Terrificon Wrap-Up #2: Scott Kolins Commission And More Sigs

We are about 3 weeks past Terrificon, my primary comic convention and the best con I go to. As usual, this year had a great list of creators and celebrities. I was busy all three days, a sign that I had a lot to see and do.  You can read my first recap here.

Scott Kolins was one of the earlier guests announced and when I saw his name, I knew he would be at the top of my list of potential commissions. I really love Kolin's art style. It is very dynamic and energetic, packed with motion lines and energy crackle. It feels rough which adds to the that frenzy. His books really bring you into the action.  I loved his stuff on The Flash, a natural character for him to do given his style. But I also loved him on JL 3001, a sort of pastiche of DC's history written by the dream team of Giffen and DeMatteis. 

I reached out to Kolins on social media before the show asking if he sketches at the show, approximate prices, and availability. I told him he would be the first table I'd head to in order to get on the list and I meant it.

Check out the commission! I said Kolin's brings energy and this is one of the most action-oriented commissions I have. Supergirl smiling and diving out of the page, flying right at you. Love her smiling expression. Impressively, Kolins really filled the page of the sketch book. This is a great piece to add to the collection.

Superman Treasury 2025: A Hero For All

I am running around this week with so much material I want to cover so I am behind the times. Two weeks ago, DC released Superman Treasury 2025: A Hero For All written by Dan Jurgens with art by Bruno Redondo and Jurgens as well. 

This was a fun story for a number of reasons. 

This is set some years in the past prior to Jon being aged up in the Bendis run. Seeing that young Jon, still learning and wanting to help, was almost worth the cost of the book. I miss that kid. 

This is a sort of primer on Superman, showcasing his leadership, his mentorship, his ethics and goals. But it also includes a sort of quick history of his. In the midst of the story are a number of pages drawn by Jurgens reviewing Superman's life and timeline. 

We get the return of two of the more recent villains in Superman's long history, villains who have stuck around and stood the test of time. 

The art was very slick. I like Redondo's sort of minimalist approach, somehow bringing so much visual information with the art he provides. And, of course, seeing Jurgens on art even for a few pages is always great.

But the real fun of the book is the format. A new DC treasury is on the shelves! Seeing such big art in my hands reminded me of my youth. It has some publicity pages for the movie in the back matter. It is too much fun. 

On to the book.

Back Issue Box: Superman/Doomsday:Hunter/Prey #3

With no new super-books on the shelves this week and a splendid Doomsday story finished up in the current Joshua Williamson Superman book, I have been dipping into the back issue box to review Superman/Doomsday:Hunter/Prey, wrapping it up today with the third issue, the finale.

Writer/artist Dan Jurgens has been weaving a pretty good narrative here, filling in Doomsday's origin and amping up the threat of both Doomsday and the Cyborg Superman, both fresh from their debut storylines. This wasn't long after the monumental 'Death of' and 'Reign of' arcs. We were just getting to know these characters. 

Last issue, we learned how Doomsday was the product of an accelerated evolution experiment by a scientist named Bertron. We saw the Cyborg Superman get atomized by Darkseid. We saw Desaad send Doomsday to the planet Catalon, the planet Doomsday was killed on prior to Superman doing the same deed on Earth. But since his resurrected form is invulnerable to his last mode of death, Catalon is in trouble. 

As I said, Jurgens is wrapping up the loose ends of the first Doomsday story, giving us a narrative. This is the beginning of Doomsday's story, explaining his powers, and here tying him in specifically to Superman, linking them forever.  I have to give him credit. He does a fine job explaining everything. And he seems to put an end to it all. The ending feels like an ending ...

But 30 years later we know better. We have seen Doomsday a lot. We have seen Superman turned into Doomsday. We have seen a Doomsday plague. We've seen an army of Doomsdays. We've seen Doomsday in Hell. And know we have seen a Time Trapper Doomsday, intelligent and skinny. 

Joshua Williamson has been doing a great job mining this story for its key elements and bringing them to the current arc. Heck, in Superman #20 he has Dan Mora draw Superman in the Mother Box armor we see him in here. We have The Radiant, the Aftermath of the planets Doomsday has destroyed, and a Time Trapper Doomsday, perhaps echoed in the finale here.

I haven't thought about this series much over these last decades. But revisiting it, I have to say, its embers still glow in the DC Universe. It has had impact.

On to the book.

Back Issue Box: Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey #2

Today I review Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey #2, the middle chapter of the 1994 mini-series that filled in the backstory of Doomsday and set up the first of many rematches between the Man of Steel and his killer. 

Doomsday has returned in recent issues of Superman and writer Joshua Williamson has really leaned into this Prestige Format mini which I found impressive. One of the strengths of DC, as crazy as it sounds in the current comic world, is it's continuity, is its history. But it also makes me feel wizened and archaic when I realize this book is almost 30 years old. As such, reviewing this to remind folks of this history made sense.

It is in this issue we learn about the planet Catalon and its hero The Radiant, both heavily involved in Williamson's story. In this issue we learn about how Doomsday went from world to world, devastating places, the origin of Williamson's Aftermath. And we learn about Doomsday's origin, about how he resurrects and is impervious to his last weakness, all of which ties into the evolution of him to the Time Trapper Doomsday. So once again, kudos to Williamson for leaning in.

And kudos to Dan Jurgens, the writer/artist of this series. It couldn't have been an easy task to bring back Doomsday. Not only Doomsday, but the Cyborg Superman as well. These were the ultimate villains of both Death of Superman and Reign of the Supermen. Can you write them in a way to make them more compelling? Doomsday felt like a literal tool in Death, there only to kill Superman and not have any sort of story. Jurgens brings a horrific origin to the thing which has stuck.

On reread, I'll say the series is solid. But there is no denying its impact on the Superman mythos.

Back Issue Box: Superman/Doomsday:Hunter/Prey #1

Based on the recent Doomsday storyline in Josh Williamson's Superman book, I pulled out Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey #1. After all, the ideas of Doomsday resurrecting more powerful, his connection to Krypton, and the Radiant being from Catalon all are introduced here. As crazy as it sounds and as old as it makes me feel, this mini-series is 30 years old. two years after the Death of Superman storyline. 

It is hard to believe but at this point we really didn't know anything about Doomsday. We knew he seemed to be alive, strapped to a meteor that Cyborg Superman shot into space. But who was he? What was he? 

Legendary creative team of writer/artist Dan Jurgens and inker Brett Breeding decide to answer the question. But this isn't a straight A to B line. Jurgens has this mini-series travel throughout the DCU with guest stars and other villains and pretty big action sequences. 

In fact, this is a big enough story with those big Doomsday reveals, I am surprised this took place outside of the main titles. This gets the slick, square-bound Prestige format which works great. But that means this major event is in a mini-series away from the Triangle era books. Would you feel cheated if you didn't get this and found out Doomsday's origin was here? Or is it par for the course

I don't know if I would call this a great mini-series. But it is very good. And it certainly has had historical legs. This has stuck, as seen even last month.

On to the story.

Review: Zero Hour 30th Anniversary Special

When you get to be as old a comic fan as I am, major comic events from the past become history and begin to celebrate pretty big anniversaries. 

I was already in my 20s when Zero Hour first hit the stands, DC's valiant effort to tidy up some of the timeline conundrums that spun out of the Crisis On Infinite Earths. So trust me, I felt pretty old when I saw the Zero Hour 30th Anniversary issue hit the stands. 

I wasn't sure how the story would play out. Would this be some side adventure within Zero Hour? Some untold tale? Or something Zero Hour adjacent, adding to the story.

Turns out it is the latter. Writer Ron Marz and Dan Jurgens bring us a Kyle Rayner story, set in an offshoot universe which is both familiar to the DC world of the 90s but also quite different. Do you want a world where Superman stayed dead, Batman stayed paralyzed, and Wonder Woman is missing? A world where Matrix, Donna Troy, and Barbara Gordon are the Trinity? Then this book is for you! Do you want to see Hal as Parallax? Jack Knight as Starman? A classic Fatal Five and Legion? Waverider? Then this book is for you. 

And I suppose for someone like me, this book is for me. It brought me back to that time, let me enjoy seeing these characters (in a way) again, and have some fun.

Add to that the incredible bevy of veteran artists on the book. Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Paul Pelletier, Kelley Jones, Darryl Banks, Howard Porter, and Tom Grummett all are here. I got to see Grummett's Matrix Supergirl again. Ordway on Infinity Inc characters. Kelley Jones haunting Gotham, and Jurgens drawing a version of the JLA again. 

On to the book! Get ready for some Parallax-ction!

Review: Superman Lost #9

Superman Lost #9 came out this week. That means the series wraps up next month. And frankly and I suppose appropriately, I am lost. I am also sorry if I have already used that joke in my reviews.

There is a kernel of a good story here. What if Superman lived on a dying planet he couldn't save? What if he wasn't rocketed away as a baby but lived, loved, and failed? How would he respond? And then let's see that response through the lens of his friends and family by doing a timey-wimey jump, living 20 yrs on the doomed planet but gone only hours on ours. 

That could be a good story! Superman reliving in a way the death of Krypton. Superman failing to save everyone. Superman despondent. Throw in a lot of Supergirl talking about her similar history and there is a great 4 issue mini-series there. Heck, make the doomed planet have similarities to Earth and the current climate problems and you have a 6 issue mini-series. 

Instead, we have a 10 issue series which has had a few too many plot threads to keep the story compact and comprehensible. Luthor giving Lois cancer. Lois tracking down some shady Senate crime. Another time jump Superman talking about his lost Earth. A maniacal love interest. 

And it is all told in a sort of sputtering, short chapter way to make it jarring. I simply don't know if one more issue will tie it all up. As you will see, there are a number of plots that are simply ended in this issue.

The art this issue remains strong. Carlo Pagulayan remains slick here. Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding are also present for some pages. 

On to the book itself.

Review: Return Of Superman 30th Anniversary Special

Last week, the Return of Superman 30th Anniversary Special came out, a square bound, ten dollar tome looking back at the Reign of the Superman story. DC did a good job getting the band back together. Dan Jurgens, Louise Simonson, Karl Kesel are back writing. Ordway, Jurgens, Jon Bogdanove, and Tom Grummett are on art chores for the flashbacks with Travis Moore doing the framework story. Only Roger Stern and Jackson Guice are missing.

I suppose this book was written for people like me who lived through the 'Reign of' and the 'Return of' Superman. This book looks back at the time when the real Superman was dead, there were 4 Supermen running around, and readers were wondering if any of them were the Superman.

Jurgens handles the framework story of Lois reading from Perry White's journal from that time period and his reactions to the different Supermen. It was quite fun to look back at then the Cyborg Superman, Steel, Superboy, and the Eradicator were relatively unknown. Seeing Perry fall for the Cyborg's pretending to be Superman brought back memories of buddies who thought so too. (I had my money on the Eradicator ... as usual I was wrong.)

But it is the flashback stories where we see those characters in the early stages of their careers that was the most fun. I loved all the Superman books then. I loved the Kesel/Grummett Superboy. So the nostalgia engine was cranked up reading these books.

When it all is said and done, there is a nice sentiment to the story, a reminder that the real Superman is the standard other try to live up to. 

This was pretty pricey but I gobbled it up. 

On to some details.

Review: Superman #7

Superman #7 came out this week and was a stealth #850 anniversary when you count the legacy numbers. This was over-sized and it certainly felt like it with this book being stuffed with A,B, and C plots with new wrinkles and new continuity suddenly in the mix. Whew ... I had to take a breath when this one was done because there is a lot going on.

Writer Joshua Williamson is certainly embracing the Superman mythos. The A plot feels very new with The Chained nearly destroying Metropolis while Graft and Pharma look on. The B plot is a re-imagining of the Luthor legacy, bringing back a couple of family members that was eye-opening. And then the Brainiac threat continues to bubble in the background. That is a lot for one issue and somehow Williamson is able to juggle it all while also showcasing Superman and the Superman family in a whiz-bang action sequence. Given the focus of this site, I have to say Supergirl shines here, acting as the field general of the team. I loved it. And don't forget, there is that D plot of Marilyn Moonlight out there and not seen here. Amazing.

Given the over-sized nature of the book, the art is split up and thankfully in a way that makes sense. Gleb Melnikov continues the Chained plot and really amps up the action here. Really good stuff here. Old school artists Dan Jurgens handles the Luthor pages and brings a sense of history to the proceedings which works given the reintroduction of some history. And then Edwin Galmon brings a sort of computer art feel to the Brainiac pages which just clicks.

This felt like a sort of middle chapter of the bigger picture but it moved things along briskly and in a very entertaining way. That's the job of a middle chapter.  Very good issue here!

On to the details.

Review: Action Comics #1057

Action Comics #1057 came out this week and was a solid read if imperfect. 

As usual, the main story by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Rafa Sandoval is fantastic. The threat of the Blue Earthers and their leader Norah Stone finally manifests itself. Like many zealots, her message doesn't sound completely crazy but there is definitely some malevolence behind her extreme views. There is a mystery unraveling with Stone as well. She clearly is more than human. I have a theory. Johnson definitely knows how to bring the most out of this story. While Stone rants about the threat Superman is, we see him at his most down to Earth, a physical contrast to her words. 

While I have loved the super-family in Action recently, this issue is all Superman and I'm here for it. And it ends on a wild cliffhanger. 

It is the other stories in the anthology that aren't holding up the back end of the book. The Dan Jurgens/Lee Weeks young Jon story sort of ends with a whimper. It seemed like Jurgens realized that he had a handful of pages to wrap things up and so he sprinted to the end. The last story is a Conner story by Magdelena Visaggio and Matthew Clark and once again it is Conner struggling to find his place on Earth. Didn't he just get a whole mini-series? And he's wildly emotional in the story. Almost petulant. There is one thought provoking moment, but the whole thing ends on a complete downbeat note which made it all sour. 

Still, if you are a fan of the Johnson/Sandoval stuff, this book still sings. I am very interested in seeing where this goes. On to the particulars.

Review: Action Comics #1055

Action Comics #1055 came out this week and was another crackling issue. 

Since Action Comics became an anthology, the issues have run the same pattern. The main story featuring the Superman Family is just dynamite. The Superman/Lois/Young Jon story is solid. The last feature is okay. And that pattern happens again here. All the stories are solid but the main story is just comic gold.

The main feature is written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson with art by Rafa Sandoval. It continues the Metallo story but with the added bonus of the big bad being Hank Henshaw the Cyborg Superman. Kennedy does the usual bit of magic, weaving in story beats for all the family members. Superman remains a role model for the twins while trying to rehabilitate Metallo. Kara is the smartest person in the room. And best of all, we get the return of the Eradicator. That means all 4 members of the Reign of Superman are in this story! There's action! There's plot! There's character moments! 

The young Jon story is proceeding just about the way I thought it would. Lee Weeks is back on art. It is good to see young Jon learning the ropes and some valuable lessons. But I think Dan Jurgens telegraphed the plot twist a little.

Lastly, the Steel story by Dorado Quick and Yasmin Montanez has branched out to include some of the extended super-family. But I don't know exactly where it is going. 

All in all, a very good issue with a sparkling lead.

On to the details.

Review: Action Comics #1054

Action Comics #1054 came out this week, continuing the anthology format of the Superman Family. Please remember when you get to the end that the overall grade takes all the stories into account. We get three stories here. One shines.

Phillip Kennedy Johnson continues to bring us a solid main story. This story brings a sort of resolution to the Metallo plot. We see a new super-power from Superman. There is an event with Otho that I hope isn't lost in the shuffle. I like how Jon reacts in this issue. The actual big bad is revealed. And there is a tremendous moment by Superman showing compassion to Metallo. I loved this story.

Max Raynor is on art duties here, giving Rafa Sandavol the month off. This issue is a little rougher in style than I anticipated. In my mind, Raynor is usually very polished. There is a lot of grime and violence in this issue and Raynor's are here mirrors that well. In particular, the pages with the Metallo fight really stunned. 

The middle story is the Lois, Clark, and young Jon story. This time Jurgens is on script and art. It has a 'twist' which I think was telegraphed in the first chapter. It's decent. I love seeing Jurgens on art. He is weaving two plots in this story so there is still some mystery in it.

And then we get a Steel story by Dorado Quick and Yasmin Montanaez. The story is a sort of primer on John Henry Irons with an ending that seems to hint at the upcoming story. The art is cartoonish in a way, definitely different than the other stories. I like Steel. This story occurs before Action #1050 so you need to snuggle it in your continuity. I'm glad to see Steel get some spotlight.

On to the book details.

Review: Action Comics #1053

Action Comics #1053 came out last week and was another crackling issue ... well mostly crackling, This is an anthology book so there are three individual stories present here. No surprise, I liked some more than others. 

There is the main story, the Superman Family story with Superman fighting Metallo. This is an excellent story. This Metallo is creepy but also sympathetic. The actions and interactions of the super-family are wonderful. In particular, two moments - one between Kal and Kenan, and one between Jon and Osul - are emotional and powerful. Rafa Sandavol's art feels a little raw but that adds energy to the proceedings. Nothing wrong here.

The Dan Jurgens/Lee Weeks flashback story to an untold tale of young Jon is a solid storyline. There are two plots proceeding at pace here. One is Jon befriending an alien Princess in peril. I think this is a 'don't judge a book by its cover' moment for Jon. There is the Doombreaker plot with Doombreaker looking for the Doomsday spike which created him in the first place.

But it is the last story, the Power Girl story, by Leah Williams and Marguerite Sauvage that I find lacking. Sauvage's art is beautiful in its pastel glory. But the story, a complete demolition of Power Girl, feels wrong. Power Girl has had a solid characterization and a strong foundation for decades. She doesn't need fixing. Here, Williams decides to torpedo everything we know about Power Girl. I don't recognize a Power Girl feeling alone, anonymous, rudderless. If anything, it just makes me want to re-read the Palmiotti/Conner run to read Peeg done right. This feels like another creator coming up with an idea and bolting it onto a pre-existing character. I have got behind new interpretations of characters before and I have given this story some time to see if it would work. For me, it just doesn't.

On to the particulars.

Review: Action Comics #1052 - Part 2

Last week I reviewed, perhaps harshly, the Power Girl story in Action Comics #1052. Today I'll finish reviewing the stories within. Both of these stories I liked much more. 

The main story by writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson and artist Rafa Sandavol continues the Metallo arc. I really loved this story for a bunch of reasons. The art is really powerful. Sandavol brings a sort of scratchy, rough feeling to the proceedings that really works well. The story continues to be intriguing as Metallo seems to be having his puppet strings pulled by someone out of sight (although probably revealed in solicits). Thankfully, this explains away what seemed to be a glaring discrepancy between Action and the Superman book. But more than this action, Johnson really calls back to his Warworld Saga as the ramifications continue to ripple out. And, as Action Comics now feels like the old anthology Superman Family, I am thrilled that Johnson are showing us family moments for the supers. Great stuff here.

Add to that the Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks flashback story with a young Jon Kent. Again, Weeks style works well here as he was the artist for the Convergence story and the sequel miniseries introducing us to this dynamic. The story is just starting but I like Jon starting to come unto his powers. But I wonder if there will be a sort of hackneyed 'don't judge a book by its cover' lesson here.

Overall, these both worked very very well. It all starts with the wonderful Steve Beach cover. I like the washed out, lack of outlines bright blue highlighting the family uniforms.

Bring on the book!

Review: Action Comics #1051

Action Comics #1051 came out this last week, the opening chapter to the next era of the Superman family. In a classic comic trick, DC slapped a big #1 on the cover to try and drum up support. But this book is great enough that it should be selling on its own merits and not because of cover tricks. 

For me, this is the epitome of Superman family. This is an anthology book like the old Superman Family dollar comic. The main story, the Superman-centric one, involves the extended Superman family. It has scenes of the characters acting like a family. And there is this feeling of hope, an essential ingredient in the super books. Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Rafa Sandoval bring it and bring it hard. I loved this story.

The second story is a flashback story to a time before Jon was aged. Given the creative team of Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks, it seems to spring from the 'Convergence' era Earth-1 Superman although that muddy history is wiped away. The Kents are in California, working remotely, in the aftermath of the Doombreaker story in the Death of Superman anniversary. Heck Clark is wearing the black suit. I like young Jon so this also worked well for me. 

The last story is the Power Girl arc by the creative team of Leah Williams and Marguerite Sauvage. The art is great. But this is a pretty big change for Power Girl, one where she has a psychic link to Omen (Lilith) and the two want to use this telepathic connection to help people in psychological pain. Peeg has her powers and uses her powers in the dreamscape. But a psychologist Karen, using her powers within the mind? It is a bold new direction for someone who's bold old direction I loved. Will I love it? I guess I have to wait. The opening chapter just opens the door.

Still, wonderful book overall! On to the details.

Bullet Review: Dark Crisis Big Bang #1

Last week, Dark Crisis Big Bang #1 came out, a fun little piece of fluff barely attached to Dark Crisis in any meaningful way. But when I read the solicit, a tour of the DCU written by Mark Waid with art by Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund, I knew I would be in. 

Then I saw this cover by Nathan Szerdy mixing a Joker henchman from the 1989 Batman movie with the Wonder Woman from the Laurn Faust Super Hero Girls cartoon. Now I knew I was really in. 

This will be a super brief review.

Dark Crisis itself is sort of a crossover that is barely holding itself together. There are a lot of crazy ideas thrown together. It is very meta about the other DC events. But it feels a bit jumbled. I know Pariah is trying to recreate a multiverse. But I just don't 'feel' the threat. I don't sense the characters' peril. It just isn't gelled to me. 

This one-shot has the Dark Crisis trade dress but is just a one-shot of Waid giving us a snippets of all the known universes Barry Allen has visited while on a mission. It is very fun to re-visit some of the 52 Earths created by Grant Morrison in their Multiversity event. But Waid adds more, telling us we are in true infinite multiverse. It even includes a text page of these known worlds, including a bit in the back that really ... and I mean REALLY ... caught my eye. 

As for the art, I have nothing but love for Jurgens and Rapmund who bring their classic style to all the odd worlds we get a glimpse of. I also am very impressed with Jurgens' handle on the Flash. I wouldn't mind seeing Jurgens on a Barry mini-series.

If you love the old DC multiverse, you should get this if only to see all the classics that are brought back into existence. I mean Earth-4, the Charleston Earth? I am thrilled to see that again.

On to the book!

Review: The Death Of Superman 30th Anniversary Special, pt 1

 It's hard to believe that it has been 30 years since the Death of Superman storyline. But it has been and DC decided to commemorate the occasion with an oversized one shot, appropriately named The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special. 

It is a wonderful book, bringing together the architects of that classic arc for several stories. The book is too big to cover all in one review so I'll be covering the first (and longest story) by writer/artist Dan Jurgens with inker Brett Breeding.

The story takes place in the recent past, recent enough that Jon is around but not recent enough for Jon to be aged. I am surprised that once more DC is giving us stories of a de-aged Jon. Perhaps they realize that a tween Jon still has story opportunities. Here Jon learns about how his father died at the hands of Doomsday. It is an excellent retelling of the classic story (it was 30 years ago, maybe people haven't read it before) while adding a new character. 

But the joy here is the retelling of the story from Lois' perspective, teaching Jon about how deadly Doomsday was and how noble Superman was in sacrificing himself.

I grabbed the Franscesco Mattina cover because the punched out symbol cover is a nice riff on the similar covers introducing us to the four wannabe Supermen that emerged in The Reign of the Supermen arc.

On to the story.

Back Issue Box: Superman #108

When the concept of Synmar was introduced in Superman #25 I was intrigued with the concept that there were members of that race willing to judge and execute young Kal even before he landed on Earth. His crime? Potentially becoming a 'light god'. 

It led me to think about other times Superman was judged in some way, leading to the review of Superman #247.

I figured I would be remiss if I didn't include something from the 1990's storyline The Trial of Superman. While Synmar and the Oans were contemplating judging and silently judging Superman respectively, in The Trial, Superman is brought to court and found guilty. The crime? The death of all Kryptonians. 

The Tribunal feel that since it was an El family member which tied the populace to the planet, that the El family did not allow the race to escape. As a result, despite being generations apart, Superman needs to pay for the alleged crime of his ancestor.

In the course of this storyline, Superman has to escape prison, inspire other criminals, beat back the villain behind the new Kandor, get some help from the Superman Rescue Squad (the super family), and even face off against the Cyborg Superman. 

But after escaping and being brought back to the court setting, we are just about at the end. 

This near-ending chapter was written by Dan Jurgens with art by Ron Frenz. Let's jump right into this issue where the words, the art, and the action is all big and bombastic!

A Little Bit Of Kandor: Superman #107

I continue my brief look at Kandor stories with a look back to Superman #107 from 1995, a middle chapter in the overly long and mediocre Trial Of Superman arc.

Remember, when John Byrne took over Superman, he made him once again the Last Son of Krypton, the only survivor of the exploding planet. So Supergirl, the Phantom Zone villains, and the bottled city of Kandor all went away.

But that IP is too good to waste and so we got new, different versions of these characters. Remember, this is the time of  the Matrix Supergirl!

On to the book!

The appropriately named 'Bottled Up' was written by Dan Jurgens, with art by Ron Frenz and Joe Rubinstein.

Briefly, in the Trial of Superman, Superman is being tried by the intergalactic Tribunal for the crime of being responsible for the destruction of Krypton. Apparently, one of Kal's ancestors was somehow responsible for the people of Krypton being unable to leave the planet. So Kal, through the generations, is going to be the stand-in for his familial crime.

Team Superman, including Alpha Cneturion, bands together to head into space and rescue the Man of Steel.

So this issue starts out with a nice shot of the Super-family cruising on an asteroid, following a trail to where Superman went.

I like this group shot as the body positions tell us a bit of the characters' personalities. Love the upright Eradicator and somewhat youngish, demure Supergirl.

I like the concept of Team Superman.

Countdown #44 - Crisis On Infinite Earths #7 Moment

There are some times my life as a comic blogger takes me down odd rabbit holes.

First of all, I was shocked to discover that for some reason, I still have all 52 issues of Countdown in my collection. I thought for sure they were purged.

Then, as part of my #LeviathanTheory I decided to head into Countdown to look at Monarch. Just scanning covers, I decided to open up Countdown #44.

In the back of that issue (and in preceding issues) was a backup strip written and drawn by Dan Jurgens reviewing the multiverse.

This included a pretty detailed look back at all the prior JLA/JSA annual team-ups with flash back and homage panels done with usual Jurgens love.

But if this is a story reviewing the multiverse, it has to go to Crisis on Infinite Earths.