Kryptonian Fire Falls

One of the more interesting panels from last week's Supergirl #43 was this one (cropped) where Kara, on her crest day, is seen giggling with Thara.

Kara then states that this was before the two of them went to the Fire Falls, before Thara saved her life. Certainly that sounds like an important event in the two friends' relationship. I have to assume we will see that story somewhere in the near future, maybe in the Secret Files issue?

Anyways, it got me to be thinking about the Fire Falls and Krypton and what I remember of them.

Here on this old (and most likely outdated) map of the 'New World' hemisphere of Krypton, we see the Fire Falls were located in the Scarlet Jungle in the middle of the continent of Lurvan.

This map was in 1981's Krypton Chronicles #2, written by E. Nelson Bridwell and drawn by Durt Swan. Chronicles was a 3 part miniseries in which Superman researched his family tree. The following story comes from the second issue as well and involves the Fire Falls.

One of Superman's ancestors was Hatu-El. He lived during the times when an alien race called the Vrangs had conquered Krypton.

A fellow slave aptly named Val-Lor stood up to the Vrangs and got executed for his insubordination. Inspired by Val-Lor, Hatu-El led a small rebellion. They killed their captors with stolen laser rifles from the Vrangs. Unfortunately, their weapons soon ran out of energy and it seemed that the rebellion was going to be squelched.

Hatu had the great idea to hide in the scarlet jungle near the Fire Falls, a place the Vrangs had not yet explored.

Jerry-rigging a small turbine, Hatu was able to use the energy of the Fire Falls to recharge the rebels weapons cache. If not for the Fire Falls, the rebellion would have failed.

Outnumbered and now outgunned by the Kryptonian rebels, the Vrangs where forced to flee the planet. Hatu-El had successfully freed all of Krypton! He deferred all congratulations saying that it was Val-Lor who was the real hero.

I will save my favorite Silver Age 'Fire Falls story' for a full review when we get the Thara/Kara story. But here is the cover for a tease.

Have there been any more recent depictions of the Fire Falls?
I have to say that I did not collect Superman titles for much of the early 2000's so I may have missed some.

Review: Wednesday Comics #4

Another week ... another great edition of Wednesday Comics. I am really thrilled with this project and find myself looking forward to this book (?) as much as any other. One thing that I have to say again is that the talent that was brought on board for this was incredible. It is that mix of format and talent that makes this work so well.

As for Supergirl, I guess we would label this week's mood exasperated? I like how that title picture sets the tone.

You may recall that last week's strip ended with Streaky flying after an airplane with a Disney-esque mouse painted on the tail fin.

In this week's strip we see that painted mouse from Streaky's perspective as it warps into a more monstrous appearing rodent. Hmmm ... could my initial guess about Scarecrow fear toxin have been right?

Regardless of the origin of Streaky's actions, the super-cat is attacking the plane causing the plane's crew to panic a little. I think we have seen this flight crew before.

Sort of looks like Peter Graves and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from the first Airplane movie. Even the stewardess who peeks in looks like Julie Hagerty. I love when small little in-jokes and Easter eggs are put into the strip.

In the meantime, Kara is dismayed by Streaky's action and seems frustrated that the only information she can get out of Krypto is a woof.

Finally, Streaky's attack on the plane as the tail fin snaps off. As the plane plummets earthward the only thing Supergirl can say is 'Great .... just great!'

This strip continues to shine as it drowns the reader in Silver Age gooey sweetness. And Amanda Conner's art is so perfectly suited for the strip. Kara is strong and sweet. Krypto is cute and expressive. Streaky is sleek and mischievous. Just wonderful.

As for the rest of Wednesday Comics, I feel that a lot of strips came into their own this week ... gaining momentum.

After Supergirl, my favorite strip is Kamandi. Ryan Sook's art is simply too lush to not post a panel. I have sung Sook's praises before but this is several notches above even his past fantastic work. And Dave Gibbon's addition of a human girl to the strip is very interesting.

Other favorite strips this week were Paul Pope's Strange Adventures where the star was Alana, Kyle Baker's Hawkman (cameos by Batman, Hawkgirl, and the old school Hawk rocket), and the Azzarello/Risso Batman (which starred Bruce Wayne and his playboy charms more than Batman). I have been sort of lukewarm on the Batman strip in prior weeks.

Ben Caldwell's Wonder Woman was a better read this week and quite innovative as a stream of panels flowed right to left. And the Gaiman/Allred Metamorpho actually moved the story along.

As I feared from last week, the Kerschl/Fletcher Flash now has 3 Flashes running around in it making me dizzy.

Still, I am thrilled with this book and format. Mark Chiarello really deserves kudos for making it happen.

New Supergirl Figure For The Shrine

After talking about the upcoming Supergirl action figure shown at the SDCC, I figured I would post about a new Supergirl action figure that recently hit the market which I bought.

Part of the DC Universe Infinite Heroes Crisis Series 1, this is the classic Earth-1 Supergirl in her 1980's headband costume.

I initially didn't like that version of Kara's costume but for some reason over time I have softened on it. Yes she kind of looks like an aerobics instructor but at least it is a blue shirt/red skirt.

As for the action figure itself, it is very nice. For a small figure meant to fit in your hand, it has a pretty detailed face and hair. While there is articulation at the torso and knees, the arms only move at the shoulder.

For me the biggest downside was that the left leg on my figure is somewhat askew in comparison to the right. As a result, both feet do not sit flat on the shelf making balance for display an issue.

I recently had to move the shrine from a 4 shelf corner cabinet to 3 shelves on my entertainment center. The 1:6 deluxe collector's figure, Barbie Supergirl, and Action #252 statue were just too big for the original cabinet. As a result, the shrine is somewhat in flux. I suppose at some point I will be happy with the total display and will post complete photos. Maybe after the Terry Dodson bust comes out in August.

This new figure found a place near the other 'headband' items: the Ertl diecast figure and DC Direct Crisis figure.

San Diego Comic Con Rundown

I have done my best to read all the news that has poured out of the SDCC, especially where it concerns Supergirl. I find that listening to podcasts of panels is better than reading a stream or review so I have linked those here as well.

As always, I advise going to the link and reading the full reports. Here are the key blurbs.

The Superman Panel was early in the con, Thursday morning. The podcast on the DC website is worth listening to. Here are the links:

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/090723-sdcc09-superman-panel.html
http://www.dccomics.com/sites/events/ (podcast)

As expected, there was some direct Supergirl information relayed here.

The Thara/Kara relationship, including their brewing animosity, is set up in a Secret Files story coming up in the next months.

Gates and Rucka are co-writing the story arc talked about the upcoming Action Comics/Supergirl crossover 'Hunt for Reactron'. They are co-writing the issues rather than each writing the part in their individual titles. It sounds like a crazy wild high-octane arc with a lot of action. The storyline is a direct result of some event from 'Codename:Patriot'.

World of New Krypton will guest star not only Thanagarians but a new take on Jemm, Son of Saturn where he apparently is tough. I haven't seen Jemm since the 'Rock of Ages' storyline in Morrison's JLA.

James Robinson discussed all the "fragmented pieces" in Superman (my biggest complaint about the book) and how they are building to something . He also talked about a big arc in the book called 'Mon-El, Man of Valor' that will include a new costume for Mon. Of course, Valor was the codename Mon-El used for a while.

Gates discussed the new World's Finest mini-series he's writing, where each issue will team-up a character from the new Batman cast and the new Superman cast. World's Finest #3 stars Supergirl and the new Batgirl. The last issue stars Dick Grayson Batman and Commander El. I can't wait to read the Supergirl/Batgirl issue. I wonder if we know who Batgirl is by that time (December).

Rucka recognized the lack of a single artist on Action Comics (I guess Julian Lopez only does one issue) and said he was hopeful that Pere Pérez will stick with the book for a while. Rucka also said that Nightwing and Flamebird are destined to 'hook up' but then hinted at some tragedy happening right after.

At the end of the panel, a fan thanked Gates for the new interpretation of Supergirl and the crowd applauded loudly. I thought this was nice to hear and had not been mentioned in the written summaries of the panel.

Overall some exciting news and leaks. I especially like that the World's Finest mini has different guests each issue.

On Friday there was a Wednesday Comics panel ( http://www.newsarama.com/comics/090724-sdcc09-wednesdaycomics.html ). A couple of things came out of that I found noteworthy.

For page five of his Wonder Woman story, Ben Caldwell uses 65 panels !! I have found the Wonder Woman strip to be difficult to muddle through. I wonder just what this page will be like. 65 panels seems daunting.

Amanda Conner said of her Supergirl art that she wanted "to make it as absolutely, vomitously adorable" as she could. So far I would say she is succeeding.

Jimmy Palmiotti said read the comedic newspaper strips growing up thus Supergirl leans to the funnier side. I definitely like that given the angst of the Teen Titans strip and the violence in the Batman strip. Diversity in a project like Wednesday Comics is part of the appeal.

Not necessarily part of the SDCC, Newsarama posted a number of video interviews with Dan Didio. In this one on Wednesday Comics ( http://www.newsarama.com/common/media/video/player.php?section_id=16#playerTop ) he confirms that Aquaman is the waterbased guest in Supergirl strip.

The DC Editorial Panel ( http://www.newsarama.com/comics/090725-sdcc09-dcu-editorial.html ) also revealed some cool news.

James Robinson's JLA roster was partially unveiled with the above image. Mon-El, Dick Grayson Batman, Donna Troy and Hal Jordan will be the headliners. There are some shadowy mystery members (one Robinson revealed was Congorilla) as well. Looks like a flame based character (Fire?) and a quiver wearing character (has to be Ollie with Cry For Justice finishing). I don't really care for the new Mon-El costume.

And a Sterling Gates written Kid Flash comic was announced here as well. Bart fans are probably rejoicing.

And there was some toy news as well. Here is the link to Fwoosh which talks about some cool DCU Mattel toys:

http://www.thefwoosh.com/2009/07/first-look-jlu-sdcc-exclusive-and-new-six-packs

The JLU Supergirl (second season) will be released as one figure in a six-pack. I don't know if I need the other 5 figures.

Here is a close up of the figure. I have seen pics of this figure before (tip of the hat to blog friend Gene who sent me a pic of this a while back). The face seems a little off here like Supergirl got a dose of Joker venom. As such, unless it is sold seperately, I don't think I'll spend the money for a 6-pack of figures. I think I read somewhere that these will be sold at Target.

Unfortunately not all the parts of the SDCC I was interested in got coverage. None of the Landry Walker panels (the Walker/Jones spotlight panel and an All-Ages panel) got coverage on the web as far as I can find. So I don't have anything to report about on that front.

Also there was no Supergirl news to report from the Smallville panel. It does sound like we might see the costume this season though.

I'd love to hear from anyone who was actually at the convention.

Bullet Review: Final Crisis:Legion Of 3 Worlds #5

It finally happened ... Final Crisis:Legion of 3 Worlds #5 was released last week.

I haven't fully reviewed this series here so I won't get too in-depth. As an old-time Legion fan I was interested to see just how the unfortunately clumsy Legion timeline would be stream-lined. It was hard for me to understand exactly why DC allowed Johns to bring 'his Legion' into Action Comics while the 'three-boot' Waid Legion was still being published.

Anyways, I love the idea of the Legion but there hasn't been a version I have really embraced since the 5YL issues (and I know I am in the minority for liking that version).

So Superboy-Prime was revealed as the Time Trapper last issue.


And since he is at the end of time as the Trapper, it would appear he is victorious or at least survives. That is discovered to be false. Instead it is revealed that the Time Trapper is the amalgamation of all possible timeline endings of the Prime character.

With that new hope discovered, the three original Legionnaires from Johns' current version bring in every incarnation of every Legionnaire to their aid. Perez, more than anyone, can pull off a huge group panel like this. It was fun to look it over and see some familiar characters - Beppo, Laurel Kent, Lady Quark, Kono, Tyroc, Streaky ... I could go on for a while.

And who was in that big group, the last incarnation of the pre-Crisis Earth-1 Supergirl ... headband and red shoulders streaking into action!!

What a nice little gift to be given, to see that somewhere that Kara is still kicking around. After all, we remember the last time George Perez drew Supergirl.

And to add a bit of joy, an earlier incarnation of Supergirl, this one looking more like the Maid of Might from the 1960's actually gets to deliver a right cross to Prime's mug.

Too awesome!

A confrontation between the young Prime and the Time Trapper Prime leads to the character de-evolving to pencil sketches and then being shunted back to 'his Earth' which somehow turns out not to be our Earth Prime but another Earth.

With Prime gone, the many Legions disperse themselves throughout the space/time continuum.

And in a very nice scene, we see Conner and Bart's homecoming. Superman assembled the Titans and some friends to welcome the resurrected heroes. Included in that group was Supergirl.

Wouldn't it have been nice to have the colorist get her costume right. I love the red skirt look but that isn't her costume.

The ending of the book has Prime going back to his world where his insanity and killing sprees have been read in comics by his family and friends. Isolated in his basement he turns to the reader and yells. He then goes to pour out his anger and bile on the DC message boards (sounds about right given the animosity on those boards).

Of course this has been done before ... recently in Wanted ... better in Morrison's Animal Man (even the de-volution from pencil sketch to thumbnail was done there).

And while I am glad that a current DCU Legion has been established (one that seems to be built on the adventures of the high times of Paul Levitz run), this series was something of a frenetic jumble which was not helped by the outright criminal delays between issues.

Still, it was nice to see some prior incarnations of Supergirl and her mythos sprinkled throughout the series.

Overall grade (series): C

Review: Supergirl #43

Supergirl #43 was released last week and had the tough task of being a sort of 'rest issue' between the 'Who Is Superwoman?' story arc and next months super-title crossover 'Codename:Patriot'.

With 'Patriot' around the corner, it was not as if Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle had the luxury of opening up any major can of worms for the future. Knowing this needed to be something of a done-in-one story, I didn't know what to expect.

What I got was a pretty good story that took a long hard look at the Alura/Kara dynamic. After seeing only snippets of Alura acting like an evil stepmother from a fairy tale for the last 9 months, I was glad to get a bigger glimpse of her, to get a better sense of her motivations.

This was a character driven issue through and through and sometimes those are the hardest ones to get right. Add to that some scenes detailing Kryptonian culture and a great scene with Superman and overall I was pretty happy with the outcome.

The issue takes place just before Kara's birthday and the upcoming celebration on New Kandor. This birthday will also mark the time when Kara will need to declare a guild to join. All along I thought she would choose the Artist's guild given her own predilection to painting as well as her close relationship to her father.

The issue is told via excerpts from a letter that Kara is writing to her dead father Zor-El. Now the 'letter to a dead loved one' motif has been used many many times. It can easily veer into schmaltz and saccharine. I worried this might become an 'after school special' issue. Luckily, my fears were unfounded. The letter excerpts are there more to frame the scenes we are shown albeit with some personal reflection by Kara.

One thing that has not changed is how icy and belligerent Alura is shown to be. When Kara comments on how prominent the House of El crest is on Alura's outfit, Alura responds that it is there as a warning to anyone who would harm any other El family members. Alura has a whole planet of Kryptonians that she can command to fight.

I had begun to wonder if Alura was going to become a one-note character. At least in this title, we haven't seen any other emotions from her other than bitterness and anger. Gates has really done a wonderful job making Kara and the other characters here 3-dimensional. I mean, no one can be bitter and angry *all* the time? Can they?

Seemingly upset at Supergirl's failure to capture either Reactron or Superwoman, Alura sends Kara to work with the labor guild for a couple of days.

I enjoy any look into Kryptonian culture as it fleshes out their world and customs. Here we see a Labor Guild unit repairing some machinery. They seem proud of their work as they toil away in the grime. I like the look of understanding on Kara's face in that last panel. Suddenly members of the Labor Guild have faces and names. They are people who are treated as slave labor. Kara seems to be looking at them with sympathy.

And then there is a wonderful scene were Supergirl and Kal's Red Shard unit discover the apartment that Lucy was hiding out in as Superwoman when on New Kandor.

I am so happy that Gates wrote this scene. Just like we needed to see Lois' response to the Lucy mystery, so too did we need to see Kal's. What I love most about this scene is how Kal completely supports Kara. In the Silver Age, this would have been the time that Superman would have chastised Superman. That doesn't happen now.

In fact he apologizes to Kara for Lois' behavior. Realizing that Lucy could not have put together the suit and acted as Superwoman alone, Kal vows to find out who is behind this threat to New Krypton.

This scene alone made the issue for me. Throughout Gates and Igle's run we have seen Superman support Supergirl. It would have been easy to have him be upset about the death of his sister-in-law, to question Kara's abilities ... but he didn't.

Lastly, a new name has been added to the Superwoman mystery. This apartment belonged to someone named Kryn Kel-Ur, a Kryptonian missing since the city was enlarged. Where is she? Did Lucy kill her?

But Alura has more duties for Kara to perform on New Krypton and so the mystery needs to wait.

Next Kara meets Zal-Tel the man commissioned to carve a statue in Zor-El's honor. He also happened to be Zor-El's mentor in the artist's guild.

Zal-Tel asks Kara about her own painting and wonders if she would like to be his next apprentice. Kara's expression sort of says it all. I assumed she would jump at the chance and be beaming. Instead this semi-confused look let me know that Kara was conflicted about this decision.

And that feeling was probably greater after some jumbled meetings with members of the Religious Guild and Science Guild.

As I said before, Alura's constant vitriol had started to feel a little stale with me.

But Gates does a good job of letting us know that Alura isn't all steel. Throughout the book we see Kara lying in bed at night listening to her mother cry. Alura always cries at the same time and always nears hysterical sobbing. Kara even worries if her mother might take her own life.

This suddenly humanizes Alura. She is still reeling with grief from Zor-El's death. Maybe that rigid exterior is a mask to hide the crumbling interior.

Finally, Kara confronts her mother who has flown to Zor-El's grave.

There is one new plot point here ... why is Alura always crying at the same time of night?

Once again though, this scene shows just how much Kara has matured over the last several months. There was a time when Kara wouldn't have confronted her mother like this.

It turns out that Alura has had Kara running all over New Krypton to expose Kara to all the different guilds. On Kara's birthday she'll need to choose a guild to join and Alura used her pull to give Supergirl some insider information.

Alura regards these trips as a gift ... a statement that flummoxes Kara.

I love the confused look on Kara's face, the slightly furroed brow, as she admits that she simply doesn't understand her mother.

There was no anger here, no angst. Supergirl is outright perplexed by her mother and her actions.

Which makes Supergirl's choice of the Science Guild intriguing.

I had really thought it was a foregone conclusion that Kara would pick the Artist Guild. It made sense.

Instead she joins the Science Guild in hopes of learning why Alura acts the way she does. I also thought this choice showed some maturity. Supergirl didn't choose the Science Guild to try to make Alura love her more or to try to 'buy' Alura's respect. She did it in hopes of coming to some understanding.

This was another very good issue by the Gates/Igle team. I have yet to be disappointed by any of their issues and there is always something noteworthy. In this issue, Kara's scene with Kal and their mutual respect for each other really stands out as the high point.

Overall grade: B+/B

October Solicits - I Am Going To Be Broke

DC Comics released its October solicits last week ( http://www.newsarama.com/comics/090720-dc-october-09-solicitation.html ) and it is clear that I am officially going to be broke before the holidays. Between the super-titles (which seem to be multiplying) and the Blackest Night tie-ins, my DC pull list is getting pretty thick.

The sad thing is that as a result, some titles I might be interested in trying, like Batgirl and Azrael, will probably stay on the shelf. JLA and JSA were on life support but I will give the new teams some time.

Anyways, here are the solicits with some comments.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE #4
Written by James Robinson
Art and cover by Mauro Cascioli
How far would you go for justice? The heroes have found themselves turning to darker tactics in their search for retribution. Starman and Congorilla have captured the killers who took down some of their friends, but now what do they do with them? Meanwhile, Green Lantern and company wrestle with the idea of torturing villains for information in order to save lives.
On sale October 7

It was clear from the first issue that Starman and Congorilla were the most upset and unhinged. And with the least baggage, there certainly would be more leeway for them to do something outrageous like kill or maim.

But torture? Green Lantern considering torture!? My guess is they don't cross the line.




SUPERMAN: WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON #8
Written by James Robinson & Greg Rucka
Art by Pete Woods
Cover by Gary FrankVariant cover by Joe Kubert
On a mission in space, Superman and his fellow Kryptonians encounter the might of the Thanagarian Army. Can Superman keep things peaceful between the two races – or will The Man of Steel discover that Hawkman’s legendary temper is shared by all his people?
On sale October 7

I have to say that I haven't been following the Rann-Thanagar story at all so I hope that this is consistent. But a possible Thanagar-Krypton war would be a wild story. That cover looks great.

Now I am not usually a variant cover guy but I might cave to get some Joe Kubert Hawkman art.


ADVENTURE COMICS #3
Written by Geoff Johns; co-feature written by Geoff Johns & Michael Shoemaker
Art by Francis Manapul, co-feature art by Clayton Henry
Covers by Francis Manapul
Superboy is back and hunting for Lex Luthor! He can’t find Luthor on his own, and he needs help from his best friend Tim Drake, a.k.a. Robin. But Tim’s now traveling the globe under the alias of Red Robin! The boys’ reunion isn’t all smiles and hugs, as Conner discovers that Tim has been hiding a great many secrets from the newly returned Boy of Steel. And they’re secrets that could destroy their friendship! Plus, in the Legion of Super-Heroes co-feature, the intergalactic odd couple known as Sun Boy and Polar Boy team up to figure out what’s up with the menace trying to destroy the universe.
On sale October 14

How can I not add this title to my pull list. Now that the Legion roster and timeline has been semi-cleared up by Final Crisis:Legion of Three Worlds, I have to get the 'four-boot'. More than the Conner story, the LSH feature is what is grabbing me. And a Sun Boy/Polar Boy story sounds pretty fun.



ACTION COMICS #882
Written by Greg Rucka & Sterling Gates; co-feature written by James Robinson & Greg Rucka
Art by Julian Lopez; co-feature art by CAFU
Cover by CAFU
“The Hunt for Reactron” part 3! Supergirl and Flamebird continue their slugfest, with poor Nightwing caught in the middle! Wait, isn’t that man standing over there the same Reactron who murdered Supergirl’s dad and Flamebird’s surrogate father? Get him! Continued in SUPERGIRL #46... And in the new Captain Atom co-feature, the mystery of where (and when) Captain Atom is heats up when someone with a connection to Metropolis arrives on the scene. But are they friend or foe?
On sale October 14

Well it's official, Cafu can draw a great Supergirl. That cover is captivating.

As for the story, I have to see just why Kara/Thara have decided to beat on each other. Seems a bit odd. Maybe Alura (always a convenient plot device) has sent Supergirl to bring Flamebird home? Anyways, I hope that the two can put whatever issues they have aside to take out the common foe of Reactron.



SUPERGIRL #46
Written by Sterling Gates & Greg Rucka
Art by Jamal Igle & Jon Sibal
Cover by Joshua Middleton

Continuing from ACTION COMICS #882, “The Hunt for Reactron” concludes! It’s the final showdown between Flamebird, Supergirl and the man who killed their father. And for the Daughters of Zor-El, that means it’s payback time. Will Reactron make it out alive? Or is Nightwing the only one who can save them all?
On sale October 21

I am sure that the 'Daughters of Zor-El' isn't literal. Thara was like an adopted daughter. I worry for Chris. He is weaker than the average Kryptonian and Reactron is a tough customer. But if Green K didn't effect him than I doubt Gold K will do anything to him as well.




TINY TITANS #21
Written by Art Baltazar & Franco
Art and cover by Art Baltazar
The first rule of the All Pet Club issue is: Please tell everyone you see today about the All Pet Club issue! The second rule of the All Pet Club issue is: Please tell everyone you see tomorrow about the All Pet Club issue! After all, it's not just Pet Club – it's Pet Club in space!
On sale October 21

Supergirl in Tiny Titans? More Streaky? How can I say no?




SUPERMAN: SECRET ORIGIN #2
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Gary Frank & Jon Sibal
Covers by Gary Frank
Geoff Johns and Gary Frank’s exploration of the origin of the greatest Super Hero of all time continues! In this second issue, readers will witness young Clark Kent’s initial journey into the late 30th century as Superboy and see how meeting the Legion of Super-Heroes shapes the Superman he will one day become! Plus, more on the beginnings of the young Lex Luthor!
On sale October 28

There has definitely been more of a Silver Age feel to the DCU lately. And Johns doesn;t seem to be shying away from the Levitz-era Legion feel as seen in the Action Comics Legion storyline from a year ago. He even has Lightning Lad with a robot arm.

So this cover seems very natural to me with the sweet as pie Saturn Girl and the upside-down rocket clubhouse. Should be a good read.





WORLD’S FINEST #1
Written by Sterling Gates
Art by Julian Lopez
Covers by Phil Noto
After tracking down a threat to The Man of Steel – and all of Metropolis – Red Robin must team up with the new Kryptonian Nightwing to end this mysterious threat and rescue Flamebird. But is all this just a red herring to distract the heroes from an even bigger threat to Gotham City and New Krypton? Be here to find out in this 4-issue miniseries from rising star writer Sterling Gates (SUPERGIRL) and artist Julian Lopez.
On sale October 28

Well this is sort of an unexpected treat. After writing about wanting a Tim Drake/Supergirl World's Finest comic last week I see that a Tim Drake/Chris Kent World's Finest is already solicited. This should be a good read. I haven't 100% warmed up to Chris Kent so it will be good to seem him interact with other members of the DCU. And it is written by Sterling Gates and drawn by Julian Lopez so there is some talent on board. Both are enmeshed in the super-titles so this should fit seamlessly into the current super-title's goings on.

And my love of Phil Noto art is well known so I look forward to the covers. I hope we get to see Kara in one of these issues.



SUPERMAN #693
Written by James Robinson
Art by Fernando Dagnino & Raúl Fernandez
Cover by CAFU
It’s a special issue set entirely within General Lane’s Project 7734 headquarters! Learn more about the mysterious Mirabai, Codename: Assassin and Atlas, and witness Lane ply information out of his latest...acquisition. All this plus revelations about Lex Luthor and Brainiac! Meanwhile back in Metropolis, big trouble comes calling. Hint: Him am not Superman!
On sale October 28

Mon-El sure looks like he is in rough shape. But I am more interested in the hinted at back-stories of the villains. I like to know origins and motivations.

SUPERGIRL: WHO IS SUPERWOMAN? TP
Written by Sterling Gates
Art by Jamal Igle, Matthew Clark, Jon Sibal and Keith Champagne
Cover by Joshua Middleton
When a costumed woman arrives in Metropolis calling herself Superwoman, it’s up to Supergirl to get to the bottom of things! After meeting this so-called Superwoman during the “New Krypton” storyline, the Girl of Steel has two pressing questions: Who is Superwoman really, and what gives her the right to wear the symbol of the House of El? Don’t miss this collection featuring SUPERGIRL #34 and 37-42.
On sale November 11

So not an October release but just putting it on the radar. It will be good to see issue #34 finally put out in trade format. I wonder how the trade will read with the jump to #37 though. I am glad they are using that Middleton cover for the trade as I simply love that piece.

Anyways, that's a lot of comics ... and that's just the super-titles!

Review: Wednesday Comics #3

Another week ... another rollicking Supergirl strip in Wednesday Comics.

Based on the logo picture, Supergirl's feelings this strip are going to be happiness and relief. Look at that cute Krypto giving Kara some affection.

The strip starts with Krypto suddenly acting much more like himself. Calm and collected, he flies with Supergirl to find Streaky and stop the cat from doing any more damage. Of course, they leave the Metropolis post office in chaos.

Following Streaky's paths, Supergirl and Krypto have to save a mini-van buried underneath some fallen trees. Looks like Streaky thought those trees were super-sized scratching posts. The resulting claw-work left the family imperiled.

Luckily, Krypto remains sane and is able to lift the van free while Supergirl clears the lumber. I like how the kids show Krypto how happy they are by petting him.

Streaky doesn't stay hidden too long. Spotting a plane with a Disney-esque mouse emblazoned on the tail, the super-cat goes on a little mouse hunt.

So I don't know why Krypto suddenly calmed down. But since it happened when he left the proximity of Streaky, I wonder if Streaky is somehow the cause.

This story continues to be a nice slice of Silver Age heaven. And now, the hint of seeing Jerro? Too good.

As for the rest of the issue, Kamandi, Strange Adventures, and The Demon/Catwoman all stand out as being the cream. In particular, I liked the Steranko-like Zeta ray in the Adam Strange strip. The Kamandi strip has been a treasure all along.

The Green Lantern and Flash strips are just a cut below.

The Superman and Batman strips haven't been as gripping as I hoped they would be.

There were only a couple of disappointments. The Wonder Woman strip remains puzzling. Is anyone else as befuddled as I am? And it was another low-yield Metamorpho splash page strip.

Still I am loving Wednesday Comics.

Overall grade Supergirl strip: A
Overall grade Wednesday Comics: B