Terrificon Prep - Early Thoughts

Hard to believe but we are two months away from con season. And this year the season opens up with my favorite show, Terrificon.

I have lauded the show in the past. It is truly a comic book convention. The guest list is almost exclusively comic book creators. And perhaps the best thing about the show is that it really runs the gamut of creators. We get golden age legends. We get bronze age stalwarts. And we get the current stars. Every time I think the show can't list more guests, more get posted. If there ever was a show to commit to a three day trip, it is this one. Because I don't think there is time in one day to get to everybody. It is amazing.

 There are celebrities but they all always have a strong link to comic books. This year the show is bringing in stars from the 1989 Batman movie and others.

And the venue is great. Huge hall. Free parking. All levels of eating options within the casino. And, if you are into that, gambling.

Here is a link to the site if you want to scan the guests: https://www.terrificon.com/

But this is a con prep post, which means I have to talk about my commission conquests and other hopes.

The top commission hope is Colleen Doran.

I am a long time fan of Doran. She loves the Legion. She was one of the artists on the recent JLA 3001 book that I loved. She is a fan of Supergirl. And her art is just dreamy.

I missed out on the opportunity to get a commission from her several years ago when she was at the Boston Comic Con. I won't let the chance pass again.

So I will be heading to Doran's table first.

Who else am I hoping to get?

Back Issue Box: Supergirl #5

 Last week I reviewed DC Superhero Girls #SuperWho, an animated short in which Supergirl (and Superman) fight Chemo.

With that in my mind, I thought I would review Supergirl #5 from the Peter David run in which, you guessed it, Supergirl fights Chemo. Although, as you'l see, it isn't so much a physical fight as an existential crisis.

One thing that David did brilliantly in this run is walk a fine line between superheroics and metaphysical. This was the Matrix Supergirl, trying to figure who she was in this new universe she was in. She had questions about herself. Was she 'alive'? Was she a creature? Was she real?

And when she merged with the sinful Linda Danvers, there were even bigger questions. What was redemption? Did she have a soul? What was she?

In the end, we find out that this merging of Matrix and Linda makes her something even more than the sum of the parts. She is an Earth Angel. But here, early in the book, we don't know that. And Supergirl herself is pretty unsure of who or what she is. She is figuring out what powers she still has. She is trying to figure out whose life she should be living. And she is still asking those deep questions. Is she truly alive?

Who would ever expect Chemo to be a mirror for her to look into?

Gary Frank and Cam Smith are on art and the book is absolutely gorgeous. This is before Frank started to draw everyone gaunt with extra cross-hatching. The art is smooth, glossy, stunning. It was this book and its look that made me a lifelong Frank fan. Just brilliant.

On to the book.

Review: Adventures of the Super Sons #11

Adventures of the Super Sons #11 came out this week, the penultimate issue for this maxi-series and therefore the penultimate issue of the tween Jon Kent Superboy. In the main Superman books, Jon has been aged and is now a true teenager. So enjoy this romp while you can. We are about to see the end of this incarnation of the Sons and their fun escapades.

Writer Peter Tomasi has truly taken advantage of the space he's been given. He has given us a healthy dose of the Damian/Jon dynamic which is really the straw that stirs the drink of this series. But we also have seen a sort of warped buffet of the DC universe, sampling the Silver Age, horror comics, science fiction, and straight up super-heroics.

The book, and this issue, has been aided by the art of Carlo Barberi. This is a super-hero book, but it is also a fun super-hero book, light-hearted in a way you would expect the adventures of adolescents to be. And Barberi's dynamic style, the perfect mix if anime, cartoon, and standard comic art complements the story perfectly.

This book does just what it should do as the 11th chapter of a 12 chapter story. The boys are close to being back home. Most of the villains have been taken care of. We have a great cliffhanger. And we know that a final showdown with Rex Luthor is around the corner.

Hopefully, lots of people have been loving this book as much as I have.

On to the details!

Leviathan Theory - Superman Leviathan Rising #1

I honestly hope that I am not driving people away as I continue to point out my  Leviathan Theory and all the clues that I see to try and bolster it.

But I can't help myself.

A comic mystery, a true comic mystery, will always grab my attention. And this is the first real mystery in comics, at least for me, in a long time. Maybe it is better to say that this is the first comic mystery that I have cared about in a long time. Yes, I am looking at you Heroes in Crisis.

Superman Leviathan Rising #1 came out a couple of weeks ago and I reviewed the book. But there were clues there, clues to make me think that maybe I am right.

Briefly, my thoughts are that Leviathan is Ted Kord. I believe Leviathan as an organization is led by the Charlton heroes, specifically Captain Atom and Nightshade. And I base a lot of this on the 'Watchmen' like feel to much of Leviathan's gear and attacks. And since the Watchmen characters were based on the Charlton folks I think this is art imitating art imitating art.

So, on to the clues.

DC Superhero Girls #WasabiWar

After what seemed to be a slow start out of the gate, the new DC Superhero Girls has been putting out great new material, both 'full' episodes on the Cartoon Network (introducing Livewire and Giganta) and the YouTube shorts.

The latest short on YouTube, titled #WasabiWar is available and features the interesting pair of Zatanna and Supergirl. Here is a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyBBVG_aBEY&feature=youtu.be

Remember, Zatanna here is the 'Rarity', enjoying the finer things in life and following societal rules of decorum. Supergirl is the 'Rainbow Dash', a bit rough and tumble, a bit of the rebel. So you know insanity will ensue.

Zatanna has somehow obtained a reservation at one of the fancier and more exclusive sushi restaurants in Metropolis. She invites Supergirl.

And while Zatanna is a bit demure and subdued as she revels in being there, Kara is more in a pub mode, using the chopsticks like drum sticks and generally being a bit rowdy.

April 2019 Sales

Looks like I missed the ICv2 article on April sales when it first came out and maybe that was a good thing. Here is the link: https://icv2.com/articles/markets/view/43193/top-500-comics-april-2019

I have been watching the sales on the main Supergirl title steadily erode for any issue not blessed with an Artgerm variant. The sales on Supergirl #29 with it's charming Amanda Conner variant continue the trend.

After a whole arc in space and an unappetizing opening chapter in the Superman Leviathan Rising special, I have to say that it might be time for DC to start thinking about who to let take over the book in Marc Andreyko's place. Or, more likely I fear, is waiting for the dreaded *Final Issue* label in some upcoming solicit post.

And that is because we once again find ourselves in the Dan Didio Supergirl Cycle of Death.

Step 1: Supergirl gets a creative team who wants to write her as angry and gritty.
Step 2: It doesn't sell.
Step 3: A new team comes on writing Supergirl as a young optimistic hero learning the ropes.
Step 4: Sales increase and stabilize in the middle of the pack.
Step 5: DC thinks it can do better.
Step 6: Cancel the book or go back to step 1

Proof is out there.
Step 1 folks: Loeb, Spencer, Green, Andreyko
Step 3 folks: Gates/Igle, Bedard, Johnson/Perkins, Orlando

Supergirl #29 came out in April.

In it an irate Supergirl seizes Rogol Zaar's axe and attacks.
Zaar's men call her The Queen, Lady of the Axe and swear allegiance.
The space-faring mystery behind Rogol Zaar is rushed to its ending in inane ways.

Not surprisingly, this dark Supergirl and stilted story didn't work for me.
But how did it sell?

Superman Leviathan Rising Review Pt 2: The Rest Of The Book

Superman Leviathan Rising #1 came out last week and was the prologue for the Event Leviathan crossover which is working its way through the DCU this summer. It is a book of chapters with a story working its way through most of the parts. (The Supergirl part felt a little separate.)

The main story was written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Yanick Paquette. That is a great creative team. We also got first looks at the upcoming Lois Lane book by creators Greg Rucka and Mike Perkins. And we saw the zaniness that Matt Fraction and Steve Lieber are planning in the upcoming Jimmy Olsen book as well.

Some of the plot points shown here nicely dovetail out of the opening crumbs we have seen in the recent Action Comics issues. We got to see the new head of Leviathan and hear his motivations and machinations. We learn what happened to Talia Head, the old leader of Leviathan. And we got to see how the threat of Invisible Mafia is not only read and not only still present but also well respected by the underground.

 Finally, this is a mystery. You have read my #LeviathanTheory posts here. There are a few crumbs here to add to my thoughts. I might gloss on them here. But, I think there will be another post there.

On to the book.