shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jul 1, 2014 12:59:08 GMT -5
Adventures of Superman #449 "Search" writer/pencils: Jerry Ordway inks: Dennis Janke letters: Albert DeGuzman colors: Petra Scotese asst. editor: Renee Witterstaetter editor: Mike Carlin grade: B- So it would appear that the new normal for Superman books is a weaving of multiple sweeping story arcs as opposed to focusing on one immediate story. I like it, but it makes it much harder to write these reviews. This issue brings with it the return of the Newsboy Legion and Project Cadmus, seemingly just to remind the readers they exist (odd that this wouldn't be done on Stern's watch; he's the one who resurrected them in Superman Annual #2), more heavy hinting that Superman is Gangbuster and doesn't realize it, Jimmy Olsen getting into trouble and ultimately getting rescued, a little more quality time with Amanda McCoy, and the advancing of the Invasion storyline. Nothing too notable, but the writing is strong, and so is the art except in the glaring case of Ordway drawing Lois Lane. For some reason, he makes her look like a crack-addict prostitute in this issue: Seriously. It seems like everyone is still getting comfortable with this new format and, soon enough, we'll get back to big, interesting events. In the meantime, it's refreshing to watch Perry White exhausted after working 'round the clock in the wake of the Thanagarian attack on Metropolis last issue, while building inspectors make sure the Daily Planet is still structurally sound. Where, other than in the pages of Damage Control, have we ever seen the repercussions of superhero action addressed so realistically? Important Details: - Amanda McCoy explains her motives to herself more clearly, here. She's trying to prove to herself that she isn't wrong about Clark being Superman because her life became unhinged after Luthor fired her, and she is obsessed with always being right. She also reveals that she is the one who anonymously returned Ma Kent's scrapbook to Clark so many months ago, as well as the fact that she deleted all her files from Luthor's computers so that he can't utilize that information later. - It never occurred to me until it was explained in this issue that Superman was legitimately "born" on Earth in Byrne's Post-Crisis origin story. - We're told, once again, that Superman is pretty much the head superhero. That seems to be happening a lot this month, perhaps by Carlin's request? He's selected to arbitrate a cease fire with the aliens because even they are aware of his reputation. Minor Details: - A subtle reminder is provided that Jerry White is not Perry White's son (though Perry does not know this). plot synopsis: pretty much covered above, plus Superman brokers a one day cease-fire with the invaders.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jul 1, 2014 14:38:25 GMT -5
The Subtlety of the Ordway/Stern Reset, and Why Superman has to be a Goody-GoodyIt occurs to me now that there's a subtle genius at play in what Jerry Ordway and Roger Stern (and likely editor Mike Carlin) did with Superman's characterization in the wake of John Byrne's 1986-1988 run. Whereas Byrne's goal was to remake Superman as an ordinary farm boy from Kansas given extraordinary abilities -- a character who could be rash, ignorant, and even downright rude (especially in his Action Comics Team-Ups), the post-Byrne issues wasted no time in exploring a dual identity in which Superman attempts to be a hero in thought as well as action while his subconscious finds expression in an alternate identity called Gangbuster, all supposedly because of the events of Superman #22 (if you didn't read it, let's just say some bad stuff went down at the end). Really though, this was a clear opportunity for the new creative teams to reset Superman's persona -- to clearly identify what Superman DOES stand for (characterized by Superman) and what he DOES NOT (characterized by Gangbuster) by putting those behaviors into two different identities; a way far more clear than just having him start acting more like a boy scout again. Ordway and Stern present a man who has put such pressure on himself to be perfect that his most superhuman features become his character and will, not his powers. It's a brilliant way to do this, and, once Gangbuster is out of the picture and Superman's internal quest is resolved, it sets the stage for the kind of characterization that the Post-Crisis Superman franchise absolutely needed. Many have argued that Superman has fallen out of touch with American culture and needs to be more rough around the edges in order to remain relevant. Clearly, that's what Byrne was thinking, as well as several writers who followed (perhaps most notably James Robinson, who had Clark and Lois dry humping each other at the breakfast table). I'd actually argue that the reverse is true, though. We live in an age where the iconic Superman is needed more than ever. America lost its sense of idealism in the 1960s and early 1970s. In the wake of two Kennedy assassinations, the assassination of MLK, the Vietnam War, the Kent State debacle, and (perhaps most damaging of all) Watergate. Suddenly, all the good guys were gone, the world was a dangerous, senseless and depressing place, the remaining heroes and icons we looked up to and trusted were no longer trust-worthy, and the beliefs and assumptions about the world we'd been fed all along seemed to blow up in our faces. The ideals we'd been fed, the morals and behaviors we were to aspire to, all became suspect too. We threw away all that we'd been told to become and replaced it with nothing else, tossing aside all hero worship and, with it, any sense that we could strive to become better than we are. All one needs do is turn on the TV to see that this is true. Whereas we once watched well-dressed, responsible, courteous, successful, and generally happy/fulfilled protagonists, we've traded that for prime time anti-heroes. Married with Children, the Simpsons, Family Guy, The Osbournes, the Kardashians, and Duck Dynasty. We tossed away the characters that motivated us to want to improve/be better with characters so far below us as to affirm that who we already are must be good enough. As a result, we live in an age where people wear their ignorance with pride, where common courtesy in the workplace or in public is anything but, and where we laugh at others instead of working to learn how to better ourselves. Even facebook has become a steady stream of personalized news sources that affirm what you already believe instead of challenging one's perspective and informing people. Political scientists famously revealed that, in their polling, many people voted for George W. Bush in 2000 because he seemed like the kind of guy you could have a beer with; the kind of guy that was at your level (or possibly even below it) instead of some unwelcome potential hero, seeming to be better than us and challenging us to rise to his level; someone who should be distrusted because he might just let us down. It's how Joe the Plumber became a half-serious political candidate, and also how we got John Byrne's Superman. We need heroes again. We need people we can believe in. And if it seems too unrealistic to accept the idea that a person could act with total integrity at all times, act thoughtfully and with wisdom, treat people respectfully, and consistently sacrifice of him/herself for the sake of others, then maybe we can at least believe that an alien from Krypton can do those things. Really, the Christian New Testament, created in an age of great corruption and distrust of leaders, functions in the same way. It takes an outsider to show humanity its potential to be better than it currently is. Jesus' wisdom came from beyond, not from growing up in Nazareth. An ordinary Nazaethan could never achieve that level of greatness on his own within that cultural context, but he could be shown the way and follow. Apply the same idea to Buddha or Moses. And Superman fulfills the same purpose for a modern, less religiously inclined audience. We need heroes again; we need harbingers to show us the way in our own dark, chaotic lives in which we loathe ourselves and yet will defend to the end our right to not aspire to anything. And if such heroes can't be found in reality, then we have need of fictitious noble-hearted aliens more than ever.
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Post by Action Ace on Jul 1, 2014 20:28:26 GMT -5
And then there was Superman... surely this joke's been made by now...
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Post by Action Ace on Jul 1, 2014 20:31:53 GMT -5
Dennis O'Neil is generally over-rated as a writer and almost always over-rated as an editor. There. I said it. I'm not a Denny O'Neil fan either, especially if he's writing outside Gotham City.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jul 1, 2014 20:37:40 GMT -5
And then there was Superman... surely this joke's been made by now... Nope, but I've been waiting for it
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Post by Action Ace on Jul 1, 2014 20:51:45 GMT -5
ADVENTURES #449
Art: Dennis Janke everyone! Ordway's art has never looked worse than it did when inked by Janke.
Story: It's like watching the blockers set up on a punt that turns into a touchdown. It's still very early , but the pieces are on the field.
Superman's birth: The Supreme Court will visit this issue (sort of) in Superman Annual #3
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Post by dupersuper on Jul 2, 2014 0:29:07 GMT -5
Action Comics Weekly #622 This issue, Deadman gets subbed out for a Starman promo. It's a useless 7 page one-shot plugging the new ongoing by harping on the cliche of interspersing the action with a commentator on a talk show denouncing the megalomania and danger of super-heroes. A few lines felt almost directly lifted from DKR. Wow...I never thought I'd see Sterns Starman compared to DKR...
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Post by dupersuper on Jul 2, 2014 0:31:40 GMT -5
Action Comics Weekly #622 2. He is still a sort of role model to other superheroes. This bit was particularly surprising, though. Looking at the Superman timeline, he's only been an active superhero for four to five years by this point. Are we to assume that most other superheroes came on the scene after that time? Batman's been active for at least ten years by this point (see my Batman reviews thread for this, once I get it restored). It has been stated several times in the DCU by this point that Superman was the first modern public super hero and Batman, the JL, et al came after. It'll be mentioned many times again before Flashpoint ends this version of the DCU.
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Post by dupersuper on Jul 2, 2014 0:34:12 GMT -5
Action Comics Weekly #622 3. Superman and Hal Jordan do NOT know each other. Action Comics #606 portrayed the two as being old acquaintances who know each other's secret identities, but this issue completely revises that moment, making them utter strangers meeting as colleagues for the first time. Really? I haven't read it in quite a while, but I certainly don't remember it like that. There was some disagreement about whether they knew each others secret identities, but I certainly don't recall the impression they'd just met. If that was the intention, it lasted in continuity for all of 2 minutes...
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Post by dupersuper on Jul 2, 2014 0:39:33 GMT -5
Action Comics #663 Ah, I love that cover. This was the first issue of ACW I ever read, and it was the cover that grabbed my eye. I was back issue hunting, looking to fill in my Superman books having gotten addicted to weekly comics by the triangle era just officially starting at the time. My father saw me reading it and said it looked like a rip off as Supes was on the cover but he just had the 2 page story. Ironically, as the oldest ACW issue I own, it's now the only ACW I own missing the cover.
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Post by dupersuper on Jul 2, 2014 0:45:09 GMT -5
in fact, upon learning that Superman's worshippers (The Fellowship) are gaining mysterious super powers from worshipping him, they now believe that Superman is actually the anti-christ. It's funny how much more plausible religious zealot CEOs are these days...
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Jul 2, 2014 1:21:54 GMT -5
Action Comics #663 Ah, I love that cover. This was the first issue of ACW I ever read, and it was the cover that grabbed my eye. I was back issue hunting, looking to fill in my Superman books having gotten addicted to weekly comics by the triangle era just officially starting at the time. My father saw me reading it and said it looked like a rip off as Supes was on the cover but he just had the 2 page story. Ironically, as the oldest ACW issue I own, it's now the only ACW I own missing the cover. Reminds me of this cover:
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jul 2, 2014 3:26:48 GMT -5
Wow...I never thought I'd see Sterns Starman compared to DKR... Of course, I was calling the story "derivative," not suggesting it was of a similar quality Yes. Superman #1 implied this, as well, but the Superman timeline currently in play still only has Superman having been around for less than five years at this point, while Batman's timeline still has him around for ten. It's bad alignment between offices. Hal calls Clark at the Daily Planet, and Clark refers to him as "Hal". Additionally, way back in Superman #1 an existing relationship was implied between the two, though the depth of it was not explored.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jul 2, 2014 3:28:11 GMT -5
Ah, I love that cover. This was the first issue of ACW I ever read, and it was the cover that grabbed my eye. I was back issue hunting, looking to fill in my Superman books having gotten addicted to weekly comics by the triangle era just officially starting at the time. My father saw me reading it and said it looked like a rip off as Supes was on the cover but he just had the 2 page story. Ironically, as the oldest ACW issue I own, it's now the only ACW I own missing the cover. Reminds me of this cover: Additionally, once more, I feel these covers will ultimately inform the look of Batman: The Animated Series:
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Post by keiralynn on Jul 2, 2014 15:46:17 GMT -5
I agree with you about our need for heroes, but I think even more than heroes from outer space, we need to accept that humans can be heroic. I had the same problem with the CG version of Beowulf that came out some years ago that you are having with Superman. While obviously it's important to accept that no one is perfect, we also need role models to show us that humanity isn't all bad. We can be amazing and wonderful. Jesus himself is a perfect example of where the story went wrong. Instead of emphasizing his Godliness, we should be emphasizing his HUMANNESS. People like Jesus and the Buddha show us what HUMANS can do. It's not about being perfect but rather about trying our best and showing that at our best, we can be AWESOME! While examples of human depravity abound, so do examples of human excellence. If you go looking for real life examples of heroes, you can find them. Yes, those people will have flaws, too, but those flaws don't need to be exaggerated. Instead we need to focus on our good qualities and encourage those qualities in others, reflecting the best of humanity in the stories we tell each other, instead of the worst.
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