Leviathan Wednesday: Manhunter #12 and Manhunter #13

Welcome to Leviathan Wednesday where I look at the character of Mark Shaw to see how he could become Leviathan. And trust me, if you were going to read one segment of this Supergirl blog side tour, it would be this one. Because if you want to see why Mark Shaw might hate secrets and spy agencies so much that he became a super-villain/anti-hero, this is the one. 

Today I look at Manhunter #12 and Manhunter #13. As I have said, writer Marc Andreyko really leaned into the history of the Manhunter legacy with this series. Sure Kate Spencer picked the name but it seemed random. Now, stuff is going to get real.

Andreyko does take a few liberties, re-writing a lot of what I have covered here before. But the re-imagining of the Manhunter timeline somehow works here. The question really is what is the actual DC history of Mark Shaw in the current post-New 52, post-Rebirth world? This probably has some impact given Shaw's hatred of Spencer in Event Leviathan. Hmm ...

The art in Manhunter #12 is by title regular Javier Pina and has the usual polished, clean feel. Love the cover, an homage to the classic Infantino Batman and Robin pin-up.  Manunter #13 has Brad Walker as a penciler. This is probably early in Walker's career. The art is really slick in that chapter, detailed and vibrant.

Settle in. A lot is revealed in these two issues but they work best reviewed together. On to the books.

What Might Have Been - Justice League #160

Sometimes there is a sort of comic cosmic karma.

Since the initiation of the JSA Presents show on the Fire and Water Podcast Network, I have been more interested in seeking out the JSA/JLA crossovers from the Bronze Age.

I am always on the search for Supergirl history nuggets in comic history.

SO imagine my feelings of luck and serendipity when Professor Alan sent me a comic care package including Justice League of America #160, the second part of 1979's JLA/JSA crossover.

It is a completely bonkers story with other heroes ripped from time, like Jonah Hex and Miss Liberty, joining in the fight against The Lord of Time. Don't expect much to make sense here.

But it was the letter column that really caught my eye.

The beginning of the letter column states that Zatanna will be joining the League in the next issue. I can tell you that Justice League of America #161 is a sentinel book from my youth, important enough that I talk about it on Fire and Water Power of Fishnet podcast here.

What I didn't know before getting this issue is that Supergirl was in the running to be the next member!

Turns out she came in fourth place in a reader poll of who should be the next member. She garnered 36 first place, 26 second place, and 21 third place votes.

Yes, that was a far cry from the votes that Zatanna got. But that's a decent showing for the Girl of Steel. 

I can only imagine how great it would have been to have Kara be a part of the preeminent superhero DC team, interacting with the big hitters and being in the spotlight. It even could have resonated with the fact that Power Girl was on the JSA at this point.

But honestly, I was surprised to see her do so well here. If I am reading this correctly, the poll was open to any character the letter writer wished. That means of the myriad of heroes, Kara came in fourth! 

If only she had won!

Review: Batman/Superman #17

Batman/Superman #17 came out last week, the second part in a very entertaining story pitting our heroes and other versions of our heroes against Auteur.10, a seemingly extremely powerful being trying to rewrite the DC Universe through film.

Now as someone who has lived through #ReleaseTheSnyderCut hysteria and actually watched the 4 hour Snyder Justice League movie, I have to wonder if this is writer Gene Luen Yang's metacommentary on that whole thing. 

I mean, Auteur.10 thinks the current DCU is a rough cut and his vision is much much better. He has an army of archivists who want his films to be completed. It all could fit.

But the films the Auteur is making feel more like 1940's movie serials. They are fun and silly in some places. And the villain himself looks and feels more like Otto Preminger. Maybe Yang is poking fun at old stodgy folks like me who want to go back to the old ways? And as an old movie fan, I ate this up.

Doesn't matter. It is very entertaining.

Ivan Reis is again on art and Reis continues to dazzle. He is bringing us three worlds each with different environments. And it is gorgeous. Plus, I'm a complete sucker for the tagline 'Together again! For the first time!'

On to the book.

Supergirl Show 606: Prom Again

 

Supergirl episode #606 came out this week, ending a two-part Midvale flashback story which straightens out the post-Crisis Supergirl history while pushing forward the present day storyline with a Maguffin of Kara DNA.

I loved it.

As I said in last week's review, the key here is the acting. Izabela Vidovic, Olivia Nikkanen, and Eliza  Helm eerily channel Melissa Benoist, Chyler Leigh, and Calista Flockhart here. Almost too well. I honestly felt like I was watching younger versions of the actors. And Jesse Rath and Nicole Maines also contribute some fun scenes here, overacting just enough to keep this light and fun.

Just as importantly, given that this is a new timeline, I wanted this episode to fit into continuity. We need to understand why Kara is working for Cat Grant and not using her powers in the pilot. And why would she be doing that if she is already 'supering' here in high school. For the most part, I think this episode provides that link in the chain.

But most importantly is that every character in these episodes has an arc and grows in some way. Given we are talking about 6 characters, that means it is extremely well written. 

Kara understands that her future isn't set in stone. She has decisions to make and a life to live. 

Alex knows that while she still needs to protect her sister, Kara can hold her own and doesn't need smothering.

Brainy learns that emotions can be tough to deal with but also important. You need to endure and embrace them.

Nia learns that she is powerful and that her knowledge of her powers will continue to grow as she does.

Cat Grant learns she needs to be free of the cage of drivel Perry White has locked her in and needs to find her destiny.

And heck, even Kenny Li learns that he is just a human. And while Kara inspires him, he needs to shy away from danger now and then.

That's a lot of plot to revolve around a prom!

The bottom line is I am sad because this is probably the final time we will see Vidovic and Nikkanen as these characters. Unless the CW does something smart like put out a 'Young Kara' movie event next year.

On to the show!

Leviathan Wednesday: Manhunter (Vol3) 10 And 11

Welcome to another segment of Leviathan Wednesday where I look at the history of comic character Mark Shaw.

I started this out as a simple diversion to bide my time until the Checkmate sequel to Event Leviathan hit the stands. But as I have read more and more of Shaw's history, I have been amazed at how convoluted his history is and how complex his character is.

We are now into the Kate Spencer Manhunter series and starting in Manhunter #10, Shaw becomes part of the narrative. As we saw last week, someone is out there killing Manhunters. It is only a matter of time before the assassin turns their eyes onto Kate. And this is wonderfully depicted in the cover of Manhunter #10 with the chalk outline of dead bodies on the ground, the Manhunter masks demarcating who has been or may be killed.

Marc Andreyko clearly embraced the Manhunter name and it's history. As we saw last week, he went back to the original Manhunter and the extreme 90s version of the character. So no surprise we see that there are a few more potential victims out there.

Javier Pina is on art and has a very organic and smooth style which keeps the narrative moving in a polished way.

But we are here to learn about Mark Shaw and we see that since his last adventure, he seems to have hit on tough time.

DC Comics July Solicits

The July solicits for DC Comics came out last week and they were certainly interesting. Here is a link to all the books as posted on Newsarama: https://www.gamesradar.com/dc-july-2021-solicitations/

DC has decided to revamp and reinvigorate the Super-titles again and I am both fascinated and a little bit dismayed. You have to hand it to DC, they certainly know how to confuse and confound their fans.

But most of all, it seems like the '5G' reboot which was going to happen, then wasn't going to happen then sort of happened with Future State is actually slowly but surely going to happen, in some sense. 

Jon is Superman. Clark is on Warworld. it is all coming to together ... I guess?

Let's dive into the books, starting with Supergirl.

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #2
story by Tom King
art by Bilquis Evely
cover by Bilquis Evely
variant cover by Lee Weeks

After the shocking conclusion of last issue, Supergirl and her new friend Ruthye find themselves stranded with no way to pursue Krem, the murderous kingsagent. Each moment this fugitive roams free, the more beings become dangerously close to dying by his hand. There is no time to lose, so our heroes must now travel across the universe the old-fashioned way…by cosmic bus!
Little do they know, their journey will be a dark one filled with terrors that not even the Maid of Might is prepared to face! Can Kara Zor-El lie low long enough to ensure their safe passage?

A startling ending to the first issue? The name of the villain is Krem? Perhaps he will be the Creme de la Creme? A dark journey filled with terror? I keep trying to be hopeful. But will this end up being just another King deep look at pain and stress? I'm going to remain hopeful.

One thing I do know without a doubt, the art is going to be beautiful. Evely is going to kill it here.

Review: Action Comics #1030

Action Comics #1030 came out last week and once again showed how new writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson has a nice understanding of the inherent goodness of Superman. His Superman has acted and has sounded like the way I want Superman to be.

Even in Future State, Johnson showed us a true Superman, selfless in his never-ending battle to free the slaves of Warworld. We were told as fans that the events of Future State were possibilities but more and more it seems like they are destined to pass. One thing that I sort of don't like is how quickly we are dealing with those Future State arcs. Already it seems Superman is going to be heading off Earth to Warworld and Jon is going to take the mantle. I would have loved to give Johnson maybe 6 months to settle into his style before closing the Future State gap.

As with his earlier issues, Johnson is also leaning heavily into father/son relationships. Here we get to see contrasting relationships of this nature in an interesting way. It also made the hair on the back of my head stand up, fearful of a possible plot turn. Please ... this time ... let's hope I'm wrong.

Daniel Sampere provides the art. His stuff is beautiful. This issue runs the gamut from dungeon to space, from rooftop discussion to open sea robot battles. It all looks gorgeous. Sampere really has some range.

On to the details.