Review: Superman #22

Superman #22 came out this week, another good issue for writer Scotty Lobdell, a trend that has been true for this title since H'El on Earth played itself out. The Psi-War brewing between HIVE and Hector Hammond is certainly an engaging plot, one that Superman isn't well-equipped to deal with. But even within this arc, each issue has slightly improved from the last. It has been a while since I have looked forward to the Superman title. Right now, I am.

It helps that this issue actually gives us some time with Clark as well as with supporting cast members Cat Grant and Jimmy Olsen. Yes, Lois is completely absent from this issue. But I hope that means in the future she will get good moments like Cat and Jimmy get here. It also helps that Lobdell recaps the story so far by having Superman review the events in his head. It brought me up to speed and helped clear up the initial confusion of why H.I.V.E./Hammond are fighting when the last time we saw them (in Action Comics) they are allies. I knew that flash forward in Action would flummox me.

The art in the issue is done mostly by Eddy Barrows. I have always liked Barrows art but I have come to realize he just can't get things done on time. This issue is no difference. While Barrows does the bulk of the art, recent Smallville artist Daniel HDR pencils pages 13-15 and Geraldo Borges who did art on some of the Legion issues of Adventure Comics filled in on 16-18. Hat tip to blog friend Mart Gray of the great
Too Dangerous For A Girl comic review blog for the art breakdown. HDR and Borges style is cleaner, with less line work. But it is all good.

As usual, Kenneth Rocafort does stellar work on this cover. The whole point of the Queen is she is supposed to seduce you or fill you with honeyed word so you will obey her. This image works for that feel.

Last issue Hector Hammond was kidnapped by H.I.V.E. and brought to their headquarters. Unfortunately, Hammond's powers have been augmented by a sudden surge of electric energy. Still, the H.I.V.E. headquarters is Queen Bee's domain. Her troops surround Hammond and she demands that Hammond recognize his role as a mere tool in her plans to dominate the world.

I love this panel structure by Barrows. With the Queen apparently in charge, the panel is shaped like a honeycomb. The point of view here, looking up at the Queen gives her the feel of power, as if we are kneeling before her as well. Nice.

That art riff is flipped on its head on the next set of pages. It turns out the gun-wielding drones were psionic illusions by the Queen, a feint that Hammond saw through quickly.

Suddenly, the ordered honeycomb panels give way to round bulbous panels, not unlike Hammond's head. Suddenly the perspective is different, the Queen looking much less larger-than-life. As always, when art and words complement each other, comics are at their best.

I also have to say, I love that Hammond needs his own slaves to help him with even the most menial tasks. To see this soldier propping up Hammond's arm as he chokes the Queen added a slight element of humor to this scene.

As fun as this mini-skirmish was, the following scenes of Clark and the supporting cast were even better.

We get to hear Superman talk about how ill-prepared he is for a psionic war. He can't punch or heat vision a telepathic attack. And if it weren't for Orion's defenses, he would be helpless.

There is something about this sequence where we see multiple images of Superman turning into Clark that smacks of old-school comic fun. I thought this was great.

Lastly, I am glad that Clark seems to get the same weird vibe off of Dr. Veritas. She studies him closely. She makes veiled double entendres at him. She seems to know more about his capabilities than he does. I wouldn't be surprised if she becomes some New 52 version of Maxima or Rampage.

Clark meets up with Cat Grant. Clarkcatropolis.com, the revolutionary news blog site the two are trying to set up, is struggling. I love how Clark notices the small things about Cat that show she is hurting a bit financially. An empty Starbucks coffee cup and cheap shampoo. That doesn't sound like Cat.

But more importantly, it adds a bit of character to Cat Grant. This is the first incarnation of Cat I kinda-sorta like. She isn't vapid or hateful like prior versions. It would be easy for Cat to give up on this dream when things got tough but she isn't walking away. I am pretty sure the old Cat would never stick it out this long, let alone do this to begin with. Kudos to Lobdell for tweaking her character like this.

Now we can talk journalistic integrity at some other point but Clark decides it is time to break a big story on the site ... specifically a story he learned via his super-powers.

After last month's tip on The Twenty, Clark does some digging. It turns out that STAR Labs is holding some powerful young super-powered individuals as 'test subjects'. These are part of this mysterious Twenty.

Now I don't know if I like STAR Labs being turned into another big bad corporation instead of the upstanding research firm it has always been. Holding people against their will and experimenting with 'treatment'? Sounds nefarious. And knowing the DCU, it will turn out the military is funding this.

Lastly, I thought for sure the Twenty were going to be something mundane like The Hundred or Intergang. We learn that the Twenty are Twenty people who went missing during Brainiac's attack on Metropolis (as seen in Morrison's run). How the heck didn't more than twenty go missing? Are these people still missing? Or known to have been missing and then found? Since they are a legend ... how did that start?

Back at HIVE, we are again shown that Hammond is suddenly much more powerful than anticipated. The Queen is only able to escape by flashing an image of Hammond being shot by guns into Hector's head. There is a page of Hammond being literally blown to bits by guns that all turns out to be illusion. It is one of the things that I like about this story so far. I have to keep on my toes a bit because I might not be able to believe everything that I see.

The bottom line is Hammond suddenly has all that is H.I.V.E. at his disposal.

In a bit of a stretch to set up a scene, Superman decides to 'check in' on Jimmy. Last issue, Jimmy manifested Superman's personality trait of feeling utterly alone. (Now I don't think Superman ever feels that way ... but whatever).

Jimmy is living it up on his parents dime. Last month we heard they were dead and Jimmy inherited their billions. Here we learn they are famous and have 'gone missing', like many famous people do. There has to be more than this here.

My guess? The elder Olsens are 2 of the Twenty.

The conversation is broken up by a sudden earthquake as tentacles like those seen in Brainiac's attack on the city suddenly spring from the ground and start shaking the block apart. And then Superman's brain seems to overload and he crashes through the ground.

Did that tentacle attack really happen? Or were they also more illusion?

That is two references to Brainiac in this issue. We know from the solicits that he is on his way back to Earth.

Superman crashes right into the arms of the Queen Bee on the run.

And from her we learn even more about the Twenty. She is one of them. She (or they) has been preparing for Brainiac's return. She seems to have a lot of anti-Brainiac sentiment here. So she is an enemy of an enemy. Heck, she says she is trying to protect the city.

We should start ticking off the members of The Twenty we know of/suspect. Queen Bee. That actor from last issue. That ninja women from last issue. The Olsens. What about Dr. Veritas??

As for art, I love this sort of anti-pieta. Sure it looks like Michaelangelo's Pieta. But that is one evil looking Queen Bee. And I doubt she is supposed to be comforting/mourning Superman. It is a dark reflection of the classic Pieta and that works here.

So overall an entertaining issue on all levels. The PsiWar plot proceeds with Hammond and HIVE duking it out. We get some quality Clark/Cat moments. We learn Brainiac is enmeshed in this whole thing. And the art was solid throughout.

Not bad.

Overall grade: B/B+

Review: Worlds' Finest #12

Things have been clicking a bit more in Worlds' Finest and Worlds' Finest #12 continued the trend. After what seemed to be slow beginning to the title, the underlying threat of Apokolips has finally reared it's ugly head and set the pace of this book.

Now the draw for me to this book earlier was the excellent character interaction between Power Girl and Huntress. Writer Paul Levitz has always been one to create complex and three dimensional characters and these two are pretty interesting and layered. Huntress has the passion of Catwoman and the determination of Batman. She wants to honor her father but seems as ferocious as her mother. Power Girl has some of the down to Earth innocence of the Silver Age Supergirl, the edge and physical nature of classic Power Girl, and a sort of free spirited attitude with a voracious sexual appetite. There is a lot to be sifted through there.

But earlier, the character exploration was often wrapped up in some less than thrilling action sequences and plots.

The threat of a Fourth World invasion has been looming though. These two witnessed there world shattered and they don't want to see that here. And, as I said, that Apokoliptian ugly head is finally out in full view ... and what an ugly head it is! The New 52 DeSaad decides to stop skulking and bring the fight to the Worlds' Finest and, as a reader, am happy.

The art on the book is an interesting melange. I am a huge Ryan Sook fan and this cover with Karen finally in her old Power Girl outfit just popped of the rack. Kevin Maguire, Geraldo Borges, and Robson Rocha all contribute, each bringing a slightly different sensibility to their pages but all very slick.

Last month's cliffhanger had DeSaad reveal that he was taking the form of Michael Holt. While the heroes see him in his true form, the other convention attendees and security guards still see him as Holt. As a result it looks like Karen and Helena are attacking the CEO of a tech company.

I have talked about Karen's edge and ferocity. Unfortunately, those attributes don't mesh very well with her position in StarrWare. At this well-attended convention she stomps on the floor with super-strength and fights security guards. Imagine if Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg did that. It would be everywhere.

And if that wasn't enough to blow your cover, Karen then literally flies out of the room, scooping Helena on the way out. Helena may be a 'no one' who can fade away. I doubt that Karen has the same anonymity.

Lastly, I will say that I am sad to see Kevin Maguire leave the book. I absolutely love his art. I suppose this image as a nice one to go out on.

One of the odd things about this book has been the flashbacks to earlier adventures. I understand that these two came to this Earth 5 years ago and have been living stealthily for most of that. And the flashbacks in the beginning of this title were almost necessary, catching us up on what Karen and Helena were up to these last few years. But I feel I have a pretty good feel for their history now. Maybe we just need to live in the now.

Even here, in this flashback, Helena is investigating Hakkou, the villain from the first issues. That means we have kind of caught up. This flashback actually happened somewhere around issue five.

Anyways, we again see some great characterization here. Helena is upset at herself for not having perfect battle form. And Power Girl is upset at having to leave a party to bail out Huntress. Her casual destruction of the criminals' lair speaks of that aggravation.

Ahh, but this is my favorite moment of the book showing the complexity of Power Girl.

She talks about the sheltered life she had as Superman's 'secret weapon'. That is pure early Supergirl and I am glad that Levitz is trying to incorporate some of the early Supergirl incarnation into Karen.

And when freed from the shadow of his cape, Karen is happy to be in the spotlight and famous. Look at that wide-eyed expression. She seems giddy with her new life as she tries to catch up on all the things she feels she missed out on. It is a wild concoction of exuberance and adrenaline and hormones and freedom all with a whiff of naivete.

Just wonderful.

Back in the present, it seems as if Karen attacking Holt and flying out of a hotel isn't newsworthy. What is news is that StarrWare is being attacked on an industrial level, losing out on contracts and having her best staff hired away. The assumption is that DeSaad is raiding her company.

Falling Starr? Maybe falling out of her dress??

I guess fan service is going to happen in this book. Is this any better than the 'ever shredded' costume. I mean, would Time ever run this cover? And Karen says she had a .... ahem ... nice relationship with the Time reporter.

The attacks go beyond industrial espionage. Somya, Power Girl's ever present assistant, tells them that the StarrWare facility in Cambridge is under attack.

With no delay the two are off to battle. Again, this shows something of the 'act now, think later' physicality of Power Girl. She doesn't wait for Helena to change, forcing her to switch into fighting gear mid-air.

I have to say, it is comforting to see Power Girl back in her original uniform. It would have been nice to have one line about it since not everyone may have read Supergirl #19.

The Cambridge attack is a feint. With Power Girl and Huntress off ground, DeSaad boom tubes in some tanks and lays waste to the home front.

I have said all along there was a feeling of deeper feelings in Somya. I assumed obsession (comparing her to Mrs. Danvers, the obsessed maid in Hitchcock's Rebecca). Turns out Levitz went with love, a delicious thing for DeSaad to snuff out. Somya becomes a casualty in this private war.

So a couple of things here. Prior to this, I always had the feeling that Somya was more middle-aged. Maybe that is why that obsession idea seemed so reasonable. In this issue she comes off as much younger.

Also, it felt weird that DeSaad would bring in plain old tanks to do his dirty work. Tanks?

Returning to the chaos, Helena and Karen decide it is time to be proactive. They decide to go underground and strike rather than allow others close to them to be attacked.

Now is part of that 'going underground' due to Karen's use of powers at the convention? I don't know. I do like these two acting here rather than reacting.

So no complaints here. I thought this was a good issue. As I said before, it is the complexity of the characters that I enjoy the most. There are almost contradictory elements in both Huntress' and Power Girl's personalities here just bubbling under the surface.

And as I said, the art was very good throughout.

Overall grade: B+

Review: R.E.B.E.L.S. #12

I have championed the R.E.B.E.L.S. book on this blog for a while now. It is the only non-'super' title I review here. The book has been something of a critical success but that never seemed to translate to sales.

Ahhh ... but then the Blackest Night crossover issues happened and suddenly R.E.B.E.L.S. was selling 3-5X as many copies as usual.

That Blackest Night blitz hit home with this issue at my local comic book store. The store was getting issues based on the prior sales and so only had a few copies of R.E.B.E.L.S. # 12 on the wall. In fact they had made sure they had grabbed the issue for subscribers who have the book on their pull list (like me) early to make sure those loyal readers got a copy. The store thought it didn't have enough R.E.B.E.L.S. issues for the demand. That couldn't be said before. It will be interesting to see if the Blackest Night issues were enough of a hook to keep people coming back long term.

One thing I have to say about the book is that things continue to move forward. Tony Bedard continues to show us enough of all the characters he is dealing with. No one is lost for too long. And everyone's story seems to be moving forward.

This was the first issue drawn by someone other than Andy Clarke or Claude St. Aubin. I don;t know much about Gerlado Borges but his style seems to fit the book nicely.

And always, the best issues of this book showcase Vril Dox and this issue does just that. I mean look at the 'in your face' cover, Dox holding high the head of Despero. It's certainly eye catching.


The Blackest Night portion of the story is wrapped up pretty quickly in this issue. Last issue, Dox threw Starro and the various Black Lanterns back onto Maltus. Starro has been battling non-stop for days, knocking down the Black Lanterns only to have them reintegrate themselves.

Starro has become a deeper character over the last few months. It is clear there is a degree of self-loathing in him. He continues to aggressively accrue power and slaves but he seems to want to lose. He needs something other than conquest to define him, challenge him and this battle seems to fit the bill.

Even Brainiac 3 notes that Starro seems to enjoy the fact that he is in danger, a new sensation for the dictator I am sure. I am also stunned at the sheer strength of Starro. Fighting a handfull of Black Lanterns for days without rest. That's prodigious. My guess is that mental flaw will somehow play into his downfall.

Brainiac 3 is a bit more pragmatic. This battle will eventually rip through the planet. It has to stop. So Lyrl copies Daddy Vril's idea and teleports the Lanterns away, on the edge of a black hole where they will be simply swallowed up by the universe.

Now who knows what will happen to everything after Blackest Night but I was sort of sad to see Stealth disappear. I was hoping she would somehow be de-zombied and would join the book.

But that taste of danger must be intoxicating for Starro because he tells Lyrl that the Starro wave should be pointed towards Earth where all the action is.

Meanwhile , the 'dark star' Omega Men are dealing with their own issues. Remember that when we last saw them, Broot had somehow tapped into the hive mind of Starro's slaves. At first it looked like the slaves would attack but after a bit they calm down back into their mind-numbed state.

However, in that brief moment of union, Broot picked up on a suppressed memory. Starro has another weakness that can be exploited.

With the subplots taken care of the remainder of the issue is devoted to the R.E.B.E.L.S. team.

The ship lands on Port Slarvit with the plan to repair the ship and plan their attack against Starro. As expected, Strata leaves the team to protect her husband and child.

The rest of the team realizes that Starro needs to be stopped and it has to be now before he gets even more powerful. But Xylon also lays down the law, Dominator-style. If you quit, he'll kill you.

Can we even call this R.E.B.E.L.S. group a team? I don't think they particularly like each other. A Dominator, a super-villain, a couple of super-heroes, a Durlan, a Khund. Not exactly a cozy group. In fact, R.E.B.E.L.S. might be the best term because they each are in some way rebelling against what they would normally do to 'serve' under Dox. I mean ... Xylon has the L.E.G.I.O.N. symbol as his caste circle now. That is almost treasonous.

Dox then splits the team into three groups that will obtain the elements he needs to create his super-weapon. Xylon, Bounder, and Ciji will obtain a Dominator gene bomb. Kanjar Ro, Captain Comet, and Wildstar will obtain the shards of Ro's Gamma Gong. And Dox, Hakk, and Tribulus will go to Kalanor to get Despero.



Xylon's break from Dominator tradition is hammered home in that team's scene. The scientists at a remote Dominator facility decry his wearing the L.E.G.I.O.N. symbol. You can feel his shame in that middle panel.

Still the plan moves forward as Ciji helps him obtain the bomb.

In another surprising development, it appears the death of Despero was overstated. He is still alive and well, just slowly regenerating. Hakk and Tribulus rip through the face-hugged Kalanor troops as they make their way to Despero's head.

I love how Hakk tells Dox that Brainiac 'leaves corpses' wherever he goes. I love how it is clear that the R.E.B.E.L.S. may respect Dox' abilities but they don't particularly like him. The members almost follow his orders begrudgingly. Like any good leader, Dox seems to bring the best out of his subordinates.

Now why Dox needs Despero to assassinate Starro ... that's anybody's guess.


In the meantime, Captain Comet and Wildstar obtain the Gamma Gong shards.

Kanjar Ro, who was with them at the beginning of the mission, seems to abandon the team. As Ro runs off, Comet says the team has too many egomaniacs as it is. Again, it is a jab at Dox' style. That said, Comet is still following the orders. It is as if Dox knows just what buttons to push to keep his soldiers obeying, to keep his plans moving forward.

All of this shows the interesting mash of a character that Dox is. He isn't the traditional comic book hero. Some might even call him villainous in his self-promotion. How would expect Despero would have the best line of the issue summing up Brainiac so perfectly.

"The way you play them against each other,I always wondered why you champion law and order." A hero pitting his teammates into conflict, pretending to champion law and order ... perfect.

I have said it before ... Dox is the straw that stirs the drink of this comic. He is a fascinating character.



He even uses some subterfuge within the team. Ro didn't run off ... he was following Dox' orders.

Look at the smug look on Despero's face as we hear the first hints of a Dox/Ro/Despero entente.

But really, who thinks that Dox isn't going to double cross these guys? There can't be honor among megalomaniacs. Dox is too controlling to share anything with this scum. They are unwittingly serving him, thinking there will be a reward somewhere down the line.

Finally, the Omega Men find out why Starro suppressed that particular memory. On one of his conquered planets there is plant toxin that can kill the Starro starfish. Another weapon! Okay, this one seemed a little deus ex machina ... but that said, there had to be some natural weakness in the Starros. I mean, even Superman has Kryptonite.

As usual, this comic was great. After a brief lull in momentum in the early issues as Dox put his team together, this book's pacing has been moving at great speed. And as usual, Bedard does a great job keeping tabs on everybody, giving everybody a unique voice, and still giving Dox the space he needs in the book. That can't be easy.

This was tied with Adventure Comics #6 for my favorite book of the week.

Overall grade: B+/A