Superman: The Man of Steel #75 (January, 1998)
"The Death of Mr. Mxyzptlk"
Story & Pencils - Jon Bogdanove
Script - Louise Simonson
Inker - Dennis Janke
Letterer - Ken Lopez
Colorist - Glenn Whitmore
Computer Separations - Digital Chameleon
Assistant Editor - Maureen McTigue
Editor - Joey Cavalieri
Cover Price: $1.95
I was thinking about saving this one for April Fool's Day, considering the subject matter. That just feels like a "Mxy kinda day" to me... but, I'm also sorta-kinda in a Mxy mood now (go figure, right?). Plus with hundreds of Mxyzptlk appearances throughout the better part of the last century... I'm sure I'll be able to dig an appropriate one up for April 1.
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We open with Lois and Clark arriving at a surprisingly crowded funeral. Of note, they haven't been sent to cover it by the Planet, they just happened to be passing by and decided such a crowd might warrant something newsworthy. As they approach the casket they hear somebody crying... bawling, actually. Must've been really close to the deceased, right? Well, no... it's Mxy!
Lois and Clark grab the imp, and try to inform him as to the gravity of a funeral... his explosive and cartoonish bawling might be taken as somewhat rude by those who are actually grieving. Mxy doesn't quite get it, however is all ears for the Kent's explanation... he even whips up a tub of popcorn to enjoy while they speak. Clark impresses upon the imp that death is... ya know, final. When someone dies... they do not come back. Mxy ain't buyin' it... after all, didn't Superman come back from the dead? Hmph... he's gotcha there, Clark. What he's also got is six platinum copies of Superman (vol.2) #75... unopened!
This next bit is really funny. Clark "supes" up, changing into his electric-blue duds. Mxy can't stop laughing at the new costume... and even asks if the sh-- er, suit comes in red too. I can't be the only one that had to read that a couple of times to make sure it it didn't say SH--... er, said "SUIT", right?
Mxy continues pondering the importance of death... and goes a bit meta on us. He mentions that before Superman died he was an afterthought... taken for granted. It wasn't until he was "offed" that the world took notice of him again. Hmph... can't really argue with that. And so, Mxy decides that if he wants to be a bigger deal, he too... must die! Sounds legit...
While Mxy prepares to... well, die... Superman is alerted to an emergency he has to attend to. Lois is left to deal with the menace from the fifth dimension... and she ain't buying his newfound death wish. She plays along, suggesting that he get rid of all his powers if he's truly serious. He considers it... but then has a better idea! He constructs his own killing machine... Bada-Bing-Bada-Boomsday! Yep. Covers'em in bony protrusions too... and boy, do I mean "covers".
Superman returns and is shocked to see a reanimated Doomsday lurking about. Even more surprisingly, Mxy challenges the beast to a fight... Doomsday doesn't seem to wanna waste his time with an imp where there's a Superman around!
And so, for the next few pages... Boomsday battles Superman while Mxy tries to get into the mix. While he whines that he's being ignored, Lois suggests that the monster isn't paying him any mind because Mxy surely wouldn't create the instrument of his own demise, right? Everybody's got a sense of self-preservation... even a seemingly-suicidal imp from the fifth dimension. Mxy calls her bluff, and renounces his powers! He then hands her his bucket of popcorn, complaining of a slight bellyache from his binge. That's a call-forward, by the way...
With renewed ambition, Mxy hops into the fray... and wouldn'tcha know it, he's still being ignored. He falls back and asks Lois for his popcorn back. Unfortunately, she dropped it... meaning, it's gone forever... kinda like people who die. Ohhhh... now he gets it!
Moments later, walking "Expositional Plot Device" Emil Hamilton (Hey, Mxy's words... not mine) arrives on the scene to... well, deliver a bit of juicy exposition. He posits that the only way to stop Bada-Bing-Bada-Boomsday is for Superman to release 100% of his energy! Mxy doesn't like the sound of that...
... and so, he heads back into battle... and, remember two paragraphs ago I mentioned a call-forward? Well, his belly is'a gurgling. He attempts to get Boomsday's attention, and when that doesn't work... he, um... breaks wind.
This offends Boomsday's sensibilities... something fierce. Mxy finally gets his wish, when the monster slams him into the pavement!
Our imp then proceeds through the darkness into a white light... before arriving on editor, Mike Carlin's desk! Whoops.
We wrap up with a call-back to the closing pages of Superman (vol.2) #75... fold-out and all! Don't worry yourselves none, Mxy still lives!
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Welp... that was a ton of fun, wasn't it?
I think I can safely say that this is the kind of Mxy that I dig the most. I like him more as a thorn in the side and annoyance than an actual threat... though, I am open to the possibility that my mind may change. I should admit that have precious little experience with pre-Crisis Mxy, so my frame of reference might be considered a tad narrow.
This was a silly little story, which as luck would have it... is something I was totally in the mood for. I'm not sure I'd be so gushy and glowing if I were looking for something a bit more serious. Though, one look at the (absolutely awesome) cover would give you a pretty good idea of what's underneath. You know what you're in for when you crack this one open. While on the subject, I really can't say it enough... this is one helluva cover. Bog does incredible work all throughout this issue (story and pencils), but dammit... this cover needs to be blown up, framed, and on my wall ASAP.
The interaction between Mxy and the Kents was great... like, all of it. You gotta figure that Clark is breaking out something akin to a "teacher's voice" trying to explain mortality to the imp... while trying his hardest not to just lose it! Lois being a bit of an agitator, convincing Mxy to actually renounce his powers was an entertaining bit too!
The ending... while low-brow, isn't totally offensive. I'm not much of a fan of toilet humor... especially in my comics, but when an issue builds up to... what it built up to, I can hardly fault it for crossing the finish line. I will say, they managed to take a pretty crude subject and actually make it organically fit into a Superman book. I certainly wasn't expecting it!
Overall... great little issue. One that Superman fans really owe it to themselves to check out if they haven't already. In light of current events, Rebirth-Supes fans might wanna see the softer-sillier side of Mr. Mxyzptlk. As luck would have it, this issue (and series) has been made available digitally.
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The Ray #1 (May, 1994)
"Rebirth"
Writer - Christopher Priest
Penciller - Howard Porter
Inker - Robert Jones
Letterer - Ken Bruzenak
Colorist - Gloria Vasquez
Editors - Brian Augustyn & Ruben Diaz
Cover Price: $1.75
It's strange when I look back and realize that the 1990's were my first true comics "wheelhouse"... and it feels like we barely discuss things from that decade here at the ol' blog!
Let's take a small step toward fixing that today!
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We open with The Ray in the middle of a knock-down drag-out fight with an over-sized Brimstone. After having much of his offense simply shrugged off, Ray is able to wallop the baddie with a blast to the chest. Brimstone begins to tumble when our man realizes... if he did, all of the folks on the street below would be, ya know... crushed. Ray throws up an energy shield to keep the hulking, flaming mass standing... this act yields rather middling results.
But that's for later. We now jump to Ray typing something of a diary entry in a word processor program while in his very empty new digs. After his entire missive is deleted, he has to start the story over... which is actually a really neat way to frame this entire flashback... that is to say, the entire rest of the issue. Ray starts with "... I killed somebody last night." which is enough to get my interest.
He reflects back on the start of the day where he was finally able to convince a landlord to rent him a room. Of course, having no credit history might hurt ones chances of finding a nice place, and so one must learn to do without a few luxuries... like a refrigerator! Ray gets the keys and stands slump-shouldered like any proud twenty-something who finally realizes what concepts like independence and responsibility look (and smell) like... and it ain't pleasant.
Speaking of responsibility... if our man has any hope of paying his rent he's going to have to head into "the office" for his shift. His "office" is a Clucky Chicken fast food restaurant... and as luck would have it, today of all days their chicken mascot called in sick. Three guesses who gets to wear the feathers...
Things go from bad to worse when Ray's cool-guy pal Hank shows up to give him a bit of grief. Hank knows about Ray's dual identity and suggests he cut out of the chicken suit and fly'em both to Hawaii so he might "score". Things then go from worse to worser when Ray's girlfriend Jenny shows up to tell him she's gotta work late that night and needed to take a rain check on their date... he's also a bit mortified that she sees him in the chicken suit. Did I say rain check, because now things go from worser to worsest when it... starts pouring rain. Ya gotta figure that chicken costume's gonna smell worse than a wet dog!
After Ray's shift he figures "what the hell?" and flies he and Hank out Hawaii way. A fella's gotta learn to live, am I right? Anyhoo... they're headed to see a volcano that had erupted, and when the lava cooled it did so in the shape of a hand. While here we see a strange character who I'd have to assume is Blanka from Street Fighter II's son. He's making multiple trips hauling bags to the volcano's opening.
Later, a security guard heads up to see what this green "Varmint" is up to. She gets tossed into the volcano for her troubles. This pleases Blanka, Jr. and so he begins chanting some nonsense about Darkseid. Moments later, from the lava rises... Brimstone! Seems he's got some of the security guard in him though, as a bit of her slang appears to be added to Brimstone's vernacular.
Nearby, Ray and Hank are entertaining some ladies. Well, Hank is... Ray just looks uncomfortable. The Earth begins to shake, and Ray knows it's time he change into The Ray to see what's going on.
He arrives to the scene momentarily, only to find that his fight has been scooped by... Hawaii's own... Superboy! C'mon, a mid-90's comic set in Hawaii... of course we're getting some Kon-El! Ray is none too pleased... he's certainly not part of the Superboy fan club.
The two begrudgingly team up to fight Brimstone, with both trying to outshine one other. Ray thinks the threat is too big and suggests they try and contact the Justice League... Superboy thinks that's a silly idea. Kon grabs Brimstone and proceeds to fly him to a remote part of the island... and suggests if The Ray needs some help he should maybe call his mother. Ray doesn't take too kindly to that, and informs the Boy of Steel that his mother is dead. Hmph, I didn't even know she was sick!
On the other side of the island Ray arrives moments after Superboy neutralizes the fiery threat... and so, he starts busting his chops! Superboy doesn't have the time or patience for such silliness, and so he just clobbers poor Ray!
Ray decides that two can play this game... and proceeds to blast the ever-loving hell out of Superboy, leaving him burnt to a crisp! Now... as is the norm when we're talking about The Ray, things go from bad to worse when... not only is Superboy "dead", we now learn that Brimstone is very much alive... and really rather ticked off!
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It's funny how every young (but not kid) superhero always feels like they are a shade or two away from being Peter Parker. I'd say that Ray Terrill reminds me more of Richard "Nova" Rider... which he does... but then I remember how much Rider reminded me of Parker! Oh well... it's not a bad thing, just an observation I wanted to get out of the way.
Now, I know this series came after a six-issue miniseries. This miniseries is among the few runs from the nineties that I just can't seem to track down... so I don't know if anything from there is being followed up on here. Probably doesn't matter... but I do enjoy being as "complete" as possible.
Let's see... where to start with this one. The diary entry... such an organic way to tell this story! I thought it was really cool that we "joined" Ray just as his word processing program dumped everything he'd already written... leaving him to type it all up again, this time taking us along for the ride. Christopher Priest is always so creative with transitions, framing sequences and rejoinders... and this was no different.
Now I did mention Peter Parker above... and it's gotta be said, for a dude named Terrill, our hero sure has him a bit of the ol' Parker luck. This guy just can't catch a break... crappy apartment, chicken costume, killing Superboy... yeesh. Luckily... also like (most) Peter Parker stories, it was a lot of fun to see him put through the wringer... because we know he's going to come out of it all okay.
Brimstone is a bit of a boring villain for our first time out, however I understand the need for a "big" (as in large) baddie. Superboy coming in is only natural with the story taking place on his "turf". I often forget just how abrasive he could be... especially when he was guest-starring in another hero's book. I kinda dig it. He's cocky... no reason to rein that in. I also really dug how Ray took to Superboy. He really doesn't like "the kid" and isn't afraid to let him know it. Very neat dynamic... especially funny when we consider that in less than a decade the two will both be members of Young Justice!
Shockingly, this issue (and entire series) is available digitally. That really surprised me... though, I suppose with his recent inclusion on the current Rebirth Batman and the Outsiders Justice League of America, it makes total sense. I'd certainly recommend checking this out... especially if you're a fan of young heroes with that rotten Parker luck. Howard Porter's art here is also pretty amazing... a real treat!
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Teen Titans (vol.4) #1 (November, 2011)
"Teen Spirit"
Writer - Scott Lobdell
Penciller - Brett Booth
Inker - Norm Rapmund
Colorist - Andrew Dalhouse
Letterer - Carlos M. Mangual
Assistant Editor - Katie Kubert
Editor - Bobbie Chase
Cover Price: $2.99
For this weeks episode of The Cosmic Treadmill, Reggie and I discuss a favorite from my youth... Generation X #1 by Scott Lobdell and Chris Bachalo. Revisiting that classic book made me realize that I might just need a bit more Lobdell in my life, and so... here we are. I'm actually quite surprised it's taken me this long to cover a book that he's written on the humble blog, being as though he was one of my all-time favorites growing up. He wrote Uncanny X-Men #308, which holds a special place in my comics-readery heart.
Now, considering how much I enjoyed Lobdell's X-Works like Generation X... I figured it was only natural that I'd really dig his Teen Titans. Did I? Hmm... let's find out.
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We open with Kid Flash butting into a news report about a big fire in Westchester County, New York. Gotta wonder if the burning building might be a reference to a certain School for Gifted Youngsters our writer used to know. Kid Flash then charges in to fight the fire and save some "nearly toasted buns", however does not take into account that his super-speed might just cause a back draft making an already bad fire many many times worse!
The fire goes full inferno, and Bart is sent flying. The reporter, who I'm sure DC is happy they didn't name-drop as Linda Park sends it back to the newsroom where the anchor discusses the recent surge in teenage metahumans. Tim Drake is watching the news play out via his holographic video monitors in his penthouse before shutting them down. He looks at his photo of him as Robin (because, hey... Tim was Robin at some point) with Batman. Gotta wonder who snapped this pic, right?
He tosses the photo aside as a few characters enter the scene. We meet a creepy thin man with odd shades from the organization known as N.O.W.H.E.R.E. He is flanked on either side by some blue-masked guards, all of whom have their targets set on Tim. He's come to offer Tim clemency, if only he were to join their cause in rounding up young heroes.
Tim ain't digging that, and so he triggers the penthouse to blow. He dives out and plummets toward the street below before activating his (ugh) Red Robin wing-suit. Here he mentions that he was once Robin, the Boy Wonder. I'll choose to believe that.
We shift scenes to Malibu, California where Cassie Sandsmark drives her stolen car down the Pacific Coast Highway. She is pulled over by a police officer and when she tries to play coy... he grabs her by the throat! I suppose I ought to mention that this scene features our obligatory Pandora cameo.
Anyhoo, the officer gets kicked in the back of the head by Red Robin who must be one hell of a quick traveler. He introduces himself to Cassie, and refers to her as Wonder Girl... which, she ain't too pleased about. He tips her off to the danger she is in, and the nebulous plans of N.O.W.H.E.R.E. He manages to sort of gain her relative trust, just in time for an enemy helicopter to hit the scene.
With no other choice, Cassie "Wonder Girls" up. Though, don't call it that... she doesn't like that. She launches herself into the helicopter and proceeds to tear it apart. She is disappointed to find that the entire rig was automated... as she had her heart set on busting a few heads.
After the threat is neutralized, Cassie falls into the water. Red Robin offers her a hand, and this is where we come to learn that this new Wonder Girl is kind of a jerk. This gets worse as the series progresses... but that's a story for another time.
We shift scenes to a laboratory "half a world away". It would appear that this is a N.O.W.H.E.R.E. facility due to the appearance of our man-with-the-shades from earlier. He is demanding a young woman... who we all know as Gen¹³ member Caitlin Fairchild to do... something.
That something is... releasing the Superboy!
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Now, this is a bit of a challenge. It's difficult for me to review this issue as a single chapter, because I know where it leads. I'm going to do my best to take a look at this issue in a vacuum, far away from the... rather unpleasant (in my opinion) volume in it's entirety. I feel like the volume falls apart rather quickly and doesn't ever feel like a legitimate Teen Titans series. The closer it limped to its, for lack of a better term, mercy killing... the more difficult to read it became.
Anyhoo, this issue... not bad. Not really what I want from a Teen Titans book, though maybe it would feel more right if it were the first issue of a Red Robin ongoing series. Of course, I suppose we must consider that we are reading something from the "for the trade" era, so it's difficult to hold any feelings of incompleteness against the issue itself.
Cassie is horrendously unlikable here... and from what I recall about the series as a whole, she never really becomes all that sympathetic. I'm not sure what was wrong with her pre-Flashpoint origin... or personality, that we needed to go with this unpleasant version. Before we watched an awkward and self-conscious young lady blossom into a formidable and inspirational team leader. Here? Just a bad girl with a chip on her shoulder. Pretty big downgrade. I do think her costume is pretty cool though.
Speaking of costumes... I hate... haaaaate Red Robin's wingsuit. When I first saw it as they were announcing the New-52! titles, I thought it was a gag. I just don't see Robin, Red or otherwise, using a wingsuit. He should be using bat-lines and grappling hooks... not flying or gliding. Just my opinion...
Also, sticking with our team leader... I am reviewing this from a copy from the first printing of this issue. If I understand correctly, subsequent reprintings and collected editions have been edited to remove any mention of Tim having ever been Robin. I know this caused quite the uproar online when it went down... but I think I was too caught up in my (ugh) head-canon to even notice a difference. To me, Tim Drake started his crime-fighting career as Robin. Whether or not DC agrees (this week) doesn't really matter to me. Not gonna get mad about it... and neither should anybody else.
I do remember thinking it was pretty cool that Fairchild from Gen¹³ was brought into the mainline DC Universe. I always enjoy stuff like that... and it totally makes past issues with her teaming up with the Generation X kids (as well as all of the Image folks) feel really far out! I didn't read the New-52! volume of Superboy, so I'm not entirely clear how large a role she had... though I did (unfortunately) read as much of the Ravagers series as I could stomach. Don't remember much of it, beside the fact that I did not like it.
Overall... I'm kind of on the fence with this one. I can't tell you it isn't a good issue... because it's really not bad. I also feel strange recommending it, because I so disliked where this (and the following) volume goes. Keep in mind that I say this as a guy who gives Scott Lobdell a lifetime free-pass for having written the excellent Uncanny X-Men #308. The characters are wildly unpleasant... and it becomes really rather difficult to cheer them on. Not surprisingly, this has been made available digitally. It's only a buck (as of this writing), so if you have some curiosity gnawing at ya... checking it out won't cost ya all that much.
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