Superman in the Post-Crisis Era (reviews by shaxper)
Aug 8, 2020 12:09:14 GMT -5
SJNeal and brutalis like this
Post by shaxper on Aug 8, 2020 12:09:14 GMT -5
Superman #57 (July 1991)
"Return of the Krypton Man"
Script: Dan Jurgens
Pencils: Dan Jurgens (layout, pages 1-7, 31-38); Art Thibert (pages 17-21); Jon Bogdanove (pages 10-13, 22-23); Bob McLeod (pages 8-9, 14-16, 25); Tom Grummett (layout, pages 24, 26-30)
Inks: Brett Breeding (finishes, pages 1-7); Art Thibert (p. 17-21); Dennis Janke (p. 10-13, 22-23); Denis Rodier (pages 8-9, 14-16, 25); Jerry Ordway (finishes, pages 24, 26-30); Bob McLeod (finishes, pages 31-38)
Colors: Glenn Whitmore
Letters: John Costanza
Grade: C+
It's now clear why Stern, Ordway, and Jurgens needed a month off during the Red Glass Trilogy: to help commemorate the launching of Superman, The Man of Steel #1, EVERY Superman comic is 48 pages long this month.
I spoke a little about how I felt the launching of SMOS #1 was a misfire in my previous review, but now it becomes even more apparent. If you were someone who had jumped onboard when these books were "Still only 75 cents" the year prior, right after Dark Knight Over Metropolis had caught your attention (and it does seem that this is when many of us climbed aboard), then we have suddenly jumped from a $2.25 per month and 70 pages of reading commitment to $7 this month and 192 pages of reading commitment, NOT counting the Superman for Earth tpb. If you were a diehard fan of this franchise, this was a great thing, but for the casual reader (and, let's be clear -- the zeitgeist had definitively shifted in Marvel's favor in the past year, plus the Superman books had been quality but utterly lacked sensationalism/excitement since Luthor's death half a year earlier) this was taking valuable time and money away from other books you could be reading and buying.
Just this month alone over at Marvel, Wolverine is having a long-awaited reunion with Sabertooth in his own title, he's teaming up with Spider-Man against the Wendigo (another long-awaited reunion) in Spidey's new title, and he's having his origin story finally revealed in Marvel Comics presents.
X-Men Classic is reprinting the Dark Phoenix Saga for an entire generation that missed it, Punisher is celebrating his 50th issue, Ghost Rider's got the world's first glow in the dark cover, Deathlok has a chrome-covered first issue for his highly anticipated new ongoing series,
and not only is Infinity Gauntlet #1 on the stands, but anyone catching the Silver Surfer bug in anticipation has Silver Surfer #51, Silver Surfer Annual #4, and the Silver Surfer: Parable tpb to pick up.
The money spent on a month worth of Superman comics could get you 7 of those 12 books, and the time spent reading those 192 pages of the Eradicator's return and Ma and Pa Kent's cruise with Perry and Alice White could instead be spent reading 9 of those mega hot books. This is not to say that those were better works, but rather that they were the trending books of the time that everyone wanted, and the Superman titles inadvertently positioned themselves to be an obstruction in the way of fans obtaining those books. This is the month that both I and brutalis turned our backs on the Superman Office, and I sincerely doubt we were the only two.
As for whether we missed out, I guess that's what these ensuing reviews will be determining.
This particular issue doesn't seem to suggest that is the case. While meticulous continuity and a rich focus on Superman's supporting cast remains in play, this office still struggles with providing actual interesting conflict for The Man of Steel now that Lex Luthor isn't in the picture. We've now spent half a year trying to dredge the Post-Crisis rogues gallery for interesting villains, and now, in a particularly desperate move, the Eradicator Device is somehow back and an energy being:
No, it doesn't make any sense.
I respect the idea -- what better way to create a meaningful villain with a meaningful relationship with Superman than by having him be the only other survivor from Krypton, as well as the embodiment of all the ideals Clark has now turned his back on, except that it's done poorly.
For example, I genuinely LIKE how morally gray the Eradicator's mission is. He truly does want to build a better world:
But Superman's response is embarrassing. The Eradicator had just converted a slum into a spire and insulted its slum lord to his face. Superman interrupts this and thus comes off as defending wealth inequality, corrupt slumlords and the like in thwarting the Eradicator's mission to create change, and, on top of that, he comes in swinging.
Really, what was the plan, here? Punch the Eradicator so that he would agree?
Worse yet, while the Eradicator is out there CHANGING THE SUN INTO ONE THAT WON'T SUPPORT HUMAN LIFE, Clark sends his parents off on a cruise and returns for a full day of work at The Planet instead of looking for The Eradicator or seeking a means to stop him.
He finally checks in on Prof. Hamilton at the end of the work day (Oh good! "Hammy" can help him determine how to save the sun or stop The Eradicator!), but no...he came to take Prof. Hamilton on a trip to the Fortress of Solitude:
Recent issues had characterized Superman as intelligent and determined, but here he feels like the super-powered fool Byrne depicted all over again. I shouldn't like the villain more than the hero.
Also, as much as I personally love the smaller stories of Clark and Lois working through their new relationship, or catching up on the supporting cast at The Daily Planet, I really really didn't need a forced first meeting between the Kents and the Whites:
Seems totally insignificant, as well as totally improbable that they chose to go on cruises at the exact same time, to the exact same destination, and on a ship larger than the Kent Farm (Pa's words, not mine), and they end up right across the hall from one another.
Important Details:
- The Eradicator is now a being of pure energy that can manipulate all forms of energy. Solar energy from the Earth's core, in particular, proves effective against Superman.
- The Post-Crisis Fortress of Solitude is kept under a constantly moving sheet of ice, requiring both X-Ray vision and Heat vision to find it.
- The Lincoln Monument is destroyed.
Seriously, how's that going to work? Is Mike Carlin going to send a memo to all DC offices and writers telling them not to use the Lincoln Monument from now on?
Minor Details:
- More exploration of how much Luthor's death has hurt Metropolis:
But, while it's been seven months in real time since Luthor died, time in the Superman comics was moving far slower during the Byrne Era. Superman Annual #3 suggested that time in the comic was now moving at the same speed as time in the real world, and that would almost have to be true here too. I can't see things getting this desperate only a few weeks after Luthor's death.
- I'm actually kind of on Sam Foswell's side. Who are Clark and Lois to criticize him for supporting The Eradicator and laying off people in order keep the lights on at The Planet?
He may not be making great decisions, but they're out of line.
- "Cleric" removed the Eradicator Device from Krypton in approximately 199000 BC (our time). Jor-El and Lara were born at least 100,000 years later (see my Post-Crisis Superman Timeline), so why does the Eradicator know anything about them?
- Lois' mother is apparently now leaving the hospital, and I have questions:
Clark and Lois have spent the past month having heart to hearts about everything from having kids, to the state of the environment, to Jimmy losing his job, to what Clark should get his parents for their anniversary, but her mother finally coming home after spending ages at death's door never came up? And let's be clear -- Luthor was portioning out a partial cure in exchange for Lois' loyalty (and perhaps affection) while secretly retaining a permanent cure Lois knew nothing about. Are we to infer that someone at Lexcorp found out about this and just gave her mom the cure? It doesn't make sense.
- I think the Superman Office enjoys switching off on art chores for these major stories (if you can call this a major story), but some of it is distracting, here. I really really don't like Thibert's new Lee/Liefeld/McFarlane approach to drawing Superman:
and why is McLeod drawing an artificial being of pure logic as looking so crazed and angry?
- A being devoted entirely to logic and efficiency, able to shape himself into any form, gives himself a butt?
Maybe he just cloned Superman's body.
- Are we supposed to know who the guy on the bottom right is?
All in all, a poorly done story exactly when the Superman Office needed to knock one out of the ballpark and prove to readers that this franchise was worthy of their time and attention.
"Return of the Krypton Man"
Script: Dan Jurgens
Pencils: Dan Jurgens (layout, pages 1-7, 31-38); Art Thibert (pages 17-21); Jon Bogdanove (pages 10-13, 22-23); Bob McLeod (pages 8-9, 14-16, 25); Tom Grummett (layout, pages 24, 26-30)
Inks: Brett Breeding (finishes, pages 1-7); Art Thibert (p. 17-21); Dennis Janke (p. 10-13, 22-23); Denis Rodier (pages 8-9, 14-16, 25); Jerry Ordway (finishes, pages 24, 26-30); Bob McLeod (finishes, pages 31-38)
Colors: Glenn Whitmore
Letters: John Costanza
Grade: C+
It's now clear why Stern, Ordway, and Jurgens needed a month off during the Red Glass Trilogy: to help commemorate the launching of Superman, The Man of Steel #1, EVERY Superman comic is 48 pages long this month.
I spoke a little about how I felt the launching of SMOS #1 was a misfire in my previous review, but now it becomes even more apparent. If you were someone who had jumped onboard when these books were "Still only 75 cents" the year prior, right after Dark Knight Over Metropolis had caught your attention (and it does seem that this is when many of us climbed aboard), then we have suddenly jumped from a $2.25 per month and 70 pages of reading commitment to $7 this month and 192 pages of reading commitment, NOT counting the Superman for Earth tpb. If you were a diehard fan of this franchise, this was a great thing, but for the casual reader (and, let's be clear -- the zeitgeist had definitively shifted in Marvel's favor in the past year, plus the Superman books had been quality but utterly lacked sensationalism/excitement since Luthor's death half a year earlier) this was taking valuable time and money away from other books you could be reading and buying.
Just this month alone over at Marvel, Wolverine is having a long-awaited reunion with Sabertooth in his own title, he's teaming up with Spider-Man against the Wendigo (another long-awaited reunion) in Spidey's new title, and he's having his origin story finally revealed in Marvel Comics presents.
X-Men Classic is reprinting the Dark Phoenix Saga for an entire generation that missed it, Punisher is celebrating his 50th issue, Ghost Rider's got the world's first glow in the dark cover, Deathlok has a chrome-covered first issue for his highly anticipated new ongoing series,
and not only is Infinity Gauntlet #1 on the stands, but anyone catching the Silver Surfer bug in anticipation has Silver Surfer #51, Silver Surfer Annual #4, and the Silver Surfer: Parable tpb to pick up.
The money spent on a month worth of Superman comics could get you 7 of those 12 books, and the time spent reading those 192 pages of the Eradicator's return and Ma and Pa Kent's cruise with Perry and Alice White could instead be spent reading 9 of those mega hot books. This is not to say that those were better works, but rather that they were the trending books of the time that everyone wanted, and the Superman titles inadvertently positioned themselves to be an obstruction in the way of fans obtaining those books. This is the month that both I and brutalis turned our backs on the Superman Office, and I sincerely doubt we were the only two.
As for whether we missed out, I guess that's what these ensuing reviews will be determining.
This particular issue doesn't seem to suggest that is the case. While meticulous continuity and a rich focus on Superman's supporting cast remains in play, this office still struggles with providing actual interesting conflict for The Man of Steel now that Lex Luthor isn't in the picture. We've now spent half a year trying to dredge the Post-Crisis rogues gallery for interesting villains, and now, in a particularly desperate move, the Eradicator Device is somehow back and an energy being:
No, it doesn't make any sense.
I respect the idea -- what better way to create a meaningful villain with a meaningful relationship with Superman than by having him be the only other survivor from Krypton, as well as the embodiment of all the ideals Clark has now turned his back on, except that it's done poorly.
For example, I genuinely LIKE how morally gray the Eradicator's mission is. He truly does want to build a better world:
But Superman's response is embarrassing. The Eradicator had just converted a slum into a spire and insulted its slum lord to his face. Superman interrupts this and thus comes off as defending wealth inequality, corrupt slumlords and the like in thwarting the Eradicator's mission to create change, and, on top of that, he comes in swinging.
Really, what was the plan, here? Punch the Eradicator so that he would agree?
Worse yet, while the Eradicator is out there CHANGING THE SUN INTO ONE THAT WON'T SUPPORT HUMAN LIFE, Clark sends his parents off on a cruise and returns for a full day of work at The Planet instead of looking for The Eradicator or seeking a means to stop him.
He finally checks in on Prof. Hamilton at the end of the work day (Oh good! "Hammy" can help him determine how to save the sun or stop The Eradicator!), but no...he came to take Prof. Hamilton on a trip to the Fortress of Solitude:
Recent issues had characterized Superman as intelligent and determined, but here he feels like the super-powered fool Byrne depicted all over again. I shouldn't like the villain more than the hero.
Also, as much as I personally love the smaller stories of Clark and Lois working through their new relationship, or catching up on the supporting cast at The Daily Planet, I really really didn't need a forced first meeting between the Kents and the Whites:
Seems totally insignificant, as well as totally improbable that they chose to go on cruises at the exact same time, to the exact same destination, and on a ship larger than the Kent Farm (Pa's words, not mine), and they end up right across the hall from one another.
Important Details:
- The Eradicator is now a being of pure energy that can manipulate all forms of energy. Solar energy from the Earth's core, in particular, proves effective against Superman.
- The Post-Crisis Fortress of Solitude is kept under a constantly moving sheet of ice, requiring both X-Ray vision and Heat vision to find it.
- The Lincoln Monument is destroyed.
Seriously, how's that going to work? Is Mike Carlin going to send a memo to all DC offices and writers telling them not to use the Lincoln Monument from now on?
Minor Details:
- More exploration of how much Luthor's death has hurt Metropolis:
But, while it's been seven months in real time since Luthor died, time in the Superman comics was moving far slower during the Byrne Era. Superman Annual #3 suggested that time in the comic was now moving at the same speed as time in the real world, and that would almost have to be true here too. I can't see things getting this desperate only a few weeks after Luthor's death.
- I'm actually kind of on Sam Foswell's side. Who are Clark and Lois to criticize him for supporting The Eradicator and laying off people in order keep the lights on at The Planet?
He may not be making great decisions, but they're out of line.
- "Cleric" removed the Eradicator Device from Krypton in approximately 199000 BC (our time). Jor-El and Lara were born at least 100,000 years later (see my Post-Crisis Superman Timeline), so why does the Eradicator know anything about them?
- Lois' mother is apparently now leaving the hospital, and I have questions:
Clark and Lois have spent the past month having heart to hearts about everything from having kids, to the state of the environment, to Jimmy losing his job, to what Clark should get his parents for their anniversary, but her mother finally coming home after spending ages at death's door never came up? And let's be clear -- Luthor was portioning out a partial cure in exchange for Lois' loyalty (and perhaps affection) while secretly retaining a permanent cure Lois knew nothing about. Are we to infer that someone at Lexcorp found out about this and just gave her mom the cure? It doesn't make sense.
- I think the Superman Office enjoys switching off on art chores for these major stories (if you can call this a major story), but some of it is distracting, here. I really really don't like Thibert's new Lee/Liefeld/McFarlane approach to drawing Superman:
and why is McLeod drawing an artificial being of pure logic as looking so crazed and angry?
- A being devoted entirely to logic and efficiency, able to shape himself into any form, gives himself a butt?
Maybe he just cloned Superman's body.
- Are we supposed to know who the guy on the bottom right is?
All in all, a poorly done story exactly when the Superman Office needed to knock one out of the ballpark and prove to readers that this franchise was worthy of their time and attention.
