Review: Superman And The Authority #1

Superman and The Authority #1 came out this week and by the time I reach the bottom of this review I hope I have a grade in mind. Because I am a bit befuddled by the concept but I enjoyed the issue.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by this. Grant Morrison is the writer of the mini-series. And with so many Morrison works, I probably will need to marinate in this one for a while. I sometimes just have to let the experience wash over me and hope I will appreciate all of it via osmosis. But one thing I know about Morrison, he never fails to impress. And in particular, his take on Superman has never failed me. 

Here we have a Superman on some Earth trying to make sure that he has a team of operatives who can act on his behalf when his powers fail him. But this is a Superman who was alive in the 60s. He is gray-templed, weakening, wearing a Kingdom Come S-shield, but still dang inspirational. And the first person he reaches out to is Manchester Black, one of his most powerful and deadly enemies. Whew .. some opening act.

The art here is by Mikel Janon, whose work I have always loved. Clean lined, dynamic, and lovely, his work sings here. His middle-aged appearing Superman looks like a movie star. The action scenes are fun and frenetic. And the colors by Jordie Bellaire only bring a layer of beauty to things.

But in a current DC world trying to work its way to a Future State, where the super-family has been shaken up a bit, is there room in my mind for the Superman of Earth-?. Well, as long as it entertains, yes.

On to the book.

Review: Justice League #65

Justice League #65 was released last week and as it has a strong crossover feel with Checkmate. That makes me happy.

The book basically has two plots running concurrently. One is Black Canary and Ollie hashing out his involvement in the new Checkmate and the reveal of Daemon Rose's identity. There is some great dialogue here. And the Daemon reveal is quite the eye-opener. There is even a super-villain sighting and a small mystery.

The second plot is the attack by Synmar Utopica on the JL. This also has some great dialogue and some fun moments. It once again shows how Synmar is a worthy foe of Superman as he brings down the house around the team.

I very much enjoyed the issue. So I won't bury that fact. I read comics to be entertained and I was very much entertained. But it felt to me like this was an extension of the Checkmate book and that the Synmar plot was sort of a filler to keep the rest of the League present in the pages. I don't mind that at all. But I wonder about others.

Steve Pugh is again on art and brings a lot of energy to the action here. We get both street level scuffling and super-powered throwdowns and both flow nicely. 

On to the book!

Review: Supergirl Woman Of Tomorrow #2

Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow #2 came out this week and was a better issue than the first issue, by a smidge. There are some moments in this book where I actually felt like this was Supergirl. A few brief moments. And there is also an homage to the Peter David run with the Matrix/Earth Angel character, something which will always make me smile.

But these are just a few rays of sunshine breaking through a blanket of dark clouds that is this story. 

Once again, it is clear that this isn't a Supergirl story. It is a Ruthye story. Everything happens through the lens of that character, clearly Tom King's pet project. The whole True Grit homage feel to this remains unbroken as this story is written when Ruthye is much older, remembering this adventure. Her overly verbose style sometimes overwhelms the reader when faced with pages of long internal monologues. Plus, Supergirl is asleep for a 7 of the 24 pages here.

It also isn't a Supergirl story because this doesn't feel like Kara. It's like King wants to make Supergirl 'cool' by having her curse like a sailor and throttle people without talking to them first. That isn't her. This could very very easily be Starfire from the Titans. She IS quick-tempered and she also has had to deal with tragedy. This could very very easily be Power Girl. She IS brash and heck, she has seen her universe die! But when I read this I wonder which Supergirl stories King read for his research.

Honestly, look at the issue (or the panels here) and in your mind's eye substitute Kory. The book reads the same.

Add to that some missteps like (nearly) killing Krypto and some questionable continuity and I just can't behind this book. At least not yet.

Once again, I will say the art is absolutely stunning and raises the grade of this book by a whole letter. Bilquis Evely brings a gorgeous look to all the scenes here from brawling, to quiet moments, to jaunts in space. I don't know how to explain it but it is both polished and raw at the same time. And it sings. Mat Lopes colors are wonderfully muted in places like the dank ferry they are on. But also the pastels in the landscape scenes are spectacular. 

On to the book. Settle in. This book is a big deal and so I am going to go over it with a fine tooth comb and give you all my thoughts.

DC Comics October 2021 Solicits

The October solicits for DC comics came out this week and are available to review in their entirety at the usual places. Here is a link to Newsarama (now Gamesradar) and their post:
https://www.gamesradar.com/dc-solicitations-october-2021/

It is an interesting month.

For the purposes of this site, there is no Supergirl solicited. Perhaps she is taking a break from her life of battle and woe. There are the usual Superman books solicited including the last issue of the Challenge of the Super-Sons book. I'll cover them in a second.

But this is a big Wonder Woman month with an 80th anniversary special, a Nubia book, the much anticipated DeConnick/Jimenez Amazon Historia book. If you are a Diana fan like me, there is a lot to get excited about in October.

And there is the usual glut of Batman books.

But onto the super-family issues.

Tom King On SyFy

I keep trying to be optimistic about this Supergirl:Woman of Tomorrow mini-series.

I keep trying.

Tom King was interviewed by SyFy about the book and he is trying to make me think better of his approach. But even when he is saying words that you would think would raise my optimism, it just doesn't seem to work. 

Here is a link to the interview. Please read it in its entirety:

https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/exclusive-tom-king-on-supergirl-woman-of-tomorrow-dc-comics

Let's start with SyFy calling it a 12 issue mini-series. Remember, it was King who said in interview (and I paraphrase) that "Supergirl doesn't sell well enough for a 12 issue series." We know it is 8.

King starts out by saying that he channeled the overall feelings of 2020 into Rorschach and Strange Adventures, books which look at the darker side of life.

King says that Supergirl comes from someplace different.

He says that his ideas about Supergirl were inspired by a glimmer of hope.

You would think that his words - words like hope, optimism, and heart - might make me think better of this book.

But the words are meaningless when you compare that to the basic heartless, pessimistic, hopeless tone of that first issue. Where is it?

A few more blurbs to mull coming up.

Review: Challenge Of The Super Sons #4

Challenge of the Super Sons #4 came out last week and I continue to be tickled by this book. 

Writer Peter Tomasi has a good handle on these young characters, having written them so long. As always it is their interactions, showcasing how they are different but can still work together, that brings the juice. 

The overall story is a hoot too. Superboy and Robin have to secretly save Justice Leaguers from a cursed magic scroll. So they have to put one over on their elders ... all for a good cause. That adds a little extra wrinkle of fun to the proceedings. On top of that, the scroll was activated by Felix Faust and Vandal Savage who are hunting the boys through time. That is a solid foundation.

Now some of the details are a bit preposterous. But this is a book that wants the reader to remember thrilling comic adventures of yesteryear and smile. So I don't mind a little zaniness.

Max Raynor is on both parts of the issue and I have become a big fan of his work. Our heroes look like kids. And the action looks great. I love his Jon, a mix of earnestness and anxiousness to get down to it.

On to the book.

Review: Action Comics Annual 2021

The Action Comics 2021 Annual came out this week, a nice mix of current storylines and the Future State future peeks. Much like the Future State House of El one-shot, this was a very entertaining read by  writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson with art by House of El artist Scott Godlewski and with Siya Oum providing the framework story.

I was very impressed with all that Johnson pulls off here. The framing story really builds on the current Phaelosian storyline working its way through the main Action book. This framework is from the past as we see the current teenage Thao-La back when she was more of a young child. This section gives us some backstory as well as a new mystery to unravel.

We then move well into the future as we hear another tale of the House of El. This one predates the House of El one-shot. We get some Supergirl here, learning what she did before she sulked off to the moon in her own Future State mini. These characters descended from Superman are interesting. I like seeing them fight together as a group. And I like the glimpses we get of their culture.

And on top of that, we get a nod to a mini-series from the early 80's, one of my faves and one I have not truly reviewed here on this site. So maybe that will be a little blog mini-project to start up. I am all in favor of the direction Johnson is taking us with the Phantom Zone.

As for the art, Godlewski slips us into the Future State world easily. His pages are mostly battles and he brings us into the fray expertly. I like the designs of the various Els. Siya Oum's pages are the framework and non-Phantom Zone pages. There is a more angular and slightly stylized look to these pages but there are solid moments there as well.

If I have one quibble, it is that many pages are devoted to the Els fighting there way to the center of the Phantom Zone. I think that part could have been told in about half the pages, making this more like a regular issue. No complaints about the art in those sequences. Beautiful.

On to the particulars.