Back Issue Box: Superman Family #210

Last week I reviewed Future State: Superman of Metropolis #1, another in a litany of DC books where Supergirl is angry, borderline murderous, and the pawn of a villain. 

I'm sick of it.

Whenever I need a little palate cleanser, I head to the long boxes and look for some joy. I also have been nursing some sport fan ennui. My college hoops team is struggling. The Patriots didn't make the playoffs. 

So why not find a Supergirl sports story.

And so I give you a 40 year old comic, Superman Family #210,  with a wild Supergirl story with some dated references, some crazy sports action, an odd villain who seems like he would be at home in the present, and a rapid denouement. Plus, if you need a primer on Bronze Age, check out the other stories. Clark typing the future? Lois gets a puppy? Jimmy has doubles?

Buckle up! Here we go!

Sterling Gates/Sarah Leuver Supergirl Show Comic

Happy New Year!

I know we are more than a week into 2021 but this little gift from Sterling Gates and @comickergirl Sarah Leuver gave fans of Supergirl and the Supergirl show a true gift, a 6 page mini-comic. Gates explained he did it as a gift to the producers of the show. But for Kara fans and show fans, it is the best present.

I'll present the pages as is with a little commentary at the bottom. 

"Remember Me" covers so many of the best things of not only the show but Gates' run on the title lo so many years ago.

This quick tour of Kara's life by looking at a week is just a delightful mix showing how complicated she is. Free spirit, singing Katy Perry. Fierce warrior fighting supervillains. (Love the Facet namedrop, the antagonist in Gates' Adventures of Supergirl comic.) Survivor of loss, remembering her parents and wondering if she upholds her original culture. And role model, espousing and truly living the motto of 'Hope, help, and compassion for all.'

This is her life.

And frankly, its the life I want to read. 

 Add to that Leuwer's great art, fun and breezy, expressive and soulful. She really captures Kara (and Melissa Benoist's) emotions.

I won't complain about other takes on the character. I'll just say that DC should take note of this as a template for whatever they have planned next for Supergirl. Heck, get this team on the book. 

Thanks again to the creators. Amazing stuff!

Review: Future State Superman Of Metropolis #1

DC's Future State experiment happened this week, the look at possible futures born out of the end of the seemingly interminable Death Metal event.

Fandom had heard about DC's 5G reboot, a recreation of the DCU with new characters in familiar roles. When the 'forever' 5G timeline was truncated to a couple of months, we ended up with Future State.

I am grateful. Because if the Superman I read in Future State Superman of Metropolis #1 was going to be the new reality, I might have to finally jump off. This is written by Sean Lewis, a name I don't know. We still get Jon Kent. We still get Supergirl. But their characterization and intelligence is way off of anything I would want to read long term.

Jon, the bright and smart Superboy, is reduced to an impetuous young man, acting first before thinking. 

Supergirl is an angry hot-head, screaming about wanting to murder her cousin and fighting first. And while there is a story element to explain her actions, I simply don't care. I am sick of reading mind-controlled evil Supergirls who come within an eyelash of murder. We went from the respect Brian Michael Bendis gave Kara to this grim caricature. Honestly, I am just sick of this presentation of Kara. I am not surprised by it any more. But I am sick of it.

And it is a bit of a shame. Because the artwork is by John Timms. I really like Timm's take on Supergirl. He really gives her a polished look. He does a great job with the action here. And even the villain looks like a nice sort of Keith Giffen-y creature. Give me a Timms book with a happy, heroic  Supergirl!

On to this book!

Back Issue Bin: Manhunter #1

I continue my deep dive into Mark Shaw's character in anticipation of the upcoming Leviathan Checkmate mini-series. Our next stop is the Manhunter series from the late 80's. 

Today I will cover Manhunter #1 as a solo post. The point of this deep dive is to look for historical clues in Shaw's life that might lead him down the path to Leviathan. I don't know if every issue will contain enough to be it's own post so I may cover several at a time. 

But given this is the first issue and sets up the title, I thought it deserved the space. And honestly, I have only read the first two issues of this back when it came out. So I will be discovering this along with you. 

Manhunter was part of an explosion of new titles coming out from DC in this time period.  Written by John Ostrander and Kim Yale with art by Doug Rice and Sam Kieth. Sam Kieth!

Ostrander was writing Suicide Squad at the time, a sort of darker take on the underbelly of the DCU. Unlike that book, Manhunter looks like it will have a more jovial nature. Shaw here seems to be more of an easy-going, wise-cracking hero. So it will be interesting to look forward and see if things change in tone.

Rice and Kieth bring a sort of manga style action to the proceedings here. There is some pizzazz here, some energy which very well with the action.

From Manhunter to Privateer to Star Tsar back to Privateer and now back to Manhunter. Let's get ready for this chapter of the character!

Supergirl Pin

2020 impacted just about everything in the comic world and my Supergirl Shrine collection wasn't immune. I have paid off a Supergirl statue at my comic store that hasn't been delivered or re-solicited. A Frank Cho statue was solicited by DC Direct. But then DC Direct closed up shop with the AT&T merger.

The only addition to the collection was a DC Superhero large mug which I stumbled upon at HomeGoods. Supergirl is just a teeny part of it and it is in my cupboard, not in the Shrine. Heck, I use if for cereal.

Would 2020 be a year when I wouldn't add anything?

The answer is no! 

I get by with a little help from my friends.

Russell Burbage, founder and caretaker of the Legion of Super-Bloggers , friend, and all around good guy sent me this Supergirl pin just before the new year came around.

It's just the best little thing. I like that it is the Rebirth costume!

I can't thank him enough. 

But the big question in my mind was what do I do with it? Pin it to my white coat at the hospital?

Review: Death Metal: The Secret Origin

I say it often but I'll say it again. I am very thankful for the community of comic fans that I call friends. Often times, they will tell me about books I should be getting and reading.

For the umpteenth time, I have to thank blog friend Martin Gray for tell me that I shouldn't pass on Death Metal: The Secret Origin. I have, for the most part, been avoiding the Metal event. When I saw this was a Superboy Prime book, a character I never thought I would want to see again, I figured this would definitely be a book to keep on the shelves. 

Instead, what we get is the redemption story this character needed. 

As someone old enough to have bought the DC Comics Presents issue which introduced Prime, I liked his innocence and his role in Crisis on Infinite Earths. So I definitely was miffed when he was turned into a sadistic monster in Infinite Crisis and beyond. (Don't get me started on the tarnishing of the Earth-2 Superman.)

I came to hate this character and all he represented for DC. He was the poster child of the darkening of the DCU.

But I trust Martin so I plunked down my money and read this book. It certainly has a deep bench of talent attached to it. Scott Snyder, Geoff Johns, Francis Manapul, Jerry Ordway, Paul Pelletier, and Ryan Benjamin. That's talent. 

So let's dive into this book, a delightful surprise.

Supergirl Best Of 2020 Part 2 - Top Five Comic Moments of 2020!

Yesterday, I posted the first half of my Year in Review, looking at the best Supergirl comic moments of 2020.

As I said then, while Supergirl's own title was something of a disaster for me, she had some very nice moments in the main Superman books. It amazes me that Brian Michael Bendis is the writer of 7 of the Top Ten Moments. That shows you how little Supergirl was seen in 2020 and more importantly how well she was treated in books outside Bendis' purview.

But as I said, I am here to praise 2020, not bury it. 

There are some very nice Supergirl moments to report. In particular, the top two ran so neck and neck that they may as well have been 1a and 1b in my mind. Also, one of the moments today is actually doesn't have Supergirl in it! How is that going to be possible.

So let's jump right into it! Here are the top 5 Supergirl comic moments of 2020!