Superman (vol.4) #20 (June, 2017)
"Black Dawn, Chapter 1"
Story - Peter J. Tomasi
Story & Pencils - Patrick Gleason
Inks - Mick Gray
Colors - John Kalisz
Letters - Rob Leigh
Assistant Editor - Andrew Merino
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $2.99
Ya know... today I was planning on discussing part five of a certain 1988 event miniseries... but, I came to the conclusion that perhaps a day or two away from that might do my reviews some good. We'll get back to Millennium in due time. For today, however... we're gonna check out something a bit more recent.
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We open with Jon Kent playing with Krypto in the field. He meets up with Kathy and the two engage in a race. At the same time, his father... the Man of Steel flies overhead. Clark lands at the farm, and checks in on his family members. He leans forward taking in the sights.
Meanwhile, Lois is checking the mail... and their mailbox reads "Mr. & Mrs. C. Kent"... so, we're finally where we need to be. Mr. Cobb from the next farm over rolls up and warns her that there's a storm a'brewin'.
Later, we check in with the Kents as they take shelter in the basement... playing pool to pass the time. The storm passes and Jon is sent to bed. After "lights out", he peers out the window and sees the familiar scene of his father heading outside in costume. He decides to see what's up.
Looks like the barn has an infestation... of bats. Bruce is there to talk about something quite important with Clark, however, their conversation is interrupted by Lois, who'd rather they chat in the warmth of the kitchen rather than the barn.
Inside we have some apple pie hijinks, while Batman grills Superman about Jon's burgeoning powers. Ya see, the way Batman sees it, Jon should be exhibiting powers that should even dwarf Clark's by now... and yet, no dice.
Batman considers that their might be some "environmental" cause to Jon's stunted powers, and so he starts looking through the Kent fridge. Lois thinks this is silly, and starts rattling off all the organic goodies they have... including fresh milk from Cobb Dairy's prize-winning cow, Bessie. This causes Batman's ears to perk up just a bit.
And so, later that night... Batman decides to pay ol' Bessie a visit. He procures a sample of the cow-juice and swishes it around a bottle... where it darkens... and gets scaly.
The milk then busts through the bottle and attaches to Batman... as he lay coated in viscous goop, a man enters... hopeful that they've caught themselves another "troublemaker".
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Not gonna lie, just seeing that "the Whites" and "the Smiths" are in the rear-view makes me pretty giddy. Seeing the Kent name used just makes things feel "right". Hard to believe that we're just under a year in the Rebirth landscape... and Lois and Clark have finally gotten their names (and perhaps lives) back. Not sure if Clark will return to the Daily Planet just yet... but, it's gotta be on the horizon, right?
Now, overall I dug this... but I gotta say it again... can we please have a Superman story soon? So far every story has been centered on Jon. That isn't to say that I don't like Jon... I do! I think he's a great addition to the Superman mythos... but c'mon, I just want to see Superman being Superman for a little while. While I'm complaining... Batman's shown his face in this book a bit too often for my tastes as well. I mean, there is a Batman and Superman (and Wonder Woman) team-up book coming out monthly... guest appearances are just redundant at this point.
The art here continues to be top-notch, and I was happy to see Gleason actually get top billing... at least on the credits page, if not the cover.
Batman not eating pie was pretty funny... especially how he sat there with this grumpy face while Lois poured his coffee. I am a bit surprised that we didn't get any double-takes from him regarding this Clark now kinda being his Clark... Like, Batman's not usually written to just "accept" things. Not sure if this paragraph makes any sense... it might just be me trying to wrap my head around our new sorta-kinda composite Man of Steel. Like, did New-52! Superman die? I dunno. It might be completely clear, and I'm just a bit dense.
I like the angle this story is taking... the idea that the Kent's neighbors might not be what they seem is the kinda story beat I'm always gonna dig. That element of paranoia... injected into the comfort of one's own home is one of those universal fears that might just provoke a visceral reaction in many readers.
Overall, minor gripes about Superman being a bit-player in his own book aside, I quite enjoyed this. I'd say this serves as a pretty good jumping on point... the Kents are the Kents, and they've always been the Kents is all you really need to know. Definitely worth picking up if you aren't already!
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Millennium #4 (January, 1988)
"Forth"
Story - Steve Englehart
Pencils - Joe Staton
Inks - Ian Gibson
Letters - Bob Lappan
Colorist - Carl Gafford
Editor - Andy Helfer
Cover Price: $0.75
Today we're going to wrap up the first half of the Millennium event... which, at this point just makes me realize there's a whole 'nother half left.
And hey! The fourth issue is called "Forth", howboutdat?
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We open with the heroes who have the Floronic Man in custody... methinks we missed something, as last we saw him he was rescued from Arkham by the Manhunters. Batman is off on the periphery, brooding, like he does. He smells a rat. The gathered "chosen" are all chatting, and the most "subtle" member... who is, shockingly, not the offensively stereotypical gay man... but the South African racist, is being... well, openly racist. Batman still smells a rat, and fills us "event only" readers in on some of the happenings from the tie-ins, including Booster Gold and Firestorm apparently switching teams, and that mean ol' nasty Ronald Reagan pressuring the heroes to stand down. He asks Hal if he can use the Citadel's computer.
Elsewhere, the Manhunters are busy manhuntering and shouting out their catchphrase. Inside their base we see Firestorm with Manhunter Ferguson, and Booster Gold with his former agent, Manhunter Davis. Booster is informed that Hadley is about to make his move on Captain Atom, as a way to test his loyalty... cuz, ya know... if Captain Atom were to find out, they'd know Booster was playing them.
Speaking of Captain Atom, he catch up with him while he is meeting with General Eiling. The General informs Cap that the turned Firestorm has been spotted in Louisiana, and sends him off to deal with the "baddie". We get an Oliver North mention, seems Steve is blowing off a lot of steam with this series... Anyhoo, Hadley happens to arrive just as Atom leaves.
Back at the Citadel, the ZamarOans are holding court... they offer their "chosen" one last opportunity to change their minds. What? Really? How many more times are we gonna spin our wheels with this? Seems like we're spending far too many pages (issues even!) with this. First, we spend an issue informing the chosen... then another fetching them... and here we're still dilly-dallying. Too much. None of the eight members of the "chosen" change their minds... so glad we spent a few pages on this.
We shift scenes to Belle Reve where the members of the Suicide Squad (along with Mark Shaw Manhunter) are being briefed by Warden Economos. It seems that Manhunters have been spotted in the nearby bayous, and the Squad's gonna have to take care of business.
After the contentious meeting, the Warden gets a visit from Batman. He's asked about the whereabouts of Mark Shaw... and lies about him having been released a few weeks earlier. Wow, lying to Batman? That ain't smart... especially since the Bat sees right through it. He notices that there was a requisition for a boat on Economos' desk.
We shift scenes to Madame Xanadu's tarot parlor in New York City. She is looking through her collection of oddities, which includes an actual Manhunter mask. Her admiration of her new trinket is interrupted by the arrival of a customer. He asks her what the spirits tell her about the Manhunters... and, like a fool... she goes and fetches the mask. He socks her in the face with a slapjack and steals it.
Outside Xanadu pals, Jim Corrigan and a woman I do not recognize are returning from getting the three of them lunch. They enter and see that the Madame has been kayoed, and so Jim gives chase. The mask-thief is upstairs going through some of Madame Xanadu's files... and after a brief struggle, he leaps out the window. The Spectre arrives just in the nick of time... to miss everything.
Moments later, the foursome gather round Xanadu's mystic table. The Spectre puts one hand on the tarot deck and the other on the globe... and knows their next stop must be the bayous of Louisiana.
We shift to Manhunter HQ where Harbinger is being held in an energy-depletion chamber. She is approached by the Grandmaster, who just happens to drop a key. She is able to grab it with her foot... and break out.
... she doesn't make it far... but we do learn that a weird-looking Green Lantern is in the house!
Back at the Green Lantern Citadel, the Floronic Man has broken away from the group. He meets with a Manhunter who looks like a reject from Zartan's Dreadnoks.
We wrap up with Batman renting a boat in Louisiana... the Suicide Squad in a boat of their own... Captain Atom arrives at the bayou... and so do Corrigan and the Spectre.
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I think this is the first issue of the Millennium series that makes me feel like we're missing out by not following the tie-ins. We've missed apparent betrayals in Booster Gold and Firestorm and the Floronic Man coming under the heroes' custody. It's crazy that rather than use this main series for such events... they'd rather spend it with ZamarOan repetition. I mean, how many times can we do the "You have been chosen..." bit. I joked around with that... two issues ago, but at this point it's no longer funny.
The cast expands a great deal here with the inclusions of the Suicide Squad and some of DC's mystical heavy-hitters... including the Spectre. I've never been the biggest fan of the Spectre getting involved in events, but he's kept to a minimum here.
Somebody not kept to a minimum is the same fella who takes over many of DC's events... Batman. Now don't get me wrong, I'm on record as a big fan of Batman... but I do tire of him always being the straw that stirs the drink in so many events. We get it, he's smarter than everybody else.
The Madame Xanadu scene felt kinda "off". I mean, why would she be so quick to show the Manhunter mask to some random customer? Especially considering how she had been trying to procure one for such a long time. You'd figure she'd be a bit more protective of it. I dunno. Whole scene makes her look quite foolish.
Overall... not much else to say about this issue. It's a middle chapter, and without the context of the tie-ins... it doesn't feel as vital as perhaps it should. I started this reread rather high on the Millennium concept, but I'm going to have to concede that it's really starting to drag on. Things are happening, but sadly none of it is all that interesting. Definitely not the worst thing ever... but as far as DC events go, it's rapidly sinking toward the bottom of the pile. I might have to revisit Genesis to nudge this back up the charts a bit.
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(Not the) Letters Page:
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New Guardians #1 (September, 1988)
"The New Guardians"
Writer - Steve Englehart
Artist - Joe Staton
Inker - Mark Farmer
Letterer - John Costanza
Colorist - Tony Tollin
Editor - Andy Helfer
Cover Price: $2.00
We're taking a break from our Millennium coverage to discuss... well, the book that spins out of Millennium... for better or worse.
My bloggin' brother, Mike from the Crapbox of Son of Cthulhu informed me that this month is the CDC's STD Awareness Month, and that he will be covering Ninja High School Talks About S.T.D., and after I namedropped the Hemo-Goblin during a Twitter chat, suggested I cover the only issue the bugger shows up in today. Now, I'm not the kinda guy to ever turn down the opportunity to cross-post with a pal, so here we are!
I wanna clarify something before we continue. The purpose of this discussion is not to mock the "AIDS Vampire" (absurd though it may be) nor the disease itself. This is more just a look at how comics of an earlier generation handled serious topics in fantastical ways... most likely because it was the only way they could without causing too much of a stir. This is still superhero comics, after all...
One last thing... for more information on STD Awareness Month, check out the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention page, right here.
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We open with the (not yet) New Guardians descending on their new base of operations in Los Angeles. The "chosen" from Millennium have been whittled down to an easier to follow six. Gloss (Xiang Po), Ram (Yakata), Floro (Woodrue the Floronic Man), Extrano (Gregorio), Jet (Celia), and Harbinger. Their new digs ain't cheap... $17 Million to be exact. Ram figures they'll take his offer of $15M.
Suddenly, the discussion shifts to their new purpose in this world. Ya see, they've been evolutionarily advanced to their immortal state... Gregorio offers up the idea that they are here to breed! Well, not him of course... not that he can really say why. I'd blame that on the Comics Code Authority... but this bugger ain't carrying the stamp!
So, looks like ol' Ram's got his pick of all the ladies. Gloss is immediately interested in having a go... while Jet ain't havin' any of it. Poor Harbinger hasn't the foggiest idea what sex is... and so, she (thankfully) suggests they change the subject. Lemme tell ya, not a moment too soon.
From here Harbinger and Jet decide to compare and contrast their powersets with a hotdoggin' flight around Los Angeles. Turns out that their powers are more or less the same. Why, they even talk alike... or, the letterer filled in the wrong balloons... either way.
Meanwhile, in Pretoria, South Africa... we meet the racist member of the "chosen" Kroef. So, I guess he does survive Millennium. Anyhoo, as we kind of suspected, he's a pretty bad dude. He's looking to off his fellow chosen... and so, we are introduced to former Olympic Boxer Piet Broem... and the villainous character find of 1988, the Hemo-Goblin! The Goblin is a white-supremacist vampiric fella... kinda looks like Caliban from the X-Men's Morlocks. They send a black man in... and he is quickly devoured. Kroef is pleased, and offers the critter a gig.
We shift back to Los Angeles... but not to the Guardians. Instead, we check in with the Kalamakus. We get some Millennium exposition while he plays ball with the kids on the front lawn. Tom's wife sees Harbinger and Jet flying on the news... and is visibly displeased.
Two days later, a creepy duo arrive at L.A.X... and it ain't the Safir and the Old-Timer either. No sir, this is Piet and Hemo. They head to the Airport Hilton where Piet finds their orders, and Hemo-Goblin eats a cat.
Back with the gang... Harbinger is standing on a balcony, concerned about her current lot in life. Jet has the same powers she does... and of course, she doesn't know what sex is. Her pity-party is interrupted by my favorite... Gregorio! He refers to himself as Harbinger's "Old Auntie" and tells her that sex is overrated. They embrace. Nice scene.
Elsewhere, Jet and Gloss are getting seated at a nightclub (in costume). Xiang is approached by bad-guy Piet, who asks if she's down for a dance. Of course she is! She notices Piet's Australian accent, and mentions that their group once had an Australian... we remember her, right? The woman who always talks about the Dreamtime!
Jet grows restless as folks stare at her... and so, she leaves. No sooner does she reach the parking lot than she is attacked by the Hemo-Goblin! They fight for a bit before Hemo lunges and bites a chunk out of her left side. Pretty gross.
Gloss rushes out to intervene, and is able to distract Hemo-Goblin long enough for Jet to land a whopper of a punch. The baddie flees through a nearby building as the ladies give chase. He ultimately manages to give them the slip. They return to HQ, and Ram is shocked to see Jet's wound... because the same one suddenly appeared on Harbinger a few minutes earlier!
The group tries to plan their next move... and there is a brief power struggle, with Xiang kind of putting herself in charge. Nobody is all that cool with that decision. Ram suggests Kroef may be behind this, and so Floro taps into the Green to check. That's an incredibly useful power ol' Woodrue's got, no?
The Kalamakus are watching coverage of the Hemo-Goblin attack on the news... and Tom is growing ever more conflicted in his not being a part of the team.
Back with the team... who look pretty adorable in their civvies, Floro is talking to a bush. The bush tells him to check rooms 816 and 818. Neat!
Jet and Harbinger fly up, while the rest of the team heads inside and up the elevator. Through use of Extrano's power, they break into the room. Fresh from fetching a bucket of ice, Piet is lingering in the hallway. Once inside, they are not surprisingly, attacked by the Hemo-Goblin. The Goblin lunges at Ram... who has no blood, so, no dice. Extrano heads into the adjoined room to find the carcasses of several small animals... clearly, Hemo-Goblin's latest meal. He says "for once I wish I had a stronger stomach". "For once"? Wouldn't you always want a strong stomach? Would you ever wish to have a weaker one? I dunno...
The Goblin attempts to flee out the window... but runs into Harbinger. He turns to head into the next room... but runs into Extrano... and so, he slices him in the throat with his nasty fingernails.
From here, Floro leaps onto him and "grows" all over him! Hemo shakes free, but runs right into Ram's fist... and then a thousand-hand slap from Gloss... then, just an overall beating from the two of them until Floro and Extrano can back them off!
Moments later, security arrives at the door... and starts pounding away. Extrano... man, this dude is great, he calls out to them, and... well, just look:
The gang escapes before security can bust in... and returns back to their home base. Along the way, they christen themselves the "New Guardians". Their celebration is short-lived however, as there's a knocking on the door. Floro gives his best "Just a min-ute!", which, not gonna lie... got a chuckle. At the door is Tom Kalamaku, and he brings with him dire news... the Hemo-Goblin died in captivity... from AIDS! We close out with Jet and Extrano tending to their wounds.
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Expectations are kind of a funny thing. From everything I'd heard about this issue, I'd almost expected to be spitting fire by this point... and while this most certainly wasn't the best thing I've read in awhile, I gotta say... it's reputation proceeded it, and did it a bit of a disservice. This really wasn't bad.
My first impression is that they're kinda chasing the more soap-opera'y elements of New Teen Titans and Batman and the Outsiders (and Uncanny X-Men) with this. I mean, we go from a discussion about their evolved immortality... to talking about sex? Gloss is really into "getting it on", and Harbinger is clueless... a bit reminiscent of Halo.
I did dig this good version of the Floronic Man. It was quite strange seeing him tend to his teammate's wounds... and cracking jokes! His powers including the ability of talking to bushes, is both witty and useful. His presence here was a welcome surprise.
Tom Kalamaku's scenes were pretty good as well. His apparent conflict over not being part of this team was interesting to observe. I'm glad he's being included in the series... even if he's just on the periphery.
Extrano... I know, I know... he's a walking cliche... there is zero subtlety to his character... but, I think he's a lot of fun! He's almost a comforting presence. I dug the scene where he comforted... even mentored Harbinger. His sarcastic humor was most welcome all throughout the issue. It is interesting, perhaps a sign of the times, that ol' "Auntie" (his word, not mine) Gregorio isn't even officially "out of the closet" at this point.
Now, I suppose we should discuss our "main event"... the AIDS Vampire, Hemo-Goblin and his toxic touch. As far as I can tell, Extrano is the first HIV-Positive superhero... and while I'm not for certain that the Hemo-Goblin was the reason for this diagnosis, it's still notable. Jet has also been apparently infected... I mean, hell... she had a chunk of her torso bitten off... stands to reason she'd also catch the disease. I haven't read any further, so I can't be sure that anything comes of it just yet... and, honestly... I'm not really in a rush to find out.
The use of HIV-AIDS in this book is interesting. I've mentioned it before... but growing up in the 1980's came with three certainties... you would be offered/forced to do drugs, you would join or be the victim of a gang, and you would get AIDS. AIDS was the topic on many "very special" sitcom episodes, and was something that would be discussed pretty often in school... even at the elementary level. I'll give a bit of credit to DC for bringing it up here... even if it's given a fantastic twist. Even though this was not a Code-Approved book, I gotta wonder if transmission of AIDS via "real world" means was off-limits. If that's the case, I'll hand it to 'em for being creatively topical.
This is a New Format book... and while the paper is of better quality, I've come to find that it isn't every artist's "best friend". Often it appears, at least to me, that the colors come across flat... and the pencils feel, I dunno... almost incomplete. Maybe I've been trained to expect excessive linework, but it's only in New Format books that it really stands out to me. I guess what I'm trying to say is... Staton's work is done no favors by the Baxter paper.
Overall... is this book awful? Nah... I mean, don't get it twisted, this ain't great, but I'd say it gets a bit of an unfair shake online. I wouldn't say this is anything you need to rush out to read... maybe if you come across it in the quarter bin, give it a flip through... otherwise, it's completely skippable.
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