Review: My Adventures Of Superman #6

One of the things that happens when there is a sudden glut of books to review (weekly Action Comics with 2 reviews a week for example) is that inevitably something will get forgotten or pushed back.

Sorry My Adventures of Superman #6. 

The book came out a while ago and was the final chapter of the six part mini-series which bridged seasons 1 and 2 of the television show.

Writer Josie Campbell, a creative on the show, maintained the tap dance nature of the show being all things at once and somehow being cohesive. Wholesome? Yes. Action forward? Yes. Progressive? Yes. Funny and charming? Yes. 

It isn't easy to juggle so many significantly different feels but somehow Campbell does it. And here, she has the ending line up nicely with the 'upcoming' story of Season 2. Superman and the team has to help Amazo understand that each individual gets to determine who they are. Here it is Amazo coming to understand that they are more than a mechanized weapon; they are a being with choice. In season 2, they have to convince a brain-washed and traumatized Kara the same. It resonates.

Artist Pablo Collar continues to bring that anime-style to the proceedings. Here, the finale feels like a big robo show with a mecha trying to stop a doomsday device. The battle is wild and writ large and looks great. But, much like a good anime, there are the quiet family moments that also need to shine.

I don't know how this sold. I wonder if another mini will come out to bridge season 2 and the upcoming season 3. I hope so because giving us a peek at a Kara acclimating to Earth would be great. On to the book. 

Review: My Adventures With Superman #5

My Adventures with Superman #5 came out this week, the penultimate issue of this mini-series bridging the two seasons of the show. It is interesting to see just how much Kryptonian tech and concern for a Kryptonian invasion permeates the whole IP. 

Writer Sophia Campbell continues to create a sort of three-dimensional universe for this take on Superman. First and foremost, she writes an inspirational Superman and inspirational Lois. These are both heroes in their own right. This is a Superman who lifts people up by telling them that acts are more important than words. That there is no fate save that what we make. And that you can shake off expectations if we want. It is clear that Amazo, a now sentient robot with a nefarious reason for existing, is going to be a full hero, someone who sacrifices himself to save others. Some of that is because he has been befriended and supported by Superman. I'm okay with it.

Pablo Collar continues to do a great job on art. There is that cartoony/anime style that jibes with the cartoon. But he has to do serious action here. He also has to bring in mecha, hand beams, airplanes, and brawling. Again, that makes this feel like a true separate universe. 

I know we are getting a 3rd season of the show. So I hope we get another bridging mini. 

On to the book. 

Review: My Adventures With Superman #4

My Adventures With Superman #4 came out last week and continued to be a fun, heart-warming, and surprisingly action-packed book. This also pushed the Amazo storyline forward in an interesting way. You know I love mysteries and now we have one. 

Writer Josie Campbell continues to walk that tightrope of whimsy and serious, character moments and action moments, progressive plots mixed with nostalgic callbacks. I seriously don't know how she does it. This book opens with the Kents talking at length about family, unconditional love, parents teaching and learning, and the power of Christmas. The book ends with a brawl between Superman and Amazo, Checkmate, and Task Force X. In between that there is humor, romance, and at least two callbacks. 

Artist Pablo Collar continues to walk his own fine line between the anime style and more standard comic style. I like his take on Amazo. I love his Checkmate armor. But it is the early portion with the Kents and Lois that I think he really shines, bring warmth to everything.

Add a decent cliffhanger and you have a winner.

On to the book. 

Review: My Adventures With Superman #3

My Adventures With Superman #3 came out last week, another solid chapter in the all ages book. 

Much like the cartoon, the comic walks a bit of a tight rope and in a good way. There is humor. There is whimsy. There is torture. There is action. It is hard to work a balance like that but somehow show runner and comic book writer Sophia Campbell is able to pull it off.

This chapter nudges the plot along. Amazo has consciousness. As a living being, even if an android, it should be spared that. So Superman is helping it while the government hunts it down. Add in some fun antics of our squad trying to keep Amazo out of the military's hands and you have fun episode.

Artist Pablo Collar continues to do a good job of keeping the feel of the show while rendering a visually active book layout. The battle scene at the end of the book in particular is well paged and paced. 

All  together, the tone of the comic continues to mirror the progressive, fun, occasionally dark tone of the show. That makes this a great arc to have happened between seasons. 

On to the book.

Review: My Adventures With Superman S2E10

The second season of My Adventures With Superman ended this weekend with the final episode, titled 'My Adventures With Supergirl'. 

As usual, this episode was filled with great anime-infused action, great character moments, and some nice DCU homages and references. I'll say it again. I like this show. I love the Clark/Lois interactions and arc. I love how deep it dives into the DCU. And even this whole storyline about Brainiac has been solid.  This is a good show.

The depth of Brainiac's involvement in the destruction of Krypton ratchets him up as a villain. Although I do have to wonder about his overall strategy in some places. The theme about Clark feeling alone and how he overcame that on Earth is a nice parallel to how Kara was raised. I like how we see Superman as an inspiration, making some of the villains from earlier episodes rally around him to fight Brainiac.

And, of course, the season ends with the redemption of Kara. No surprises there. But, no surprise, we have to darken things up one last time to make the redemption that much brighter. We see, in no uncertain terms, that Kara was raised as a psychologically abused child. We know she is a killer of worlds, even if she was being controlled. You'd think she still feel some guilt about that. In this episode we see one more time how she has been controlled by Brainiac. One more fight against Superman ... of course.

Look, am I glad Supergirl is on a successful cartoon? Yes. Am I glad she is redeemed at the end? Yes. Do I hope we get a season three with Kara as a cast member? Yes. 

But I still think Josie Campbell could have done almost this exact story without all the trauma, without all the carnage, without all the darkness. I will never say 'I'm glad she was a dupe and a weapon and an unwitting killer of worlds'. I don't need it. 

Still, hopefully it's all in the past and if this show goes on she's a true hero. 

On to the particulars. Settle in. There is a lot to talk about.

Review: My Adventures With Superman #2

The comic My Adventures With Superman #2 came out last week, the second part of a mini-series with Superman dealing with a new version of Amazo.

I have been watching and enjoying the show this comic is based on, even while dealing with its terrible backstory behind Supergirl. This is a new Superman universe so everything feels fresh here as we see Clark learning his powers, dealing with his dual identity, and (most importantly) loving Lois Lane. 

This comic continues to focus on the Lois/Clark relationship as well as Jimmy being part of the news team. The scenes that sing the most in this book are those of these three interacting. I especially like Lois and Clark sort of feeling each other out as new daters. Part of that is learning more about this Lois and contrasting (and comparing) her to her father. Given what we have seen this season on the show, I like seeing more of what life was like growing up as Lois with Sam.

In this issue, the Jimmy/Clark/Lois trio head into an army base to try to find and free the Amazo robot. But it isn't Superman; it's Clark. Seeing him deal with decreased powers and try to remain a hero and help Amazo is another part of this chapter that works well. 

We end on a solid cliffhanger putting Clark in some peril. 

Pablo Collar brings the style of the show to the book as well making this smoothly slide into this universe. 

On to the book.

Review: My Adventures With Superman S2E7

My Adventure With Superman S2 E7 came out this weekend and was a fun side adventure showing just how Lois and Jimmy ended up in deep space at the end of E6. 

Titled 'Olsen's Eleven', a nice grown up homage to the heist Ocean's films, the episode has Lois and Jimmy putting together a gang to steal a jumpship out of STAR Labs. Having them team up with some 'villains' added a fun element. 

The show is a bit progressive and certainly in line with the current themes of comics. The 'villains', like Livewire and Heat Wave, or Brain and Mallah, are in loving, committed relationships and only want to live their best lives freely. Meanwhile, the usual 'good guys' are militaristic and dictatorial. 

Supergirl herself is only in this episode for a few seconds. But her presence is felt throughout. The government is using her as propaganda to tout the anti-Superman, anti-alien message. Lois also thinks of her as a threat and is ready to use deadly force. Meanwhile, Jimmy keeps bringing up how Kara seems to have a good heart and is who she is because of the lack of love in her upbringing. 

I'll say it again. I know Supergirl will be left in a good place when this season ends. It is the story to bring us there, the 'genocidal, mind-controlled weapon' of the villain that I don't like. It is a shame we couldn't get a different, less dark, less difficult origin for her in this universe. Because I have been very entertained by this show. We are on the redemption trail. How I would have loved something less edgy from the start! Ah well.

On to some particulars.

My Adventures With Superman S2 E6 - Darkest Of Dark Supergirls

Last week I reviewed the fifth episode of My Adventures With Supergirl. It was the introduction of Supergirl to the show and it wasn't pretty. She was once again portrayed as the dupe of the villain and basically dark.

Well, I just watched My Adventures With Superman S2 E6, "The Machine Who Would Be Empire", and if you thought E5's Kara was a dark Supergirl, you ain't seen nothing yet. In this episode we finally hear the name Brainiac as the bad guy. And he has been acting as Kara's 'father'.

I'll start out by saying it is clear that Kara has been mentally tortured throughout her life, raised by a heartless Brainiac who has warped her thoughts and bent her into a tool for his evil. He also seems to have outright mind control over her. In many ways, she isn't responsible for the vile events she has done. And settle in because they are despicable.

I'll also say that I know that in the end this Kara will turn, become a hero, and be a force of good. We see in many places in this episode she has a good heart at her core.

But neither of those two things, her manipulation or her good heart and eventual hero turn, make up for what I had to watch here. 

Because this decision to do this to Supergirl was just that ... a creative decision. Show runner Josie Campbell could have introduced Kara in any sort of ways. But instead she chose to make Kara a tool for the villain, a genocidal maniac, a person who at the end of this episode is living in pain.  

They made Supergirl the villain again. They made her emotionally and psychologically abused again. And they made her dark again. 

And frankly I'm sick of it.

Because we start the episode with her bathed in red light, angry eyes, and vowing to convince Kal to join her in rebuilding the Krypton Empire with her 'father'.

My Adventures Of Supergirl S2 E5 - Dark Supergirl ... Again!

My Adventures With Superman S2 E5 dropped this weekend. 

I had fears going into this episode. Big fears. Fears that Supergirl would be brainwashed, duped, or outright evil. Because as a Supergirl fan, I know that her character is often mistreated. She is used as a plot device. She is used to elevate Superman. She is not treated like the resilient hero she should be.

Now I know that there is a very good chance that at the end of this season Supergirl will see the error of her ways and end up being a hero. But seeing her evil or dark or manipulated has been done too often, has been done incessantly, and is really a tarnish on her character.

"Most Eligible Superman" has an ongoing plot of Superman being a contestant in Metropolis' Most Eligible contest, a plot that pushes the Clark/Lois relationship theme forward. 

But it opens with Kara now on Earth. I suppose her dressing like Android 18 from Dragon Ball Z is another hint of her character arc. After all Android 18 started out as a villain but also becomes a hero. 

On to more of the disheartening particulars.

Review: My Adventures With Superman #1

It's a week of My Adventures With Superman talk as today I review the first issue of the comic tie-in, a story nestled between the first two seasons of the show. 

I have to say that the show has grown on me as a very interesting mix of silliness and wholesomeness with an undercurrent of some serious themes. And this season is sort of ratcheting up the latter piece with Clark's isolation and Lex's narcissism as major themes. 

The comic, written by show runner Josie Campbell with art by Pablo Collar, has the same vibe. From the manga-like art to a little whimsy, this book strikes an overall nice tone. But the story here of an apparent villain who might not be exactly that works well. 

In particular, I really like how Clark is classic Clark. There is a small town, 'aw shucks', 'I'm a little awkward but also a great friend and I want to just help people' feel to him and Superman. It helps that this is a Superman early in his career, sort of feeling out everything.

The book is ranked 13+ but this issue would be fine in the hands of a 10 year old Anj. So maybe this is an entry into comics for any young fans in your life.

Fear Of Where 'My Adventures With Superman' Is Going - S2E4

I have been enjoying My Adventures With Superman as an IP for the Man of Steel. Somehow the show walks a fine line between whimsy and drama. The character pieces inject some anime fun and imagery which keep an upbeat feel to everything.

Not that everything is rosy, especially in this season. We are seeing why the Lois/Sam relationship is strained. We are still seeing Superman dealing with his feelings of isolation and loneliness.

I am sure that last part will be dealt with or at least riffed on with the appearance of Supergirl in the show. We have seen the angry images of Kara in some previews. We know she is out there. But we haven't met her yet.

When you show me an angry Supergirl, I worry. There have been too many instances where Supergirl has been utilized by evil forces for my tastes. There have been too many times where she has been held back as a hero to make Superman better. And this last episode 'Two Lanes Diverged' made me nervous.

Lex Luthor has taken a much bigger role in this season and now is proclaiming 'The Superman Problem' to the media. 

Superman is an alien. Superman is incredibly powerful. Superman could force his will on Earthlings. Superman is dangerous. Superman cannot be trusted.

If Superman can't be trusted ...

My Adventures With Superman S2, Episodes 1-2

Imagine my surprise to turn on Max the other day and find three episodes of My Adventures of Superman lined up to watch. 

I didn't really cover the first season of the show, a sort of anime-fueled, update to the Superman legend. I definitely found the relationship between Lois and Clark to be the core of the show. The addition of Supergirl to this season made me particularly interested.

How would Supergirl be portrayed? What will her story be? Show runner Josie Campbell has treated Kara and Mary Marvel pretty well in both animated features and comics. So I have faith even if early images show an angry Supergirl.

Regardless, any time Kara crosses over into other media, I am thrilled. 

But there is always a little worry. 

So let's see what has happened in these first two episodes from a Supergirl-centric look.

It starts with an expansionist Krypton, an empire that stretched out over the stars until an enemy came to the planet and the Kryptonian force was defeated.

Based on what I see, I have to believe it is Brainiac.

My Adventures With Superman, Season Two

I didn't cover the first season of My Adventures With Superman, a fun little show on Adult Swim, written by Josie Campbell and with a younger, hipper, more diverse take on Superman, Lois, and Jimmy.

That first season was a bit of a hoot. There was some deep cuts into DCU. There was an interesting take on Krypton. And the chemistry between Clark and Lois was engaging.

Thankfully, the show did well enough to warrant a second season premiering on May 25.  A preview has dropped too. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8Ihhvbr2aA

No need to delay the obvious. Check out the picture above!

Supergirl is in this season!

Bullet Review: Legion Of Super-Heroes

In February, the DCAU released Legion of Super-Heroes, a new movie written by Josie Campbell starring Supergirl and a handful of Legionnaires.

Supergirl and the Legion are my two favorite IP's in the DCU so this was a no brainer to buy. And sure enough, it arrived at my place within a week of release.

I watched it and loved it! Like LOVED it. It was just the sort of Supergirl I want to see, For fans of the Brainiac 5/Kara romance, it was fantastic. For Legion fans looking for deep cuts of their favorite Legionnaires, it was a smorgasbord.

I realized only last week that I had never sat down and actually reviewed it.

The movie gives us a Supergirl who feels like a stranger in a strange land on Earth. Superman sends her off to the future to train in the Legion as well as be in an environment more like the technically advanced Krypton. She takes a liking to Mon-El who doesn't hide his more fascist thoughts. She takes an instant dislike to Brainiac 5, descendent of the villain Brainiac. But over time she sees that Brainy is just as much a fish out of water as she is. Together the come together to help stop the Dark Circle (and their mysterious leader ... no spoiler alert) and save the universe. And some hugs and kisses occur.

It's really a fun ride and hopefully a sequel is in the works. 

But if you like classic Supergirl and all versions of the Legion, this movie is for you. 

On to some details.

Josie Campbell Interview

Last week, we heard from James Gunn that a Supergirl movie was in the works using Tom King's Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow as a template. You might recall that Gunn said Supergirl is 'harsher', 'more jaded', and 'more f**ked up' than Superman. I am not sure that is the right take on Supergirl for a film. 

Later that day, I saw this interview with comic writer Josie Campbell regarding her upcoming animated Legion of Superheroes movie starring Supergirl. You should definitely read the entire interview, especially if you are a fan of those properties. Here is a link:

https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2023/02/exclusive-interview-legion-of-super-heroes-screenwriter-josie-campbell/

It is clear that Josie Campbell understands the Supergirl character very well. I read her responses to these questions and they made me smile. Because at least somewhere out there, there are creators who can acknowledge Kara's trauma but then see that historically she has been able to channel it in constructive and not destructive ways.  I'll be showcasing some of those responses below. 

I really liked Campbell's recent New Champion of Shazam mini-series. It was a strong take on Mary Marvel, her growing confidence, and her love of family. It touched on current social issues and mores but in an entertaining way, neither preachy or weighty. 

I have pre-ordered my copy of the movie which will arrive sometime next week. You should expect a review here. But first the interview!