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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Justice Society of America #3 (June, 1991)
"Vengeance from the Stars! Chapter 3: Dead Air"
Writer - Len Strazewski
Penciller - Mike Parobeck
Inker - Rick Burchett
Letterer - Janice Chiang
Colorist - Tom Ziuko
Editors - Brian Augustyn & Mike Gold
Cover Price: $1.00
Had so much fun yesterday, I figure why not take another look at the 1991 Justice Society of America limited-series? I have a feeling this one is going to give all new meaning to "rings and arrows".
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We open... well, the same way we did last issue. Alan Scott is delivering the news of the intermittent blackouts via GBC news. He is more than a little bit irritated when the network's emergency back-up generators go on the fritz and they lose air. Like, I don't wanna say he goes full-on "we'll do it live!" but he does throw a little fit. Gotta wonder though, if there is a city-wide power outage, who is he hoping will even see the broadcast? I dunno. Anyhoo, the GBC staffers are then alerted to a bright light coming in from the window... and when they check it out, they find out the reason for the generators losing their juice... Sagittarius has struck!
And so, Alan slips into his office so he can "Lantern-up".
Outside, Sagittarius is in some sort of odd state of nirvana... just sucking up all the energy. Alan arouses the constellation construct with a caffeinated one of his own. Sag' doesn't appreciate being bothered while he, uh... feeds? So a fight is on.
In the alley down below we revisit Black Canary being walloped by the blackjack.
Then... the GBC staffers run right by shooing the nogoodniks, the kayoed Canary... and Solomon Grundy out of the way so they can shoot the Green Lantern/Sagittarius bout for the news. You couldn't ask for a more aloof group of geeks!
In the sky above, Lantern and Sagittarius continue their energized brawl. When Sag' goes to nyoink an arrow from his quiver, Alan recognizes the pose (and the design on his "outfit"), and identifies the baddie as the constellation Sagittarius.
We jump back to Ted Knight's Observatory, where our shadowy big bad is on the phone with the nogoodniks who kayoed the Canary. It's clear this is all connected... the baddie suggests coming at Green Lantern with wood... because that's his weakness. Ted, nearby in a wheelchair, promises that the Justice Society will still win the day.
Back in Gotham, Lantern manages to wrap Sagittarius up in a construct-straitjacket. And so, the archer transforms into a giant eagle... which, I didn't know he could do (I guess it has something to do with the Symbology... which I remain clueless on).
Alan ensnares the big bird in a construct cage... just long enough for Solomon Grundy to hurl a (wooden?) phone booth right at him!
Alan is smashed from behind by the booth, which messes with his concentration... dissipating the bird cage. The Sagittarius Eagle then sucks up the rest of the GBC generator juice.
The nogoodniks plop Alan down next to Canary... but that's not good enough for Grundy. He'd like to kill Green Lantern straight away. Thankfully, the Sagittarius Eagle has other ideas... and takes off with the heroes.
--
After revisiting this issue it's suddenly a little bit more clear as to why this hasn't (to my knowledge) been collected. Things happening concurrently in subsequent issues... might not make for the clearest trade-reading experience. Actually, considering the way DC Comics used to mutilate stories for trade collections back in the 1990's, I'm almost glad this didn't get collected! Could you imagine how this might've been reworked? What might've been omitted? Yikes!
I think this issue gave us a little bit more "meat" than last... though, it was largely also just a fight scene. We got some added "flavor" with the goofball GBC staffers, which was pretty cool. We also get a bit "more" from our shadowy big bad. All in all, I felt a bit more momentum this time around.
I think what a lot of folks will notice straight away is the JSA debut of Mike Parobeck. I gotta say, his talents were completely wasted on me the first time around. I really didn't go for the animated style... I think I felt like it came across as "cheap"... like Archie or something. Ehh, no accounting for an early-90's X-Men kid's tastes, right? In revisiting this, I've really found an appreciation for his work. It's just beautiful... and really makes this team stand out from everything else that was on the shelves. There's definitely a "retro" feeling here... but not in an "old fashioned" kinda way... ya know? It reminds me of old "pop-art" advertisements. The same way something like the Fallout games do.
Overall... this was a good time, and I'd even go so far as to say that it made me appreciate the issue that came before even more as well! Most definitely worth a read.
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Letters Page (courtesy of CompuServe on-line):
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Justice Society of America #2 (May, 1991)
"Vengeance from the Stars! Chapter Two: The Sack of Gotham"
Writer - Len Strazewski
Artist - Grant Miehm
Letterer - Janice Chiang
Colorist - Tom Ziuko
Editors - Mike Gold & Brian Augustyn
Cover Price: $1.00
Lookit that... our #Action100 endeavor is going so well, we can afford to take a day or two off from looking at Action Comics! At this point I wasn't expecting to be on schedule, much less ahead of it!
How's them for "famous last words"?
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We open with a report from GBC's Alan Scott, wherein he informs all of the Gothamites within earshot that there have been intermittent power outages throughout the city. Since we've already read the issue that comes before this, we know that these "outages" are most definitely not limited to Gotham City. We meet up with a crew of nogoodniks who figure, while the gettin' is good... they may as well loot! Unfortunately for them, the Canary's already on the case!
After a few pages of clunk-y fighting (hey, that's their sound effect, not mine!) she manages to kayo the baddies. Before she can take her leave, however, she overhears a news briefing about a robbery-in-progress at the Gotham Museum of History.
She arrives on the scene and finds an overturned police car. After helping an officer to his feet she enters... and comes across a very much dead security guard. Vowing to bring his killer(s) to justice, she heads into the Treasures of Ancient Egypt exhibit. Inside, a trio of wise guys are attempting to hoist the Crown of Cheops... Cheops is apparently how the Greeks referred to the Egyptian King, Khufu. Well, now we know.
Canary lunges in, and attacks with a butt-thump! Okay, it's more likely some sort of swinging kick, but c'mon... if that's not a butt-thump, I don't know what is. Then again, I'm really not sure what a "butt-thump" might be to begin with. Let's just move along.
Canary grabs the crown and manages to give the geeks the slip. As she admires the collected crown, the real threat of the issue lumbers into the scene... Solomon Grundy!
We shift scenes over to Ted Knight's Observatory, where he is still being held against his will by... somebody. The bad guy tosses a phony beard onto a desk... then picks up Ted's Star Rod. Heading outside, he points the Rod toward the stars... and summons himself another constellation. This time, Sagittarius!
Back in Gotham, Canary and Grundy have one heckuva "go round". They both get their "licks" in, and the advantage shifts back and forth. The struggle continues until Canary manages to monkey-flip Grundy out a window and into the alley down below.
She follows him down... and it looks like Solly might've been playin' possum! He grabs her and tosses her into a wall. He goes to mount her, however, she manages to grab a pair of garbage can lids... and she pulls the ol' "cymbal" crash maneuver.
At the point, more police have shown up on the scene... and they open fire at Grundy. This is, of course... futile. He flips their car just as he (presumably) did the other. He is then distracted by a light from above... then again, so is Dinah. She's preoccupied long enough to be beaned in the brain by a blackjack.
We wrap up by seeing what was so distracting up above... why, it's Green Lantern in the heat of battle with Sagittarius!
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This was... a fight scene. I quite enjoyed it, but at the end of the day... it was still a fight scene.
The only reason that might be a problem is... I mean, what can one really say about a fight scene? It was well done. Howzat for an "analysis" segment?
I struggle with finding a way to really "heap praise" on this... however, I also struggle to come up with even a single complaint. I suppose we could look at that in and of itself as a "net positive" and move along.
I feel like this series (so far) is a case of... If you already know and care about these characters, you're going to really dig this. If you have no investment in these characters, this won't rock your socks... and it probably won't change your mind. It's been forever-ish since I last read this series to completion... so, my opinion may change on that.
Though, I must say... if this was the first JSA I ever tried to read, I don't think I'd come back for the next issue... there just isn't enough there. I mean, that's a pretty "ehh" statement.. but I'd definitely recommend the later JSA series as a "gateway book". I feel like, after reading that, you'll likely have a greater appreciation for this run.
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(Not the) Letters Page:
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Action Comics #827 (July, 2005)
"Strange Attractions, Part One"
Writer - Gail Simone
Penciller - John Byrne
Inker - Nelson DeCastro
Colorist - Guy Major
Letterer - Pat Brosseau
Associate Editor - Tom Palmer, Jr.
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $2.50
For today's piece we're going to cover a book from that really weird time back in the mid-2000's where John Byrne started getting along with DC Comics again! I know it's crazy, but it's true.
I was kinda on the "outs" with DC around this time... really wasn't picking up much. Actually really wasn't picking up much in the way of comics, period. Felt like we were learning that Byrne was taking over another book like every day... though, in reality it was "only" like 3-4 of 'em. I guess we can politely say that his work was a "mixed bag" at this time... though, I could bet that his take on the Doom Patrol is probably at least a couple of folks' definitive take.
Anyhoo... let's take a look and see how his Superman Homecoming went.
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We open in Metropolis... duh. A traffic copter flies overhead, sharing the information of the evening's commute with the populace... and a strange cloaked woman approaches the retired superhero, Aura to inform her that she's a fan... and also, that she has similar powers. She introduces herself as "Repulse" and to prove that she's just as magnetic... she drops that traffic copter right on top of her.
We shift scenes to an African village where some bad dudes are threatening the Wise Mother who oversees it. They attempt to railroad her... unfortunately for them, she's got some back-up in the form of Superman. He smashes their vehicles and crumples their weapons... and promises the tiny tribe that they won't be back to bother them anytime soon.
Wise Mother refers to Superman as Moja Ini Chapa Nyumba, which translates to "One Heart, Many Homes"... though, if you run it through Google Translate... it means "One Liver Print House". Either way, he's touched. He even leaves his cape with them, so anybody who might do them harm knows just what they're messing with.
Superman zooms back to Metropolis to deliver Lois some goodies he'd picked up while he was "out". I know a lot of us bag on Byrne's post-1980's work... but he still has a really good Lois here.
Anyhoo, she has to get ready to head into work... a new shutterbug named Willis is picking her up to take her in. Clark remains at home... where he can work on his next novel... which from the looks of it, looks kind of like an article for the Planet. "His" writing here is also pretty lame... it's got that thing we all learned in Junior High where you start with something poignant... write a paragraph or two... then repeat the poignant phrase verbatim for emphasis. Not to be confused with rewriting your thesis... this is far too cute for that.
We jump over to the Planet, where Perry is riding Jimmy for not being out taking snaps. Turns out that it's currently "raining cars"... and the Chief would really appreciate some photos. Just then... a car lands right on the newsroom floor!
Jimmy peeks outside and sees... Doctor Polaris! S'funny... my first "Polaris" in comics was Lorna Dane from the X-Books... and so I just can't see the name as fitting a man. No matter how many times I see "the Doc", I still take a pause when it hits me that his name is "Polaris". Anyhoo... he's in Centennial Park... and he's really freaked out.
We can see that he's facing off with Repulse from earlier... she's the cause of the torrential car-storm.
After beating him up for a bit, Repulse attempts to choke him out with some cables. Luckily, Superman happens by and nyoinks Polaris away. Dude is frantic, explaining everything that Repulse has done... including nearly killing Aura. So, if you were worried about a former "Raver", you can breathe a sigh of relief... or disinterest.
As they chat, Superman is a bit incredulous. His attention is drawn behind him... where he is blinded by a flash of light, courtesy of Repulse.
He regains his druthers (but not his vision)... scoops Doc Polaris in his arms, and flees the scene. He takes him to the top of a nearby bridge where he informs him that... Repulse does not exist! It's all in the Doc's head, maaaaaaaan. With that, the Repulse "alter" appears to rear its head inside Polaris... and he wallops Superman with a blast.
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Ehh.
This was okay... really didn't do much for me though. As far as "jumping on points" go, this was decent enough. It's a solid story opener for the decompressed era... but not all that exciting.
The idea of Polaris having an "alter", if that's even what this is, is pretty neat. Total disclosure, I don't think I've ever read this run before... so, I can't speak to where this is headed. For all I know, "Repulse" might just be introduced as a real living and breathing humanoid. Who knows?
Superman protecting the African village was a good enough scene... but nothing we haven't seen before. Not that everything has to be new and novel... but, if we're trying to set a tone for this "all-new" run on Superman... there were probably more creative ways of doing that. Then again, what do I know... maybe this wasn't supposed to be a "brand new day" for the character. Again, it didn't have to be. At least it led to Clark writing that really neat report for his 8th Grade English class though... right?
The Return of Byrne is... well, it's okay. Feels kind of half-hearted... which might just be the perfect descriptor for this issue as a whole. Non-committal... non-socks rocking... just kinda "there".
Overall... I hate to be all "ehh" but, it's really all I can muster. Perhaps if I were to continue along, I might retroactively appreciate this more... but, I mean... aren't we, as comic fans, like really tired of that kind of mindset? I really don't wanna go off on a tangent... but, these are still periodicals, right? Shouldn't we get some measure of satisfaction every time we plop a few bucks down on our local shop's counter?
Oh well... I'll just curb it here, lest I go on for days and lose the plot (even more than I already have!). I'm feel like this issue will have a certain appeal for folks... so, I guess this is one'a dem "your mileage may vary" books. For your convenience, this bugger's available digitally.
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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.
