Review: Justice League Unlimited #5

Justice League of America #5 came out this week and featured Supergirl so prominently that I felt I should cover it here.

This new title by the tremendous creative team of writer Mark Waid and artist Dan Mora. These two brought us Batman/Superman World's Finest and that book was the best on the shelves for some time. When Waid had characters guest star in that book, I would always say that Mora brought such polish to them that he should draw that character's solo book. Now with the Justice League Unlimited, in essence, being every hero in the DCU, I actually get to see Mora's take on the entire universe. 

I don't know if I am 100% behind the 'everyone is a Leaguer' idea. Back in my youth, being named to the League was a big deal. Dick Dillin would draw a big scroll welcoming the hero with some sort of certificate. Perhaps a better screening process would stop a traitor from being in their midst, one of the plot points here.

Still, this book has been fun and it does allow both Waid and Mora to allow different heroes to be in the spotlight. As I said, Supergirl is front and center here, as is Impulse, Star Sapphire, and Red Tornado. They wouldn't get a showcase with the big guns unless they are in the League. So there is an upside.  Plus, given Waid's love of the DCU, this allows him to do a deep dive. into every nook and cranny. I am convinced he is hinting at something in this book which is one of my great loves. 

Plus the League is up against 'Inferno' an evil society they seem helpless against. We learn who they are at the end which only ups the ante.

Add to it all Mora and his jaw-dropping work. I love his work. Mora makes the 'jacket' Supergirl costume work. And the action is stellar throughout. 

I don't think I'll always review this book so let's just dive in!

Review: Action Comics #1081 Superman Story

Action Comics #1081 came out last week ending the 3 month of weekly issues with a lead story by Mark Waid and Clayton Henry. 

Waid has been weaving together a very entertaining story jumping around a bit as he explores the concept of the Phantom Zone from beginning to 80s fever dreams back to the present. Jor-El not wanting the Zone used as a prison? Interesting. Aethyr as ruler of Phantom Zone (again)? Interesting. Mon-El struggling with his life in the Zone. Interesting. 

When you string that many plot lines and even time travel into one story, there are bound to be some leaps, some short cuts. If you read this modern comic with Bronze Age sensibilities, it all works out fine. Things like giant orbiting technology appearing out of nowhere can be jarring unless you remember you are reading comics AND it works for the story. Things in this issue and this finale move quickly but end in a great way. 

Clayton Henry is on art and shines as usual. This is a high action issue with a surprise guest star. There is big action with big splashes. Henry has been around the DC block a bit. I hope he gets a monthly. 

On to the book.

Review: Action Comics #1079 Superman Story

Action Comics #1079 continued the rapid fire story by Mark Waid with his updating the Phantom Zone and Mon-El. This has been a weekly release comic and Waid has mirrored the rapid fire distribution. The story has bounced from the Phantom Zone to the past to a threatened Earth with villains as large as Aethyr and Kryptonian criminals but as small as Science Council bureaucrats. I have loved every pulse-pounding step as it careens its way to the finale.

Last issue ended with the Phantom Zone villains escaping into the sun via Aethyr's matter manipulator. This issue shows us what a planet overrun with Superman-level beings would be like. All in one issue. As usual, kudos to Mark Waid for keeping this zipping along and fun while also injecting some heartfelt moments and some DC lore. Waid just gets Supergirl and we see that in this issue. (We have seen him understand Kara every issue of this story.) We end with another cliffhanger, building on the story told here. 

Michael Shelfer is on art the entire issue which allows him some space to give us high action and brawls. I like his manga-esque style especially in an issue like this with an anime level of action. We also see is take on a lot of DC heroes given the threat level and they all look sharp. It would be great to see him on a young hero title and bring this energy there. 

Get ready to rumble!

Review: Action Comics #1078 Superman Story

Action Comics #1078 came out last week, continuing the weekly story by Mark Waid with art by Clayton Henry and Michael Shelfer. With our side trip to Krypton's past over and Aethyr defeated, it is time to pick up the pieces.

The cover sums up the biggest plot point. Aethyr has a device draining the sun of its energy while simultaneously ripping the Zone apart. But things are even more complicated. Saving the Earth will doom the Zone completely. How can the heroes save everyone? And what about Mon-El? Leaving the Zone dooms him.

I have enjoyed this story a lot. Waid has a great grasp of the super-family and their dynamics. He has a wonderful reverence for DCU and shows it by continuing to tweak some classic DC history to update but not eradicate. This whole issue shows just what a team our heroes are as they work together to save as many people as they can.

The art is once again split between Clayton Henry and Michael Shelfer. With the Kenan/Conner subplot over, Shelfer gets to help tell the main story and gets some good Supergirl moments. His style is a bit more stylized than Henry's, more energetic and manga-like. But the two shine here. 

On to the story!

Review: Action Comics #1076 Superman Story

Action Comics #1076 came out last week and Mark Waid and Clayton Henry continue to weave an interesting story, rewriting the continuity around the Phantom Zone and its Kryptonian origins.

Waid has been clicking on all cylinders with this story, giving us a new look at Mon-El, Aethyr, and Jor-El. But these new looks are more like updated takes on classic continuity. Mon-El is back to a Daxamite Clark met as a kid. But his time in the Zone has made him tougher. Jor-El discovered the Phantom Zone but didn't want it to be used as a prison recognizing how maddening it would be.

In this issue, we see Clark on Krypton trying his best to not upend the timestream by revealing to people their future. But he also needs to get his solar gauntlets charged to get back home. I like how Waid has Clark on the razor's edge of not leaking too much info.

Sadly, I was hoping that Waid my do a redemption take on Zor-El. Poor Zor was morally gray in the New 52 and then turned into the Cyborg Superman in Rebirth. In Venditti's World of Krypton, he was an obsessed neurotic, desperate to save Kara. Could Waid just bring him back to another caring father and scientific genius? We'll see.

Clayton Henry continues to bring this smooth look to the proceedings. I like the Krypton sequences. Michael Shelfer continues to bring some levity and action to the side plot.

On to the book!

Review: Action Comics #1075 Superman Story

Action Comics #1075 was released last week, a milestone issue according to the trade dress. 

It is also the halfway mark of this weekly run on Action Comics with the main story being told by the creative team of writer Mark Waid and artist Clayton Henry. 

This has been an impressive story showcasing just why I love Mark Waid as a writer. Superman is investigating the ever changing nature of the Phantom Zone. He runs into an immensely powerful being called Aethyr. He interacts with Mon-El. He ends up being thrown back in time to Krypton where he meets his father, a scientific genius who discovered the Phantom Zone. .

That all sounds very classic and Bronze Age. This has elements which are true to longstanding continuity. As such for someone like me, this reads as 'true'.

At the same time, Waid is polishing that Bronze to a more modern sheen. Aethyr is a vindictive god. Mon-El is has had a more troubled time in the Zone than normal, perhaps resorting to murder. Jor-El understood that the Phantom Zone was a troubling option for imprisonment. Jor-El has a temper, not suffering fools. And Lara is clever. 

Classic and new and most importantly, entertaining. It is what Waid has been doing since he returned to DC. Add to that a fun side mission with Kenan and Conner. Throw in more nods to DC history and you have a win.

The art continues to be very strong. Clayton Henry does very well with the Krypton scenes which are mostly verbal sparring, not fight sequences. His work on Jor-El and Lara, showing their anger and indignation, is strong. I love the 'milestone' cover showcasing some famous moments. Michael Shelfer brings a different energy, more electric, to the side story.

There is also an extra Perry White story by Joshua Williamson and Jon Bogdanove which ties up a bubbling Superman subplot.

All in all, a great issue. On to details. 

Review: Action Comics #1074 Superman Story

Action Comics #1074 came out last week. We are approaching the mid-point of this Mark Waid story of Superman exploring the Phantom Zone and now heading back to Krypton. 

I have been a comic reader for many years. I have seen Superman visit Krypton. I have seen stories of Jor-El and Lara. I have seen a variety of different takes. Some have been good. Some crazy. Some bad. 

Maybe, I am old-fashioned. But I think the continuity in this main DCU that Krypton should be a place of science and progress. I think Jor-El should be a good man who tried to save everyone. And Mark Waid gives us these back. 

I don't need Jor-El to be Mr. Oz.

But as he is able to often do, Mark Waid not only gives us a classic take but throws in a modern wrinkle. Not an upheaval. Not a rejection of the classic continuity. A modernizing. 

So we see that while Krypton is advanced and progressive, it has it's authoritarian side. Jor-El is a good man, a man of science, but also creative and a little weird. He isn't some ramrod, stodgy good guy. He has a temper. Still smart ... still good ... but more human. 

We also get some progress on the Zone story and the sidebar Conner/Kenan story. So this was a very fun issue.

Clayton Henry does a good job guiding us through Krypton and the Zone. He has this very smooth, organic style that I have always found slick. Michael Shelfer again gives us a great chapter with the Superboy/New Super-Man.

So overall another fun chapter. On to the details.

Review: Action Comics #1073 Superman Story

Action Comics #1073 came out last week, the end of the first month of the weekly distribution and officially one third through Mark Waid and Clayton Henry's Phantom Zone story. For some reason I forgot this was a 12-parter! (Alas, so is the Supergirl story.)

The story takes a pretty big turn at the end of this issue which gives us a sort of act break. We have laid the foundation so why not explore a new thread and come back to this.

Still, Waid takes advantage of the space to push this story forward as we learn more about Mon-El, Xa-Du, Aethyr, and the Zone itself. I do like this deeper dive into Mon-El as we see how the Zone has both hardened him but also elevated him. There are a couple of plot points I sort of need to accept. In particular, why Aethyr has taken such an interest in the Zone remains a bit of a mystery, as is its grudge with Superman/Jor-El. But story progress is progress.  I also like the seemingly unattached side plot with Kenan and Conner. 

Clayton Henry brings a very clean style to the proceedings, interesting choice given the chaos of the zone. He shine with the character beats, specifically the Mon-El  beats. Michael Shelfer continues to sparkle in the Kenan/Conner side adventure bringing some energy there.

So far so good with this arc. On to specifics.

Review: Action Comics #1072 Superman Story

Action Comics #1072 came out last week, continuing the 'Phantoms' arc by writer Mark Waid. 

Waid has been really firing on all cylinders with this arc so far and this chapter is no different. He had me at 'Superman battling Aethyr in the Phantom Zone'. But throw in Professor Xa-Du, Mon-El, and a crackling fun subplot with Kenan and Conner, and this book just sizzles.

This is a new Phantom Zone with pockets of solidity, crazy monsters, and new tortures present. He is giving us a Mon-El with a bit of an edge. So Waid is giving us something new. But, per usual, he is also leaning into DC history. Aethyr alone is a deep pull. But when I saw a quick retelling of Mon-El's origin and it is close to classic, I was thrilled. It is that perfect tightrope walk of old and new.  

And the story, of a benevolent Aethyr turned by the vileness of the prisoners, is also interesting.

Clayton Henry is on art for the bulk of the story. His smooth style somehow works given the chaotic environment of the Zone. There is a very organic sort of fullness to everyone. But I am really taken by Michael Shelfer's work on the Kenan/Conner subplot. There is a dynamism therw.

On to the book.

Review: Action Comics #1071 Superman Story

Still catching up on reviews after vacation which means I am finishing my review of last week's books now. So on to the main story in last week's Action Comics #1071, written by Mark Waid with art by Clayton Henry and Michael Shelfer.

Unlike the Supergirl back-up in this issue, writer Mark Waid pushes the story forward in a very entertaining way. There are mysteries here. This is a 'new' Phantom Zone, part physical, filled with odd monsters. That is a mystery. There is a heck of a cliffhanger, with a known enemy turning out to be a long lost friend. So there is a lot still to be known like any good tale early in the telling. But it isn't stagnant. We even get a fun little subplot with Kenan and Conner.

Waid, being the sort of fan he is, also is able to weave in a bunch of DC history. We get a quick primer on the Zone itself. We get some classic villains. It works very well. 

Clayton Henry remains solid on art. This is a story with lots of varying landscapes, monsters, villains, and action. It unfolds wonderfully. The action in particular works well, especially in the context of the barren landscape and crazy spider monsters. Michael Shelfer, someone new to me, is on art for the subplot pages and brings a zany energy which is perfect.

On to the story.

Review: Action Comics #1070 - Superman Story

Action Comics #1070 came out last week, the first issue of the Mark Waid and Clayton Henry weekly run on the book. I have already covered the Supergirl back-up so on to the main tale. 

Mark Waid has been firing on all cylinders since he came back to DC. His Batman/Superman World's Finest book has been my favorite title since its inception. Now he gets a turn on Action Comics and Superman solo and I can't be happier. Waid's love of Superman is well known. His love of DC Comic history is also well known. And both shine in this story.

From Kandor to the Phantom Zone to the signal watch to the super-family, the book sings. Again, Waid straddles the line between classic DC sensibilities and modern story-telling. This opening chapter is a body horror comic linked to Krypton's past. I loved every panel of it. And I haven't even mentioned that, as always, Waid writes a great Supergirl. She shines in this issue.

Clayton Henry brings his thick-lined, organic art to the proceedings. This is an old-school Kryptonian slugfest and it all flows beautifully. But I really want to compliment the cover. Yes, this is an 'All In' cover showcase of Superman. But Mon-El and Professor Xa-Du in Donneresque Phantom Zone mirrors is just beautiful.

Let's dive right in!

Back Issue Box: Action Comics #549

Last week I was thrilled to review Action Comics #548, the first part of a two-part story that really dove into some Kryptonian history. This was a crazy story which had Vrangs hell-bent on revenge against the world that repelled them, heading to Earth to kill Superman and Supergirl. It has Phantom Zone villains escaping their prison after taking a sacred vow to the Colossus of Hadrad. And it had Clark, Lois, and Jimmy on the trail of some news stories which seemed unrelated.

Action Comics #549 was written by Cary Bates and is just as fun as part one. This one still has a lot of Kryptonian lore in it. We get an in-depth flashback of the Vrang invasion. We get the Phantom Zone villains and learn how they hate the Vrangs even more than the Els. It all ends in a battle in deep space that Superman has very little action in. For a Superman historian like me, this was a big win. 

Now I have to admit that to get to the meat of this story, the Vrang/Kryptonian battle, we have to take a few crazy story leaps. As I said before, this book seems to be padded to fill two issues. So some of the things the Phantom Zone villains do make little sense. But I won't complain.

The art is again by Alex Saviuk with inks by Vince Colletta. But the splash page is inked by Pablo Marcos making me wonder if this was an added page. In last issue's review, Isamu Yukinuri said this story was meant to be one big 46 page story for the European market. That means this second splash would definitely be new material. Saviuk is a fine artist but he feels very 'old school' for a time when people like Perez and Simonson were crushing it on other titles.

If there is one complaint about this story it is the complete lack of Supergirl. A story that hinged on Vrangs discovering Argo City and steeped in Kryptonian lore should have included Kara.

On to the book!

Back Issue Box: Action Comics #548

Sometimes you find your joy in the bargain bins. 

Action Comics #548 was sitting in my local comic shop's buck box. There was a whole brick of Superman books from just before the Crisis reset. This was a time when I wasn't reading the Superman books. So these were new to me and that meant I bought a bunch.

But of the ones I have read, Action Comics #548, the first part of a two part story, is my favorite. As a Supergirl mythos fan, as a Superman amateur historian, and as a reverb to the ongoing Kneel Before Zod book, this one just hit me. Too much fun.

Where else will you get a story with Phantom Zone Villains, Jewel Kryptonite, Argo City, the Colossus of Hadrad, and Vrangs? Break out the Superman encyclopedia! Luckily, legendary writer Cary Bates gives us a bit of primer on all these things in this story, filling in gaps for people who aren't as invested in lore as me. 

Surprisingly, despite all those things being in this book, the issue is incredibly padded with Superman stopping muggers, Superman saving people from a scientific experiment gone awry, and the Daily Planet staff getting seemingly random stories to investigate.

Artist Alex Saviuk brings a sort of stiff, old school feel to the proceedings. The usual complaint of this era of Superman books is that it feels antiquated. Indeed, the Byrne reboot injected some life in the Man of Steel. Unfortunately, Saviuk's art is a throwback and definitely added to that sort of dusty feel.

Still, for me, this one is a huge win. Even if Kara isn't exactly in this story, as a Supergirl fan and a Superman fan, this was a find.

Back Issue Box: Adventure Comics #283

Today was an open slot in the blog schedule and had been a while since I had done a back issue so I was pondering what to cover. With Kneel Before Zod on the shelves, I thought looking back at the original Phantom Zone story and the introduction to General Zod might be fun.

So set the time machine for 1961 and Adventure Comics #283. In all transparency, I have this issue in the Tales From The Phantom Zone trade so might be mining that particular collection more in the future.

Pretty solid cover here by Curt Swan promoting The Phantom Superboy and name dropping the Phantom Zone for the first time. And nice ethereal colors on the phantom hero, showing us the terrain in the background.

On to the story.

'The Phantom Superboy' was written by Robert Bernstein with solid art by George Papp. 

As was the custom back in the day, the opening page was almost a second cover teasing the story. Given how the Phantom Zone and the two villains in the story have remained major components in the Superman mythos, it is a little amusing that neither are strongly shown in either place.

Instead, here, we learn that Superboy is an intangible phantom and that the Clark Kent robot that is imitating him is about to reveal his big secret. Obviously this very Silver Age story construct is a silly part of this story.

Review: Batman/Superman World's Finest #19

Batman/Superman World's Finest #19 came out this week, the ending of a quick 2 parter looking at the origin of the team. I have really been impressed with the overall cadence of this book. We have 5 parters; we have done-in-ones. Now we have a two-parters. Fantastic.

Kudos to Mark Waid for not stretching out stories to fill a trade. This was a quick little story. I suppose you could have dragged this out 5 or 6 issues. But there is no need. That makes me happy.

Waid continues the 'origin' of the World's Finest pair and I like how the turning point is where Batman learns about how the death of Superman's parents (and the rest of Krypton) is something that drives him a little. There is a commonality between these two that would bring them together. As this is an early take on these two, I like how both are still pretty raw. 

But Waid really got me with a callback to Aethyr, the oversoul of the Phantom Zone from the 80s that has been revisited now and then. You can count on Waid to lean into DC history!

Travis Moore brings a clean take on the art here. This issue is pretty action heavy and Moore cranks up the power, giving us Kryptonians brawling away. 

If the 'done in ones' are an amuse bouche in comics, this was a meaty hors d'oeuvre. 

On to details.

Review: World's Finest #18

Batman/Superman World's Finest #18 came out last week, starting a new arc and focusing on the first meeting of Superman and Batman. This book remains an extremely entertaining read. This new take on the origin of the World's Finest team is a fun new wrinkle to continuity.

Writer Mark Waid has been pulling a sort of Bob Haney Earth-B continuity in this title. He has been writing stories which take place in the 'recent past'. All of his writing has been incredibly fun and just perfect comic book super-heroics. But is it in continuity? I don't know if I can fit a Supergirl who lived in an orphanage and has a red shouldered costume in the current DCU. 

Frankly I don't care. Bring me good stories.

This story is just as fun and just as good. Waid is trying to show how Superman and Batman who became friends. I have read this story many times before. So why not another take? And, given this is their first adventure, we are even further back in the 'recent past' and Waid gives us visual cues and clues to help cement that.  It is Waid's forte to dive deep into the DCU. Throw in the Riddler and a Superman specific villain at the end and it all sings. 

Dan Mora gives us the split cover, linked by the hand shake at the bottom. Travis Moore is on internal art and gives us a solid take on a very very classic World's Finest and their early costumes. There isn't a ton of action here, focusing on the mystery. But it flows well and Moore keeps the action moving smoothly. 

Everyone should be buying this book. On to the details. 

Back Issue Bin: DC Comics Presents #97

Last month I took a deep dive into the Phantom Zone mini-series, a super bizarre mini-series written by Steve Gerber with art by Gene Colan. That mini-series was a trippy look at the Zone, redefining it as an extension of a being called Aethyr, the Oversoul. Aethyr had recently been reintroduced by Phillip Kennedy Johnson in Superman and Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad in Wonder Woman.

But I knew there was one more Aethyr appearance I needed to cover, DC Comics Presents #97. the last issue of the series! This is one of those wacky books, a pre-Crisis tale which hit the stands a full 6 months after Crisis on Infinte Earths ended. 

This is written by Steve Gerber and is clearly a sequel to the Phantom Zone villain mini-series, picking up elements of that story directly. It has serious consequences. It ends on a cliffhanger, a story which could never be followed up on given the end of this continuity. The question I have is when was this paid for. Was this sitting in a drawer? Did Gerber pitch it as a 'pretty please' vanity project to put out before the pre-Crisis universe disappeared forever? It is a 38 page doozy which makes me think it might have been held for an Annual or a Special before Crisis made all that disappear.

The pace is also interesting as the front half is a sort of re-primer of the Phantom Zone with some of this story taking place on Krypton, with origins of Zod, Kru-El, and Faora again. It is only the back half where we get back into the insanity.

The art is by Rick Veitch, someone I know mostly from Swamp Thing. The story is bizarre and horrific enough that I think Veitch is a great fit for that. 

And while Supergirl isn't in this, there is a key scene which tangentially touches her history, one I covered here before.

On to the book. Buckle in! I don't know if I can make any sense of what is happening here.

Review: Phantom Zone #4

Today I review Phantom Zone #4, the final chapter of the mini-series which introduced teh concept of Aethyr the Oversoul into the DCU.

As I have said in prior reviews of this mini, this is about as crazy a Superman story as you are going to read. We go to Hell and back, from the lurid to the psychedelic, and then back to Earth for a slugfest. I don't know if I have ever read something quite like this before. And certainly as a 12 year old reading this off the rack, I was both confused and elated.

Writer Steve Gerber does a great job of mixing a weird, almost horror vibe to the story as Superman travels through Aethyr in hoping to get to Earth. Last issues trip through the layers leads to the monster's lair. But, as usual, Gerber provides us with oddly paced side scenes to flesh out the story. From the opening 5 page scene of the nihilistic Nadira and Az-Rel destroying a punk rock club to Faora Hu-Ul doing what she does best, a lot of pages are spent making sure we know who these villains are and what they would do if left to tromp around Earth.

Artists Gene Colan and Tony DeZuniga are on art again and really have had to stretch themselves this whole series. We are in the dingy back streets of Gotham and the surrealistic landscapes of Aethyr. I can't imagine anyone better suited for the job.

And as a side note, once again Supergirl is treated with tremendous respect getting into the main action sequences and quipping her way through clobbering the villains. Just great stuff.

Settle in once more for the weird!

Review: Phantom Zone #3

I continue my look at the origin of the Aethyr concept with this review of Phantom Zone #3.

It is hard to know where to begin in this introduction. In earlier reviews of this book, I have been saying that this book makes a big turn from superhero action to psychedelic insanity. And this is that book. 

That isn't to say that we don't get great hero action. Supergirl again is on the main stage as is Batman. They are trying to thwart the the freed Phantom Zone villains from running roughshod on the Earth.

But the main part of this book is Superman working his way through the unknown layers of the Phantom Zone. Writer Steve Gerber breaks out his E. Nelson Bridwell, working in some Kryptonian history and some prior stories as we get dive from one bizarre landscape to another. 

Gerber's delve into miasma gives art team Gene Colan and Tony DeZuniga the space to use their skills. Nothing says Colan more than the weird and he uses all the tools in his toolbox. Even the cover, showing a red masked woman becoming a planet that explodes, let's the reader know that this is going to be a wild ride.

And here is the kicker. It was incredibly hard to limit what to post here artwise because every page has something special. There is something incredible and warped on almost every page. I hope everyone can read this in floppy or trade or on the DC app (where I pulled the panels from).

Settle in folks. Things are gonna get nutty.

Review: Phantom Zone #2

Today I review Phantom Zone #2, continuing my look at the mini-series that brough the concept of Aethyr into the DC Universe.But I am doubly lucky reviewing this issue because Supergirl is really a star in this issue. With Superman stuck in the Phantom Zone, it is up to the other heroes to deal with the repercussions of the Phantom Zone villains being free. Let me tell you Kara and Wonder Woman step up big time.

As I said in the review of the first issue, the pacing of this mini-series is interesting and almost overly deliberate. Writer Steve Gerber has a lot of stuff to cover. He has to cover all the action on Earth and he takes his time. This issue is mostly the villains initial actions, removing as many heroes as they can. But it isn't enough, Gerber throws in some cold war paranoia. In fact, he barely touches on all the wackiness that is going to happen with Superman in the Phantom Zone.

The art is again wonderfully rendered by Gene Colan. I still don't know if he is the right choice for superheroics but there is enough horror for it to be a Colan issue. Tony DeZuniga on inks seems to ground the work making the more JLA pages a bit more solid and less ethereal than the usual Colan fare. Let's start with this eye grabbing cover of Supergirl supposedly dead while the ghostly Superman looks on. Wonderful!

On to the book!