Action Comics #763 (March, 2000)
"Y2K, Part Five: Sacrifice for Tomorrow"
Writer - Joe Kelly
Pencillers - German Garcia & Kano
B13 FX - Tommy Yune, Steve Kim & Ed Roeder
Inker - Marlo Alquiza
Colors - Glenn Whitmore & WildStorm FX
Letters - Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Associate Editor - Maureen McTigue
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $1.99
So, whattayado when you really wanna talk about a certain character... say, that "new" android Hourman we met yesterday... but you've also got this #Action100 Endeavor you're currently working on?
Well, I guess we look for an issue of Action Comics that features Hourman! I'm happy to report that Hourman does appear in this issue... for a whole two panels. Don't worry... both panels will appear in this blog piece.
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We open on New Year's Eve (or maybe it's New Year's Day)... and Brainic 13 is wrapping the planet... Earth, that is... not "The Daily" in energy conduits. Superman burrows through the planet (again, Earth) and faces off with the bot above the Planet... er, "The Daily", this time. Ya dig? Worth mentioning, they're using a different art style for Brainiac 13... it's this weird polygonal matte look... kinda like a game for the original PlayStation. It looks super-dated now, but perhaps back in 2000 it looked kinda cool. Anyhoo, before they can face off B13 invites Superman to take a look at what he's done with all of the citizens of Metropolis. Superman turns around, and is aghast to find that everyone has been made into a mindless slave!
After Superman gets tossed through a building, we shift scenes to LexCorp, where Lex and his daughter Lena (who has been infected by Brainiac 2.5) are inside a stolen Kryptonian Warsuit. They pow-wow over ways to take down B2.5's upgraded version, B13. Feels like we're playing Bingo, doesn't it?
Back outside, we find Superman and a Kelex robot about to fly toward Brainiac 13. Before they can land a single punch, the Kryptonian Warsuit bursts through B13's chest!
Superman realizes that Luthor is inside the Suit, and suggests they put their differences aside for the moment and work together toward shutting down B13. Lex thinks this idea is positively adorable... and in response, bashes Superman into the pavement.
Superman enters a mindlink with Kelex, and commands it to link up to the Warsuit by any means necessary. Just then, he is attacked by several of DC's highest profile robots! We see Red Tornado, the Metal Men, and our new favorite (and reason we picked this book today), Hourman!
Inside the Warsuit, Lex and Lena trigger an electromagnetic pulse which downs all of the bots. Welp, it was nice seein' ya, Tyler.
Amid the chaos, Kelex attempts to link up with the Warsuit. Superman takes the fight to Brainiac 13... and it doesn't go all that well. Ya see, this is a Brainiac from the future... one who has learned from all of his earlier mistakes. He has run 1,098,288,546 simulations of Superman's death... so, he's more than prepared. And so, he coats the Man of Steel in like molten metal cables... maybe? Kelex, while attempting to link, pleads with Luthor to help save Superman... but he ain't budgin'.
And so, Kelex calls in a revived/unslaved Red Tornado!
At this point, Red Tornado's vortex is causing Brainiac 13's "essence" to be drawn into the Warsuit... and so, an annoyed Lex and Lena disengage and bug out. Kelex informs them both that he was lying about helping them... and that this was the plan all along.
It looks like the day is just about saved. With Brainiac 13 trapped in the Warsuit, the B13 virus begins to dissipate throughout the world... and the human slaves begin to come to.
After checking in with Lois, Superman notices that Metropolis still appears to be infected. He hears something behind him... and turns around to find Lex standing alone... the B13 Warsuit and Lena have disappeared!
We jump ahead one week later and join Lex sitting on an upper floor of the new Lex Tower... he mulls over what happened in that final moment. Ya see, Brainiac 13 made him an offer... he couldn't refuse. He offers up the B13 Virus codes... and the opportunity to be the "King" of the "City of Tomorrow", in exchange for... Lena. Welp, we now know how that turned out.
We wrap up with Superman threatening Luthor... he says he'll find Lena... and ensure Lex pay for what he's done.
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It's been awhile since I read Y2K... I was nervous to see how well it aged. I'm pretty sure I've made it clear throughout our chats that I do hold a certain fondness for the literal "City of Tomorrow" era of Superman. This is where I came back to the books... actually, the book advertised in the letters page is the one I came back with!
I feel like this was an interesting way to differentiate Metropolis from the rest of the DC Universe... and, I suppose it can be (and has been) argued that the spectacular futuristic city might've taken something away from Superman's "specialness", I found it most inviting... and a welcome shift from the "norm".
The issue itself... was a good one. It's hard to really look at a "part 5 of 5" in a vacuum, but I feel like Kelly did a good enough job catching us up on what we missed in the earlier chapters. I'm actually hoping to do a long-form look at Y2K for an upcoming episode of Weird Comics History, where we would examine that Superman 2000 pitch from Grant Morrison and the gang. Hopefully the stars will align on that sooner than later!
There's a certain quaintness here... that is not the book's fault at all. I mean, let's look at this for a sec. The story is called "Y2K"... I mean, there are 19 year old humans walking the planet that weren't even born yet... who might not grasp exactly what Y2K meant to those of us who were there. All of that "planes will fall out of the sky", "banks are going to lose all of our money", "stock up on canned goods and bottled water" fear and hysteria was a real thing... probably a lot "realer" for some of us than others... but real enough nonetheless. It would be interesting to hand this book to a Millennial and see if they "get it".
While on the subject of "quaintness"... how 'bout that killer CGI? Again, not a fault with the book itself... but it looks just so out of place, doesn't it? I mean, we've always had odd collage pieces in comics... just look at any old Kirby "star field" page... but this feels like it really wanted to be "cutting edge"... when, I mean... even at the turn of the century, it looks dated. Maybe I just can't take my "current year" glasses off, but it looks like something out of Reboot or something... and that show aired... I wanna say, 6-7 years before this. I can't really get mad at it... but felt it was worth mentioning. I'd guess that would be this story arc's "low hanging fruit".
Overall... if you're interested in this story, and how the next "era" of Superman comics kicked off... I'd suggest grabbing the trade paperback collection. It's a (relatively) tight-knit story, and really ought to be read as a whole.
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(Not the) Letters Page:
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Action Comics #810 (February, 2004)
"Walking Midnight"
Writer - Joe Kelly
Pencillers - Pascual Ferry, Kano, Duncan Rouleau & Renato Guedes
Inkers - Marlo Alquiza, Keith Champagne, Jorge Correa, Jaime Mendoza & Cam Smith
Colorist - Guy Major
Letterer - Comiccraft
Associate Editor - Tom Palmer, Jr.
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $2.25
HAPPY NEW YEAR, friends! I hope everyone had a nice, safe, quiet? New Year's Eve... me and mine did for the most part. Hadda handful of neighbors acting like it was the Fourth of July... but nothing I couldn't (mostly) sleep through. Drove the dogs crazy though!
Anyhoo... today we're going to ring in the New Year several times over as we tag along on Superman's yearly ritual of visiting every time zone on the planet as the clock strikes twelve!
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We open with Superman and Lois flying over London, just in time for the "ball to drop". Lois asks why Superman does this every year... and doesn't want to hear any "because I can" sorta stuff. She convinces him to let her tag along for some of the trip... and promises not to turn it into a story. He hands her a stack of letters... which tells me it's going to be one of those Superman stories.
Our next stop is... let's get a running start... Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland... which, I'll be damned, is a real place! The letter is about a pregnant woman with no access to proper medical services. New arrivals are a pretty big deal in the Ittoq... because their population is only 500 (actually, 452 as of 2013). Superman delivers an ambulance full of medical support just in time for her Baby New Year.
Then, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This letter is from a man who is looking to propose to a woman who had one helluva year. She lost her family in a car accident... which tells me, this fella moves pretty quick... probably didn't need Superman for any of this. Anyhoo, Superman swoops the widow off her feet and delivers her to the foot of Christ the Redeemer so this dude can propose.
Next stop, Metropolis. Superman has... nothing planned. This affords he and Lois the opportunity to properly ring in their own New Year.
Then, off to Smallville. Inside, Ma and Lois eat pickled herring on swiss cheese crackers... a New Years tradition from Jonathan's side of the family. Lois deep-sixes her triscuit into a potted plant. Outside, Clark and Pa watch the snow fall while sipping a warm beverage out of their Totoro mugs.
Off to Sydney, Australia... where Superman answers the letter of a man who appears to be preparing to commit suicide by leaping off the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Superman swoops in and carries him off to watch the fireworks... and I suppose we can assume that he's no longer wanting to kill himself?
In Marioka, Japan... Superman ignites some trademarkable fireworks for a group of children.
In Hong Kong, an Aryan terrorist triggers some explosives. Why he'd write a letter to Superman telling him this really defies logic. Maybe he wanted to get caught? Maybe he's just an idiot. Either way, Superman arrives... and we can assume everything goes hunky dory after that.
Since this is a Joe Kelly story from the early 2000's, we're going to need to get his thoughts on the Iraq War... so here we go. A Marine stationed in the Middle East writes to Superman expressing that the fighting forces have been forgotten. It isn't hard to discern which side of the aisle our writer sits... from this, and a lot of his writing at the time. Thankfully this is a bit more subtle than usual. Superman arrives to assure the Marines that they haven't been forgotten.
Toriano, Italy... a ninety-nine year old man refuses to die until he sees Superman with his own two eyes. He's very sick, and has been on death's door for a long time at this point. His doctors are baffled as to how he's made it this long. Superman flies up... and brings him peace.
We wrap up back in Metropolis... where Doctor Spectro has just finished building a "heavy photon distillation unit" with which he hopes to take over Metropolis. Superman dashes those dreams with the quickness... but doesn't take the baddie in. Guess he's still got a bit of the "holiday spirit" in 'im. We close with Spectro asking how it feels to be able to do "everything", to which our man says it's "the greatest".
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This was okay... but kinda fell short for me.
It's like, you know that this is trying to be a heartwarming issue... and, I dunno... sometimes you just can't set out to do that. There's very little in the way of subtlety... it's just page after page of "Awww".
I mean, the scenes were decent... but didn't have the heart of previous Metropolis Mailbag type of stories. It just felt like it was trying too hard... which, I dunno... is something I also associate with Joe Kelly's writing. I get the feeling he believes he's far more profound than he actually is. Don't know the fella... and for the most part, really enjoy his stuff... but there's that air about his writing.
The issue is gimmicky, but it really is the perfect way for a Superman New Year's story to go. The "people in need" all requesting Superman's presence exactly at midnight is a bit "eh", but I like the idea of our man visiting every time zone... even if it is simply "because he can".
The Iraq War commentary... I could've done without. I'm guessing that bit was chock full of projection... which, ya know... is fine, I guess. It gets his point across... and, I'll hand it to Mr. Kelly... this was far more subtle than that hamfisted JLA story he cranked out on the subject. I'm very rarely happy to see real-world stuff in my comics... especially when it's the first war of the "Internet era". I mean, it was wall-to-wall Iraq War from 2003-2005.
You couldn't escape it! We had dozens of 24-hour news channels... every website giving their two cents. The last thing I wanted to see was comics giving a (highly politicized) view on the subject. Plus, there's that whole "Why wouldn't Superman get involved?" thing that we try to ignore. I'll tell ya what, it's far easier to ignore if we quit mentioning the War in comics.
The ending didn't quite work for me. More on my perception of Kelly's profundity... it's as though he knew the final line of the book (and, as it happens his run on Action Comics), and worked backwards. Leaving Doctor Spectro to stew on the roof feels completely wrong. Seconds earlier he built a doomsday device to take over the city... and now he's just free to go? Not buyin' it.
Overall... I don't know that this is an issue you need to rush out and grab... but if you come across it in the wild, I suppose you could do worse. It's really pretty to look at!
Before we go... I want to raise my rapidly-cooling cuppa coffee and wish everyone a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2018!
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Action Comics #762 (February, 2000)
"All I Want For Christmas"
Writer - Joe Kelly
Pencillers - German Garcia & Kano
Inker - Joe Rubenstein
Colorists - Glenn Whitmore & WildStormFX
Letterer - John Costanza
Editors - Maureen McTigue, Eddie Berganza & Mike Carlin
Cover Price: $1.99
Oh, c'mon! Yesterday I got bit by the rhyming bug... and today we've gotta deal with the Demon?!
Even worse... Etrigan Claus... howsabout Satan Claus?!
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We open on New Year's Day 2000... but only briefly. This isn't a Y2K story, nonono, this is (what I'm assuming was) a most unwelcome break in that senses-shattering storyline to see how Lois and Clark spent the last Christmas of the twentieth century. Ya see, Lois was feeling a little "humbuggy" because she can never compete with her super-spouse when it comes to buying Christmas gifts. So, after a bit of very cliche arguing (Lois stopped just shy of calling Christmas a "Hallmark Holiday") Clark agrees to taking a "no-powers" Christmas-shopping trip.
Clark has a run-in with some very cliche Christmas shoppers... and an older woman who can see he's clearly out of his element gives him a candy cane. Elsewhere (in the same mall), Lois is also shopping... and, has a run-in with Encantadora (a new and seldom-used character) shopping for her little brother, a big Superman fan.
Deeper inside the mall, Clark notices some commotion over in the area where kids can take pictures with Santa and decides to check it out. Who should he find there, but... Etrigan the Demon?! If you're thinking "Well, that's pretty random"... I'd say, you're right.
Clark pops outta sight for a second to "Supe up", and returns to find out just what Etrigan is up to. Ya see, the last time they ran into one another Etrigan was trying to freeze Hell (part of Day of Judgment)... so, the Demon ain't exactly the most trustworthy fella around this time. Etrigan, a being of magic, has little trouble punching Superman straight into orbit.
With the Man of Steel out of the way, the Demon spies Encantadora... who has changed into a fairly trashy Santa outfit herself. She has this magic mist power... and she uses it in attempt to, I dunno... seduce the Demon? This makes Etrigan very happy... but not for the reason 'Dora hopes.
Meanwhile at the Moon... Superman recovers from the punch. As luck would have it, he landed right outside the Justice League's Watchtower... and interrupted Plastic Man and Green Lantern trimming the tree. After a brief exchange, he heads back to Earth.
Upon return, he is greeted by Encantadora... no longer in her bombastic bod, instead a little ghost girl?! All around the mall, he can see that Etrigan has made it so the patrons will be haunted by manifestations of their own "inner" demons... and one lady in particular will be attacked by the Afrin Nose.
We shift back to join Lois as she beelines it toward the exit. She finds herself attacked by a strange tiny version of Lex Luthor. Ya see, around this time Lois dun a bad thing... she's keeping a secret for the domed-one, and it's sorta eating her up inside. A little Demon-dust (mixed with Encantadora mist) is all she needs for the guilt to be given flesh.
Superman and Etrigan resume their battle, and the baddie explains that this is the one day of the year where the Demon form can freely roam without Jason Blood popping into his consciousness... and so, (somehow) with the aid of the magic mists he hopes to rid himself of his human half for good! Er, okay. He also feels as though bringing the people's "inner demons" out, he was doing them a favor... in seeing what they're struggling with, they'll be able to overcome and heal. Superman's all "that's not the way it works, pal." but gets knocked on his butt before he can say much more. Dora rushes in and tells Superman that he's gotta ixnay the istmay if he wants any hope of winning the day.
And so, he inhales every last bit of it. Ya know how Dora looks like a little ghost girl? I guess that's how she sees herself... and under the influence of the mist, projects that visage to the world. Well, when Superman sucks it down, he appears to the world as... a farmer. Like a giant glasses-less Clark Kent. With a pouch full of emotions, he "seeds" Metropolis back to normal. He then exhales the remaining mist into outer space.
Upon return, Etrigan's all "screw this" and leaves... though, he promises to be back in one year's time.
Superman then sees a chilly Encantadora on a rooftop. He slings his cape over her to warm her up. She takes the opportunity to re-mistify... and vanish... with his cape.
We wind down with everything happily ever after. Lois and Clark exchange their gifts and Encantadora had the perfect gift for her Superman-fan hermanito, in the form of Superman's actual cape. We wrap with the Demon chuckling about what's about to happen in the Y2K story.
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Ehh.
This was alright. I'm not the biggest Demon fan... in fact, I usually find him quite boring. Plus, I don't know a heckuva lot about La Encantadora other than this was like her second appearance (after first appearing in a Secret Files & Origins story), and that she was used very seldom going forward.
The entire story feels a bit convenient... but, ya know... we are talking about a Christmas issue of a superhero comic. Not sure why the Demon was hanging out at the mall... did he know Encantadora would be coming? Did he know what her powers were? Did he ever explain how her powers could help him rid himself of the Jason Blood persona? What happened to the actual Mall Santa Claus? Was Jason Blood the Mall Santa? So many questions! Not enough interest to find any answers.
What worked about this issue for me were the bits with Lois... well, the later bits with Lois. I appreciate that her having covered for Luthor is something that sticks with her... something that haunts her. Her "Bah Humbugginess" was a bit trite... especially with the well-worn "Christmas is too commercial" soundbites. Though, I suppose we can attribute her lack of Christmas spirit to her overwhelming guilt. Maybe having helped one of the baddest men on the planet kinda squashes one's desire for eggnog and tinsel.
The art here was really not to my liking. It has all the turn-of-the-century trappings that I sorta-kinda dig... but done all wrong. I can get on board with exaggerated features... Ed McGuinness draws Superman with a tremendously large barrel chest... Humberto Ramos draws giant feet... both of those work for me. Here in this issue, however... there was exaggeration, but really only in Superman's chin and jawline. Made him look like he had a cartoon anvil for a head... almost expected to see "100 Tons" written on his cheeks. Didn't hate it... just didn't appreciate it as much as I'd hoped.
Overall... I'd say this is unfortunately one you can skip and not miss all that much. This was initially squeezed in between two chapters of the Y2K storyline... and I gotta assume it was a pretty unwelcome break from the action (pun!) back then. It really doesn't add a whole lot... and, I figure this was just a way for Joe Kelly to feature his La Encantadora character... and attempt to give her a bit more depth. Fair enough... but it's still not terribly interesting.
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Letters Page:
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