Review: Superman #14

The Superman books have been firing on all cylinders since the #Rebirth event rebooted things. With the pre-Flashpoint Lois and Clark headlining the books, there has been a re-invigoration to the proceedings and a rediscovery of the basic tenets of what Superman should be.

Now we are six months into this 'new' universe and it is time to put the pedal down. We know the mystery of Mr. Oz and the human Clark Kent is going to be addressed in just a couple of months. And now we have this opening chapter to Multiplicity, a story which feels like a sequel to Grant Morrison's Multiversity seen through a #Rebirth lens. And I couldn't be more thrilled.

Superman #14 was written by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason with art by the mega-event team of Ivan Reis and Joe Prado. It has two great covers but I prefer this variant by Andrew Robinson which is a riff off of Crisis #7. And the issue is a great opening chapter to this new arc in which there is a multiversal war against all the Supermen that exist. This issue for the most part is a long fight sequence. I suppose my one quibble would be to wonder if the fight could be briefer to give more story. But I suppose the length of the battle was needed to cement the threat level.But enough crumbs and hints were dropped around the fights to grab me. The art is gorgeous. Having Reis and Prado as the artists gave this a sort of summer blockbuster feel. I want to read more now and that is always a good sign.

And I suppose I do have more to read. I think I need to break out the main Multiversity mini-series, the Multiversity Guidebook, and even the Final Crisis: Superman Beyond mini. And that's a lot of Morrison. But I think they may remind me and inform me about some things I might be missing.

On to the book!

Boston Comic Con Wish List

Boston Comic Con is 'my' con, the big local convention that is the hub of my convention season. I have talked about how the convention has grown exponentially over the last few years, how it is in a venue I love, and how planning my commission strategies for the con is one of the things that gets me through the dark, cold, New England winters.

This was a very dark and very cold and very snowy winter. And the end of March was one of the most stressful times at work for me ever. So heading to the con site looking for new guest announcements became almost ritualistic.

Well the guest list has rounded out nicely so I thought I would take a look at who is there and who I am hoping to get a commission from.

Now I go to these cons for the comic guests. The media/celebrity guests are usually overlooked.

But this year Agent Carter herself - Hayley Atwell - will be there. The older two Supergirls haven't been too interested in going to cons in the past but hearing Atwell be there has made them pause a bit. At the very least, I think I will need to get an autograph from her for each of them. We all loved the show and watched it together as a family. I can only hope more episodes will happen.

As for me, it's the creators that are the draw and there are plenty of big names appearing. Here is the list:http://www.bostoncomiccon.com/artists.html

I have been at this commission thing for some time so there are many people attending who I already have a commission from. So here is the dream list for 2015 commissions.

Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (praised be his name) is going to be at the con. I have heard he does commissions at shows so he is number one on my list. Moreover, he did a lot of style guide Supergirl material in the headband costume, so I  think that is the version of Kara I will get from him if I am lucky.

Joelle Jones art is just achingly beautiful. And I have been loving her Lady Killer mini-series from Dark Horse. So she is also in my top tier of artists I am shooting for. I am toying with the idea of having her draw the 70s Hot Pants costume.

Lastly, Andrew Robinson was just announced as a guest. Robinson's recent covers for JLU have been stunning. But I also loved his painted stuff of Nightwing and Flamebird way back in the New Krypton days.

Now, right now, those are my top three hopes. But these can change depending on cost, funds, availability, etc. I also aim to get 5-6 commissions a show, so here are the 1A artists.

Stacey Lee's stuff is just beautiful. I have enjoyed her line work on Silk. And I also saw a Mrs. Peel cover on line that is fabulous. I wish I could find that comic to purchase!

 Yanick Paquette is an artist whose work I have always enjoyed. My buddy got a Beast commission from Paquette which is great. So I'll have to see whether or not I can pull off a Paquette commission.

Lastly, Eduardo Risso is going to be at the show.

I wonder just what a Supergirl done by him would look like. I think it would be unbelievable interesting, unique. So I am keeping Risso on the back burner. He may jump up.

But you know who else will be at the show ...

Remember Percival in King Arthur legend?

He was the only knight who could handle the Holy Grail. He had visions of the Grail before he was able to attain it.

In this image, from John Boorman's Excalibur, Percival again sees the Grail ... again just out of reach.

My grail piece for my collection?

Amanda Conner.

I have seen Conner now at a handful of conventions but every time she isn't sketching. I keep hoping beyond hope that somehow I will catch her at the right time, be first in line, be last in line ... be something ... such that she'll draw a quick sketch of Kara for me.

Like Percival, I can see the Grail but I haven't been able to grasp it ...

Anyways, I hope some of you will be in attendance. And let me know if I should be thinking of other artists for commissions?