Bullet Review: Earth 2 #0

I suppose that DC's Zero Month accomplished one of its goals when I picked up Earth 2 #0 this week. The purpose of the month is to provide a jumping on point for readers, an origin story of sorts to drum up some sales. I don't plan on grabbing as many zero issues as I did first issues of the DCnU but I was intrigued enough by Earth 2 and the idea of seeing that world's Superman again to pick this issue up.

Did it interest me enough to get me to go back and grab the issues I missed? To add the book to my pull list?

Written by James Robinson with art by Tomas Giorello, the issue tells the origin of "Mr. 8", the eighth Wonder (or super-hero) on the planet. Templated from another famous Earth 2 hero, Mr. 8 turns out to be the perfect representative of the DCnU, a dark persona who thinks himself a hero, who is willing to kill if he must.

This won't be my typical long review, just some bullets on the key parts of the book.

So this book takes place before the events of Earth 2 #1, so Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are still fighting off Darkseid and his troops.

But this Trinity (or Ternion as Wonder Woman named them) aren't the only heroes on this world. Robin and Supergirl we knew about. (Nice fierce Supergirl by Giorello here.) Catwoman we kind of knew about.

And then there is Mr. 8, Terry Sloan, a government operative.

And a mystery hero ... someone unnamed. I don't know if I should know who this is, if it is something revealed in the issues I missed or if it is a mystery. But things like that grab my attention as a fan. Who is missing from a classic Earth 2 model that doesn't include the 'new heroes' of Green Lanter, Flash, Atom, and Hawkgirl?

Could it be Dr. Fate? The Spectre? The Crimson Avenger? Ma Hunkle??

Now Sloan is of course a riff on the classic take of Mr. Terrific. Of course, the original Sloan believed in Fair Play to the point of putting on fighting togs to right wrongs. What is this Sloan like?

Well, it turns out he is sick of this war mostly because it is a stalemate. He can't deal with simply stemming the tide of Darkseid's siege. He wants to win the war.

And in trying to find a way to boom tube the fight to Apokalips, he instead uncovers the existence of the multiverse. These visions either give him great clarity or make him mad. It is hard to tell.

But there is some interesting stuff in those visions. We see what looks to be the Michael Holt Mr. Terrific holding a gun over a dead body. One looks like Magog swinging an axe. The other looks like three shadows - Magog, Darkseid, Pandora?

So those shapshots also grabbed my interest. I love comic mysteries, or trying to figure out hints of things to come.

A large number of humans on Earth 2 have become basically zombies, mesmerized by the Anti-Life equation into slaves for Darkseid.

Mr. 8 realized the heroes can never win the war if these innocents are on the battlefield. The heroes won't want to hurt them. The heroes' plans will be hindered by these enthralled troops. Seeing those other realities, Sloan knows he has to eliminate them from the scenario. And so he develops 'opal Kryptonite' which temporarily enrages Superman. And while the others try to hold Superman at bay, Sloan detonates a device which razes the enslaved cities from the planet. It was great to see this world's heroes working together, seamless in their victories.

So first off, could Opal Kryptonite have some vague connection to Opal City, where Robinson's Starman was set?

But more importantly, when we saw these flaming pits on the scarred Earth in the first issue, I assumed they were Fire Pits set up by Darkseid. So having them be self-inflicted cautery by one the Earth heroes was a nice twist.Very nice.

We know that Mr. 8 was right. The heroes won the war albeit it at a great cost. But as he broods ... like Ozymandias ... he wonders if he is the hero or the villain.

So three nice plot hooks to grab me ... the eighth hero, the glimpses of futures, and the Fire Pit twist. I suppose that is what a zero issue should do. Grab me.

But Mr. 8 is a mockery of the memory of the Terry Sloan 'Fair Play' Mr. Terrific. He is yet another hero willing to kill ... here mass murder. It was that complete reimagining of beloved characters like Alan Scott and Jay Garrick that made me not pick up Earth 2 past the first issue.That's not what Earth 2 classically means to me.

So will I pick up this title moving forward?

I don't know. I don't think so ... but I never can tell these things until the next issue is in front of me.

Still, James Robinson wrote a compelling issue which has me contemplating buying this title, something I didn't think I would want to do. Kudos to him!

Overall grade: B+

Review: Action Comics #0

I don't think I have been subtle in praise of Grant Morrison's Action Comics. It has, in my opinion, simply been one of the best comics being produced over the last year and definitely the cream of the New 52. I thought I couldn't love Action more.

And then Action Comics #0 came out. And, honestly, I got goose bumps at the last panel. When a occasionally disgruntled, fairly 'old school', 3+ decade comic reader has a visceral response like that ...well... it means that the comic is perfect. It means it is the perfect blend of words and art; it is a powerful story.

In fact, it even made me reconsider one of my few complaints about this run. This is the 'new' Superman. This was a clean slate. And yet, I felt that Morrison hadn't built a big enough foundation in the early issues for me to set this Superman up for the future. Did I know enough about Superman to understand him.

I shouldn't have doubted the genius of Morrison.

Because he is following the old rule: don't tell the reader, show them.

And issues like Action Comics #0 show us. This showed me who this Superman is (was?). It showed me who Jimmy Olsen is and Lois Lane is. It showed me who Clark is. And Morrison has been doing it for a year now. I kind of know who these characters are now. And best of all, I like these characters.

The 'zero' issues of the New 52 are supposed to key us into the origins of the heroes of the DC Universe. This issue is truly the origin of Superman ... not the person, but the idea.

We open up in those early Metropolis days of Clark Kent, a time when he was just making his S-shield shirts, preparing to become an active hero, fighting injustice.

Clark is interviewing at the Daily Star, talking to editor George Taylor. Taylor reminds Clark that stories aren't just about events. They are always about the people. The people come first. It is small-town wisdom, stuff that Clark already probably knows from his life with the Kents. But it shows just who Clark is and why he would look here for a job.

In those early days, Clark was living in Jimmy's apartment. Funny to see the situation reversed now.

Jimmy's origin is new and fresh. His father is rich. His mother was a super-model. His parents split and his mother flamed out in a bad romance with a rock star. So his guilty father has set him up in pretty plush digs. And yet despite this potential for a cushy life of leisure, doing fashion shoots, Jimmy wants to do more. He wants to be taken seriously. He wants to do 'real news'. It makes me like Jimmy even more.

But best of all, we finally hear Clark talk about his admiration for and burgeoning crush on Lois Lane. 'Reading Lois Lane is like watching a martial arts display.' What a great line. Lois' writings are powerful, strong, devastating but also beautiful and artistic. Look at Clark, practically moon-eyed, looking out at the sun as he talks about her.

It's Lois and Clark. It isn't brain surgery.

If only DC and Geoff Johns could understand that.

This is also that young crusader Superman. Here he tries to stop Glenmorgan and the 'little man' from kidnapping a crucial witness. Remember, this is a time where Superman is basically is unknown. So to see him upend and helicopter, smugly standing there in his heroic pose, egging on the bad guys ... it's fantastic.

But he isn't there yet. Bullets may bounce off him. But rocket propelled granades can still blast him back. He might be unharmed but he isn't uneffected. He is blown off the roof by the explosion. And in the aftermath, a young boy steals his cape.

I have enjoyed this riff on the socially active Golden Age Superman much more that I thought I would.

This indestructible man is still something of an urban legend. Perry White doesn't believe he exists. So we get a sense of who Perry is.

And Lois, she knows he is news ... big news. The S-shield right now only stands for story.

I love how she doesn't see the 'S' immediately thinking it looks like 2 fish. I think I remember reading a John Byrne interview saying he didn't see the 'S' at first either, thinking it was 2 weird fish swimming towards each other.

As for the young boy Luke who stole the cape, he is in a horrible situation, abused by a drunken father. In fact, this man tried to stab Luke with a knife, the blade breaking against the cape.

Empowered by this, Luke lashes out and his cape-bound punch seems to pack more of a wallop.

So maybe this shows the literal power of the cape, bringing a sort of magical Silver Age feel to the fabric.

But more importantly, it shows the power of the symbolism of Superman as this boy is suddenly inspired to rise up against injustice and protect his younger brother. Wonderful. I am not told that Superman inspires; I am shown it.

And we finally see Clark move into his new digs and meet Ms. Nyxly. And while she mentioned it in last month's issue, we see that she was indeed married to Mr. Mxyzptlk or 'Mystic Mr. Triple X'. And we learn he was defeated by 'another wizard' ... clearly the little man.

Just outside Clark's new home are the railroads. Here Luke is running away from his father, a man so callous that he is going to make Luke's brother Paulie watch Luke get run over by a train. And Luke wraps the cape around him, hoping it will save him.

But instead Superman shows up ... more powerful than a locomotive.

Big moments need big art and this splash page is fantastic.

But it is Superman's response that is even better. He winks at Luke and thanks the boy for looking after the cape. He promises him that the 'bully' won't hurt him any more. That is Superman ... a wink, a promise of help, and a moment to inspire others to do good.

Look at Lois' face. Suddenly this is something more than the story of an indestructible man. This is something bigger than a guy with a symbol and a cape. Her face seems somehow softer, as if the objective reporter is gone.

And then that last panel that gave me goose bumps.

The S-shield doesn't mean 'story' any more. It is bigger than the events. It is about the people. The S-shield stands for Superman. Thus, the origin of Superman.

Wow.

This isn't a story that needed to be told. This isn't a chapter to help us figure out the Multitude. Instead it is a story that shows us just who these characters are and just what Superman is, not only as a hero but as an idea. Fantastic.

Ben Oliver's art is perfect for this sort of issue, a 'soft lens' pencil look back. There are maybe a few too many panels where characters are shown completely in shadow or as black shapes. But when we see everything, his stuff is powerful, his characters expressive, and his panel composition pitch perfect.

I can't believe Morrison is leaving in less than a year. Issues like this make me wish he would be on the book for years.

Overall grade: A+

Alter Ego #112

It is going to be a busy week of reviews here at the Comic Box with Action Comics, Worlds' Finest, Smallville, and an interesting issue of Earth 2 coming out this week.

Before running the scanner ragged, I thought I would briefly review Alter Ego #112 which also came out yesterday. Alter Ego is a comic magazine published by TwoMorrows publications and edited by comic book legendary writer Roy Thomas. It focuses on the creators of comic books and influential runs as well.

This issue promised a story about Mort Weisinger's run as Superman-books editor back in the Silver Age. As that is one of my favorite eras for Superman as well as one of the more prolific times for Superman, introducing many parts of his history as well as a chunk of his classic villains, I was extremely interested to read this issue. Heck, Supergirl was introduced in the Weisinger era. Of course I would want to read this.

 The article itself is more of a visual montage of many of the aspects of Weisinger's legacy interspersed with some of Weisinger's own words as well as some from his son. For example, here Weisinger talked about how the owners of DC weren't his boss, the readers were his boss. (Can you imagine 60 million people read Superman at one point??)

Of course, there is Action Comics #252, one of the crucial issues of the era.

This was also a time where the stories showed how unflinching Superman was in his battle for truth, justice, and the American Way. It was interesting to hear Weisinger mention the need to infuse education and an 'American way of life' into the stories. Elsewhere, he states that his favorite stories were those where Superman has lost his powers and needs to use his wits to be successful.

But I thought it was extremely interesting to hear Weisinger say Superman had a schizoid personality, as Clark is 'insanely jealous' of Superman because he wants people to love him for who he is. It solidifies the concept that Superman considers his 'true self' to be Clark. But I never felt that the character was internally conflicted, jealous of himself.

Later Weisinger talks about how he felt handcuffed to Superman, almost defined by him, and feeling he needed to walk away from him as a character so Weisinger could reclaim his life. (In a bit of hubris, Weisinger says 'You [Superman] can't do without me; I know I can exist without you.)

The quotes are all great and the piece is visually stunning, a mix of covers, panels, and new art done in the style of the time. That said, I was hoping this would be more of a true text piece. It could include those quotes but also delineate just what Weisinger introduced to the Superman mythos, as well as point out issues that illustrate the points made in his quotes. Maybe a future article?

As a result, the piece I liked the most was an article about Paul Cassidy, one of the earliest Superman artists and someone I had never heard of! Cassidy is created with bringing back a more 5-sided S-shield (as opposed to a simple triangle) as well as adding the shield to the cape. His biggest body of work was the Superman dailies.

Imagine, a major contributor to early Superman and I had never heard of him! That's why I love comic magazines like this!

I highly recommend the TwoMorrow magazines for the comic historians out there. Best of all, the issues tend to have a central theme so choosier consumers can buy based on interest.

Poll Results: Grade For The First Year Of Supergirl

A week ago I posed the question 'what grade would you give the first year of Supergirl'?

Now, this is a Supergirl blog so I assume that the people who frequent here are Supergirl fans. As a result, this isn't an unbiased audience to poll. After all, we are more likely to want to read and like a Supergirl book. That said, we are probably a more discerning bunch about Supergirl. We are her fans and we have lived through some hard times. So we might be harsher graders than an average comic fan who doesn't have a stake in how Supergirl is portrayed.

Anyways, 88 folks stopped by and voted. Thanks to everyone who took the time to click. As always, while this isn't powered to be statistically significant (with 30+ K readers each month), this is a great turn out and would be a great focus group size.

The results are above and pretty clear cut. As a whole, people have enjoyed this first year of Supergirl.  65% of voters gave it a B+ or higher. 12% gave it an A+ !

There are lots of good comments on the poll post here. 

As for me, I gave the book a B+.

I was trying to think back to the pre-New 52 promos, the bittersweet ending to Kelly Sue DeConnick's brief run on the book, the fear I had that things would be taking a huge step backwards. I felt a bit betrayed by DC. After all, the Gates/Igle run solidified the character as being a hero, set her forward on the hero's journey, and rehabilitating her character. Did we need to go back to square one?

Well, slowly, over this year, I have seen enough of this Supergirl to feel that the core of her character, that need to do good and help people, is there. This is the first time that the crushing loneliness and grief of the character, that conscious loss of everything, is being investigated. This isn't a happy Linda Lee heading into an orphanage. This isn't Kara living in the Fortress learning the ways of Earth. This is a girl adrift on a new planet, trying to figure out how she got there. And yet, despite all that, we have seen her time and again do the right thing as best she can.

She doesn't seem like 'Hell on wheels'. She doesn't seem to have no affection for humanity. She has jumped to the rescue of the people of Earth despite everything that has happened to her.

And, I will admit that that has changed how I look at this title. I was expecting a Supergirl that was a bratty, edgy, angsty, violent, loner. Thankfully, I haven't got that. Writers Mike Johnson and Michael Green seem to get who Supergirl is. They just have this opening portion of that hero's journey be more difficult, more mysterious than prior.

Now I still have my issues with the book. I wish she would learn English and communicate with people. I wish she would stop being attacked by the police and the military. I wish she and Superman would be closer. But even with these things, I have seen small progress which makes me think they aren't set in stone.

Add to that the fantastic art by Mahmud Asrar and I think this book is a winner.

Do I miss the Supergirl from the end of Gates' run? The one James Peaty set up as the leader of the next generation of heroes? Yes. I loved where that Supergirl was as a character, thinking she was about to take the next step.

But do I care about this Supergirl and her struggles? Yes.
Am I rooting for this Supergirl? Yes.

And that speaks volumes.

Review: Superman Family Adventures #4

Superman Family Adventures #4 came out last week and continued to be a fun ride. As usual, creators Art Baltazar and Franco continue to infuse some old school Superman mythology into an all ages treat. And best of all, this seems to operate on a pre-New 52 type world, a place where Clark crushes on Lois and Lois is the smartest person in the room.

But despite all that, the main thing about this book is that it is a carnival ride of a comic book, pure fun. While there isn't a glimpse of Supergirl in this book, there are great Lois moments and that might make this my favorite issue of the book so far.

Bizarro made his appearance a couple of issues ago and remains a member of the supporting cast. He actually is sort of the super-family pet ... or maybe more like a toddler that needs close supervision. It is a good set-up for almost instant comedy. I am glad he is still around.

Here Superboy is taking Bizarro for a walk when they discover a chunk of Red K from the Kryptonite spill 2 issues ago. In-title continuity! With an editor's box reminding people where to go! Fantastic!

Bizarro fires the rock away before it can effect anyone. Of course, this being Superman Family Adventures, he super-throws it towards Metropolis where it becomes the ubiquitous 'meteor falling on the city'. The meteor bit is a nice running gag.

The rock lands in Perry's coffee and is swallowed by Titano, a monkey from Haley's Circus (the subject of an article by Lois). And, the resulting radiation turns Titano into a Kong-like giant ape.

Is there anything that screams Silver Age wackiness more than Titano? He is the perfect sort of character for a throwback fun book like this.

And now onto the great Lois moments in the book.

After reading this issue, I have to think that Lois knows that Clark is Superman. First, when Clark shows up with his 'pet monkey' Bob Kent, Lois asks if the come from the same galaxy.

When questioned, she then says she meant 'Smallville'.

When Titano becomes huge and threatens the city, Clark comes up with a lame excuse and takes off.

Perhaps even better, Lois reminds 'Bob' that he probably has to go too. Of course, she could be saying he needs to be with Clark but I think she means he needs to change to Beppo and to some super-monkeying.

The classic Titano had Green-K vision. This Titano has Red-K vision. And when Superman is struck by the beams, an evil Superman appears ...a negative Superman.

Now certainly this could be a riff on the Donner Superman III movie. After all, Donner references have been in this book from the beginning. But for me the cooler moment was when this Negative Superman first appears, it is like a black energy wraith flying from Superman. It looked like the Doom Patrol's Negative Man. So of course this would be a negative Superman.

And he isn't really just evil. He really is more negative. He shows up at the Planet as a Clark Kant, a negative guy who can't do anything. I love how the Planet staff just roll with this stuff.

The real Superman calls Kant out for a fight, the two Supermen skirmish for a bit, and then they are squashed back into one being by Titano.

It is almost too bizarre to comment on.

Titano ends up depowering when he ... apparently ... poops out the Red K. The chunk bounces away, Titano shrinks back to a regular-sized monkey. And all is back to normal.

The threat ends when the giant monkey passes his power source in his stool. Hysterical.

And now, the best scene. Clark shows back up to work maybe a bit too soon, his hair still sporting the classic spit curl.

It is Lois who points it out, smooths things out, and walks away. She has to know he is Superman and is just playing along. And Lois should be able to figure this stuff out. I love Lois in this book.

And as for the Red K, it is swept up by a sanitation worker who turns out to be Lex Luthor in disguise. Internal continuity and a cliffhanger in a 'kids' book'! Aw yeah!

As I have said before, this comic reminds me about how fun comics can be. And, as usual, this book appealed to the supergirls at home as well as me. That means it is truly All Ages.

No complaints about this book. It is like candy for the mind.

Overall grade: A

Rapid Fire Supergirl News

Just a couple of brief news items worth mentioning here. Hope everyone in the states enjoys Labor Day weekend!

Over on Comic Book Resources, Michael May wrote a "Women of Action:Supergirl" column extolling the virtues of the current title. Here is the link: http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2012/08/women-of-action-supergirl/

And here is one of the blurbs I particularly like:

I’m also impressed with how they’re leading into the zero-issue event next month. While Supergirl’s character arc has mostly been about finding her place in the universe, she also has some obvious questions about how she got to Earth and why she has no memory of it. That quest for answers has ramped up in the past couple of issues, and Issue 12 ends with the promise of her finally getting them. That’s quite a nice lead-in to a zero issue that’s editorially mandated to provide an origin story. Rather than taking a break from their ongoing plot, Green, Johnson and Asrar are wrapping the event into it in what promises to be a clean, organic way. It’s just the most recent bit of impressive storytelling on a series that’s already pretty remarkable.

May does a great job pointing out the strengths of the book giving the title some publicity. He is a bit more accepting than me of the 'no English' aspect of the book as well as the current relationship between Kal and Kara. But I think his overall take on the book, of Supergirl's struggles here, is right on the money.

Over on Deviant Art, blog friend Valerie21601 has started a letter writing campaign to try, once again, to spur DC into green-lighting Supergirl Cosmic Adventures in the 9th Grade. Here is the link:
http://querl-and-kara.deviantart.com/journal/Supergirl-9th-Grade-Letter-Petition-Campaign-322618580

I think it speaks to the excellence of this mini-series that there is still buzz about the book 3 years later. Will DC listen to this rally?

Lastly, I can't get enough Mahmud Asrar art and he has been posting his most recent commissions on his blog Creative Differences. There have been too many fantastic ones to post here but this one caught my eye.

Yep, I can never get enough Streaky so to see Asrar's take on Supergirl and her super-cat was too great not to share. Here is the link to that specific page on Asrar's site: http://mahmudasrar.com/post/30251715368/supergirl-iii-wizard-world-chicago-2012-pre-show

With any luck, I will run into Asrar at a con and will be able to procure a commission.

Review: Superman Annual #1

Superman Annual #1 came out this week, the opening volley of the Scott Lobdell era on the character.

Plotted by Lobdell, scripted by Fabian Nicieza, and drawn mostly by Pascal Alixe, the book reads a bit uneven. There is a lot of Superman in this book, no doubt. But there are also a lot of other characters in here as well, interacting on the periphery of the plot and probably foreshadowing some big crossover in the future. As a result, it felt a bit disjointed, as if DC was using this book to introduce (or reintroduce) me to some characters I haven't been following.

And it is an interesting opening chapter for Lobdell to start his Superman run with. For starters, Superman is basically ineffective this entire book. He is outgunned by the main villain Helspont. In some ways, that's good as it places Helspont in a high tier of someone who can actually be a threat. By being trounced thoroughly and yet continuing to rise up to fight again, I got a sense of how Lobdell characterizes Superman. There are some nice bits sprinkled throughout that make me think Lobdell understands the essence of Superman. But by having Superman be completely powerless against the threat, I felt like Superman did little here, instead having things done to him. There is a fine balance between establishing a worthy villain and making the hero seem worthless. This skirted on the later.

Perhaps the biggest thing that I thought about this being Lobdell's opening chapter is that it felt like a big story that Superman was a part of rather than a Superman story. It almost felt like it should be a one shot with a unique title highlighting the Daemonites.

The book opens with a flashback to Helspont's origins some 3000 years ago. He feels that his mother's intermingling of Daemonite genes with other races has weakened the proud race. He wants to bring back the glory of a pure race, re-establishing the Daemonites as conquerors of the universe. Sounds pretty racist and evil. And the queen responds appropriately, exiling him.

But Helspont, here called Artus, also makes other comments ... about rising infant mortality, worsening autoimmune deficiencies, and cancers. His own wife died in childbirth from some medical weakness. And all this decay is happening while the rich ruling class indulges itself. This sounds like he is trying to save a sinking ship, trying to help the dying 99% while the 1% throws parties.

So maybe the guy with the flaming skull head isn't all bad? It is hard to get away from the 'pure race of conquerors' bit though.

After the flashback, we get to see what Lobdell thinks of Clark. I have to say I liked what I read.

As Clark he likes to take the subway in to be among the people, to be normal. He thinks it makes him feel ..... (shudder) ... grounded. I don't know if I will ever hear that word in regards to Superman again and not think of JMS' wipeout of an arc.

But then we get this panel about Lois. When thinking about the more sensational aspects of the Planet's news these days, Clark misses Lois. She would straighten things out. He misses her, lamenting the fact that he didn't realize what she meant to him.

Whoa ...

Now as much as I loved this panel ... I mean loved it ... it flies in the face of the cover of Justice League #12 and all the news about that. I'd prefer this panel to that story every time.

His trek to work is interrupted by the sudden appearance of a massive spaceship hovering over Earth. A super-vision peek reveals Helspont is there. Switching to his costume, Superman flies into space to confront the Daemonite. But before he can reach the ship, he is stopped short by Helspont.

Now this is what a 2 page splash should be. Because Helspont is literally tugging on Superman's cape. (I wonder if that line is lost on younger readers.) Regardless of Jim Croce lyrics, it shows just how powerful Helspont is, just how beneath him he feels Superman is. This is a playground maneuver. I don't need to hear Helspont lord his power over Superman. This image does it for me. That is what comics should be about.

This tug is followed by a backhanded slap to Superman which sends Superman crashing into the moon and knocking him out!

The annual then takes a bit of a sidetrack as Helspont sends out emissaries to some of the alien heroes on Earth, trying to persuade them to join his mission and discussing the legend of 'The Thirteen Scions of Salvation'.

Much like Helspont beating up on Superman, his agents also pack a lot of power as they confront the heroes.

First Martian Manhunter gets beaten up by the female Salu. Now J'Onn recognized her as an agent of Helspont and initiated the fight. But she ends it. And leaves after telling him he either is going to join Helspont or die.

Given the Steranko-like panel effects and the rough art, my guess is these pages were done by Marco Rudy. Perhaps these were initially planned to be in Stormwatch?

Then the ever-voluptuous Starfire is approached by Quom. Naturally, he finds her sunbathing on the beach in a mere slip of a bikini. Where else would you find Starfire?

Anyways, in much the same way, she initiates a fight with Quom and is dispatched easily. He also reminds her about the legend of the thirteen and tells her she needs to join or die. It is interesting that Starfire has heard about this legend, equating it to a fairy tale rather than a prophecy.

And this being the Starfire interlude, the art is much smoother. But I wonder if these were pages ear-marked for an issue of Red Hood.

And then Lord Defile (yeesh ... what a name) shows up to batter Hawkman and also give him the ultimatum of joining Helspont or dying. Again, the art here is different ... maybe Tom Raney? Could these have been pages originally planned for a Hawkman issue?

Between these scenes, Superman is actually saved by Grifter and brought onto his pod. Again the art is different. Could these have been lifted from a Grifter issue?

Remember, this annual was initially solicited as a completely different story written by Keith Giffen. Could DC have decided that rather than running these bits through individual titles building a crossover there, that they simply consolidated them, bulking up a single issue of Superman into a super-sized Annual?

The bottom line is that the 'Thirteen' myth isn't mentioned again, only in these other heroes' interludes. So given the initial bend of Helspont wanting a pure race, having him gathering other races in a way that didn't impact the main story with Superman, felt wrong, as if scenes from one movie were cut into another.

In the meantime, Superman makes his way onto Helspont's ship to confront him.

Helspont states his reason for visiting Earth was to kill some of his sleeper agents that he has on the planet. Helspont even kills some of his crew that is helping keep Superman at bay. It is the action of a madman that Helspont justifies by swearing that his execution of millions will, in the end, save trillions. He also says his agents welcome death if he orders it. Superman isn't so sure they went willingly. And the ends never justify the means.

It turns out that there are a lot of Daemonites living among the people of Earth. Thousands of years ago Helspont put them there to help keep track of the metagene in Terrans' DNA. He thought that gene might rectify the problems in his own races' genome.

Unfortunately, those agents went native and lost sight of the task. And so they needed to be eliminated.

This is an interesting plot point, one I hope gets explored more in the future. Were these being immortal? Long-lived? Did they mate with humans?

The truth is Helspont didn't need these agents on Earth to act as a shepherd humanity's metagene. Superman is doing that already. Look at that last panel. Helspont smugly standing there, hands behind his back, while Superman is small and on his knees. Superman has been unwittingly serving Helspont and is basically powerless before him. Another nice panel meshing words and pictures.

So I credit Lobdell for elevating Helspont as an adversary for Superman. Helspont's whole demeanor throughout this encounter has been one of haughty derision, just effortlessly turning aside Superman's attacks and doing whatever he wanted to do. And to add a wrinkle to all this, Helspont states that not only has he killed Kryptonians before, he knew Jor-El!

And here I thought Helspont was basically just an Atomic Skull/Mongul mash-up. He seems deeper and more interesting than that.

And so we get this final panel showing a defeated Superman, clueless about what he should do next.

Had this been a stand-alone Superman issue ... if the Martian Manhunter, Starfire, Grifter, and Hawkman pages not been in here ... I probably would give it a B+ for the opening scenes of Clark and for defining Helspont so formidably.

Unfortunately, those pages are in here and seem out of place. I can't help but think that when Giffen's Annual was shelved that DC cobbled this thing together from a planned Superman issue and some pages from those characters titles. And while those pages involve Helspont, they don't mesh with the story involving Superman.

As a result, the book felt just disjointed enough, the art just varied enough to drop a bit.

Pascal Alixe's art is pretty good as he channels Gary Frank and does a decent job. As said above, panel composition was solid throughout.

And, at least in this issue for one panel, Clark mooned a bit over Lois. So at least I got that going for me.

Overall grade: B