Action Comics #875 (2009)

Action Comics #875 (May, 2009)
"the sleepers, Part I"
Writer - Greg Rucka
Penciller - Eddy Barrows
Inkers - Guy Jose & Julio Ferreira
Colorist - Rod Reis
Letterer - Rob Leigh
Assistant Editor - Wil Moss
Editor - Matt Idelson
Cover Price: $2.99

One of the neat things about writing about Action Comics is, even if you're not necessarily in the mood to write about Superman... you can find a bunch of issues that don't even feature him.  Such is the issue we'll be discussing today.

While on the subject... as we draw ever nearer to the end of our #Action100 Endeavor, I am kinda bummed that I didn't get around to covering any Action Comics Weekly.  On the face of it, seems like it would be a good time... but, lemme tell ya... synopsizing those short stories, and making the piece "flow" (not that my pieces ever really "flow") was quite a challenge.  I couldn't tell ya how many times I started writing a piece for Action Comics Weekly #601.  It's one of the very few books that actually "beat" me.

Oh well, maybe one of these days I'll get a running start and give it another go.

--

We open in Sydney, Australia in the office of one Mr. Carter... a big-wig for the Empire Communications Network.  He's on the phone with an assistant and is looking for some sort of a scathing expose on the Kryptonians of New Krypton.  As he wraps up his call, he gets walloped by... Nightwing (not that one)!  Flamebird arrives right behind him and calls him out for his impetuousness.

As they yak, Carter recovers and attacks!  He believes (as does the world) that Nightwing and Flamebird are normal humans in super-powered suits.  He promises that they aren't prepared to deal with what he really is.

A fight rages on... with Carter eventually grabbing Nightwing by the throat.  He is taken aback when the kid starts speaking to him in Kryptonese.  This distraction proves to be just enough for the Kandorian Dynamic Duo to regain the advantage.

They manage to capture Carter, who is in actuality a Kryptonian Sleeper Agent named Tor-An.  Job well done, Nightwing proclaims "One Down, Five to Go!"... before noticing that his partner might be a little worse for wear.  They disappear into the skies before they are spotted.

We briefly check in on Metropolis, where Lois is watching footage of the event we just read.  She furrows her brow.  Thrilling.

We then shift scenes to General Lane's Project 7734, where they too are watching the footage... in an attempt to positively identify Flamebird.  Unfortunately for them, the image is too degraded to match up.

Next stop, New Krypton.  Alura is rather annoyed that her Chief of Security Thara Ak-Var has flown the coop... but not before abducting/rescuing Lor-Zod (Chris Kent) from the Phantom Zone.  They don't yet know that Thara and Chris are currently Nightwing and Flamebird.  Anyhoo, she sends Ursa (Lor-Zod's mother) off on the retrieval mission.

Over at the Fortress of Solitude, Nightwing and Flamebird deposit Tor-An into their version of the Ghostbusters' Containment Unit... or, ya know... the Phantom Zone.

Chris heads off to change clothes, as his current ensemble is in a pretty bad state, and he's too bashful to do so in front of Thara.  While he's off, Thara takes a gander at the rest of their intergalactic hit-list.

Her viewing party is interrupted by an off-panel shout.  It's Chris... who has been struck with a sudden (and apparently painful) growth spurt.  He explains that this might be a byproduct of having spent time in the Phantom Zone.

We wrap up with Ursa's arrival in the Fortress... where she looks to be ready to kill Thara... if not both of our new heroes!

--

Not a whole lotta meat on these bones... but enjoyable enough.

I've said it before, but I didn't stick around all that long for the New Krypton saga... so, it was rather a pleasant surprise to learn that Nightwing was our pal Chris Kent.  I was afraid he was never heard from again after "Last Son".

I think his depiction here was pretty great.  Over-zealous in his attack on Carter/Tor-An... his bashfulness around Thara... even his innocent mention of how pretty she looks in her costume.  Just seems like a really good take on the "kid hero".

I still can't really go "all in" on Zod... any time he's mentioned, I become instantly bored.  At least we didn't get a hilarious "Kneel Before..." bit.  Kudos to Rucka for that.  The story also looks pretty damn fantastic.  Barrows is absolutely wonderful.

Even though I really dug this... the fact that it is so decompressed really hinders my ability to recommend it.  I mean, I've got the next issue within arm's reach... so, I think it might be easier for me to forgive the lack of "meat" here... but, if we were to hop back to 2009... I doubt that I'd have been satisfied.

This kind of book brings me back to a time where I forced myself through my buy-pile.  Just blasting through each book in order to get to the next one... and the next one, and so on.  This book wouldn't have really "moved my needle", and I feel like the most satisfaction it would have given me, is putting it back in the polybag... happily knowing that I can move on to the next book in the pile.

Overall... I liked it.  Not enough really "went down"... but it's a decent enough "part one".  Not sure I'd recommend picking up just this issue... but then again, not having read this through, I'm not sure I'd recommend picking up the whole magilla either!

--

Interesting Ads:

805

Teen Titans (vol.3) #62 (2008)

Teen Titans (vol.3) #62 (October, 2008)
"Who is Wonderdog?"
Writer - Sean McKeever
Pencils - Eddy Barrows
Inks - Ruy Jose
Colors - Rod Reis
Letters - Sal Cipriano
Editors - Adam Schlagman & Dan DiDio
Cover Price: $2.99

#BooHauntedBlog

Today we're going to discuss an issue of Teen Titans from my unemployment-fueled "blackout" period.  I was still tangentially following reviews, and I recall this issue in particular getting a whole lotta critical guff... to the point where I wasn't sure if I'd worry about being a "completist" after reclaiming gainful employment.

Luckily, or unluckily... one of the larger comic chains in the Phoenix area began liquidating just as I got back to work, making my "filling in holes" tour cost quite a bit less than it would've otherwise.  So, for under a buck a pop... I figured "What's the harm?" and got up to date on several titles... including Teen Titans (vol.3).

Now, when folks talk about the post-Johns Titans, you'll see several words pop up... dark, dismal, gross... most of 'em bad.  Let's see if this one lives down to the hype.

--

We open with Wendy and Marvin... yeah, that Wendy and Marvin, making their rounds of Titans Tower.  By this point our Super Friends have become caretakers for the Teen Titans... it was a pretty strange time.  Anyhoo, as they awkwardly walk through the Tower's Memorial Room, they discuss their futures.  Feeling as though they have been relegated to being babysitters, the kids decide they want something more out of life.  Their discussion is interrupted by the arrival of a large (and friendly) dog!

They head inside and try to feed the cute beast, but he doesn't appear to be hungry.  Kid Devil and Blue Beetle offer him some (raw?) bacon... but, no dice.  While they talk, Miss Martian enters... and tying a towel/cape around the pup's neck, suggests they name him "Wonderdog".

Jaime notices that M'gann is... white?  Not that he wants to get "racial" or anything.  She focuses for a moment and regains her green pallor.  They chat about running into twisted versions of their future selves in an earlier adventure... including a very evil Miss Martian.  She says everything's cool, before shape-shifting into a canine form to chat up Wonderdog.  Wendy and Marvin become almost physically ill from the saccharine scene...

... and so, they continue their rounds... this time checking in with a returning Cyborg.  They chat him up, and try to convince him to make his return permanent.  Vic laughs, and suggests that they must feel like "glorified custodians"... though Wendy's not so sure about the "glorified" part.  Cyborg tells them they're doing a great job, and (foreshadowing!) that they have their whole lives ahead of them.

We follow our pair through the residence hall, where we become privy to a chat between Wonder Girl and Robin... and boy, is Tim on edge!  Ya see, Batman's missing... and his dead girlfriend (Spoiler Alert: It's Spoiler, err...) has returned!  Also, the Titans are quite the motley crew... down to five members, and not quite the picks of the litter.

Did I say five members?  Welllll, it's right now that M'gann decides to announce that she's leaving the team.  Welp.

We jump ahead to night... and it's a stormy one.  We rejoin Wendy as she is trying to track down the Titans' new pet.  After shouting "Wonderdog!" like a fool for several minutes, she realizes that... duh, he probably doesn't even know that's his name!  She runs into Kid Devil who... makes sure to tell her how much the Titans appreciate everything she and Marvin have done for them... comparing them to older siblings... family!  Wow, it really feels like we're building to something, doesn't it?

Kid Devil breaks away, heading off to a nighttime training session with the team, and Wendy continues on... heading into Marvin's room, where she finds...

... Marvin has been eaten by Wonderdog!  Well, that got dark pretty quickly!  Wendy beats a hasty retreat, and locks herself in an elevator.  It's really like a horror movie, the scene is quite well done.  Wonderdog hurls himself at the elevator door, and Wendy tries to make a distress call to the training Titans... but, the speakers look to be on the fritz, so much for Wendy and Marvin being all that great in their Tower-Caretaker roles.

Wendy pries herself out of the elevator, only to find herself face to face with the giant beast (who in a nice touch, is still wearing his "cape").  It's pretty academic from here... though, if I recall correctly, she doesn't get eaten... just really messed up.

After a job well done, Wonderdog reverts to his more Scooby-look, and flies off Titans Island... right to his master, whoever this guy is.  It's King Lycus, by the way... not that we'd know that!

--

Okay, okay... I get why folks would hate this issue, I really do.  At its core it's a subversion of an innocent and cartoony concept for nothing more than shock value.  I suppose it can be looked at as kinda lazy, and playing off (and perverting) nostalgia.  This really only affects folks who would know who-or-what a "Wonderdog" is in the first place... otherwise, the impact might fall flat.

When I heard that Wendy and Marvin were being added to the mainstream DC Universe, I thought it was pretty cool... just because I appreciate everything being "part" of something.  I don't have nostalgic "warm fuzzies" about Super Friends, as that was a fair bit before my time, but still appreciate its place in DC lore.

Now, to properly discuss the criticism of the gore in this issue, we need to put it in context.  Reading this issue in a vacuum... sure, it's kinda gross... a bit extreme, but it serves to introduce a new superpowered baddie for the Titans to overcome, so it's forgivable.

When we look at the post-Johns/pre-Krul Teen Titans as a whole, however, we find that this isn't really an "out of the ordinary" issue... Titans were dropping like flies!  There's actually an issue that bears a cover with a Titans-themed casket on it (I'll include it below), with the copy "Another Titan Dies!", that's how bad it got!  Titans readers were trained to believe that the team members were disposable... rendering them, and their (often gory) deaths meaningless!

Now... it's not entirely fair to judge this issue on that basis... so, let's pop it into a vacuum.

As a story?  I mentioned it during the synopsis, but it felt so much like a classic horror flick.  The lead-up was full of foreboding language, informing the reader how important Wendy and Marvin are to the Titans.  We get very measured lines, Cyborg telling them that they have "their whole lives ahead of them"... which, lemme tell ya... if you ever find yourself in a dangerous environment, and someone tells you that?  Run... because things are about to get ugly.

The scene of Wendy discovering Marvin's half-eaten body and fleeing the Wonderbeast was quite well done (for what it was).  Like I said, I had very little affinity for Wendy, Marvin, or Wonderdog... so, I didn't have perhaps the guttural reaction many longer-time fans did.  I just saw this as a "evil in our midst" sorta scene.  There's a great deal of tension in this scene... and, really, the issue as a whole.  I find that I really can't get mad at it.  Sure, it's a bit more extreme than I want from my Titans... but, it wasn't nearly as gross as I feared it would be.

So often, critics use a single image from a book to inform on their position... for this issue, it's usually Marvin's death scene.  Just like that Rise and Fall of Arsenal series, and the dead cat... this has become what the issue "is".  While that's certainly "the big scene", there's more to it than that.  This issue is as much (if not more) an homage to horror films as it is a Titans story.

Is it worth your time?  Well... I dunno.  I suppose that depends on your Super Friends mileage.  If you always hated Wendy and Marvin... yeah, you might dig this more than others.  If you loved'em and hate the idea of the "Wonderdog" concept being perverted, you may not.  If you are looking for a Teen Titans-centric story... well, you're barking (pun!) up the wrong tree here.  They're more background noise than anything.

--

Interesting Ads:

 You get a better story from the Fruit Roll-Ups!

What a waste of Stephane Roux...

612

Superman #702 (2010)

Superman #702 (October, 2010)
"Grounded, Part Two"
Writer - J. Michael Straczynski
Penciller - Eddy Barrows
Inker - J.P. Mayer
Colorist - Rod Reis
Letterer - John J. Hill
Assistant Editor - Wil Moss
Editor - Matt Idelson
Cover Price: $2.99

Sometimes I'm not sure what books I ought to review.  As luck would have it, I noticed an odd surge of traffic on my Superman #701 review yesterday... be those hits the result of spam-bots or humans, I dunno... and for this preamble, it doesn't really matter.

I decided to take a look at the review, and boy... it turns out I really didn't like that issue!  I only checked it out to see if my opinion had changed since 2010... and, it kinda did... for the worse!  I merely disliked it at first... this time, I actually hated it!

Anyhoo... all that to say, that odd bit of traffic inspired me to check out part two of Superman's walk across America.  Let's hit it and git it.

--

Superman has arrived in Detroit... and after passing a neighborhood fella who doesn't even the brim of his cap when he walks by, he decides to school some fools on the basketball court.  The whole scene is written in such a way to make one wannabe baller "Markey G." look good in front of his pals.  Superman lets Markey swat the ball out of his hand... and his buddies do everything but hoist him up on their shoulders to celebrate.  Cartoony, but fun.  Probably the best scene of the arc so far!

He continues walking... and is attracted to a particular house by the sound of a strange humming.  He finds an evasive middle-aged man standing on the lawn.  Superman gets in his face and accuses him of perhaps having gills instead of lungs... then threatens to use his x-ray vision to look for himself.  The man invites Superman inside so he can explain.  Upon entry, he finds himself attacked by a big black warsuit!

Barrows continues with the heavy-lifting here... this scene looks really great.  Superman handily takes the warsuit down.

The man is joined by a few others, and they reveal themselves to be alien scientists from the delicious Nutella galaxy.  They fled to Earth to escape tyranny... which gives JMS the opportunity to make a pithy "illegal immigration" reference.  The Hazelnut and Cocoa clan compare themselves to Superman who was sent here from Krypton... and we begin to split hairs.  Superman says he came from a planet that was exploding... and the aliens say that death is preferable to tyranny.  Ay yai yai.

Superman asks what they can contribute to Earth... and they offer that, no kidding, they are good at finding lost pets.  Superman suggests they aim a bit higher... if they're planning on sticking around, they'd best get to making some real contributions to society.  Then he leaves... and tells the aliens that he hasn't decided what he's going "to do about" them.  Wow.

Next stop, the industrial graveyard.  Superman strolls the abandoned automotive plants.  He is joined by an elderly fella named Charley who acts as security.  He talks about the glory days of Detroit, and the smell of molten steel signifying the "future".  He knows the city is down... but, is thankful that he's still employed.  That's not something many of his peers can say.  He asks Superman to fly for him... as it's something he's never seen.  Worth mentioning that his chatter is intermittently interrupted by coughing... and as Superman takes his leave, Charley begins to choke!

Superman rushes back and grabs him... flying him straight back to the Nutella house.  He says that the man is beyond any Earth medicine... but, perhaps not beyond theirs.  They bring him to their underground lab and place him into a crystalline pod.

While he's healing, one of the aliens asks Superman if this makes them "square".  Will this be enough of a contribution from their kind to warrant their being left alone.  Superman strokes his chin... and has a pretty wild idea.  Like, really wild.  The aliens wind up moving into the abandoned plants where they can further their research.  One of the aliens names is Dokko... so, they start a corporation called DokkCo., and even better still, they'll be hiring all of the laid-off auto workers to handle the equipment!  Wow, talk about a win-win-win.  For the grand-opening... like, the same (or maybe the next) day, Clark Kent is there to report for the (Metropolis) Daily Planet.  Is there more than one Planet?  Anyhoo, he is greeted by... Charley!

We wrap up with Superman on the phone with Lois, and he discusses how difficult it was for him to write about himself... hmm.  She asks if he's heard from any of his friends... from the hero community, that is.  He replies that they probably think he's crazy.  And like clockwork, we close out with an appearance from... Batman!

--

Perhaps it's faint praise, but this was quite the improvement over the first chapter.  Still not anything I'd call "good", but I didn't want to run it through the paper-shredder post-reading... so, at least there's that.

Let's start at the beginning.  The pickup basketball game was fun.  Silly, sure... but fun.  Superman lets the perceived "weak link" of the crew bat the ball from his hands... which is probably the most "Superman" as he'll act for quite a while.  Good scene.

Then... we get Superman busting the chops of some aliens.  I really thought the whole purpose of this walk was to get more in touch with "regular people".  Oh well, maybe this is just a way of illustrating that alien flop-houses (at least this alien flop-house) might've gone under his radar before now.  I get the feeling that JMS started with the illegal immigration "punchline" then wrote backwards from there.  Anybody who has read his Amazing Spider-Man knows he sometimes bends over backwards to make politicized statements... even to the point of having characters who have never been depicted as being political making out-of-nowhere statements.  Ever wonder how Aunt May votes?  Me neither... but read JMS's ASM, and you'll know!

The issue only gets more unreal from here.  Superman threatens Dokko and his kin... placing himself in a position of authority over them.  Telling them he'll be back when he figures out what to do with them... thaaaaaat, just doesn't seem right.  Could you imagine living in fear of freakin' Superman 24-hours a day?  First, what gives him the right?  Superman doesn't act like this... right?  I mean, am I completely off-base?  Second, Superman is suspicious of the Nutella aliens... but leaves them with their warsuit???  If he really thinks they might become "a problem" wouldn'tcha figure he'd confiscate their giant-killer-robot-suit?

The bits with Charley weren't bad.  He gives Superman the tour of the industrial graveyard... which begs the question, does Superman... who is also a mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper... really not know the horrendous state of Detroit's industry?  Is this really news to him?

Anyhoo... Charley starts to die... perhaps a result of breathing in melted steel fumes (too bad this didn't happen in the Golden Age... it would've given him superpowers!)... and Superman brings him to the alien flop-house so he can be placed in a miracle pod... which gives Superman the idea that the aliens can become captains of research and industry... like the very next day!  Aren't there permits and stuff that need to be filled out for that?

And, let's think about these plants... are they going to be full of these miracle pods and stuff of the like?  Wouldn't that make more than a few eyebrows raise?  Also... did Charley have a form of cancer... and did the aliens cure it?  Like, are we witnessing the cure for cancer being introduced in the DC Universe?  That seems like something they'd ordinarily shy away from, right?  Maybe I'm just thinking too hard.

Finally... Lois and Clark chat on the phone.  He says he finds it difficult to write about himself... but, aren't like at least 2/3 of his articles about Superman?  That's like Peter Parker saying he feels weird taking pictures of Spider-Man!  Speaking of Spidey... it's so crazy that JMS was so great at writing a fun and relatable Spider-Man, but writes Superman as a pompous ass.  Oh well.

Worth reading?  For the morbidly curious... sure.  Otherwise, we should make like DC and maybe pretend it never happened.

--

Interesting Ads:

598

Superman: War of the Supermen #0 (2010)

Superman: War of the Supermen #0 (June, 2010)
"War of the Supermen, Prologue"
"Filling in the Blanks"
Writers - James Robinson & Sterling Gates
Pencillers - Eddy Barrows, Julian Lopez, Aaron Lopresti, David Finch, Gary Frank, Cafu, Ethan Van Sciver & Diogenes Neves
Inkers - J.P. Mayer, Bit, Joe Weems & Vicente Cifuentes
Colorists - Rod Reis, Blond
Letterer - John J. Hill
Assistant Editor - Wil Moss
Editor - Matt Idelson
Free Comic Book Day

Today we're gonna look at one of my, relatively-recent Superman blind spots... and I'm going to complain about contemporary Free Comic Book Day offerings.

--

We open with a rather peeved off Superman bursting through a wall.  He has arrived at a Kryptonian Military Installation located one mile below the surface of New Krypton.  He's there to... you guessed it, talk to Zod.  Can't have a Krypton story without him... unfortunately.  To fill us in a bit, Zod was made General of New Krypton's army (seems a stellar idea, don't it?)... and Superman had left Earth for a time to serve in that army... and make sure Zod doesn't act all Zoddy.

Speaking of acting "Zoddy", Superman is here to confront the big Z has because he's declared war on Earth.  The two exchange punches for a bit, until Ursa (who I initially mistook for Zaora) slashes Superman across the chest with a Kryptonite knife!  She claims it hurts to even hold the thing, but the satisfaction wielding it brings outweighs the pain.

Superman blasts the knife away with heat vision before once more, stepping to Zod.  Zod's having a grand old time, and brings Superman up to speed, advising him he was about to surrender... and I am pleasantly surprised and thankful Robinson and Gates didn't resort to using this to shoehorn a "hilarious" "Kneel before..." reference.  As Superman approaches, he is crushed from above by the body of Non (who I mistook as Quex-Ul).  Zod always seems to have one big dude and one lady as his seconds.

With Ursa and Non holding Superman at bay, Zod reminds him that on New Krypton, he's no "super" anything... he's simply one of one-hundred thousand... all with the same powers.

He continues running through his justification for the war declaration.  It appears General Sam Lane and his spies were responsible for the death of Supergirl's father, Zor-El.  Zod's own spies claimed to have uncovered Earth/Sam Lane's own plans to declare war on New Krypton... before they were killed.  It all feels very he said/he said... but whattayagonnado?  Zod does wrap up his monologue by ensuring Superman that this isn't just about New Krypton's safety/sovereignty... it's also personal.  He hates the House of El, and is still looking for revenge.  If he can destroy Kal-El's adoptive home, and kill everyone he holds dear... well, that's all the better.

Superman breaks free, swearing to stop Zod before he can initiate the plan.  As Ursa and Non tackle our man again, Zod just laughs and goes all Ozymandias on us... ya can't stop what's already happened, Clark... everybody knows that.

Our back-up is framed around Lois Lane writing a story for the Daily Planet... nothing we haven't seen before.  This is pretty good stuff though... it serves to fill all of us Johnny-DC-come-latelies (and, read-this-stuff-so-long-agos,-we-can't-remember-what-happeneds) in on the New Krypton clusterschmazz.  Of course, we open with a page telling us about that fateful day a rocket was sent from Krypton with a "baby on board" placard.  Seems we can't go more than an issue and a half anymore without reading about that.

We jump ahead years later to Superman and Supergirl rescuing the Bottle City of Kandor from Brainiac.  Upon enlarging it, they discovered 100,000 new Kryptonian brothers and sisters.  Humans would invade the city (Which apparently wasn't destroyed-to-dust upon enlargement like the first time this story happened) and Supergirl's father Zor-El would be killed.  This led to Zor-El's wife Alura creating a new planet for the Kryptonians... a New Krypton, if you weeeeell.

For protection, these New Kryptonians would turn to... no, not Superman... General freaking Zod.  Ya kinda get what you deserve sometimes, right?  I don't understand the logic of grabbing a fella you imprisoned... for e-ter-ni-ty... and asking him to protect you.  Gotta figure there might be some sour grapes there, no?  Anyhoo, this is where Superman decides to move to the new planet, and join its army.

While away from Earth, Superman made arrangements for his adoptive home to be protected.  This crew includes, Kon-El, Mon-El (and, I just realized their names are only one letter apart!), Steel, Krypto, the Guardian, and Nightwing and Flamebird.

Lois next discusses Project 7734, which is a military black-ops organization focused on countering potential alien invasions.  It is being run by her father, ol' General Lane.  She talks about some of the operatives, which includes some 1st Issue Special love in Atlas... also, Lois' own sister Lucy Lane is now somehow a "Kryptonian killing machine" going by the name Superwoman.  I don't remember that at all.

She begins to wrap up her article, discussing the death of her pal and co-worker, Jimmy Olsen!  It appears he "got too close" while investigating Project 7734, and was found at the bottom of the harbor.  If only that were true... because a few panels later (a still wet?) Jimmy arrives with all the information Lois was looking for.  He claims that Natasha Irons rescued him and kept him out of sight (but not dry).  Now, Lois can learn the whole truth about her father.

--

Man, whatever happened to DC Free Comic Book Day issues that meant a damn?  All we get these days are garbage reprints with zero context aimed at people who only go to the comic shops one day a year... if they remember "which Saturday in May" they get free crap handed to them.

This is how ya do it!  What a great way to kick off a story... a free issue front-loaded with prologue, and back-loaded with everything you might need to jump into the impending event.  Both stories promise "to be continued... in four days".  If you wanna get readers (new, old, lapsed, whatever) interested and excited, this is the way to go.  You don't promise something "in thirty days" or "Summer 2017" or with a nebulous "Next", you give them less than a week.  You remind some of them that comic book shops are open more than one day a year... and you also catch shop regulars who may not necessarily be into Superman... but decide to give him a go after checking this out.  It's crazy, it's almost as though DC thought this one out!

For the story itself... well, it's called a prologue and that's precisely what it is.  We learn of our threat... and it ramps up to the point where it's about to boil over.  A great bit of storytelling that sets the stage for whats to come.  I'm still no fan of Zod... I find him kind of a bore.  I'm just thankful there were no requisite cutesy "Kneel before..."s in here.

The backup was really well done, even if framing a story with "writer writing about something" is a bit tropey.  I suppose things become that way for a reason.  This worked well for me, as a lapsed reader... who, if I'm being honest, walked away from the Superman books early/mid-New Krypton... so a bunch of this was new to me.

The art throughout the issue was another high point.  Another really good use of the platform (and opportunity) that Free Comic Book Day can (and should) be.  I hope I'm not coming across too angry (or old-manny) sounding here, I just feel pretty strongly about using things like FCBD as ways to promote comics and comic shops... not whatever movie might be coming out.  Contemporary "throwaway" offerings, like an issue of Suicide Squad without context or a half-decade old (and no longer in continuity) issue of Action Comics are part of why I sometimes refer to the event as "Pretend you care about Comics Day".

Overall, if I were to have read this during that weekend in May, 2010... I'd be totally psyched to check out the War of the Supermen and the entire New Krypton schmazz.  Having read it in 2017... I only wish I had the time to!  If you're interested in checking this one out, you've got no excuse not to... it's available digitally FOR FREE!

--

Interesting Ads:

513