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Post by badwolf on Aug 9, 2022 16:44:57 GMT -5
Action #588 was one of my least favorite issues of the run. Not because it's done badly but because I had no context for it. I didn't know anything about the Shadow War and I still don't.
I liked how #589 tied in with the Phantom Stranger story. I think this might have been the first time I read anything with the non-Earth GLs.
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Post by mistermets on Aug 10, 2022 10:10:56 GMT -5
Superman #7Lois visits a lab to see an unconventional power source, but there's disagreement between the scientists about the appropriate security protocols. I like their bickering; it feels like coworkers getting into it at an inappropriate time. An accident occurs, potentially caused by one scientist grandstanding, and a super-strong monster emerges. Superman tries to fight her, but discovers that it might be a transformed Lois Lane. This complicates matters for Superman, and raises the stakes appropriately. Later, it turns out to be another scientist mutated into the new creature, which doesn't seem essential to the narrative. Superman's able to save her, and there don't appear to be any long-term consequences. He doesn't wrestle with any question of whether he would have fought as hard to save her if she wasn't someone he cared about. I'm guessing they didn't want this temporary experience with superpowers to be an element of Lois Lane's background. The method of defeating the monster is clever enough, and leads to a compelling minor mystery that is likely to be resolved quite quickly. B+ Adventures of Superman #430The Adventures run has generally not featured the typical supervillains, although this issue is a departure with the Freedom Five, whose lameness is a plot point. Superman wrestles with his obligations as a superhero, and his responsibilities as Clark Kent, which seems tonally like something you'd see more in a Marvel Comic. Generally, the problems are understandable. It is a big deal if Clark misses an interview with the President. An effective sequence connects Clark's problems here with other Superman adventures, some from other comic books of the time and some that are just alluded to. Clark tries to engineer an anniversary party for his parents, and is inevitably unable to make it. That climax is the one scene that seems out of place, because of course they're understanding about it, and this is something that he should have recognized. There's a larger theme of Superman recognizing that he can't do everything and there will sometimes be consequences for his responsibilities, which connects pretty well to previous issues and events in other titles, but it's also a lesson this version of Clark Kent should have already learned. B Action Comics #590Superman is exposed to a chemical bath, and accidentally gives a power boost to the mindless villain Chemo, who he has to defeat with the help of the Doom Patrol. The opening is pretty decent with Clark having an accident, and focusing on his secret identity. Chemo's backstory is all over the place. He seems to have been defeated on an alternate Earth, but the merging of different universes in Crisis on Infinite Earths means he's now back. That's not a terrible excuse for why a supervillain was able to return, but it doesn't gel with a detail that he was defeated weeks earlier, which means that a lot of stuff that has happened in the space of a few weeks. He's got a history with the Metal Men, and Byrne doesn't deal with the implications. Are the Metal Men from his world? Is Superman from his world? We also don't get much of a sense of what Chemo is and what he wants. However, a bad guy who is essentially a giant toxic green Superman is a good threat for this title. I like how the Metal Men's disagreements with one another complicate the adventure, and how Superman's able to guide them to a better outcome. There's a mystery in a set-up to a Metal Men mini-series, which is promising, and a better approach for this title than an epic conclusion to events in another book. B
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Post by badwolf on Aug 10, 2022 11:28:10 GMT -5
Chemo was on Earth-4 when it was destroyed by Negative Woman during the Crisis on Infinite Earths.
I think this was my first experience with Chemo or the Metal Men (not including the brief Crisis appearances).
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Post by mistermets on Aug 12, 2022 14:51:01 GMT -5
Legion of Superheroes #37This crossover with the Superman titles is a standard issue of Legion of Superheroes, so there's focus on ongoing stories and drama that I don't really care about. Fortunately, the scenes where the Legion goes back in time to Smallville are interesting enough, getting to the mystery of how the Legion of Superheroes could know Superboy if Superboy never existed. Granted, I like the Geoff Johns solution better that a young Clark Kent would go to the future, where he might see himself as Superboy since he knows the type of man he grows up into. Then there's a turn where Superboy seems to betray the Legion. It's not always clear what's going on, or what exactly the Time Keeper, the big bad of the crossover, is up to, but it's a decent fight. B Superman #8/ Action Comics #591After their encounter with Superboy, the Legion get into an altercation with the full-grown Superman, who is trying to figure out how they could have such wildly inaccurate impressions of his world. A minor detail is the differences between the different versions of Smallville, and an abandoned stone quarry as a favorite location for Clark. Byrne has an exposition-dump, which includes spending several pages summarizing events from Legion of Superheroes #37. The story takes a turn when Superman goes into the Smallville of the Superboy world, getting into a tussle with Krypto as well as a younger version of himself. It works pretty well as a team-up, as continuity clean-up and as just an unusual situation for Superman and all concerned. B+
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Post by mistermets on Aug 12, 2022 14:52:48 GMT -5
Legion of Superheroes #38It's an okay story in which Superboy is killed off. It's a bit transparent that this was done because they don't want to deal with the continuity hassle, although there is a larger message about Superboy maintaining his integrity when put into difficult situations. It very well may be a more enjoyable read for someone who has been following the ongoing series. B Adventures of Superman #431
The opening is entertaining with out of town criminals making a really dumb error. Erik Larsen, at a relatively early stage in his career, is a step down from Jerry Ordway, although he is able to depict the chaos caused by weird weather events, which is a decent challenge for Superman. The basic concept of a madman who thinks he's a greek God is a decent one for a supervillain, but it worked for Maxie Zeus from the Batman comics, so I don't get why they need to have another character to do the exact same thing. There's an argument between Lois and Cat Grant that is a reminder that conflicts between supporting characters are easy to mess up in comics. There isn't much room for nuance. B-
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Post by chaykinstevens on Aug 13, 2022 6:45:13 GMT -5
The last panel doesn't work very well for me, reading from left to right. Action Comics #590Superman is exposed to a chemical bath, and accidentally gives a power boost to the mindless villain Chemo, who he has to defeat with the help of the Doom Patrol. Do you mean the Metal Men? There's a mystery in a set-up to a Metal Men mini-series, which is promising, and a better approach for this title than an epic conclusion to events in another book. Were they intending to do a Metal Men mini at this point? I think it was six years until one emerged, by Mike Carlin and Dan Jurgens.
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Post by chaykinstevens on Aug 13, 2022 6:54:50 GMT -5
Legion of Superheroes #37It's not always clear what's going on, or what exactly the Time Keeper, the big bad of the crossover, is up to, but it's a decent fight. I think you mean the Time Trapper.
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Post by chaykinstevens on Aug 13, 2022 7:15:54 GMT -5
Adventures of Superman #431
Erik Larsen, at a relatively early stage in his career, is a step down from Jerry Ordway, although he is able to depict the chaos caused by weird weather events, which is a decent challenge for Superman. I see that among the nine inkers who worked on this issue, someone named Robert Ian was credited with inking pages four and five. Does anyone know anything about him?
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Post by zaku on Aug 13, 2022 17:38:46 GMT -5
I said this in the shaxper 's review thread too, but while in hindsight we see all the flaws of this run, we also need to understand how new and fresh it looked compared to what had been before. While Wolfman's Titans, Claremont's X-Men, Miller's Daredevil, Simmonson's Thor had arrived in the world of comics, in the pre-crisis Superman comics there was still Luthor who wanted to conquer the world because he suffered from precocious baldness and Lois and Lana catfighting to win a man who wanted nothing to do with them. I still remember how excited many of us were to see what Byrne would be able to pull off from a character we considered dead and gone. ...I feel old...
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Post by mistermets on Aug 20, 2022 13:42:03 GMT -5
Superman #9This issue has two significant stories: a clash between Superman and DC's biggest villain, and a Lex Luthor backup that has come to be one of the highlights of his nastiness. The opening is something Byrne does a lot, with a character acting strange, setting up a whole mystery of what's going on and giving an opportunity for others to react to all the nonsense. There are some decent sequences like Superman's method of avoiding a nuclear explosion.
The big question is what this story says about the Joker. It's obvious from the cover that he's going to be in the story, but he really appears for just a few pages. He underestimates Superman's intellect, but it can look bad if it takes less than a full issue for one of DC's heroes to defeat one of the greatest villains so that's a needle that has to be carefully threaded. The Joker creates a twisted dilemma for Superman, but he doesn't take the whole thing seriously, which explains the easy loss. You could imagine a darker follow-up where Joker makes things a lot harder. Frankly, what happens here is enough to push Superman. Meanwhile, Lex makes an unusual offer to a waitress. It could seem out of place in a Superman comics, given the R-rated implications, but it does seem like something people in Lex's circle are willing to do. It's a good example of him being a jerk, which led to some payoff during his presidential bid when the waitress tries to take him out. A+
Adventures of Superman #432 This gives the best sense so far of what the Wolfman/ Ordway run is trying to do, pitting Superman in gritty situations you wouldn't expect to see him, even something like entering a crime-ridden Subway system. We see it in movies and TV of the time (at this point, Taxi Driver was over a decade old) and other comics, but it's fresh to see it with Superman. Lex Luthor's plot is ruthless but works for the character and what the series is trying to do. The story isn't exactly subtle in how it handles sensitive topics, although that's the norm for comics of the era. It's a decent self-contained story that builds pretty well on the big ongoing subplots (Perry White's waylaid son, a community organizer taking a bigger stand against Lex.) B+
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Post by mistermets on Aug 20, 2022 13:45:50 GMT -5
I said this in the shaxper 's review thread too, but while in hindsight we see all the flaws of this run, we also need to understand how new and fresh it looked compared to what had been before. While Wolfman's Titans, Claremont's X-Men, Miller's Daredevil, Simmonson's Thor had arrived in the world of comics, in the pre-crisis Superman comics there was still Luthor who wanted to conquer the world because he suffered from precocious baldness and Lois and Lana catfighting to win a man who wanted nothing to do with them. I still remember how excited many of us were to see what Byrne would be able to pull off from a character we considered dead and gone. ...I feel old... I can definitely see why some people really like it. Some of the stories are decent, and it sometimes reads pretty well as part of the larger run. For example, I'm liking Clark's friends with benefits relationship with Cat Grant. Legion of Superheroes #37It's not always clear what's going on, or what exactly the Time Keeper, the big bad of the crossover, is up to, but it's a decent fight. I think you mean the Time Trapper. Yep. The last panel doesn't work very well for me, reading from left to right. Action Comics #590Superman is exposed to a chemical bath, and accidentally gives a power boost to the mindless villain Chemo, who he has to defeat with the help of the Doom Patrol. Do you mean the Metal Men? There's a mystery in a set-up to a Metal Men mini-series, which is promising, and a better approach for this title than an epic conclusion to events in another book. Were they intending to do a Metal Men mini at this point? I think it was six years until one emerged, by Mike Carlin and Dan Jurgens. In the last page, Doc Magnus seems to be acting a bit out of character and there's a notice for readers to pay attention for Metal Men related announcements. It seems it took a while for anything to finally be published.
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Post by mistermets on Aug 21, 2022 19:14:11 GMT -5
Action Comics #592-593This shows that team-up stories don't need to be single-issue. There are moments when the story has more room to breathe, even Big Barda's surprise at coming to the bad parts of Metropolis, or Clark discovering a strange mystery as a journalist, that sets up his role in the story rather well. There are Jack Kirby vibes to the story and Sleez is an effective new villain; an early associate of Darkseid's so creepy that he's no longer welcome on Apokolips. It made sense for Darkseid to have a Falstaff. The misunderstanding between heroes that is typical of the run is sensible here, as Superman has a good reason for wanting to keep a bad guy from coming to harm, while we understand Barda's preference to beat the schmuck to death. The story takes a dark turn when Superman is hypnotized and encouraged to make adult movies with Barda. They're hinting at some nasty stuff, and in commentaries, Byrne plays it off by saying it's all in the reader's imagination, which is a bit of a cheat. I like some of the details including the ending to the mystery, and Superman's trouble navigating old lead pipes. I can see why some people would really like the story ( seemed to mention it favorably) and why some people hate it with a passion. It's interesting to see heroes pushed into taboo situations, although doing it in a Superman story seems like a middle schooler learning how to curse. Because it's so coy about what happened, this means the heroes are limited from dealing with the trauma. On the one hand, I wouldn't necessarily want to read that story. On the other, the existence of that story is a bit more justified. Ultimately, I'm generally open-minded about whether works of culture should exist. My main rule is whether the characters acted badly. In that sense, the story doesn't diminish Superman or Big Barda. And it makes sense for there to have been some perverts from the early days of the Fourth World scrubbed out of the history books. A-
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Post by mistermets on Aug 21, 2022 19:21:19 GMT -5
Superman #10There's a strong opening sequence as Superman's powers go nuts (fitting Byrne's strategy of starting a story with something inexplicable, and providing an explanation at the end of the issue.) The issue includes a famous joke of Superman hearing lines from every comic DC published that month. The havoc to Metropolis is impressive, with a decent one-off plot involving Lex that sets up something bigger, as someone in town has earned his ire. It's a story we've seen a lot, with Superman losing control, and this might just be the version of that story. A
Adventures of Superman #433 The idea of multiple perspectives gives the issue an Eisner's Spirit vibe, which I've noticed much more from Byrne's run. I don't buy the ethical arguments about how to treat a news story involving Perry White's son, because it frames the question in a way that is kinda gross, with pressure to give Perry White's delinquent brat special treatment rather than them wrestling with the question of whether it's fair to expose the sins of ordinary people. If it's wrong to tell the story about Perry White' son it would be wrong to tell the story of a librarian's son, and they don't consider that connection. It's realistic that reporters will chase after awards but if that's someone's motivation, they should also be called out on it. The format of shitting to multiple perspectives is used well. Wolfman and Ordway have fun with it. A highlight is Jimmy's chapter ending when he calls Lucy Lane, and that cuts to her perspective where Clark Kent has joined for an awkward family dinner. Delgado's arc continues, and they're using the new supporting character to say something about crime in the 1980s and the human condition. Lex Luthor continues being a monster, although he has a well-considered response to a deathtrap with a high casualty rate for his employees. There is an obvious effort to use Superman to tell the types of stories that would typically be in other comic books (Batman, Daredevil, street-level Spidey) but Wolfman and Ordway are getting into a good groove on that, developing their own niche within the ongoing adventures of Superman. Shame Wolfman's only got two issues left. A-
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Post by mistermets on Aug 22, 2022 20:57:22 GMT -5
Superman #11The cover gives an immediate explanation about some of the strange stuff that starts going on here. It's the post-Crisis debut of a major Superman rogue. This gets to two weird questions. Mister Mxyzptlk may seem a bit out of place in post-Crisis DC, especially at this stage, so I could see some people thinking the publication of this issue doesn't make any sense. It's also an example of the jarring take on Superman. Sometimes this post-Crisis Superman has been around for a while, at roughly the same age as the pre-Crisis Superman. Sometimes it seems like he's still making rookie mistakes, so that this is basically Superman Year Two (even if they've been clear that he's been around for at least five years.) This is still a pretty big moment for Post-Crisis DC, with the first encounter with Mxzyptlk. And the story itself is fine. Byrne tells a Silver Age style story with his own sensibility. Silly isn't his forte, but it's okay. And it actually has some interesting developments in Clark Kent's private life. B+ Adventures of Superman #434
Delgado's story and the gang war continue as he becomes a vigilante. It's a story that could easily be done badly with a regular person taking risks when inspired by a superhero. It feels a bit like a subplot involving a doomed guest starr on a cop drama, but it's fine. The Perry Jr subplot also leads to a big development for his dad, which feels earned. Little details work pretty well like a security guard's concern that if he reveals that his ID card was stolen, employer Lex Luthor will fire him. That elevates generic superhero VS crime material. B Adventures of Superman #435
It seems to be Wolfman's final issue, so this issue ties up some loose ends and make a grand statement on the character. It's a bit out of place in the TPB but I guess they wanted to make it fairer for Wolfman fans. The opening seems to tie up loose ends with love interest Cat Grant, and I like her last effort to convince Clark to try to go to New York with her. It's a decent sequence when Clark has an accident during a story, and has to cover for his lack of injuries. The circle return, and finally just ask Superman for help, which does call attention to the fact they should've done it before. The dream sequence is fine. There are some loose ends remaining with the Circle, although I'm not intrigued enough by that storyline to care if it was ever continued. B
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Post by mistermets on Nov 26, 2022 10:17:48 GMT -5
I went on vacation in Late August, and then work started up again (I'm a teacher so my schedule is based on the New York City school calendar) so this read has been on hiatus. But I think it should be back on at this point. Action Comics Annual #1 A Batman team-up with vampires is a good use of an annual in a team-up series. The story is paced a bit strangely with weird double-spreads and transitions in the middle of the page. It fits the off-kilter mood of the story, but I don't know if it's intentional. Some of the twists are spoiled by the cover (a frequent trend with Byrne's run.) It is a creepy situation for Batman and Superman, and there is a good sense of tone as Superman and Batman are trying to figure out what's going on. Art Adams is a good fit for this story, conveying the innocence of the villain while capturing the atmosphere of the bayou. There are less interactions between Batman and Superman than I wanted, which is disappointing. I suspect that was even more the case for readers at the time who had less team-up options available, for whom Man of Steel #3 might have been the most recent Batman/ Superman story they could read. B
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