A Million Thanks!

I know this self-congratulatory post is coming only a little over a month after my anniversary post, but yesterday Supergirl Comic Box Commentary passed 1,000,000 visits in just under the 3 years I have been following my stats. And I thought that was a nice little landmark to commemorate.

So first off, the blog now has a new banner bar to welcome everyone. As I did before, I turned to my good friend Jeff Caporizzo to design the new look for the place. We both felt that my Craig Rousseau commission of Supergirl really captured her as a character. The tag line of 'critique, community, exclusive content' hopefully captures the spirit of this place. At least, that is what I hope this place has going for it.

Jeff is an graphic designer and artist who blogs about the life and journey of an artist here:  http://artandevery.typepad.com/blog/

I decided to do some navel gazing and see which posts have mine have garnered the most hits over the years. Two posts' histories dwarf all others in terms of their viewing and I had to chuckle a bit. There are other posts I am much more proud of. And I think these popular ones have been seen not strictly for their content.

The number one post for viewing here is 'Apocalypse Thoughts: What shouldn't be in the movie' viewable here:
http://comicboxcommentary.blogspot.com/2010/07/apocalypse-thoughts-what-shouldnt-be-in.html

It was a post done before the release of the Superman/Batman:Apocalypse movie, basically Supergirl's origin. In that post I hoped that there wouldn't be a 'naked Supergirl' in the movie. And, wouldn't you know it, 'naked Supergirl' is an oft-searched item on the internet leading people to that post.

Ironic, isn't it!

The number two post is my review of Cry For Justice #5, viewable here: http://comicboxcommentary.blogspot.com/2009/11/review-cry-for-justice-5.html
I can only assume that this is a popular post because the cover is Supergirl kissing Captain Marvel (and 'Supergirl kissing' is also a popular search term), includes a scan of Starfire and Donna Troy in bikinis, as well as a scan of Red Arrow with his arm ripped off. I also think this is pretty ironic. I wouldn't think any of those scans represent my purpose here.

Anyways, I will continue my mini-celebration tomorrow by reviewing Supergirl #1,000,000.

Thanks again Jeff! The new banner looks snazzy!

Review: Cry For Justice #7

Justice League: Cry For Justice #7 came out this week, marking the conclusion of the mini-series. The word that best sums up my feelings for it overall is disappointed. I don't mean to sound harsh. And I will probably be long-winded. So bear with me.

When this mini-series was announced way back when, I was excited to read it. While the idea of a pro-active League isn't 100% innovative, the roster was. There was a mix of old school JLAers (GA and GL), legacy characters (Supergirl and Batwoman), and B-listers (Congorilla and Starman). Prometheus, one of my favorite Grant Morrison characters, was going to be villain, brought back to place of villainous prominence. Art was going to be done exclusively by Mauro Cascioli. And James Robinson said the series would impact the entire DCU. On paper it all sounded great.

But then the series release was delayed. And delayed. And delayed.

I assumed that when the first issue was released that the series was in the can and so no further delays would happen. But then there were more delays. And now we have even seen guest artists on the book. Those sort of problems never make me happy as a consumer.

And from a story point of view, there were some cringe worthy moments as well. The dialogue occasionally sounded clunky or overly ham-handed. The heroes sometimes acted in ways I would not expect them to. (Would the Atom really crawl around people's brains after what his wife did to Sue Dibny?) There were pages devoted to scenes that seemed superfluous. It just never seemed to exactly gel.

But most importantly, and before I even get to the final issue review, I never felt like the team came together. Scenes where the initial intriguing roster were all in the same room are few and far between. And while the initial impetus for them each to join was a 'cry for justice', it felt like outside of Green Lantern and Green Arrow, none of the characters really needed to be there. Let me phrase it a different way ... you could remove Supergirl and replace her with Wonder Girl seamlessly. You could remove Congorilla and put in Freedom Beast. You could replace Starman with the Prince Gavyn Starman. In other words, I never felt like a particular character (outside of GL and GA) was crucial for the plot from a back story point of view; I never felt that one character's viewpoint was so unique to the story that they were indispensable.

On top of that, this really became a whole DCU story with Starfire, Donna Troy, Jay Garrick, Animal Man, Vixen, Black Canary all starring; you name it ... everyone was there. I mean, Donna Troy is the one who actually defeated Prometheus! And so I don't know if I ever saw Robinson's vision for the team he created and how they would interact with each other. It was that mesh of characters that got me interested in the first place.

All right, on to the issue.

Last issue, a captured Prometheus revealed his grand plan to teleport several cities around the world into another dimension as a way to emotionally torture his super-hero enemies. Despite being captured, the devices activate.

Without being granted his freedom, Prometheus won't tell the Justice League the codes to deactivate the devices. Unclear of the next best step, the bulk of the JLA teleport to Earth on a rescue mission. Others stay back to continue the interrogation.

Ominously dripping with foreshadowing, Green Arrow vows to Prometheus that the two of them aren't done dealing with each other.

For some reason, Prometheus' devices aren't working as designed. Rather than simply teleporting the cities away, the devices seem to be imploding the cities, destroying them.

Star City is shaking itself apart. One of the casualties is Roy Harper's daughter Lian.

I know this is supposed to be shocking. I mean a child was just killed. But again, the feeling here was disappointed. Did Lian really have to die here? Did we really need to see a child get killed to move this plot along? Haven't I seen enough death and maiming in comics recently? I suppose I should at least be happy that the point of view is from behind Ollie so I am not luridly looking right at Lian's corpse.

Still, a child was killed in this book as a plot device. It just felt unnecessary. Have we really reached a point in story-telling that we need to kill kids to try to get a response out of readers? And I didn't have much time in the issue to really have the death resonate with me because we were already moving on.




While the Earth's heroes scatter themselves to the effected cities, trying to slow down the carnage, the Atom tries to talk Prometheus into willingly giving up the codes. He even brings up the fact that Prometheus has really upset Green Arrow, killing Ollie's 'grand daughter' and maiming his 'son'.

Prometheus refuses to give up the codes unless he gets his freedom in return. At least he confesses that his machines aren't working as planned. Remember they were supposed to just make the cities disappear.

It all seems a bit contrived. Everything that Prometheus has planned in this book, every theft and counterattack and defense, has worked perfectly. Of course, if his machines worked as planned, the cities would just blip away and we wouldn't have the devastation and death we have been treated to. We wouldn't have Lian's death. It just seemed like an easy out to get to that point.


Because absolutely everything else Prometheus has planned is working like a charm. He has a defense against telepathy. Miss Martian feels some sort of backlash when she tries to mentally pry to codes from his mind.


And he has planned against magic. First he has sewn Freddy Freeman's mouth shut to keep him from saying his magic word. Again, this seems a bit off to me. We are talking about a man who skinned the Tasmanian Devil and used the pelt as a rug. Would he really stitch Freddy's lips? Wouldn't he just kill him? Of course, killing Captain Marvel would be too big a deal for this book. And besides we wouldn't see this gory shot of his sutures being removed. And that is all this is good for in my mind, something gruesome to try to get a response from me as a reader.

What's more, even when freed, Captain Marvel can't do anything to the device in Fawcett City because Prometheus made it impervious to magic!

In fact, all the devices seem impervious to any super-hero interference. Prometheus has covered all the contingencies.

There was a sequence I did enjoy in the book. With Star City crumbling around them, with the death tolls growing, the heroes have a quick discussion about what to do.

Do they deal with Prometheus and end the disasters? Do they keep him in custody and hold him responsible for this tragedy? It is an interesting 2 page spread (of which this is one corner). There is some disagreement amongst the group. Some say no deal. Some say deal for the greater good.

As always, small editorial errors bother me. So when the Flash says they need to decide quickly because 'they're loosing' (instead of losing) I had to roll my eyes.

Finally, Green Arrow cuts through the chatter. The heroes need to save people. And in this instance the best way to do that is to release Prometheus and have him turn over the codes.

He states it simply: 'we have to think of the living'. On first reading, I thought this was a nice moment. After all, Arrow lost the most here. Since the beginning, I thought he was going to be the moral compass for the team, joining it to keep Hal in line. So to have him take 'the high road' made some initial sense to me. He could look past his own tragedies and think about others ... that's sort of what heroes do, right?

Of course, it is one thing to say that happened. It is another thing to write it. Here we see the aftermath of the scene where a disgusted Vixen walks Prometheus to the teleporter.

But how did it play out? If Prometheus gave the codes and they worked, would Vixen really let him just walk away because she 'gave her word'? I don't think so. And would they ever let Prometheus walk without giving them the codes and trying them first? In other words, I can't play out the actual scene in my head in a satisfactory way. Maybe that is why we only see the conclusion ... because the scene can't be written well.

I figured I'd throw in the second panel because it the only shot of Supergirl in the book. Wasn't she supposed to be one of the key characters in this book? And she isn't even in the finale. This is what I was trying to get at earlier. This really wasn't a team book the way it was advertised. The characters we were told would 'star' were really just part of a cast of thousands.

And so we finally get to the 'big ending'. Despite his speech about the greater good, Ollie needs 'justice' and he thinks murder is the way to get it.

But even this scene ... the dramatic last page of the series ... fell flat.

From a story point of view, I can't get around the fact that Prometheus dies this way. Here is a villain so prepared that he has a defense against everything ... including having nanites to defeat the Atom in his blood. He had shown himself to be protected against telepathy and magic. But his helmet isn't arrow proof? Just a plain old steel-tipped arrow is what brings him down? Really?

Really?

And that is without my asking just how the hell Green Arrow got into the Ghost Zone and walked into Prometheus' stronghold. Are you telling me Prometheus doesn't have any defense systems there? Prometheus had just walked through the JLA satellite and defeated almost the entire team and he allows a hero to simply walk into his home and shoot him in the head with an arrow?

But even more than that, I am just sick of seeing heroes kill people. I don't think I need to see my heroes fall and go through a moral crisis and then reinvent themselves any more. I think I just want to see them be heroes again. As readers, we keep hearing that comics will try to move away from 'dark' and 'grim and gritty' but we see this the month after The Sentry literally rips Ares apart over in the Avengers.

And the fact that we see it over and over means that I have become somewhat inured to it. Maybe 10 years ago this would be shocking. Now I just sighed and thought 'here we go again ... another hero who crossed the line.' And that truly is a whimper for an ending, not the bang I think Robinson was going for.

Overall grade (issue): D+
Overall grade (series): C-

Bits Of Supergirl Business

A lot of small nuggets of news slipped out this week. So figured I would do some rapid fire bullet points.


1) Jamal Igle's blog got hacked into forcing him to set up a new blog. Here is the new link: jamalligle.blogspot.com

Everyone update their favorites, bookmarks, and blog rolls.

He kicked off the new blog with a bang posting this panel from the upcoming Supergirl #50. Supergirl looks pretty ticked off. I am trying to figure out what exactly is behind her ... giant insect leg? It'll be good to see Igle back on the main title.



2) The cover for Cry For Justice #7 was posted over on the DC Source blog. Here is the link:
http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2010/02/01/take-a-look-at-the-final-cry-for-justice-cover/

As usual, it's a beautiful piece.


Supergirl is small but central. I love the classic heroic pose here.

The art has been stunning in this series. The plot and dialogue has been wooden in some places. I am looking forward to reading the end of this story .... I think.


3) Supergirl pinch hit artist extraordinaire Matt Camp announced his next work over on his blog:
http://mattcampsblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/superman-80-page-giant.html

Looks like he'll be doing a Clark Kent story with Ben McCool in the Superman 80pg Giant coming out next month. I was on the fence about picking this issue up. But now I'm in.

I hope we see Camp named the regular 'fill-in' artist on Supergirl.

Review: Justice League: Cry For Justice #6

Talk about feast or famine. Last week, no super-title came out at all. This week there are 5 books! Supergirl, Superman, World's Finest, Superman Secret Origin, and Justice League: Cry For Justice all came out.

With Supergirl #49 being a bit spoiler-iffic, I figured I would wait a day to review that issue.

And so, let's start this review heavy week with Justice League:Cry for Justice #6. I can't believe there is only one more issue in this mini-series! It seems like it has been on the DC radar screen for almost 2 years. Delays have dogged this book.

Surprisingly, the significant delays haven't been significant enough to allow Mauro Cascioli the time to complete the series. This issue's art is done by Scott Clark. I simply don't know what to say anymore about creators and deadlines. As it was, this book's release was postponed for an inordinate amount of time to allow Cascioli time enough to get on top of the book. And yet, here we are with a guest artist. This storyline takes place before Blackest Night! And that book might finish before this one! Am I being too sour as a fan?

Clark's work is nice although not as polished as Cascioli's. In fact, when I read the book the first time, I thought it was still Cascioli ... just rushed. It looks a little rougher than the earlier work on this book. It was only on second look that I saw Clark's name on the cover.

From a writing point of view, I thought this was one of the stronger issues of the book. I don't know if that is faint praise. Mostly, I think Robinson did a good job of showing how cunning a foe Prometheus is.

Remember last issue ended with Supergirl squaring off against Captain Marvel. The book opens with Supergirl showing how she figured out who was the real villain here.

First off, Supergirl realizes that the 'shield made from magic lightning' Freddy made to deflect Prometheus' Clayface bomb (a power I questioned when it happened) would have fried her if it was truly magical. Secondly, Captain Marvel figured out everything too quickly ... too neatly. And it always seemed to lead the group to one place, the JLA satellite.

But most importantly, Supergirl realized that somewhere along the way Freddy said the word 'Shazam' and didn't change. It all adds up to one thing, Freddy is Prometheus.

I like that Robinson had Supergirl be the one to figure the whole thing out (albeit a little too late). I also thought that Supergirl falling for someone who turns out to be the villain played off of many similar stories from the Silver Age. At least this time she realized it before the reveal. She even sounds confident as she asks how Prometheus plans to eliminate her.

It turns out he is prepared for dealing with a Kryptonian. He has a 'magic bullet', a casing forged from Olympian metals. It might only be a shoulder wound, but it dispatches Supergirl for the rest of the issue.

I don't know off the top of my head if Olympian metals alone resonate enough magic to do this. But it shows some advanced planning on Prometheus' part.

In fact the next several pages show exactly how prepared Prometheus is as he wades through pretty much every JLA member.

It is a decent sequence showing how his computer analyzes the threat and then feeds him the best option. He takes out Zatanna's ability to speak, Plastic Man's ability to control his molecules, etc.

And it isn't only having the right weapon for the right hero, it's also having the battle technique. Here I like how he deflected Dr. Light's beam the appropriate angle to eliminate the Guardian. He does something similar to take out Hawkgirl.

He takes out Hal Jordan by weakening his will enough to grenade him.

He even turns the table on the Atom.

When Palmer tries the 'sinus headache' attack, Prometheus' nanobyte defenses turns the table.

I thought this was a pretty gripping panel with parts of the Atom shrunk and other expanded. That just looks painful.

Hawkman, Starman, Firestorm, Starfire, Green Arrow, Jay Garrick, The Shade ... they all fall.

So it is clear that Prometheus is prepared. This really reminded me of the Prometheus we saw in Morrison's JLA, the Prometheus who almost took out the JLA singlehandedly.


He didn't do enough to take out Donna Troy though however.

He had crucified her to a wall earlier but she has the resolve to pull herself off the wall and go after him. She then viciously batters him, coming close to killing him. I would say this was absolutely gratuitously bloody but this is nothing compared to the Red Arrow maiming panel from last issue.

I do like that it is Donna who ultimately defeats him. It would be too easy to have one of the big names be the hero. I always like it when one of the less famous heroes in team books gets some attention. I think it would be less interesting to have someone like Green Lantern save the day. We have seen that so many times already.

Shackled to a chair, Prometheus begins to monologue about his plan.

Rather than destroy the heroes' home cities, he would teleport the cities into other times, spaces, dimensions. In this way, he did not kill the citizens, merely displaced them. The heroes would be perplexed and devastated that they could never find their people.

It is an interesting plan, focusing on the mental weakness of the heroes. But it seemed kind of flat after all the build up over the title. This was his plan? To cause the heroes mental anguish? I know there would be millions of lost people ... but he wants to hurt the heroes feelings?

This was his master stroke? Wouldn't it be better to just kill the heroes?



I did like that his monologue was only buying him time to have his master stroke actually commence. This panel reminded me a bit of Ozymandias telling Nite Owl that he wouldn't tell his master plan if he hadn't already triggered it. I know ... how could I mention Watchmen in the same sentence as Cry For Justice.

With the plan in play, Prometheus starts to bargain for his freedom. He'll turn off the device if the League lets him free.

Will the League make a deal with a terrorist? Remember, this was the team that tortured people for information earlier on in the book. Will they simply let him free? Green Arrow, often the liberal voice of the JLA, demands that they not free him. It will be interesting to see where the political pendulum of this group swings.

But Prometheus has one more surprise ...

To prove that his device is active, Star City has started to be teleported away. I like the picture here with skyscrapers being ripped apart. Looks like something from a disaster movie.

I think just about everything that can be said about this title has already been said. At times the dialogue is stiff. The art can be beautiful. The action is good but can veer towards the gruesome. The book is late and now had a guest artist. A guest artist in a 7 issue miniseries!?

But as a fan of Prometheus, I did enjoy this issue's portrayal of him as he casually walked through the gauntlet of the League. Even if the plan seemed a little off, he did seem cool and calculated here.

Lastly, I was hoping that some of the text piece in this issue would be about Supergirl. Instead Robinson talks about Jay Garrick and Batwoman. I think Batwoman appeared in a handful of panels in this book.

One more issue in this series which I will have to sift into the DCU timeline. How outrageous will it be?

Overall grade: C+

Review: Cry For Justice #5

It was a very busy week for the Super-titles with four books coming out on Wednesday. World's Finest, Superman, Superman Secret Origin, and Justice League Cry For Justice all came out. It was a difficult choice deciding which title to review first. And while I feel that Superman Secret Origin was the best of the lot, Cry For Justice #5 had a couple of big moments which made me decide to review it first.

Of course, as a Supergirl fan, I have been interested in reading about her growing relationship with Captain Marvel. It has been a while since Kara had a legitimate love interest and Freddy seems like a natural fit. So when I saw the cover for this issue, I thought that their relationship would go from one of coy flirting to something more significant.

Unfortunately, this is the classic "tease cover" since this kiss does not happen within the book.

As has been the case throughout this miniseries, James Robinson's script has a few odd and off-putting moments in it. It is as though he feels that some moments that could be played in a quiet manner need to be exploded into something super-dramatic.

And, as has also been the case throughout, Mauro Cascioli's artwork is unbelievably spectacular. One thing that bothers me somewhat is that he seems to favor two body types: overly muscular men and very sexy women. Almost every man has 20 inch biceps. And while his artwork nears cheesecake at times, it is lovely to look at.

The issue opens with Congorilla and Starman visiting Animal Man's house. Congorilla had teamed with Buddy in the past when they were part of the Forgotten Heroes. Knowing that Prometheus is planning something so huge and realizing that his trail had gone cold, Bill turns to Animal Man to see if he and Starman can get some help.

As luck would have it, they arrive at the house on the same day that Starfire and Donna Troy are visiting and frolicking by the pool. I do like that Robinson is acknowledging the fact that Starfire and Buddy have a special relationship given the time they were alone together in space in 52.

The poolside scene seems like a convenient excuse to let Cascioli paint the two Titans in their bathing suits. That said, there was nothing overly sexual or prurient in their positioning or this scene. They look the way two beautiful women would look at the beach. I applaud Cascioli for this. I can only imagine how this scene would have looked if someone like Ed Benes did this book.

When Congorilla explains what he has uncovered, the decision is made to go straight to the JLA.

Hal and Ollie also realize that their group needs help with this Prometheus plot. So they decide to go to the JLA for help. The current JLA agree to helps this splinter group.

Supergirl is definitely painted quite lovely in this miniseries. But her dialogue is so wooden. Remember in an earlier issue she said "I'm not bad. I'm good." Here she gets to say the awful line "Yeah, plus he's gotten his hands on weaponry and science." Supergirl being in this book is the dreaded double-edged sword. I am glad that Supergirl is represented here as it exposes her to new readers. And from an action point of view, she actually has been shown to be quite strong. But that dialogue... yeesh.

Anyways, the actual JLA has also noted that something isn't quite right. They have noted that some super villains are acting strangely. They are attacking different cities and different heroes. The Justice League has wondered if there is an underlying pattern.

During this discussion, we finally get a Batwoman sighting. I had forgotten that she was supposed to be featured in this miniseries.

She joins the discussion saying that she stopped a super villain named Endless Winter in Gotham. Unfortunately, before this 'Killer Frost wannabe' could answer any questions, she was killed from afar with a Suicide Squad embedded brain bomb.

I guess that Batwoman telling Supergirl that she saw the Cry For Justice group in Gotham but was not seen gives her a little bit of street credibility. She is that good.

As reports of B-list superheroes fighting C-list super villains pour into the satellite, one catches everybody's attention.

The Guardian has stopped a villain named Plunder from setting up a device in Metropolis. As this whole plot involves super-technology, the JLA decides to bring the machine on board for further study.

The League's scientists decide that the machine is a massive teleporter that could dump a large area, even city sized, anywhere in time, space, or other dimensions. But it would require a massive amount of energy and computer power to work.

Hmmmm ....

Where do you think Prometheus will find that amount of energy and computer technology? Maybe on the JLA satellite? It seemed to me almost immediately that the Justice league are getting played here. They are bringing the big weapon to the only place it would work ... their own headquarters.

And as if to pick at a scab that was just healing, we get to see another headless Supergirl body shot.

While this huge conspiracy of super villains is being uncovered, Robinson decides to show us the more human side of being a superhero.

He shows that Black Canary is still hurt by the fact that Green Arrow left with Hal. She feels betrayed by him.

He retorts by telling her how productive his group was. His group actually caught a number of villains. Still, she seems stung by the whole incident, even more so when he reveals that he would not have come back if not for the Prometheus plot.

It does seem like an odd time to begin this discussion but I suppose that if Dinah is hurting that much, she would bring it up then.

Before the conversation can continue however, Animal Man arrives with Congorilla, Starman, Starfire, and Donna Troy. Almost immediately, Congorilla smells something he doesn't like it goes off. At the same time, Supergirl has gone off looking for Captain Marvel who has gone missing.

Unfortunately, while Supergirl noted Freddy's disappearance a few pages earlier, he is shown in the middle of a group shot right after animal Man arrives with his comrades. It is those small gaffes that bother me.

Supergirl and Congorilla meet up in the hallway and join together in their hunt.

There was really no reason to post to this panel other than to show how fantastic Cascioli's Supergirl is.

Unfortunately, before they find Captain Marvel or whoever Congorilla sensed, they come across Red Arrow whose arm has been ripped off!!!

Well I have to say that this was a big surprise. Grisly. Shocking. Almost unbelievable. And I suppose that is what Robinson was hoping for. It certainly grabbed my attention.

Of course after that initial shock, the continuity nerd in me took over. I am trying to figure out exactly where this miniseries takes place. It is after Final Crisis. It is obviously before Blackest Night as multiple people who have been killed there are present in this story. So now I'm trying to remember if I have seen Red Arrow with a robot arm or no arm in Blackest Night. I know... I know... I shouldn't be so hung up on things like that.

Still, it was a shocking moment ... a good moment in this book.

Congorilla makes sure that the two heroes stabilize Roy before tracking down whoever did this to him. Kara quickly cauterizes his arm with her heat vision.

Bill lets out a loud battle cry and that you take off. His scream alerts the rest of the League that something has happened. They go to investigate and come across Roy's body.

This is where one of those odd moments really took away from the issue.

When Ollie discovers the body, he is obviously distraught. He clutches the body and initially he states that he won't leave it. Dinah convinces him that they need to find the person responsible.

So that part I can understand. Roy has been like a son to Green Arrow. Of course, seeing him like this would stun anyone. I can understand why he would momentarily pause before taking action.
But would the rest of the heroes just stand there while Ollie dealt with his grief? Wouldn't they continue on to find whoever dismembered Red Arrow? And as if to hammer home the point, we actually see a shot of Starman, Starfire, Hal, and Donna standing there with their arms crossed. Wouldn't that group be fanning out looking for the villain? Even if that moment was only 5 seconds, isn't that 5 seconds too many?

These are veteran heroes who I think would realize that while Dinah and Ollie should stop, that they should move on.

The issue ends with a great cliffhanger.

It looks as though the villain is Captain Marvel! Or at least someone who is disguised as him.

I love this shot of the Supergirl about to engage with Freddy, Congorilla and The Flash battered behind them. Supergirl looks furious, eyes glowing. I love it! I can't believe it's actually Captain Marvel. So is it Prometheus? Or one of his agents... someone like Black Adam or maybe another shape shifter?

There is something almost nostalgic about this ending. Here was Supergirl's love interest who suddenly turns out to be the villain. As someone who has read a lot of Silver Age Supergirl stories, that was an ongoing theme. If she fell in love with someone he usually was some space criminal.

Too bad, I was actually looking forward to a Freddy/Kara relationship.

So we are nearing the end of this miniseries and the overall technology plot has been moved forward a bit here. There are some dramatic moments. There are some overly dramatic moments. Supergirl plays an important part in this issue. She also has some pretty lousy dialogue.

And, the artwork is just stunning. I can understand why DC would be willing to wait for Mauro Cascioli to complete the artwork here. The finished work is wonderful.

So I guess this is another up and down issue in an up-and-down miniseries. But I think this one was more up than down.

Overall grade: B

January Solicits

The January solicits were just released to Newsarama ( http://www.newsarama.com/comics/091019-dc-january-2010-solicitations.html ) and it looks like the new year is starting off with a bang. For one, we are approaching the ending of the World of New Krypton mini-series. That means we are hopefully moving towards Superman coming back to his own titles.

But more importantly, the Supergirl #49 solicit was something of a bombshell.


SUPERGIRL #49

Written by Sterling Gates
Art by Matt Camp
Cover by Joshua Middleton

This is it! The moment you've all been waiting for, as Supergirl takes on-- >kkkzzzt< “WE INTERRUPT FOR A DAILY PLANET BREAKING NEWS BRIEF: Lana Lang, Business Editor of The Daily Planet, passed away this morning from undisclosed causes. She is survived by her ex-husband, former President of the United States Pete Ross, their son, Clark, and her niece, Linda. More on this story as it develops.” >fzzt< --story you won't want to miss!

There are two parts to this solicit that caught my attention.

The most obvious is the announcement of Lana's death. I can't imagine that she is really dead. I suspect that the book ends with the cliffhanger of her dying. I still wonder exactly what is afflicting her. I really don't want to believe that Sterling Gates set up a Lana/Linda relationship only to have it not come to fruition.

I don't know if the first sentence of the solicit is only a tease but I wonder who Supergirl takes on. Is it the continuation of her battle with Silver Banshee from Supergirl #48? Or is it (as I think) a rematch with Superwoman? Or a new villain?

Lastly, what a charged cover by Josh Middleton. The use of negative space, the positioning of a small Supergirl in the center, it just shows how powerless she is against this medical threat. It reminds me so much of the cover of Supergirl#48 from Peter David's run (which, by the way, may be my favorite Supergirl issue).

I hope that Middleton posts about this cover on his blog.

ACTION COMICS #885

Written by Greg Rucka & Eric Trautmann;

co-feature written by James Robinson and Greg Rucka

Art by Pere Pérez;

co-feature art by CAFU

Cover by CAFU

With a new lease on life, Nightwing and Flamebird return to Metropolis determined to hunt down one of General Zod’s few remaining sleeper agents. Continued in SUPERMAN #696! And in the co-feature, Captain Atom is back on Earth, but his struggle to break his ties with Mirabai and Project 7734 aren’t over yet. Guest-starring Metropolis’s own super-powered protector, Mon-El! And check out the connecting cover art on these two issues!

I am glad to see that the Nightwing and Flamebird sleeper agent plot has not been completely forgotten. When they took over Action Comics, one thing I liked was that the sleeper agent plot seemed perfect for this 'year without Superman'. There was a clear-cut ending ... when they were all caught.

The fact that Rucka is bringing us back to this is another sign that maybe Superman is coming back to Earth soon.

SUPERMAN #696

Written by James Robinson

Art by Bernard Chang

Cover by CAFU

“Man of Valor” Part 3! Picking up plot threads from ACTION COMICS #885, the Guardian, Nightwing and Flamebird are hot on the trail of General Zod’s Metropolis sleeper agent. But just as they’re about to uncover who the sleeper is, tragedy strikes, which leads to a completely different revelation. Seeds for this issue’s surprising twist were planted all the way back in James Robinson’s first issue – so don’t miss it!

Hmmm ... another great solicit.

Who is Zod's sleeper in Metropolis? Any guesses? I was initially thinking Morgan Edge. But maybe one of the Science Police officers?

A tragedy strikes? Any guesses? The cynic in me says it is the death of Jamie Harper but I hope not. She seems like a character with a lot of potential.

And a surprising twist from Robinson's first issue? That was the beginning of the Atlas arc. I am going to have go back and take another look. Could it be that Atlas is actually a Kryptonian and the whole story of his beginnings are just implants?

I like Bernard Chang's art. His fill-in issues of Wonder Woman were particularly strong so I am looking forward to see what he will do with the super-family.

SUPERMAN: WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON #11
Written by Greg Rucka & James Robinson
Art by Pete Woods
Cover by Gary Frank
Variant cover by Victor Ibanez

“Mystery in Space” Part 2! As the murder mystery on New Krypton deepens, Superman and Adam Strange’s investigation leads them to uncover a conspiracy involving all five Kryptonian guilds that threatens to devastate the entire planet. This chain of events will touch everyone – Alura, Zod, even General Lane – and will lead directly into next month’s explosive finale!

Still no hint as to who has been murdered on New Krypton. Could it be Kryn Kel-Ur, the woman whose apartment Lucy was living in undetected on New Krypton. Is that how it links back to General Lane?

As for a conspiracy ... maybe my guess that Zod was behind the machinations that led to his assassination attempt after all? I can hope.

ADVENTURE COMICS #6

Written by Geoff Johns

Art and covers by Francis Manapul

Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul say goodbye (for now) to Superboy with a spectacular 30-page issue! Ever since Superboy returned from the grave, he has been obsessed with Lex Luthor, believing that there must be some good in the master villain somewhere. So for Luthor, it’s time to put up or shut up. With Superman off planet, it’s time to do some good for the planet earth. Superboy is willing to do what it takes to make Lex’s dreams come true, but what Superboy will discover is that one man’s dreams, are another man’s nightmares.

This one can't end well.

For one, I wonder what effect it will have on Conner if he thinks he has turned Luthor to the side of good only to have the super-villain eventual revert to form. Will that depress Conner more because it looks like it might be nature after all?

But more importantly, this marks the end of the brief Johns/Manapul run on the comic. What is my future for this comic after they leave? When will Levitz take over?

WORLD’S FINEST #4
Written by Sterling Gates
Art and covers by Phil Noto

The Toyman and Mr. Freeze activate the ultimate weapon — the new and improved Composite Superman/Batman robot — in an attempt to destroy all Kryptonians. This looks like a job for the World’s Finest, as Superman returns from New Krypton to team up with Dick Grayson Batman to stop the rampaging robot once and for all!

I thought this was a nice way to end the World's Finest mini-series. By bringing back together the original World's Finest, Batman and Superman. I know this is Dick Grayson but he is currently Batman. I also think it is a nice twist that the robot from Superman/Batman is brought back here. Nice touch.

Plus internal art by Phil Noto! Excellent!

JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE #6
Written by James Robinson
Art and cover by Mauro Cascioli

After a shocking loss, Prometheus reveals an even greater threat to the team than they thought possible! How will this new crisis change the face of the DC Universe? Find out in the penultimate chapter of this groundbreaking miniseries event!

I am sort of sad that there is no Supergirl on the cover.

As usual it is an eye-catching cover by Cascioli.

So overall, a nice month with what looks to be a great Supergirl issue leading into Supergirl #50.

Review: Cry For Justice #4

So far Cry For Justice has been an interesting mix of beautiful art and somewhat overdone dramatics. It sort of reminds me of John Boorman's Excalibur movie. It was beautifully shot and had a lot of Arthurian drama ... but was a bit ham-fisted with acting and dialogue. Still I love Excalibur. I haven't loved Cry For Justice but I have been entertained, although sometimes more at its unintentional humor than the story itself.

Surprisingly, Justice League: Cry For Justice #4 was a decent issue without as much heavy dialogue and overly dramatic moments. Supergirl has some nice moments. And we finally have a Batwoman sighting.

As usual, Mauro Cascioli's art stands out as being spectacular.

As we saw a while back in the preview of the issue, Shazam was able to use a 'lightning flash' to disperse the force of the Clayface bomb leaving the Justice League alive and well. The League realizes that Prometheus probably has some sort of hold over some of the villains working for him explaining why Clayface would commit suicide.

And, as mentioned before, Supergirl appears attracted to Freddy as he explains how he saved the League.

Over in Paris, Congorilla and Starman have stumbled onto a couple of Prometheus' lackeys - Arak and Penny Dreadful (from the group Helix). Initially, the four skirmish but the heroes get the upper hand and have the villains down for the count.

Unfortunately, Congorilla flies into a rage and moves in for the kill. These villains slaughtered his people and he wants blood. It is only with great effort that Starman is able to stop Bill from killing the two villains in cold blood. Starman finally says the line that we all have been thinking ... vengeance does not equal justice. The heroes have captured these C-listers. That is enough.

Surprisingly, Arak does not seem to have the loyalty to Prometheus as others have. He starts telling Congorilla what he knows. Prometheus killed the majority of the ape tribe. Malavar was the target all along. Penny Dreadful was involved in the killing of Tony, Starman's boyfriend.

Before Arak can say anything else, Penny Dreadful lashes out at him, killing him.

As she aims her powers at Congorilla, Starman strikes. His energy immolates Penny Dreadful, killing her. Within seconds, both villains are dead on the floor.

Starman feels remorse for his killing and fears he is losing his humanity. Regardless, the trail to Prometheus for these two has suddenly gone cold.

It is an interesting scene. To see Starman want to do the right thing and bring the villains to the authorities only to lash out and kill one immediately afterwards shows just how hard it is to draw a firm ethical line. Things happen and snap decisions need to be made.

In the meantime, the golden age Flash continues to try to figure out exactly what overall plot is forming around the world. There is an excellent page of Jay touring the DC America and talking to the various heroes he runs into.

I really like that Jay is emerging as a major hero in the title. He almost could be looked on as the moral heart of the title as he from the beginning has been looking for the root of this evil the 'right way'.

His scene is immediately contrasted to another scene of the Atom torturing another villain. As he crawls around Deadline's mind, Green Arrow finally takes a stand. This torture has to stop. It isn't getting the League any closer to Prometheus. It isn't getting them justice.

How interesting that 'Gitmo' is thrown into Arrow's discussion. It is a jab at the current US military and implies that the military is as bad as the inquisition. I don't know if I quite agree with that. I also don't know if 'real world' politics should be inserted in comics like this. The discussion of the ethics and utility of torture could have been done as a metaphor for current practices without hammering home the US attempts to keep their borders safe. And to make this transparent, I agree that torture is reprehensible in the real world.

Green Lantern and the Atom still feel it is the right thing to do, to get information in any way possible.

Saying that torture is what villains do, Green Arrow decides to take matters into his own hands. Turning on some type of sonic arrow, Ollie incapacitates Hal and Ray. Luckily the two younger heroes, Captain Marvel and Supergirl know that infighting amongst heroes does nobody any good. They seperate the feuding heroes, Supergirl melting the sonic arrow with her heat vision.

The dialogue about torture needed to happen. We needed someone to finally stand up and say that the practice was wrong. So I am glad we saw it. What surprises me is that Supergirl and Shazam initially took more passive roles, watching the torture happen without comment. Maybe they felt that they were out of their league (no pun intended) and really couldn't state their opinions to the more veteran heroes.

Once again, Captain Marvel shows how handy the wisdom of Solomon is. Prometheus is probably setting up all these events as a way to psychologically break down the heroes, to force them to do unsavory things, to make them afraid. If Prometheus wants to be a villainous Batman then he would use tactics like that to make his enemies weaker.

If Jay is the moral heart of the story, Freddy is the moral compass of the League. Throughout this story he has been the one to point out what is right and just. He points out that this Prometheus plot has grown to big to be handled by this group alone. They need the help of the whole Justice League.

You almost feel like Freddy is growing into his role. He isn't pretending to be Captain Marvel, or filling in for Billy anymore. He is Captain Marvel.

And Supergirl can't seem to take her eyes off him. Good looks and brains! It is obvious to Green Arrow that Supergirl has a little crush on the World's Mightiest Mortal. And Supergirl doesn't deny it.

The group leaves Gotham but not before they are spotted and observed by Batwoman. Until this point I had forgotten that Batwoman was supposed to be in this book.

As for Kara, she decides to get to know Freddy a little more and he doesn't seem to mind the attention.

Back at home, Jay bemoans the fact that he can only sense that something large is looming. He hasn't been able to find out much. And he fears that the heroes haven't rebounded yet from Final Crisis.

Before he can even rest, The Shade shows up and tells Jay that he has information for the speedster. I thought the Shade saying he took his coffee black was amusing.

My best guess is the Shade was offered a place in this plot by Prometheus and turned it down. He now has information the heroes can use. Why he would help out them out is a question I need answers for.

Finally, the Cry For Justice group head back to the JLA satellite to fill their friends in on what they have learned.

The League doesn't seem to happy with what Hal's group has been doing. The shot of the League is quite stunning, although I don't recall Zatanna ever looking that much like a stripper.

With three issues to go we still don't know much of what Prometheus is planning. But this issue was much more character-driven than the others. This was about Hal coming to grip with the futility of what he was doing. He was losing sight of the forest (some major plot by Prometheus) for the trees (torturing a foot soldier like Deadline). While I think that the 'hero fighting hero' plot device is cliche, it was good to see the torture issue at least brought up. Hal never admits he was wrong but his silent acceptance of Captain Marvel's advice spoke volumes.

And unlike the last issues, there weren't many 'cringe moments' here. The issue didn't seem overdone. Add to that the burgeoning Supergirl romance and I was pretty pleased. This was the best issue of this mini-series so far.

Overall grade: B/B+