Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving for those who celebrate!

I'll be heading to 2 family events, one for the turkey dinner, one for the pie and coffee.

But I figured I should take this day to give thanks to something in comics.

There was a recent solicit for a Superman 100 Page Giant and the breakdown of the contents were showcased over on Bleeding Cool here:
https://www.bleedingcool.com/2019/11/21/robert-venditti-paul-pelletier-andrew-hennessy-new-superman-giant-1/

One thing that stood out was the reprint of 'Looking Glass' from Supergirl #54, from the eternally beloved Sterling Gates/Jamal Igle. This was an important chapter in that Kara's life. Reeling from the New Krypton war, the death of her mother, and the arrival of Bizarro Girl, Supergirl was trying to sort out the emotions of her life.

Here is a link to my review of that issue from nearly 10 years ago:
http://comicboxcommentary.blogspot.com/2010/07/review-supergirl-54.html 

Supergirl Show 504: In Plain Sight

I continue my 'better late than never' review of Supergirl episodes, today covering Supergirl Episode 504: In Plain Sight.

One thing that is clear about this season, at least for the episodes that I have watched is that plots move pretty quickly now. Secrets and plots that would linger forever in prior seasons are now being moved forward, and in some instances wrapped up, already. It has made these episodes very enjoyable so far. Things are moving at a good clip. I'm happy.

And there are a lot of plots right now. J'onn and Malefic. Lena, villain, and mind control. William Dey and Catco. Brainy and Nia. Alex and Kelly. And while Supergirl is involved in all of them, the only one she seems inextricably linked to is the Lena one.

But I am sort of burying the lede here. We had heard that Mehcad Brooks was wrapping up his time on the show and this episode closes his story for now. It is a satisfying ending for the character and really brings him back to his roots. I feel like the show never really knew what to do with James, so while I will miss Brooks, I think this was the right choice.

On to the show!

Review: Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #5

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #5 came out this week and while it nudged along one of the main subplots of this maxi-series, it was mostly Jimmy and Batman punking each other.

I don't know if I have ever laughed as long or as hard about a comic as I did with this one.

For me, the idea of an infallible and ultra-prepared Batman is semi-ridiculous. The fact that he has stood toe-to-toe with Darkseid, single handedly defeated the Justice League, and always has the right tool in his belt, stretches even my suspension of disbelief, and I will tolerate heat vision and sorcery!

So to see someone poke fun at Batman the way writer Matt Fraction does here is just perfect, a needed deep cleansing breath. And he also shows that maybe Batman has a sense of humor as well, a needed bit of humanity in the otherwise incessantly dour Dark Knight we get.

Artist Steve Lieber continues to bring solid art to the book, ranging from moonlit dinners to action sequences. But it all starts with the brilliance of this cover. Jimmy clearly can't handle the Batmobile. But even better is the fast food flying everywhere. I doubt Batman goes through the drive thru.

On to the book!

Review: Batman/Superman #4

Batman/Superman #4 came out this week continuing the story of the Batman Who Laughs infecting heroes close to the titular pair in some major evil plot. I have been following along because Supergirl is (unfortunately) heavily involved in this arc.

An interesting wrinkle about this issue is that it gives us a bit of a repeat of events from Supergirl #36. We see Kara again infected, this time with art by David Marquez.I like seeing scenes from different perspectives.

Writer Joshua Williamson brings a good pace to the proceedings here, especially the battle scenes. But he makes one slight gaffe in my mind when it comes to the Secret Six. We'll get there in the review, promise.

The art by Davis Marquez continues to shine. His work is clean, even when dealing with the Goth-like villains. And the action is smooth and palpable.

But seeing once again Kara succumb? Well, I have seen it enough to last a lifetime.

On to the book.

Review: Supergirl #36

Supergirl #36 came out this week and seemed to hit all the notes I worried it would hit. This is the Year of the Villain, Supergirl is one of the 'Infected' and readers get yet another turn at a dark Supergirl. You would think DC would not want to keep drinking from this well and yet, here we are.

This also represents writer Marc Andreyko's last issue as writer on the book. You may recall that Andreyko already put Kara through a grim turn, having her abandon Earth, wield Rogol Zaar's axe, and come thiisssss close to using it to kill. When that arc was over, Kara seemed to move past her rage. Now, infected by the Batman Who Laughs, we get an more vicious turn than the 'Mistress of the Axe'. Now perhaps Andreyko had little to do with this current turn. Perhaps it was DC leadership who deemed Supergirl one of the Secret Six. But it seems to me that back to back 'Dark Kara' arcs, especially after she seemed to learn from the first one, seems pretty silly.

The art by Eddie Pansica remains spot on beautiful. Pansica has really grown on this title. And I have come to look forward to his monthly double page spreads of Supergirl doing something spectacular. This issue Pansica is given multiple splash pages to work with and he really brings it to the table. Alas, this also seems to be his last issue on the title.

Derek Chew provides this variant cover with a classic shirt rip.

Perhaps it was the tilt of the figure, but I couldn't help but be reminded of the famous Jamal Igle cover from Supergirl #53.

But let's get into the issue.

February 2020 solicits

The February solicits for DC Comics have been released and there are a couple of surprises worth mentioning. Overall, we still seemed a bit mired in The Year of the Villain. And the Superman books take a turn that I don't know that I agree with. And hey ... I become a comic book character.

So overall it looks like 2020 might be coming in hot!

To see all of the DC solicits, here is a link to Newsarama's coverage:
https://www.newsarama.com/47882-dc-comics-february-2020-solicitations.html

Onto the books.

SUPERGIRL #39
written by JODY HOUSER
art by RACHAEL STOTT
cover by KEVIN MAGUIRE
card stock variant cover by DERRICK CHEW

After the Lasso of Truth reveals something unexpected about Supergirl’s infection, Wonder Woman is quickly running out of ways to try to bring Kara back peacefully. Making matters worse, the government has sent robotic military backup to Smallville to deal with the possible atomic threat of Infected Supergirl—and neither Wonder Woman nor Supergirl is prepared for the innocent casualties this could mean for the town.

What do you think the unexpected truth is?

I'd bet good money that Kara 'wasn't really corrupted, she always felt that way' or some such Dark Supergirl nonsense. Hopefully I am wrong.

I am interested to see what Jody Houser will do with the character once this crossover stuff ends. I liked the Orlando/Houser back end of the pre-Andreyko run. So I actually have high hopes.

October 2019 Sales Review

The October Sales figures have come out and ICv2 does their usual excellent job covering all the nooks and crannies. Here is a link to the story:
https://icv2.com/articles/markets/view/44482/top-500-comics-october-2019


DC really doesn't show up high on the charts and even then it is Joker one-shots and the like. I am amazed Spawn somehow is near the top. Sherman, set the WABAC machine.

 So how did Supergirl fare?

Supergirl #35 was another good issue re-establishing Supergirl on Earth. It had a strong tie in to Event Leviathan. And it actually felt like Kara was returning to form.

While this issue had a variant, it did not have a card stock variant. So the number you see is the total sales.

So how did it do?