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Action Comics (1938 Series) #775
June 12, 2012
Title: What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?
Writer: Joe Kelly
Pencils: Doug Mahnke & Lee Bermejo
Inks: Tom Nguyen, Dexter Vines, Jim Royal, Jose Marzan, Wade Von Grawbadger, Wayne Faucher
Letters: Comicraft
Colors: Rob Schwager
Cover Art: Tim Bradstreet
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Publisher: DC Comics
With the new DC animated film Superman Vs. the Elite coming out today, I thought I would go back and reread the comic book that inspired it. This 2001 story by Joe Kelly was one that I remembered really enjoying when it was first released. Now, over ten years later, does it still hold up?
Hell, it’s more relevant than ever.
In “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?” Superman is shocked when a new group of metahumans arrives on the scene. The Elite, led by Manchester Black, is a quartet of extremely powerful individuals who hand out their own form of brutal, murderous justice to criminals, often with no concern about civilian casualties or collateral damage. Public opinion of the group, remarkably, begins to rise, and Superman is suddenly faced with the question of his own relevancy.
This book was written as a response of sort to the growing popularity of comics like Wildstorm’s The Authority, itself a book initially conceived as the Justice League taken to brutal extremes. Then, like now, people questioned whether Superman could fit or belong in a darker, harder world. The thing that Joe Kelly did so perfectly in 38 short pages was show just why it was vital that a character like Superman refuse to cross the line the Elite trod upon. The final sequence of the story, the showdown between Superman and the Elite, is one of the hardest, most gut-wrenching sequences I’ve ever seen in a DC Universe comic book, but it isn’t gratuitous or shallow. It makes the point, it reminds us who Superman really is and why he’s important, and why characters like Black and the Elite are, ultimately, taking the easy way out.
The artwork here isn’t bad, with two strong pencillers and a tag team of talented inkers, but it does lack a bit of consistency, shunting from one style to another with more frequency than one would want. It tells the story well, though, and that story is strong enough that any glitches moving from one art style to the next can be easily forgiven.
If you’ve never read this comic before, it is currently available from the Comixology store (and if you’re reading this review on the date it’s published, it’s currently part of a 99-cent Superman Vs. the Elite sale). It’s well worth checking out before you watch the movie. It’s truly one of my picks for the greatest Superman stories of all time.
Rating: 10/10
Action Comics (1938 Series) #517
December 17, 2011
Title: The War For Peace
Writer: Gerry Conway
Pencils: Curt Swan
Inks: Dave Hunt
Colorist: Gene D’Angelo
Letterer: Ben Oda
Cover Artist: Ross Andru
Editor: Julius Schwartz
Publisher: DC Comics
The cover of Action Comics #517 bills the issue as “the strangest Christmas story ever told.” I don’t know if I’d go quite that far, but it is rather out of the ordinary. Superman is called away from the Daily Planet Christmas Party when he spots an out-of-control alien spacecraft about to plunge into Earth’s atmosphere. Saving the alien, it begs Superman’s help in recovering a strange artifact called the Grayl, an ancient religious totem stolen from his people by another alien race who seeks it for its monetary value. Superman gets caught up in a strange sort of holy war in space.
This is not, to be frank, a subtle comic book. Gerry Conway really lays on the story thick, without shying away from the real-world parallels to the middle east. In the end, it may go a little too far, with any specific Christmas message being lost in an overall plea for Peace on Ea… well, peace in the universe. It’s an okay story, but it strays from its claim of being a Christmas story early and never really comes back.
There’s also a back-up story here that has nothing to do with Christmas, but what the heck, let’s look at it anyway.
Title: Brother Rat
Writer: J.M. DeMatteis
Art: Don Heck
Colorist: Jerry Serpe
Letterer: Ben Oda
Editor: Len Wein
This second tale stars Aquaman, in a desperate battle against his old foe Black Manta… or so he thought. Turns out this Manta was merely a robot. Aquaman and Mera set off for New York to investigate the corporation that was supposedly behind Manta’s efforts, only to find an even more unexpected foe – Aquaman’s half-brother, the Ocean Master.
The story is perfectly serviceable, but it doesn’t really grab me. Aquaman is a character who gets too much crap from the mainstream, but he’s also one that doesn’t work except with certain writers. As well as he’s being handled right now, this book reminds us that it wasn’t always that way.
All in all, this comic really could have been better.
Rating: 6/10
Recent Reviews: September 7 Releases
I’d intended to knock out a few more reviews over at CX tonight, but circumstances kind of kept me away from my computer for too long. As a result, all I’ve got are my DC Comics New 52 reviews for you. I’ve got a small stack of other worthy books, and I’ll try to cycle them into the blog here in the next few weeks. But here’s what I did get to review at CX…
Recent Reviews: August 24 Releases
A lot of DC comic books last week. This week will probably be not so much…
Action Comics #820
October 10, 2004
Quick Rating: Average
Title: Wail of the Banshee
The Silver Banshee returns for a face-off with the Creeper.
Writer: Chuck Austen
Art: Carlos D’Anda
Colors: Guy Major
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Cover Art: Joyce Chin & Arthur Adams
Publisher: DC Comics
First, the good news: this is not nearly as bad as the last several issues of Action Comics have been. The bad news, though, is that the reason it’s not as bad is because Superman barely appears in it. This is a Creeper story, with Superman making a cameo appearance as a deus ex machina which, when you consider the number of cancelled series the Creeper has left in his wake, is clearly what the readers were clamoring for.
The Silver Banshee returns this issue, securing a new human host. For some reason, this gives her a tongue longer than Gene Simmons, which she uses for various attempts at sexual innuendo, which has never exactly been a character trait she has exhibited before. She has no particular plan in this return, she just distracts Superman enough that he won’t be bothering her then walks around asking people to be afraid of her, at which point the Creeper shows up and obliges her.
Carlos D’Anda’s guest artwork works fairly well for this issue. He and Guy Major cast a dark, disturbing pallor across the comic that works with the frightening atmosphere the Banshee is intended to convey. They even manage to put Superman in this world without compromising the visual integrity of the character, which isn’t easy. As usual, it’s the artwork that elevates this issue.
In the end we get an epilogue that promises the return of a villain most readers were sick and tired of about ten years ago, and although there appears to be an attempt at putting a twist on him, it’s a twist that has been tried before and failed to make him any more interesting.
I imagine this was the Superman crew’s effort at a Halloween story this year. It could have been worse, but it could have been a lot better, too, which is something I find myself saying quite a bit these days.
Rating: 5/10
Recent Reviews: July 27 Releases
I went to town on the reviews at CX Pulp this week, guys. Here’s everything I chimed in on…
- Action Comics #903
- Archie #623
- Avengers Academy #16
- Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search For Swamp Thing #2
- DC Retroactive: Justice League of America-The 70s #1
- DC Retroactive: Superman-The 70s #1
- DuckTales #3
- Fables #107
- Flashpoint: Hal Jordan #2
- Flashpoint: Kid Flash Lost #2
- Flashpoint: Lois Lane and the Resistance #2
- Flashpoint: Project Superman #2
- Green Lantern Corps #62
- Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #12
- Invincible #81
- Teen Titans #98
- Terminator/Robocop: Kill Human #1
- X-Men: Schism #2
- Young Justice #6
Action Comics #819
September 5, 2004
Quick Rating: Awful
Title: Sodom and Gomorrah
Clark and Lana have a little heart-to-heart.
Writer: Chuck Austen
Pencils: Ivan Reis & Joe Prado
Inks: Marc Campos & Jon Sibal
Colors: Guy Major
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Cover Art: Arthur Adams
Publisher: DC Comics
The two most frequent complaints you’ll hear about Chuck Austen’s writing is that 1) it is repetitive and 2) his characterization of women is, shall we say, one-sided? People make these complaints over and over again, and I’m a bit reluctant to say it some times. But after this issue, which is a textbook example of everything that could possibly be done wrong with these two characters, I feel that sometimes you’ve just got to call ‘em like you see ‘em, without any effort at sugarcoating.
This issue Superman, still recuperating from the beating he’s taken over the last few issues, is being “nursed back to health” by his old girlfriend, Lana Lang. However, this is not the Lana Lang we have read about in every comic book since the Superman revamp in 1986. This is a Lana Lang who wears short-shorts and belly shirts, takes childish, petty pot-shots at a woman who isn’t around to defend herself, and throws herself at a married man who has made it clear for years that he is not interested. This is the worst part of this issue, Chuck Austen is tearing two decades of characterization to shreds for the sake of a trite, clichéd plotline that would seem dull and redundant in an episode of Days of Our Lives, let alone in a Superman comic book.
Everything touched upon in this issue, every single character point, is something that has been discussed ad nauseum for years now, and has been resolved for a very long time. Lana has grown up, Lana has moved on. Anybody else still obsessing over a high school boyfriend this many years later would be told to go to therapy, not presented as a sympathetic heroine. This smacks of a writer artificially generating storylines by dredging up things that others have already done – and better – because nothing else is coming to mind. Lana in this issue is spiteful and petty, spitting out specious arguments about Lois Lane and putting forth reasoning that anybody who has actually read the storylines where these characters’ relationships were defined would know is completely untrue.
The book is intercut with a fight scene with the two cleverly-named adversaries Sodom and Gomorrah, a fight made more difficult by the fact that Superman’s powers are fluctuating uncontrollably, as predicted by the doctors at S.T.A.R. Labs (which is a pretty impressive feat, seeing as how two issues ago they were complaining that they didn’t know a bloody thing about Kryptonian physiology).
Even the artwork, usually the saving grace of this title suffers this issue under guest-penciller Prado, who seems to handle the Clark/Lana scenes while Reis does the fight scenes. Reis’s scenes are fine, but Prado’s are half cheesecake.
If I wasn’t reviewing this issue, I don’t know if I could have read it through to the end. By the time I got to the eight-page Bionicle ad section in the middle, I was begging for it to be over. These aren’t the characters I love. These aren’t even characters I like. These are boring, petty people, and I’m tired of seeing them in this book month after month.
Rating: 2/10
Recent Reviews: June 22 Releases
I usually try to do this on Tuesdays. I forgot on Tuesday. I hope this didn’t ruin anybody’s day. Anyway, here’s the comics from last week that I reviewed at CX Pulp.com:
Action Comics #900
May 28, 2011
Title: The Black Ring Finale/Reign of Doomsday
Writers: Paul Cornell, Damon Lindelof, Paul Dini, Geoff Johns, David S. Goyer, Richard Donner, Derek Hoffman
Art: Pete Woods, Jesus Merino, Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund, Rags Morales, Ardian Syaf, Jamal Igle, Jon Sibal, Gary Frank, Ryan Sook, RB Silva, Rob Lean, Miguel Sepulveda, Matt Camp
Colorist: Brad Anderson, Blond, Java Tarfaglia, Paul Mounts
Letterers: Rob Leigh, John J. Hill
Cover: David Finch
Editor: Matt Idelson
Publisher: DC Comics
For the better part of a year now, Lex Luthor has been seeking the secret of the Black Ring, an enormous source of power that he craves more than anything. Finally, last month, he defeated Brainiac and made that power his own. Also, over the past few months, the hideous beast called Doomsday has been storming the DC Universe, abducting those who wear the shield of Superman – Steel, Superboy, Supergirl, the Eradicator, and the Cyborg Superman. Now, with both of these threats converging, Superman makes his triumphant return to Action Comics. Is it in time, though, to save the day?
As I’ve come to expect from Paul Cornell, the main story here is really fantastic. The fateful confrontation between Superman and Lex Luthor is one of the best in recent memory, tracing the adventures of both Superman and Lex to show what truly makes each man what he is. It’s powerful stuff, and by the end there can be no question about exactly who these two men are, what makes them tick, and what will forever keep them separate. The finale of the story, leading into the next arc of Action Comics, is a little clichéd, but not the sort of thing that really hurt this issue or the fantastic Black Ring storyline at all.
This being a ginormous 96-page anniversary special, we also get a wealth of back-up features. In “Life Support,” Damon Lindelof and Ryan Sook look at the final days of Krypton. It’s a Jor-El story, extremely sad and extremely powerful. Paul Dini has an interesting little story with “Autobiography,” where Superman encounters an ancient being facing a fate that may one day be Kal-El’s own. It’s a good tale that provides some nice food for thought. Geoff Johns and Gary Frank give us the brief “Friday Night in the 21st Century,” a rapid tale about Lois, Clark and the Legion of Super-Heroes. This creative team was with both Superman and the Legion for far too brief a time, and I do wish we could see them all together again.
This finally brings us to the elephant in the issue, David. S. Goyer and Miguel Sepulveda’s “The Incident.” If you’re not a regular reader of this title and you heard about it at all, chances are it’s because of this story, in which Superman decides to renounce his American citizenship, presumably because he doesn’t want to be seen as an instrument of U.S. policy. A lot of people were upset over this story, but for several reasons, it’s kind of antiquated already. First of all, since this book came out there have been at least two other comics featuring Superman embracing his American heritage. That further seems to indicate that this was just a brief story, something to fill pages with a name creator, not intended to be followed up on. Second, it’s a weak story. It makes Superman seem… well… stupid. He’s a reporter, for Heaven’s sake, does he really think that showing up at the U.N. and making this announcement would endear him to anyone? The people of the United States would be outraged, and the enemies of the U.S. that he doesn’t want to antagonize would call it a political trick and continue to be antagonized. Superman is simply too smart for this story to make any sense. As a result, we’re left with a story that feels like the creator’s weak attempt at pushing forth his own political agenda in a story that will have no consequences on future stories whatsoever.
“Only Human” is the final story in the volume, and it’s an odd one. It’s a screenplay written by Richard Donner, director of the first Superman movie (and one time co-writer of this series) and Derek Hoffman, with storyboards by Matt Camp. It’s an okay story, one that feels very appropriate for Superman, but it’s more of an oddity than anything else. The book wraps it all up with a fantastic pin-up by Brian Stelfreeze which shows Superman through the ages, including an American flag grasped in his hands in the final piece of the sequence. So take that, Goyer.
Overall, it’s a great issue, with just that one poorly-chosen story to hurt the package.
Rating: 7/10
Superman: Our Worlds at War-The Complete Collection TPB
April 17, 2011
Title: Our Worlds at War
Writers: Jeph Loeb, Joe Casey, Mark Schultz, Joe Kelly, Peter David, Phil Jimenez, Todd DeZago
Pencils: Phil Jimenez, Mike Wieringo, Doug Mahnke, Ed McGuinness, Pascual Ferry, Carlo Barberi, Kano, Todd Nauck, Mark Buckingham, Duncan Rouleau, Yvel Guichet, Bill Sienkiewicz, Ron Garney, Leonard Kirk
Inks: Marlo Alquiza, Andy Lanning, Jose Marzan Jr., Cam Smith, Keith Champagne, Tom Nguyen, Juan Vlasco, Wayne Faucher, Walden Wong, Duncan Rouleau, Mark Morales, Lary Stucker, Bill Sienkiewicz, Dexter Vines, Robin Riggs
Colorist: Wildstorm FX, Patricia Mulvihill, Jason Wright, Zylonol Studios, Tanya Horie, Richard Horie, Tom McCraw, Rob Schwager, Gene D’Angelo
Letterer: Richard Starkings, Comicraft, Ken Lopez, Janice Chiang, Bill Oakley
Cover: Ed McGuinness
Editors: Eddie Berganza, Mike McAvennie, Bob Joy
Publisher: DC Comics
Comic book crossovers have been a staple of the form since the 1980s, and there have been more misses than hits. Sometimes, though, time passes and you forget how good a particular storyline was. That’s the case for me with the 2001 crossover Our Worlds at War.
In this storyline Imperiex, an alien Superman had fought some months before, was making Earth the target of his latest assault. It turns out Superman hadn’t fought the real Imperiex, but rather a “probe” sent out by a much more powerful biend, who had the intention of destroying Earth in part of an ongoing quest to wipe out… well… the universe. Superman, the Justice League, and pretty much every other hero on the planet assembled to go to war against the forces of Imperiex, and to do so they had to make some strange allies… Lex Luthor, then-President of the United States, and the dark god himself, Darkseid.
Although this book is labeled The Complete Collection, that isn’t strictly true. There are several crossover chapters and specials that were released in 2001 that aren’t part of this already-hefty omnibus. This book does collect all of the pieces vital to the main story, including the chapters of the assorted Superman titles, Wonder Woman’s book, those starring the members of Young Justice, and a few more for good measure. Not every chapter is that great, but a lot of them are. The story packs a surprising emotional punch, as we see Superman and his allies run ragged fighting a foe more powerful than they’ve ever fought before. Granted, that’s the tagline for virtually every crossover that’s published, but this time we really feel the stress, the strain they have to go under. We see heroes brought to the breaking point and several significant, meaningful deaths. (Unfortunately, virtually all of those deaths have been reversed in the decade since this story first saw publication, but it’s unfair to hold that against this volume, I think.)
The book does lean heavily on characters that were important to the Superman mythos at the time, such as Strange Visitor, who more recent readers won’t recognize at all. The changes that Steel goes through, as well, make for a strange little time capsule, and Supergirl is virtually unrecognizable from the current version. But the story as a whole is still engaging, exciting, and powerful. I’m really glad I picked up this monster omnibus and read this story again.
Rating: 8/10
For the record, this book collects the following individual issues: Action Comics #780-782, Adventures of Superman #593-595, Impulse #77, JLA: Our Worlds at War #1, Superboy (1994 Series) #91, Supergirl (1996 Series) #59, Superman (1987 Series) #171-173, Superman: The Man of Steel #115-117, Wonder Woman (1987 Series) #172-173, World’s Finest: Our Worlds at War #1, and Young Justice (1998 Series) #36.
The Back Issue Bin 