Bullet Review: Doomsday Clock #12

It took a long time ... a very long time ... but Doomsday Clock finally finished this month.

My hope is to reread it in its entirety, in one sitting, at some point soon.

In the end, it is a Superman story.

It is a love letter to DC Continuity.

In many ways, it is a love letter to Watchmen too.

And it goes a long way to say a simple message, Superman is the heart of the DC Universe and he always will be.

The Watchmen shouldn't be the template upon which the DCU is built.

It is Superman and all he represents.

Now did we need this heavy, sometimes clunky, perpetually delayed book to get us there? To tell us what many of us already know? Will it matter to the powers that be as we continue to be mired in the Year of the Villain, a time when this message sat next to Batman/Superman #5, an issue where six of the best heroes are corrupted?

I can only hope.

Because every Superman fan should read this story or at the very least this issue. I'll let others pore over the panels and the plots in detail.

Moreover, every Supergirl fan should also read this issue as well.

Sales Review: May 2019

Sales numbers for May have been released and as usual I'll send people to ICv2 for the best coverage. Here is a link to their article.
https://icv2.com/articles/markets/view/43383/top-500-comics-may-2019

It is an interesting month for me to look at as the summer events are starting to trickle out. Meanwhile in the super-books, Event Leviathan is about to take over meaning that the space race with Rogol Zaar needs to wrap up soon.

Supergirl #30 was a sort of closing chapter to her space quest as Kara faced off against Empress Gandelo and learned more about Rogol Zaar's part in Krypton's destruction.

It also had the major moment when Supergirl was just about to bury Zaar's axe into Gandelo's skull. Thankfully, Krypto used his good nature and his puppy dog eyes to not have Supergirl go the way of Rorshach.

So ... how did this rough, angry Supergirl issue sell?

It came in at slot 118, more than 20 slots lower than the last slot.

It also sold 18,443 units ordered. That is down from 19,550 from the month before.

We are getting pretty low in sales.

Will Event Leviathan lift this? Or will this darker turn for Supergirl once again lead to dwindling sales and the need for a reboot ... or cancellation.

I've spoken too much about this.

I worry that Andreyko will use Supergirl's book as a backdoor Manhunter book (based on the Leviathan Rising Special). I don't think is going to end well.

Last month also had Doomsday Clock #10, one of the best recent comics I have read.

It sold a very healthy 117,419 units ordered. Amazing.

What is more amazing is that DCeased, a zombie book, sold more than twice that!! I am not a zombie person so I am skipping this book (although I have heard great things).

Still, this erosion of Supergirl sales since Andreyko took over cannot be ignored. When will be see the Final Issue blurb  in the solicits?

The Albatross

In Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Coleridge, a sailor who shot an albatross which had given the ship good fortune is forced to wear it around his neck as the boat sinks into a hell. The word albatross subsequently has become synonymous with a burden on someone, especially in the context of some sin or ill fortune that has fallen on them.

A rather literary start to a post on Supergirl Comic Box Commentary but bear with me.

Because today I thought I would comment on characters who have had an albatross placed in their continuity and how difficult it sometimes is to move past that burden, even in a genre where resurrections, retcons, and reboots are common. In comics, it is often a dark moment for a character where it is simply too hard to move on.

And I wonder if, when such a story element is being pitched, if the creative powers that be realize that such a plot point might be extremely damaging moving forward.

Let's start with the impetus for this post, Doomsday Clock #8 and poor Firestorm.

I have been sort of underwhelmed with Doomsday Clock as a whole. Time delays within each issue and a sort of plodding pace so far has made it difficult to embrace. While moments have been interesting (old green lanterns, Johnny Thunder, Rorscach II), I have read and bagged and haven't revisited. Even the back matter, which I am sure is filled with goodies has been skimmed and been mostly forgotten.

And then Doomsday Clock #8 happened and it just seemed to matter. Geoff Johns made the whole thing click. It didn't hurt that the issue basically revolved around Superman, something Clock was supposed to do from it's inception. It also helped that Superman was portrayed perfectly, from an implied beat down of an obstinate Black Adam to a friendly and inspirational voice to Firestorm and people in general. I was happy. But not everybody was.