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: Endless Winter Superman Special

Times are strange at DC Comics, no doubt.

The beginning of 2021 is a two month experiment, Future State, looking at their characters in a possible (or probable or definitive) future. Those books must be the remnants of the proposed '5G' reboot where DC was going to replace all their main characters with new versions. I can only assume that AT&T squelched the destruction of their newly acquired IP. And so Future State instead of being *the* future state is a 2 month detour. (I do find it intriguing that so many Future State creative teams have been announced on oncoming titles come February.)

But to lead us into this new state, DC also took December off, running the Endless Winter crossover throughout all their major books. Creative teams are not present. Ron Marz and Andy Lanning are at the helm. And so we get a speed bump before the detour.

This is not a bashing of Endless Winter, a story that I am enjoying so far. It is a questioning of DC's editorial hierarchy. Three months away from the main universe in a questionable market seems like a gamble. Trust me, I have lived through periods where a new 'jumping on' point has been a potential 'jumping off' point for me.

But enough about DC's difficulties cultivating audiences. Let's talk about Endless Winter Superman Special #1. Written by Ron Marz and Andy Lanning with art by Phil Hester and Marco Santucci, this is a decent character piece looking at Superman in contrast to the Frost King, the cause of Earth's next Ice Age.

I have been around long enough to have read many similar character studies on Superman. But when done right, they make me smile. I liked this issue. So let's dive in.

Back Issue Box: Green Lantern #65

The Marc Andreyko/Kevin Maguire new direction of Supergirl is still about a month away. That's a month without a new Supergirl book to review. So it was time to head to the back issue boxes to find a story to cover. My hope is always to try to find a back issue that has some echo to the current continuity or current storylines.

The new arc for Kara is her heading into space to investigate Rogol Zaar. And in doing so she runs afoul of the Green Lantern Corps. We have all seen the 'Wanted Dead of Alive' advertisement.

With the Lanterns playing a role, I thought I would try to touch on some interaction between Supergirl and Green Lantern. I have already covered the Red Daughter arc back when it was hitting the shelves. And I didn't want to cover Hal doing everything in his power not to hit on her in the Mark Waid era Brave and Bold.

Instead, I'll be covering Green Lantern #65, the second part of The Siege of Zi Charam storyline, from August 1995.  This is an interesting time in the history of Supergirl. This is the Matrix Supergirl. We are about one year out from the Roger Stern mini-series, a story where she finally separates herself from Lex Luthor and his control. We are also about one year away from the Peter David reclamation project for the character, making her an amalgam of Matrix and Linda Danvers.

So where was Supergirl in this time? I'll say 'a little lost'. I don't know if creators knew exactly what to do with her. She became a kind of member of The Titans during a hard time for that team as well. A lost soul from a pocket universe with no anchors to anyone, she even seems lost. And this issue showcases that very well. While Supergirl seemed to grow in Funeral For a Friend and beyond, that self-confidence isn't here. She is basically unmoored. Writer Ron Marz gives us some very good moments to Mae and Kyle Rayner as Matrix begins to open up.

Art is done by Ron Lim and he brings a sort of house style to the affair, a perfect look for the mid-90s. The women figures are very thin. Everyone has rather flat faces. But it is still a very pretty book to look at.

Review: Adventures Of Superman #15

I am going through the five stages of grief when it comes to the ending of Adventures of Superman. I was finally coming to acceptance (pushed there by the awful Landis story last month).

And then Adventures of Superman #15 by Ron Marz and 'Doc' Shaner came out last week. And just like that I am shifted back to denial. Because stories like this one make me want to deny that this title is being canceled.

Everything about this story was perfect. Superman's actions. A determined and independent Lois. A connection to Krypton. And especially ... especially ... the 'villain'/'hero' of the piece, a clear homage to The Iron Giant, with an ending as sad and wonderful as that movie.

And everything about this issue's art was perfect as well. Shaner's work is so well-suited for this tale, classic and retro, pure gold. This is one of those truly rare issues where when I finished reading it I immediately reread it. When done the second time I said 'I would read a Marz/Shaner Superman book. But more specifically ... I would read a Marz/Shaner Lois book!'

Seriously, this was a perfect sort of Elseworlds' DC Comics Presents. Superman teaming up with the Iron Giant. Too fantastic!

The issue opens with Lois playfully jabbing at Clark that his news articles are nothing but fluff pieces. Here Clark has just written a story about twin brothers separated at birth now meeting each other for the first time. That theme of long lost relatives will travel through the story.

But I love this Lois ... her thoughts, her words, her body language.

And you can't tell me that there isn't something smoldering beneath the surface in that last panel, Lois and Clark's faces just a bit too close, their looking into each others' eyes just a bit too long.

The scene is broken up by a meteorite landing in the harbor outside Metropolis. In some ways it is reminiscent of the opening scene of every issue of Superman Family Adventures. In the midst of the action, Clark slips away and shows up as Superman.

This is such a great panel by Shaner. I smiling Superman swooping in for the rescue. But I love his body language here. There is something about him flying in boots first that makes this seem more fun and light and optimistic.

The meteor turns out to be a giant robot, eerily similar in appearance to the Iron Giant. And it seems bent on destroying the city. Amazingly, it seems to have enough strength to effect Superman, swatting the Man of Steel around.

Another small but great moment. Superman's first thoughts are of the safety of the people of the city. He asks that the harbor area be evacuated.

During the skirmish, a piece of the robots head gets broken off revealing an S-shield built into the machinery.

It turns out that the giant robot was built by Jor-El! Odd coincidence.

Another great panel here. Definitely a perspective shot letting us get a sense of just how massive the giant is. But there in the foreground is Lois, on the trail of a great story. It shows how brave she is.

It also puts some humanity into scene for me, showing just how small 'we' are here.

During the fight, the robot ends up de-escalating. Superman's blows have jarred it free of outside control. And we are given some back story.

He was originally a deep space probe by Jor-El to find some world where Kryptonians could potentially re-settle. Somewhere along the way he was captured by a race called the Vendai (invade spelled sideways?). They fit him with weapons and reprogrammed him, and made him the vanguard. The Vendai conquer planets and this robot softened up the worlds before the fleet arrived.

You know, I always wondered about the Iron Giant's back story, why he was laden down with weapons despite seemingly being a peaceful being.

Marz leans a little bit on the Silver Age notion that Superman feels alone, mourns the loss of Krypton. So it is interesting to see Superman suddenly feel a sort of familial connection to this thing.

Still, it is reminiscent of Hogarth in the Iron Giant. And it does feel like Superman to feel an attachment to this thing.

Every year on this blog I list the top ten Supergirl moments for the year.

If I did a top ten moment list for Superman, this would be number 1.

Is there anything that screams what is great about comics more than this panel? Superman, back to back with an Iron Giant, fighting off the invading Vendai, and making sure the other is okay. This is the power and glory of comics.

And I like that Superman and this Giant not only repel the invasion but remove the guns from the Vendai ships. No one else will face their weapons.

Unfortunately, the Vendai are a vindictive bunch.

They built in destruct mechanisms into the robot. And they aren't happy he betrayed them.

How sad! Does the Iron Giant have to die at the end of every story!!

(I know he is rebuilding himself at the end of the movie. But I still well up.)

Marz and Shaner give us a nice moment to end this story. Mirroring the reflection in the 'brother' panel, we get a cracked eye lens showing a sad Superman, talking about how he shouldn't feel sad for losing something he only had for a moment.

And there is Lois. She is in the thick of it during the story. Here she shows her human side a bit. There is a 'fluff' component to this moment, but she feels it too.

Beautiful story. Beautiful art. Great action and character moments. And the Iron Giant.

I don't want to believe this book is being canceled. Thank you Ron Marz and 'Doc' Shaner.

Overall grade: A+

Granite State Comic Con And Aaron Kuder Commission

I promise you I will get to talking about this fantastic Aaron Kuder commission soon.

But first I have to talk about where I got it ... the Granite State Comicon ... in general.

The Con was last week and it was just a fantastic time, even if I could only spend a short time of the second day there. It really is growing into something special.

I head to cons with lifelong friends and fellow comic fans and we each want something out of cons. I look to get commissions and talk to creators primarily, buying books is almost secondary. A friend wants to get commissions and do a lot of shopping. Another friend doesn't even look at the creators and just wants to thumb through long boxes.

The Granite State Comicon is the perfect con for our group because it satisfies all our con goals. It is big enough to get great guests. It is still small enough that the site doesn't feel claustrophobic, that the vendors aren't shoved to the side. And it isn't so huge that if we split up we need GPS and texts to find each other. It is in that sweet spot of cons.

Listen, I love the Boston Comic Con. That is my con. But I look at those days as a mission to meet all the creators I want to, to talk to them all, and get commissions. It feels almost like a work weekend for this site. I didn't buy one single comic at Boston Comic Con this year.

At the Granite Con, I was able to find the creators I wanted to, get commissions, AND still have time to shop. I went home with commissions from Aaron Kuder, Rebekah Isaacs, Jeremy Haun, and Art Baltazar. All will eventually find their way here, probably over the next month of Saturdays. And I was able to talk to all of them about upcoming projects, about what I liked about their work, etc.

I talked to Kuder about his Parasite issue at length because I enjoyed that tremendously. We discussed page construction, the use of color, etc.

And he talked about the ending of Superman #20, where a skeletal ghost of Lana still lives in Superman's mind. That was supposed to be the beginning of the Bizarro world, born from Superman's brain. Bizarre indeed. He was friendly and approachable and cool and that made the whole thing great.

Then I got the commission above. What a great addition to the collection. For one, the art is so fantastic, kinetic, crushing the gun, leaping at the 'camera', looking fierce, and with a generous splash of color. Unbelievable. I don't have many 'action shots' in my collection so this immediately stands out.

One thing I thought was cool was Kuder thumbed through the sketch book he was drawing in and was impressed by the collection.

One more story on this post.

Ron Marz was also at the convention. I like Marz' writing and enjoyed his Green Lantern stuff. But my favorite work by him was the classic CrossGen series Sojourn, drawn by Greg Land before he became a tracer. The main plot of the book is Arwyn, the female archer, trying to find and unite 5 pieces of a mystic arrow which when brought together will summon a god-like warrior Ayden. Ayden would then defeat an evil flame powered revenant named Mordath who was ruling the world with an iron fist.

Marz brought the series up to Arwyn finding 3 pieces of the arrow but then left (was forced to leave?) the book. And shortly after that the book was canceled. I have always wondered if Marz knew the ending of the story and so I asked. And yes he did.

I know many of you have stopped reading ... but for the few who remember Sojourn here is the plotline.

Arwyn would find all five pieces of the arrow. But ... it wouldn't summon Ayden.

Mordath would eventually be killed by his own lieutenant, a very honorable Orc named Captain Bohr.

Arwyn would leave and live alone in the forest like a hermit. Gareth, her comrade in arms, would struggle to unite the now free five lands. And finally, Arwyn would leave her self-imposed isolation and end up leading the land.

Do you know that that is???

Closure!! 

Anyways, I strongly recommend this convention for all the reasons above! I haven't even mentioned the books I bought, the My Little Pony swag I got the supergirls at home, or  posted the other commissions!