Review: Spider-Man/Superman #1 Supergirl/Ghost Spider Story

Welcome to the week of Spider-Man/Superman #1, the Marvel release of the latest DC/Marvel crossover. I had recently done a deep dive on the Superman/Spider-Man #1 comic on the site. I must admit, both companies did a great job on these books with very entertaining main stories and very interesting back-ups.

Somehow Marvel got the luck of having the Supergirl story in the lot. And I was thrilled when I heard the team-up was going to be with Ghost Spider. As a huge Gwen Stacy fan, this seemed like a 'chocolate and peanut butter' moment, the perfect combo. Add in Phil Noto, a long time favorite of mine and I was really excited.

The writer of 'Remarkable' was Stephanie Phillips who I feel is a sort of hit-or-miss writer for me. I have enjoyed some of her work, the early issues of her Harley Quinn run and the current She-Hulk book for example. But this story's premise that Kara and Gwen would be sort of catty towards each other, acting like mean girls, seemed a little bit off. I do feel that maybe the story sticks the landing but given it is unlikely that these characters will ever meet again, it seemed like a wasted opportunity to see a true team-up.

Kudos to Peach Momoko for this slick cover. Love the pastel covers and the smiling Kara standing tall!

On to the book.

Happy Anniversary! Top Ten Supergirl Commissions!

I continue my semi-self-congratulatory tenth anniversary of Supergirl blogging by looking back at my every growing collection of commissions. I am pretty lucky that New England has a good convention scene that allows me the opportunity to run into creators on an annual basis. And I am also lucky enough to have a job where I can moonlight an extra shift to fund a convention season, allowing me to at least try to get commissions.

As I write this, I have just under 100 commissions in the collection. Initially I got them on separate Bristol board and would frame them. But I quickly ran out of wall space in the comic area of the basement. It also was kind of hard to share the collection. So a while back I switched to sketch books which I now bring to conventions. It has served me well. I know have a portable art gallery. And artists who I do commission seem to like flipping through the book themselves.

As part of this 10th anniversary celebration, I have been looking at some Top Tens and figured my commission collection was a natural for such a list. The problem is I love all my sketches. So picking a top ten feels like I am rejecting the others. So I am presenting the top ten commissions that stuck out to me today. Ask me tomorrow and I might pick a different 10 all together. And these are listed unranked and alphabetically by artist. This is just the top ten.

If you love any of my commissions, please drop me a note. In the mean time, on to the list,.

Review: Superboy #3

Superboy #3 was released last week, graced with a very nice Phil Noto cover, and continued a very strong beginning for this title.

Things have been happening at a pretty breakneck pace in the title so far. There has barely been a chance to pause and catch your breath as one crisis after another just seems to be descending on Smallville. My guess is that all these things are eventually going to come together and become some sort of over-arching plot. But for now they seem to be individual craziness drawn to this lazy little midwest town.

Despite these threats, writer Jeff Lemire inserts short but powerful scenes that continue to build upon the characters and their motivations.

In this issue, for example, we see the Lori and Simon subplots all advanced. But Lemire keeps the pressure on by telling the story in a nonlinear pattern. The main plot of the issue is an occurrence within the high school. But Lemire puts flashbacks of calmer times throughout. These character building moments all occurred before the crisis in the school. Had the issue been told chronologically we would have had a nice period of calm high school interactions followed by headier action sequences. By instead showing us the psychic attack on the students on nearly every other page, I felt like I was sitting on the edge of my seat the whole read. So that sense of insane pacing felt maintained despite these intermittent quieter moments. I often wonder why some authors tell their stories in nonlinear ways. Here, by doing so, Lemire kept the pressure on. (Hopefully this paragraph makes as much sense written as it does in my mind.)

The issue starts with Krypto waking up Ma and Conner in the wee hours of the morning. The super-dog is clearly spooked by something as he howls at the night. Conner scans the town but doesn't see any obvious problems.

The last issue ended with creepy farmers overjoyed with their scan of Superboy. Clearly something ominous is percolating under the serene surface of Smallville. This small touch of Krypto sensing something isn't right added the perfect twinge of unease.

Like many young heroes, Superboy worries if he is doing things correctly, if he is a magnet for problems. He worries that the destruction the Parasite left in his wake might bankrupt some of Smallville's farmers.

Ma assures him that Smallville folks are made of sturdy stuff and have always found a way to survive.

I especially liked this panel arrangement with Ma holding her 'World's Greatest Mother' mug, the picture of Pa in the background. It was an effective way of grounding all she said as real rather than just optimism. She is wise and her and Pa lived through worse than this.

But the real action in the story is happening in the high school where everyone suddenly suffers massive head pain and collapse unconscious. Superboy thinks he is the only one who withstood the mental assault (albeit as Conner) and gets into his costume to do some super-heroic heavy lifting.

Surprisingly, Lori seems completely unaffected by the attack. And she catches sight of Conner changing. Just like that she knows his secret identity.

But why would Lori not be effected? That's the more interesting question for me. I wonder if she has some sort of latent mental powers that would shield her. Remember, she is Lena Luthor's daughter. In the Silver Age, Lena had ESP after exposure to an alien brain. While it was never established that *this* Lena had powers, could Lori have some vestigial power too?

As I said before, this event at the school runs through the book. As Conner walks through the hallways littered with unconscious students, as he talks to Lori, we are shown events from earlier in the day.

We see Conner start to arrange a race between him and Kid Flash, a race for charity to help out those in Smallville who need some financial help. I like the playful exchange between friends ... especially Bart who thinks it won't be much of a race. We know this race is happening in an upcoming issue.

We also see Simon get pushed away a bit more by Conner.

Concerned about his secret identity, Conner realizes that Simon can't hang out with both 'Conner' and 'Superboy'. It would be too suspicious. So Conner tells Simon they can't be friends anymore in the High School setting.

Simon is clearly devastated. Conner is his only friend at school. He'll be isolated. But Con is adamant; their visible friendship in school is over. Even though he says they will still hang out after school, Conner just doesn't see how much this hurts Simon. Nice use of empty space in this panel to show how alone Simon feels now.

All along I have felt that Simon is a 'Lex-in-waiting'. Pushing him like this is a surefire way to make that a reality.

And then we see how the event at the school happened with everyone suddenly dropping and Superboy getting a crushing headache.

Again, the nonlinear way this story unrolled kept me interested, concerned, and made me feel  unsettled, adding to my concern for the characters.

At last the nexus of this problem manifests in the school when a portal opens up in the hallways.

I like how Conner's first thoughts are for Lori's safety.

And then out of the portal comes 'Psionic Lad', an apparent superhero from the near future, 2216 to be exact. His powers cause psychic ripples, explaining the sudden collapse of the school.

And, of course, he has come to Smallville because he needs Superboy's help.

One line I loved was Superboy asking Psionic Lad if his codename was 'Thought Balloon Boy". Funny.

Before he can explain why he needs Superboy's help, another crew of time-travelers come through another rift. These guys are armed and armored, and are trying to stop Psionic Lad from interacting with Conner. Almost immediately they fire on Superboy, incapacitating him.

And just like that the issue ends. Nice hook for next issue.

Because of the frenetic pacing of the main storyline, the threat at the school, the issue seemed to end almost too quickly. It is a nice compliment to Lemire that he was able to slide in these smaller scenes, the more character driven ones, into the issue without slowing down the overall feel of the issue. In fact, this series seems to be building momentum each issue like a snowball rolling down a mountain. I don't think I have any sense of exactly what is happening in Smallville but things feel like they are whizzing around me faster and faster. And yet we also see the bucolic life of Smallville too!

It really has that feeling of David Lynch's Blue Velvet or Twin Peaks. And that is high praise.

One thing I would bet on is Simon being tempted by whoever is after Superboy, coaxed into betraying his friend.

Pier Gallo's art is solid here as well. He is able to pull off both parts of the book as well.

Overall grade: B+

Review: Superboy #2

Superboy #2 came out this week and built nicely upon the momentum of the first issue. In many ways, I felt that the first issue was simply setting up the environment of the book ... the idea of Smallville, the camaraderie of Simon and Conner, the personal evolution that Superboy is going through. It was a nice foundation ending with a decent hook - the arrival of Poison Ivy. If I could subtract the perplexing defeat of the Parasite (taken down by a cloud of wheat kernels) from the issue, it would have been great.

With the first issue behind us and the basics of the title established, writer Jeff Lemire can crank up the intrigue, spinning a pretty satisfying quasi 'one and done' story that teases at some of the bigger storylines planned.

Moreover, Pier Gallo's art in this issue is crisp, especially his rendition of Poison Ivy. The one detraction from the art is the 'there/not there/there but in color only' thigh high boots she is wearing. In some panels they are delineated. In others, they aren't there. It was minimally distracting, the only downside to the art throughout.

With the Parasite defeated, Superboy and his friends find themselves entangled in giant wheat stalks. As if on cue, Poison Ivy arrives. Superboy assumes that she is behind this plant-life assault. Ivy claims that she was drawn to Smallville by 'shift' within the Green. Her powers are gone. And she is here to try to stop whatever is effecting the plant elementals worldwide.


In a classic comic moment, she actually tells Superboy that the two of them need to team up.

Yes, this is a dramatic butt shot of Ivy (and there are several of them throughout the book), but to be honest one of the things I liked about Gallo's art was his otherwise understated and sultry Ivy. There is no doubt she is sexy, part of her character, but she isn't put in senselessly provocative poses.

For example, this panel with the cascading hair tendrils and smoky eyes shows a very sensual Ivy. We don't need more that that. We don't need her to be in a 'broke back' position to accomplish what the art does alone.

Ivy again reiterates that currently she is powerless. If she had her powers, wouldn't she simply use them to get hypnotic control of Superboy to do her bidding. You can't knock the logic so the two indeed team-up. Ivy can sense the source of the power and can lead Conner to it.

Superboy asks Simon to stay behind and Simon begrudgingly agrees. Alone with the Parasite, Simon grabs some of the super-villains's tissue and runs to his lab.

The two fight their way through walls of enormous vegetation as Ivy leads Superboy to the epicenter of the plant disturbance.

You can sense Ivy trying to slowly seduce Conner, making him 'save' her from the plants, touching his body, speaking provocatively of needing to go just a bit further. Lemire clearly has a good sense of Ivy's voice, her power over the baser needs of men. Impressively, Superboy wants no part of it, shunning her advances.

The focal point of this disaster is a local farm. The scene inside is pretty disturbing as old farmer Mr. Gilliam is attached to some sort of odd device - what appears to be farm equipment linked to some central more sinister looking globe, apparently with a timer counting down.

I always find images like this creepy. I mean, there are a bunch of machine coils embedded in this guy's chest and he is awake and begging for help, raving about a 'broken silo'. I don't think Lemire is always going to have Conner fight your standard super-villains and bank robbers. This is more twisted.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised but it turns out that Ivy was faking. She did have her powers. She rips the coils from Farmer Gilliam's chest, potentially killing him. Then she turns on her mind-control powers, attempting to hypnotize Conner and claim the machine for herself.

See how we aren't seeing the tops of her boots here? Still, she is very fetching in an understated sort of way.

And here, again, no boots. A small complaint ... the only complaint I have about Gallo's stuff here.

Just as Superboy is about to succumb to Ivy's power, Simon shows up with the remarkably swift results of his experiments ... Parasite frogs! Simon sends his amphibian army at Ivy, draining her, overpowering her. Suddenly Conner is free.

I hope Simon doesn't become an easy science answer out of every problem in this book. I hope he doesn't have an invention that saves the day all the time. I worry about him becoming a deus ex macina. Regardless of his brilliance, it was a bit quick for him to merge frog/Parasite genetics and create a frog mind control device.

And I wonder how much Pier Gallo likes having to draw a bunch of frogs in Parasite togs.

While Ivy is incapacitated, the device, unfortunately, continues to count down. Without knowing exactly what it will do, Superboy grabs the globe and flies it away from Smallville.

Surprisingly, it isn't a bomb. At time zero, it seems to simply flash. It doesn't apparently harm Superboy. And once that happens, the weirdness around town disappears. The machine dissolves; the giant plants recede. Even the Parasite seems to disappear.

Heading back to the farm, Superboy is happy to see that somehow Farmer Gilliam is alive (after some timely CPR by Simon).

But more importantly, a chunk of the machine has remained intact, inscribed with some odd language. Hey I recognize that symbol in the center! Isn't that the magical symbol of Arion, Lord of Atlantis?

Arion has gone through all sorts of incarnations in the DCU, some more evil than others. He has had some interesting interactions with Superman so maybe we will be seeing some ancient Atlantean badness here.

All along, I have wondered if Simon is destined to somehow be Conner's version of Luthor. Or maybe it is supposed to show what would have happened if the Clark Superboy befriended Lex.

Anyways, this scene makes me wonder if we might be seeing the beginning of a rift. Superboy doesn't want to expose Simon to any danger. Conner thinks Smallville is his to defend. He needs to trust Simon.

And while Simon says the right things now, you could see how he might get aggravated by Conner's words. Smallville isn't just Conner's.

The issue ends with another great hook. It turns out the machine's purpose was to scan Superboy's physiology. And it seems some cabal of  weird Quaker-like farmers was behind the attack on Smallville. Man, these guys also look creepy.

I have said it before, there is a definite David Lynch feel to this book, that sense of some bizarre world existing under the shiny idyllic Smallville exterior.

I really felt that this was a pretty dramatic upgrade from the first issue of Superboy, an issue I enjoyed. But that first issue felt like Lemire was dipping his toes in the water and here he was swimming. I liked how there was a clear story here that ended (threat of the machine on Smallville) but with building blocks for bigger arcs too. And it works on two levels - a fun level with Parasite frogs and flash bombs and a darker level with farmers hooked up to machines and weird farmers.

I have raved about Gallo's art enough but I thought it really was slick here.

I did think Simon's frog experiment was a bit too quick and Ivy's boots detracted just a touch. But those are garnishes next to an otherwise tasty steak.

Overall grade: A-

Review: World's Finest #4

World's Finest #4 came out last week, wrapping up a whirlwind mini-series which feels like it's over before it even began.

In this day and age in comics, a 4 issue mini-series seems to be rare. Everything seems to be 6 issues or more. Compound the shorter length of the mini-series with the format (different guest stars in each issue who need to first meet and then finish an adventure) and you have the most compressed storytelling I have read in a while. In many ways it's refreshing ... like having 4 delicious hors d'oeuvres rather than sitting down to a huge plate of pasta. In other ways it was sort of disappointing. I would have loved to see more of Supergirl/Batgirl ... more of Superman/Batman. So disappointing in a good way. It means the quality was high enough that I wanted to read more.

The issue opens up with a flashback splash page of Nightwing and Superman looking at the new uniform they are about to don.

Nightwing has decided to wear the cowl of Batman. Superman has decided to become Commander El. Without any words, you can completely sense the weight of these decisions. These aren't heroic poses ... more poses of resignation. This is something these heroes need to do ... even if they might not 100% want to.

We flash forward to the current adventure with the Toyman's giant Superman/Batman robot lumbering down Gotham's streets causing general mayhem.

I haven't really enjoyed the character of Damien Wayne in the past but in this issue, he has the best lines. I love it here when he looks at the absurd mecha and says 'that might be the stupidest thing I ever heard'.

Supergirl is removed from the equation pretty quickly, literally swallowed by the robot and put into a Kryptonite saturated environment. Batman is able free Batgirl from the robot's grip with a well placed missile. And then Dick jumps into the robot's maw to rescue Kara and try to solve the problem from the inside out.

Superman doesn't seem to be having as bad a problem with the Kryptonite as Supergirl did but neither is he uneffected. Here he is bathed in the K-rays and spun around in agony.

I laughed at loud at Damien's line here. Calling Batgirl 'Fatgirl' is awful and funny at the same time. It's obvious that Steph is fit and athletic so it is cringe-worthy. But it is completely within Damien's character to be such a jerk.

Seriously .... 'Fatgirl'? That's not right.



While Superman and Batman skirmish with the robot, Robin and Batgirl take the battle to the ground and lay into Toyman and Mr. Freeze. In the midst of the battle, the Toyman's remote control gets shattered.

It turns out that the robot's ultimate destination was supposed to be New Krypton! But the remote was destroyed before that navigation code could be entered. With no destination, the robot begins its self-destruct program.

Okay, so it seems to me that a lot of work was put into making this robot. Doesn't it seem a little silly that the destruction of something as fragile as the remote control would automatically lead this thing to blow itself up? Why would the Toyman do that?

Now if I was a evil genius, I would have programmed the robot to simply run amok causing massive property damage if the remote control was destroyed. I figure, if the remote is broken, I am probably captured .... may as well rain some mayhem down.

From a meta-textual point of view, I can understand the need for Sterling Gates to be able to finish this story within the constraints of 22 pages. So, in that way, such a easily implemented self-destruct mode makes sense.

Within the robot, Batman finds a feverish-appearing Supergirl. She's nearly incapacitated by the ambient K-radiation she is soaking in.

With time running out, Batman helps her up as she tries to guide them out. As they try to find an outer wall to smash through, the two stumble upon the Kryptonite Man, who is basically the engine of the mecha. The proximity to such concentrated Kryptonite waves sends Supergirl to the ground.


Superman luckily arrives and decides the most expedient way to stop the robot is to remove the Kryptonite Man. No engine means no travel. He has not had as prolonged an exposure to the Kryptonite radiation as Supergirl so he is able to do just that, hoisting the engine chamber up and out.

Batman programs the Batmobile/Batplane to catch the K-Man so he doesn't splatter on the ground.


The three heroes are then able to escape the robot before it self-destructs.

Nice splash by Noto here.


The three then head to Earth and help Steph and Robin finish off The Toyman and Mr. Freeze.

In an interesting twist, the Toyman turns out to be another robot, so cleverly constructed that no one, not even the Kryptonians, were able to deduce he was an automaton.



In the end, Superman tells Dick how proud he is of the new Batman, how proud he knows Bruce would be. I thought that was a nice touch.

I also like how Superman talks about the growing pains the New Krypton citizens are going through. The first panel is an absolute riot with Supergirl chastising Robin for calling Batgirl fat. I love Supergirl's expression there ... exasperated.

But I also appreciate the love thrown to Nightwing and Flamebird as they 'aspire to higher ideals'. It seems like a lifetime ago that there was speculation that they were Conner and Linda.


Nothing beats one last ending twist. It turns out that the Toyman was simply on a mad super-villain rage. He was being forced into work by General Lane. Man, that guy is busy. And he wants to know if Schott can create another robot that could infiltrate New Krypton. Interesting.

I thought this was another good issue in a very good mini-series. There was barely a moment to take a breath here as each issue rolls at a breakneck pace. Some things are rushed or glossed over so that the story reaches where it needed to get to. As I said above, it really is a refreshing and retro.

While Supergirl sort of took a back seat here, this really is supposed to be Superman and Batman's time in the spotlight so I didn't really mind.

And I am a big fan of Phil Noto's art but this issue he did not look as refined as I have seen his work in the past.

Still, overall, I liked this mini-series as it blended to Super- and Bat- families and hope we see more Supergirl/Batgirl team-ups in the future. And I thought Gates did a very good job with the first Superman/Batman team-up, especially Superman's proud reaction to Dick's wearing the cowl.

Overall grade (issue): B+
Overall grade (mini): B+

Review: World's Finest #3

Now that the holidays have passed, it is time to get back to blogging. And what better way to start than by reviewing World's Finest #3, by Supergirl team Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle.

Like the first 2 issues in this mini-series, this issue is fast-paced as Gates needs to have the characters meet, drop them into a mission, move his overall plot ahead, and have each issue end with a satisfactory conclusion. In this day and age of the standard 6-issue arc, it must not be easy. It really makes me appreciate all those 'done in one' issues of DC Comics Presents and Brave and the Bold I read growing up.

And this issue isn't just any team-up ... it's the first meeting of Supergirl and the Stephanie Brown Batgirl.


The issue starts with Oracle waking Supergirl from sleep to immediately activate her as a field agent for an ongoing mission.

Oracle has someone trying to track down Mr. Freeze who (you may recall) escaped capture at the end of last issue.Babs also hears that the Kryptonite Man is also in town. With that much trouble brewing, Oracle needed to call on a 'heavy hitter' so Kara gets the call.


This call is especially urgent since the operative Oracle has on the case, Batgirl, has gone off-line.

This whole scene between Oracle and Supergirl just reads right. The two have a history ... have worked together in the past ... and should be comfortable with each other as colleagues or friends. The conversation makes perfect sense. Oracle needs muscle; she thinks of Kara. Supergirl hears Barbara needs help so she's in.

Not to beat a dead horse, but I don't know if the earliest versions of this Supergirl would be so quick to say yes. I am glad this current Supergirl understands obligation.

I also love how Kara has a sticky note saying 'call Tim' on her laptop, a subtle reminder of her prior connection to the Bat family.


It's a good thing that Supergirl got on the trail right away. Batgirl and Catwoman are both welded to the inside walls of a freight container that is at the bottom of the Gotham river and taking on water. Luckily Supergirl is able to find and hoist the box to dry land and free Batgirl. The introductions are short and sweet. 'Hi I'm Supergirl.' 'Hi, I'm Batgirl.' Kara doesn't seem to be annoyed at the rescue or say anything sarcastic about the fact that Steph needs saving. Steph doesn't seem embarrassed or put off on being rescued.

Batgirl fills Supergirl in on the mission so far, how she and Catwoman both tacked Mr. Freeze and the Toyman to an old warehouse. Batgirl was sent to investigate a radiation leak. Catwoman is there for a bounty. Regardless of motivation, the two were overrun and dumped into the river by Toyboy.

The heroes' operation is pretty clear ... head to the warehouse and shut things down.


In a humorous moment, the two decide to leave Catwoman bolted to the wall, trussed up for the authorities. I love the pause as the 2 heroes look at each other and agree (without saying a thing) to leave Selina there. They are of like minds and already seem to be friends.



And they have more in common. As they enter the warehouse, they both quote the Batman, they both trained with him. It's another small moment that helps explain why the two would become fast friends.

Batgirl explains that the two supervillains had the Kryptonite man imprisoned in some sort of cryo-chamber.


Supergirl downplays the villains threat, figuring what could go wrong during the 'first Supergirl/Batgirl team-up'. I do like Kara's confidence here ... although it may be misplaced.

When the two break in, they are swarmed by malevolent action figures and Kryptonite taloned velociraptors all being controlled by Toyboy.


In my favorite moment in the issue, Supergirl decides to get to one of the roots of the problem. She derisively calls Toyboy 'Pinocchio' and smashes his head. That is awesome ... powerful and take charge.


Not to be outdone, Batgirl disarms Mr. Freeze before he can shoot at Supergirl. The banter and body language here is great, Steph sheepishly saying she wanted to be part of the action while Supergirl reminds Steph that Kryptonians are invulnerable. The art conveys that this is friendly chatter and not bristling with frustration. The two young women just seem to get along and I am happy to see that.


But the mission is far from over. The Toyman is using the Kryptonite Man as the power source for his Superman/Batman robot, last seen in the 'Public Enemies' arc of Superman/Batman. And armed with Kryptonite eye beams, it quickly gains the upper hand, grabbing Steph and blasting Kara.

This is just a great vertical double splash page really showing the power of the robot as it vanquishes the super heroes.


Batgirl signals to Oracle that she has a code black, the highest threat level she can relay. That means that Batman (Dick Grayson) and Superman get the alarm.

This was an excellent issue on all levels.

The writing and dialogue clicked. You could easily sense the budding friendship between Supergirl and Batgirl. No surprise that Supergirl's characterization is perfect in Gates' hands. And like the other World's Finest issues, this one was dense with story and fast-paced without feeling rushed.

As for art, it was great to see Jamal Igle back drawing Supergirl and he draws a heck of a Batgirl too. He is so comfortable with Supergirl, her body language, her expressions, everything. And the whole thing was topped off with a stunning Phil Noto cover.

I can only hope that we get to see more of these two heroes teaming up in the future.

Overall grade: A

Sterling Gates And World's Finest

There is a nice little piece on the DC blog about Supergirl writer Sterling Gates which promotes both Supergirl and the upcoming World's Finest miniseries. Here is the link:
http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2009/10/26/writer-to-watch-sterling-gates/

The post does a good job of talking up Supergirl so hopefully this will intrigue some people enough to pick up the book. But I also think it was great to see Sterling get a little publicity as well. Most of us here think that his work on Supergirl has been fantastic. Here is some of the DC post.

Sterling Gates is far from a newcomer to the DCU — but he’s certainly one that’s on the rise. With his work — alongside artist Jamal Igle — redefining and stabilizing Supergirl, Gates has made a name for himself for his tight plotting and knack for strong and precise characterization. All of which can be seen month-in and month-out in the pages of the Girl of Steel’s ongoing series.

The Source also talks about World's Finest and gives some preview pages of the first issue. Here is the publicity.

The first issue kicks off with Gates and artist Julian Lopez bringing Red Robin and Christopher Kent/Nightwing together to help track down a missing Flamebird — but as readers have come to expect from Gates, things are rarely that linear, so fans should be in for a treat.

And here are some panels I liked. I thought Lopez did a good job on his issues of Action Comics so I think he will have a good handle on the Nightwing character.



Here is a good panel of Chris taking apart a motorcycle with his telekinesis.

But I liked this page even more with Tim not knowing that Chris is under the helmet. Very moody art.

I think the whole idea of this mini-series is fantastic. And when you add Jamal Igle art on the Supergirl/Batgirl issue and Phil Noto art on the Superman/Batman one it puts it to the next level.

I plan to review World's Finest here.

Sunday Smorgasbord

I usually take Sunday's off from blogging, but so much news has come up about Supergirl that I felt I needed to post about it sooner rather than later. So these are more like bullet news items rather than any in-depth analysis.

First off, World's Finest #3!

Newsarama has posted the December super-title solicitations on their web site. Here is the link: (http://www.newsarama.com/comics/090918-december-2009-superman-solicitation.html ). As I usually do, I will post a December solicitations post once all the comics have been listed so I can include Cry For Justice or Tiny Titans or other pertinent stuff. But this one was too cool to wait.

WORLD’S FINEST #3

Written by Sterling Gates

Art by Jamal Igle

Covers by Phil Noto

The Toyman has crafted the ultimate killing machine to protect himself from the Kryptonian menace, and Oracle has sent Supergirl and Batgirl to stop it. But when Supergirl faces off against the Kryptonite Man while the new Batgirl takes on Catwoman, they both find themselves in over their heads.This looks like a job for... Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers, both by Phil Noto, that can be ordered separately. Cover A will feature Supergirl. Cover B will feature Batgirl.

Now I have never been shy about my love of Phil Noto's art. (I could always post my Phil Noto commission again!) I think his stuff is spectacular and I love this cover. He just draws a great Supergirl and that middle panel of Kara with the light effect softening her features is wonderful. Now for a second I thought the orange cat in the upper center might be Streaky but my guess is that is more an art element about Catwoman.

I do like the choice of villains here. I thought the Toyman would become a Supergirl rogue given his connection to Cat Grant. And we get a Supergirl/Batgirl team up again! Looks like I'll have to dust off one of their Silver Age team-ups for a back issue review.

Now in case you skimmed the above solicitation, you'll see that Jamal Igle is drawing this issue! So we get to see how Igle interpret's the new Batgirl. He talks about it and his work over the rest of the year on his blog: ( http://jamaligle.blogspot.com/2009/09/announcement-2.html).

Since it's already been revealed via Newsarama, I can talk about it. I will be taking three issues off from Supergirl starting with issue #47. However as announced I will be drawing World's finest #3 featuring Batgirl, Supergirl and Catwoman. After which I'll be back on Supergirl in time for issue # 50. So I'm not on Supergirl but still drawing Supergirl.. I told you it was a little weird.

So no Igle on the Supergirl title for issues 47-49. Matt Camp has been listed as the artist for Supergirl #47 so I wonder if he will be doing the three issues. I am happy to hear that Igle is not off the book entirely (that would suck) and will be back for Supergirl #50 which I assume will be something huge. I don't know much of Camp's work other than the Mon-El/Jamie Harper story in the recent Superman: Secret Files book.

Now Supergirl #45 is coming out next Wednesday and DC is doing it's job to promote it, showcasing the first several pages on The Source ( http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2009/09/18/the-hunt-for-reactron-continues-in-supergirl-45/ ).

Looks like a great brawl between The Metropolis 3 and Squad K. I like how throughout this opening scene we hear Morgan Edge and Cat Grant's rhetoric. It reminds me a bit of how much media overlays were a big part of The Dark Knight Returns and how much that influenced the story. The art here really sizzles too.

Jamal Igle talks a bit about the upcoming issues on his blog as well: ( http://jamaligle.blogspot.com/2009/09/supergirl-45-preview-in-stores-wednsday.html )

There's also another little surprise for the eagle eyed readers in this issue. I'm so stoked with the way this issue and issue 46 have turned out so far.

Hmmm ... looks like I'll have to keep my eyes peeled. Gates and Igle have put small homages to the Supergirl movie in the book before so I wonder if it is movie-related. Maybe a Popeye's Chicken?

And lastly, Matt Idelson give us a tour of the Superman office again in the latest post on The Source (http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2009/09/18/matt-idelson-takes-you-inside-the-superman-offices/). There is lots of good information and preview pics there, so definitely check it out.

I had to post this page by Jamal Igle from Supergirl #46 as we see Supergirl, Flamebird, and Nightwing taking on Reactron. It's the fight we all have been waiting for. Looks sharp!

I promise to review the second half of Reactron's first appearance in Daring New Adventures of Supergirl sometime in the next couple of weeks once Hunt For Reactron is going full swing.

And that my friends is a full plate of Supergirl goodness for your Sunday brunch!