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Post by dupersuper on Jun 25, 2014 22:48:13 GMT -5
Superman #25  "Head Trips" writer: Roger Stern pencils: Kerry Gammill inks: John Beatty letters: John Costanza colors: Petra Scotese asst. editor: Renee Witterstaetter editor: Michael Carlin "with a big thanks to that Adventurous Lad, JERRY ORDWAY, for all the advice and input." grade: C The first Roger Stern issue that I have not enjoyed. It's not that anything about this issue is particularly bad, but rather Stern brings back Byrne's Brainiac and fails to make him any more impressive. He had to start with what Byrne left. He'll get there a little after the Exile story... |
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Post by dupersuper on Jun 25, 2014 22:51:43 GMT -5
In addition, I'm bothered by the beginning of this issue, with Superman splitting into his good and dark halves -- a deep seeded fear in Superman's psyche right now, but it's Brainiac's dream. Why? Yes, Superman hinted at having a dark side when he last confronted Brainiac, but why is this haunting him? I assume he caught a glimpse of how troubled Supermans psyche is in their last battle. |
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Post by foxley on Jun 26, 2014 3:00:15 GMT -5
Most of the original team is killed (and all are believed dead), and Mockingbird's identity is revealed at the end of storyline.
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Post by shaxper on Jun 26, 2014 9:16:17 GMT -5
He had to start with what Byrne left. He'll get there a little after the Exile story... I'm glad to hear it will eventually get better, but I do think there's a lot more that could have been done for the character in this issue. At the very least, Gammill should have tossed that ludicrous pink jumpsuit and ponytail. |
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Post by shaxper on Jun 26, 2014 9:54:24 GMT -5
Adventures of Superman #448  "The Ledge" writer/pencils: Jerry Ordway inks: Dennis Janke colors: Petra Scotese letters: Albert DeGuzman asst. editor: Renee Witterstaetter editor: Mike Carlin grade: A This may be Ordway's best work yet. The writing is inspired, the pacing is instinctive, and the art is gorgeous. Even in an issue where not much happens, Ordway instills it with so much life and momentum. It's also the first sign of a now seamless continuity between the Superman and Adventures titles, as the Morgan Edge/Intergang and Brainiac threats are both present and palpable in these pages. But the best surprise of this issue is Ordway proving that he too can dig into Byrne's work and mine it for new stories. However, where Stern has simply been resurrecting villains, Ordway decides to revisit what, in my mind, is the second biggest unresolved plot point of Byrne's Superman continuity (the first being the abandoned laboratory orbiting Earth choc full of Superman's secrets, including his secret identity). Ordway brings back Amanda McCoy, Luthor's assistant from Superman #2 who empirically proved that Clark Kent is Superman and was dismissed by Luthor when he found the explanation implausible. Now this once forgotten character with full knowledge of Superman's identity is back with something to prove, though her exact intent remains unknown. Ordway also does a nice job of resolving the minor problem of Cat Grant working for Morgan Edge in his title while she's still been at the Planet in Stern's title, taking three otherwise unnecessary-to-the-plot panels to show that Cat just now signed her contract with Edge. Things are coming together. You can almost smell the Triangle Era on the horizon. We've also got a nice reminder in this issue that the Kents are now raising Matrix (Pocket Universe Supergirl), and that the Invasion storyline is about to start, as well as a tease that Pa Kent might have a heart attack and die while doing difficult chores outside (he didn't), and some subtle but brilliant clues that are leading me to believe, once again, that the new Gangbuster is really Superman giving leave to his dark side. The thematic parallels are all there this time. GREAT issue. Everything is exceptionally well done, even while we're simply watching a variety of story arcs build with no major climaxes provided. Important Details: - Return of Amanda McCoy - Invasion is about to begin Minor Details: - Are we ever going to find out why the gun the assassin from last issue used had some sort of corrosive plasma in it that backfired and maimed the assassin? We get an in-depth description of the event, but not the reason. plot synopsis in one sentence: Superman is attempting to talk down the assassin from last issue who, now maimed and terminally ill from his accident last issue, wants to jump to his death, Superman ultimately decides to let him be and make his own decision, shocking everyone, Gangbuster shows up shortly after and terrifies the assassin into coming down and turning himself in, Amanda McCoy is back and spying Clark and Superman with an assistant, Luthor is feeling vulnerable both to Morgan Edge and to Brainiac, Jose Delgado can now walk (though not well) and is resuming his relationship with Lois, we're reminded the Kents are raising Matrix and watch the Invasion take it's first steps, Cat Grant officially moves over to working for Morgan Edge and immediately goes on the air to discuss how Superman has lost his edge, and upon reflecting upon how everyone wants him to be a more vigilante-like hero that he doesn't want to be, Superman finds himself losing his temper and snapping at a police officer. An issue that did everything right, even without anything major or flashy occurring. |
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Post by Action Ace on Jun 26, 2014 21:04:21 GMT -5
ADVENTURES of SUPERMAN #448
I agree, you can start to see it all starting to come together. Amanda McCoy will have a big role in the story that brings me back to comics after a long recess.
When I started collecting the Superman titles again I stored all the Superman's in numerical order and the Action's and the rest by issue number as well. It didn't take me very long to change that up so it went in chronological order. the triangles started a few months later and that made it even easier.
STORY: B- ART: B+ COVER: B
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Post by dupersuper on Jun 26, 2014 21:09:07 GMT -5
Adventures of Superman #448 "The Ledge" writer/pencils: Jerry Ordway inks: Dennis Janke colors: Petra Scotese letters: Albert DeGuzman asst. editor: Renee Witterstaetter editor: Mike Carlin grade: A This may be Ordway's best work yet. The writing is inspired, the pacing is instinctive, and the art is gorgeous. Even in an issue where not much happens, Ordway instills it with so much life and momentum. It's also the first sign of a now seamless continuity between the Superman and Adventures titles, as the Morgan Edge/Intergang and Brainiac threats are both present and palpable in these pages. But the best surprise of this issue is Ordway proving that he too can dig into Byrne's work and mine it for new stories. However, where Stern has simply been resurrecting villains, Ordway decides to revisit what, in my mind, is the second biggest unresolved plot point of Byrne's Superman continuity (the first being the abandoned laboratory orbiting Earth choc full of Superman's secrets, including his secret identity). Ordway brings back Amanda McCoy, Luthor's assistant from Superman #2 who empirically proved that Clark Kent is Superman and was dismissed by Luthor when he found the explanation implausible. Now this once forgotten character with full knowledge of Superman's identity is back with something to prove, though her exact intent remains unknown. Ordway also does a nice job of resolving the minor problem of Cat Grant working for Morgan Edge in his title while she's still been at the Planet in Stern's title, taking three otherwise unnecessary-to-the-plot panels to show that Cat just now signed her contract with Edge. Things are coming together. You can almost smell the Triangle Era on the horizon. We've also got a nice reminder in this issue that the Kents are now raising Matrix (Pocket Universe Supergirl), and that the Invasion storyline is about to start, as well as a tease that Pa Kent might have a heart attack and die while doing difficult chores outside (he didn't), and some subtle but brilliant clues that are leading me to believe, once again, that the new Gangbuster is really Superman giving leave to his dark side. The thematic parallels are all there this time. GREAT issue. Everything is exceptionally well done, even while we're simply watching a variety of story arcs build with no major climaxes provided. Important Details: - Return of Amanda McCoy - Invasion is about to begin Minor Details: - Are we ever going to find out why the gun the assassin from last issue used had some sort of corrosive plasma in it that backfired and maimed the assassin? We get an in-depth description of the event, but not the reason. plot synopsis in one sentence: Superman is attempting to talk down the assassin from last issue who, now maimed and terminally ill from his accident last issue, wants to jump to his death, Superman ultimately decides to let him be and make his own decision, shocking everyone, Gangbuster shows up shortly after and terrifies the assassin into coming down and turning himself in, Amanda McCoy is back and spying Clark and Superman with an assistant, Luthor is feeling vulnerable both to Morgan Edge and to Brainiac, Jose Delgado can now walk (though not well) and is resuming his relationship with Lois, we're reminded the Kents are raising Matrix and watch the Invasion take it's first steps, Cat Grant officially moves over to working for Morgan Edge and immediately goes on the air to discuss how Superman has lost his edge, and upon reflecting upon how everyone wants him to be a more vigilante-like hero that he doesn't want to be, Superman finds himself losing his temper and snapping at a police officer. An issue that did everything right, even without anything major or flashy occurring. "Words hurt..." |
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Post by shaxper on Jun 26, 2014 21:45:44 GMT -5
Amanda McCoy will have a big role in the story that brings me back to comics after a long recess. Dark Knight Over Metropolis? |
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Post by shaxper on Jun 26, 2014 21:46:40 GMT -5
Probably the only line in the entire story that I wasn't sure about. It was either really well done or really silly, and I still can't decide which. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jun 27, 2014 8:40:05 GMT -5
Doesn't the triangle era not happen until the early 90s? after the death and return?
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Post by shaxper on Jun 27, 2014 9:01:56 GMT -5
Doesn't the triangle era not happen until the early 90s? after the death and return? Nope. It was a long time prior; a little less than three years from this point. Of course "The Triangle Era" doesn't really just refer to the issues that bore the triangle on the cover. The tight continuity and strong plotting/characterization indicative of that era were already in full swing at least a year earlier (which is when I began reading as an adolescent). Point being, that level of quality is already starting to build at this point. |
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Post by shaxper on Jun 27, 2014 9:42:50 GMT -5
Action Comics #621  Fan reaction to Black Canary in the letter column is universally negative. Every letter pans it, and the letter column even reluctantly concedes that aspects of the feature may have "overreached." Even still, Black Canary ranks above Superman in the voting. DC appears hellbent on keeping Green Lantern at the front of this book, and Superman in the middle, regardless of what the fans say. Green Lantern: James Owsley (Christopher Priest) and M.D. Bright take over with this issue. Bright's pencils are a welcome change to the horrendous pencils we were getting previously. Meanwhile, Owsley's start is an awkward one. Some of the concepts and characterization are interesting; I particularly liked the idea of Hal deciding that life (and particularly test piloting) lose their meaning if he wears the ring (removing the risk/danger). Geoff Johns returned to this idea briefly in volume 4. However, there's a lot of over-explaining in this issue, as well as a particularly weird moment where Hal decides that a mysterious space ship he has rescued from the sun should not be touched because that might be offensive to the aliens' culture (why would he automatically assume this? He's touched many spaceships and aliens in the past) and, weirder still, he decides to move on without checking into whether or not the inhabitants are okay, who they are, nor what they were doing in our solar system. I can only presume this is coming back later in the story arc. Wild Dog got a little more decent for once as it finally became more centered on plot, and less on mindless action and the development of poorly done characters. Also, Wild Pup got stabbed in the chest by the villain. Yay!! Secret Six is getting seriously good again, with strong action, intense plot development, and generally powerful momentum, though it's weird when a particularly tense plot line becomes interspersed with the team needing to know why LaDonna turned in a $690 hotel bill for petty cash reimbursement, which she then explains satisfactorily. Even if that ends up going somewhere interesting, it hardly makes for exciting fare at this point. Here's a tip to all writers everywhere -- the words "petty cash reimbursement" are never intriguing when dropped into an action story. Dead Man: Well, we've got an army of zombies controlled by two little girls who are possessed by the souls of two other dead little girls. That's pretty interesting. And the art is still brilliant. But the writing and plotting have been so disappointing up to this point. I'm still keeping my hopes for this feature within reason. Blackhawk: I'm officially bored by this feature. Pasko has hit a wall, having nothing more to offer than witty banter, cad behavior, tired intrigue, and attempts to flaunt the comic code for the heck of it. In this case, we have an image of one of the Blackhawks lying on a hospital bed, facing away from the camera with his junk clearly exposed to a blatantly intrigued nurse, suggesting that it's his third arm that needs a scrubbing. It's good shock value, but that's about all this feature has going for it anymore. And then there was Superman... "Let the Punishment Fit the Crime" writer: Roger Stern pencils: Curt Swan inks: Murphy Anderson letters: Bill Oakley colors: Tom Ziuko editor: Mike Carlin grade: D- I could not be less interested in this feature by this point. It isn't going anywhere, and I find that maddening. Swan, Ziuko, and (this time around) Anderson, all do their best to make the visuals worth it, but it just isn't enough. Also, Swan's panels are confusing this time around, initially making it unclear whether the feature should continue to be read horizontally as a spread, or one page at a time. plot synopsis: Superman stops the muggers while Bob is apparently unconscious on the ground, and, when Bob comes to, Superman makes it appear that it was Clark Kent who helped him, not the Superman he'd been so brazenly counting on. |
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Post by Pharozonk on Jun 27, 2014 10:31:54 GMT -5
Some of the concepts and characterization are interesting; I particularly liked the idea of Hal deciding that life (and particularly test piloting) lose their meaning if he wears the ring (removing the risk/danger). Geoff Johns returned to this idea briefly in volume 4. Gerard Jones actually did that same development with Hal during his run on GL in the early 90's. Johns pretty much recycled it when he got the book after Rebirth, which felt regression more than progression. |
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Post by SJNeal on Jun 27, 2014 10:38:37 GMT -5
...And we're all caught up. 58 pages of old thread condensed into 41. I'll be adding new reviews soon, and, of course, I've got some other threads to start restoring. If you're interested in restoring your own archived threads in a similar fashion, you can learn how I did it here. And the first person to complain about the appearance of the archived posts gets smacked. You have no idea how much time and energy I have spent on this.  Looks like I picked a perfect day to drop in! So glad to see this thread back in action!  |
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Post by shaxper on Jun 27, 2014 11:35:15 GMT -5
Looks like I picked a perfect day to drop in! So glad to see this thread back in action! I am SO glad to see you back! This thread would not have been the same without your input And congrats, once again, on your promotion over at CBR. Your dual roles between the two forums will further help solidify the good will I hope to maintain between forums, encouraging folks to view the two sites as companions to one another and not competitors  |
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