximum rating is 5.0). The number
in () indicates how many people submitted ratings.
Rank -- The relative ranking of the book among the regularly-published
Superman titles.
Average -- Average of the ratings for this title over the indicated number
of months, based on the book's cumulative average. Each month is
weighted equally, regardless of the number of people rating the
book that month. If this book is averaged over fewer months than
the rest, the number of months is displayed in ().
Current Previous Avg (4Mth)
Title Issue Rating Rank Rating Rank Rating Rank
----- ----- ------------ ------------ ------------
The Kents 2 4.4(3) -- 4.5(4) -- -- --
Superman Adv. 11 4.3(5) 1 4.2(2) 1 4.10 1
JLA 10 3.8(7) 2 3.5(9) -- 3.62 3
Superman/Madman 2 3.8(6) -- 3.4(5) -- -- --
Steel 42 3.8(4) 3 4.0(3) 3 4.05 2
SB and the Ravers 13 3.7(3) 4 3.2(3) 7 3.15 8
JLA 9 3.5(9) -- 3.4(4) 6 -- --
Action Comics 737 3.5(9) 5 4.1(4) 2 3.30 5
JLA: Secret Files 1 3.3(8) -- --- -- -- --
Supergirl 13 3.3(6) 6 3.7(4) 5 3.45 4
Superboy 43 3.1(5) 7 2.7(4) 10 2.98 9
Superman 127 3.0(8) 8 3.7(7) 4 3.20 7
Adv. of Superman 550 3.0(10) 9 3.2(8) 8 3.25 6
Man of Steel 71 2.7(7) 10 3.0(6) 9 2.88 10
Man of Tomorrow 9 2.3(8) (*) --- -- -- --
AOS Annual (**) -- --- -- -- --
(*) Man of Tomorrow, although a core title, comes out so irregularly that it
is considered a special for the purposes of ranking books on a monthly basis.
(**) Individual stories in AOS Annual rated individually. Book not rated as
a whole unit.
Faring Well: SUPERMAN ADVENTURES (#1 overall with 4.10 Shields)
- Consistently rated at or near the top (by those who read it), this title is
almost universally acclaimed as the comic most faithful to the original
concept of Superman. Despite this, nobody talks about it and this is the first
month we've had more than two people rating it. So it's based on an Animated
Series... So what? Add this title to your list! You'll be glad that you did!
(Especially you Electric-Blue haters.)
Faring Poorly: MAN OF STEEL (#10 overall with 2.88 Shields)
- Despite critical acclaim from his peers, people just don't like Bogdanove.
Or maybe it's Janke that they don't like, since the book is still dark and
muddy even when Bog is gone (like this month). Or maybe it's Louise Simonson,
or the attempts at sight-gags... Whatever it is, this title is the Rodney
Dangerfield of the Superman set.
Up, Up, and Away! THE SUPERMAN/MADMAN HULLABALOO #2 (+0.4 Shields)
- Now that the origins are out of the way, Allred gets down to having fun
with both the characters. Superman loosens up, and the pair learns who is
responsible for their troubles. #3 is already out, so pick up the set if
you've got some loose cash jingling.
Down, doobie do down down... ACTION COMICS #737 (-0.6 Shields)
- A huge mix of feelings over this issue. I guess people don't enjoy seeing
Luthor walk out of a courtroom as much as they enjoyed seeing Clark walk out
of a mineshaft. Still a good performance at 3.5 Shields and a fifth-place
ranking this month, so nothing to complain about.
Information for 'Ratings at a Glance' and the ratings accompanying the monthly
reviews of Superman comics are obtained from KC readers. Anyone interested in
contributing may contact Shane Travis (travis@sedsystems.ca) and will be added
to the monthly mailing-list to receive a Ratings Form.
_____________________________________________
AND WHO DISGUISED AS...
---------------------------------------------------------
A Column of Opinion by J.D. Rummel (rummel@creighton.edu)
Why Isn't Superman a Mickey Mouse Operation?
I just flew back from Disney World and my arms aren't tired, but I have been
thinking a lot. How many of you have been to Orlando's Disney World (and
world is the right word all right)? Yeah, I thought so, most of you have been
there at least once. Until just a few days ago, I had never been, so Amy and
I and two good friends packed our grips and flew down to Florida
It was amazing! Never had I seen anything so sprawling, so organized, so
creative, so immensely profitable! Because for all the fun, there was stuff
everywhere: Mouse Ears, mugs, shirts, play sets, snowdomes. Everywhere you'd
turn there was something to commemorate the moment. I popped for a few
special photos. But it should be noted that I am not a Disney character guy.
The Mouse, the Duck, and all the recent folks (Mermaid, Genie, Beast, and
Bushwah Indian Maiden) have never meant too much to me. Although that yell
that Goofy rips loose with when he finds himself in a rough spot amuses me
greatly.
No, I am a Warner Brothers man. Bugs Bunny, Foghorn Leghorn, Daffy Duck,
those are the figures whose T-shirts I buy, and whose socks I have frankly
worn out. So you can imagine my sense of homelessness as I wandered about the
three Disney parks seeking connection. Sure, I had my picture taken with
Mickey; sure, I thought the Mermaid chick in the parade was hot; yes, I even
ate an ice cream sandwich configured to look like Mickey's head; but I kept
wanting to see something that spoke to me, as Uncle Walt's legions surely
spoke to so many about me. And I couldn't help but wonder...
Why doesn't Superman have a theme park?
C'mon, it's a natural! What better place for Americana than a Smallville main
street? A meal in Ma Kent's kitchen. What better Tomorrow Land than the
World of Krypton! And the possible rides! Fly with Superman! Be rescued by
Superman! Tour the Fortress of Solitude. Ride to Earth in a rocket!
When I was a kid I remember an ad in the comics for Pallisades Park. It was
drawn by Win Mortimer and it showed Superman holding up some roller coaster
scene. With my kid's reasoning I thought this was a park dedicated to
Superman. I knew it was far away (everything was far away then), but it made
perfect sense.
Years later, Neal Adams drew a spread in the middle of one of those coffee
table comic books. You remember those big mothers don't ya? They'd showcase
reprints of classic issues, or one-of-a-kind events like Superman versus
Spider-Man. In this one, Neal Adams (God, I wish he'd draw the Batman some
more!) delineated a true Superman theme park. The only part I remember is the
giant Superman standing arms akimbo at the entrance (Arms Akimbo? Sounds like
a character from Japanese Anime).
Anyway, what is wrong with Warner? Universal has a theme park where they
merchandise the daylights out of their properties. They have one coming next
year that will offer the Marvel pantheon! It will be huge, and yet no one at
Warner (that I know of) is running to the money pump! Is this any way to run
a business!?
I know I holler a lot about comics being Art, but this is one time I wanted to
spend money on crap! I wanted to buy an overpriced Superman mug, to maybe
wear bat-ears and embarrass Amy and take silly pictures. But the Warner
merchandising machine is broken folks.
I guess what I'm getting at is this, if Warner won't do it, send me your
checks and I'll start scouting for real estate...
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.
_____________________________________________
NEWS AND NOTES
--------------
LEGENDS OF THE MAN OF STEEL
Can't wait for next year's return of the traditional powers and costume?
Well, how about a Superman story set back in his earliest days -- back
when Luthor was fat, rich, and powerful... and still had hair! Launching
in (I think) December, DC presents LEGENDS OF THE DC UNIVERSE! A book
much in the vein of the Batman group's LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT, this
new title will feature tales of DC's heroes set in their earlier days,
well before current continuity.
Kicking off LEGENDS OF THE DC UNIVERSE is a three-part Superman story by
James Robinson (STARMAN), Val Semeiks (JLA/WILDC.A.T.S.), and Paul Neary
(DC VS MARVEL). Titled "U.L.T.R.A. Humanite," this tale apparently takes
place at some point between John Byrne's MAN OF STEEL miniseries and
SUPERMAN #1. We'll have a sneak preview of this next month!
Later in the series, expect a 2-part Superman story from Randy and
Jan-Marc Lofficier (SUPERMAN'S METROPOLIS) and Jo Ladronn (SPIDER-BOY
TEAM-UP). This one takes Superman and Dabney Donovan to the miniature
planet Transilvane, bringing into the post-Crisis continuity this world
created by Jack Kirby and introduced in JIMMY OLSEN #142-143.
TROUBLE *BEFORE* THE SET?
Tim Burton was recently sighted in Pittsburgh, scouting locations to use
as part of Metropolis in the upcoming SUPERMAN LIVES. It also appears
that SUPERMAN LIVES is likely to be the title of the movie, as Warner
Brothers has gone so far as to register the domain name
www.supermanlives.com -- though the site just links back to WB's homepage
right now. New costume designs have been commissioned for the film, but
none have been approved so far -- if anyone tries to tell you that the
current "Blueperman" costume is going to be used, simply don't believe
them.
Some internet movie news sites have reported that there have been some
disagreements between Burton, Peters, and Cage, and that Burton is close
to walking off of the project. However, other sites have indicated that
Burton is still "full steam ahead" and has recently turned in a "shooting
script," which was reported to be well-received by Warner Brothers
executives. On a positive note, Ain't It Cool News
(http://www.aintitcoolnews.com) reports that Warner Brothers *realizes*
they screwed up with BATMAN AND ROBIN and with STEEL, and they are bound
and determined to get SUPERMAN LIVES right.
I'm still hearing a lot of rumor and speculation, such as follows. The
Batman cameo may be gone completely. There are three costume designs
they are seriously looking at. There will be scenes taking place on
Krypton. Jack Nicholson is being considered for a part, but for a
completely new character. And so forth.
With production scheduled to begin in January, we *should* begin hearing
more concrete news, such as casting and locations, within the next few
months. Until then, try not to take anything you hear *too* seriously.
SORT OF ANOTHER SUPERMAN MOVIE
Controversy has always swirled around the 1959 death of George Reeves,
the actor who portrayed Superman in the syndicated ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN
series from 1951 to 1957. The official coroner's report concluded that
Reeves died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, but there has
since been much speculation concerning the accuracy of that conclusion.
And now the controversy appears to be heading to the big screen.
Permut Presentations and Citadel Entertainment have purchased the movie
rights to the 1996 book HOLLYWOOD KRYPTONITE: THE BULLDOG, THE LADY, AND
THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN. This book, by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger,
explores the theory that Reeves did not commit suicide, but was murdered.
According to their book, Reeves was having an affair with a woman named
Toni Mannix, and her husband, MGM executive Eddie Mannix, killed Reeves
over the affair.
The two companies paid a six-figure sum for the rights to HOLLYWOOD
KRYPTONITE, and Whoopi Goldberg is set to executive produce the film.
S:TAS ROUND TWO
Brace yourselves folks, 'cause we're fixing to see a *lot* of new episodes
of the animated SUPERMAN! Before we get to the series itself, let me
first lock down some news from last month. The 90-minute WORLD'S FINEST
movie, crossing-over the animated Batman and Superman, is scheduled to air
on October 4. You should, however, check your local listings for the
exact date and time.
Now on to the series. First, the weekday afternoon episodes of THE
BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES debut on Monday, September 1, and all episodes
in that first week will be reruns of first season SUPERMAN episodes.
Batman joins the line-up the following week. The new season of Saturday
(or Sunday, depending on your local station) morning episodes begins on
September 13, and until MEN IN BLACK debuts October 11, we'll be seeing
*two* episodes of SUPERMAN each Saturday. Again, check your local
listings for date and time in your area. Below, you'll find the schedule
available so far (missing weekdays indicate Batman episodes will air on
those dates), and watch the KC homepage for updates to this schedule.
Monday, September 1: "The Main Man, Part I"
Tuesday, September 2: "The Main Man, Part II"
Wednesday, September 3: "A Little Piece of Home"
Thursday, September 4: "Tools of the Trade"
Friday, September 5: "Two's a Crowd"
Weekend of September 6: "Stolen Memories"
Monday, September 8: "Blasts From the Past: Part I" (NEW!)
Tuesday, September 9: "Blasts From the Past: Part II" (NEW!)
Friday, September 12: "The Prometheon" (NEW!)
Weekend of September 13: "Livewire" (NEW!)
"The Fastest Man Alive" (NEW!)
Monday, September 15: "Identity Crisis" (NEW!)
Wednesday, September 17: "Fun and Games"
Friday, September 19: "Target" (NEW!)
Weekend of September 20: "Action Figures" (NEW!)
"Mxyzpixilated" (NEW!)
LOIS AND CLARK REVISITED
Because of Labor Day programming, TNT pushed back the debut of LOIS AND
CLARK to Tuesday, September 2. The program will air six nights a week
after that, Monday through Saturday, at 7:00 PM Eastern. Episodes are
schedule to air in the order they originally first aired on ABC, and I've
included a list below of episodes scheduled for September. (Episode
numbers are assigned by order of original airdate.)
Ep# Date Episode Title
--- ---- -------------------------------------
101 9/02 Premiere, Part 1
101 9/03 Premiere, Part 2
102 9/04 Strange Visitor (From Another Planet)
103 9/05 Neverending Battle
104 9/06 I'm Looking Through You
105 9/08 Requiem for a Superhero
106 9/09 I've Got a Crush on You
107 9/10 Smart Kids
108 9/11 The Green, Green Glow of Home
109 9/12 The Man of Steel Bars
110 9/13 Pheromone, My Lovely
111 9/15 Honeymoon in Metropolis
112 9/16 All Shook Up
113 9/17 Witness
114 9/18 Illusions of Grandeur
115 9/19 The Ides of Metropolis
116 9/20 Foundling
117 9/23 The Rival
118 9/24 Vatman
119 9/25 Fly Hard
120 9/26 Barbarians at the Planet
121 9/27 The House of Luthor
201 9/28 Madame Ex
202 9/30 Wall of Sound
SALES THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMM...
All of the following information is based on pre-orders through Diamond
Distributors, and the data is collected and compiled each month by Matthew
High of Antarctic Press (http://www.texas.net/~antarc/salescharts.html).
In addition to the Superman books, I also provide the numbers for the top
selling title, for comparison purposes. The following information is for
titles released in August 1997.
The #SOLD is the estimated total number of copies pre-ordered through
Diamond Comic Distributors, in thousands. These numbers do not reflect
any reorders, nor do they include newsstand sales. The CHANGE is the
estimated percentage change from the previous issue.
RANK TITLE #SOLD CHANGE
---- ----------------------------- ----- -------
1 Spawn #65 164.8 +23.0%
10 JLA #11 104.4 - 0.4%
18 Genesis #1 85.9
21 Genesis #2 80.1 - 6.8%
22 Genesis #3 78.4 - 2.1%
23 Genesis #4 77.7 - 0.9%
30 Superman #128 67.6 + 0.1%
31 Adventures of Superman #551 65.2 - 2.1%
32 Superman Man of Steel #72 64.8 - 0.3%
36 Action Comics #738 63.6 - 3.8%
49 Supergirl #14 47.5 + 2.8%
54 Action Comics Annual #9 45.6
68 Elseworlds Finest #1 38.5
72 Superman/Madman Hullabaloo #3 36.7 - 7.3%
73 Supergirl Annual #2 36.7
85 The Kents #3 33.4 -12.8%
104 Superboy #44 27.7 - 1.4%
124 Superboy and the Ravers #14 21.1 + 7.7%
126 Superboy Plus #2 21.0
140 Superman Adventures #12 19.8 - 3.9%
149 Steel #43 18.3 +13.7%
_____________________________________________
Just the FAQs
--------------------------------------------------------------------
More Details about Frequently-Asked Questions about the Man of Steel
by David T. Chappell
With the Super-marriage going strong, Lois and Clark's romance seems solid and
eternal. Things have not always been so smooth, however. Even in the days
when Lois Lane would not give Clark Kent the time of day, there was still
romance in the Superman comics. In reflection, this article will cover the
topic of,
"What Romances Were in Lois's and Clark's Past?"
Part I: Clark's Belles
Introduction
In the days before the Universal Crisis of 1986, Clark longed for Lois but she
saw him as a weak-willed nerd. John Byrne changed that relationship and gave
it depth. In the revamped universe, for a long time Lois Lane would not put
up with Clark out of hatred, but each of them had relationships with others.
Previous of my columns in the KRYPTONIAN CYBERNET have covered similar topics.
In Late October 1996, I answered, "What Events Led to Lois and Clark's
Romance?" Then in March 1997, I covered the question of "What if Lois and
Clark Hadn't Married?" The next two parts of this series will cover
relationships specifically involving Lois and Superman.
Lovestruck Lana
Lana Lang was Clark's childhood sweetheart. When they first met in school at
age five, Lana picked little Clark to be her boyfriend (ACTION #655, July 90),
and later that grew into a real relationship. The two dated up through high
school, and everyone in Smallville presumed that they'd eventually marry.
When Jonathan Kent told his adopted son about his true origin, Clark revealed
his powers to Lana before departing Smallville. Lana was shocked and dismayed
when Clark left her after entrusting her with his secret, and she felt
rejected by the brotherly kiss he offered her when he said good-bye. (MAN OF
STEEL #6, June 1986)
Later, Lana went to Metropolis in search of Clark a few weeks after Superman's
public debut (SUPERMAN #2, Feb 87). Having been born around the same time as
Clark, Lana had been affected by the Manhunters in their search for the
Kryptonian infant, and their control forced her to follow him. Her capture by
Luthor's men helped lead to Amanda McCoy's conclusion that Clark was Superman,
but Lana did not reveal the secret directly (SUPERMAN #2). When, under the
Manhunters' control, Lana publicly ripped open Clark's shirt to reveal his
secret, he was luckily not wearing his costume underneath (SUPERMAN #13,
Jan.88). When these events led Lois to visit Smallville, Lana made the
self-sacrifice of patching up things between Lois and Clark by explaining to
Lois, "Clark is in love with you." (ACTION #597, Feb 88)
Clark helped Lana get back to normalcy in Smallville, and she has now come to
terms with her relationship with Clark. Lana now joins the Kents as a close
friend whom Clark can approach for solace. Moreover, she eventually fell in
love with and married Pete Ross (ACTION #700, June 94).
Lost Loves from the Lost Years
During the first few years after he left Smallville, Clark traveled the globe.
While in Europe, he met the French journalist Simone DeNeige. She not only
taught Clark about journalism but also had a romantic interest in the young
man ("Peer Pressure" story line; Oct 94). Years later, Clark was surprised to
run into Simone in Metropolis (ADVENTURES #543, Feb 97). Franklin Stern even
hired her to join the DAILY PLANET staff as a marketing consultant based on
her experience as a flashy international reporter (ADVENTURES #544, Mar 97).
Despite Simone's initial flirtatious implication of a continued attraction for
Clark, nothing has developed between them after her moving to Metropolis.
In college, Clark fell in love with fellow student Lori Lemaris. When they
met at the University of Metropolis, Clark had not yet taken his super-hero
identity, but Lori's telepathy revealed his super-human abilities. Although
they loved each other, Lori was secretly a mermaid, and she recognized that
Superman belonged to the surface world. Thus, she rejected his marriage
proposal. (SUPERMAN #12, Dec.87) For years, Clark believed that Lori died in
the Universal Crisis, but she secretly survived. His thoughts about her in
that time period revealed his feelings: "No way I'll ever forget her. But I
guess I've been fortunate to find someone I love just as much," and her
thoughts reciprocated her sorrow over her sacrifice: "you are, truly, the
only man I will ever love." (SUPERMAN #63, Jan 92) Clark eventually learned
that the mermaid actually survived under the ocean depths. In time, Lori left
Tritonis and moved to Metropolis, where she even lived with Lois a while.
Despite Lois's jealousy, the romance between the college sweethearts was over.
Clark and Cat
Catherine Grant, gossip columnist for the DAILY PLANET, was a rather
flirtatious woman when she met Clark Kent at the office. She immediately went
after the handsome reporter, and Clark fought to remain a gentleman despite
her constant advances. Cat's son, Adam Morgan, once appropriately described
his mom's character when he commented, "You like all the guys!", to which Cat
replied, "Let's just say they like me . . . and I like being liked!"
(ADVENTURES #441, June 88)
Cat continued to pursue Clark with a vigor. One Friday, for example, she
showed up unannounced at Clark's apartment and insisted that he join her for a
weekend snowskiing trip. Though the trip presented several romantic moments
-- "Give me a word, handsome, I could fall real bad." -- the couple was
interrupted each time they started getting serious. A reminder of her past
led Cat to confess to Clark how her dating a lot of gorgeous actors helped
lead to her son being taken from her. With Superman's assistance, Cat was
reunited with her son even as her relationship with Clark continued to grow.
(ADVENTURES #429, June 87)
Even beyond her coquettish nature, Cat genuinely came to genuinely care for
Clark. For example, when she was worried that she would have to move to New
York to get custody of Adam, Cat asked Clark to move there: "I don't want to
lose you, Clark. You've made my life worth living again." (ADVENTURES #434,
Nov 87) The couple gradually grew apart and went their separate ways, but
they retain a friendship despite their current position as rivals in different
media.
Lost Love, Lost Memories, and a Lost World
A strange series of events led Kal-El to forget his fiancee for a while and
fall for another woman. In the "Blackout" story line (Nov-Dec, 1991), an
annoying memory loss combined with an unplanned trip with Mr. Z to Island X.
The lost island in the Pacific is inhabited by dinosaurs and other creatures
thought extinct. Our hero nearly married Lola-La, daughter of the chief of
the Neanderthal tribe there. Superman's friends from Metropolis, especially
the Guardian, worked hard to locate and rescue the Man of Steel from his lost
and amnesiac state. Superman left his intended bride to return to Lois.
Meanwhile, Lola-La later married a white man from an anthropological
expedition (SUPERBOY ANNUAL #4, 1997).
Conclusion
A quick glance over the names of Clark's girlfriends shows a common thread:
Lois Lane, Lana Lang, Lori Lemaris, and Lola-La. The L.L. theme has been a
long-running one from the early days of Superman stories. A rumor says that
the first of these names were chosen because the first girlfriend of Superman
co-creator Joe Shuster had the initials L.L. Since then, other writers have
continued the tradition.
Another repeated theme among Clark's girlfriends is that of the girl making a
sacrifice to give Superman to the world rather than keep Clark to herself. In
Clark's case, true love has won out in the end with his relationship to Lois,
but several of his girlfriends have had to make temporarily or permanent
sacrifices for the greater good. For while Clark's heart may belong to Ms.
Lane, Superman belongs to the world.
The "Just the FAQs" column is Copyright (C) 1997 David Thomas Chappell. All
rights reserved. Making copies in any format is expressly forbidden without
the written permission of the author.
_____________________________________________
THE MAILBAG
-------------------------------------
(sykes@ms.uky.edu, KryptonCN@aol.com)
KC Responses are indented and begun with ****
====================================
From: Ryan (jpratt@scf-fs.usc.edu)
I just wanted to say that I think the people in charge of the Kryptonian
Cybernet are doing an *AWESOME* job. To compose as much qualitative
information as they do into one newsletter is just spectacular. I can't seem
to imagine how someone can cover numerous comics and much more, then have the
time to produce a fantastic newsletter like to Kryptonian Cybernet. I would
like to applaud their efforts and encourage them to continue the *super* job.
**** Thank you very much, Ryan! We put a lot of time and effort into THE
KRYPTONIAN CYBERNET, so it's always nice to hear that we're appreciated!
I think we still have room to improve, especially in the area of
timeliness (though this is primarily my own problem) -- I *really* want
our new issues out a lot earlier in the month than they have been of
late. But I also think we've done a good job over the last few months
of diversifying our content, which can *only* be a good thing :)
Thanks again for the kind words!
====================================
From: Ed (ScottyG100@aol.com)
Great interview with Mike Carlin. This is what I have been hoping for all
along with your newsletter. I do not really want other people's opinions of
magazines I have already read. I want to know what ideas are being bandied
around by people in the business and other fans' ideas as to what they would
like to see changed or enhanced upon.
**** There's a delicate balance we're trying to strike, here. On the one
hand, we've got readers like you who don't care for the reviews and
instead want more "general information" type of pieces. On the other
hand, we've also got readers who read the magazine primarily for the
reviews! And looking at the comments I've received, it would appear
that the general readership is pretty much split down the middle on
this. So one of my primary jobs is to make certain we do a good job
of balancing, and I think we've made nice improvements in the past
few months.
To me, change is good. I am glad the editors had enough courage to marry Lois
and Clark (It did not hurt Marvel and Spider-Man). I will be glad when the
Blueperman saga is done; however, it has been an intriguing storyline. I have
been reading the Superman family titles for close to 40 years, and I still
look forward to reading it on a weekly basis.
====================================
From: Jason Arnett (jalawa@falcon.cc.ukans.edu)
Having just read your editorial for this month, I must wholeheartedly agree.
The revolving continuity within the Superman titles has resulted in my
reluctant decision to drop all five titles from my regular pull list at my
local comics shop. The high prices and my interests in other comics are
contributing factors, but the NEED to buy each title every week just to keep
up with the storyline and keep my collection complete is becoming less and
less attractive.
I also agree that the early post-Crisis continuity was much more attractive to
casual readers. I have found myself going back and collecting the first five
years of Adventures of Superman simply because at the time they were coming
out, I was getting all the X-titles and ALL the Spider-Man books and could not
afford the extra money. When I wised up and dropped the Marvel books, I could
afford to get all the Superman books. Noticed a trend here? Phenomenally
popular characters get more titles, and more people feel they have to have ALL
the books or they are not a true fan. Bunk. If the continuity changes in the
Superman books, I will only get SUPERMAN and ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN and feel
very much like a true fan who can only afford so much.
**** Exactly my point. However, there's a bit of a difference between the
Superman books and the other books you mentioned. To keep up with
Superman, you *have* to buy at least 48 books a year (a few more,
depending on how often MAN OF TOMORROW comes out). Skipping a Superman
title means you *will* miss part of the story. With Batman, Spider-Man,
and the X-Men, you do not *have* to read every single title. Certainly
they complement each other, but you generally will not miss out on
anything by skipping a few of the titles.
====================================
From: Michael Guajardo (reebok@world-net.net)
I totally agreed with your July Editorial. I used to read Superman and bought
all the titles every month. The problem was I, like you said, got bored with
some of the creators and the overall storyline at the time. Another reason I
stopped buying the titles was that it just got too expensive. Besides
Superman, there are other DC titles that I like to read (i.e. GREEN LANTERN,
SUPERBOY, SUPERGIRL). Having to buy all the Superman titles to keep up with a
story, in addition to the other books, really started to hit the pocket book.
If DC decided to go with what you're proposing, I would certainly get back
into reading Superman, even if it were only one or two of the Superman books.
Thanks for your time.
**** I'm beginning to wonder if we shouldn't look further into this idea.
Since this editorial, I've heard from several people who agree with me,
many of whom aren't reading *any* of the Superman titles. I stand by my
conjecture, and I'd like to get some data to either refute or verify it.
If we could come up with some way to reach comic readers outside of the
online community, we might be able to come up with enough data to draw
a reasonable conclusion...
-- Jeff Sykes
_____________________________________________
NEW COMIC REVIEWS
-----------------
In the interest of completeness, I want to quickly point out several Superman
appearances which we excluded either for purposes of space or because they
simply were not large enough to warrant inclusion. In books appearing in
August, Superman appeared for a few pages in YOUNG HEROES IN LOVE #4, and as
part of the JLA in FLASH #129, JLA/WILDC.A.T.S., and WONDER WOMAN #125.
Ratings Panelists:
AW: Anatole Wilson DSv: Dan Silverstein JSy: Jeff Sykes
CoS: Cory Strode DW: Douglas Wolk KM: Kuljit Mithra
DC: David Chappell ES: Emmanuel Soupidis RG: Rene' Gobeyn
DR: Daniel Radice GS: Gabe Smith ST: Shane Travis
DSd: Dick Sidbury JSm: Jim Smith TD: Thomas Deja
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:
-------------------
34. SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #71 Sept 1997 $1.95 US/$2.75 CAN
"Rematch"
Writer: Louise Simonson
Artist: Scot Eaton
Inker: Denis Janke
Letterer: Ken Lopez
Colorist: Glen Whitmore
Separations: Digital Chameleon
Engineer: Mike McAvennie
Train Wreck: Joey Cavalieri
Cover: Jon Bogdanove, Dennis Janke, and Patrick Martin
RATINGS
Average: 2.7/5.0 Shields
TD: 2.0 Shields (Story: 2.3, Art: 1.7) - Boy, Janke ruins what could've
been a great art job for a mediocre story.
DC: 3.0 Shields - Bibbo's sportsmanship stands out in an otherwise
mediocre issue.
ES: 2.6 Shields - Is it only me who thinks it's a waste of good story
potential NOT to have Bibbo as the World Heavyweight Champ? BTW,
Bring Back Bogdanove, the most underrated Superman artist!
GS: 2.4 Shields - Scot Eaton's pencils have definitely improved this book
lately, though I find the "Revenge Squad" plot line to be shallow.
The revelation of Morgan Edge as the Squad Leader was anti-climactic.
KM: 2.5 Shields - At least Luthor isn't behind everything... too bad I
wasn't really interested in the villains.
I blame Dennis Janke for how poorly this book rates. I can't think of any
other reason why Scot Eaton, whose work looked so good in the last two issues,
looks so sketchy and ill-formed now. The frustrating thing is, you *can* see
glimpses of the grace and power we've come to expect from our man Eaton
underneath the thick black swatches of ink: The Man of Sparks caught between
two subway cars on a collision course (pg. 3); a simple, subtle transformation
scene (pg. 11); Supes caught in a surprising liplock from new villain Baud
(pg. 5) and in the book's final image, the biggest, scariest Doc Parasite
you've ever seen siphoning off streams of energy from our hapless hero.
Unfortunately, for every page like that there are two where Janke smothers
Eaton under tons of ink, making him into a bad Bogdanove clone in one case, a
bad Ryan clone in another.
Eaton's art is the one thing that could have made Simonson's serviceable but
sloppy script shine. Now bear with me for a second as I recount this plot:
Sparky the wonder Kryptonian stops a subway collision caused by Baud, a
magnetic energy being (I think) who looks like Maria from the film METROPOLIS.
The subway stunt was cooked up by Baud's boss Mainframe to get her inducted
into the Superman Revenge Squad, so the villain can figure out what's going on
there. The Squad, now composed of Doc Parasite, Baud, Rock, and Barrage,
proceed to stir things up during Bibbo's title bout. As Supes fights the
funky Four, Bibbo wins his match and retires in remorse for hitting Jimmy last
issue. Of course, Bibbo might wanna consider kicking Jimmy's ass again, as
the kid is about to reveal Superman's secret ID (as Collin Thornton; does
anybody *not* see this twist coming?).
The story is average, although there are patches where it seems Simonson isn't
thinking things through. I have to particularly wonder why Baud was accepted
into the Superman Revenge Squad when so many other miscreants could be
available. For that matter, why re-recruit Barrage (wasn't our mastermind
able to free Deathtrap? Arclight? Random members of Nuclear Waste? There must
have been somebody around better suited to the task).
One of the nicer bits revolves around the Revenge Squad kingpin, who turns out
to be Morgan Edge. Edge's motivations for this plan tie in with the Intergang
kafuffle happening in ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN--it's that kind of
inter-relatedness that works for the Superman Family Books. I also felt that
the Bibbo development really tied in with the character's sheer decency.
Luthor's brief scene, where he explains to the Contessa how he's been
manipulating the media to keep his own woes off the front page is pretty cool
(although I gotta wonder why the Contessa looks like Katie Couric this month).
Simone De Neige, however, just continues to take up space--somebody better
come up with a justification for her reappearance soon.
"Rematch" is yet another average issue of SMOS dragged down by one element, in
this case Janke's inking. Unfortunately, with GENESIS tie-ins next month and
The Trial of Luthor right after that, I doubt we'll get a respite anytime
soon. Oh well, at least we'll get pretty pictures in Immonen's ACTION, right?
Thomas Deja
<manciniman@rocketmail.com>
====================================
35. SUPERMAN #127 Sept 1997 $1.95 US/$2.75 CAN
"Deception!"
Writer: Dan Jurgens
Artists: Ron Frenz and Joe Rubinstein
Letterer: John Costanza
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Separations: Digital Chameleon
Asst. Editor: Maureen McTigue
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Cover: Ron Frenz, Joe Rubinstein, and Patrick Martin
RATINGS
Average: 3.0/5.0 Shields
DC: 3.1 Shields
DSv: 3.6 Shields (Story: 3.4, Art: 3.8) - It was good to see Superman turn
the tables on the Parasite. Morgan Edge's immodest self-promotion
seems out of place, considering how long Mr. "Staying Out of Harm's
Way" was locked up in prison.
DW: 1.5 Shields - Big Blue seems a little *too* eager to take revenge on the
Parasite, Jimmy is being an out-and-out creep, and the art's dull and
rushed--though I do like the Kirby-oid biker.
ES: 3.2 Shields - The Jimmy Olsen story is finally getting to its point.
Kudos to Joe Rubinstein for really embellishing Frenz and making me
warm up to him.
KM: 2.7 Shields - The Revenge Squad battle bored me. I was more interested
in Bibbo's problems and Jimmy's talk with Lois and Clark at the end.
SYNOPSIS
This issue continues Superman's battle with the revenge squad. We learn that
Morgan Edge has been behind the Squad and that he possesses technology from
Apokolips. Though Edge has planned to exploit Superman's new powers against
the Man Beyond Tomorrow, Superman turns the tables by sucking the juice out of
the Parasite. An explosion destroys the entire warehouse where Superman
believed the mastermind to be hiding -- all except for some planted evidence
that points a finger at Lex Luthor.
Meanwhile, Luthor and the Contessa muse on the identity of the mastermind
behind the Squad. Over at the Ace of Clubs, Bibbo gets in a fight with one of
the Forever People. Finally, as a lead-in to next week, Jimmy visits Lois and
Clark to get their opinion on his sharing a big secret; they encourage him to
go for it.
CRITIQUE
While this month's smashing cover hints at the action inside, it also bears
the same lack of excitement as the interior story.
Many comic books climax on a fight scene or start in the middle of a fight and
then back-fill to explain the reason for it; this story continues from the
middle of the previous battle in MAN OF STEEL #71. The change in style is
refreshing, but I found my memory of the previous week's comic lacking.
Luckily, it quickly becomes obvious that one need not recall--or even have
read--the first half of the battle to understand this comic.
Morgan Edge's connection to the Revenge Squad surprised me a little, though in
retrospect it was revealed--in the art, at least--last week. We also know from
last week that Edge's overall plan is to take over the new Intergang from Boss
Moxie, disposing of Luthor in the process. When Edge mentions his "remarkable
device from Apokolips," it calls to mind the connection that
Mannheim--original leader of Intergang--had with Apokolips. One can only
wonder at the true source of the technology this time. Edge reveals his
brilliant scheme to the reader in a forced soliloquy, showing that he had a
back-up plan in action from the start.
Even as Morgan Edge watches Superman fight the Squad, so too do Luthor and his
wife. Both groups comment on the battle as well as each other. Each
mastermind wonders about the other, bringing to mind the question of who
watches the watchers.
One special note on the battle scene was the textured rock--possibly computer
textured--that added a nice touch to some panels.
Sadly, Superman still has to explain his new powers to the reader all the
time. Examples include his ability to phase and to draw in kinetic energy;
further explanations take during the warehouse explosion. This is primarily a
side-effect of the non-obvious nature of these new powers, however, and I do
not place the blame on the writer. At least Jurgens handles the explanations
well with thought balloons.
Several actions by the combatants seemed out of character. Superman
intentionally directed a fuel tanker's explosion towards the villains, which
seems odd even if he knew that they wouldn't be hurt. Not long afterwards,
Superman siphons energy from the Parasite -- not stopping when he is restored
to "normal" but intentionally leaving him a withered husk. Finally, it seemed
strange for the Parasite to attack his teammate when the Doc was in charge,
but maybe this indicates that Rudy is exerting more control now even when he
is in the background.
The two pages set at the Ace of Clubs are good not only for reminding us of
the supporting cast but also for the pathos they deliver. In MOS, Bibbo gave
up his world title for reasons of good sportsmanship. Yango (a patron, a
Forever Person, and Bibbo's friend) respects only strength of fist and not
strength of heart. When his insults cause Bibbo to resort to using his fists,
Bibbo immediately regrets his rash actions and realizes what a mess he has
caused. The last panel with Bibbo speaks more through the art than through the
few words which the morose bartender utters.
As Superman approaches the warehouse hideout of the revenge squad, he mentions
the thunderclap he makes when he flies/bolts. It makes me wonder when a
citizen will comment about how the random lightning in Metropolis is becoming
as bad as in Fawcett City (where the Marvel Family lives).
The evidence which Edge planted at the explosion site points a finger
(specifically a thumb) at Luthor. It seems almost too fake, perhaps because
the pieces of equipmentare not drawn as though they'd just come through an
explosion. Superman's words and expression indicate mild skepticism, but
Maggie seems eager to accept the evidence at face value. Lois is the only one
smart enough to recognize that Luthor is "not usually so sloppy!"
I enjoyed the domestic scene with Lois and Clark. It serves to remind us that
they are living together as a married couple now, that they do have lives
outside their jobs, and that Clark is now effectively human when he's not
Superman. Clark's neglect of potholders is not only logical but also gives
Jimmy yet another reason to believe Clark is not Superman. On the other hand,
I found that the drawing of Lois makes her unrecognizable except through
association with Clark.
When Jimmy shows up to ask advice of his former associates, he shows some
regret for having made mistakes in the past. I had hoped that he would not
yield to temptation in this case but stick to his morals. Lois and Clark
should have mentioned Jimmy's disastrous interview with Prof. Hamilton about
Superman's new powers, but perhaps the writers ignored it for fear of ruining
the whole plot of Jimmy's expose on Superman's secret identity. Though Clark
did suggest that Jim hold back certain vital secrets, Mr. Action doesn't seem
to get the drift, and his downward glance reveals his mixed feelings even
before his departing smile.
In summary, I found SUPERMAN #127 to be entertaining but not exciting. With
few exceptions, the artwork was primarily mediocre. This issue does contain
adventure, plot, and emotion, but it seems to lack the depth I have come to
expect from Superman comics. Despite these negative-sounding comments,
however, I certainly found it to be entertaining and worthwhile to read.
David T. Chappell
<dtc@acpub.duke.edu>
====================================
36. THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #550 Sept 1997 $3.50 US/$4.95 CAN
"The Secret"
Writer: Karl Kesel
Penciller: Stuart Immonen
Inker: Jose Marzan, Jr.
Letterer: Albert T. De Guzman
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Separations: Digital Chameleon
Assoc. Editor: Mike McAvennie
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
"The Touch of Evil"
Words: Karl Kesel
Layouts: Tom Grummett
Finishes: Denis Rodier
Letters: Albert De Guzman
Colors: Glenn Whitmore
Separations: Digital Chameleon
Asst. Editor: Maureen McTigue
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Cover: Stuart Immonen, Jose Marzan, Jr., and Patrick Martin
RATINGS
Average 3.0/5.0 Shields
AW: 1.5 Shields Jimmy crashes, Guardian thrashes, this issue trash is.
Jimmy's comeuppance and revelation almost works, but doesn't. Not
much of an anniversary to celebrate.
DC: 3.7 Shields - Three good stories are highlighted by Jimmy finally
coming to his senses.
DSv: 4.5 Shields - Me gusta mucho! I was wondering where the Jimmy story
was headed. Luthor's manipulation of the airwaves was excellent.
He hasn't been this cold and calculating since back when Brainiac
was still wearing that lavender jumpsuit.
DW: 2.2 Shields - I'm really going to miss the Kesel/Immonen/Marzan team.
Again, why the heck does Clark give Jimmy such latitude? Docked a
notch for the boring backup.
GS: 2.8 Shields - The Guardian Solo Story was much more interesting than the
lead, with the exception of Clark using his brains to protect his
alter ego. Immonen's pencils in this issue were not up to his usual
standards, though page 2 was very well done.
It finally happens: Jimmy's crash and burn. The Superman line of titles has
been working up to it for a while, and the only question was, "exactly how low
*will* Jimmy Olsen sink?" Pretty low, it seems. For the centerpiece of this
anniversary issue is Jimmy's big special where he promises to reveal
Superman's deepest secret--his secret identity.
Jimmy wants to do this because it will give him the scoop of the century and
truly launch his career. Mr. Zeller, president of GBS, wants this because it
will give him a ratings victory and please his secret boss, Lex Luthor. And
Luthor wants it because it will take attention away from his trial.
By time of the show, Jimmy has decided that Superman's secret identity is one
of three possibilities: Clark Kent, Collin Thornton, publisher of Newstime
magazine, or Johnny Dakota, retired quarterback. His first guest is Clark
Kent, who reminisces about Superman and points out that "like the best
reporters, he [Superman] takes responsibility for his actions, and always
considers their consequences."
Finally Jimmy gets it, morally and materially. In front of the millions
watching, he reveals that Superman's identity is--nobody. He then weaves a
tale about the Fortress of Solitude that is supposed to be so preposterous
that--well, as a comic book "old-timer," it felt like they were rubbing salt
in some old wounds. It's like being reminded by your parents how silly you
were for believing in Santa Claus when they were the ones who made you believe
in the first place.
So Jimmy gets fired and humiliated and Luthor is ecstatic. We're treated, in
other words, to the great moral lesson that doing the right thing doesn't get
you ahead--it makes you a loser. Perhaps, though, I'm attaching to much
importance to what actually wasn't too bad of a plot twist--that no matter
what Jimmy did, Luthor won in the end. (Come to think of it, since Luthor
seems to win more than Superman these days, when is he going to get HIS own
comic?)
Finally, let's talk about one other point that bugged me--Jimmy still doesn't
fully get it. He says at the end that he narrowly avoided giving in to the
"dark side of GBS." Excuse me? GBS may have encouraged him, but it was his own
greed and ambition that set him up in the first place. GBS just gave him the
rope to hang his own opportunistic self. Strike one blow against personal
responsibility.
In the '60s (oh no! He's turning into the old codger again! Get out the
rocking chair!), they would've told a story much like this. I almost found
myself liking this story on that basis alone. But then I realized in the '60s,
Jimmy would've found some way to make things right, to turn his wrongheaded
goof into a victory. Maybe it's the more "mature" nature of comics today,
maybe it's the greater sophistication of the characters and story, maybe it's
a more cynical attitude that is usually shown in Superman's inability to
capture and finally defeat his enemies in 2 out of 3 battles. Maybe it's
because there is no Santa Claus. But once in a while, when I read a story
about a guy flying around in red and blue tights fighting for justice, I'd
like to believe.
I'm sure in the future, Jimmy will have the chance to really redeem himself
and make good. That's realistic; a bad reputation isn't healed overnight. As a
storyteller, I can understand what Kesel is doing, but that's many stories
away from now, and this comic is left weakened and less satisfying.
Immonen and Marzan turned in adequate artwork, but there was nothing there to
let them shine. Too often, Jimmy looked more like a maniacal Howdy Doody than
a real person.
I guess the bonus Guardian story is supposed to justify the $3.50 price tag.
Better luck next time.
The Guardian confronts Boss Moxie and discovers that Dabney Donovan, the
cloning man, is still alive. Guardian is captured by some tiny, gruesome
little creatures that would have done Jack Kirby proud, but escapes with the
possible help of Anomaly, who is constantly fighting with his "genetic evil
nature." At the end, Boss Moxie vows to get the truth out of Jimmy Olsen.
Definitely a wonderful ironic touch that the crude Boss Moxie sees what Luthor
does not (Luthor fully believes that Superman would not bother to have a
secret identity), but other than that, this story was just filler.
Grummett and Rodier's artwork worked for me better than the less-inspired
Immonen and Marzan work, but part of that is due to each team working with the
script they were given. One criticism I might make is that I would not
encourage Grummett to over-imitate Kirby--that's been the downfall of several
artists I have seen--but if he's going to do Kirby-like monsters, he needs to
really let go with them, be less restrained and let them leap right out of the
pages. While I'm not a big fan of the finished Jack Kirby artwork, I've always
admired his layouts.
Though AOS #550 finally comes close to finishing a plotline I never liked--the
corruption of Jimmy Olsen--it's a hollow anniversary issue that doesn't look
triumphantly back or promise great things for the future.
Anatole Wilson
<awilson@oracle.us.com>
====================================
37. ACTION COMICS #737 Sept 1997 $1.95 US/$2.75 CAN
"Burden of Proof"
Writer: Mark Waid (with thanks to Roger Stern)
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: 3.5/5.0 Shields
ST: 3.8 Shields - Despite some shortcomings, some excellent characterizations
of Luthor, Jimmy and Clark.
DW: 2.1 Shields - Interesting resolution to the trial-of-Luthor storyline--
too bad it's way beyond implausible. Docked several notches for the
Return of the Great White Sun-God. But raised a little for Waid's
sharp dialogue. "Wherever he is, dead or alive..." "Dead."
GS: 4.4 Shields - The best story that Action has seen in a long time. I like
the "new" Superman in that he relies more on his brains than on his
powers--something that is rare in Comic Books these days.
KM: 3.5 Shields - Waid's courtroom scenes were well-written and it was
interesting to see how Luthor beat the charges.
TD: 2.0 Shields - Oh, Mark, Mark--why did you submit such a crappy piece of
work? Stretching out the JO: Scrud storyline to a point where it's
unnecessary, all I can say is: LET IT END!!!
Synopsis:
With this issue, we say Howdy! to a visiting Mark Waid, who skillfully
interweaves the three plots running throughout this book.
Plot #1: Torcher, Roughhouse, Gunn and Noose come after Jimmy to find out who
Superman _really_ is; they think he's hiding something after his television
flop. He escapes by leaping out a window in his underwear, and runs to the
cops -- who find no evidence of foul play, and arrest Jimmy 'for his own
safety'. After releasing him, Jimmy escapes Intergang once again, and seeks
help from his friend Superman, AKA Collin Thornton. Both men are surprised
when Jimmy rips open Collin's shirt to reveal... nothing. Realizing, perhaps
for the first time, what a mess he's made of things, Jimmy borrows some cash
and a motorcycle from Bibbo and hightails it out of town.
Plot #2: Superman goes to rescue the inhabitant of a native village from an
erupting volcano, only to find that they are all scared of his new look -- due
to some coaching from Luthor's lackeys. Superman shows them all that he is
_not_ Watumba the vengeful Lightning God by changing back into the very human
Clark Kent -- the one thing Luthor couldn't have foreseen. Scheme foiled,
people saved, but Superman kept out of town during...
Plot #3: The Trial of Luthor -- and what a short trial it was. Drysdale
paints a picture of a hard-luck humanitarian who doesn't deserve such
treatment. He then shocks the court by claiming that it wasn't _this_ Luthor
who committed the crimes, but his clone! Everyone laughs... until Drysdale
calls the clone as a surprise witness. The clone confesses, the court's in an
uproar, and all charges against Luthor are dropped. As the court empties,
Luthor gloatingly fills Drysdale in on the truth -- the _whole_ truth. The
murders, the manipulation, the deals with the devil (literally!) -- all of
which shocks Drysdale who had, up until now, believed in the story he was
presenting.
Opinions:
The Jimmy who shows up in this issue bears a striking resemblance to the one
who appeared in Superman Annual #9: quick thinking, quick reflexes, good sense
of morals, and a knack for being in the right place at the right time. Small
wonder they call him Mr. Action if this is the way he acted while building his
reputation! It is unfortunate that this Jimmy bears little or no resemblance
to the one we've seen of late.
I'm pleased that they resolved the 'Collin Thornton is Superman' plot quickly
and in a logical manner; I'd hate to have Jimmy redeem himself, and yet still
be labouring under this misconception. Bibbo proves, once again, that he has
a heart of solid gold and more class and good sense than any three other
people. It was good to see Jimmy _really_ owning up to the trouble he has
caused; If it's true that you have to hit rock-bottom before you can start to
get better, let's hope that Jimmy is finally climbing instead of digging.
All I'm going to say about plot #2 is that this is the second issue in a row
now where being Electric Blue has been more of a hindrance than a help, and
I've thoroughly enjoyed it. Waid manages to make Clark's basic heroism shine
through With a _lot_ less preaching than last issue, and also proves that
Superman's greatest muscle is still his brain. The Lightning God conundrum
was even more satisfying than the coal-mine dilemma because we got a chance to
see the manipulations of Luthor again after far too long of an absence.
Regarding the Luthor trial: While I have no desire to sit through an O.J.
Simpson-esque year-long legal battle, I do feel that the readership was
shortchanged by the rapidity of this action. Here we had a chance to glimpse
the legal workings of a courtroom in a world where a man can fly, people can
change shape, cloning is a scientific possibility, and people can come back
from the dead -- albeit infrequently. I expected that the trial would go at
least as long as that of the Flash (Barry Allen) when he sat in judgment for
killing professor Zoom, and hopefully be as interesting. Instead, we see legal
shenanigans, courtroom antics, lawyers who make a mockery of the proceedings
and a judge who is so wise that he needs no time whatsoever to consider the
ramifications of everything he witnesses. On a moment's thought, the charges
are thrown out and Luthor is declared a free man.
I've seen more accurate depictions of jurisprudence on Married With Children.
As we did with Mr. Michelinie last issue, this issue we bid a fond farewell to
the artists Grummett and Rodier. Starting next issue, they move over to
ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, and ACTION becomes a Stuart Immonen production.
I'm going to miss this art team. I've grown to enjoy and respect Rodier's inks
over Grummett's pencils; I feel that they work well together. The lines are
never muddy, but rather are clear and crisp, bright and airy -- just as
Metropolis ought to be. It is fortunate for us that these two are only moving
to another Superman book, and not going away altogether.
I've never made a secret of the fact that I greatly enjoy Grummett's work; I
have praised his expressive faces, his backgrounds, and his layouts. I'll use
this send-off to praise one more thing; his people. Grummett is able to draw
people -- all sorts of people -- and do it well. Each of the people in
Grummett's world is an individual, and as in the real world, each has a unique
facial shape to physical form. They are anatomically correct, unlike those of
a Humberto Ramos or a Rob Liefeld, and yet Grummett doesn't slap you in the
face with it like Gil Kane does, making everyone look like a drawing from a
physiology textbook. One need only look at the three Luthors in this issue
(old/fat, healthy and courtroom clone) to see this; these three men are
obviously the same individual at different stages in his life, and yet it is
just as obvious that none of them could be mistaken for anyone else in the
book.
Final Thought: I don't know about the US courts, but in Canada when something
shocking and revelatory happens, charges are stayed -- not dropped. That means
that the person can be re-charged any time within one calendar year. Do they
have such a thing in the US? And if so, how many judges did Luthor bribe to
ensure that it didn't happen to him?
Shane Travis
<travis@sedsystems.ca>
-- 30 --
_____________________________________________
THE SUPERMAN TITLES (cont):
--------------------------
38. SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF TOMORROW #9 Fall 1997 $1.95 US/$2.75 CAN
"History Lesson"
Writer: Roger Stern
Artists: Paul Ryan and Brett Breeding
Letterer: John Costanza
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Separations: Digital Chameleon
Dumbfounded: Mike McAvennie
As confused as you are: Joey Cavalieri
Cover: Paul Ryan, Brett Breeding, and Patrick Martin
RATINGS
Average: 2.3/5.0 Shields
DR: 3.7 Shields (Story: 3.6, Art: 3.8)
DSv: 2.6 Shields (Story: 1.0, Art: 4.2) - Can't give the story much of a
rating 'cause there ain't one. It's a WONDERFUL recap for new
readers, though. Ryan and Breeding evoke past cover images with
every panel.
DW: 0.8 Shields - Not badly drawn--but condescending, dull, unimaginative,
and pointless. Wins the Roy Thomas commemorative Award for Worst
Expository Dialogue this month.
KM: 3.2 Shields - It was good to catch up on things I had forgotten in
Superman's history. It's an excellent comic to suggest to people
who haven't read the 'modern' Superman.
ST: 1.4 Shields - I could have bought this recap/conversation if there was
a third person involved who didn't know it all, but since Ma and Pa
both knew the whole story, why bother? Real people don't hold these
kinds of discussions, and comic-book people shouldn't either.
I was expecting to see "Perfect Jumping On Point For New Readers" on the
cover, because that's what this issue was. Showcasing almost everything which
has happened to Superman since 1986, we receive an issue of Superman which is
concerned more on the past than the present.
The story begins with Jonathan Kent dreaming of the events from Man Of Steel
(mini-series) #1, when Clark explains how he revealed his powers to the world,
and assisting him in the creation of his Superman identity. Waking up,
Jonathan begins a conversation with Martha about almost everything that's
happened in their son's life. Starting with the day the Kent's found him in a
crashed spaceship, ending with the introduction of Superman's new powers, and
covering everything in between, Ma and Pa Kent deliver a comprehensive history
of the Metropolis Marvel.
This issue is the defense of the Super-creators, the ones who are responsible
for Clark's latest transformation; it serves as a reminder that clothes do not
make the man, as we see the many problems and changes Superman has had over
the years. It works as both a look back at the life of Superman and an
understanding that he hasn't always been the way people think he has.
Paul Ryan, monthly artist on "The Flash" delivers a solid performance handling
the art chores. He is not overtly dynamic, nor does he have a stylized niche
that I can point out, but Ryan draws well proportioned and finely detailed
characters and backgrounds. His pencils mesh perfectly with Brett Breeding's
inks. In fact, his work looks much better in Man of Tomorrow than in the
Flash's monthly.
In drawing an issue primarily used as a 22 page flashback, Ryan even attempts
to emulate the style of the original artists from which the pictures come. One
can see bits of Bogdanove/Janke in Jonathan's heart attack, as well as
Jurgens/Breeding in Clark's death at the hands of Doomsday. The only thing
that didn't work too well was the colouring. The first couple of pages had
good colours, but as the book progressed, I found that there was too much
white used. In a few instances it did help the pictures stand out, but it was
usually distracting. Also, I'd like to see more coloring of individual
background items. Understandably, that would take a while, but it's a lot more
realistic than seeing all the buildings in a background as orange, or every
dish in a kitchen being green.
As far as the story goes, this really wasn't much of one. Existing mainly as a
primer to the character of Superman, the story evidenced a "he may look
different, but he's the same on the inside" moral. The dialogue was all in
character, though Ma and Pa Kent talked more "hick-ish" than I can ever recall
them doing so.
Roger Stern is quite a good scripter in my opinion, and he makes good use of
the conversation between the Kents. None of the reminiscing comes off as
forced, but instead seems to be a natural extension of where the discussion
was headed.
I only have one complaint. On the cover, a blurb states "The Secrets of
Superman's Costume!". In my humble opinion, that line was quite deceptive. I
didn't recall reading any secrets of the costume, though I could be missing
something.
Churning out another solid issue, Stern, Ryan, and Breeding give me another
reason why Man Of Tomorrow is one of my favorite books. Unfortunately, due to
Tangent Comics in October, the next issue of Man Of Tomorrow won't be out
until December. The teaser in the coming attraction box does have my curiosity
piqued, though....
Dan Radice
<dradice@caninet.com>
_____________________________________________
SUPER-FAMILY TITLES:
-------------------
STEEL #42 Sept 1997 $1.95 US/$2.75 CAN
"Trauma"
Writer: Priest
Penciller: Denys Cowan
Finishes: Tom Palmer
Letterer: Pat Brosseau
Colorist: John Kalisz
Asst. Editor: Maureen McTigue
Editor: Mike McAvennie
Cover: Cowan and Palmer
RATINGS
Average: 3.8/5.0 Shields
DSd: 4.4 Shields - This is a filler issue. But it's done the way a filler
should be done, and has a shocker at the end.
DW: 1.8 Shields - I continue to love Priest's dialogue and the Boris-and-
Natasha routine, but this issue loses major points for the string of
stupid factual errors in the opening sequence and the totally mangled
logic of the bit with Dr. Villain at the end.
JSm: 5.0 Shields - Everything worked this issue. Just the right balance of
Natasha, Steel, and the GSMC staff. And Boris's "revelation" at the
end seems too normal for a Priest story to be what we think it is.
JSy: 3.9 Shields - Still no complaints about this title. Powerful scenes
littered all over this issue, interspersed with wonderful comedic
moments. I *certainly* hope Priest has some particularly nasty
plans for the cops who assaulted John.
Story:
A plot synopsis would not do this issue justice. But here it is anyway: On
the way to the delivery room a pregnant woman crashes her car into a bridge.
Steel rescues her, but before he can deliver her to the hospital, She gives
birth and Steel is forced to help. He then meets Amanda. They are scheduled to
appear at a gala fund-raiser for the hospital but are late because of his
emergency. Amanda gets lost driving them to the fund-raiser.
Meanwhile, Paul (aka Boris) and Natasha walk to an ice cream store making
small talk. Natasha's father (Crash from a few issues ago) sees them through
the store window.
Meanwhile, John and Amanda get officially lost and decide that perhaps a touch
of casual romance would be the natural way to proceed, when their car is
stopped and they are rousted from the car and assaulted by two cops for no
apparent reason. (The cops are white so maybe their attack is racially
motivated.) When they learn that the black man is Steel and the black woman is
an MD, they back off and let them go.
Meanwhile, Villain is talking to Scorpio who is dressed as a wild animal:
"Well? How do I look?", "Skorpio -- when I said 'Put on your monkey suit', I
was talking about a Tuxedo." Skorpio leaves as we discover that he is a
physician and is needed in E.R.
Amanda and John arrive at the hospital to treat his wounds and end up helping
the emergency situation. Amanda discovers that Skorpio is on the staff at the
hospital, but doesn't tell John. John is given the job of delivering medicine
to a kid with HIV.
End of issue -- except for the shocking finale which I will let you read for
yourself.
This issue is composed of ten scenes which mesh together in a very coherent
fashion, all leading up to the denouement. Some are humorous, some are
serious, some are heroic. The final scene hits with more force than Steel's
hammer ever has. The dialogue is very crisp throughout and all characters
sound believable. From this description it doesn't sound like much, but I
enjoyed it at least as much as I have any issue from Priest/Cowan/Palmer, and
I'm not quite sure why.
As an example consider the following part of a scene: John and Amanda enter
the hospital to tend to John's head after the beating given him by the two
cops earlier. A punk thinks they are cutting in line in front of him and
yells at Amanda. She slugs him and -- Amanda: "The last thing I'm trying to
hear is your nonsense. Bet you don't even have Blue Cross". The punk's
friend pulls a gun and threatens Amanda and John to which John replies --
"Look -- we're sorry. Amanda's just taking out her bad night on your friend.
Which is what I'm about to do to you, unless you hand me that pistol."
"You--you're crazy -- you're -- wait you're that guy -- you're Superman."
"*Sigh* No, I'm not -- yes. Yes, I'm Superman. Your bullets will bounce off
me and I'll stare you to death with my heat vision." The punks run.
Art:
Cowan and Palmer's art is growing on me. I appreciate the things that they do
well and am becoming less bothered by the stuff I don't like. I continue to
enjoy the cinematic feeling of cutting from panel to panel, from character to
character, and from close-up to distance shot. I still think that Chaifetz is
a better colorist than Kalisz but I am not bothered by the transition as much
as I was in past issues.
The cover is a dark and somber one dominated by various shades of brown. It is
outside of an Emergency room and we see Steel with no protective mask, showing
his humanity, and a crowd of lifeless faces and bodies crying out for help.
The only splash page in this issue is the first page; the second and third
pages also share one large scene that takes up most of the page. This is
fitting in that the story is one about characters rather than one about
adventures and heroics -- unless you consider saving someone's life by
"ordinary" means to be heroic. The art on pages two and three is very
effective in telling of the rescue on the bridge; the five small panels
stretched across the bottom of the larger scene of the bridge where the
woman's car is trapped each move the scene inexorably toward its inevitable
conclusion.
The scene in which the two rogue cops confront Amanda and John is another
effective one. The panels shift between characters, and between medium shots
and close-ups. One panel shows a long shot of a cop holding a gun to Amanda's
head followed by another panel in which all you can see is John's bloody head
being stepped on by a cop's shoe.
Summary:
This is one of the best issues of this book to date. Nothing substantial
happens here (in the sense of super-villains that is), but several loose ends
are tied up. It appears that major personal issues are going to hit the fan
soon. This issue is one in which we learn more about the main characters:
John, Amanda, Nat, Paul, Villain, and Sam. If you're more interested in people
as super-heroes, I think you should give this book a serious look.
Dick Sidbury
<sidbury@cs.uofs.edu>
====================================
SUPERBOY #43 Sept 1997 $1.95 US/$2.75 CAN
"Caught!"
Writer: Barbara Kesel
Penciller: Sal Buscema
Inker: John Stanisci
Colors: Tom McCraw
Letters: Richard Starkings and Comicraft/AD
Asst. Editor: Maureen McTigue
Editor: Mike McAvennie
Cover: Christian Alamy
RATINGS
Average: 3.1/5.0 Shields
RG: 4.0 Shields (Story) - Good use of supporting cast, some fun stuff.
3.0 Shields (Art) - Good perspectives, needed background details.
DC: 3.3 Shields - Writer Barbara Kesel brought some of the fun back to
SUPERBOY, while the latest art team is a little better than some
have been.
ES: 3.2 Shields - Interesting story idea, although I'd still like to know
why this couple is running around Hawaii in ski outfits.
JSy: 2.4 Shields - I generally like Barbara Kesel's work, but one of her
strengths is playing with supporting characters -- see, for example,
the HAWK AND DOVE series of 1989-1991. Here she doesn't really get
to do that, and we are stuck with a fairly mindless fluff piece.
(Though the idea of photographers hunting *Batman* is phenomenal!)
ST: 3.1 Shields - Silly, but amusingly silly. In a world full of super-
heroes, you _have_ to believe there would be people like this. Nice
to see a light-hearted tone appearing in the book again after all
the death and angst of Meltdown and the Mo-o.
Superboy is the target of a couple of thrill seeking tourists who have a
rather unique hobby. I like the fact that there is no big fight in the issue.
It's a lot of fun, and more of why I started reading this book. I think my
favorite supporting cast member is Mack Harlin, the school's truant officer.
He does a creditable job of playing the bad guy and serves as a good focus for
Superboy's friends and the pranks that they get involved in. The main plot for
this book seems to revolve around the game that Superboy and Mack are playing
where Mack keeps trying to catch Superboy in the act of breaking his parole
(see Detention Comics #1 for details).
After the past couple of intense issues, this one was a breath of fresh air
and a chance to get caught up a bit with Superboy's life and his friends in
Hawaii. Being that this issue starts out immediately following the events of
last issue, we get to see how Superboy tries to get back to what passes for
normal. The issue concentrates more on Superboy's presence in the Hawaiian
community where he is based than we have seen of late. I hope we see more of
this.
Barbara Kesel tried hard to throw in a bit of miss-direction as the story
builds. We meet our non-villains early on, and the by-play between them leads
us to jump to the wrong conclusion. The fact that they are from Alaska, home
of the Agenda base where all the clone trouble started, helps.
The book is a collection of parallel plots that work together to keep a very
non-action based story enjoyable. We even get pulled in on some of the
activities that surround Superboy's public and private life. The past few
months have conspired to make us forget some of the elements that made this
title so enjoyable in the past. I actually enjoy reading it again.
The art in the book was above average (at least by comparison) but looked a
bit rushed. While the figures were well proportioned and detailed, the
backgrounds (where there were any) were sketchy at best. I usually like
Buscema's work but this wasn't his best work.
Overall this was a very enjoyable book, and I do hope to see more of our
mystery villains in other DCU titles. Their hobby could easily work into
fill-in books for other titles.
Rene Gobeyn
<bedlam@frontiernet.net>
====================================
SUPERBOY AND THE RAVERS #13 Sept 1997 $1.95 US/$2.75 CAN
"My Precious..."
Writers: Steve Mattsson and Karl Kesel
Penciller: Paul Pelletier
Inker: Dan Davis
Computer Colorist: Stuart Chaifetz
Letterer: Kevin Cunningham
Asst. Editor: Maureen McTigue
Editor: Mike McAvennie
Cover: Paul Pelletier and Dan Davis
RATINGS
Average: 3.7/5.0 Shields
JSy: 4.0 Shields - Revelation aside, this is a well-told and beautifully-
illustrated story. However, fans unfamiliar with the history of the
H-Dial may have a bit of trouble following the focal events of the
story.
DC: 3.4 Shields - A nice part of a continuing saga as the overall plot is
given less emphasis and the spotlight is mostly on the individuals
of the team.
ST: 3.8 Shields - As Jeff can attest, I twigged to Hero's sexual leanings
long ago, and while I'm not crazy about it, it has been handled very
well. Good to see Vicki Grant showing up again; I've always loved
the H-Dial and wondered what happened to the one-hour limit. Curious
to see what Aura and Superboy do _now_...
Before we get into the story, let's look at the issue itself. Due to the low
sales on this title, the book has been downgraded to standard format.
Unfortunately, it would appear that even this won't save the title, as word
has it that SUPERBOY AND THE RAVERS is scheduled for cancellation around issue
#20. I guess people aren't interested in reading about the less-famous
denizens of the DCU.
Anyway, to our story. If you'll recall, Ferronaut -- one of Hero's H-Dial
personas -- was severely injured in battle with the Red Shift last month.
Sparx has brought him to her home, where she hopes the Force family can heal
this man with whom she's fallen in love. Through the talents of a few more
family members, Hero is saved -- but he is ordered to remain Ferronaut until
he has sufficiently recovered.
Meanwhile, back at the now-destroyed Rave, Superboy watches as the Ravers
disband. Half-Life heads off with the Corpse Corps, who have offered to help
track down the aliens which killed his family. Kaliber returns to Qward,
leaving Superboy at a loss over what to do with Rex. Just then, a beautiful
young woman appears, learns that she has missed the Rave, and then teleports
away with Rex!
Recap interruption here -- the woman is illustrated and colored so that she
appears to be of the same race as Kindred Marx. As she teleports away, we can
see what appears to be a hand symbol resembling that of Marx. When she first
appears, she mentions that people call her Sunny. Conclusion? This *must* be
Marx's betrothed, Kindred Sol (get the Sunny thing now?). Regardless of
whether Marx has had ulterior motives behind his actions or not, I hope that
Kesel and Mattsson have a chance to reunite Marx and Sol.
Back to the story. Days later, Aura drops in on Superboy at his Hawaii
compound. She's apparently about to start cleaning up some things from her
past, but before either of them can do anything, they are teleported to
Starlag, the facility where Marx is being held. Aura impatiently breaks him
out at his request, only then to discover that getting out of Starlag might be
a bit more difficult.
Back on Earth, Hero has finally recovered enough to transform back into
himself, and he and Sparx go for a walk. Hero tries to start a serious
conversation, but he is attacked by someone -- someone who is familiar with
the H-Dial, and who has internalized the power of another H-Dial. They
battle, each changing identities quite a few times, and finally the woman is
defeated by forcing her to revert to her 'base form'. DC's sister Anastasia
(sent by Granny Iris, who seems to know things) takes the woman, Vicki Grant,
back to the Force compound. Hero and Sparx get serious finally, and Hero
reveals that he's not attracted to her because he's gay.
Folks, I've never hidden my beliefs from you in my editorials, and I'm not
going to start now. Many of you long-time KC readers can probably guess that
I'm not too thrilled with having Hero come out. However, as a reviewer, my
responsibility is to be as objective as possible, and so I will make every
effort to prevent my beliefs from slanting my reviews.
While this direction may not please me, I must admit that there's a
fascinating possibility here. We've clearly seen that Hero generally
*becomes* another person when he dials up a hero. That is, each hero has a
distinct personality. Each at least dominates, if not suppresses, Hero's
personality. This could lead to some interesting situations, as it's also
been clearly illustrated that most of these heroes are *not* homosexual. How
would Hero deal with someone opposite to his nature interacting with his
friends in his stead? There's also the possibility that Sparx's romantic
interest in hero could lead her to take advantage of this situation, perhaps
consciously, perhaps not.
As for the first 21 pages of this book :)
The splitting of the team was well-handled, including a nice scene with a
tearful Kaliber leaving Superboy and Rex behind. Having Kindred Sol pop up
was an interesting development, and one that I had honestly not expected to
happen this soon. As I mentioned above, I hope that Kesel and Mattsson have
enough time to tell this story to their satisfaction.
Perhaps most interesting of all were the few pages where Superboy and Aura met
in Hawaii. Aura has really grown a lot in the short year this book has been
around, and the fact that she's returning to face her problems proves it.
Perhaps the most telling moment is when Superboy gets excited about the
prospect of getting the Ravers back together, to form a "real team." Aura
agrees to the idea without hesitation, and she even brainstorms about setting
up a base. Contrast this with Aura just 6 issues ago, when she wanted no part
in the road trip to Metropolis.
The most time in the story is dedicated to the fight between Hero and Vicki
Grant. I'm sorry to say that I was mostly bored and generally confused. There
are references to stories from ADVENTURE COMICS and early issues of THE TEEN
TITANS, and I just wasn't into the world of comics at that point. I don't
have the background to really know what was going on. It *is* clear, however,
that this Vicki Grant has been really messed up by her dial, and her warnings
about the Dial stealing Hero's soul bore some weight. Even now, the vehemence
with which Hero refuses to hand over the dial seems to indicate that he's
already becoming dependent or attached to it. Yet another interesting
possibility to cram into the next 6 or 7 issues...
As always, my art knowledge is limited, so I'll keep this short. This was
perhaps the best Pelletier and Davis art we've seen yet, as it appeared that
they had plenty of time to get this one together. Everything was clean and
crisp, including lots of detail and vivid backgrounds. Stu Chaifetz has been
doing some wonderful colors in STEEL the past few years, so I was interested
to see what he'd do here. The coloring is good, but unfortunately the
standard format paper simply doesn't allow for the same vibrance that resulted
from printing on the slick paper. Then again, the new paper makes for an
overall softer feel for the art, which is perhaps one of the reasons it looked
so good this issue.
In summary, there are some big developments in this issue, and even if I
wasn't happy about all of them, they were quite well-done. (Take note,
Superman fans; it *is* possible to like the execution of a story, even when
you don't care for the plot choices.) I imagine it would be even more
well-received by those of you familiar with the history of the H-Dial.
Jeff Sykes
<sykes@ms.uky.edu>
====================================
SUPERGIRL #13 Sept 1997 $1.95 US/$2.75 CAN
"Incubus"
Guest Writer: Darren Vincenzo
Penciller: Leonard Kirk
Inker: Cam Smith
Letterer: Pat Prentice
Colorist: Gene D'Angelo
Separations: Digital Chameleon
Editor: Mike McAvennie (aided by Berganza and Greenberger)
Cover: Gary Frank, Cam Smith, and Patrick Martin
RATINGS
Average: 3.3/5.0 shields
TD: 3.5 Shields - Without Peter David's vaudevillian humor, Supergirl does
quite nicely in the horror realm, thank you very much.
DC: 3.2 Shields - A nice, stand-alone issue that features an emphasis on
the supporting cast and a no-fight conflict.
ES: 3.9 Shields - Leonard Kirk is going to shine on this book as penciller!
For a fill-in issue, Darren Vincenzo doesn't miss a beat and keeps
things status quo.
KM: 2.8 Shields - Nice fill-in issue, but ultimately I could have skipped
this issue. Reminded me of Nightmare on Elm St. in a bad way.
ST: 2.9 Shields - Nice introduction to the book-store owner, who I'm certain
we'll see again, and I like the pieces with Linda's mom, but the
'demon in the dream' sequences seemed predictable and flat.
If you all have been following my reviews of this title in the last couple of
months, you'll be aware of what I consider the book's major flaw: the fact
that Peter David is telling a story about redemption and damnation, but his
vaudeville sensibilities keep getting in the way.
Well, Darren Vincenzo doesn't have vaudeville sensibilities. As such, he
submits a satisfying little tale tying in with events of the last year while
focusing as much on Mrs. Danvers as on Linda.
Three peers of Linda appear at the Danvers household to talk to Mrs. Danvers.
It seems that all three have been experiencing nightmares where they are
visited by a being calling itself Daemon, whom the girls find, "attractive...
in a repulsive sort of way." As Mrs. Danvers counsels these kids, Linda
recognizes Daemon as a incubus let loose by Buzz during Linda's wild days.
Linda decides to shut the monster down herself and, after studying up on
incubi and succubi, finds a way to shut this monster down for good.
A simple story. But there's a lot of small touches that make it satisfying. I
thought Vincenzo's tying of the story in with the Buzz plotline was clever and
painless, and the story flowed effortlessly. Vincenzo also gets high marks
for taking what could've been a touchy subject (rape--even if it is
supernatural in context--is rape) and treating it with carefulness and tact.
Most importantly, Vincenzo creates a tone that is well-suited for the story;
even when humor enters into the scenario, it is not disruptive like David's,
and in some cases enhances the scene.
Leonard Kirk starts up his regular run with this issue, and I'm very happy.
He's meshing very well with Cam Smith's inks, and still produces a Linda who
is just as appealing (if not more so) than Supergirl. Granted, this is
basically a quiet story, and Leonard seems to be a quiet artist. I'll be
interested to see how Kirk handles his first big fight scene -- which should
be any day now.
"Incubus" is what a fill-in issue should be; a story that doesn't disrupt the
flow, doesn't devalue the characters, and makes for a good read so that the
regular team can rest.
Thomas Deja
<manciniman@rocketmail.com>
_____________________________________________
OTHER SUPERMAN TITLES:
---------------------
JLA #9 Sept 1997 $1.95 US/$2.75 CAN
"Elseworlds"
Writer: Grant Morrison
Penciller: Oscar Jimenez
Inkers: Chip Wallace and Hanibal Rodriguez
Colorist: Pat Garrahy
Separations: Heroic Age
Letterer: Ken Lopez
Assoc. Editor: Peter Tomasi
Editor: Dan Raspler
Cover: Howard Porter and John Dell
RATINGS
Average: 3.5/5.0 Shields
AW: 3.5 Shields - While there were many nice touches, the issue drops many
of the themes introduced last issue and fails to maintain the quality
of the first half of this story.
DC: 2.5 Shields - This rings too much like JLA books from the 70s than
the somewhat more mature and logical comics of today.
DSv: 4.8 Shields (Story: 4.9, Art: 4.6) - Morrison plays my emotions like B.B.
King on guitar. If you only read one title a month, make it this one.
JLA is beauty in comic form.
GS: 2.9 Shields - The artwork of Jimenez was quite good, especially Batman,
but the storyline wrapped up just a bit too easily. The conversations
between Batman and Clark were perfectly in character. Ominous ending.
KM: 3.7 Shields - Good to see Green Arrow struggle and eventually save the
day. I'd like to see more of Jimenez's art in JLA.
An issue of broken promises, that's what this is. While a mediocre JLA is
still better than most comics on a good day, I was disappointed that this
issue broke the promises made last time around.
Last issue we were promised a subtle, fun, almost nostalgic blending of Silver
Age and present age heroes. This issue gave us a quick dissolution of those
contrasts. Last issue promised imaginative dream sequences. This issue we see
a very brief Flash sequence and what feels like a very rushed resolution to
the other heroes' dreams. Last issue promised the excitement of watching Green
Arrow vanquish the overwhelming forces of the Key by skillfully adapting to
his father's trick arrows. This issue we see him be almost ineffective,
justifiably ignored by his foe.
Okay, let's step back a moment for all those latecomers in the crowd.
As you know, in JLA #8, the Key had captured all the members of the Justice
League and had them hooked up to some type of machine that was causing them to
have bizarre and violent dreams. The dreams cleverly melded some of the best
traditions of the Silver Age with the '90's versions of these heroes. We saw
Kal-El, Green Lantern of Krypton; Diana Prince, powerless but very hip
adventurer; and Batman Sr. racing to save Batman Jr. from an aged Joker.
The complication in the Key's plan was the arrival of the new Green Arrow, He
had come to try out for a spot on the team, but instead found himself trapped
in the headquarters battling a horde of killer Key robots, armed only with a
quiver of his father's old trick arrows. Boy, was I looking forward to JLA #9.
We start off this issue getting a very brief origin of the Key, then he tells
us his plan: he's infected the JLA with a "programmable psycho-virus" that
produces structured hallucinations. When the JLA inevitably realizes that they
are dreaming and wake up, the "psycho-energy" they release will give him the
power to enter "negative space" and become ruler of the galaxy or all-powerful
or something like that.
At this point, The Key has written off Green Arrow as inconsequential, and is
unaware that the Flash's viral program has malfunctioned. Green Arrow wastes
his whole quiver ineffectively on one robot, until the last boomerang arrow
takes it out. Meanwhile, the dreams of the other heroes quickly begin to meld
together in a series of "hunh, what am I doing here?" sequences (although some
time is well-spent as the old Batman confronts the Joker). They realize they
are dreaming, and Batman concludes they shouldn't wake up--but too late!
They've already awakened, and the Key's plan is working perfectly...
...Except that the Flash wakes up prematurely and sets up a distraction that
allows Green Arrow to knock out the Key with a boxing glove arrow. "It all
seems so...ridiculous," the Key says as he collapses into unconsciousness. I
have to agree with him.
First off, how did this evil plot fit in with the Key theme? Maybe their dream
energy was the "key" to negative space? Otherwise, why use the Key when any
generic villain would have sufficed?
I'm disappointed that the dreams weren't followed through more. It seems like
the themes being developed were all dropped in this issue for lack of space.
This is an example of a story that could have easily gone three issues and not
seemed boring. They could have spent an issue developing the dreams more while
spotlighting Green Arrow. I would have liked to see him quickly adapt to the
arrows, misfiring a few times, but then proving his worth as he adapts to the
new arrows and takes on a whole cadre of killer Key-bots. Instead, he saves
the day with what essentially are two lucky shots. And why have Flash escape
from his dream at all? What purpose did that serve, except to take some time
away from Green Arrow?
Now, there were some nice touches to this issue. First of all, the Key's
acceptance that "the JLA always wins," and his resolve therefore to make their
win his victory, was great.
Although inconsistent with last issue, if you look between some of the lines,
you see that even in a dream state Superman sees himself the protector of
society. Batman reveals some of his worst fears as the Joker brings Gotham
city down in flames, and threatens to kill another Robin. At the end, we see
these characterizations carried through even more, as Superman suggests that
the Key can be rehabilitated while the Batman plans defensive measures against
another such attack. I may be overly hopeful here, but maybe there's a
friendship developing between these two?
I'm not sure what to make of Wonder Woman's or Aquaman's fantasies-- they seem
to be aimed more at being interesting and fun than insightful. Aquaman has
always been an adventurer at heart, but the current incarnation of Wonder
Woman is a woman of peace at her core. I'd like to see Morrison play these two
off each other more, as he has hinted at in the past.
The sequence where Green Lantern emerges as "Weaponeer 500, sector-dictator
for the Qwardians," was particularly funny, as Batman says, "Nintendo has a
lot to answer for." And, yes, the simple boxing glove arrow taking out the
ultra-modern Key was also fittingly ironic.
Now, while I'm saying nice things, I shouldn't neglect the art team of
Jimenez, Wallace and Rodriguez. The artwork is stylish, dynamic, and
consistently detailed. Jimenez has a great eye for layouts, and the inkers
complement him wonderfully.
I also shouldn't forget the last two pages, in which we see the terrifyingly
evil Revenge Squad--mostly because I'm afraid they'd come after me if I did.
I don't know what interrupted the flow of this story from one issue to the
next. Perhaps it was the new editorial team--sometimes it takes a little while
for everyone to get used to each other. But I do trust them to iron out the
bugs and come up with some good stuff next issue.
Meanwhile, I just took another look at the Revenge Squad. Yikes! Until next
issue, I'll just be hiding under my bed....
Anatole Wilson
<awilson@oracle.us.com>
====================================
JLA #10 Sept 1997 $1.95 US/$2.75 CAN
Rock of Ages: Part 1 of 6
"Genesis and Revelations"
Story: Grant Morrison
Penciller: Howard Porter
Inker: John Dell
Colorist: Pat Garrahy
Separations: Heroic Age
Letterer: Ken Lopez
Assoc. Editor: Peter Tomasi
Editor: Dan Raspler
Cover: Porter and Dell
RATINGS
Average 3.8/5.0 Shields
AW: 4.0 Shields This issue shows the value of teamwork, in the story and
in the making of this comic. One of the best-coordinated team fight
sequences I've seen in a long time.
DSv: 3.8 Shields (Story: 3.7, Art: 3.8) - Mostly a set-up issue to this 6-part
"Rock of Ages" My main question is who's in the Injustice Gang?
Luthor, Circe, Joker, Dr. Polaris, Abrakadabra, and... two more...
hmmmmmmmmmm...
DW: 3.4 Shields - As straight-up, no-twists-added superhero stuff goes, this
is about as good as it gets. Too much fight-scene stuff here, but so
many great moments--Green Arrow as Zen archer, Luthor's corporate-
takeover move, J'onn trusting Aztek with the equipment...
ES: 4.8 Shields - Very creative slant on the Injustice Gang, esp. Luthor's
business angle. Morrison keeps throwing villains at our heroes that
make you say, "How ARE they going to win this time?" Porter & Dell
are finally getting the appreciation they deserve.
KM: 3.0 Shields - Confused me when Green Lantern says Wonder Woman is dead,
and Flash is injured. Huh? When did this happen?
What a day for the JLA! Wonder Woman is "dead" (as detailed in her own title),
the Flash is "injured," (this I know nothing about), there's a wave of cosmic
energy sweeping across the galaxy towards Earth, and meanwhile a group of
holographic JLA dopplegangers are laying waste to Star City--a prelude to a
"corporate takeover" by the newly revived Injustice Gang. It's an exciting
start to the JLA's newest six-issue "epic."
This issue begins as the evil JLA holograms launch an attack on Green Arrow's
hometown, Star City. The JLA counterattacks immediately, with J'onn J'onzz
acting as telepathic coordinator from JLA headquarters.
The battle is fast and furious as an understaffed but effective JLA displays
one of the best shows of teamwork I've ever seen in a comic book. One of the
best maneuvers is the "Green Team's" big finish--Green Arrow loses his quiver
of arrows and is about to be squashed by the J'onn J'onzz and Wonder Woman
look-alikes, so Green Lantern whips up a green energy arrow that GA quickly
shoots off, destroying the two energy constructs before they can get to him.
This battle is so efficient that Morrison has time to let the personalities of
the heroes and villains shine in the middle of the fight. Green Lantern is his
usual under-confident self (which he sometimes covers with shows of bravado);
Batman is cold and analytical; Green Arrow allows his training to compensate
for his lack of muscle; and Ocean Master is scared when he believes Aquaman
has detected his presence.
Afterwards, Green Lantern searches for a satellite that might have coordinated
the attack, but it is cloaked. We find out that inside the satellite are some
of the JLA's individual arch-nemeses: the Joker, Ocean Master, Dr. Light, and
a couple of unidentified others, all led by Lex Luthor. The holograms were
sent out, he reveals, to discover more about the JLA. Now, with that
information, they're ready to instigate a "corporate takeover."
I have to admit, this seemed like a hole to me. If these are the JLA's arch-
foes, whom they've been battling for many years, what more is there to learn?
Only Superman has new powers that might need more exploring, and heck--even he
doesn't know his limitations yet.
Another thing that caught me off guard was Luthor's hands-on leadership of the
group. Ever since his character was revamped into a Kingpin clone, he's been a
behind-the-scenes type leader, rarely doing his won dirty work. I really like
this, though--he regains some of the villainous vitality he used to have,
while retaining the CEO qualities that make him the poster boy for corporate
corruption.
Finally, in space, J'onn J'onzz encounters the Godwave, which promises even
more trouble for the JLA in the near future.
You may have noticed I haven't mentioned Aztek, the JLA's newest member.
That's because he does little other than monitor the course of events.
Unfortunately, the JLA SECRET FILES special has prematurely revealed that he
won't be with the team for long, so there's not really any reason to pay
attention to him in the future. And I thought he was going to take Booster
Gold's place as the most gaudily-garbed JLAer.
This is an issue dominated by some of the best teamwork I've seen in a
superhero team. Usually in team books, each hero runs to fight his or her
nemesis, only to work together when they trip over each other during the
battle. Some of the earliest issues of the JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA had as
their theme that the point wasn't to overwhelm their foes with brute force,
but to show how working together was innately stronger than working as
individuals. Their enemies can't do this by their very nature. The bad guys
are, after all, only out for their own gain and unable to trust each other for
very long.
It's good to have Porter and Dell back on the artwork. Their own excellent
teamwork helps make JLA consistently one of the top books in the mainstream
market. (This takes nothing away from Jimenez, Wallace and Rodriguez, whose
fill-in work in the past couple of issues was superb.)
Anatole Wilson
<awilson@oracle.us.com>
====================================
SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #11 Sept 1997 $1.75 US/$2.50 CAN
"The War Within"
Writer: Scott McCloud
Penciller: Rick Burchett
Inker: Terry Austin
Colorist: Marie Severin
Letterer: Lois Buhalis
Asst. Editor: Maureen McTigue
Editor: Mike McAvennie
Cover: Bret Blevins, Terry Austin, and Marie Severin
RATINGS
Average: 4.2/5.0 Shields
CoS: 4.5 Shields
DW: 2.9 Shields - Even with its leaps of cartoon-logic, this is the best
Superman series around right now... can't they talk McCloud into
taking over one of the triangle titles, too?
ES: 4.5 Shields - Consistently the best Superman title. There's nothing
like seeing characters slamming The Big S when he's seems to be
slacking, only to feel like heels when they learn why.
GS: 4.6 Shields - Very touching in a way, as Superman fights for Truth and
Justice as long as he can. This is definitely the best of the regular
Superman titles. I love the way the S-shield is prominently displayed
on nearly every page!
JSy: 4.7 Shields - I think McCloud started a little slow on this book, but
the past three or four issues have all been spectacular. This one
is no exception. Exceptional scene where Lois finally learns the
truth about Superman's condition.
An excellent story with a number of interesting themes wrapped up in art which
was well-done. Can I fit in any more superlatives? The only flaws are a cover
that gives away a little too much of the story and the fact that almost too
much happens in this issue. How long has it been since you said THAT about a
comic?
When ASTRO CITY hit the stands last year, it caused a huge splash among the
fans I know. We would often sat around a large pizza and discussed the
practicality of superpowers in the real world and what we would do if we had
them; Astro City's first issue touched on one of those questions. This issue
of Superman Adventures looks as this question as well, which doesn't surprise
me since Scott McCloud has long been a friend of Kurt Busiek, creator/writer
of Astro City. That question is this: how does Superman deal with the fact
that he can't be everywhere he's needed at once? Astro City, which has the
freedom to present things as short stories, made the assumption that the hero
would not really have a personal life, and would constantly run from crisis to
crisis. Any secret identity would only be used to find more crises. The people
who work on Superman don't have that luxury since the stories would not work
without Clark Kent and his supporting cast. That's why McCloud does something
totally different with the theme.
The story starts with a classic scene that we don't see enough in the Superman
comics (and not at all since he changed to Big Blue), Clark Kent opening his
shirt to reveal the big red S on his chest. Superman rescues people from a
collapsing building, and when he'd done, Lois Lane berates him for letting the
building get to the point of collapse when heshould have used his X-Ray
vision to know that it was unstable long before the disaster. She says that
he's not doing enough and should be more proactive. Superman counters that he
has faith in humanity and they need to be able to deal with the world without
super-heroes to fix things.
Lois doesn't let go of her idea and writes an editorial that continues her
argument. Meanwhile, on Superman's next rescue mission he saves workers from a
burning offshore oil platform. Once he has saved all of the people, he's
asked to also save the rig; he refuses, saying that his first priority was to
save people. This, and Lois's article, cause Superman's popularity to slide.
On meeting Lois at S.T.A.R. labs and hearing how her next editorial further
calls Superman's actions into question, Professor Hamilton reveals that
Superman cannot save everyone because he is dying. When exposed to a rock of
Kryptonite he was infected with a Kryptonian virus that is slowly draining his
power until it will kill him. He informs her that the only possible cure is a
mineral in an Eastern European war zone. Lois, shocked by the news, tells
Professor Hamilton that she is going along on the expedition.
Twenty days later, we see Superman stopping a typical Metropolis bank robbery
as we read Lois's diary. We read about how the team is having trouble, but if
Superman won't give up, they shouldn't either. Superman is so weakened that
the bank robbers are able to lay him low as Lois writes in her diary that the
people of Earth won't let him down. Want to know how it ends? So do I, but we
have to wait for next month, since it's To Be Continued.
Those who dismiss Superman Adventures as a kid's book are missing a real
treat; this issue touches on some of the most mature themes any Superman comic
has dealt with. There are a number of extremely well-written sequences,
including Perry White explaining people's tendency to tear down their heroes
every so often, Superman and Lois discussing how his powers should be used,
and all of the entries in Lois's diary. There is also a wonderful throw away
bit where the countries of the United Nations want to know why Superman
concentrates so much on the United States when there are other countries that
need his help as much if not more. I could see a good graphic novel dealing
with that in the main continuity, but here it's background in a single panel.
Any of these concepts on their own would be enough basis for a single story,
but McCloud manages to fit them in without making them seem out of place or
forced.
Burchett, as always, does a stellar job on the art. He captures Superman so
well that you know something is wrong with him just from his expression long
before the story spells it out. He is also able to make the "talking heads"
sequences of people talking just as interesting and readable as the scenes of
Superman fighting fires and saving lives.
Heavy questions are asked here, and while I am sure that we won't get all the
answers next issue, it's nice to see them asked in the context of a well-done
story. Once again, this is my favorite Superman book of the month.
Cory Strode
<c.strode@genie.com>
_____________________________________________
SPECIALS AND GUEST APPEARANCES:
------------------------------
THE SUPERMAN/MADMAN HULLABALOO! #2 July 1997 $2.95 US/$4.10 CAN
Dark Horse Comics/DC Comics
"Hot Dang! Yin Yang!"
Story & Art: Mike Allred
Color & Separations: Laura Allred
Lettering: Sean Konot
Cover: Mike Allred
RATINGS
Average: 3.8/5.0 Shields
DR: 4.0 Shields (Story: 3.8, Art: 4.0)
ES: 4.2 Shields - THIS IS A FUN READ! Allred's zippy storytelling makes
bringing the world's greatest and world's ginchiest super-heroes
together a nice fit. In the spirit of the Golden Age of comics.
JSy: 3.8 Shields - Not having to introduce characters, this issue does a
much better job of showing us what the heroes are about. Plus, the
collection scenes, after the heroes have been returned to normal,
are just hilarious--especially where the little girl beats up Madman.
KM: 3.8 Shields - Since I know nothing about Madman, the story was hard to
follow in places, but Allred's art is beautiful.
ST: 4.0 Shields - Enjoyed this issue even more than the first. Glad to see
that there _is_ an explanation for the crazy crossover other than
just happenstance. As for Mxy... I _thought_ I'd seen buildings
running around in the first issue!
TD: 3.0 Shields - Still not doing much for me, although I can see that our
boy Allred is gonna have some fun with Mxy.
For those who came in late...
Superman (in Metropolis) and Madman (in Snap City) are both in outer space
investigating a weird cosmic phenomenon in their respective dimensions. As if
by magic, the two suddenly cross dimensions and in the process, get a little
amalgamated. Superman's powers are dispersed among 8 people (including himself
and Madman), and now they struggle to survive in "a world that they never
made"...
The story picks up where last issue left off (go figure), with Super-Frank
about to get a good ol' butt-whuppin' at the hands of the lucky recipient of a
portion of Superman's powers. Thankfully, due to the timely intervention of
Superman's Wife, Lois Lane, and the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit (S.C.U.),
Frank evades the potentially painful situation. As soon as one problem is
dealt with, another arises -- this time in the form of a walking building...
Meanwhile, in Dr. Flem's underground lab in Buzztown, on the outskirts of Snap
City, Superman and Madman's group of friends, are hard at work trying to
repair the rocket which originally allowed Madman to travel into Superman's
world. Coming up with something that "almost sounds like a plan", the Snap
City-ans and the Man Of Steel begin the work necessary to return to
Metropolis.
In the aftermath of dealing with the walking building, Professor Hamilton has
deduced that: a) Superman has divided and merged with a life-form from another
dimension (Frank), and b) Superman's powers have fragmented and dispersed.
Hamilton deduces that magic is the cause what has transpired. Thankfully, due
to his amazing scientific resourcefulness, the Professor creates a device
which gathers and stores any energy that is unnatural to the object it is
attached to (i.e. the mooks who have some of Superman's powers). With that,
the game is afoot.
Dr. Flem's dimension bopping experiment is a success, and the two groups meet
up with each other. Recreating the experiment that caused the bodies to
"smoosh", Superman and Madman are restored to their original states. An
explicit search and rescue operation for Superman's powers ensue, and the duo
find themselves heading to Frank's dimension, where Professor Hamilton has
deduced the remaining fragments lie. Unfortunately, upon arriving in Snap
City, they are greeted by a very familiar, and very mischievous imp...
The pacing of this issue's story is not up to par with the previous one. Too
much time was spent with the two characters being stranded and a resolution
was achieved far too easily. Some of the time devoted to the fight in the
opening pages could have been better utilized for problem solving.
The dialogue in the story is well paced, and quite believable. Each character
comes off exactly as they do in their normal titles. The repartee is usually
amusing to read, and there was one profound conversation which Superman and
Madman began to delve into, unfortunately only lasting one page.
Allred is strong in the art department as well, though not as good as last
issue. My only major gripe is that Mr. Allred blackened-in too many sets of
eyes. I personally LIKE eyes that have pupils, but for some reason, most of
the sets of peepers depicted were devoid of any pupils whatsoever. The
character's faces remain consistent, and Allred pulls off some of the best
facial expressions I've ever seen in a comic.
I found that the book's best scene, artistically, was a fight scene. Not an
ordinary fight scene, but a fight between Madman and an 8-year old girl
(imbued with a portion of Superman's powers). Each punch and hit came across
quite fluidly. Madman's facial muscles seemed to move along with every swing
of the fist. This page made the book, for me at least.
A strong sophomoric issue by Allred & Company; one that, although not quite
reaching the level of its predecessor, gives us a taste of what was done and
what is to come.
Dan Radice
<dradice@caninet.com>
_____________________________________________
SPECIALS AND GUEST APPEARANCES (cont):
-------------------------------------
ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN ANNUAL #9 1997 $3.95 US/$5.50 CAN
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Separations: Digital Chameleon
Assoc. Editor: Mike McAvennie
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Painted Cover: Laurel Blechman
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
"Terror of the Sierra Madre"
Writer: John Rozum
Artist: Alcatena
Letterer: Phil Felix
RATINGS
Average: 2.7/5.0 Shields
TD: 3.7 Shields - Straightforward story, fantastic art that drips of decay.
Go team!
DW: 0.5 Shields - Rozum used to write _Xombi_, one of the freshest comics
in years, but you'd never know it from his contribution to this
incoherent, ugly mess.
JSy: 3.0 Shields - Nice art and a well-told story, but I'm a bit tired of
this "aliens that possess humans" genre.
ST: 3.6 Shields (Story: 2.8, Art, 4.2) - The Hitchcockian ending made this
story a good pulp representative, but only a so-so comic story. The
art, however, was a joy to behold.
When I'm not hanging out reviewing comics here at the Kryptonian Cybernet, I'm
a horror writer with several publishing credits to my name, so of course I
chose this tale to review from the three. It does everything a 'pulp' story
is suppose to: it entertains, it doesn't tax the brain, and it provides an
unintentional chuckle or two.
This is the standard 'Don't Disturb What Rests' tale. Clark goes to New Mexico
to cover a archeological dig. The leader of the dig, Frank Porter, has
discovered a weird item called 'Olla' or jar, and suspects that it is the
reason for the disappearance of several lost tribes. Clark detects a
mummified body inside. Is it any surprise that this mummy is not only able to
possess the other members of the crew, but is also responsible for the pack of
coyotes keeping guard outside the tomb?
This is cool, hokey stuff that keeps the words to the minimum. Rozum knows the
right notes to hit and doesn't disappoint. Rozum also uses Sparky the Wonder
Kryptonian's powers wisely; he sets up the resolution so that the energy
abilities are integral. The real reason for the high marks, though, is the
usage of DC horror/western vet Alcatena. This guy knows how to make decaying
flesh really fall off the bone, while the corpses and hollowed out victims are
nicely grotesque. On top of that, Alcatena comes up with a few visual
touches, like the way the coyotes degenerate into Azteca symbols as they close
in on the hapless band. It's great to see DC reaching into its past to
preserve the feel of these annuals, and seeing Alcatena in any capacity is
always welcome.
"Terror of the Sierra Madre" isn't going to change your opinion of Superman.
It doesn't illuminate the inner strength of the man; it just has fun with the
'Weird Western' genre. And it does that with a great deal of style.
Thomas Deja
<manciniman@rocketmail.com>
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
"The Return of Saganowahna"
Writer: Mike W. Barr
Penciller: Dale Eaglesham
Inker: Scott Koblish
Letterer: Albert De Guzman
RATINGS:
Average: 3.8/5.0 Shields
RG: 4.0 Shields (Story) - Well done a true pulp western story
4.5 Shields (Art) - Nicely detailed, excellent perspectives
JSy: 4.2 Shields - The plot here is a cross between standard Lone Ranger and
Scooby-Doo, but it really works. Interesting that only the little
girl knew who Superman was. The white hat and trenchcoat were
exceedingly cool additions to the wardrobe, I must say!
TD: 3.0 Shields - Perhaps my least favorite, but still a massive piece of
work. I like the way Barr really stuck to conventions here.
ST: 3.9 Shields - Crisp, clean artwork (Someone nab Eaglesham for regular
work!), a straightforward story where Superman actually _stops_
someone for a change, the revelation that even Electric Blue is
vulnerable to magic, and the coat! Gotta love the coat...
Told in the classic pulp western style, this story takes Superman out of his
usual city environs and moves the action to a small western town. It's a stock
western plot where the locals are being forced out by a greedy developer and
her magically powered enforcer. This was my favorite story of the three in the
book.
All the standard plot elements of a pulp western are here. The local paper is
threatened; a <pretty> widowed mother and her daughter are threatened by the
bad guys and are rescued by a tall handsome stranger who is just passing
through. The stranger gets involved. In a series of encounters the bad guys
eventually end up kidnapping the little girl and threatening her to force the
stranger to leave town. In a final battle the bad guys are defeated, the
little girl rescued, and the whole town will benefit from the bad guys scheme
(at least those that hadn't given up earlier).
Now throw Superman into the mix, and complicate the formula a bit by making
the bad guys have a living Indian legend on their side and you have the making
of a great story.
While the story itself is a fairly stock plot, the way it is handles is what
makes it interesting. We manage to learn a little new information on
Superman's new powers. (He still is vulnerable where magic is concerned).
Superman is even beaten the first time he encounters Saganowahna -- fairly
easily in fact. The little girl tries to play matchmaker, but Superman
valiantly manages to stay aloof, while still providing the strength and
comfort the mother needs when her daughter is kidnapped. All-in-all, a very
well done story.
The art is just short of awesome. The clean and well-detailed panels manage to
both capture the essence of the old western pulps and combine it with a modern
look of today's comic stories. The only thing I wasn't able to rationalize was
Superman wearing a white duster over his costume for most of the story. It
looked great, and gave the impression of an old west look, but somehow didn't
quite make it with Superman's look.
Rene Gobeyn
<bedlam@frontiernet.net>
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
"The Journey of the Horseman"
Writer: Paul Grist
Artist: Enrique Villagran
Letterer: Janice Chiang
RATINGS:
Average: 2.8/5.0 Shields
AW: 2.5 Shields Would have worked better as a morality play had Grist stuck
to one moral for the story. Villagran's art has a good Western feel
to it.
JSy: 2.5 Shields - Final revelation turns a sub-par story into an average one.
Artist sometimes did a poor job maintaining the horse look of the
alien visitor.
TD: 3.6 Shields - Interesting, somewhat spare story.
ST: 2.6 Shields - Got too hung up on motorcycle-riding aliens to really enjoy
the story. Would like to see that interstellar transportation system
come into play again though.
This morality play about a horseface-with-no-name gives us a cautionary tale
about greed, trashing the environment, and believing promises that are too
good to be true. It's a good effort, but the message gets lost as too much is
crammed into the story's 17 pages.
Jed, an interplanetary strip-miner, shoots his two partners and leaves them
for dead on a recently stripped planet. Then he heads to Earth.
The next scene switches to a jubilant celebration in Metropolis. The event?
The startup of the Millennium generator, which its creator, Larry Bolton,
promises will end the energy crisis by effectively harnessing the natural
power sources of air, sun, and sea, without harming the environment. Jimmy
Olsen, always the buffoon these days, is a true believer. Clark and Lois Kent
are a bit more skeptical.
Then a horsefaced alien shows up and disrupts the festivities. We're shown a
scene from the strip-mined planet, revealing that one of Jed's partners didn't
die after all, and we see in the background a machine that looks exactly like
the Millennium generator. Uh-oh.
Horseface almost reaches the generator, but is stopped by Superman. Horseface
tries to explain his mission to Superman, but is shot by one of Bolton's
security guards. This, for some reason, makes Superman suspicious of Bolton
and he immediately leaps to stop the generator from starting. He succeeds, but
is trashed by the effort. Bolton is about to shoot Superman, but is shot
instead by horseface. Horseface then picks up Bolton, who is revealed to be
the villainous Jed, and carries him off. The body is heavy, the trek is long,
we read at the end, but he ain't heavy, he's my brother.
Well, he's not as heavy as the messages Grist drops on us. There's the
environmental message. There's the "don't be taken in by false promises"
message. There's the classic "greedy partner betraying his friends the reaping
his just rewards" message. And then there's the brother-against-brother
message thrown in at the end. In constructing this story, Grist has forgotten
one of the most important elements of any morality play--one moral at a time.
Instead of presenting us with a two-dimensional "Western" (the theme of this
Annual), Grist creates a complex scenario that leaves some unanswered
questions -- the biggest of which is the holier-than-thou horseface. He
criticizes earthlings that fall for his brother's promises, and expends his
efforts to save us from ourselves, but wasn't he also an illegal strip-miner
with little regard for past worlds he destroyed? Wouldn't he have eagerly
taken part in the strip-mining of Earth if Jed hadn't shot him in the back?
On the subject of art, Villagran's art has an excellent Western feel to it.
Unfortunately, it places a spotlight on Superman, who seemed out of place in
this story and in the artwork.
Morality play (and traditional Western pulp) characters are usually all good
or evil. Horseface is an ambivalent character, motivated more by revenge than
any sense of justice. Horseface, like the story itself, is rendered overly
complex by trying to be too much.
Anatole Wilson
<awilson@us.oracle.com>
====================================
JLA SECRET FILES #1 Sept 1997 $4.95 US/$6.95 CAN
Asst. Editor: Frank Berrios
Editor: KC Carlson
Cover: Porter and Dell
RATINGS
Average: 3.3/5.0 Shields
DSv: 3.6 Shields (Story: 4.1, Art: 3.0) - The main story lagged somewhat,
and the back-up wasn't long enough. I enjoyed the inserts detailing
all of the JLA members, but those Martian Manhunter stories could've
been cut to extend the back-up tale.
DW: 2.4 Shields - The starfish-shaped aliens are a nice reference to old
continuity. The Superman short is awfully stupid, though, and the
Martian Manhunter story doesn't tell us anything three panels with
Morrison in JLA #10 doesn't.
ES: 4.3 Shields - I expected filler material, but I was wrong. Anyone that
can make Starro more of a viable threat is aces in my eyes. The re-
initiation story was fun as well, esp. Batman's comment at the end.
Why are the regular and enhanced versions are the same price though?
KM: 3.5 Shields - My only complaint would be the price. The issue was not
worth $6.95 (CDN). Batman's "Of course he's in. He's Superman." was
classic.
TD: 3.8 Shields - Okay stuff, all around. Loved the new 'briefing' pages
and the J'onn J'onzz solo.
First off, let me just say that this is the first time in a _long_ while that
I didn't check the cover price on a book until after I bought it. Didn't even
care. The new Justice League book is so fulfilling that anything with the JLA
shield is an automatic purchase.
"Secret Origin"
Writers: Grant Morrison and Mark Millar
Penciller: Howard Porter
Inker: John Dell
Letters: Ken Lopez
Colors: John Kalisz
This main story, a self-proclaimed secret origin to the new League, features
all seven 'original' Leaguers; Kyle, Wally, Diana, Bruce, Arthur, J'onn, and
Clark (sans bolts). An unidentified flying object has materialized inside a
Blue Valley high-rise, and the Flash speeds in to investigate. Before you can
say "Tina McGee," one of the UFO's probes has attached itself to Wally's head
and taken control of his body. Wizened comic book fans will note that the
starfish-like probes bear a striking resemblance to Starro, a long-time League
foe. Aboard the defunct JLA satellite, the man in the familiar red cape has
called Batman, Aquaman, the Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern
together to figure out a way to deal with the hundreds of innocent people who
have been taken over in the same manner as the Flash.
A surprise guest appearance by the Spectre shocks even the most powerful
heroes on Earth. The Spectre forbids them to interfere with the Blue Valley
situation, showing them a possible future in which Starro has commandeered the
bodies of all seven Leaguers and used them to conquer the planet. Batman
realizes that his super-powerless body would be the least useful for Starro to
capture, and sets forth to Blue Valley to deal with the problem. Superman,
however, is unwilling to let Batman march off to what he views as a suicide
mission. The Leaguers heroically allows the Spectre to remove their
super-human abilities so Starro can't end up using their powers for evil. The
now- powerless six trudge off to rescue Flash.
The plan breaks down when Starro/Flash casually knocks the five ex-metahumans
cold; only Batman manages to escape a light-speed whuppin'. The Dark Knight
keeps Starro off-balance long enough to help Wally fight off the probe's
mental hold, and in a streak of crimson, the UFO is destroyed. The Spectre
returns everyone's superpowers, and as he exits, utters the memorable lines:
"The future was my only concern. It shall be safe in the hands of the Justice
League." Take my $4.95, DC. You deserve it.
"Lost Pages"
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Don Hillsman
Letters: Albert De Guzman
Colors: Tom McCraw
The other Superman back-up story could fit snugly in between JLA #4 and JLA
#5, retelling the lost tale of the day the new Justice League met the even
newer Superman. Superman humbly tells the other core members that he should
have to pass trials to get in the League, since his lack of experience with
altered abilities make his presence in the League questionable. In a sequence
that really should have gone on about 20 more pages, Green Lantern, Wonder
Woman, Flash, and Aquaman test Superman's speed, strength, and stamina.
Predictably enough, they decide the greatest hero on Earth can stick around
for a while. The best moment in the brief story (which, did I mention, is WAY
too brief) comes when J'onn calls an absent Batman to ask his opinion on
whether or not Superman should retain his membership. Batman's blunt reply:
"Of COURSE he's in. He's SUPERMAN." Well said. Material or immaterial,
Caucasian or blue, long hair or short, this is still the Man of Steel.
I really enjoy the way Superman has been portrayed in the new Justice League
book, and this "Secret Files" installment is no exception. In both the
back-up story and the ongoing JLA title, Superman's new powers have been
consistently portrayed -- even more so than in Superman's own books. Grant
Morrison allows Superman's nobility and compassion to shine; note how it is
Superman who first stands up and sacrifices his superpowers to help the people
who have been captured by Starro. Superman's suggestion that his new powers
make him less qualified to be in the League highlight both his modesty and
what is possibly his most tragic flaw--his inability to perceive himself as
the inspiration he truly is. This flaw, by the way, exhibits itself to a
great extent in "Kingdom Come." Ah, but that's another review altogether....
Dan Silverstein
<dsilvers@scf-fs.usc.edu>
====================================
THE KENTS #2 (of 12) Sept 1997 $2.50 US/$3.50 CAN
"Bleeding Kansas, Part 2"
Writer: John Ostrander
Penciller: Tim Truman
Inks: Michael Bair
Letters: Oakley/N.J.Q.
Colors: Carla Feeny
Separations: Digital Chameleon
Editor and Head Wrangler: Peter Tomasi
Cover: Timothy Truman
RATINGS
Average: 4.4/5.0 Shields
RG: 4.0 Shields (Story) - Excellent blend of real history with the DCU.
4.5 Shields (Art) - Good use of color and shading, well detailed.
JSy: 4.5 Shields - Second issues are almost always a let down after a great
first issue. But this one really isn't any worse at all. Beautiful
realistic art by Truman and Bair, and Ostrander proves that fact (or
fiction based in fact) can be just as interesting as pure fiction.
The Clark/Lois/Jonathan sequences are almost distracting, though.
TD: 4.5 Shields - This is shaping up to be a great reading experience.
If you haven't bought it, do so now.
Summary:
The trouble between the pro and anti slave factions is heating up with Jeb
and Nate caught up in the middle of things. Ostrander's use of documented
historical events is excellent. The friction between Jeb and Nate is being
well used to underline the growing tensions between the states. This issue
introduces Wild Bill Hickok, with some interesting commentary by Lois.
Rene Gobeyn
<bedlam@frontiernet.net>
_____________________________________________
THE PHANTOM ZONE: Reviews of the pre-Crisis Man of Steel
------------------------------------------------------------------
TALES OF EARTH-ONE
--------------------------------------
by Bob Hughes (rhughes3@ix.netcom.com)
"That Old Class of Superboy's!"
SUPERMAN #46, May-June 1947
In January 1945, a new character burst thru the Comic firmament -- Superboy!
Rocketing to earth from the planet Krypton, he landed in a suburb of
Metropolis in MORE FUN COMICS #101, stayed there for four or five issues, and
then moved to ADVENTURE for a 20+ year run. Created by Don Cameron and Joe
Shuster under the watchful eye of editor Jack Schiff, the "Adventures of
Superman when he was a boy" soon became a popular feature, which was unusual
because super-heroes were rapidly losing ground to other kinds of comics at
this time.
Despite Superboy's success, it was a year and a half before his existence
was acknowledged in the parent strip. In ACTION #1, and every retelling
thereafter, Superman had been depicted as not beginning his career until he
was an adult. It seemed awkward to try to reconcile the two strips with each
other. Better to leave them separate. Still, with the same writers and
artists depicting both characters, it was only a matter of time before a story
hook came up that would link them together. That story was "That Old Class of
Superboy's" in SUPERMAN #47, in May-June 1947.
Just because Superboy had finally been mentioned in a Superman story, however,
did not mean that the conflict between the two series was over. Seven issues
later, in SUPERMAN #53, his origin was retold with nary a mention of a
Superboy career. Superman story lines would ricochet back and forth for the
next decade between acknowledging, ignoring, or denying the existence of a
Superboy. Much later, these contradictions would be explained as the
adventures of two parallel Supermen, the Superman of Earth-2, who was never
Superboy, but a member of the Justice Society, and the Superman of Earth-1,
who did start out as Superboy and later became a member of the Justice League.
The two versions of the character met for the first time in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF
AMERICA #73-74 in 1969. The last regular series appearance of the Earth-2
version of the character, according to E. Nelson Bridwell, was SUPERMAN #128,
April 1959, "Superman versus the Futuremen."
So for twelve years, the history of the two Supermen is intermixed, a puzzle
that belongs to the fans, since the publishers, having blown up both Earths in
the infamous Crisis, no longer care.
That first Earth-1 Superman story featured a Superboy who was not quite the
character Silver Age readers came to know and, perhaps, love a decade later.
For one thing, he attended Metropolis, not Smallville, High School.
Smallville wasn't created until 1949. Jonathan and Martha Kent, who do not
appear in this story, were not named until the early fifties. Superboy
stories of this time period generally featured Superboy interacting with kids
his own age, usually about 12, and solving childhood problems. Few adults
were in evidence.
The easiest way to hook those kind of adventures into the present was to
feature a group of kids who had grown up, but still faced the same problems
Superboy (Man) thought he had solved years ago. At the cornerstone laying of
a new building at Metropolis University, Clark Kent recognizes an old chum,
Pudge Smythe. They reminisce about the time Superboy saved him from a falling
tree. The incident sets Clark to checking up on some of his other old high
school classmates, including Flip King, who wanted to be an acrobat. Clark is
astonished to find he's now an accountant. After once again discussing
rescues past, Superman arranges a surprise try-out for Flip with the Flying
Quintette, a set-up for some spectacular Superman acrobatics and a good deed
done for the day. He then follows up on Diz Dowling, a would-be architect now
working construction. Superboy once built a castle for their club from Diz's
blueprints. Looking at the plans for the new university building that Diz
hadn't the nerve to submit, Superman decides to replicate that feat by
building it overnight. "But what if they don't like it?" Diz protests. "Then
we'll tear it down!" That Superman! He has an answer for everything.
Classmate Peggy Watson is found in tears because Diz Dowling never proposed to
her. Clark arranges to reintroduce them, but Superman ends up saving the two
of them from drowning, just as he had done back in high school days. Lois
makes a last-panel appearance at Diz and Peggy's wedding. "I wish Superman
were here to help me realize my life's ambition!" pines Lois. "If it includes
me, Lois, we don't need Superman!" leers Clark. "Don't be silly!" Lois
sneers. "Superman is my ambition!"
This type of story was much more typical of the forties and fifties Superman
than of later Marvel-influenced years. No villain is necessary. No evil
needs to be thwarted. Superman just needs a good deed to be done and a chance
to show off his spectacular powers. Those powers can be used constructively,
in building a new building for the college; frivolously, in putting on a
display of acrobatics; or just saving people from their own folly, as when he
yanks Diz and Polly out of the swimming pool.
John Sikela, one of the first Shuster ghosts and one of the main Superboy
artists up until the sixties, was ideally suited to this sort of story. His
Superman, stretched out across the sky as if grabbing for his destination with
his leading hand, seemed to exude earnestness, in contrast to Wayne Boring's
later version who seemed to be casually strolling thru the air, brooding about
something -- the destruction of Krypton, I suppose. Sikela worked closely
with Shuster in his early years and took over the Superboy strip after the
first couple of Shuster stories. He absorbed Shuster's round-headed kid
design and seemed to enjoy the lighter tone of the Superboy stories. Even in
1960, his Superboy appeared to be substantially younger than Curt Swan's.
Don Cameron was a master of writing many kinds of stories, and could easily
switch from a mass-murdering Luthor tale, to a comedy about the Toyman or
Wilbur Wolfingham. Superboy was a piece of cake to him. It's a shame he was
one of many writers who couldn't stand working with overpowering editor Mort
Weisinger and soon left his employ, but not before laying the groundwork for a
new Superman.
This Superman, later to be known as the Superman of Earth-One, was much more
mature than his Earth-Two predecessor. Having been a hero since childhood, he
was much less impressed by the villainy of Luthor, Toyman, or Prankster.
These kinds of characters didn't faze him. In his new maturity, he would
devote more and more of his time to battling natural disasters and setting
people's lives into order. Clark too would mature. No more pining after
Lois. His entire life would be devoted to being Superman, with Clark being
only a disguise habitually worn since childhood.
Such was the future awaiting the new Superman who appeared in this story for
the first time.
_____________________________________________
SUPER FRIENDS
---------------------------------
by Joe Crowe (j.crowe4@genie.com)
DC COMICS PRESENTS #14
Superman vs. Superboy
"Judge, Jury...and No Justice!"
Oct. 1979
Writer: Paul Levitz
Artists Extraordinaire: Dick Dillin and Dick Giordano
3.75 Shields
How can Superman fight himself? This was not the first time, and I'm sure
it won't be the last. Superman's alter egos are so starkly contrasted and
well-defined that they are practically different people. You would never
want to see Batman team up with Bruce Wayne, or Spider-Man meet Peter Parker
(insert your own clone reference here). Superman has met Clark Kent, and he
and Superboy have crossed paths as well.
I see a FAQ in this. Anybody up for "When has Superman met himself?" Drop me
a line. We'll discuss.
The banner over the first page header read, simply, "The Impossible."
That never stopped DC back in the mostly continuity- and consequence-free
environment of pre-Crisis. Many readers remember The (long-standing and
inviolate) Rule that two people cannot physically coexist in the same place,
at the same time. If that happens, then one of them will be a phantom that no
one can see or hear. I believe this rule went into effect when Superman was
first able to time travel back to see Krypton before it blew up.
This story was great because it took The Rule, had the audacity to AMEND it,
and then broke its own amendment! Through all the stories in all the years
I've been reading, nobody ever, ever did that. I gave this story an extra
point for chutzpah.
Superboy here is, indeed, Superman when he was a boy, straight out of the past
into the present. He's not a robot or a parallel Earth version. Truth in
advertising, for a change. If you bought the book, as I did, wondering how in
the heck Superman could meet himself 15 years younger, then the question was
not dodged.
More added points: not one, but two surprise twists! DCP was a relatively
straightforward book. But here's the explanation I've been dangling for the
entire review till now. Superboy attacks Superman, captures him, and then
reveals that while it is Superboy's body, it's not his mind! It's the mind
of...
PETE ROSS, Superboy's best friend from Smallville who, unknown to Superboy,
knew he was Clark Kent and covered for him. This earned Pete an honorary
Legion membership. In a previous DCP issue, the full-grown Pete asked
Superman to rescue his son from alien kidnappers. Superman tried, but the
Phantom Stranger let him know that the kid's destiny was to one day lead those
aliens to save Earth from bad guys. This did not sit well with Pete, whose
elevator suddenly no longer went to the top.
Pete reveals that he is a "rich man, rich enough to have contacts on both
sides of the law." Using some bad-guy gizmos, he snatches Superboy out of
time and swaps minds with him. He kidnaps Superman's supporting cast and
terrorizes Superman with Kryptonite. Back in Smallville,
Superboy-in-Pete's-body escapes, breaks into Ma and Pa's house, but finds his
old downstairs hideaway cleaned out, except for a whistle.
Which he uses, ladies and gentleman, to call Superman's best friend, KRYPTO!
Wooo-hoo! Krypto puts a dog whoopin' on Pete-in-Superboy's-body. Krypto left
years ago to romp through space, to just be a dog. But he came when he was
called, just like every good doggie. Everything gets put right, except for
Pete's psychosis. Superman says, "I'll find a cure for him--somehow!" A
blowoff line for the issue. I don't know if he ever did. Much like catching
Mr. Terrific's murderer over in JLA, but don't get me started.
The unexpected twist of Superman's old buddy going nuts was interesting, but
the surprise appearance of Krypto was quite the hit with me. The fun elements
of the Superboy stories certainly gained an adult twist. For once, the
villain was not a one-shot throwaway, but a 20-plus year cast member! As a
villain, Pete had a compelling motivation -- after all he did for Superman,
the big guy couldn't help him out with this one thing. Of course, there was a
good reason, but Pete didn't care. He would never see his son again.
Superman doesn't lose his resolve, even in betrayal. Superboy either, more
surprisingly. As Pete and Clark grew up, they grew apart. Superboy is much
closer to Pete, but has an easy enough time accepting it and taking care of
business -- even to the point of not worrying about Ma and Pa Kent's deaths.
In every trip to the future, Superboy was not allowed to find out. In an
issue of BRAVE AND THE BOLD that I reviewed awhile back, Superboy finds out
and is devastated. But this time, Superboy runs to his Ma and Pa's house,
breaks down the boarded-up door, walks through the empty house, down into his
abandoned hideaway underneath, without even thinking about it! This is the
only time I have seen that.
Dick Dillin and Dick Giordano are called "artists extraordinaire" in the
credits. That's a direct quote, and deservedly so. Dick Dillin's death in
the middle of his long JLA tenure was a shock to my young life. He should
rank right up there with the all-timers. I'm not sure where Dick Giordano is
now, but I'd love to see him draw again. He was John Byrne and Terry Austin
all in one guy. [FYI, Giordano recently pencilled the 1997 FLASH ANNUAL,
which should still be on the stands. --Jeff]
Back to The Rule. Paul Levitz amends it to say that two minds cannot coexist.
Okay, that's fine. But then we see Superboy-in-Pete's-body a few miles away.
There's a physical distance factor in the space-time continuum? So Superboy
could have joined the Justice League, as long as he stayed out of the TV room
when Superman was there?
Then all the players are in the same room at the end. There's Superboy's body
and his mind, not together, but it was just established that they couldn't
coexist, and there they are! Coexisting!
But I liked it fine anyhow. Comics are great, aren't they?
_____________________________________________
SNEAK PEEKS: THE KRYPTONIAN CYBERNET'S PRE-REVIEWS
--------------------------------------------------
A few months ago, I promised a new feature that I was quite excited about.
It's taken a bit longer to get running than I had originally thought, but now
we're off and running!
The Superman group at DC Comics recently gained a new Assistant Editor in Ms.
Maureen McTigue. Her name began appearing in titles released in July. Ms.
McTigue has gone out of her way to provide the Kryptonian Cybernet with
advance "preview" copies of several of the titles within the Superman group,
and we're going to take advantage of her generosity by providing you with a
sneak peek at some of the titles scheduled for the near future!
So what can you expect from this new feature? Well, first of all, don't
expect *any* kind of spoilers or advance information which might reveal plot
points. The most you will see in the way of spoilers is the brief synopsis of
each issue we preview, and these synopses are lifted straight from PREVIEWS.
Second, by the time this feature reaches full tilt, I hope to provide two or
three opinions on each title previewed. We'll let you know what we thought
was good, what we thought was bad, and whether or not we think the book is
worth its price. All without actually telling you what happens!
Finally, there are a few different things were trying to do with this feature.
Given how expensive some items have become these days, we'd like to take a
look at these high-price specials (example: SUPERMAN ADVENTURES ANNUAL #1,
previewed this month) and help you decide if they're worth your hard-earned
money. Second, we'd also like to spotlight other, more reasonably-priced
specials, miniseries, and new series (example: LEGENDS OF THE DC UNIVERSE #1,
previewed either next month or in October's issue). Trying something new is
always a risky proposition, so any opinions you can receive before hitting the
store are generally useful.
Should we not have enough of these in a given month, we will then turn to the
existing monthly titles, but we will first look at titles which are generally
not selling as well. Also, because of the continuity format of the Superman
books, we'll rarely preview one of the core titles -- such will have to be
*extremely* stand-alone -- and then only as a last resort.
Now, the first couple of months here will consist of some more established
contributors, but we're looking for an entirely new team to write these
"pre-reviews." If you think you can write a spoiler-free review based on a
black and white photocopy, look through this month's Pre-Reviews and see if
joining this team is something you might be interested in. One restriction:
since I'll be redistributing the preview copies by mail, I'm going to have to
request that our Pre-Reviewers be located in the continental United States or
be willing to reimburse me for their postage. If you're interested in
participating, drop me a line at sykes@ms.uky.edu as *soon* as possible.
Well, my rambling completed, let's get on with the show!
Jeff Sykes
====================================
SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #13
Written by Scott McCloud
Art by Rick Burchett and Terry Austin
Cover by Bret Blevins and Terry Austin
In stores September 3, 1997
$1.75
Synopsis (from PREVIEWS):
Superman's involvement in a charity baseball game goes pretty much down
the tubes when alien races from all over the galaxy land right down in
the Metropolis Giants' stadium. What do they want? Considering all the
punches getting thrown, who cares? It's a slam-bang slobberknocker, with
the Man of Steel right in the middle of it all!
David T. Chappell's Pre-Review:
The story was fun and mildly entertaining, but too cute for my taste. I
liked the presentation of the story, as the action kept moving at a good
pace, and two minor characters play major roles, but I disliked the
overall plot itself. The setting was rather contrived, there was no
depth, and the story seemed to be all flash with no substance. Although
I do not consider it to be a mature story, the inclusion of accurate
science was quite refreshing.
The art meets the usual standards for the "Adventures" series of DC
Comics. It is somewhat cartoonish yet sophisticated. The panels are
generally a little large for my taste, but I think that is acceptable for
a book aimed at kids. The battle scenes do an especially good job of
conveying the action and keeping it more exciting and involving than a
simple slugfest.
Thus, although I found the preview to be fun, the plot keeps me from
generally recommending that readers spend money to buy this issue.
Nonetheless, I recognize that some readers enjoy this sort of plot and
would find it to be right up their alley.
Jeff Sykes' Pre-Review:
Scott McCloud hits a "Grand Slam" in his final at bat, weaving a fun
tale of galactic proportions. With a playful, "nudge-wink"
characterization, McCloud once again excels at portraying this lighter,
not-so-grim Superman revived for the animated series. He also continues
to develop the supporting cast, adding depth to characters not well-
defined by the series.
The only real drawback to this issue, other than the fact that it's
McCloud's last, is that the narration is provided in a play-by-play
format, given by two baseball announcers placed in an alien situation
(pun intended). As a result, it might help the reader to be familiar
with some of the sport's jargon. However, this narration serves at
worst as a minor distraction, and the main characters' dialogue is both
engaging and entertaining.
If this isn't enough to sell you on the book, there's an amusing
reference to one of Superman's more annoying foes/comrades, and a
surprise final-page guest appearance. And you'll never guess who saves
the day! This one's definitely worth the price of admission.
====================================
SUPERMAN #129
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Paul Ryan and Josef Rubinstein
Cover by Dan Jurgens and Josef Rubinstein
In stores September 10, 1997
$1.95
Synopsis (from PREVIEWS):
Scorn and Ashbury Armstrong get a chance to relax, surreptitiously
sheltered by Superman, but even the Man Beyond Tomorrow might not be
enough to save them from a surprise villain! This issue's got
everything!
Rene Gobeyn's Pre-Review:
This isn't really a Superman story. Instead it's a story of one of the
newest members of Superman's supporting cast, Ashbury Armstrong, and her
view of the world. Sound a bit dull? Well, when Ceritak is your friend,
and Dirk Armstrong is your father, your life isn't likely to be dull.
This book may well end up on my list for best Superman story of the year.
It tells a story of alienation and the lengths to which someone will go
to try to fit in. I'm afraid that humanity, and our hero, doesn't
exactly shine in this story. Who is alienated, and trying to fit in? I
think the answer may surprise you. It wasn't what I expected.
For me one of the great things about the Superman titles is the wide and
varied supporting cast. It ranges from upper crust to a washed-up prize
fighter. Now we even have the conflict of the battle of the generations
in the conflict between Ash and her father. While I admit that we don't
always see as much of other characters as I would like, it's always a
treat when one of them takes center stage, changing our point of view
away from Superman's heroics, and back into how he affects the lives
around him. While there are enough heroics, and a short Super-hero
fight sequence, these take a back seat to Ash's story.
Seeing Superman from the sidelines, and not always in the most generous
light, was refreshing. In the concentration on his new powers and
costume, the stories of late have drifted even further from the
characters that populate his titles. I hope that this story may be the
start of a more Metropolis-centric view of Superman. I find that the
stories get more interesting when Superman doesn't always monopolize the
book. Please don't take this wrong. I love the Superman character, but
the stories that center just around him and his fight of the week have
gotten old.
As to the art in the book, they are going to have to really work to mess
this one up. The black and white copy that I read really brought home
the details in the art that coloring somewhat masks. While there isn't
quite as much background detail (it really shows without the coloring) as
I like to see, there is enough that there is clear definition between
foreground and background figures. The establishing shots and
perspectives were excellent, and some of the nicest that I've seen of
late. It will be very interesting to see how the coloring effects the
finished product.
Jeff Sykes' Pre-Review:
Superman is at best a minor player in this issue, as Dan Jurgens turns
the spotlight on the Superman titles' newest supporting character,
Ashbury Armstrong. Oddly enough, Jurgens does so in order to once again
delve into what appears to be one of his favorite topics, Superman's role
in society. And this approach works nicely. As it turns out, we can
sometimes learn more about the Man of Steel from how others see him and
his actions.
In addition to raising thought-provoking questions about Superman, the
story also serves to further develop Ashbury -- her thoughts, her
ambitions, her relationship with her father, and her friendship with
Scorn are all touched upon in this issue. There's a fascinating
character underway here, and I hope that she doesn't go the way of so
many other female characters that have graced the pages of Superman
comics in recent years (Lucy Lane, Lori Lemaris, Lana Lang, Martha Kent,
and Alice White have been virtually non-existent of late).
In the third act, one of Superman's most formidable foes makes a surprise
appearance, but not at all in the manner to which you might have grown
accustomed. It's within this twist that the questions Jurgens has raised
suddenly become more complicated, yet interesting. If you've at all been
impressed with Jurgens' past "issue" stories, then you'll want to check
this one out.
====================================
SUPERMAN ADVENTURES ANNUAL #1
Written by Hilary J. Bader
Art by Joe Staton and Dan Davis
Cover by Joe Staton and Terry Austin
In stores September 17, 1997
64 pgs, $3.95
Synopsis (from PREVIEWS):
Superman is haunted by a voice from his past, one which harkens back
to the days when a young Clark Kent trained with the magician known as
Zatara. It was also the first time he encountered the demon called
Akamin, who, in the present day, has returned, ready to conquer our
dimension. It's an adventure so big that it even features cameos from
Doctor Fate, Zatanna, and a young Bruce Wayne!
Jeff Sykes' Pre-Review:
With three different "Adventures" titles featuring annuals this year, it
is only logical to expect to DC to tie them together, thematically,
somehow. They do this by turning to DC's magical realm -- Zatara the
magician, his daughter Zatanna, and Dr. Fate, figure prominently in the
three books. However, the three titles stand (at least mostly) alone,
not requiring reading all three to understand the story in just one.
(Though you might be interested in the ADVENTURES IN THE DC UNIVERSE
ANNUAL for its Superboy and Thorn stories.)
As a whole, I enjoyed this story, but there were a few problems which
detracted from its effectiveness. First, let's just say that the
"Adventures" art style just doesn't work well for the demons that Clark
encounters. The monthly SUPERMAN ADVENTURES has a lighter tone and
bright colors, and I can't imagine even the finished product matching
that feel. As well, there are several battle scenes in the book, some
of which are just downright confusing -- these primarily have to do with
Dr. Fate's appearances in the tale, in which he is apparently running
around with a young Mister Miracle. In fact, I'd be surprised if these
scenes don't tie-in directly with the Mister Miracle story in the
ADVENTURES IN THE DC UNIVERSE ANNUAL. Then there are some layout
problems. Joe Staton performs adequately as penciller, but he doesn't
have the same feel for the style as regular penciller Rick Burchett.
His action scenes are often flat, but perhaps they will improve with
color added.
The good slightly outweighed the bad, though. Just as is prevalent on
the animated series and in SUPERMAN ADVENTURES, the writers excel at the
playful dialogue between Lois and Superman. Doing so in this tale, they
target Lois' habit of getting herself into trouble and being rescued by
Superman at the last minute. However, this is no bumbling Lois, as the
daring reporter once again shows her resourcefulness, confidence, and wit.
There are also the brief cameos by Zatanna, Mister Miracle, and a young
Bruce Wayne (though you probably wouldn't know it was him unless you knew
it in advance), and an almost sickeningly adorable scene with Superman's
"watchdog" in the Fortress of Solitude. But most importantly, it's not a
violent solution that saves the day. The one thing that has made this
incarnation of Superman so attractive to me is the fact that the stories
are generally resolved not by beating the villains into a daze, but by
outsmarting them in the end.
While I enjoyed the story, I must caution you -- there are enough
problems to make the hefty price tag questionable. If you are looking
at this annual as an opportunity to sample the series for the first
time, let me instead suggest that you spend $3.50 to buy issues #11 and
#12 (from July and August). You'll get a much better story at a lower
price.
_____________________________________________
***********************************************************
End of Section 8/Issue #41
