Review: Batman/Superman World's Finest #48

Batman/Superman World's Finest #48 came out last week, the first part of a new arc focusing on Earth-3. There is a lot to love about this issue as the story unfolds. First, this book has done such a great job of riffing off the idea of World's Finest duos, so why not an World's Un-Finest? Focusing on Owlman/Ultraman makes perfect sense in this book. 

I have commented on how Mark Waid seems to be able to take classic DC ideas and freshening them up. Here, he moves beyond the classic Earth-3 idea that the Crime Syndicate rules the whole world and instead expands it wonderfully. The unholy Trinity is one syndicate. But other hero groups form other syndicates running their turfs. It opens up the world for way more stories, showing us evil versions of other heroic teams. This issue gives us a little bit of a quick tour of a few of these groups.

But in what I love as a meta take, Waid is looking back at this book and having teams that aided our World's Finest now fighting this World's Un-Finest. This has to be intentional. And as a fan of the book I love it.

Marcus To is on art for this arc and he brings an inkier, more shadowy style than I am used to seeing for him. This makes sense for an evil world. In places, and perhaps appropriately, it reminded me of Richard Case's work on Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol. 

I have read many Earth-3 stories. This one felt completely fresh. Kudos to the creative team! On to the book.

Review: Superman Unlimited #10

Superman Unlimited #10 came out this week, the conclusion of a quick two-parter showcasing the new Prankster. This was a fun little story albeit perhaps a bit too cute for its own good. I feel like my critique for this issue will be my critique for most of this series. There are a few too many plot contrivances to make the story go. There are a few too many 'funny' moments as writer Dan Slott tries to insert humor into the proceedings. And it feels like it is mandatory that Superman 'goes gold' in each issue at least once. 

I will give Slott credit for creating this new Prankster, the nephew of the classic Prankster, ramping up the villain's threat level. I hope this new version sticks and we see more of him. Even there methods and pranks are fun and interesting. But the two page Jon Kent subplot is the part of the issue that grabbed me the most. Don't know what that says ...

Mike Norton's fun style works well for the proceedings. He brings the necessary levity to a story filled with clown cars, phony hands, and other practical jokes. And I am loving Dave Johnson on covers as he always brings the goods, even if this scene isn't in the issue.

On to the book.

Review: Adventures Of Superman Book Of El #6

Adventures of Superman Book of El #6 came out this week meaning we have reached the halfway mark of this tale. I remain intrigued but a little lost, a sentiment I think I have shared the last couple of issues.

Phillip Kennedy Johnson is building a universe and mythology from whole cloth in this series, showing us a potential universe where Kryl-Ux disturbed the present, invading Earth, and disrupting the future. Because the canvas is so big, there is a lot to build and Johnson is doing his best. We are traveling the galaxies. We have backmatter filling in some history. It is all impressive and a lot of it is interesting.

But I still don't think I am understanding all the moving parts. Moreover, the underlying plot that Kryl-Ux is trying to unite the aspects of Olgrun into himself so he can bring his family back to life isn't making a lot of sense to me. Olgrun has fused with one aspect. But it is clear he knew where other aspects were. Why not merge with them if that is his goal? Was he waiting to know where all the aspects were before doing parts of it? Last issue we learned he knew where the Will of Olgrun was. This issue we learn he knew where the Madness of Olgrun is. So what is Kryl-Ux's mission?

Outside the plot, Johnson shows us more of Superman's descendants. We see a lot of Otho. And there is a mystery that has me guessing. 

Scotty Godlewski's art is really strong in the book. I feel like his style has become cleaner and more powerful than I remember from his ealrier works on the Superman books. With the scope this big, you need someone who can handle 'big art' and we see it here. I'd love to see him continue documenting the Super-Twin's story but I think this is probably the last we are going to see of them.

Do others feel as sort of lost as I am?

On to the book.

Review: Action Comics #1095

Action Comics #1095 came out last week, a look at the Superboy myth from Pete Ross' perspective. Last issue ended with Pete secretly discovering that Clark is Superboy. This issue shows us the fallout. Clark and Pete are best friends. Pete can't help but wonder why Clark didn't share this info.

Writer Mark Waid has the unique talent of taking an old concept (Pete Ross knowing Clark is Superboy; heck even the existence of Superboy) and updating it to make sense for our modern world. It is hard for me to ponder that Superboy was active in the 2000s. That means I am old. But there are elements in this story that shift us far away from 1950s Smallville. What I really love about this is how Waid makes Pete Ross just an incredibly nice, empathetic, good guy. His coming to understand Clark's view is well handled.

Patricio Delpeche remains on art and has a sort of Chris Samnee/Alex Toth approach to the art. This inky style works very well for one of the ending scenes and harkens back to more classic comics which feels right here. 

I grew up seeing Pete Ross peeking out his tent and seeing Clark turning into Superboy. I grew up seeing Pete help Clark by creating a diversion so Clark could skip out. I grew up with Pete keeping that secret. And now I get to grow old with this wonderful addition to the mythos again.

On to the book.

Review: Supergirl #10 (v8)

Supergirl #10 came out this week, an appropriate release in this week of Valentine's Day as it is a romance heavy issue, very reminscent of her short-lived self-titled seventies title where our heroine fell head over heels in love with a bad actor nearly every month.

Sophie Campbell brings us another interesting issue continuing to weave a variety of plot threads through the book. Who is this mysterious man and why is Supergirl so attracted to him? Is Supergirl still angry at Lena for leading Lesla down a bad path and inadvertantly getting Kara drunk at that party? Will Supergirl ever forgive Lena and be friends again? And why is so much weird stuff, like a love ghost from Krypton, manifesting in the sleepy town of Midvale? But I also am intrigued by the side plot of Lena basically messing around with tech is a way that still feels Lex-like. And this Supergirl feels like the young hero still learning that I like to read, even if it feels like a little step backwards from the 'second in command, mature hero leading the Superman family' we have read in recent years in the Superman books.

I like the world building that is happening in the book. But most of it is of the emotional aspects of Kara's life. I have said the last couple of months how I really could use a supervillain throwdown. While we get a fight with the love ghost, Supergirl struggles and needs a lot of help. This feeds the character plots but it still hasn't scratched my Kara-tharsis itch. Bring on Reactron. 

Joe Quinones continues to show he is the perfect artist pinch hitter on this book. His style is a wonderful fit for this book and is Campbell-adjacent making the feel of the book consistent. Much of this book has Linda Danvers swooning and I love how Quinones conveys it all.

Overall, this is still a great issue building up this new life Supergirl is moving through. On to details.

Supergirl Preview In The Puppy Bowl

Here we are, a few days after my beloved New England Patriots got manhandled by the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl. I am still recovering.

Before the Super Bowl, Animal Planet broadcasts 'The Puppy Bowl', a silly event where rescue dogs are filmed playing with each other in a football field style play space complete with some phony announcers and even a ref. My kids loved it growing up and if you like cute puppies, there are worse ways to spend some time.

Rather than promote the Supergirl movie with a commercial during the actual Super Bowl (seems like you could riff on the word Super there), DC Comics decided to instead promote the movie during the Puppy Bowl. And with Krypto playing a big part in the movie, that also seems like a natural win.

Here is a link to the new trailer showcased there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoqjnU_wGJM

Most of the scenes in this trailer we have seen before. But one new bit is Kara meeting Krypto for the first time. During what seems to be a funeral on Argo City, we see a stray puppy Krypto playing with a stick. He then runs up to Kara who picks him up.

So we get a new take on Krypto's origin. He truly is Kara's dog, probably rocketed with her from Argo. This makes their bond that much tighter.

There's more.

Review: Absolute Superman #16

Absolute Superman #16 came out last week and was another fast-paced book for this title which was a sort of simmering pot for the first 13 issues. Writer Jason Aaron was doing a wonderful job of world-building in the first year of this title, layering depth so we understood this Kal's history and world. It stood out as a stark contrast to the go-go-go world of Absolute Batman. But with the Ra's book behind us, Aaron is putting his foot on the gas.

That isn't to say that Aaron has moved away from character moments and world-building. This issue gives us a lot of new threads and seeds to follow. Obviously, we get a lot of Absolute Hawkman in here, first seen in the Absolute Evil one-shot. We see his origin and we learn about his mission. And he is a brawler much like his main-universe counterpart. But we also get Lois moment, Clark moments, and the addition of an Absolute version of a classic Superman villain. I say it all the time. I didn't think I'd love this book. But this feels like an inspirational Superman doing his best in a dark world. Aaron is truly building this world.

Juan Ferreyra is again on art and brings a lot of action to the proceedings. He also is on color and I love how everything pops. There are flashback scenes in a sepia overtone. The color of the Sol-less cape blazes against the sort of washed out Hawkman. The action really is palpable. If this series becomes a 'Rafael Sandoval on one arc, Ferreyra on the next', I'd be happy!

On to the book!