Review: Zero Hour 30th Anniversary Special

When you get to be as old a comic fan as I am, major comic events from the past become history and begin to celebrate pretty big anniversaries. 

I was already in my 20s when Zero Hour first hit the stands, DC's valiant effort to tidy up some of the timeline conundrums that spun out of the Crisis On Infinite Earths. So trust me, I felt pretty old when I saw the Zero Hour 30th Anniversary issue hit the stands. 

I wasn't sure how the story would play out. Would this be some side adventure within Zero Hour? Some untold tale? Or something Zero Hour adjacent, adding to the story.

Turns out it is the latter. Writer Ron Marz and Dan Jurgens bring us a Kyle Rayner story, set in an offshoot universe which is both familiar to the DC world of the 90s but also quite different. Do you want a world where Superman stayed dead, Batman stayed paralyzed, and Wonder Woman is missing? A world where Matrix, Donna Troy, and Barbara Gordon are the Trinity? Then this book is for you! Do you want to see Hal as Parallax? Jack Knight as Starman? A classic Fatal Five and Legion? Waverider? Then this book is for you. 

And I suppose for someone like me, this book is for me. It brought me back to that time, let me enjoy seeing these characters (in a way) again, and have some fun.

Add to that the incredible bevy of veteran artists on the book. Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Paul Pelletier, Kelley Jones, Darryl Banks, Howard Porter, and Tom Grummett all are here. I got to see Grummett's Matrix Supergirl again. Ordway on Infinity Inc characters. Kelley Jones haunting Gotham, and Jurgens drawing a version of the JLA again. 

On to the book! Get ready for some Parallax-ction!

Review: Batman/Superman #22

Batman/Superman #22 came out earlier this month, the last issue of this title. It's a shame to see another version of a World's Finest title fade away. Yes, this one started as basically a side series for the Batman Who Laughs mega-arc. But throughout the book, the heroes have been partners and friends. I am always glad to see Batman and Superman working together.

Writer Gene Luen Yang has been on the book for a while and as is his fashion, he gives us a quirky story with a meta-textual peek at comic books in general. His Auteur.IO story riffed on comics and fandom. This issue is even crazier.

Yang is almost a gimmick writer at times. You couldn't do something like this as a title long term. But Yang can inject some fresh air and some humor into books. Think about his 'choose your own adventure' Terrifics book or his 'flip book' Annual on this title. 

This issue has a Mxyzptlk-powered Calendar Man learning he is in a comic and taking advantage of the panels and gutters. And it is funny and cute. Why not do something like this in a final issue?

Artist Paul Pelletier brings solid story telling to the insanity. I like how he breaks the rules here. 

The only thing missing is an Ambush Bug cameo!

On to the book.

Review: Batman/Superman Annual 2021

The Batman/Superman title is leaving us soon, canceled within the next couple of months. It is a shame because I never tire of seeing these two icons working together as heroes and friends.

In particular, once the Infected storyline ended in this iteration of the title, the book has really soared. In particular, writer Gene Luen Yang has done a great job injecting some life and fun into the proceedings. While I thought his last story arc regarding Auteur.IO went on a touch too long, there is no doubt I liked these alternate versions of the characters.

The Batman/Superman Annual 2021 came out a couple of weeks ago (sorry it has taken me so long to get to it) and gave Yang the opportunity to play with those characters one last time. Given they will most likely be lost to comic limbo and that I enjoyed them, I was happy to read this solicit. The concept of the flip book also was interesting. We have seen split pages used with these characters and Yang himself did a 'choose your own adventure' Terrifics issue. So I liked that idea too. The plots are fine, picking up some threads from the prior arcs and padding out the textures of these worlds.

I also liked the artists on the book. Francesco Francavilla has a very film noir style which worked swimmingly for the Superman tale set in the grungy Gotham of Batman's world. And Paul Pelletier's clean pencils also shine in the Batman story in the clean cut streets of Superman's Earth.

I will say the flip book trick wasn't really necessary as the two sides meet in the middle just for a second and neither really is needed for the others story. This could have been just two chapters in one standardly oriented book.

On to the details.

Northeast Comic Con & Paul Pelletier Commission

The summer is my big convention season. I am lucky to have four local cons worth attending bunched up between August and November. Boston Fan Expo, Terrificon, Granite Con, and Rhode Island Comic Con all are close enough to drive to.

The problem is that around February, when the cold, dark winter has finished gnawing at my soul, I begin to get con hungry. The conventions can't come fast enough and I end up prepping for August's conventions in early March.

As if answering my prayers, the North East Com!c Con Colletibles Extravaganza happened earlier this month.

This really is a small con with a small roster of celebrities and comic pros as well as a diverse exhibition floor of comics, toys, and other collectibles. There were only a few comic dealers, mostly with bargain bins. But sometimes those are the best place to find gems.

At a time when I needed a little diversion, it was a welcome respite.

The big comic creator at the show that I wanted to run into was Paul Pelletier.

I'm a fan of Pelletier's work, specifically his time on Flash and She-Hulk.

I have run into him at prior cons and he has always been on my list of potential commissions but it just has never come to fruition. I was going to get one at last year's Terrificon but by the time I got my sketch book back it was too late.

So I decided that perhaps my best chance of grabbing a sketch was at this small con. And it happened!

As usual, I arrived at the con early and headed to Pelletier's table.

Check out the fantastic commission sketch! I love this happy, flying Supergirl. Just gorgeous. I have always love the way Pelletier draws faces and this beaming Kara is perfect.

This was definitely worth the wait. Just a fantastic addition to my collection.

Amazingly, my first sketch book is almost filled.

I brought some issues to get signed by Pelletier as well. That included Action Comics #51, the one issue he has done where he actually drew Supergirl (he wondered if I had brought it for a signature since I was asking for a commission of her). And my beloved Legion of Super-Pets Super Sons Annual #1.

I thumbed through a ton of cheap bins and bought a lot of nonsense. But I was thrilled to fill a couple of actual holes for relatively cheap. I got these 4 issues and Hercules Unbound #1 together for $20. Not bad. I have been searching for that Mister Miracle in the wild for years. I love getting key Legion historical issues. And I didn't even know about that post-Crisis Amazing Heroes book.

So the con itch is temporarily scratched. And a great commission was obtained too!

Review: Super Sons Annual #1

Super-Sons Annual #1 came out last week but really was more of a Super-Pets one shot with a dash of of our main characters. Jon and Damian appear in a framework sort of style, giving us some interaction at the beginning and end of the tale. But everything in the middle is all super-pets.

As these are animals, writer Peter Tomasi tells the tale with almost no dialogue. We get growls, meows, and coos. And so, as is sometimes the case with comics, the art really has to carry the story. Artist Paul Pelletier has to rely on the emotive expressions and body language of the pets to get across the vibe of the animal-only scene. Pelletier does an amazing job as I had no problem intuiting what each of the pets was thinking. And, in fact, at times, Pelletier seems to be drawing like Patrick Gleason or Jorge Jimenez, leaning into those artists' styles and giving this a very Super Sons feel.

For a long time Supergirl fan though, the biggest revelation of this issue was that Streaky the Super-Cat is back in continuity. Now historically, Streaky is a tomcat and belongs to Supergirl. He also had powers because of exposure to X-Kryptonite. Here, Streaky is a female cat. And how she got her powers remains a mystery. I hope that she isn't from Krypton. I also hope that eventually she will find her way in to Kara's life.

So this was a lot of fun. Glad I got it. On to the book.

Best Of 2016 - Top Ten Supergirl Moments In Comics; #10-#6

We are nearing the end of my Best of 2016 posts, looking at the back half of the Top Ten Supergirl Moments in Comics this year.

Unlike some years, there was plenty of great moments to pick from which means plenty of comics that Supergirl appeared in! In fact, looking at this list, there are moments from 7 different titles. That's pretty incredible.

And, as is typically the case, I had a very hard time picking the #1 moment. The top two moments flip-flopped in the top two slots in my mind so many times I thought I should label them 1a and 1b. But that felt like cheating. So I had to put my mind to it and just choose.

Lastly, I always ask that folks let me know what you think of the list. Is there a moment I completely missed? Is the order wrong? Should something else be number one? And what are your thoughts of the year in total for Supergirl.

I might rank this as one of the best years in her history given how much she has exploded in popularity. But that is really something to look at from a distance. Given how long one post covering the top ten would have been, and based on a fan poll result on Twitter, I split this into two days of coverage. So settle in for #10-#6 ...

Review: Action Comics #51

Action Comics #51 came out this week and proved that you can go home again.

Since The Truth ended, writer Peter Tomasi has been giving us a very classic, very satisfying story. It feels as if it has been years since I have read so many issues in a row and said 'This is my Superman.' Once again, after reading this book, I uttered that phrase. 

But more importantly, after reading this issue I said 'This is my Supergirl!' Kara has been suspiciously and conspicuously absent in the DCU for some time. Since her own book was canceled, she hasn't been seen or heard from at all. Even in JLU, all we heard was that 'she bolted'. Thankfully, Tomasi brings her back in a great way, showcasing a lot of what I like about Kara, folding in some of the plot of her new book, and maybe even riffing on some classic stories.

And best of all, we see the cousins acting like cousins and heroes. They squabble a bit. They care for each other. They are family. I have been waiting for this sort of relationship for some time as well.

To sum up ... hooray!

The art on the book is done by Paul Pelletier with inks by Sandra Hope Archer. There is sort of Neal Adams feel to the look here, more than I have seen in Pelletier recently. The art is big and bold, suited for the story. Supergirl looks wonderful, young and vital.

On to the book.