Sales Review - June 2019

The sales numbers for June have come out and as usual, I find ICv2's coverage of the month to be the best coverage. Here is a link:
https://icv2.com/articles/markets/view/43606/top-500-comics-june-2019

The super-titles are transitioning a bit in plot. The Leviathan plots are heating up. The House of El/Unity Saga is coming to a close. And finally, the super-family is together in story.

Supergirl #31 was an important part of the Unity Saga story with Supergirl joining Superman and Superboy in thwarting Rogol Zaar and General Zod's attacks on Jor-El. This also was an issue which showed scenes from Superman #12 from a different perspective. So seeing the action unfold from different character's viewpoints was a nice touch.

But the big thing was that this was a Superman Family story. The cousins are together. So how did it sell?

Sales Review: March 2019

The comic sales figures for March 2019 came out recently and as always they are fascinating to look at. And, as always, I'd recommend heading to ICv2 for the breakdown here:
https://icv2.com/articles/markets/view/43079/top-500-comics-march-2019

It was a very interesting month because it included Detective #1000 and several other major DC books which made it a great month for DC. And the Superman books continue to move along at similar numbers. It will be interesting to see if Event Leviathan ends up raising those numbers as that crossover seems to be born in the super-books.

Supergirl #28 came out last month. It was another chapter in this quest. We had her fighting evil clones and squeezing off hands.
So how did it sell?

Review: Supergirl #29

Supergirl #29 came out this last week and seemed to push this opening arc by Marc Andreyko close to the finish line. And this makes me both happy and a bit miffed.

Happy because from the beginning this storyline of Kara demanding vengeance and heading into deep space away from an Earth she had just dedicated herself to made little sense. The beats of the story have made little sense. The side adventure/Omega Men pilot had little to do with her quest. And I just wanted Kara back on Earth as a hero. So this plot coming to a close is a good thing because maybe it leads to something more to my liking.

Irksome because to bring this to a close we need to plow through plot points with such velocity that it reads like a short cut to get us to the ending I want. Things magically happen here to move us to the finale in a way that I can't imagine Marc Andreyko anticipated. Also irksome because once again we are presented the angry, rage-fueled Kara that seems to come back every couple of years and met with disdain. I have said it here for almost 11 years. Dark Kara doesn't work.

Now the issue isn't complete disaster. Eddie Pansica's art is crisp and he brings a lot of big art to the big moments. There are a mix of downtime and high action sequences and he covers both settings very well. And colorist FCO Placencia brings the vibrant colors of paradise and the dismal colors of battle beautifully.

And the one thing that has always rung true in this arc is the inclusion of Krypto. Keep him in the book no matter where we go.

But onto the book.   

Review: Supergirl #28

Supergirl #28 came out this week and was another chapter in this space-faring adventure Kara is on to investigate Rogol Zaar. As this bold, new direction has moved along slowly, I have been less and less forgiving of it. This is something of a nasty story. And while occasionally we see Supergirl say something that sounds like the Supergirl I want to read, the actions and plots surrounding those lines make them feel more like lip service.

Writer Marc Andreyko writes a great, gritty, Omega Men story. I might like reading this if it were a Starfire story. Or a Darkstars story. Or an Adam Strange story. But so much of this feels like yet another 'extreme' look at Supergirl. Add to that a few cringe worthy moments for a book about a young woman hero and you get something that just doesn't feel right.

The art is by Eddie Pansica and I really like it for the story it is telling. It is a very muddy, brutal story and Pansica brings that feel of chaos and violence. This is the most ragged and beaten I have seen Supergirl in a while. Put him on an Adam Strange book and I'll be there.

These prefaces to my reviews are becoming almost cookie cutter, other than a slow descent into further dissatisfaction. I hope this arc ends soon and we head back to Earth.

On to the book.

Review: Supergirl #27

Supergirl #27 came out this week and continues a concerning trend in the book for me. As this space odyssey has progressed, it has seemed less and less like a true Supergirl story. The impetus for this quest was for Kara to find out what role Rogol Zaar had in the destruction of Krypton. I wasn't sure then if that was a strong enough cause for Kara to abandon Earth. But at least it was something personal, something tied to her history.

As we have moved 6 issues into this new direction, we have barely made much headway. There is something of a forced plot point of Appa Ali Apsa having split up redacted information into crystals scattered over the galaxy, making a longer quest a necessity. We have a memory that maybe Zor-El was involved in creating the bomb that Zaar uses. We have crime boss Gandelo trying to hunt or delay Supergirl. But really there hasn't been much movement. It is glaring enough that Supergirl says it herself in this book.

Moreover, these last couple of issues read more like an Omega Man story than a Supergirl one. Seeing Supergirl spitting on villains, shooting a Liefeldian gun, and overall being a bit nasty just pushes this further away from what I am looking for in a Supergirl book. Again, I shouldn't be surprised. This is the wash/rinse/dry/repeat Supergirl 3 year cycle. We seem to have to get mired in angst, have that approach fail, and then reboot every so often.

As for the art, Eddie Pansica does a good job here. I have liked his art in the past and he certainly brings his A game here. But when a book has many different artists in a short period of time it makes me worry that it isn't of prime importance to either the creators or the producers. And I love Yanick Paquette's cover even if it is Supergirl screaming as she fires her rifle.

So let's see what happened in the book.

Review: Adventure Comics #519

Adventure Comics #519 came out last week and continued this retrospective love-fest of all things Legion. It has been a lot of fun to read these stories and seeing a very young Legion in their earliest adventures. You can really sense how they are unsure of just who they are and what there role is in the galaxy. They are learning on the job as they jump into one dangerous situation after another; they are struggling a bit, stretching their capabilities as they try to do what's right. For someone who started reading these characters way back in the Grell days, it is refreshing to see them in these greener days. They haven't been scarred yet by death or deception or danger; they are fresh-faced.

One thing that I like about this title, and this issue, is the running theme on these young heroes making checklists of things they hope to accomplish. From Conner's 'what did Superman do?' list to Clark's list of things he never has been able to do like play baseball  without holding back to here Brainiac 5's list of what to do in the 20th century. It is such a tradition ... adolescents making lists as they try to figure out who they are. To see that activity from the viewpoint of these young heroes is a nice little literary hook.

The issue follows two groups of Legionnaires through their current missions.

One group is Chameleon Boy, Shrinking Violet, and Invisible Kid as they infiltrate one of Zaryan's ships in hopes of bringing him down. The Zaryan plot has been a nice one to follow as it seems to be the Legion's first 'big case' having both personal and professional ramifications. We have seen the Legion's stature grow as they become true allies and adjuncts of the Science police ... but we have also seen them encounter tragedy for the first time. This isn't all fun and games.

As for me, I was always a sucker for the Legion Espionage Squad and this might be the 'first time' that this group is called that. Still, you get that sense of the naivete of the group, how young and carefree they might be. I mean, I doubt that Chameleon Boy would necessarily adopt the shape of a mouse these days, nor do I think Violet would ever ride him. It also was good to see the early Invisible Kid, someone with little skills other than being invisible. Here he activates Zaryan's robot drones which attack the group.

The other group we are following is the original three Legionnaires and Brainiac 5 as they go back in time to visit Superboy. Brainiac clearly has a reason to be visiting this exact time but he isn't sharing it with his friends.

While there, he does compose his own list of things to do while in the past. While Conner and Clark's lists were in handwriting, Brainiac's is in more of a computerized sort of font. It is a small touch, but welcome.

The first thing he wants the group to do is encounter natural weather. Brainy says he wants it to be a sort of training mission because who knows where there adventures will take them. In a running theme of the book, you can see just how uncomfortable the Legionnaires are back in this 'primitive' time'.

The natural weather includes a F5 twister which lands inside Smallville. The Legionnaires are sort of battered a bit by the winds but are able to hold up fairly well.

I continue to enjoy this early look at Superboy and how we see him growing a bit in his confidence and actions. Here he does the classic dissipation move for tornadoes, flying in the opposite direction to shred the winds.

I love the bottom caption. This is before Superboy has even revealed himself. This sudden disappearance of the tornado will be chalked up as Smallville luck.

Again, I wonder who the primary target of this book is. It feels like it is for old-timers like me grabbing a bit of child-like innocence with this nostalgia.

In the meantime, the Espionage squad is attacked by the activated drones and must defend themselves.

The most accomplished Legionnaire here is Chameleon Boy who switches from one tough form to another, wading into battle and smashing them.

As for me, I have always had a soft spot for Shrinking Violet as a character. So it was very cool for me to see her in the old school green mini-skirt outfit, gutting wires from the robots to eliminate them.

My favorite Legionnaires ... in a semblance of order ... are: Wildfire, Shrinking Violet, Timber Wolf, Lightning Lass, and then Cosmic Boy. My love of those characters all grew from the Levitz stuff from the 80's and 90's although my favorite Cosmic Boy moments are when he was powerless and leading the team in the Giffen 5YL version. I know that the 5YL incarnation is not a fan favorite, but I enjoyed the first year to two years of that run.

And back in the 20th century, Brainiac 5's list continues to be fulfilled. Now why Brainiac 5 would feel that he needed to take part in a barn raising is beyond me. In fact, although it was a small part of the book, this was the weakest part. A barn raising? Really? Maybe it would have been better to be more generic like 'take part in local customs'.

What is amusing is that the Legionnaires are even more clumsy than Kal in full-Clark mode. They are called 'city folk' to explain their problems with this labor. I mean, Brainy is fascinated by a nail. I did think it was a nice touch for Lightning Lad to talk about the agrarian life on Winath and how he has done things like barn raising in the past. It is this three-dimensional feel of these characters that makes them so great.

Another thing on Brainy's list is to meet the Kents. Here Pa helps out Brainy from standing out too much. Now that part of the list I can completely understand. Who wouldn't want to meet the Kents, the people who made Superman who he is?

It turns out that Zaryan is actually on the ship that the Espionage Squad is on but he is able to slip through the cracks. Again, there is absolutely nothing stealthy about this mission. In fact it is the opposite of espionage as the smash there way through the ship in a loud and rough way.

Unfortunately, Invisible Kid is unable to stop Zaryan who simply runs over him as he gets to his escape ship.

In the 20th century, we finally find out why Brainy brought them to this time.

This was the first time that a Brainiac probe lands on Earth. as it detects the technology of Clark's ship. There is some resonance here given the original Brainiac's role in the recent Last Stand of New Krypton as well as the dynamic of Brainiac 5 facing off against his vilified ancestor.

Brainy knew about this probe, learning about it about a year prior, and planning this encounter since. In fact, that's why the original time-travel mission went back to Superboy's time rather than Superman's (as originally intended). Brainy needed to set up this encounter.

I don't necessarily know if like this application of Brainiac's force field belt as he weaponizes it to smash the probe from the inside out. This is an early adventure ... shouldn't we have seen him use this method in future adventures. As far as I can recall, I haven't seen this before (although I have seen him trap people in force fields).

Still, there must be a sense of closure here as Brainy rights a family wrong, not letting the original Brainiac find Earth and face Superboy too early.

Nice last item on the list: save the world. This thematic use of the personal list has really grown on me. It allows the writer to peek internally on a character without the need to use exposition.

Again, it was nice to see these early stories of these characters before they have become seasoned warriors, or scarred heroes. This is a time where 'Lad' and 'Boy' and 'Girl' are all appropriate monikers. So to see the original three rasslin' with Brainiac 5 about how he kept this secret was completely refreshing. To see Brainy smile as he talks about allowing the Legion think he made a mistake was fantastic. By seeing where they came from, we have a deeper appreciation of who they are now.

Levitz clearly understands these characters, has a nice grasp of each of them and their backgrounds. So this just flows easily.

And as I said last Adventure review, I have really grown to like Kevin Sharpe's art. So I was a bit disappointed to not see him doing internal art despite being listed on the cover. Eddie Pansica steps in on art. Some of his work channels Shawn McManus here. His pencils seem more focused here than his work on War of the Supermen.

So this was a nice little read. Nothing earth-shattering but enjoyable.

Overall grade: B

Review: Wonder Woman #600, Pt 1

With the comic world awash in Wonder Woman talk, I wondered if it was okay for me to join in the fray. I figured why not; I'm a Wonder Woman fan too. So here is the review of Wonder Woman #600. Plus, Supergirl appears in the first story so it is an easy rationalization.

Much like Superman #700, this is a over-sized anniversary issue with multiple stories, the last being an opening chapter of a radical new arc by J. Michael Straczynski. And just like Superman #700, there is too much to cover in one post.

My thoughts on the new arc are here.

But the thing that bothered when reading about this issue was the "need" for this new direction; many of its proponents imply that something is wrong with the character of Wonder Woman or her current stories/fan base ... something so wrong that her very history and look need to be completely torn down and rebuilt. And frankly I don't agree with that assessment.

Ironically, I thought the very issue that introduces the new arc does a great job of showing everything that is right about Wonder Woman.

The first story, 'Valedictorian', is written by Gail Simone and drawn by George Perez. It showcases both of these mega-stars' talents perfectly while encapsulating everything that is Wonder Woman.

A story of two halves, it opens with Diana leading a veritable army of women super-heroes against Professors Ivo's Cyber-sirens, robots with the power to enslave men.

Look at the fierce expression on Diana's face as she jumps into the fray.

Diana the Warrior.

Okay, I feel compelled to show the Supergirl parts of the story too.

The sirens have two major pieces of artillery, a grounded war wagon and a flying tank. Wonder Woman sends Supergirl (Diana's big gun in this group?) to take out the airship.

As with his interpretation of her in Brave and The Bold, Perez does a great job with this Supergirl. She takes off to handle the gunship.

Diana the Tactician.

It is something of a motley crew that Wonder Woman has brought together. It includes anti-heroes like Ravager and innocents like Misfit. Why would someone like Ravager join? Because Diana asked her too.

Diana the Unifier. Diana the Ambassador.

As expected (hee hee), Supergirl is able to corral the flying tank and toss it. Wonder Woman hoists the assault vehicle and flings it into the tank, ending the fight.

Diana the Powerful.

With the battle over, the members of Diana's army fall over themselves to talk to her.

Despite the utter respect they all have for Diana, they also want to be friends with her as well. Batwoman wants to hang out in a bar with her.

Diana the Friend.

Unfortunately, Wonder Woman has a prior engagement. She can't stick around. She praises her friends for fighting so bravely and leaves.

The heroes all wish they were her, have whatever it is Wonder Woman has. Even a gadfly Black Alice has a look of grudging respect on her face. They would all follow her again.

Diana the Leader.

Diana had to get to Vanessa Kapatelis' graduation and her Valedictory speech.

Vanessa had a rough time with Wonder Woman in the past, even being changed into the villain Silver Swan for a time. But Vanessa acknowledges that you need to have the strength to make it through the hard times. As Diana has taught her, you need to keep the faith.

Diana the Role Model. Diana, who Perseveres.

When Diana bemoans the fact that she could have done more for Vanessa. Maybe if Diana was there more, Vanessa would have had an easier life. She could have been a better friend.

Diana the Humble.

Vanessa chastises her; the world needs Wonder Woman. She taught Vanessa to face her problems and conquer them.

Diana the Teacher.

Diana the super-hero.

In 7 short pages, Gail Simone boiled down the character to her essence and showed how great stories are possible with this Wonder Woman. Heck, Simone had been doing it on the title for a while already.

I mean, that is just a great great comic story.

But wait there was more.

In another great story, written and drawn by Amanda Conner, Wonder Woman gives Power Girl some relationship advice. Not relationship advice about men ... it's about Karen and her cat.

It is a fun little story, showing a Diana during a down time, relaxing.

It also has a hysterical opening where the two fight Egg Fu.

And there is another great story by Louise Simonson and Eddie Pansica in which we see the friendship that Supermand and Wonder Woman share, the respect they have for each other. While Superman is on rescue duty, Wonder Woman does the heavy lifting by fighting the magic-powered Nikos Aegeus, laying him out with a bone-crunching right hook.

Nothing but home runs so far ...

And like the best anniversary issues, Wonder Woman #600 also includes a gallery of her by great artists. This also felt ironic since the costume change was such a big deal about the upcoming Straczynski run. Again, there was this undercurrent that the old costume just can't work any more. And yet we are treated to images like these ....

This one by Shane Davis, my favorite in the book. Nothing wrong here.

And this one by Nicola Scott, which came in a very very very close second to Davis'. This is screaming to be made into a poster.

Nothing wrong with the costume here.

Even this one by Guillem March while provocative in showing a sultry Diana (and maybe a little too much butt cleavage), is great. Here it isn't the costume which shines so much as the layout. The angle looking down from directly above, the 'animation' of her arm blocking the bullets, the lasso coiled and ready to lash out ... it is innovative a 'pin-up'.

And I didn't even scan the Adam Hughes, George Perez, Ivan Reis, and Francis Manapul ones ... all of which are stunning.

With all this sheer goodness in the issue, it made me wonder why there is a need for an extreme take on the idea of a 'bold new direction'.

Kudos to all involved here ... especially Gail. Your Wonder Woman will be missed.

Overall grade: A+

Review: War Of The Supermen #4

It all came down to this.

War of the Supermen #4, out this week, was the big finale, the wrap-up of nearly two years worth of stories, the final chapter.

As I have said throughout this mini-series, this couldn't have been an easy task for writers Sterling Gates and James Robinson. They had to be walking a fine line between keeping the plot moving, touching on all the storylines, and having them reach their conclusion and doing so in a very compressed format. Which scenes can happen off screen? Which happen on screen? If on screen, how much space do they deserve? 2 panels ... 4 ... 6 ... 2 pages?

I am sure that there are scenes that the writers wish they had the space to play out in a much more in depth way. There are some scenes I wish were longer.

In many ways, this I felt like this series was trying to be a sort of giant reset button, removing most of the New Krypton arc so that the new directions of Superman can be started with a clean slate. But I think that is wrong. The events of this long arc should be long-standing. This should be something that effects the characters for some time, something they should be reflecting on.

As with most 'big issues', this review is long.

I had to show the Aaron Lopresti variant cover before getting to the story. Sure, the main focus is Superman, sporting the scars of battle.

But I love the two inset panels too. That is one angry Supergirl throttling General Lane, eyes glowing. I also love that Donna Troy and Congorilla somehow made the cut to show that the war is effecting all the DCU.

I wouldn't mind if Lopresti drew the Supergirl 75th variant cover. I really hope that he ends up on some DC monthly title soon.

But on to the story.

The issue starts out scanning the globe, showing the various battlefronts on Earth.

Zod is facing off against Superman in Metropolis. As blocks of the city get leveled, Zod gloats that every one on the planet will suffer. There is a nice shot of Zod spiking a battleship onto a city street, a very nice demostration of just how crazy this war would be.

On a separate front, Project 7734 soldiers are ordered by General Lane to slaughter Kryptonian soldiers that have been captured and are helpless. This is a war with no prisoners, even the helpless will be amongst the casualties.

Again, these scenes show nicely that this war has happened because two madmen have had control of their planets armed forces. Neither want a simple victory. They will only be satisfied if the enemy is completely annihilated. Their really isn't a 'right side' of this war.

But the scene I was waiting for was the Supergirl/Ursa brawl. Well, after getting a shot in, Supergirl is defeated and about to be executed by Ursa. Ursa feels that Supergirl is a traitor for fighting the Kryptonian army. It is only the timely arrival of the Superman family that saves Kara.

I don't think that Superman and Supergirl have really picked sides here. I think they are trying to limit the death and destruction. They want both sides to stand down and let the truth come out. They want the people responsible for this to face justice. So I don't think Kara is a traitor to her race.

As for her losing the battle, I don't mind Supergirl being defeated here. Ursa is a grizzled war veteran who is in full battle frenzy mode. I think Superman might lose a fight with her right now. If anything, I think it was fantastic that Supergirl stood up to Ursa knowing she was probably outmatched.


With Ursa captured, the Superman family regroups. It was a bit of serendipity that they even were there to save Supergirl. They were all headed to the Project 7734 headquarters when they saw her.

Conner realizes that the Phantom Zone has returned and that is probably the best place to deposit Ursa for the time being. He sends Krypto off to the Fortress to grab the Phantom Zone projector.

One thing that has made me cringe throughout this long arc is how relatively easy it has become to harm a Kryptonian. Magic satellites, Black Lightning wielding 'red sun lightning', sonic screamers, white dwarf grenades, red sun rifles, red sun shackles, green K machine guns, green Kryptonite Metal Men armies ... we have seen them all. Know we see synthetic Gold K handcuffs? My guess is that all this ordnance will 'disappear' from the DCU once the threat of the Kryptonian threat is gone. If not, couldn't almost anybody defeat or kill Superman and Supergirl? I understand how the creative teams needed to for the Earth forces to be able to mount a threat or there would be no conflict. But it seems like it was almost too easy to hurt a Kryptonian throughout this arc. Will that ease remain once we are back to 2 Kryptonians?

At last though, we see Superman and Zod face off and trade blows.

I talked about the writers walking a fine line in this series. Another place I see that is with the characterization of General Zod. Let's face it, while both sides have done wrong, Earth has been the aggressor here. Zod could almost be a sympathetic character. His planet destroyed, his people decimated by Lane's villainy ... I can see why Zod would be filled with righteous fury. That said, we know that Zod hasn't been an angel here.

So I was glad that Gates and Robinson included the line above. Sure Zod is angry at Earth. But he is really angry at the House of El. That line sort of casts Zod into a different light. He isn't defending his people. He is out for revenge. It's personal. Zod even asks for his men to find Lois. Just like Lane, Zod doesn't want to simple win the war, he wants to erase humanity from the face of the planet. Once you cross that line, there is no justification.


While Superman deals with Zod, Superboy begins a whirlwind tour of the Earth, zapping as many Kryptonians as he can into the Phantom Zone. Conner is able to stop Non from murdering the JLA.

This is another one of those things that I had to ruminate over for a bit. Could one hero with one Phantom Zone projector really scrub the Earth of all the Kryptonian soldiers? Wouldn't the Kryptonian army swarm Superboy so he couldn't capture all of them? Wouldn't one of them destroy it long range with heat vision? Wasn't this too easy?

Anyways, the remainder of the Superman Family takes the fight to Lane on his home turf.

This is one of those scenes which I wish was given more space. While I am thrilled ... thrilled ... to see an angry Supergirl towering over Superwoman, I would have loved to see how that happened. And Steel is able to defeat Atlas. And The Guardian is able to exact some justice and defeats Agent Assassin. The thing is, Superwoman and (in particular) Atlas have been formidable foes. Atlas was able to stand toe-to-toe with Superman and has thrashed Steel in the past. It felt, just a little, like this was too easy. Maybe seeing more of the battle would have explained the victories a bit more.

With the troops taken out, Supergirl faces her mother's killer ... her world's destroyer. She is barely able to contain her rage when Lois talks her down. Supergirl isn't a murderer. She shouldn't sink to Lane's level.

It is simplistic ... and maybe a bit hackneyed ... but it works here. Unlike Superman, Supergirl is still on her journey. In the past ... heck even in the recent past ... she may have immolated Lane. So I was glad to see her struggle a bit, to come close to crossing the line but in the end do the right thing.

Lois vows to tell the world the truth about her father. He will face an international court for his crime.

But to Lane, this is a war without prisoners.

He ends his life.

I don't know about this. It didn't seem exactly right here. I think Lane is deluded about what happened. I don't know if he would fear a courtroom. He doesn't think he has done anything wrong. So for him to commit suicide so quickly, seemed off. Maybe if this scene was longer showing Lane realize that the evidence against him was so damning that he had no other choice.

Meanwhile, Superboy arrives in time to help Superman fight General Zod.

In this battle, Zod claims that he destroyed the Phantom Zone. Maybe I am forgetting something, this seemed to come out of nowhere with no explanation. This is another one of those things about New Krypton that won't have a satisfactory explanation and I need to move on from.

During the fight, Krypto takes a Kryptonite knife meant for Superboy. Is there any better way to make Zod a villain by having him hurt a dog? Luckily it looks like Krypto will survive.

With the remaining Kryptonians besides Zod in the Zone, Superman decides to end the war. With Zod in his clutches, Superman sets the Phantom Zone projector to self-destruct, sending the two of them into the Zone and sealing it off from the inside.


Inside the Zone, Nightwing arrives to settle things once and for all.

The Kryptonian demi-god will seal the Zone permanently. But it has granted his human host one last wish. He is able to send Superman home to Earth.

I do like how the Nightwing dragon grabs the Zod wraith and flies off with him. It is a nice image, like a demon taking a fallen soul to hell.

Cast from the Zone, Superman returns to Earth. With the Kryptonian threat removed, it is time for everyone to heal.


Supergirl mourns the loss of her people, setting up this memorial in deep space.

The capstone reads "Hail the Lost Souls of New Krypton. May Rao Guide You Into His Embrace". Before translating, I thought this would have been a grave site for Alura. It is interesting that the marker is for everyone rather than just her. Of everyone, Supergirl lost the most here ... her father, her mother, her best friend. I don't think Supergirl is going to be able to just move on from this.

And the other stories wrap up as well. The Guardian quits the Science Police to raise his 'daughter'. His niece Billi reveals she is pregnant with Mon-El's child.

In the zone, Chris has reverted to his child form and he and Mon-El set out to explore the Zone.

And Superman and Lois?

They begin the slow process of grieving and healing.

Despite the evidence stripped from Natasha Irons' mind, General Lane is viewed as a hero. Lois says she will continue to tell the truth about her father.

Clark admits that some Kryptonians may have escaped Conner's sweep.

But no matter what, both worlds lost.


The last words are from Lois.

This was a war that was born from ignorance and prejudice. She hopes that eventually everyone can live together in peace.

Whew ...

I know that this review may have read that I was disappointed by this issue. The truth is I'm not. What I am disappointed in is the fact that it felt so rushed. What I wouldn't give to have had this be a 6 issue miniseries, with some space to flesh out some of these scenes, allowing the plot lines to be wrapped up more organically. I think it is a compliment to everyone involved that I am left wanting more stories. Part of that disappointment is that the buildup to this miniseries was over a year of stories ... issues which sometimes seemed to be treading water rather than moving forward. It's like the New Krypton arc was a cross country skiing marathon ... slow and plodding in places but with a sprint at the end.

Given the lack of space to wrap up all those storylines, I don't think Gates and Robinson could have done any better. I applaud them for their efforts here, expanding and contracting scenes effectively.

And I guess this is more evidence that Eddy Barrows can never truly be a monthly artist. Once again, the art chores are split. Barrows art is slick and I really like it. But couldn't he finish this issue? Instead, we have three artists finishing the issue. Not exactly as smooth a ride as I am sure DC would hope. That said, I guess it could have been worse. The fill-in pages are beautiful. Cafu's pages really shine here. And Eddie Pansica has some of the more dramatic pages ... the climax in General Lane's lair. Still, the change in art from page to page is something I never like seeing.

I am still amazed how tight this mini-series was given it's mission to wrap up all of New Krypton in 4 issues. And I am elated that Supergirl was such a big part of this mini-series. Kara was really a star here.

So the New Krypton chapter in the super-books is over. And we have new directions coming up. To be honest I can't wait. I am especially looking forward to the Supergirl title and some stand alone Kara issues.

Overall grade (issue): B+
Overall grade (mini): B+/B
Overall grade (all of the New Krypton arc): B-/C+

Review: Superman: War Of The Superman #2

This weekly release of War of the Supermen certainly has ratcheted up the momentum of this story. As a reader, you barely have the time to contemplate the last issue before the next issue is in your hands. Counting the Free Comic Book Day prologue, we've had three issues released in 11 days!

There is a downside to this compressed storyline, this breakneck pace. With only 4 issues to wrap this arc up, some scenes are shorter than I would like them to be. The Alura death scene was remarkably short. And other elements of the plot seem to be plucked out of the blue without much back story or explanation.

And that sort of rushed feeling seemed to dominate War of the Supermen #2. A lot happens, a lot is resolved, a lot is revealed ... but maybe too much? Is this moving story too fast? Are we missing out on good story-telling because scenes are truncated as we move on to the next thing?

Sterling Gates and James Robinson certainly kept their creative feet on the gas pedal as this issue speeds forward. Still, despite that pace, we don't lose track of any of the Superman Family. We get a peek at what everybody is doing. Eddie Pansica does a serviceable job on art here. And Eddy Barrows does a very nice job on the cover.

I don't always get variant covers but how could I turn down this stunning cover showcasing Supergirl by Aaron Lopresti. I basically drooled over his art on Wonder Woman and always knew he would draw a silky smooth Supergirl. This proves it. I hope Lopresti finds work on another title soon.

But on to the story.

The news of New Krypton's destruction has reached Earth and Lois knows her father is responsible. Despite her self-imposed exile from the Daily Planet, she knows the paper is the best way she can expose his act of genocide and the other nefarious acts of Project 7734.

Before Lois can tell Perry the whole story, Superwoman crashes into the Planet's newsroom, grabs Lois, and takes off.

How twisted is Lucy? Clearly her father either never loved her or had very conditional love for his second daughter. And yet she has somehow taken that destructive background and transformed it into unquestioning loyalty to her father and outright hatred of her sister. Lucy shouts at Lois that 'she isn't worthy' of saying General Lane's name. I think Superwoman is going to be an interesting super-villain for Supergirl to deal with long into the future.


Meanwhile, the grieving Supergirl streaks towards the Kryptonian fleet to join the fight. Superman, hoping to calm his cousin down, tries to stop her. At first Supergirl doesn't take to kindly to it, lashing out and Superman, and starting a fight.

Am I wrong to be happy that Supergirl got in a couple of good shots before this thing ended. I am glad she wasn't easily dispatched by Superman.


The fight is brief as Supergirl breaks down.

Part of her rage is born from guilt. She feels responsible for New Krypton's destruction. After all, she was the one who brought Reactron to the planet. Without Reactron, there would be no 'Gold K nuke', there would be no explosion.

That feeling is, of course, nonsense. How could Supergirl think that far ahead? How could she anticipate the lengths that General Lane would go to? It isn't her fault anymore than it is Alura's fault for keeping Reactron around for so long. Still, I wonder if that feeling of responsibility is going to gnaw at her a bit in the future.

No matter whose fault it was, Reactron's death was effective. There were no survivors. The scene ends with the cousins hugging, happy that at least they are still alive and together. I am glad that the 'Supergirl vs. Superman' part of this series was so short. I think Kara has come too far to become that blind with rage, to battle her cousin for a prolonged period of time. And her initial reaction to him, that explosion of violence, was completely understandable.

I love this panel's layout. The cousins are only a small part of the panel and off to the side, eliciting that sense of 'alone-ness' they have. Their people are dead. In fact, the central object in the panel is the Krypton flag, lying on the ground. It is a nice symbolic way of putting the destruction of Krypton into the panel, adding to the cousins' melancholy. This story, the dialogue, would not be as powerful if the cousins were front and center and up close.


Just as I feel that Supergirl has grown too much to remain blindly enraged for so long, I also think she has grown too much to be overwhelmed with grief to the point of being catatonic.

She is a hero now ... at least on the hero's journey. Sometimes the greater good needs to come first. There comes a time you need to wipe your tears away, steel yourself, and do the right thing. There will be time to grieve later. Superman realizes that the two cousins need to put themselves between Zod and Lane, to block this conflict before it destroys two worlds. Supergirl says the only thing she should say ... "what do we do now?'

It is clear that this war is the byproduct of the two madmen Lane and Zod. I doubt that this war was inevitable. I doubt Zor-El would have raced towards oblivion the way these two have.

Still, I am happy that the writers have not made the Generals two-dimensional 'cartoon villains'. They aren't cackling on their thrones, wallowing in their evil. They both think they are the good guys. And while they certainly have very personal motives for this war, they can cloak it in justifications.

Another thing that I like is the occasional crack in the stony facade in the Generals. We need to see some emotion, some humanity in them, to make them more believable. I don't think it makes them sympathetic. But it at least makes them more realistic. For example, I liked seeing General Lane's sadness when he saw Lucy 'die'.

Here, I love seeing Zod slump momentarily, the weight of his world's destruction suddenly on his shoulders. He goes from shouting out angry rhetoric about killing Lane to stopping and nearly breaking down. It is a nice moment. My guess is Zod (like me) thought this would be a 100 second war, with no casualties on the Kryptonian side. Zod probably feels responsible for the death of his people and that weighs him down. He wasn't expecting this.

But that moment is just that ... a moment. Rather than turn around and keep the rest of the Kryptonians safe, rather than calling off this war, he furrows his brow and moves forward. I would have loved another page here.


On Earth, the Superman Family continues to search for Natasha Irons, knowing that she will be the linchpin to take down General Lane. It seems to me that these heroes could probably scrounge up the evidence on their own without this rescue mission.

Anyways, their investigation leads them to a secret base tucked inside Mount Rushmore of all places! Looks like I'll need to dust off my copy of North by Northwest!

I don't know if I am going to like Chris' 'all-seeing Nightwing vision'. Here it looks like he is using the force to sense Natasha.

I still hope Thara and Chris survive this whole mess.

As much as I liked the moment of humanity in Zod, I enjoyed this moment of insanity by General Lane. He is clearly a psychopath. He just committed an act of genocide and he is the happiest he has been in his life?

Let's face it, Lane is as big a 'bad guy' as Zod. Both of these guys need to be brought down at the end of this story. I won't be happy if either one escapes justice.


I do have to say that I find myself questioning some of the military decisions that these tactical geniuses make.

For some reason, General Zod sends a bulk of his troops to the Human Defense Corps Mars base. I just don't get it. I know that the Mars base is the 'first line of defense' and Zod probably wants to eliminate them. But Mars is pretty far away from Earth, those troops can't get to Earth quickly, and Zod can simply go around them. Why endanger even one troop fighting these guys?

With the fight going on, Superman and Supergirl show up and basically try to run interference between the two sides, trying to save as many lives on both sides as they can. The HDC fleet is destroyed before it can mobilize. I thought it was great to see Superman and Supergirl now fighting side by side, working together as a team.

Another nice writing technique used throughout this fight scene is having the two Generals in panels side by side, completing each other's sentences. It is a simple method of showin just how similar they are, how they are the same side of the same coin.

Zod has split his army into two flanks. While his fights over Mars, a second wave of troops is flying at top speed towards Earth. The countdown is on ... they will arrive in less than a minute.

With time running out before oblivion, General Lane calls upon Luthor to finish his 'second project'. Using the false Rao corpse and time-pool technology, Luthor develops the ultimate weapon. As payback, Lane gives Luthor LexCorp back.

Luthor launches his missile and suddenly ...


Earth has a red sun!

I don't know ... this is the one part of the book that seemed a bit rushed to me and maybe a bit too easy. A red sun missile? Seems a bit deus ex machina for me. I know that the 'Rao' component was probably necessary for the weapon and Luthor only got that recently (2 weeks ago our time), but really ... a red sun missile? It felt a bit forced.

Now from the beginning I have felt that Earth shouldn't have a chance in this war. And certainly a walking planet-busting Gold K nuclear bomb and a red sun missile tip the scales back even. But doesn't it seem like those ideas came out of nowhere? And for some reason I can buy the Reactron stratagem much more than I can swallow this one. Again, this might be a place where a little more time spent on the development of these things would have gone a long way. And where will all these lethal anti-Kryptonian weapons going to go when this story ends. Will there be weapons that can kill Superman ... red sun guns, sonic screamers, gold K, red sun shackles, red sun missiles, Green K bullet machine guns ... all over the DCU?

Regardless, the sun is red so suddenly the Kryptonians are powerless. Nice cliffhanger.

Well, we are halfway done with War of the Supermen! And I have to say that so far Earth has to be looked upon as winning the war.

I am torn a bit with my grade on the book. I think there were plenty of small moments that were fantastic ... the Superman/Supergirl conversation at the beginning, Zod slumped on his ship ... fantastic. But they were oh so brief. I would have loved to read those scenes a bit more. I think there was more dramatic juice that could be squeezed from those scenes.

Add to that the inclusion of some sudden plot elements and I felt like the story is being rushed along.

But am I a hypocrite? After intermittently complaining for the last year that the whole New Krypton storyline was moving along too slowly, do I have the right to complain about things moving too fast? The middle chapters in these things are the hardest to pull off.

That said, I can't get away from just how great those moments were. If I could get so much out of such short scenes, it means the writing by Gates and Robinson is great.

Eddie Pansica was bound to suffer in comparison with last issue's Jamal Igle and my anticipation for the next issues by Cafu and Eddy Barrows. His layouts were very good. But I sometimes felt the characters' faces looked a bit off.

Overall grade: B+/B