Review: Absolute Superman #17

Absolute Superman #17 came out this week, the finale of a quick two parter bringing Absolute Hawkman and Absolute Superman together to fight the Parasite. The first arc of this book was something of a slow burn, world-building and introducing our cast and fleshing them out. So this fast, action packed and brief story was an interesting change of pace.

Quick doesn't mean light or superficial. Writer Jason Aaron infuses the whole story with a comparison of Hawkman and Superman, their approach to 'heroics' and morality. Hawkman is an 'ends justify the means' guy. Superman is a much more inspirational figure, willing to sacrifice himself to save anyone else. Add in the Parasite, who seems more of a victim than a villain here, perhaps another way the Absolute Universe is a new angle and approach to characters. But the hero here is still Superman, who has matured in this book already, becoming the hero this world needs.

Juan Ferreyra again brings a sort of pastel panache to the proceedings. He brings the horror of the Parasite as well a Brainiac as well. This book has, at times, veered into body horror and we see that here. It is all gorgeously if not grotesquely rendered. 

I wouldn't mind a few more of these mini-arcs to help increase the mythos of this Superman.

On to the book.

Review: Absolute Superman #16

Absolute Superman #16 came out last week and was another fast-paced book for this title which was a sort of simmering pot for the first 13 issues. Writer Jason Aaron was doing a wonderful job of world-building in the first year of this title, layering depth so we understood this Kal's history and world. It stood out as a stark contrast to the go-go-go world of Absolute Batman. But with the Ra's book behind us, Aaron is putting his foot on the gas.

That isn't to say that Aaron has moved away from character moments and world-building. This issue gives us a lot of new threads and seeds to follow. Obviously, we get a lot of Absolute Hawkman in here, first seen in the Absolute Evil one-shot. We see his origin and we learn about his mission. And he is a brawler much like his main-universe counterpart. But we also get Lois moment, Clark moments, and the addition of an Absolute version of a classic Superman villain. I say it all the time. I didn't think I'd love this book. But this feels like an inspirational Superman doing his best in a dark world. Aaron is truly building this world.

Juan Ferreyra is again on art and brings a lot of action to the proceedings. He also is on color and I love how everything pops. There are flashback scenes in a sepia overtone. The color of the Sol-less cape blazes against the sort of washed out Hawkman. The action really is palpable. If this series becomes a 'Rafael Sandoval on one arc, Ferreyra on the next', I'd be happy!

On to the book!

Review: Batman/Superman World's Finest #45

Batman/Superman World's Finest #45 came out last week and it is hard for me to think this book is almost 4 years old. The format of intermittent adventures from some elsewhen in the past has worked perfectly in giving us fun, entertaining stories reaching into the deep recesses of the DCU with a both a classic feel and a modern sensibility. Time flies!

This issue starts a new arc bringing us a Joker/Luthor team-up, the perfect contrast to our heroes. Throw in a guest star and some nods to some Silver/Bronze age goodness and you have another win. Writer Mark Waid has been walking that tightrope of classic and new for a while and definitely continues to shine. For me, the best part of this set-up issue is that a Lex/Joker team-up would not be an easy alliance. These two would not get along even if they have similar difficulties with heroes.

Adrian Gutierrez remains on art and his scratchy, energized style works very well with this story. An intangible Lex falling through a building? A violent Hawkman lashing out against the villains? A mash-up of Lex/Joker? All those things leans into his strengths and he hits it out of the park.

This is an opening chapter to an arc so we are just starting out here but there is a zaniness to this story already which was refreshing. 

On to the book.

Review: Justice League United #2

Justice League United #2 came out last week and acted the way a third chapter of an arc should. There was a lot of exposition. And there was a major step forward in plot bringing us closer to the finale.Writer Jeff Lemire and artist Mike McKone continue to put together an exciting and entertaining opening story bringing the members of this League together to fight an intergalactic threat.

Lemire also is starting to build up some of the relationships that will define the team. We see (as we have seen) the teasing one-upping between Animal Man and Green Arrow. We have seen Courtney hugging an uncomfortable J'Onn. And finally we have Supergirl in the mix and we see how she differs from Stargirl. Unlike the general prickly feeling Johns has given all the relationships in the main Justice League book, Lemire has already made this team more likable and more realistic in how they interact.

McKone continues to bring his very smooth style to the proceedings. In particular, I like the way McKone makes aliens seem alien, from both physiology and fashion. And we get to see a beautiful shot of his Supergirl.

Last issue, we had the bulk of the League fighting the ever changing Unimaginable in Canada only to be somehow teleported off to Rann.

I love this interaction which actually is a whole page of similar panels, Courtney trying to interrupt the bickering between Buddy and Ollie. I think it is amusing how they belittle each other ... but without an edge of hatred or angst. I don't think they are friends yet. I do think they mean these words. But it feels more like banter than the distrust and anger we occasionally saw between the big 6 in Justice League.

And after insulting each other, it is completely ironic that Green Arrow calls himself one of the grown-ups. He is completely childish here!

Unfortunately (or fortunately for Earth), the Unimaginable has also made the trip.

I really like that second panel with Buddy channeling some Rannian winged monkey to fight this thing. And the coloring works well here to. For some reason the orange background with the red ape works for the action more than a simply starry background.

As the team struggles, a helping hand streaks in!

At last Supergirl joins in!

She 'heard' the battle from half a galaxy away and came over to help. I suppose that is a good thing. It means Lemire writes a Supergirl whose first inclination is to help people even if she is far away. Now why she was out there anyways. It seems like a little too much serendipity.

I don't know how to take the 'my name is Kara'. Is she being friendly, telling Courtney her real name? Or is she shying away from the Supergirl moniker? The semi-irritated expression makes me think the latter.

We heard about how Stargirl is the epitome of the 'young, bright, optimistic' DC Universe. And we heard how Supergirl is the 'angry bull-headed loner'. Here is their first interaction.

The bubbly Courtney recaps the last issue in one balloon. She even throws in the 'cute' Animal Man comment. But Supergirl can't wait for the lengthy retelling. She tells Courney to breathe and then just wants to spring into action.

Not a bad contrast. Although I think Courtney seems a bit too naive.

Before Kara can smash the thing, the creature is imprisoned in a force bubble. And the League is also put into a separate bubble.

The Rannians have arrived to take control of the situation. They are responsible for this creature. Isolating it in the field robs it of its energy source so it quickly devolves back to the little baby we saw before.

Meanwhile, the League won't stay imprisoned. Even though the Rannians and their leader Sardath want to just find out the League's intentions, J'Onn won't stand for it. He walks through the field and threatens them.

This seems a little dark for J'Onn but I will admit I haven't read much of his New 52 persona. Maybe this is par for the course?

And is this Sardath going to be Alanna's father in the New 52?

Meanwhile, in Byth's lab headquarters, Lobo has been tasked with killing all the prisoners who were being experimented on. With Ultra the Multi-Alien born, there is no need for genetic material.

Before the Czarian can get to the wetworks, Hawkman re-arrives, his hand regenerating. It's round 2.

The explanation is the Nth metal is healing Katar. But is the hand itself made of Nth metal? Does his Nth metal armor heal him? Boy, a touch of explanation here would have gone a long way.

We head back to Rann where we get an extremely dense, quite wordy section of exposition where Sardath explains to the League about the lab they stumbled across and Byth. There are very big, stuffed word balloons the rest of the way.

As in the past incarnations of the DCU, Rann is in the middle of a very chaotic area of space. War has torn the place apart. Thanagar fighting Czarnia fighting Tamaran fighting Psions fighting Dominators fighting Daemonites.

Rann tried to keep the peace, remain neutral, and become a place of refuge for the displaced. With a peace treaty signed, Sardath came up with an idea. Why not create a being from all the genes of the peaceful races, a symbol of peace and unity, a 'child of all worlds'.

And so they gathered samples from everywhere, even races not involved in the peace treaty, even people not willingly giving samples.

I do like this page, Sardath recounting the gathering while we see different environments.

This is the best Supergirl moment of the book.

She isn't going to let Sardath gloss over the fact that he was taking from beings without consent. While it might not have been kidnapping, or harmful, it still sounds like a violation. Good for Kara for stepping up.

Turns out Byth took over the operation for nefarious reasons. He escaped ARGUS and decided to use the experiment to make a weapon. Hmmm ... was Byth mentioned as an inmate of the Circus in Sterling Gates' Vibe?

Knowing Byth has probably made a terrible weapon, Sardath decided to bring these heroes to Rann with the Unimaginable to try to convince them to help.

It is a nice moment. J'Onn says the group is helping not for Rann because it is what is right. They are the Justice League. They fight for what's right.

I would love just a little bit more of this scene. Does Ollie really want to go? Does Supergirl just join in? Or does everybody just give the little nod and jump in?

Anyways, glad Supergirl stuck around. An earlier Kara might say it didn't involve her and simply fly off.

Instead we head straight to the action, bringing us full circle to the opening scene of JLU #0.

With a skirmish in the lab ongoing, Adam finds Alanna.

But Ultra awakens!

I am really enjoying this book. The story line is of a grand scope and involves the more cosmic pieces of the DCU. But more importantly, the interaction of the characters is great. This isn't simply an action story. This is a team book with personalities and characterization. I am enjoying that stuff as much as the punching and blasting.

And this issue kept the wheel turning. We know the whats and whys of Byth's plot. We have the team intact. And we have a cliffhanger, prepping for a nice action piece and heading to the finale.

So far, this title is a nice mix of Silver Age plots, great characterization, and superb art. While this is a denser issue than the past, we needed that exposition to fill in the details. No complaints.

Overall grade: B+

Review: Justice League United #1

Justice League United #1 came out last week, the last of 6 issues from that week I needed to review. So I am a little late to the game. JLU will be on the review list because at some point Supergirl will join the team. We aren't there yet by writer Jeff Lemire is building the team slowly and showcasing some of the foundation of character interaction.

I definitely liked the zero issue of the book because I felt there wasn't the mean streak that I have seen in the New 52. These were heroes, brought together by chance, working together for good, with very little angst, paranoia, or negativism. Even the snarks between Green Arrow and Animal Man felt like good natured ribbing as opposed to anger or aloofness. As a result, it felt more like a Silver/Bronze age vibe dressed in modern sensibilities. That is definitely a compliment. I have talked about the mono-tone nature of the DCU. This book felt different.

For the most part, this issue continued that feel. Unfortunately there is a 100% New 52 nonsense moment in the middle of this book that it jarred me out of the story.  More on that soon.

Mike McKone continues to do a great job on this book. There is a slick clean feel to the book and McKone uses panel shapes and splashes to keep the reader engaged. Colorist Marcelo Maiolo uses the 'bright red' contrast background in this issue ... but maybe too much. I think it should be reserved for just 1-2 panels a book.

The plot is split between two sites. One is Canada where the earth bound heroes have stumbled across an alien genetic lab and are battling a monster. The other is Alana and Hawkman on a planet near Thanagar.

I have always liked the 'teammates by chance' origin stories in comics, heroes brought together at random to fight an enemy. Here we see some members of the JLA with Adam Strange and Animal Man coming together as a team.

The creature seems unstable ... enraged and mutable. Blasts of cosmic energy by Courtney change it from fire to stone to wind and wood. I couldn't help but wonder if its forms are a subtle homage to the Appelax meteor creatures in the original JLA origin.

This is one of those red panels that seems a bit excessive.

Within the battle, Adam Strange finds a closet of rocket-suits within the lab. And just like that we have Adam Strange, hero of Earth. Nice splash page showcasing him.

I don't know if I like the fact that this is simply a mass produced uniform as opposed to something more special. And at least Lemire has Strange struggle with using it at first. He shouldn't be able to simply strap this thing on and be spectacular flying.

J'onn attempts to link to the creatures mind and we get a glimpse into its tortured past.

This is another failed experiment in this lab. It is an unstable creature, flipping between forms. Prior failures have been 'disposed' by Lobo. But this one was kept alive, probably for a reason like this ... to release as a weapon/distraction.

I have to say, it made me feel bad for this thing.

Note, another red panel. Could this be worthy of the extreme coloring?

And then the New 52 happened.

On the other planet, Alana is leading a prisoner revolt. Amid that, Hawkman fights Lobo. And then ... gasp ... Lobo cuts off Hawkman's arm!

It seems to be a running theme in the new 52, especially recently, that characters get dismembered. It has become such a standard operating procedure that it is simply no longer shocking. In fact I find it either depressing or laughable. Is there a quota? Do we need a one-armed Hawkman?

This New 52 moment is so different than the tone of the rest of the book that it felt out of place.

I do suppose that if one panel was going to have the red background, this would be the one.

Back on Earth, the creature takes off and the heroes need to give chase.

One thing I like about this book, even in its short history, is the relationship between Buddy and Ollie. They snark and tease each other leading to a nice crackle between them. That is made even more powerful when thinking of Buddy's eulogy in Futures End. You know these pointed comments at one point become more friendly barbs.

I love just how embarrassed Ollie is at needing to be carried by Buddy. Fantastic.

In the issue, Courtney really gets a chance to shine. We have heard that Lemire wants her to be the bright optimistic face of the DC youth and she sure sounds it here.

Sent on ahead since her cosmic staff is the only thing to effect this thing, Courtney really wants to prove herself. I am a fan of young heroes trying to live up an ideal and learning the ropes. So my guess is I will like Courtney in this book.

Blasting it into several forms (a red-paneled close-up of her face each time), she finally makes it into wood. And J'onn shatters it into so much splinters.

I do like that Courtney hugs J'onn afterward. She wants him to be proud of her. She is thrilled he is okay.

McKone does a great job here in that first panel - J'onn stiff, his hands open while she clutches him. He is clearly uncomfortable.

I wonder how J'Onn fans feel about this unemotional, distant reaction. I will admit I haven't read enough of him in the New 52 to know if this is consistent.

And I suppose it could be that he was switching amongst elements. But we saw fire, wood, stone ... was I reaching with this Appelax meteor idea?

Turns out I was, but I might have been on the right track. On Twitter, Jeff Lemire said his inspiration was another old JLA villain, The Unimaginable.

And on the moon near Thanagar, Byth has changed shape to be Adam Strange to try to lure Alana into his clutches. And it works.

I love this panel as he reveals himself. This multi-pseudopodded tongue is completely evocative of how Tim Truman drew him in Hawkworld. That Byth was scary-creepy. So this was fantastic!

And finally we get to the heart of the matter, what Byth has been trying to create with all these experiments. He has wanted to create a slayer of worlds ... and he has with Ultra, the Multi-Alien!!

Oh my god! Ultra the Multi-Alien repurposed for the modern comics! I have said that there is this delicious fudge ripple of Silver Age embedded in this book. And is there anything more Silver Age-y than Ultra? This is inspired.

So no Supergirl but still a very entertaining, fun, and beautiful comic. If only that dis-arming didn't happen!

Overall grade: B/B+

Joe Kubert 1926-2012

I sadly learned yesterday about the passing of Joe Kubert.

My first interaction with Kubert was an unknown issue which reprinted some of the earliest Silver Age Hawkman issues from his arrival from Thanagar to fighting the Manhawks. I absolutely loved that issue, reading and rereading it until it disintegrated in my hands. To this day when I picture Hawkman in my head it is definitely a Kubert Hawkman.

I will admit that my appreciation of Kubert's art grew as I matured as a comics fan. As I grew older, I saw just how fluid his art was, effortlessly showing action, dramatically setting the panel at the right angle with the right composition. I can remember the first time I recognized how great Kubert was when I was 12 reading Justice League of America #200. In his chapter of the book, Hawkman must try to stop Superman from regaining an Appelex meteor. It was this chapter that struck me the most for its art ... and that is saying something since Brian Bolland, George Perez, Jim Aparo, and Pat Broderick all contributed!

After that, and as I grew older, I began to see his genius in all the things he did ... from Tarzan to Enemy Ace to Sgt. Rock.  But his Hawkman remains my favorite followed closely by his Viking Prince.

I met Mr. Kubert at the Boston Comic Con 2 years ago. I got him to sign my copy of DC Special #5 issue dedicated to him as well as one of my favorite issues of all time First Issue Special #9.

He was such an amiable person, listening to me blather about how much I loved his work, and even flipping through the DC Special issue with me to show the picture he drew of his family inside.

My condolences to the family. The comic's world has lost a legend.