Wizard Superman Tribute Edition

One of my latest side quests has been scouring the shops, conventions, and warehouses I go to and see if I can find the old comic magazines that were published, especially around creators and topics that I love. I read Back Issue currently for similar reasons.

These magazines are almost time capsules of a sort. Reading creators' ideas about upcoming titles and stories and then comparing to them now that they are in the rear view mirror. In particular, Comics Interview, Comics Journal,  and Amazing Heroes are my faves as they seemed to take the material and the discussions seriously.

At the summer end's Time Capsule warehouse sale, I found a box filled with them and grabbed a few. That included this "Superman Tribute Edition" from Wizard Magazine. Now Wizard has it's critics (and I might be one of them). The book was more hype and journalism but at the time ruled the roost as THE comic book magazine on the shelves. 

But I will admit this one was solid, a magazine that kept out right before Reign of the Superman hit the racks. It was still polybagged, complete with collector card. The cover is a die-cut, chromium enhanced fold-out by Jurgens and Breeding showing the Doomsday fight. 

The table of contents shows this was a mix of historical retrospectives (both pre-Crisis and post-Byrne), a mini sort-of who's who, and a very interesting article looking vaguely at the four 'Supermen' who made up the Reign. The creators can't go into too much detail as the books hadn't been released yet, so speak a bit veiled. Very interesting hearing them talk about these characters so entrenched now.

But I'll cover the Supergirl specific stuff in the book for this site (not that there is much).

Review: Superman Red & Blue 2025 Special

Last week, Superman Red and Blue Special #1 came out, a sort of autumnal surprise in this summer of Superman. I was a big fan of the original Red and Blue series, a prestige anthology series that came out 4 years ago (!!). As with any anthology series, that one had hits and misses. 

But I am happy to say that this special has four stories, all of which are very good and very entertaining. Whether planned or not, the stories seem to focus more on the person of Superman is and less on fast and furious action. 

Moreover, unlike some holiday specials which seem like a type of New Talent Showcase, this one is filled with names of established crators whose work I standardly love - Paul Dini, Mirka Andolfo, Dan Abnett, Rainbow Rowell, Cian Tormey, and Chris Samnee. It also has some established creators that are new to me like Michael Walsh and Caitlin Yarsky.

And yes, Supergirl shows up in the issue and I have to say there was a sigh of relief on my part as the story unfolded. 

So if you are looking for a lot of punches this might not be for you. But if who Superman is at his core is one of the things that intrigues you, you should seek this out for sure.

On to the stories.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween to those who celebrate the spooky holiday.

My tradition is to try and do some cool jack-o-lanterns which I thought I would share here.

First off the Fleischer Studios take on Superman. This truly has been the year of Superman so I thought it made sense to celebrate it here.

I also did an Escapist jack-o-lantern because my girlfriend and I just saw The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay opera at the Met last month. So this seemed timely!

Hope everyone gets more treats than tricks!

DC Comics Solicits - January 2026

DC's January solicits were released last week and while the Summer of Superman might be over, it could be that 2026 is the Year of Supergirl. 2026 opens with a lot of our favorite hero on the shelves as well as some other interesting surprises.

Here is a link to all the solicits:
https://aiptcomics.com/2025/10/24/full-january-2026-dc-comics-solicitations/

But the big thing is that while DC K.O. continues, Kara shows up in some unexpected places. I am pretty excited by what I am seeing here, including a new collection of one of my favorite Supergirl storylines of all time. Let's take a gander.

SUPERGIRL #9
Written by SOPHIE CAMPBELL
Art by JOE QUINONES
Cover by SOPHIE CAMPBELL
Variant covers by CHRISSIE ZULLO-UMINGA, JOE QUINONES, and LUCAS MEYER
Punk Rock Cardstock variant cover by MARGUERITE SAUVAGE

As the clock and the town of Midvale count down to midnight, Supergirl finds herself surrounded by new friends and found family as she ponders her New Year’s resolution. Will she turn over a new leaf, finally free of the shadow of her famous cousin, Superman? Plus, Lesla has a little secret that could lead to disaster!

I keep wondering if there is a 'chaos stream' story out there for this new Supergirl. So when I read the clock counting down to midnight, I thought it was there, the Witching Hour. But then I saw this was more a New Year's countdown. I wonder what this Kara's resolutions are. I don't mind her feeling independent, free from Superman's shadow and casting her own. But I hope she still feels part of the El family.

Joe Quinones is the perfect fill-in artist for Sophie Campbell on this book. I love his style and think it will mesh with the feel of the book. He drew one of my fave takes on Harley Quinn, so good I reviewed it on another site!

But there's more!

Review: Adventure Comics #291 (redux)

In the DC Comics December 2025 solicits, the plot of Supergirl #8 is shown to be our hero going up against her abandoned Linda Danvers robot duplicate. It is a story I can't wait to read. But it made me wonder when was the last time a Linda Lee robot had been seen in continuity. 

Now I freely admit that I didn't do a deep dive scrub of every comic but Adventure Comics #391 was the last story I found a Linda robot in. And boy what a story it is. The robot bit is the smallest part of a 12 page story that has planetary student exchange programs, a deeper dive into another world's culture than I would have expected, a deeper dive into alien anatomy than I would have expected, and more twists and turns that even the most wacky Silver Age story. It even has a college protest in it so it remains relevant today! So settle in! More plot and info is dumped in this back-up story than in many current comic 6 issue arcs.

But it is also one of those overly elaborate plots that makes little sense if you think about it too hard.

This issue also was a bit of a throwback for me to read again. Hard to believe but 10 years ago, I reviewed the cover story 'Linda Danvers, Super-Star' . That review was spurred on by Melissa Benoist talking about wire-work on the Supergirl show. That feels like a lifetime ago!

Anyways, this was a bonkers fun story to review and I promise that the destiny of one Linda Lee robot is definitively met in this story. If anyone knows of a later appearance of a robot double, please let me know and I will cover it here with full recognition.

On to the book!

Review: Superman #31

Superman #31 came out this week, a tie in to DC K.O. complete with banner at the top. W e have already had the first issue of that event comic so this is a sort of prequel, showing us what happened just before Superman entered the arena. Maybe there are a couple of hints sprinkled in too.

Writer Joshua Williamson gives us a pretty good tour of Superman's life as he struggles with the idea of entering a tournament, fighting friends, in hopes of coming King Omega, fueled by conquest. On its face, that doesn't sound like Superman. So no surprise, he would be looking for advice and answers. The ultimate answer comes from an unexpected source.

We also get a healthy dollop of Lois in the book which always makes me smile. Even staring a universal cataclysm in the face, she is brave and keeps asking the right questions. I will say there is one part of Lois' story here that struck me as a little off but it is a quibble.

In what is a great surprise, Eddy Barrows is back on art. His work is so polished. Between splashes and subtle flourishes, this exposition heavy book still looks gorgeous. And love his Lois.

All in all, this is a solid issue, an early lead into cross-company event. So glad we got a little of the background on what the super-family was doing leading up to the fight.

On to the book.

GraniteState ComicCon And The Time Capsule Warehouse Sale

It is hard to believe that convention season is basically in my rear view mirror. Obviously Terrificon is my main convention I aim to hit but there are others that dot the New England landscape in the summer and early fall. 

I usually consider Granite State Comic Con  to be the end of the con season as it usually happens in late September and there aren't many others I always try to hit in the months after. (I know Wicked Comic Con just happened and Rhode Island Comic Con is coming up but I wasn't/won't be attending because of other obligations.)

And Granite State is a favorite of mine because they often have solid comic creator guests. Off the top of my head I can remember seeing Aaron Kuder, Jeff Parker, and Michael Cho there. It has been growing in some ways, now occupying two different areas in the hotel it is in as well as the floor of an arena across the street. The media guests have been growing as well. Interestingly, the con used to be almost exclusively comic vendors, but much like Plastic City, there were only a handful of comic dealers there with toys, shirts, and other memorabilia filling up the bulk of the floor.

But I am burying the lede as they say. I was telling friends of mine that I was going to this con and many recommended that I try and get a commission from Dave Wachter, an artist best known for TMNT. Since I don't read TMNT, I had never seen his work but did a quick perusal on line. Suffice it to say my friends have great taste. 

Wachter did the commission above and it is stunning. I love the pose, the shading, the background. I love Supergirl's happy expression and flexing. I am just floored by how great this commission is, a perfect ending to con season.

But wait, while not a con, there was one more Summer-ish 'event' worth talking about.