Review: Supergirl #50 Part 1

There was a time when I doubted this Supergirl title would make it. There was a time when I thought the powers that be simply had no handle on the character, that they were making her unlikeable and therefore economically insolvent. I thought for sure Supergirl would be cancelled.

So it was with some joy that I bought Supergirl #50 this week, 2 copies no less. It has been 17 issues since the Gates/Igle reboot and Supergirl matters now. So all this pomp ... the extra-sized issue, the Turner cover, the variant cover, the Helen Slater/Jake Black back-up ... it was all icing on the cake. I am just happy this title is surviving and thriving.

I will review the main story here and the Slater/Black/Chiang back-up feature tomorrow.

One quick word about the cover. While I prefer Josh Middleton's and Jamal Igle's takes on Supergirl, there is no denying the splendor of this Michael Turner cover. Turner helped recreate Supergirl and I have always appreciated what he did for the character. Moreover, on a recent interview on iFanboy, Sterling Gates revealed that this cover art was originally a personal piece Turner did for Dan Didio. Didio took the framed piece off the wall to be made into this cover.

The Josh Middleton variant cover is also spectacular ... not that I'm surprised. I am running out of superlatives for his work.

Here, I loved the frightened expression on Supergirl's face. That conveys so much emotion.

But I also like the more technical aspects of the art here. How the the three dimensional nature of the piece really pops. You can see some of Kara sticking out of amber, that hand almost lunging out of the cover. I also like the slight blurriness of the areas that are encased, giving the viewer a feel that she really is embedded. Slick!

This was a 1:10 variant and my local comic book store had 6 copies on the shelf. That's a good sign of a little sales bump.

As seen in the preview on Newsarama, the issue starts with the resurrection of As seen in the preview on Newsarama, the issue starts with the resurrection of Superwoman and her retrieval by the military. This story started in Supergirl Annual #1.

We don't yet know exactly how Lucy has come back. Mirabai (who we haven't seen recently) wonders if it is Lucy's desire to live.

One thing for sure, I don't think she has come back unscathed. Her body is wracked with pain. She seems invulnerable. She kills a soldier with heat vision. And she's doing it all without the suit from which she initially derived her powers. She's enraged ... scared ... it isn't pretty.

I find it fascinating that General Lane can completely shift the blame for Lucy's condition away from himself. He was the one who put Lucy in the suit, sent her on her missions, had her fight Supergirl. And yet, it's not his fault that Lucy has returned this way. It is the Kryptonians' fault. Talk about rationalization and prejudice.

Even more intriguing, Lane says Lucy is now Kryptonian. It looks like she has their powers, but what does that mean?


Back in Metropolis, Supergirl is shown to be encased in amber in a great hive like building. She is rescued by Gangbuster and when she gets out she isn't happy.

It seems that between the surprise of finding Lana cocooned last issue and the power of the Insect Queen, that Supergirl was captured. I'm not surprised. Remember, this Insect Queen kept Superman under her power for 3 issues back in the Busiek run. She's that powerful.

Now, for all of us who have been waiting to see Supergirl pound on someone, this is the issue. This isn't the usual super-villain fight after all. With Lana involved, this is personal. And the anger on her face here is evident. Supergirl is irate. It's a powerful image by Jamal Igle.


Angry or not, the hive has numbers. Despite taking out some bugs, Supergirl realizes that the best plan is to escape.

Look at the size of that hive! Back at STAR labs, Supergirl learns how 2 days earlier, the hospital was engulfed in this hive. Some SciPo officers and others went in but did not come back out. The hive seems to be biding its time. In fact, STAR only found out that Supergirl was in the hive because they had sent in a reconnaisance robot bug. Two days of a giant hive appearing in the middle of Metropolis and no other super-hero came to look other than Gangbuster and Dr. Light?

What I liked about this scene is that despite the necessary exposition, Supergirl's thoughts are on Lana and her condition. She talks with Dr. Light about Lana's condition in hopes of saving her.


And here is my favorite moment in the book.

Supergirl and Gangbuster decide the best course of action is a stealth mission to rescue Lana. Unfortunately the insects hear them. Gangbuster asks Supergirl if she's ready to get the crap kicked out of her in order to save the world. Supergirl simply replies 'always.'

She has such a cooly confident look on her face ... it's perfect. Perfect. This is a Supergirl who will do what's right regardless of the risks. And it shows how much she has matured over the last year.

However, despite getting a few good shots in against some insect infantry, Supergirl is overrun by a swarm and brought before the Insect Queen.


It's Lana ... but it's also not Lana.

The Queen explains how she left a piece of herself inside Lana during her recent run-in with Superman. Over the last year that piece has been slowly rebuilding Lana cell by cell. She remained in Lana to stay close to the Superman family so she could make super-drones to protect her, something she tried back in the Busiek arc.

The Queen also decides to add a layer of emotional anguish to her conversation with Supergirl saying it was the Queen's will that made Lana befriend Kara. Thankfully, Supergirl realizes this is a lie and shrugs it off. This is another recent example (along with the Black Lantern Zor-El) of an enemy trying to take advantage of Supergirl's emotional vulnerability and failing. Hurray!


With the Queen within striking distance, Supergirl frees herself from the amber and calls in a STAR labs bombing run. She then unloads on 'Lana'.

Calling herself a Lang, calling Lana family, Supergirl rips off one of the Queen's wings and gives her a right hook that sends her sprawling.

She ripped off one of her wings!! Fantastic!

It is perhaps the strongest ... the most physical ... the angriest we have seen Supergirl in a while. It rivals her fight with Superwoman.

But more than that, it is her confidence that shines here. She stands over the Queen saying she doesn't scare easily.

How wonderful to see Supergirl so self-assured as she doles out a thumping!


And best yet ... she's victorious!

Somehow Supergirl was able to help design a de-bugging device to strip Lana of her insect DNA.

When the Queen says she will make Supergirl's life hell, Kara quips that Alura does that enough. I loved that as well.

The device is turned on and cures Lana. And without their Queen, the other insects are defeated.

Okay, it was a bit too easy of an answer, a bit too deus ex machina to have this machine designed and built in so short a time ... with Kara having designed it too! But it is about time that Supergirl got to win one. This was a hard-fought and brutal win complete with bloody fists and quick thinking ... but that's what made it beautiful.

And then we take a bit of a left turn.

After all the 'Lana' family' and 'I'm a Lang' and 'Lana's my mentor' talk, Supergirl turns around and tells Lana she is leaving her life because she can't trust her. Kara is still stung by Lana keeping her illness secret.

It's a complete 'about face' emotionally. I suppose once the stress of rescuing Lana was over, once she knows that Lana is safe, Supergirl can reassess things ... that the pain of this secret can surge. With everything that has happened in her life, Kara needs to trust those closest to her. And she doesn't feel that with Lana right now.

It still read a little funny given all the prior dialogue in the book.


Lana tries to explain her secrecy in a way Supergirl can understand. All of New Krypton and all of Earth needed Supergirl. Supergirl was too important to get wrapped up in the problems of one person. Lana feels she did the heroic thing by keeping her illness to herself, to not distract Kara.

But Supergirl still thinks it was wrong and flies off saying she no longer wants to be a Lang or even human.

This response feels like a regression for Supergirl in her recent character growth. But all of this is happening right before The Last Stand of New Krypton and War of the Supermen. Is this Lana/Kara split just a way of setting up Supergirl's sympathies and fidelity in those books? An easy way to set up some conflict to be resolved between the super-cousins?

And speaking of not wanting to be human, back at Project 7734, we hear that Lucy is an amalgam of "all" the alien races whose powers were in the Superwoman suit ... all their powers and weaknesses.

Hmm .. all the aliens? Not just Kryptonian?

With that announcement, Lucy decides to fry the physician with an apparent electrical blast and declare herself ready for active duty. (I know lightning powers aren't inherent in the race, but maybe Lucy has some Winathian genes in her now?) Lucy seemed like a bit of a loose cannon before but I don't think she would have indiscriminantly killed a doctor like this. She seems insane to me right now.

Well what a great main story in this anniversary issue. Not perfect ... but memorable and worthy of an important issue like this.

First off, I absolutely love Supergirl's personality during the fight portion of the book ... determined, strong, unflappable. Kudos to Sterling Gates. In his time on the title, he has really solidified Kara's persona while having her mature into a competent young hero. It really is hard to believe that this is the 17th issue in his and Jamal Igle's run. It feels like just yesterday I was waiting for Supergirl #34 to hit the stands.

But more than that, it was good to see Supergirl unleash her powers on someone and outright win. This isn't a half-win ... like when Superwoman explodes in defeat or Reactron escapes ... this was victory.

On top of that, I also enjoyed the re-introduction of Superwoman as a viable and permanent member of Supergirl's rogues' gallery. An insane and powerful Superwoman is a terrifying opponent.

And, as usual, Jamal Igle's art wonderfully complements the story. Supergirl's expressions and body language bolster her dialogue perfectly. So whether it is that cocked eyebrow in the 'always' panel or the angry pose when she breaks free of the amber or her slumped shoulders when she is talking to Lana, the art just adds such volume to the scenes.

The one smudge in the issue is just that rapid decision to abandon Lana and Earth. It just felt off a bit.

But honestly, the rest of the book is so great I am willing to see where the story goes.

I mean Supergirl ripped off the Insect Queen's wing! It doesn't get much better than that.

Overall grade: A/B+

Sales Review: January 2010

While comics sales as a whole creeped up a bit in January 2010, it looks as though some monthly titles seems to be slipping in sales with dollars aimed more towards crossover event issues. As usual, ICv2 does a great job of breaking down the sales. Here is the link:
http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/16810.html

But it is intriguing to look over the sales ranks. I find it amazing that Blackest Night Wonder Woman sold three times what Wonder Woman did. I was as amazed that Blackest Night Superman outsold the Superman titles as it did. So is there interest for the characters?

There is that subset of fans, of which I include myself, that complains of 'event fatigue'. And yet the books sell like hotcakes. How can the companies turn away?

So how did sales go last month?


Supergirl seems to be treading water on sales.

Despite the eye-catching cover, despite the advertised death of Lana Lang, despite good reviews across the internet, sales slipped a tiny bit to 27,728 units sold, down about 2% from Supergirl #48. In fact, sales for Supergirl #49 are, in essence, equal to the sales of Supergirl #33, the last Kelley Puckett issue.

But the title itself remains stable in terms of sales ranking. In fact, this issue was higher that last issue which ranked #78. I think I have to be happy with stability here.

It just seems consumer dollars are being shunted elsewhere.



In fact, it is interesting to look at Superman sales as a whole. The best selling Superman title last month was Secret Origin, which sold 43K. The other titles are languishing in the low 30K as New Krypton sputters to the finish line.

Will Last Stand of New Krypton and War of the Supermen bring a new sales interest in the title? Will Supergirl #50 with all the extras thrown in bring a bump in sales? I can only hope so.

Again, I always feel that I need to say that I have enjoyed Action Comics and World of New Krypton. The stories have been great. But I look forward to seeing Superman in the red and blue in his title.

The crossover sales are dramatically evident when we look at R.E.B.E.L.S. sales. The ring-issue sold 60K. The following issue, still with the Blackest Night trade dress, still sold 31K.



Issue #12, continuing the same story from those two prior issues, was back down to R.E.B.E.L.S. typical sales, selling 12,428. I hope DC continues to support R.E.B.E.L.S., putting it in the Jonah Hex category of continued publication regardless of sales.

Looking forward seeing what happens with Supergirl #50.

Review: R.E.B.E.L.S. #12

Who could possibly be more devious and calculating than Vril Dox, Brainiac 2? How about Lyrl Dox, Brainiac 3?

The Vril Dox character is the straw that stirs the drink of R.E.B.E.L.S. One of the best parts of this comic is seeing how easily Vril is able to manipulate all the people around him. Most of the characters express a hatred or strong dislike for the man. And yet, they continue to walk lock-step behind him as he leads. As a reader I love trying to figure out exactly what Dox' true motives are. I mean ... I doubt he actually considers Despero a 'colleague'. I am wondering when the back stab will happen.

So imagine my thrill when I read R.E.B.E.L.S. #13 and saw that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. In this comic, Lyrl Dox 'helps' two people who should no better than to accept gifts easily. He also sets up Starro for a fall. It is that deep seeded hubris, the feeling that you can control powerful forces with a turn of the phrase and feigned alliances, that arrogance that makes me love Dox as a character. In Lyrl, I wonder if he has simply bitten off more than he can chew.

This has been labeled the penultimate chapter in the Starro saga, so an ending is coming.


As usual, there are a lot of moving parts in this comic and Tony Bedard keeps us abreast of what everyone is doing. (That said, I feel like Wildstar has been a bit too absent recently.)

The 'dark-starred' Omega Men have come across a powdered version of the Starro-toxin they have been searching for. Doc thinks he will be able to reconstitute it to a liquid weapon in his lab, so the team flies off with assault on their mind.

In the meantime, Dox has flown to the Psion base where the Omega Men had flown from. Using the Psion equipment there, he is able to rapidly regenerate a body for Despero, a key part to Dox' ultimate plan.

As Starro towers over the crowd in the lab naked, screaming of his revenge.

I love how easily Vril short circuits that pronouncement of power by asking Despero to cover up his 'little king' and put on some pants. So that sort of grounds Despero a bit.

But Dox follows it up wonderfully with another jibe. He asks Despero if he wants to hear how the R.E.B.E.L.S. will kill the man who beheaded the tyrant of Kalanor. In other words, how can Despero shout about his great power and thirst for revenge when just hours earlier he was a head on a pike? It is that ability to read people and mold them that makes Dox so compelling.


The weapon to defeat Starro has been built. The casing is Kanjar Ro's Gamma Gong, a way to physically paralyze Starro. The warhead is the Dominator gene bomb which will severe Starro's link to his slaves thus robbing him of his strength. And the energy charge will be Despero's mental might.

So Dox' intelligence goes beyond arrogance and control. It also includes straight science and thinking out of the box. He has built the perfect weapon to beat an unstoppable foe.

In the mean time, Starro has decided that the next place for his Starro Wave to invade is Earth. Brainiac 3 will control the fleets. Astrild Stormdaughter will be the vanguard with the first troops. And Starro will then take over Earth, openly challenging the heroes of Earth.

I love the above panel where Starro imagines what his invasion will be like. Yes there he is towering over Superman. But the other hero he thinks about is Plastic Man? I chuckled a bit. Would Plastic Man be anywhere near there? Where the heck is Wonder Woman and the Green Lanterns?


While the plan is being finished, Lyrl decides the time is right to begin his own back stage machinations. He pulls Smite aside and tells the General that he knows that Smite wants to ultimately kill Starro and take over.

Lyrl tells Smite that he has his own plan in motion to have Starro killed. When that happens, Smite can take over the fleet and Lyrl wil move on to other concerns.

Why tell Smite this? If he isn't a crucial part of the plan, why clue him in at all? Does he hope that Smite will try to assure Starro's death and end up getting killed himself? Or maybe Lyrl just thinks his plan is so foolproof that he can tell anyone he wants without worries.

Here is another great Vril Dox moment.

He tells the team that they will prepare to head to Earth to face of against Starro. When Despero asks if Dox cares about Earth, he flatly says that he doesn't. He just wants the proper credit if he saves Earth.

Billions dying ... no worries. He just wants what's due to him. Awesome.

Before the ship can take off though, Vril is teleported to Lyrl's ship. His son has something to tell him.

Lyrl has set up Starro so that instead of teleporting to Earth he will teleport to the R.E.B.E.L.S. ship instead. Since Lyrl has already anticipated that Vril will have created an anti-Starro weapon, why not force the issue bringing his father and the conqueror together sooner rather than later.

Vril barely hears what his son has to say, rushing to fight him.

I loved reading Lyrl talk to his father. It must be humiliating for Vril to hear his son talk to him the way he talks to others. Lyrl calls Vril's attack primitive and then he easily parries it with Lythylian submission moves.

Lyrl doesn't want to serve a master bent on self-destruction. Why would he? So he has betrayed his master.

And then after explaining how he will bring Starro to the R.E.B.E.L.S., he breaks his father's arm so he can't deploy the weapon. Lyrl wants Vril alive after all this. I doubt it is to attend a father/son picnic. My guess is Lyrl hopes to either lord over Vril or worse, antagonize his father. There is no love lost between the two.

I'll be honest ... Lyrl frightens me. He might have all the arrogance and brains of Vril, but there is whiff of malevolence in him. We shouldn't be surprised given his actions the last time he had his 12th level intellect.

The plan works as it should.

Starro teleports to the R.E.B.E.L.S. ship. Adam Strange lines him up with the weapon. Despero prepares to attack. Starro welcomes the fight! The prefect cliffhanger!

I think the timing is perfect for the ending of this storyline. We had a half a year to set up the team and the threat and a half a year to see the threat in action. Now we will get resolution.

Any guesses on how it will end? I am hoping to see Starro drained of his power and turned back into the small boy he once was. And as he cries for the horrible things he has done, I bet Vril shoots him in the head without hesitation. I know ... it reads awful, but I bet it happens.

I also bet that somehow Despero does not leave the battle in good shape. Dox would never team up with a scorpion like him for the long term.

As for Lyrl, I can see it going 2 ways. One, he escapes and becomes a background villain in the title for a while. Or, more deliciously, when Starro the Conqueror gets defeated, the large starfish on Lyrl reverts to a more classic Starro leaving Lyrl a brain-dead automaton. Either way would be fine with me.

I really enjoy R.E.B.E.L.S. and this issue showcased the Dox family tree. I read this book mostly for Brainiac 2 so I was glad to see so much of him here. Claude St. Aubin did his usual capable penciling here.

Overall grade: A

Supergirl Bits

Lots of Supergirl stuff is floating out there! I love busy news weeks!

Here are some quick links worth checking out!

Over on SLG comics, there is a great interview with Cosmic Adventures writer Landry Walker.

Here is the link:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/slgradio/2010/02/11/slg-radio--landry-walker-talks-about-supergirl-the-incredibles-and-kids-comics-in-general

The interview is about an hour and covers all of Walker's works but a fair amount is dedicated to Supergirl. A couple of things to listen for:

1) Blog friend Gene asks the first question, asking if there will be a sequel to Cosmic Adventures. The answer is neither yes or no. Sounds like there is mutual interest between DC and Walker but the numbers need to match up.

2) Walker says his dream project would be Cosmic Adventures in the Ninth Grade!

3) As a fan of Tron, I loved listening to that portion of the interview.


Over on his blog, Jamal Igle posts a sneak preview page from Supergirl #50. Here is the link:
http://jamalligle.blogspot.com/2010/02/supergirl-50-sneak-peek.html

What do you think Kara is holding in the third panel? Piece of insect exoskeleton? Device to track Lana?

And is that Gangbuster? Really?


Even more pages are available at Newsarama. Here is that link:
http://www.newsarama.com/php/multimedia/album.php?aid=33466

Looks like we are going to see more of Superwoman! Looks very good.


Over on Matt Camp's blog, he announces that he is indeed the guest artist on Supergirl #52 while Jamal Igle works on War of the Supermen. Here is the link:
http://mattcampsblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/supergirl-52.html

I'm pretty pumped. I think Camp's stuff has been outstanding.

And lastly, here is a link to one of the most exhaustively researched Supergirl post that I have had the honor to read. This is really spectacular as the writer lays out the timelines of all Supergirls. Very very impressive. Here is the link:
http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2010/02/10/lorendiacs-lists-timeline-of-first-and-final-appearances-of-every-supergirl-superwoman-etc-5th-draft/

I love busy news weeks!

Review: Action Comics #886

With the War of the Supermen coming in May, the Nightwing/Flamebird story needs to reach it's conclusion. Action Comics #886 came out last week and provided some much needed back story for the Kryptonian demi-gods and eased the approach to the finish line. There were some nice revelations here and a decent cliffhanger.

The overall story has detoured a bit from the initial concept of 'Zod's sleepers' to this more religious storyline. Sure, Jax-Ur is here as a villain. But a couple of other sleepers haven't been mentioned as we have explored the Thara/Chris relationship more closely these last few issues. I wonder if Greg Rucka ran out of time because of some of cross-overs that intersected in this title like they have in Supergirl.

As I have said before, I have enjoyed Action Comics and the Thara/Chris story. So I am interested in seeing how this whole thing ends. I don't see them anywhere on the War of the Supermen covers. Do either Chris or Thara survive? If both die, I hope their passing is reflected in the other super-titles. Will Superman and Lois mourn as though they have lost a son? Will Kara mourn yet another loss in her personal life?


Much of this issue is exposition. Thara gives Chris a sort-of virtual reality Kryptonian bible. With it, Chris is able to literally enter the story of Rao, Flamebird, and Nightwing.

In a nice touch, Pere Perez does the art for the current storyline while Fernando Dagnino pencils the 'Book of Rao' pages.

Dagnino's art has a more visceral ... a more rough energetic feel to it which better suits the chaotic and fire-filled Rao pages than Perez' polished look.

The story unfolds as the Kryptonian creation story. In the beginning there was nothing and from that nothingness came Rao. He then creates the universe with Krypton as his 'jewel', his epicenter.

After creating the worlds and galaxies, Rao then gives out slivers of his power and creates a whole system of gods, demi-gods, titans, etc. As readers, we have only heard of Flamebird and Nightwing with any depth. It makes sense that there would be other gods in the Kryptonian pantheon but who knew there would be that many! 14 major deities and 211 demi-gods including Nightwing and Flamebird.

Flamebird is the goddess of rebirth. She is shown to raze the landscapes so that an even more glorious world can come to be.

And so, for the first time we read about Vohc The Builder. He is the creation god for Krypton, building the world and all in it. And each time he creates something for the world, Flamebird eventually destroys it. Her job is the purge the world. Vohc's job is to build an even better one.

I don't envy Vohc. His task sounds like Sisyphus. Nothing he made ever lasts. And yet, he seems pleased with his life and in love with Flamebird. Her actions spur him to even greater creations.


Vohc finds Nightwing on the periphery of creation and befriends him. Nightwing is described as a lonely presence, created by Rao to protect the world from evil. But in doing that task, constantly surrounded by the dark side of the world, Nightwing has become withdrawn and solitary.

Vohc extends his hand in friendship and eventually introduces Nightwing to Flamebird. The two fall in love, the darkness of Nightwing complementing the bright light of Flamebird. I love Chris' response here as he recognizes the primal nature of their love, the passion. I am sure he recognizes some of that within himself and his feelings towards Thara.

Of course, Vohc is taken aback by this. He has always loved Flamebird; it was unrequited, but it was love. In hopes of winning her, he creates a near perfect effigy of his love for her. When he shows it to her, she does what she does ... destroying it. With that act, Vohc turns to evil.


Vohc renames himself Vohc the Breaker and states this his purpose thereafter will be to destroy. And the first thing to destroy will be the love between Nightwing and Flamebird. Vohc creates a crystal rod which traps Nightwing in a 'phantom state' forever seperate from Flamebird.

And with that the story ends.

There are themes and elements within the Flamebird/Vohc/Nightwing story that echo with current events. This 'phantom prison' Vohc creates sounds like the Phantom Zone. And Chris was trapped within the Zone much like Nightwing is. In fact, Chris implies that he thinks the Nightwing entity is still trapped in the Phantom Zone (or some phantom state since the Zone has been destroyed). That may be why the Nightwing has never manifested within Chris. It is still imprisoned somewhere.

I can imagine that Chris finally manifesting the Nightwing spirit might be the climax to this story, happening in the last issue of this arc.


The passion we saw within the Book of Rao becomes evident on the physical plane. Thara and Chris finally consummate their love.

Remember, Jax-Ur recognized Thara as the Flamebird a few issues back and made a deal with her for Chris' life. Here Jax-Ur tells Flamebird (not Thara) that 'the bill's come due'. There is much here that I liked.

For one, it is now hinted at that Jax-Ur is the vessel for the manifestation of Vohc. It is the Flamebird that yells at him 'have you no love for me at all?'. Second, if that is true, how great is the love of Flamebird that she would deal with the devil like this? Has her passion blinded her? Has she missed the Nightwing so much that she would forsake the future for a few more moments in the present?


Jax-Ur tells the Flamebird to lead Chris and Thara to his lab in the desert.

Thara is clearly unaware of the actions of the Flamebird. In fact, she says the entity hasn't been talking to her much the last few days? Is that guilt on the part of the Flamebird? Can a demi-god even feel guilt?


Within the labs, Jax-Ur springs his trap. He incapacitates Chris by having sunstone crystals grow from his body. It seems his 'cure' of Chris also came with a side effect.

Crystals growing from a Kryptonian's body? For me, it brought back some bad memories of the 'crystal hell' Supergirl.



Jax-Ur then activates his device, bringing forth 'god' ... I presume Rao.

So there was a lot going on in this issue, even if the bulk of it was written in text as the Book of Rao. Certainly, the backstory of the two demi-gods helps flesh out the Thara/Chris relationship and the some of the events that have unfolded during this run.

I also think that this story will end with Jax-Ur/Vohc recreating the Phantom Zone. Could it be that it was the rescue of Chris, the removal of 'Nightwing' that led to the destruction of the Zone?

There are only 3 issues left to this story and I have enjoyed it more than I thought I would when it first started. So kudos to Greg Rucka and now Eric Trautmann for weaving a deeper story (religious manifestations, primal love) in the standard framework of good guys hunting bad guys.

I also want to say again how much I like Pere Perez' clean art style. He has really stabilized the art and feel for this title since becoming the regular artist.

Overall grade: B/B+

Review: Adventure Comics #7

It's hard to believe it, but these first issues of Adventure Comics has actually made me interested in the character of Superboy! That opening arc when he tried to figure out who he was, as he struggled with his past, the dark side of his ancestry ... it was written well and drawn lovingly. With that arc over and Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul moving on to the Flash, I wondered what I would think of subsequent Superboy stories. Would I continue to want to read about him?

Well, Adventure Comics #7 continued a stretch of good Superboy stories which makes me want to at least follow his adventures a little bit longer. That Superboy introspection continues here as he struggles to regain control of his body which has been taken over as a Black Lantern. Written by R.E.B.E.L.S. scribe Tony Bedard, we really get to see just how much Superboy is still trying to discover who he is and where he is going.


Like most of these Blackest Night cross-over issues, the story opens with a quick recap of the characters history as the Black Ring downloads the memories. So we get to see Superboy in his leather jacket and goggles phase. We get to see his bald Luthor-controlled time as well. And we read about his death at the hands of Prime.

One thing I enjoyed about this book is that Superboy appears to be trapped within his own body. He can hear what his body is saying, he can see what it is doing, but he can't stop it. We saw that technique used well in Blackest Night:Wonder Woman. Superboy's love for Wonder Girl really permeates his internal dialogue here. We heard his words of love in the first arc. Here we read a bit of his regret as he remembers hurting her when Luthor triggered his rampage.


That internal struggle for control is shown artistically in an interesting way. We see the live action Black Lantern and hear the awful things he is saying. We then see a wraith like Conner wasting away as he sees the real world. This 'soul' is somehow able to stick around but as the issue goes on it becomes more gaunt and sickly. It is as if the Black Lantern is slowly eroding this sense of self.

Cassie tries to maintain control and attempts to coax the real Conner back to the surface.

As usual, the Black Lantern is trying to evoke an emotional response from Wonder Girl so that he can feast on her heart. Within his own mind, Conner hears the awful things this Superboy is saying to Cassie. And he knows that there is a small kernel of truth in all the things this thing is saying, enough of his voice is there for Cassie to know he means it a bit.

And then comes the coup de grace moment for Black Lantern Superboy. He tells Cassie that when he is alone he sometimes thinks about Supergirl not Wonder Girl. It is a delicious low blow. One that Conner knows hurts.

In fact it irks Cassie enough that she unleashes the power of her lasso onto Superboy. That shock to the system frees his body long enough for the real Conner to whistle for Krypto.


I've commented on the emotional registry as a nice plot device before. Here I think it is great that Krypto is all action. There is no fear here.

Who would think that Krypto would ascend to such a big role in the super-family? But he has been everywhere recently.


During the ensuing battle, Conner again wrests control of his body and gives Cassie a cue to head to the Fortress of Solitude. As I said, his love for Cassie really is the running theme in the book. Conner says the only reason he thinks he is able to do what he is doing is because his girlfriend believes in him.

There, Wonder Girl runs interference while Krypto digs up Conner's body which is currently healing in the Kryptonian matrix. It is a gamble that works. The ring isn't quite sure what to do with 2 dead Conners around.

It is something that I wondered about back in Final Crisis:Legion of Three Worlds. So there are 2 Conners existing in current time ... one a dead body healing, another a resurrected body brought back in time. In the old DCU, the same person couldn't exist more than once at a single time. Remember all those time travel stories where 'time traveller Superman' observed his youth as a ghost like phantom? He couldn't be in the same time twice. I guess that soft rule doesn't exist now. It seems weird that there is a regenerating Conner buried in the ice while this one runs around.

With the ring 'confused', Cassie reminds Conner of his 'training'. It is revealed that after Luthor took control of him, Superboy and Cassie visited telepaths so they could build up his mental shields. With this training in his back pocket, he is able to reject the ring. It completely makes sense that he would do that and so I thought it was a nice twist.

And as it flies to the corpse-Conner, Superboy finally manifests the final Superman power he was missing ... super-breath. Imagine ... a double page splash of super-breath! With the ring encased in ice, Cassie tosses it to the moon.


With the ring gone, Conner swells with pride. And Cassie swells a bit as well. They both realize that Conner is a worthy legacy of the Superman name.

This book reads almost like an 'epilogue' of the Johns/Manapul run and was a nice capstone to that story. What would Superboy do? Act like Superman.

I also like how the relationship between Cassie and Conner is showcased here. Bedard writes it in such an easy way. You can tell the two have deep feelings for each other, that they truly love each other. And it feels right that they should be together. I especially liked how Cassie was able to shrug off all the terrible things the Black Lantern was saying. It shows some maturity. This is a love story worthy of being posted on the weekend of St. Valentine's Day.

The cover of the issue is drawn by Aaron Lopresti who has completely floored me with his run on Wonder Woman. The internal art by Travis Moore is sort of pedestrian.

I still love that Kara comment!

Overall grade: B+/B