#131

... ut it was the best rating for this book (in my tenure as New Comics Editor) since his much-lauded examination of Lex Luthor ("Checkmate!", _Superman_ #131, 4.1 Shields), finishing only slightly behind the reintroduction of Cyborg as Ashbury Armstrong's teacher ("Within Human Reach", _Superman_ #129, 3.8 Shields), and tied with "Machinations!" (_Superman_ #126), where Lex stole back his kryptonite ring from Batman. While there were some mixed emotions about the new Brainiac -- much as there have always been about Mr. Jurgens and his writing -- most reviewers thought that this was a suitable coda to Dan's 10-year run. Whether you like or dislike hi ...

... Earth a story should belong. The last adventure of Mr. Mxyztplk appeared in _Superman_ #105. Mr. Mxyzptlk was introduced 3 years later in _Superman_ #131. Krypton stories that contradicted or duplicated later events, such as _Superman_ #123's "Superman's Return to Krypton", which was replaced in continuity by the _Superman_ #141 version, can easily also be consigned to the Earth-2 character. By extension, this means that the version of Super-Girl introduced in that same story is also an Earth-2 character. I could go on and on, but I won't. To wrap up, the last originally-recorded adventure of the Superman of Earth-2's career was in April of 1959 ...

... --------------------------------- [32] Golden Age Superman tribute, Superman: Man of Steel #80-81 [16] Superman Forever #1 [13] "Checkmate", Superman #131 [10] "The Death of Mr. Mxyzptlk", Superman: Man of Steel #75 [10] Silver Age Superman tribute, Adventures of Superman #558-560 [ 4] Superman 2999, Superman #136-137 [ 3] Superman: Save the Planet #1 [ 2] "Polyesteryear", Action Comics #745-746 TT2: Worst Story/Story-arc in the Superman Triangle Titles ---------------------------------------------------------- [41] Millennium Giants, Triangles 15-20 [16] Superman Red/Superman Blue arc, Triangles 6-20 [ 9] Crisis in Kandor arc, Triangles ...

... ious follow-up to their widely-praised Mxy tale set during Lois and Clark's broken engagement. "Checkmate", appearing just a week later in _Superman_ #131, was a much darker tale, as Dan Jurgens brilliantly reminded us exactly how cold, calculating, and maliciously evil Lex Luthor can be. In the end, however, my vote went to Bogdanove and Simonson's fantastic homage to the Golden Age in _Man of Steel_ #80-81. Perhaps this had something to do with my newfound interest in Siegel and Shuster's original vision, but there can be no mistaking that Bog and Simonson crafted a powerful story which wonderfully captured the feel of the era. ST: These were d ...

... l TT1: Best Story/Story-arc in the Superman Triangle Titles [ ] "The Death of Mr. Mxyzptlk", Superman: Man of Steel #75 [ ] "Checkmate", Superman #131 (Lena Luthor born, Mayor assassinated) [ ] Millennium Giants, Triangles 15-20 [ ] Superman Forever #1 (Powers restored, Superman searches for Lena) [ ] Silver Age Superman tribute, Adventures of Superman #558-560 [ ] "Polyesteryear", Action Comics #745-746 (from 1970s Superman tribute) [ ] Golden Age Superman tribute, Superman: Man of Steel #80-81 [ ] Superman 2999, Superman #136-137 (Superman/JLA of 2999 vs Muto) [ ] Superman: Save the Planet #1 (Meteor Shower, Luthor buys the Planet) TT2: ...

... ogdanove 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 ...

... otected by client-attorney privilege. But the most interesting change in Luthor's character comes from the birth of his daughter, Lena, in _Superman_ #131. Dan Jurgens delivers one of the best Luthor stories to date (all my opinion, of course). Today's Luthor is very complex and multi-faceted, which has only been enhanced by making him a loving, devoted father (with one ticked off mother out there somewhere). The Luthor stories up to now have been great. The future possibilities look even more exciting. Next time: Brainiac! _____________________________________________ THE PHANTOM ZONE: Reviews of the pre-Crisis Man of Steel --------------------- ...

... hess master. It is a terrific and terrifying conclusion. Highly recommended. The threads of this story also resurface nicely in the recent _Superman_ #131 (the murder of Mayor Berkowitz). Another interesting graphic novel with Luthor in it is the "Clark Kent" novel, _Superman: Under A Yellow Sun_ (by John Francis Moore of _Elseworlds' Finest_ and _Chronos_ fame, with art by Barreto, Gammill, and Janke). The graphic novel has two concurrent plots -- Clark trying to get some dirt on Luthor, while writing a novel whose main characters include a familiar protagonist and antagonist. While not advancing the character greatly, it is an interesting look ...

... at the last time I had done so was *five* months ago! Believe it or not, the last issue of a Superman title that I read more than once was _Superman_ #131, which came out way back in November. This was the story in which Luthor had Mayor Berkowitz assassinated, gained revenge on his foster father, and placed the Contessa in a coma after the birth of their daughter. In the months following that exceptional tale, we were "treated" to the saga of Superman Red and Superman Blue, which has only just concluded with the Millennium Giants "event". Folks, five months is *way* too long to go without seeing anything interesting enough to make me read it twi ...

... e Man of Steel or his friends became disabled Section 3: New Comic Reviews The Superman Titles Superman: The Man of Steel #75, by Mike Smith Superman #131, by Thomas Deja Adventures of Superman #554, by Dan Radice Section 4: New Comic Reviews The Superman Titles (cont) Action Comics #741, by Shane Travis Super-Family Titles Steel #46, by Jeff Sykes Superboy #47, by Rene' Gobeyn Section 5: New Comic Reviews Super-Family Titles (cont) Superboy and the Ravers #17, by Jeff Sykes Supergirl #17, by Thomas Deja Other Superman Titles JLA #14, by Anatole Wilson Section 6: New Comic Reviews Other Superman Titles (cont) Superman Adventures #15, by Cory Stro ...