Bullet Review: Superman #19

One of my missions recently has been re-collecting the earliest appearances of the Matrix Supergirl in the John Byrne run of Superman. I wasn't collecting Superman books on a monthly basis until Panic in the Sky and many of these issues were lost in 'the Parental Purge' so finding them again has been something of a fun little side mission.

This week I was lucky enough to stumble on Superman #19 in the dollar box. This is definitely an early appearance of this 'Supergirl'. We first saw her frozen in ice at the end of Supergirl #16.

So get ready to meet this mystery woman again!

Down in Antarctica, she has been thawed and is very much awake.

She is downright ginger and totally Lana-ish. That is completely appropriate given who this Supergirl turns out to be.

But she is also confused. She know she has a mission and she knows she needs to get to ... Smallville.
Back then, we Supergirl fans were as confused as she was. We had heard over and over, and seen over and over, that Supergirl was she was in the pre-Crisis DCU was gone. Heck, we weren't even supposed to mention her name!

And yet, here was this woman.

I wonder if this was a coloring error but I like the look of the blue leggings on this panel.

It reminds me very much of what Landry Walker and Eric Jones had her wearing in Cosmic Adventures. Of course in the very next issue, this flipped to the standard skirt that we are used to.

And this is also a rather mature appearing super-woman here.

Interesting, in looking at the site, I have never reviewed The Supergirl Saga, the end of the Byrne run on the Superman books. Hmmm ...

Review: Action Comics #1004

Action Comics #1004 came out this week and it was the first issue of the Brian Michael Bendis run on this title that left me a little cold. One of the biggest problems I have had with the reboot has been the removal of Lois and Jon from the book. This issue brings back Lois but does it in such an awkward and odd way that I had to wonder if Bendis has been reading Superman at all.

After a couple of years of a truly loving super-family in the Tomasi and Jurgens written Rebirth books, eliminating Jon and Lois seemed short-sighted. Still, I have very much enjoyed Action Comics since Bendis took over. I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he would be able to bring back the Kent family in a way that I could understand and appreciate.

Instead, in this issue, we find out that Lois basically 'needs space' and decided to stay hidden without talking about it with her husband. It is only after he 'discovers' her that she opens up with her concerns. Now you might say that plenty of couples have ups and downs and this could ring true to real life. But Lois never really is able to explain what it is that was missing before. She says she needs room to write but she wrote when she was with Clark as a couple, prolifically. Two books as Author X as well as her Planet stuff.

Even more perplexing, Clark just seems to accept it. You would think he'd have more questions.

And the Jon stuff is glossed over. Remember, their kid is now alone, in space, with a mass murderer who tried to foment chaos on Earth to convince Superman that humans are horrible and worthy of genocide. Not exactly good parenting 101.

All that said, Ryan Sook's art is so wonderful it just sings on the page. From the brief action scenes to the conversations in the Planet to the heart-to-heart Clark/Lois scenes, Sook's work is superior. His expressive work is just wonderful. That alone elevates the book.

Still, this just left a sour taste. On to the particulars.

Thom Zahler Commission

I am continually floored by the generosity of the comic community on line. And I have been lucky enough to find myself in a section of fandom who are the nicest and most generous group of people I know. Just last month, the Sutherlands sent me a great Ron Randall commission.

Yesterday, I received a package from The Irredeemable Shag, one of the co-founders of the excellent Fire and Water Podcast Network. At the Baltimore Comic Con, he saw this original drawing by Thom Zahler and picked it up for me. What a tremendous gift and what a perfect commission.

There is so much to love about this. This is classic Bronze Age Supergirl and Brainiac Five. There is a playful feel to the piece. I get the feeling that Supergirl is trying to sneak up on Brainy to give him a hug but he knows she is swooping in and has put his force field on. Her dreamy expression and his self-satisfied half-smile say so much. The addition of the force field line adds a little kinetic feel as you get the sense Supergirl as kind of bumped into it.

Add to that a feeling of depth with the color palette, from the shades of purple in Brainy's worksuit to Kara's hair, and you get a superior piece.

Given the addition of Brainy to the Supergirl show, this piece feels even more relevant now than usual. Of course, long time Kara fans love this relationship. Heck, even as an old man I can say without shame or embarrassment that I ship them.

I loved Zahler's Love and Capes comic and just found his Warning Label comic on-line. Totally visit his site for fun stories too!

But the real story here is the generosity of Shag. Thank you so much for the gift! Totally unexpected and appreciated! I owe you one!

Supergirl Episode 402: Fallout

Supergirl episode 402, titled 'Fallout', aired this week and truly was a show about the fallout of the reveal to the world that President Marsdin is an alien. With this Earth already torn about alien rights, this was, as Otis said, the perfect fuse to light the bomb. Certainly, this episode leaned heavily onto the theme of this season. It looks like the main storyline will be about respecting and accepting people who are different than us, assuming their actions are good. So while it might seem that aliens are an easy substitute for immigration issues, I think this can apply to other marginalized groups who feel attacked.

One of the things that I liked about the premiere episode was that it set the tone and the theme of the season in motion without being too heavy-handed or preachy. This episode sort of continues that mode. Certainly, people speak with weighted words which sound more like a script than normal conversation. But the writers here do a good job of showing both sides of this issue while clearly standing up for one. For me, I applaud them.

Let me start out by saying that this Earth has every right to be worried about aliens since for three seasons an army has come and tried to brainwash, take over, or kill everyone. The planet has been subject to alien army invasions and terra-forming. People should be nervous. That said, not all aliens can be painted with the same villainous brush, nor should they be. At the very least, the show comments on all of this. The bottom line is clear, as said by Supergirl in this very episode. People, alien or not, should be judged on what they do, not where they come from.

Political agenda aside, the episode also is entertaining to watch. This isn't a documentary; it's a super-hero show. We see Supergirl in action. It is clear she is a big deal on this world, hanging out with the President and addressing the world. We see her hiding her powers while acting as Kara, a nice fun lift in the middle segment. We see character growth in all the mainstays. But this is most apparent in Nia Nal who goes from nervous cub reporter to open force for justice. And seeds for future plots are planted.

I liked this episode a lot, albeit a little less than last week's. Onto the particulars.

Show News: Elseworlds And Lex!

How amazing are the CW crossover events?
First we had a take on Invasion.
Then we had Crisis on Earth X .
Now we have Elseworlds.

I have always been impressed with these arcs just for the scope. It must be crazy to get the casts of multiple shows together at the same place to film at the same time.

But I have very much been impressed with how deep these lean into comic history, stuffing the episodes with Easter Eggs for the astute comic reader.

The Network has been cranking up the publicity for this year's by releasing some pictures to whip up people's interest.

It starts with this poster where we see that in this Elseworld, Barry has become Green Arrow and Ollie has become the Flash. Now that is an Elseworld. I do wonder if this is how we will see Batwoman; she is the Batman on this world. It isn't as if we haven't seen such gender flops in Elseworld's before in comics.

Seriously, this poster alone made me giddy. But the best was yet to come.

January 2019 Solicits

The DC solicits for January were released this week and it looks to be an interesting 5 week month. Here is a link to the entire list:
https://www.newsarama.com/42345-dc-comics-january-2019-solicitations.html

One of the most interesting sites was the return of the 'Prestige Format' in a number of books released in the 5th week. I'm a huge fan of that format. Unfortunately, the 2018 price tag of $8-10 bucks makes the 'impulse buy' of them unlikely. The hook or idea has to be huge to prompt the buy. Is something like The Other History of the DC Universe, mini-series looking at characters who have felt different or prejudiced against, bold enough to bring me in? Or am I more likely to get the silly sounding anthology Mysteries Of Love In Space?

Another fascinating piece is the return of Young Justice, spotlighted below. But we are here for the super-books. On to those issues.

SUPERGIRL #26
written by MARC ANDREYKO
art by KEVIN MAGUIRE and SEAN PARSONS
cover by YANICK PAQUETTE
variant cover by STANLEY “ARTGERM” LAU

Supergirl…super-captured! Still recovering from radiation poisoning, Kara finds herself in the clutches of the Citadel and its ruthless leader Harry Hokum, who is eager to experiment on one of the last Kryptonians in the known universe. How is Kara supposed to track down answers to her Rogol Zaar/Krypton mystery in the midst of a Vega System civil war? And you don’t throw a civil war in the Vega System without the Omega Men returning—even some long-lost ones!
ON SALE 01.16.19

I can't help but notice that Artgerm is back on the variant cover. Remember everyone, this is a business. If Artgerm on the book lifts the sales by 10K, maybe they should keep him on variants.

Kevin Maguire is on art again. I don't know how the Shaner/Maguire duties are being divvied up.

And I like the sound of the plot as well. If Supergirl is out in space, you may as well bring in the more cosmic stuff. Omega Men? Why not? Give me some Primus and Tigorr please!

In fact, why not have a crossover with JL Odyssey!

Review: Justice League #10

Justice League #10 came out this week, the opening chapter of the upcoming 'Drowned Earth' storyline. Written by Scott Snyder with art by Francis Manapul, it is a crackling issue, an excellent opening chapter which gives us the skeleton of the story while continuing to nudge forward the subplots which are the underpinning of this title.

Scott Snyder has been keeping his foot on the gas pedal in this title and this issue continues that pace. But while giving us a decent amount of exposition about the main plot, he also peeks in on the other members of the League, all of them busy with the current Legion of Doom threat. And, as if that wasn't enough, he also injects a lot of DC history into the issue. We get guest stars and mentions that deepen the continuity of the universe. For an old timer like me, I love seeing and hearing about these corners of the DCU.

Artist Francis Manapul really brings his A game here. As has been typical of the book, we are given crazy scenarios and locales, larger than life stuff, and Manapul is up to the challenge. But there is also small touches, little flourishes, which elevate even that heady stuff.

My one complaint? That there is a side mini-series about this. If I want to read the whole story I need to go outside this book. And I don't know if I am ...

On to the details.