#42

... ------=--=------=--=---- Your View and Response Final Responses By: Coplan ----=--=------=--=------=--=-- In the previous issue of Static Line, Issue #42 (December, 2002), I asked readers to respond with their favorite demo of all time. I got a few responses, and I will post the two cleanest responses here. -=- Response from Nauthiz -=- I'll admit, my favorite demo, Paimen by Coma, is on the MindCandy DVD, but in my defense I'll claim that I thought of it before I saw it was on the DVD. When I show my friends a few demos to give them an idea of what the whole thing is about, many of them don't see why I enjoy them so much. Usually, P ...

... | | || | || | || | ||_ | | || | | | | | | | | | \ | | | | | ¯\_______/¯\_______/|____| | \_____/| |\_______/¯ cRu|________\ | | Issue #42 |· __|__ /\ ____ ____ |: \ / __/· \__\_ \___\_ \_ _. January, 2003 || / \ \__/ / / /___// | 300 Subscribers World Wide | /___/ \ / / __/_ / | | / / / / / / // | ¯\____ /___/___/ /¯\____ //____| \/ /___/ \/ --=--=-- --=--=------=--=------=--=---- Table Of Contents ----=--=------=--=------=--=-- Opening: Message From the Editor Letters From Our Readers Features: ...

... ty. It turns out that the culprit is Peter Lowell, a.k.a. the Amazing Presto, nephew of Daily Planet obituary editor, Ryan Lowell. In _Action Comics_ #429, Ryan accidentally learned Superman's secret; Peter learns this while using hypnosis to cure his uncle's insomnia. Both Ryan and Peter voluntarily undergo super-hypnosis to remove the knowledge. From the above synopsis, it's evident that this story is steeped in late pre-Crisis continuity. E. Nelson Bridwell creates a plot using then-recent Justice League history (the disbanding of the original League and subsequent abandonment of their satellite headquarters forces Superman to store Amazo in ...

... man. Even his outfit is changed to one of Kryptonian influence. Now calling himself Kal-El, he accepts a fight to the death with Draaga in _Superman_ #42 and _Adventures of Superman_ #465. Only Professor Hamilton's interference prevents Kal-El's execution of Draaga. Cutting all ties with his role as Clark, he drifts serenely back to the Fortress where he removes the Eradicator from its case and holds it up as if in worship. The conclusion in Part VI (_Action Comics_ #652) has Ma and Pa Kent come to Clark to try and discover the reason for his strange behaviour. Almost completely under the Eradicator's control, Kal-El's facade briefly cracks to r ...

... known story of that period is "Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow" by Alan Moore, Curt Swan, George Perez, and Kurt Schaffenberger (_Superman_ #423 and _Action Comics_ #583; also available in collected form). A good bookend to that farewell is the life story of the Golden Age Superman in _Secret Origins_ #1. Roy Thomas' tale is based on the Siegel and Shuster stories, with a timeline from the destruction of Krypton to the events in _Action Comics_ #1. The treat is the art by classic Superman artist Wayne Boring and another classic Superman artist, Jerry Ordway. The story ends with a picture of Superman's wedding to Lois Lane, which took p ...

... Darkseid's dreaded fire-pits. As the issue ends, we see Darkseid watching from overhead and laughing as Superman disappears. _Adventures of Superman_ #426 opens with a near-dead Superman being fished out of the fire-pits by a scavenger. When an angry mob surrounds Superman, he is saved by a woman known as Amazing Grace. Grace proclaims Superman as the Savior they have been waiting for to lead them to victory against Darkseid. Superman, suffering from amnesia and lacking his super-powers, still shows himself to be a hero by defeating the parademons sent to attack the crowd. The mob embraces their Savior, as does Grace -- later and more intimately ...

... Adventures of Superman_ (cover dates January to December, 1987). The series picked up the numbering of the original _Superman_ comic which ended with #423 (part 1 of Alan Moore's classic "Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow?"). Reviewing these stories provides an opportunity to examine a number of topics discussed in the Kryptonian Cybernet over the past year, as well as some of the themes in the current Superman 24/7 story. Were the stories better in 1987 or is it just the distance which time brings that makes critics of current policies and stories prefer the past? DC's editorial approach at the time was to recruit "top talent" to wri ...

... know they're watching." _____________________________________________ SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES ---------------------------------------- Episode #42: "Where There's Smoke" ---------------------------------------------------- Reviewed by Neil A. Ottenstein (otten@tomco.net) September 19, 1998 Written by Hilary J. Bader Directed by Dan Riba Guest-starring Peri Gilpin as Claire Sultan/Volcana RATINGS: Average: 2.8/5.0 Shields Neil Ottenstein: 3.2 Shields Nathan Bredfeldt: 1.0 Shields - I hated it. What a horribly dull episode to start the new season with. Scott Devarney: 4.0 Shields - Superman meets the X-files. I loved Volcana's moral ...

... ing Superman before Byrne remade him. I have _Action_ from #389 up (except for 2 issues) and all of the other current titles from #1 up (_Adventures_ #424 up). I don't say this to brag, just to state my credentials like the other writers did. After all of this, I'd like to say that when I get a new batch of comics, the first things I read every time are the JLA/Avengers books (and Avengers will probably drop after Perez stops drawing it) and then the Superman books. Everything else after that depends on what's going on in the titles and what I'm feeling like reading. While I haven't been as thrilled with the Superman books as I have in the p ...

... ious villains is shown in the recent _Superman Villains: Secret Files and Origins_. A good example of how Luthor works is in _Adventures of Superman_ #424 (the first issue of the series, continuing the numbering of the old Superman comic), when he provides Lois with a serum to save her mother's life. The catch is that the serum must be used monthly, is very expensive, and is only available through Luthor. Yet Luthor asks for no payment -- he just wants Lois to know that he cares for her, and gets her to agree to dinner with him. After Lois leaves, Luthor muses "Month in and month out, Lois Lane will be forced to gratefully accept my helping hand ...