The Passing of Marty Pasko; Superman #332

I learned on Monday night that writer Marty Pasko had passed away.

Pasko was one of those names that I learned to recognize and associate with a good story even at a young age. I was heavily into DC even as a wee lad and people knew I loved Superman even back then. So the books that I cut my teeth on, the books that cemented my love of Superman and super-lore often had Pasko's name on them.

Whether it was Bizarro or the Atomic Skull or the Kryptonoid, Pasko always meant a happy reader. And I was lucky enough to meet him and thank him for his impact on me a few years back at Terrificon (here on the far right next to Keith Giffen and Paul Kupperberg).

Now you might think that Action Comics #500 would be my favorite Pasko story and it is close.

But I have to say that Mr. Pasko also wrote what might be my single favorite issue of all time, First Issue Special #9 starring Dr. Fate. That issue is brilliant.

But Pasko also taught be about dramatic turns and mature story telling in comics.

Here is the climax from Superman #329. In this story, Kryptonian microbots have fused with a Superman robot and a General who loathes Superman, blaming the Man of Steel for an accident which cost the General his arm. At the end, Superman points out that it was the robot the man fused with who was responsible for that accident. The resulting mental anguish incapacitates the Kryptonoid.

As a kid when I read this I was floored. I remember these panels vividly. But those aren't the only dramatic panels that are burned into my brain.

Whenever a hero of mine from the Bronze Age passes, I always grieve with good friend Mart Gray. We both have similar comic histories so we can commiserate and talk about shared stories and favorite issues.

When the news broke, Mart and I decided to honor the man by reviewing one of our favorite stories, Superman #331 and #332. Head here to read Mart's coverage of part one. Here is my cover to part 2, one of those Whitman pack variants!

For me, I am thrilled to review part two because the last panels in this issue taught me how powerful a medium comics can be, how the art can complement the story so well, and how tough topics like adults and romance could be covered in books aimed for kids.

Godspeed Mr. Pasko. Read on for more coverage of this issue.

Back Issue Box: Superman Family #221

With the Master Jailer episode of the Supergirl television show behind us, I thought this would be the right time to review Superman Family #221, the ending of Kara's battle with the Jailer in the comics.(I have reviewed the prior chapters here and here for those interested.)

This story was somewhat silly, a villain with clearly incredible scientific genius using fantastically powerful devices, so that he can then crack a safe. The Jailer here makes little sense. It was a simpler time.

For me, the more interesting part of this story was the look at the life of Linda Danvers, emerging soap opera star. Linda's character on the soap was the villain so we get to see the public's reaction to her. We see the perks of being a TV star. And we even see Linda acting like a diva as a way to get away from the set. Even though we are just a couple of months away from Linda uprooting and heading to Chicago to be a grad student, this peek at her life was fascinating for me.

'A Trip on the Light Fantastic' was written by Paul Kupperberg with art by Win Mortimer and Sal Trapani. It was edited by Superman legend Julius Schwartz. I have been something of a Win Mortimer apologist on this blog. But it is pretty clear that Mortimer's work looks better with Vince Colletta inking him. Trapani's inks sort of muddy things up. There was a smoothness to the preceding chapters that is missing here.

The opening splash page is wild, with an action shot of Supergirl flying towards some device and being tossed around.

One thing that has always been a bit of an undercurrent of Supergirl is her feelings of inadequacy. Will she ever be a true hero, worthy of the S-shield, respected. We see that even here in a very established Supergirl.

Last issue, Supergirl thought she had captured the Master Jailer only to have it turn out to be a robot which explodes above the city. That interaction was not only caught on film but broadcast on the news. Supergirl finds is downright embarrassing.

She isn't happy. I love her body language in that last panel.

The producer of the soap opera shows up at Linda's apartment with a fun offer. Linda has become so famous that the executives of the soap want to take her out on a shopping spree. She will get a new wardrobe. Linda deserves a fun day and she gets one.

I like this panel if only because it shows what was considered fashionable in 1982. Are those culottes?

She has come a long way from Midvale!

But the day ends on an odd note. As she is walking back to the car, she is met by a fan of 'Secret Hearts'. Since Linda plays the cold-hearted siren on the show, she is actually loathed by the fans. They love to hate her.

So this 'fan' actually calls Linda a hussy and smacks the packages out of her hands. Amazing! I don't know if Linda is too happy about being hated. That sounds very un-Supergirl-like.

Sitting at home after her fun day shopping, Linda decides to head out and try to find the Jailer.

She stumbles onto him trying to crack a safe. This is a guy who has built a tremendous arsenal of futuristic weapons. He built a device to make a Kryptonian intangible. And he is actually trying to crack a safe?? I don't think I'll every understand the motivations of Bronze Age villains. He actually says he needs the money to fund his jail-inspired gimmicks.

I include this panel just because I simply love Supergirl's dialogue. "I knew if I ate all my vegetables and led a clean life, things would work out for me!" Wonderful.

He is able to escape Supergirl by fleeing and damaging the rails of the subway, putting a full train in peril.

I like big rescue scenes, so seeing Supergirl figure out how to safely lift the train and save the day makes me happy.

Later, while she is filming, Linda hears that the Jailer has been sighted. To sneak away, Linda has a 'diva moment', stomping off the set saying she cannot stand the working conditions. Much like being called a hussy, this seems off for the character and that made it fun.

Sure enough, the Jailer is on a roof with some mad looking dish weapon. Supergirl flies straight at the Jailer and is struck by the beam. The Jailer hopes she 'packed a toothbrush' because the beam turns Supergirl into pure light and he beams her into deep space.

So in the span of three issues, the Jailer has made Supergirl intangible and now light. And yet, a couple of panels ago he was on his knees trying to open up a safe. Insanity.

I learned a lot from comics growing up. Whether it was vocabulary or 'Flash facts' or simple facts, comics back then tried to infuse some education into scripts now and then.

So it may have been here that I first learned that Einstein learned light was composed of photons and can be effected by gravity. Supergirl slowly gains control of her 'light body' and begins to turn herself a bit.

Kupperberg must have realized he wrote himself into a bit of a hole. Supergirl was hoping to head through a space warp to just be near Earth again. Instead, the warp somehow ... somehow ... makes her whole again. "I guess there's a lot about space warps (we) still don't understand!"

Whole once again, she heads to Earth to battle the Jailer.

Battle might be a strong word.

In seconds, she disarms him. I absolutely love that first panel with multiple Supergirl's removing weapons off his costume. And then, with a simple right cross, she dispatches him.  I wonder why she didn't do that at any other point of this story. But I suppose he had some pretty powerful devices to up his game.

I think this is the worst of the three parts, mostly because of Trapani. It says something when the shopping spree and the soap opera scenes were my favorite parts.

As I said, this is of low importance for a Supergirl collection although it probably best captures her life as a soap opera star.

So which story was better? This Master Jailer one or the television episode?

Overall grade: C+

Supergirl Episode 14: Truth, Justice, And The American Way

Supergirl Episode 14 aired this week. Titled "Truth, Justice, and the American Way", the episode is thought-provoking episode looking at the titular concepts but also security, safety, and what means you will use to get to specific ends.

The episode was directed by Lexi Alexander so you knew that the action sequences were going to be brilliant. And they are. But beyond that, Alexander does a great job with the camera, using shots and camera angles to emphasize the topics being covered. More on this in a bit.

Last episode ended with Supergirl telling her friends that the events of the recent past had made her miss the safety and comfort of Krypton. There was Cat trying to expose her, Maxwell Lord trying to kill her, the tragedy of Bizarro, and the tense relationship with Winn. Add to that the pain of ripping herself away from the fantasy world the Black Mercy gave her and the death of her Aunt Astra, and Kara has been put through the ringer. But instead of picking up from the happiness of pot stickers and ice cream, this episode brings a different tone and a darker Supergirl. Her pain has been great and so she is tempted to do whatever it takes to stop grief and loss. That temptation can lead to cruelty, or coarsening of ethics.

Is safety and security more important than freedom and justice? Is the world black and white? Or are there shades of gray? Are villains immutable? Are 'heroes' immaculate? And if you are as powerful as Supergirl, where do you draw the line?


These ideas are all played off this angry Kara. There is Hank and Alex dealing with the fallout of not telling the truth about Alex killing Astra. There is James and Cat talking about the importance of truth and goodness and values. In fact, this might be the best episode for James there has been. And there is the villain Master Jailer, someone repeats a lot of what Kara is saying in this issue but crosses a line. He is Kara nudged out of the light.

If I have any complaint about this episode is that it is too short. Like the themes of "For the girl who has everything", "Truth, Justice, and the American Way" could easily have been stretched over two episodes, giving the script and characters a chance to work their way through issues. Instead, we sort of rush to the end. I guess that is a compliment ... I want more.

On to the episode.

Back Issue Review: Superman Family #220

The Supergirl show has been a veritable treasure trove of DCU ideas and characters, from Livewire to Fort Rozz to the Black Mercy. We recently learned that the Master Jailer would a recurring character on the show and that has prompted me to look at the time Supergirl fought the prison-themed villain.

Superman Family #220 was the middle chapter of a three part story where Supergirl fought the Jailer but this one had a nice bonus. We have the Atom as a guest star! And with Legends of Tomorrow on the television, this story also resonates with the television universe nicely.

Now this isn't a great story. But it has some fun moments. So here we go.

Back Issue Box: Superman Family #219: Supergirl And The Master Jailer

Last week, a flurry of Supergirl show news came out including Jeff Branson guest starring as The Master Jailer. The show Jailer was staff on Fort Rozz.

But I remember the pre-Crisis Master Jailer very well. Carl 'Moosey' Draper grew up in Smallville with Clark and Lana. A bit portly and picked on in his youth, Draper grew up, got in shape, and became a brilliant jailer, creating hi-tech cells individually designed to contain super-villains. Unfortunately, he also was obsessed with Lana Lang and had a deep-seeded hatred of Superman for presumed past affronts.

But the show isn't the first time that the Master Jailer has battled Supergirl. Back in 1982, the Maid of Might and the Master Jailer fought in an epic three-parter in Superman Family. As I try to link back issue reviews to current news, I thought now would be the right time to dust off these issues. I'll review each issue individually.

I will also add that the first appearance of the Master Jailer showed that he was driven and brilliant. He had built his cells to drain the villains of their powers and feeding those powers into his suit. In this story, he is a bit more of a gimmick-laden thief. Sure, his traps all are prison-related. But he lacks that unhinged drive I saw in him before.

"Prison Bars Do Not a Cell Make!" was written by legendary Supergirl scribe Paul Kupperberg with art by the then standard Supergirl art team Win Mortimer and Vince Colletta.

The story opens up on the set of Secret Hearts. This was the time in Supergirl's life when Linda played the villainous Margo Hatton. But something isn't right on the set this day. While Linda is visible in real life, she is missing on all of the tape the crew shot that day.

Immediately, Linda thinks that this must be some odd attack on her as Supergirl. Luckily she is able to convince everyone she is missing because of a technical glitch. The scenes were reshot and this time she can be seen.

Using her supersenses, Linda discovered a weird energy bathing her on the set. With her work day done, she changes into Supergirl and follows the residue.

It seems to me that Mortimer must have had a 'Linda disrobing' clause in his work contract. There is almost always a panel like that first one in his stories.

Halfway to the origin of the energy, Supergirl happens across a building which is collapsing. Like a hero, she puts her personal mission on hold to help save the people still stuck within. Unfortunately, she suddenly becomes intangible.

Thankfully, her other powers still seem to work. So she is able to use her super-breath to gently blow the trapped kids to the ground. Now that is some elegant use of that power.

I don't know how to tie her invisibility on video tape to intangibility. But I guess I'll roll with it.

After saving the kids, Supergirl becomes solid again, adding to the mystery. The energy trail dissipates but seems to point to an innocent city apartment which seems empty.

Heading back to her apartment, Linda meets with her agents and the show writers. They decide to crank up the nastiness making Margo even more loathsome. They think that pretty soon people will want a Margo doll that stabs you in the back.

But Linda's intangible state once again comes on, this time making her ghostly and invisible. She pushes her co-workers out the door before they wonder why she has disappeared! (Kupperberg can help himself and puts in a 'I can see right through you' pun.)

With things taking a turn for the worse and intangible, Supergirl decides to investigate the apartment. There she finds the device which was bathing her in the energy as well as a note goading her into action. Destroying the device with her heat vision, she is suddenly solid again. And she isn't too happy.

Remember, this is a more fully actualized Supergirl, about to embark to Chicago. She isn't going to back down or worry. She is going to face this threat head on.

Well ... sort of head on.

She shows up at the bank as Linda Danvers. When the Master Jailer reveals himself, Linda sends in one of her Supergirl robots to do the fighting. This was a time when the idea of duplicate robots was essentially phased out of the super-titles. This was explained that air pollution interfered with their delicate mechanisms. (As a kid, this was the first way that I learned about the threat of air pollution! It was a simpler time.)

The Jailer is surprised to see a solid Supergirl there. (Should he be surprised? He left a note meaning he thought she would find his machine. Maybe he didn't think her heat vision would work.) So he uses a wrist model of the device to try to turn Supergirl intangible again. The device has been calibrated to her unique body signature.

In a neat turn, the device must have a range of effect because Linda, in the bank, suddenly becomes a ghost.

As I said above, the Jailer here is more of a gimmicky villain, including having a prison key gun. But the robot keeps doing what it is supposed to do, saving people and acting like Kara.

Unfortunately, the pollution of the time interferes with the robots mechanics and it begins to shut down.

The Jailer takes advantage and ends up blowing up the robot.

A piece of the robot hits the controls for the 'phantom device', the tech the Jailer had used to turn Kara intangible. Kupperberg does a good job throwing in a line that this device was made with some dumb luck. Draper will never be able to recreate it (thus eliminating it as a potential plot in a future issue). Scared that the real Supergirl might be nearby and solid, Master Jailer takes off.

Unfortunately, the device being destroyed also means that Supergirl is trapped as an invisible, intangible ghost. How will she get out of this predicament? Well, she'll need some help from a guest star, one that I'm sure won't shrink from the responsibility of helping Supergirl.

Overall this is something of a messy story with crazy plots and wacky devices. But for me, the biggest disappointment was devolving the Jailer from a bitter super-genius to a bank robber with a theme.

Given this is part one of a three parter, I will review the next two issues as we approach the Jailer's approach on the show.

Overall grade: C

Supergirl Show News From TCA 2016 - Vandervoort! Master Jailer! Alan Moore!

I haven't covered all the news and casting but when it comes as fast and furious as it did 2 days ago, I feel I need to comment. Especially because this news is so fantastic that I felt compelled to discuss it. At the Television Critics Association tour on Monday, the Supergirl show crew announced some bombshells. This Entertainment Weekly article does a good job of recapping them:
http://www.ew.com/article/2016/01/11/supergirl-laura-vandervoort-indigo-master-jailer

Settle in, there was a lot of news. And of course I have lots of things to say about so many of these. So some blurbs from the article will be followed by my usual banter.

Laura Vandervoort has been signed to star on the show starting in episode 15. She has been cast as Indigo. Indigo was a Titan who started out as an innocent robot but was then revealed to be Brainiac 8, sent back in time to kill Donna Troy. But here is the blurb describing her in the show.

Indigo is described by producers as a living, strong-willed supercomputer who was sentenced to Fort Rozz after turning against the people of Krypton. Now on Earth, Indigo will let nothing stand in her way.

“She’s badass,” executive producer Andrew Kreisberg says. “She’s going to look awesome. Definitely not going to look just like Laura. Being one aspect of the Brainiac program, she comes in through computers, so Winn is actively involved in that episode. She has a very interesting backstory. She was one of the Fort Rozz prisoners, but how she came to be and how she ended up on the prison, and what she’s been doing on Earth is part of the fun and the surprise of the episode.”

I am pretty pumped to have Vandervoort on the show, continuing the nice sense of legacy in the show. And bringing in a Brainiac derivative is great. Can't wait to see more. But let's be honest. We all know what we want.

We now have the chance to see all three actresses who have played Kara all together in one scene! This better happen!!

In other villain news, soap star Jeff Branson has been cast as the Master Jailer. In the comics, the Jailer was Carl 'Moosey' Draper, a brilliant scientist who grew up in Smallville, insanely jealous of Superboy and obsessed with Lana Lang. Here is the blurb from the article.

Jeff Branson will recur as the forceful and unrelenting jail guard on Fort Rozz who showed no mercy. Now on Earth, he is hellbent on catching all of the Fort Rozz escapees and brutally bringing them to justice.

One thing I like about this is that here he is one of the staff on Fort Rozz. I was wondering if there were any good guys on that prison. It'll be interesting to see if he has been hunting (and maybe executing) the Rozz escapees during all these years. Maybe be will play another ethical foil to Supergirl.

Lastly, in what I think is a brilliant move, the show will riff on the famous Alan Moore story 'For the Man Who Has Everything" in episode 13. In that story in Superman Annual #11 (a story everyone should read), Superman is given a vision of what Krypton would be like had it not exploded. It isn't all rosy. Kara has a bit part in the story, maybe something for me to highlight later. As for the Supergirl show:

“There was something about that particular story that, to me, was almost even more resonant for her,” Kreisberg said, noting that it’s a good guess that this will be the episode that features young Kal-El. “For Superman, when it happens to him, it’s his wish for something that he never had. But for her, she wants something back that was taken from her. It really is like her stepping into this fantasy of what life would’ve been like if she had never left Krypton and had grown up there, if her parents were still alive, if she had grown into the person and the life that she wanted to lead. Again, because it’s coming at a time where she’s feeling so low about her life on Earth, it becomes that much more potent… She’s actually getting back everything that was taken away from her and the only way out of it is to reject it. Imagine how horrible that’s going to be.”

Everything Kreisberg says makes perfect sense. She remembers Krypton. She would have an understanding of what life would be like. This is something she would truly want, unlike Kal who has no memories of the place. I can't wait to see this. Given how hard it was for Superman to reject the vision in the story, I am sure it is going to rip out Kara's heart. And this gives Melissa Benoist another juicy emotional scene for us to see.This also is a good explanation for the casting of a young Kal-El, news we heard about a while ago.

I don't know if they will do the 'Black Mercy' flower as the explanation for this dream. Could it be a telepath? Coma?

Lastly, we finally get confirmation that the Jane Doe in 'Blood Bonds' is BizarroGirl. Over on CBR, we get news of episode 12 called simply 'Bizarro'. Here is the article:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/article/kara-battles-a-bizarro-version-of-herself-in-supergirl-episode-12-synopsis

And the blurb:
"Bizarro" – Kara faces off against her mirrorimage when Bizarro (Hope Lauren), a twisted version of Supergirl, sets out to destroy her. Also, Kara grows closer with Cat’s son, Adam (Blake Jenner), on SUPERGIRL, Monday, Feb. 1 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

I don't know much about Hope Lauren but she certainly looks enough like Melissa Benoist to fool people from a distance. My guess is Max Lord unleashes her to besmirch Supergirl's character. I also bet that she starts out looking normal and slowly 'bizarro-fies' over the episode until she dies at the end. Let's see if I'm right.

Anyways, nothing not to love about any of this news. Laura Vandervoort!!!