Review: My Adventures Of Superman #6

One of the things that happens when there is a sudden glut of books to review (weekly Action Comics with 2 reviews a week for example) is that inevitably something will get forgotten or pushed back.

Sorry My Adventures of Superman #6. 

The book came out a while ago and was the final chapter of the six part mini-series which bridged seasons 1 and 2 of the television show.

Writer Josie Campbell, a creative on the show, maintained the tap dance nature of the show being all things at once and somehow being cohesive. Wholesome? Yes. Action forward? Yes. Progressive? Yes. Funny and charming? Yes. 

It isn't easy to juggle so many significantly different feels but somehow Campbell does it. And here, she has the ending line up nicely with the 'upcoming' story of Season 2. Superman and the team has to help Amazo understand that each individual gets to determine who they are. Here it is Amazo coming to understand that they are more than a mechanized weapon; they are a being with choice. In season 2, they have to convince a brain-washed and traumatized Kara the same. It resonates.

Artist Pablo Collar continues to bring that anime-style to the proceedings. Here, the finale feels like a big robo show with a mecha trying to stop a doomsday device. The battle is wild and writ large and looks great. But, much like a good anime, there are the quiet family moments that also need to shine.

I don't know how this sold. I wonder if another mini will come out to bridge season 2 and the upcoming season 3. I hope so because giving us a peek at a Kara acclimating to Earth would be great. On to the book. 

Review: Batman/Superman World's Finest #33

Batman/Superman World's Finest #33 came out last week, the finale to the Eclipso story arc which has been a tidy three issues. That length is unusual for this title (typically 5 issue arcs with a done-in-one every 6 issues) and comics in general these days which are either trade length mega-stories or just ongoing narratives.

I do wonder if this story is three issues because writer Mark Waid really wasn't sure what he wanted to do here. For sure, this has been the least cohesive story on this title which I have routinely said is the best on the rack. But there is a lot going on here and much of it not really fleshed out. There are some plot elements that happen almost magically making me thing Waid knew what he wanted to have happen but wasn't sure how to get there. There is Eclipso and the oddly possessed Bruce Gordon trying to rule the world by controlling satellites. There are heroes quickly possessed by Eclipo's evil and then just as easily shaken from the possession. There is a subplot of the JSA and the JLA trying to figure out how they relate to each other. There is a fantastical rescue early in this issue and a fantastical conclusion at the end. I don't know ... it is sort of blurry.

Could Waid be overworked? He has this book, the upcoming JLU, Batman/Robin year one, and any other titles he is on. 

Artist Adrian Gutierrez is again on art but even his work, in places seems less polished than prior issues. Still solid but it did make me miss Dan Mora a little. 

That said, the story is over. 

On to details. 

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 #1076 Supergirl Story

Action Comics #1076 came out this week. This included the seventh part in the Mariko Tamaki Supergirl story.

And once again I have to say I am frustrated. Because once again, the story goes nowhere in this chapter. It once again makes little sense. It once again has Supergirl doing pretty much nothing. And it is horribly padded with 5 of the 10 pages being splashes or near splashes that don't warrant that much story space.

We are 70% done with this story. Think about that. And even Supergirl doesn't know what her mission is or how this prisoner is. 

I can't rail against Tamaki any more. I have to accept that this is her writing style: slow, plodding, confusing, and worst of all boring. Now maybe this will wrap up in some amazing way. But knowing what I know of prior Tamaki works I doubt it.

The person I really blame is editor Brittany Holzherr. Someone should have recognized the mess this story is. It is a shame. Because it doesn't shine a light on how great a character Supergirl is.

Of note, Skye Patridge is not on art for this chapter, replaced by Meghan Hetrick. The two artists are close enough in style to have the feel of the story remain consistent. 

On to the story, what there is of it.

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 #1075 Supergirl Story

Action Comics #1075 came out last week, a 'special milestone 1075th issue'! I don't know why that number deserves the extra attention but here we are with special trade dress.

It also is the 6th chapter in the Mariko Tamaki and Skylar Patridge Supergirl story meaning we are officially at the halfway point of this plodding story. 

Once more we have a brief, sparse, boring chapter with nearly no progress to the story. Tamaki seems to be treading water in this tale, stretching out a story idea until it is so decompressed it is difficult to read. Worst than that, Supergirl again has almost nothing to do in this story. Every conflict that has arisen in this story is solved by someone else. Supergirl seems ineffective, inept, lost. And even more worse is that as of this chapter - six chapters in mind you, you could pull Kara out of this story and replace her with any other character and it would read the same. Yes, Superman keeps saying that this is a mission that only Supergirl could pull off but we have yet to read why. And even Kara doesn't seem to know anything about it either.

As a Supergirl fan this is frustrating. She doesn't get many solo stories. She needs to shine when she is given the chance. And this story isn't that. 

The art remains top notch. I like Skylar Patridge's breathy style with an ethereal sort of style. Her Kara is fantastic. The cover by Clayton Henry highlights some memorable scenes from Action Comics history including a shot of Kara leaving her rocket (Great Guns!). 

So on to this story, another "Supergirl" story. 

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.