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The Kryptonian Cybernet Issue 56
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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 #56 - Early December 1998
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CONTENTS
--------
Section 1: Superscripts: Notes from the Editor(s)
Best Laid Plans...
Ratings At A Glance
Titles Shipped October 1998
The KC Newsroom
More changes ahead for the Superman comics, another delay
for the Superman videogame, a second wave of 80-Page Giants,
and a BIG meeting with the Fantastic Four
And Who Disguised As...
Peace on Earth and a Piece of Crap
By J.D. Rummel
Superman: The Animated Series
"Knight Time"
Superman, the Dark Knight? Review by Scott Devarney
Section 2: 1998 Superman Comics Index
Part I: Triangle Titles, Superman Family Titles, Team
Titles, and Superman Adventures
Section 3: 1998 Superman Comics Index
Part II: Limited Series, Specials, and Guest Appearances
1998 Kaycees Nominations
The Mailbag
Section 4: New Comic Reviews
The Triangle Titles
Action Comics #749, by Shane Travis
Superman: The Man of Steel #84, by Mike Smith
Superman #140, by Thomas Deja
Section 5: New Comic Reviews
The Triangle Titles (cont)
Adventures of Superman #563, by Dan Radice
Super-Family Titles
Superboy #57, by Rene' Gobeyn
Supergirl #27, by Thomas Deja
Superman Adventures #26, by Cory Strode
Section 6: New Comic Reviews
Team Titles
JLA #24, by Anatole Wilson
Young Justice #3, by Gary Robinson
Miniseries
Superman for all Seasons #4, by Douglas Wolk
Superman: The Dark Side #3, by Rene' Gobeyn
Section 7: New Comic Reviews
Miniseries (cont)
Superman: The Doomsday Wars #1, by Gary Robinson
Superman: Silver Banshee #1, by Josh Elder
Specials
Elseworld's Finest: Supergirl and Batgirl, by Thomas Deja
Superman 3-D #1, by Mike Smith
Section 8: New Comic Reviews
Specials (cont)
Superman: War of the Worlds, by Jeff Sykes
The Phantom Zone
When Supermen Meet
Lou Mougin recounts the earliest meetings of the
Earth-One and Earth-Two Supermen
Superman #171
Scott Devarney looks at another classic Silver Age
comic, featuring three tales of the Man of Steel
Section 9: The Phantom Zone
Tales of Earth-One
Episode 7 - How They Got Their Jobs
Bob Hughes' latest article turns to some of the most
unbelievable coincidences in Superman comics...
Section 10: After-Byrne
Superman Stories
Sean Hogan explores the tales which developed the
current relationship between Superman and Batman
STAFF:
------
Jeffery D. Sykes, Publisher and Co-Editor-in-Chief
Shane Travis, Co-Editor-in-Chief and Executive Editor of Comic Reviews
Neil Ottenstein, Executive Editor of STAS Reviews
LEGAL DISCLAIMERS:
-----------------
Superman and all related characters, locations, and events are copyright
and trademark DC Comics. Use of the aforementioned is not intended to
challenge said ownership. We strongly suggest that each reader look to the
media sources mentioned within for further information.
All original material published in The Kryptonian Cybernet, including but
not limited to reviews, articles, and editorials, are copyright 1998 by The
Kryptonian Cybernet and the respective authors. Reprinting in any format
is expressly forbidden without the permission of The Kryptonian Cybernet
and the contributing author.
Opinions presented within this issue belong to the authors of the articles
which contain them. They should in no way be construed as those of any
other particular member of the editorial or contributing staff, unless
otherwise indicated.
This magazine can be distributed, in whole, freely via e-mail. Should you
desire to share this publication with other on-line services, please
contact me at sykes@ms.uky.edu for permission. Feel free to advertise
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THE KRYPTONIAN CYBERNET is available by e-mail -- to subscribe, send the
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Back issues are available via ftp at oasis.novia.net. These archives can
also be reached via the Kryptonian Cybernet Homepage:
http://www.ms.uky.edu/~sykes/kc
___________________________________________
SUPERSCRIPTS: Notes from the Editor(s)
------------------------------------------
By Jeff Sykes (sykes@ms.uky.edu)
BEST LAID PLANS...
Welcome, friends, to this belated issue. I'd like to say that this will be
an isolated incident, but the odds are against it. My free time has
recently become rather diminished due to having entered the final stages of
my dissertation as well as having begun the mad job search for a position
to begin next fall. This crush is not likely to ease up until after I
*finally* earn my Ph.D. in May.
I'm not the only one who's feeling the time-crunch either. Shane's
still-rather-new son is time-consuming enough, but on top of that he's been
working overtime in preparation for an extended business trip to Singapore
in January and early February -- a trip which will make him unable to do
much, if anything, for KC in those months.
So for the immediate future, working on KC will be a matter of squeezing in
a few hours whenever we can. This will almost certainly result in a more
erratic publication schedule, though issues should still arrive on a
roughly monthly basis. Just don't be surprised if we have to redate another
issue.
Subscription refunds will be available to those who can't live with this :)
Before I turn you loose on the new issue, a couple of comments. Shane and I
decided that delaying the second part of our response to _Wizard_ would be
preferable to delaying this issue any further, so it will appear in our
next issue. Also, in hopes of not dragging out the Kaycees results until
spring, I'd be thrilled if someone would step up and help us tally the
ballots beginning in January. Takers?
Well, then. Get to reading, and we'll see you again next issue!
___________________________________________
RATINGS AT A GLANCE: Titles shipped October 1998
-----------------------------------------------------
Prepared by Shane Travis (travis@sedsystems.ca)
A month full of specials -- nine 'regular' Superman and Superman-related
titles, and seven specials of one sort of another. (Although, truth to
tell, one of those is a hold-over from last month when things were just a
bit too busy to give it the proper attention.) Most of these were received
quite well, as they were of high quality. Unfortunately, the same cannot
be said for either the quality or the reception of Ron Marz' month-long
sideline sojourn into Kandor....
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 (6Mth)
Title Issue Rating Rank Rating Rank Rating Rank
----- ----- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
S. For All Seasons 4 4.4(8) - 4.2(9) - 4.38(4) -
S: The Dark Side 3 4.1(6) - 3.9(6) - 4.00(3) -
S: War/Worlds 1 4.0(6) - -- - -- -
Superboy 57 3.6(8) 1 3.6(6) 2 3.45 2
SG/BG Elseworld 1 3.4(3) - -- - -- -
JLA 24 3.2(10) 2(T) 3.0(8) 3 3.43 3
Supergirl 27 3.2(6) 2(T) 3.9(5) 1 3.62 1
S: Doomsday Wars 1 3.1(7) - -- - -- -
S: Silver Banshee 1 3.1(5) - -- - -- -
Young Justice 3 3.1(7) 4 2.8(7) 4 3.33(3) 4
Action Comics 749 2.6(11) 5 3.2(10) 5* 2.72 8
Man of Steel 84 2.6(9) 6 3.0(7) 7* 3.21 5
Superman Adv. 26 2.5(6) 7 3.6(6) && 3.12 6
Adv. of Superman 563 2.4(9) 8 2.6(7) 6 3.03 7
Superman 140 2.1(9) 9 2.3(10) 8 2.60 9
Superman 3-D 1 1.9(5) - -- - -- -
* _Action_ #748 and _Man of Steel_ #83 have the relative rankings given to
those books in the month that they were published (Sep 1998), despite that
their ratings deserve higher ranks when compared against books the most
recent titles of other books (Oct 1998).
&& No relative ranking is given for #25 of _Superman Adventures_ as it
appeared during the _DC One Million_ month-long event.
"Back where he belongs..."
SUPERMAN FOR ALL SEASONS #4 (4.4 Shields, 4.38 shields series average)
- This beautifully painted mini-series told a simple tale of Clark's
beginnings and his road to becoming the superhero he s today, but it did
it with style, panache, and a love not often seen in the regular triangle
titles. Never dipping below 4.2 Shields in its ratings, this was one of
the best-received (and best-done) Superman stories DC has published in a
long, long time.
"Just stick to two dimensions, okay?"
SUPERMAN 3-D #1 (1.9 Shields, dead last)
- In the worst showing for a one-shot special since the truly awful
_Man of Steel Annual_ #6, DC took a story that only peripherally involved
Superman and added state-of-the-art 3D effects to it, proving once again
that just because you *can* do something doesn't mean you *should*.
"That's one in a row, anyway..."
SUPERMAN ADVENTURES (2.5 Shields, -1.1 Shields, 7th place)
- In the only book to challenge the Triangle Titles supremacy at the
bottom of the ratings, Mark Millar follows up a strong anniversary issue
with a so-so tale about Mxyzptlk. Even the 5th-dimensional imp couldn't
weave enough magic to save this one from mediocrity.
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.
___________________________________________
THE KC NEWSROOM
-------------------
THE OVERHAUL CONTINUES
We're beginning to need a scorecard for all the comings and goings on the
Superman titles of late. As a recap, Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove have
both left _Superman: The Man of Steel_, and their replacements, Mark
Schultz and Doug Mahnke, take over with January's issue #87. Karl Kesel is
stepping down from _Adventures of Superman_, and Jerry Ordway was set to
take over that title. Ron Frenz ended his pencilling duties on _Superman_,
with Steve Epting to take up that role in February's issue #143. Finally,
as we announced last month, Joey Cavalieri is leaving his position as group
editor, to be replaced by Eddie Berganza.
And now, round 5...
Despite the fact that Jerry Ordway had agreed to take over _Adventures of
Superman_ from Karl Kesel, new Superman editor Eddie Berganza recently told
Ordway that his services would no longer be required. Ordway was given the
opportunity to write the title until around issue #571, when Berganza
officially takes over, but Ordway decided to leave after dialoguing Kesel's
final plot. Kesel and Ordway's final issue is #567, tentatively scheduled
to arrive in stores in March 1999.
After more than ten years of writing and/or pencilling Superman comics, Dan
Jurgens has decided to leave his position as writer of _Superman_. Jurgens
will not be abandoning the character completely, however, as he turns his
attention to some Superman special projects such as _Doomsday Wars_ and the
upcoming Superman/Fantastic Four crossover. Jurgens tells Newsarama
(http://www.mania.com/newsarama/index.html), "I feel fortunate to have
worked on a character I've loved for so long and would like to think
Superman and I both benefited during my tenure. I also look forward to
telling my own stories once more, without the weight of the 'chapter
approach' that became more prevalent over the years."
Replacements for Ordway and Jurgens have not yet been announced.
SUPERMAN VIDEOGAME DELAYED
Fastest Game News Online (http://www.fgnonline.com) is reporting that the
Titus Software video game based upon the Superman animated series has been
further delayed, despite the previously announced November release and the
recent marketing blitz. Release is now scheduled for February 1999. Store
pre-orders for the game have already exceeded one million units, but Titus
prefers to release quality products rather than quantity.
BITS AND BYTES
* The Superman robots are coming...
* 1998's series of 80-Page Giants were so successful that DC's going for
a second round next year. Look for _Young Justice 80-Page Giant_ #1 in
March and _Superman 80-Page Giant_ #2 in April. Also due in April is _DC
One Million 80-Page Giant_ #1, helmed by Grant Morrison and including a
Superman/Batman story by Mike Wieringo. A few other as-yet-unscheduled
specials include _Elseworlds 80-Page Giant_ #1, _JLA 80-Page Giant_ #2,
and _JLA Showcase 80-Page Giant_ #1. Currently, at least twelve Giants
are scheduled for 1999.
* Dave Taylor is the artist for the 10-issue _Batman & Superman: World's
Finest_ maxi-series written by Karl Kesel.
* Newsarama (http://www.mania.com/newsarama/index.html) and _Wizard_
have turned up some more information on the Superman/Fantastic Four
team-up this spring. _Superman and the Fantastic Four: The Infinite
Destruction_, written and pencilled by Dan Jurgens with inks by Art
Thibert, is scheduled to arrive in stores in March 1999. And this is
apparently a *big* deal, as the book will be a 64-page, treasury-sized
volume (10" x 13", the same size as the recent _Superman: Peace on
Earth_).
___________________________________________
AND WHO DISGUISED AS...
---------------------------------------------------------
A Column of Opinion by J.D. Rummel (rummel@creighton.edu)
Peace on Earth and a Piece of Crap
By the time you read this, if you are any kind of Superman fan, you will
have purchased or at least read _Peace on Earth_, the outsize special by
Paul Dini and Alex Ross. Both of these talented men have put together a
wonderful book.
The story is good, not genius, but a solid super-narrative. Rather than the
overblown, common-as-dirt super opponents of the weekly installments, we
are given a Superman in our world. The story of a mighty being who attempts
to address the serious issue of world hunger. Dini obviously took the
well-intentioned failure, _Superman IV: the Quest for Peace_ and thought
long and hard about it. He dropped the bad parts (95% of the film) and took
the intelligent idea at its heart and explored it. This may be a luxury
that comic book writers have over screenwriters. Comic book writers don't
have the pressure of multiple agencies pressing them to produce a monster
hit. In _Quest_, Superman sets out to change the world by removing all
nuclear weapons. In _Peace on Earth_ he tackles the problem of world
hunger. In both works Superman runs head long into his own limitations. In
each, he learns there are things that even he cannot do. Also, Dini uses
the nice approach of having Superman impart the details in the first
person, with no word balloons to mar the art.
The art. Oh baby! That Alex Ross is good. Like Neal Adams so many years
before, he brings a realism to funny book images. Each panel just a few
lines short of being a photograph. His Superman and Clark Kent conger fond
memories of George Reeves and moments in other media where Superman would
spring to life for just a few seconds and for an instant we could really
believe. The artwork makes you want to point to filmmakers and say "This!
Do this!" That is his triumph, he makes it look so easy, the rendering of a
Superman.
I can't imagine you need me to tell you to go get _Peace on Earth_. But
please, spread the word. This is good stuff.
On the other end of the spectrum is a bit of marketing flotsam called
_Superman 3D_. I will be honest with you. I haven't been able to finish
reading it. The first few pages left me very interested in other things.
The art, while obviously colored and treated on certain pages to be
conducive to the 3D process, is fit more for Archie comics. It is the
visual equivalent of the Brady Bunch singing. The 3D seems to work, but my
goggles were hard to assemble (not too complex, just too cheap to be done
easily); in fact that's charitable. My *#$%! goggle lenses wouldn't
separate from the cardboard, so I have white paper cataracts obscuring my
vision. I can't see any reason to have produced this book other than to
make money. Yeah, I know this is the comic business, but this thing smells
badly of greed and gimmick. All parties associated with bringing this to
the public should be forced to try to produce something worthwhile at
gunpoint.
Away!
And Who Disguised As... is copyright 1998 by J. D. Rummel. Its contents may
not be reproduced in any format without the written permission of the
author
___________________________________________
SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES
----------------------------------------
Episode #45: "Knight Time"
----------------------------------------------------
Reviewed by Scott Devarney (devarney@ll.mit.edu)
October 10, 1998
Written by Robert Goodman
Directed by Curt Geda
Guest-Starring: Kevin Conroy as Batman/Bruce Wayne
Matthew Valencia as Robin/Tim Drake
Roddy McDowall as Mad Hatter
John Glover as The Riddler
Paul Williams as Penguin
Henry Silva as Bane
Bob Hastings as Commissioner James Gordon
Charity James as Roxy Rocket
Corey Burton as Brainiac
RATINGS:
Average: 3.9/5.0 Shields
Scott Devarney:
5.0 Shields
Nathan Bredfeldt:
4.3 Shields - A really fun episode, marred only by the complete and
utter out-of-character behavior of Brainiac.
Curtis Herink:
4.0 Shields - A nice change of pace -- at least for the first half.
It would have been nice if the villain had not turned out to be
one of Superman's old foes.
Neil Ottenstein:
3.7 Shields - Superman's transformation from the Batman disguise in
coming out the flames was very impressive. Also, nice that Robin
got himself out of a trap without help.
Karen Whitney:
2.5 Shields - This should have been classed as a Batman episode,
guest-starring Superman, not a Superman episode. It constantly
had that Batman darkness and feel to it, even before Superman
left Metropolis for Gotham City.
REVIEW
Upon hearing that Batman is missing, Superman travels to Gotham City to
find the missing hero. Without the Dark Knight, Gotham is falling apart;
its criminals are getting more brazen as the police and Robin are
overtaxed. To keep order, Superman teams up with Robin and impersonates
Batman. Investigating Bruce Wayne's disappearance leads them to suspect the
Mad Hatter's involvement, which leads to a confrontation with Mad Hatter,
The Riddler, and Bane. Although this turns out to be a dead end, Mad Hatter
does provide a clue which eventually leads Superman and Robin to the real
villain -- Brainiac.
This episode can be summed up in one word -- fun. Superman and Robin make a
great team. A lot of it has to do with the chemistry between these two
heroes. Superman treats Robin as an equal and Robin shines as a mentor to
the Batman-disguised Superman. The two have great repartee as Robin is
equally comfortable in Batman's dark world and Superman's brighter
presence.
Superman is clearly uncomfortable as Batman. It is amusing to watch him
learn Batman's style of crime fighting, from his distaste for sneaking
around, to his reluctance to intimidate Penguin for information, to his
ignorance of where Batman's wire gun is located on his utility belt. This
episode can be seen as a sequel to the story in _Superman Adventures_ #25.
In that story, Superman teamed up with Batgirl and learned that his methods
don't always work in Gotham; this episode furthers this idea as Superman
tries to use Batman's tactics on Batman's enemies -- it isn't until he
confronts his foe Brainiac that Superman is able to cut loose.
Speaking of Brainiac, the Superman - Brainiac battle serves to nicely
balance the episode between "Batman-style" action and "Superman-style"
action. The clues to Bruce Wayne's abductor scream "Brainiac," which
lessens the impact of his first appearance in the show, but his involvement
with Wayne is logically explained and flows neatly from the "World's
Finest" episode.
Overall, this was another great crossover episode. Superman worked well
with Robin and gained a greater understanding and respect of Batman's
methods. So far, this new season of _Superman_ is shaping up nicely.
___________________________________________
1998 SUPERMAN COMICS INDEX
------------------------------------------------------
Compiled by Jeffery D. Sykes (sykes@ms.uky.edu)
------------------------------------------------------
Part I: Triangle Titles, Superman Family Titles,
Team Titles, and Superman Adventures
THE TRIANGLE TITLES
-------------------
1 - SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #75, "The Death of Mr. Mxyzptlk"
Written by Jon Bogdanove and Louise Simonson
Art and Cover by Jon Bogdanove and Dennis Janke
Mxyptlk parody of Superman's death at the hands of Doomsday
2 - SUPERMAN #131, "Checkmate"
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art and Cover by Ron Frenz and Josef Rubinstein
Lex's daughter is born, Mayor Berkowitz is assassinated
3 - ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #554, "Children and Monsters!"
Written by Karl Kesel
Art by Tom Grummett, Denis Rodier, and Scott Koblish
Cover by Tom Grummett and Denis Rodier
Superman and Burton Thompson pursue the Ripper
4 - ACTION COMICS #741, "A Cautionary Tale"
Written by Stuart Immonen
Art and Cover by Stuart Immonen and Jose Marzan, Jr.
Superman aids the Legion against COMPUTO, Lex reads Lena a story
5 - SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #76, "Synergy"
Written by Louise Simonson
Art and Cover by Jon Bogdanove and Dennis Janke
Superman, Jimmy, and Misa battle Simyan and Mokkari's monsters
6 - SUPERMAN RED/SUPERMAN BLUE
Written by Jurgens, Immonen, K. Kesel, and L. Simonson
Art by Immonen, Frenz, Grummett, Ryan, Bogdanove, Marzan, Rubinstein,
Rodier, Breeding, and Janke
3-D Cover by Jurgens and Breeding
Standard Cover by Jurgens and Rubinstein
Superman is split in two by the team of the Cyborg and the Toyman
7 - SUPERMAN #132, "Double Play"
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art and Cover by Ron Frenz and Josef Rubinstein
The two Supermen finally learn of each other's existence
8 - ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #555, "Face-Off!"
Written by Karl Kesel
Art and Cover by Tom Grummett and Denis Rodier
The two Supermen battle; Jimmy and Misa rescue Scorn and Ashbury
9 - SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF TOMORROW #10, "Who Do You Love?"
Written by Roger Stern
Art and Cover by Paul Ryan and Brett Breeding
Obsession and Maxima battle over Supermen Red and Blue
10 - ACTION COMICS #742, "Devil May Care: A Thesis..."
Written by Stuart Immonen
Art and Cover by Stuart Immonen and Jose Marzan, Jr.
Superman Blue faces Kirichitan, aka Dr. Noah Brazil
11 - SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #77, "Triangles"
Written by Louise Simonson
Art by Paul Ryan and Dennis Janke
Cover by Jon Bogdanove and Dennis Janke
Superman Red deals with out-of-time anomalies popping up in Metropolis
12 - SUPERMAN #133
Written by Dan Jurgens
Cover by Ron Frenz and Josef Rubinstein
"To Summon The Guard"
Art by Ron Frenz and Josef Rubinstein
The Millennium Guard breaks loose at Cadmus
"Heart of a Lion, Soul of a Lamb"
Art by Tom Grummett and Denis Rodier
Black Crucible attacks Jimmy and Misa
13 - ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #556
Written by Karl Kesel
Cover by Tom Grummett and Denis Rodier
"Superman Red--Outpowered and Outnumbered--Three to One!"
Art by Tom Grummett and Denis Rodier
Superman Red battles the Millennium Guard
"I Was Alone Against Gargox, A Really Big Monster!"
Art by Ron Frenz and Josef Rubinstein
Superman Blue, Jimmy, and Misa battle a gargantuan pet
14 - ACTION COMICS #743
Written by Stuart Immonen
Cover by Stuart Immonen and Jose Marzan, Jr.
"Operation: Ink!"
Art by Greg Land and Jose Marzan, Jr.
Superman and Slam Bradley capture Inkling
"A Persistence of You"
Art by Stuart Immonen and Jose Marzan, Jr.
Boss Moxie and company are captured by Superman Red
15 - SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #78, "Earth Changes"
(MILLENNIUM GIANTS)
Written by Jon Bogdanove and Louise Simonson
Art by Jon Bogdanove and Dennis Janke
Cover by Ron Frenz, Jon Bogdanove, and Dennis Janke
The three Millennium Giants arise to walk the Earth
16 - SUPERMAN #134, "Dual Purpose!"
(MILLENNIUM GIANTS)
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art and Cover by Ron Frenz and Josef Rubinstein
Red and Blue battle Cabraca in Mexico, Cerne in Mediterranean
17 - ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #557, "The End of the World As We Know It!"
(MILLENNIUM GIANTS)
Written by Karl and Barbara Kesel
Art by Val Semeiks, Denis Rodier, and Scott Koblish
Cover by Ron Frenz, Tom Grummett, and Denis Rodier
Superboy and the JLA join the battle in Markovia
18 - ACTION COMICS #744, "Crossroads"
(MILLENNIUM GIANTS)
Written by Stuart Immonen
Art by Anthony Williams, Scott Koblish, and Jose Marzan, Jr.
Cover by Ron Frenz, Stuart Immonen, and Jose Marzan, Jr.
Supermen Red and Blue battle Cabraca in Metropolis Harbor
19 - SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #79, "End of the World!"
(MILLENNIUM GIANTS)
Written by Jon Bogdanove and Louise Simonson
Art and Cover by Jon Bogdanove and Dennis Janke
Supermen Red and Blue defeat the Giants, but at what price for Earth?
20 - SUPERMAN #135, "Shattered Worlds"
(MILLENNIUM GIANTS)
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art and Cover by Ron Frenz and Josef Rubinstein
Supermen Red and Blue sacrifice themselves to save Earth
21 - SUPERMAN FOREVER #1
Written and Illustrated by just about everyone
Covers by Alex Ross
His traditional powers restored, Superman searches for kidnapped Lena
22 - ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #558, "Another Typical Day"
Written by Karl Kesel and Jerry Ordway
Art by Steve Yeowell and Denis Rodier
Cover by Tom Grummett
Super-baseball; Jimmy turns into an alien? (Silver Age)
23 - ACTION COMICS #745, "Polyesteryear, Part 1: Ready, Fire, Aim"
Written by Stuart Immonen
Art by Anthony Williams, Jose Marzan, Jr., and Jimmy Palmiotti
Cover by Stuart Immonen and Jose Marzan, Jr.
Prankster sells a bridge, hijacks a cruise ship (Seventies)
24 - SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #80
Written by Jon Bogdanove and Louise Simonson
Art and Cover by Jon Bogdanove and Dennis Janke
Superman battles the rise of Nazis in Metropolis (Golden Age)
25 - SUPERMAN #136, "Shattered Worlds"
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Paul Ryan and Josef Rubinstein
Cover by Dan Jurgens and Josef Rubinstein
Superman XIX makes his Metropolis debut (Year 2999)
26 - ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #559, "The Day of the Super-Comet"
Written by Karl Kesel and Jerry Ordway
Art and Cover by Tom Grummett and Denis Rodier
A strange comet gives everyone in Metropolis super-powers (Silver Age)
27 - ACTION COMICS #746, "Polyesteryear, Part 2: Love, Supervillain Style"
Written by Stuart Immonen
Art and Cover by Stuart Immonen and Jose Marzan, Jr.
Superman and Lois rescue Lana from marrying the Prankster (Seventies)
28 - SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #81
Written by Jon Bogdanove and Louise Simonson
Art and Cover by Jon Bogdanove and Dennis Janke
Superman battles Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto (Golden Age)
29 - SUPERMAN #137, "The Mutation War"
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Paul Ryan and Josef Rubinstein
Cover by Dan Jurgens and Josef Rubinstein
Superman XIX and the JLA of 2999 face Muto (Year 2999)
30 - ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #560, "The Super-Rivalry That Rocked Metropolis"
Written by Karl Kesel and Jerry Ordway
Art by Tom Grummett and Denis Rodier
Cover by Tom Grummett
Superman is jealous when Lois begins dating Batman (Silver Age)
31 - ACTION COMICS #747, "Eye of the Storm"
Written by Stuart Immonen
Art and Cover by Stuart Immonen and Jose Marzan, Jr.
Lois teams up with the Prankster to destroy Superman (Seventies)
32 - SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #82
Written by Jon Bogdanove and Louise Simonson
Art and Cover by Jon Bogdanove and Dennis Janke
Superman continues to fight Nazis, Dominus reveals himself (Golden Age)
33 - SUPERMAN #138, "Dominus"
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Paul Ryan and Josef Rubinstein
Cover by Dan Jurgens and Josef Rubinstein
Dominus attacks Kismet after drawing her into the open
34 - ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #561, "Waves of Deception"
Written by Karl Kesel and Jerry Ordway
Art and Cover by Tom Grummett and Denis Rodier
Superman and "Waverider" search for Kismet
35 - ACTION COMICS #748, "Chasing the Ancient of Days"
Written by Stuart Immonen
Art and Cover by Stuart Immonen and Jose Marzan, Jr.
Superman and Dominus continue to search for Kismet
36 - SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #83, "Shattered Illusions"
Written by Louise Simonson
Art by Scot Eaton and Dennis Janke
Cover by Jon Bogdanove and Dennis Janke
Superman and the Linear Men form a plan to stop Dominus
37 - SUPERMAN #139, "A Matter of Time"
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art and Cover by Jim Starlin and Josef Rubinstein
Waverider helps Superman protect Kismet from Dominus... for now
38 - SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF TOMORROW #11, "Anomaly"
Written by Louise Simonson
Art by Paul Ryan and Dennis Janke
Cover by Paul Ryan and Brett Breeding
Kaleb (from MOS Annual #5) arrives from the future to kill Luthor
39 - SUPERMAN: SAVE THE PLANET #1
Written by Louise Simonson
Art by Scot Eaton, Denis Rodier, and Jimmy Palmiotti
Direct Edition Cover by Kevin Nowlan
Newsstand Edition Cover by Scot Eaton and Denis Rodier
Superman battles a meteor storm, Luthor buys the Daily Planet
40 - ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #562, "End of an Era"
Written by Karl Kesel and Jerry Ordway
Art and Cover by Tom Grummett and Denis Rodier
Torcher breaks Gunn from prison, Luthor closes down the Planet
DC1M Issues take place here. See below.
41 - ACTION COMICS #749, "City of the Future"
Written by Ron Marz
Art by Tom Grindberg and Tom Palmer
Cover by Paul Rivoche
Part of Kandor suddenly appears in Metropolis
42 - SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #84, "The City Within"
Written by Ron Marz
Art by Tom Grindberg and Tom Palmer
Cover by Paul Rivoche
Superman, Scorn, and Ashbury travel to Kandor, meet the Inventor
43 - SUPERMAN #140, "A City Against Them"
Written by Ron Marz
Art by Tom Grindberg and Tom Palmer
Cover by Paul Rivoche
Superman is framed for Cerimul's death, the Inventor is revealed
44 - ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #563, "Imprisoned in the Bottle!"
Written by Ron Marz
Art by Tom Grindberg and Tom Palmer
Cover by Paul Rivoche
Superman and Scorn defeat the Inventor, all return to Metropolis
SUPERMAN TITLES, DC ONE MILLION (No Triangles)
----------------------------------------------
ACTION COMICS #1,000,000, "Brave New Hero"
Written by Mark Schultz
Art by Ron Lim and Jose Marzan, Jr.
Cover by Gene Ha
The people of the 853rd Century believe Superman to be a Bizarro
SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #1,000,000, "Fear and Loathing"
Written by Karl Kesel and Jerry Ordway
Art by Anthony Williams and Dennis Janke
Cover by Gene Ha
The future Superman battles the virus-affected Metal Men
SUPERMAN #1,000,000, "Down to Earth"
Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Art by Norm Breyfogle and Scott Koblish
Cover by Gene Ha
The future Superman enlists Luthor's aid in entering the Fortress
ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #1,000,000, "Keepers of Solitude"
Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Art by Will Rosado and Larry Mahlstedt
Cover by Gene Ha
Superman and Resurrection Man meet resistance in the future Fortress
SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF TOMORROW #1,000,000, "Future Story"
Written by Mark Schultz
Art by Georges Jeanty, Denis Rodier, and Dennis Janke
Cover by Gene Ha
Platinum recounts the 853 century history of the Superman dynasty
STEEL
-----
46 - "Bori"
Written by Priest
Art and Cover by Denys Cowan and Tom Palmer
Superboy visits Jersey City and attempts to court Natasha
47 - "The Message"
Written by Priest
Art by Denys Cowan and Sal Buscema
Cover by Denys Cowan and Tom Palmer
Nat visits home for Christmas, Steel makes a decision about Amanda
48 - "Invasion"
Written by Priest
Art by Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz
Cover by Denys Cowan and Tom Palmer
Crash reveals his origin, Steel is "recruited" by the government
49 - "Heart"
Written by Priest
Art and Cover by Denys Cowan and Tom Palmer
Steel must deliver a heart for a transplant patient
50 - "Among Giants"
(MILLENNIUM GIANTS)
Written by Priest
Art by Denys Cowan and Tom Palmer
Cover by Ron Frenz, Denys Cowan, and Tom Palmer
Steel devises a way to stop the Giants, but chooses not to use it
51 - "Quest"
Written by Priest
Art by Denys Cowan, Eric Battle, Tom Palmer, and Vince Giarrano
Cover by Denys Cowan and Tom Palmer
Steel and Glenn Gammeron hunt an alien, Skorpio approaches Crash
52 - "Requiem"
Written by Priest
Art by Denys Cowan and Tom Palmer
Cover by Tom Palmer
Natasha lies gravely ill, Steel confronts Crash and Skorpio
**SERIES CONCLUDES**
SUPERBOY
--------
47 - "Idol Worship: Part 2"
Written by Ron Marz
Art by Georges Jeanty and Doug Hazlewood
Cover by Tom Grummett and Doug Hazlewood
Cont. from GREEN LANTERN #94: Superboy and GL team up against Pele
48 - "Superboy: The Event"
Written by Barbara Kesel
Art by Georges Jeanty, Doug Hazlewood, and Ray Kryssing
Cover by Tom Grummett and Doug Hazlewood
Superboy's name is attached to a shady amusement park ride
49 - "Searching..."
Written by Barbara Kesel
Art by Georges Jeanty, Doug Hazlewood, and John Stanisci
Cover by Tom Grummett and Doug Hazlewood
Roxy searches for the missing Kid, cast says their good-byes
50 - "Survival of the Fittest!"
(THE LAST BOY ON EARTH: PART 1)
Written by Karl Kesel
Art and Cover by Tom Grummett and Karl Kesel
A mute and amnesiac Superboy finds himself in a land of animal-men
51 - "The Test!"
(THE LAST BOY ON EARTH: PART 2)
Written by Karl Kesel
Art and Cover by Tom Grummett and Karl Kesel
Superboy undergoes a test of prophecy, remembers his identity
52 - "Destination: Unknown!"
(THE LAST BOY ON EARTH: PART 3)
Written by Karl Kesel
Art and Cover by Tom Grummett and Karl Kesel
Superboy and the Wild Men leave Roam and find their way to Hawaii
53 - "Pearl Harbor 2!"
(THE LAST BOY ON EARTH: PART 4)
Written by Karl Kesel
Art and Cover by Tom Grummett and Karl Kesel
Superboy and the Wild Men defend Hawaii from Nosferata's invasion
54 - "Darkness & Light"
Written by Karl Kesel
Art by Scott Kolins and Tom Ryder
Cover by Tom Grummett and Karl Kesel
Tuftan marries Nosferata; Superboy, Guardian, and Dubbilex visit Paris
55 - "Hexed!"
Written by Karl Kesel
Art by Scott Kolins and Norm Rapmund
Cover by Tom Grummett and Karl Kesel
Superboy, Guardian, and Hex battle Grok and the Agenda
56 - "Here There Be... Monsters!"
Written by Karl Kesel
Art and Cover by Tom Grummett and Karl Kesel
Mickey Cannon, the Mechanic, is placed in charge of Cadmus
1M - "OMAC: One Million and Counting!"
Written by Karl Kesel
Art and Cover by Tom Grummett and Karl Kesel
Superboy gets a peek at his future during the DC1M crossover
57 - "Demolition Run, Part 1: Dangerous Curves"
Written by Karl Kesel
Art and Cover by Tom Grummett and Karl Kesel
A strangely familiar girl steals the Whiz Wagon at the Demolition Run
SUPERBOY AND THE RAVERS
-----------------------
17 - "No Weddings and a Funeral"
(LOVE IS ALL THAT ANTI-MATTERS: PART 1)
Written by Steve Mattsson and Karl Kesel
Art by Josh Hood and Dan Davis
Cover by Paul Pelletier and Dan Davis
The Ravers follow Kaliber to Qward, where Grim has laid a trap
18 - "The Deadliest of the Species"
(LOVE IS ALL THAT ANTI-MATTERS: PART 2)
Written by Steve Mattsson and Karl Kesel
Art and Cover by Josh Hood and Dan Davis
Superboy and the Ravers battle the forces of Qward
19 - "Last Dance"
(LOVE IS ALL THAT ANTI-MATTERS: PART 3)
Written by Steve Mattsson and Karl Kesel
Art by Josh Hood, Todd Nauck, and Dan Davis
Cover by Josh Hood and Dan Davis
Final battle between the Ravers and an army of Predators
**SERIES CONCLUDES**
SUPERGIRL
---------
17 - "Teetering on Oblivion"
Written by Peter David
Art by Leonard Kirk and Cam Smith
Cover by Gary Frank and Cam Smith
The Kents come to visit Linda, Despero arrives in Leesburg
18 - "Divine Inspiration"
Written by Peter David
Art by Leonard Kirk and Cam Smith
Cover by Gary Frank and Cam Smith
Supergirl uses her new wings of flame to battle Despero
19 - "Middle-Aged Crisis"
Written by Peter David
Art by Leonard Kirk and Cam Smith
Cover by Leonard Kirk and Jose Marzan, Jr.
Supergirl and Comet keep Leesburg from being sucked away
20 - "Things Best Left Forgotten"
(MILLENNIUM GIANTS)
Written by Peter David
Art by Leonard Kirk and Cam Smith
Cover by Ron Frenz, Leonard Kirk, and Cam Smith
Supergirl tries to stop Cerne, Linda's mom is an alcoholic
21 - "Through a Fractured Prism"
Written by Peter David
Art by Leonard Kirk and Prentis Rollins
Cover by Gary Frank and Cam Smith
Fracture comes looking for Comet, Andy hits on Linda
22 - "Comet's Tale"
Written by Peter David
Art by Leonard Kirk and Prentis Rollins
Cover by Leonard Kirk and Robin Riggs
Comet reveals his story, he and Supergirl search for buried treasure
23 - "Double-Edged Sword"
Written by Peter David
Art and Cover by Leonard Kirk and Robin Riggs
Supergirl and Steel debate racism and free speech at a college protest
24 - "Avenging Angels Part 2: Die and Let Live"
Written by Peter David
Art and Cover by Leonard Kirk and Robin Riggs
Supergirl and Resurrection Man battle the Rider at the Chaos Stream
(Cont. from RESURRECTION MAN #16, Conc. in RESURRECTION MAN #17)
25 - "Desperate Times"
Written by Peter David
Art and Cover by Leonard Kirk and Robin Riggs
Wally talks with Linda's mom, Supergirl learns Comet's identity
26 - "The Flying Game"
Written by Peter David
Art and Cover by Leonard Kirk and Robin Riggs
Supergirl learns Comet's complete origin, Linda's parents reconcile
1M - "When She Was Good..."
Written by Peter David
Art and Cover by Dusty Abell and Norman Lee
8-year old Supergirl (in 853rd century) terrorizes two planets
27 - "Space World"
Written by Peter David
Art and Cover by Leonard Kirk and Robin Riggs
The Female Furies come looking for Twilight
JLA
---
14 - "Twilight of the Gods"
ROCK OF AGES: Part 5 of 6
Written by Grant Morrison
Art and Cover by Howard Porter and John Dell
The future version of the League battles Darkseid to save Earth
15 - "Stone of Destiny"
ROCK OF AGES: Part 6 of 6
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Howard Porter, Gary Frank, Greg Land, John Dell, and Bob McLeod
Cover by Howard Porter and John Dell
The League defeats Luthor and the Injustice Gang, then disbands
16 - "Camelot"
Written by Grant Morrison
Art and Cover by Howard Porter and John Dell
The new members of the League are introduced, Prometheus attacks
17 - "Prometheus Unbound"
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Arnie Jorgensen, David Meikis, and Mark Pennington
Cover by Howard Porter and John Dell
With a little help from Catwoman, the JLA defeats Prometheus
18 - "Synchronicity"
Written by Mark Waid
Art and Cover by Howard Porter and John Dell
Dr. Julian September's "Engine of Chance" makes luck go haywire
19 - "Seven Soldiers of Probability"
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Howard Porter, John Dell, and Walden Wong
Cover by Howard Porter and John Dell
The Atom helps the remaining Leaguers restore probabilistic order
20 - "Mystery in Space"
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Arnie Jorgensen and David Meikis
Cover by Howard Porter and John Dell
Adam Strange takes the League as prisoners for slave labor on Rann
21 - "Strange New World"
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Arnie Jorgensen, Dave Meikis, and Doug Hazlewood
Cover by Howard Porter and John Dell
Adam Strange and the League must defeat the En'Tarans
22 - "It"
Written by Grant Morrison
Art and Cover by Howard Porter and John Dell
North America is trapped in a dream state, JLA gets help from Sandman
23 - "Conquerors"
Written by Grant Morrison
Art and Cover by Howard Porter and John Dell
The JLA battles the Star Conqueror
1M - "Prisoners of the Twentieth Century"
Written by Grant Morrison
Art and Cover by Howard Porter and John Dell
The future JL-A breaks into the Watchtower to create Solaris
24 - "Executive Action"
Written by Grant Morrison
Art and Cover by Howard Porter and John Dell
The newly revealed Ultra-Marines lay a trap for the JLA
YOUNG JUSTICE
-------------
1 - "Young, Just Us"
Written by Peter David
Art and Cover by Todd Nauck and Lary Stucker
The team forms, awakens Red Tornado, finds the super-cycle
2 - "Sheik, Rattle and Roll"
Written by Peter David
Art and Cover by Todd Nauck and Lary Stucker
The boys face the super-cycle's original owner, Rip Roar
1M - "Just Ice, Cubed"
Written by Peter David
Art by Todd Nauck, Lary Stucker, and various
Cover by Todd Nauck and Lary Stucker
The future Young Justice Legion S discusses 20th Century heroes
3 - "The Issue Before the One Where the Girls Show Up"
Written by Peter David
Art and Cover by Todd Nauck and Lary Stucker
A young Mr. Mxyzptlk vows never to cause mischief, YJ must change that
SUPERMAN ADVENTURES
-------------------
15 - "Maximum Effort!"
Written by Mark Evanier
Art and Cover by Rick Burchett and Terry Austin
Bibbo helps out the Man of Steel against a group of bank robbers
16 - "Clark Kent, You're A Nobody!"
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Aluir Amancio and Terry Austin
Cover by Rick Burchett and Terry Austin
Clark Kent finds he has no powers and then is rescued by Superman
17 - "Superman's Pal's Pal"
Written by Chris Duffy
Art by Neil Vokes and Terry Austin
Cover by Rick Burchett and Terry Austin
Jimmy Olsen escorts a "new Planet intern" around in search of a scoop
18 - "It's a Super Life!"
Written by Devin K. Grayson
Art by Aluir Amancio and Terry Austin
Cover by Rick Burchett and Terry Austin
Superman seems to be interfering with Clark Kent's job
19 - "The Bodyguard of Steel"
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Aluir Amancio and Terry Austin
Cover by Rick Burchett and Terry Austin
Superman protects the President from a threat of assassins
20 - "Hide 'N' Seek"
Written by Jordan B. Gorfinkle
Art by Neil Vokes and Stan Woch
Cover by Rick Burchett and Terry Austin
Superman and friends try to solve the mystery of MasterTrax
21 - "Last Daughter of Argo"
Written by Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer
Art by Bret Blevins and Terry Austin
Cover by Bruce Timm
Supergirl's origin, battle against Phantom Zone villains
22 - "War Games: Part 1"
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Aluir Amancio and Terry Austin
Cover by Rick Burchett and Terry Austin
Superman must discover what's causing so many technical problems
23 - "War Games: Part 2"
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Aluir Amancio and Terry Austin
Cover by Rick Burchett and Terry Austin
Superman and Livewire prevent Brainiac from destroying the Earth
24 - "Power Corrupts, Super Power Corrupts Absolutely"
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Aluir Amancio and Terry Austin
Cover by Rick Burchett and Terry Austin
Parasite steals Superman's powers, reveals his motivation
25 - "(Almost) The World's Finest Team"
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Mike Manley and Terry Austin
Cover by Rick Burchett and Terry Austin
Superman teams with batgirl to rescue Bruce Wayne from the Mad Hatter
26 - "Yesterday's Man of Tomorrow"
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Aluir Amancio and Terry Austin
Cover by Rick Burchett and Terry Austin
Mxyzptlk goes back in time to convince Clark never to become Superman
___________________________________________
1998 SUPERMAN COMICS INDEX
--------------------------------------------------------
Compiled by Jeffery D. Sykes (sykes@ms.uky.edu)
--------------------------------------------------------
Part II: Limited Series, Specials, and Guest Appearances
LIMITED SERIES AND GRAPHIC NOVELS
---------------------------------
DC ONE MILLION (4 issues, Nov)
Written by Grant Morrison
Art and Covers by Val Semeiks and Prentis Rollins
The JLA travels to the 853rd century for Superman's return from the Sun
ELSEWORLD'S FINEST: SUPERGIRL AND BATGIRL (Nov)
Written by Barbara Kesel, Matt Haley, and Tom Simmons
Art and Cover by Matt Haley and Tom Simmons
ELSEWORLDS: Supergirl and Batgirl reluctantly join forces to save Luthor
JLA: THE NAIL (3 issues, Aug - Oct)
Written by Alan Davis
Art and Covers Alan Davis and Mark Farmer
ELSEWORLDS: Because of a flat tire, Kal-El isn't found by the Kents
JLA: PARADISE LOST (3 issues, Jan - Mar)
Written by Mark Millar
Art and Covers by Ariel Olivetti
Zauriel and the Martian Manhunter battle Neron and Asmodel's forces
JLA/TITANS (#1 of 3, Dec)
Written by Devin Grayson and Phil Jimenez
Art by Phil Jimenez and Andy Lanning
Cover by Phil Jimenez
The JLA discovers that all former Titans are being abducted
JLA: WORLD WITHOUT-GROWN-UPS (2 issues, Aug - Sep)
Written by Todd Dezago
Art and Covers by Mike McKone, Humberto Ramos, Mark McKenna, and
Wayne Faucher
Superboy, Robin, and Impulse team up when all the adults disappear
THE KENTS (Issues #6-12, Jan - Jul)
Written by John Ostrander
Art by Timothy Truman, Michael Bair, and Tom Mandrake
Covers by Truman and Mandrake
The Wild West Saga of Superman's adopted ancestors
SUPERMAN: THE DARK SIDE (3 issues, Oct - Dec)
Written by John Francis Moore and Kieron Dwyer
Art and Covers by Kieron Dwyer and Hilary Barta
ELSEWORLDS: Infant Kal-El lands on Apokolips, becomes Darkseid's pawn
SUPERMAN: DISTANT FIRES (Feb)
Written by Howard Chaykin
Art and Cover by Gil Kane and Kevin Nowlan
ELSEWORLDS: Superman leads other survivors of a nuclear holocaust
SUPERMAN: THE DOOMSDAY WARS (#1 of 3, Dec)
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art and Covers by Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund
While Superman tries to save Lana's baby, Doomsday returns
SUPERMAN FOR ALL SEASONS (4 issues, Sep - Dec)
Written by Jeph Loeb
Art and Covers by Tim Sale and Bjarne Hansen
Miniseries about Clark's earliest days as a super-hero
SUPERMAN: SILVER BANSHEE (#1 of 2, Dec)
Written by Dan Brereton
Art by Joyce Chin and Andy Lanning
Covers by Brereton
Superman and Lois become involved when Banshee tries to end her curse
SUPERMAN: WAR OF THE WORLDS (Dec)
Written by Roy Thomas
Art and Cover by Michael Lark
ELSEWORLDS: Golden Age Superman as part of H.G. Wells' classic
SPECIALS/FEATURES
-----------------
ADVENTURE COMICS 80-PAGE GIANT #1 (Oct)
Written by various
Art by various
Cover by Steve Lightle
Superboy, Supergirl, and Bizarro stories
ADVENTURES IN THE DC UNIVERSE #12 (Mar)
Written by Steve Vance
Art and Cover by John Delaney and Ron Boyd
The JLA is forced to surrender to Cipher
ADVENTURES IN THE DC UNIVERSE #14 (May)
Written by Steve Vance
Art by John Delaney, Ron Boyd, and Ray Kryssing
Cover by John Delaney and Ron Boyd
Superboy races the Flash, Nightwing backup story
ADVENTURES IN THE DC UNIVERSE #18 (Sep)
Written by Steve Vance
Art and Cover by John Delaney and Ron Boyd
The JLA battles Professor Ivo's Amazo 2000 android
GIANT SUPERMAN ANNUAL #1 REPLICA EDITION (Oct)
Written by Otto Binder and various
Art by Wayne Boring, Curt Swan, and various
Cover by Curt Swan and Stan Kaye
Reprint of 1960's Giant Superman Annual #1
JLA 80-PAGE GIANT #1 (Jul)
Written by John Ostrander and various
Art by Ken Lashley and Ron Boyd, and various
Cover by Kevin Maguire and Karl Story
Superman is framed for murder in Gotham, other stories
JLA ANNUAL #2 (Oct)
Written by Ty Templeton
Art by Mark Pajarillo and Walden Wong
Cover by Bernie Wrightson
The "Ghosts" annuals conclude, as the League discovers the culprit
JLA IN CRISIS SECRET FILES #1 (Nov)
Written by Tom Peyer and various
Art by Rags Morales, Dave Meikus, and various
Cover by Rodolfo Damaggio and Robert Campanella
Recounts all the crossover events beginning with Crisis
JLA SECRET FILES #2 (Aug)
Written by Christopher Priest and various
Art by Yanick Paquette, Mark Lipka, and various
Cover by Eric Battle and Prentis Rollins
How the JLA expanded its membership to include Steel and the rest
JLA: TOMORROW WOMAN #1 (Jun)
Written by Tom Peyer
Art by Yanick Paquette and Mark Lipka
Cover by Leonard Kirk and Karl Story
GIRLFRENZY: Tomorrow Woman earns the JLA's trust (during JLA #5)
LEGENDS OF THE DC UNIVERSE #1-3 (Feb-Apr)
Written by James Robinson
Art by Val Semeiks and Paul Neary
Painted Covers by Glen Orbik
Early in his career, Superman battles the U.L.T.R.A.-Humanite
LEGENDS OF THE DC UNIVERSE #6 (Jul)
Written by Kelley Puckett
Art by Dave Taylor and Kevin Nowlan
Painted Cover by Christopher Moeller
Robin (Dick Grayson's) first meeting with the Man of Steel
NEW YEAR'S EVIL: GOG #1 (Feb)
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Jerry Ordway and Dennis Janke
Cover by Jason Pearson
20 years after KINGDOM COME, Gog is created to prevent those events
NEW YEAR'S EVIL: MR. MXYZPTLK #1 (Feb)
Written by Alan Grant
Art by Tom Morgan and Scott Koblish
Cover by Jason Pearson
Mxyzptlk uses his comic book collection to stop an invasion
NEW YEAR'S EVIL: PROMETHEUS #1 (Feb)
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Arnie Jorgensen and David Meikis
Cover by Jason Pearson
The origin of Prometheus, who plans to destroy the JLA
SECRET ORIGINS 80-PAGE GIANT #1 (Dec)
Written by various
Art by various
Cover by Jeff Matsuda and Jon Sibal
Young Justice member origins, including Superboy
SUPERBOY/RISK DOUBLE-SHOT #1 (Feb)
Written by Dan Jurgens and Karl Kesel
Art and Cover by Joe Phillips and Jasen Rodriguez
Superboy goes undercover in a high school to apprehend Risk
SUPERGIRL/PRYSM DOUBLE-SHOT #1 (Feb)
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Tom Grindberg and Chris Ivy
Cover by Tom Grindberg
Prysm and Supergirl team-up to rescue Fringe from Jugular
SUPERMAN 3-D #1 (Dec)
Written by Louise Simonson
Art by Neil Vokes and Scott Koblish
Cover by Scot Eaton and Jimmy Palmiotti
Superman, Misa, Jimmy, and the Hairies versus Mainframe
SUPERMAN ADVENTURES SPECIAL: SUPERMAN VS LOBO #1 (Feb)
Written by David Michelinie
Art and Cover by John Delaney and Mike Manley
Superman and Lobo both search for the Nirvana Crystal
SUPERMAN ANNUAL #10 (Oct)
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Paul Ryan and Chris Ivy
Cover by Bernie Wrightson
Superman is haunted by the ghosts of the Phantom Zone villains
SUPERMAN: LOIS LANE #1 (Jun)
Written by Barbara Kesel
Art by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti
Cover by Leonard Kirk and Karl Story
GIRLFRENZY: Lois and Sarge Steel investigate a genetic research lab
SUPERMAN SECRET FILES #1 (Jan)
Written by Dan Jurgens, Karl Kesel, and various
Art by Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Todd Nauck, Ron Frenz, and various
Cover by Tom Grummett and Denis Rodier
Secret Origin, tour of the Fortress, miscellaneous features and pin-ups
SUPERMAN VILLAINS SECRET FILES #1 (Jun)
Written by Stuart Immonen and various
Art by Stuart Immonen, Jose Marzan, Jr., and various
Cover by Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund
Origins of Superman's Rogues Gallery, plus other misc items
TEAM SUPERMAN SECRET FILES #1 (May)
Written by Karl and Barbara Kesel, Priest, and various
Art by Bob McLeod, Eric Battle, Georges Jeanty, and various
Cover by Dave Johnson
Origins of Superboy, Steel, and Supergirl, plus other misc items
YOUNG JUSTICE: THE SECRET #1 (Jun)
Written by Todd Dezago
Art by Todd Nauck and Lary Stucker
Cover by Leonard Kirk and Karl Story
GIRLFRENZY: Superboy, Robin, and Impulse help a girl on the run
GUEST APPEARANCES
-----------------
AQUAMAN #43 (Apr)
(MILLENNIUM GIANTS)
Written by Peter David
Art by J. Calafiore and P.L. Palmiotti
Cover by Ron Frenz, J. Calafiore, and M. McKenna
Superman Red and Aquaman try to stop Cerne
CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN #15 (Apr)
(MILLENNIUM GIANTS)
Written by Steven Grant
Art by Ryan Sook and Bill Reinhold
Cover by Ron Frenz, John Paul Leon, and Shawn Martinbrough
The Challs study Cerne as he tromps across England
THE FLASH #142 (Oct)
Written by Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn
Art by Pop Mhan and Chris Ivy
Cover by Steve Lightle
The JLA makes an appearance at Wally West's wedding
GREEN LANTERN #94, "Idol Worship: Part 1" (Jan)
Written by Ron Marz
Art by Paul Pelletier and Terry Austin
Cover by Tom Grummett and Terry Austin
Superboy and Green Lantern meet in Hawaii; cont. in SUPERBOY #47
GREEN LANTERN #103 (Sep)
Written by Ron Marz
Art by Jeff Johnson, Anthony Williams, Bob Wiacek, and Andy Lanning
Cover by Jeff Johnson and Bob Wiacek
Kyle introduces the time-lost Hal Jordan to the JLA
HARDCORE STATION #5-6 (Nov-Dec)
Written by Jim Starlin
Art and Cover by Jim Starlin and Josef Rubinstein
JLA guest-stars in final two issues of miniseries
JLA: YEAR ONE #7, 11-12 (Jul, Nov-Dec)
Written by Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn
Art by Barry Kitson and Michael Bair
Covers by Kitson
Superman assists during the League's first year
LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #100 (Jan)
Written by Tom Peyer and Tom McCraw, and various
Art by Lee Moder, Derec Aucoin, Ray Kryssing, and Drew Geraci, and various
Cover by Alan Davis and Mark Farmer
Superman and Superboy assist the Legion, other Legion-only stories
LEGIONNAIRES #61 (Jun)
Written by Roger Stern
Art and Cover by Jeffrey Moy and W.C.Carani
Believe it or not, a tie-in to 1991's "Time and Time Again" story
LOBO #50 (Apr)
Written by Alan Grant
Art and Cover by Carl Critchlow and Mark Propst
Lobo kills Superman and the rest of the DC Universe heroes
MARTIAN MANHUNTER #0 (Oct)
Written by John Ostrander
Art and Cover by Tom Mandrake
Retelling of Martian Manhunter's origin, JLA cameo
RESURRECTION MAN #16-17 (Aug - Sep)
Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Art and Covers by Butch Guice
"Avenging Angels" crossover with SUPERGIRL #24
TEEN TITANS #17 (Feb)
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art and Cover by Dan Jurgens and Phil Jimenez
Superboy, Supergirl, and Scorn all show up at the Titans try-outs
TEEN TITANS #18 (Mar)
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art and Cover by Dan Jurgens and Phil Jimenez
JLA cameo appearance at The Atom's birthday party
TEEN TITANS #19 (Apr)
(MILLENNIUM GIANTS)
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund
Cover by Ron Frenz, Dan Jurgens, and Phil Jimenez
Superman Red and the Titans battle Sekhmet in Egypt
TEEN TITANS #21-24 (Jun - Sep)
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art and Covers by Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund
Clark Kent/Superman becomes involved in the "Titans Hunt"
UNLIMITED ACCESS #3-4 (Feb-Mar)
Written by Karl Kesel
Art (and Covers?) by Pat Oliffe and Al Williamson
Superman and Superboy become involved in the multi-universe miniseries
___________________________________________
1998 KAYCEES NOMINATIONS
----------------------------
As I'm sure many of you have already noticed, November's comics sported a
1999 cover date. This of course means that it's onceagain time for the
Kryptonian Cybernet Readers' Choice Awards!
Based on its success in streamlining the process last year, we're going to
once again use a two-step voting procedure. In the categories listed below,
we are asking you, the readers, to put forth worthy nominees. Nominees will
be ranked according to the number of nominations received, and the top
eight (or more, in the case of ties) will appear on the 1998 Kaycees
ballot, to appear in the next issue of the Kryptonian Cybernet.
Nominations for any of the awards below (multiple nominations are
acceptable) must be E-MAILED to me at sykes@ms.uky.edu no later than
Wednesday, December 16. Only the final voting will be facilitated by a
web-based ballot.
With these niceties out of the way, let's get to the awards for which we
are now accepting nominations. Accompanying the awards below are lists of
books eligible for those awards. For further information about specific
issues and their contents, see our 1998 Superman Comics Index.
SUPERMAN TRIANGLE TITLES:
------------------------
TT1: Best Story/Story-arc in the Superman Triangle Titles
TT2: Worst Story/Story-arc in the Superman Triangle Titles
TT3: Best Cover from a Superman Triangle Title
TT4: Worst Cover from a Superman Triangle Title
TT1 and TT2 are "total package" awards; both writing and art should be
taken into account when deciding on nominees. Also note that one may
nominate either single-issue stories or multiple-issue arcs. Eligible for
the TT awards are the five core Superman titles and specials with a 1998
triangle number:
Action Comics #741-749, 1M
Adventures of Superman #554-563, 1M
Superman #131-140, 1M
Superman: The Man of Steel #75-84, 1M
Superman: The Man of Tomorrow #10-11, 1M
Superman Red/Superman Blue #1
Superman Forever #1
Superman: Save the Planet #1
SUPERMAN FAMILY TITLES:
----------------------
SF1: Best Story/Story-arc in a Superman Family Title
SF2: Worst Story/Story-arc in a Superman Family Title
SF3: Best Cover from a Superman Family Title
SF4: Worst Cover from a Superman Family Title
SF1 and SF2 are also "total package" awards; both writing and art should be
taken into account when deciding on nominees. Also note that one may
nominate either single-issue stories or multiple-issue arcs. Eligible for
the SF awards are the seven Superman Family titles. The specific issues
published in 1998 are:
JLA #14-24, 1M
Steel #46-52
Superboy #47-57, 1M
Superboy and the Ravers #17-19
Supergirl #17-27, 1M
Superman Adventures #15-26
Young Justice #1-3, 1M
LIMITED SERIES AWARDS:
---------------------
LS1: Best Writing in a Special or Limited Series
LS2: Worst Writing in a Special or Limited Series
LS3: Best Art in a Special or Limited Series
LS4: Worst Art in a Special or Limited Series
LS5: Best Special or Limited Series
LS6: Worst Special or Limited Series
Note that we're taking nominations on these awards simply because of the
large number of specials and limited series published by DC this year.
Titles eligible for nomination include everything listed in our 1998
Superman Comics Index *except* for the three limited series not concluded
in the cover year 1998 (JLA/Titans, Superman: The Doomsday Wars, and
Superman: Silver Banshee) and Giant Superman Annual #1 Replica Edition,
because it is not new material.
Again, nominations for any of these categories should be e-mailed to
sykes@ms.uky.edu no later than Wednesday, December 16.
Next issue: the ballots!
___________________________________________
THE MAILBAG
-------------------------------------
(sykes@ms.uky.edu, KryptonCN@aol.com)
KC Responses are indented and begun with ****
=========================================
From: Neil A. Hansen (Neil4161@aol.com)
Hi. As usual, a very informative issue. I'm writing this letter to address
the downward state of the Superman titles on which Jeff Sykes has
commented.
Jeff, you are very correct about the events being pushed to promote the
title. While material like this can be an editorial nightmare, it is a
great deal easier to write by filling in the pieces. When you can stretch
out a one or two part tale into four and eight parts, you just do it. That
alone provides an artificial feeling to the books. A long time ago, I did
an interview in _Comics Values Monthly_ with the Super-Creators for the
Superman Memorial Special. One thing that was mentioned was that each title
had its own individual framework. _Superman_ would focus on the Man;
_Action Comics_ would focus on the Action; _Adventures of Superman_ would
focus on the adventure, a human book featuring Clark and the supporting
cast. I think if the individual themes of the titles were brought back on a
general basis (not super rigid in presentation), the material would be more
palatable. _Action_ could again focus on Action; _Superman_ focuses on the
Man and his struggles; _Adventures_ focuses on "Lois and Clark" and
"Adventures of Superman" TV-type storylines (more human); and _Man of
Steel_ focuses on the alien, hence Silver Age type storylines. Imagine each
book in a grid:
Action -- Superman has a real tussle with the mad Evilman. Subplots
include: the murder of a high ranking political candidate (which is subtly
mentioned in a Daily Planet Newsroom scene before Evilman attacks); and Ma
and Pa Kent discuss worrying about Clark's latest troubles driving him over
the brink (setting up for another storyline). The tussle with Superman
leaves some people hurt in the hospital, maybe costing the city a few
hundred thousand.
Superman -- Superman is depressed about the injuries caused in the battle.
He remembers one of his biggest supporters was the candidate that was
killed, and also remembers the guy originally from Smallville. He visits a
few of the people in the hospital, some of whom are pissed at him. Just
then, a few fancy thugs decide to use some fancy illegal weapons (setting
up possibly for some future storyline or connecting it to Luthor). Being
very, very aware of the previous attack from Evilman, he tries to be as
careful as he can, taking more abuse than he would like. He defeats the
villains. The people at the hospital seeing the news realize Superman is
still the best hero around.
Adventures of Superman -- Lois and Jimmy investigate the candidate's murder
and learn it is linked to a home-grown terrorist organization. Clark
finishes up on the story with the thugs and asks about their story. Lois
says no time, she'll handle it. She and Jimmy snoop around the HQ of the
organization, but are of course caught. While waiting, Clark looks through
Lois' notes on the computer. Changing into Superman, he saves them in the
nick of time.
Superman: Man of Steel -- Ma and Pa Kent warn Superman that some alien
being is in Smallville. He's bashing up the town. Supes flies to Smallville
and learns that the alien is looking for Superman because he wants to go
back home to Krypton. The alien is actually from another planet, but passed
by Krypton in his travels. Superman and the alien reprogram the computers
and then Supes pushes the ship back into space.
What I've presented is very basic. It can be ignored or modified for those
multipart storylines. However, the subplots could be presented in a much
less artificial way with one book not necessarily affecting the flow of the
others. You can have each story stand more on its own, giving the writers a
bit more creativity.
In terms of villains, not every comic book needs a slam bang super-villain,
just a solid story. You can make a story with just disasters and tension
just as exciting. Space sagas you can stretch out occasionally with all
four of the titles. In terms of supporting cast, you could use them as
needed. However, I think the casts of the cartoon are a great deal more
entertaining than the casts of the comic book. There is too much focus on
bad soap opera with Troupe and Lucy and Perry's cancer running too damn
long. The way they are presented and stretched out bore the hell out of me.
It was more interesting with Perry's kid, Jerry, early in the series.
Anyway, this is my commentary. Sorry to take so long with this e-mail.
Continued success with you.
=========================================
From: Rich Morrissey (RMorris306@aol.com)
[Last month, Drew J. asked a question about a classic Superman story in
which the Man of Steel temporarily stopped the Earth's orbit to prevent the
impact of a deadly seed pod from outer space.]
That would be "Who Stole My Super-Powers?" in _Superman_ #220. Curt Swan
did indeed draw the story, with inks by (I think) Mike Esposito and a
script by (he's confirmed it) Jim Shooter. What's interesting is that
[Drew] never mentions the fact that this story guest-starred The Flash
(Barry Allen), with whom Superman switched identities and, at the end,
exchanged the secrets of their identities with each other!
=========================================
From: Kumanan Wilson (kumanan.wilson@sympatico.ca)
I think the biggest problem with Superman today is that he is too hard to
identify with for most of the readers. If you look at the comics that sell
well they usually involve teenagers or "misfits". The majority of the comic
book buying population would fall into one of these categories.
The present Clark Kent is a successful, married, good looking, well built
guy. Who can identify with that? I liked it much better when Clark Kent was
a clutz. That represented to me, and I believe most of the readers, that
even if on the surface we may not appear to be much, there was the
potential for us to be much more than we appeared.
I also feel they should turn Superman back into more of a "Romantic figure"
in the classical sense. In the pre-crisis days he was a hero who had lost
two sets of parents who was not popular and was pretty much alone. But
despite this he continued to sacrifice of himself to make the world better.
I think a lot of readers could identify with this.
The editors need to recognize who buys comics. It's not middle aged,
married professionals.
**** Actually, I think it increasingly is. Anecdotal evidence suggests that
the people frequenting comic chops are not kids or even teenagers, but
adults. I don't know how many are buying from the newsstand, but I
know that I find it harder and harder to locate newsstands even
stocking comics.
Why do people need to identify with Clark Kent to enjoy Superman
comics? This is an argument I've heard before, and I don't see it.
Besides, it doesn't explain why there were so many people reading and
enjoying the post-Crisis Superman comics before the industry crashed.
The real problem, according to those who have stopped reading, is the
event-driven and episodic nature of the Superman titles, along with a
perception of bad writing and art.
At the very least, the mass of creative changes on the books in the
coming months provides an opportunity to change those perceptions.
=========================================
From: J.C. Ferguson (twin715@aol.com)
I had a comic book (late 70's to early 80's I think) which featured a dead
Superman brought back by a space jewel and a pirate of sorts. Superman had
a twin brother that he had imprisoned in kryptonite, and the story ran for
at least two issues. I do not recall the title but would love to know so
that I could buy it back.
**** Looks like another assignment for our resident know-it-alls. Anyone
know this one off the top of their head?
-- Jeff Sykes
___________________________________________
NEW COMIC REVIEWS
------------------------------------------
Comics Arriving In Stores October 1998
Quite a few reviews for you this month, but still three books that
completists should be aware of. _Secret Origins 80-Page Giant_ #1 featured
origin stories of the members of Young Justice, including Superboy;
Superman made a cameo appearance in _JLA: Year One_ #12, as he and most
of Earth's heroes joined the Justice League in their fight against the
Appellaxians; and Superman, Steel, and Supergirl made brief appearances
in the pages of _JLA/Titans_ #1.
Ratings Panelists:
-----------------
AW: Anatole Wilson EM: Edward Mathews RG: Rene' Gobeyn
CoS: Cory Strode GN: G.M. Nelson ST: Shane Travis
DR: Daniel Radice GR: Gary Robinson SDM: Simon DelMonte
DWd: Darrin Wood JE: Josh Elder TD: Thomas Deja
DWk: Douglas Wolk JSy: Jeff Sykes VV: Vic Vitek
EJ: Enola Jones MS: Mike Smith
As always, the first rating given after the average is that of the
reviewer. The average rating given for each book may correspond to a
larger sample of ratings than what is printed following the average.
==============================================
THE TRIANGLE TITLES:
-------------------
41. ACTION COMICS #749 Dec 1998 $1.99 US/$2.95 CAN
"City of the Future"
Writer: Ron Marz
Pencils: Tom Grindberg
Inks: Tom Palmer
Colors: Glenn Whitmore
Letters: Gaspar
Seps: Digital Chameleon
Assistant: Maureen McTigue
Leviathan: Joey Cavalieri
Cover: Paul Rivoche
RATINGS
Average: 2.6/5.0 Shields
ST: 3.0 Shields
EJ: 2.3 Shields - The plot is a good lead-in to the series, but the art
wasn't up to caliber. I did like the bit with Professor Hamilton,
though; he never fails to make me laugh.
EM: 3.2 Shields - Who knew? Ron Marz does a good Superman.
GN: 1.5 Shields - Could someone tell me who this whiner is in the first
few pages of this book? 'Cause it sure isn't Clark Kent. Marz'
characterization is way off.
JSy: 2.8 Shields - Some occasionally inspired art, but generally kind of
murky. Not a bad set-up, but the issue felt really drawn out.
SDM: 2.5 Shields - About as good a job as we can expect from such limited
talents as Ron Marz and Tom Grindberg. Some good moments but not
enough to justify buying the other three pasts of the story.
TD: 3.7 Shields - Oddly enough, because it spends time advancing the
subplots, this is the best segment of this execrable storyline.
Grindberg and Palmer are woefully mismatched as an art team.
VV: 3.0 Shields - Good lead-in story for the arc, nice to see Scorn
again after a long absence. (At least, it seemed long.)
Well, folks, we're back from the 853rd century. After that one-month hiatus
from the regular storyline, let's waste no time in getting straight to...
another one-month hiatus in the storyline? Seems like the Super-team
renegotiated their contracts, and they get *two* months off this year. Ron
Marz and Toms Grindberg and Palmer step in to pinch-hit for four weeks with
a story about... well... let's just get into that, shall we?
Synopsis:
Lois and Clark enjoy a rare treat -- an movie matinee together. Now that
Clark's been pink-slipped, they'll have all sorts of time for these little
'afternoon delights'. It seems that they'd better stick to chick-flicks
instead of monster movies; all that senseless destruction really gets Clark
down. They leave the movie and decide to go for a walk instead, where they
can discuss their angst over the Planet's demise.
Said walk is interrupted by the appearance of a very strange piece of
architecture in the Hypersector. Switching suits to investigate, Superman
runs into a foul-tempered alien tearing up the joint. After going a few
rounds with tall, clawed, and incomprehensible (guess who wins?), Clark
notices that the new structure looks to have been designed by a Kandorian
Frank Lloyd Wright and goes off in search of Scorn for some explanations.
Scorn quizzes the prisoner -- a Gnarnite who is indeed from Kandor -- and
learns that someone called The Inventor has claimed he can free the city,
sending one building outside the 'bottle' as a test. A quick trip to Emil
Hamilton's and a peek through his new and improved Kandor-scope verifies
the story, and shows that all is not well in Kandor. Ham's TV doesn't get
sound, though, so the only way to really know what's happening is to go in
and investigate. And so, one trip to the Antarctic later, Superman, Scorn
and Ashbury (who managed to bully her way onto the team) stand at the
business-end of the Professor's phase-transporter and are whisked away into
Kandor, and part two of our story. Ashbury, you may want to phone your dad
and tell him you're going to be late for dinner....
Opinions:
Let's be charitable and write off the first five pages, shall we? The
self-centered, self-pitying, dreary schmuck wearing Clark Kent's shoes is
not the boy we know and love and pay good money to see. You want to write?
So write! You're a famous, award-winning columnist/novelist, and nearly any
reputable paper in the world would like to have you on their staff. Or you
could work on your latest book. Or *something*. So the world's not handing
itself to you on a platter -- you're Superman, for Pete's sake! Snap out of
it already! If self-pity isn't in character, and I don't think it is, then
why have things like this been getting through the editors?
Moving along, things start to pick up. We get our first glimmer of the
mystery that drives this arc, and Superman deals with things in a fairly
straightforward and intelligent manner. The fight is mercifully brief
(sure, this guy's just a plot-device, but I've seen these things drag on
twice as long) and we pick up Ashbury and Scorn at Bibbo's, then head over
to Emil's.
Sidebar: Bibbo doesn't say much here, and what he does say isn't exactly
poetry, but I appreciate scenes like this in the super-titles; vignettes
that let us know that the background characters are still there, in the
background, living their lives. Informative, but not obtrusive, and Marz
handles Bibbo (and later Emil) quite well.
Speaking of Emil... it is once the trio arrives in Ham's lab that the book
really takes off. Character moments abound both here and in the Fortress of
Solitude -- the sorts of little things that can make a routine story more
memorable. Emil's exaggerated manners towards Ashbury and Scorn's reaction,
Superman's comments muttered under his breath -- these are the little
things that make a story come alive. The most telling (and unusual) of
these, however, was Clark's sadness when discussing with Ashbury his use of
the Kryptonian language. This was a very Silver-Age sentiment, and not at
all in keeping with Byrne's revamp. The modern Clark never learned of his
heritage until his late teens, and hardly seemed to care once he did.
Personally, I like it better that he feels some sense of loss, and applaud
Marz for displaying it.
In fact, Marz deserves a general round of applause for his work on part one
of this arc; not a foot-stomping rebel-yell sort of reaction, but certainly
more than a golf-clap. After his rather horrendous stretch on _Superboy_
where the title was often all-but-unreadable, I came into this fully
prepared to hate it. While it wasn't a masterpiece -- there were certainly
some pacing problems, and those first five pages... -- and the artwork was
only so-so (Clark looks emaciated at times, and the inks are too heavy with
too many shading-lines) the overall effort was laudable. It certainly made
me want to read the rest of the arc, and that's what any good Part One
should do.
Final Thought: Two minor nit-picks this month:
- Given that Kandor has a universal translation system (as shown in _Man of
Steel_ #84), what possible motive (or opportunity) would there be for
Scorn to learn the Gnarnite's language? (p. 14)
- Why is Emil wearing a protective glove over his metal hand? (p. 16)
-- 30 --
Shane Travis
<travis@sedsystems.ca>
==============================================
42. SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #84 Dec 1998 $1.99 US/$2.95 CAN
"The City Within"
Writer: Ron Marz
Pencils: Tom Grindberg
Inks: Tom Palmer
Color: Glenn Whitmore
Separations: Digital Chameleon
Letterer: Gaspar
Assistant: Maureen McTigue
Tour Guide: Joey Cavalieri
Cover: Paul Rivoche
RATINGS
Average: 2.6/5.0 Shields
MS: 1.8 Shields
EM: 3.3 Shields - Ron Marz does something interesting; he makes me
like Scorn!
GN: 1.4 Shields - Gee, the Inventor knows Superman and Ashbury. I wonder
WHO he could be?
JE: 3.4 Shields - I enjoyed this issue for the simple fact that I got to
see Kandor again. I love the concept of beings from all over the
universe forced to live together without any real hope of escape.
JSy: 2.5 Shields - The premise behind this story isn't bad, but the hints
at the Inventor's identity were *way* too heavy-handed, and this
issue dragged along even more than part one.
ST: 2.9 Shields - Grindberg did a good job on Kandor, Marz told a nice
story (with no fights!) and it was good to see Scorn back in his
more eloquent element.
TD: 2.0 Shields - This story becomes cliche-ville the second it enters
Kandor. There is nothing here or in the other three parts that
justify it being made a month-long event.
VV: 3.5 Shields - No big fight scenes, just some nice storytelling.
So let's talk about where this book is going? Everywhere? Yes. In the last
six months _Man of Steel_ has gone from 1938 to 85,271, and from the edge
of reality to the inside of a shrunken city. Great.
Nowhere? Yes again. In the last six months _Man of Steel_ has had *five*
different creative teams, and more on the way. (And let's not forget that
one of those months had no issue at all.) Supporting characters wander in
and out apparently at random, and the quality of each issue is as
unpredictable as the weather.
Books like that get cancelled in today's market. People lose interest in
series that can't keep a stable creative presence from month to month. Look
at Marvel Comics' _Ka-zar_: three writers in twenty issues. Maybe that
didn't cause the book to get cancelled but it sure didn't help things any.
As for _Man of Steel_, I'd say the only thing keeping this book alive is
Superman himself. While he may not need it, I think the big guy deserves
more support than that.
Which brings me to Ron Marz. The very name stirs up controversy. My only
real trouble with him is that many of his stories fail to live up to their
hype. Marz can grab me with an interesting set-up (i.e. a time-displaced
Hal Jordan joins the present-day JLA) but then I find myself on page 22
wondering, "Is that all?" (The bulk of that issue focused on Kyle Rayner's
reaction, instead of say, a time-displaced Hal Jordan joining the JLA.
That's fine, since it's Kyle's book, but Ron could have gone a lot further
with the concept than he did).
"City of the Future" is no exception. Marz is supposed to be writing
another Kandor four-parter and it took him all of part one to get Superman
into the bottle city of Kandor. Now that he, Scorn and Ashbury Armstrong
have arrived, they spend a great deal of time taking in the scenery. After
checking out the new Superman statue, Scorn reunites with his sister
Cerizah and his father Cerimul, the top official of the city. Superman
learns that a mysterious man called the Inventor is responsible for
transporting parts of Kandor into Metropolis, as well as creating political
unrest such as a monorail bombing. Superman meets up with the Inventor, who
claims to be working on a way to free Kandor from the magical bottle, and
he says the transport into Metropolis was an accident. He also offers to
improve Ashbury's vision goggles. Of course, once he's alone, the Inventor
gloats to himself about how he'll destroy Superman and Metropolis. Hmmm....
There you go. Normally, it takes me several paragraphs to describe one of
Louise Simonson's involved plots, but Marz makes things extremely simple,
perhaps obvious. Do you wonder who the Inventor is? No, because the next
issue box in _Adventures of Superman_ #1,000,000 showed the Cyborg on the
cover. Now it's pretty clear that Ron wants to keep this plot point under
wraps, but since we already knew the Cyborg was in the story, maybe he
could have at least been a little more subtle about his disguise. The
Inventor? A guy who's really good with machines wants to destroy Superman?
He offers to do a favor for Ashbury, the only person who ever befriended...
the Cyborg?
Remember when the Cyborg could actually surprise people? Now he's a Grade-F
supervillain, complete with evil "Destroy Superman" banter. It's pathetic.
Of course, maybe if he didn't die and come back to life so many times, we'd
have a harder time believing he was back. There was a time when he was
actually my favorite Superman villain. Was.
And what's the rest of this story? Ashbury meets Scorn's family and is
greeted with... total acceptance? Scorn and his dad resolve their
differences in one panel? Conflict is the essence of drama, Marz, and this
story doesn't have any. The only action in this issue was Superman stopping
a train, which may as well be the comic book equivalent to stock footage.
And Scorn's family compared the political scene in Kandor to that of
Superman's last visit. So where are the rioters? Back in "Krisis in Kandor"
Superman and the Atom couldn't make a move without getting swarmed by
crowds of raving maniacs. Based on this issue, Kandor seems to have
population of four! That leaves a lot of pretty pictures of "the City of
the Future" -- which is primarily onion-domed buildings, monorails and
blimps. Wow. Monorails. I almost expect the next part of the story to take
place in a 3-D movie theater.
Of course, next week actually looks promising, since Cerimul is supposed to
die and Cyborg will probably try to make his move. The problem is that Marz
has spent half of his story arc getting to the action, where another writer
could have done it in half an issue (say, Karl Kesel, who pulled it off in
_AOS_ #547). Somehow I expect to be let down, no matter what the
solicitations say.
The only real suspense? Well Tolos was mentioned in this story and I
realized that both the Cyborg and Tolos have a knack for appearing in the
same stories ("Trial of Superman", and the New Powers storyline). Could
there be a secret relationship between the two? Probably not, but this is
the only thing holding my interest in the "City of the Future", and I had
to come up with that myself.
The art is blah. Kandor is a city of four colors, while Superman hasn't
looked this static since his death. After the last few issues of this
comic, I'm really hoping that Mark Schultz and Doug Mahnke can turn this
thing around. _Man of Steel_ can't take another fill-in issue like this
one.
Mike Smith
<mike_p_smith@hotmail.com>
==============================================
43. SUPERMAN #140 Dec 1998 $1.99 US/$2.95 CAN
"A City Against Them"
Writers: Ron Marz
Pencils: Tom Grindberg
Inks: Tom Palmer
Colors: Glenn Whitmore
Letters: Gaspar
Seps: Digital Chameleon
Assistant: Maureen McTigue
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Cover: Paul Rivoche
RATINGS
Average: 2.1/5.0 Shields
TD: 1.0 Shields
DWd: 1.5 Shields - Whatever happened to the Cyborg being this all powerful
villain on the same power level as Superman?
EJ: 3.2 Shields - I had *no* idea it was Cyborg! The ending took me
completely off-guard! The art was incredible in this one,
especially in the transformation scene.
EM: 3.0 Shields - The Cyborg must die. God, I can't stand the Cyborg.
GN: 1.4 Shields - Anyone else wondering why the Kandorians didn't even
look into Scorn's defense of Superman? Anyone else tired of the
Cyborg? Anyone else want to know what the heck Marz was thinking?
JSy: 2.0 Shields - Though a bit faster paced than the first two issues,
the story continues to plod along. I'm not yet convinced that
this couldn't have been told in a single issue.
MS: 0.2 Shields - Superman framed for a crime he didn't commit? Superman
is losing his powers? The suspicious looking guy is the Cyborg?
Where *em* they come up with these fresh and innovative ideas
every month?
VV: 2.5 Shields - Scorn was with Superman all morning, yet nobody
believes him? And why does it always have to be the Cyborg?
There are months when I feel like I'm the sole sour voice in the whole
magazine. Of course, I may be wrong in feeling that way. Judging by how
cliched, listless and predictable this story has shaped up to be, maybe I
won't be the only sour voice this time....
For those not looking at the other reviews, the story goes like this: a
mysterious figure called The Inventor has appeared in Kandor, claiming he
can transport the city into the real world. He can do it too -- he's
already plopped a large chunk of Kandor into the Hypersector, which is why
Supes, Scorn and Ashbury have come to Kandor to see what's up. Of course,
The Inventor reminds Ashbury of a certain art teacher... and when she
figures it out, she is captured.
Now anyone who's been following the triangle titles for a while can figure
out who The Inventor is, but before we get the revelation, we see Supes and
Scorn heading off to look for the missing Ashbury, and discovering that the
Inventor is behind it. Unfortunately, while they're busy finding Ashbury's
goggles in The Inventor's lair, a Superman lookalike shows up in the
chambers of Scorn's dad, Cerimul, and publicly murders him. This prompts
Kandorian police to arrest the Man of Steel and imprison him with Ashbury,
while The Inventor to be revealed as... THE CYBORG!!!
...and a yawn erupts throughout fandom. I'm so sorry, but The Cyborg is the
*most* boring, most overused character in the Supes Pantheon right now. How
a character can go from the most fearsome threat the titles have known
(during the Reign of Supermen arc) to a goofball who shows up every six
freaking months to get his lights punched out is beyond me. The identity of
The Inventor is *so* transparent that I can't see anyone thinking the last
sequence was going to be a shock ending. This is a dull little story, with
dull little plot developments and not even a touch of originality.
Then there's the art. I am not a big Tom Grindberg fan under the best of
conditions, but he is simply mismatched with Tom Palmer's inks. Palmer is
an excellent inker who has spent so much time inking the great Gene Colan
that he tends to make every artist look like Colan, and Grindberg's pencils
are just not strong enough to support such an impressionistic inking job.
There are some characters here who look dorky and out of proportion
(especially Scorn and Ashbury, whose facial features change from page to
page). Palmer's inks are particularly painful when it comes to Superman
himself; with gawky positions and ill-proportioned anatomy, this Man of
Steel looks more like a Man of Aluminum.
Also worth demerits this time out are Glenn Whitmore's colors. They seem
weak and listless. It looks like somebody was using watercolors in lieu of
inks, which only served to make Kal-El look even more ineffectual.
I look at this four-parter for what it was -- a fill-in plugging the hole
between big storylines. This time, unlike Mark Waid's Brainiac four-parter
which at least tried to do something interesting, this fill-in was not
worth the month's space it took up. Given what I've heard of the next big
story line -- from the sound of it, the *worst* they've come up with (I
mean, Superman the Psychic Friend? Pul-eeeze!!), I am feeling very, very
sad.
Almost sad enough to yearn for Dan Jurgens' return.
Tom Deja
<tdj723@webtv.net>
___________________________________________
THE TRIANGLE TITLES (cont):
--------------------------
44. THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #563 Dec 1998 $1.99 US/$2.95 CAN
"Imprisoned in the Bottle!"
Writer: Ron Marz
Penciller: Tom Grindberg
Inker: Tom Palmer
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Separations: Digital Chameleon
Letters: Gaspar
Assistant Editor: Maureen McTigue
Mayor of Kandor: Joey Cavalieri
Cover: Paul Rivoche
RATINGS
Average: 2.4/5.0 Shields
DR: 4.0 Shields
EM: 3.2 Shields - At least it didn't say "Final fate of the Cyborg!"
like the last 3 times...
GN: 1.6 Shields - Yet another ho-hum battle with the Cyborg. I hope
there's a moratorium on his appearances for a while.
JSy: 2.1 Shields - A story which did not need four weeks to tell. At least
we finally have some confirmation that Superman's first trip to
Kandor was to blame for his energy powers.
MS: 0.1 Shields - How many times do we have to cram "two cities" into
this story? The worst story in two cities plods to a halt as the
Cyborg is trapped between two cities "forever". Two cities,
two cities, two cities...
TD: 2.0 Shields - A predictable, uninteresting ending to a predictable,
DREADFULLY boring storyline (with even more dreadful art.) Please,
someone stop the Super-team from using the Cyborg ever again!
VV: 4.0 Shields - I liked where the Cyborg's gloating did himself in;
very well-executed. I'm surprised Scorn didn't stay in Kandor and
Asbury stay with him; she doesn't appear to have that much going
for her in Metropolis.
What an amazing surprise last issue's revelation was! The villain behind it
was none other than the Cyborg! Oh, it's been so long since we've seen him
last, and I for one am glad that Ron Marz chose to throw this totally
unexpected curve our way! Kudos to Ron for a stellar story marred only by
the choice to use Superman as a major character in this tale as opposed to
the current (perfect) system of The Superman Soap-Opera Hour. Good thing
we're going back to that with our next issue! Now, if you agree with that
you and I should have a *serious* discussion out back...
What happened in this issue? Other than Superman escaping from prison and
defeating the Cyborg at Cerimul's funeral, promising to find a way to free
the city, and the return of Ceritak/Scorn to Metropolis, not much.
Honestly, I like it that way. A simple, straightforward tale that didn't
leap from subplot to subplot to subplot, ad infinitum, ad nauseum. The
current writers should take a page from the book of Marz and try something
like this: Focus on Superman -- the guy the book is named after!
Deeper investigations into this issue reveal some interesting things. Done
in a wonderful Silver-Age style -- including a great opening splash page
that would make any long time reader nostalgic for days gone by -- this
issue has many high points. Superman's escape from his cell was creative,
and his attack on the Cyborg is done in a wonderfully dramatic fashion.
Superman's plan to gain the upper hand on the Cyborg was quite crafty, and
the final moments of the story, while low-key, made for a very nice closer.
Unfortunately, Marz gets a few details wrong that serve to irk me.
For one, the Cyborg isn't a shapeshifter. He didn't have the ability to
disguise himself in his earlier appearances, so I don't particularly like
this additional power. That is just a personal preference, however, and
since it was Jurgens, not Marz, who originated the shapeshifting ability,
I'll let it pass. The fact that Marz conveniently forgets that the Cyborg's
human portion is made from Kryptonian DNA -- namely Superman's -- is a bit
of an oversight. When Superman bathes in the rays of the yellow sun, the
Cyborg should have been energized as well. Finally, Superman's means of
disposal was weak, allowing for the Cyborg to return again in a few months.
The art, however, was delightful, done in an excellent mix of Silver and
Modern age styles. Tom Grindberg manages to capture some of the essence of
Curt Swan in his Superman interpretation, and it couldn't be any more
appropriate than in this story. His scene of Metropolis as the Cyborg opens
the portal was beautifully rendered. The only thing I really didn't like
was the Cyborg's electronic eye -- too googly, and as such, not menacing at
all. A small price to pay though, I suppose.
The biggest problem with this entire storyline, and not just this issue, is
the choice to use the Cyborg as the main villain. He's been used far too
often to have any real impact, and his motivation is so horribly boring. He
blames Superman for the loss of his humanity. He's blamed him for 5 long
years now. This is as stupid as blaming someone for, say, the loss of your
hair. We're told that the Hank Henshaw consciousness has gone insane, which
is the reason why he hasn't let up his unrelenting desire to kill Superman,
but it's pretty darn silly. Having *no* motivation is better than this
motivation, because it's misplaced. He's not a tragic villain, or a
menacing villain, but a stupid villain. Add to that the fact that it was
*painfully* obvious that he was "The Inventor" and I'm disgruntled. I don't
think, however, that Marz could have used anyone else to make the story
work, so I guess we have to take the good with the bad.
Dan Radice
<dradice@caninet.com>
___________________________________________
SUPER-FAMILY TITLES:
-------------------
SUPERBOY #57 Dec 1998 $1.99 US/$2.95 CAN
"Demolition Run"
Writer: Karl Kesel
Penciller: Tom Grummett
Inker: Ray Kryssing
Colorist: Buzz Setzer
Letterer: Comicraft
Asst. Ed.: Frank Berrios
Editor: Mike McAvennie
Cover: Tom Grummett, Karl Kesel, and Patrick Martin
RATINGS
Average: 3.6/5.0 Shields
RG: 4.5 Shields
DWd: 4.0 Shields - I was unaware the Doc was the same age as Superboy, and
what happened to Roxy being in the Hawaii SCU? Still, I enjoyed it.
EJ: 2.0 Shields - Formulaic plot. While I love the continuing nods to
Jack Kirby's art and am intrigued by Doctor Roquette and the rest
of it was a snoozer.
EM: 3.4 Shields - Kirby-rific once again.
GN: 3.0 Shields - Nice to see S-Boy and the Mechanic getting off to a
non-adversarial start. Grummett could cut down on the Kirby a bit.
JSy: 4.1 Shields - As much happens in this issue as does in the entire
month of triangle titles. Plots advance, characters develop, and
the art is clean and detailed. What more could one ask for?
SDM: 3.2 Shields - Not much to say other than: Good job as usual. Quickly
becoming the most consistently entertaining comic on the market.
ST: 3.9 Shields - I'm glad Roxy's back, but her 'plan' is so improbable
and unworkable as to be laughable. She's smarter and more level-
headed than that. Other than that, thoroughly enjoyable.
More adventure in the tradition of Jack Kirby.
Mickey "the Mechanic" continues to re-staff and lead Cadmus into the public
eye. He seems to be getting a little support from the outside, which will
complicate things in the near future. Meanwhile Superboy is busy training
with The Guardian and trying to get to know the only remaining person at
Cadmus close to his age - Dr. Serling Roquette.
Serling is trying to help the new Head of Genetics (Dubbilex) when he finds
that she is lying about the some part of the physical exam she just
performed on him. He has been very worried about the state of his powers of
late so this does little to ease his mind.
The real fun begins When Mickey (suffering from cabin fever) takes Superboy
out for a spin in the Whiz Wagon. They make a short stop at the Habitat
where they run into Yango and find out about the Demolition Run. Mickey is
surprised to find out that it isn't a myth, and even more surprised when
somebody steals the Whiz Wagon.
Superboy gives chase and finds out that it's Roxy who's the thief. She
stole the Wagon to enter the Demolition Run and bail out her dad with the
prize money. He tries to offer her Cadmus' help, only to have the idea shot
down by Mickey. (Maybe we'll find out why next issue.) Mickey orders them
all into the Whiz Wagon... and sets out to win the Run!
Well, it's official, _Superboy_ is (once again) my favorite DC Universe
title.
When I read in Previews that _Superboy_ was going to start doing more with
Jack Kirby's creations I didn't want to get my hopes up. Jack's pre-crisis
DC stories have always been some of my favorites. It seems my reservations
were groundless. Of all the tributes and follow-ups that DC has done with
Kirby's characters over the years, Kesel and Grummett demonstrate a view
that is the closest I've seen to the originals. These stories are just
plain fun. I find myself eagerly awaiting the new issue each month -- a far
cry from how I felt just over a year ago.
My biggest complaint about the new setting has been that it seemed that
most of Superboy's original supporting cast had been forgotten. Kesel and
Grummett have now brought back Roxy, and mention was made of Tana and the
Wild Men. Can actual appearances be far behind? I hope not. I'm trying to
give the new cast a chance, but so far it hasn't jelled the way that the
originals did. I'll be patient, though; the direction the title is taking
agrees with me.
I was beginning to think that they were running out of Kirby creations to
bring into these stories. I shouldn't have worried. Yango and the Habitat
are only tip of the iceberg if I'm right about what I suspect is going to
happen next issue.
The art is nothing short of fantastic. It's a very nice blend of Kirby's
original style with some of Tom Grummett's own. I (really!) hate to say
this, but I actually think I may like it better than the originals. My only
complaint is that there are too many panels with no backgrounds. Most of
Kirby's panels had some kind of background, even if it was only some
unlikely looking machine or a sketchy building. It gave your eyes something
to use as a reference point. It's a very minor thing, though, and doesn't
detract from the story at all.
If you gave up this title last year, you should give it another try. This
is the start of a new story line, and would make a good jump-on point.
Rene Gobeyn
<bedlam@frontiernet.net>
==============================================
SUPERGIRL #27 Dec 1998 $1.99 US/$2.95 CAN
"Spaceworld"
Writer: Peter David
Pencils: Leonard Kirk
Inks: Robin Riggs
Letters: Pat Prentice
Colors: Gene D'Angelo
Seps: Digital Chameleon
Assists: Frank Berrios
Edits: Mike McAvennie
Cover: Leonard Kirk, Robin Riggs, and Patrick Martin
RATINGS
Average: 3.2/5.0 Shields
TD: 2.5 Shields
DWd: 3.5 Shields - Not as good as usual but I've never been a big fan of
the Fourth World or its inhabitants. Mattie just cracks me up with
her comments....
EM: 4.0 Shields - This is still the best of the on-going titles, IMHO.
Much better than last month's 1 Million issue.
GN: 3.2 Shields - Nice bit with the Space Girls. Can't wait to see how
this deal with Cutter turns out.
JSy: 3.5 Shields - I'm probably being a nitpick, but I would have expected
better art from Kirk and Riggs after their having a month off.
Was it just me, or were the Space Girls about the most irritating
thing we've seen in this book?
VV: 2.5 Shields - This just didn't seem as strong as previous issues,
maybe because I don't know enough about Jack Kirby's New Gods,
Furies, etc. Still, some nice building and I do want to see what
Cutter's next idea is going to be.
I don't quite know what to make of this story. It seems that a lot of the
storylines that have made this book interesting the previous few months
have disappeared almost entirely. In their place we've got a very lame
satire of one of the most overexposed rock acts in the world, a perfunctory
appearance by the Female Furies, and the unexpected appearance of an old
foe with a story that -- surprise, surprise -- seems to contradict the
origin previously told.
The story primarily revolves around Wendell Sharpe, who gets Supergirl to
hire him as her PR man. After all, argues Wendell, since the Maid of Might
is associated with disasters and the appearance of super-villains, she
needs someone to put positive spins on things. Wendell arranges for
Supergirl to make an appearance at the Space Girls concert the following
night. One of the Space Girls bears an uncanny resemblance to the woman
Twilight was incapable of saving in her origin (told in flashback in issue
#16), and Twilight is drawn to the concert. When Supergirl learns that
Wendell sorta, kinda implied that she would replace a departed Space Girl,
she reluctantly agrees to a one-night appearance. Of course, Supergirl
warns her hosts that "If super-villains attack or something don't blame
me."
Famous last words. It seems that Twilight is a potential Female Fury who
was smuggled to Earth as an infant. The Furies locate Twilight at the
concert proper, causing the usual hilarity to ensue....
On other fronts, the Danvers reunion seems to be going well, even if Mom is
worried that the recent racist rumors have caused everyone to hate Linda.
(She has enough to worry about with Fred being the target of 'cop-haters'
in his job.) Fred gets promoted to plainclothes detective, and is assigned
almost immediately to the deaths we witnessed last issue. Linda goes to
thank Wally for everything, only to find out the house he lives in is
occupied by someone else -- and has been occupied for years by someone
other than Wally.
I'm afraid that after the last batch of stories, this is a disappointment.
There are good moments, but the story never really goes anywhere. The plot
development with Wendell is interesting, but if all it's going to do is
provide set-ups for Peter David vaudeville, I can do without it. The Furies
are devoid of characterization this time out (although David can't resist
sticking some vaudeville in there; there's a fight between Stompa and the
generic-archer-character Artemis over Stompa's tendency to refer to herself
in the third person), and Twilight seems to have just wandered in with no
warning. Most of all, David spends far, far too much time with the Space
Girls who are as uninteresting as can be, even if one may or may not be
Twilight's 'failure.'
The weirdest development concerns Wally, whom Linda finds doesn't live
where he said he lives. I have to wonder if this is David's way to write
this character out. It smacks of the elf-with-the-gun in the 70's
_Defenders_ comic (anyone remembers that storyline?). It seems very
offhanded in its way, and depriving us of the most bizarre development in
the series would be disappointing.
Kirk continues to do his usual fine work. Maybe because there is so little
combat, he shines somewhat brighter than usual. His facial expressions in
particular convey a lot of subtlety and are a welcome sight; check out the
progression at the bottom of page 13, where Kirk does the best damn double
take I've seen in a while.
Every once in a while, I have noticed that David just gets sort of lazy,
and coasts for a bit. There are whole sequences in his twelve years on _The
Incredible Hulk_ that are pretty much unreadable; pick any story arc
featuring the Pantheon, for example. David also has a tendency to stay on a
book far too long than is necessary. Considering how disjointed and
wandering this story is -- and how execrable the _One Million_ entry was --
maybe David is reaching his point where he's going to be producing
diminishing returns.
After all, "Spaceworld" is just average... but in comparison to the last
few non-crossover issues, it could be the signs of a decline.
Tom Deja
<tdj723@webtv.net>
==============================================
SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #26 Dec 1998 $1.99 US/$2.95 CAN
"Yesterday's Man Of Tomorrow"
Writer: Mark Millar
Penciller: Aluir Amancio
Inker: Terry Austin
Colorist: Marie Severin
Seps : Zylonol
Letterer: Louis Buhalis
Asst. Editor: Frank Berrios
Editor: Mike McAvennie
Cover: Rick Burchett and Terry Austin
RATINGS
Average: 2.5/5.0 Shields
CoS: 2.5 Shields
GN: 2.8 Shields - Clever tactic by Mxy, though "it's too boring without
my foe to torment" is getting old.
GR: 1.0 Shields - Too unbelievable, even for Mxyzptlk. I seriously
doubt young Clark Kent was ever so dumb as to exile himself from
earth on the word of a 4-foot stranger!
JE: 4.2 Shields - A great Mxyzptlk story. Millar really lampooned all
the old Superboy conventions and yet still reminded us how
charming they were.
JSy: 2.5 Shields - Mxy isn't funny, and Clark doesn't really do anything
heroic. In fact, his only contributions to the tale are in his
refusals to act and in his absence from Earth. Not horrible, as
an Elseworld would go, but this isn't an Elseworld.
ST: 2.3 Shields - Nothing special here and a few things that grated,
including the bubbleheaded Lana. Some nice tips to the Silver Age
Superboy, but Mxyzptlk's appearance seemed... uninspired.
When John Byrne did his revamp of Superman in the 80's, one thing that got
people upset was how he completely changed Clark Kent's backstory. For the
Silver Age Superman, with whom most people are familiar, Clark Kent was a
newspaper reporter whose personality was that of a 98 pound weakling with
no confidence, social skills or athletic ability. Clark used this persona
to cover for his alter-ego of Superman, so no one would suspect the
dual-identity, and had been doing so since his youth. Stories of "The
Adventures of Superman when he was a boy" were told, and we learned that
Superboy lived in an idyllic small town that just happened to have robots,
aliens, well-dressed robbers who always had a suit and tie on, and mad
scientists in abundance.
Byrne, at the urging of the editorial board at DC, stripped away all of
that. His Clark Kent was unaware of his heritage (or powers) until he was
in his late teens. He was a popular student and the star of the football
team, and never even thought of a career as Superboy. While there was a lot
of outcry about this change at the time, since then, DC has used Clark's
upbringing and personality to drive many of the more enjoyable aspects of
the current series.
The current issue of Superman Adventures gives another spin on Superboy,
one that doesn't work as well as it should. Mark Millar, the series current
writer, continues with his run of frustrating stories filled with good --
but poorly executed -- ideas. As the story starts, Mr. Mxyzptlk is fuming
in his home dimension. His 90-day wait is almost up, and he doesn't have a
plan. Even if he did, though, he knows Superman is ready for him. He
realizes that his ability to travel in time allows him access to Superman
from any time; he doesn't really have to pay attention to the 90 day rule,
or even deal with a Superman who knows who he is.
We go back to 13 years ago, as Clark Kent is getting ready to graduate high
school. He has a crush on Liz Allen...oh, I'm sorry, Lana Lang and is
always being teased by Flash Thompson... err... Brad something. Clark has
a heart to heart conversation with his dad about all the good he could do
with his powers, but Pa cautions him to wait until he's older. Mxyzptlk
appears, and tells Clark about what the future holds; Clark starts out
doing good, but will eventually use his powers to become a dictator, moving
from making the world a better place to making the world conform to his
view of what a better place is. Mxy convinces Clark that the only way to
prevent this dark future is to go to the moon and promise not to meddle in
human affairs. Clark buys into this; since Mxyzptlk knows everything about
his past, he must know everything about his future as well.
Superboy's self-imposed exile means Mxyzptlk can run wild on Earth with no
one to stop him. Mxyzptlk shortly finds himself bored with no one to oppose
him, so he goes to the moon to convince Clark to come back to Earth and
fight him. Even after learning the truth, Clark refuses, saying that the
whole thing is stupid and juvenile. This makes Mxyzptlk furious, and he
decides that he'd rather go back to the future and bother an adult Superman
who will at least play with him. He banishes himself back to the 5th
dimension setting everything back to how it was, and causing everyone to
forget everything.
The synopsis doesn't make the story sound as disappointing to read as it
was to read. Most of the story's problems come from pacing; it takes 15
pages to get Superboy to living on the moon, then we see two pages of
Mxyzptlk running wild and the rest of the story is the wrap-up. It was as
if there were two competing themes, but 'Mxyzptlk fooling Superboy' should
have been the main story and 'what Clark's life was like before he was
Superman' relegated more to a subplot role. As is, the mix just didn't
work. Because of that, the final page of Clark and Pa Kent discussing his
upcoming career as Superman didn't have the emotional impact it was
supposed to, and instead felt tacked on. Superboy's decision not to fight
with Mxyzptlk was a good one, but he had made so many other poor decisions
along the way that this one seemed like it was pulled from a hat because
there weren't many pages left.
The other major flaw, in my eyes, was patterning Clark Kent's school life
so much on what felt more like Spider-Man's. Clark was still drawn as a
huge figure, bigger than the bully, and yet everyone treated him as if he
were a scrawny weakling. Lana Lang has never been portrayed as an airhead
who doesn't even know what an "F" for a grade means. While I don't think
the animated series should be married to any portrayal of Clark Kent's
childhood, any one of the pre-Crisis "perfect son", the post-Crisis "gifted
athlete", or the shy, retiring Clark Kent of the 1978 movie are far better
templates than this one.
Amancio continues to improve, with very nice panel flow throughout the
story. Especially nice is the page where Clark fantasizes about hitting the
bully so hard that he flies into space. The two-page sequence of Mxyzptlk
making Metropolis go haywire were inventive and fun, and made me wish that
sequence would have gone longer. Too bad the sequence of Mxyzptlk
convincing Clark to go to the moon went on for at least a page too long.
Once again, I have to rate this book as average -- two-and-a-half shields.
With comic prices so high, I don't recommend average books, so buy this one
only if you are a fan of Mxyzptlk, or like the artwork of Amancio.
Cory Strode
<Solitaire.Rose@worldnet.att.net>
___________________________________________
TEAM TITLES:
-----------
JLA #24 Dec 1998 $1.99 US/$2.95 CAN
"Executive Action"
Writer: Grant Morrison
Penciller: Howard Porter
Inker: John Dell
Colorist: Pat Garrahy
Separations: Heroic Age
Letterer: Ken Lopez
Assoc. Ed.: Tony Bedard
Editor: Dan Raspler
Cover: Porter and Dell
RATINGS
Average: 3.2/5.0 Shields
AW: 1.5 Shields
DWd: 4.0 Shields - A good lead-in to the Ultramarines, an interesting
subplot, and a bit of fighting. Thats what it's all about!
EM: 3.2 Shields - A fun read, but too much, too fast. Is anyone
convinced that these four are a threat to the JLA? At least
Shaggy Man is due for a return.
GN: 3.3 Shields - Nice to see that history -- both the JLA's and Eiling's
checkered past -- is being remembered.
MS: 3.9 Shields - It's about time a DC comic lived up to the post-_One
Million_ hype. I shouldn't be surprised it's this one. From
proteum to the president, Morrison does it again.
ST: 1.5 Shields - The storytelling devices didn't work, Porter/Dell's art
was sub-par, I don't get how Aquaman could get the bends, didn't
believe in the 'military coup', and can't see these guys as a
threat. Without the 'Shaggy Man' setup, this would have been a
total waste.
TD: 2.5 Shields - An interesting set-up for the much threatened 'Shaggy
Man' story Grant alluded to in interviews about the JLA.
Now that everyone has nuclear weapons, super-powered heroes are the next
phase in the weapons race: it's a theme that's been done many times before,
with varying levels of success. In "Executive Action," Morrison, Dell, and
Porter offer us this theme again, with very little that's new or unique, or
anything that convinces me there's any reason to explore the theme any
deeper.
For the past thirty years, it's been Russia that's come up with ways to
enhance their citizens with super-powers. On many occasions (such as the
Troika in _Flash_, Rocket Red in Giffen's _JLA_, or the Red Guardian from
_The Defenders_) the subjects usually turn on their ruthless creators and
either defect to the U.S. or become free agents. In this case, however, the
new team is under the direction of one of our own, General Eiling -- an
infamous general responsible for the creation of Captain Atom and who has
been involved in a number of military scandals and cover-ups in the past.
Originally under authority of the President, who approves the program after
Superman refuses to tie the JLA to the service of any specific nation,
Eiling takes four marines, has them enter some mysterious sphere, and
transforms them into the super-powered UltraMarine Corps. It may be
interesting to see what eventually happens to this team, given that they
have no other country to which they can defect. Will they repent and turn
on Eiling, or serve him till the end?
For reasons unbeknownst to me, Eiling chooses to announce the creation of
this team to the world in a press conference. He subsequently uses them to
release the Shaggy Man from the underwater prison where the JLA has been
keeping him and then to ambush the JLA. Apparently Eiling sees the JLA as a
threat to U.S. superiority, and is willing to seize power from the
President (he calls it a "coup") to see that they're eliminated.
Now, this issue starts out with the warning that the Shaggy Man has enough
power to be a planet-threatening menace. While I don't specifically
remember any of his battles with the JLA, I do remember seeing him on a
striking George Perez _Justice League of America_ somewhere around issue
190. That makes it about ten or twelve years since his last appearance. I
don't remember him being in the rampaging, Earth-threatening, Doomsday-
class menace category, but I'll give Morrison the benefit of the doubt for
now.
There are a couple of other places in this issue where Morrison indulges in
questionable. One is Lois' assertion that Eiling's press conference is the
'story of the century'. It's so important, in fact, that she prompts Clark
to ignore the JLA emergency signal! As unbelievable as it is that this
general who routinely engages in covert operations is announcing his new
secret weapons (the same secret weapons he's about to use in another covert
operation to seize power, free the Shaggy Man, and assault the JLA), Lois'
behavior really strained the credibility of this story.
Then there's the issue of Eiling staging a "coup" without any struggle from
a blustering President, who doesn't even call his Secret Service Agents to
take the creep into custody. No, this President cedesauthority much too
easily to be believable.
Finally, we have what is virtually a three-page reprint from _JLA Secret
Files_, in which it is revealed why Orion and Barda have been sent to join
the JLA. There's this menace called Mageddon, see, and he/she/it is going
to do some terrible things two months hence. So far, I'm not shaking with
anticipation. But if beating Mageddon gets droolboy Orion off the team any
faster, bring Mageddon on!
_JLA_ #24 was less an inspired effort than a hodgepodge of incidents meant
to set up the next few issues. The art was lackluster but okay, and the
storytelling simply there. You may want to get this issue in case they
don't recap it sufficiently in the next one, but I see little to recommend
this comic to anyone.
Anatole Wilson
<awilson@us.oracle.com>
==============================================
YOUNG JUSTICE #3 Dec 1998 $2.50 US/$3.75 CAN
"The Issue Before the One Where the Girls Show Up"
Writer: Peter David
Penciller: Todd Nauck
Inker: Lary Stucker
Letterer: Ken Lopez
Colorist: Jason Wright
Separator: Digital Chameleon
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Cover: Todd Nauck, Lary Stucker, and Patrick Martin
RATINGS
Average: 3.1/5.0 Shields
GR: 2.6 Shields
EJ: 4.3 Shields - I have not laughed *this* hard since reading the last
issue! Mxyzptlk as a serious boy was even *more* funny than him
grown up! And I loved the nods to McGurk etc.
EM: 3.0 Shields - A fun, light read with some good humor and bad puns.
GN: 3.4 Shields - Peter David finally is hitting a balance on this book.
Rather than beating the readers over the head with gags, the humor
is growing out of the situations. A serious Mxy is something to
watch.
JSy: 3.5 Shields - A nice humor-laden recovery from the previous (non-1M)
issue. A serious Mxy is an interesting concept, even if the basic
plot did become a bit formulaic near the end.
TD: 0.5 Shields - Peter David must stop writing this. The most unfunny
comic of his career, without one single laugh by any stretch of
the imagination.
VV: 4.0 Shields - This was my first issue of _YJ_. It was funny and
reasonably fast-paced, but overbearing in its attempts at humor.
It's Halloween -- a night, as PD so aptly puts it, "of pagan rituals that
has insinuated itself into a mostly non-pagan society." That scholarly
observation is the only observation of any depth in another attempt at a
fun and frothy YJ. The froth, however, outweighs the fun.
The main action occurs at a "Hallow-Teen" party hosted by fun-loving
Superboy, party animal Impulse, and wet-blanket Robin (whose high collar
makes him look, appropriately, like a disapproving priest). There, after
some standard sitcom dialogue and hi-jinks, the boys take on a younger,
studious version of Mxyzptlk.
Some of this was funny. For example, Impulse's twist on "tactile
telekinesis" -- "textile telekinesis" -- was clever, and the jerk he pulled
it on certainly deserved it. When an annoyed Mxyzptlk transforms the kids
into fingers on his purple-gloved hand, Impulse asks, "Could you, y'know,
turn us back to normal...before you forget and start picking your nose or
something?" It's not a gut-buster, but it's something a kid would think of
to say and naturally draws a chuckle.
Even funnier were the first two pages, upon which, ironically, neither
Young Justice nor Mxyzptlk appear. I found PD's mix of ancient occult,
modern day computer-frustration, and, of all things, an old World War II
song, surprising and hilarious.
Fairly quickly, however, the delight fades. After a battle that tiresomely
recycles old Warner Brothers cartoon gags, the boys make Mxyzptlk promise
that he will never ever torment Superman. At this point in his life, he's
only too happy to comply. His decision, however, causes a "temporal ripple"
-- a damaging effect on the present time. The ripple effect shows no
imagination; it's simply depressing. (Compare it to _The Simpsons'_
approach to the same theme in one of their Halloween episodes a few years
ago. Homer swats a mosquito in the distant past, causing much more creative
and funnier effects in the present.) Likewise, Robin's solution to the
problem, involving Mxyzptlk's behavior modification, is neither very
impressive nor very funny.
When Mxy becomes the imp we all know and love-hate, PD does forge a clever
link between a nerdy-looking kid named Mick Gurk and those historic first
lines the imp spoke on the four-color page. It's cute, and it's worth a
snicker, but's it's just another in-joke. For me, it's ultimately another
sobering reminder of how ingrown superhero comics have become.
I was so disappointed in the plot and its resolution that other, smaller
flaws stood out. Why are Robin's gloves so big? What is it about the Three
Stooges that will make an imp's hair turn white? (They've only made mine
turn gray and fall out.) What, on page 10, panel 2, is that stuff in the
old man's hand -- teeth, hair, tapioca pudding? And why, oh why, must we
endure yet another spin on that old, old, old line, "Is that a
<fill-in-the-blank> in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"
(Yeah, like a teenage girl would actually be culturally aware enough to use
it!)
Before I forget, and I really ought to, there's a sidetrip into Red Tornado
territory. He takes his daughter for a ride on a broomstick. The sidetrip
fails to interest or amuse or touch me.
While I always appreciate anybody's efforts to put the "funny" back into
funnybooks, PD is either trying too hard here or else he's just not trying
hard enough. In short, friends, I liked a little of "The Issue Before The
One Where The Girls Show Up." I just hope I like the next one a whole lot
more.
Gary D. Robinson
<robinfam@akron.infi.net>
___________________________________________
MINISERIES:
----------
SUPERMAN FOR ALL SEASONS #4 Dec 1998 $4.95 US/$7.50 CAN
"Book Four: Winter"
Words: Jeph Loeb
Pictures: Tim Sale
Color: Bjarne Hansen
Letters: Richard Starkings
Cover: Tim Sale and Bjarne Hansen
RATINGS
Average: 4.4/5.0 Shields
DWk: 4.3 Shields
DWd: 4.5 Shields - Why the hell can't the regular S people do stories
like this? This is one series I will be reading over again.
GN: 4.2 Shields - Loeb's characterization of the early Superman is
dead-on. The art is perfect for this tale. All in all, a nice
cap to the miniseries.
GR: 4.9 Shields - I hadn't been moved by a Superman story since Alan
Moore's "Whatever Became of?" There were tears in my eyes at the
end of this one. A pure treasure.
JE: 4.8 Shields - A great end to a great series. It's exactly these
kinds of stories that have made Superman the cultural icon that
he is.
JSy: 5.0 Shields - I couldn't find a thing wrong with this book. This is
one of the best series DC has ever published, bar none.
SDM: 2.9 Shields - A bit of a letdown. The art is still great but the
story is too much like part one. While the legend of Superman is
still on view, the man in the costume is too much of an idealized
country boy.
VV: 4.8 Shields - This series (and the art, and I usually don't comment
on art) grew on me over time. It is a story like this that gives
us good insight not only to why Clark does what he does, but also
the idea that he has had to face tough decisions along the way.
This fine miniseries ends with not exactly a whimper, but less of a bang
than its first few episodes, thanks to a skimpy plot and a decline in the
jaw-dropping gorgeousness of earlier issues. That isn't to say this isn't
the best Superman comic published this month, because it is. It's just not
the best by as wide a margin.
It's winter in Metropolis, and a familiar little kid, Trevor Burbank, is
playing out on a balcony he really shouldn't be on, when one of LexCorp's
robot-suited soldiers flies by and tells him to stay inside. (Love that
green-and-purple color scheme; it brings to mind '70s Curt Swan comics.)
Meanwhile, Lex Luthor is gloating. The city is under his paternalistic
protection now, and Superman is nowhere to be seen.
Lois Lane is looking out her window too, wondering more agitatedly where
Superman could be. Then she starts thinking: Clark Kent is taking some time
off too. I wonder if... She pauses for a moment, considers her thought, and
dismisses it. (A note on this scene: why is the headline on the Daily
Planet's first Superman story "It Flies"? Hasn't it been established as
"Caped Wonder Saves City," or something like that?)
Finally, the scene shifts to Smallville, where we see Clark (looking a
little silly in his high-school letterman's jacket) talking to Lana Lang,
who's been narrating the story from the beginning. They head to the
Smallville General Store and talk to their old friend Pete Ross, but it's
clear that Smallville isn't really the place for Clark any more. Clark and
Lana go back for dinner at the Kents', where Police Chief Parker shows up
to warn them about an impending flood. Jonathan Kent and Lana convince
Clark to go be the hero he is, and to work within his limitations. Superman
goes out, changes the course of a mighty river, rescues his family, saves
the town, hugs his dog, goes to church and flies home (with a story about
it for the Planet). At the end, we see Luthor's soldier botch a rescue
which Superman puts right (the unlucky Trevor again), as Lana announces in
her narration that she's staying in Smallville.
The joy of this series has been the way Loeb and Sale make their points
through suggestions and incidental details, and with this issue they get a
little too obvious. Jonathan and Lana's speeches to Clark are beautifully
done, but they also seem a little too poised and movie-ish, and the
business with the dog is almost painfully Norman Rockwell. On the other
hand, there are still lots of small, marvelous bits of business: the
accusing finger the armored Lex-guy keeps pointing at Trevor (and the fact
that he calls him "citizen"), the LexCorp sign replacing the "Home Of
Superman" sign, the canning jars on sale at the general store, the wedding
band on the close-up of Jonathan Kent's hand, the perfectly executed
building design of Smallville, even the old-fashioned design of the
Smallville police car. I've said it before, but it bears repeating: more
attention to gestures and details like these would do worlds of good for
the triangle titles
Tim Sale gets a lot of show-off space in this issue -- five double-page
spreads and four full-page panels. It's curious that this time he uses them
mostly for big, simple compositions, but that seems to have a lot to do
with the seasonal scheme of the series. He suggests the mammoth, empty
expanses of winter with ease. Superman, when he appears on panel, is either
huge (the gigantic spread of him flying over flooded Smallville, with his
cape occupying a good third of the composition, is especially gorgeous) or
tiny (contrasted with some gigantic thing or other that he's carrying or
throwing). Look carefully, too, at how he varies his lines for effect:
Metropolis, with Superman arcing over it at the end, is all straight
contour lines, almost a blueprint for a city of the future; the interior of
Lex Luthor's office is full of huge black areas, with pure black masses
(including Luthor's suit) that frame the exterior view as negative space.
Bjarne Hansen's coloring is, once again, a marvel. Have a close look at the
yellows in the story alone, and you'll see how. The yellow of the windows
on the first few pages is dirty and wintry, tinged by the snow; within the
Planet offices, everything has the yellow of mass-produced overhead lights
tinging it; the yellow of the lamp in the Kents' house is, in fact, the
color of an old lampshade, with a lighter spot inside it where the bulb is
shining; Superman's belt and insignia background are pure process yellow,
no matter what the atmospheric conditions; a springlike dawn yellow is
creeping into the horizon on the last Smallville pages, and more pronounced
on that double-spread of Metropolis; and when the windows from the
beginning of the story appear again at the end, they're a brighter, purer
color, and closer to the process yellow of Superman's costume. A nice
touch.
As a final note, it seemed curious at first that, after the set-up of the
previous issues, the fourth wouldn't include any kind of confrontation
between Superman and Lex. On consideration, though, the conclusion to the
story is subtler the way Loeb and Sale handled it. The climactic moment of
the story is Martha telling Lana that costume or no costume, Superman is,
in essence, Clark. And the conflict is, in fact, within Clark; when he
returns to Metropolis, he's already triumphed.
Douglas Wolk
<dbcloud@panix.com>
==============================================
SUPERMAN: THE DARK SIDE #3 Dec 1998 $4.95 US/$7.50 CAN
Words & Story: John Francis Moore
Pictures: Kieron Dwyer
Inks: Hilary Barta
Letters: Steve Dutro
Colors: Trish Mulvihill
Separator: Jamison
Cover: Dwyer, Barta, and Mulvihill
Logo: Todd Klein
RATINGS
Average: 4.1/5.0 Shields
RG: 5.0 Shields
DWd: 3.5 Shields - For someone who does not like the New Gods, I found
this story very enjoyable. Now why cant Barda look like that
in _JLA_?
JE: 5.0 Shields - I have rarely seen comic books finer than this. The
team of Moore, Dwyer, and Barta just can't seem to fail. I still
can't believe how much action and character development was packed
into three issues.
JSy: 4.5 Shields - A great ending to an excellent series. I especially
loved the concluding twists which kept this from having the same
old "Superman mythos set right" ending prevalent in most
Elseworlds.
ST: 4.0 Shields - This series got better as it progressed, and this was
the finest of the three.
VV: 2.5 Shields - Not much to say here. I'm not a fan of the New Gods,
so a lot of this left me in the lurch.
The Anti-life equation has made the conquest of Earth a simple task. All
that stands between Darkseid and complete domination of Earth are the few
remaining New Gods and even fewer unaffected humans -- Bibbo (because of a
metal plate in his head) and Lois (who now carries a mother box). As Lois
and Orion try to make a plan that will somehow defeat Darkseid, Kal manages
to escape from Desaad, Granny, and Apokolips with the help of Barda.
When Kal arrives on Earth he joins Lois and the New Gods in a last-ditch
plan that uses all of their powers to distract and embattle Darkseid and
his followers. Things are not going well until Orion shows up unexpectedly
with an army of Bugs. The Bugs destroy the Anti-life machine, and forces
rally until Darkseid pulls out his Anti-mother-box and fries the devices
that Orion and Kal are using. Orion goes down, but Kal has spent enough
time on Earth that his powers have started to surface. He takes the battle
to Darkseid, but is withering under Darkseid's power. Only the sacrifice of
Lightray (one of the New Gods), who gives his life to fully power Kal,
gives him the strength to defeat Darkseid once and for all.
The rest of the book goes on to show how Earth and Apokolips recover from
the wars. I don't want to spoil the final ending of the book, but it didn't
end the cliched way most Elseworlds Superman stories end.
When I review a story, I try very hard to read the book at least three
times before I sit down to write. This time I had to force myself to stop
after five, and I know I'll be re-reading it several more times when I
start over with the first one.
I really thought that I had this one figured out. I was able to predict
that the Bugs would be instrumental in the ending, and was almost dead on
as to how. However, I had predicted that the ending would be that Orion
would defeat Darkseid and that they would perish together, leaving Kal and
Lois behind to rebuild. The actual ending was far more satisfying than I
had expected. It gives me hope for the future.
All too often a great story is ruined in the final pages by some cliched
ending. Not so this one. While it is true that "they all lived happily ever
after," the who, how, why and where made the ending much more satisfying. I
want to say a lot more, but to do so might spoil the ending for some of you
who might yet pick it up.
The art was simply fantastic. Incredibly detailed inking with some of the
best use of shading and colors that I've seen in years. Couple this with
the perspectives and you have panels that seem to be almost three-
dimensional. I especially loved the way that familiar characters show up in
the background. In one panel, we see many members of the Superman
supporting cast and I think I found Siegel, Shuster, and Kirby - but I'm
not 100% certain. Sure looks like them though. I suspect that there may be
even more, but I don't know the faces of the current DC staff well enough.
While this book hasn't knocked _Kingdom Come_ out of my number one favorite
position. It has earned a place in my top five, and I suspect it will
remain there for a long time to come. I can't wait until it comes out in
trade paperback so I can preserve my originals.
Rene Gobeyn
<bedlam@frontiernet.net>
___________________________________________
MINISERIES (cont):
-----------------
SUPERMAN: THE DOOMSDAY WARS #1 Dec 1998 $4.95 US/$7.50 CAN
"Birth"
Writer: Dan Jurgens
Pencil Artist: Dan Jurgens
Finished Inks: Norm Rapmund
Letterer: John Workman
Colorist: Gregory Wright
Separator: Android Images
Asst. Editor: Maureen McTigue
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Cover: Jurgens and Rapmund
RATINGS
Average: 3.1/5.0 Shields
GR: 2.4 Shields
EJ: 4.7 Shields - The art was *incredible*. The characters were utterly
human, utterly believable. I wept with Lana as she begged Clark
for help. I screamed with outrage as Doomsday erupted into the
JLA --- and I literally screeched in *fear* as he revealed there's
a *brain* behind all that brawn! Can't wait to see the next part!
GN: 3.4 Shields - Nice art overall, though Superman looks a little
thin at times. I'm curious to see how Doomsday returned, though
I've got pretty good idea about the source of his new smarts.
(Think green.)
JE: 4.2 Shields - This issue had some great moments (Doomsday's defeat
of the JLA and the birth of Lana's child among them), but the
easy defeat of Brainiac and Superman's failure to answer his JLA
signal angered me more than a little. Doomsday himself seems to
have become just another villain without all the drama that made
him great.
JSy: 3.0 Shields - Both the premise and the art are fantastic, but the
dialogue in the action scenes was incredibly stiff -- I can't
imagine anyone talking like that. I'm also not quite sure why
this story couldn't have been told within the confines of the
four monthlies...
VV: 2.3 Shields - I am *not* thrilled to see Doomsday back, although I
can't wait for the big expository scene explaining his smarts.
Of course, after having adapted to defeat Superman *and* come
back from total entropy, I suppose the only way Doomsday will
be defeated is to become part of the Source.
Doomsday's back. The creature supposedly thermodynamic-ed to death at the
end of time has returned to thrust his bony protrusions into the Man of
Steel's life once more. Maybe this excites you. If so, great; I'm happy for
you. Doomsday's resurrection bothers me, though. and I'll tell you why
shortly.
The creature returns in the midst of an unusually introspective Clark
Kent's soul-searching. Clark is remembering past failures -- how in spite
of his best efforts, his pa's cattle starved to death in a blizzard, and
how Cat Grant's son was murdered by the Toyman. His reveries are cut short
by an urgent summons to Smallville. There Clark discovers that Lana Lang
Ross, seven months pregnant, was in an accident that caused the premature
birth of her child. Almost immediately, Superman receives another urgent
signal, this time from the JLA. He chooses to fly little baby Ross to an
advanced neo-natal care unit. As the first chapter closes, Superman remains
ignorant of Doomsday's return. Eventually, however, he will have to face a
new, improved monster.
Here are all the makings of edge-of-your-seat suspense, yet I sit back
frustrated, not anxious. Why? Well, For one thing, I'm not afraid of
Doomsday any more.
In an interview, Leonard Nimoy once said, "Nobody dies in science fiction."
Read this as, "No fictional character dies while you can still make a buck
off him." Spock came back. So did the Frankenstein monster -- in a series
of deteriorating films stumbling downhill from horror to irony to humor.
Today, the Frankenstein monster is a joke, albeit a profitable one; a
one-liner accompanied by the faint "ching" of a cash register. The same is
happening to Doomsday.
This is not to say that comics heroes and villains should never return. Who
didn't cheer when Superman came back from the dead? By then, the original
Superman character was long gone anyway, wound tightly in a shroud of
fifty-plus years of innovation. Who cared about that guy? I wasn't around
when Superman first leapt into the sky, but I *was* there when Doomsday
first burst from his mysterious prison in the middle of nowhere. The effect
on me was galvanic. "The Death of Superman," the great adventure in which
this rampaging hulk first appeared, still burns in my memory. Doomsday,
while not a terribly original character (being a variation on Dr.
Frankenstein's creation, itself a variation on the ancient Thing Without A
Name), was nonetheless compelling: powerful, mysterious, implacable -- in a
word, dynamic. When he died, man, I was living it!
As far as I was concerned, Doomsday had done his job. Having performed with
savage splendor, I felt that the best possible thing for him to do now
would be to die and rot. Let him become and remain a fearful memory for the
revived Man of Steel. (Pardon me while I wipe up my naivete. It's
dripping.) Unfortunately, The Cat In The Hat Came Back, and so did
Doomsday. Indeed, he was back even before the "Death of" trilogy itself
ended, sneering at us from a desolate rock in space.
I sighed. "Oh well, I guess a sequel's only fair." After all, lots of fans
wanted to know where he came from. In due course, we found out. At The End
of Time, they said, he was destroyed. I wanted to believe them, but in my
heart I knew it wasn't so.
Now he's back again, but my meter has clicked back from Horror to Irony,
skipped over Humor, and rests on Boredom. There's a mystery in _Doomsday
Wars_ #1, of course -- how the big brute got smart -- but I can't seem to
care. The rest of the book sports the same old fisticuffs, the same
by-the-numbers defeat of lesser heroes on the way to the scheduled bout
with Big Blue. I wait and yawn and check my watch. My major beef, then,
with the first chapter is the resurrection of a villain who, I think, works
better dead.
I wish that were my only problem, but another waits in the shadows, almost
as great. It's Dan Jurgens' mishandling of Superman. From her hospital bed,
Lana pleads with Clark to save her baby, yet he appears torn; should he
help Lana or the JLA? Good grief, he doesn't know half those people very
well, let alone what they're facing! This is his childhood sweetheart. Even
if he *knew* about Doomsday, there shouldn't be any conflict here. The
Superman we all know and love would die for this woman, but when Lana
chokes, "Save my baby's life," he stammers, "But...the Justice League...."
I can't accept this. It rings false. Yes, Superman does decide to save her
child, but his earlier indecision seems contrived, and it's too loud a sour
note to be ignored.
More sour notes jar me. The dialogue leaves a lot to be desired. I can't
hear a Kansas farmboy like Pete Ross saying, "Clark-o, your numero uno
responsibility is to yourself" -- and in a howling snowstorm, yet. Jimmy
Olsen is young and enthusiastic, but he's not such an airhead as to refer
to Clark as "The Clarkmeister" and "The Clark-man" within three panels.
When people start talking like that at a party, you can bet they've belted
more than Soder Cola!
The art ought to compensate for the lackluster writing. It doesn't. It
seems to consist of close-ups of the characters with inanimate objects and
surroundings going largely undefined. I have to admit, though, that
Jurgens' and Rapmund's torturous depiction of Doomsday stretching Plastic
Man literally to the breaking point sent a shudder through me.
I understand that Jurgens' work is quite popular, at least with those other
than jaded critics like myself. I'd like to like his stuff better. The
take-off's been somewhat bumpy. Maybe the flight and, hopefully, the
landing will be better.
But for Pete's sake, will somebody please kill Doomsday!
Gary Robinson
<robinfam@akron.infi.net>
==============================================
SUPERMAN: SILVER BANSHEE #1 Dec 1998 $2.25 US/$3.50 CAN
Writer: Dan Brereton
Penciller: Joyce Chin
Inker: Andy Lanning
Letterer: Ellie de Ville
Colorist: James Sinclair
Separations: Digital Chameleon
Assistant: Maureen McTigue
Trick-or-Treater: Joey Cavalieri
Painted Cover: Brereton
RATINGS
Average: 3.1/5.0 Shields
JE: 3.5 Shields
EM: 3.9 Shields - The tragic curse of the Silver Banshee takes center
stage in this tale. I've always liked the character, and the
creative team uses her well.
JSy: 2.8 Shields - The art features just a few too many scantily-clad
and seductively-posed women for a Superman book, in my opinion.
While I like the tragic aspects of the Silver Banshee, she's been
rather boring of late.
TD: 3.5 Shields - Daniel Brereton's artwork is spectacular as always,
although the story was a bit on the light side. (And *yes*, I am
the idiot praying for a Superman/Psycho special.)
VV: 2.0 Shields - With the exception of one fifth-dimensional imp, I
don't like stories featuring Superman and magic. This story just
seems too dark, and the dialog between Lois and Clark sounded
just a bit off to me -- maybe too "lovey-dovey" for an old
married couple.
For those of you don't recall, the last time Brereton was involved in a
story involving the Silver Banshee was the phenomenal _Legends of the
World's Finest_ series a few years back. That series presented the Silver
Banshee as both a villain and a sympathetic character. (It also featured
Brereton's fabulous artwork throughout, but I digress.) I felt that series
was the end cap on the entire saga of the Silver Banshee; the last of the
MacDougals had been destroyed and the Silver Banshee herself had been
redeemed. As a result, when I heard about the upcoming _Superman: Silver
Banshee_ series, I was quite skeptical. The first issue wasn't as bad I
feared it might be, but it didn't live up to its full potential either.
We open with Clark observing the Daily Planet Halloween party from his
desk. Lois walks in and tells him that she has just found her big break in
the Tricker Treaters story. It seems that one member of this gang of
notorious art thieves has decided to quit, and wants to meet Lois at an
abandoned church to give her the story. Clark has a few misgivings about
this, but Lois tells him not to worry and heads off. He lets her go but
promises to keep an eye on her.
The scene then shifts to the dimension of the ancient Crone. The Silver
Banshee comes before the Crone and asks why she has not yet been freed from
her spiritual bondage. The Crone explains that she must journey to earth
and ask the last of the MacDougals, a girl named Lacy MacElwain, for her
freedom. The Crone tells the Banshee that she has only one night in which
to convince Lacy to lift the curse of her own free will.
As the story progresses, it is revealed that Lacy is a member of the
Tricker Treaters. Lois is taken prisoner by a man named Thorpe after she
discovers that her gang informant is dead. A sorceress named Hecate then
traps the Silver Banshee's soul as she is attempting to come to earth.
Thorpe returns to Hecate's home to deliver the unconscious Lois; the
Tricker Treaters are also attendance, attempting to get payment from Hecate
for their theft of an ancient Pict amulet from the Metropolis Museum of
Natural History. By this time, Clark has discovered Lois is missing and
sets off to find her. Back at Hecate's chambers, Thorpe has transformed
into a werepanther and is killing the Tricker-Treaters on Hecate's command.
Lacy escapes from Thorpe and manages to take the amulet from Hecate. She
feels drawn to free the Silver Banshee and upon touching her, disappears.
Lacy reappears outside where Silver Banshee tells Lacy to destroy the
amulet in order to end her curse. Lacy finds she cannot break the amulet
and is almost killed by Thorpe save for Superman sweeping down to save her.
Superman flies into Hecate's observatory to stop her, only to be defeated
by her magic. As time passes, Lacy has returned to her apartment and is
trying to forget the events of the night. The Silver Banshee reappears and
again begs her to break the amulet, but she doesn't get the chance because
Thorpe and the undead forms of the Tricker Treaters burst into her
apartment.
I felt this issue succeeded on several levels. As always, Brereton's cover
art was fabulous, and that art by Mrs. Chin was suitably eerie for a
Halloween special. The characters of Hecate and Thorpe have potential as
well. They could become powerful supernatural villains for Superman --
something he sorely needs. This issue also had something so many comics
lack these days: a cliffhanger.
On a more critical note, I felt that Brereton didn't quite have the right
characterization for the Silver Banshee. She used to be filled with a
blind, unthinking rage, and this rage made her a far more appealing and
intriguing character. I had a problem with Superman's incredibly easy
defeat by Hecate as well. Even against a magic-based foe, Superman would
never be defeated so quickly. The overall plot is also a sticking point for
me. It seems like Superman just fell into a horror movie starring the
Silver Banshee; he is peripheral to the story at best.
I feel I may have set my expectations too high for this story. I enjoyed
reading it and I am looking forward to the next issue, but it just wasn't
as good as I hoped it would be. The Silver Banshee's last story, _Legends
of the World's Finest_, was truly an epic. (If you haven't guessed, I
really liked that series and am encouraging you to buy it.) I judged this
story based on those standards and found it wanting.
Josh Elder
<j-elder@nwu.edu>
___________________________________________
SPECIALS:
--------
ELSEWORLD'S FINEST: SUPERGIRL AND BATGIRL Dec 1998 $5.95 US/$8.95 CAN
Plot and Script: Barbara Kesel
Plot and Pencils: Matt Haley
Plot and Ink: Tom Simmons
Lettering: Bill Oakley
Color and Seps: Moose Baumann
Assistant Editor: Maureen MacTigue
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Cover: Haley and Simmons
RATINGS
Average: 3.4/5.0 Shields
TD: 3.0 Shields
JSy: 4.0 Shields - An interesting story with some fascinating concepts
and characters. Lovely art, though perhaps a little... bulbous.
SDM: 3.2 Shields - Entertaining but not too original, with echoes of
too many other "Elseworlds" stories. Barbara Kesel does a good
job creating distinct characters (especially the Alfred-like
Bruce Wayne and the members of the JSA), but what almost ruined
it for me was the ridiculously exaggerated art, making both
heroines just a bit too well-endowed. I'm tired of artists who
seemingly have no idea what a real woman (or man) looks like.
First off, I'd like it be known that just *once* I'd like to see an
Elseworlds story with a happy future....
Gotham City is celebrating the opening of a Lexcorp office with a large
ceremony welcoming its CEO, Lex Luthor. Twelve of the celebrants are
members of The Justice Society, led by Wonder Woman, who have not been in
Gotham since Batgirl sealed the city off and banned paranormals.
Unbeknownst to the Justice Society, however, Luthor is kidnapped by Emil
Hamilton and the Joker, in the hopes of exposing the deep, dark secret of
the source of Luthor's technology....
The pull of Elseworlds is to see familiar characters in new light in the
hopes of giving the readers new insights. Of course, there is new light and
there's new light; this book's light is so new I don't know where it came
from. There are certainly problems with this story, implausibilities that
detract from the enjoyability factor.
Most of these implausibilities deal with the Batgirl character. Kesel
basically grafts Bruce's origin onto Barbara and then proceeds to make her
a genius level mastermind, able to come up with an electronic network that
monitors *everything* in both Gotham and Metropolis (which here seem to be
twin cities a la Minneapolis-St. Paul), plus she has developed sufficient
technology to test the powers of Captain Marvel, Dr. Midnite, Wonder Woman
and a new character called Interceptor. Despite this, Gotham is shown as
the same nasty, rundown place it always is. Why hasn't this technology bled
out into the modern world?
There are other minor developments that seem to be made only to advance the
plot -- for example, the Venom Hamilton uses just *happens* to use
kryptonite as an ingredient. I also question the alterations in some of the
existing characters. The Joker here has no real connection to Joker Prime,
and seems to exist just so there's a Bat-villain involved. It feels at
times like Kesel and Haley just had a whole truckload of neat ideas they
wanted to unload and didn't pay attention to integrating those ideas
smoothly. Why is there a black, bald Captain Marvel? Why is Ambush Bug a
member of the Society? Why is Bruce Wayne a totally ineffectual sop?
On the other hand, some of the major stuff works real well. The fate of
Kal-El ties in extremely nicely with the main plot and connects right up
with the reasons behind Luthor's technology, and the opening sequence --
where Batgirl warns the JSA to toe the line -- is choice.
On top of that, you've got Matt Haley's artwork, and he's really, really
good in a Bart Sears/'everybody's metallic' sense. This guy's something
else, with some nice layouts and a good, dynamic sense of flow and power.
While the story was weak, the pencils more than make up for it in this
special. It's not worth the five bucks it costs, but _Elseworld's Finest:
Batgirl and Supergirl_ has enough in it -- especially its excellent artwork
-- to be entertaining. I just don't think I'd be willing to visit this
world again the way I am with such great entries as _Thrillkillers_,
_Gotham by Gaslight_ ... or, for that matter, the original _Elseworld's
Finest_.
Thomas Deja
<tdj723@webtv.net>
==============================================
SUPERMAN 3-D #1 Dec 1998 $3.95 US/$5.85 CAN
"Bad Trip to Nowhere"
Writer: Louise Simonson
Penciller: Neil Vokes
Inker: Scott Koblish
Letterer: Ken Bruzenak
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Color Separations: Digital Chameleon
3-D Separation Effects: Ray Zone
Assistant Editor: Maureen McTigue
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Cover: Scot Eaton and Jimmy Palmiotti
RATINGS
Average: 1.9/5.0 Shields
MS: 1.0 Shields
EM: 2.9 Shields - It wasn't a *bad* story... it just cost too much for
what I got.
JE: 2.8 Shields - I really dislike Mainframe and his minions, so I hope
this will be their last appearance for a while. I do, however,
like Misa and Jimmy hanging around together; it's the perfect
setup for a return to the old _Superman's Pal: Jimmy Olsen_ type
of stories where anything could happen.
JSy: No rating - Perhaps the first time I've regretted buying a Superman
book since _At Earth's End_. This has nothing to do with the
contents; for all I know, it's a masterpiece. I'm peeved because
the 3-D glasses were *so* incompatible with my real glasses that I
gave up trying to make them work. How 'bout some clip-ons, DC?
ST: 1.5 Shields - At least now we know where Mainframe et al got to, but
this story failed to make me care. Vokes and Koblish give us so-so
artwork, and the 3-D effects don't enhance it. Too much money for
too little product.
TD: 1.5 Shields - Could *anybody* explain this story for me? Please?
A drab story that is just an excuse for 3D effects....
"Bad Trip to Nowhere" -- the title really says it all. Essentially, this is
the story of the Hairies vs. Mainframe. The Hairies are a group of
technologically advanced hippies created by Jack Kirby who run around in
the Superman titles riding a big monster truck called the Mountain of
Judgement... or something. I've read the Superman books for some time and
this is all I ever found about these guys. Mainframe, on the other hand,
runs a team of interdimensional cyborgs bent on downloading all realities
onto DVD... or something. I know even less about these guys, since Louise
Simonson has only written about four appearances for them, and none of them
have been very descriptive about Mainframe's motivations or goals.
So it boils down to a story about two of the most convoluted and obscure
groups of characters in the Superman mythos. They almost never show up, yet
suddenly we have a whole special about them with almost no backstory. As
little as I understand, I can only wonder how a new reader followed this
book while keeping his sanity.
So anyway... Misa, the Hairie who has left her people to pal around with
Jimmy Olsen, helps defuse a rift in time and space. With Superman, the pair
race off with Jimmy's Dimension Hopping Bike (don't ask) to look for Misa's
dad. Misa is convinced that whoever caused the rift stole Hairie technology
to do it. Sure enough, they find Misa's dad (now an intangible spectre) who
tells them that Mainframe downloaded the Mountain of Judgement and is using
Hairie technology to download other realities. After a couple of battles,
the Hairies, Jimmy and Superman beat Mainframe, trap them into their own
DVD, and free all the captured dimensions. Then Misa and her dad make up
and everybody goes home. The end.
The bulk of dialogue for this story is technobabble and bad comic book
fight jokes. (Misa's dad: I don't have to be a ghost to be your worst
nightmare!) Any character development is minimal, as Misa supposedly has
become more responsible (not that I could tell, but that's what Superman
said), and Mainframe never had any personality to begin with. Superman is
demoted to guest star in this issue. All he does is grunt work for the
Hairies, such as welding sheet metal together with heat vision.
Happy 60th, Clark.
On top of this dull plot and needlessly complex scripting is the 3-D
effects. See, not all of the pages could be in 3-D, so Weezie set it up so
that whenever the characters opened up a dimensional gateway or went to a
weird dimension, it would be in 3-D. That means that for every six or so
pages of 3-D you get a few pages of 2-D. Not a bad way to explain a
cost-cutting measure, but the effect of switching back and forth is almost
nauseating. To make things worse, the colors become distorted through the
red and blue glasses, and the word balloons aren't rendered for 3-D so
they're pretty tough to read. Every 3-D comic I've ever seen has been in
black and white, and there's a good reason for that. If DC ever tries this
again, I suggest they set the story in the Black and White Dimension, and
set aside the non 3-D pages for the beginning or end of the story. (That,
and make the glasses easier to remove from the comic.)
Saving grace: The artwork. Vokes and Koblish did a pretty good job. This
is supposed to be a "fun" story, and in that spirit we get a dynamic,
slightly cartoony art style. The art holds up so well that I recommend
reading the issue without the glasses, especially since DC seems to have
put a lot of effort into making the 3-D experience difficult and tedious.
Trust me, you'll enjoy it better, and it's the only reason I rated this
book as highly as I did.
I must say that I was pretty disappointed that Louise Simonson gave such a
poor showing for this issue. After nearly two months without her writing a
Superman title, I was looking forward to her return, but if this is what I
can expect from her in the future maybe it's best that she's moving off the
Superbooks in a few months. After all, both Jurgens and Stern have
improved considerably since picking up new comics, so hopefully Weezie can
do the same. In the meantime, I'd suggest you steer clear of _Superman 3-D_
unless you want to spend three dollars on some paperboard glasses.
Mike Smith
<mike_p_smith@hotmail.com>
___________________________________________
SPECIALS (cont):
---------------
SUPERMAN: WAR OF THE WORLDS Dec 1998 $5.95 US/$8.95 CAN
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Michael Lark
Letterer: Willie Schubert
Colorist: Noelle Giddings
Separator: Heroic Age
Assistant Editor: Maureen McTigue
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Cover: Michael Lark
RATINGS
Average: 4.0/5.0 Shields
JSy: 4.8 Shields
EM: 4.9 Shields - Thomas and Lark put out a tale that weaves these two
classic stories well. I hope they get a series.
GN: 4.2 Shields - A fitting tribute to the 60th anniversaries of both
Superman's debut and Orson Welles famous radio broadcast.
GR: 3.0 Shields - Very interesting, ultimately unsatisfying. An admirable
attempt to recapture Superman at his most elemental. His death was
unnecessary. And what the heck is this "war fever"?
JE: 3.8 Shields - Overall it was a good read, but it could have been far
greater. It wove the elements of the two different stories together
quite well, but it failed to really make Superman a necessary part
of the story (e.g. _Superman's Metropolis_).
ST: 3.5 Shields - Luthor's too-rapid 'redemption', the inconsequentiality
of Superman on the ultimate chain of events, and a $9 price-tag
make what could have been a great story merely a good one. A nice
Golden Age story, but viscerally unsatisfying.
1938 brought to the world two of the greatest works of science fiction of
all times. One, a fantastic creation from the minds of two teenagers, would
become one of the most recognizable characters in the world and the
inspiration for an entire industry. The other, a realistic radio drama
based upon the work of one of the fathers of science fiction, set the
United States in a panic and launched the career of one of Hollywood's
greatest filmmakers.
Now, on the 60th anniversary of Jerry Siegel's and Joe Shuster's Superman
and of Orson Welles' radio dramatization of H.G. Wells' _War of the
Worlds_, writer Roy Thomas and artist Michael Lark have brilliantly melded
these two concepts into one magnificent tale.
This tale diverges from Superman's original story almost immediately.
Having lucked into an interview with Daily Star editor George Taylor, Clark
Kent is given the opportunity to prove himself. He and Lois Lane (who
writes of the "Miss Lonelylove" column but wants to be a reporter) are
paired up and sent out to investigate a meteor that landed near Woking the
night before.
They arrive to discover that the meteor was no meteor at all, but a
metallic cylinder that opens before the gathered crowd. After one alien
dazedly falls from the craft and another pokes his head out, the next thing
to be seen is a weapon -- a heat-ray that starts burning the crowd. Clark
quickly shields Lois, but he can do nothing to save the rest of the
onlookers. Much to Lois' surprise she and Clark survive, but Clark's
clothes have been burned away to reveal the costume of Superman!
To the astonishment of Lois and the arriving military forces, Superman
engages and defeats the Martian craft, only to learn that there are many
more sweeping across the world. While Lois leaves with Lex Luthor, a
scientist also investigating the landing site, Superman and the military
continue to battle the other Martian craft. This, however, is very much the
Golden Age Superman -- perhaps the weakest of the many Superman
incarnations -- and he is eventually defeated and captured. Metropolis
falls shortly thereafter.
Three weeks later, Superman awakens to find himself restrained in the belly
of one of the Martian craft ... and Luthor working alongside the Martians!
The Martians are dying from exposure to Earth's bacteria, but Luthor has
discovered that those in proximity to Superman have shown no ill effects.
Once Luthor has created a vaccine from Superman's antibodies, the Martians
have no further use for Luthor and turn on him. He is only saved by a
timely appearance of Lois. The three eventually escape and Superman learns
how to disable the Martian craft, but at the cost of his life. With the
knowledge in hand, Luthor invents a machine to defeat the Martians, and the
world begins to rebuild.
Thomas pays close attention to the Golden Age debut of Superman,
incorporating the first few pages of _Superman_ #1 almost verbatim. He does
have a little fun with the story, explaining how the inexperienced Kent
could have gained his interview with the editor of the Daily Star, and
introducing Perry White as Taylor's city editor. In another nod, Perry ends
up covering a mob scene at the county jail, which was Clark's first story
in _Superman_ #1. Furthermore, Thomas takes advantage of the relative
weakness of the Golden Age Superman to present a tale in which the hero
himself can be defeated, while his spirit and example live on to motivate
humanity.
Being familiar with both H.G. Wells' original tale and the early issues of
_Superman_, I found much of the plot to be fairly predictable, although I
don't recall off-hand anyone using this particular method to disable the
flying Martian craft. Regardless, this predictability did not in any way
hamper the story, as Thomas and Lark deliver strong, resolute characters,
intense action, and powerful drama.
The only negatives to the story came in the redemption of Lex Luthor, and
in an awkward xenophobic scene near the end where Lois recoils from the
alien Man of Steel, comparing him to the visibly alien Martians. It
appeared to me that Luthor's initial willingness to sell out his own
species was completely forgiven in light of his helping to defeat the
Martians, despite the fact that he only turned against his allies after
they had first turned on him. Both of these problems were very minor and
did not significantly detract from the book.
Michael Lark's art is gorgeous, beautifully capturing the feel of Joe
Shuster's Superman, but with a bit more detail. (I'd love a print of the
cover!) Noelle Giddings' colors also contribute immensely to the mood of
the book. This is not the bright, cheery Superman or Metropolis that we're
used to seeing in today's books; Superman's colors are pale, yet darkened,
and many scenes make excellent use of orange and red tinting to illustrate
nearby fires.
The quality of the special format books has been staggering of late, from
_Peace on Earth_, to _Superman for all Seasons_, to _The Dark Side_, and to
this. It's easy to complain about the plethora of high-priced projects
coming out these days, and rightly so. However, given recent performances,
it may not be long before Superman fans begin passing on the monthly titles
in favor of the higher-quality projects such as _Superman: War of the
Worlds_.
Jeff Sykes
<sykes@ms.uky.edu>
___________________________________________
THE PHANTOM ZONE: Reviews of the pre-Crisis Man of Steel
------------------------------------------------------------------
WHEN SUPERMEN MEET
------------------------------------
by Lou Mougin (lomougin@wf.net)
If you think The Flash was the first super-hero from Earth-One to meet his
Earth-Two counterpart, you're wrong. Superboy did it years prior to Barry
Allen's encounter with Jay Garrick, meeting Clark Kent of Earth-Two before
the latter had ever dreamed of becoming the original Superman.
None of us knew about it until 12 years after the first team-up of Supermen
in a 1969 issue of _Justice League of America_, but it seemed fitting. The
first meeting of counterparts was reserved for the first super-heroes of
both Earths.
This remarkable revelation took place in the back of _New Adventures of
Superboy_ #15-16, March and April 1981. Bob Rozakis wrote and John Calnan,
Tex Blaisdell, and Dave Hunt illustrated a tale in which fighting a tornado
threw Superboy of Earth-One straight across temporal and dimensional
barriers and back to the 1930's of Earth-Two. There he secretly observed
John and Mary Kent, the foster parents of Clark Kent of Earth-Two. Young
Clark was intent on making a living as a circus performer, cashing in on
his "freak" talents. Superboy caught up to him, and dropped out of the sky
to introduce himself. The nonplussed Earth-Two Clark soon learned of the
existence of parallel worlds (the terms "Earth-One" and "Earth-Two" weren't
coined until the first JLA-JSA team-up), and of his counterpart, who wore a
costume and defended Earth as the mighty Superboy.
Clark of Earth-Two wasn't aware of all his powers, so Superboy gave him a
beginner course on how to fly, use super-breath, and employ super-hearing.
Later, Clark introduced Superboy to his parents ("This boy is like a twin
brother to Clark!"), and the three Kents learned for the first time of the
existence of Krypton. However, Clark was still bent on helping the Kents
out with money from being a circus performer. Superboy convinced him to at
least wear a mask in his act, and John Kent finally gave his permission.
As fate would have it, during Clark's first performance as a masked trapeze
artist, the center pole of the big top cracked and he was forced to grab it
and fuse both pieces together again. The event decided young Clark in favor
of becoming a super-hero, like the Superboy from another world.
Shortly after that, Clark and Superboy joined forces to produce a tornadic
force that sent Superboy of Earth-One back to his proper place and time.
The implications of this story are pretty incredible, in terms of the
Golden Age Superman's career. If we can accept this story as canonical
(which I have no problem with), the first Superman's career and uniform
were directly inspired -- one might even say copied -- from his Earth-One
counterpart. Even more interesting, Clark Kent is said to have learned his
Kryptonian origin long before the famed story in _Superman_ #61 (Nov-Dec
1949). Since I doubt anyone wants to challenge the canonicity of the latter
story, it's obvious that Superman's memory was messed with somewhere in
between. Prior to _Superman_ #61, he knew he had come from another planet
-- but he didn't know which one.
When Julius Schwartz began firming up the Earth-One/Earth-Two mythos with
"Flash of Two Worlds", it was evident that there were two Supermen and two
Batmen just as there were two Flashes. Supes and Bats had both
guest-starred with the Justice Society in _All-Star Comics_ #8 and #36. But
there were apparently no plans to use them in the cross-Earth team-ups of
the Justice League and Justice Society in annual _Justice League of
America_ two-parters. Since the Golden Age Man of Steel and Caped Crusader
looked pretty much identical to their later counterparts, differentiating
them would be confusing to readers. Also, editors Mort Weisinger and Jack
Schiff might have objected to it. They were probably more comfortable with
a one-Superman, one-Batman mythos.
But Schiff lost editorship of the Batman titles, the Earth-Two mythos was
firmly in place by 1969, and Schwartz and new JLA scribe Denny O'Neil were
looking for a new Justice Society character to revive in _JLA_ #73.
Everybody in the old membership had made at least a cameo in the new
series, save for two -- Superman and Batman. So, the cover of that issue
(by Joe Kubert) depicted the Justice Society guest-stars for that issue,
and featured prominently with his peers Dr. Mid-Nite, Dr. Fate, Green
Lantern, Starman, and Wonder Woman was the Superman of Earth-Two.
There was no meeting of Earth-crossing heroes in this issue, as it was just
a tale told by the Red Tornado of the JSA's ruinous meeting with the living
star Aquarius. Superman of Earth-Two appeared without the white streaks at
his temples which would be added in later appearances. He did manage to
show up, sock Aquarius with a fine uppercut (delineated by Dick Dillin and
Sid Greene), and get knocked out by a blast of magic. That was the extent
of his involvement.
The cover of issue #74 was one of the greatest JLA covers of all time: Neal
Adams's rendering of one Superman hurtling down and smashing another
Superman into the pavement while six other heroes looked on in shock.
Within, when the Justice League members came to the rescue of their
Earth-Two comrades, Aquarius took control of the JSA's minds and ordered
them to destroy the newcomers. The first JLA member to touch down was
Superman, who, obviously, hadn't seen his Earth-Two self since their
meeting as Superboys, which we weren't privy to at that time. Supes stuck
out his hand and said, "Superman of Earth-Two! I've always wanted to meet
you! I imagine we have a lot in common!"
The Golden Age Superman punched him in the gut.
Within seconds, Superman-One deduced what had happened to his JSA
counterpart and counterattacked. Headbutting Superman-Two, he mused to
himself, "When this is over, I may not like myself anymore!" The next thing
we saw of the two heroes, they exchanged final blows, collapsed comically
against each other, and both hit the floor.
Things got pretty grim after that, as Larry Lance (Black Canary's husband)
died, Superman of Earth-Two (presumably) preached his funeral, and Aquarius
met his end. There wasn't much time for the two heroes to compare notes,
but the first official meeting of the Supermen of two Earths had taken
place.
Apparently the two-Superman team-up had gone over well with the readers,
because both of them were back in the next JLA-JSA outing (_JLA_ #82-83).
This time the Earth-Two Batman showed up and played a passive role, as
Earths One and Two came closer together and the downing of the Earth-Two
Superman by aliens caused a similar fate to befall Superman of Earth-One.
There was no real teaming of the two Supermen here, as both of them stayed
unconscious for most of the adventure, and no revelations about the older
Superman's current life.
The two Supermen were featured again in the next team-up (_JLA_ #91-92).
This one was written by Golden Age fan-turned-scripter Mike Friedrich, and
in it we learned from a short caption that the Earth-Two Superman was now
editor of the Daily Star on his world. (Since Clark Kent had worked for the
Star rather than the Planet in early issues of _Action_, comics fans had
battened on the fact as another differential between Earths One and Two,
despite the fact that Superman worked for the Daily Planet during most of
his Golden Age career.) The two Supermen teamed with two Atoms and the
Flash of Earth-Two, came across a lost alien boy and his pet, and ran into
Solomon Grundy for good measure. The Men of Steel had a little more space
to operate in this one, but Friedrich, who was scripting Robin's solo-strip
in Batman, devoted most of the spotlight to a get-together of the Robins of
two Earths.
By this time (1971), Julius Schwartz had taken control of Superman and
World's Finest and certainly could have guest-starred the Superman of the
Golden Age in a story with his modern counterpart, just as he had done with
the Earth-One/Earth-Two heroes in Flash, Green Lantern, and Atom. He chose
not to do so, for whatever reason, so that event remained a few years in
the future.
Superman of Earth-Two reappeared, though without his Earth-One version, in
_JLA_ #107-108 (1973), in which the two Justice groups teamed with
Quality's heroes of the Golden Age to bring down Nazis who had won World
War II. At last, Supes was sporting some white at the temples, and had a
great scene in which, facing down German rifle bullets, he grinned and
said, "Ratzi, I don't know where you've been hiding all these years ... but
I cut my baby teeth on skunks like you!" Len Wein, Dick Dillin, and Frank
McLaughlin were responsible for this one.
It would take four more years to get the Supermen in another team-up. But
in that one, at long last, they'd be on their own.
To be continued
___________________________________________
SUPERMAN #171
-----------------------------------------------------
Reviewed by Scott Devarney (devarney@ll.mit.edu)
August 1964
Overall Rating: 3.9/5.0 Shields
The cover of this issue is such a quintessential Silver Age Superman cover;
it features Superman in a loincloth battling a caveman, who is wearing
Superman's costume, as a red sun blazes in the sky. It displays the
anything-can-happen wonder of those Silver Age stories. The cover gets 5
shields on its own for doing its job and making the reader interested in
the story inside. Apparently, the editors of _Superman From the 30's to the
70's_ also liked this cover; it was one of the featured covers in the
"Superman in the 60's" section of that book.
"Superman's Sacrifice"
Rating: 4.5 Shields
Two aliens arrive on Earth with a strange challenge for Superman -- either
he kills someone within 24 hours or they will destroy Earth -- and they
back up this threat by blowing up 2 uninhabited planets in a distant
galaxy. After pondering his dilemma, Superman decides that the only way out
is to sacrifice himself. He exposes himself to a cache of kryptonite, but
the aliens won't let him off so easily and they transmute the kryptonite
into harmless rock; Superman must choose another's life. After conferring
with his friends at the Daily Planet, refusing Jimmy's offer to be killed
and foiling Lana's attempt to kill herself for him, Superman makes it
appear that he's placed Clark at ground zero of a missile test.
When Superman confronts the aliens, they reveal that they know that Clark
is Superman. They also reveal that they are gamblers who wagered on whether
they could force Superman to kill. To repay Superman for providing a few
hours of diversion, they use mental powers to erase everyone's memories of
their visit and Superman's "murder" of Clark.
This is easily the best story of the issue. It epitomizes what Superman is
all about, not the great powers but the great strength of character. In
true heroic fashion, to save Earth, hesacrifices both his secret identity
and his career as Superman rather than allow anyone else to come to harm.
It shows how sacred his vow against killing is to him. It also shows his
obvious courage and sense of responsibility towards his adopted planet.
The nobility of the supporting cast is also well-demonstrated. Jimmy, the
ultimate best friend, unhesitatingly offers his life to Superman. Lana
actually attempts to kill herself and give Superman the "credit". Lois
tries the same tactic only to have Lana beat her to it. Much of the time
Lois and Lana come across as petty and conniving, but here their loyalty to
Superman is unquestionable.
The only problem with this story is the ending; Superman should have
stopped the aliens instead of letting them go on their merry way. They did
threaten Earth with annihilation. Presumably they have threatened other
planets and will threaten more worlds and put more lives at risk for their
amusement. In the final panel, Superman questions, "I wonder what poor
planet will be at their mercy next?" The obvious answer is, none, because
Superman should prevent any other planet from being at the aliens' mercy.
"The Curse of Magic"
Rating: 2.5 Shields
Mr. Mxyzptlk puts a curse on Superman so that any innocent remark he makes
will come true. Mxyzptlk then voluntarily says his name backwards but keeps
his curse on Superman. Thus, at a testimonial, Superman mentions that he's
hungry as a horse, and a hungry horse appears to disrupt the banquet; while
playing with children, he sings "London Bridge is falling down" and the
real London Bridge collapses; while visiting a movie set, to appease a
temperamental child star, he recites "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" and
the young actress turns into a human star. Figuring that Mxyzptlk returns
to his own dimension by saying his name backwards, Superman says his own
name backwards which removes the curse.
This is a cute, if unremarkable, story. The ways which Superman resolves
some of the problems are clever, and we see Superman performing more
personal, mundane tasks. Using nursery rhymes to twice get Superman into
trouble is too repetitive, although some of the other ways used are
inventive.
The plot is hurt by a giant continuity hole which is too big to ignore.
Mxyzptlk has never been able to keep his pranks going after saying his name
backwards, yet in this story, he is able to keep his curse on Superman.
Unfortunately, this lightweight story can't overcome this blunder;
Superman's predicament isn't interesting enough to overlook the error upon
which it is based.
One final note: in his review of _Superman Annual_ #1 in the September
issue of KC, Rich Morrissey postulates that Smallville was fairly close to
Metropolis. This story seems to bear that out, as during a slow news day in
Metropolis, Perry sends Lois and Clark out to Smallville to dig up some
stories of Superman's youth.
"The Nightmare Ordeal of Superman"
Rating: 3.5 Shields
Superman is examining the strange radiation of a distant sun, for famed
astronomer Dr. Luring, when he is stranded on a nearby planet after the sun
changes from yellow to red. He manages to use Dr. Luring's instruments to
send a message to Earth. Dr. Luring, Jimmy, and Lois make plans to mount a
rescue mission using a new missile as soon as it can be completed.
Meanwhile, Superman is attacked by one of the planet's savages, who steals
Superman's costume. While trying to retrieve the costume, Superman
discovers that he is no match for the mighty caveman. Beset by the
elements, Superman seeks refuge in a cave, away from the primitives. He
struggles to provide food, water, and heat for himself and eventually
succumbs to a virus which makes him delirious.
Days later, as Superman's illness subsides, Dr. Luring, Jimmy, and Lois
finally arrive. Jimmy uses the old red hair trick to scare the caveman into
returning Superman's costume. On the way home, Superman reflects on how it
felt to be weak and helpless while Jimmy and Lois reflect on what it's like
to rescue Superman for a change.
This story, featured on the cover, is certainly intriguing. It's
interesting to see heroic Superman placed in an unusual role -- that of
victim. Unfortunately, without powers, he comes off as a whiner. He keeps
reminiscing on how he could easily perform great deeds as he is now
struggling to merely survive. The writer clearly wants to show the irony of
Superman's dire predicament but he overplays it. The message learned from
Superman's ordeal is that, without his powers, Superman folds like a cheap
card table.
Still, Superman's ordeal and rescue are logically set up. The writer covers
a lot of ground in this 8-page story; it's one of those Silver Age stories
that could easily take multiple issues to tell today. It's just that,
despite the odds, Superman should have found a way to prevail.
___________________________________________
TALES OF EARTH-ONE
--------------------------------------
by Bob Hughes (rhughes3@ix.netcom.com)
(or see my web page, "Who's Whose in The DC Universe" at
pw2.netcom.com/~rhughes3/whoswho.htm)
Episode #7
How They Got Their Jobs
Hard as it may be for younger comic fans to believe, there was a day when
super-heroes had to work for a living. Oh sure, there was the occasional
millionaire playboy (Bruce Wayne), or the sly dog who married money (Ralph
Dibney), but everybody else had a 9-5 job that they held down in addition
to their heroic activities.
Besides putting the bread on the table, the job served as a device to help
humanize the ultra-human and to help the reader identify more closely with
him or her. It also allowed the writers to develop a supporting cast of
characters, who, if nothing else, would give the hero somebody to rescue
each and every issue. Nowadays, super-heroes never take off their masks,
never hang around with the hoi-polloi and generally are reduced to rescuing
each other. Boring.
The first hero to have such a 9-5 existence probably was Clark (Superman)
Kent. The Shadow, Zorro, the Scarlet Pimpernel and all those others who
went before him were firmly in the millionaire playboy school. Heck, even
Tarzan was a millionaire playboy.
Of course in order to have a career, you first have to get a job. As we saw
last month, "Superman" began with Clark already working for a newspaper,
although there was some confusion as to which newspaper. But in _Superman_
#1, Siegel and Shuster backed up and we saw Clark apply for a job, bringing
in a scoop about a mob riot and attempted lynching to meet the editor's
challenge. Lois, of course, already worked at the paper, writing advice to
the lovelorn, but hoping for a chance to do some real reporting. Jimmy came
along later as an office boy who brought in a scoop and became a
cub-reporter (_Superman_ #13).
But of course writers couldn't leave these stories alone. Over a thirty
year period one tends to run out of story ideas and it's hard to resist the
temptation to revisit earlier scenarios and "tweak" them a bit.
In "Clark Kent's Career" (_Action_ #144, May 1950) Alvin Schwartz has young
Clark attend a lecture given at Smallville High School by Daily Planet
editor Perry White. He decides to become a reporter when he gets out of
college. But when he gets to Metropolis, Perry refuses to hire him and
Clark takes a series of menial jobs, including vacuum cleaner salesman and
taxi driver. Finally, after Clark saves Perry from syndicate gangsters and
turns in an exclusive account of Superman's crusade against the syndicate,
Perry relents and hires him. (The preceding courtesy of Michael Fleisher's
_Great Superman Book_).
The number of Superboy stories purporting to depict the first meeting
between Perry White and Clark Kent is too large to cover in this article.
The definitive Silver Age version of Clark Kent's hiring is memorable for
more then one reason. "How Perry White Hired Clark Kent" (_Superman_ #133,
11/59, art by Al Plastino) was Jerry Siegel's first Superman story in over
ten years. The circumstances of his return to the writing of his greatest
creation may not have been to his liking, but his natural affinity to the
character made him responsible for many of the best Superman stories of the
next seven years.
Fittingly, Siegel re-started his own career by having Clark Kent arrive in
Metropolis for the first time, all over again. Actually, Clark had attended
Metropolis University, so he should have been in town for four years
already. Still, living in a frat house isn't the same as having your own
apartment and being responsible for the rent. And Clark's inheritance from
Pa Kent would be starting to run out soon, so he begins searching for a
job.
Clark soon is at the offices of the Planet where he begs Perry for a job.
He tells Perry that he admires the paper so much he knows every big story
they've printed for the last 30 years! Of course with x-ray vision and
total recall, Clark has no trouble citing names and dates to prove his
boast. Unimpressed, Perry sends Clark to the Metropolis Zoo and tells him
to come back with a scoop. Clark quickly realizes he'll have to generate
his own story, so -- after sizing up the zoo's gorilla population -- he
disguises himself as Ferrocio and breaks into tired Old Bongo's cage. There
he lets the old gorilla "beat up" the young pretender, creating a human
interest story for the Planet. The inhabitants of Metropolis are apparently
just as big suckers for a good gorilla story as were DC comics readers of
the same era.
Still skeptical, Perry sends him to the carnival for his next assignment.
Clark doesn't have to drum up any work this time, as the Ferris wheel gets
stuck and Superman has to perform a daring rescue. Well, actually it would
have been a pretty routine rescue. So to keep himself from being bored,
Superman restarts the Ferris wheel at invisible super-speed, changes to
Clark and takes an empty seat in one of the descending cars. Now Clark can
write an "eye-witness" perspective on what it's like to be trapped on a
Ferris wheel. This is not exactly honest. But then again, having a secret
identity at all isn't really the height of honesty. And to be realistic,
Perry's "assignments" are just attempts to get rid of a country bumpkin he
has no intention of ever hiring anyway.
As if to prove my point, Perry's next task is for Clark to get a picture of
Superman holding a chunk of Kryptonite! Perry just happens to have a piece
in the office that was recently captured from the Anti-Superman Gang. Plop!
Oh look, there's Clark passed out on the floor! He just has enough strength
left to use super-ventriloquism to make his stomach rumble. Lois
immediately jumps to the conclusion that Clark fainted from hunger. After
wolfing down a five pound steak on the Planet's expense account, Clark
promises he really can get that picture for Perry, as long as Perry leaves
the Kryptonite in the lead box. With the help of a green painted rock (and
a little super-speed) Clark soon returns with the promised picture and, as
usual, Lois provides her own explanation of how it was possible. The
Kryptonite the Anti-Superman Gang had must have been fake! Since Clark was
the only one smart enough to figure this out (and can also apparently
contact Superman at will) Perry is impressed enough with his ingenuity to
finally hire him. Lois welcomes him to the staff, but promises to scoop him
as often as possible.
So that's how Silver age fans thought Clark got his job. But Lois was
already there. Where did she come from? A few month's later in _Lois Lane_
#17 (May 1960) Otto Binder and Kurt Schaffenberger revealed "How Lois Lane
Got Her Job." At a party celebrating the anniversary of Lois's arrival at
the Planet, Jimmy taunts her by saying all her big scoops came with
Superman's help (like he should talk!). Lois states that she got her job
before Superman came to Metropolis without any help from him at all and
relates three early scoops to prove her worth.
The first scoop was tracking down a mysterious safe cracker who could break
into safes without blowing them up. Lois ingeniously traces all the safes
involved to one company and fastens her suspicions on a particular
employee. She disguises herself as a cleaning woman to spy on him.
Cunningly, she knocks his notes on the floor in order to scoop them up with
her vacuum cleaner. But suddenly there's a power failure! Fortunately for
Lois, it only lasts a few minutes and she is able to get his notes, which
turn out to be records of all the safe combinations and serial numbers. A
big scoop, with no help from Superman at all.
Clark, however, recollects to himself that the reason the power failure
ended so quickly was because Superman used a Ben Franklin kite to send
power to Metropolis Hospital and the surrounding area.
Lois' second scoop was to get a picture of the Rajah of Sari, who claimed
to have had a superstitious fear of being photographed (these writers never
understood the difference between a reporter and a photographer, and
constantly had them trading such duties back and forth). Lois tries to lure
him out of hiding by showing up at his door with a rare white panther in
tow. It was really an old, tame black one which she had dyed. The Rajah
does come out, but his face is covered with a veil. Only a sudden gust of
wind reveals his face for her hidden camera. His face revealed, the Rajah
turns out to be an imposter -- another scoop for Lois. But you guessed it,
Superman caused that wind gust when "jump starting" an airplane at Metro
airport.
Lois's third scoop came from an archaeologist digging outside Metropolis.
When he finds a huge new dinosaur bone, Lois becomes desperate to get the
story to the Planet. Because her car has broken down, she puts her story
into a bottle, together with a $5 bill, and throws it into the river,
hoping it will reach the Daily Planet within the hour before the evening
paper goes to press. Superman finds that bottle while raising a sunken sub.
The backwash pulls it to the surface -- a fisherman finds it and races it
to the Planet so he can keep the $5. Of course, he could have kept the $5
anyway, but he was an honest guy. This third scoop is the lamest of all.
One would think that Lois could have walked to Metropolis faster than the
river could float the bottle there, but Binder only had 7 1/2 pages to
squeeze this story into and there wasn't room for much detail.
Despite Clark's silent surmise that he was responsible for Lois's first
scoops even though she didn't know it, I don't agree with him. Lois did the
work on those stories. She came up with the plans, ferreted out the details
and resourcefully handled the unexpected. His accidental proximity was just
that, an accident, neither necessary nor sufficient for her getting her
stories.
Now Jimmy Olsen came along later than Clark's arrival at the Daily Planet.
The story of his hiring should have been simpler to write. But Weisinger
and his writers never did anything simple if they could make it really
complicated instead. Thus, in "How Jimmy Olsen First Met Superman" in
_Jimmy Olsen_ #36 from April 1959, Otto Binder and Curt Swan perpetrated
this little assault on your sanity.
It's Jimmy's first day in Metropolis. On the bus he daydreams about someday
meeting Superman and mentions the fact that he's just finished reading
about the Man of Tomorrow in a book by Lois Lane. Soon Jimmy is scanning
the want ads, looking for a job, when he finds a scientist, Professor
Crane, looking for an assistant. Sounds like more fun than bagging
groceries, so off Jimmy goes to apply. What do scientist's assistants do in
Metropolis? Why they run test flights on time machines, of course. (I
accidentally typed "off course" there. Hm!)
The Professor sets the time machine to take Jimmy 20 years into the past,
but he warns Jimmy that, since planets move in space, he may not land on
Earth. Amazingly, Jimmy ends up on Krypton. (Wait a minute! It's not
amazing. This is Jimmy Olsen; things like this happen to him every day!)
Jimmy is immediately chased by the police for crossing against the light
(on Krypton green means stop and red means go). He escapes by hiding at a
science fiction pageant. Suddenly, Jimmy realizes he's being crushed by
Kryptonian gravity. Fortunately, a nearby display offers free anti-gravity
belts and Kryptonian clothing to all citizens (sounds communist to me, not
to mention extremely coincidental). Jimmy has no problem figuring this out
because he can read all these signs thanks to the detailed instructions on
how to speak Kryptonese that were included in Lois Lane's book.
Jimmy decides as long as he's on Krypton he should get a job (Why? The
government apparently gives everything away for free!), so he applies for a
nanny position at the House of El. It seems Jor-El and Lara need someone to
watch little Kal while they work on their escape rocket. Jimmy gets to
watch many of Jor-El's early experiments, including sending Kal's dog
Krypto up in a space capsule. (If the Kryptonians have anti-gravity, why is
Jor-El trying to build a propulsion rocket?)
Of course, while Jimmy is watching Jor-El instead of his son, little Kal
wanders off and Jimmy has to search for him. Outside, he finds the Science
Police searching for Jor-El's secret laboratory. They intend to arrest
Jor-El for causing a public panic. (No free speech on Krypton!) Realizing
that they might see Kal and follow him back to the lab, Jimmy distracts the
science police by engulfing them in a cloud of dust, while Krypto drags Kal
back inside. As a reward, Jor-El offers Jimmy a spot in his new rocket. But
Jimmy knows that Jor-El will never get to finish it.
Soon the planet begins to tremble. As the Krypton quakes begin, Jimmy
returns to his time bubble and sets the controls for his return to
Metropolis. But when Jimmy gets back to Earth he doesn't remember anything
of his trip through time and space. The disappointed Professor fires Jimmy,
so once again he's pounding the pavement, looking at the help wanteds.
Suddenly, Superman comes flashing down out of the sky and says "Hello James
Olsen, I have a job waiting for you as a cub reporter for the Daily Planet
newspaper! Wear this special ultra-sonic signal watch I made. You can call
me any time you need me! You see, you're going to be my pal!"
The startled Jimmy then learns the story of how he had been Kal-El's baby
sitter on Krypton and saved Superbaby's rocket from the science police. And
that's how Jimmy got his job. I wonder what Superman told Perry though...
I found this story to be rather disappointing, primarily because I had
always thought that Jimmy had made the signal watch, but this was never
true, until John Byrne re-wrote continuity years later. There are an
infinite number of holes in this story and I simply don't have the time and
space to go into them all. But it sure threw readers a curve, having Jimmy
meet Superman for the first time as a baby and them becoming pals
immediately on Jimmy's arrival in Metropolis, rather than developing a
relationship slowly over time.
Of course, the story contradicted all the previous first meetings of Jimmy
and Superman, but that's for another article, another day.
Now, how about Perry? Clearly, since Perry was editor of the Daily Planet
long before Superman got to Metropolis -- indeed, while Clark was still in
high school -- Superman couldn't have had anything to do with his early
career, could he? Of course he could -- as told in "Superman Meets Al
Capone" in _Superman_ #142 by Otto Binder and Wayne Boring in January 1961.
Previous to this story, Superman had hurled the giant ape, Titano, back
through time to the prehistoric era, where his Kryptonite vision would not
pose any threat to the Superman family. But now Perry wants to know if a
new species of dinosaur recently discovered is actually bigger than Titano.
Foolishly, even though he knows how dangerous Titano is, Superman
volunteers to fly through the time barrier and track this dinosaur down.
Sure enough, Titano finds Superman and brushes him with Kryptonite vision
before Superman can get up enough speed to launch himself through time
again. Because of this, Superman crash lands in Chicago in the 1920's. (It
has to be at least 1926 because Capone didn't take over Chicago's mobs
until 1925.) There he has to stay until his powers are recharged, so he
changes to Clark Kent and proceeds to get his shoes shined.
By an amazing coincidence, (actually I'm not at all sure what would
constitute an "amazing" coincidence in a 1960's Superman story) the shoe
shine boy turns out to be... Perry White. Quickly, Clark whips his glasses
off and smears shoe polish (to create a scar) on one cheek so that Perry
won't recognize him years later. (He needn't have worried. After all, Perry
met Clark at least a dozen times when Clark was in high school and he never
remembered a single one of those encounters.)
The man next to Clark on one side of the shoe shine stand turns out to be
Cyrus Martin, publisher of the Chicago Journal. He offers White a job if he
can bring him a scoop. The fellow on the other side turns out to be a
member of Al Capone's gang. He mistakes the disguised Clark Kent for
another hood, "Touch Vincent", and offers him a job in Capone's mob.
(Chicago is surely the land of opportunity!) Superman decides to play along
so he can help Perry get his scoop.
Soon "Touch" is ushered into the penthouse office of Al Capone. After
several "tests" of his skills and loyalty, Capone offers Clark a job in his
mob. But just then he finds out that the real "Touch" Vincent is still in
prison and jumps to the conclusion that Clark must be a federal agent. A
wash of machine gunfire leaves Clark untouched, leading to the myth of an
"untouchable" federal agent operating in Chicago. Unable to arrest Capone
because that would change history, Clark simply flies away and writes up
the story of how an unnamed federal agent almost infiltrated Capone's mob
and leaves the story at Perry's shoe shine stand.
His powers restored, he flies back to the present, having assured himself
that the young shoe-shine boy would eventually become editor of the Daily
Planet.
The major problem I have with this story (other than the standard
coincidences) is that Perry doesn't actually do anything. He shines shoes.
He asks for a job. Superman leaves a completely written news story for him
and Perry turns it in and gets a job. This doesn't say much for Perry's
skills as a reporter. Secondly, what was the scoop? Clark didn't arrest Al
Capone. He just almost joined his gang and then withstood a blaze of
gunfire. None of this was in public. There was no way for Perry or Cyrus
Martin to verify that any of it actually took place. And if it did, so
what? The headline reads "Untouchable stranger foils Capone mob," but all
Clark did was destroy one truckload of beer (by turning it into vinegar).
Somehow this doesn't strike me as a page one story.
So now we've got the entire cast assembled busily stumbling over "amazing
coincidences" at the Daily Planet. But where did the Daily Planet itself
come from? Would you believe, San Francisco? At least that's the theory
advanced in "Lex Luthor, Daily Planet Editor" from _Superman_ #168, by Leo
Dorfman and Curt Swan in April 1964.
On the Planet Lexor, Luthor -- married -- at peace at last -- considered
the greatest hero of his entire planet -- is still obsessed with revenge
against Superman. Thus he spends his time creating artificial Red
Kryptonite dust which will temporarily wipe out most of Superman's powers.
With his wife's blessing he flies to Earth to capture Superman and bring
him back to Lexor as a prisoner. But Luthor screws up somehow and his space
ship travels back in time and lands in San Francisco in 1906. Stranded,
Luthor adopts the identity of Cyrus Groat, newly arrived to take over the
editorship of the San Francisco Daily Planet!
Superman, meanwhile, (Does "meanwhile" mean anything in a time-travel
story?) is trying to keep tabs on Luthor and can't find him anywhere.
Fortunately the Kandorians have a Psycho-Locator which can trace anyone's
brainwaves through time and space. It tracks Luthor down to San Francisco
in 1906 and Superman wings his way after him. Changing to Clark, Superman
immediately goes to the Daily Planet and asks Groat for a job (not
recognizing him as Luthor through his false beard). Luthor recognizes
Superman however, and jumps to the conclusion he's playing at being Clark
just this one time (rather than playing at being Clark all the time.)
Groat tells Clark he'll hire him if he can bring in three scoops (where
have we heard this before?). For Clark's first scoop, he gets an interview
with famous actress Lillian Russell. For his second scoop, he boxes a
crooked prize-fighter and wins $1000, which he donates to the fire
department. Groat sends him back to get a story on the new fire engine they
bought and Clark goes, not realizing that the red fire engine has been
painted with Luthor's Red Kryptonite paint. Oh no! All of Superman's powers
are gone except for his super-vision! (which if he'd used on Groat in the
first place, would have kept him from ending up in this position.) Using
only his vision powers, Superman has to put out a fire on a paddle-boat
steamer. And it's a good thing he does too, because one of the passengers
is six-year old Perry White. (Let's see -- if Perry was 6 in 1906 that
makes him awfully old for a shoe shine boy in 1926! It also means that
Perry was 64 in the current story line and one year away from retirement.
Oh well, if comic book writers could add, they would have become
accountants.)
Superman quickly puts two and two together and realizes Cyrus Groat is
Luthor, but it's too late, because Luthor has a gun to his head. He drags
Superman to an island in the middle of San Francisco Bay where Luthor has
constructed a teleportation machine to take them both back to Lexor.
However, just as Luthor fires it up, the ground shakes and knocks off his
settings. Luthor vanishes, leaving Superman behind.
Superman now finds himself trapped without his powers in the Great San
Francisco earthquake. He falls into a fissure, but Lillian Russell tosses
him a rope and pulls him out. (What a coincidence! Her name has five "L"'s
in it!).
Without his powers, Superman can do nothing to stop the earthquake and is
reduced to helping feed people (from a soup kitchen of course). But
eventually his powers come back and he returns to the present, still
looking for Luthor. His telescopic vision reveals Luthor never made it back
to Lexor, so where is he? Well, if he's not on Lexor -- maybe he's still in
San Francisco. Superman flies to an island in present day San Francisco Bay
where the federal government has recently closed a prison facility. There
he finds Luthor -- the last prisoner in Alcatraz! His teleport ray had
brought him back to the present, but not moved him in space, so he had
materialized inside the abandoned prison!
Close, but no Perry White cigar. Alcatraz was indeed closed in 1963, but it
was built in 1868, long before Superman and Luthor visited the uninhabited
island in 1906. (Oh well, I suppose if comic book writers knew anything
about history, they'd be teaching it in college.)
How did the Daily Planet get from San Francisco to Metropolis? How did
Perry White get from San Francisco to Chicago and then to Metropolis? I
don't know. Perhaps there are other "untold stories" in those Silver Age
Superman comics books that I have yet to uncover.
As a young fan in the late Fifties and early Sixties, we ate these kind of
"How so-and-so first something-or-othered" stories up. In a time without
comic book stores or reprints, this was the closest we could get to finding
out the beginning of the story. The fact that these new stories had little
or nothing to do with the original versions, we neither knew nor cared.
Would we have preferred the originals if they had been available? Probably
not. To a young reader they would have seemed like pale antiques. And the
writers of the day would have been denied the challenge (not to mention the
payment) of spinning a contemporary story out of old threads.
Nowadays, many of my generation of fans grouse and carp about younger
writers re-writing these same stories for today's kids. Well, I say let the
youngsters have their fun. After all, we know how it "really" happened.
___________________________________________
SUPERMAN STORIES
------------------------------------------
By Sean Hogan (shogan@intergate.bc.ca)
Batman
This time, I'm going to look at issues that have featured the World's
Finest team of Superman and Batman.
Sadly, Batman's creator, Bob Kane, passed away earlier this month, on
November 3, 1998. My condolences to Bob Kane's wife, Elizabeth Sanders
Kane, and daughter, Deborah Majeski, and his other family members and
friends. It was nice to read that, up to the day of his death, the 83 year
old Kane was looking at "stacks and stacks" of fan mail.
I grew up on the World's Finest team-ups between Superman and Batman, so
I'm a sucker for the less frequent team-ups that the new continuity offers
(or at least, has offered up until recently).
In the Silver Age, Superman and Batman were best pals. Some of the most
enjoyable Superman stories were ones that teamed him with Batman, both in
the original _Justice League of America_ and (with Robin) in _World's
Finest Comics_. Together, Batman and Superman were icons of friendship and
teamwork.
Since Superman continuity was re-started, and Batman became more of a
reclusive loner following _The Dark Knight Returns_, stories have
emphasized the contrast between the two. There is respect and friendship of
a sort between them, but nowhere near the best pal's status that they
enjoyed previously. In this article, I won't mention the new _JLA_ or the
annual crossover events in which the two usually meet only briefly. The
focus will be on stories that deal with the relationship between Batman and
Superman.
Their first meeting is in issue #3 of John Byrne's mini-series, _The Man Of
Steel_. The time is established by Batman as 8 months since Superman's
debut in Metropolis. This is early in Batman's career also as his costume
has the black bat on his chest, without the gold oval. Batman is considered
an outlaw at this time, which is the reason for Superman's visit to Gotham.
Superman snags the batrope and uses it to carry Batman towards police
headquarters. Batman lets go of the rope and drops out of sight, eluding
Superman temporarily. Batman reveals that he anticipated Superman's arrival
and has surrounded himself with a forcefield. If Superman tries to get
close, a hidden bomb will kill an innocent person.
The weak point of the story is the forgettable villain -- Magpie, a female
who collects pretty, expensive baubles while cavalierly committing murder.
It's too bad that Byrne didn't use a villain with a stronger presence or
some history from the old _World's Finest_ continuity.
At the end, Superman concedes that Batman seems suited to the job that
needs to be done in Gotham. He is shocked when Batman reveals that the life
in danger was his own, as Batman removes the bomb from his utility belt.
Superman takes his leave with a wave and says that he doesn't fully approve
of Batman's methods, and will be keeping an eye on him "to make certain you
don't blow it for the rest of us ... but ... good luck."
Batman wistfully thinks, "A remarkable man, all things considered. Who
knows? In a different reality, I might have called him 'friend'." The
thought is a bit too hokey, but Byrne's acknowledgment of what was and what
may yet be is a nice nod and wink to the reader.
This issue sets up the dynamic between the two. They both fight for
justice, but have different visions as to how to achieve it. They respect
each other to a degree, but don't fully trust each other.
The mini-series is set 5 years before the ongoing Superman series begins.
Any relationship between the two during those 5 years still remains, for
the most part, as "untold stories".
The two next team up in _Action Comics Annual_ #1 (1987) when Batman (now
with the yellow oval on his chest) asks for Superman's help in fighting a
town full of vampires. The story starts as a Batman solo adventure, until
he realizes he is in over his head (something that just doesn't happen when
the Bat offices control the character). Batman calls Clark Kent to ask him
to get in touch with Superman. Clark doesn't believe it's Batman, until he
says, "and to prove my veracity, say one word to him". Clark says that the
word proves Batman's story.
Okay, class. Contest time. Byrne does reveal the word, and it's boring
(spoilers ho: it's "Magpie"). What I want is for you to e-mail me at
shogan@intergate.bc.ca and give me your suggestions as to what the "one
word" should have been. I'll print the most interesting suggestions in a
future column and snail mail _Action Comics Annual_ #1 to the lucky winner,
chosen by me.
There isn't much interaction between Batman and Superman in the story. They
only meet in two pages near the end, when Batman saves Superman from a
vampire. When Superman offers his thanks, Batman replies gruffly, "Call it
self-preservation, Superman. I don't much fancy the idea of a Super-Vampire
flying around," and tells him to clean his scratches with holy water.
Batman appears for five pages of _Action Comics_ #594. Superman asks for
his help in trying to determine who has been keeping a scrapbook of his
feats before his official debut as Superman (unknown to Superman, Ma Kent
had been saving clippings, and her book had been stolen).
Batman brings Robin along to meet Superman. It isn't clear whether this
Robin is supposed to be Dick Grayson or Jason Todd. While Robin stands
slack-jawed (repeatedly saying "wow!"), the two discuss the scrapbook.
Byrne draws Batman and Superman with smiles and they seem quite friendly.
Batman congratulates Superman as Metropolis has declared the day as
Superman Day.
As Superman flies off he thinks, "Funny ... that 'congratulations' is about
the warmest thing I've ever heard out of our dark friend. I didn't really
approve when I heard he'd taken on a junior partner, but now I'm not sure.
Robin seems to have had a ... well, a humanizing effect on the Batman."
Superman's thoughts point out the contrast between the two: "The Batman
works as well as he does in Gotham City because the people there tend to
fear him. But I gotta say ... it sure is great to be loved".
Superman checks back with Batman in _Adventures of Superman_ #440 for three
pages. The meeting is made a bit edgier this time. Batman is in his Dark
Knight persona, wondering where Superman is. "I don't like standing idle
like this. Gotham is a garden that needs constant weeding". Batman doesn't
bring Robin this time and he is abrupt with Superman ("As usual, your humor
eludes me, Superman.").
As to the scrapbook, Batman says that he wasn't able to come up with
anything except, "the only absolute fact I was able to glean from the thing
... is that you're Clark Kent". Humorously, Superman's first thought is
"Maybe I should have enlisted the help of the world's *second* greatest
detective!" Batman adds that as a matter of "professional courtesy" he
won't reveal Superman's dual identity to anyone.
Superman shows that there are some brains with the muscles when he replies,
"Oh, I'm quite sure you won't do that ... Mr. Wayne." Batman almost slips
off his batrope as he thinks, "and to think I took all that effort to line
my cowl with lead foil."
More satisfying to a World's Finest fan is the three part "Dark Knight Over
Metropolis" (_Superman_ #44, _Adventures of Superman_ #467, and _Action
Comics_ #654). As with the old _World's Finest_ comic, the title page
nostalgically declares: "Your two favorite heroes, Superman and Batman, in
one adventure together!" Jerry Ordway starts off nicely by having a shadowy
figure on the rooftops, trailing Cat Grant and Jose Delgado. Surprisingly,
the Batman-like figure is actually Superman.
Next, we learn that Batman has found a Kryptonite ring in Gotham (formerly
Luthor's ring) and the trail leads him to Metropolis. In part 2, Dan
Jurgens has Superman thinking, "There has always been something about
Batman that troubles me. He works outside the law -- with methods that are
questionable at best." He wonders, "What is he doing in my city?".
Batman drops in on a rooftop conversation between Gangbuster and Superman
and makes it clear he wants to speak to Superman alone. Gangbuster asks,
"Is that guy always this intense?". Superman replies tongue-in-cheek,
"Actually, I'd say he seems to be in a pretty cheery mood tonight."
Batman's distrust of Superman shows when, in discussing the case, he
thinks, "No reason to let him know I actually have the ring. It may come in
handy." In contrast, Bruce Wayne is charming and flirtatious when he
attends an awards function at Luthor's where he "introduces" himself to
Clark and Lois. He also meets Luthor for the first time, saying "Lex
Luthor. I've wanted to meet you for some time now!". Double meanings
abound.
The third issue, written by Roger Stern, opens with a nostalgic scene of
Superman and Batman, arms around each other, flying through the sky. The
story has lots of interaction between the two (in hero and civilian
guises), as well as conflicts with Luthor and Intergang. Batman deduces the
history of the ring and gives it to Superman. The tale ends with Superman
asking Batman to store the ring, in the event it ever needs to be used
against him. Superman's final words are, "I want the means to stop me to be
in the hands of a man I can trust with my life."
Perhaps not (completely) in continuity (but who cares) is the 3 issue,
prestige format series called _World's Finest_ (also in trade paperback).
Luthor and Joker take on each other as well as Superman and Batman. While
the story is well-written by Dave Gibbons, it is the art by Steve Rude
(with inks by Karl Kesel) that make the story so special. Rude does
wonderful scenic views of Gotham and Metropolis. His art is filled with
dynamic movement, creative angles and brilliant use of shading and
lighting. He fills panels with such terrific details that he could rival
Sergio Aragones. Steve Oliff gets deserved cover credit for his coloring.
The plot is complex, involving an orphanage with a murky history, located
between Metropolis and Gotham City. In the process, Luthor and the Joker
agree to trade cities. The heroes later do the same to chase their old
foes. I recommend you get your copy and read, or re-read it.
The 3 issue, prestige series _Legends Of The World's Finest_ (also in trade
paperback) by Walter Simonson and Dan Brereton takes a darker look at the
pair with a gothic storyline and dark, painted art. It's a fight between
demons with the Silver Banshee, Tullus, and Blaze, as well as a possessed
Man-Bat. Interestingly, the plot has the heroes haunted by bad dreams of
each other's origins. Superman dreams of his parents, murdered by a lone
gunman and begins to act harsher, angrier towards the criminals he faces.
Batman dreams of being on Krypton and finds that he begins to fear the dark
and the night and to lose his edge. There isn't much development of the
Superman/Batman relationship (understandable with Superman under the
influence of the Silver Banshee for much of the story). This is a darker
view of Superman, in both story and art and won't appeal to everyone. I
suspect if you prefer Batman or just like a good Halloween type tale, you
will enjoy the read.
No matter what version of Batman is your favorite, you can't help but enjoy
the Zero Hour issue of _Superman: The Man Of Steel_ #37. With the timeline
fracturing, Batman comes to Metropolis to find Superman. And it turns out
to be not just one Batman, but several alternate versions of him. While
Louise Simonson turns out a good story, the star of the issue is Jon
Bogdanove's art. His alternate Batmen pays homage to artists from Bob Kane
to Neal Adams to Frank Miller and many, many others. You may also want to
pick up _Superman: The Man Of Steel_ #40 for the letter page which
reproduces the cover to #37 with annotations listing the original artists
for the various versions on the cover. Favorite quote: when the first
Batman greets the long haired Superman saying, "Not going 'hippie' on us,
are you?"
On a darker note was Batman's appearance in _Action Comics_ #719, where
Lois lies dying from the Joker's poison. David Michelinie writes a solid,
disturbing story. Superman desperately seeks Batman's help. Batman diverts
him, realizing that Superman is losing control in his grief over Lois'
condition. The Joker tells Superman that the only way to save Lois it to
inject the Joker with a serum that will produce the necessary antibodies,
but kill the Joker in the process.
Joker explains that since Superman is invulnerable, that "I'd destroy what
you *are*." Forcing Superman to take a life, "even my life -- is bound to
send you over the edge." Superman is wrestling with his moral code while
Batman tries to convince him that he can't kill the Joker. Superman says,
"I can crush mountains! Melt steel! Are you saying I can't save one woman?"
Batman replies from personal experience as he says, "Life doesn't always
have happy endings." He tells Superman to think about what Lois would want
him to do: "For your soul and hers ... think!"
Michelinie is challenging not only Superman's moral code, but also our own.
Neither the choice nor the consequences are soft-pedaled. Superman and
Batman stand helplessly over Lois' hospital bed as the poison reaches its
final stage. At the end of the issue, Lois is still alive, but the question
hangs in the air -- did Superman make the right choice?
The issue shows the strength of the relationship between Batman and
Superman. Even in anguish and indecision, with Lois' life in the balance,
Superman relies on Batman's judgment and allows Batman to restrain him.
Batman drops by for a chat in _Superman: The Wedding Album_. Showing how
Silver Age references can be over-used, Batman offers congratulations,
saying "I think you and Lois will make the world's finest team." Ouch. When
Batman explains how he has arranged for other heroes to protect the city
during the honeymoon, as well as arranging for Clark and Lois to have the
apartment they wanted, Superman replies, "Thank you Bruce. That's quite a
wedding present! You better watch this nice guy stuff before it trashes
your grim and gritty image!"
Batman's most recent appearance in the Super-titles was in _Superman_ #126.
Luthor is on trial and claims that he needs the kryptonite ring for his
defense. After some wrestling with his conscience, Superman goes to the
Batcave to retrieve it. Batman is waiting for him. His advice, "I wouldn't
do it. He's guilty. Let him roast!" Superman counters with, "I rely on the
goodwill and the trust of the people to do my job, Batman. You rely on fear
and terror to do yours. I have to do this." Interestingly, while accurately
stating the difference in their approaches to crime-fighting, there is no
longer any indication that Superman disapproves of Batman's methods. He
seems to have accepted that different circumstances can merit different
methods.
Always cunning, Luthor manages to swap the kryptonite ring, so that
Superman returns an imitation to the Batcave. I can't believe that Batman
wouldn't check the ring as soon as it was returned. The issue cries for a
follow-up where Batman arrives to retrieve the original ring from Luthor.
Despite several appearances by Batman in the Super-titles, Superman has
only made one appearance in the Bat-titles. The story in _The Batman
Chronicles_ #7 is even written by Super-scribe Jerry Ordway. Using a theme
from _Action Comics_ #1, Superman is trying to gather evidence to prevent
the execution of someone who may have been wrongfully convicted of murder.
Ordway delivers a gripping, realistic story with solid interaction between
the heroes (incidentally, this issue is also well known for Devin Grayson's
debut story about Dick Grayson and Donna Troy).
As in earlier issues, there is a friendly, but prickly, relationship
between the two. When Superman assists Batman during a battle, Batman's
first remark is that he could have taken out the gunman without help.
Superman takes no offense, instead openly saying, "I need your help,
friend". It's nice to see that when a news helicopter spies them, it is
Batman that disappears without warning, not the man with super-speed.
There is always a conflict in pairing Superman and Batman, as the former's
powers dwarf the latter. Writers must come up with some way to make Batman
both relevant and a full partner of the team. In the Silver Age, this was
often done by removing Superman's powers (red sun, magic, etc). Even though
the new Superman is not as powerful as his earlier incarnation, he has less
weaknesses (green kryptonite is rare, other varieties don't exist and he
and Batman don't visit red sun worlds often). In modern stories, Batman
compensates for the differences in their physical abilities by his
intelligence and fore-thought, as well as his mysteriousness (such as his
ability to disappear).
The issue nicely contrasts their different approaches as Superman
investigates through reporter Clark Kent while Batman muscles and threatens
his way to the truth. The accused in the story is not completely innocent,
which allows a discussion between the two as to what is the appropriate
punishment for her. But in the end, the two agree that truth and justice
must prevail -- although in this case their intervention is thwarted. As
Batman says, "our philosophies may differ, but we're both after the same
thing -- justice."
In the recent _Superman Secret Files_ #1, a mysterious stranger
investigates Clark Kent/Superman's background. The story has a review of
the post-Crisis Superman as the stranger talks with Ma and Pa Kent, but the
highlight of the story is the final two pages, when Superman meets Batman
in the Batcave. Batman again repeats that, "We're opposites. You represent
the light, while I represent the dark. You're a product of love and order,
while I'm a product of violence and chaos" and that, "...you grew up with
the life I craved." Superman replies that maybe the two aren't that
different. The issue ends with Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne sitting down,
mugs in hand, to talk.
There are also some great non-continuity meetings between Superman and
Batman (Elseworlds and Animated Series) that I hope to review in a future
article. To end on a positive note, it appears that DC is out to please
fans of the World's Finest team with several new offerings. John Byrne's
_Superman and Batman: Generations_ is a four issue Elseworlds series (with
the first issue released in November 1998) which features a look at the
team at ten year intervals starting with 1939. And Karl Kesel is scheduled
to do a new 10-issue _World's Finest_ maxi-series expected to debut in
early 1999. Kesel will have a preview story in the _DCU Holiday Bash III_.
The series will reveal that Superman and Batman have met regularly over the
past 10 years and will include stories such as Batman checking on the four
Supermen that appeared after his "death" and Superman checking on the
Azrael-Batman.
On a final note, my thanks to Jim Lesher who e-mailed me about Bob Kane and
also answered my question about Mr. Mxyzptlk's identity of "Ben DeRoy" from
last month's article. To quote Jim: "The name Ben DeRoy, by the way, was a
swipe at The Beyonder, a Marvel Comics character who was supposedly
omnipotent. He appeared in the two "Secret Wars" mini-series from Marvel
Comics".
That's it for now. Next time, I'll look at Christmas and other holiday
tales from both pre- and post-Crisis continuity to give you something to
look for over the holidays.
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End of Section 10/Issue #56
