Review: Action Comics #1065

Action Comics #1065, the third chapter of House of Brainiac, came out this week and was a full-throttle, warp speed adventure, filled with brawls and plot progression. In many ways, this was a Supergirl issue, once again pushing the new reality that she is the second in command of the Super-family, the field general. Throw in some Superman/Lobo fun and a back-up story that brings back a favorite character of mine and this was a big win.

I'll start by saying Joshua Williamson is really crafting an excellent event here. There is still a lot of mystery around what Brainiac is doing here. What are his goals and motivations? He isn't acting quite like the cold collector of knowledge. The gathering of Brainiac doppelgangers is fascinating. And what is this 'missing knowledge' in his mind that is shorting him out. 

I like seeing a more proactive and frankly more physical Superman. His family is missing. Brainiac is a threat. He needs to find the villain and he'll use most any means possible. I like seeing Lobo as a sort of dark mirror of Superman, dealing with his own General Zod. Even Lex is intriguing as I try to understand his motivations and goals here.

But this is a Supergirl site and she dominates a lot of the issues. There was plenty I loved. She is smart and calculating. She is brave and pretty fierce in her determination to defeat Brainiac. Heroes and villains respect her and her leadership as she leads her team through the Brainiac ship. That's all great. 

She wields a gun and a knife in this issue. (Conner wields an axe.) I guess given the situation, that makes sense but isn't my favorite image.

She literally spits in the face of Brainiac. That seems a little bit childish and crass for my take on Kara.

She does something foolish and possibly suicidal at the end of the issue. That sort undermines the intelligence and leadership she showed before. Maybe not the best.

I am trying to see all that through the lens of her facing down her own personal boogie-man in Brainiac. I suppose she can veer towards the unhinged.

Still, for Supergirl, this has to overall be a positive. She is a main character, a hero, and proactive.

The art in the main story is done by Rafa Sandoval and Miguel Mendonca and really shines. I love Sandoval's barrel-chested Superman, a sort of modern Wayne Boring! And Mendonca somehow makes the jacket Supergirl costume look good! Mirko Colak brings a dark, heavily shadowed art in the back-up, a perfect style for the story itself.

Okay, enough prologue. On to the book.

Back Issue Box: Action Comics #544

The House of Brainiac event  by Joshua Williamson is underway and off to a solid start. 

One of the pieces of the plot that has grabbed my attention is the appearance of multiple iterations of Brainiac which have been seen on the villain's ship. Are these all within current continuity? Plucked from different timelines? Or universes?

With this mystery on my mind, I thought it would be interesting to look back at some Brainiacs as a back issue review.

Action Comics #544 was given the 'Anniversary' gold ink trade dress that DC used back in the day, celebrating 45 years of Superman being around. It contained two separate stories, updating Luthor and Brainiac in the immediate pre-Crisis days of 1983. 

From the viewpoint of history, this issue hit the mark. The Luthor armor introduced here has been around in some version ever since. And the updated, skeletal and monstrous Brainiac has been a staple since, even if used more for the villain's drones. 

In this time, Action Comics was being written by Marv Wolfman with art by Gil Kane. Wolfman was doing his best to sort of re-invigorate the Man of Steel, bringing in new villains like Lord Satanus, having Clark date Lana, and issues like this where old school villains got a bit of a polish. 

I won't be covering the Luthor story on this post but it is harrowing. 

The Brainiac story is almost a bit magical in its plot. and ends on a cliffhanger. Alas, I'll have to hunt for Action Comics #545! I don't own it. ]

 

I'm not the biggest Gil Kane fan but he does his best with the story. It features some seriously Kirbyesque sequences as well as alien landscapes and war. But Kane is up to the task. I love the cover with the almost scared Superman surprint looking at the new villains. Dick Giordano brings a bit of smoothness and polish to Kane's work here.

On to the book and the 'new' Brainiac!

Review: Kneel Before Zod #5

Kneel Before Zod # 5 came out last week, another issue dominated by Zod mowing through people in a rather gruesome fashion. This seems to be a sort of pattern of the book. There are a few crumbs of plot and characterization among the pages of violence.

I understand this is a General Zod book. So I knew violence was going to happen. Writer Joe Casey is filling in some history of Zod, showing maybe how he became what he is. We continue to see the sort of Jor-El obsession Zod has. And Casey does a great job of including some Kryptonian lore and some DC alien races, giving this a bit of depth. But these feel like crumbs. Last issue was dominated by pages of Zod just killing Khunds. This issue is dominated by pages of Zod killing Kaffarians. I need a bit more.

This also starts the book on a whole new direction which means all the plots we started on New Kandor in the first 4 issues seem to be in the rear view mirror unless we get back there. 

It all means I kind of don't know what to make of this series so far, a mix of an interesting look at Zod in the midst of countless pages of gore.

Dan McDaid continues to bring a nice rough feel to the proceedings. Zod is monstrous in this, still devastated by the explosion last issue. McDaid adds some nice flourishes to panels, having the art add to the mood. I love his scenes on Krypton. And the long violent scenes are beautifully horrifying. 

But I do wish the issues had some more story in them.

On to the issue.

Free Comic Book Day 2024

Free Comic Book Day is like a mini-holiday for me but one that I always forget to block out on my work schedule. Luckily this last Saturday I was working in the late evening so was able to partake of the festivities at two store, one my home store and the other a new store near my work place I am trying to support. 

I usually am looking forward to the DC output. I grabbed the Absolute Power preview to see if it could lure me into getting it. (I am planning on skipping the main story.) I don't think it changed my mind. The main story is by Mark Waid and Mikel Janin and gives us a peek into the main plot, Amanda Waller trying to destroy super-heroes. There is a sort of despair and venality to the proceedings. 

For one thing we see that Green Arrow is working with Waller. Way to go Ollie! I can only hope this is a ruse. I mean, why would Ollie want this?

Plus we get to see Waller try to drain a no-name villain named 'Haywire' to power some device only to have it explode his body with feedback, apparently this has happened to some others.

I knew Haywire. I read Haywire. Haywire was a friend of mine. And you 'Haywire' are no Haywire!!

The last pages are previews of the first issue showing Superman being shot. 

Ah well, I think I won't be getting this unless others tell me I should change my mind. 

The Mad Magazine comic was a fun romp. Hat tip to friend Martin Gray who told me I should grab it for this 'blink and you'll miss it appearance of the 1970's Nasty Luthor! Bring her back DC!!!

As for the rest of the day, I grabbed the Flash Gordon book for me because I might be getting it. I like the character and the creative team of Jeremy Adams and Will Conrad. If the purposes of these books are to entice a new reader to pick up the series, this one does its job!  Talk about starting a book off with a bang!

I visited my main store of New England Comics when the doors opened and was glad to see a small line outside waiting! Woo hoo!

Despite the store getting money from me weekly, I still want to support the store for the work they do on FCBD so I grabbed a Swamp Thing trade so I stop wearing out the floppies. NEC has a 2 book limit so that was the DC and Flash Gordon books.

I have been very impressed with Friar Tuck's Comics, a new store right outside Boston. This is a high-end comic store with tons of back issues and great deals. I was pretty pumped to see a small line outside their store too! They had a 4 issue limit. This time I grabbed kid books to give to younger relatives and lure them into the hobby. 

I definitely wanted to support this store which just opened its doors. So I filled two big holes in my collection, Amethyst #14 and Thor #329. 

Hope everyone had an awesome FCBD 2024 and would love to hear about other's experiences!

Review: Superman House Of Brainiac Special #1

I've very much been enjoying Joshua Williamson's House of Brainiac. We're just two issues in and I am already clamoring for more. So I was pretty excited to see the Superman House of Brainiac Special solicited for a dreaded 5th Wednesday.

Now the first two issues sizzled. This one has three stories, two directly linked to the Brainiac arc and one catching up on Perry White's mayoral run. 

Joshua Williamson writes the two Brainiac stories. The first one covers how Brainiac got a hold of the Czarian city he controls. It also gives us another link to the uncertain thinking we have seen Brainiac suffer from in this arc. The second Brainiac story has a much better reveal, something that I really liked. Unfortunately it also involves the now ever-present Amanda Waller, a character I could do without. Edwin Galmon provides a sterile futuristic art style to the Czarnia story. Fico Ossio brings a much muddier, grittier art style to the last story.

But it is the middle story that I found lacking. Writer Mark Russell does two things which sat wrong with me. One, he puts forward a rough and rumpled version of Perry White. That's not my Perry. And Russell is known for the political leanings in his stories and this one is no different. This one is a bit heavy handed and rather simplistic in its approach to a real problem. Steve Pugh remains rock solid on art. 

So this felt like a little step back from the tsunami of the first two issues. On to some details.

My Adventures With Superman, Season Two

I didn't cover the first season of My Adventures With Superman, a fun little show on Adult Swim, written by Josie Campbell and with a younger, hipper, more diverse take on Superman, Lois, and Jimmy.

That first season was a bit of a hoot. There was some deep cuts into DCU. There was an interesting take on Krypton. And the chemistry between Clark and Lois was engaging.

Thankfully, the show did well enough to warrant a second season premiering on May 25.  A preview has dropped too. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8Ihhvbr2aA

No need to delay the obvious. Check out the picture above!

Supergirl is in this season!

Comic Box Commentary Is Sixteen Years Old

Hard to believe it but 16 years ago I defined this site as a Supergirl site and I haven't looked back.

The character is still in a bit of flux at this point. In  the last year we have had positive takes by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Joshua Williamson. We have had some less stellar takes by Mariko Tamaki and Leah Williams. 

We haven't had much else.

I am not too hopeful for a Kara-centric book any time in the near future. I just hope that when it happens it is written by someone who loves the character. 

I really feel like this is a sweet sixteen.

I have been covering the character since the Sterling Gates era through to the present. I still have lots of older stories I can cover. And I still love Supergirl so I'll keep my eyes peeled for all appearances.

I always have to stop and thank anyone who comes here to read my rambling reviews and listen to my thoughts on the super-family. I have made so many friends through this site. I am still here because of the conversations that happen here! Thank you all so much!

And let's hope for a great upcoming year for Kara!