JLA #103

August 7, 2004

Quick Rating: Below Average
Title: Emerald Warrior (Pain of the Gods Part Three)

Green Lantern’s failure threatens to send him over the edge… again!

Writer: Chuck Austen
Pencils: Ron Garney
Colors: David Baron
Letters: Jared Fletcher
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover Art: Ron Garney
Publisher: DC Comics

In case you’ve missed JLA #101-103, allow me to sum them up for you: Hero fails to save somebody. Hero overreacts as though this has never happened before. Hero’s teammates remind him that he can’t save everyone. Repeat. Same thing three times in a row, it’s just a different member of the Justice League each time.

This time it’s Green Lantern’s turn. When he hears cries for help from two different directions and can only go in one, he has to live with the consequences of what happens to the situation he had to turn away from. The problem is… it’s all been done before. Last issue. And the issue before. And hundreds of times before that. John Stewart is someone who has had to deal with the guilt of an entire planet being destroyed because he was too cocky to take his job seriously. Are we really supposed to accept he’s going to go off the deep end because he’s forced to choose who to save while being as responsible as any hero possibly could?

And he doesn’t just go off the deep end, he goes nuts, and almost causes another tragedy in the process. He’s been in the superhero game too long to behave like this. One could almost accept this storyline with a brand-new character (it would still be a cliché, but at least it would be more in-character), but not with someone who’s been fighting the good fight and dealt with as much as John.

Even Ron Garney, who is a fine artist in his own right, isn’t quite up to speed in this issue. His pencils took a bit rushed, and I’m forced to wonder how long he had to put out the six parts of this bi-weekly storyline. (Apparently, waiting an entire month for each issue would have been a disaster because we may have forgotten we’ve already read that story.)

Considering how surprisingly good the first issue of this story arc was, this has rapidly become a major disappointment, and next issue’s installment, featuring the Martian Manhunter, doesn’t give me a lot of reason to believe it will be much better.

But at least there was no burning building in this one.

Rating: 4/10

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

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

JLA #102

July 25, 2004

Quick Rating: Average
Title: Scarlet Speedster (Pain of the Gods Part Two)

When the Flash isn’t fast enough, will he be able to go back and outrace his mistakes?

Writer: Chuck Austen
Art: Ron Garney
Colors: David Baron
Letters: Pat Brosseau
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover Art: Ron Garney
Publisher: DC Comics

As surprised as I was to enjoy the first chapter of Austen’s “Pain of the Gods” storyline, I was equally disappointed in this second installment. Is it because it’s bad? No. In fact, I rather liked this issue the first time I read it. When it was called JLA #101.

Let’s recap. Last issue, Superman failed to save a would-be superhero from a burning building, had a personal crisis of conscience and then, with the help of his fellow Justice Leaguers, came to a state of resolution. This issue, the Flash fails to save some children from a burning build – oh, but I don’t want to spoil it.

It seems that this will be the pattern of this storyline. The hero will suffer some sort of failure (if there are any more burning buildings I’m officially going to give up), have an overdramatic reaction to it, and then find some sort of closure. I could be wrong, I suppose. Could be next issue, with Green Lantern, will be completely different. I hope it is, in fact.

This issue didn’t work as well as the last either. Superman may not be used to watching hero wannabes die on their first mission, but Flash was been doing this way too long to be this broken up by not saving people, even children. Would he take it hard? Sure. But would he go off the deep end like he does in this issue? He’s been doing it too long.

Ron Garney fortunately, continues to impress on the artwork. He draws a really great Flash, with nice speed effects. David Baron does a really good job with the fire scene, as well. I’m glad to know that Garney will be staying on when Kurt Busiek takes over as the regular writer in a few months.

It could be worse, I’ll admit, but this issue’s big sin isn’t poor quality, it’s repetition. Which is a pretty big problem in its own right.

Rating: 5/10

JLA #101

July 13, 2004

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Man of Steel (Pain of the Gods Part One)

A new hero arrives on the scene… but are good intentions enough?

Writer: Chuck Austen
Art: Ron Garney
Colors: David Baron
Letters: Bat Brosseau
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover Art: Ron Garney & David Baron
Publisher: DC Comics

No, your eyes do not deceive you, I’ve actually given this book a good rating, because frankly, it actually deserves it. Chuck Austen is the next writer to tackle the “rotating creative team challenge” of JLA with his “Pain of the Gods” story arc, six issues, each focusing on a different member of the Justice League, and Superman is up first.

Responding to a routine call at a burning building, Superman zips into the inferno to find a new superhero trying to help. But sometimes, superpowers and a good heart simply aren’t enough.

This Superman is bold and compassionate, not displaying any of the bravado or cockiness that has characterized Austen’s Action Comics run this far. This is Superman, simply put, the way he should be written. If I didn’t know better I’d never believe the two titles were done by the same writer. Except for an overly-dramatic temper tantrum at the end, this book handles big blue very well. If Austen wrote Superman this way in Action Comics, I would be far more charitable towards the title. He even ends with a nice little hint of where the story is going, which is actually a pretty good idea.

Ron Garney is at the top of his game this issue. I’ve been a fan of his since his Captain America days, and while he’s had his ups and downs since then, this is definitely an up. He nails Superman, which isn’t easy to do since so much of the issue takes place at night, in the dark. Superman is an inherently bright character, and it takes a skilled hand to make him look right while he’s in the shadows. Garney does it.

It seems a little superfluous to do a series of spotlight stories in the team book of a bunch of characters who have their own solo titles already, but for a start, this wasn’t bad. I may go so far as to say it’s the best Chuck Austen comic I’ve ever read. It’s certainly a step up from the mess of Joe Kelly’s last year on the title or the abysmal Peppy the Alien arc, although it hasn’t quite matched the very good run that other former X-Men creative team did for six issues. (Some people didn’t like the Claremont/Byrne run. I did.)

But overall, it was a solid issue. Trust me, friends, no one is more surprised than I am that I’m going to give this issue of JLA a thumbs up.

Rating: 7/10

Action Comics #818

August 7, 2004

Quick Rating: Below Average
Title: Enemies as Numerous as Grains of Sand

An army of bad guys is after a weakened Superman – can he take them out?

Writer: Chuck Austen
Pencils: Ivan Reis
Inks: Marc Campos
Colors: Guy Major
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Cover Art: Arthur Adams
Publisher: DC Comics

There are a lot of things to like about this issue. Ivan Reis is quickly solidifying his position as one of the best Superman artists in years. The character is bold and proud, the action scenes are great. He may look a little blocky at points, but it’s never too bad to get around and the title is a real joy to look at, from the fantastic pages to a really great cover by the legendary Arthur Adams.

But none of this art will help the story in this issue.

Superman, having been shot with Kryptonite, heads out in the streets to fight an army of superpowered thugs who heard of his weakened state and want to take advantage of the situation to, hopefully, take out the man of steel once and for all. Most of the issue is a fight scene, which is often where Chuck Austen shows his strengths. Not this time.

The version of Superman in this issue is so cocky as to be completely unbelievable. As he’s being shot (not shot at, shot, with actual holes and wounds appearing in his body), he’s standing there cracking jokes. He appears out of nowhere, delivers powerhouse punches, and basically stands around looking tough. It goes way too far. Clearly, the intent here is to make Superman look like a real contender, a bit grittier than the “boy scout.” Instead, it’s just impossible to swallow.

The worst comes as he’s hovering above the villains and talks about “you human beings.” It’s condescending. It’s belittling. It’s the speech of a man who considers himself above other people. It’s not Superman.

Then, as the dust settles, we take a left turn from the fight scene right into the soap opera, with Superboy asking probing questions of Wonder Woman, delving into issues that were settled years ago. And then we get a surprise last-page “shocker” which – again – digs up issues that were settled years ago.

There’s nothing new in this issue, and the stuff that is here was mostly put to rest a very long time ago. It’s not working. The artwork is the real saving grace of this title – I’ve become a big fan of Ivan Reis and Marc Campos. Right now, they’re the best thing Superman has going for him.

Rating: 4/10

Action Comics #817

July 12, 2004

Quick Rating: Average
Title: Weapons of Revelation

Following his battle with Gog, Superman is on the brink of death. The perfect time for an invasion of Metropolis!

Writer: Chuck Austen
Pencils: Ivan Reis
Inks: Marc Campos
Colors: Guy Major
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Cover Art: Arthur Adams
Publisher: DC Comics

Last issue, Superman got a nasty little injection of liquid Kryptonite from Gog. This issue, Superboy and Wonder Woman sit at his bedside while a legion of baddies tear through Metropolis.

As seems to be the case with Chuck Austen, there are one or two nice moments in the issue – Superman’s reaction to his state of mortality, for example, is a nice touch. But these nice touches are still trapped under the avalanche of bad characters and logic gaps. The story opens up with Clark Kent’s replacement at the Daily Planet, Jack Ryder, employing tactics that would get him booted out of any respectable journalism institution on Earth. (“Ladies and gentlement, Superman is dead! Maybe. I’ll wave a flag and let you know.” I am not making this up.)

Who’s treating Superman at S.T.A.R. Labs? Some annoying jerk named Mohlman who doesn’t even appear to be a real doctor and treats the hero like a science project. Now jerks in authority can make for entertaining stories, or they can make you want to gouge your eyes out the minute they walk on the panel.

We also get the usual “fast and loose with continuity” bits where Superman tells Mohlman that they’ve never been able to do extensive tests on his physiology before. (Y’know, except for all those extensive test Emil Hamilton, Kitty Faulkner or half a dozen other doctors have done over the years). The issue is capped off with a big blowout full of b-list heroes and obscure villains who get a grand total of one line of introduction between them, that one line belonging to Weapons Master, who never actually tells us his name (I’ve been reading Superman comics for a looooong time), but conveniently and vaguely explains his powers, just in case anyone was wondering.

As has become the status quo, this issue is seriously buoyed by wonderful artwork from Ivan Reis and Marc Campos. They do a fantastic Superman and a beautiful Wonder Woman, with a take that reminds me of Stuart Immonen’s artwork. They have fun with the fight scene, leading right up to the second “you know it’s not going to happen” ending in a row for this series.

This is one of those times I wish I were a reader who weighed a comic more on the art side than the writing, because if I was going by art alone I could proclaim this the best Superman title on the racks. But as it is, the artwork, good as it is, can’t raise the overall level of this book above a mere “so-so.”

Rating: 5/10

Action Comics #816

June 8, 2004

Quick Rating: Fair
Title: Superman Vs. Gog Part Two: Behold, I Am Against Thee

Superman and Gog tear apart Smallville, with the Teen Titans to pick up the rubble!

Writer: Chuck Austen
Pencils: Ivan Reis
Inks: Marc Campos
Colors: Guy Major
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Cover Art: Arthur Adams
Publisher: DC Comics

I have to admit, this issue is a far cry better than Chuck Austen’s first two issues of Action Comics, mainly because it is, in fact, 22 pages of straight action. It’s an extended fight scene between Superman, Superboy and Gog, with a little support thrown in by Wonder Girl and Kid Flash, leaving no room for the soap opera subplots or poor characterization that hurt the last two issues.

There are still a few logic gaps, however, the main one being how Superman can be utterly befuddled by Gog despite the fact that, I’m almost certain, they have fought before. (Someone get me the trade paperback of The Kingdom, I need to check on this.) Granted, it was only the one time, but it was during a caper where Superman encountered a possible future version of himself that he also ran across a few months ago in Superman/Batman while Gog was making it a point to keep killing Superman at earlier and earlier points along the timeline, so it’s not exactly like trying to remember the mugger he snatched at Fourth Street and Vine six years ago.

Like last issue, the best thing is Superman’s authoritative nature while dealing with the Titans. He still throws out a few bad one-liners, but not nearly as many as last issue, and there’s one bit I thought was rather clever where Superman and Kid Flash, each acting very rationally and very in-character, accidentally counter each other’s efforts and really amplify the danger.

The book gets a few demerits for the “cliffhanger” ending, which I won’t give away except to say I mark off for any comic book that leaves you asking if something will happen that nobody on the planet actually believes DC Comics would allow to happen. Come back on Wednesday, I’ll get more specific. Superboy also overreacts a bit, saying Superman is like a father to him, while reading virtually any comic book written in the past ten years will paint the picture of their relationship to be more like an older brother/younger brother, but I won’t judge too harshly for that line.

Ivan Reis and Marc Campos, again, knock one out of the park in the art department. They give us one of the proudest, strongest Superman interpretations in a long time, yet he still manages to look joyful even in the middle of a spectacular fight scene. Here’s hoping the artists stay on this title for a long time.

I have to admit, this issue wasn’t too bad. If Austen could stay away from the cookie-cutter subplots and awful characterization of the main character that he showed over the last two months and stick to straight action (as the title implies), this would be an okay, if not spectacular, installment of the Superman titles.

Rating: 6/10

Action Comics #815

May 8, 2004

Quick Rating: Below Average
Title: Superman Versus Gog: End Times

Superman and Gog throw down in Smallville… can the Teen Titans turn the tide?

Writer: Chuck Austen
Pencils: Ivan Reis
Inks: Marc Campos
Colors: Guy Major
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Cover Art: Arthur Adams
Publisher: DC Comics

And the soap opera begins.

I’ve never made a secret of how dissatisfied I was with Chuck Austen’s work on X-Men and Captain America, but I’ve tried very hard not to let that color my judgment of his Action Comics run. I’ve tried not to let that make me harsher than I ordinarily would be, and I’ve looked very hard at this comic, but there’s no way I can juggle these elements that doesn’t fall apart on every other page.

With the news that Doomsday is on the loose, Superman sends three of the Teen Titans to Smallville to hunt for him. (Problems #1 and #2 right off the bat – why would Doomsday go to Smallville in the first place and why would Superman send three kids, even Superboy, Kid Flash and Wonder Girl, to look for a monster strong enough to kill him? Problem #3 comes in when you realize the Titans are walking around Smallville in costume for no apparent reason. This is all in the first panel, mind you.) Instead of Doomsday, though, another foe inexplicably attacks the small town – Gog.

Back in Metropolis, Clark Kent is in a screaming match with his wife over the phone asking the question everybody else was asking last issue: why didn’t she tell him that Perry White had demoted him? One can accept the premise that she wanted to give Perry the chance to tell him himself, but we learn this issue that she knew it for two weeks – you can’t accept that Lois would keep such a secret for that long without telling Clark or confronting Perry. We then meet Clark’s replacement, a character whose reputation has been built as a sleazy television tabloid reporter, so naturally he’s earned a spot on the Daily Planet staff.

The actual fight scene, in fairness, has a few high points. Superman taking charge of the Titans is a nice bit of characterization, but he then proceeds to throw off one-liners that would have seemed appropriate coming from Spider-Man but are totally out of place for the man of steel. Then, when he’s got his villain on the ropes, he stands there and cracks jokes instead of delivering the knockout blow, behavior one expects from a grade-b supervillain, but not from Superman. It’s also particularly amusing that the same Superman who makes jokes about clichéd villain dialogue is the one who, earlier in the issue, actually shouted the phrase “Don’t start that, okay? Don’t make this my fault,” while arguing with his wife.

Thank God for Ivan Reis and Marc Campos. These guys draw, hands-down, the best Superman I’ve seen in years. He looks strong and powerful without lapsing into the cartoonish the way other recent artists have, and they do a fine job with the Titans as well (I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing them do a run on that title sometime). The fight with Gog and the resulting debris look really good. In fact, if one were to review this comic merely on artwork and not on dialogue, it would be easy to give it an almost perfect score.

Unfortunately, the story factors heavily into it, and there are just too many holes in it to possibly recommend. Austen has no grasp on the characters or on logical plotting, and the comic book suffers exponentially because of it. I really do want to enjoy this title. Superman is my favorite character and I want his titles to succeed. But I can’t see that happening in the near future.

Rating: 4/10

Action Comics #822

December 5, 2004

Quick Rating: Below Average
Title: Repo-Man Part One

Planning to spend Christmas Day on the farm, Superman finds himself face-to-face with Repo-Man.

Writer: Chuck Austen
Pencils: Ivan Reis
Inks: Marc Campos
Colors: Guy Major
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Cover Art: Ian Churchill
Publisher: DC Comics

When Lois and Clark head to his parents’ farm in Smallville for Christmas, they find an unexpected visitor – Lana Lang. Which is bad, see, because Lois now hates Lana because – oh, why spoil the surprise? Let’s just say it’s for a reason that would seem perfectly natural in an episode of Beverly Hills 90210, but is so utterly out of place in a Superman comic book that it makes me want to rip out large, bloody clumps of my hair and throw them in a fire in the hopes of summoning good spirits to make the badness go away.

Anyway, once on the farm things are weird and freaky and awkward right up until a supervillain attacks for no apparent reason. (Well, there’s a hint of a reason.) And kudos to Austen for coming up with Repo-Man, the worst supervillain concept since Typeface.

Austen’s Superman, for once, is actually fairly in-character (and even gets in an amusing, appropriate quip during the fight scene). He’s behaving exactly like Clark Kent would behave under the circumstances. The problem is that if any of the other characters were behaving like themselves, the circumstances in question would have never, ever happened.

I also don’t understand why they bothered to cast this as a Christmas issue. Once upon a time, there was at least one Christmas story in the Superman comics every year. This was an event. This was something to look forward to. This gave us gems like “Metropolis Mailbag” back in Superman #64 and “Face to Face With Yesterday” in Adventures of Superman #474 (technically this was a New Year’s story, but it was one of those books that really defined Clark’s character and showed what turned him into the hero he is today). There’s not even a hint of Christmas in this book. The story isn’t Christmas-themed and there aren’t even any decorations – not a hint of lights, no tinsel, no Christmas tree in the middle of the Kent farmhouse. If Martha Kent didn’t welcome the others to Christmas dinner, I could have believed this issue took place in September.

Ivan Reis, whose artwork is usually the saving grace of this title, should take some of the blame for that, I suppose. He’s the one who didn’t draw any Christmas decorations. Although I suppose it’s possible that there was no call for them in the script and the few Christmas references were added later when someone realized this issue was coming out in December. He also gives us a version of Jimmy Olsen that doesn’t look even remotely like any other incarnation of the character, ever. Even with the red hair, I didn’t realize it was him until somebody else called him by name.

Action Comics is the title that gave birth to Superman. I keep waiting for him to return to it.

Rating: 4/10