April 22, 2008
Superman 675: Awesome cover
The cover to Superman 675 is simply one of the best Alex Ross paintings I've ever seen. DC Comics should consider making a poster out of this.
Too bad the story inside is so unappealing. I loved Kurt Busiek's Superman Secret Identity, but I've never gotten into his regular Superman run at all. Reading this story leaves me cold. I'm not looking forward to Trinity in the least. Countdown #1 comes out tomorrow--that's been awful too, but let's see if the last issue redeems it.
Posted by Kid Flash at 12:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)November 8, 2006
Bizarro in Superman Returns Videogame
I don't really have any expectations from EA's Superman Returns game when it ships this month. It might be cool to fly around an open city, but I wouldn't pay $60 for the experience. It could be a rental or something to pick up a year from now when it's $20. Team XBox has a cool video showing Bizarro in the game. According to this article at GameSpy, you get to play as Bizarro for a while. I think it's hilarious to hear his voice: "Bizarro must do good...bizarro must kill people. It fun being hero by destroying city." Huh, I think there's a lot of cool ideas from the Bizarro world. A Bizarro Sims game, where you attrack people by ignoring them? A Bizarro Grand Theft Auto, where you do random acts of goofy kindness? What else could be done? Nuff said.
November 1, 2006
I Was Edujicated by DC's Giants
DC continuity was just too dang confusin' for kids to figure out. When the Dumb Communists infiltrated Superman's publishin' company in the 1980s, that's what they claimed in order to justify Crisis on Infinite Earths. How can a dumbass kid know about Earth I and Earth II and the fourteen varieties of Kryptonite and the Adult Legionnaires? Well, I did, and I didn't have a rich Uncle with a secret stash of Silver Age comics. How did I, Cousin Dick, a hick from the boondocks, learn so much comics history? I was edujicated by Giants!
Batman 213 (1969) was the first Giant book I ever bought. 5 big stories for 25 cents, that was a big deal to me when the regular comics were 12-15 cents. This book had the Holy Grail for me: the origin of Robin! Like many kids in the 60s, I was a big fan of the BATMAN tv show starring Adam West. I always wondered why the TV show never explained their origin! I idolized Robin, and here it was all explained: the murder of Dick Grayson's parents, his adoption by Bruce Wayne, and his training to become the Boy Wonder. But little did I know there was an even better story in this issue: "The Man Behind the Red Hood". Little did I know until the very last page--this was the origin of the Joker! I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that Judd Winick also read this same story and used the Red Hood in Jason Todd's revival.
I wasn't just a Batman fan. I loved Superman, and that also translated to Superboy. I liked readin' about Superman's teenage adventures, his family life with the Kents, and most of all, his super-dog, Krypto! My first fan letter to DC comics was written in crayon: "Where did Krypto come from? How come we never see Superman's parents in his own comic?" Quite soon after that, another Giant, Superboy 165 (1970) answered both of these questions! Jor-El used Krypto as a test animal to perfect his rocket ship for Superman...heck, that didn't seem cruel at the time. But the secret of Ma and Pa Kent's death had me cryin' like a baby! They contracted a rare disease, which Superboy thought that he caused through a time travel adventure. Later it turned out just to be the Kents own misfortune. After exhaustin' ever possible resource to save them (Lex Luthor, Phantom Zone, etc), the Kents quietly pass away at home--forcing Clark to finally leave Smallville.
DC 100 Page Super Spectacular #6 (1971) introduced me to Earth I and Earth II. I remember seeing this title on the comic book rack at The Book Cache in Anchorage, Alaska. (How I got there was another story altogether.) I only had a dollar and decided to spend half of it on this title because of the wonderful Neal Adams wraparound cover--I had never seen so many heroes in one place! I was curious why there were two Supermen, two Batmen, and an adult version of Robin. Luckily, the lead story was the classic "Crisis on Earth-1, Earth-2" Justice League two-parter that explained the whole mystery. If that wasn't enough, the back cover had a guide that explained who each hero was on the front cover. The rest of the book was filled with Golden and Silver Age reprints of The Spectre, Johnny Quick, Vigilante, Wildcat, and Hawkman. Little did I know that I was studyin' to enjoy Roy Thomas' All-Star Squadron that featured all these cowpokes!
In 1972, DC made Detective Comics a regular bi-monthly 100 page comic, and that format lasted until 1975 (issues 438-445). This particular run was exceptional, because Archie Goodwin was the editor. He revitalized the all-new Batman stories with exceptional artwork by Jim Aparo, Sal Almendola, Alex Toth, and Howard Chaykin, and wrote all of them except one--the classic "Night of the Stalker" (written by Steve Englehart from an idea by Neal Adams). We also had the remarkable Manhunter backup, written by Goodwin and drawn by a new artist called Walt Simonson. This truly was the best deal in comics--awesome new stories, coupled with reprints that explained the history of the DC Universe. I learned all about Doctor Fate, Kid Eternity, the Guardian and Newsboy Legion, the Atom, Hawkman, and the power of fishnet stockings--Zatanna! Detective 438 reprinted Zatanna's adventures with the Atom, and gave us a trail to follow her classic search for Daddy Zatara thru other 100 page spectaculars.
There ya go pardners, the trail of DC Giants. If you've tried to follow them now in back issue bins or EBay, it can cost ya a pretty penny to buy 'em back! But ya know what I remember thinkin', even as a ten-year old, that these big books were the best value--each one took me hours to read. I suppose ya got the equivalent in DC Showcase reprints, but somehow it just don't seem the same to me. Ain't none of 'em got a beautiful Neal Adams cover like Superman 252! Nuff said.
September 4, 2006
Nasthalthia: Morrison's Nod to Adventure Comics 397
The character Nasthalthia only appears on three pages of All-Star Superman #5, but she made quite an impression on me. Maybe I just love a goth chick who wears a skin tight leather outfit, or maybe it's her role as Charon (transporting dead souls on the river Styx) in this story. Lex's introduction to Nasthalthia is charming:
Lovely Nasthalthia here will take you back to the land of the living while I await the end. She's 18, speaks 30 languages, and wants to rule the world one day, bless her.
How about this for serendipity? Last night, I start reading Back Issue #17 from TwoMorrows: it's an "All Super Girls" issue featuring articles on Tigra, Spider-Woman, Wonder Woman, Wonder Girl, and Supergirl. (Highly recommended with lots of great artwork!) The Supergirl article discusses the period of time when the character when through a period of changes in the 70s. Adventure Comics 397 was a milestone issue, because Supergirl changed her costume. She went from her original costume to a number that included a belt and thigh-high red leather boots. The back-up story, titled "Supergirl Meets Nasty" featured a new villainess: Nasthalthia! Lex Luthor shows up and we discover that she is Lex's niece...that can't be good! In her first appearance, she's not much of a threat, enlisting a female motorcycle gang to terrorize Stanhope College which Supergirl defeats easily.
Morrison's Silver Age memory is astounding. Does he remember this from decades past, did he reread his collection, or did Mark Waid remind him of Nasty? Will we see her again? I hope so. And this leads to a question: since Krypto appears in All Star Superman #6, will we see the Silver Age version of Supergirl at some point? Nuff said.
Posted by Adam Warlock at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)August 31, 2006
All-Star Superman 4: Kent's Trip to Hell
My pick of the week: All Star Superman #5. More genius Silver-Age craziness from Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. Superman never really appears in costume during the story--instead it's Clark Kent who plays second fiddle to Lex Luthor. Luthor's in prison, awaiting his turn at the electric chair, and spends some quality time with Kent. Fans of the bumbling, stumbling Clark Kent persona in the Christopher Reeve Superman movies will love the scenes where Kent clumsily falls around Luthor's lab and whimpers when the Parasite goes on a rampage. Despite Luthor's genius, he can't see the resemblance between Superman and his alter ego:
I've always liked you, Kent. You're a humble, modest, uncoordinated human. You're everything He's not.
Even in the end, when Kent's glasses are removed, Luthor still doesn't see it. Throughout the issue, Kent looks more like a puffy, overweight post-adolescent than the Man of Steel. Due to Quitely's rendition, you wouldn't think they are the same person, either.
There's no mistaking the allegory in the final pages of the story: Luthor's sending Superman on a trip to hell. Is it just me, or does Luthor resemble Grant Morrison in a few panels? Nuff said.
Posted by Adam Warlock at 8:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)February 20, 2006
Happy President's Day 2006: When Superman met John F. Kennedy
Howdy there pardners! I've been busy truckin' XBox 360s to all the Wal-Marts across the country. Plain tuckered out, but now I'm givin' my rig Betsy a rest and settlin' back in my "crib" (as you young fellers call it) over here in East Biggs. Me and Joe Bob are gettin' ready to fight WW2 all over again in Call of Duty 2. But first, I'm takin a moment to celebrate President's Day 2006. Remember when Presidents actually appeared in funny books? My favorite was this here apperance by President John F. Kennedy in Superman...
Can't blame a feller for passin' on the Fortress of Solitude with those beauties waitin' for action. Those were the days! Nuff said.
Posted by Cousin Dick at 1:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)February 9, 2006
This is Your Life, Superman One!
I was blown away by this week's issue of Superman. "This Is Your Life - Part I" is an Infinite Crisis crossover that is really worthwhile. We see "our" current generation Superman getting pummeled by another blue clad figure--who has to be Superman I. I am sure we will see the entire fight in Infinite Crisis #5, judging from the Jim Lee cover. With each blow, Superman receives memories and visions of the elder Superman's life on Earth 1. The way this is told by Joe Kelly, using various narrators (Ma Kent, Lois Lane, Clark Kent) is just marvelous. It's also a jam issue, artistically speaking, with Ed Benes, Tim Sale, Jerry Ordway, and Howard Chaykin.
You can understand Superman I's point of view more clearly through this story. He's part of the first generation of superheroes. He has lived through World War II and the McCarthy era that forced the JSA to step down. He see evil in very black and white terms because the villains he fought had no shades of gray. And he loves Lois Lane more than anything in the world. We see a lot of Superman's courtship of Lois in these flashbacks, drawn by Howard Chaykin, which gives a nostalgic, Cary Grant\Kathryn Hepburn quality to their relationship. Fans of the Justice Society and the All Star Squadron won't want to miss this one. Hopefully the remaining chapters will be just as good. Nuff said.
Posted by Kid Flash at 12:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)January 25, 2006
FX Show “Black. White.” A Ripoff of Lois Lane 106?
If you're watching the Shield on FX network (and if you are not watching it, you really should be), then you've seen the ads for a new reality show called "Black. White.". It's co-produced by Ice Cube. In the promos you see white and black people trading races using Hollywood-style makeup techniques. It's an intriguing idea for a reality show and I am very interested to watch the first episode. Where did they get this idea? Two sources come to mind.
The first is Lois Lane 106, my favorite issue from Lois Lane's entire comic book run. (Keep in mind that this was published in 1970, when civil rights issues were still hot, and DC tried to address them in various ways. ) Titled "I Am Curious (Black)!" (a takeoff on a popular X-rated movie title), Lois takes a trip to Harlem for a story about the neighborhood. She finds herself shut out by the black community. What's an ace reporter to do?
She tells Superman, who takes her to the Fortress of Solitude, and uses a machine to turn her into a black woman. I like how the hair changes into an afro. I think her boobs get a little bigger. Superman's obviously not doing us any favors by keeping this machine all to himself.
After changing her race, Lois discovers how African Americans face discrimination and poverty. Then she confronts Superman and asks if he would marry her now that she is black! Yooww. Teri Hatcher ain't enough for you, Superman, so how about a little Beyonce? His answer is still the same: I can't marry you because you'd be a target for my enemies. In other words, Superman's gonna play the field because it's the swinging 70's and he's wide open, baby!
Of course, I don't believe this is the inspiration for Black White. I doubt Ice Cube read Lois Lane comics from the 1970s. But I bet that Ice Cube did see the classic Eddie Murphy video on Saturday Night Live where he becomes a white man (you can view it here). Murphy discovers that white people get a lot of things for free, like newspapers and bank loans. Parties erupt on buses when the last black person exits (cocktails are served). It's one of the funniest things Murphy has ever done. Nuff said.
Posted by Adam Warlock at 1:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)January 20, 2006
All Star Superman 2: Sheer Perfection!
When I think of comic book stories that are absolutely perfect, from beginning to end, there are very few. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko did a great job on the Master Planner trilogy in Amazing Spider-Man. Lee and Jack Kirby wrote a great Fantastic Four two-parter called "Battle for the Baxter Building". Alan Moore's two-parter "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow" story that ended Superman's last incarnation was a timeless classic. Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely had a nice streak with the first few issues of New X-Men, and now they've done it again with the second issue of A.S.S. (All-Star Superman).
It's not that anything super-monumental happens in this story. It's Morrison and Quitely's interpretation of the classic Silver Age Superman. Having revealed his secret identity to Lois Lane, he gives her a tour of his Fortress of Solitude. While it's still in the Arctic and requires a key to open the door, not everything is as it was in the 70s. 
The key is different and so are the robots that take care of the Fortress. As Superman escorts Lois through his secret hideout, Morrison reminds us what was great about this era. It was magical, mythological, and it makes the present-day Superman pale in comparison. While today's Superman gets imbroiled in one super-battle after another, the Silver Age Superman explored his universe. He took trips into the bottled city of Kandor, fell in love with mermaids, and rescued near-extinct animals for his private zoo. Not to say that every Silver Age story was a classic, but the mythology gave writers all the tools they needed to tell a good story. If Superman ever got stale, it wasn't a fault of being too powerful or having too many Kryptonians around--it was because whoever wrote those stories couldn't think of new problems for Superman to face. For that to work, you need a big thinker to create bigger problems. You need writers like Alan Moore or Grant Morrison.
When Morrison and Quitely work together, the result is an awesome blend of imagination. The pacing of the story beats are just perfect. This particular story isn't about Superman as much as it is about Lois Lane (she's the narrator). Feeling stupid and paranoid after learning about Clark Kent, she doesn't quite believe that she was so naive. As Superman lists the many ways he fooled Lois over the years, her paranoia increases. Lois has never been drawn sexier than with Quitely behind the pencil. I can almost imagine Lois being played by Evangeline Lilly if this were a movie. If you've seen the solicitation for A.S.S. #3, then you know Lois becomes a super-hero, and that costume looks pretty fine. I think Quitely will be getting plenty of requests for Lois sketches in the future. Nuff said.
Extra:
Horcast podcast interview with Frank Quitely
May 14, 2005
Action Comics 827 Review
There are three initial reasons which might make you pass up buying Action Comics #827:
1. Superman is fighting a master of magnetism. Hardly a threat to someone who is invulnerable, right?
2. John Byrne is the new artist. He can’t possibly draw this better than he did back in the 1980s, right?
3. Gail Simone is the new writer. A woman can’t possibly create one of the best Superman stories of the year, right?
If you those assumptions, you would be wrong on all three counts. Let’s start in reverse order, with Gail Simone. She’s revived Birds of Prey, one of the best ongoing series set in the DC Universe, by turning around the status quo for Black Canary, Huntress, and Oracle. Like Geoff Johns, Simone has an excellent knack for taking older DC heroes and villains and updating them for the modern age. With a wink to the old timers, she knows about the key moments in each character’s life, and exploits those in her stories. For example, a classic Green Arrow story involved Black Canary getting captured and tortured by a group of mercenaries; in one of Simone’s stories, the same thing nearly happens again, but sharpened by her previous experiences, Canary figures out a way to survive the ordeal and overcome her tormentors.
In her debut on Action, Simone shows that she knows how to breathe new life into Superman as well. We first see Superman defending humanity—not in Metropolis, but Africa. It’s new and completely relevant to the situations in countries on that continent. Then we see a refreshing scene between Superman and Lois Lane, and Simone depicts it in such a way that makes me glad, for the first time, that they did get married.
And then there is John Byrne. He’s back and he’s not inking his own work, and it makes a nice change. I like Nelson (the inker), and the depth he gives to some of Byrne’s faces and figures. He’s a very detailed inker who does a lot of line work. I think the best inker for Byrne remains Jerry Ordway, who did an outstanding job on the JLA six-part story from 2004, but Nelson is a close second. One thing that has never diminished with John Byrne is his pictorial storytelling ability. Unlike many of today’s artists, he knows how to tell a story using multiple panels per page, while still bringing dynamics to all of the action scenes. It’s rare that Byrne ever works with a writer who does both plotting and scripting—in the recent past we’ve seen Byrne handle at least the full plotting chores on all of his series—but it’s extremely refreshing.
Finally, there is the source of the conflict in this story: a new master of magnetism. She shows up on the first three pages in an explosive manner, and she resembles Betty Page. She’s much more of a threat to Superman than you might think. When you get to the last page (and you must read them sequentially not to spoil a secret) you’ll be wondering if Superman can really survive this encounter.
Action Comics just got added to my subscription list. Bravo to Simone and Byrne, let’s hope we ain’t seen nothin’ yet!
