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.
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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!
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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!
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Action Comics #871 (January, 2009)
"New Krypton, Part 2: Beyond Doomsday"
Writer - Geoff Johns
Artist - Pete Woods
Colorist - Brad Anderson
Letterer - Rob Leigh
Editor - Matt Idelson
Cover Price: $2.99
Today we're going to pick up where we left off... late last Summer. For a bit of context on just what New Krypton is, go 'head and check out our discussion on the Superman: New Krypton Special #1 (2008). For even more table-setting, check out our (more recent) chat on the Brainiac storyline.
Let's get ready to meet our new stars of Action Comics: Nightwing (not that one) and Flamebird?!
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We open with a pair of drabbly-dressed Kryptonians (Gor and Mur) walking the streets of New York. They appear angry, and feel as though Krypton requires a measure of vengeance... from the Earth? They're irritated that Kal-El would rather play diplomat than warrior... and consider how much different this would be if Zod were around.
We shift scenes to Lex Luthor's holding cell... where he is greeted by General Sam Lane. He escorts Lex out of his cell, and tells him all about the Kryptonian "invasion". He questions him about his knowledge of Kandor... which, being Lex Luthor... of course he knows about that! We get a bit of a quick and dirty to explain that this Kandor is the real one, and it's the first time Superman has dealt with it.
Luthor is then led to where they have been holding Brainiac. Lex asks to be unshackled... but Lane doesn't oblige. They begin a pretty fun passive-aggressive back and forth about how both of them work so hard to gain Lois' favor... and the person she holds most dear is the "naive spellchecker" Clark Kent.
Lane responds by... well, shooting Lex in the shoulder. Just a slight overreaction there, no? Lex agrees to help Sam "break open" Brainiac's mind... but warns that that likely won't stop the "invasion". Sam's all "that's okay...", after all he has more "bullets" at his disposal, such as...
Doomsday?! Okay, we head to Metropolis where Superman is getting ready to fight... Doomsday?! Just like that? Just like that.
Supergirl rushes in to give her cousin a hand. Her folks look on for a moment before deciding to get involved. Elsewhere, the Guardian... or is that Agent Liberty... or is that Codename: Assassin... whoever he is, he's leading the President of the United States safely onto a helicopter.
The fight pours into Centennial Park, where Doomsday rips the Kon-El Memorial out of the ground and hurls it toward the Supers.
Superman manages to catch it... then decides, enough it enough... he plows into Doomsday and takes him into orbit. The Kryptonians then dog-pile the poor murdering monster...
... until he cannot continue to fight. Wow, y'almost feel bad for him here.
We rejoin Gor and Mur at the Fortress of Solitude. They scan the Fortress and seem annoyed to see that Kal-El collects "trinkets" from his "terrestrial experiences". I just wish they got a closer look at 'em! Love seeing that stuff!
Unimpressed by their visit, Gor and Mur deduce that they're going to need General Zod... and proceed toward the Phantom Zone Projector. Well, not so fast, kemo sabe(s)... first you're going to have to go through... Nightwing and Flamebird?!
--
This was pretty fun... and a neat way to introduce the "stars" of this title moving forward (that's Nightwing and Flamebird, by the way). I know precious little about these two, besides that they are basically the Batman and Robin of Kandor... and Dick Grayson took his post-Robin codename from the former.
I'm sure I've said this before, but I didn't stick around with New Krypton the first time through... I was out of work, and any "fun" money had to be wisely spent. So with what little dosh I was able to get my hands on, I probably bought X-Men comics (jokes on me!). That being said... I'm not sure if I'm supposed to, but every time I dip my toe into this New Krypton mishegoss I find myself walking away intrigued... and even entertained!
The very idea that they'd remove Superman from his two "home" titles shows how strongly DC felt about getting this concept "over"... they were going to go as "all in" as they could. Guess that shows some guts... perhaps poor business sense, but guts nonetheless! Gotta give'em that.
Now the baton hasn't been officially handed over to the Kandorian Dynamic Duo just yet, but it's coming... and with how they've been eased into the story, it doesn't feel terribly forced (at least not yet!). I'm looking forward to spending some time with these two, and getting to know them better. Really dig their designs too!
Speaking of design, this is a very good lookin' book! Looking at it quickly, I'd have sworn this was Scott Kolins... though, that might have to do with the more pastel-y color palette. Still... really nice looking book!
Can't say I'm a fan of jobbing old Doomsday out... but, I guess if you're going to do it... this is as good a way as any. I mean, if Superman alone can (eventually) take him down, what hope does the monster have against a gaggle of Kryptonians? The fight scene looked great too... awesome action, and a real feeling of destruction.
If I had to pick a favorite scene, I'd probably go with the Lane/Luthor back-and-forth. These two are pretty great together. You can tell they're both sickened being together in the same room... but decide to work together anyway. The passive-aggressive mentions of Lois were pretty spectacular too. Lex is pretty good when it comes to "pushing buttons" and he ain't shy about showing that off.
Overall... I quite enjoyed this! Not sure I'm ready to go "all-in" on a New Krypton read-through, but I'll admit to being quite tempted! This issue has been collected, and is available digitally.
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Superman: New Krypton Special #1 (December, 2008)
"New Krypton, Part One"
Writers - Geoff Johns, James Robinson & Sterling Gates
Pencillers - Pete Woods, Gary Frank & Renato Guedes
Inkers - Pete Woods, Jon Sibal & Wilson Magalhaes
Colorist - Hi-Fi
Letterer - Steve Wands
Associate Editor - Nachie Castro
Editor - Matt Idelson
Cover Price: $3.99
New Krypton hit during that strange and ugly time where I was suffering from a bout of interminable unemployment. Every now and again during this horrible year, in between losing almost everything, I would pop into comics news sites. I couldn't afford to actually read anything, but I enjoyed "keeping up".
Toward the Fall of 2008 the news broke that Superman would be... leaving Action Comics and Superman! I remember thinking, as a younger fella, that it would be cool if maybe Superman did a storyarc in Detective Comics while Batman did one in Action Comics, and thought this might be what was going on. Alas, it wasn't to be... instead, Superman's adventures were going to move to the World of New Krypton maxi-series, being replaced by Mon-El and the team of Nightwing and Flamebird in his "home" titles.
This wasn't the news I wanted to read... and I pretty much wrote off the titles. Not that I could afford to support them in the first place, but figured... if I could, I wouldn't. And this held true, until my obsessive tendencies kicked in a few years later.
They say time heals all wounds... and it's been a very long time (and multiple reboots) since I've actually tried reading this, so let's see how an older and mellower Chris receives this...
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We open during the funeral of Jonathan Kent. Pa had passed of a heart attack at the end of the Brainiac storyline which led up to the rediscovery (and resizing) of Kandor... and thus, the (re)introduction of a hundred-thousand Kryptonians! It looks as though Clark is giving something of a eulogy... though, it's worth mentioning that the first several pages are silent. What follows is a pretty violent fantasy (I'm pretty sure it's a fantasy and not a memory) wherein Superman beats the holy hell out of a defenseless Brainiac.
Clark remains in Smallville, and pops into the family barn to go through some of Pa's belongings and reflect. He comes across an old kite, a hat reading "Happy Father's Day" in Interlac from the far-flung future, and finally a horseshoe Clark had burnt a father's day message into with his heat vision.
We shift to a military installation and find a commander chatting up... holy cow, Codename: Assassin!? I think we know who is responsible for writing this bit (if it's 1st Issue Special, it's gotta be Robinson). They are discussing the arrival of the Kandorians and it is revealed that they currently have Brainiac hooked up to a whole bunch of machines in hopes that they can find out what he's got in his head.
While he's poked and prodded he awakens... and goes a bit berserk. He breaks free of his bindings and proceeds to thrash the Docs and researchers, demanding to know where his cities were taken. His rampage lasts long enough for Agent Assassin to get involved and flatten him with some power blasts.
Back in Smallville, Clark is talking with Ma. He offers to remain in Smallville for the foreseeable future, but she tells him he's needed elsewhere... also, the folks of Smallville have shown an outpouring of love and support for the Kent family. He jams out... and heads to the Antarctic where Kandor has been embiggened.
Upon arrival, he meets up with his Aunt and Uncle, Alura In-Ze and Zor-El. They are proud of the man their nephew grew into, and are thankful for his aid in rescuing their people from Brainiac's clutches. Superman suggests the Kandorians make themselves more acquainted with Earthen culture and customs... which Zor-El doesn't appear to be completely on board with. He asks why Kal-El would want his own people to learn to be "less Kryptonian". Hmm. Superman tries to clarify, however, the chat is interrupted by the arrival of his cousin (and their daughter) Kara Zor-El... Supergirl!
We hop over to Washington, DC where Lois is leaving a bouquet of flowers at her father, Sam Lane's grave. He was killed during Our Worlds At War, but don't cry for him just yet. Lucy Lane arrives, and the sisters have a fairly contentious conversation. Lucy has joined the military to honor her father... and talks about how pathetic she used to be, characterizing herself as "Lois Lane's sister". She continues... accusing Lois of loving Superman more than their father... and attributes that to his death, which is a low blow... and really doesn't make sense... but whattayagonnado?
Back in Kandor, the Kryptonians begin displaying meta-human powers. Up until this point, their powers have been few... now, they're all flying! The first thing one of the Kandorians do it... kill a(n endangered) blue whale! Whoops. The Kandorian felt it was a threat... and punched it. It feels like it's this point where Superman realizes that he's got a tough row to hoe.
Superman uses this to back up his stance on the Kryptonians adapting to Earth culture... and turns to Zor-El to aid in leading their people. Zor-El clarifies that he and his wife may lead the city... but they don't control the people. He assures Kal that before long the Kandorians will prove to be friends of Earth. Hmm.
We briefly pop back to Smallville... and witness a pretty heartbreaking scene of Ma Kent dining alone. It's scenes like this that always remain with me.
Back at the Daily Planet, Lois and Jimmy are talking. It's weird, Jimmy's calling Lois "Ms. Lane", which I would've figured they were beyond by this point. He mentions seeing a strange man during Superman's battle with... Atlas, (Heyyy... another 1st Issue Special alum!). He discusses a Cadmus facility in the desert called Warpath... that is amassing weaponry in order to "defeat Kryptonians"... in light of this perceived "invasion". But who could be behind this?
Glad you asked, because as we wrap up we visit Stryker's Island... more specifically the cell of Lex Luthor... but he ain't the guy we're talking about. He's been in prison since being booted from the White House, and is madly scribbling all sorts of plans on his cell walls... and floor! He finds himself visited by... well, the man behind the whole shebang (and Kryptonian invasion paranoia), General Sam Lane?!
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Well, I guess it's true... time does heal all wounds, at least for me. I really dug this issue this time around. We've got a bit to unpack, so let's get to it.
Now my main takeaway my first time through was that New Krypton made Superman less special. There's a point of view that Superman should always be the most fantastic part of any panel he's featured in. Putting him among 100,000 Kryptonians made him far less special. In reading this back, I can already see that they're building this story to illustrate that even among his own people... Superman is still special. His Kryptonian powers along with his Smallville upbringing make him stand out. I can dig that.
Speaking of the Kryptonians... there's a lot of potential for conflict here. I will admit that I've never read this epic tale to completion, so I don't know how this pans out (outside of General Zod having some part in it). I found it interesting... subtle even, that Zor-El was confused (and perhaps insulted) by Kal's suggestion that they familiarize themselves with Earth cultures and customs. I look forward to seeing if/how this pans out.
I do love Superman's face upon seeing the dead blue whale. It's as though he hadn't considered the negative potential for Kryptonian mass Earthen-immigration. Somehow punching a whale in the face still comes across as somehow subtle. Interesting that Zor-El kinda shrugs the whole thing off too. I dig where this might be headed.
The Ma Kent scene was one of the more powerful. Amid several beautiful and majestic looking two-page spreads, we get a quiet page of Ma dining alone. I'm unsure if the juxtaposition was intentional, but the hopelessness in her page was almost tangible. I mean, the pages of the Kryptonians flying were so impressive you could almost hear an orchestra beginning to play... then, Ma Kent in sitting at the table in her (silent) darkened kitchen.
Quiet scenes like that always get me. It's even worse than the funeral, or the actual death. It's where you must come to grips with the fact that life does go on... albeit in a drastically (and painfully) changed form. I'm reminded of a particularly painful scene in All in the Family following Edith's death. Archie returns home and sees a pair of her slippers... and he goes to yell at her for leaving them out as a reflex... but then the stark realization hits him. It's a scene I've only seen once, because... dammit, I'm not going to put myself through that twice... so, my memory might be a bit off.
The reintroduction of Sam Lane was interesting... or would've been had I remembered that he had died in the first place. I guess it would've been more impactful had I recently read Our Worlds At War. Putting Luthor back on the table as a threat is also a neat touch... it makes sense for the guy who always warns about the danger of "the alien" to team up with an anti-Kryptonian task force (of sorts).
I appreciate the nods to 1st Issue Special throughout this issue (and the Robinson run). He's clearly a big fan of the short-lived seventies oddity. I love anytime obscure characters are given a bit of a shine... I mean, DC (and comics in general) has so many one-off characters with potential... and it's nice to see 'em get some screen time every now and again. Plus, it gives obsessives like me something to mark out over.
The art here was really good, with the caveat that a few of the Gary Frank bits made the characters look a bit... let's just say, emaciated. Faces were kinda sucked in, and the mouths/teeth looked especially "off". Otherwise, great work throughout. If I remember right, Guedes and Woods were the regular artists on Superman and Action Comics respectively going forward.
Also... we've got triangle numbering! Whoo-hoo!
Overall... I'm not sure how long New Krypton will hold my attention... or how long it would hold yours, but I would suggest that this introductory special is worth checking out. It's been collected as part of Superman: New Krypton, Volume One and is also available digitally.
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DC Nation:
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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.
