The Black Racer has to be one of the weirdest concepts, I mean why not use a more traditional depiction of death?
I always felt like The Black Racer was Kirby's answer to The Silver Surfer being co-opted by Stan. Bright shiny guy on a surfboard...I'm going to give you a dark guy on skis.
The Black Racer has to be one of the weirdest concepts, I mean why not use a more traditional depiction of death?
I always felt like The Black Racer was Kirby's answer to The Silver Surfer being co-opted by Stan. Bright shiny guy on a surfboard...I'm going to give you a dark guy on skis.
If nothing more, Kirby loved cosmic characters utilizing unconventional methods of transportation.
As for the speed of these reviews, I had the time and the passion. It's been a long time since I gave this thread any attention, and I wanted to make up for that. Glad you're enjoying it
He's not the only one!
An email informing me this thread had been updated was the perfect kick-off to my 3 day weekend!
I had no idea George Perez did any Superman! It's amazing how quickly things change, adn what a difference there is compared to today. That sort of change in creative direction creators would require a lead in multi-part crossover and all new number 1s, probably even a new title today.
Yet somehow we all managed to do just fine, unlike the ADHD generation of today that apparently can't count past 12 and needs a new #1 each year...
And I loved Perez' brief run on Action Comics! It's a special group of issues among what is already my favorite Superman era.
Post by sunofdarkchild on Dec 7, 2015 14:56:13 GMT -5
Looking back on the era the long-term development of Matrix/Supergirl was very good, but If I had been born and able to read those issues when they were coming out I would probably have been very disappointed. It wouldn't be till Panic in the Sky that she made another appearance, and then not until Funeral for a Friend that she began to come into her own. Reading it all at once the progression makes sense and is a good read, but the years it took would be completely unacceptable by today's standards.
Looking back on the era the long-term development of Matrix/Supergirl was very good, but If I had been born and able to read those issues when they were coming out I would probably have been very disappointed. It wouldn't be till Panic in the Sky that she made another appearance, and then not until Funeral for a Friend that she began to come into her own. Reading it all at once the progression makes sense and is a good read, but the years it took would be completely unacceptable by today's standards.
Except that there was no clear goal being worked towards, so it would have been hard to be impatient. Matrix just seemed like another supporting character on the Kent farm, providing a little more humor and pathos whenever the writers needed Clark to go there. There was no real sense that she was going to become much more than that until it happened. Maybe it's just because the writing for her was done really well, but I enjoyed her as she was and had no expectations for change.
And honestly, until reading your post just now, I had no idea she was the same Supergirl who returned for Funeral for a Friend. I was content for this to be the end of her story.
Interestingly, the idea for the original Superman 167 cover came from Cary Bates who would have been about 15 when he sent the idea to DC. That it was redrawn by Curt Swan who contributed to the above issue has made me curious about this issue for awhile now.
So, question for Shaxper - does anything reflecting the tiny Superman in a cage being gloated over by Luthor and Brainiac occur in this issue? It sounds like it should have been more fun than it was especially if drawn by Swan.
So, question for Shaxper - does anything reflecting the tiny Superman in a cage being gloated over by Luthor and Brainiac occur in this issue? It sounds like it should have been more fun than it was especially if drawn by Swan.
Not even remotely. Brainiac and Luthor never converse nor are even in the same room in this issue. In fact, Brainiac never even fully awakens from his coma. Truly, nothing happens in this issue. It's total filler.
So, question for Shaxper - does anything reflecting the tiny Superman in a cage being gloated over by Luthor and Brainiac occur in this issue? It sounds like it should have been more fun than it was especially if drawn by Swan.
Not even remotely. Brainiac and Luthor never converse nor are even in the same room in this issue. In fact, Brainiac never even fully awakens from his coma. Truly, nothing happens in this issue. It's total filler.
Curt Swan drawing total filler...in a comic reviewed in this thread...the heck you say.
So, question for Shaxper - does anything reflecting the tiny Superman in a cage being gloated over by Luthor and Brainiac occur in this issue? It sounds like it should have been more fun than it was especially if drawn by Swan.
Not even remotely. Brainiac and Luthor never converse nor are even in the same room in this issue. In fact, Brainiac never even fully awakens from his coma. Truly, nothing happens in this issue. It's total filler.
Ugh.
Didn't they pull the old "this scene doesn't actually appear in this issue..." cover trick with the Mxyzptlk issue about four or five issues back?
Strangely, the original Superman 167 cover was probably given to Edmond Hamilton who was told "now give me a story to go along with that". Kind of sad that when it was homaged the later writer just said "ah, to Hell with it".
Last Edit: Dec 7, 2015 22:07:58 GMT -5 by chadwilliam
Looking back on the era the long-term development of Matrix/Supergirl was very good, but If I had been born and able to read those issues when they were coming out I would probably have been very disappointed. It wouldn't be till Panic in the Sky that she made another appearance, and then not until Funeral for a Friend that she began to come into her own. Reading it all at once the progression makes sense and is a good read, but the years it took would be completely unacceptable by today's standards.
Except that there was no clear goal being worked towards, so it would have been hard to be impatient. Matrix just seemed like another supporting character on the Kent farm, providing a little more humor and pathos whenever the writers needed Clark to go there. There was no real sense that she was going to become much more than that until it happened. Maybe it's just because the writing for her was done really well, but I enjoyed her as she was and had no expectations for change.
And honestly, until reading your post just now, I had no idea she was the same Supergirl who returned for Funeral for a Friend. I was content for this to be the end of her story.
That's still something that's considered unacceptable today. DC's been taking a lot of flak for having no plan for what to do with Stephanie Brown post-Batman Eternal other than making her a supporting character for Catwoman and Harper Row. At least in this Matrix story there was a plotline. Recovering from severe trauma. Wants to help everyone. Influence of Eradicator causes breakdown. Recovers mental faculties and leaves earth to escape the Eradicator's influence. And her innocence is endearing and there is the tragic element of literally nothing about the fight with Superman being her fault.
I also love the idea of Superman having the Kents take care of her. That alone creates a family connection without needing to make them the same species.
"I Sing the Body Elastic" Plot: George Perez writing and pencils: Dan Jurgens inks: Klaus Janson letters: Albert DeGuzman colors: Glenn Whitmore Jonathan Peterson: Associate Editor editor: Mike Carlin
grade: C+
Before the new creative teams were finalized, Carlin laid out a plan in which one Superman title would focus on Superman, one would focus on the Daily Planet supporting cast, and one would focus on Clark's Kryptonian heritage. That last one never sounded like a workable premise, but the other two appear to be taking shape nicely by this point. Action Comics is Superman engaged in a lot of, well, "action," and Adventures of Superman is focusing the camera tightly on the Daily Planet supporting cast and their relationships with both Clark and Superman. It's the Superman title itself that still feels indecisive at this point. Perhaps Ordway wasn't onboard with all the new that Perez and Jurgens were bringing.
Anyway, this issue works hard both to emphasize the Daily Planet supporting cast (once again) as well as to purposefully continue a few Byrne-isms in his absence, this time borrowing a silly aspect of the Silver Age and attempting to throw it into Post-Crisis continuity with a more believable angle. I'm talking specifically about Elastic Lad, a semi-regular alterego for the Silver Age Jimmy Olsen:
A lot of effort is put into explaining how he gained these powers (an alien virus Superman gave him upon returning to Earth in Action #643), the logistics of how they work (restructuring his body at an almost molecular level, his sweat causing the clothing to change with him), how he controls it (an instinct similar to pulling one's hand away from a flame), and even the idea that it would cause tremendous blinding pain. All very convincing, and yet the idea still feels so unnecessary and alien to the continuity being developed. I never liked when Byrne would bring back these silly Silver Age tropes. In fact, I'm already dreading the next appearance of Mister Mxyzptlk.
But the development of the Daily Planet crew? Perez and Jurgens do a bangup job there, first unabashedly spending the first four pages of the issue just watching Clark, Jimmy, Cat, Lois, and Perry do aerobics at the Daily Planet as a start to their workday. No plot is imposed until the fifth page -- it's just relationships developing, and it feels so casual, real, and delightful. This was the aspect of the Superman office that drew me in even as an adolescent (I started reading eleven months from now). Everything felt so real and well developed. I cared about these people, and Jurgens clearly does here too.
I especially appreciated the effort to steer Cat Grant away from simply being a trainwreck of a human being. She really has redeemed herself, and Jurgens allows the readers and the cast to view her as something more than a weak appendage this time around:
She's a compassionate and competent mom, as well as a total a$$ kicker in aerobics, leaving everyone else in the dust.
I guess she's also back working full time at the Planet again? What has happened to Morgan Edge's media company in the wake of his arrest and ensuing medical crisis, anyway?
And, speaking of developing the supporting cast and also bringing back some of the campier beloved aspects of the franchise, I LOVE how they hearken back to the Donner film depiction of Lois being such a tireless firecracker that she adorably stumbles over the fine details in favor of the big picture, especially with spelling:
Also nice to see other editors at the Daily Planet with their own relationships to the folks we know so well there. At a real major metropolitan newspaper, the Editor in Chief would not be personally overseeing most things his/her reporters were working on.
So yeah, I can't say I'm a fan of the plot, but a valiant effort is made to make it work believably, and I really appreciated Jurgens working to further develop the Daily Planet team.
Minor Details:
- The creative teams all seem like a mess at this point, with plots and assists coming from different people than the assigned creative teams each issue, possibly as a result of all the intense collaboration being done. In all this mess, I'm not sure I'm clear what Roger Stern's responsibilities in the Superman office are anymore. Is he gradually backing off to make room for Perez?
- For the second issue in a row, Jurgens gives a lot of time to Jimmy's unrequited romantic interest in Cat Grant, and yet there's been absolutely no mention of Lucy Lane. I guess she and Jimmy are no longer dating (last shown in Superman #4), or Jurgens isn't aware that they ever were.
- Just as Superman will soon be crossing over with Starman because Roger Stern was involved with both, we get a nice little shout-out to Jurgens' Booster Gold, with a subtle hint of future tension between him and The Man of Steel as Superman goes on to say "I never really cared for this guy anyway!" as he hurls the billboard out of the way.
It's tempting to dismiss this as a shameless plug, but Superman was still a central character to the DCU (if not their #1 property anymore), so it makes sense that he should cross paths with the other heroes in that universe, and which better ones to visit than the ones the creative teams behind Superman knew intimately and could write accurately? It works a lot better than Byrne just taking on the characters he felt like writing and then portraying them largely out of character (see just about every damned issue of Action Comics before it went weekly).
- Maybe I missed something here. When we first met Prof. Hamilton (way back in Adventures of Superman #425), he was a penniless genius. Since then, I believe I recall Superman getting him a job with Star Labs, but since when does he have the resources to furnish his apartment "in an old warehouse district" with this kind of tech:
And really, if the Professor is such a genius as to be an expert at virtually anything Superman needs at the moment (revolutionary shields and weapons, outer space breathing apparatuses, and now cellular surgery and alien viruses) how in the heck did no one but Lexcorp know of him until Superman arrived? What University did he come out of? Didn't he publish any papers? This just doesn't make any sense. The character as originally introduced had spent a lifetime working on one crazy invention; he was not an expert on all things science as he's since been depicted.
plot synopsis in one sentence:
The Daily Planet folks are doing aerobics when Jimmy suddenly manifests Elastic Lad powers, panicking and going out of control from the pain, so Clark has to become Superman in order to subdue him and then brings him to Professer Hamilton, who determines the problem is caused by a virus Superman brought back from space, all while someone from space (Maxima?) is approaching Earth in an attempt to possess Superman.