Review: Superman:Lois and Clark #1

Everything old is new again.

Superman:Lois and Clark came out this week, a title featuring the pre-New 52 Superman and Lois, born from the Convergence mini-series starring the famous couple. For the last nearly 4 years, fans of Superman have mostly suffered with a different style of Superman, a less aspirational figure. And certainly Lois has been thrust into the background of the Superman mythos in the New 52. It hasn't been easy to read books where the characters you love are either absent or unrecognizable.

Writer Dan Jurgens brings back a much more classic take on Lois and Clark in this book and that makes me happy. (Maybe this book is what Dan Didio meant when he talked about the core qualities of their characters?) Here is Superman, helping others tirelessly, completely in love with Lois, living a simple life, and teaching his son values. Lois is an incredible investigative reporter and a loving supportive wife. And these characters comment on this new world they live on with almost meta-level commentary. It is a joyous read.

The feel of the book is complemented completely by the art team of Lee Weeks and Scott Hanna. This Superman is larger than life, a barrel-chested hero reminiscent of Wayne Boring. The pages are composed nicely with a great mix of smaller panels and splash pages to keep the story flowing. It is a beautiful book. And the subtlety of colors by Brad Anderson adds a richness to the story.

I have only one complaint about this story, a sort of continuity blip that I think I just need to move past. But it involves Supergirl ... and I am confused and conflicted.

We start out with this Superman, which is the post-Crisis Superman based on some history we hear later, being flung from the Convergence planet to the New 52 Earth. Superman, Lois, and their son all arrive on the planet during the Darkseid invasion, when the Justice League first formed. We know that was 5 years prior to the New 52 #1 issues, so maybe this is 7-8 years ago?

This Superman almost joined in the fray but Cyborg ended the conflict before that was necessary. But this seasoned hero looked upon the heroes and the world in general and found them "suspicious, doubting, edgy, without faith." I couldn't describe the New 52 world any better. Who would want to live there?

I absolutely love this splash page. This iconic shot, looking up at this larger than life Superman, fists clenched, cape billowing, sun in the background is perfect. Weeks and Hanna open this title with a classic Superman shot worthy of a classic take.

Now onto the continuity blip. We hear from Superman that the Convergence-world Supergirl, Flash, and Parallax did indeed change the outcome of the original Crisis. The multiverse 'reset' itself. Basically we are back to infinite Earths.

And then Barry, Kara, and Hal (at least those versions) decide that they will simply leave to 'find their destinies'. 

First off, I don't know why DC would feel it necessary to undo the Crisis, one of their most famous stories. (Imagine if they wrote a Watchmen sequel where the heroes go back and actually stop Ozymandias?) Second, I am completely conflicted about Supergirl surviving. I probably hammered this home with my Crisis #7 monthly review but I have come to appreciate Kara's death in that story. It helped define that Supergirl's heroism and selflessness. It resonated forward. I don't think I am happy about this.

Now I also don't understand some of the character decisions after the multiverse is reborn. Why would Supergirl run away? Why not go back to her Earth? Why would this Superman and Lois not go back to their Earth? Why would this Superman choose this Earth? WHY???

But a now-alive Supergirl just taking off doesn't sound like something she would do.

But Lois and Clark do end up on this world, a world where the people 'don't trust their own Superman.' If Superman is going to be a hero here, he needs to do it undercover.

Lois is the rock here, reminding Clark that they are resilient, their love is immutable, and their son Jon is a treasure. She reminds Clark of all the things they have going for them. She is right ... as always.

Flash forward approximately 7 years. The couple, now living as the White family, is living on a farm in middle America. (They named themselves after Perry! Meanwhile, the new 52 Perry is bashing Superman on national TV.)

Their son Jon is being raised with the same sort of traditional values that the Kents fostered in Clark. There are morning chores. And making sure schoolwork is done. And honoring your parents. Even his name, Jon resonates named after Pa Kent.

He might be a bit precocious and a touch flippant. But he seems like a good kid, one who maybe knows more about his parents origins than he is letting on.

These farm scenes look idyllic and a colored gold.

As for Clark, he has continued to do super-deeds undercover. Lois has a whole scrapbook of press clippings of natural disasters averted miraculously, a nice way to let us readers know that this Clark has been busy.

I also like that Clark has been keeping his eyes on this world's doppelgangers of people who became villains on his. Here we learn that Hank Henshaw space trip is returning to Earth, the same event which eventually led him to be the Cyborg Superman elesewhere/when. This Clark isn't going to let history repeat itself.

That isn't going to be easy. We learn that Clark's powers fluctuate on this world. (Maybe he processes this sun's rays differently?)

But let's take a step back. How great is it to read Lois and Clark talking to each other like this?

And having public displays of affection which disgust.

I love Jon's reaction.

Clark isn't the only one who has been busy on this new world. Lois has been an 'amazing agent of change' with a bookshelf full of exposes. Author X has written about the glass ceiling, the impending water shortage, the loss of intergrity, etc.

Welcome back Lois ... err ... Author X!

I will ask the question though, if this Clark wanted to be undercover why wear an S-shield uniform?

Lois' next book is on Intergang, one of the big bads over on her original world. Maybe she is doing work similar to Clark, trying to proactively stop threats from coming to fruition.

Unfortunately it looks like Lois isn't as anonymous as she would like to be. Someone is watching her pass off the manuscript.

A solid Lois plot! Hurrah!

Meanwhile, Clark seems to have saved the Henshaw ship. Maybe this time the Henshaws and crew won't die or become villains.

But things have taken a different turn all together. Henshaw's wife, friend, and brother-in-law (the original crew on the post-Crisis Earth) aren't present. Only Henshaw himself.

Things are different already.

And again, great art here. That first panel is just perfect.

And then, one more hook. In a far galaxy, the Oblivion Stone has been stolen.

Hopefully it has come through that I loved this issue. Lois and Clark are in love. Working together. Supporting each other. Raising a smart kid with good values. Helping people. This is Superman. This is Lois and Clark. And it fascinates me how this Clark describes the current DCU. A suspicious, edgy, place where good has to be hidden, work in secret.

Add to that some nice hooks to keep me coming back. Lois investigating Intergang. The Henshaw shuttle. The Oblivion Stone. And a young Jon trying to put the clues together.

And, of course, the unbelievable Weeks/Hanna/Anderson art is gorgeous.

I think I just have to forget that part of the genesis of this book is the undoing of the Crisis and Supergirl surviving and running away.

Overall grade: A

Supergirl Sighting In Lois And Clark

I have been very intrigued to read Dan Jurgens Superman:Lois and Clark book which has sprung from the pages of Convergence. That Convergence miniseries which gave us back a married and happy super-couple was one of the highlights of that event.

But how/where does Lois and Clark exist in the new DCU? Are they on the main Earth? Is this Clark watching the New 52 Clark muddle along? Dan Jurgens answers some of those questions over on comicbook.com. Here is a link:http://comicbook.com/2015/09/17/dan-jurgens-talks-superman-lois-clark/

But really what I wanted to share here was this page. That last panel shows a headband Kara. And clearly this is the scene from the main Convergence comic where Barry, Hal, and Kara had to head back to the Crisis to 'save it'. I was flummoxed by this when I read it. Where they stopping the Crisis? Making sure the Crisis happened as it did? Did they die again?

I don't want to pick the scab of Crisis #7 again but I hope that Supergirl still sacrifices herself to save the multiverse. As reviewed ad nauseum in July, I think that moment stands out as a special one in comic history. Don't retcon it.

But a Lee Weeks' drawing of Supergirl? That is a win!

Sales Review: May 2015

ICv2 have looked back and reviewed the sales from last month and have posted their commentary over on their site. Here is the link: http://icv2.com/articles/news/view/31800/top-300-comics-actual-may-2015

This was the end of Convergence and the beginning of Secret Wars across the aisle. As usual, Marvel just crushed the market. I don't know if it is even news anymore.

Last month I wondered if these mini-series might be some sort of showcase for characters and realities. And with the end of Convergence opening up the entirety of DC's universes and timeline, who knows what the company's plans are.

That said, who the heck knows how you judge these sales. Is it the event or the subject matter or both that drives sales.

Still, Supergirl was featured prominently in the mini-series and had some wonderful moments in the main series.

Convergence:Adventures of Superman was written by Marv Wolfman and starred the immediate pre-Crisis Supergirl. The plot of 'battling the Kamandi world' to survive Telos' edict took a back seat to the Supergirl character driven story.

In the story, Supergirl learns of her fate to die at the hands of the Anti-Monitor during the Crisis.

The book sold relatively well, selling just over 33K. Even though this was labeled a Superman book, it really was a Supergirl book at heart. I will say it again, I hope Marv Wolfman doesn't go back to this time period or the Supergirl character again.

The ending of Convergence is so vague, it is hard to know if this Supergirl actually now survived the Crisis.

The unbelievable (and probably my favorite Convergence mini-series) Shazam book by Parker and Shaner came in right behind, selling just below 33K.

The nutty Convergence:Supergirl Matrix book was a strange attempt at comedy by Keith Giffen and Timothy Green.

This second issue was a bit better than the first because it had Matrix grow a bit. The art, when not too cheesecake, was dynamic.

It also sold decently, breaking the 30K mark.

It is clear there is a market for Supergirl. Now if only DC would do the right thing and put out a book.

The excellent Rucka/Hamner Question mini-series also broke the 30K mark. That was another very good Convergence book.

But for me, the best Convergence mini-series was the Dan Jurgens Superman book.

Here was a classic Superman, with Lois, doing what's right. He is truly a hero. He and Lois are a couple and great together. And the art was fantastic.

This book sold just about 47K which (I believe) is better than the standard Superman titles sell now.

For me this was a wonderful trip back to a Superman I could believe in. This was the Superman I wanted to read. I can't thank Dan Jurgens enough.

So Convergence sold pretty well for DC and the mini-series actually fared well. But with these 2 months behind us, so go these sales. With a boatload of new books and new directions coming out, it will be interesting to see DC's DCYou sales next month.

Supergirl Comic Prediction Post-Convergence

We are now three months into a DC world where a Supergirl solo title isn't being published.

Just as Tony Bedard, K.Perkins, Mike Johnson, and Emanuela Lupacchino had righted the ship and despite consistent and relatively solid sales numbers, DC decided to pull the plug.

Some, including myself, have theorized that the appearance of a Supergirl show on the horizon was one of the prompts to shelve the character.

Would DC decide to create a Supergirl book based on the TV show? A digital first book like Flash Season Zero? Or would they try to somehow soft reboot the Kara on Earth 0 to make her more like the TV character?

The New 52 Kara was a teenager, 16 or 17 years old, just learning her way around Earth and just starting to make a name for herself as a hero.

The Supergirl character on the TV show is 24 yrs old, has been living on Earth for 13 years, and is immersed in Earth culture. She is working and trying to make a name for herself as a young woman in the city and only in the pilot does she embrace her powers and become a hero.

It wouldn't be easy to make the New 52 Kara into something like the show Kara.

I wondered just how DC might pull this off.

And then Convergence happened.

It is hard for me to necessarily wrap my head around what happens here. But Brainiac either sends the pre-Crisis Supergirl and Flash back to the Crisis to make sure that history repeats itself or he sends them back there to rewrite the Crisis and bring back infinite worlds while ending the Anti-Monitor threat. Throw in Parallax and a pre-Flashpoint Superman and maybe there is enough firepower to stop the Crisis without the death of Kara?

And if there are infinite Earths and the pre-Crisis Kara is alive ...

Well maybe that Supergirl is going to be the star of the new Supergirl book.

Because if any DC Supergirl is a decent match for the show Supergirl it is the original.

Both are in their early 20s. Both grew up on Earth, living with the Danvers. Both are inspired by their older cousin.

Heck, take away the headband and red shoulders and even their costumes look similar.

Both are young woman living in a big city trying to make a life for themselves.

When we last saw the pre-Crisis Supergirl she had just moved to Chicago and was trying to acclimate herself to the big city. She was a grad student then but that could easily be switched.

I mean, I know it is one panel, but I thought this side by side was fascinating.

Both are trying to find a way to satisfy a side of their lives that they feel they haven't explored.

The pre-Crisis Supergirl at this time was trying to make something out of Linda Danvers, bettering herself while maintaining her life as a superhero and force for good.

The show Supergirl is embracing the Kryptonian side of her, trying to become Supergirl as a way to help others.

So I wonder ...

Could we be getting a pre-Crisis Supergirl book, morphed slightly to mirror the show, taking place on some other DC world?

Now the pattern isn't perfect.
So much of what I have seen from the show borrows liberally from the Sterling Gates/Jamal Igle run.

Kara Danvers looks similar to Linda Lang. Kara's sort of innocence, impetuousness, fierceness, and even smidge of dorkiness all in the show feels so much like this Linda/Supergirl.

And the elephant in the room is Cat Grant, the ruthless self-promoter and journalist who wants to make Supergirl into a household name.

So maybe the tone of the book is Gates while the setting of the book is Kupperberg?

Of course all of this will mean that the ending of the Crisis, and therefore Kara's heroic death will no longer be in continuity. And while I still think the reasoning behind the death was flawed, there is no doubt that Supergirl dying in Crisis #7 is a huge moment for the character, impacting subsequent incarnations and resonating throughout all of comics. I don't know if I want to see that go away.

Regardless of my theory, I think it is only a matter of time before we get a Supergirl solo book, one more in line with the show's Kara Danvers.

Review: Convergence Action Comics #2

Convergence Action Comics #2 came out last week and continued an interesting mix of Classic Earth-2 characters and the Red Son world. I miss the earnest Kal-L and the feisty Power Girl and their straight and narrow heroism. And we see that here, making this one of the better Convergence mini-series in my mind.

Writer Justin Gray has a great handle on this Power Girl, no big surprise as he riffed on her with Jimmy Palmiotti in her recent solo title. And for me, Karen is the high point of this series. She is strong, powerful, opinionated, and determined. She isn't going to sit by and watch as events play out around her. She is going to handle them head on. This makes cousin Kal the best sort of co-star. He is the veteran, thinking ahead and deciding the next steps, but acting when the time is right. It is fun to see them play off each other like they do, a throw back to the 'Super Squad' days of All-Star Comics.

And the art here is fantastic as well. We start out with the fantastic Amanda Conner covers, showcasing Power Girl in her scoop neck costume. Claude St. Aubin does wonderful work on the interiors, inked by Sean Parsons.

One thing I do know, after reading this book and Infinity Inc and hearing great things about Convergence Justice Society, I miss that Earth 2.

After a year of being without powers and being together with Andrew Vinson, Karen heeds the call of duty sent out by Telos. She is going to face the champion from the nearby city to try and save her own.

I thought this was a nice scene where she professes her love and kisses him goodbye for what might be the last time.

We don't get a similar scene between Clark and Lois. In fact, Lois' edginess from last issue isn't touched upon here. The focus is really on Karen.

But that love for Andrew is tempered by her anger at the situation.

I love this fierce sort of internal monologue, where she states she wants payback for this year under the dome.

Power Girl isn't one to suffer fools lightly. She isn't going to be happy to have her fate determined by someone else. This read true for me. Edgy but to the right degree.

The bulk of the issue is a prolonged fight between Power Girl and the Red Son Diana. The skirmish is pretty even with each having the upper hand at times.

But the early part is the best when Power Girl demolishes the invisible jet.

And that verbal jab - 'Admit it. You love me, now don't you?' - is just the right amount of snark. And I think she is saying that more to the readers than to Diana.

Yeah, I'll admit it. I like this Power Girl. Always have.

I have never read the Red Son graphic novel and so last month admitted a little ignorance on how true the characterization was. I found it interesting that in the world of Communist Superman and Wonder Woman, that Lex Luthor would be the 'good guy' and that he would be romantically involved with Lois.

In this issue, that is turned on its head a bit as Lex does a heel turn, deciding that he will use GI Robot troops to eliminate everyone loyal to Stalin and decide the city's fate himself. It is will be a messy and bloody coup, no doubt. And while Lex says he is doing to make sure Lois is safe, it feels more like classic Lex narcissism.

So a nice little character turn, even within the confines of a 2 issue mini.

Meanwhile, Power Girl and Wonder Woman continue to trade blows until Superman shows up to try to steady everyone's nerves.

He spouts the usual platitudes. The Diana he knows is good and just.

Aubin's expressions are great here. Kal looks earnest and maybe a bit disappointed. And Diana looks irked knowing he hasn't lived her life.

Just when things seem to have calmed, Power Girl dusts off the rubble she is buried under and tries to start the fight again. Superman is there to separate the combatants, realizing that this fight isn't helping anyone.

I do like the panel construction here. By making the second panel wider than the upper, you get a sense of Superman's strength as he pulls Karen and Diana apart. It gives the illusion that he widened the panel, which infers great power. He has strength to move mighty panel borders!

While the Lex character turn seemed natural, Diana's sudden reversal of ideology felt a bit rushed.

Superman questions whether having power means you have to use it. He also wonders why the heroes are blindly obeying the voice of Telos.

And just like that, Diana falls in line.

I suppose if this was a 6 issue story we would see Diana's resolve slowly erode instead of instantaneously melting away.

But she does have a change of heart. Heading back to Moscow, she stops Lex's plot of mass genocide. Instead, these two cities will work together to try to figure out who is behind all of this.

I am always happy when a Luthor gets their comeuppance.

But Diana also decides it is time she takes over completely. She strips Stalin of his power too.

Moscow is free!

Amazing what the inspiration of a good Superman can accomplish.

With the planet rumbling and shifting into the main universe, the next goal is clear. Kal and Karen have to face the threat behind this world, at this point it being Deimos. They say goodbye to their partners and head into battle as super-cousins. I like as they streak to battle, Clark tells Karen how much he loves her. I love it when the super-family is a super family!

Convergence was an odd mini-series, convoluted and discombobulated. The associated mini-series were a mixed bag. Some I thought were excellent reimaginings of some beloved characters from my past. Others fell short. This issue was mostly a brawl between heroes but it included some plot progression, some character turns, and some spot on characterization for this era Power Girl. Add to that the clean art of St. Aubin and Parsons, this mini-series was an entertaining story, one of the better Convergence crossovers I read.

Overall grade: A

Review: Convergence #8

Convergence as an event initially sounded like a two month layover, a way to allow DC to continue to publish comics while the company moved coasts, leaving New York and heading to California.

Somewhere along the way, it became something more. It became another universe redefining event, a way for DC to reset things, a mere 3 years removed from the New 52 upheaval. I have certainly had my issues with the company's approach to their characters in the New 52 DCU but soft rebooting that hard reboot has something of a whiff of desperation.

But I can't have it both ways as a fan, can I? I can't sit back and complain about the New 52 and then complain when DC tries to reshape things away from that harsh new continuity.

And so we get Convergence #8, a book which gives DC readers back a multiverse (which I thought we might already have), folding in some of the Multiversity Earths as being legitimately in canon. But I don't necessarily know if I feel like anything is necessarily different. And I don't know if I 100% understand what happened here. And I wonder of Scott Lobdell had the audacity to rewrite the ending of Crisis on Infinite Earths, the granddaddy of all crossover events and really the gold standard of these sort of books. I know Crisis. I am friends with Crisis. And Convergence, you are no Crisis.

Writers Jeff King and Scott Lobdell do their best to explain things here. Things in the DCU are very different at the end. But I also feel like the first 7 issues were just biding time. Many of the plots and subplots of this series aren't crucial to this ending.

Art is done by a whole stable of artists (Stephen Segovia, Carlo Pagulayan, Eddie Pansica, Ethan Van Sciver, Jason Paz, Scott Hanna, and Trevor Scott). I guess it is too much to ask that a universe-redefining issue gets done by one artist?

Last issue, we had a great moment where Parallax incinerates Deimos, an evil sorceror from the Warlord series who was hoping to rule the universe.

Unfortunately, all the time-traveling chronal energy Deimos had absorbed is now being taken into the Convergence planet, making it unstable.

And since the Convergence planet exists outside the space/time continuum of the multiverse, this planetary destruction will destroy everything.

Now I suppose that since there are cities from all continuities on this planet, it has a sort of finger into all those realities. So maybe this makes sense?

Telos, who name drops both Zero Hour and Countdown, knows that the temporal energy needs to be absorbed by something other than the planet itself.

Initially there is hope that Booster Gold and Waverider could take it in. But it is too much for them to do alone. In fact, the only one who can take it all in is Brainiac.

Brainiac, the villain who started all this, who has imprisoned these people, has suddenly become a needed ally.

We finally learn a bit about this version of Brainiac.

When he survived the Flashpoint event, he went beyond the Source, existing outside reality, and witnessing everything. He saw the Crisis and multiple versions of himself, us reading comics, Infinity Crisis, Countdown, and even the birth of the New 52.

In a moment of clarity, he asks for help, hoping to return to his original form and not this 'cancerous' monster warped by all the continuity-changing events he has witnessed.

So Brainiac living outside time and witnessing all these events is an interesting concept. He is, in essence, the stand-in for long time readers who also have lived through all these reboots and has come out angry and deformed. Maybe Brainiac begging to return to somewhere else, somewhen else is Lobdell and King acknowledging the fans?

Remember all the maneuvering of the New 52 heroes outside the Convergence planet the last 2 weeks? Well that also seems completely superfluous. Because once the planet manifests itself in the Earth 0 universe and nears destruction, those characters all turn tail and run, returning home to 'say goodbye'. Only Superman and Supergirl stay behind to watch.

You would think that Superman and Supergirl being there together, holding hands and hoping, would be a good moment. But for me, this was a horrible moment.

First off, how terrible is it that with the universe, heck all reality, about to be snuffed out, the heroes of the New 52 left. Did they really exhaust all their options? Did they try to save everyone? Nope. They left to say goodbye to their loved ones. I would think the heroes would be trying anything to save everyone.

Brainiac absorbs the temporal energy and promises to return the occupants of the cities to whatever universe they desire.

His plan goes awry when the 'First Crisis' is too strong to send everyone back. If that crisis, Crisis on Infinite Earths, is not 'changed' the DCU will become a universe again, rather than a multiverse as where all can exist.

Brainiac sends Supergirl and the Flash back to that Crisis to meet their fates. But then, oddly, Parallax and the Pre-Flashpoint Superman (with Lois and his newborn son in tow) also head there to try to help.

Of course, this Flash and Supergirl are heroes willing to sacrifice themselves to save everyone. But their mission isn't to save the universe. Their mission is to prevent the collapse of the multiverse.

I don't know how to read this. Are they trying to change the ending of Crisis on Infinite Earths? Stop the creation of a Universe? Altering that story?

Or is it that they simply  need to relive the ending of the Crisis, create a universe, so that all the subsequent event comics can unfold as they did?

I am sooooo confused.

Because if the Crisis ended differently, did Supergirl live? Is Superman/Lois/Baby Jon out there somewhere? Inside Alex Luthor in Paradise (we know how that goes)?

And who would dare to try to change that book? 

And then we get to see that they were 'successful'. There is now a multiverse.

We see multiple Earths again.

But you see how behind each Earth is a 'shadow' of characters. The pre-Crisis/pre-Flashpoint trinity are behind the New 52 characters. We see worlds from the Multiverse sourcebook.

And we hear that each world has evolved.

We don't get an old school Earth 2, we get the New 52 Earth 2. We don't get the pre-Crisis heroes, we get the 'evolved' New 52.

So do we have all the continuities in play? Or not?

Meanwhile, the Convergence planet survives, is reinvigorated by Alan Scott, and becomes the new Earth 2.

Why is Dick Grayson so important? Unknown.
What is Telos' real name and why was that crucial? Unknown.

Is there really anything that different about this DCU now than there was before this? Didn't Multiversity give us these worlds anyways?

And is what about Crisis on Infinite Earths? Undone? Changed? Redone? If it is changed, I have a doozy of a Supergirl prediction.

As for Convergence, it is no Crisis. It is just another event on the pile.

Overall grade: C+

Sales Review: April 2014

The sales numbers for April 2015 came out this week and I have induced a migraine by trying to wrap my head around what all these numbers mean. As always, ICv2 is the place to look at the nitty-gritty. Here is a link: http://icv2.com/articles/news/view/31604/top-300-comics-actual-april-2015

This marked the first month of DC's Convergence phemonenon. There were only a handful of 'regular' titles released in April. This is an 'event' so it might grab curious readers to check things out. And, I suppose, it worked. Sales overall for DC went up.

But do high sales means there is an interest in these characters and time periods within the comic community? Will some of these sales nudge DC into reinventing things? Or is it simply the curiosity factor around Convergence that is priming the sales pump?

For example, different Supergirls appeared in a number of these books. One of them was Convergence Justice League. This was a look back at the James Robinson JLA, the book where the legacy heroes had assumed the roles of the mentors in the League.

Almost any book with Justice League in the title is going to sell well.

And Convergence Justice League #1 did sell well. It did about 63K in sales. Now that is solid.

Does this mean that people want a Justice League with Supergirl, Donna Troy, and Jade? Or is it simply the Justice League name that brought people in?

Dan Jurgens wrote Convergence Superman, a love letter to the immediate pre-Flashpoint Superman.

He's happily married to Lois. They declare their undying love for each other. They work together as a team.

There has been plenty of talk about how shabbily Lois is being treated in the New 52 continuity. So many fans of a classic Clark/Lois dynamic embraced this.

And it sold very well. Convergence Superman #1 sold just under 52K. It sold almost as much as Superman #40, the in continuity book.

Does this mean there is as much interest in this sort of Superman?

Does this book selling this well mean DC will rethink its approach to the character? Bring back a more classic Lois? Bring back a more heroic and inspirational Superman?

Or is this, again, just the Convergence logo bringing in readers? Or does this just show that Superman fans will read Superman books since the sales are nearly identical?

Can you see where my headache is coming from?

For me, the book I was intrigued about was Convergence Adventures of Superman, a look back at the pre-Crisis Supergirl written by Marv Wolfman.

What would Wolfman do to Kara this time?

Convergence Adventures of Superman #1 sold around 40K, a jump up from the standard 26K the solo Supergirl book did. Was this interest in the pre-Crisis Supergirl? A morbid peek to see how Wolfman would write this Supergirl again? Did this well because it is basically a Superman-driven book?

For me though, the thing that stuck out was that this book outsold the in-continuity Superman/Wonder Woman #17! I have tired of the uneven stories in that title and I am pretty sure I am jumping off that book come June.

Will that be a wake-up call to DC about that book?

Now those Convergence books with Supergirl were labeled a Justice League or Superman title.

So what about Convergence Supergirl Matrix? This is a pure Supergirl driven book (even though it should've been called Convergence Ambush Bug). And this is the 'confusing' Matrix Supergirl (even though she calls herself Kara, adding to the confusion), the one that 'needed' to go away to reintroduce the Kryptonian cousin.

Convergence Supergirl Matrix #1 sold almost 35K, more than the solo title had sold.

But this was a rough issue with an uneven portrayal of Supergirl. I don't know if I would want a Supergirl like this to be *the* Supergirl. But does this show DC that a Supergirl book can sell?

Or is all of this just a representation of a 2 month mega-event?

Regardless, I was glad to see these different Supergirl incarnations in print again.