Review: Action Comics #1077 Superman Story

Action Comics #1077 came out last week, another weekly chapter by Mark Waid, Clayton Henry, and Michael Shelfer. The side-trip to Krypton is over so we are back in the Phantom Zone trying to stop Aethyr from torturing the Kryptonians stranded there. 

I have been very pleased with this story so far. Waid is doing his usual polish on a number of people and events in classic DC history, bringing them into the modern age. Jor-El didn't want to use the Zone for a prison and perhaps was a bit daffier than his usual stolid depiction. Zor-El is climate denier and a hot head. Aethyr is a powerful being trying to do good in the worst way. Mon-El has had to do some dark deeds to maintain some sanity.  Somehow these small changes have all worked, although some of them have worked for me more than others. (Poor Zor-El!)

But we are heading to the end of this story so we need to push the plot forward and back on Earth. The events that seemingly get us there are a bit fast and sort of out of the blue. But there are still two more chapters in the arc so maybe more is yet to come.

The side plot of Kenan and Conner also comes to an abrupt conclusion after being a fun diversion all along. Still solid stuff there as well.

The art remains very good throughout with Clayton Henry on the main story and Michael Shelfer on the subplot. I swear Clayton Henry was aping Gene Colan on some Aethyr shots. On to the book.

Review: Action Comics #1073 Superman Story

Action Comics #1073 came out last week, the end of the first month of the weekly distribution and officially one third through Mark Waid and Clayton Henry's Phantom Zone story. For some reason I forgot this was a 12-parter! (Alas, so is the Supergirl story.)

The story takes a pretty big turn at the end of this issue which gives us a sort of act break. We have laid the foundation so why not explore a new thread and come back to this.

Still, Waid takes advantage of the space to push this story forward as we learn more about Mon-El, Xa-Du, Aethyr, and the Zone itself. I do like this deeper dive into Mon-El as we see how the Zone has both hardened him but also elevated him. There are a couple of plot points I sort of need to accept. In particular, why Aethyr has taken such an interest in the Zone remains a bit of a mystery, as is its grudge with Superman/Jor-El. But story progress is progress.  I also like the seemingly unattached side plot with Kenan and Conner. 

Clayton Henry brings a very clean style to the proceedings, interesting choice given the chaos of the zone. He shine with the character beats, specifically the Mon-El  beats. Michael Shelfer continues to sparkle in the Kenan/Conner side adventure bringing some energy there.

So far so good with this arc. On to specifics.

Review: Action Comics #1072 Superman Story

Action Comics #1072 came out last week, continuing the 'Phantoms' arc by writer Mark Waid. 

Waid has been really firing on all cylinders with this arc so far and this chapter is no different. He had me at 'Superman battling Aethyr in the Phantom Zone'. But throw in Professor Xa-Du, Mon-El, and a crackling fun subplot with Kenan and Conner, and this book just sizzles.

This is a new Phantom Zone with pockets of solidity, crazy monsters, and new tortures present. He is giving us a Mon-El with a bit of an edge. So Waid is giving us something new. But, per usual, he is also leaning into DC history. Aethyr alone is a deep pull. But when I saw a quick retelling of Mon-El's origin and it is close to classic, I was thrilled. It is that perfect tightrope walk of old and new.  

And the story, of a benevolent Aethyr turned by the vileness of the prisoners, is also interesting.

Clayton Henry is on art for the bulk of the story. His smooth style somehow works given the chaotic environment of the Zone. There is a very organic sort of fullness to everyone. But I am really taken by Michael Shelfer's work on the Kenan/Conner subplot. There is a dynamism therw.

On to the book.

Review: Action Comics #1071 Superman Story

Still catching up on reviews after vacation which means I am finishing my review of last week's books now. So on to the main story in last week's Action Comics #1071, written by Mark Waid with art by Clayton Henry and Michael Shelfer.

Unlike the Supergirl back-up in this issue, writer Mark Waid pushes the story forward in a very entertaining way. There are mysteries here. This is a 'new' Phantom Zone, part physical, filled with odd monsters. That is a mystery. There is a heck of a cliffhanger, with a known enemy turning out to be a long lost friend. So there is a lot still to be known like any good tale early in the telling. But it isn't stagnant. We even get a fun little subplot with Kenan and Conner.

Waid, being the sort of fan he is, also is able to weave in a bunch of DC history. We get a quick primer on the Zone itself. We get some classic villains. It works very well. 

Clayton Henry remains solid on art. This is a story with lots of varying landscapes, monsters, villains, and action. It unfolds wonderfully. The action in particular works well, especially in the context of the barren landscape and crazy spider monsters. Michael Shelfer, someone new to me, is on art for the subplot pages and brings a zany energy which is perfect.

On to the story.

Review: Batman/Superman World's Finest #19

Batman/Superman World's Finest #19 came out this week, the ending of a quick 2 parter looking at the origin of the team. I have really been impressed with the overall cadence of this book. We have 5 parters; we have done-in-ones. Now we have a two-parters. Fantastic.

Kudos to Mark Waid for not stretching out stories to fill a trade. This was a quick little story. I suppose you could have dragged this out 5 or 6 issues. But there is no need. That makes me happy.

Waid continues the 'origin' of the World's Finest pair and I like how the turning point is where Batman learns about how the death of Superman's parents (and the rest of Krypton) is something that drives him a little. There is a commonality between these two that would bring them together. As this is an early take on these two, I like how both are still pretty raw. 

But Waid really got me with a callback to Aethyr, the oversoul of the Phantom Zone from the 80s that has been revisited now and then. You can count on Waid to lean into DC history!

Travis Moore brings a clean take on the art here. This issue is pretty action heavy and Moore cranks up the power, giving us Kryptonians brawling away. 

If the 'done in ones' are an amuse bouche in comics, this was a meaty hors d'oeuvre. 

On to details.

Back Issue Bin: DC Comics Presents #97

Last month I took a deep dive into the Phantom Zone mini-series, a super bizarre mini-series written by Steve Gerber with art by Gene Colan. That mini-series was a trippy look at the Zone, redefining it as an extension of a being called Aethyr, the Oversoul. Aethyr had recently been reintroduced by Phillip Kennedy Johnson in Superman and Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad in Wonder Woman.

But I knew there was one more Aethyr appearance I needed to cover, DC Comics Presents #97. the last issue of the series! This is one of those wacky books, a pre-Crisis tale which hit the stands a full 6 months after Crisis on Infinte Earths ended. 

This is written by Steve Gerber and is clearly a sequel to the Phantom Zone villain mini-series, picking up elements of that story directly. It has serious consequences. It ends on a cliffhanger, a story which could never be followed up on given the end of this continuity. The question I have is when was this paid for. Was this sitting in a drawer? Did Gerber pitch it as a 'pretty please' vanity project to put out before the pre-Crisis universe disappeared forever? It is a 38 page doozy which makes me think it might have been held for an Annual or a Special before Crisis made all that disappear.

The pace is also interesting as the front half is a sort of re-primer of the Phantom Zone with some of this story taking place on Krypton, with origins of Zod, Kru-El, and Faora again. It is only the back half where we get back into the insanity.

The art is by Rick Veitch, someone I know mostly from Swamp Thing. The story is bizarre and horrific enough that I think Veitch is a great fit for that. 

And while Supergirl isn't in this, there is a key scene which tangentially touches her history, one I covered here before.

On to the book. Buckle in! I don't know if I can make any sense of what is happening here.

Review: Phantom Zone #4

Today I review Phantom Zone #4, the final chapter of the mini-series which introduced teh concept of Aethyr the Oversoul into the DCU.

As I have said in prior reviews of this mini, this is about as crazy a Superman story as you are going to read. We go to Hell and back, from the lurid to the psychedelic, and then back to Earth for a slugfest. I don't know if I have ever read something quite like this before. And certainly as a 12 year old reading this off the rack, I was both confused and elated.

Writer Steve Gerber does a great job of mixing a weird, almost horror vibe to the story as Superman travels through Aethyr in hoping to get to Earth. Last issues trip through the layers leads to the monster's lair. But, as usual, Gerber provides us with oddly paced side scenes to flesh out the story. From the opening 5 page scene of the nihilistic Nadira and Az-Rel destroying a punk rock club to Faora Hu-Ul doing what she does best, a lot of pages are spent making sure we know who these villains are and what they would do if left to tromp around Earth.

Artists Gene Colan and Tony DeZuniga are on art again and really have had to stretch themselves this whole series. We are in the dingy back streets of Gotham and the surrealistic landscapes of Aethyr. I can't imagine anyone better suited for the job.

And as a side note, once again Supergirl is treated with tremendous respect getting into the main action sequences and quipping her way through clobbering the villains. Just great stuff.

Settle in once more for the weird!

Review: Phantom Zone #3

I continue my look at the origin of the Aethyr concept with this review of Phantom Zone #3.

It is hard to know where to begin in this introduction. In earlier reviews of this book, I have been saying that this book makes a big turn from superhero action to psychedelic insanity. And this is that book. 

That isn't to say that we don't get great hero action. Supergirl again is on the main stage as is Batman. They are trying to thwart the the freed Phantom Zone villains from running roughshod on the Earth.

But the main part of this book is Superman working his way through the unknown layers of the Phantom Zone. Writer Steve Gerber breaks out his E. Nelson Bridwell, working in some Kryptonian history and some prior stories as we get dive from one bizarre landscape to another. 

Gerber's delve into miasma gives art team Gene Colan and Tony DeZuniga the space to use their skills. Nothing says Colan more than the weird and he uses all the tools in his toolbox. Even the cover, showing a red masked woman becoming a planet that explodes, let's the reader know that this is going to be a wild ride.

And here is the kicker. It was incredibly hard to limit what to post here artwise because every page has something special. There is something incredible and warped on almost every page. I hope everyone can read this in floppy or trade or on the DC app (where I pulled the panels from).

Settle in folks. Things are gonna get nutty.

Review: Phantom Zone #2

Today I review Phantom Zone #2, continuing my look at the mini-series that brough the concept of Aethyr into the DC Universe.But I am doubly lucky reviewing this issue because Supergirl is really a star in this issue. With Superman stuck in the Phantom Zone, it is up to the other heroes to deal with the repercussions of the Phantom Zone villains being free. Let me tell you Kara and Wonder Woman step up big time.

As I said in the review of the first issue, the pacing of this mini-series is interesting and almost overly deliberate. Writer Steve Gerber has a lot of stuff to cover. He has to cover all the action on Earth and he takes his time. This issue is mostly the villains initial actions, removing as many heroes as they can. But it isn't enough, Gerber throws in some cold war paranoia. In fact, he barely touches on all the wackiness that is going to happen with Superman in the Phantom Zone.

The art is again wonderfully rendered by Gene Colan. I still don't know if he is the right choice for superheroics but there is enough horror for it to be a Colan issue. Tony DeZuniga on inks seems to ground the work making the more JLA pages a bit more solid and less ethereal than the usual Colan fare. Let's start with this eye grabbing cover of Supergirl supposedly dead while the ghostly Superman looks on. Wonderful!

On to the book!

Back Issue Box: Phantom Zone #1

In a couple of recent issues, both Action Comics Annual 2021 and Wonder Woman 778, we were reintroduced to Aethyr, the oversoul, the entity who actually is the Phantom Zone. I was blown away. As a long time reader, I knew Aethyr first appeared in one of the most brutal and trippiest mini-series of my youth, The Phantom Zone.

There is a lot to unpack in this mini-series. But the first thing to discuss is the creative team. Steve Gerber was the writer on the book. I think of Gerber mostly as a Marvel writer, and usually on the weirder side of that universe. books like Man-Thing, Howard the Duck, and The Defenders. He certainly brings the craziness to this Superman story. We don't exactly get there in issue one. But hold on to your hats.

Gene Colan is on art. I love Colan's art. But I don't know if I would ever think of him as a Superman artist. I don't even think of him as a super-hero artist. I think he is fine on street level books like Daredevil or Nathaniel Dusk. But he truly shines on horror books like Tomb of Dracula and Night Force. His art here is stunning, especially when we get to the more psychedelic aspects of this story. But we have to get through some standard super-heroics first.

Phantom Zone #1 is also a bit of a vestige of a time when there weren't wikis and internet searches and DC encyclopedias at a comic fan's beck and call. This first issue is a primer on the Zone and its occupants. As a young fan who encountered the Phantom Zone villains here and there, to have this issue's role call hearing about all the prisoners and why they were imprisoned, I was in heaven. More comic knowledge to imbibe. We barely scratch the plot here. But what a delightful info dump. Heck, it was this issue I learned about Quex-Ul, a key figure in this story.

Okay, enough preamble. Let's dive into this issue!

Quick Hits: Nightwing #83 And Wonder Woman #778

While I cover the Super-titles here on the site regularly, occasionally something super-centric will happen in another book that warrants a quick look here.

In the last couple of weeks, we have seen a Superman sighting in Nightwing #83 and a Phantom Zone trip in Wonder Woman #778. I collect both books monthly so I didn't need to seek them out. They fell into my laps. And both scenes are worthy of at least quick coverage here.

I started buying Nightwing when writer Tom Taylor started his current run with artist Bruno Redondo. It is an interesting read given Taylor is also writing Superman, Son of Kal-El. Here Nightwing has inherited over a billion dollars from Alfred and plans to use that money to help solve social wrongs. This is sort of a more stable way than Jon's approach. Add to that a nice side plot of Dick suddenly having a half-sister with the last name Zucco and this has been a good read.

I have been collecting the Wonder Woman title for a long time but was interested to see what writers Michael Conrad and Becky Cloonan would bring to the table. With artist Travis Moore, they have been crafting a great tale of Diana recovering from post-Metal amnesia. We have seen her travel from Asgard to Earth to Olympus all in pursuit of the god/dess Janus who split themselves in two.

I'd definitely recommend both books. Let's see what I stumbled across.

Review: Action Comics Annual 2021

The Action Comics 2021 Annual came out this week, a nice mix of current storylines and the Future State future peeks. Much like the Future State House of El one-shot, this was a very entertaining read by  writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson with art by House of El artist Scott Godlewski and with Siya Oum providing the framework story.

I was very impressed with all that Johnson pulls off here. The framing story really builds on the current Phaelosian storyline working its way through the main Action book. This framework is from the past as we see the current teenage Thao-La back when she was more of a young child. This section gives us some backstory as well as a new mystery to unravel.

We then move well into the future as we hear another tale of the House of El. This one predates the House of El one-shot. We get some Supergirl here, learning what she did before she sulked off to the moon in her own Future State mini. These characters descended from Superman are interesting. I like seeing them fight together as a group. And I like the glimpses we get of their culture.

And on top of that, we get a nod to a mini-series from the early 80's, one of my faves and one I have not truly reviewed here on this site. So maybe that will be a little blog mini-project to start up. I am all in favor of the direction Johnson is taking us with the Phantom Zone.

As for the art, Godlewski slips us into the Future State world easily. His pages are mostly battles and he brings us into the fray expertly. I like the designs of the various Els. Siya Oum's pages are the framework and non-Phantom Zone pages. There is a more angular and slightly stylized look to these pages but there are solid moments there as well.

If I have one quibble, it is that many pages are devoted to the Els fighting there way to the center of the Phantom Zone. I think that part could have been told in about half the pages, making this more like a regular issue. No complaints about the art in those sequences. Beautiful.

On to the particulars.

Review: Supergirl RB #10

Supergirl #10 pushed forward the Batgirl team-up arc 'Escape from the Phantom Zone' plot at a fantastic speed. Writer Steve Orlando really keeps the pace of this storyline up here, having a lot of events happen in an almost Bronze Age manner. Things happened here that made me say 'I wasn't expecting that'. Surprises are always happy events for a grizzled reader like me. But I always hope that out of the blue events will be explained or expounded on later.

Even with the pedal down, Orlando really keeps this a character-driven issue. We continue to see Supergirl growing as a hero, dealing with some insecurities, but standing up for what she believes in. This Kara who helps people, even those who have wronged her, is wonderful. And we start to see how she is influencing others. Small moments with Psi and Ben Rubel show this. Even her interaction with Batgirl shows how their personalities interact.

And to make matters better, Orlando continues to mine the depths of Supergirl and Superman mythos. There are some wonderful callbacks to the Silver Age and Bronze Age here. This leaning on the past continuities shows a certain respect for the character and her history. That makes me very happy!

The art is by Brian Ching who brings that rough feel to the proceedings, maybe most appropriate for this issue in the Phantom Zone. The covers by Robson Rocha and Bengal are great, grabbing my eye when on the shelf.

On to the book:

Review: Supergirl #9

Supergirl #9 came out this week and opened up the next story arc with the new World's Finest trapped in the Phantom Zone and battling The Phantom King. I am a big fan of Supergirl and Batgirl being pals and between this and the Batgirl Annual, we have the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

But this comic really is about world building by writer Steve Orlando. There is the opening of the Phantom Zone arc. But there are two new villains. There is a potentially a third. And we get some character progression between Kara and the supporting cast. This book is probably setting the stage for the next year of this book. It really takes a nice giant step away from the opening arc and gets moving.

That isn't to say that the main plot is lacking. How Supergirl ends up in the Zone, the villain that attacks her right before, the twisted acts of Xa-Du in the Zone are all very intriguing plot threads. I am pretty invested here. And, as usual Orlando sprinkles in enough DC history to make and old-timer like me very happy.

Brian Ching is on art and I find myself getting more comfortable with his style. But more and more I am wondering if he has the right look for this book. The action, the layout, the expressive work is all solid. But maybe Ching would mesh more with a street level book or something more gritty.

On to the book.