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

DC: The New Frontier #1

January 18, 2004

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Our Fighting Forces

In the 1950s, the DC Universe begins to change.

Writer/Artist: Darwyn Cooke
Letters: Dave Stewart
Editor: Mark Chiarello
Cover Art: Darwyn Cooke
Publisher: DC Comics

This is not an easy comic book to categorize. It’s been suggested that it’s a thematic sequel to James Robinson’s The Golden Age. It’s called a new beginning for the DCU. The only thing I can say for sure is that it’s a few interesting Silver Age stories set in the DCU, and we’ve yet to see how they link together.

In the first chapter, the group of American warriors called the Losers (the original group, not the ones running around the Vertigo imprint), are sent to rescue Rick Flagg, commander of the first Suicide Squad, from an island populated with dinosaurs. Chapter two reveals the final fate of the golden age heroes, focusing mainly on Hourman, and chapter three focuses on a young Korean War fighter pilot named Hal Jordan.

Cooke, both in writing and artwork, displays a real love for the silver age characters and style. Jack Kirby would be proud of how it looks, and the climax of chapter one is absolutely spellbinding. I can honestly say it’s the best Losers story I’ve ever read.

The problem is that the book seems disjointed. You get the sense that everything you’re reading is supposed to come together, to link, to mean something, but it doesn’t. Cooke is a good enough storyteller that it will almost certainly come together in future issues, but that does weaken this debut. As so many comic books these days go, it will probably read much better in a collected edition.

The other problem is the Cold War setting. Cooke uses it well, but the parallels to McCarthyism have been done and done and done again, and if he doesn’t find a new way to tell the story, this entire series runs a very high risk of being clichéd and boring.

Still, I love old-school superheroes, and Cooke has tapped into one of my favorite eras of the DC Universe, so I’m pre-inclined to be forgiving of bumps in the road. He uses the pre-Green Lantern Hal Jordan well, has a great scene with Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen, and as I said, the climax to chapter one was fantastic. This is a title that, when all is said and done, could go either way – it may be another classic, or it may be another footnote. Let’s hope for the former.

Rating: 7/10

Superman: Secret Origin #6

September 6, 2010

Title: The End

Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Gary Frank
Inks: John Sibal
Colorist: Brad Anderson
Letterer: Steve Wands
Cover: Gary Frank
Editor: Matt Idelson
Publisher: DC Comics

The latest retelling of Superman’s origin comes to a fantastic conclusion this month. Sam Lane’s troops are sent in to back up Metallo as he faces off with the Man of Steel on the streets of Metropolis, and if that wasn’t enough, Lane has a bombshell to drop on his daughter Lois – this “Superman” she’s become so enamored of is actually an alien. Who knew?

While I don’t know if there was really a need to re-tell Superman’s origin again (this is at least the third ground-floor retelling in my lifetime), I can’t deny that this was a good retelling. Geoff Johns’s interpretation not just of Superman, but of the rest of the cast, helps to bring them much more in-line with the versions we’ve seen in the Superman comics over the past few years. The Lex Luthor and Sam Lane bits in particular would have fit in very well with the recently-wrapped War of the Supermen series – shame, really, that this book was delayed. It would have been a good companion piece to that storyline.

Man, Gary Frank is one of the best artists ever to draw this characters. His Superman, of course, is intentionally evocative of Christopher Reeve, but he also does good work with the rest of the cast. Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane aren’t intended to look like any actors that I can think of, but they have a look that fits in with his Superman very well. Lex Luthor, on the other hand, just looks insane, and that’s perfect for the character.

This has been a fine retelling of Superman’s beginnings. Now, hopefully, DC will really use this opportunity to look forward.

Rating: 9/10

Supergirl (2005 Series) #55

September 6, 2010

Title: Fakeouts
Writer: Sterling Gates
Pencils: Jamal Igle
Inks: John Dell, Marc Deering & Richard Friend
Colorist: Jamie Grant & Jim Devlin
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Cover: Amy Reeder, Richard Friend & Guy Major
Editor: Matt Idelson
Publisher: DC Comics

With Jimmy Olsen, Gangbuster and Dr. Light among Bizarrogirl’s captives, Supergirl descended into the sewers to try to save them, only to fall victim herself to Bizarrogirl’s reverse X-Ray vision, a power that apparently can encase people in stone. I’m still not sold on that being the opposite of seeing through things, but it’s certainly original, and Gates doesn’t dwell on it too long to really get in a bunch over it.

What does work, as we approach it from the “opposite” angle, is the characterization of the two girls. Bizarrogirl, as Supergirl’s opposite, is a cruel and unfeeling creature, which makes Supergirl’s actions at the end of this issue far more understandable and easy to accept. She takes a pretty big risk here, one that I didn’t see coming, but one that fits into her story perfectly. Using the villain to characterize the hero? A dandy little stroke of brilliance that pays off.

Jamal Igle’s artwork is beautiful. His women are soft but strong, his Gangbuster really looks like a guy who’s taken a beating, and the man does rubble very well. Even the double-page spread that opens this issue is choreographed and posed flawlessly. The man is one of the finest Supergirl artists I’ve ever seen.

This is the creative team we’ve always wanted on this title, and they’re finally getting the freedom to do some really cool stuff.

Rating: 8/10

Supergirl (2010 Series) #54

August 15, 2010

Title: Looking Glass

Writer: Sterling Gates
Penciler: Jamal Igle
Inker: Jon Sibal
Colorist: Jamie Grant
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Cover: Shane Davis
Editor: Matt Idelson
Publisher: DC Comics

Linda Lang, reeling from the events of the war with New Krypton, has decided to abandon both of her Kryptonian identities – Kara Zor-El and Supergirl. As she sits at home and mopes about her fate, a new Bizarrogirl appears in Metropolis and goes on a tear. Bizarros, you see, are the opposites of the people they emulate. Superman’s Bizarro is a sort of mindless oaf, the counterpoint for the strong, competent man of steel. Bizarrogirl, though, is the opposite of the kind, gentle Supergirl… and Bizarrogirl is scary as hell.

Sterling Gates has introduced a nice new rogue for Supergirl here. I don’t think we’ve seen a Bizarro version of Kara since the Silver Age, and making her a creature to be feared instead of an object of ridicule is a nice way to set her apart from the rest of the Bizarros out there. I’m also really glad that Kara’s wallowing in self-pity isn’t going to be a six-issue arc the way it would be under some writers. She’s upset, of course, she thinks about retiring, but we all know she’s not going to really quit the business, so why belabor the point longer than necessary to make the story work? Gates gives us just the right amount of self-doubt before she springs in to action.  He also makes very good use of the rest of the supporting cast, especially Jimmy Olsen and Cat Grant. Gates also seems to have adopted Gangbuster and Dr. Light as members of this book’s cast, although whether that will be full time or simply for this story arc, I’m not sure.

My one real issue with the book is the new power Bizarrogirl whips out on us. The writers have been playing around with the Bizarro’s opposite powers for a while now, and Sterling adds a new one to the arsenal this issue. This one, though, I have to say is a little specious. Freezing vision and fire breath – okay, I can buy that as being the opposites of the regular Kryptonian power set… but the “opposite” of X-Ray vision, gotta be honest, doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.

Jamal Igle’s artwork is fantastic, and I have to admit I’m kind of saddened by the rumors that he’s planning to leave this title to move over to Birds of Prey. He’ll do a fine job on that comic, don’t misunderstand, but he owns Supergirl. The cover not so much – I’ve really enjoyed some of Shane Davis’s other work, but something about Supergirl’s face on this cover looks off, almost like it was plucked from another image and moved on to this one. It’s a shame too – if not for that, it’d be a great cover. It’s still a damn good comic book.

Rating: 7/10