Archive
Young Justice (2011 Series) #10
June 5, 2012
Title: Hot Case
Writer: Kevin Hopps, Greg Weisman
Pencils: Christopher A. Jones
Inks: Dan Davis
Letters: Dezi Sienty
Colors: Zac Atkinson
Cover Art: Christopher Jones & Carrie Strachan
Editor: Jim Chadwick
Publisher: DC Comics
Last issue, as the Young Justice kids got a little antsy with their lessons in espionage, Captain Atom decided to give them a practical assignment: prove the innocence of late Air Force officer Nathanial Adam, convicted of murder during the Vietnam era. This issue, the kids have tracked down some of the people involved in the case, only to find them being murdered one at a time. As they face a foe with a sword that can cut even Superboy, the team has to wonder just what they’ve stumbled into.
This has been a strong two-parter. It’s nice to see the team sent out on a different sort of case, a chance for Robin’s detective skills and Miss Martian’s stealth abilities to really come into play. The story is hurt slightly with familiarity – there’s a reveal at the end that isn’t a reveal at all if you’re familiar with the characters in the comic books, and probably isn’t that big a shock even if you have no idea who Captain Atom is and never read a story with him in it before. Building it like a mystery feels a little anti-climactic.
Christopher Jones does a good job of keeping the characters on-model with the TV show while, at the same time, providing strong, dynamic pages that hold up compared to any other superhero comic on the market. This book exists in-between episodes of the cartoon show, but the creators have done a good job of telling original stories that explore the characters without feeling like they’re just marking time until the next episode begins.
Rating: 8/10
Superman Family Adventures #1
June 4, 2012, 2012
Title: When We All Lived in the Forest
Writer: Art Baltazar & Franco
Art: Art Baltazar
Editor: Kristy Quinn
Publisher: DC Comics
I was, I admit, somewhat despondent when DC Comics announced the end of their brilliant all-ages series, Tiny Titans. That heartbreak was assuaged, however, when word came that the creators of that book were going to take the same comedic sensibility and apply it to a new title, Superman Family Adventures. Having read the first issue of this new title, I feel like they haven’t missed a beat.
Set in the same continuity (such as it is) as Tiny Titans, Superman Family Adventures #1 picks up a few years later. Superboy and Supergirl are a little older, but still children, and the focus shifts over to their older cousin Superman and the rest of his friends (and foes). This issue, his arch-rival Lex Luthor plans yet another of his many attacks on Metropolis, and Superman and the gang – including Krypto and a new friend – team up to save the day.
This book takes a very interesting approach to the story. The plot feels like it could have been pulled straight from any number of silver age adventures. Luthor is legitimately trying to do bad things here, but there’s a sort of goofy innocence to the plot – no murderbots, no women in refrigerators, no Dr. Light-style attacks on the Justice League satellite to worry about. Just some good old fashioned robots programmed to steal Superman’s powers. Simple.
What makes the book great, though, is how the creators take that simple, silly concept and apply their unique style of comedy to it. The puns, the visual gags, and the situational humor is all distinctly their own, and it all blends very well with the Silver Age flavor of the plot. They also bring in satire of some of the contemporary DCU elements – for example, discussion of the new costumes that the characters are wearing in the New 52 era. This sort of modern lampooning is the sort of thing they did in their previous comic, and it still works here. The combination of familiar elements makes this a comic that feels very much like a spiritual successor to Tiny Titans while, at the same time, succeeding as its own entity.
In fewer words, I really liked this book, and I’m really glad this creative team still has a home with the toys of the DC Universe.
Rating: 9/10
Recent Reviews: September 14 Releases
Another week, another time I didn’t actually get around to anything but the DC books. Again, sorry. Hopefully next week I’ll do a bit better.
Recent Reviews: August 17 Releases
So what’d I review over at CX Pulp in the last seven days? Here’s the list…
- Avengers Academy #18
- Batman #713
- Darkwing Duck #15
- DC Retroactive: Batman-The 90s #1
- DC Retroactive: The Flash-The 90s #1
- DC Retroactive: Wonder Woman-The 90s #1
- Fables #108
- Fear Itself: Fearsome Four #3
- Flashpoint: Abin Sur-The Green Lantern #3
- Flashpoint: Wonder Woman and the Furies #3
- Green Lantern Corps #63
- Justice League of America #60
- Power Girl #27
- Superboy #11
- Tiny Titans #43
- The Walking Dead #88
- X-Men: Schism #3
Tiny Titans #42
August 1, 2011
Title: Young Bizarros in Love
Writers: Art Baltazar & Franco
Art: Art Baltazar
Editor: Kristy Quinn
Publisher: DC Comics/Johnny DC
Supergirl’s imperfect duplicate Bizarrogirl has come to Earth. This being Tiny Titans, though, rather than coming to blows, Supergirl invites her to a pancake breakfast. Also there is Superboy’s duplicate, Match… and it’s love at first sight. Now in the real DC Universe, this would invite all kinds of uncomfortable, squicky questions about genetics, cloning, and Bizarros, but in the world of Tiny Titans we just move right on to Beast Boy’s fruitless pursuit of Terra. It’s an all-love issue, and it’s really funny. Art Baltazar and Franco have really mastered the light, gentle comedy of this title, creating something that’s got enough wit and cleverness to appeal to the adults, while still maintaining its entertainment value for the intended audience of much younger readers. This is one of the strangest spotlights they’ve done yet, and they sell it really well. This is the best comic being published for the beginning reader, and if you’ve got a kid that’s trying to learn (and that you’d like to get into comics) you need to swarm on it right now.
Rating: 8/10
Recent Reviews: August 3 Releases
Another Tuesday, another heapin’ helpin’ of reviews from last week’s comics. Here’s what I put on CX Pulp this week…
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
Superman (1939 Series) #712
June 23, 2011
Title: Lost Boy: A Tale of Krypto the Superdog
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Pencils: Rick Leonardi
Inks: Jonathan Sibal
Colorist: Brad Anderson
Letterer: Comicraft
Cover: Carlos Pacheco, Jesus Merino, Dave Stewart
Editor: Matt Idelson
Publisher: DC Comics
Well… this is odd. With just three issues left in this run of Superman, DC decided to pull the scheduled story for this issue, and instead replaced it with the long-lost but never-seen Krypto story that Kurt Busiek and Rick Leonardi write about five years ago. This issue is set shortly after the events of Infinite Crisis. Superboy is dead, and Superman is coping with the loss of his powers. Back in Smallville, the last superhero from the Kent farm, Krypto, is in mourning.
This is actually a really good issue. It’s mostly wordless, showcasing Krypto’s true loneliness. I wasn’t really big on Rick Leonardi’s previous work with the Superman family, but he absolutely nails this issue. He draws a great Krypto, first of all, and ha manages to get across the emotional impact of his loss. You look at this poor dog and feel the pain, the agony that he’s left in, with both of his masters gone. The final panel is one of the saddest moments ever drawn into a comic book, and the fact that it feels so sad is exactly what makes it so good.
But man, it’s an odd choice to put here. First of all, why didn’t they run this five years ago, when it would have still been relevant? And second, why run it now at all? As much as I enjoyed it and as much as I’m glad we finally got to see it, it still feels oddly out of place.
Rating: 8/10
Recent Reviews: July 13 Releases
It’s time once again for me to recap those books released last week that I’ve reviewed over at CX Pulp.com.
Somebody’s First Comic Book: The New Adventures of Superboy #8
Wondering what Somebody’s First Comic Book is all about? The explanation is on this page!
TITLE: Clark Kent Must Die
CREDITS:
Writer: Cary Bates
Penciller: Kurt Schaffenberger
Inker: Dave Hunt
Letters: Ben Oda
Colors: Jerry Serpe
Editor: Julius Schwartz
Cover: Kurt Schaffenberger & Dave Hunt
Publisher: DC Comics
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE: Superboy – the adventures of Superman when he was a boy, right?
IMPRESSIONS: Interesting little story here. Superboy goes out on a mission to stop a swarm of locusts from destroying some crops in his home town, the little farming community of Smallville. When he returns home, he finds out that his parents don’t remember his secret identity. For the next few days, he runs into close calls with his parents and others several times, his identity protected only by the timely intervention of his pal Pete Ross (who knows that Clark Kent is Superboy, only Clark doesn’t know that Pete knows). Superboy is convinced that his parents’ memory loss is no accident, and is unwilling to tell them the truth until he knows why they’ve been affected, so he does what any ordinary teenage boy would do: he fakes his own death.
I like this story. The idea of Superboy protecting his identity from someone who already knows it has some good comedic potential, and the writer actually gives a logical explanation for why Clark doesn’t just tell his parents the truth after their memory is wiped. It seems kind of obvious that the memory loss is somehow related to the space launch they’re watching at the beginning of the issue, but as the story is continued next issue, it’s hard to say that for sure. The good news is, I’m sufficiently interested in this that I would definitely read the next issue and find out what happened to him. It’s clever, it’s fun, and I liked reading it.
GRADE: B
The Back Issue Bin 