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

Ion #1

April 24, 2006

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Torch Bearer Part One

It’s a new universe for Kyle Rayner… what’s his place in it?

Writer: Ron Marz
Art: Greg Tocchini
Ink Assist: Jay Leisten
Colors: Jeromy Cox
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editors: Eddie Berganza & Ivan Cohen
Cover Art: Ivan Reis & Marc Campos
Publisher: DC Comics

A year after the Crisis, Kyle Rayner is still struggling to find his new place in the universe. He has accepted what he was intended to be all along, and knows he now has a new role with the Green Lantern Corps – but somewhere in all that, Kyle Rayner himself got lost.

Let’s face it, Kyle’s luck has sucked since early in Judd Winick’s run on the previous Green Lantern series. He goes into space, his girlfriend leaves him, he’s replaced in the Justice League, and even though he’s instrumental in the resurrection of the Green Lantern Corps, he soon watches his third girlfriend since getting the ring killed – and this time, he gets her power to add to his own. He’s been through the wringer, and even though it’s a year later, it’s not far-fetched to believe that Kyle still doesn’t know who he’s supposed to be anymore.

Marz was a fine choice to guide Kyle Rayner once again – he created this incarnation of Green Lantern, after all, and turned him from a green rookie (pun intended) into a proud, capable hero. Not to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but since Marz left him the first time, he’s been put through hell. Hopefully the point of this series will be to bring him back.

Marz’s characterization and setup is fine, but I’m afraid I have to take off points for Greg Toccini’s artwork. He has a definite style, but I don’t think it works for this story. It’s too scattershot, too disjointed – kind of like a less-refined Bill Sienkiwicz – and the issue suffers as a result.

This issue isn’t a knockout, but it’s a solid setup. The real question is going to be, of course, where it goes from here.

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

Teen Titans/Legion Special #1

October 8, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Superboy and the Legion Part Two & Teenage Wonderland

Can even the combined power of the Teen Titans and the Legion of Super-Heroes save Earth from the Fatal Five Hundred?

Writers: Mark Waid & Geoff Johns
Pencils: Ivan Reis, Joe Prado & Barry Kitson
Inks: Marc Campos & Barry Kitson
Colors: Sno-Cone & Chris Blythe
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editor: Eddie Berganza & Stephen Wacker
Cover Art: Phil Jimenez & Andy Lanning
Publisher: DC Comics

Two weeks ago (in Teen Titans #16, if anybody is counting), the Teen Titans were plucked from the present and brought 1,000 years in the future by their teammate, Superboy. People who read Legion (and if you’re not one of them, you missed out) know that Superboy has spent months in the future with the Legion of Super-Heroes. Now the team is facing a threat so dire they need reinforcements from the distant past. Their old enemies, the Fatal Five, have found a way to tear holes in reality, collecting their counterparts from one alternate universe to another. With 500 supervillains attacking Earth, their numbers multiplying all the time, the two squads of heroes have to find a way to save the world.

The climax of this issue is a teeny bit too “Star Trek” for my taste – a quick application of gobbledygook science that we’ve got to assume works properly because none of us are as smart as Brainiac 5, but Johns and Waid nail the characterization of this special, and that’s where the book really shines. The scenes with Kid Flash and his cousin, XS, stand out as really powerful and true to life. Superboy struggling with the choice of which of his teams will claim him and the fear in Wonder Girl and Robin that he won’t choose them – all excellent.

The book closes off setting up the next arc for both properties, and I must say, it looks like the Legion will have more far-reaching consequences. When I first heard the direction their new series would take I was somewhat disappointed – I found it rather unnecessary – but the way this issue ends gives me hope that things have been planned out well.

Action Comics artists Ivan Reis and Marc Campos, along with Joe Prado, do a fantastic job on the art of this book. Very few artists can draw so many characters at once – not just all of the Titans and Legionnaires, but hundreds of different variations of the same five villains. A double-page spread of the “five hundred” swarming down at the camera is particularly good – shows off all of the variants the artists whipped up. I also really liked the version Superboy – he looks, in fact, like a young Superman. We also get an epilogue sequence with art by Barry Kitson, who will join Waid on the new Legion series – and it’s very, very impressive stuff.

This is a solid issue pretty clearly intended to help cross-pollinate the readers of the two properties – although Legion of Super-Heroes needs the help more. Hopefully, they’ll get it.

Rating: 8/10

DC Countdown #1

March 28, 2005

Quick Rating: Incredible
Title: Countdown to Infinite Crisis

Someone has collected information on the greatest heroes in the world – and it’s up to one of the least grandiose to unravel the mystery.

Writers: Geoff Johns, Greg Rucka & Judd Winick
Pencils: Rags Morales, Ed Benes, Jesus Saiz, Ivan Reis & Phil Jimenez
Inks: Michael Bair, Ed Benes, Jimmy Palmiotti, Marc Campos & Andy Lanning
Colors: Moose Baumann, Hi-Fi, Paul Mounts, Guy Major & Steve Firchow
Letters: Nick J. Napolitano
Editor: Dan Didio
Cover Art: Jim Lee & Alex Ross
Publisher: DC Comics

When I reviewed Identity Crisis, particularly the first and last issues of that miniseries, I felt like I’d been kicked in the gut by a mule. The story told in that miniseries was heartbreaking, stomach-wrenching and emotionally exhausting, while still being one of the best stories I’ve read in years.

Reading this special makes the gut feeling from that comic feel like a minor stomach flu.

This issue is all spoiler, and there’s almost nothing I can say without tipping the hand of the writers. Someone has gathered information on DC’s greatest heroes. Who, how and for what purpose is something that I honestly, until I turned that page, never saw coming, but unlike the identity of the Identity Crisis murderer, this one wasn’t really that big a stretch to accept. It almost felt poetic, like this was something that’s been in the works for decades instead of just the last few years.

And after reading this, there can be absolutely no doubt that this title has been meticulously planned out over the last few years. There are threads picked up on this book from titles as disparate as Batman, Superman/Batman, Adam Strange and Birds of Prey, and of course, the entire issue hangs heavily under the spectre of Identity Crisis, but one who hasn’t read those respective series will be able to understand this book without problem. Furthermore, the groundwork is laid very neatly for the four miniseries that will lead into Infinite Crisis – those being The Omac Project, Villains United, Day of Vengeance and The Rann/Thanagar War.

This book has an all-star team of artists doing the work. Each of the pencilers, from Identity Crisis’s Rags Morales on down, is doing top-notch work, and considering that each artist/inker team uses a different colorist, it’s even more incredible how neat and uniform this issue looks.

I’m still in shock. My stomach is in knots as a write this, because while I felt the last page of this issue coming from the very beginning, it still hit me like a Mack truck.

Make no mistake, friends. Identity Crisis was a warm-up.

And this is just the first round.

There’s a hell of a long way to go. And I’m starting to feel that getting there may produce some of the greatest comic book stories I’ve ever read.

Rating: 10/10

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

Action Comics #814

April 12, 2004

Quick Rating: Fair
Title: Another Day at the Office

When things are funny at the Daily Planet and Clark can’t get any answers, Superman takes some time away from the office to unwind.

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

The new Action team takes over this issue with a simple, done-in-one story about a day in the life of the Metropolis Marvel. Superman spends an average day taking down some train hijackers, catching falling cars and fighting Darkseid. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Hiring Chuck Austen to take over the longest-running superhero comic in the world was, to put it lightly, a controversial choice, and in this issue it’s plain to see why. There is some good in this issue – Austen’s Superman is someone who is sure of himself, confident and clearly loves his powers and being who he is, and that’s something this character should have and, frankly, doesn’t always display under other writers. The problem is that Austen frequently goes too far in the other direction, saddling the character with stilted dialogue and going from confident to arrogant, a characteristic that doesn’t befit Superman in any incarnation.

On the artistic side, though, there is no complaint at all. Ivan Reis and Marc Campos were born to do this title, and their bold, powerful Superman is one of the best takes on this character since Stuart Immonen was handling him on a regular basis. Readers who have complained about “manga-style” artwork will have nothing to bemoan here. The fight scenes are great, the facial features are dynamic and expressive, and every page of the comic looks great.

Let’s not forget the cover, either – Arthur Adams, creature artist extraordinaire, gives us a wonderful pin-up of Superman versus Kalibak (a scene that actually appears in the issue, take that, Marvel editors), and to top it off, the title returns to the original logo with this issue. I know I may be the only one who cares about that, but it’s something I really like.

Rating: 6/10