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Post by Duragizer on Jun 25, 2022 21:10:43 GMT -5
I never would have guessed that was Butch Guice art. Likewise, mostly. I can see his style more clearly in the Lois panels. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 26, 2022 9:35:37 GMT -5
Adventures of Superman #487 (February 1992)  "Christmas in Suicide Slumberland" Script: Jerry Ordway Pencils: Tom Grummett Inks: Doug Hazlewood Colors: Glenn Whitmore Letters: Albert DeGuzman Grade: B It's a little hard to follow-up Dan Jurgens' efforts in last week's issue of Superman with another spirit-of-Christmas story, but Ordway gives it his best. After establishing that the senator Pete Ross works for has been assassinated and that Pete Ross has been appointed by the governor to complete his term, Ordway tries for a feel-good story with Bibbo at its center, and it sort-of-kind-of-maybe-works. Where I struggle with this one is that, while Ordway has been depicting Bibbo as the loveable unlikely saint of Suicide Slum since winning the lottery at the beginning of "1991", his treatment is suddenly very different here. Whereas Bibbo's bar was depicted as an oasis of love in Suicide Slum only four months back,  it's a lot more depressing now, the Christmas party Bibbo throws consisting of High Pockets getting a six pack of beer, Lamar getting a pack of beef jerky, and no one remembering to give Bibbo anything, while they watch the news and some other regular complaining that her son never sees her anymore. The treatment get s no better once High Pocket and Lamar (no longer exuding any of the fun charm they had when they debuted in Adventures #483) are somehow stupid and drunk enough to believe that robbing a toy store and leaving behind payment (which they presumably don't even have) in order to help out orphans is a good idea. This leads to a run-in with Superman and Bibbo having to earn his mercy by volunteering to play Santa at a local hospital. Superman acknowledges Bibbo's recent good deeds (this is their first meeting since waaay back during Day of The Krypton Man, and Bibbo has sure come a long way since), but Bibbo becomes the butt of every joke after, everyone making snobbish remarks at this reformed man doing a good deed to help out his friends AND help orphans:    It's a bit of a betrayal to take someone we were encouraged to admire over the past year and make him into this much of a joke. Sure, Clark and Lois manage to see the good in Bibbo by the end  but no one ever actually acknowledges this to Bibbo's face. It's a hard sell asking me to repeatedly laugh at the most selfless person in Metropolis outside of Superman himself for twenty two pages, but it was an endearing story all the same, and Ordway tends to capture the souls of these characters better than anyone. Somehow, Bibbo in the Santa outfit exuded a very Norman Rockwell feel. Ordway is trying to tap that level of wholesome mischevousness, and it often works. Important Details:1. This will be the only Post-Crisis appearance of Turtle Boy, this time as a character Jimmy is hired to play for a pizza commercial:  Odder is the choice to name the ape Titano. That would be a cute nod to Pre-Crisis continuity if we hadn't already gotten a Post-Crisis Titano in one of my absolute favorite Post-Crisis Superman stories. Ordway may not have been involved in that story, but Mike Carlin did edit it, so it's a little surprising to see that it's been forgotten by this point. 2. Bibbo has reunited Jimmy and his mother by making a simple phone call.  Good riddance to that story arc. 3. Pete Ross is now an acting congressman after the assassination of his boss (clearly intended to look like it was done by Quraci terrorists, but it likely wasn't). Minor Details:1. Agent Liberty is back, and we're reminded of some old details that might have otherwise gone forgotten:  President Marlo has been in US custody since Superman #53. 2. In a truly unnecessary display of internal continuity, the shirt Lois bought for Clark in Superman #63 is now gifted to him here, except it was a dress shirt then and is a sweater now.   Oops. 3. Here's the problem with this idea that one month in our world equals one week in Superman's. Just last month, Jimmy was at Bibbo's Thanksgiving Party, and now Bibbo is having a Christmas one:  For the characters in this world, only one week has gone by, and yet we've clearly advanced a full month in terms of seasons. |
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Post by chaykinstevens on Jun 26, 2022 13:56:56 GMT -5
This will be the only Post-Crisis appearance of Turtle Boy, this time as a character Jimmy is hired to play for a pizza commercial: GCD shows a few subsequent Turtle Boy appearances, such as Superman #84, Adventures of Superman #582, and Countdown #19 & 20. Here's the problem with this idea that one month in our world equals one week in Superman's. Just last month, Jimmy was at Bibbo's Thanksgiving Party, and now Bibbo is having a Christmas one: For the characters in this world, only one week has gone by, and yet we've clearly advanced a full month in terms of seasons. Also they seem to celebrate Christmas every three months in Metropolis. |
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Post by chaykinstevens on Jun 26, 2022 14:47:34 GMT -5
WRT Superman's Jewish roots, I understand the instinct to stay faithful to them. But fact of the matter is the post- Crisis Clark is a working class Gen X'er from Kansas; he's more likely than not going to have had a Christian upbringing, especially with a WASPy surname like "Kent". Roger Stern had previously established Clark had a Christian upbringing in Adventures of Superman #462, according to the review of that issue in this thread. |
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Post by Chris on Jun 26, 2022 15:03:58 GMT -5
Superman #64 (February 1992) Is there something going on with the pencilers this month? Bogdanove had a fill-in last week, and now Brett Breeding is gone too, but WOW does Jackson Guice more than make up for the absence: This is one of his very first jobs for DC, and boy does it read as a stellar application. Put this man on a Superman title as a regular penciler/inker! It wasn't one of his very first jobs. He was working for DC a full five years earlier, not as a fill-in artist or even just an artist cranking out a regular assignment...  ...but as a name draw on a brand new series. One critical to the "new post-crisis DC" at that. Guice drew ten issues of Flash and the first annual, and two issues of Teen Titans Spotlight, which were both written by his Flash colleague Mike Baron. So while he didn't do a lot of work for DC before this issue of Superman, he wasn't walking in the door for the first or second time either. I remember this issue of Superman so clearly because when I saw his name on the cover I was expecting something very different from the art inside the book. Guice's art here was so very different from his work on Flash, which had a crazed hyper-kinetic energy that isn't apparent in this Superman issue. I wasn't sure why at first, although I knew that Larry Mahlstedt inking Guice on Flash was definitely a factor. But it was more than that. Then I realized that Guice had been working from thumbnail sketches by Baron on Flash. Until then, I never knew just how much of the look of the art on Flash - layouts, camera angles, etc. - was probably due to Baron. I can't say how much was Baron or was Guice, but I never saw Guice's art ever look like it did on Flash ever again. Or maybe Guice just didn't think that sort of art worked on any other character than Flash. |
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Post by Chris on Jun 26, 2022 15:17:43 GMT -5
WRT Superman's Jewish roots, I understand the instinct to stay faithful to them. But fact of the matter is the post- Crisis Clark is a working class Gen X'er from Kansas; he's more likely than not going to have had a Christian upbringing, especially with a WASPy surname like "Kent". Roger Stern had previously established Clark had a Christian upbringing in Adventures of Superman #462, according to the review of that issue in this thread. Thanks. I was looking for that post but couldn't find it. Portraying Superman as Christian was not new at the time. He's shown to be Christian - or at least having a Christian upbringing - in Superman #247, cover date January 1972.  There were also numerous Christmas issues of Superman, along with Superboy and other related titles. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 26, 2022 19:06:47 GMT -5
Not looking to beat a dead horse here, but my objection was never that Clark had a Christian upbringing. In the very review chaykinstevens referenced, I praised the Superman Office for being that bold when mainstream comics generally tend to avoid religion. It's ending the issue with a prayer at the dinner table that I objected to - an indication that this is what normal Thanksgiving must be for everyone (including Clark and Lois). Clark can be quietly religious, but when it begins to feel like the comic is preaching religion, I have a problem. I wonder how many folks reading this review thread have any idea what my religion is because I don't force it down anyone's throat. The CCF doesn't make specific topics nor threads endorsing anything about what I believe in. The things I create for others are respectful of the idea that we all come from different places and hold different beliefs and practices. Heck, the Post-Byrne Christmas stories have twice now gone out of their way to acknowledge Jews and their culture. So an abrupt ending that seems to exist solely to force the saintliness of a Christian praying family at the dinner table down our throats rubbed me wrong. Several of you have since indicated that this did not bother you, and that's fine. But as this discussion is continuing, I felt it necessary to clarify my objection. Characters having a religious upbringing = fine. Previously nondenominational characters being revealed as devout practitioners of a religion = unsettling Abrupt shock ending designed to force Christian values down the reader's throat = not cool at all in my book. |
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Post by badwolf on Jun 27, 2022 9:07:30 GMT -5
Not looking to beat a dead horse here, but my objection was never that Clark had a Christian upbringing. In the very review chaykinstevens referenced, I praised the Superman Office for being that bold when mainstream comics generally tend to avoid religion. It's ending the issue with a prayer at the dinner table that I objected to - an indication that this is what normal Thanksgiving must be for everyone (including Clark and Lois). Clark can be quietly religious, but when it begins to feel like the comic is preaching religion, I have a problem. I wonder how many folks reading this review thread have any idea what my religion is because I don't force it down anyone's throat. The CCF doesn't make specific topics nor threads endorsing anything about what I believe in. The things I create for others are respectful of the idea that we all come from different places and hold different beliefs and practices. Heck, the Post-Byrne Christmas stories have twice now gone out of their way to acknowledge Jews and their culture. So an abrupt ending that seems to exist solely to force the saintliness of a Christian praying family at the dinner table down our throats rubbed me wrong. Several of you have since indicated that this did not bother you, and that's fine. But as this discussion is continuing, I felt it necessary to clarify my objection. Characters having a religious upbringing = fine. Previously nondenominational characters being revealed as devout practitioners of a religion = unsettling Abrupt shock ending designed to force Christian values down the reader's throat = not cool at all in my book. I agree; Superman's upbringing should be evident in his "good works" rather than any specific ritual. |
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Post by shaxper on Jun 27, 2022 13:02:05 GMT -5
Action Comics #674 (February 1992)  "The Past is Prologue" Script: Roger Stern Pencils: Bob McLeod Inks: Denis Rodier Colors: Glenn Whitmore Letters: Bill Oakley Grade: B+ After a dud of a start to "1992," the cover of this one screams "BIG!". In one image, the reader is left with a mystery (is this Matrix? Is this some other Supergirl??) and the promise of a major storyline/event. I wonder, though, if having the entire crossover conclude in the span of only two months hurt its chances of reaching a wider audience. I suspect it was over before the casual reader even knew it had happened. So I'm curious -- if you were a casual reader at the time, did you know about Panic in the Sky? Did it catch your interest at all? In fact, in the speculating madness of the time period, I'm curious whether this "Jumping On Point" was seen as a collector's item for one hot minute. I know from my reviews there that it didn't get any mention in Wizard Magazine, for whatever that's worth. If a new reader did tune in for this storyline, they were certainly in for some confusion, as the plot is heavily entrenched in events that occurred almost three years earlier:  By the way, I swear I had no idea Maxima would be appearing here when I joked that they should bring her back only two reviews ago! I do suppose she and Draaga are more interesting than the non-Luthor villains this office has managed to come up with planet-side. It's good to see them back:  And, of course, the big reveal at the end of this issue is that the mysterious villain guiding them is Brainiac. Ever since Alan Grant pretty much ruined the Post-Crisis Brainiac worse than even Byrne did with L.E.G.I.O.N. '90 Annual #1, I'd assumed this office was just going to steer clear of the character that was now nothing but a tired trope of a space tyrant. Much to my surprise, Stern leans into that depiction and decides to depict Brainiac as the mastermind he always was, but now using planetary conquest to achieve his means -- both Draaga's Warworld and Maxima's Almerac:  This also gives Maxima an incentive to go good by the close, as well as freedom from the constraints of being expected to govern a planet. That's quite a gift to writers wanting to use her going forward. All in all, this story is a nice departure from the A, B, C, D, and E plots always running concurrently in most issues while very little actually progresses. I enjoy those ordinary stories, but going big and spacey makes for an excellent vacation from it all. Well, actually, we do revisit ONE B plot in this issue, and it's the one I wanted to see least of all. Whereas last issue seemed to wrap up Jimmy's thoroughly uninteresting plight with homelessness that neither tugged on the heart strings, delivered a poignant message, nor even provided ample entertainment, Stern is blowing it wide open again. Apparently, Jimmy isn't going back to live with his mom again after all:  God, even just like have mom give him enough cash for a security deposit on an apartment and then show us Jimmy working his way back up, but staying at Bibbo's? Didn't Bibbo and his friends pretty much force Jimmy to get drunk three weeks back and then go on to commit a felony last week? Otherwise, this is a pretty interesting first chapter, full of twists and delightful pay-offs (I really wasn't sure this was going to end up being Matrix, and it took me far too many panels to realize that wasn't Superman in space), and there is so much trouble brewing. The Superman Office hasn't felt like it was gearing up for something this big since Action Comics #650. Important Details:1. The return of Matrix Minor Details:1. When Matrix passes out, she defaults to her true appearance.  Except shouldn't her hair be red? She was originally designed to look like Lana Lang. Also, she was actually wearing a Supergirl suit? She must have put it on for her big battle with Clark way back in Action Comics #674 because she left Earth immediately after, never stopping back at the Kent farm to pack her things. 2. Was Brainiac intending to recruit both Draaga and Matrix all along, or did the two just happen to be in the same place when he put his plan into action? For that matter, was his intention to recruit Matrix, or did he also believe she was Superman? He doesn't seem to know anything about Matrix until he brainscans her, but he then brainwashes her to want to kill Superman, so recruiting him does not seem to be part of the plan. 3. Once Brainiac scans Matrix's mind, he has a pretty deep understanding of how she was designed.  A fan theory will later speculate that Brainiac created Doomsday and launched him at The Earth at the conclusion of this storyline. I don't know whether the theory ever ended up being validated, but if it's correct, this might be where Brainiac gains the inspiration and know-how to create Doomsday. 4. I hadn't really taken note of Dennis Rodier previously, but his work here is fantastic. He makes McLeod look much better than he is:  |
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Post by Duragizer on Jun 27, 2022 15:28:06 GMT -5
When Matrix passes out, she defaults to her true appearance. Except shouldn't her hair be red? She was originally designed to look like Lana Lang. Also, she was actually wearing a Supergirl suit? She must have put it on for her big battle with Clark way back in Action Comics #674 because she left Earth immediately after, never stopping back at the Kent farm to pack her things. Pretty sure her clothes are formed of the same protomatter as her body. I really wish they hadn't continued with Matrix as Supergirl. I like her character, but not as Supergirl. They should've had her forge her own identity and introduced a more traditional Supergirl ala the DCAU Supergirl. |
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Post by SJNeal on Jun 27, 2022 15:29:15 GMT -5
I was still buying my comics from spinner racks in '92, so I don't recall if "Panic in the Sky" was heavily pushed anywhere other than some house ads. I did miss a couple chapters that I then had to track down after the fact (and pay above cover price for  ), but such was the era. Again, being a spinner rack customer meant you missed just as many issues as you could actually find, and it made being a Superman reader pretty frustrating at times. However my 10 yr old self was able to catch up and follow along pretty easy thanks to Stern et al's exposition. Oh, and McCleod is on his way out. Rodier is about to be paired with a much better penciler very soon.  |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jun 27, 2022 21:18:07 GMT -5
I was picking up the Super books and it got pushed in house ads and the DC supplements that were put out, and in things like CBG. The Superman books were still doing well and there was speculation as to when they were going to do the wedding. I believe, originally, it was supposed to happen within two years of the proposal; but, the debut of the Lois and Clark tv series put a hold on that, as they wanted to do it in parallel.
War World and the whole Superman in exile in space thing had done well, especially because of Perez's involvement. This being the return of Draga and War World and such was treated as a big deal by editorial. I saw a lot of people getting the Superman books, at that time.
There was the theory about Doomsday, because Brainiac does jettison something, during the storyline, that is supposed to be a weapon. That theory then drove sales of that issue as the first appearance of Doomsday. At the time, it was denied; but, they did kind of retroactively embrace it, as I recall. I think it was more of a parallel idea that got folded together.
Panic in the Sky was probably the last storyline that I rally enjoyed, as I ended up dumping the book, not long after its conclusion, though I scrambled back onto it when the Doomsday storyline got going. After that, I stayed through the initial return; but, the malaise returned quickly. In part, I was really burning out on superheroes at DC and Marvel and was picking up more alternative material. The speculator mess helped hurry along that decision.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 27, 2022 21:24:55 GMT -5
Oh, and McCleod is on his way out. Rodier is about to be paired with a much better penciler very soon. This gives me so much hope! If only Bogdanove would go with him... |
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Post by chadwilliam on Jun 27, 2022 23:10:29 GMT -5
Action Comics #674 (February 1992) A fan theory will later speculate that Brainiac created Doomsday and launched him at The Earth at the conclusion of this storyline. I don't know whether the theory ever ended up being validated, but if it's correct, this might be where Brainiac gains the inspiration and know-how to create Doomsday. That theory made no sense whatsoever given that while Brainiac does launch a weapon at the end of Superman #66 leaving readers to wonder just what it is he's unleashed in this last desperate attempt of his, that mystery gets solved in the very next issue where we learn exactly what it is he sent, what it does, and whether or not Superman can defeat it. I guess whoever started this speculation did so without reading the regular issues and only the event ones. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 27, 2022 23:18:33 GMT -5
there was speculation as to when they were going to do the wedding. I believe, originally, it was supposed to happen within two years of the proposal; but, the debut of the Lois and Clark tv series put a hold on that, as they wanted to do it in parallel. I've heard the same. Of course, the engagement was more than a year ago, and Lois & Clark is a little more than a full year away, so someone was dragging their feet even before L&A. Heck, primetime TV was a crowded battleground back then, and they had no reason to believe the show would survive long enough for Clark and Lois to even get engaged (which doesn't happen until the end of season two). |
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), but such was the era. 
