Action Comics #813

March 9, 2004

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Heaven (Godfall Part Four) & a back-up story

Now that Superman knows he is trapped in Kandor, how far will he go to break out?

Writers: Michael Turner, Joe Kelly & Chuck Austen
Pencils: Talent Caldwell & Ivan Reis
Inks: Jason Gorder & Marc Campos
Colors: Peter Steigerwald & Christina Strain & Guy Major
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Cover Art: Michael Turner
Publisher: DC Comics

After three issues of a story that disturbed me with how familiar it seemed, the “Godfall” storyline takes a step in the right direction this issue. Superman, having been lost in the timestream, thought he was back home on Krypton. Instead, as we found out two weeks ago in Superman #202, he was really trapped in the bottle city of Kandor at his own Fortress of Solitude, kidnapped by a fanatical worshipper of his that wants to escape the city and become a goddess in the outside world.

The story has, fortunately, taken a twist that distinguishes it from previous “Back on Krypton” storylines. However, Michael Turner and Joe Kelly have begun playing fast and loose with continuity. The trend in comics these days seems to be to accept those parts of a character’s past you like and ignore those you don’t. What we are presented here is a new version of Kandor that doesn’t reconcile itself with either the pre-Crisis version (a city stolen from Krypton by Brainiac) or the post-Crisis version (a city comprised of kidnapped aliens from throughout the cosmos). This Kandor appears to be some sort of strange hybrid of the two. If you can wrap your head around these sorts of unexplained continuity shifts, that’s fine, but it’s also the sort of thing that alienates long time fans, confuses new fans and eventually leads to things like Zero Hour.

On the art side, Talent Caldwell is doing some beautiful stuff. He has a Superman that looks proud and majestic, even when beaten, and the determination in the man of steel’s eyes reminds you that, boy scout or no, he is a force to be reckoned with.

In the back-up story, Chuck Austen redeems himself from the abysmal Lana Lang story he gave us last issue with a rather good reintroduction of an old Superman villain. (I am deliberately avoiding using the title of this story, which appears on the last page, as it is a huge spoiler.) Austen’s story involves a young boy who, at the scene of a tragedy, is convinced Superman will save his parents, not realizing they are already dead. He takes the child through levels of blind faith and innocence to the depths of heartbreak and anguish, and he manages to accomplish that fairly well, while bringing back a villain we haven’t seen in some time in the last panel, giving us chilling implications for Superman in future months.

Ivan Reis does great artwork on this issue. His style reminds me very much of the artwork we had in the Superman titles in the late 80s and early 90s, when I began reading the books, and therefore I loved it immediately. I actually prefer it, even, to the style Turner and Caldwell use on the rest of the book. Reis is one of those solid artists that always turns in good work but gets overshadowed by superstars who can’t meet a deadline.

I feel a bit better about the Superman titles after this issue than I did after the last issue of Action Comics. “Godfall” concludes this month and next month, supposedly, a new era begins. Let’s just hope it’s a good one.

Rating:  7/10

Action Comics #812

February 7, 2004

Quick Rating: Fair
Title: Home (Godfall Part One) & My Heart

Another day in the life of Kal-El… on Krypton?

Writers: Joe Kelly & Michael Turner, Chuck Austen
Pencils: Talent Caldwell & Ivan Reis
Inker: Jason Gorder & Marc Campos
Colors: Grafiksismik & P.S. Colors, Guy Major
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Eddie Berganza
CoverArt: Michael Turner & Peter Steigerwald
Publisher: DC Comics

In Superman #200, the man of steel vanished into a time rift. Last month we saw how the city of Metropolis is coping with his absence. This week, we finally pick up on the man himself, living in a universe where Krypton never blew up, he never came to Earth and he is – irony of ironies, married to an alien.

This Kal-El has a good life, a beautiful wife, a wonderful home… but he senses something is amiss. He overreacts to the slightest problems, as though he’s constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. He knows his life is too good to be true.

And therein lies the major problem with this book – for a title intended to spearhead the relaunch of the Superman franchise, this book is treading over some seriously worn territory. I’ve lost count of how many stories we’ve seen dealing with a hypothetical life where Krypton survived or where that version of Kal-El felt something amiss. (Alan Moore did it best, in case anyone is keeping score.) There’s nothing wrong with this story, don’t misunderstand, but for the longtime Superman fan, there’s an overwhelming sense of “been there, done that.” For the casual fan, they’ll pick up this issue and just start scratching their heads thinking, “Wait, didn’t Krypton explode?”

The artwork, however, is another matter. Speaking as a professional, detached journalist and a longtime reviewer, there is only one phrase sufficient to describe the Caldwell/Gorder/Grafiksismik art team: Wowiewowwowwow! This is one beautiful comic book! The pencils just pop off the page, the characters look wonderful and the chase scene on laser-motorcycles is more exciting than anything George Lucas has pulled off in his last two movies. The character designs are fantastic too, with very good uniform for the Kryptonian Kal and a gorgeous, clearly Turner-inspired design for his wife, Lyla. If you’re the sort who buys comics more for the artwork than the story, boost the quick rating to “very good.”

There’s also a backup story, “My Heart,” by Chuck Austen, starring a version of Lana Lang that greatly disturbs me. Over the years Lana has evolved greatly, going from a girl that only existed to pine over Superman to a woman who made her own life separate from her childhood crush. In this story, we see her regress even more than she has in recent months, existing again to pine over a man married to someone else. She simply comes across as a bitter, petty woman, and that’s not the Lana fans have been reading about for years.

To be fair, Austen does have spot-on characterization for Jonathan and Martha Kent, and Reis does a very good job on the pencils. He’s got a confident style and makes just about any book look better. This isn’t a terrible book, but it’s not really very special, except for some great art. It’s not a book that will spark a resurgence in the Superman franchise.

At least, not yet.

Rating: 6/10

Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files 2003

October 27, 2003

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: “A Day After” and “Who Was Donna Troy?”

The writers of the regular Teen Titans and Outsiders ongoing series fill in the blanks from the end of Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day.

Writers: Judd Winick, Geoff Johns & Phil Jimenez
Pencils: Ivan Reis, Carlo Barberi & Phil Jimenez (Plus several others in the profile pages)
Inks: Marc Campos, Norm Rapmund & Andy Lanning (Ditto)
Colors: Sno Cone & Tom McCraw
Letters: Nick J. Napolitano & Comicraft
Editors: Eddie Berganza & Ivan Cohen
Cover Art: Tom Raney, Scott Hanna, Mike McKone & Lary Stucker
Publisher: DC Comics

With DC’s Secret Files series, the stories are almost always sort of superfluous, “fill-in-the-blank” tales that may shed a little light on the regular series, but are almost never necessary to understand the story. The challenge then, for the writers, is to tell stories that are still entertaining in that context. Winick and Johns tag-team to tell what happened in the fallout of Graduation Day, leading up to the regular Teen Titans and Outsiders series they have made into bestsellers. Most of the main characters get a page or two to show how they’re handling the events that tore apart their previous teams, and fans of either series get to peek into their favorites.

The real gem in this book, however, is Jimenez’s short story focusing on the funeral of Donna Troy. This is mostly a showcase for Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl, but Green Lantern, Starfire and Superman each have a moment to share their grief, and there is a wonderful scene with Batman that fits nicely into current events in the JLA title.

The profile pages, as usual, are good to help people brush up on the characters they may be less familiar with, and it’s nice to see different artists’ interpretations of the characters. It’s interesting to note that both Winick and Johns contribute artwork to the profile pages, with Winick breaking slightly from his usual, cartoony Barry Ween style for the Grace page and Johns doing an impressive piece with Kid Flash.

This book is indispensable for people who read either or both of the regular series. For others, it probably won’t resonate with you.

Rating: 7/10