As I’ve mentioned many times, whenever my family takes a trip I like to do a little nerd shopping. Not only do I hit up comic shops whenever possible, but if I can find used bookstores, antique malls, or anything else of the sort, my wife knows that I’m going to want to immerse myself in some back-issue diving. There’s some relationship advice, folks, marry somebody who is willing to be patient with you when you’re elbow-deep in old copies of Donald Duck.
The interesting thing about doing this is that you never quite know what it is you’re going to find. I like the bargains, the dollar bins, the unsorted pot of gold at the end of the comic book rainbow. Sometimes you get complete sets. Sometimes long runs. But more often, I find, you get utterly random issues that don’t necessarily have anything else to do with anything else in the box. I always like to grab the weird comics when that happens, things that I’ve never heard of before, stuff that I’ve heard of but maybe have never read…and, of course, when I come across a Superman comic that I haven’t enjoyed, I rescue it from the bin.
Of course, this approach to collecting comes with a major complication – not knowing what I’m looking for and not even always knowing what I’m getting, Because I like to approach it this way, I often get incomplete stories. While it’s true that comics of the past were rarely serialized to the extent that they are today, even in the 70s and 80s it wasn’t unusual for a storyline to run for two or three issues, and at the time it was virtually unheard of for them to be labeled as such on the cover.
When that happens, when I read a comic that’s only a chunk of a story, I don’t necessarily feel like it’s fair to give it a full review. That doesn’t mean that it can’t be fun to talk about it, though. For example, a few weeks ago on a trip to the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, we hit an enormous antique mall where I scored several cheap Superman books, virtually all of which turned out to be only a part of a story.
Bet you wanna know what’s going on here. Sucker.
Action Comics #507, for example. The lead story in this issue is “The Miraculous Return of Jonathan Kent” by Cary Bates and Curt Swan. Younger folks might not remember this, but until the John Byrne Superman reboot in 1986, most versions of Clark Kent’s adoptive parents had passed away by the time he began his career as Superman. So I’m sure you can imagine Clark’s shock in this 1980 comic when Jonathan shows up to visit him in Metropolis as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Clark is dumbfounded, of course, but is even more shocked when he discovers that Lana Lang, too, thinks it’s perfectly natural for the late Jonathan Kent to be there. Whooshing off to Smallville, Clark can’t find his father’s grave or any other evidence that he died – in fact, there is a preponderance of evidence that Jonathan has been alive and well in Smallville all this time. Superman even finds letters (people used to do that before email) written to Jonathan FROM Clark, in his own handwriting. How is such a thing possible?
What a great question! I assume the answer can be found in Action Comics #508. I didn’t get that issue, though, so I can’t be entirely certain.
Bet you wanna know how this started. Sucker.
Adventure Comics #455 from 1977 has the opposite problem – it’s the end of a story that began in the previous issue. In “I Can’t Go Home Again” by Bob Rozakis with art by Juan Ortiz and Vince Colletta, Superboy begins the issue in outer space looking down on a Smallville that seems to have been somehow inundated with Kryptonite. Although (in this Pre-Crisis era) Kryptonite is harmless to humans, Superboy is trapped outside of town, and a recap of last issue tells us that although he’d captured the Kryptonite Kid, thinking him responsible, the real culprit is Lex Luthor. Superboy switches back to Clark and tries to confront Lex, even though the Kryptonite has left him as weak as a kitten. It goes as well as you might expect, and let’s all be grateful that Pete Ross knew Clark’s secret, even if he didn’t want Clark to know that.
The story isn’t bad, but it makes me want to go back and read the first part which – needless to say – I don’t have. It probably also goes without saying that neither of the books I’m hoping to read are available on the DC Universe Infinite app. I’ve written before about how irritating it is that the “infinite” app has such huge swaths of comics missing from its catalogue. By what measure can we call it “infinite” if there are hundreds of comics featuring Superman that aren’t included in the database? (To say nothing of the missing comics featuring Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, the Flash, and all the rest?) I get that digitizing old comics takes time and money, but it’s been an embarrassingly long time since there were any more older comics added to the app.
I doubt that they’ll leap onto these two comics that I’ve mentioned here just because I happened to mention it – after all, I’ve been playing this particular song for a couple of years now and DC hasn’t made any real strides to start adding older comics again. But it’s something I find frustrating every time I open the app and look for a comic that turns out to be missing.
Not that this will stop me from picking up the random oldies whenever I come across them, of course. That, if nothing else, is part of the fun.
Blake M. Petitis a writer, teacher, and dad from Ama, Louisiana. His most recent writing project is the superhero adventure seriesOther People’s Heroes: Little Stars, volume one of which is now available on Amazon.Don’t forget, you can check out earlier blogs in theYear of Superman/Superman Stuff Archive! Got a request for a future “Superman Stuff”? Drop it in the comments!
It’s time once again for a roundup of recent comic reviews! This time, we’re kicking it off with Supergirl’s return to Elseworlds, just in time for her new movie!
Supergirl: Survive #1
Writers: Ethan S. Parker & Griffin Sheridan Art & Main Cover: Rod Reis
The newest Elseworlds miniseries puts Kara Zor-El in the forefront. Ever since Jeph Loeb brought her back after her death in the original Crisis on Infinite Earths, one of my favorite bits of lore that was added to Supergirl is the idea that Kara is actually OLDER than Kal-El, but was in suspended animation for her trip to Earth, which took much longer for her than her cousin. The result is that when she arrived on Earth she was still a teenager, and now was in the position of seeking big brotherly guidance from the world’s greatest superhero, whose diapers she changed just a few relative months ago. Supergirl: Survive starts from that basic premise. The Elseworlds twist this time is that instead of Kal-El escaping Krypton’s destruction ALONE, older cousin Kara was placed into the rocket ship WITH him.
Then there’s another twist. But we’ll come back to that.
The destruction of Krypton is only in the last few pages of this issue, with most of the book taken up with Kara’s life on Krypton and a schism between her father, Zor-El, and his brother Jor-El. The friction between the brothers is explored, but they manage to come together in the end. We get a few pages focusing on some sort of political unrest on Krypton, although the actual source of it is somewhat unclear (and there’s a bit that feels like a heavy-handed attempt at a metaphor, which I hope isn’t where things are going, but you never know). There’s also a lot of stuff about Kara in school, her friendships, the boy she has a crush on…and to be honest, all of it is a little perplexing. If this was part of the main DC Universe, we’d get some backstory to emphasize the tragedy that’s coming, the dramatic irony of the reader knowing every character Kara is interacting with is doomed. But this is an Elseworlds, and there’s a definite possibility that these scenes are not just flavor to make the cataclysm more bitter. I may be wrong, although I won’t be certain until the series reaches its end, but a lot of this feels like groundwork for future plot points.
The other thing that makes this interesting is – without getting into too much detail – this is NOT a story about Kara and Kal-El growing up on Earth together, as many people would be tempted to tell with this starting point. No, remember, the title is “Survive,” and the struggle for survival seems like it’s going to take place in space. Although Earth was the intended destination, by the end of this first issue that’s already blown up in our faces, and that’s the thing that I find most interesting here. The writers are using a familiar starting point, but they take a wild left turn immediately afterwards, and I’m looking forward to seeing where it leads.
Adventures of Superman: Book of El #9
Title: The Battle For Tamaran Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson Art & Main Cover: Scott Godlewski
As we seem to be moving into the final act of this story, we’re digging still more into the future family of Kal-El, which – okay, it’s the title of the series. But man, there’s a lot going on here, and I wish more than ever that DC saw fit to preface their books with a recap page like Marvel does, because there are so many characters and so many things going on that it’s getting really difficult to keep track month-to-month.
All that said, there was probably more to like about this issue than I’ve seen in this series for quite some time. Although I often find his stories to be hit-or-miss, I cannot deny just how well Phillip Kennedy Johnson understands Superman’s character, the inherent goodness and optimism that makes the character what he is. And best of all, he portrays those traits as infectious. We don’t see too much of that from Superman himself this issue, but rather from Osul-Ra, who has taken his Papa’s lessons to heart and expresses them very well, even as he goes into battle.
I’m still more interested in Rowan Kent, the “Lantern in the Dark,” than I am in most of the other players in this story, and I again reiterate that I’d read a miniseries just about her. But the final page gives me a little more hope, bringing in a character that’s definitely more familiar and gives the whole story a more solid standing.
Supergirl #14
Title: Hero of Kandor Part Four (A Reign of the Superboys tie-in) Writer, Art & Main Cover: Sophie Campbell
When the cover for this issue was released it initially caused a bit of a stir. “Matrix Returns!” the artwork proclaims. And the cover is an homage to a classic Tom Grummet pin-up from the 90s. The return of the Matrix Supergirl, the one from the Death of Superman era and the amazing Peter David run! She was coming back!
Then Sophie Campbell said that the marketing department was being overzealous and the Matrix Supergirl is NOT returning…in THIS issue. But there are plans for her. So I’m excited and I’m not going to hold the marketing against Campbell any more than I’m going to blame her for the editorial-mandated “Reign of the Superboys” stamp that doesn’t really amount to much.
Here’s what happens: Lena reunites with Kara and Lesla-Lar, on the run from Black Flame, who has stolen the ring that allowed Supergirl to use her powers while in Kandor. Lena has a solution, though, a special suit she’s made that she calls an S-Matrix (get it?) that will boost Kara’s powers and make her a match for the villain. Conner Kent spends the issue unconscious.
But honestly, that’s gotta be because he was never intended to be in this story in the first place, and what we get with the girls works really well. Campbell’s earlier storylines, which have all been about Kara taking adversaries and enemies and turning them into friends, is really paying off here, with a lot of nice character work and an exciting last few pages that promise a heck of a finale. And if in the mixture Kara gets a new, temporary costume perfect for merchandising and Funko Pops just as her movie is in theaters? All the better for it. Tenuous link to the “Reign” notwithstanding, this has been a great storyline and I look forward to the end.
Superman Unlimited #14
Title: Hero Time (A Reign of the Superboys tie-in) Writer: Dan Slott Art: Lucas Meyer & David Messina Main Cover: Taurin Clarke
In case you couldn’t tell from the cover, things are really coming to a head with this issue. As the time-tossed Jon Kent and his older self (as Tomorrow Man) face a slew of their father’s old foes (Thaddeus Killgrave, Volcana, Dabney Donovan, etc.), Lois continues to investigate the mystery of her younger son and his missing older counterpart. Although it’s been apparent for some time that something was up with the younger Jon, the revelation this issue works out very well, tying this story in not only with the earlier stories of this run (with the mountain of Kryptonite in El Caldero) but also with a story in another recent Superman title that – at the time – I thought ended rather abruptly. I’m really happy to see that it was a setup for this story, and it promises a slam-bang ending.
The Lois scenes are actually my favorite stuff in this issue. Her gut is telling her that something is off, so she turns for counsel to the only people she can, Jonathan and Martha Kent, who prove that they’re just as great at being in-laws as they were parents to her missing husband. We also get to see not only Steel in action, but Lana as Superwoman, which we don’t get nearly enough of. She’s still got the powers, why doesn’t she use ‘em more often?
Action Comics #1099
Title: Powerless (A Reign of the Superboys tie-in) Writer: Mark Waid Art: Skylar Patridge & Patricio Delpeche Main Cover: Ryan Sook
A third Reign of the Superboys series hits its penultimate issue as the time-tossed Justice League tries to find a way to restore young Clark Kent’s powers. Epoch’s red-sun blast has stripped him to the level of a normal human, but for some reason, the yellow sun is not restoring his powers as it should. As they try to solve the mystery, the paradox of their presence in the past begins to catch up to them. Meanwhile, Lana makes an unsettling discovery.
Waid is really playing with the time-travel stuff here, and it appears as though in this story we’re playing by Back to the Future rules. A difficult part of time-travel is establishing exactly how the mechanics of it work. As such a purely hypothetical concept, I don’t really mind what the rules of time-travel are as long as they remain internally consistent. This becomes more difficult in a huge shared universe like DC Comics, where there are dozens of time-travel stories with mechanics that flatly contradict the way it’s being depicted in this story. That isn’t really Mark Waid’s fault, but it IS a consideration that creeps into my mind when I’m reading it.
That said, if you’re reading this book just because you want a time travel story, you’re getting it for the wrong reasons. It’s the character stuff that really works here, as we watch Clark go through various levels of grappling with his powerless state. We see him first frustrated at feeling so useless, then watch the pendulum swing in the other direction as he rediscovers the joy of just being a normal kid, then all the way back again when he realizes he’s denying the responsibility that he’s already accepted. It’s a fun sort of roller coaster to put the character on. He’s Superman, we know he’s going to grow up and accept who he is, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t struggle with it, especially at such a young age. It’s more realistic, more relatable.
The subplot with Lana gets more interesting here, and in more than one way. We see basic character stuff, which is nice and sweet. We also get a bit of a mystery that has me intrigued.
Next issue, #1100, has been touted as the return of Superman after being lost in time after the end of DC KO. I hope that doesn’t mean the end of Mark Waid’s adventures with Superboy, because it’s been a fun ride.
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #52
Title: Warlords Part Two Writer: Mark Waid Art: Adrian Gutierrez Main Cover: Dan Mora
Last issue our heroes – Superman, Batman, and Robin – travelled to the lost world of Skartaris in search of a missing Air Force pilot. Upon arriving, they discover that due to timey-wimey stuff, the man they’re searching for has become an evil wizard, and in order to defeat him they’ll have to partner with ANOTHER missing pilot, Travis Morgan, the Warlord. With no defense against Tyrant Rex’s magic, Superman is quickly captured, sending Batman on a rescue mission, while Robin tries to piece together the villain’s ultimate goal.
As I’ve said before, Warlord is one of the corners of the DCU that I’ve never been able to really get into, but Waid is using it well here. Superman’s whole problem with magic is actually used appropriately here, rather than treating it as if it were Kryptonite like some people seem to assume, and it suits the story Waid is telling. The issue mostly focuses on Batman and Robin, as Superman is kind of off the table, but Robin serves nicely as an audience surrogate as we get a quick history of Skartaris, or at least as much of it as is relevant to this story. And it all wraps up with our two title heroes getting new looks that are RIPE for action figures.
Am I getting too cynical? I find myself assuming that every time a comic book gets a new look – even one that’s obviously temporary and only intended for the duration of the current storyline – there’s a marketing wonk somewhere pointing at the cover and saying, “That’s it, we’re gonna TOY that one right there.” I mean, I don’t think that assumption is WRONG, I’m just wondering if I’m cynical in that I constantly feel the need to point it out. Anyway, obviously I’ll get the Funko Pop of both this Superman and the Supergirl in the white-blue-and-yellow costume from above.
Summer of Supergirl Special #1
The Summer of Supergirl is upon us, and DC is treating us to this one-shot all-star special. I’ll take each story in this one individually.
Title: Man’s Best Friend Writer: Sophie Campbell Artist, Main Cover: Belen Ortega
The first story in the book, by regular Supergirl writer Sophie Campbell, picks up shortly after the chaos caused by Supergirl and her movie co-star Lobo (I’m sure that’s a total coincidence) over in Lobo #4. I haven’t actually read that book, but it’s pretty incidental – what you need to know is that there was some destruction and Lobo is sent to rehab, leaving his dog Dawg in the custody of Krypto. Supergirl and Lobo’s daughter Crush take the mighty mutt down to Midvale to hang out while Lobo serves his time. When he comes back looking for his dog, the chaos…well, it resumes.
It’s a simple story. It’s an oddly sweet story, considering the co-stars are Lobo and Crush. But it accomplishes two things very neatly. First of all, it showcases the difference between Superman and Supergirl. Although Superman is pretty much a paragon of hope, and that’s as it should be, Supergirl is less about hope and more about compassion. She feels for people so deeply, but in a different way than her cousin. In the main title, Campbell has spent over a year now telling stories of how Kara has an uncanny ability to turn enemies into friends, and this story showcases that wonderfully.
The other thing this story does is feed the readers into the main title. Although it began in Lobo’s book, the story that snakes through here promises to continue in the pages of Supergirl, and folks who picked this up just for Lobo will get a good taste of what to expect if they decide to follow the storyline into the main series, and that’s all to the good.
Title: Lost Girls Writer: Gail Simone Pencils: Emma Kubert Inks: Sandra Hope
In story #2, Supergirl is going toe-to-toe with a robot menace called Amazonia, one who has a little green friend that might keep Kara on the ropes. Fortunately there’s help nearby in the form of Mary Marvel. Gail Simone is telling a new version of the first meeting between these two girls, and here she leans hard into just how similar they are. Some of the similarities are obvious – they’re both incredibly powerful, both often overshadowed by their more famous relatives. Something that I don’t think anyone has ever really drawn on before, though, is the fact that both of them are orphans. And not in the way that Clark is an orphan either, having grown up on Earth with loving adoptive parents and no real memory of his origin. Nah, Kara and Mary are both girls who lost their families and were kicked around the foster system for a while. Now what with the way each of them have had their origins twisted and changed over the decades, this hasn’t always been true for both of them at the same time, but it is now, and Simone really draws the emotion out of it. The supervillain fight is really just the set-up, what this story is about is two lonely young women who find something they need in one another. It’s really a beautiful story, and I hope that future writers for both of these characters continue to build on the relationship the way it’s depicted here.
Emma Kubert – third generation of the Kubert comic book dynasty – handles the pencils here. I actually haven’t seen a lot of her work here, but I love it. She has a loose style that comes across not QUITE like a cartoon or anime, but not as tight as someone going for “realism” either. It’s the sort of artwork that works for characters like these two, giving us the fanciful but being full of emotion. It reminds me a lot of Campbell’s work on the main Supergirl series or Todd Nauck’s classic run on Young Justice, which is to say I think it’s great.
Title: Who Is Supergirl? Writer: Mark Waid Art: Cian Tormey
While the first story in this book is valuable for the ongoing series and the second story is the heart of it all, Mark Waid’s tale at the end is what’s going to make this book important for nerds like me. Supergirl’s history as a character has been…let’s say “tumultuous.” In the early days she was Superman’s “secret weapon,” operating from Midvale Orphanage. As she grew up, in the 70s and 80s, she bounced all over the country from one job to another. She died in that whole Crisis on Infinite Earths thing. And when she returned in the pages of Jeph Loeb’s Superman/Batman, she was treated as though she was a brand new character. How the hell do you reconcile all of that?
You call the man who literally wrote The New History of the DC Universe, that’s how.
Story-wise, what we have here is a case of Conner Kent, Jon Kent, and Natasha Irons cleaning up the Justice League’s files and, in the process, recapping Kara’s history. Functionally, we have a story that explains so much of the tumult. Was Superman REALLY so callous as to drop off Kara at an orphanage? (Waid explains it.) Why did she spend so long going from one job to another, one city to another, one COSTUME to another? (Waid explains it.) And Waid also slips in a tidy retcon, reframing the Jeph Loeb story to be that of Kara’s resurrection after the Crisis, rather than her introduction. If you’ve spent the last couple of decades wondering what the hell was going on with Supergirl, exactly, this is the story you absolutely need to read.
Superman #39
Title: Prime Time Part Four: Superboy-Prime Versus Infinite Crisis (A Reign of the Superboys Tie-In) Writer: Joshua Williamson Art andMain Cover: Dan Mora
Oboy, the main event is finally here! At the end of last issue Superboy-Prime discovered who’s been monkeying with him for the past three issues – Superman’s old foe Manchester Black. Black, as it turns out, wasn’t tooootally dead after Lex Luthor used his powers to wipe the memory of Superman’s secret identity from the world (back in Action Comics #1050) and as a disembodied intellect, he thinks Prime may be just the man to give him corporeal form again, if only he gets back to his reality-punching ways from Infinite Crisis. As readers of this title know, of course, Prime is in the middle of a redemption arc, and doing his best NOT to pull the sort of shenanigans Black needs from him. So to wrench what he needs from the boy, Black is sending Prime on a mental tour of his past and a meta-Odyssey through comic books.
It seems like most comic books that play with metafiction do it in one of two ways. Either they restrict themselves to snarky fourth-wall breaking comments (like Deadpool or She-Hulk) or, eventually, they build to a story where the landscape of comic books themselves become a sort of battlefield, whether that’s literal or metaphorical. (This is the literal kind – for the metaphorical version, go back and read Grant Morrison’s Animal Man again.) Since Black can read Prime’s mind, he knows about his medium awareness and weaponizes that against him.
Here’s the tricky part: you can’t just bounce around to a page that looks like Superman: The Animated Series and then take a left turn into Anime and then make some sort of commentary on reboots. I mean, you CAN, but ultimately that would be kind of shallow and unsatisfying. What you need to do – what Joshua Williamson does perfectly – is frame that journey in a true character piece. This is less a struggle of Superboy-Prime vs. Manchester Black and more a story about Prime doing being forced to face up to himself. That’s a damn sight more compelling. And honestly, if you’re not pulling for Superboy-Prime to come out of this a new kind of hero by now, I don’t know if there’s anything that could convince you at this point.
Absolute Superman #20
Title: Reign of the Superman Part Three: Up, Up, And… Writer: Jason Aaron Art: Rafa Sandoval & Vicente Cifuentes Main Cover: Rafa Sandoval
With King Shazam on the loose, an uneasy alliance forms between Superman, Hawkman, and Steel as they attempt to bring him down. But friction between the heroes makes them almost as dangerous to each other as they are to the villain, and if they can’t get it together, the world may belong to Teth-Adam.
This issue is almost pure brawl – the three heroes fighting King Shazam and, occasionally, each other, on an absolutely massive scale. Sandoval and Cifuentes do a great job of depicting the battle, giving it a scope and a power beyond your average comic book fight. People love to throw around the word “gods” when they talk about superhero comics, using the term to indicate how powerful the characters are supposed to be. This issue doesn’t need it – the art does the job.
The four combatants each get an interesting development here as well. We learn a little about them, we see even more how Superman is being poised to take a place as this universe’s premiere hero. Even the ending, a huge cliffhanger, is the kind of thing that makes him look like a giant among men. (And would make for a hell of an action figure – I’m sorry, I can’t help it.)
Bizarro: Year None #2
Title: Meet the Superfans Writers: Eric Carrasco & Kevin Smith Art & Main Cover: Nick Pitarra
Last issue, Jimmy Olsen and Perry White were whisked away by Bizarro to his strange duplicate Earth, there being forced to run his own Daily Planet, which Jimmy (naturally) being in charge, while Perry is tasked with getting coffee. But as they try to piece together the facts about this world that Superman’s imperfect duplicate has created, the two of them start asking questions that may lead to some very uncomfortable answers.
With Kevin Smith co-writing this story, it would be easy to expect a sort of goofy comedy, as we’ve seen from most of his movies. But people often forget that a good writer is rarely a one-note writer. There’s humor in this book, yes, but towards the end we take a startling turn, and this tale of Bizarro stops feeling quite so fun as we take a turn towards horror. When I reviewed the first issue of this book, I mentioned that it feels like a sort of Bizarro counterpart to Grant Morrison’s All Star Superman. In this issue that becomes even more pronounced – whereas that book is ultimately about the indelible power of hope, this issue is one that explores the potential for terror in a creature with the power of Superman, particularly one whose mind doesn’t work the way that Superman is supposed to.
Nick Pitarra’s Bizarro is really a striking figure. He’s massive, but more wide than we usually see from these characters. His shoulders are broad, but he’s a bit squat, once again contrasting him with the Superman Frank Quitely drew in All Star. I have to believe that all of these choices are deliberate, because they just come together far too neatly for it to be otherwise.
This book was pretty startling, which is a nice trick. It’s going in directions I didn’t expect, but that work nonetheless.
Superman: Father of Tomorrow #2
Title: Parasites Writer: Kenny Porter Art & Main Cover: Danny Earls
It’s been twenty years since Jor-El of Krypton was revealed to the world, and in that time, he’s made the Earth of this particular Elseworlds a very different place. Not only has he spent that time as Superman, Earth’s protector, but he’s also been shepherding the planet’s scientific advancements, sharing Kryptonian technology that has transformed the planet. And although he’s surrounded by familiar figures, the shape of this world is turning out to be something quite different than the world we know.
I like how Kenny Porter plays with the supporting cast in this issue. Rather than being “Superman’s Girlfriend,” in this world we see a Lois Lane who has grown to love Jor-El as a father figure, somebody markedly different from her own father, which of course is not a relationship that sits well with Sam Lane. Similarly, we see a Lex Luthor who has worked alongside Superman for years rather than standing as his enemy. Unfortunately, as the Superman of another Earth once observed, there’s just something about Luthor that makes him a poisonous snake, and that doesn’t seem to be any different here. Luthor’s storyline feeds us into the nicely-satisfying last-page cliffhanger, and sets things up for this miniseries to go in a different direction that I find intriguing.
I’m also fascinated with the title of this book and how it’s turned out to be a play on words. Putting “Father” in the title of a story that focuses on Jor-El calls to mind, of course, the fact that his son is Kal-El. But we never see Kal-El in this book, and at one point Jor-El even refers to somebody else as the “closest thing [he has] to a son.” Instead, this is a story about how Jor-El is guiding the future of Earth – he is literally the father “of tomorrow.” It’s a neat little play on words, and I’m a sucker for a good play on words.
Blake M. Petit is a writer, teacher, and dad from Ama, Louisiana. His most recent writing project is the superhero adventure series Other People’s Heroes: Little Stars, volume one of which is now available on Amazon. Don’t forget, you can check out earlier blogs in the Year of Superman/Superman Stuff Archive! Got a request for a future “Superman Stuff”? Drop it in the comments!
Thaaaat’s right, once again, it’s time to take a look at some of the recent Superman-related comics that DC has turned out for us. Including another heapin’ helpin’ of Mark Waid, a dash of dandy Dan Mora, more-a of those Superboys reignin’, and Superman’s return to Elseworlds!
Action Comics #1098 Title: Future Shock Part Two (A Reign of the Superboys tie-in) Writer: Mark Waid Artists: Skylar Patridge and Patricia Delpeche Main Cover: Ryan Sook
The time-tossed team of Martian Manhunter, Booster Gold, and Mary Marvel are in Smallville with Clark Kent early in his career as Superboy, and it’s not looking good when they learn that the villain they chased into the past, Epoch, has stolen the rocket that brought baby Kal-El to Earth in the first place. There’s a fight and a face-off, which of course is to be expected in a superhero comic book, but none of that is where this issue really shines. The heart of the book comes in the middle section, as Jonathan and Martha recount the story of how they found the baby to the time-travelers. Waid, of course, recently cleaned up DC’s timeline with his New History of the DC Universe series, so if there’s anybody we can consider an expert on what’s currently canon and what isn’t, it’s probably him. Seeing the current version of Superman’s origin presented answers a few questions and clarifies things, and leads to a surprisingly sweet moment between J’onn and the Kents.
As with last issue, though, I’m absolutely loving the Mary/Clark dynamic. I really like the characterization of Mary as the older sibling of the Marvel family, and she carries that over here to her interactions with Clark, leading to a delightful scene where she decides to play wingwoman for him in his relationship with Lana. It’s a highly entertaining moment, although I do very much wonder if we’ll ever see a scene after Superman returns in the present timeline where the two of them talk about this.
Strong artwork by Skylar Patridge and Patricia Delpeche give the issue a sort of finishing touch. With issue #1100 coming up, it seems as though the time-missing Superman storyline is about to come to an end, but I hope that doesn’t mean an end to Waid’s time in Smallville, because these stories have been a lot of fun.
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #51 Title: Warlords Part One Writer: Mark Waid Artist: Adrian Gutierrez Main Cover: Dan Mora
Over in World’s Finest, which is ALSO set in the past (early in the partnership of Superman, Batman, and the Dick Grayson Robin), it’s time for a trip to the Arctic. Our heroes are tracking the flight path of a missing Air Force pilot, one who vanished on the same trajectory as another missing pilot, one Travis Morgan. Of course, the world’s finest get zapped to the out-of-time world of Skartaris and find themselves fighting alongside Morgan, the Warlord, in battle against the mysterious Tyrant Rex. Robin, of course, is wild about the dinosaurs. Superman is less wild about the magic flying around this little corner of the DC Universe.
I’ve never gotten super into Warlord. Its heyday was before my time as a comic book reader, and the various attempts to bring him back over the years have never quite landed. That said, I do enjoy watching Waid play with all the toys available in the DC Universe, and this is no exception. He used the time differential between the “normal” world and Skartaris to good effect here, changing things up for our heroes almost immediately upon entering the lost land, and Batman and Robin are thrust into rescue mode fairly early.
Gutierrez draws some wildly fun dinosaurs, and he really sells the “acting” with the characters’ faces, particularly Robin, whom we are reminded time and again is pretty young in this series. He behaves like a younger version of the Dick Grayson we know – a little more impulsive, a little less confident, but still with the same solid heart.
This remains one of my favorite series that DC is putting out.
Superman Unlimited #13 Title: Primal Fears (A Reign of the Superboys tie-in Writer: Dan Slott Artist: Lucas Meyer Main Cover: Taurin Clarke
This issue starts with the greatest character in comics, Bibbo Bibbowski, taking care of the monkey he found last issue. Some goons from the lab the monkey escaped show up trying to get him back, and things get much rougher than they expected. The time-tossed younger version of Jon Kent, meanwhile, is having nightmares about the torture he endured at the hands of Ultraman, while the older Jon – now calling himself Tomorrow Man – finds that a masked hero in Metropolis doesn’t necessarily enjoy the same kind of trust from the public that he may be used to. The two Jons are called into action when the super-monkey starts tearing it up.
I’m not going to keep playing coy here – the story works great as a reintroduction of Beppo the Super-Monkey into the DC Universe, although the origin that Slott chooses for him here has a lot of 90s flavor to it, bringing back the long-missing Dabney Donovan character. I also like the dynamic he’s playing with the two Jons and Lois, who is far too smart not to figure out what the deal is with Tomorrow Man, and Slott seems to be leaning into that. I really don’t know what the endgame of this particular storyline is going to be, and that’s a nice feeling in a day and age where everything gets spoiled yesterday. It’s a longshot, but I think that if things shook out with young Jon/Superboy and old Jon/Tomorrow Man coexisted in the DCU long-term, I’d be okay with it.
Of course, Jon is still wearing the “S” over in New Titans, so that’s probably not going to happen.
Supergirl #13 Title: Hero of Kandor Part Three (A Reign of the Superboys tie-in) Writer, Artist, & Main Cover: Sophie Campbell
Kara’s adventure in Kandor continues. With Black Flame causing chaos, Supergirl – now stuck with some cyborg parts, in case you missed last issue – tracks down Lesla-Lar to try to get her help. Lesla, meanwhile, has something very, very important to show our heroine, and it might just change things for Kara Zor-El for good.
It really feels like Campbell has been building up to this story since issue #1, and that’s a great thing. All of the stuff with Lesla and Lena and Kara showing her constant compassion and trust in people who were once her enemies is paying off in really interesting and unexpected ways. Ultimately, we still aren’t 100 percent sure what side Lesla is going to land on once all of this is over, and Campbell has set it up in such a way that either choice would be conceivably in-character. That’s quite a trick, and it’s pulled off impressively.
If there’s anything to complain about, it’s that the whole “Reign of the Superboys” tie-in feels more tacked on than ever. Conner finally makes it into Kandor in this issue, but he’s only around for a couple of frankly unnecessary pages before the story moves back to Kara. It really feels as though Campbell had the story planned and in the works when editorial put out an edict that Conner Kent had to feature into these post-DC KO issues somehow, then she just kind of crowbarred him in where she could while causing minimal disruption to the narrative. If that’s the case, then it’s a failure on editorial’s part, not Campbell’s, and the pages without Conner at all work just fine at telling an interesting, gripping story that only really could be told with Kara Zor-El.
Superman #38 Title: Prime Time Part Three (A Reign of the Superboys tie-in) Writer: Joshua Williamson Artist and Main Cover: Dan Mora
I didn’t have a Superboy-Prime/Witchfire pairing on my 2026 wish list, but here we are. Witchfire, a magic user from Kurt Busiek’s fun and forgotten series Power Company, is looking for an innocent soul to use in a spell she needs. Unfortunately, she has TOTALLY misread the aura of that cute guy at the comic shop. All is not lost, though – Superboy-Prime IS in the midst of a redemption arc, after all, and this seems like just the way to do it.
Williamson is clearly having fun with this. He leans more into the meta nature of Prime in this issue, and the last act of the book dives into it headfirst, with the return of this arc’s true villain and Prime being thrust into what is possibly his own worst nightmare. But the amazing, encouraging thing here is that we never feel like his attempts at redemption are fake or forced or cheap. Williamson has successfully convinced us that Prime sincerely wants to reform and become a hero like he always wanted, and despite the horrific crimes he committed in the past (some of which we are specifically reminded of in this issue), the reader finds themselves rooting for him. It’s an odd feeling, to look at someone who once casually slaughtered Teen Titans like they were nothing and find yourself pulling for him. But the whole thing kind of plays into a personal philosophy of redemption that I subscribe to. I’ve got to believe – hell, for the good of the WORLD I’ve got to believe – that redemption is possible. And that if someone truly wants to become a better person today than they were yesterday, at the very least they deserve the opportunity to TRY.
Admittedly, applying that philosophy to a murderer is totally on the extreme end, but just ask yourself how many bad guys joined the heroes on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and tell me if what’s going on with Prime here is really all that different.
Dan Mora’s artwork, as usual, is wonderful. I’ve talked before about how some artists are good at “acting” with their characters, and this issue is a fantastic example of that – the sweet, nervous flirtation between C.K. and Rebecca is written not only on their faces, but in their body language as well. It’s such a small thing, but it adds so much to the story. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I almost don’t want the real Superman to come back to this title just yet, because I’m not ready for this story to end.
Justice League Unlimited #19 Title: Amnesty Part One Writer: Mark Waid Artist and Main Cover Dan Mora
Speaking of redemption, why don’t we peek in on what the Justice League is doing, shall we? Lex Luthor went public with the League’s plan to offer amnesty to certain super villains as part of their larger plan to fortify the defenses against the darkness they know is coming (that’s what DC All In is all about, Charlie Brown), and as you might have expected, public perception is NOT what the League may have hoped for. Meanwhile, Guy Gardner’s team is en route to Oa to hide the Power Bank with backups of the Leaguers’ respective super-powers, and Superboy (Conner) and Steel (Natasha) get a nasty surprise when they’re hanging out with Air Wave.
I mentioned this last issue, but I love the way that Mark Waid is juggling so many storylines at once. The “main” story, the one with Lex Luthor working with the League’s big guns and (in this issue, at least) rounding up villains who are falsely claiming amnesty, is really fascinating. Luthor, as a character, is the sort who always has something up his sleeve and you can never actually trust him, but considering what he and the other participants in the KO tournament know about the future, this is a case where it’s possible that he really is being genuine, even his motives are ultimately selfish. The fun here is trying to figure out just exactly HOW much is self-interest and self-preservation.
The other storylines are looked at quickly, but progress as well. Guy Gardner and the Justice Gang (if you’re gonna use the characters from the movie I’m gonna use the name from the movie) naturally run into some problems in the course of their mission, and just when you thought poor Air Wave’s troubles were over, they get worse. I’m looking forward to seeing them take the forefront next issue.
Dan Mora – have I mentioned that Dan Mora is really, really freaking good at what he does? And he’s doing it TWICE A MONTH. Plus about a billion covers. Dude is a machine.
Superman: Father of Tomorrow #1 Title: Planetfall Writer: Kenny Porter Artist and Main Cover: Danny Earl
I’ve been waiting for this ever since DC announced they were bringing back the Elseworlds imprint. While alternate versions of Superman have featured in some of the books like Dark Knights of Steel or the Gotham By Gaslight sequels, this is the first of the new Elseworlds to explicitly be a Superman comic.
Not Kal-El, mind you, but I’ll take what I can get.
In Father of Tomorrow, the catch is that rather than Kal-El, it was JOR-El who escaped Krypton’s destruction and came to Earth, Similarly to what happened to his son in the main universe, he crashes to Earth in Smallville, Kansas, and is taken in by the Kents, who pass him off as Jonathan’s younger brother, Jordan. Jordan lives with the Kents, hiding the truth of his alien ancestry for years, until something happens that spurs him to come out of hiding and use his power and advanced Kryptonian technology to make the Earth a better place.
This first issue is intriguing. Porter uses a lot of familiar Superman elements, characters, and even standard plot points from various versions of Superman’s origin to put together this story, but the fact that it’s about an adult Jor-El instead of baby Kal-El twists things in curious ways. Jor-El is well-meaning, to be certain, but by the end of the first issue we start to get an ominous feeling that perhaps his good intentions are going to lead him down a dark path.
I don’t want this to be yet another “evil Superman” story by the end of it, but let’s be honest here. It’s an Elseworlds, and an awful lot of the classic Elseworlds stories had tragic endings. It wouldn’t be out of character for that to happen here.
I like Danny Earls’ artwork. His designs for Jor-El’s costume and the Kryptonian technology are unique and exciting, and contrast the idyllic small-town feel of Smallville in just the right way.
So far so good, folks. Let’s see if you can keep it going.
Blake M. Petit is a writer, teacher, and dad from Ama, Louisiana. His most recent writing project is the superhero adventure series Other People’s Heroes: Little Stars, volume one of which is now available on Amazon. Don’t forget, you can check out earlier blogs in the Year of Superman/Superman Stuff Archive! Got a request for a future “Superman Stuff”? Drop it in the comments!
The final Reign of the Superboys story kicks off, and much more. Let’s see what’s been going on in the Superman comics over the last few weeks.
Superman #36 Title: Prime Time Part One (A Reign of the Superboys tie-in) Writer: Joshua Williamson Art: Dan Mora Main Cover: Dan Mora
I am not surprised that this was my favorite of the four Reign of the Superboys launch issues. Not that the other there weren’t good, but this is the one that feels the most immediate and important to the larger story of the DC Universe, and I’m just so dang excited about what they’re doing overall right now that it gives this issue some extra cred in my book.
Superman, of course, has been missing since the end of DC KO, but that doesn’t mean that Earth is defenseless. Superboy-Prime, his and Lois’s unlikely partner over the last several issues, is planning to stick around with the intention of proving to the heroes of the DC Universe that he’s reformed. Of course, it isn’t quite as simple as all that.
Joshua Williamson is doing some really clever stuff with the character here. It would be so easy to sweep his past under the rug and just reset him as an anti-hero. It’s been done in the past with characters like Harley Quinn, whose history of (y’know) murdering people with the Joker is rarely, if ever, referenced anymore. Williamson, however, is not only acknowledging the things that Prime did in stories like Infinite Crisis, but using that as fuel for his story. The heroes of the Justice League remember the things he did, and what’s more, they’re aware of the fact that he’s from a universe in which they’re all fictional characters, and he’s READ their comic books, and THEREFORE KNOWS ALL THEIR SECRETS. And understandably, they’re uncomfortable having him around.
The solution seems to be to have Lois take him under her wing, and the dynamic they’re structuring between these two characters is really fascinating. One might expect Williamson to have her take on a motherly role, but Prime is probably about college age here, and is intent on proving himself to be a responsible adult. (The way he does it, by the way, is perfectly in keeping both with his character and with the role he’s in, of someone in his early 20s who isn’t nearly as grown up as he thinks he is.) Lois, then, is moved into a role that feels more like a big sister. She’s looking out for him, she’s taking care of him to the best of her ability, but she recognizes the fact that he’s old enough to make his own choices and all she can really do is give him advice.
Since he brought Prime back into this book, Williamson has been leaning on Prime’s fourth wall-breaking abilities. I like the direction we’re going in here as well. Rather than just having him directly address the reader like Deadpool or She-Hulk (back in the glorious John Byrne run), he seems to be taking the approach that Prime is simply AWARE of the fact that he’s in a comic book, and he uses that knowledge of the medium and history of the DC Universe as a guidepost. It’s not like he can look into a camera as if he were on The Office, after all, although there are a couple of panels where it feels like he’s getting close.
Like every other Reign of the Superboys issue, this one ends with a last-page reveal of a character who presumably will be instrumental to the story. Unlike the other three, though, this one was actually KEPT A SECRET! Is that even POSSIBLE? The character in question didn’t appear on the cover – not even a variant – and to the best of my knowledge their presence wasn’t even leaked to the comic book media ahead of time. I didn’t think we lived in a universe where such a thing was possible anymore, but there ya go. The last page not only surprised me, but satisfied me. I’m excited to see where it goes next.
It’s gotten hard to talk about Dan Mora’s artwork, because I feel like I just kind of repeat myself every time. But in my defense, there are only so many ways to say, “Damn, this guy is REALLY good.” The book looks fantastic, and I love the way that Prime looks very much like a younger version of our Clark Kent, something he even points out to Lois as a bit of an obstacle when it comes to establishing his own secret identity.
Now that all four of the Reign storylines have begun, I feel very good about this direction. Each of the four titles has a very clear identity and is telling a different story. And if they remain separate stories, each staying in their own lane and unified only by the fact that the star is someone who uses (or once used) the Superboy moniker, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’ll be a nice little change of pace.
At least until Big Blue himself comes back.
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #50 Titles: Dream Team (Story #1), Sturm Und Drang (Story #2) Writer: Mark Waid Art: Dan Mora (Story #1), Adrian Gutierrez (Story #2) Main Cover: Dan Mora
Isn’t it odd how rare it is for a comic book to make it to issue #50 these days? Seems like the Big Two are out to reboot every series any time there’s a new writer. Of course, this book has ALSO held on to Mark Waid for 50 issues, which is ALSO a feat in this day and age. And look – his original partner Dan Mora is back for the main story in this issue, after spending time with the Justice League, Superman’s solo title, and an unexpected trip to Cybertron. Ah, it’s a grand time to be a fan of World’s Finest.
In “Dream Team,” Dr. Destiny has placed the entire world into a dreamstate – everyone except for Superman, Batman, and Zatanna, who were off-Earth at the time. Zatanna sends the World’s Finest team into Destiny’s Dreamstone to track him down.
As a one-off story, it’s pretty solid. The thrust of the issue is Superman and Batman bouncing around in one another’s subconscious, getting glimpses of the sort of things that they dream about. Batman, for instance, learns that Superman is a little envious of his car, whereas Clark gently chastises Bruce for his infatuation with a certain feline femme fatale. Ultimately, the story is just sort of an excuse for the two characters to examine one another, who they are, and the nature of their friendship. After such a long time where the characters were NOT friends (thanks, Frank Miller), followed by a long period where they vacillated between being uneasy allies and people who trust one another but don’t necessarily LIKE each other, the way this title has made their friendship a vital part of their respective characters again is a beautiful thing.
Adrian Gutierrez is back for this issue’s second story, “Sturm Und Drang.” A little boasting pits the World’s…second finest teams against one another, when Robin and Jimmy Olsen set out to prove that they’re more competent than Supergirl and Batgirl in a race to find a lost Egyptian artifact.
As glorious as it was to have Mora back on the title, this is actually the better of the two stories. The dive into the subconscious is fine, and it’s executed very well, but there’s just so much joy to be had in the petty rivalry between the guys and girls in this issue. As Jimmy and Robin are curtailed by their own overconfidence, we watch the more “mature” girls conflict as they realize their differing opinions of Jimmy and Robin. But despite how silly the story can be, we do get to see these characters in action in a positive way. Jimmy, despite all his bravado, proves that he actually DOES have reporting skills, whereas Batgirl reminds us that Barbara Gordon is a librarian first, and librarians are the most powerful magic creatures in the world.
If you’re looking for a big, world-shattering anniversary issue, you may be a little disappointed. The two stories in this issue are both self-contained and neither of them seem to be laying out any sequel hooks. But they’re both a joy to read and do what they do exceptionally well.
Bizarro: Year None #1 Title: The Planet Writers: Eric Carrasco & Kevin Smith Art: Nick Pitarra Main Cover: Nick Pitarra
Kevin Smith’s return to the DC Universe begins here, with co-writer Eric Carrasco hopefully keeping him from falling too far behind schedule, with the most unique take on Bizarro I’ve ever seen. Set at a point in the past where Jimmy is the Daily Planet coffee boy, straining to get Perry White to take a chance on him as an actual journalist, the two of them get swept up in something beyond their comprehension. An experiment with a duplication ray has spawned a whole different universe, and the entity in charge of that world is bringing Jimmy and Perry in to help him get some things off the ground.
Smith and Carrasco have cherry-picked pieces of Bizarro lore such as the “duplicator ray” and the square Bizarroworld, but for the most part this could almost feel like an “Absolute” version of the character. It’s a total departure from the Bizarro that we’re used to, and although there are glimpses of classic Bizarro, it’s almost impossible to tell where this is going. I very much like the fact that Jimmy and Perry are the real protagonists of this story, each of them approaching the situation – and reporting in general, really – from the opposite ends of the spectrum. There’s something to be said in here about the state of journalism in the modern day, and Smith and Carrasco say it in an amusing way.
Nick Pitarra is an interesting choice. His lines and anatomy are somewhat evocative of Frank Quitely, which helps to give this whole story a feeling as if they’re trying to be a Bizarro counterpart to All Star Superman. If that is, in fact, the intention, it’s a pretty bold move. But I’m definitely along for the ride.
Absolute Superman #18 Title: Reign of the Superman Part One: King of the Black Land Writers: Jason Aaron Art: Rafa Sandoval Main Cover: Rafa Sandoval
The Absolute Universe expands yet again, as this issue gives us the first seeds of not one, not two, but THREE new versions of DCU characters, not the least of which is the guy whose emblem is teased on the cover.
No, not that one. The other one.
This new story arc begins with a flashback to ancient Egypt, when a young boy seeks a way to deliver his people from slavery. A visit from a mysterious stranger promises a change at hand, but it’s the strange visitor he encounters in the desert who leads to his transformation.
After the epilogue, in the present day Lois Lane (who is unable to stay out of trouble in any universe) has a lead on the whereabouts of Ra’s Al Ghul. As it turns out, though, she’s not the only one investigating him, and her search leads Superman into conflict with a most intriguing opponent.
The Absolute comics take such an interesting path. Sometimes the characters are superficially the same as the heroes and villains we know. Other times they seem to share little more than a name. The big character the cover teases here seems to be somewhere in between. Although we’re looking at one of the most famous magic users in the DCU, and although the existence of magic in this world has been quite thoroughly documented over in Absolute Wonder Woman, it seems as though Jason Aaron is giving the character more of a science fiction hook this time around. It’s an intriguing, unexpected choice, but I’m curious to see how it’s going to play out.
The main characters aren’t neglected, though. There’s a nice sequence of Kal-El on the Kent farm, with an unusually adorable look at the Parasite that really helps hammer home the point that Kal is this universe’s hope-bringer. Lois is…well, she’s Lois. And a brief check in with Jimmy Olsen at the Daily Planet gives Aaron a chance to take a quick shot at AI-generated journalism, which is something we all need to be willing to stand up and decry.
Perhaps my favorite thing about this title is that I really never know where it’s going to go next.
Adventures of Superman: Book of El #7 Title: Death Race Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson Art: Scott Godlewski Main Cover: Scott Godlewski
This issue we catch up with Otho-Ra, who undergoes a sort of unexpected transformation. And honestly, the transformation makes this series feel more and more inconsequential. From the beginning, the main problem with this book has been the sense that it’s not anchored to the Superman that we’re reading elsewhere, even though it’s ostensibly in continuity. But having a Superman in a future that believes he’s gone is already a red flag – it virtually guarantees that there’s going to be a reset button before the end. That’s especially true since the main books are currently dealing with the fact that Superman is missing in the wake of DC KO. That was a more engaging disappearance, and we’re following it everywhere, not just in this one little corner of the world. Furthermore, the change made to Otho in this book makes it feel even MORE clear that either it’s going to be dialed back entirely or (and I suspect this is going to be the case in the end) both Otho and Osul-Ra are going to be out of the picture once this is all over.
When I decided to do “Superman Stuff” here in the blog I intended to use it, at least partially, to drop my thoughts on the new Superman books as they come out. I don’t know if I’ve got it in me to keep covering the back end of this series, though – I feel like I just keep trotting out the same incomplete feelings issue after issue, and I’m sure that’s no more fun for you guys to read than it is for me to write.
Mad About DC #1 Main Cover: Dan Panosian
When I trotted out “Parody Week” last summer, I was saddened to discover that most of the old Mad magazine parodies of Superman just…don’t hold up. They aren’t all that funny anymore. But despite that, I decided to pick up this one-shot full of short parodies primarily because it is NOT by – as they usually credit the writers and artists – the “usual gang of idiots,” but rather actual DC creators like Chip Zdarksy, Mark Waid, Gail Simone, Colleen Doran, and a host of others. The question, then, is whether the people who actually make this stuff do a better job of making fun of it than those who don’t?
I’m glad to report that, for the most part, the answer is “yes.” Early on get some good stuff, like Tini Howard’s “Five People You Meet at a Convention” and Mark Waid’s legitimately hilarious “First Meeting of Harley Quinn and Ambush Bug.” The Superman-specific stuff is a mixed bag. Gerry Duggan and Tony Moore’s “Humanity is the REAL Kryptonite” is three pages of recycled jokes (which I guess is appropriate for a Mad special). Colleen Coover has a much fresher (and funnier) take on the characters with a one-pager devoted to Lana Lang’s dating life after breaking up with the former Superboy, and Chip Zdarsky himself contributes the amusing “Know Your Kryptonite.”
In general, I find that the same stuff I discovered when reading the old Mad magazines last year holds true here as well. The parody is best when it’s a bit more generalized, poking fun at character tropes or the comic book culture. When they try to get more topical – there are several gags that are there to mock the tech industry, for example – it starts to feel a bit more like the creator is climbing a soapbox and it reduces the impact of the humor in a way that will be even more profound if somebody comes back and reads it a few years from now. This stuff always works best when it comes from a place of affection. When it gets vitriolic, that’s when I lose interest.
Fortunately, most of this book seems to focus more on the former than the latter.
Supergirl #12 Title: Hero of Kandor Part Two (A Reign of the Superboys tie-in) Writer, Artist, & Main Cover: Sophie Campbell
Supergirl awakens from the injuries she received last issue only to find that one of Kandor’s scientists has taken rather…extreme measure to see to her survival. I mean, you can see the cover, I don’t know why I’m dancing around it. He cyborgs her. And she is, understandably, not happy about it.
Interestingly, though, that’s not the main thrust of this issue. As scientist Kim-Da tries to explain the struggles Kandor has been undergoing – specifically the fact that any organism born in Kandor in the last three decades has found itself unable to survive outside of the bottle – Kara also learns the measures that have been taken to defend the bottled city. I’m actually kind of glad to see the reveal here that one of last issue’s revelations was something of a fake-out. It’s a big deal, but a different big deal than we were led to believe, and it opens the issue up to some of the sort of social commentary that good science fiction can pull off. The things that Kim-Da has done are questionable, to be certain, but it invites a parallel to certain real-world scientific issues without beating the reader over the head with them, which is the way that such things should be done. There’s action here, but it’s almost an afterthought, with most of the book taken up with heated conversation.
“But wait, Blake,” you’re saying, “the cover says this is a Reign of the Superboys tie-in.” Well, technically, I guess. Conner Kent appears, but only on the first few pages, and he and Lena Luthor go looking for Kara only to find that Kandor is rather disgustingly cut off from them both. I’m almost starting to suspect that editorial told Sophie Campbell that Conner needed to be in this story arc so she just found anywhere to slot him in that she could, since his contributions to the story thus far have been negligible. The scene with him and Lena is interesting, though. We’re reminded that one of Connor’s DNA donor “fathers” is, in fact, Lena Luthor’s father Lex, and although they never use the words, there’s a casual bickering between the two of them that feels very much like a brother and sister. I quite like that.
Campbell’s artwork has shifted slightly for this story arc. Although the early issues had very light lines that were almost cartoonish in their appeal, the Kandor story has taken on slightly harsher angles and more detail to fit the science fiction-ish tech of Kandor. Complete with darker colors by Tamara Bonvillain, someone who hadn’t looked at this book since the first issue might even suspect it had a different artist entirely at first. But the art shift is justified by the story, and I’m okay with it.
Action Comics #1097 Title: Future Shock (A Reign of the Superboys tie-in) Writer: Mark Waid Art: Skylar Partridge Main Cover: Ryan Sook
Another glorious issue by Mark Waid and Skylar Partridge. Superboy is greeted by a most unexpected trio: J’onn J’onzz, Mary Marvel, and Booster Gold. The reader (but not Clark) knows that these three are searching for Clark’s own future self, missing since the events of DC KO, but they have to strive to keep Clark from learning too much about his own future while, at the same time, helping to protect him from a threat he’s not quite ready for: Epoch, the Lord of Time.
I’m pretty sure that Waid is patterning this as Clark’s first encounter with other superheroes, save for Captain Comet (who appeared in a few earlier issues of this run). It’s certainly his first encounter with visitors from the future, but there’s a moment that is no doubt intended to invoke another time travelling trio that Clark has been associated with.
It rubs me just a teeny bit the wrong way that Waid makes a running gag out of Mary and J’onn trying to prevent Booster from blowing secrets about the future. He’s the most seasoned time traveller out of all of them, and he’s undergone so much character development over the years that it feels a little cheap to dial that back. He buys it back just a little, however, by implying that his carelessness might be a reversion spurred by his recent torture at the hands of Darkseid, which makes it easier to swallow.
The best stuff in this issue, though, comes between Clark and Mary. It’s the first time he’s ever met someone so young with powers of her own. I’m pretty sure that Mary is, canonically, college-age these days, which makes her only a few years older than Clark in this issue, something which in no way goes unnoticed by the young man. The character relationships being built here are very unusual, but in no way forced or unnatural. It all feels like the pieces are falling into place as they should.
DC/Marvel: Supergirl/Blade #1 Writer: CRC Payne Layouts: Mikel Janin Finishes: Hugo Petrus
Wrapping up this week we have a surprise drop, the DC Universe Infinite exclusive digital comic DC/Marvel: Supergirl/Blade #1. As they did last fall with a pair of unannounced team-ups between Thor and Shazam, then the Flash and the Fantastic Four, Marvel and DC once again dropped a pair of digital-first crossovers on us. I’m only going over the Supergirl/Blade issue, but if you’ve got the Marvel app as I do, by all means, go enjoy It’s Jeff/Aquaman.
The X-Men’s old foe Mojo is putting together a new series, and the algorithm gives him a can’t-miss formula that leads him to abducting Supergirl and Blade to be the stars of his new vampire romance series. It’s great – while this pairing doesn’t make nearly as much sense as any of the others that we’ve seen in this recent spate of crossovers, the fact that it’s so bizarre is actually a plot point here, and a pretty funny one at that.
Mojo hits Supergirl with a Kryptonite infection to bring her powers a bit more down to Earth, and she and Blade quickly find themselves coming face-to-face with some of Mojo’s Nosferatu. The story itself isn’t really groundbreaking or anything, but the odd couple dynamic works way better than expected. The only thing these two really have in common with one another is determination, but when it’s just the two of you against a legion of vampires, that’s enough to fuel the plot. From there it’s just a matter of giving us character interaction, which comes across as sincere and entertaining. It’s always nice to get a surprise gem like this one, so if you’ve got the DC Universe Infinity app, go check this one out right now.
Blake M. Petit is a writer, teacher, and dad from Ama, Louisiana. His most recent writing project is the superhero adventure series Other People’s Heroes: Little Stars, volume one of which is now available on Amazon. Don’t forget, you can check out earlier blogs in the Year of Superman/Superman Stuff Archive! Got a request for a future “Superman Stuff”? Drop it in the comments!
Once again, it’s time to look into the reviews of some of the Superman-related comics that have dropped in the last few weeks, including some pretty massive events. Let’s get right to it.
DC KO #4 Title: Trial By Absolute Writers: Scott Snyder & Joshua Williamson Art: Javi Fernandez & Xermancio Main Cover: Javi Fernandez
The Final Four have made their way through all comers, but before they can turn their attention to one another, four new combatants have entered the fray. Tainted by the energy of Darkseid, the combatants will be forced to fight the Absolute Universe versions of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman – as well as Booster Gold who has been possessed by Darkseid himself.
This event has promised us one throwdown after another, and there’s no way to argue that it hasn’t lived up to that promise. This issue is perhaps the most high-octane, brutal battle yet. The fight between the four remaining heroes and villains with their Absolute counterparts is scripted and drawn with incredible energy and brutality, but at the same time, Scott Snyder has not skimped at all when it comes to character and story. In fact, there are multiple twists in this issue that catch you off-guard and send the story spinning into new, unexpected directions. At the same time, the twists all fit the characters – a great twist is one that is a surprise without violating what you already know about the world you’re reading, and Snyder pulls that off.
For people who are into Superman (know anybody like that?) seeing “our” Superman face off against the Absolute Kal-El is one of the high points of the issue. Neither character is disrespected or nerfed in respect to the other, but there’s also no room for any doubt as to which of the two is the original. I am slightly disappointed at just how the Absolute characters were used, however. Similar to the surprise guest stars from the Boss Battle one-shot, the Absolute heroes are in and out rather quickly. It’s not even clear as to when, exactly, this story takes place in the Absolute timeline – Superman seems to know Batman here, whereas in their respective comics, they haven’t met yet. Although there’s definite promise here for future brushes between the two worlds, it feels like this encounter will mostly be a footnote for the Absolute characters, even as it sets up the conclusion for the Final Four.
I know I’m being deliberately vague here, by the way – I suppose it’s clear that Superman is one of the Final Four (as it should be) but I’m trying to avoid spelling out who else is in that group in case anyone is trying to remain spoiler-free. Considering just how this one ends, though, I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep that up for the finale. So if you’re reading along with these reviews, I would highly recommend being up-to-date with DC KO when I drop my thoughts on issue five. Whenever that might be.
Superman Unlimited #10 Title: Die Laughing Part Two Writer: Dan Slott Art: Mike Norton Main Cover: Dave Johnson
Intergang has set its sights on Metropolis’s new mayor, Perry White, and they’ve contracted the Prankster to take care of the problem. But Oswald Loomis’s nephew is trying to step into his uncle’s role and take over the family business, and the NEW Prankster isn’t quite as funny as his predecessor.
This is a solid issue. There’s something up with this new Prankster – in these two issues he’s appeared we never find out his real name, and there’s no explanation for his bizarre powers, something Uncle Oswald has never had. I feel like this is just part of a coming, larger story, even as these two issues work perfectly well as a couplet. I also like how a big part of the middle of this story isn’t about the power of Superman, but rather the investigative skills of Clark Kent. Not to say that Superman is entirely absent, but we see more Clark than we often do these days, and I appreciate that.
We also get a quick interlude with Jon, who’s been setting up the new Daily Planet office in Smallville, only to get an ominous warning from an unexpected source. Even more so than the Prankster stuff, this is explicitly setup, especially since DC has revealed their “Reign of the Superboys” initiative that’s going through all of the Super-titles after DC KO ends. If you didn’t know, Jonathan is going to take the reigns of this title for an indeterminate amount of time, and it looks like the groundwork is being laid here.
I’m still really digging Mike Norton’s Superman. I love the way his character works, with the kind of strong lines and clean character work that made so many of the Triangle Era artists stand out, and I hope we see more and more Superman from him in the future.
Superman #35 Title: Life Secrets (A DC KO Tie-In) Writer: Joshua Williamson Art: Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, Julio Ferreira Main Cover: Dan Mora
The final instalment of this title’s DC KO storyline runs with the conclusion of issue #4 and leads straight into #5. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if at least one of the storylines that’s been going through this book turns out to be crucial to the conclusion of the crossover. But that’s not the one that works best.
We’re following two intertwined threads here. First, the Doomsday/Time Trapper is reeling from the events of issue #4 and trying to gird himself for what must come next. After all, at least part of him is the creature that was created eons ago for the express purpose of destroying Darkseid, and it may be time for that charge to finally come due. Meanwhile, Lois and Superboy-Prime continue their faceoff with Darkseid’s Legion, and it is this latter part that is particularly revelatory.
From the moment he was introduced in this title, we’ve been building a redemption arc for Prime, and it gets center stage in this issue, where he is faced with choices that he’s made before and is given an opportunity to make better choices this time. I’m not in the business of giving out spoilers, but it should be pointed out that when “Reign of the Superboys” takes over the Superman titles next month, DC has revealed that Prime is going to be the start of this title for the time being.
There’s also a great face-off between Lois and Darkseid’s Saturn Girl. Just like prime, this series has hinted that the dark Legion may not be completely beyond hope, and that hope spot is further explored this month. I’m really anxious for the final issue of the crossover to drop…which I guess will be today as you read this. Holy cats, why are you reading this blog instead of DC KO #5? Have you lost your senses?
Action Comics #1095 Title: Pressure Writer: Mark Waid Art: Patricio Delpeche Main Cover: Ryan Sook
The adventures of Superboy in Action Comics continue, although Clark actually takes a back seat this issue. Last month, on a camping trip, Pete Ross happened to spy Clark Kent going into action as Superboy. This issue is Pete’s story, as he struggles with this knowledge and wrestles with whether to confront Clark with what he has learned – and ask why his best friend would ever keep such a secret.
I adored this issue. Mark Waid, human comic book encyclopedia that he is, is doing a phenomenal job of mining the classic tales of Superboy to bring the drama to this series. In the Silver Age this was the status quo – Pete knew that Clark was Superboy (even learned it the same way as he did in Waid’s story, if I’m not mistaken) and chose to keep that knowledge to himself. But as was so often the case with those Silver Age tales, there wasn’t an awful lot of thought given to the implications of this sort of thing. How would Pete feel about learning his best friend was keeping such a gargantuan secret? Doesn’t Clark know that he can trust him? Does anybody else know? And why would Pete choose to keep what he’s learned to himself instead of talking to Clark about it?
The answer to that last question is because it was the Silver Age, and if anybody in a Silver Age DC story had the ability to have a rational adult conversation about anything 95 percent of the stories would have ended on the second page. But Waid actually finds a way to justify Pete’s actions, draping his decision in a metaphor for a real-world issue and presenting it in such a way that makes perfect sense and somehow makes all of the characters – Pete, Clark, even Lana Lang – come across as behaving in a mature, emotionally intelligent way. How often could you say that back in the 50s?
Supergirl #10 Title: My Bloody Valentine Writer: Sophie Campbell Art: Joe Quinones Main Cover: Sophie Campbell
It’s Valentine’s Day, and Kara has a date with the mysterious, long-haired, tattooed boy of her dreams. Her friends Lena and Luna, however, are following along, sensing something is amiss.
After last issue’s slight misstep, this one is more of what I’ve come to enjoy about this series. The “date” is mostly a setup for this issue’s fight scene, but Campbell isn’t having a fight just for the sake of a fight. In the midst of battle we get some good character moments and the ongoing storyline of Kara and her friends (particularly Lena Luthor, in this case) continues nicely. Lena made a mistake in the last issue for which she’s trying to mend fences, and while this issue doesn’t patch everything up in a neat little bow, it also doesn’t cause some insurmountable gap between the friends like books that lean on melodrama are wont to do. Kara and Lena both some some real emotional maturity here, which is particularly funny when juxtaposed against the “date” scene, which works mostly as a parody of gooey Silver Age romance comics tropes.
I have to point out, though, that the recent run of holiday issues is starting to strain credulity a little bit. Literally half the issues of this series have been holiday stories at this point (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and now Valentine’s Day) and while comic book time is naturally elastic, it does have its limits. As this issue begins, Lena and Luna are going to visit Kara on Valentine’s Day to try to make up for their screwup at the New Year’s Eve party – so it’s been six weeks since they spoke to one another? Nobody has made any effort to patch things up before now? I’m willing to forgive, because this really is a great book, but I’m crossing my fingers that next issue’s story (part of the “Reign of the Superboys” initiative) won’t be a visit to show us how they celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Kandor.
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #48 Title: Day For Night Part One Writer: Mark Waid Art: Marcus To Main Cover: Dan Mora
Once again, Mark Waid has been let loose in his favorite playground, the DC Universe. In this issue we leave behind our pals Superman and Batman and instead visit their arch Earth-3 counterparts, Ultraman and Owlman, as they begin plans to expand their Crime Syndicate to unprecedented levels, with world conquest as their goal.
Waid is building out Earth-3 quite a bit here, introducing versions of DC heroes that I’m pretty sure have never showed up in a Crime Syndicate story before (although I could potentially be wrong about that – I’m certainly not the walking encyclopedia of comic book knowledge that Waid is). There’s a particularly amusing sequence that really puts the relationship between Owlman and Talon (his Robin analogue) into focus. All of it works up to a nice last-page surprise that seems poised to set up the rest of this arc. As per usual, I’m very excited to see where this is going to go next.
Adventures of Superman: Book of El #6 Title: The Warworld Engines Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson Art: Scott Godlewski Main Cover: Scott Godlewski
This issue we at last return to Otho-Ra and Osul-Ra, Superman’s adopted children, who disappeared back in the first issue after Superman was abducted to the future. We also come across another clan wearing Superman-like sigils, while our hero is battered and beaten down.
I’m trying, guys, I REALLY am trying to get interested in this book, but it’s just not working. Having left behind the Green Lantern stuff (although future covers seem to indicate we’re not done with it yet), we’ve gotten back to Superman vs. Warworld, which was an era of Action Comics that, if I’m being honest, bored me stiff. Despite his power, “cosmic” Superman stories rarely work for me. The character is all about heart and how he deals with people, and throwing him into deep space against all-powerful entities and sci-fi clans that think he’s just a legend…it’s too far from the things that make me keep reading Superman comic books. It just isn’t connecting with me, no matter how much I wish it was.
New History of the DC Universe: The Dakota Incident #1 Writers: Joseph P. Illidge, Stephanie Williams, Morgan Hampton, & Nikolas Draper-Ivey Art: Valentine De Landro, Carlo Pagulayan, Stephen Segovia, Jason Paz, Fico Ossio, & Edwin Galmon Main Cover: Diego Olortegui
Strictly speaking, I don’t feel obligated to review this book the way I do many of the other Superman appearances. He shows up in this book, but his appearance is brief and it’s not his story. That said, I liked this book quite a lot and I wanted to talk about it and it’s my own blog – dammit – so I’m gonna write about this if I want to.
Spinning out of last year’s fantastic New History of the DC Universe miniseries is this one-shot focusing on the heroes of the Milestone universe. As the previous NHOTDCU explained, the Milestone heroes (versions that are fairly close to their original incarnations from the 90s) have always existed in the current incarnation of the DC Universe, but they all vanished from the public eye after something referred to as the “Dakota Incident.” This issue delves into their history, showing the reader just how they fit into the DCU, and the events of the incident that led to their departure.
I’m impressed at how relatively easily they worked the characters into the DC Universe while still keeping their original stories mostly intact. There is one element that’s added to link the origins of many of the Milestone heroes to the DC Universe proper, but that addition doesn’t really change anything about who they are or how their adventures unfolded back then. The issue also places a heavy emphasis on Static, holding him up as perhaps the most significant of these characters. That makes sense – he’s certainly the most well-known and popular Milestone character among the general public (by virtue of his old cartoon show if nothing else), but it also fits with the character of Virgil Hawkins very well.
For fans of these characters, especially the original versions, this issue serves very well to integrate them into the DC Universe, explain their absence, and – most importantly – set the stage for their return. It’s already been teased in various places, not the least of which is the last page of this issue, and I am very much looking forward to seeing the heroes of Dakota rise again.
Blake M. Petit is a writer, teacher, and dad from Ama, Louisiana. His most recent writing project is the superhero adventure series Other People’s Heroes: Little Stars, volume one of which is now available on Amazon. Don’t forget, you can check out earlier blogs in the Year of Superman/Superman Stuff Archive! Got a request for a future “Superman Stuff”? Drop it in the comments!
Sometimes people ask me, “Blake, have you read every Superman story there is?” And I smile and laugh because I can totally understand why they might think such a thing. I’ve got a whole shelf of Superman toys and knicknacks, I own approximately 97 Superman shirts, socks, and other assorted articles of clothing, I spent an entire year of my life reading or watching a different Superman story every single day, and although I do not personally HAVE a tattoo, if I ever were to get one, you can probably guess what image I would choose. So you may be surprised when I tell you that the answer to the question “have you read every Superman story?” is a definitive NO.
The thing to remember, friends, is that despite my age, Superman is considerably older than me. Earth’s greatest hero is coming up on his 90th birthday in two years, and I am not quite there yet. There are mountains of Superman stories that were published before I was born. And to be certain, I’ve read a lot of them. His first appearance in Action Comics #1 has been reprinted frequently, as have many of the most popular and memorable stories, stories that introduced important characters and concepts, and so forth. But the truth is, there are a lot of Superman stories – especially from the Golden and Silver Ages – that have never been reprinted. In this day of digital comics, one would think that it would be simple enough for DC to put them all on their DC Universe Infinite app, to which I subscribe and use almost daily. But if you go into the archives and start poking around, you see massive swaths of comics that simply aren’t there.
There are reasons for that, of course. It’s NOT as simple as just pushing a button and putting them online. Many of those comics, especially the older ones, have never existed in a digital form. They were drawn, colored, and printed on paper before the advent of computers, and to digitize them today would require someone to take the old prints, scan them in, and remaster them into a readable format, and that is assuming copies of the books are available (which is often not the case with Golden Age comics, especially the more obscure ones). If there are available copies it’s not an impossible task – a great many classic comics have been preserved this way – but it IS a time-consuming and sometimes expensive task, which is why those older comics that ARE available digitally are the ones that are the most popular and most significant.
All that said, I wish that DC would put more effort into preserving their older comics. On a whim, I went through the app and looked at the assorted Superman titles to see which ones have missing issues, and the results are, frankly, alarming. Of the 904 issues of Action Comics Vol. 1, DCUI lists 463 of them available digitally. (Actually, that number isn’t exactly accurate, as the 463 includes annuals and specials that DC places in the run of the main title, but the number is close enough to make my point.) As of when I checked the app on Feb. 23, the following issues of Action Comics are unavailable digitally: 106-251, 253-266, 268-283, 285-307, 360-363, 377-456, 458-520, 522-551, 560-582, 603-617, 627-642, 653-658, 660, 663-668, and, bizarrely, 729.
It’s interesting to note which books ARE available as well. There’s an enormous hole at the end of the Golden Age and beginning of the Silver Age, stretching almost completely from 106 through 360. In that run there are only three issues that pop up: issue #252 (the first appearance of Supergirl), issue #267 (an early Legion of Super-Heroes story with the first appearance of several key members), and issue #284 (I have no idea what makes this issue special enough to warrant inclusion).
Left: Worthy of digitizing. Right: Somehow, NOT worthy of digitizing.
Also missing are most, but not all, of the Action Comics Weekly run, from issues #601-642. For those who don’t know, at this time DC experimented with changing Action from a monthly title starring Superman to a weekly anthology book with several ongoing stories, of which Superman was only one of them. What’s bizarre to me is that they have issues #618-626, which I have to assume contains some serialized story they deem significant enough to include.
Speaking of anthologies, it should also be noted that the early Golden Age issues of Action are incomplete. The series was originally an anthology before Superman (or his spin-off characters, like Supergirl) eventually took over the entire book, for but many of those anthology issues, ONLY the Superman story is online. Granted, that’s probably the part of the book of greatest interest, but that still leaves huge gaps in DC history. The same is true for the other Golden Age anthologies that are remembered mostly for their main character, such as the Batman stories in Detective Comics or the Wonder Woman stories in Sensation Comics.
Reading this period is going to be like rolling the dice.
I kept looking. Volume 1 of Superman is missing issues 25-27, 29, 31-33, 44-75, 77-121, 132-232, 239, 243-247, 249-256, 258-265, 267-304, 309-337, 339-364, 366-409, and 416-422. That series didn’t end there, but the title was changed to Adventures of Superman, which is missing issues 580-581, 599-607, 610-638, 640-641, and 643-649. During that time, the book ran concurrently with Superman Vol. 2, which is missing a relative few issues (178-185, 188-203), and Superman: The Man of Steel, which seems to only be lacking 121-129. The baffling thing is that these three titles, along with the post-Weekly era of Action Comics, were part of what fans fondly recall as the Triangle Era, that period in the 90s and early 2000s when the four Superman titles fed into each other week to week, essentially making one glorious serial. Anybody attempting to read this era in its entirety on the app will find bizarre and baffling gaps in the story.
These are the main Superman titles, of course, but the spin-off books have fared little better. Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane ran for 137 issues between 1958 and 1974. Of those, only issues #1-21 and, randomly, #93 are available digitally. Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen ran for 163 issues before the title was changed to Superman Family and it became an anthology with stories featuring assorted characters in the…well, the title makes it clear. Of the original Jimmy Olsen run, we have only the first eight issues, then issues 133-148, the seminal Jack Kirby run on the title. The series continued as Superman Family from issues #164 until it was cancelled with #222, but the only one available on the app is #182, again, for reasons I can’t fathom.
Finally, let’s talk about the Superman team-up book of the late 70s and early 80s, DC Comics Presents. This series has fared much better than many of the others we’ve covered here. Of the 97 issues in the run, only three are missing: issue #47, which guest starred He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and is therefore no longer available to DC due to licensing issues, and issues 70 and 71, which guest-star the Metal Men and Bizarro, respectively, and don’t seem to have any particular reason they should be discluded.
“By the Power of Lawyers! YOOOU CANNOT REEEEEAD MEEEEEEEE!”
This is not a comprehensive examination, of course. I haven’t checked in on most of the annuals, specials, or miniseries, although it should be noted that only the first issue of the Superman: The Secret Years miniseries from 1985 is included, which is totally perplexing to me. Why bother to digitize ONLY part one of a four-part story?
I should also note that this is not a problem unique to the Superman comics. If you go through the back catalogues of most DC books prior to the modern era, you’ll see similar gaps in the libraries of Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, etc. I also stopped looking after the New 52 reboot of 2011, at which point digital comics had become relatively common, and I feel mostly certain that everything one could reasonably expect to be available is so. But what I’ve laid out here should be enough to make it clear how big this problem is.
Again, digitizing the thousands of comics that have not been scanned would be a daunting task. It would be time-consuming and expensive. Some of the books – such as the aforementioned He-Man crossover – would run into rights issues that prevent them from being reprinted or added to the app. Others may cause some sort of confusion in terms of royalty payments to the creators involved. And a few – a scant few, but a few – books have been deliberately left out because one of the creators involved would later go on to infamy for reasons entirely unrelated to their comic book career. (If you don’t know what I mean, look up who originally wrote the 1990 Green Lantern title and Justice League Europe and you’ll quickly discover why those books are mostly off the DC website and out of print.)
And of course, DC Comics is a business, and it’s not likely that they will undertake all of these endeavors unless they see a profit in it. What would the profit be, then, in having employees spend thousands of hours scanning in and remastering the thousands of comics that are currently AWOL? Would they be able to sell enough collected editions to justify it? Would it draw in a mountain of new subscribers to the app? The honest truth is, even if it WERE as simple as hitting a switch that allowed DC to say “Every Superman comic ever is now on the DC Universe Infinite app!” it probably wouldn’t generate enough new users to fully justify the cost.
But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth doing.
DC Comics is a business, sure, but comic books are an art form, and art should be preserved. And increasingly, in this modern age, digital preservation for older comics, books, movies, music recordings, and other works of art is proving to be the best way to make sure that it is available to future generations. Public domain helps with this. Once a work is available to the public, there are a lot of people who have a vested interest in seeing that it is preserved. The first Action Comics issues – and by extension, the first appearances of Superman – will enter the public domain in 2034. Every year after that, a new batch will be added to that list. If DC doesn’t do it themselves, eventually somebody else will make these classic books available. There’s a comfort to that, but it also begs the question of whether that’s what DC really wants. Is it actually in their best interest to keep these things buried until everybody ELSE can get their hands on them and put them out there for the world?
I’m not speaking objectively, obviously. I want very much for all these missing works to be available there for me to read here and now, although I’m willing to wait for DC to do it right…provided they’re actually doing it. In the earlier years of the app, DC had a relatively regular schedule of adding older comics to the library, but that has largely dried up. Every Wednesday DC adds the most recent NEW comics to the app, but the older back catalogue hasn’t had a substantial update in a very long time. It’s a shame.
And it’s time DC did something about it.
Blake M. Petit is a writer, teacher, and dad from Ama, Louisiana. His most recent writing project is the superhero adventure series Other People’s Heroes: Little Stars, volume one of which is now available on Amazon. Don’t forget, you can check out earlier blogs in the Year of Superman/Superman Stuff Archive! Got a request for a future “Superman Stuff”? Drop it in the comments!
I don’t want every “Superman Stuff” post to be comic book recaps, hence last week’s post where I talked about the upcoming Spider-Man/Superman and Bizarro: Year None announcements. That said, one of the reasons I wanted to keep this going was so that I could keep talking about the NEW Superman comics as they come out. With that in mind, this week I’m going to give my feelings on some of the Superman-related comics that have been published so far in 2026.
Superman Unlimited#9 Title: Die Laughing Part One Writer: Dan Slott Artist: Mike Norton Main Cover: Dave Johnson
A series of strange deaths strikes Metropolis, and although they could be accidental, there’s something that makes it feel like they’re linked to an old foe of Superman’s. (I realize I’m playing coy with who the villain is, and they name drop him on the cover, so I guess that’s a little pointless.) Meanwhile, Metropolis’s new Mayor Perry White finds himself a target, and at Steelworks, Jon Kent gets an important warning from a very unexpected source.
There is a LOT of stuff going on in this issue. The main plot regarding Perry White is the through-line, but the story of Jon at Steelworks feels like there’s more going on than is readily apparent, and the ongoing story of the massive Kryptonite meteor that’s fallen to Earth is woven in through what happens in the other plots. What’s more, we also get to see a classic foe and a new collaborator show up here in ways that feel like there’s a lot of story to tell. The way this book is packed is honestly reminiscent of the way stories were structured during the much-missed Triangle Era, and as I read this I felt those pangs of regret that I’m going to have to wait a month for this storyline to continue rather than just one week.
Slott does some of the little character bits he’s so good at here. For instance, we see Clark Kent at a press conference by Mayor Perry White where he acts just like he’s asking questions to any random elected official, and Perry humorously reminds him that he doesn’t exactly have to introduce himself. It’s funny, but it also brings up the idea that it’s kind of unethical to send a reporter to cover a press conference when the guy at the podium happens to be godfather of the reporter’s son. Then again, Clark has been reporting on himself for almost 90 years now, so…
Mike Norton steps up for the artwork this issue, and it makes me wish we saw him drawing Superman more often. His lines are clean and bold, very reminiscent of the style we saw from the likes of Dan Jurgens or Jerry Orway back in the day. Having him on this book feels very, very right. I hope we get to see more of his work on Superman in the future.
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #47 Title: The Merger Part Three: Truth and Consequences Writer: Mark Waid Pencils: Adrian Gutierrez Inks: Vicente Cifuentes Main Cover: Dan Mora
Fusion – the merged form of Superman and Batman – is in battle with Merger, the Lex Luthor/Joker mashup. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Merger has used Hawkman’s Absorbascon to learn the identities of our heroes and transmit that information all over the planet. Fortunately, Fusion has a whole Justice League to back them up.
I’ve loved this book since day one, because Mark Waid is clearly having a lot of fun playing around with all these classic pieces of the DC Universe. World’s Finest is set several years in the past, so when the secret is revealed we get to see some things that wouldn’t happen if this story were set today: a more villainous Poison Ivy going after Alfred, or a Lois Lane who is heartbroken to realize that Superman has been hiding under her nose all this time. Waid writes these moments very well, with compelling character work, especially in the Lois Lane scene.
That said, he’s walking a tightrope here, playing with what they sometimes call “Schmuck Bait.” It’s when a story (particularly in an ongoing franchise) teases a development that you know will not or cannot stick. In this case, we know with 100 percent certainty before the issue even begins that the secrets of Superman and Batman’s respective identities will go back in the box, so that lowers the stakes dramatically. The trick is to use this to milk good character beats that will retain their significance even once the actual plot is reversed. He manages to do that here, and even ends the issue with a new little wrinkle that could be brought back later, either in the pages of this book, or in other DC titles set in the current continuity. Either way, there’s potential there.
Supergirl Vol. 8 #9 Title: Resolutions Writer: Sophie Campbell Art: Joe Quinones Main Cover: Sophie Campbell
Continuing the holiday kick this book has been on (the last three issues have been Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas stories, respectively), it’s New Year’s Eve in Midvale, and Supergirl’s squad has been invited to a booze-free party to ring the year in. Lesla, unfamiliar with the effects of alcohol in the first place, is a bit disappointed to learn that it wouldn’t have any effect on her Kryptonian physiology. Lena has an idea for how to fix that little problem. Chaos ensues.
I have to admit, I didn’t see this issue coming. The first half comes across as Campbell trying to do an 80s style “very special episode” about the consequences of drinking, which would actually fit very well in what we’ve gotten from this series so far. The second half, however, takes a rather wild left turn when those consequences actually begin to stack. Stuff happens in this issue that drives a severe wedge in the family of friends Supergirl has built up around her, and I frankly didn’t see it coming. What’s more, Kara herself comes across as kind of cold in this issue – outwardly, at least. The reader gets to see her agonizing over the choices she makes and the way that she’s forced to push away her friends, but to those friends themselves she puts on a face of stoicism that’s really unexpected. Particularly in the case of Lesla, who is arguably a victim here, Kara doesn’t show the usual compassion that we get from her. I’ve been a big supporter of this book, but this is the first issue that feels like a misstep.
I’ve got no such complaints about the artwork, however. Campbell’s work on this title is great, but whenever she steps aside, they can bring in Joe Quinones to pinch-hit. I love his take on Kara and the rest of the cast, and I especially would like to see more of his version of Kandor.
Action Comics#1094 Title: Our Superboy at War Writer: Mark Waid Art: Patricio Delpeche Main Cover: Ryan Sook
This is an interesting one. The main story here is Superboy – in conjunction with his arrangement with General Sam Lane – being summoned to help with a military operation. Although that’s the A-plot, it’s also the least interesting part of the issue to me. That’s not to say that it’s not handled well – Mark Waid taps into the psyche of Clark Kent and has him go through this storyline in a way that feels very accurate for the character. The issue is that it’s very by-the-book. The beats are predictable, as are Clark’s reactions. I suppose that’s the thing about understanding a character really well – sometimes it can make certain stories feel very rote.
The b-plots in this issue are much more interesting to me. In the early part of the book, Clark has a study date (of sorts) with Lana Lang, and we’re teased with a strange animosity her father has for Clark. In the latter part, he goes on a camping trip with Pete Ross and laments the fact that there’s nobody he can share his secrets with. Both of these segments, to me, were far more satisfying than the A-plot. In each case, Waid is using established elements of the two characters to build them out a bit. For instance, Lana’s father being an archaeologist is a long-standing and well-known piece of the lore, but Waid seems to be using it here in a way that feels somewhat menacing, as though that status has a dark secret that’s going to cause trouble down the line. Pete, on the other hand, is famous for being the character who (in the Silver Age) knows that Clark is Superboy, but doesn’t tell anybody – not even Superboy himself. It definitely seems like we’re trending in that direction, but I trust Waid to do more with the concept than previous writers did. In the meantime, it’s really sad to see Clark upset about his big secret and the fact that there’s nobody else that could possibly understand what it’s like to have his kind of power.
Dang, if only he had some friends. If only he had a Legion of them or something.
Adventures of Superman: House of El#5 Title: I Am the Lantern in the Dark Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson Art: Scott Godlewski Main Cover: Scott Godlewski
A Sun-Eater has been unleashed on Lanternholm, the world that serves as the haven for the Lightborn. Superman and Ronan Kent join the fight alongside Ronan’s sister, Rowan. The Lanternholm stuff has actually been the most interesting part of this series yet to me, and I’m glad to see it take center stage in this issue. The DC Universe, let’s face it, has a LOT of potential futures. Some of them are easily compatible with one another, others require a bit more shoehorning to fit in, and this future in particular is at best going to be relegated to an alternate timeline in which Superman never comes home because – come on, let’s be honest here – we know that Superman is going to come home. It’s another example of that Schmuck Bait I mentioned earlier.
But that’s something that could theoretically be used to the story’s advantage. It is impossible for this future to be the “real” future of the DC Universe, so why not take some wilder, braver swings with it? I’d like to know more about what happened to the Lanterns in this future. I’d like to know more about what happens afterwards, with Rowan’s new status at the end of this issue. I’d read a miniseries about that, I’d read a miniseries about her. I’d be excited for it.
Absolute Superman #15 Title: The Never-Ending Begins Part One: In Blue Writer: Jason Aaron Art: Juan Ferreyra Main Cover: Rafa Sandoval
A new storyline kicks off this issue, although it kicks off in a very low-key way. After the huge win at the end of last issue, Kal-El is trying to settle in, taking over the Kents’ farm and running it the way they would have wanted while, at the same time, operating as Superman around the world. Of course, as the beginning of a new story, new threats are coming in as well, and we see the seeds for a few things planted here.
It’s nice to have something of a breather this issue, as we see Kal-El spending time with a lot of people, exploring his relationships with both Lois Lane AND Lana Lang, and interestingly enough, even Ra’s Al Ghul. There’s shoe leather to be expended here, building on who each of these people is to our new Superman. What I really like, though, is the direction this series is trending. Clark has traded in his Kryptonian suit for a uniform made for him by Martha, a uniform that speaks to a brighter future for the character. The Absolute Universe is one where Darkseid’s ethos reigns supreme and hope is the underdog…but despite that, Superman still acts as a symbol of that hope, and this issue continues to demonstrate that.
We also get the first appearance of the Absolute version of one of Superman’s oldest foes, and he’s taken in a very different direction. The Toyman has gone through several incarnations over the years. This one is different from any of them, but it suits the universe we’re living in and still fits the concept of the character fairly well. We also get a cameo by next issue’s big guest star, Hawkman, and recent comments by Scott Snyder that we’ll see a gathering of heroes in this universe sooner or later feel like they’re inching closer to fruition.
DC KO #3 Title: No Mercy Writers: Scott Snyder & Joshua Williamson Art: Javi Fernandez & Xermancio Main Cover: Javi Fernandez
Following December’s “All Fight Month” event, the combatants in the KO tournament have been narrowed down to an “Elite Eight.” The remaining fighters are each given an opportunity to choose a partner to fight alongside in the next battle. However, the one fighter who generated the MOST Omega Energy gets a special prize – their partner may come from ANY level of reality…and that winner is the Joker.
Much as the “All Fight” issues were at their best when used as an examination of character, even the selection of the heroes’ partners serves that same purpose. Some of them are obvious, some of them are understandable, and some of them are baffling. All of them demonstrate something about the character who makes the choice, and it’s writing like that which has elevated DC KO from being just a mindless slugfest into one of the most compelling events the DC Universe has had in ages.
There’s a running commentary from the Heart of Apokalips throughout the story that focuses heavily on Superman as well – what’s going on in his head, how he’s dealing with the battle, how he handles the fact that he’s got to fight, kill, perhaps even use his friends. What’s more, from the beginning the idea has been that it was okay for the heroes to die or to kill in pursuit of winning the tournament, because whoever wins and gets the Omega Energy at the end will have the ability to reset the universe and fix everything. This issue Snyder really starts to explore what that would actually MEAN. Would anyone – even Superman – have the wherewithal to only turn the clock back to before the tournament, or would that temptation to make the world unto what he thinks would be paradise be too tantalizing?
Also, there are a couple of moments in this issue that are gonna make for great action figures.
Blake M. Petit is a writer, teacher, and dad from Ama, Louisiana. His most recent writing project is the superhero adventure series Other People’s Heroes: Little Stars, volume one of which is now available on Amazon. Don’t forget, you can check out earlier blogs in the Year of Superman/Superman Stuff Archive! Got a request for a future “Superman Stuff”? Drop it in the comments!
Last weekend was Fan Expo New Orleans. If you recall, during the full Year of Superman last year, I wrote about the Superman-related stuff I found at Fan Expo 2025. And right now, let’s all be grateful that was last year and not this year, because this year’s Fan Expo – I’m sorry to report – was kind of a bust. The big cons have been shedding comic and science fiction participation for years, that’s nothing new. The shows are becoming more and more focused on anime and photo ops. And look – it’s not like I think that everything has to cater to me personally. I know, I’m an old man and people need to chase the money young people are bringing to the table. But there are full-on anime cons out there. The convention culture was built around comic book and sci-fi geeks, such as myself, and it feels very much like we’re the ones getting left out in the cold. All of this is to say, after a Saturday afternoon of prowling the vendor floor, I probably spent less money at this year’s Expo than I ever have before.
Seeing as how this is “Superman Stuff,” I’m only going to run through the few related finds I got. I knew even before I got there that I was going to hit up one of the booths that sells custom LEGO-style minifigures, because I’ve got a display of Superman-related figures in my classroom and I wanted to add to it. There was a movie version of Superman and Krypto that I added to my display, but sadly, those were the only two Superman characters they had that I didn’t have already. (I did, however, pick up the movie Fantastic Four, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the core Heeler family from Bluey, so I came away satisfied.)
The comics were an even bigger bust. I like to hit the bargain bins – the dollar comics, the weird stuff. But I found only two such bins in the whole show. and I’m pretty sure there were only four or five comic book vendors TOTAL. I walked away with a handful of old Archie comics and some 80s Marvel goodness, but the only Superman comic that fell into my hands was a battered reading copy of Action Comics #342 from 1966, which I’m digging into today.
In “The Super-Human Bomb,” Brainiac is prowling space, trying to think of some way to defeat Superman, when he finds himself under attack by another alien named Grax, whose 20th level intelligence is obviously way above Brainiac’s mere 12th level. Grax has a beef with Superman as well, and has come up with a scheme to destroy him, but he needs a force field and somehow Mr. 20th Level can’t figure out how to make one, so he steals Brainiac’s. Grax tricks Superman with a missile that attaches a bomb to the man of steel, a bomb he claims is powerful enough to annihilate Earth, and it’s rigged to go off if Superman tries to remove it. Oh yeah, and just in case he gets any smart ideas about flying into space, Grax put Brainiac’s force field around Earth, trapping him here, with a 24-hour timer on the bomb.
I have to admit, inability to invent a force field notwithstanding, so far Grax is making a solid case for being eight levels smarter than Brainiac. He never got this far.
Superman spends the next 24 hours trying desperately to stop the bomb, but everything fails. He even offers to let Grax kill him if he will spare Earth, but Grax refuses. Minutes before the explosion, Brainiac messages Superman and tells him how to defeat Grax: build an enormous magnet (shaped like a horseshoe, because theming) and use it to draw Grax’s ship against the force field, trapping him in the blast radius of the bomb. Superman gets into Grax’s ship and hits the switch for the bomb, just as – in the most dramatic moment in comic book history – I realize that this $1 reading copy I purchased is missing pages out of the middle, so I can’t see how the story ends.
Incredible!
The back-up story, fortunately, is complete: Supergirl stars in “The Day Supergirl Became an Amazon.” College student Linda Danvers is on a trip to the South Pacific to gather specimens for the school aquarium, when their ship is struck by a heavy storm. Supergirl secretly guides the ship to an island, where the students casually decide to begin collecting their specimens rather than wondering about, y’know, getting rescued. But the island turns out to be occupied by an Amazon tribe that would later be sued by Themiscyra for trademark infringement.
The Amazons put Linda and her classmates in slave girl costumes because fun, and that night Linda puts her Supergirl costume on a bird so people will see it flying around and assume Supergirl is on a mission, and that may be one of the most confusing sentences I’ve ever written. The Amazons feed the girls a “nectar of strength” which doesn’t appear to impact Linda’s classmates, but she pretends that the nectar has given her super powers and starts wiping the floor with the Amazons in trial after trial. Eventually, Linda does such a good job of building a pyramid with the stones from the Amazon’s homes that the queen gets fed up with her and lets the girls go. The story is an absolute masterpiece, assuming that you don’t stop to wonder why Supergirl dropped their ship on the island instead of taking them to a safe place in the first place, why she felt it necessary to put her costume on a bird, or what Linda’s major was and what kind of college sends three random students to the South Pacific in a hovercraft.
Blake M. Petit is a writer, teacher, and dad from Ama, Louisiana. His most recent writing project is the superhero adventure series Other People’s Heroes: Little Stars, volume one of which is now available on Amazon. Don’t forget, you can check out earlier blogs in the Year of Superman/Superman Stuff Archive! Got a request for a future “Superman Stuff”? Drop it in the comments!
Continuing on from last week, I’m still making my way through all of the different Superman adaptations I haven’t touched upon so far. Of course, Thanksgiving is this week as well, and as always, life is bound to throw a few curve balls into my plans, because life enjoys doing that to me. But I’ve got a bare minimum of seven movies and TV shows I’m going to try to hit this week. Can I do it in seven days? Your guess is as good as mine.
TV Episode:Superboy Season 1, Episode 1, “The Jewel of the Techacal.”
Notes: The same year as the Ruby-Spears Superman animated series I wrote about last week, the Salkinds (producers of the Christopher Reeve Superman movies) gave us a new live-action TV series starring John Haymes Newton as a college-age Superboy. Newton was replaced after one season with Gerard Christopher, whom I remember liking in the role a lot more, but I haven’t watched any of these episodes in years. I should, in all fairness, watch at least Christopher’s first episode as well for the sake of comparison, but I’ve only got the first season of the show on DVD and it does not appear to be on HBO Max because – and I cannot stress this enough – Warner Bros. does not know what the hell it’s doing. I’ve still got the whole month of December, though, so if I manage to locate any of the Christopher episodes, I’ll try to squeeze one in for the sake of completion. For now, though, we’re going to look at the first episode of the series, “The Jewel of the Techacal.”
Newton was joined by Stacy Haiduk as Lana Lang, and in a nice nod to comic book continuity, the episode begins with her archaeologist father, who is apparently nervous to see his daughter again after some time as he comes to town with a set of Mayan artifacts. Lana and Clark are both students at Shuster College (cute), along with T.J. White (son of Perry, of course), and a young Lex Luthor who gives neither “mad scientist” nor “insidious businessman” vibes, but rather came out of central casting in the search for a villain in an 80s movie about a ski resort whose wacky staff has to show up some snobbish guests. Anyway, as the episode opens, Professor Lang’s plane is having some trouble, its landing gear refusing to go down, so Superboy zips into the sky to make a quick repair. Lana is overjoyed that her father doesn’t – y’know – die, but is despondent only minutes later when he quickly blows her off to tend to his artifacts. The tension gets worse when Professor Lang suddenly and inexplicably collapses, a malady his assistant attributes to a curse that came with the artifacts they found. While he’s out, Lex and his goon plot to steal the artifacts, but Superboy arrives to stop it, only to find himself susceptible to the curse as well. He collapses while Lex makes off with an ancient chest containing…well, the curse, I guess. Superboy recovers and catches Lex, turning him over to the cops with most of the artifacts – all except for the cursed chest, which he brings back to…well, presumably to Techacal. We only SEE him flying into the clouds, because shooting in South America would have been entirely too expensive. Returning the chest breaks the curse, though, and Professor Lang recovers, giving him and Lana another chance.
The next time I want to crack jokes about the teen soap opera aspects of Superman and Lois, I’m going to stop myself and remember this show, because holy CRAP was this stuff overwrought. Is it understandable that Lana is upset to have her father lying in a hospital bed dying, apparently, of nothing? Absolutely. Should she be behaving like a character in a telenovela? Absolutely not. On the other hand, that’s better than the utter lack of emotion that we get from Scott Wells as Lex Luthor. (Lex only appeared in four episodes of season one and he, too, was recast for the second season.) As for Newton himself…he’s okay, but he’s a little stiff. The show doesn’t do much to justify why this is Superboy instead of Superman either, save for the fact that he’s in college and not yet in Metropolis. All things considered, it’s kind of a miracle that the show lasted as long as it did.
The really shocking thing, though, is that through 1988 there hasn’t been a single Superman-related TV series that has a proper status quo-establishing pilot. I guess that sort of requirement is more recent than I had realized.
Comics: DC K.O. #2, Superman Vol. 6 #32, Justice League Unlimited Vol. 2 #13
Notes: I popped by the comic shop today as well, grabbing this week’s books, and I’m going to take a little time this afternoon to catch up on DC’s current crossover event, DC K.O., the second issue of which is sitting in my hot little hands right now. In order to claim the Omega Energy before Darkseid – and with it, the power to reshape the entire universe – 32 heroes and villains have made it through the first stage of the gauntlet. In issue two, 16 items have been scattered across the battlefield. The rules are simple: if you’re holding one of the items when time runs out you advance to the next round. If you aren’t, you die. Lex Luthor (showing far more cunning than his counterpart in the Superboy TV show) makes right for a collection of Lantern power rings, while Superman tries not only to outrace Luthor, but stop the other villains at the same time.
Screenshot
This issue is where I feel like we’re really going to see exactly what DC K.O. is. The conceit is that the eventual winner of this tournament will be able to reset the universe as they see fit, so the consequences here are kind of minimal – heroes and villains alike can be broken, maimed, even die, and you know that when that reset button is hit it’s all going to go away. Normally I would consider the existence of that sort of reset to be a negative, but K.O. has two major things going for it. First, the writers are using the lack of consequences as an opportunity to really cut loose, pushing the battles to extremes that they normally would never approach. Even Superman has an opportunity to be more brutal without violating his ethos, and this issue shows us just how scary that would be. The other thing is that although there IS a reset button included, that button will be used at the whim of whoever eventually wins the tournament, and I have a suspicion that it’s not going to be a simple square one reset. Whoever wins is probably going to have the opportunity to change some things when they rebuild the universe (for example, should a member of the Bat-family come out on top, it seems like this would be a prime opportunity to bring back a certain faithful butler whose presence has been sorely missed for quite some time), and I’m very curious to see what shape that will take.
Superman #32 fills in a blank and continues the side-story at the same time. Half the issue is used to explain where Lex and the rest of the villains came from in DC K.O. #1 when they suddenly joined the tournament. The other half picks up the story of Lois and Superboy-Prime versus Darkseid’s Legion at the Fortress of Solitude. The Lex stuff is nice to explain something that I’m sure a lot of of were curious about, but I’m more satisfied with the Lois/ Prime storyline. Prime’s characterization has shifted since the days of Infinite Crisis, sliding from a bitter ex-fanboy to a kid who leans on the fourth wall in a way that almost feels Deadpool-like. Considering his origins, it makes sense, and it never goes so far as to have him addressing the reader; instead, it’s more like he’s got awareness of the medium he’s in and he’s using it. I didn’t have it on my bingo card for the Year of Superman, but the redemption of Superboy-Prime is shaping up to be a great story.
And in Justice League Unlimited #13, we get part two of “The Terrific Ten.” Mr. Terrific leads his team of time-tossed Justice Leaguers (including the Electric Blue Superman and a young Power Girl) into Hell itself to confront the demon Neron, who has chosen a devil of a time to juice up some of Earth’s villains again. Meanwhile, the very Omega Energy that the heroes in the main book are trying to claim is simultaneously rendering Earth uninhabitable, and the remaining Justice Leaguers are trying to help the Titans coordinate the evacuation of the entire planet. At the same time, they’re trying to round up the amped-up villains that Neron has set loose. I have to say this for K.O. – I’ve read most of the tie-ins so far, and none of them feel the same as the others. What’s happening in Superman and Justice League are totally different than Titans and Flash. And while some of them feel more immediately relevant to the main storyline, none of them feel wasted or irrelevant to the titles that they’re reaching into. You can’t say that about every crossover, and the DC creators deserve a lot of credit for making it work so well thus far.
Thur., Nov. 27
Comic: New Adventures of Superboy #38, JSA #54 (Guest Appearance)
Notes: Happy Thanksgiving! Well, it’s Thanksgiving as I write this. By the time you read this, it’ll be December 3, and I’m sure you’ll all be watching the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, and if you aren’t, what even are you doing with your holidays? But at the time I write this I just took the dessert I made out of the oven, my wife is in the kitchen making her cornbread casserole, and Eddie and I are on the couch watching the Macy’s parade. Since they don’t have a Superman balloon for some insane reason, I need to work in something else to maintain my streak. Fortunately, the DC Universe app has me covered with New Adventures of Superboy #38, one of the terribly rare Thanksgiving comics out there.
The story begins with Superboy paying a visit to the Soames Reformatory, where he pitches in with Thanksgiving dinner by cooking the turkeys with his X-Ray vision. There’s one resident of the reform school who isn’t impressed, though: young Lex Luthor. Lex pitches a fit and Superboy leaves, upset that for all his genius, he fears that Lex will never mend his ways. (Prescient kid, that Superboy.) But there’s no time to bemoan Lex’s fate – he’s gotta bounce to the future for the monthly meeting with the Legion of Super-Heroes. At the same time (somehow), 13 years in the future, an adult Superman is making a visit BACK in time. Superboy collides with his grown-up self in the timestream, and the two of them are hurled back to their respective time periods, but with their minds switched. Superman – in Superboy’s body – winds up back in the 60s, while Superboy in Superman’s body goes to 1982.
Superman wakes up in Superboy’s body, believing that something has made him younger, and decides to go hide out in the empty Kent house in Smallville until he can figure out what’s going on, shocked to find his parents there, alive. Stunned, he puts on teen Clark’s clothes and sits down for a Thanksgiving dinner with his family and teenage friends. The next day, Lex manages to sneak out of the reformatory. Superman/boy, meanwhile, suddenly finds himself in a Groundhog’s Day Loop of reliving Thanksgiving, the result of some sort of device Luthor planted on him the day before. He tries to break the loop by, instead of travelling to the future to see the Legion switching it up and going to the past. Somehow, this works, because Albert Einstein said if he went far enough back he would loop around to where he started from. Superman catches Lex, but his rage at what his former friend will one day become nearly pushes him to destroy him in anger.
The story continues in Superman #380, where we see the other half of the story…presumably. That issue isn’t on the DC Infinity app. I cannot stress this enough, they have GOT to get their act together with this app. The story’s also kind of light on Thanksgiving cheer, so I’m going to call that an appetizer, with the main course being an unabashedly holiday story from JSA #54.
It’s Thanksgiving at the Justice Society brownstone in Manhattan, and they’ve invited the Justice League to join them. We get a series of vignettes to begin the story – Batman and Mr. Terrific talking shop, Wonder Woman and Wildcat having the required awkward political disagreement, Impulse and Jakeem Thunder bonding over a mutual hatred of school, and so forth. We get an amusing bit where Stargirl is upset about being placed at the kids’ table while Captain Marvel (whose secret identity she knows, but not everybody else does) gets to sit with the adults. Everything is going great…until Kulak the Sorcerer and the Warlock of Ys appear. Kulak is out for revenge against the JSA, the Warlock hates the JLA, but NEITHER of them really counted on just how many heroes’ dinner they just ruined. Their resistance…doesn’t last long. In the end, the two teams order a tower of pizzas and celebrate the holiday the way Batman always predicted they would.
Is it heavy on Superman content? No. But he gets a few nice moments, such as catching Wildcat flying out the window after Wonder Woman “disagrees” with him and another where he and Alan Scott crack their knuckles before wiping the floor with the bad guys. But it’s a funny, heartfelt story by Geoff Johns and Don Kramer, which is only slightly overshadowed by the absolute masterpiece that the Christmas story in the next issue would be. There’s no Super-family characters in that one so I probably won’t be reading it, but if you’re looking for Christmas comics to read over the next month, make sure you add it to your list.
Fri., Nov. 28
Movie Serial: Superman (1948), Episodes 1-15
Notes: I’ve been holding off on this one until I had a day with a big chunk of time where I could watch it, as the 15 episodes of the original Superman movie serial make up a whopping four hours and change combined, but there was no way I could consider this project complete without including the work of Kirk Alyn, the first actor to portray Superman in live action.
(Before anybody comes in the comments trying to correct me, I know that Alyn wasn’t the first actor to wear a Superman costume. Ray Middleton dressed as Superman during the 1939 World’s Fair. But to the best of my knowledge, there was no footage of Middleton and, if there is, it doesn’t seem to exist anywhere. We’ve got a few still photos. Alyn’s is the earliest actual performance we can WATCH.)
Anyway, I’m not going to try to do a total recap of the movie serial the way I do for a lot of the things I watch. It’s too long, frankly, and like a lot of movie serials there’s a lot of repetition that would make it kind of tedious to read about. But here’s what’s important: the serial tells the story of the destruction of Krypton and baby Kal-El coming to Earth, being raised by the Kents, and then making up his mind to become a hero in the city of Metropolis all in the first 20-minute episode. After that, we see Superman at odds with assorted criminals and natural disasters before finally coming into conflict with the main villain of the serial: the Spider Lady, who is using her “Reducing Ray” to hold the world hostage.
The storyline is very much in keeping with a lot of the adventure serials of the era: goofy sci-fi weapons of dubious practicality, a femme fatale villain with a sort of bland identity, and tons and tons of goons that came straight out of the Goon Casting Academy. It’s the fact that the hero of this one is Superman rather than “Commando Cody” or something that makes it interesting. And the Superman we get here is very well done. Kirk Alyn is a great Superman for the era: he’s strong, but also somewhat joyful. He’s having FUN with his powers, and that’s something that you can’t always say. He also is quite clearly taking his cues from Bud Collyer’s portrayal of the character on the radio and in the Fleischer shorts, duplicating the way Collyer would start off his catch phrase as Clark Kent (“This looks like a job…”) and then drop his voice an octave (“…for SUPERMAN!”) to signal that he’s going into action. Even the credits for the serial indicate that it is “adapted from the Superman Radio Program,” so there’s no pretending it’s a coincidence.
Noel Neill, as I mentioned last week, is our Lois Lane, a role she would reprise when Phyllis Coates left The Adventures of Superman a few years later…and I LOVE Neill’s Lois. She’s slick, clever, and occasionally even devious. She’s miffed at Clark for scooping her on the story that got him his job at the Daily Planet (a story beat that John Byrne would duplicate for his Man of Steel series four decades later) and isn’t above pulling some sneaky tricks to get him out of the way so she can beat him to the story. She’s feisty and ferocious, and I’m there for it.
Special effects being what they were in 1948, the serial makes frequent use of animation. The destruction of Krypton, the rocketship to Earth, any time Superman flies, and various super-feats that would be too difficult to portray in live action are all done through animation. It’s not – I must concede – particularly CONVINCING animation. It looks like the scenes in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? where the toons and live-action characters coexist. But for the time, it was innovative, and the animation is good, fluid, and impressive.
Kirk Alyn’s name is overlooked far too often when we’re talking about the actors who have portrayed the Man of Steel. This serial and his performance are both great fun, and worthy of inclusion…it wouldn’t have been a Year of Superman without him.
Sat., Nov. 29
TV Episode:Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Season 1, Episodes 1-2, “Pilot,” Superman and Lois Season 3, Episode 6, “Of Sound Mind.”
Notes: In 1993 it was time for TV to take another swing at the Man of Steel. But as it WAS the 90s, this time out the focus was more 90s as well. For a superhero show, the emphasis was on the relationship and burgeoning romance between Lois Lane (Teri Hatcher) and Clark Kent (Dean Cain). In fact, they even gave Lois top billing in the title, as if to emphasize the fact that this wasn’t like the OLD adventures of Superman at all. The series doesn’t even begin with Clark, it begins with Lois returning to the Daily Planet office stripping off a disguise she used to go undercover to land a big story. As they’re celebrating her scoop, a young man steps off the bus outside, carrying a suitcase with the initials “C.K.” The young Clark Kent meets with Perry White (the great Lane Smith, perhaps my favorite Perry White of all time), who rejects him due to his lack of experience. He retreats to the rundown apartment he’s renting and, as a lightbulb above his head begins flickering, he casually floats to the ceiling and fixes it. Because, y’know, super powers. Lois, meanwhile, retreats to the apartment she shares with her sister Lucy, who berates her for the way she constantly drives away all the men in her life for being too weak, then sobs while watching a sappy movie. Because yeah, it’s a superhero TV show, but it’s also a romantic comedy.
The next day, Clark tracks down an aging actress in an abandoned theater, poaching a human interest story he heard Lois reject in Perry’s office, and brings it to the Planet, where his initiative impresses Perry enough to give him the job. Just seconds later, the TV in the office shows a disaster at a space launch. Lois is determined to follow leads that point to a conspiracy in the space program, and over her objections, Perry assigns her to partner with the newcomer Clark. She’s not thrilled about it, and she’s less thrilled when her scheduled date for a gala thrown by Lex Luthor drops out, forcing her to ask Clark to accompany her if she wants any chance at landing the first one-on-one interview Luthor has ever given.
Before the Gala he flies home to Smallville (under his own power, naturally) to have dinner with his parents (Eddie Jones and Jonathan and K Callan as Martha), where he bemoans the fact that he has to hide his powers instead of openly helping people. Jonathan, always the wise one, tells him he’ll find a way. At the Gala, Clark has his socks knocked off when he sees Lois dressed to the nines, but she’s preoccupied dancing with businessman Lex Luthor (John Shea). Luthor turns out to be charming, showing off his tower and saying how he loves the fact that everyone in Metropolis has to look up to see him. He uses the ball as an opportunity to announce his newest initiative: the creation of a space station bearing his name. He’s outraged, though, when the Congress of Nations rejects his proposal to continue their own plans.
Over the next few days Lois – despite herself – finds that she’s warming up to Clark, who has a charm she can’t deny, and is full of surprises, like the ability to read Chinese (which he demonstrates after bringing her Chinese food – unbeknownst to her – from China). He also comforts her when they find a source who has been feeding her information about the space sabotage dead, an apparent suicide, although Lois and Clark aren’t buying it. After a few close calls of nearly being caught helping people, Clark asks his mom to help him make an “outfit” to use.
Lois continues to pursue the story, finally getting herself and Jimmy captured. Clark manages to find her trapped in an empty warehouse, but has to allow himself to get caught in order to protect his secret. As Lois berates him for bumbling in without a plan, he casually frees himself from the shackles, but allows Lois to continue with her raving as it transmogrifies into a bit of a self-therapy session, then he frees them both. He gets Lois – and the unconscious Jimmy – out of the warehouse just before it’s blown up. The evidence she has saves the space launch, and Clark goes back to Smallville to help finish his disguise. After a montage, he settles on something…iconic: blue tights, with red boots, trunks, and a cape. Something is missing, thought and Martha digs into a chest to pull out the blanket Clark was wrapped in as a baby, complete with a familiar crest.
Jonathan, meanwhile, is watching the space launch on TV, not knowing that Lois has 1) stowed away on the rocket and 2) discovered a bomb. She tries to disarm the bomb, but instead causes a mechanical error that ends the countdown. Sensing something is wrong, Clark takes to the air and arrives just in time to reach the bomb and EAT the explosive, saving the rocket, its crew, and Lois. The crew – planning to be long-term colonists on the space station – fear the mission will end as their window is about to close, but Superman gets beneath the rocket and flies it into orbit himself, docking it with the station and saving the mission. In the final scene, the newly-dubbed Superman arrives at Lex Luthor’s tower to confront him over the bomb: he knows that Luthor was behind the sabotage to promote his own station. And although he can’t prove any of it, he’s going to have his eyes on Luthor from now on. As he takes off, he tells Luthor “If you ever need to find me, all you have to do is look up.”
If you remember the personal timeline of my experience with Superman, you may remember that I first became a big fan of the character in the early 90s, and this show was one of the elements that paralleled that. By the time it came out in 1993, I was already big into the comics, but the show helped fuel that fandom for a few years, helping to bolster Superman’s status as an icon (recently reignited thanks to his “death”) and carrying it forward. And it was, sincerely, the perfect show for the era. It’s VERY 90s, and the different take on Superman works for the time period. Teri Hatcher’s Lois is confident (good) bordering on arrogant (bad), but it soon becomes clear that it’s a mask for her rather deep loneliness (awwwww). Clark, meanwhile, isn’t the pushover that we had in the Christopher Reeve era. His background from “Smallville” leads to people (Lois, for instance) underestimating him, but he proves to be shrewd and clever, in addition to just being competent at reporting. This show also has to get credit for one of my favorite Superman lines, one that people (myself included) often misattribute to Superman For All Seasons: when a kid tells Superman she likes his costume, he replies, “Thanks, my mother made it for me.”
The supporting cast is aces as well. I mentioned already how much I love Lane Smith as Perry White, with a sort of drawl that makes his character sound like he’s handing out homespun wisdom. Jones and Callan as the Kents make for a perfect sounding board for Clark, demonstrating yet again how wise it was of John Byrne to let them live to Clark’s adulthood rather than forcing him to spend his life UTTERLY alone. And John Shea’s Lex Luthor probably wouldn’t have worked if they were going for the “mad scientist” interpretation of the character, but as the ruthless businessman, he’s perfectly suited for the role. Tracy Skoggins’ predatory Cat Grant is very much a reflection of the earliest versions of the character, and although he would be replaced in favor of a younger actor later in the series, I rather liked Michael Landes’ Jimmy Olsen.
One thing I’ve noticed is just how well the various live-action incarnations of Superman act as a sort of capsule of the time. While the broad strokes remain the same, the details in each incarnation of the character give you a good idea of where culture was at that point. 90s television was the era of the relationship drama, and this show reflects the Superman version of that perfectly.
Sun., Nov. 30
Novel: The Last Days of Krypton by Kevin J. Anderson
Notes: I’ve been reading this novel off and on for about two weeks, and I finished it up today. If there’s one thing I wish I had squeezed more of into this Year of Superman, it’s prose fiction…but the truth is there isn’t all THAT much to choose from, and some of the best — specifically as the novels of Elliot S! Maggin — were books I read just last year, not long before I decided to do this project, and I didn’t quite have the impetus for a re-read just yet. But this book by frequent Star Wars writer Kevin J. Anderson went a long way towards scratching that itch.
As the title implies, this book tells us the story of the final days (final years, actually, but that’s not as catchy a title) of the planet Krypton before its ultimate destruction. Jor-El is the protagonist of the book, a scientist whose work has been suppressed by Krypton’s staunchly unbending ruling council, even as he finds sign after sign that the planet is in imminent danger. One of the few people who takes him seriously is Councilor Dru-Zod, who has an eye on conquest and forges a bond with Jor-El in the hopes of using him towards his own ends. Over the course of the book, Jor-El falls in love with an artist, Lara Lor-Van, and colludes with his scientist brother Zor-El (mayor of Argo City) to help save the planet from itself.
Spoiler warning: It doesn’t quite work out.
That’s the tricky thing with prequels: so much of what’s going to happen is a foregone conclusion. Anybody with even a passing knowledge of Superman’s history knows that Jor-El’s efforts to save the planet will fail and that he and Lara will perish after sending their infant son Kal-El into space. People who have a slightly deeper – but still not encyclopedic – knowledge of the lore will also know that before the end of the story Zod will be in the Phantom Zone, allowing him to survive the planet’s destruction. And the real ones, of course, will know that Zor-El will save Argo City from Krypton’s destruction only to suffer its own doom some years later. So since all of these things are locked into canon before you even crack open the book, where’s the tension? Where’s the drama?
Miraculously, it’s there.
Anderson does a fine job of weaving a story that’s still compelling despite the fact that we know more or less how it’s all going to go. The relationship between Zod and Jor-El has shades of Shakespearean tragedy, of a friendship gone wrong, although the degree to which Zod ever actually considered Jor-El a friend is debatable. He also does a fine job of fleshing out Lara and Zor-El, characters who have never been quite as well-developed in the comics as Jor-El or Zod, imbuing them with distinct personalities that fit cleanly into the story and both serve as support for Jor-El in different ways.
Most impressive to me, though, is how Anderson plunders decades of Superman continuity for the details that populate this story. Stories from the comics like the ancient Kryptonian despot Jax-Ur, the abduction of Kandor by Brainiac, or the question of just why Argo City was beneath a dome in the first place all factor into the storyline. But Anderson avoids the trap that so many prequels fall into of feeling like the writers are just connecting the dots, trying to piece together the information we already have, and instead incorporates these different elements organically and sometimes in such a subtle way that you don’t quite realize the significance of certain things until they come to the forefront.
The story paints Krypton’s destruction as imminent, and finds fault with multiple characters – even, to a degree, Jor-El himself. It builds to the tragedy, this notion that the death of Krypton’s civilization may have been avoidable, but was propelled by hubris. The book is a little vague on just how inevitable the end of the planet was – there are several elements that make it seem like Krypton was doomed no matter what anybody did – but there are definitely actions by certain people that accelerate its death, and if not for the pigheadedness of those in charge, the people of Krypton may have found a way to save themselves, even if the planet as a whole was doomed.
Anderson isn’t beholden to any particular continuity. As I said, many of the elements are drawn from different eras of the comic books, but it’s not married to any of them. (It would fit fairly well with the Silver Age, for example, but doesn’t fit at all with the Man of Steel era.) Other things, like Jor-El’s physical description of white hair and shimmering white robes, seem to come more from the movies. Ultimately, though, it serves as a sort of platonic example of the final days of a grand civilization and a backdrop of the tragedy that ultimately would give birth to Earth’s greatest hero.
Mon. Dec. 1.
Comics: Batman: Wayne Family Adventures #47 (Jonathan and Martha Kent Guest appearance), Action Comics #1092
Notes: I have a child. Children have things like choir rehearsal and basketball practice. Dad has no time to do stuff. This is the circle of life. Anyway, without the time to watch anything today, I’m squeezing in some comics.
I don’t often write about the quick read “DC Go” comics, but every so often I get one that’s so delightful I need to draw attention to it. Batman: Wayne Family Adventures is a bit of a reimagining of the Batman characters as a sort of family dramedy. The focus is on Bruce and his multitude of adopted children, and although they are superheroes, the comic strip is really about them functioning as a family, with most actual adventures happening off-panel. Episode #47 is a spotlight on Alfred, having what appears to be a fairly regular dinner with his friends, Jonathan and Martha Kent. The story is sweet and simple, a portrait of the adopted parents of Earth’s two greatest heroes spending time together and relating to one another in a way that nobody else in the world possibly could. We’ve seen elements of this in the main continuity from time to time, but this short story really is a treat.
On to Action Comics #1092, which is sort of a breather issue. The Captain Comet storyline wrapped up last issue, so this month we see young Clark Kent bemoaning the fact that Lana Lang is interested in Superboy instead of “him,” Pete Ross wonder why he best friend is so distant lately, and Sam Lane roll into town to try to do something about this super powered teenager that’s been running around lately. There’s a lot of good character stuff here for Superboy – Mark Waid is dipping his toes into the struggles of Clark trying not to draw attention to himself, and seems to be leaning in towards the old Silver Age status quo of Pete Ross figuring out that Clark is Superboy but keeping that information private. The scene with Sam Lane is especially good, demonstrating the relationship that Superboy has forged with the people of Smallville in a relatively short time. On the other hand, Waid has a teenage Clark make reference to the Star Wars prequels, a comment that makes me feel egregiously old and for which I may never forgive him.
Tues., Dec. 2
Comic: Adventure Comics #423
Notes: I had intended, this week, to try to wrap up at least the most important “Superman Through the Ages” that I hadn’t gotten to yet – things like the pilot episode of Smallville and Supergirl, or to finally talk about Henry Cavill’s Superman movies. But it’s that time of year, guys. Holidays, family events, work, and a kid who is into both choir and basketball are eating up my time. I’ve got the last few weeks of this project planned a little – holiday tales for the week before Christmas and some all-star stuff, including “endings” for that week before the new year. In the two weeks between now and then, I’m not going to make myself beholden to any theme and I’m going to read whatever I want on the day, but I’m also going to do my best to scratch off as many of the remaining movies and TV shows from my list as possible.
Today, though, that isn’t going to happen, because of the aforementioned work and basketball and whatnot. So instead, let’s look at Adventure Comics #423, a story from the time that Supergirl was the headliner of the series, but which has her in conflict with Superman, who – as you see from the cover – she’s calling a traitor. In “Treachery,” written by E. Nelson Bridwell and Steve Skeates with art by Mike Sekowsky and Bob Oskner, Linda Danvers is shopping one day when she tries on a pair of sunglasses that she cannot remove from her face. The glasses are the creation of aliens who have been observing her from space and who plan to control her via messages embedded in the glasses. The aliens force Linda to go to Metropolis to visit her cousin Clark (you may have heard of him), and secretly switch his glasses for a pair sent by the aliens. They force Superman and Supergirl to visit their spacecraft, hidden beneath the waters of the bay, and collect glasses to use on the rest of Earth’s superheroes. As they enter, the heroes immediately begin mopping the floor up with the aliens before their leader Gur realizes his crony ordered them to enter the craft, but gave no commands preventing them from fighting back. He orders them to cease all action and executes the flunky responsible. Superman is ordered to trick the rest of the Justice League into putting on the glasses, but without specific orders of her own, Supergirl again rebels against the aliens and, again, is stopped by Gur. Gur’s brother, however, however, opposed to Gur’s plans for conquest, gives Supergirl an order to use her heat vision, which melts the glasses off her face and sets her free. She makes short work of the aliens and rushes to the Justice League satellite, where Superman is trying to con his teammates into wearing the glasses. (There’s a particularly funny panel where he’s grabbing the Atom like a doll and trying to force the glasses onto his face.) Supergirl tells Green Lantern to blast the glasses off Superman’s face and set him free. Meanwhile, the alien ship is sinking and Gur and his brother fight, with the two of them eventually going down with the ship as the rest of their crew escapes. Superman and Supergirl build a craft to send the rest of the aliens home, hoping that Gur was one-of-a-kind.
I’ve never read this story before, and I was surprised by just how much I liked it. The hero-versus-hero trope is kind of tired, as is the “mind controlled hero,” but it actually works here because there’s a reasonable explanation. “Here, try on these sunglasses.” It’s a simple enough way to kick things off, and it’s completely believable that even a Supergirl would be off guard and fall into that trap. From that point, it’s easy enough to accept her swapping Clark’s glasses and pulling him in as well. The only weak point was Superman utterly failing to convince the rest of the JLA to put the glasses on – he’s just not that good at deception. Speaking of which, it’s a good thing that nobody else seemed to see Superman flying around wearing the alien spectacles, because the ol’ Clark Kent disguise would have gone out the window REALLY quickly if they had.
We’re going into the last month of the year, friends, and my goal at this point is just to knock off as many things remaining on my list as possible. So expect the next two weeks to be kind of eclectic – movies, TV shows, comics, and whatever else I haven’t gotten around to yet. Thanks for sticking around this long – I hope you’ll find the last month of this little project to be as much fun as the first 11.
Blake M. Petit 