Terrificon Recap 3: Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Mark Waid, And More

I've done 2 recap posts about Terrificon and what a time I had at the convention. From the site to the focus on comics, the show is incredible. The first two posts  showcased the commissions I bought (June Brigman and Greg Larocque) and some of the signatures I was able to obtain. 

But the real draw for me this year were two writers in attendance: Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Mark Waid. Both are favorites of mine lately. 

Johnson did a superb run on Action Comics, including the Warworld Saga. He treated Supergirl with such respect. I couldn't wait to meet him and thank him. I've been a fan of Waid for decades. But he has been writing World's Finest, the best book on the racks. And he has been doing other great work for DC. I hadn't seen him at a con for about a decade so I was pumped to see him again too. 

I waited until the last day to approach Johnson. He was the nicest guy. He asked me to sit at his table and we were able to talk at length about his run on Superman. 

I thanked him for writing Kara as confident and strong and often the smartest person in the world. He said he wrote her that way. He called her the matriarch of Kryptonian culture as she had experienced it. I talked to him about how I loved when she would call Superman out on things she thought he was doing wrong. 

We talked about the inclusion of the super-twins in the family. He said in the earliest drafts one of the twins were killed on the battlefield of Warworld by Mongul. Ultimately he felt it was too bloody for a Superman book so opted to keep both alive. He knew all along that the spirit of Orglun would enter one of the twins, the survivor. 

He pulled out his laptop and opened up his scripts to show me how detailed they are to help people like Riccardo Federici draw his vision of the rusty environment of Warworld. I specifically asked to see his description of the field of crucified Phaelosians Superman sees when he first gets on the world with the Authority. It was very cool of him to share.

But then he asked about me and my love of Supergirl. So I got to tell him why I love Kara so much.

I basically sat behind his table for a while and every so often he stopped to talk to fans coming to his table and sign some books. He really is a super-nice guy, talking with folks at length about comics. 

He hinted, strongly, that he may be writing a super-book soon. So keep your eyes peeled. And it was hard to pick which books to get signed but I picked Kara-specific covers and the end of the Warworld saga.

Killing one of the twins! Crazy!

Happy Anniversary! Top Ten Supergirl Commissions!

I continue my semi-self-congratulatory tenth anniversary of Supergirl blogging by looking back at my every growing collection of commissions. I am pretty lucky that New England has a good convention scene that allows me the opportunity to run into creators on an annual basis. And I am also lucky enough to have a job where I can moonlight an extra shift to fund a convention season, allowing me to at least try to get commissions.

As I write this, I have just under 100 commissions in the collection. Initially I got them on separate Bristol board and would frame them. But I quickly ran out of wall space in the comic area of the basement. It also was kind of hard to share the collection. So a while back I switched to sketch books which I now bring to conventions. It has served me well. I know have a portable art gallery. And artists who I do commission seem to like flipping through the book themselves.

As part of this 10th anniversary celebration, I have been looking at some Top Tens and figured my commission collection was a natural for such a list. The problem is I love all my sketches. So picking a top ten feels like I am rejecting the others. So I am presenting the top ten commissions that stuck out to me today. Ask me tomorrow and I might pick a different 10 all together. And these are listed unranked and alphabetically by artist. This is just the top ten.

If you love any of my commissions, please drop me a note. In the mean time, on to the list,.

Review: Action Comics #50

I strive to be a decent comic reviewer, looking at story and art and trying to come up with a grade. It isn't always easy.

Case in point: Action Comics #50.

I have never hidden the fact that I have loved what Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder brought to this book. There was a synergy to the storytelling when the two cut loose. And when they weren't hampered down by crossover arcs, the stories were masterful. I could sense it would be like that from the beginning in Action Comics #25, when a young Superman released a primal scream when he failed.

And there is a lot of that crackle in this issue. It was as if Pak and Kuder (as co-plotters) finally got to get back to the Superman they have wanted to write, the smiling, positive, optimistic hero. So throughout this issue, we really get a lot of pure Superman sentiment. And that makes me want to give this a high grade.

But this isn't just a love letter to the character. There is a plot happening around him. Vandal Savage is trying to get bring the comet which powers him to Earth.  We are running to the end of The Truth. And #Rebirth is around the corner. As a result, there are so many wonky plot turns in the book that seem inane that I want to give this a lower mark.

Even with the plot contrivances, I enjoyed this book very much. It was great to see Kuder providing art on some of the pages. A whole bevy of artists fill in including David Messina, Javi Fernandez, Bruno Redondo, and Vicente Cifuentes. Part of the problem is that the styles here vary from a Chris Sprouse-ian fine line to a Scott McDaniel inky look. As a result, the book doesn't read as smoothly as I would hope.

Review: Action Comics #49

We are a month away from The Truth ending. It frankly can't come fast enough.

Action Comics #49 came out this week, and much like last week's Superman, feels like huge plot turns are happening. Things are being said and being done to get us to an ending. But these story contrivances and twists make me question so much of what came before. This reads like a sprint to the end. And plot holes are being hurdled or avoided.

Unfortunately, next month brings the Pak/Kuder time with Superman to an end. And that I will lament. When I think of this run, I'll think of their first issue which reintroduced us to Lana. A book where Superman learned the limits of his power. I'll think of Subterranea and I'll think of haunted Smallville. Because when left alone, Pak and Kuder brought it. Heck, even their chapters of Doomsday and TThe Truth had some merit.

Instead this run will end with a whimper not a bang as Pak brings us to this conclusion.

Remember Hordr_Root and his information city? Wrath trying to take over Metropolis with rage? Superman's time in a wrestling group? Hordr_Root captured for a page or two. Smallville turned upside-down? The President being swayed by Angle Man? A Nazi gunship under the ice? A portable sun? Almost none of these plots seem to matter to this ending. We weren't building up to anything. We weren't building on things. It all seems random and meaningless now. Hardly the 'changing' arc this was portrayed as.

Kuder isn't even on art this issue. Adrian Syaf brings a straight forward art style to the proceedings.

The book starts with a gangly kid in North Dakota being picked on by bullies. The Black Mass bombs of Wrath's explode overhead. The child mutates into something monstrous in size and bulk. He is a son of Vandal Savage, the effects of the bomb prove it. And so we have a new character in the mix.

If you reread the original Wrath story, you see the Metropolis mayor and police filled with ire and trying to convince the city to turn on Superman. That was when wrath dealt with wrath. Later, we learn that Wrath is trying to have the black ink make people not be wrathful, which sounds weird especially when you just had an arc making people feel wrath. You even had a temple to wrath built.

Now we have learned that the black Wrath is to find Savage's kids. That makes no sense. Even if it made sense, it makes no sense to unleash it in Metropolis as it had been earlier.

And this gathering of his kin that Savage is doing now. We haven't heard why now and not a millenia before. We haven't heard why about much of anything ...

Last issue of Superman, we heard Clark suddenly tell us that his cells were mutated not to absorb energy and he needed Kryptonite to kill those cells like chemotherapy. That came out of left field. We didn't know how Clark learned that about his cells.

Now he is charged up with Kryptonite energy. He yells at the Puzzlr that it was Savage who mutated his cells.

When did he learn that? Is he figuring that Hordr_Root was working with Savage?

This is a big plot point. And we don't know how we got here.

The Puzzler takes off and Clark has to assess his condition.

The mutated cells are being effected by the Kryptonite. But they are fighting it by absorbing the K-energy. I guess I have to just accept that as the way Kryptonian immune systems work.

So while he is powered by Kryptonite, the absorbed Kryptonite energy is killing him.

Still, Superman can fly again, is invulnerable again, albeit fueled by poison. And he seems giddy about the whole thing. He is smiling and wallowing in the power. While I can understand him being happy to have some power back, it is in the context of his friends being held captive by Savage. You think he might stay on task.

He meets up with Diana to try to form a plan of attack. She can tell he is dying from the Kryptonite but he knows he had to sacrifice himself to save everyone else.

I did like this dialogue, a nice exchange between ex-lovers. He says that she is so inspiring that anyone would try to be more of a hero around her. This is my favorite panel of the book.

It also turns out that the Kryptonite energy effects Superman differently than yellow sun energy. He has new powers such as seeing energy waves.

He is happy this occurs because he can see what Savage is doing. It's not like Savage has a truly massive satellite city in the sky. Good thing we have this new power to help.

Syaf really makes Superman seem manic with this power, another thing that struck me as odd.

Before Superman can fly to the Savage's satellite, he is attacked by Savage's son from the opening scene. Despite being dressed up like a barbarian (the child's favorite book character), he really is just a kid.

We get several pages of the two smashing into each other.

If only those pages could have been used to explain some of my questions about the current plot.

Meanwhile Wonder Woman couldn't get on the satellite before it teleported away.

Before leaving, he shot Jupiter with energy, increasing the planet's mass. This is a new plot point.

Is this to make Jupiter a second sun? Attract the comet that gave Savage his powers by making a gravity well? I guess we'll find out.

The huge satellite teleported from orbit into lower orbit. It is sucking the Fortress of Solitude up.

I don't know.

I know my tone has been snarky here. But I feel like this story rushing to any conclusion is worse than giving me a later but decent conclusion. So much information is dropped in one liners in the last two issues, important plot points suddenly revealed. We have fight scenes that are meaningless, robbing space to give me more exposition or explanation. The earliest stories are sort of invalidated by what Savage is trying to accomplish here. And all that is wrapped up in the angry, punch first, powerless Superman who is beating up shackled prisoners, avoiding his friends, and generally acting unlike the Superman I know.

I am sad to see Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder go. Because I bet they had great Superman stories they wanted to tell.

Overall grade: C/C-

Review: Action Comics #48

Action Comics #48 came out last week, another chapter in The Truth, another issue closer to the end of this mega-arc, another chapter that I feel like I don't understand exactly what is going on, why it is going on, and why I am supposed to care.

Maybe I am just so fatigued about this arc that I am not invested.

And it is a shame, because like many of the Greg Pak/Aaron Kuder Action Comic issues, there are some things to like. In particular, it was great to see Kuder back on pencils for most of the issue. His stuff is really visually engaging, quirky and hypnotic.

But I can't get over the fact that I still don't understand the motivations of Vandal Savage, the 'big bad' of this mega-arc. What is he trying to accomplish? How does he think he is going to do it? Why was draining Superman so key? And why does he need his kids?

In the Superman Annual, Savage had taken over the Stormwatch satellite and has returned to Earth, crashing it into the JLA watchtower and suddenly in orbit.

Why?

We learned in the Annual that Savage is trying desperately trying to get back in contact with the Kryptonian Comet. He now has control of a massive mobile space fortress. Why come to Earth? Why fight the JLA? Why not just use this ship to find the comet and get the power?

Unless that isn't what he is trying to accomplish? But then what is he trying to accomplish? World domination? Then why bring up the comet at all? I'm confused.

One thing I do like is that Superman, still on the ground, is trying to save as many people from the destruction of this Savage attack as possible. That sounds like Superman.

We never learn just how Savage got control of the Stormwatch ship? Did he defeat them?

And somehow, almost off screen, Savage and his kids are able to defeat the entire JLA, hooking them up to energy draining devices. Savage, Frankenstein, Hordr, Wrath, and troops defeat Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and the Flash.

Savage then says he wants to change the world for the better, something Superman should be doing if he was a hero.

But how is Savage going to save the world.

One of the ways seems to be firing Black Mass bombs into the atmosphere.

Meanwhile, Superman is on the ground stopping buses from falling off bridges and grabbing people in danger of dying. Luckily, another League is around to help out, the recently cancelled Justice League United.

I include this panel just to showcase how great Kuder draws a team shot. Great stuff.

The League, Superman, and Steel decide to hole up and think out a plan.

The transformation of Lana from action hero to angry ex to loving ex continues. When she sees Clark, she runs into his arms. She thoughts he had died.

I can remember gushing about how Lana was portrayed when Pak first reintroduced her waayyyy back in the Subterranea storyline. I had an idea of who she was as a character then. Now, she has been through a bit of a blender of emotions such that I don't know what to expect anymore.

While together, Steel reveals plans for a new super-armor, based on original Metallo armor and powered by Kryptonite. With no other choice, Superman decides to don it, though it may kill him, so he can help out more.

And then for the absolute oddest twist in the story for me. So I am hoping someone can explain it to me.

The Black Mass bombs are killing people, making them wrathful. Suddenly Wrath is upset at Savage's tactics with her black power. She didn't think it was a killing device. She suddenly has some ethics and her father wants nothing to do with that. He wants to kill off people so only the Savage bloodline will persist.

So first off, when did Wrath become good. Remember her first appearances, grinning seductively in the mayor office as she sends monsters to attack neighborhoods. She was all about wrath and anger and destruction. She was not into saving people or finding survivors. So this makes no sense to me ... none.

Second, didn't Savage suck all the shadow out of his daughter and everyone and tuck it back into the box just a couple of issues ago??

The JLU and Superman storm the Stormwatch ship and Superman is able to free Diana.

She notices that his armor is killing him.

Beautiful art here.

Hordr is somehow able to capture all of the JLU and hook them into energy draining machines. That also seems a bit fast, no? If these guys are that tough, that they can defeat two Justice Leagues so easily, how can I ever buy that Superman in armor that's killing him can win?

And, to further be confusing, Wrath turns on her father because he is evil.

This turn also seems odd given how evil Wrath has been this whole time. She hasn't been worried about people or trying to do good ever.

And so there are only two heroes left who can save the day, Superman and Wonder Woman.

But they seem defeated already while Savage prepares his final strike.

Can anyone tell me, succinctly, what Savage's plan is? Get to the comet? Use Black Mass to kill people? Why all the energy draining? Why the Nazi gunship in Batman/Superman? Why Uranium and portable suns when he clearly is powerful enough to capture and drain superpowered beings?

Is all of the Truth and all the arcs in the books supposed to all be tied into Savage? And how am I supposed to rectify all these plots into something cohesive?

Thank goodness Kuder was on art for the bulk of the book. The visuals are the only thing that propped this book up. Because it seems like things are happening fast and loose so this thing can come to an end.

Overall grade: C-

Review: Superman Annual #3

Superman Annual #3 came out 9 days ago and is the last on my list of behind schedule books to review. As part of The Truth, this annual moves the plot forward while giving us an interesting new back story to Vandal Savage. The credits are vast, listing the main writers of all the Superman books (Kuder, Pak, Yang, and Tomasi) and a serious list of artists including Dan Jurgens, Rafael Sandoval, and Bill Sienkiewicz. I wonder if all the writers needed to be on board to make sure that the plot progresses in a way that makes sense to the overall story.

Like many of the last issues of this mega-arc, I liked this book if only because it seems to be moving The Truth closer to its conclusion. But there are some nice moments mixed in this. I suppose that is the best thing I can say.

We start, on all places, Krypton where a scientist with the name El is telling others the planet is doomed as he runs to a rocket.

Sound familiar?

Except this is Im-El, a thousand years before Jor-El. The doom is a comet about to strike Krypton. And the rocket is a missile to blast the comet of course.

And so this comet takes a new path, one which takes it towards Earth.

I thought this was an interesting wrinkle although it does make the universe feel small, as if there is an interstellar highway between Earth and Krypton. 

A chunk of the comet breaks off and lands in Neanderthal time where it is picked up by Vandal Savage. And it from this stone that he gains his power and his immortality. It is also where he begins a long life of immorality as he slaughters his whole tribe when they refuse to follow him.

It is exposure to more of this comet which Savage craves. He wants more power. And so he keeps trying throughout time to chart the comet and get in contact with it.

So I suppose that maybe all of this energy Savage has been stealing throughout this arc has been in an effort to send him back to this magic stone.

Meanwhile, Clark is recovering and trying to figure out how he can still be a hero.

He spies some plans that John Henry Irons is drafting, perhaps a way to help Clark. I have to say, I was initially hoping this would be plans for the Supermobile. But then I remembered the solicits showing Clark in a sort of super-Iron Man outfit.

There is a sort of odd moment between Clark and Lana where she asks Clark to bow out and carve out a new life without powers. He says that she always wants him to be that boy from Kansas. The look longingly into each others' eyes. I am truly at a loss trying to figure out the Lana/Clark dynamic. I loved her when Pak first brought her back but this hate him/love him, disgust/nostalgia dichotomy is crazy. It is as if every writer brings a different take. This interaction felt odd and strange.

Throughout time, Savage keeps trying to interact with the comet by teaming up with the highest minds of the time. In ancient China, he becomes friends astronomer Zhang Heng. But when Heng refuses to give Savage the information on when the comet will arrive again, Savage kills him.

Again, we see this is as another step in the descent of Savage. He was friends with Heng but he has no regrets when he kills his friend.

We also see him kill Copernicus. And we see him flying a Nazi rocket to try to be near the comet as it comes near Earth again. Maybe this is why he wanted Nazi gunship in Batman/Superman?

But I also hope that we don't see the comet come near Earth again. That would mean it nears Earth every 60 years or so. Too often, no?

Hey look, Lois gets three words!

Perry is giving an inspirational speech to the Planet staff saying the paper needs to regain its credibility and integrity now that it has been revealed that Clark wasn't who he said he was. Clark actually hears this speech and sulks a bit.

I wonder if he heard Lois call his name.

But let's face it. Lois has been a non-star in these Superman books.

We then jump to the next story. Clark gets a JLA summons. Lex is still in charge of the team. A large object, big enough to disrupt gravitational forces, has appeared in the solar system. The League goes to investigate, leaving an exasperated Superman behind. He isn't strong enough to be on this mission.

It is a nice little dig by Luthor, inviting Clark to the pre-party but not allowing him in.

With little else to do, Clark returns to Metropolis where he does some minor heroing, saving a truck from falling off an overpass.

And suddenly, Superman is a hero again. he is mobbed by smiling people wanting to cheer him. What happened to all the hate we have been seeing everywhere else? Still, it is an inspiring Superman who says everyone needs to be a hero.

That large object is the Stormwatch headquarters, which is apparently massive (for those of us who don't know much of Stormwatch, some tiny exposition would have been helpful).

Somehow Savage has taken control of the headquarters, teleports it (or maybe de-phases it?) into Earth's orbit, smashing the JLA watchtower for fun.

There, with Frankenstein, Hordr_Root, and Wrath, Savage declares he will show the world true power.

And so, things continue to progress. Is Savage there because the comet is coming by again? Is the Stormwatch ship big enough that he can corral or contain it? How will Clark get up there to fight? Where are the JLA? Will the Krypton-related comet help Clark regain his powers?

Things are moving closer to an end. Happy New Year!

Overall grade: C

Review: Action Comics #47

Last month in Action Comics #46, writer Greg Pak has Superman absorb so much of Wrath's inky anger that he had been reduced to a snarling beast, a monster in the form of Superman. This seems to be the underlying theme of 'The Truth', the mega-arc in which Superman has lost his powers and apparently his senses. Now, in Action Comics #47, subtitled 'The Wrath', Pak pushes the envelope even further albeit while ending the issue on something of an up-note.

This still isn't my Superman. Not by a long shot. This is a Superman who seems to be craving power. A Superman willing to make a deal with the devil to get it too. It seems all wrong. Gone is the inspirational figure, leading by example. Instead, we have solely a man of action, apt for the title.

Maybe I am being too harsh here. There is progress here, finally. Too much of The Truth has been treading water. I'm just looking for this whole thing to come to an end. At least here we get a conclusion of a subplot, even if the ending was a bit too easy.

The art in the issue is by Georges Jeanty. I have enjoyed his work on other books and this isn't any different. He has to run the gamut from giant action sequences to human moments and does so nicely. There is a sort of Cully Hamner feel to things here, always a good thing.

The book starts where last issue ended, two monsters pounding each other. The wrath-powered Superman is standing toe to toe with Frankenstein's Monster on the battlefield.

Wrath's plan seems magnanimous. She'll infect the world with Wrath, let those prone to the base emotion burn themselves out, leaving the pure to rebuild the world. And to prove that her wrath is powerful, she is going to debase Superman. In this way, Wrath hopes to prove to Lee Lambert that this planned cull is the only solution. Those who can be effected, even Superman need to be removed.

We see it played out in this splash page, Wrath saying there is no difference between Superman and Frankenstein, both monsters.

I, of course, dislike a monster Superman. And that is all that DC has given us for some time.

After seeing Superman rip through Shadow Demons in Batman/Superman I was glad to get this little bit of exposition.

These things are not alive after all. The Wrath substance has burned out the human hosts, leaving them dead flesh and rage. So at least I have that going for me.

We then get a bit of sympathetic back story, perhaps explaining why Wrath is who she is. It's a little heavy on the exposition, veering towards monologuing. But I suppose if Wrath is trying to tell Lee why she is doing what she is doing, she has to tell it.

Growing up with her single mother, Wrath was fearful of the world, always afraid of dying. But her mother was a voice of strength, someone who protected the family, and helped Wrath accomplish a lot in life. It is clear that this mother was Wrath's hero.

But then disasters happened. Brainiac stole Metropolis. Wrath's mother died in that catastrophe. Superman couldn't save her. And then he became Doomsday and even more people died. It was more than Wrath could bear.

It doesn't help that other Kryptonians appeared on Earth and, at least by Wrath's perceptions, were monsters. Even more danger. And then Vandal Savage approached her with the gift of the Wrath Shadow.

I have to say I am thrilled to see Supergirl and Superboy in a DC comic, even if it is a warped flashback. How could I not include these panels?? These characters exist but have simply been forgotten. Where are they? Why hasn't Superman even thought about his family?

Jeanty draws a very young appearing Supergirl. Interesting.

The bulk of the issue is Superman and Wrath fighting in and out of the shadow realm. Clark can utilize his shadowy infection to blip in and out of that dimension, stopping one of the Black Mass bombers.

But Wrath is better versed at utilizing the shadow dimension. She ejects Superman out of her realm specifically in front of people who still have faith in their hero. So he is dumped in front of the children he saved last issue and even Jimmy Olsen. And, of course, since he is using the shadow-power, he is sporting the roiling, growling  horrific form.

The art works very well here. Superman is far from iconic here. There is no hands on hip, looking off the horizon here. He is spat out onto his knees awkwardly. It says to me 'look how the mighty have fallen'. Wonderful in conveying the message.

It is clear that Superman can't outright win this fight. He needs an edge. And he has a something of a revelation. He'll absorb all the wrath into himself. And he succeeds.

I don't quite know if I buy this. There isn't enough of an explanation behind how this is possible. Does this mean Superman is a good receptacle for total wrath? Should he really have more control over it than Wrath herself? Why does this even work?

Maybe I am asking too much? I suppose we have seen Superman slowly imbibing more and more of this stuff. I guess we have been leading up to this month!

However he does it, Superman is thrilled by it. He is suddenly swimming in dark power. Using it, he stops the last bomber. He really is elated by his inky strength, smiling widely and accepting this new reality.

Vandal Savage won't have any part of it. He won't let his 'gift' of wrath be utilized for good. He shows up, calling Wrath by a human name ... Jennifer ... and takes back his shadow gift. It recedes back into the box it came from, stripping everyone of The Wrath,

More interesting is Savage calling Jennifer his daughter. We knew from solicits that Superman would be fighting Savage's children. I just didn't expect her to be one. Does this mean Angle Man is also now retconned to a Savage son?

This was a quick ending to the Wrath threat that has been going on here for several months. Just like that it's over. I should be glad to see it end.

The book ends with a sort of odd moment. I like that Lee is around, cured of her power, and talking about Superman is still her hero. She believes he could handle all that rage and fear but glad he didn't have to. That's nice. I like Lee and glad she didn't lose faith.

But hearing Superman lament not having the power, even when it was based on anger, seems a little off.

One more issue in this depowered run is in the books. We have a Superman embrace anger and try to use evil for good. In some ways it is similar to Wrath's idea, trying to have the ends justify the means. It doesn't work for me.

Still, we have put Wrath behind us. And for that I am glad. Plus, Jeanty brings a nice style to the issue.

Overall grade: C+

Sales Review: October 2015

I follow monthly sales on ICv2 and I continue to be amazed at what I am seeing unfold before me. Because I think I can safely say that the days of the Big Two is over. Because Marvel has won.

The sales numbers for October are up at ICv2 and DC got squashed. Marvel almost doubled DC in sales and dollar revenue. Doubled.

Now part of this could be because Marvel is in the midst of rebooting. Plenty of the big sellers for Marvel are new titles with rare variants. There is a lot of Marvel's edge that could be a one month deal. But what strikes me is the acceptance there has been for this Marvel reboot. The Secret Wars book which has led to the reboot is still going on. And yet here we have post-reboot books out.

I can only imagine what would happen if DC's multiverse changing event was delayed and new books were already running. The sky would be falling. I think maybe Marvel fans just go with the flow. It also can't hurt that Marvel is part of the Disney/ABC/ESPN monolith, getting nods and recommendations from everywhere in that media giant.

But even this reboot of the entire Marvel universe has just been more accepted than DC's similar attempts. On to the sales.

We are now 4 months into The Truth. This story was supposed to reenergize the Superman books.

Sales haven't budged too much.

And while the story has garnered lots of discussion. It hasn't all been good. I know I have had my issues with the arc.

Superman #45 sold 42K in October.

Squirrel Girl sold more.

Now I love Squirrel Girl. This isn't a knock against her book at all.

But how can DC at all feel happy if one of their greatest characters and oldest books is only the 48th best selling book.

Of all the Superman books, I have always trumpeted the Pak/Kuder Action Comics book.

It also has been rolled into The Truth. So I don't know if people would head there on a whim. And it is a shame. Their issues when not bogged down by crossovers (like Doomed and now The Truth) have been wonderful.

Last month saw the release of the Superman Lois and Clark book. That book was much more of a Classic Superman, bringing the pre-Flashpoint Superman into the current world.

Lois and Clark opened pretty strong with 35K in sales, just 1500 units behind Action.

It will be interesting to see if sales hold strong on this book. It is scheduled for a 12 issue run. What if sales hold on par with the other Super-books? Will there be an ongoing? A rethinking of the Superman mythos?

Lastly, I have to look at books where Supergirl stars.

DC Bombshells continues to sell well, hitting 32K in sales.

But the more classic Kara is only in Justice League 3001.

Justice League 3001 #5 slipped to 15K in sales. I really am loving this book. I just hope DC has faith and doesn't pull the plug!

I don't know what to think about DC Comics as a whole though. I have been thinking they needed to clean out the C-suite for a while now. There seems to be no vision or a poor vision.

Review: Action Comics #45

Action Comics #45 came out this week, yet another chapter in the depowered, angry Superman trying to uncover the forces behind his current predicament. The cover continues the trend of this arc, placing one word writ large to highlight the theme. Here it is 'Injustice' and frankly I think it is the best word to grace the covers in this story so far.

Because what is happening to Superman is an injustice.

The book is co-plotted by Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder, the usual writer/plotter/artist team of this book. And throughout 'The Truth', these two have been a sort of light at the end of a tunnel, showing a still heroic, still good Superman trying to inspire. I have held up Action Comics as the jewel of the super-books.

Unfortunately, the overall arc compels Superman to continue to sink deeper and deeper in to darkness, to succumb to anger, and to lash out. Yes, in this book, Superman does good. And yes, I know that Superman is being influenced by Wrath.

But I am rapidly losing interest in this story. If you are going to deconstruct a character orradically change an established character, you better give me a fantastic story. When you give me an average story, or a confusing story, or an ill-conceived story, it just isn't going to fly.

(Allow me a moment to show you that I can deal with change and I am not always a grumpy old man. Alan Moore makes Swamp Thing a plant elemental, not a mutated man. He makes him a plant elemental. Radically different. Excellent. I was on board. Make Supergirl bitter, angry, and a high school killer and write it poorly. I'm out.Make her a Red Lantern and write it well and as a redemption, I'm in.)

Scott Kolins is on art here and does a nice job of mixing splash pages with pages with many inset panels. I am just not a big Kolins fan.

The book starts out well enough. We see a news report of Superman saving families and refugees from a hurricane. We hear that Superman is depowered, exposed, and only accepted by 23% of the country but he is still Superman.

Hooray. Thank you Greg Pak for shining the light and showing it to us on the first page. And it is a well constructed page by Kolins, the light shining down and Superman raging against the storm.

But that optimism is squelched pretty early. Clark is in a diner in Alabama and we get to see more of the response of the average Joe. The waitress tries to defend Superman. The cook derides Superman. They almost come to blows. And we see that Perry has gone on a tirade against his colleague diminishing the good he has done.

Clark thinks it is all the cloying influence of Wrath. Everyone seems quick to anger, even him. He douses the diner fight by using heat vision to activate the sprinkler system. I didn't realize he still had heat vision.

Clark talks about how hard it has been for him to control his own anger. He knows he has to find and defeat Wrath.

He has set up a mobile headquarters to review all the recent events of his life.

I actually like this sort of characterization of Superman. He is actually doing some detective work here. We know Clark is a smart guy. I am glad this wasn't him getting the information from Batman or another hero. All too often these days we hear Clark say 'I'm not a detective like Batman. I can pick things up and put them down.' Clark is an investigative reporter. He should be able to do this.

But then Hiro shows up. The Toyman has somehow tracked Supes to Alabama and comes in to try to help him.

Of course, Superman's reaction these days is anger. He yells at Hiro for hunting him down. He doesn't want Hiro around because he doesn't want anyone else hurt. So he roughly tosses Hiro out and blows up this backwoods CSI lab.

Yes ... I KNOW WRATH IS EFFECTING HIM!

But I want my Superman to be better than this, stronger than this. Why not explain to Hiro why he is sending him away. Why do this 'scorched Earth' strategy of destroying all this work?

And did this deserve a splash?

Meanwhile, back near Clark's apartment, we see that Lee Lambert is no longer the local hero, local leader.

She is shunned because of her 'Wrath infection'.

Because hey, it's the DC Universe. We can't have someone be accepted as a hero and recognized for their good works. We need to be cynical and grim.

Yes ... I KNOW WRATH IS PROBABLY EFFECTING THEM!

But can't we have an uplifting moment?

We do see what Clark has uncovered. In the guise of Archie Clayton, all slouched and fitted with a Waynetech facial distorter, he works for a laundering company. I like this description, how simple body language can fool people ... like glasses and poor posture.

Clark knows that Wrath in her Metropolis Mayor identity has been heading to Lyfegene, a biological technology company in Alabama. And his tours getting laundry have uncovered a secret lab that he needs to break in to.

While I don't mind Clark doing some investigating, Pak and Kuder make a bit of a jump. They tell us that Clark hacked an electric eye on the company grounds that when broken by a Lyfegene vehicle turns off all the power in the facility. How the heck did that happen? Give me one panel where he plans this. It felt all too easy. This is the villains' headquarters. How could it get shut down so easily.

Regardless, it works. Superman breaks into the lab and sees the Supremacists guarding the place. Evil scientists are working on people clearly effected by Wrath.

It is a creepy panel, people in stocks with inky tendrils, being poked and prodded. This did deserve a splash.

Clark goes ballistic, wading in and trying to free everyone while bashing the bad guys.

But then he runs into Lee, whose arm has turned all Tetsuo, large and horrific.

And that seems to accelerate whatever is happening in Clark. He goes all Wrath-Doomsday. Yet another story where Superman becomes something monstrous. Yet another splash page in this issue.

This issue was up and down. There are nice moments like the opening splash. I like seeing Clark use his investigative skills to track down and infiltrate Wrath's base. And I don't mind hearing the internal struggle he is having to keep his ire in check.

But I don't like when he gives in to the anger, chastising Hiro, blowing up his lab, and becoming this beast. While I can buy Clark doing the detective work, I don't know if this current Superman can hack an electric eye and disable a whole power system.

Frankly I think this is just going on too long. 5 months, 3 titles. And none of it has been particularly well done. And now Action, the one place where I thought I could find a more uplifting take on this new reality has instead gone dark.

AND YES ... I KNOW WRATH IS EFFECTING HIM!

But this isn't Superman to me.

Look, maybe this will turn around. Maybe when it is all done the world will embrace Superman again. That somehow his goodness will trump the cynicism of the world. But I haven't seen anything that makes me think it is going in that direction.

Overall grade: C