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Post by shaxper on Jun 18, 2014 13:26:05 GMT -5
Adventures of Superman #438
"...The Amazing BRAINIAC" writer: John Byrne pencils: Jerry Ordway inks: John Beatty letters: Albert De Guzman colors: Anthony Tollin editor: Michael Carlin
grade: C-
Carlin: So John, what've you got planned for the next issue of Adventures? Byrne: It's gonna be great! Carlin: Oh GOOD...because the last few issues have been kind of...well...dull. Byrne: Watch it, Mike. You remember what I did to Helfer. Carlin: Sorry, sir! Byrne: Yeah, this one's gonna reintroduce Brainiac. Carlin: WOW!!! That's awesome!!!! So what's he gonna do? Byrne: Well, as I see it, this is really a story about Clark, Cat, and Jimmy spending time at the circus. Carlin: oh... Byrne: And giving some attention to animal cruelty in circuses. Carlin: oh... Byrne: But then we'll get to Brainiac near the end Carlin: Okay! Byrne: ...but it's just a mentalist channeling his thoughts. Carlin: oh... Byrne: They'll fight for like five seconds, his wife will save the day by hitting him with a bottle, and that'll pretty much be it. Carlin: oh... Byrne: Now get down on your knees and be my Barda. Sleeze's feeling a bit bored. Carlin: Yes, master.
I really can't imagine the story pitch going much differently.
And seriously, what's with Byrne and utterly ruining Superman's best villains? Remember the mute Bizarro from Man of Steel who DIED in his very first appearance? Remember how pointless Toyman was? Really, all Byrne's given us that hasn't been an utterly massive disappointment has been Wolfman's depiction of Luthor (which he still managed to screw up quite a bit) and an adequate Mr. Mxylplex story. Really -- the long awaited return of arguably Superman's second greatest foe; how do you bungle it as badly as Byrne does here? At least the concept is still salvagable. Vril Dox's new back story isn't terrible (though it leaves me entirely confused as to how such a philanthropist can randomly become so evil without explanation), and his consciousness is still out there and can inevitably find a machine body to host it.
Important Details:
- 1st post-crisis appearance and revised origin for Brainiac. Was pnce a great and selfless scientist who lost his body due to a freak scientific accident. Now trying to inhabit a human mentalist's mind. - Brainiac somehow affects Superman like Kryptonite
Minor Details:
- 3 issues ago, Cat Grant was leaving Metropolis "tomorrow." Nine adventures later, there's no indication that she has any intention of moving to New York anymore. I inferred at the time that Wolfman was trying to take the character away from Byrne just as he was preparing to leave the Superman office (there's plenty of reason to assume the two were often battling over the usage of the characters Wolfman created and/or reinvisioned). The fact that Byrne is completely ignoring the idea that Cat Grant was going to move seems to confirm my assumption.
- Ordway and Beatty did one heck of a job on page 8. For a moment, I thought I was reading an entirely different story due to how striking the images suddenly were for the funeral scene.
Plot synopsis:
Clark, Jimmy, Cat and her son are going to the circus, Superman stops a stampeding elephant and quickly learns its been badly abused, he and Cat get the trainer fired but suspect more is going on (for some entirely unclear reason), Lois visits the funeral of the boy who had been Combattor and was killed by Gangbuster, and she is amazed to discover the family still reveres Luthor as the hero who tried to save the boy's life, the boy's brother slips Lois a note that we don't get to see, we meet "Brainiac," a circus mentalist who is involuntarily channeling the consciousness of Vril Dox, he provides Dox's origin, Dox takes over his mind and starts attacking people, he adopts the name "Brainiac" since that's what the mentalist called himself, the mentalist's wife hits him over the head with a bottle, knocking him out, and the mentalist is locked up, warning that Vril Dox will come again.
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Post by shaxper on Jun 18, 2014 21:14:04 GMT -5
Amazing Heroes #96 (June 1986) - Part I
A huge thanks to guppy270 who sent me individually scanned pages of this article, written shortly before Man of Steel debuted, that provides some truly worthwhile insight into these reviews. The article uses Wolfman, Byrne, and Helfer as primary sources. Below are my notes from reading the first nine pages (guppy270 will be sending the rest to me shortly):
- Though there really shouldn't be any debate about this anyway, Wolfman makes it abundantly clear that this was intended to be a complete reboot and divorced from the original continuity.
- Some chronology is provided (though I've yet to check how well it holds up with internal continuity):
1. Implied (though not explicitly stated) that MoS #2 almost immediately follows the end of MoS #1 2. MoS #3 takes place 7 months after MoS #2 3. MoS #4 takes place 18 months after MoS #2 4. MoS #5 takes place approximately 2 years after MoS #2 (further proving that Lois' statement in that issue about wanting Superman to kiss her for five years now does not work) 5. The Bizarro from MoS #5 is "the first foe he ever met whose super-powers matched his own." This may imply that there were other super villains prior to this, just not as powerful. 6. Superman discovers he's invulnerable at age 8 7. Superman discovers his X-Ray vision around age 13 (woah. That's a bad age for a boy to discover that particular power) 8. Superman is 18 when he discovers he can fly
- At this point, though Man of Steel had been planned to completion, individual stories for the regular titles had not been planned. This might help to explain why the quality dropped off so quickly with Superman #1; Byrne was writing two monthly titles and had little planned in advance.
- No inkers had been assigned to the regular titles yet either at this point.
- The idea to reboot Superman with no Superboy, less powers, and a revised Lex Luthor was being championed by Wolfman, Frank Miller, and Steve Gerber long before Jeannette Kahn began pushing for it. Miller and Gerber's proposal was different from Wolfman's, but they wanted to change the same kinds of things.
- Andy Helfer was put in charge of the reboot and given freedom to hire the creative talents.
- The quote from Wolfman that kills me:
"Sometime last summer I discovered that John Byrne was no longer under contract to Marvel...I essentially said to John, "This may cut my own throat, but DC is interested in a new version of Superman. If you're interested, now that you're freelance, why don't you get in touch with them? I didn't think he would, but I was hoping."
He then went on to tell Dick Giordano to recruit Byrne for Superman as well.
Of course, then he says this:
"I felt that John would present the Superman I'd like to read. Plus he'd make it sell, and that's more important than anything else, as far as I'm concerned."
Well, I guess he got what he wanted, then.
- Wolfman's only takes credit for coming up with the post-Crisis Luthor (of course, Cat Grant hadn't been conceived of yet as of the publication of this article). Byrne takes credit for the rest ("99%" in his words), even though most evidence suggests that the majority came from Helfer and was then tossed out the window when Byrne got rid of him (the full reboot, the removal of the Silver Age camp aspects, etc) and that Lois Lane was likely influenced by Mindy Newell.
- Wolfman didn't appear to be very empowered in the reboot, outright admitting that he hoped suggesting Byrne to Giordano would secure him the writing chores on the second Superman book. He also explains that he wasn't going to do it if Byrne didn't like his concept for Luthor: "The fact that he did like the Luthor idea meant that our views were so similar, as I had hoped, that we could easily work together."
You damned fool, Wolfman. You damned fool.
- Alan Moore was originally slated to write Action Comics. Not only would that have been something worth reading; it also would have knocked Byrne off his high horse once Watchmen exploded.
- Byrne and Wolfman were originally invited to pitch plots for Superman IV, but Christopher Reeves ultimately pushed for his own concept.
- Byrne praises himself for taking Superman "back to the basics," and clarifies that he means, "Siegel and Shuster's Superman meets Fleischer's Superman in 1986." Of course that explains so much of the Silver Age nonsense he went on to dredge up and all the over-sexed plots and overtones. Certainly, Big Barda being serially raped and Superman secretly fantasizing about boning Wonder Woman while sleeping around with Cat Grant fits into that concept with ease. In fact, as Byrne explains, "In terms of personality, my Superman pays homage to Christopher Reeve."
- Superman's X-Ray vision is actually a combination of telescopic and microscopic vision, allowing him to focus and see through the atomic structure of objects.
- Byrne originally wanted to do away with the Heat Vision, but then decided it can be a manifestation of the solar radiation he absorbs from the Earth's yellow sun
- The experimental "Space Plane" Superman saves from crashing at the end of MoS #1 was originally written and drawn as a space shuttle, but they changed it in response to the Challenger explosion.
- Pa Kent came up with the idea for Superman's costume, drawing inspiration from the old Justice Society heroes (who now existed before Superman did in the post-Crisis).
- Byrne was passionate about the idea that the world doesn't suspect that Superman has a secret identity. They figure he's off saving people somewhere else when not in Metropolis. Great idea, but didn't Byrne contradict that pretty quickly in Superman #2 when Luthor has his assistant try to figure out who Superman really is?
- We finally get some clarification on the idea that Clark is a novelist. He was published only one book, but it was a best seller. No acknowledgement that Lois is also a published author here, though it has been mentioned in the books.
- Clark is now a special features reporter, getting special assignments as opposed to being given a beat.
- Apparently, the reason Clark becomes a reporter (never explained in MoS) is so that he can travel to where he is needed and snoop around. I don't follow this logic, though. Superman can already fly anywhere a lot more quickly than Clark can take a plane, and he has super senses, so he doesn't necessarily need an alter-ego with which to snoop. Even Batman doesn't depend upon Matches Malone each month to get his information.
- Jor El and Lara have never physically been near each other prior to MoS #1. Whereas I inferred they'd never been physically intimate nor even kissed before, apparently they'd never even been in the same room until that moment.
- Along the same lines, Byrne sought to create a Krypton that "deserved to blow up," and that Superman would dislike, preferring and pledging his full allegiance to Earth in contrast.
- Strongly implied that it was Helfer's idea to treat Superman as someone who had been raised on Earth rather than an alien amongst us.
- Byrne originally wanted Lara to come to Earth, pregnant with Kal-El, and then get killed by Kryptonite after he had been born. DC rejected the idea.
- An explanation for how Kryptonite works is offered that doesn't make much sense. It replaces the solar radiation that gives Superman his powers with Kryptonian radiation, thus making him normal, but it's also irradiated and thus is deadly to him as radioactive materials would be to us. However, Superman can recover from these effects when his super powers are restored.
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 8:46:16 GMT -5
Wow. A one month hiatus from these reviews has been good for the soul. I read the issue that follows a full month ago, intending to post a review, but more pressing matters got in the way and, eventually, I simply forgot what I'd read and had no desire to go back. Now, upon reading the issue again, I found it more enjoyable. Some have accused me, at times, of harboring a bias against Byrne (and of harboring one against Denny O'Neil in my Batman reviews thread) because I focus on problems that they don't see and enjoy the issues less than they do. Having now experienced this from both sides, I think it's more that, when you read issue after issue, shaped by the same creative force, in quick succession, both a creator's consistent strengths and his/her consistent weaknesses become more pronounced. It's the very purpose of doing a reviews thread, I suppose -- gaining that special perspective that only comes from looking at the work as a whole rather than in periodic installments separated in your mind by weeks or even months. Sometimes it makes you appreciate a run more than the average reader (Doug Moench's work on Batman comes to mind immediately) and sometimes it makes you hate a run more than the harshest critic (in this case, Byrne).
Anyway, the good news is that this little break has made Byrne more tolerable for me again, breaking me out of the perspective of "I cannot believe he's doing (insert flaw here) again." We'll see if it lasts...
Action Comics #598
"Checkmate!" script: Paul Kupperberg co-plotters: John Byrne & Paul Kupperberg pencils: John Byrne inks: Ty Templeton letters: John Costanza colors: Petra Scotese editor: Mike Carlin Superman created by: Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster Checkmate! created by: Paul Kupperberg & John Byrne
grade: C+
So this is the first appearance of Checkmate!, a team of which I've been aware but know next to nothing about. Seems similar, in certain respects, to the Suicide Squad, not just because both were launched post-Millenium, but rather because both are run by pseudo-government super secret agencies. The only real difference I see in this issue is that Checkmate! is made up of good guys (at least one a former police officer). I assume fans of either series will assure me the differences are more pronounced than that but, at this early point, they seem a bit...repetitive.
What we learn about Checkmate! from this issue: - pseudo-governmental agency. We don't know if they are directly controlled by the government, but their orders to not kill the diplomat on US soil are based upon government concerns about foreign relations. - appears to have three directors, all wearing ID badges - operatives are highly trained and use cutting edge weaponry (sort of like an agency full of Batmans)
I'm still stuck on what the female director meant on page one when she said, "Metropolis? I believe we already have a solution in place there...!" Does that mean the operative was already stationed in Metropolis, either semi-permanently or on another mission? Or was she referring to Superman? There really is no indication in this issue about how large of an organization Checkmate! is. Do they have an operative stationed in each major city, or is it a small group deployed from one central location? For story-telling purposes, the second option works better in an ongoing title. Incidentally, this issue contains both a full page ad and a blurb at the end enticing us to check out Checkmate!'s new ongoing series, but no indication is given as to when the series will launch.
Checkmate! aside, there are really only three things that stand out about this issue:
Superman reminds us he's got problems, though why having fought a clone of Booster Gold a few issues back should be one of them is beyond me.
Lois Lane is as much a shrew as ever, and we're reminded (once again) that she pretty much constantly allows her own beliefs to cloud her ability to be an unbiased reporter and, in fact, gets confrontational with her interviewees. This leaves me with two pretty substantial questions: Why is Lois even allowed to keep her job at the Daily Planet, and why in the world does Perry send her on these assignments, knowing she'll do that? In this case, he's sent her to interview an extremist diplomat with blatant misogynistic beliefs and clear terrorist connections, he hasn't bothered to tell the interviewee he's sending a female reporter (let alone an extremely combative one), and he sent Lois alone. Alone. With a known terrorist who is flaunting diplomatic immunity and has clear contempt for Western women. And then he wonders to Clark whether she'll get herself in trouble after the fact.
But, on a larger scale, the problem is really that Byrne has turned Lois into a nearly total shrew. Even she proclaims in this issue that, "God, sometimes I just hate myself...!" Surely, a liberated woman of the 1980's doesn't have to allow her emotions to interfere with her professionalism and bully her interviewees with her personal opinions nearly every time. In Man of Steel, Byrne made us love Lois even more for her stubbornness and determination, but it really seems like, as soon as he chopped off her long hair, he also chopped off her endearing qualities and made her so tough as nails as to be irredeemable. Is this an anti-feminist thing on some level, or is it just bad characterization? I suspect the latter.
Cat Grant really thew me in this issue. We already know that Byrne has no problem abruptly changing things to suit his personal whimsy (did anyone else notice how fast Superman can now move in this issue, changing from Clark to Superman on a crowded street in front of everyone?), but what he's done with Cat just takes the cake. First he back-tracked on the growing relationship between Clark and Cat that Wolfman had been developing in the Adventures of Superman title, then he outright ignored the fact that Wolfman had Cat leaving Metropolis at the end of his run, and now, in this issue, Cat is suddenly the office flirt/slut who Clark says, "...just doesn't get it...Cat's not my type. Maybe she's trying too hard, but her whole approach just leaves me cold!" They were DATING only two months back, and it appeared to be getting serious. Now she's the office bicycle?
Minor details:
- I had no idea Ty Templeton did inking. I'm most familiar with him as the writer/editor/idea man behind the 2005 Revolution on the Planet of the Apes series (which I adored). Apparently, the guy can do anything.
- So did Byrne really co-create Checkmate! or is this another circumstance in which the co-creator later goes on to debate his involvement? Seems like Wolfman and Claremont have both had these issues with him.
- Why introduce Konig Industries iat the beginning of this issue as a cover for a terrorist group and then never address them again? Will this be followed up on in Checkmate!?
- Why is the United Nations meeting in Metropolis instead of New York?
- In a comic book universe that's gone to some clear lengths to avoid insulting specific Arab nations and peoples, I find it surprising to have one of the terrorists in this issue specifically invoke the name "Allah" and to have one of the directors of Checkmate refer to the Arab diplomat as a "Towel-headed bozo" before blowing him up, to which a second director responds, "Right."
- Interesting that, while one terrorist group is clearly misogynistic, the terrorist group opposing them (yes, this is quite confusing) has a female terrorist working for them that the Checkmate! agent ends up killing. At first, it looked like Lois in disguise. Of course, she was somewhere else at the time.
- I have no idea what these two terrorist groups are fighting each other for, but if they're both from Qurac, how come one group is Arabic and the other appears to be white?
- On page 19, Lois watches the diplomat's plane take off, followed on page 20 by her seeing a big explosion in the sky. I had assumed the diplomat's plane had blown up. In fact, this was supposed to be the bomb Superman removed from the nuclear carrier, and the diplomat's plane then blows up on page 22. Byrne could have made this A LOT less confusing by showing the plane in the sky when the first explosion occurred.
So what was Checkmate!'s mission in this issue? We never saw them try to extract information about the terrorist group's plans. All they did was prevent the diplomat from getting killed by another terrorist group and then kill him themselves once he was off US soil, but that wasn't even what the agent appeared to be deployed to do in the first place since the diplomat hadn't been captured yet at that point. Were they trying to keep him away from The United Nations assembly? All he was going there to do was denounce Superman.
plot synopsis:
The directors of Checkmate! are discussing Konig Industries as a front for terrorism, the fact that their mole in the organization was probably exposed and killed, and their concern about their affiliate, Khareemali, a foreign diplomat from Qurac coming to Metropolis to address the United Nations, Superman reminds us of all the problems he's dealing with (Lois thinks he's been working with Clark to scoop her on Superman stories, Lana is recovering from her Manhunters brainwashing, Jose Delgado is crippled, he fought a Booster Gold clone a few weeks back, Lex Luthor is up to something...somewhere, he has a crush on Wonder Woman, and Qurac wants to denounce Superman at the United Nations general assembly), we learn that Clark detests Cat and thinks she's a slut, Lois upsets the Quraci diplomat and gets whipped by him, some other terrorists show up and capture them both (I get confused at this point as to what group is fighting for what), Superman learns that a nuclear aircraft carrier has been abducted by terrorists, a Checkmate! agent frees Lois and sends the Quraci diplomat on his plane home, Superman encounters another group of terrorists (I am so confused) holding the crew of the carrier hostage, another Checkmate! agent intervenes and helps him, Superman gets the explosive they were going to use into the sky before it blows, and the Checkmate! directors blow up the Quraci diplomat's plane once it's on its way back to Qurac.
In the end, the plot of this issue didn't make a whole lot of sense, but perhaps this all gets cleared up in the first issue of Checkmate!
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 8:55:07 GMT -5
The World of Krypton #4
"Family History" story: John Byrne pencils: Mike Mignola inks: Carlos Garzon colors: Petra Scotese letters: John Workman editor: Michael Carlin based on characters created by: Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster
grade: C-
On a lot of levels, this series ties together well. Byrne has managed to make the scope of this series both sprawling and tight, as the first issue covered Krypton's Golden Age, the second captured the the great war and its wake, the third introduced Jor-El, and the fourth one ties all of that to present day Superman. Additionally, while the end doesn't match up, line for line, with Man of Steel #1, it does connect neatly. Byrne indicated in an early letter column that he'd regretted beginning Man of Steel with Jor-El and Lara, but he's managed to sneak up on that original story from behind and add enough new layers to it so as to make the thing feel completely different. We return to that familiar opening scene with a new lens of understanding.
Still, the concept at the core of this story -- the idea that a human-like race would ever, as a result of its evolution into a more civilized age, completely forget its desire for sex, love, and progeny, as well as the idea that barbarism should be embraced in contrast -- is an absurdly artificial dichotomy that makes no sense and doesn't seem even remotely believable to me. However, Byrne's ultimate point (take it or leave it) is that Van-L's need to think outside the box in order to listen to his own morality, and Jor-El's quest for love and contact (inspired by Van-L) gave Superman his humanity. I don't buy it, though. Superman is not some iconoclastic deviant fighting the system, nor would he find the ferocity of culture-devastating battle enjoyable in the way that Jor-El does. I don't see him as a part of that same legacy as much as Byrne would like us to. t
I suspect the problem is that Byrne, himself, sees no use for Krypton in terms of Superman's characterization. He was raised by Ma and Pa Kent since infanthood in this continuity; they were his world and upbringing, so finding any sort of relevance in what happened on Krypton is challenging, but certainly the stories of Van-L and Jor-El that Byrne weaved in this limited series didn't help any.
Important Details:
-Superman gives his origin story to Lois for her to publish in the Daily Planet. This includes key information like the name of planet Krypton and Superman's Kryptonian name (Kal-El).
- For the first time in quite a while, Lois indicates again that she is beginning to fall for Clark. Superman is surprised when she admits this to him (why tell this to someone else you're clearly attracted to???), yet Lois said as much directly to Clark in Superman #1, well over a year ago.
- Van L is Superman's grandfather a thousand generations removed. Superman's more immediate lineage was: * Don-El: Great great grandfather * Ter-El: Great grandfather * Seyg-El: grandfather (it's STILL clever, but couldn't there have been a Shust-Er somewhere on Krypton too?) *Jor-El: weird delinquent father (I'll get into this more in the "Minor Details" section...)
Continuity Watch:
This issue hit stands a week after Action Comics #597, yet, in this story, Lois is still trying to figure out how Clark gets the scoop on all his Superman stories. In Action #597, Superman is forced to tell Lois the lie that he and Clark were raised together by the Kents, leaving her to believe that Superman had been aiding Clark out of nepotism. Seems like it would make more sense for Superman to give this story to Lois as reparations for the events of Action #597, yet this story is written as if that issue hadn't yet occurred.
Minor Details:
- Mignola is now credited as penciler in this issue, with new inker Carlos Garzon simply credited as "inker" this time.
- Why would Jimmy now be commonly known as "Superman's Pal"? We've only seen Superman help him once in the year and a quarter since Superman #1 began. Since that time, Byrne (and sometimes Wolfman) made it clear that we were watching events in near real-time -- ten issues worth of stories sometimes occurring in a single week. We know Jimmy has the signal watch though, so perhaps he was using it more prior to Superman #1?
- Clark indicates that Lois got most of the Superman stories "last year." It's unclear how much time has passed since Superman #1, but it's likely that it's been far less than a year at this point, and we certainly haven't seen Lois getting Superman stories, so I suppose this supports the idea that Byrne is eluding to events that transpired between Man of Steel #1 and Superman #1.
- Lois' statement that, "...Kent's been wearing down my resistance a lot, lately" to an overly excited Superman further suggests that Byrne is looking to completely undo Clark's previously developing relationship with Cat Grant. Apparently, it now never happened. I can comprehend (though not support) the idea that Byrne is trying to toss out any ideas Wolfman implemented that weren't his own, but wasn't it Byrne who had Cat answer the door for a jealous Lois while Clark was in the shower a few issues back?
- Why does Superman assume that Earth will one day have a war as devastating as the one on Krypton, but yet "You don't need to know the REASONS for that war, since such things will likely never happen HERE..."? Let's get this straight. This is a far more scientifically advanced modern day, thanks to Lexcorp, in which villains regularly utilize energy weapons in bank hold ups, and in which at least one villain used a personal teleporter developed by Lexcorp, and Superman is concerned that a full out war may one day obliterate civilization as it once did on Krypton, yet cloning will never be a possibility in mankind's future?
- Seriously, Byrne sets his time periods like a 5 year old. The second issue occurred a thousand years after the first one, Jor El's time was "a thousand centuries" after that, and now we're told that Van L was Superman's grandfather "a thousand generations removed." Unless each Kryptonian generation is measured in 100 years, those numbers don't work anyway (and, in fact, we learn in this issue that Kryptonians live far longer than that and almost never procreate, thus not creating new generations). So yeah -- this is stupid.
- Kryptonian war suits gradually evolved into their black metallic under garments. Superman explains that babies were given them at birth, so where's Superman's?
- Last issue, we learned that Jor El was obsessed with the violence and ferocity of the past, shunned the outside world in favor of historical files, and broke social protocol by demanding to see what the mother of his invitro child would look like. If that wasn't painting a disturbing enough picture of a deranged pervert, we now learn that Jor El began secretly stalking Lara and spent all his time watching videos of her. What the heck? Why do Superman (and, by extension, Byrne) seem to think highly of this??? Jor El must have owned a lot of Police albums...
- If Lara was a librarian who maintained Krypton's records then, 1) why wouldn't she already know Jor-El, who spends all his time seeking out and viewing old records (and, if he already had them without her help, then why does Krypton need a historical records librarian?), and 2) why is she so shocked by Jor-El's description of Krypton's past towards the end of the issue? Shouldn't she know at least as much about it as he does?
- If Kryptonians, as a rule, don't desire a relationship with their in vitro offspring, then why does Lara suddenly care so much about what happens to Kal El at the end? She kind of falls in line with Jor El pretty conveniently, knowing nothing about the past she should be an expert in so that he can explain everything and be the knowledgeable one, and developing feelings for the offspring on a dime simply because Jor El wants her to (and, let's be clear, she and Jor El have never even met prior to this moment). I don't think Byrne was too interested in developing her character and motivations, though. She's simply a love interest to be admired, a womb to provide eggs for fertilization, and a captive/sympathetic/appropriately ignorant and shocked audience for Jor El. Byrne sucks at writing women.
- So, if Kryptonians never see each other and don't appear to even communicate with each other (Jor El didn't know hundreds of Kryptonians were dying until he had his robots go spying and violate their privacy), then how is this a functioning society at all?
- Why would a Kryptonian birth matrix be built to withstand the strain of traveling through hyperspace?
Plot synopsis in one sentence: Superman gives Lois the story of Krypton for a Daily Planet exclusive, she reveals that she is warming up to Clark, we learn what happened just prior to Man of Steel #1 and that Jor-El and Lara had not met previously, as well as the fact that Kan-Zee's final act in World of Krypton #3 ended up causing Krypton's "Green Death" a hundred thousand years later, and Superman explains that he feels Jor-El gave him his humanity.
Very flawed issue in many respects, but it also accomplished what Byrne set out for it to do.
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 9:06:28 GMT -5
World of Smallville #1
"Secrets" writer: John Byrne pencils: Kurt Schaffenberger inks: Alfredo Alcala letters: Carrie Spiegle colors: Petra Scotese editor: Mike Carlin
grade: B
I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed this issue. It certainly contained problems that I will get into, but Byrne does a pretty strong job of painting a compelling romance story, working on its own merits without the help of action sequences nor fantastic elements, with pretty likable characters and, best of all, it defies expectation. The cover spells out the shock surprise of the issue (that Ma Kent had been previously married -- funny how that wouldn't be shocking at all in 2013), but Byrne doesn't rely on that to drive the story. Where one would expect the first husband (Dan Fordman) to be somehow villanous and to have somehow forced Martha into marriage (initially, Byrne lays hints to make us suspect this), that's not where he goes at all. Dan Fordman seems like a pretty likable and selfless character at this point, and I'll be very disappointed if Byrne ends up taking that away and going the predictable route instead next issue.
Perhaps Fordman, a rich and altruistic man who loves Martha, will serve as a foil to Lex Luthor's relationship with her in World of Metropolis (I only know the basics of that story).
Though I dearly miss Mignola's pencils in this issue (Schaffenberger draws weird faces), I respect the decision to use a different artist. Mignola's pencils worked well in shaping a fantastic alien world. Smallville is a drastically different "world," and a change in penciller shows this clearly. Nice choice, Carlin, Byrne, or whoever made the call.
Important Details:
- We've seen the statue of Smallville's founder before, but this is the first time we can clearly see his name is Ezrah Small.
- Clark continues to use his same method of sneaking back into Smallville through the bus station, pretending that's how he arrived.
- Pete Ross gets mentioned. We've only seen the Post-Crisis Pete once before during Millenium. We're also introduced to Maisee Nagel, another childhood friend of Clark's, and learn that her husband is Josh.
- Martha Kent's maiden name was Clark (thus explaining Clark's name). Did Byrne create this fact, or did it exist pre-Crisis?
- Martha Kent and Jonathan Kent had been childhood friends and had been expected to marry one day.
- Jonathan went to war, fought in the Pacific Theater, and was missing in action and a POW for a total of 5 years.
- During that time, Martha married Daniel Fordman, a wealthy but sickly peer from Smallville who had saved her family's store from the greed of Dan's father. According to the cover, they married on September 30, 1944.
- First appearance (in flashback) of Clark's grandfather (on the Kent side) and his Aunt Sarah ("Aunt Sal"). Both apparently died before Clark arrived on Earth.
- No mention of Jonathan Kent having a mother. Perhaps she was already deceased by this point?
- Jonathan Kent was an avid fan of science fiction and an athlete
- Jonathan had a brother (Harry) who died (possibly also in WWII?)
Continuity Alerts:
- Adventures of Superman #430 stated that it was Martha and Jonathan's 48th anniversary. That would have them getting married in 1939, yet it's 1945 in this story, and they are not yet married. I'm used to the idea of Byrne actively ignoring aspects of Wolfman's run that he didn't like at this point, but to just completely ignore key details like this one provided in a Wolfman story? Absurd. I can't imagine he's going to have Johnathan and Martha decide to celebrate their first date instead of their actual wedding or something in order to make this work.
- Upon returning to Smallville at the start of the framing story, Clark goes on and on about how he can always count on Smallville to remain unchanged and predictable everytime he returns to it, yet last time he was here (only two months ago in real time, so even less in continuity time based on what Byrne has maintained thus far), he found the town taken over by Manhunters and learned that everyone born in Smallville after him was a Manhunter sleeper agent. Pa Kent also comments that this is the longest amount of time Clark has ever been away when, again, he'd just been there. Both this and the continuity issue in World of Krypton #4, in which Lois still wondered how Clark got all his Superman scoops after this had already been addressed in the previous week's issue of Action Comics) suggest these limited series were written ahead of time and either published on a different schedule than Byrne had anticipated or written without regard to what Byrne would ultimately decide to do in the regular titles.
Minor Details:
- We're used to the heavy-handed and simplistic preaching Byrne often does in his stories in order to tackle social issues that concern him. This time around though, he takes an impressively subtle and effective approach in having Jonathan briefly reconnect with an African American elevator operator, reminding us that African Americans served in WWII as well, and then having Jonathan reflect how sad it is that the man can do no better than be an elevator operator for the rest of his life, further noting that the War had opened up his mind about a lot of things.
- Cute that Jonathan Kent corrects Aunt Sal about referring to the Japanese as "Japs" now that the war is over, since Superman's most infamous and still well-remembered World War II cover urges Americans to "Slap a Jap" by buying war bonds.
- Interesting that, while World of Krypton was concerned with the El family legacy, spanning hundreds of thousands of years in its scope, World of Smallville starts right away with Ma and Pa Kent. This further supports the idea that The Kents hold more importance in Clark's life and his identity -- the two of them equal in importance to his entire Kryptonian legacy (history and family included).
plot synopsis in one sentence:
Clark returns home to Smallville and has his parents randomly and not at all naturally bring up the hidden past about Martha's previous marriage to Dan Fordman, and everyone is a little overly shocked at the end when we learn that Dan asked Jonathan to take Martha away from him since he was dying.
Okay, so there were significant writing flaws in this issue, and Schaffenberger draws weird faces, but it was still strong storytelling overall.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 9:24:38 GMT -5
Superman (1987) #16
"He Only Laughs When I Hurt" story and pencils: John Byrne inks: Karl Kesel colors: Tom Ziuko letter: John Costanza editor: Michael Carlin
grade: D
Boy...where do I start? Ummm, okay, this is the first post-Crisis appearance of The Prankster and...well, I'm just going to do it like this:
What kind of sucked about this issue:
- Byrne's pacing, for one. After having Superman reflect on "the high points" of his adventures over the past year (of course, Byrne only covers the ones he wrote), Supes reflects on how "Morgan Edge and his Galaxy Communications Network have been on my case for my intervention in Qurac." Wait...what??? When did this happen??? Surely enough, it didn't. Edge and his media network are first introduced in this issue. Byrne feels the need to jump right into this awkwardly, yet can devote half a page to showing that the Prankster covered a subway tunnel in popcorn.
- Jimmy sitting on his mom's floor, watching "Uncle Oswald." 16 months later, I still can't get a fix on how old Jimmy is. We got our first real glimpse of him in Superman #4 and, at the time, he seemed far older, more mature, and independent. Of course, Andy Helfer was still editor back then and pushing for a new, more mature approach to Superman. This entire story is a clear reminder that, sans Helfer, Byrne wants to pretend its 1957 again and he's Mort Weisinger.
- Yet another frickin' high profile personality trying to defame a superhero as being dangerous to society. How many frickin' times are we going to replay this same plotline? I can't decide whether it makes it worse or better that, as I'm thinking "this guy is a carbon copy of G. Glorious Godfrey" from Legends, we find out Byrne is thinking the same thing, having Darkseid control this guy.
- In what way is this version of The Prankster in any way a formidable or even appropriate villain for Superman? Shouldn't Supes be able to end this guy in five seconds flat??
What completely sucked about this issue:
- The Prankster's scheme. I mean, what the heck? So he started hoarding freebies from sponsors years ago in order to enact this plan in case his ratings ever dropped. Even if you can buy that, what IS his plan? Sure, he's drumming up lots of attention, but what's he going to do with it? It's not like anyone's going to put him back on the air after escaping from the law, and what was his point in allowing himself to be captured in the first place? And why doesn't Superman just keep pursuing him at the end? Does he have a way of stopping Superman's super speed, super hearing, and super vision?? This makes absolutely no sense.
- Going along with that, how in the world did he execute all these pranks? Corporate sponsorship and hoarding don't explain how you make a hundred foot rubber flower shoot out of the ground or detonate hundreds of bags of popcorn remotely, nor how he has giant stuffed animals HOLDING Lois against her will (did he recruit henchmen?) And, of course, The Prankster built a trap door in Edge's building that ejects out into the very exterior frame of the structure without anyone noticing, and Edge just happens to stand exactly over that precise spot where it's located. Byrne doesn't seem to be concerned about any of this. Seriously, Byrne, if you're looking for an excuse to have Superman battle stupid stupid sh*t, just say it's been 90 days and bring back Mxyzptlk.
- Byrne's portrayal of television of the past. He has his characters argue that TV of today is somehow superior to programming of the past by containing "messages" and by not depicting violence while portraying cartoons clearly intended to resemble Masters of the Universe, G.I. Joe, Smurfs, Transformers, (ironically) Superman, and Popeye. Okay, Lois is clearly ambivalent about the shows, herself; let's be fair. But then The Prankster goes on to say:
"My ratings are declining because kiddies today have no interest in the old values. A pie in the face means nothing to them. Seltzer down the pants does not whisper to them of a grand tradition! It does not speak of two hundred years of baggy pants comedians! Who among them watches the old shows? Who loves W.C. Fields, the Three Stooges, The Marx Brothers...?"
I sure hope Byrne is trying to be absurd here, but if you're going to have a character portray a culture that we are now losing touch with in such an unfair manner, shouldn't someone somehow counter-balance the perception or at least make some comment to indicate that he's off the mark? That is not at all a fair depiction of Vaudeville comedy. If anything, it perpetuates an absurd stereotype that really bugs me. There was so much quality in that era. Truthfully, I don't think Byrne understands or cares about that style of comedy at all. Otherwise, The Prankster's pranks would have born some resemblance to the better gags of the era and, as a result, a lot funnier. I'm curious, then, as to why he chose this motif for The Prankster? Why give so much attention to something that doesn't interest you?
What was actually good about this issue:
- Supergirl's entrance at the end. WOW!!
Important Details:
- 1st post Crisis appearance of The Prankster (did we really need him, though? He's like a suckier Mxyzptlk).
- 1st post Crisis appearance of Supergirl
- 1st appearance of Pete Shoemaker, Jimmy Olsen's homeless friend
- More indications that Byrne's Superman stories happen days, not weeks, apart as we are told that Superman #11 occurred less than 90 days ago (it's been five months in real time).
plot synopsis in one sentence:
A new media mogul, Morgan Edge, is trying to denounce Superman, The Prankster, a vetern children's show star, decides to start playing deadly pranks on the city, holds Lois Lane hostage, allows himself to be captured, and then escapes as a means of boosting his popularity, we learn that Morgan Edge is working for Darkseid, Superman rescues Edge from The Prankster, and Supergirl crashes to Earth, unconscious, in Antarctica.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 9:33:37 GMT -5
Adventures of Superman #439
"Tin Soldiers" co-plotters: John Byrne and Jerry Ordway writer: John Byrne pencils: Jerry Ordway inks: John Beatty letters: Albert De Guzman colors: Tony Tollins editor: Mike Carlin
grade: B
Dammit! Byrne had me going there for a moment. I was ACTUALLY really enjoying this issue. Byrne made it clear a while back that he envisioned different identities for each of the Superman titles: Action is the team-up title (though that's about to change), "Superman" seems to be where Byrne has the bulk of his fun and does the bulk of his preaching, and I still haven't pinned down what the post-Wolfman Adventures of Superman is about yet (perhaps a greater focus on the Daily Planet supporting cast?), but there's no doubt that Ordway's pencils (check out that cover, as well as pages 2 and 3!) and co-plotting are helping.
So this story was really starting to captivate me -- beginning with a thoroughly pummeled Superman, bringing back Jose DelGado, creating a mystery intriguing enough that I forgave the absurdity of the "I've been turned into a robot!" premise, and leaving me scrambling to solve that mystery throughout the issue (Was it really Hank Henshaw? Metallo?? They mentioned Prof. Emil Hamilton earlier; maybe he's involved???), but no. We're back to Superman building robot doubles of himself. Again, Byrne brings back the most absurd of the Weisinger Era Superman mythos. All that's left are the Super Pets.
Of course, at the end of the issue, Superman decides that he'll never use the robots again, but that actually irks me further because:
1. Then why even go there. It's an absurd idea, and when Lois legitimately asks the question I've always wanted to know about such robots ("But...how did you build the thing, Superman?"), his pat response is "Let's just say...it got built, Lois."
2. Superman's rationale for deciding not to use them anymore makes no sense. Sure, it didn't fully succeed in saving the day, but it's better than nothing when Superman isn't around. I think I'll use that same logic for Byrne. "Hey John, yeah, sorry, but this one issue failed to entertain me, so I'm going to fire you now and just have no one write the comic instead since you aren't 100% reliable." Actually, that's not a bad idea...
As a final sad note, I realize I liked this Superman better than Byrne's real mccoy. It was refreshing to have an issue in which Superman neither complains, doubts himself, nor gives excessive attention to his having the hots for Wonder Woman. This guy felt like the Superman I remember and admire. Funny how Byrne keeps dredging up the silly aspects of Superman's Pre-Crisis legacy but misses the stuff that actually mattered.
Incidentally, for those of you looking for more info about Supergirl, you won't find it in this issue. While we hear more of the same about Mr. Edge and Galaxy Communications defaming Superman in this issue, we learn nothing more about what's going on with Supergirl. Guess Byrne wants that one all to himself.
Important Details:
-This issue marks the first mention of Professor Emil Hamilton since his memorable first appearance in Adventures of Superman #425 (14 months ago in real-time; a lot less in Superman's). Apparently, Clark is keeping in touch with him (from prison?).
- In regard to where Metropolis is located, "It's quite a way from Metropolis to Manhattan...a lot of isolated stretches to drive along." Not much of a help, but interesting.
Continuity alerts:
1. Cat goes out of her way to remind us of her custody battle and the fact that her ex lives in New York. This is a perfect opportunity for Byrne to have her say something like, "I hope I made the right decision by deciding not to move there," but no; he's still going to pretend Wolfman didn't have Cat moving permanently to New York "tomorrow" at the end of his run.
2. Again, how old is Jimmy? He owns a car and is trusted to drive a woman and her young son great distances, yet he sits on his mother's living room floor to watch Uncle Oswald each day (see Superman #16).
3. Jose DelGado heard about Lois' "big fight with Superman." What big fight? The whole thing about Clark getting Superman exclusives because they were raised as brothers (or so Lois believes) in Action #597? How could that have been made public? Weren't Lana Lang and the Kents the only witnesses? I suppose she might have publicly blown up at him again later, but it's odd for Byrne to phrase it as if there was a definitive public confrontation we should all be remembering. Or have I forgotten something important here?
Minor Details:
1. Umm, so what was up with that militia? Not even going to try to give them any kind of a backstory or ethos? They're just weirdo bad guys to be taken down?
2. If the Superman robot really did think it was Superman, why would it bring Lois and Clark with it to a battle? In what way did it expect them to help?
3. Sure enough, they do help, using rifles far more expertly than the trained militia they are opposing. Granted, Lois is a former army brat who her dad trained to be tough, and Clark has super abilities, but at least explain this, Byrne.
4. Why does Clark know the sheriff of the random county that Jimmy and Cat broke down in on a first name basis?
5. Cat's son has been through a lot of sh*t in this title over the past year. He's gonna need some serious therapy when he gets older.
6. If Superman can build a robot to respond to Jimmy's signal watch when Superman is half-way around the world and out of range, couldn't he more easily just build a relay that bounces the watch's signal to him when he's half-way around the world?
7. There were lots of clever little details in this issue, like the Superman robot's almost logical explanation for why vital stats monitors wouldn't work on him, the misdirection we're offered several times when the story jumps in time and place , etc. It seems like this issue received more thought than most. But still, we have #8 to contend with...
8. Superman: I've been turned into a ROBOT!!
Lois: N-NO-OOO!!!
Plot synopsis in one sentence:
Jimmy is driving Cat and her son to New York to share custody with her ex until the hearing when Jimmy's car breaks down, they see something that causes Jimmy to want to signal Superman, we flash forward (though this is unclear at the time) to Superman falling from the sky and straight through a high rise (awesome visual) thoroughly pummeled, Lois is expressing her feelings to Jose DelGado in the hospital (apparently, she's in love with him again and not Clark -- but just last week in Superman #16...!, oh well), she is met by Perry who tells her Superman is in the hospital, Superman reveals that he is turning into a robot, Clark arrives(!!!) and they work together to try to help "Superman" remember what happened, as well as address the question of whether he is who he says he is, they figure out that this Superman really was with Jimmy and Cat and that they are in trouble, this Superman takes them there, it's a compound run by paramilitary extremists who think Cat and Jimmy were snooping, Superman, Clark, and Lois save the day, but the robot Superman is destroyed in the process, we learn that the robot was built by Superman to respond to Jimmy's signal watch when he was out of range and that he plans to stop building them because the robot wasn't successful in protecting Jimmy and Cat.
In the end, this story had great potential, but Byrne flushes it down the toilet in order to rekindle his boyhood fancy once again.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 9:46:13 GMT -5
Superman: The Earth Stealers writer: John Byrne pencils: Curt Swan inks: Jerry Ordway colors: Bill Wray letters: ? editor: ?
grade: B-
It's interesting to view this release in the context of the emerging graphic novel medium. DC was clearly in the midst of experimentation/marketing research in 1988. They'd experienced success with the limited series (most notably DKR, Watchmen, and Man of Steel), they'd already begun releasing reprint anthologies in the form of premium Archive Editions, softcover tpbs of high interest stories such as Batman: Year One, Man of Steel, Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, etc (and I believe The Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told had recently hit shelves), but, to the best of my knowledge, this was only DC's second original content graphic novel.
The first (again, as far as I know) was Batman: Son of the Demon. While that volume was 80 pages long and initially released in a gorgious premium hardback edition, this follow up graphic novel, released a year later, comes off far less impressive. Without even discussing its content, Earth Stealers is a paltry 47 pages and was only released in an inexpensive softcover format with no forward, afterward, nor supplemental information of any kind. Perhaps DC was experimenting with a less expensive format? It just seems odd that a property currently enjoying three monthly series and an ongoing parade of limited series wouldn't receive its first graphic novel with a little more gusto than this. Perhaps this was an early sign that DC was cooling to Byrne? He'll be off of Action Comics in three more months and leaving the entire franchise only three months after that, complaining that he wasn't supported enough by the DC editorial staff (boy, wait until I get into this one with my review of Superman #22...). Or perhaps someone at DC took a look at Earth Stealers and simply decided it wasn't going to amount to a big deal.
Essentially, if I wanted to compress all that the Byrne Superman run is, the good and the bad, into 47 pages, this would be it. You've got the clear affection for the Weisinger Era Superman stories nodded to with an absurd sci-fi plot (and, of course, Curt Swan signed on for penciling chores -- which I'll get into later in this review), an odd attempt to handle such a story with a little more depth and thought that sometimes works, more often doesn't, and generally comes at the cost of capturing any of the simplistic charm of those early stories, an overly cynical, complaining, and sarcastically joking Superman that's hard to admire, and plot holes a mile wide. All that's really missing is the heavy handed preaching and an unflattering stereotypical depiction of a minority group.
To be fair, Earth Stealers encaptures ALL of Byrne's approach to Superman (Barda sex tapes aside), and so it is successful at times too. He certainly lends more sci-fi authenticity to the premise than a Superman story from 1957 would have, going into detail about the resources required to build so massive a ship as the one that is doing the "Earth stealing," and attempting to explain how an advanced race might move through space so efficiently via a sort of tear in space (that I assume functions like a wormhole or space-fold), but then he also leaves nagging little problems like how there's still light on Earth (and, in fact, blinding light) when the Earth has been ensnared in a semi-permeable black aura and is being carried away from the sun at faster than light speed. There are a million smaller problems as well, but they aren't worth getting into. Essentially, Byrne hits that same old uncomfortable balance of simple/fun and mature/thoughtful, never quite mastering either tone, and leaving me entirely unclear on how much suspension of disbelief to afford him. And, of course, he still misses the point that the true innate charm of those old Superman stories was the character, himself, as a beacon of goodness that we could all believe in, even when he felt the need to have some fun at Lois' expense. Byrne's Superman is a jaded whiner throughout this story, and it irks me.
What should be the high point of this volume is Curt Swan's return to Superman. You'd think that would be the key factor to highlight, but a number of odd choices are made, all of which diminish Swan's impact upon the story:
1. Having Ordway ink over Swan's pencils. Don't get me wrong. I like Ordway, but his style is completely different from Swan's and takes away any sense of charming nostaliga that one would expect Swan's pencils to provide.
2. Having Ordway do the cover. WHY??? If you've brought back Swan to do Superman, shouldn't the cover be advertising this fact?
3. To go along with this, Swan is credited second on the cover (after Byrne).
4. Maybe he declined the offer, but it seems like it would have been fun to allow Swan to co-plot this story. I don't know how much input he had for the old stories, but he certainly knew that style of plotting better than Byrne does.
In the end, this was somewhat fun in its execution, but there's still that weird uncomfortable balance between modern and retro going on in both the writing and the artwork, and diminishing Swan's contributions to the issue on so many levels really disappoints me as well.
Continuity Alerts:
- Lexcorp has its hands in more things than we'd previously been led to believe. They are now outfitting NASA (if, in fact, the space agency depicted in this story is NASA) with technology that is beyond its own capabilities, and WLEX is quickly emerging as a leading news source in Metropolis, frequently scooping other news sources because, "they're boss, Lex Luthor, creates most of the best stories."
- Superman's ability to hold his breath for several hours at a time is a byproduct of his super fast metabolism (Superman, himself, explains this, but how would he know this?).
- Lois begins to suspect that Clark is Superman and explains her rationale to Perry White. I thought the one dimension of the Superman reboot Byrne was most proud of was the idea that no one would suspect Superman had an alternate identity. He outright mocked the concept and called it "lazy writing" in his preface to the Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman tpb; a preface that was written years after this story. Yet he's now played this card twice in two years of writing Superman (the first time being in Superman #2 when Luthor is confronted with this possibility too).
Lois and Superman share a passionate kiss (they're first in the Post-Crisis) when they believe all may be lost. Afterwards, Superman tells her:
"You...don't have to say anything, Lois, Nothing is really changed by what happened aboard the gatherer. We both have...things to come to terms with. When you're ready, I'll be here."
What things does Superman have to come to terms with? And let's keep in mind this kiss comes one month (probably only a matter of days, by their time) after Lois confided in Superman that she had feelings for Clark, and that happened almost concurrently with her visiting Jose DelGado in the hospital and telling him that Superman was nothing and her feelings were for him.
Does Byrne at least realize he's doing this?
And wow, providing a moment as pivotal as Superman and Lois' first kiss outside of the regular Superman titles? I wonder how many of the regular readers actually picked up Earth Stealers? It's not like it was even solicited in the regular Superman titles, so how many other readers completely missed this moment, unaware of this dinky little direct-market only graphic novel and/or assuming it was unimportant?
Minor Details
- As has become customary, Byrne begins this story with Superman either reflecting on all the adventures we've watched him face as of late or an adventure he's just coming back from that we didn't read about in order to perpetuate the idea that he's always busy and these adventures are only the highlights. The latter is again true this time, as he explains he just got back from dealing with a burning oil tanker in the Persian Gulf.
- An unusual amount of agnosticim comes through in the early parts of this issue as, on the very first page, an engineer on the Moonbase informs his colleagues they should worship at "the first church of me" because he fixed a problem and, only, two pages later, Superman reflects, "...all the RIGHT gods must have been watching over me today." Personally, I've no qualms with comic book writers espousing religious, agnostic, nor athiestic view in their pages when appropriate, but...it's Superman. You know, the American Way and all that? Surely, impressionable kids were reading.
- John Byrne beats Superman: Red Son by thirteen years in having a Russian Cosmonaut ponder out loud how things would have worked out differently if Superman had arrived on Earth in Russia instead of America.
- On page 4, Clark stares after Jimmy Olsen and thinks, "But you've still got all the makings of a FINE reporter. Agile of mind, and body...". Creeeeeepy.
- Gee, Perry. Maybe the reason WLEX gets the news leaks faster is that they aren't working in the print medium. How in the world is a paper that gets released in two daily editions going to scoop a radio news network in a fair fight?
- I'll accept the premise that Superman can hold his breath for several hours, but wouldn't that all get thrown out the window when he gets knocked unconscious in space?
- Not the first time that Superman makes a comment like, "Let's face it, I've been playing this game too long to..." yet every clue we've been offered about Byrne's Post-Crisis Timeline suggests that Superman first became Superman in 1984, and that the current day is still 1987. Does serving as Metropolis' protector for three years really afford him the right to refer to that time as a "game" he's been playing for a long while now? Tireless as the work may be, he must still be figuring things out.
- Upon speculating whether or not the space vessel is intending to harm Superman, he comments that, "Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, when I've been attacked in the past, the attacker meant it." Maybe I'm being nitpicky on this one, but I can think of at least two adventures off the top of my head where the attacker didn't mean it (Titano and the irradiated nuclear engineer, and even then you've got murkier examples like Prof. Emil Hamilton and Combattor, and note that I'm coming up with these from memory; I'm sure there have been more examples), and there's no way we've seen a hundred Superman adventures yet. Maybe every single one of those minor adventures we haven't seen involved antagonists who meant to hurt Supes?
- "Forgive the cliche, but...where am I?" I'm sorry? That's a cliche?
- Why does Superman still have super powers in the absence of Earth's yellow sun? Heck, he's initially drained and waits for his powers to recover aboard the Earth Stealers' ship, yet there is no sun of any kind around.
- When the Earth Stealers scan Superman's brain to relive each and every one of his memories (what a useless procedure to employ on a minor threat to your ship), the visual includes key figures in Superman's life including his Kryptonian parents (but not Ma and Pa Kent), and only two villains -- one of which is Metallo, a one-time villain from the first issue of Superman that didn't seem all that important. Why this particular selection of persons? Perhaps a crowd of figures, spanning beyond the width of the panel, would have been more appropriate? Of course, if the Earth Stealers had seen Ma and Pa Kent in Superman's memories, they would have been abducted instead of Lois, Jimmy, and Perry, and that would have cost this story much of its Weisinger Era feel.
- I love how Perry introduces himself to the alien leader as "Perry White, Managing Editor of the Daily Planet!" as if he expected that to mean something to him.
- The arena combat sequence on pages 32-34 is probably as fun as this story gets. GREAT Swan pencilwork!
- Okay, so Superman wins the match in the arena. Why in the world does that cause the aliens to abandon their ship, critical to the survival of their entire race? Couldn't they just sap Superman's strength again and capture him a second time? Could an ancient alien race have truly survived this long when making stupid and abitrary decisions like this one?
- We build up all this tension that Superman will likely die while pushing the Earth and moon back to the proper solar system, and then he just doesn't. No particular acknowledgement of "Wow! I made it -- just barely!" or "That was easier than I thought!" He just does it.
- We can make some assumptions, but Superman never makes clear his rationale for why he doesn't want this story published. Earth has faced potential destruction before in this continuity.
plot synopsis in one sentence:
An alien race that abducts planets to scrap into raw material captures Earth, Superman intervenes, is captured, has his memories scanned, and is then forced to fight in an arena for the fate of Earth and the lives of Lois, Jimmy and Perry, he wins, the aliens abandon ship (thus condemning their ancient race to extinction), and Superman returns things to normal, asking the Daily Planet not to publish what has happened, presumably since it would upset the order of things on Earth.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 10:11:53 GMT -5
Action Comics #599
"Element 26" story & figure inks: John Byrne background inks: Keith Williams colors: Petra Scotese letters: John Costanza editor: Michael Carlin special guest penciler: Ross Andru Metal Men created by: Bob Kanigher & Ross Andru
grade: B
This is the final team-up issue in Action Comics, as we have the special 600th issue next month, followed by the new Action Comics Weekly format beginning in #601. So what overlooked hero will Byrne bring in for the final team-up? Flash? Green Arrow? Doctor Fate? Orion? Blue Beetle? There are so many choices. Yet somehow, with nearly limitless options for fan favorite heroes to choose from, he brings back The Metal Men for a second time.
I can understand that Byrne has a clear affection for The Metal Men, and that there'd originally been plans to launch a new Metal Men series after the previous team-up that (for whatever reason) never came to pass, but then shouldn't Byrne at least use this issue to wrap up the mystery set up in that last story (that something is wrong with Wil Magnus)? It barely even gets touched upon in this issue as Byrne goes for a far more generic (but fun) romp.
In spite of this, I have to admit this was a pretty good issue, as far as Byrne goes. First off, the logic of the story holds together better than Byrne stories generally do. The Metal Men are a pretty ridiculous concept, so explaining their nature and abilities so well and having Lex Luthor tamper with them in such a logical way is a decent accomplishment. Secondly, Luthor building a giant Metal Man made of Kryptonite is quite simply a fun idea, as was his coaching a female employee to scream in order to attract Superman's attention. Something about the way Byrne set up the panel and the dialogue was simply...cute; heck I actually thought Byrne's Luthor had a personality for once in this story, displaying a level of humor and playfullness as he toyed with his adversaries, seemingly for fun (though I still don't understand Luthor's motivations after all this time. He had the ability to kill Superman in Superman #2 -- why is he biding his time, wasting such resources, and taking so many risks to play games with him? Byrne really should explain this).
Finally, for once, Byrne came close to doing something positive with Superman's characterization. Whereas, generally, Byrne has taken the idea of "depowering" Superman as meaning he should de-hero him and make him into a normal guy with normal flaws and superhuman powers, he comes close to grasping that Superman should be something more when he has him say:
"What a glorious day! The kind of day that makes me realize what being Superman is really all about...what having all these powers really means. And it has almost nothing to do with fighting crime...and a LOT to do with appreciating all the special wonders this world of our has to offer. Feeling the chill of the air without being bothered by it...seeing the intricate details of life's endless pageantry...being able to hear the most distant birdsong, or..."
No, I don't think that's what being Superman is really about at all, but at least Byrne is finally trying to see Superman as something more than a dude with powers. Byrne is finally starting to ask himself who both Superman and Lex Luthor should be. It just comes two years too late into this nearly finished creator run.
Minor Details:
- What's up with the title of this story? Isn't Iron element #26? This is a story about Tin.
- On page 7, the Metal Men look around and see Luthor standing in the same room they've been in for at least three pages now. How did they not notice him in all that time?
- It was subtle of Byrne to indicate earlier on that Tin never fully took on the properties of tin metal. It therefore makes it understandable that he doesn't fully take on the properties of Kryptonite when Luthor uses him against Superman later in the story.
- The logic of this story was COMPLETELY holding together in this issue (rare for Byrne, and rarer still for a concept as whacky as The Metal Men) when he suddenly has Luthor kill Dr. Tinker via a pace-maker that has been placed in his body as a safe-guard. Ummmm...how/when/why?
- Superman is far too laid back about Magnus threatening to dismantle the Metal Men at the close of the issue. Yes, they're robots, but they also have feelings and personalities.
Plot synopsis in one sentence:
The Metal Men brought Tin (destroyed in their previous appearance in Action Comics) to Dr. Tinker, a robotics expert that they feel can help since Dr. Magnus refuses to, they return to find out what the delay has been only to discover Dr. Tinker has changed Tin into some giant green robot, it turns out that Dr. Tinker works for Lex Luthor, Luthor destroys the Metal Men's bodies and takes their Responsometers (essentially the matrix of each Metal Man), he then sets a trap for Superman and turns Tin on him (who now has the external properties of Kryptonite), Superman comes to realize that, while the Kryptonite is hurting him, it is not a perfect duplicate and is not actually depowering him,Luthor escapes, Superman obtains the other responsometers and throws them into Tin's melted down molten chest, causing The Metal Men to reform out of Tin's body, Dr. Tinker is killed by remote, Superman returns the Metal Men to Dr. Magnus, Dr. Magnus is furious that they went off on their own, Superman vouches for them and stops them from seeking vengeance against Luthor because Luthor knows how to keep his nose clean.
"The Barma Baggers" (16 page Bonus Book) writer: Joe Calchi pencils: Britt Wisenbaker inks: James Scott letters: Dan McKinnon colors: Glenn Whitmore editor: Mike Carlin
grade: C+
This is the first DC bonus book I've actually found adequate. For those not familiar with the concept, for a brief time, DC would insert a 16 page bonus book into one title a month. These books featured the same characters but functioned as totally independent books, complete with their own cover, and the creative team was made up of newcomer talents that DC was trying out. It was a fun and clever concept, but these stories seemed to fizzle far more often than they succeeded.
This one stars Jimmy Olsen in his attempt to bust up a cult and make his name as a journalist at the same time. The plot is intriguing, and Calchi does his best to move it along quickly enough for what could have been a 44 page story to fit in 16 pages, but there are also elements of the story that don't come together quite right at the end. Jimmy's back story with "Rondo," a friend he was once in a band with who ended up making it big and then got taken in by this cult before leaving them everything and dying, felt forcefully tacked on to a story that would have worked just as well without it, and the ending, in which the cult leader suddenly has super powers and busts out of prison, ruined an otherwise well grounded story that was doing what all my favorite Superman stories do -- stay grounded and focused on the journalism/social justice angle, simply using Superman as a deus et machina.
Sure enough, Calchi does an excellent job catching the pulse of the Planet, with each member of the family feeling well defined and endearing. I appreciated that element of the story more than anything else.
Regarding the other talents, Wisenbaker shows a lot of promise, but his bodies are sometimes awkwardly proportioned, and Lois gains about 80 pounds on the second page for some reason. Scott is over-inking like there's no tomorrow in some places and hardly inking at all in others, and McKinnon leaves out at least two words in the story, and one happens in the very second panel (oops).
So the story is very rough around the edges, but it shows great potential as well. I'd love to see Byrne write the Daily Planet cast as well as Calchi does here.
Byrne Countdown: 28 issues left with him in creative control, 18 issues left actually written by him.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 10:19:48 GMT -5
Superman #17
"Cries in the Night" writer & pencils: John Byrne colors: Petra Scotese letters: John Costanza editor: Michael Carlin
grade: B+
Silver Banshee is the only villain Byrne has introduced thus far that seemed as though she was intended to come back, and here she is. Her power, turning people into shriveled corpses with her screams, is, of course, visually interesting, and her enigmatic backstory gets teased further along here, as we learn her last name (McDougal), either her name or a traditional word her clan has for what she has become ("Siobhan," pronounced "Shee-Vaughn"), meet her brother (Bevan), and learn that she has violated her family's most ancient tradition that has kept her clan strong for a thousand generations. However, we still never learn what book she has been looking for, why she feels she is running out of time, nor how she manages to keep appearing to destroy herself, only to come back whole again later.
But, truthfully, she's not the memorable part of this story.
Instead, it's watching Byrne continue to finally flesh out his cast of characters. In Action #599, he started becoming playful with Luthor and giving some real thought to who Superman is beyond his powers. In World of Smallville #2, he made Jonathan and Martha Kent come alive with characterization and integrity. Now he's spending a little more time on Clark and his quest to straighten out his priorities, balancing out a desire to take down Lex Luthor as a reporter since he's unable to do so as Superman (about time he arrived at this conclusion!) with his loyalty to both Perry White's demands and Jimmy Olsen's needs. We also learn more about Jimmy and watch Lois begin to get herself into trouble with some sort of underground work we'll be learning about in later issues. In short, rather than getting another run of the mill story in which Superman fights some super powered villain (though that does occur here), Byrne is finally paying attention to the characters who make up Superman's world and their appropriate characterizations. It's all coming two years late, but better late than never.
Fun issue that does a whole lot right. Really, the only problem with the issue is that the whole conflict with Silver Banshee is thoroughly anti-climactic. It feels like little more than a tease designed to keep us wanting to know more about the character (which I don't).
Important Details:
- Silver Banshee is from the clan McDougal, and is addressed by her brother as "Siobhan" (pronounced "Shee-Vaughn"). Her brother is Bevan, and he attempts to take her back to Scotland to answer for breaking her clan's most sacred tradition, responsible for keeping them strong for a thousand generations. Her powers are somehow connected to her vision -- she seems only to be able to generate enough power to kill what appears to be before her. Thus, if Superman is disguised as Clark Kent, she can only supply enough power to kill an ordinary human. This needs more explaining.
- Jimmy Olsen is under 21 years of age, the legal age of adulthood in Metropolis.
- Jimmy's mother is remarkably younger than she seemed in her previous appearances and explains that she had Jimmy when she was only 18 (making her no older than 38). Her husband is missing in action in Southeast Asia. Is there an intended parallel here with Jonathan and Martha Kent's story in World of Smallville? Mrs. Olsen even looks a bit like Ma Kent in her younger days.
Minor Details
- This issue ends with Wonder Woman's publicist, Mindy Mayor, having left a note for Clark to call her back. Events are building towards the big date in Action Comics #600, which I recall as having been a pretty useless story.
- 2nd appearance of Pete Shoemaker, Jimmy's homeless friend. I didn't really think Byrne intended to do anything with this character after his first appearance last issue, but he's back.
- Scotese, who usually fails to impress me with her coloring, positively comes alive in the bookstore scenes. Maybe she just doesn't handle empty spaces well.
- This is also some of the finest penciling I've seen Byrne do in some time.
- Maggie Sawyer's special anti-super villain unit is still comprised of only a handful of under-armed agents (two are visible this time. I believe there was a third last time they faced off with Silver Banshee). Perhaps Byrne has sort of a Howling Commandos concept for them here. We still know nothing about any of them.
Plot synopsis in one sentence:
Silver Banshee is back, Lois is about to go undercover on some dangerous assignment, Clark decides that his best means of taking down Lex Luthor is as a reporter, Perry has asked Clark to talk Mrs. Olsen into allowing Jimmy to continue working at the Planet (she thinks it's too dangerous), Clark and Jimmy run into Silver Banshee robbing a bookstore before they can talk to his mom, Maggie Sawyer and her special unit arrive on the scene, Clark disguises himself as Batman to throw off Silver Banshee's visually cued power, her brother, Bevan, intervenes, Silver Banshee escapes and Bevan disappears, Superman drops Jimmy off, meeting his mom for the first time, leaving Jimmy to believe there may be romantic potential between the two, and Clark returns to the Planet, learning that Wonder Woman's publicist wants him to call her back.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 10:21:09 GMT -5
Action Comics #600
I'd be curious to know what sales of this issue were like. In a month where Byrne already had four Superman stories on the stands, and following a month that had offered four regular issues plus the Earth Stealers graphic novel, this $2.50 mammoth was put out. Had Byrne fatigue completely hit by this point, or were fans begrudgingly still putting out the cash for every Superman story he could throw at them? We know Byrne is going to leave in only four more months. I wonder if sales for this issue may have influenced DC's treatment of him at that point, switching from supporting him to the extent that they dismissed his editor when there was a conflict of vision between them, to Byrne claiming that DC wasn't interested in supporting him and his work when he left.
Then there's the whole change-up occurring next issue. Did Byrne choose to be relieved of writing and drawing for Action Comics because too much was on his plate, or did DC decide they wanted a new direction for Action Comics? It seems very plausible to me that Action Comics Weekly was someone else's idea, and Byrne asked to be taken off of the book as a result, requesting to use this issue as a grand send-off of sorts. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the decision to take a new direction with Action Comics was the beginning of Byrne's deciding he wasn't supported by DC leadership and ultimately walking off the book. This is all a lot of speculation, but it fits what I know of the man.
Anyway, this is a terrible terrible issue. Whereas I feel Byrne was starting to do a lot better in his most recent issues, this one is just cover to cover crap. I wonder if he wrote it ahead of the other stories or something, because the writer I've seen improving over the past few issues simply isn't here this time.
"Different Worlds" story/breakdowns: John Byrne finishes: George Perez letters: John Costanza colors: Tom Ziuko asst. editor: Renee Witterstaetter (since when? Is she from the Wonder Woman office??) editor: Mike Carlin grade: F
It's a good thing Perez does an amazing job finishing Byrne's breakdowns, because this story truly has nothing else going for it. Superman and Wonder Woman talk a whole lot about nothing of interest, they magically get summoned to Mt Olympus because Darkseid has conveniently decided to conquer it at the same time as their date, DeSaad keeps pointing out that there's no logic and lots of risk in Darkseid choosing to toy with Superman and Wonder Woman while he is doing this, but he does so anyway, they turn the tables on him in a way that makes absolutely no sense and then stand in front of him and offer two pages of explanation about how they did it -- with him standing RIGHT THERE, Omega Beams and all -- and, just like last time he faced Superman, he randomly decides he's defeated and should withdraw for no good reason. Really, it's like Byrne just really enjoys having stories where Darkseid messes with Superman and then just feels he should give up out of some weird sense of honor the second Superman implausibly outsmarts him (and, once again, how Superman and Wonder Woman outsmarted him this time made no sense either).
Oh, and after months of unnecessarily build up to Wonder Woman and Superman's first date in both titles, their decision to not date any longer at the end is completely arbitrary and makes absolutely no sense.
Superman: ...I was fooling myself when I thought there might be a chance for romance between the two of us, Wonder Woman. Before Hermes called you away you said I stood as an equal to the Gods. But I don't. More than ever, I see that now. I...admire you, Wonder Woman. I respect you. But...I really am just a boy from Kansas. You're way out of my league!
Wonder Woman: I agree with your decision, Superman, if not all your reasoning. We are of different worlds--different philosophies. Perhaps we can never be lovers...but...I hope we can be friends.
Nothing...NOTHING that occurred in this story in any way would have led to either of them thinking any of these thoughts. At no point was Wonder Woman outclassing Superman, at no point did a difference of beliefs come through, etc. Byrne spent FOREVER leading up to this just to throw it away because it was time for it to be over, just as Darkseid always gives up at the end because it's time for the story to conclude.
Truly, truly a BAD story.
Important Details:
- The Gods of Olympus were created as a byproduct of New Genesis and Apokalypse separating.
- Superman and Wonder Woman decide (quite arbitrarily) that there is no romantic potential between them.
Plot synopsis in one sentence:
Superman and Wonder Woman are on their first date, Wonder Woman is put off by Superman going in for a kiss right away, they talk a bit, Hermes summons Wonder Woman to Olympus, Superman follows, Darkseid has taken over and uses doubles of Superman and Wonder Woman to make them turn on each other, they somehow communicate with one another and work out a plan to turn the tables on Darkseid, Wonder Woman shows him that he has not really conquered Olympus -- the gods are just choosing not to engage -- he willingly leaves, Wonder Woman's publicist decides to tell the papers that Wonder Woman and Superman are in love, and the two decide not to date.
(Untitled Story) plot: John Byrne script: Roger Stern pencils: Kurt Schaffenberger inks: Jerry Ordway letters: Bill Oakley colors: Petra Scotese
grade: D-
A story that was so clearly useless filler they didn't even bother to name it. Really, this is an entirely pointless story that isn't even worth reviewing. Fortunately, it was so pointless that it also wasn't as upsetting as the previous story; thus the D-. You can't really screw up that badly when you set out to do absolutely nothing.
Important Details:
- Lois received hand to hand combat training from her father and from a Las Vegas Chorus Girl who had developed her own technique
- Lois' father was a Green Beret
- Lois earned the nickname "Superman's Girlfriend" for getting so many Superman exclusives. By that logic, if she is now resentful that Clark is getting more Superman exclusives than she is, what's his nickname?
Minor Details:
- A minor success with continuity: this is the undercover job we saw Lois planning to undertake in Superman #17
- So the leader of an extortion ring tries to kill Lois with an Uzi, she knocks it out of his hands, runs down the stairs, and then just strolls around like she's safe? Wouldn't this guy's entire organization be desperately trying to kill her before her story sees print?
- Perry seems awfully amused to be scooped by another paper (in another city) about news pertaining to Superman.
- Why would Lois decide to take a shower immediately upon inviting Clark in? Who does that?
Plot synopsis in one sentence:
Lois narrowly escapes from infiltrating an extortion ring and is distraught to learn the news that Superman and Wonder Woman are supposedly in love (see Mindi Mayor's actions in the previous story), Clark shows up at her door to cheer her up, she goes to take a shower, Clark hears Jimmy's signal watch and has to leave, Lois discovers Clark has left and is angry.
"Games People Play" script: John Byrne pencils: Dick Giordano inks: John Beatty colors: Tom Ziuko letters: Albert DeGuzman
grade: F-
Ugh.
So we saw previously that Luthor had uncovered something of value on Police Captain Maggie Sawyer. Here I was expecting him to have some way of threatening her daughter or something, but no, the big thing he's uncovered is that she's gay. Okay, that can work, but then we watch how Byrne goes about the story, and it's just embarrassing. Luthor starts having secretaries walk in and lean over the desk, and this actually WORKS in making Sawyer uncomfortable. Come on. Just because she's a lesbian she's going to lose all self control in such a situation? She's a hardened professional, not to mention in a serious relationship. This is just embarrassing.
But then it gets worse. In the end, as Maggie and Turpin are driving away, Byrne keeps using phrases that, I'm certain, are intended to have disturbing double meanings:
"Did you manage to put the "snatch" on it?"
"If Lex Luthor thinks I'm going to tuck my tail between my legs and run..."
And, while you could chalk either one of those up to being harmless and unintended, there's this final line of dialogue that is just all sorts of wrong:
"But he's going to find out he's stuck a big, fat finger in the wrong pie, this time. And what's in there is going to bite off his whole damned hand"
Seriously, Byrne, what the f*** is wrong with you?!
Important Details:
- "Pearl" was the very first assistant we ever saw for Luthor, way back in Superman #1. After that, we saw him with a new female assistant/implied sexual partner each time to imply that they were disposable (as Superman #2, in particular, ended up making clear). But now Pearl is suddenly back. Perhaps Byrne is rethinking the problematic idea of having Luthor replace his second in command virtually every day of the week.
- First appearance of Dr. Kelley, who has known Luthor for nearly his entire life, and vice versa.
- Luthor discovers that he has Kryptonite poisoning from the ring. Yet, way back in Superman #2, when the ring was first created, we saw the following exchange:
Happersen: S-sir--You shouldn't be here without a protective suit. The radiation levels...
Luthor: ...are quite within acceptable tolerances, Happersen. One of the first things we determined was that this so-called Kryptonite could not harm human beings.
You're telling me, with all of Luthor's super advanced scientific equipment, they couldn't tell that the Kryptonite was radiating in a way that could potentially affect human tissue??
plot synopsis in one sentence:
Luthor invites Maggie Sawyer to his office in order to threaten to tell the world she is gay if she doesn't stop trying to take him down, he runs off when he hand starts to hurt, his doctors discover he has Kryptonite poisoning from his ring, and Maggie vows not to let Luthor take her down without a fight.
"A Friend in Need" plot: John Byrne script: Roger Stern pencils: Curt Swan inks: Murphy Anderson letters: Albert DeGuzman colors: Tom Ziuko
grade: D-
So, after doing World of Krypton with Mike Mignola, Byrne was impressed enough with the guy to ask him to do a story for this special issue. Mignola wanted to draw Man Bat. Sure, he's not a Superman villain, but why not? Only one problem. Superman will need a reason to be in a cave and relatively powerless. No problem. Let's create another pointless filler story to do just that, and let's waste Curt Swan's talents (once again) on it instead of a story better suited to showcase his abilities.
Yeah, there's really no point in discussing this story (if you can even call it a story).
Minor details:
- Why does Jimmy know the layout and entire history of a town he showed up in at the last moment in order to photograph an emergency?
- Why would their be no emergency response people on the scene at the tanker leaking toxic flammable chemicals? You'd think there'd at least be police and fire people keeping a distance, even if the guys in Hazmat suits hadn't arrived yet. Instead, the town is literally abandoned.
- How come the workers who believe Jimmy is stealing their forklift can't outrun it?
- Superman can calculate precisely that it must be a shockwave of radiation from Krypton's destruction causing his being depowered (even rationalizing it in terms of computing time and distance), but he can't provide any estimate as to how long it will last or even if it will ever go away?
plot synopsis in one sentence:
Jimmy is on hand to photograph a tanker containing toxic chemicals that has caught fire and is about to blow, he signals for Superman, Superman arrives to stop it (and possibly succeeds in doing so, though this was hard to tell) before suddenly becoming weakened, he explains that a Kryptonite shockwave resulting from Krypton's destruction has finally reached Earth and has Jimmy place him in a cave for shielding purposes before Jimmy goes to seek help.
"The Dark Where Madness Lies" writer: John Byrne art: Mike Mignola letters: Bill Oakley colors: Petra Scotese
grade: B- (only because of Mignola art)
It's hard to believe, but while the previous story was a pointless bit of filler with no actual plot designed to get us to this final story, this final story is ALSO a pointless bit of filler with no actual plot designed to get us to Superman #18, where the story is (what Byrne laughingly calls) "continued". It's okay, though, and here's why -- Mignola inks his own pencils! Eight pages of Mignola penciling and inking Man Bat and Superman going at it in a cave. Sign me up! This issue, in general, has convinced me more than ever that John Byrne is a total douche, but this final non-story was a nice breath of fresh air at the end of it all.
plot synopsis in one sentence:
Man Bat shows up in the cave Superman has been left in, Superman is delusional with Kryptonite poisoning and tries to kill Man Bat, he comes to his senses, and Hawkman shows up to help him.
EDIT: Byrne Countdown 24 stories remaining until he leaves 14 stories remaining actually written by him
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 10:33:03 GMT -5
Adventures of Superman #441
"The Tiny Terror of Tinseltown" co-plotters: John Byrne & Jerry Ordway script: John Byrne pencils: Jerry Ordway inks: Dennis Janke colors: Anthony Tollin letters: Albert DeGuzman asst. editor: Renee Witterstaetter editor: Mike Carlin
grade: C+
As much as I was dreading the return of Byrne's Mxyzptlk, I have to admit that this issue was well balanced, jumping between the ridiculous battle (which, to be fair, was actually entertaining at points this time around) and moving other side-plots forward with impressive precision. We've got Lois still trying to prove that Luthor was responsible for Combattor and what happened to Jose DelGado (Adventures #437), that sideshow mentalist still being controlled by Vril Dox (Adventures #438), get our third glimpse of Supergirl (first showing up in Superman #16), and meet a shadowy new figure searching for something at one of Lex-Oil's drilling sites, blowing it up, and then deciding to continue looking "somewhere else in the whole, wide world..."
Really, the only B plot that didn't work for me this time was Cat's son, Adam, trying to convince her to date Jimmy Olsen. First off, he's already dating Lucy Lane, secondly Cat's ten years older, and third I really tire of this new depiction of Cat as the town bicycle. There's nothing compelling nor sympathetic about that.
In regard to the Mxyzptlk appearance, it's approached with a bit more craft this time. First off, I found it clever that Superman simply assumed getting Mxyzptlk to say his name backwards again would do the trick, to which he responds, "Hate to burst your bubble, Supey...but that was last time." It certainly makes more sense and creates more story possibilities for Mxyzptlk to put forth a new challenge each time.
Additionally, while the idea of turning Superman into a 2D Saturday Morning Cartoon seemed overly silly at first, it definitely had its moments, including a thinly borrowed Fred Flintstone pleading "Yabba Dabba Don't" as Superman takes him down, as well as Superman smothering all those Smurfs. Still, Byrne seems to have some kind of obsession with Saturday Morning cartoons, as this is now his second time depicting them in these reviews (Superman #16 being the first, and he was referencing them even before that with the first Metal Men team-up).
Of course, the final solution for how Superman tricked Mxyzptlk was a tad ridiculous, and then it got outright awkward when he likened the trick make-up he used to the black face make-up used in Finnegan's Wake. Ummmm...that's not cool.
Important Details:
- Within continuity, it has been more than 90 days since Superman #11. For a while, Byrne and Wolfman were maintaining a timeline in which often only a single day passed between Superman stories. For sixteen issues to have passed in 90 days though, we are running more towards the one week per issue schedule. Or, in other words, Superman's continuity is now moving at roughly the same speed as the real world, since a new Superman story hits the stands nearly once per week at this point.
- 3rd appearance of Supergirl. She is now conscious, but has no memories other than the fact that, "I...am Supergirl!"
plot synopsis in one sentence:
Mxyzptlk is back, Superman is trying to stop him in Hollywood (Byrne and Ordway don't even bother wasting time on how the conflict started), we cut to a lot of other B plots that are all mentioned above, Mxyzptlk challenges Superman to make him paint his face blue and then turns Superman into a 2D cartoon, and Superman ultimately tricks him on the set of "Wheel of Fortunes."
Byrne Countdown: 21 stories remaining until he departs 11 stories remaining actually written by him
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 10:54:09 GMT -5
Superman #19
"The Power That Failed!" story/pencils: John Byrne colors: Petra Scotese inks: John Beatty (new inker as of this issue) letters: John Costanza asst. editor: Renee Witterstaetter editor: Michael Carlin
grade: D
Oh Byrne, Byrne, Byrne. Just when you were starting to do some things right, you do so much wrong in this issue. If only your creative tenure on Superman were about to end. If only there were something like eight issues written by you remaining after this lousy one.
Wait a second...
It really does make all of this more tolerable, doesn't it?
The basic tally for this issue is as follows:
- Really creepy scene with a drunk Cat grant coming on to an unwilling Jimmy Olsen - Really creepy gratuitous shot of Maggie Sawyers' legs depantsing from a hazmat suit - Substantial continuity errors/revisions, ranging from how many years it's been since Superman #2 (should be one at this point, but Luthor says it's been "years" since he made the Kryptonite ring), to whether or not Superman is invulnerable (so many previous stories made it clear that he was definitely not -- in this issue, we're given a plethora of indications that he is; even Supes says so) - Yet another tacked on conflict coming out of nowhere with new villain Prof. Thaddeus Killgrave -- and it's ridiculous - More teasing with Supergirl. That plot is taking waaaaay too long to go anywhere - Excessive references to past issues. I counted 8, and virtually none served a purpose; just sort of a "Hey, look, remember when that happened?" Byrne has taken one of the few good things he was starting to do too far.
Important Details:
- 1st appearance of Prof. Thaddeus Killgrave - 1st appearance of Dreadnaught - Supergirl heads to Smallville, knowing that is her destination, but not knowing why - A new mystery is introduced, in which Jimmy Olsen's father, missing in action since the Vietnam War (?) appears in the background of a picture of Perry White taken at the time (if it's hanging in the office, why has Jimmy never noticed this before???) - Perry White served in Vietnam. I wonder if Byrne sees this as having inspired his career in journalism and unyeilding quest to always give the public the truth (though that was a Wolfman sentiment which may now be forgotten). - Lex Luthor has his hand amputated and receives a cybernetic replacement. He blames Superman
- Superman is now apparently invulnerable. He can take massive energy weapons blasts, where normal electrical shock once knocked him out, as did explosive sewer gasses and giant tanks. He refers to his own power of invulnerability, and even has others comment with astonishment when they see him actually get hurt. Apparently, they've never seen a John Byrne Superman cover.
- Luthor claims his Kryptonite ring kept Superman at bay "for years," yet he first had it made in Superman #2, and all references to the passing of time offered so far suggest it's been a year OR LESS since that issue occurred.
- Superman apparently makes regular (implied to be daily) patrols of Earth, looking for trouble. How come, then, nearly all of his stories take place in Metropolis?
Minor Details:
- Superman was away on Krypton for "a couple of weeks"
- Metropolis' major body of water is the West River. Cute mirroring of New York. Is this a new detail, or is it established in Superman lore?
- Weird publishing mis-information offered on the letters page. We're once again told that Superman is going bi-weekly, but Mike's Amazing World does not show this to be true. Additionally, we're told that World of Metropolis will come out "a few months down the road," but it's hitting stands next month.
Plot synopsis:
What plot? Once again, Byrne just tosses us a lot of continuity (perhaps because he knows he's about to leave and is trying to get through ideas?) and an obligatory villain for a couple of pages, but okay. Here goes:
A small spacecraft crashes into Metropolis' West River while a drunk Cat Grant attempts to seduce a creeped out Jimmy Olsen, Superman returns to Earth just in time to investigate, he finds nothing in the small ship but discovers his powers beginning to wink out inexplicably, Supergirl heads for Smallville, not knowing why, Lois is ticked at Clark and seems to have made up her mind that Delgado is the man for her, Jimmy's mother comes to the Planet and recognizes her missing husband in an old war pic of Perry, Luthor gets his cybernetic hand and blames Superman for it, Prof. Killgrave randomly escapes from prison in a giant machine, and Superman stops him even with his powers winking out, he ends up drowning in the river and depends upon some sailors to help him, he also asks them for a favor that isn't revealed to us, he figures out that someone is trying to make him use his powers, which is causing them to go away, and an alien named Dreadnaught arrives, ready to attack Superman, and explaining that "Psi-Phon" has transferred Superman's powers to him.
It's going to take me a long time to get that image of Cat Grant coming on to Jimmy out of my head...
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 11:03:07 GMT -5
Adventures of Superman #442
"Power Play" co-plotters: John Byrne & Jerry Ordway script: John Byrne pencils: Jerry Ordway inks: Andy Kubert letters: Albert De Guzman (I feel like that space between "De" and "Guzman" disappears and reappears every other issue) colors: Anthony Tollin asst. editor: Renee Witterstaetter editor: Mike Carlin
Grade: C-
It's true that I always enjoy the Byrne stories co-plotted by Ordway more than the ones without, but this issue still suffers from a whole lot of Byrne-isms. What's, perhaps, most unique about it though is how ambitious it's trying to be. This is the first and only time that a story begun in one Post-Crisis Superman title has been continued in a different one without being a pre-publicized major crossover event. It really is as if Byrne knows he's leaving soon and is rushing to get it all in, not willing to wait a month to wrap up this story. Add to that a team-up with the Justice League that feels like an idea Byrne had always meant to get to in Action but never got around to. This definitely feels written by a man who knows his days are numbered.
The story itself is of a pair of villains who do the exact same thing as Amazo, so why Byrne needs them is beyond me. It's a nice, drawn out battle in which, as usual in a Byrne story, Supes gets trounced. Also in typical Byrne fashion, the solution that finally gets rid of the villains makes only the slightest of sense, and the villains withdraw out of some weird sense of honor because they have been beaten, even while an entire alien invading fleet has their back. Technically, didn't Superman lose first? Why does their loss the second time around count more? And what race invades others based upon whether or not they can pass a test? You don't round up forces, plan an invasion, and then play the equivalent of Superhero checkers to decide if you go through with this plan. Is their leader Harvey Dent or something? This is exactly the same kind of garbage Byrne keeps pulling with Darkseid.
Then we get some bogus overly extensive explanation of how the aliens' powers worked where none was needed, and no real clarification ever happens anyway. It's still a fantastic plot device, paragraphs worth of explanation provided or otherwise. I guess I'd like to know why, if these aliens were actually robotic drones designed to sap superheroes' powers and use them against them, they built TWO drones -- one big and powerful, and the one powering it small and vulnerable? Seems like a pretty big deficiency to me, unless exploiting that was the real test.
But there I go giving a bad story more consideration than its worth.
The only other aspect of this story really worth discussing is Lois' characterization, which is finally coming around after years of neglect since the Man of Steel limited series. It was an EXCELLENT choice to have her reach out to Jose DelGado in the most profound of ways WHILE a big story is breaking on the radio, to which she chooses to give absolutely no attention. When it goes on to mention that Superman is missing and to question his integrity, the scene becomes even more powerful. With surprising subtlety, Byrne never says anything, and Ordway never shows anything. You just KNOW the conflict raging in Lois' mind, and you know her affection for Jose has won.
... of course, in an attempt to be cute, Byrne undoes all this at the end, having Lois rush out to the scene of the battle as soon as she hears Clark is involved.
And what was with Clark rushing out at the end to fight Dreadnaught anyway? We know he went to Prof. Hamilton for help and then came out as Clark Kent with super powers, but how? ...And WHY??? Couldn't he have approached the professor for help as Superman (thus preventing the need for a costume change) and then come back fighting AS SUPERMAN??? I simply don't get it.
So this was a problematic issue at best, and a clear sign that Byrne is rushing to get it all in. The next few issues should be all over the place in a mad rush to hit all of Byrne's remaining ideas if this was any harbinger of things to come.
Important Details:
- First full appearance of Psi-Phon (not that I suspect he's coming back; his cameo was in the final panel of Superman #19)
- Supergirl arrives in Smallville, may be from the Pre-Crisis or the Pocket Universe (since she remembers Smallville being different), and appears to be in telepathic contact with Lex Luthor.
Minor Details:
- Weird match cut from the end of the previous issue. In that one, Dreadnaught is approaching Superman and, only in looking back, do I now see Psi-Phon lingering in the back, covered by thick shadow. At the beginning of this one, it's nearly the same moment, but Psi-Phon is out front, speaking to Superman. I was very disoriented at first.
- It's apparent in this issue, in particular, how the pages were divided up between primary and secondary stories for reprint purposes. The switching between the Dreadnaught and Psi-Phon A plot, the Jose DelGado B plot, and the Supergirl and Jimmy's missing father C and D plots is often times jarring in this issue and absolutely dictated by page length over pacing.
- It's been mentioned several times that Metropolis is the largest city in America, but the idea that it would take Superman several hours to reach his apartment by foot seems extreme. And couldn't he get a cab? Lois and Jose are about to.
- Lois kicks total butt taking down those thugs on the street!
- The little details matter too. I really enjoyed how authentic it felt as Lois had to explain to the taxi driver how to unwedge Jose's wheelchair from the trunk.
- Way to make Aquaman seem even more useless than he already does. As the first to arrive, and the one who manages to do the absolute least amount of harm to Dreadnaught before losing his powers, he truly comes off as the most useless member of the Justice League, and that's WITH Dreadnaught inexplicably suddenly being at a dock by the water. Amazing that Dreadnaught opted NOT to use Aquaman's powers to talk to fish in taking down the rest of the Justice League, right?
- The Supergirl teasers are getting more frustrating by the moment. It really seems like they wrote up a whole issue for this, and are putting one page of the story at a time into each issue. This one ends in a completely weird place, with Supergirl conveniently running into Lana Lang, and the story just cutting out from there because it's the end of the page.
- Ordway goes out of his way to have every label on Jose DelGado's pantry counter turned to the camera. He pulls down Kesel brand coffee, and Karl Kesel left Superman as inker just this month. Did someone actually leave this Superman office on good terms, or is this Byrne or Ordway's attempts to say "no hard feelings"? Or, perhaps, this is a joke since, in trying to open the coffee can, DelGado exclaims, "Damn! I'm never going to be able to do anything for myself!!" which may well have been how Byrne felt in working with the inker?
- Where had the Post-Crisis Captain Marvel appeared prior to this? Byrne clearly likes the character and makes him far more of a bad-a$$ than the rest of the League.
- Why do all the Justice League members know Clark Kent at a glance? Are they all avid fans of his daily column??
Plot synopsis in one ridiculously long sentence:
A completely de-powered Superman gets his rear handed to him by Dreadnaught, he sneaks away on foot, Jose DelGado is released from the hospital, and Lois takes him back to his apartment, the favor Superman asked of the sailors last issue (now described as a "call" he made -- HUH??) turns out to be summoning the Justice League for help, they arrive one at a time to take on Dreadnaught and each have their powers sapped, Superman changes into Clark Kent, finds Prof. Hamilton, and asks for his help, Supergirl arrives in Smallville, seems to be talking to Lex Luthor in her mind, and runs into Lana Lang, Lois pep-talks DelGado into not giving up and appears to have made up her mind to be committed to him, Jimmy Olsen's mother refuses to allow him to go out to see the battle and instead wants his help figuring out what happened to his father if he was still alive and free (in Vietnam?) two years after he was supposed to have disappeared, Clark Kent shows up to fight Dreadnaught with new powers the Professor apparently gave him that never get explained (maybe a variation of his force field? He certainly didn't create new tech on demand in a matter of hours!), and Psi-Phon becomes overloaded by all the combined power, explaining that this was a test to determine if Earth should be invaded and then disappearing, so Clark and the Justice League members surmise how his powers actually worked, and then Lois shows up to reprimand Clark for endangering himself like Jose DelGado did.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 19, 2014 11:16:57 GMT -5
World of Metropolis #1
"A Reporter's Story" writer: John Byrne pencils: Win Mortimer inks: Frank McLaughlin & Dick Giordano letters: Todd Klein colors: Tom Ziuko assistant editor: Renee Witterstaetter editor: Michael Carlin
grade: C+
Two interesting things to note about this series before even reviewing its contents.
First, whereas World of Krypton and World of Smallville were relatively disposable limited series, embellishing upon backstory we already knew and not adding anything readers of Superman truly needed to know, World of Metropolis is positioned to do a lot more, revealing origins of supporting cast members for the first time and, of course, revealing the big secret surrounding Jerry White (but we're not supposed to know that yet).
Second, this is the last major storyline of Byrne's. Everything else is just filler at this point. So it's a bit odd to watch the culmination of his building the foundation of the Post-Crisis Superman Universe with the full knowledge that he's about to walk away on bad terms with the company. Fortunately, Jurgens and Ordway will be more respectful to the foundations Byrne laid than he was to the foundations Carlin and Wolfman tried to lay.
Regarding the issue, itself, it's ambitious in its scope, but it's ultimately a disappointing installment. Most of the drama of the story is centered around a big twist that's given away by the cover, itself. The rest of the drama lies in the relationship and competition between Lex Luthor and Perry White, but it doesn't work. If Perry has always been brimming with integrity, and Lex has always been Lex, how in the world have the two been the oldest of friends for all this time? Couldn't Byrne have given us some snapshot of what that friendship was like before having Lex try to destroy him? And I can't accept that Luthor's sole motivation for all he does is to buy the adoration Metropolis already gives to Perry White. Newspapers may have already been on their way out in 1988 (hard to believe this has been true for so long now), but I sincerely doubt there was EVER a time that a city worshipped a single newspaper reporter like that, especially one who'd been off to war for the past two years and, therefore, had not been writing for a while now. And, surely, in the present day of 1988, with Perry having been editor for two decades now, he wasn't enjoying that adoration any longer, so why would Lex still be doing what Lex does? Are we supposed to assume he got bored for a decade or so and then sprung to life with jealousy again as soon as Superman showed up?
It seems like the whole Perry and Alice love conflict is intended to provide a contrast to the relationship between Jonathan and Martha in World of Smallville. In both cases, our idealistic protagonist returns from war to find his lover with another man, but the morality is far more blurred this second time, and while Alice tries to put it all on Lex, I'm not sure she succeeds in doing so. Really though, Byrne utterly fails to help us understand where her temptation came from. What did she see in Lex that was so appealing? Byrne has too much fun depicting him as a soulless, jealous devil. Poor writing for a guy trying to add some complexity, really. And, whereas the whole infidelity bit makes the potential for great emotional conflict, it goes under-used. What does any of this really mean to Perry? And how can we understand the impact this has upon his relationship with Alice when their relationship remains so undefined? All we do is see them kiss and push the plot forward through expository dialogue. There's no heart; no relationship evident, even though Byrne expects us to root for these two somehow.
Beyond this all, though, possibly the greatest failing of the issue is Mortimer's pencils. They're awkward at times (ex: Clark and Lois smiling adorably at each other as they continue the very serious fight over Clark getting all the Superman stories that's been going for a while now), and downright jarring/confusing at others (ex: Mortimer never indicates when we are moving between the present and a flashback!). Nothing about his style is deficient; if you asked the guy to do a sample drawing of Superman for you, you'd be pleased, but he's utterly failing at all the nuances an artist must understand to keep a story flowing and comprehensible.
Important Details:
-Perry White and Lex Luthor were best friends for many years
-Perry worked for the Planet for close to 23 years before going to Vietnam. He began working there at the age of ten as a copy boy.
-Perry fought in Vietnam for two years
- ten years old, plus 23 years, plus 2 more years makes Perry 35 years old in this story. We also know from Adventures of Superman #433 that Jerry White was born in 1969, making this story set in either 1968 or 1969. Therefore, if the present day of the Superman title is 1988, we can assume Perry White is approximately 55 years old in the current day.
-His fiance, Alice, had an affair with Lex Luthor while he was gone
-Upon returning to America, Perry saved the Daily Planet by rallying together a team of investors, and became editor in chief as part of the deal.
-We are given a TREMENDOUS amount of facts surrounding the history of the Daily Planet, including its relationship to George Washington, that probably aren't relevant here.
Minor Details:
- I love how Perry remarks that he was once young and like Jimmy, and the story soon cuts to a flashback where he still looks old and out of shape, just without the gray hairs.
- Pages 6 and 7: Okay, Byrne. We GET that Lex Luthor is evil. Tone it down and try telling a more mature story that doesn't involve him cackling with triumph and then oggling all the female help just because he enjoys being cruel.
- A young (probably 5 year old) Lois Lane takes a tour of the Daily Planet with her class and watches Perry White curse out his complacent peers with righteous anger. I have to admit it's damn cute that this moment becomes the prototype for all that Lois Lane is. This is truly the ONLY reason this issue gets a C+ as opposed to a C or C-.
- Are we supposed to know who Ling is? He's the wealthy, high profile Chinese(?) investor that Perry used his investigative skills and influence as a reporter to turn away from a life of crime.
- Seriously, even IF a city could worship a reporter the way that Byrne seems to be claiming they can in this issue, how could said reporter getting married make a major headline in a paper? (especially the paper said reporter works for -- awkward)
- Adventures of Superman #433 establishes that Jerry White was born in 1969 (thus making the present day of the story 1968 or 1969). Yet America remained engaged in Vietnam until 1975, so why did Perry serve only two years?
- Who's sick to death of Jerry White and has two thumbs? THIS GUY!
plot synopsis:
Perry and the gang are celebrating a great front page Superman scoop by Jimmy Olsen, Perry thinks back to how he used to be like him (you know, Vietnam Vet with a fiance looking to save his newspaper single-handedly; the resemblances are abundant!), he starts having an awkward amount of internal thought balloons while still in the presence of his employees, we finally get to a full-fledged flashback about him returning from 'Nam, Lex is having an affair with his fiance, she regrets it and resents Lex, arguing that he manipulated her, Perry finds out that Lex is going to sell The Daily Planet and confronts Lex, during this time Lex makes it obvious he has been sleeping with Alice, Perry calls in all his favors to assemble a team of buyers for the paper, a young Lois Lane on a fieldtrip witnesses Perry at his most dramatic, he accepts the condition that he must take the position of Editor in Chief, Perry and Alice reconcile and marry, she becomes pregnant, and, while Perry is celebrating, she looks at the Lexcorp building and sheds a tear, while the present day Perry, Alice, and Jerry White meet for lunch.
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