Review: Justice League Vs. Godzilla Vs. Kong #7

Justice League Vs Godzilla Vs Kong #7 came out last week, ending the series, a true sprint to the finish line.

You know that feeling when you are watching a silly, summer blockbuster movie and you stop and try to rationalize some glaring plot holes or insane coincidences only to realize it is a fool's mission. That you aren't supposed to be thinking hard about something like this? 

That is sort of my feeling about this finale.

This book has been wildly fun in places. There has been plenty to love and there is a lot to love in this issue. But a couple of issues ago I began to worry how the many plots threads that writer Brian Buccellato had been introducing would be tied up. 

The answer is that they'll be tied up very quickly. You just have to roll with it. I wonder if I would feel more fulfilled if this was a movie and not a comic I am reviewing.

The art remains an interesting mix of Christian Duce's beautifully fluid, thin lined art mixed with Tom Denerick's scratchier 'late Neal Adams' style. They don't always mix well. 

I wish the energy and enthusiasm I felt in the first couple of issues carried throughout.

On to the book.

Review: Batman/Superman #27

Since it's inception, the Mark Waid/Dan Mora Batman/Superman World's Finest has been a revelation. It has been the most entertaining book on the rack, the perfect blend of adventure and fun, all set in an Else-When continuity that seems to be a mix of Classic DC and current continuity set in the past. I suppose with it's callbacks to pre-Crisis Bronze DC, animation, and Silver Age stories, it might be written for readers of a certain vintage like me.

Which brings us to Batman/Superman World's Finest #27, the next chapter in the Bat-Mite/Mr. Mxyzptlk arc. This is perhaps the craziest issue of the lot, amping up all the things I said I love about the title to 11. I get the sense you are either going to love this issue or hate it. And I loved it.

Waid continues to show us a world where every super-villain suddenly has a helpful 5th Dimensional imp. This is a world threat meaning Waid and Mora get to give us a deep dive into the DCU. Mora continues to show a complete mastery of comic art and the characters in the universe. Waid continues to make this a Who's Who book with Batman and Superman stirring the drink. 

And yet there is whimsy in this book. From Batman The Animated Series, the filmation Batman, to the wonkiness of Silver Age Jimmy Olsen, there is comic joy amidst the action battles. 

How can someone mix world-threatening plots and near omnipotent 6th dimensional overlords with the insanity of early comics successfully? This way I guess.

On to the book.

Review: Superman #14

Superman #14, part 4 of the House of Brainiac event, came out last week and was just another excellent chapter in this arc. Writer Joshua Williamson continues to push this story forward while adding new mysteries and wrinkles to keep the momentum building. He also is leaning into DC history and continuity here. From all the Brainiacs, to call back to recent mini-series, to maybe deeper dives, I love it.

There are three sort of plot lines in this issue. Superman and Lobo are skirmishing while General Chical watches on. This plot sort of truncates in this issue and not in the way I assumed it would. I like being surprised. And when I say it truncates, it truncates.

There is the ongoing Lex and Supergirl team-up. Obviously I am following this one pretty closely. Given the weird history when Matrix Supergirl hooked up with Lex, seeing the two together always has some historical resonance. I like here how both don't seem to like or trust the other but they understand that Brainiac is the bigger threat. Here there are a couple of new nuggets to mull over.

The last plot is Brainiac's actual plot. We know he has some holes in his memory ... I have a theory, We know he is building something. We get to finally see it. He actually kind of wins in this issue with the book ending on an ominous cliffhanger. 

Together that is some great stuff. I have the usual questions and nitpicks. But from a story view, this is great.

Rafa Sandoval and Miguel Mendonca combine on art again here and continue to shine. Sandoval's Superman is the sort of physical presence I like. Giant, broad chested, intimidating when he needs to. Mendonca does most of the Supergirl pages and his style is a little rough but solid. The action and panel composition is great. 

On to the details.

Back Issue Box: Action Comics #546

You know it is a tough week when here we are on Wednesday and I still haven't been to the comic book store this week. I probably won't get there until tomorrow!

So while I promise I will get to reviews of the new releases soon, I figured I could dip into the back issue box again today. After reviewing the semi-trippy origin of the new Brainiac in Action Comics #544, I figured I'd cover the ending of that arc in Action Comics #546. 

I have only recently been reading this Marv Wolfman run on Action Comics in the immediate pre-Crisis wind-down of the character. I have to compliment him for his efforts to expand the scope and grandiosity of the book. He introduced Syrene and Lord Satanus. He brought Brainiac back and then amped up the danger of the villain. Heck, this story feels like a mini-event with the finale guest starring both the JLA and the Teen Titans. (The Titans were at the top of the heap at this point.) He even tried to shake up the supporting stories, splitting Lois and Superman and having Clark date Lana. Maybe the powers that be realized Superman and the universe needed to be updated and reinvigorated.

But he also seems to have increased the crankiness of Superman overall. As Clark, he is a little angry, a little put upon, a little twitchy. Part of it that this Clark wants to enjoy his life and the way he has lived up to then feels off. That wish to optimize the Clark life means his Superman often acts like he is tired, doesn't want to move on to the next threat, and almost wishes he could sit back and relax. There is just a tinge of emotional and physical fatigue here. Interesting in a way, but off-putting.

Gil Kane really breaks it all out in this issue given the guest stars, city street battles, and the one-on-one fight of Superman and Brainiac. This new Brainiac isn't the easiest design and at times Kane seems unsure of the proportions, the head/face plate being inconsistent in places. Still, my admiration of Kane as grown over the years. And I'm 99% sure he basically traced a Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez pic in this issue. Overall a good job here.

On to the details.

DC Comics August 2024 Solicits

The August 2024 DC Comics Solicits are out and you can find the entire list here for perusal:
https://www.gamesradar.com/comics/dc-comics/dc-comics-august-2024-solicitations-covers/

It is an interesting month for a number of reasons. There is this big rumor that September is going to be another upheaval month for DC with the Scott Snyder led 'Absolute DC' supposedly coming out. I suppose that naming makes sense given the concurrent Absolute Power crossover in the main universe. 

As for Absolute Power, I said in prior posts that I doubt I am getting this mini-series but this month's solicit reads intriguing enough that I might grab it.

Outside of that mega-crossover, there are some new mini-series being listed. There is another volume of DC Vs. Vampires and Dark Knights of Steel. I sort of like Vampires and I definitely enjoyed the first volume of Dark Knights but neither of these new series sound like something I'd be interested unfortunately. A Deathstroke-centric Knights? Not my cup of tea. 

I don't know what to think of Gotham By Gaslight:The Kryptonian Age given that the solicits don't mention Kryptonians. 

And two DC books I am collecting - Green Lantern War Journal and JSA - are both ending meaning my pull list is that much leaner with no new books to replace them.

Ah well. On to the Super-books. 

Superman #17
Written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON
Art and cover by JAMAL CAMPBELL
Variant covers by TONY S. DANIEL, STJEPAN ŠEJIĆ, and FRANCESCO MATTINA

After the traumatic events of Absolute Power #2, Superman and Zatanna trek into the darkest areas of the DC Universe to find a way to stop Waller and her growing army. Powerless and without magic, are they willing to make a deal with a devil to save the world?

Traumatic events? Someone dying?

Always interested in seeing Superman team-up with magic based characters and Zatanna is a favorite. So I'll be there. Glad to see Jamal Campbell back on the book. But I thought he was at Marvel now?

Brainiac Who's Who Pages

With House of Brainiac showcasing all the forms of Brainiac and with my recent review of Action Comics #544, I was struck with how much Brainiac has changed over time. One of the ways I sort of try to catalog the changes on this site is to look back at some of the official biographies of characters ... the Who's Who pages.

We'll start with the original, the mid-Crisis 1985 Who's Who. This issue was on the racks just 2 years after Action Comics #544 and the same month as Crisis on Infinite Earths #6.  So this version of Brainiac was relatively new. 

This is a nice page with art by Ed Hannigan, the designer of the new form. There is a nice retelling of his origin, a 12th level intelligence construct sent out by the Coluan computer tyrants to reconnoiter worlds for them to conquer. Given Vril Dox as a pseudo-son to cement the humanoid persona.  I forgot about that aspect of his origin to be honest.

But this catches us up to the recent change to this emotionless 'unique organic' life form with infinite technology at his disposal. 

While this version only was around for 5 years or so, it struck a chord. I am glad this design remains around today either in the Brainiac ship form or the drone soldiers look. 

But the changes didn't stop there.

Review: Action Comics #1065

Action Comics #1065, the third chapter of House of Brainiac, came out this week and was a full-throttle, warp speed adventure, filled with brawls and plot progression. In many ways, this was a Supergirl issue, once again pushing the new reality that she is the second in command of the Super-family, the field general. Throw in some Superman/Lobo fun and a back-up story that brings back a favorite character of mine and this was a big win.

I'll start by saying Joshua Williamson is really crafting an excellent event here. There is still a lot of mystery around what Brainiac is doing here. What are his goals and motivations? He isn't acting quite like the cold collector of knowledge. The gathering of Brainiac doppelgangers is fascinating. And what is this 'missing knowledge' in his mind that is shorting him out. 

I like seeing a more proactive and frankly more physical Superman. His family is missing. Brainiac is a threat. He needs to find the villain and he'll use most any means possible. I like seeing Lobo as a sort of dark mirror of Superman, dealing with his own General Zod. Even Lex is intriguing as I try to understand his motivations and goals here.

But this is a Supergirl site and she dominates a lot of the issues. There was plenty I loved. She is smart and calculating. She is brave and pretty fierce in her determination to defeat Brainiac. Heroes and villains respect her and her leadership as she leads her team through the Brainiac ship. That's all great. 

She wields a gun and a knife in this issue. (Conner wields an axe.) I guess given the situation, that makes sense but isn't my favorite image.

She literally spits in the face of Brainiac. That seems a little bit childish and crass for my take on Kara.

She does something foolish and possibly suicidal at the end of the issue. That sort undermines the intelligence and leadership she showed before. Maybe not the best.

I am trying to see all that through the lens of her facing down her own personal boogie-man in Brainiac. I suppose she can veer towards the unhinged.

Still, for Supergirl, this has to overall be a positive. She is a main character, a hero, and proactive.

The art in the main story is done by Rafa Sandoval and Miguel Mendonca and really shines. I love Sandoval's barrel-chested Superman, a sort of modern Wayne Boring! And Mendonca somehow makes the jacket Supergirl costume look good! Mirko Colak brings a dark, heavily shadowed art in the back-up, a perfect style for the story itself.

Okay, enough prologue. On to the book.

Back Issue Box: Action Comics #544

The House of Brainiac event  by Joshua Williamson is underway and off to a solid start. 

One of the pieces of the plot that has grabbed my attention is the appearance of multiple iterations of Brainiac which have been seen on the villain's ship. Are these all within current continuity? Plucked from different timelines? Or universes?

With this mystery on my mind, I thought it would be interesting to look back at some Brainiacs as a back issue review.

Action Comics #544 was given the 'Anniversary' gold ink trade dress that DC used back in the day, celebrating 45 years of Superman being around. It contained two separate stories, updating Luthor and Brainiac in the immediate pre-Crisis days of 1983. 

From the viewpoint of history, this issue hit the mark. The Luthor armor introduced here has been around in some version ever since. And the updated, skeletal and monstrous Brainiac has been a staple since, even if used more for the villain's drones. 

In this time, Action Comics was being written by Marv Wolfman with art by Gil Kane. Wolfman was doing his best to sort of re-invigorate the Man of Steel, bringing in new villains like Lord Satanus, having Clark date Lana, and issues like this where old school villains got a bit of a polish. 

I won't be covering the Luthor story on this post but it is harrowing. 

The Brainiac story is almost a bit magical in its plot. and ends on a cliffhanger. Alas, I'll have to hunt for Action Comics #545! I don't own it. ]

 

I'm not the biggest Gil Kane fan but he does his best with the story. It features some seriously Kirbyesque sequences as well as alien landscapes and war. But Kane is up to the task. I love the cover with the almost scared Superman surprint looking at the new villains. Dick Giordano brings a bit of smoothness and polish to Kane's work here.

On to the book and the 'new' Brainiac!

Review: Kneel Before Zod #5

Kneel Before Zod # 5 came out last week, another issue dominated by Zod mowing through people in a rather gruesome fashion. This seems to be a sort of pattern of the book. There are a few crumbs of plot and characterization among the pages of violence.

I understand this is a General Zod book. So I knew violence was going to happen. Writer Joe Casey is filling in some history of Zod, showing maybe how he became what he is. We continue to see the sort of Jor-El obsession Zod has. And Casey does a great job of including some Kryptonian lore and some DC alien races, giving this a bit of depth. But these feel like crumbs. Last issue was dominated by pages of Zod just killing Khunds. This issue is dominated by pages of Zod killing Kaffarians. I need a bit more.

This also starts the book on a whole new direction which means all the plots we started on New Kandor in the first 4 issues seem to be in the rear view mirror unless we get back there. 

It all means I kind of don't know what to make of this series so far, a mix of an interesting look at Zod in the midst of countless pages of gore.

Dan McDaid continues to bring a nice rough feel to the proceedings. Zod is monstrous in this, still devastated by the explosion last issue. McDaid adds some nice flourishes to panels, having the art add to the mood. I love his scenes on Krypton. And the long violent scenes are beautifully horrifying. 

But I do wish the issues had some more story in them.

On to the issue.

Free Comic Book Day 2024

Free Comic Book Day is like a mini-holiday for me but one that I always forget to block out on my work schedule. Luckily this last Saturday I was working in the late evening so was able to partake of the festivities at two store, one my home store and the other a new store near my work place I am trying to support. 

I usually am looking forward to the DC output. I grabbed the Absolute Power preview to see if it could lure me into getting it. (I am planning on skipping the main story.) I don't think it changed my mind. The main story is by Mark Waid and Mikel Janin and gives us a peek into the main plot, Amanda Waller trying to destroy super-heroes. There is a sort of despair and venality to the proceedings. 

For one thing we see that Green Arrow is working with Waller. Way to go Ollie! I can only hope this is a ruse. I mean, why would Ollie want this?

Plus we get to see Waller try to drain a no-name villain named 'Haywire' to power some device only to have it explode his body with feedback, apparently this has happened to some others.

I knew Haywire. I read Haywire. Haywire was a friend of mine. And you 'Haywire' are no Haywire!!

The last pages are previews of the first issue showing Superman being shot. 

Ah well, I think I won't be getting this unless others tell me I should change my mind. 

The Mad Magazine comic was a fun romp. Hat tip to friend Martin Gray who told me I should grab it for this 'blink and you'll miss it appearance of the 1970's Nasty Luthor! Bring her back DC!!!

As for the rest of the day, I grabbed the Flash Gordon book for me because I might be getting it. I like the character and the creative team of Jeremy Adams and Will Conrad. If the purposes of these books are to entice a new reader to pick up the series, this one does its job!  Talk about starting a book off with a bang!

I visited my main store of New England Comics when the doors opened and was glad to see a small line outside waiting! Woo hoo!

Despite the store getting money from me weekly, I still want to support the store for the work they do on FCBD so I grabbed a Swamp Thing trade so I stop wearing out the floppies. NEC has a 2 book limit so that was the DC and Flash Gordon books.

I have been very impressed with Friar Tuck's Comics, a new store right outside Boston. This is a high-end comic store with tons of back issues and great deals. I was pretty pumped to see a small line outside their store too! They had a 4 issue limit. This time I grabbed kid books to give to younger relatives and lure them into the hobby. 

I definitely wanted to support this store which just opened its doors. So I filled two big holes in my collection, Amethyst #14 and Thor #329. 

Hope everyone had an awesome FCBD 2024 and would love to hear about other's experiences!

Review: Superman House Of Brainiac Special #1

I've very much been enjoying Joshua Williamson's House of Brainiac. We're just two issues in and I am already clamoring for more. So I was pretty excited to see the Superman House of Brainiac Special solicited for a dreaded 5th Wednesday.

Now the first two issues sizzled. This one has three stories, two directly linked to the Brainiac arc and one catching up on Perry White's mayoral run. 

Joshua Williamson writes the two Brainiac stories. The first one covers how Brainiac got a hold of the Czarian city he controls. It also gives us another link to the uncertain thinking we have seen Brainiac suffer from in this arc. The second Brainiac story has a much better reveal, something that I really liked. Unfortunately it also involves the now ever-present Amanda Waller, a character I could do without. Edwin Galmon provides a sterile futuristic art style to the Czarnia story. Fico Ossio brings a much muddier, grittier art style to the last story.

But it is the middle story that I found lacking. Writer Mark Russell does two things which sat wrong with me. One, he puts forward a rough and rumpled version of Perry White. That's not my Perry. And Russell is known for the political leanings in his stories and this one is no different. This one is a bit heavy handed and rather simplistic in its approach to a real problem. Steve Pugh remains rock solid on art. 

So this felt like a little step back from the tsunami of the first two issues. On to some details.

My Adventures With Superman, Season Two

I didn't cover the first season of My Adventures With Superman, a fun little show on Adult Swim, written by Josie Campbell and with a younger, hipper, more diverse take on Superman, Lois, and Jimmy.

That first season was a bit of a hoot. There was some deep cuts into DCU. There was an interesting take on Krypton. And the chemistry between Clark and Lois was engaging.

Thankfully, the show did well enough to warrant a second season premiering on May 25.  A preview has dropped too. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8Ihhvbr2aA

No need to delay the obvious. Check out the picture above!

Supergirl is in this season!