DC Comics August Solicitations

The DC solicits for August came out and there are a number of things that stood out to me. You can check out all the books over on Newsarama here:
https://www.newsarama.com/45229-dc-comics-august-2019-solicitations.html

One thing I will say is that I don't have much interest in the Super Sons novels or the Miller/Romita Superman Year One, so no coverage of that here.

For me, this is definitely the summer of Leviathan as I am all in on this plot. For one, it is fresh and new. As a grizzled fan, I love anything that true feels innovative. And this crossover event, a sort of street level, not galactic/universal, feels very new.

As it is the year of the villain, the title logos of the super-books are all getting busted up, an effect I always like. We also get Lois and Jimmy!

Add to that a reset on the Supergirl book and the summer can't get here soon enough.

On to the books.

SUPERGIRL #33
written by MARC ANDREYKO
art by EDUARDO PANSICA and JULIO FERREIRA
cover by EDUARDO PANSICA
card stock variant cover by DERRICK CHEW

After a year in space solving the mystery of Krypton’s demise, Supergirl returns to Earth to discover that everything she knew as Kara Danvers is gone! Plus, the usurper Brainiac-1 has set his sights on the unsuspecting Girl of Steel – and his plans are far from benevolent! ON SALE 08.14.19

So Kara is back home. But all of Kara Danvers is gone?

Is Andreyko erasing the 2 years of stories we got from Steve Orlando and Jody Houser? Seems wrong. I was hoping we'd pick up that continuity. Maybe I am ringing the alarum too early.

I like Brainiac as a villain for Supergirl given she truly lived through the Kandor event.

Let's hope she stays on Earth, isn't a rager, and acts the hero.

Review: Superman #11

Superman #11 came out this week, The Unity Saga: The House of El part 5. With Event Leviathan around the corner, the time has come to reunite the El Family and time to finish up the Rogol Zaar storyline which began back in last May's Man of Steel.

Brian Michael Bendis has a lot of plot threads out there that have been simmering along. Rogol Zaar's history and motivations are still unknown. General Zod and Superman's visions of the future have blipped in and out. Superboy being gone and now older is just being addressed. Jor-El being alive (sigh) and deranged (sigh) has been running through this book since before Bendis took over. Most interesting is that all these plots are interwoven. So this arc seems like it is going to tie off all the plot threads into a neat bow.

As for the events of this issue, I love Superman's presence in the galaxy, a known hero who is able to shut down a battle quickly. And the last page is winner both in image and words.

This is a wide screen issue which takes place during an intergalactic brawl between four factions. There are two page splashes. There are half page panels. There are giant images spanning two pages with smaller panels around that anchor. Big action deserve big art. Ivan Reis with Joe Prado and Oclair Albert really convey the scope and size of the action.

I do feel like Leviathan is building some momentum for the DC books across the board. That said, I hope the ending of this story doesn't feel rushed!

On to the book.

Leviathan Theory

Okay.

Please settle down as this may be a rambling post.

It will be an attempt for me to put into words my theory on who Leviathan is. Or maybe more like who are in the group Leviathan.

But it will be trying to connect thoughts and feelings and guesses I have been working through as clues and scenes unfold. And in that way, it will be akin to a neural map of my mind, the blogging equivalent of a conspiracy theory connected by yarn and thumb tacks.

At its essence it boils down to this inescapable Watchmen feeling that is draped over everything. And you know when the Watchmen are discussed in comics, you need to remember their origins, the Charlton heroes they were based on.  And when you think about those heroes, you need to think about their histories in DC Comics.

And so I beg you to stay with me here, as I lay out the crumbs of my case, hoping I can sweep them together in your mind and form a cake.

I also freely admit that this very well could represent anchoring bias. Anchoring bias is when you make a conclusion early on and then twist all further incoming information (even ignoring new information) so that it fits your conclusion. I made a leap early. And this is my anchor.

On to the details.

Supergirl 421: Red Dawn

Supergirl Episode 421, title 'Red Dawn' aired this week and basically blew me out of the water. It was amazing. This episode marked writer Eric Carrasco's last work on the Supergirl series and he went out with a bang, pushing the gas pedal down. Everything is screaming to the finale. Amazing.

There was almost too much to love about this episode, stuff I will cover when I get into the details/recap.

The Alex/Kara moments here were extremely powerful. Their ending scene made me choke up a bit. And getting the young actors who played them in the Midvale episode back was a nice touch. The flashbacks helped flesh out the ending of the Alex memory storyline.

Brainy gets a great turn in this episode as he overcomes his awkward emotions in the least desirable way. I guess Brainiac's like to bottle things up too much. The pressure got to him.

The final fight between Red Daughter and Supergirl drew on Sterling Gates, Crisis on Infinite Earths, and Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. Phenomenal.

Ben Lockwood might be heading to a mini-redemption. Although I think he wouldn't care how he got where he got, just that he got there.

And despite all that, my favorite scene was one between Lena and Lillian Luthor, filled with love, death, poisoning, and snark! Kate McGrath and Brenda Strong deserve a bottle episode of their own.

I do have to say that the back end of this season has been spectacular. Probably the best second half of a Supergirl season to date. On to the specifics!

DC Superhero Girls #HardRock

While long episodes on Cartoon Network remain surprisingly sparse, the DC Superhero Girls minisodes on YouTube continue to flourish and remain a brief 3 minute respite from the doldrums of every day life. (Although a recent full episode on CN did have a 'Legion of Doom' style nemesis group! Sure to cover at some point!)

The latest minisode, called #HardRock is now up here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTCt-BFT520&feature=youtu.be

It is clear that each of the main characters has a dominant personality trait that drives their characterization. This episode again focuses on how Diana is a stranger in a strange land, getting used to metaphors, idioms, and what consists of normal behavior here in the States.

That sort of trope can be endlessly mined for humor. And here it is no difference.

Supergirl's personality is to be rebellious. Here we again see that she is a hard rocker. And so bringing Diana into a punk concert is a recipe for hilarious disaster.

So get ready for a wild ride as we venture into the Lazarus Pit, a hard rock cafe.

(And how great is it that the club is called the Lazarus Pit, a nice Easter Egg for folks who get it.)

Amazing Heroes #91: Supergirl's Obituary

A couple of months ago I stumbled upon Amazing Heroes #91, a special post-Crisis issue of the premier comic magazine of the time.

The book is a treasure trove for a Crisis fan like me and I have been a mining it for retrospective looks at Supergirl's death and the review of Crisis on Infinite Earths #7.

Another thing I liked about the book was that the had an obituary section for all the heroes and villains who died in the series. What could be better than one last eulogy for Kid Psycho and the original Dove. Let's face it, they probably weren't mourned enough when they died. There wasn't time.

But that obituary section included all the big names as well.

And that included Supergirl.

One thing about these obituaries are that they are a little bit comic history and a little bit 'Who's Who' style history.

It is funny to read this detailed history in one setting as it highlights just how bonkers the last 15 years of Supergirl's continuity was. That said, the article doesn't poke fun or ridicule the history. It just reports it. After all, Supergirl had been around for nearly 30 years. She was bound to have a few wrinkles in her storylines.

Enjoy the article written by Mark Waid, Supergirl fan extraordinaire.

Review: Supergirl #30

Supergirl #30 came out this week and definitely was something of a reviewing conundrum.

Frankly, I have grown tired of this arc. The angry Supergirl, Queen of the Axe, pulping hands as she wallows in rage, is not a Supergirl I want to read. A plot about finding scattered stones that took an Omega Man detour. A panel in comic admitting the plot wasn't progressing. Then a deus ex machina assembling of all the stones to bring the plot to a rapid close. And then, this issue, more rage wallowing. I just need this approach to end.

So this was not a good story to read.

That said, it was an absolutely gorgeous book to read. Kevin Maguire is back on art and just shines on every page. Yes, the story beats are rough. But boy, are they presented in a beautiful way. I found myself lingering on each page, just soaking it all in. I can't think up enough adjectives. Sumptuous? Phenomenal? Spectacular?

And, it seems, this portion of the story has come to a bit of a close. We end this issue with the opening of the next super-arc.

But have we reached the end of this spin on the 'dark Kara doesn't work, let's bring in a new creator who understands her' cycle?