Review: Superman Unlimited #16

Superman Unlimited #16 came out this week, chapter three in the Kingdom of Zod storyline. We are one third done and I don't know if I quite grasp this whole plotline. But this was a classic middle chapter, nudging the story along and making sure everyone knows what is going on. It does have a wonderful moment in the middle with Supergirl and Superboy. But otherwise, this felt a bit like treading water.

Most importantly for me, we at least heard that all this Kryptonite is affecting our Kryptonian characters. But I don't know if it is enough for me to be happy. We have seen Kryptonians buckle in pain when near a small piece of Kryptonite in the past. How can they be flying around a city made of Green K and just complain a little about how it feels. Sigh. I'll get past this ... maybe.

Dan Slott captures the voice of all the characters here. I like his Kara. I like his young Superboy. I like his Jon Kent. But he doesn't have too much to do here.

Rachael Stott is on art this issue and she brings a sort of breathy flair to the issue. I think the action sequences flow. But her art is perfect for that Supergirl/Superboy moment in the middle. I really liked that section, the highpoint of the book for me.

But I still don't quite understand what is going on in this story. Why would Zod think unleashing a Green K tsunami on Earth be good for him?

On to the book.

Review: My Adventures With Superman S3 E10 The Return

My Adventures With Superman S3 E10, 'The Return', aired this last weekend, the season finale for season 3 and possibly the show's final show. No season 4 has been announced yet. I can only hope that the we get more of this show because it (and this season in particular) has been astonishingly good.

This season has been a sort of mash-up of comic stories - The Reign of the Supermen for sure given the multiple versions of those comic characters we have seen. But I'd throw in something like Zero Hour given the time travel implications we have seen throughout. 

As I have said, the storyline of Superman and Lois meeting their future kids and trying to change their horrible future has been compelling enough. But through in Lois' doubts of her own future, Clark dealing with being depowered for half the season, and Kara's growth into a loving, optimistic, fierce Supergirl has all been fantastic as well.

It all comes down to this episode with the House of El fighting a highly evolved version of the Eradicator, a mix of Superman's powers, Doomsday's powers, and Lex's fears of alien conquerors. Without Superman, the team is frankly outmatched. But they show how determined they are by continuing the fight. 

But it really hinges on The Return of Superman and his true power, wanting to help people, wanting an ordinary life with ordinary happiness, and willing to sacrifice himself to help others.

It ends with a crazy cliffhanger. It would be a fine final shot if this show does end here. But I need more. 

And as usual, the whole thing has the feel of Dragon Ball Z, Neon Genesis, and other comic classics smushed into Superman lore and I am here for it.

On to the show.

Terrificon 2026 Recap

Earlier this month I attended Terrificon, the Connecticut based comic book convention that I consider my go-to comic con and the main event for me each summer. I have been attending the con since 2017 and I have always been impressed with it. From the venue to the guest list to Mitch Hallock, the con promoter, it never fails to be a great time.

This year boasted some legendary creator names (including Jim Lee) and some newer creators as well which meant I was pretty busy the three days I attended. Before I get to my adventures, a few global comments.

First off, the venue is unparalleled. The con is in the Expo center at the Mohegan Sun casino, a massive hall which is filled with celebrities, comic creators, and vendors. There's free parking. There are more than enough places to eat in the place from the concession stand in the hall to every level of restaurant in the casino - food court to high end steak house - to make the non-convention part of attending easy.

Second, as I mention each year, the vexing conundrum around signature and commission prices remains ... well ... vexing. It is hard to anticipate how much creators will charge for autographs and sketches and as such, it is hard to anticipate how many books/how much money to bring. When one legendary creator says 'no charge' and another says 'two free then $5 each after' and another says '$2' and yet another says '$40 per sig', there isn't an internal formula I can anticipate in my mind. More puzzling is when new creators, mostly cover artists, who haven't been doing comics for more than a year charge $20 a sig, it becomes a difficult problem to solve.

I want to go up to creators and tell them how much I love their work and talk about stories/covers I love. But to go up without purchasing something, especially if you have to wait in a long line, feels off. For the first time, there were some tables I didn't go to because the price tag was too high. And I understand that these folks need to make a living. I am not begrudging them charging. But I get books signed because I love them, not because I am flipping them. And I'm not sure that even if I was flipping them if the sig adds the value they think. To put differently, I might approach someone and get 6 books signed for $30. But I avoided a $30/1 book table. It is a calculation I need to make on the fly and one I cannot predict until I get in the doors. Thankfully, each creator had a sign on their table listing their prices. 

Okay enough math talk. On to the fun stuff.

Review: Adventures Of Superman Book Of El #11

With the number of books and ancillary stuff coming out, I am quite delinquent in some reviews. I suppose better late than never.

Adventures of Superman Book Of El #11 came out recently, the penultimate chapter of this epic tale and, unfortunately, the penultimate Superman book for Phillip Kennedy Johnson. It was way back in 2021 when PKJ was announced as the new writer on Action Comics. At the time I said 'who?' But he showed me quite quickly that he understood Superman and the Super-Family. He will be missed on these books.

This title has had the usual wide-spread world-building that PKJ is known for. But we are approaching the end. The Els are united ... truly united as you'll see ... and are ready to fight Kryl-Ux and his made quest for power. The aspects of Olgrun are finally all near each other. And the battle is about to come to an end.

But, being true to his understanding of Superman, even when things look most dire, when it looks like the only answer is violence, Johnson has our hero offer peace and help. 

The art is a conglomeration of Scotty Godlewski, Cian Tormey, and Vasco Georgiev. It flows smoothly with, I believe, Godlewski doing most of the pages, They make Kryl-Ux appropriately horrific and give the right degree of emotion to the scenes that require it.

The mythology of the book has been a bit hard to follow at times but this issue felt like one of the strongest, finally bringing all the pieces together on the chessboard. On to the book.

Review: Action Comics #1101

The first two parts of the Kingdom of Zod event came out last week. Action Comics #1101 is the second chapter and picks up where Action Comics #1100 ended with the return of Superman while sliding into the Zod arc.

Last week I reviewed Supergirl #16 and talked about how I find the Zod plot confusing right now. And I don't know if this chapter makes any of it clearer. Zod has a Green K variant that is expanding over the Earth. It is causing a plague that is harming humans. It is still deadly to Kryptonians. Why would Zod want any of this? Why is he not ill from the effects of the Green K in some way? How did he get this huge Green K meteor, cover it in inertron, and move forward? So far I have too many questions.

We do get great scenes in this book where Lois is using her journalism skills to get Zod to reveal his inner thoughts. I love the Lois in this book. But I don't know if the answers he gives make much sense either. No surprise that writer Mark Waid writes a great Lois and Superman Family. But I am still confused.

The art is by Montos who is relatively new to me. I have seen his stuff in Green Lantern and I like his work here. It has a breathy sort of style. He uses shadows incredibly well. The fight sequences are rendered well. 

But we are two chapters in and I am confused. On to the book. 

Review: Supergirl #16

Supergirl #16 came out this week, the first chapter in the Kingdom of Zod crossover. While I am thrilled that the opening chapter is in the Supergirl book, perhaps bringing more eyes to the title, I have to say this story starts off a bit rushed and confusing. 

I don't know if I quite understand what Zod is trying to accomplish here. I don't know why he isn't impacted by a ton of Green K around him. But that is more a commentary on the overall story. Let's concentrate on this issue. 

Sophie Campbell does a solid job showing how Kara is trying to grow into her role of Heir to the House of El. How Kara is trying to be a leader for the El family in Superman's absence. But it isn't going to be an easy transition so seeing Kara doing her best to keep the team together on a dangerous mission into El Caldero is great characterization for our title hero. This is a Super-event so there are plenty of other characters here but Campbell really has Supergirl in the spotlight.

The art is a mix between Joe Quinones and Paolo Villanelli. The styles are quite different with Quinones being a more smooth style and Villanelli being more thin-lined, angular, and a bit rougher. The result can feel a bit jarring and I don't know if that is the best way to start an event either.

I honestly hope I understand Zod's plan at some point. But I don't yet. On to the issue.

Review: My Adventures With Superman S3 E8 'Vae Victis'

My Adventures With Superman, Season 3, Episode 9, titled 'Vae Victis' came out last weekend and was an incredible penultimate episode leading us into what surely will be a tremendous finale next week. From top to bottom, for me, this has been the best season of the show. It has been the blend of fun, whimsy, emotional growth, and character development that we have seen in the prior seasons. But this season has had more drama, more danger, and more action than the prior. Somehow all of those elements have been perfectly mixed.

Last episode, an unstoppable, ever evolving, Eradicator defeated our heroes and took off into the time stream. A powerless Clark went to the Fortress with Bizarro to try to regain his powers. Things look grim.

And so comes 'Vae Victis' which means "Woe to the Vanquished". What  heavy title.

It clearly can be the title for Lois, Lara, Jonathan, Jimmy, Kara, and even Lex. They have been beaten badly by the Eradicator. They are about to face him again, knowing it wants to conquer them. They all have to handle their own insecurities to be prepared. Those insecurities have been building over the season. It is good to see some of them put behind our heroes as they are about to fight for their lives.

But it really has weight with the Superman half of this book. Superman has been cast into a virtual reality by his Fortress guards (led by a 'docile' Brainiac) and told to repeat Krypton's conquering past as a way to prove he deserves his power. Will Superman vanquish? And why did Brainiac give him this task? We find out in the end in an incredible revelation.

We end on two cliffhangers! Bring on the finale of this wonderful season. On to this episode.