Review: Superman #6

Superman #6 came out last week and was a very entertaining read.

From formatting decisions to plot progression to knock down fight sequences to emotional beats, this whole thing gave me a lot to mull over when it was done. And that isn't even mentioning the highly anticipated and highly dreaded cliffhanger ending.

But there was a story-telling moment that I have to admit surprised me and therefore impressed me quite a bit. When this grizzled and semi-jaded comic reader is caught off guard, it needs to be mentioned.

All of that means I must extend my respect to writer Brian Michael Bendis who has somehow made me interested in this Rogol Zaar story. I started out shrugging at this whole thing and looking forward to Action Comics much more. But these last couple of issues have really been standouts.

Of course, equal credit rests on the art team of Ivan Reis and Joe Prado. The book opens up with amazing double splash pages as Superman's conflicted thoughts surround the slugfest between titans. The art is just stunning. This is one of those issues where I paused before turning the page to make sure I was drinking in all the artwork.

Anyways, there is a lot to mull over in the details so on to the book.

Matrix Monday: Adventures Of Superman #444

Last week I began the idea of Matrix Mondays,  a spotlight on some of the pieces of the Matrix Supergirl's history which I haven't covered during the 10 plus years of this site.

First stop is The Supergirl Saga, the storyline which brought back a Supergirl to the DCU. Last week I covered chapter one in Superman #21. Today we'll dive right into the second chapter in Adventures of Superman #444, by writer John Byrne and art team of Jerry Ordway and Dennis Janke.

This was an interesting time in the DC Universe. The Crisis was only a couple of years in the past. The idea of something being pre-Crisis or post-Crisis was still fresh in readers' minds. And the long-reaching continuity ramifications were still being discovered. It also meant that if creators wanted to take one last look back, they could do so. Readers still remembered infinite Earths.

Ahhh ... but we should have been able to remember. There was only one universe throughout time after the Crisis. As a result, if you wanted to cobble together some sort of coherent patch in Legion continuity, you would come up with the concept of a 'pocket universe', a slice of time/space that wasn't a whole universe.

Please pass the ibuprofen.

Still, something had to be done to fix the Legion. So here we are.

This issue does what a middle chapter is supposed to do, filling in the details of a story while setting up a satisfactory ending. This issue is basically a flashback of the Pocket Universe Earth and what happened after the death of Superboy in the Baxter Legion book. It does give artist Jerry Ordway the opportunity to revisit Silver Age looking elements of the DCU. Nothing like old school Quex-Ul to make a long time Superman fan happy!

And we get just a smidge more of this Supergirl.

But this is an info dump in preparation of the finale's conflagration.

One last note. I love that the cover of this issue is basically the first panel of the story. Here is Superman kneeling at the graves of the Kents who on this world have passed.

On to the book.

Review: Supergirl #25

Supergirl #25 came out last week, a double sized anniversary issue celebrating ... I guess ... the title making it to the quarter century mark. It is amazing what passes as a high number in comics these days.

The book is made up of three stories. The first continues the current plotline with Kara investigating Rogol Zaar's part in the destruction of Krypton. Writer Marc Andreyko does a decent job here mixing in visions and reality, playing on a bit of Supergirl's history, and adding a new rogue to her villain list. The art there is done primarily by Supergirl veteran Emanuela Lupacchino and fits in well with the Maguire/Shaner look to the book.

The second story focuses on a past encounter of current shipmate Z'ndr Kol. We get a better sense of the sort of swashbuckling, Tomb Raider-like adventurer he is. But we also get some crumbs to deepen the current mysteries of this title. I don't know how much I can trust this guy. And there are so many apostrophes in his language that I can't help but think he's a Martian.

The last story feels like an inventory holdover for some never published holiday special. Dan Jurgens and Tom Derenick give us a story from Supergirl's past, clearly set in the Steve Orlando era, with a simple but beloved holiday message.

Overall I thought this was a very good issue but for one overused plot element that bores me.

On to the book!

Sales Review: November 2018

Perhaps it is that everyone has less cash to spend because they are buying holiday presents.
Perhaps it is that everyone has less money to put to floppies because they subscribed to the DCU streaming service.

But comics sales went down pretty badly last month. And the super titles were not immune. As always, head to ICv2 for coverage here: https://icv2.com/articles/markets/view/42021/top-500-comics-november-2018


You might recall that sales on Supergirl #23 were ludicrously high, perhaps bolstered by a foil enhanced Artgerm cover.

I thought fan favorite Doc Shaner being on art for Supergirl #24 might keep the ball rolling.

Supergirl #24 not only sported that spiffy Shaner art but introduced a suave Coluan into the mix. It had some fun Kara/Krypto fighting sequences. And we even saw how quickly Supergirl can become non-super if she taxes her system and isn't bathing in yellow sun.

Overall, not a bad issue. And definitely easy on the eyes.

So how did it sell.

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.

Review: The Last Siege #7

The Last Siege #7 came out last week, the penultimate issue of this extremely enjoyable mini-series.

I have been reviewing comics on this site for 10 years and there are a few sayings that crop up every so often.

One is 'big moments need big art', a statement I make when a splash page is utilized appropriately to convey the enormity of a moment.

Another is 'when words and art complement each other, comics is at its best'.

The former applies to this issue. The latter does not.

This issue portrays the title. This is the siege moment. This is Istvan's army storming Lord Aedon's castle. It is told in a series of two page spreads, one side a splash, the other side, panels conveying smaller moments of action. There is a thread in the book, a series of panels designed to build suspense in the tale, told through panels growing larger and brighter. This whole book is big art. And for the battle that has been brewing this whole mini-series, it is thrilling.

But, amazingly, this is a 'silent issue'. There isn't one spoken word. There isn't one text box. There isn't one 'meanwhile'. Words can't complement the story. There are no words. Instead, the art has to carry the story. The pace of the battle. The passing of time. That increasing suspense. The characters' thoughts and feelings. It all has to be shown, not told.

And it all works.

Even the cover is part of the story. A torn doll lying in the rubble of a castle under attack. It shows a loss of innocence. Queen Cathryn cannot be a child anymore. Not here. The image tells us that.

Kudos to writer Landry Walker and artist Justin Greenwood for this accomplishment. Congratulations to colorist Brad Simpson for his use of yellows and oranges for this fire-drenched battle. Amazing.

Matrix Monday - Superman #21

Last year I celebrated a ten year anniversary on this site, something I am pretty proud of.

But when I was putting together the celebration, what stood out to me was the stuff that I haven't covered here. The Supergirl Helen Slater movie. The Elseworld's Finest book. The Supergirl mini-series by Roger Stern and June Brigman. Even Action Comics #252. I'll get there; I promise.

One of the things that also stood out was that I never covered The Supergirl Saga, the re-introduction of a Supergirl character into the DCU in the post-Crisis era. I have exhaustively covered Crisis on Infinite Earths, and Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 in particular. So why not Supergirl's return ... okay a sort-of return of Supergirl?

This was brought a bit more into focus this summer when I met John Byrne at Boston Fan Expo (here's a pic of him holding my signed copy). I had grown to love the Matrix version of Supergirl, mostly in the post-Death of Superman time period, when she left Lex, became an independent hero, and ultimately an Earth Angel. I thanked Byrne for bringing Supergirl back and he looked at me wryly and said 'in way'. I wished I could have talked to him more about this decision but the line to see him was enormous. You got your 30 seconds of time and you left happy.

So I thought I would cover this three part story over the next few Mondays, Matrix Mondays if you will. Today we'll cover Superman #21, the first chapter as written and drawn by John Byrne.

And I'll do my best to go back in time and remember what I was thinking at that point in time. This hit the stands on May 17, 1988, almost 3 years since Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 was released. What were Supergirl fans thinking?