Action Comics #1 (June, 1938)
"The Coming of Superman"
"The A-G Gang"
"The Mystery of the Freight Train Robberies"
"South Sea Strategy"
"Sticky-Mitt Stimson"
"It's the Year 1271..."
"The Light Heavyweight Championship"
"The International Jewel Thief"
"Murder in England"
Writers - Jerry Siegel, Homer Fleming, Fred Guardineer, Captain Frank Thomas, Russell Cole, Gardner Fox, Ken Fitch
Artists - Joe Shuster, Homer Fleming, Fred Guardineer, Russell Cole, Sven Elven, Will Ely, Bernard Baily
Hey, we made it!
Happy Action Comics #1000 day... and the final day of our #Action100 Endeavor. With today's post, we will have officially discussed one-tenth of Action Comics' 80 year run!
I thought long and hard about what book to cover to commemorate the event... and first thought about just breaking protocol and discussing the book that's coming out today... but, let's face it... you're likely going to see, read, and hear skatey-eight hundred different reviews and impressions of Action Comics #1000 today, tomorrow and in the near future.
Figured I'd give y'all a break, and still sorta "break protocol" by going alllllll the way back to the start and discussing a reprint of Action Comics #1!
This is the first straight reprint that we'll be discussing... which actually gave me pause. Wasn't sure what (year) to put in the title (these are the things I worry about...). Figured I should make it easier on everyone by just putting 1938.
This is a, according to the indicia, "Loot Crate Edition"... which I've been seeing pop up more and more in the 50-cent bins of my area. Lends further credence to my theory that very few of those who indulge in comics-flavored "loot nerd geek fanboy box cube crates" actually give half-a-damn about comic books. I'm sure they didn't trade in their "superexclusive" Funko Pop for some used-bookstore in-store credit. I suppose that's a kvetch for a whole 'nother time... today's for celebrating!
And so... as I affix, for the final time, our "Action 100" icon... let's jump back in time 80 years to the day!
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We open with the (very) quick and dirty Superman origin... complete with a "scientific explanation" of his powers. We then jump right on into the action. Superman rescues a damsel, but hasn't the time to untie her... because he needs to speak with the Governor. The Guv's butler refuses to let him in... so, he smashes down the door.
He makes his way upstairs, and finds that the Governor's bedroom door is made of solid steel... a common build-option back in the late-1930's. Superman tears the door open and chats up the Guv about an innocent woman about to be put to death. The Butler then pulls a gun... and fires! The bullets bounce right off of our man's chest.
Everything ends up hunky-dory... the innocent woman goes free. The following morning, mild-mannered reporter, Clark Kent takes a look at the latest edition of The Daily Star. He's happy to see that his alter-ego didn't get a mention in the Curry case. We briefly pop in on the Governor... who isn't so sure about the city's new vigilante.
At The Daily Star, Kent is called into the office of... maybe Perry White? Anyhoo, he's given the Superman assignment. As he leaves, he's informed of a wife-beating in progress. And so, Superman takes care of the domestic abuser.
Later, we meet Lois Lane. Clark asks her out for a date... and she's down with it. That night as they dance, a mook named Butch tries to "cut in". Clark plays up his mild-mannered meekness, and steps aside. Lois, however, ain't feelin' it... and she stomps off.
Butch decides to give chase to Lois' cab... and runs it off the road! Wow, dude's persistent, I'll give him that. Unfortunately for him, Superman's already on the case.
He chases the car down before doing something... ya know, iconic.
The next day, Clark apologizes to Lois... but she doesn't want to hear it. He's called into the office and is given an assignment in San Monte, South America. He instead decides to go to Washington, D.C.
In D.C., we see a Senator Barrows approached by a man who might as well be wearing a sign that reads "Villain" around his neck. The Senator tells the baddie to back off... because they cannot be seen together in public. Superman listens in, and gets the scoop.
We wrap up with Superman grabbing the villain-looking fellow, and attempting to scare him straight. Then... the story just ends!
We next meet Chuck Dawson... son of the late Charles Dawson, who owned the Circle-D Ranch.
The Chuckster has decided to follow up and track down the 4-G Ranch Gang (or maybe it's the A-G Gang?) responsible for his father's death. We jump right on in, with Chuck arriving in town... and immediately getting into a fight with a bully. Chuck wallops him and sends him packin'.
The Town Sheriff informs Chuck that they "ain't wantin' any trouble" and suggests he "mosey along". No can do, lawman... Chuck's on a mission. Meanwhile the owner of the 4-G, John Burwell learns of our man's arrival... and so, he puts "Trigger" Holt and Butch (probably not the same Butch as in the last story... but I've been wrong before!) on the murderous job of putting poor Chuck down.
The pair track Chuck to a local waterin' hole... but have to wait for him to finish eating. Their boss insisted that this "look like an accident". And so, after Chuck drops the feed-bag, he is "bumped into" by... I think Trigger.
Trigger draws his gun, but he is no match for Chuck. He's disarmed and jiu-jitsu tossed before he even knows what hit him. From around the corner, Butch peeks his little head out and fires a shot right into Chuck's skull.
Fortunately (for Chuck) the bullet just grazed his scalp. He wakes up later on in a jail cell. He then, get this, tells the guard that he needs to tell him a secret... and when he draws near, Chuck chokes him out and steals his pistol! I don't even think Barney Fife would've fallen for that!
We leave ol' Chuck as he's about to leave the jail... but hears footsteps in the adjoining office. My heart can hardly stand it!
Our next story is... probably the most boring one this issue (and that's saying something!) This is the Zatara story, and his first appearance. Here, Zatara is tipped off by his officer friend, Brady that numerous attempts have been made for a great train robbery... and so, he assembles his crew of weirdos to investigate.
Atop the moving train, the foursome find themselves taking on gunfire... one of the detectives gets hit, to which, Zatara magiks up the cutest little first-aid kit. Just then, his pal Brady is tossed from the car below... and Zee is taken unawares by the villainous "Tigress". She shoves him off the train, however, he uses his magical talent to make it so he gingerly floats to the soft underbrush below. "Soft underbrush"? Is that a thing? I suppose it's softer than concrete... more thorns though.
The State Police arrive to investigate... and they inform our magic man that all evidence point to buddy Brady being crooked. So, Zatara now has to not only solve the case, but absolve his pal. He looks at the car that Brady was tossed from and notices that it has been marked with a chalk (X). He has... a plan.
He orders all of the valuables on the train be evenly distributed among the cars... then goes and backwards-talks some thugs into finding the Tigress.
Tigress, however, is just nearby... like literally right behind him. She pistol-whips him, breaking his psychic control over the mooks... then binds his wrists and ankles until she can take him where he wants to dispose of him.
And so at the next stop, they bring Zatara to a shack... douse the place in kerosene... and set it ablaze. I mean, I appreciate the theatrics, but wouldn't a single-bullet have done the trick? It should come as a shock to absolutely nobody (except Tigress) that Zatara manages to escape.
Our man then summons his faithful companion, Tong... who chokes out a Train Inspector that seems far too happy that Zatara very likely just burnt to death. He is kayoed, and Tong spirits him away to give the police the facts about what's really going on here.
From here, we get another train-top shoot out... and the crooks begin unloading boxes of valuables, tossing them to the ground below where some other crooks can snatch 'em up. Then Tigress arrives... and Zatara, get this, changes her gun into a banana! The comic actually says he changes it to a "bullet", but c'mon... that's a banana and we all know it.
By this point, the Train Inspector spilled the beans to the police... and the bad guys (minus Tigress) are arrested. Oh yeah, in case any of us cared... Brady's name was cleared as well. Woof.
Next... a text-story! Nobody reads these, but we'll include it for completionists' sake.
Then, Sticky-Mitt Stimson decides he's going to steal some apples. While the fruit vendor is preoccupied watching a beeg airplane overhead, he makes his move. Unfortunately for him, he worked too slow.
The Vendor calls out to the police... and a chase is on. Ol' Sticky makes his way to... a field full of pipes? It's like a Double Dare event in here. This bamboozles the officer long enough for him to get away.
Sticky sneaks into a construction site... and changes into some "laborer's clothes", which apparently comes complete with standard-issue "Laborer's Mustache". Looks like he's given the cop the slip.
He then runs right into a group of policemen... but... um, they don't recognize him and let him go? I mean, what's the point of this? Even as a "gag", this is pretty lousy.
Oh boy, we're not done yet... next stop, Marco Polo (circa 1271). Polo and Company receive word from the Pope that he would like an audience. They are sent East to meet with the Khan of Tartary, in order to impart their wisdom and culture onto his people. What could possibly go wrong?
On the way, they are hailed by an aggressive fleet of ships... and many of Polo's men are killed in the skirmish. After a discussion with his peers, they decide to press on.
They come ashore, and travel through the desert for three months before arriving at the Port of Dora. They then take a final boat ride to Bunder-Abbas (which is on the Southern Coast of Iran). There, they meet with a man called Niko, who they will caravan with further inland. Niko's men are wary, however... since they're about to enter the Karghar Pass, which is full of wild men.
Polo offers everyone handfuls of silver... which appears to do the trick. We conclude this tale with Polo's men about to be taken unawares by the bandits... who look to topple large stones onto the caravan.
Next story... yup, there's still more... stars "Pep" Morgan, top contender for Sailor Sorenson's Light Heavyweight Boxing Championship. We jump right into the ring, where Pep just took a grazing shot to the eye... which renders him temporarily blind! He responds by wildly swinging at his opponent... and manages to land a knockout blow! Turns out he was blinded by a special liniment on Sailor's gloves by his manager Doc Lowry.
Time passes, and we learn that Doc has a new charge in the form of the wild bushman known as "Boomerang". Pep and his manager "Pop" (or maybe it's his father/manager) decide to watch the bushman's bout against O'Rourke... because the winner will receive a match with the champ. The bushman makes light work of O'Rourke.
Which takes us to the "main event", Boomerang challenges Pep Morgan for the Light Heavyweight Title. Early on, Pep takes a pop to the head... leaving him groggy and dizzy. Despite this, he manages to land a kayo blow the following round... and it is revealed that Doc Lowry stuck... get this... hypodermic needles into the bushman's glove. He's arrested, and everything's fine.
Annnnnd, there's more. Scoop Scanlon, Five Star Reporter! Scoop and his photographer, the sleepy-eyed (all the best shutterbugs are!) Rusty James are following up on a tip about a jewel thief (named Arnold) arriving in town. They watch him deboard a train... and decide to follow him. They learn that Arnold's guards are armed with Tommy Guns... and so, he decides the smartest thing to do would be to leap onto them.
The baddies start rat-a-tatting at him, which gets the attention of some nearby officers... and before we know it, a chase is on. Worth noting that sleepy-eyed Rusty has stowed away on the spare tire of Arnold's car.
From here we get some hot-traffic action... like seriously, it's just a driving scene where they try to avoid hitting a moving truck. Then, Arnold pulls over... and is arrested. It's later revealed that the whole time Rusty James was holding on, he was jabbing holes in Arnold's gas tank... wonk wonk wonkkkk.
In our final... yes, final... story, we meet Tex Thomson. Wow, we get two, count'em... two western-ish stories today! We open with Tex being approached by a boy named Bob. For whatever reason, Bob wants to walk with him. Okay. As they walk, they stumble across a dead body!
Tex sends the boy to fetch the police... at which time, a woman passes by. She and Tex chat for a bit before she notices the corpse. She, of course, suggests that Tex is a murderer. A murderer of joy, perhaps... but he sure didn't kill that man.
The Sheriff arrives on the scene, and the gal is freaking out about Tex killing a man. The Sheriff goes to grab Tex to take him in for questioning... which our man responds to with a punch to the face. That's prove yer innocence, I tell ya what! He then runs off like the lily-livered varmint he is.
Well, not really... he just runs off to hide so he can see what happens next. What he sees is, the lady smiling... as though she's gotten away with something. He follows her to a secluded shack... and waits.
Inside, we can see that Bob has been captured by the baddies. Later that night, Tex rescues him... it's really just that easy.
Just as quick as he's rescued, however, he's captured again. Tex runs interference and even busts out that wild-west martial art jiu-jitsu to regain the advantage.
Off to the side, the lady and the big bad spend far too much time concocting a plan to kill Tex "in self-defense" (does it even matter at this point? You're living in a shack deep in the mountains... just kill the man already).
Elsewhere, Bobby runs into a girl named Betty... and asks her to get the Sheriff. This poor girl seems to be afflicted with poor-perspective-itis... a very common malady in the old west.
Bobby returns to the fight... for whatever reason. Betty gets the Sheriff, who has recovered from Tex's kayo punch... then the police arrive to arrest the bad guys. That's like four stories this issue that ended that way! We (finally/thankfully) wrap up with Tex being told that he's "swell". I disagree, but we'll allow it.
--
Well... that was rather a slog, wun't it?
We've already talked about the Golden Age Superman origin here... in fact, Secret Origins #1 was our first anniversary piece last January. This was, unsurprisingly, more or less the same exact story as the second half of that issue... even down to the "A Life Hangs in the Balance" clock in the corner of some panels.
Honestly, if I were to recommend one over the other... as far as for story, I'd tell ya to go with Secret Origins every time. There, you'd get a blend of Kryptonian history along with the actual first adventure... also, no backups!
Because, lemme tell ya... these backups... woof.
Now, I'm sure back in the mid 1930's nobody was expecting some dude in his 30's to be "reviewing" these 80 years later... so, it's hard to really "analyze" them. But, ay yai yai, this was a slog... a true endurance test. By the time I'd gotten to Marco freaking Polo, I was about spent. I'll say this much, you really got a bang for your dime back in 1938!
I considered for a second just covering the Superman feature and leaving the rest of the stories out completely... buuuuuuut, that's just not how we operate here. We're building a resource, or something...
These stories... well, I don't wanna be too negative, so I'll just say they "weren't for me". It actually took me several tries over the past couple of weeks to finally get through the whole thing. Suddenly covering an issue of Action Comics Weekly seems possible (and preferable)!
The backups... while they overstayed their welcome, still feel like they didn't have adequate time to "breathe". They all seemed to have these sudden endings. They'd just build and build and then... ya know, wrap up real convenient and quick. I think four of them ended with the police just arresting a guy/group of guys... who turned themselves over peaceably! How weird.
Overall... I'd say if you come across this (reprint, naturally) in the wild... and it's not too crazily overpriced (I've actually seen this Loot Crate version at the shop for $40)... I'd say grab it for the novelty. They did a really good job with it. Of course, if you happen across an actual first printing of Action Comics #1... and have a few hundred-thou to spare... well, maybe just buy a house or something. This issue is available digitally... for a buck.
And with that... we successfully conclude our #Action100 endeavor. I had fun with it... though, at times it proved to be quite the chore. I want to thank you all for coming along with me for the ride.
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Et-Cetera:
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Green Lantern (vol.5) #21 (August, 2013)
"Dark Days Ahead"
Writer - Robert Venditti
Penciller - Billy Tan
Inker - Richard Friend
Colorists - Alex Sinclair & Tony Avina
Letterer - Dave Sharpe
Associate Editor - Chris Conroy
Group Editor - Matt Idelson
Cover Price: $2.99
Following Flashpoint, it's no secret that I whittled down my pull-list a great deal. Among those dropped were all of the Lantern books. I just couldn't jump into four new titles. I stayed away for the first year and change... but then, found myself oddly curious about the direction the books might have gone.
I decided that I'd jump back in at the next "jumping on" point... which just happened to be the issue we're going to look at today. Geoff Johns was stepping away... and we would be getting a fresh(ish) start... and hopefully a little less of the monthly crossover grind!
So, let's take a look at how the post-Johns era of Green Lantern started...
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We open with the Corps on the run. They're fighting off... I wanna say Relic, and their rings are very nearly out of juice. As they begin to perish one by one, Hal and John order them to double back to the Central Power Battery for a recharge. Unfortunately for them, even that battery is dead!
That was "then"... so we shift into the "now", where Hal is popping in for a visit with his sorta-kinda girlfriend, Carol Ferris. It's more of the same from the two of them... do they love each other? Are they good for each other? Stuff like that. Hal's cool with whatever, but Carol ain't sure. So, it's basically "Tuesday" for them. Before they can come to any sort of resolution, Hal is called away to Oa by the Guardians.
Upon arrival, Hal is offered... or given (it doesn't seem like he has much of a choice here) a promotion... he is now the leader of the Green Lantern Corps. I mean, he basically has been for a half-century anyway... might as well push the paperwork and make it official. Kyle and Hal discuss all the reasons why this is a terrible idea... but the blue boys ain't hearing it.
Later, Hal meets up with his his new Protocol Officer, Kilowog. Together they look at all of the orphaned Lantern rings... the rings of "the fallen". Hal decides, that in his first official move as leader, to send the rings out to find new owners. Kilowog isn't so sure this is the best idea.
Just then... the see a whole lotta orange on the horizon. Larfleeze is incoming! It would appear he wants all of those rings.
Hal assembles the Corps and takes the fight to the greedy beast. Larfleeze and his construct army prove to be a pretty tough fight for Hal and the Gang... but, not to worry, his new ring-bearers should be here annnnnnny minute. Well, don't look now but here they are. Yikes.
--
Not a bad start to the post-Johns world.
There isn't a whole lot "new" here, outside of Hal officially becoming the leader of the Corps. Feels like one of those "We can't give you a raise, but here's a new title" propositions so many of us have faced in our professional lives. New responsibilities, and... oh yeah, all of your current workload. No raise, but... your new business cards will arrive in 6-8 weeks.
I really liked the scene where Hal and Kyle talk about what a bad idea this all is. You'd figure, with how old the Guardians of the Universe are, the whole Parallax mess must feel like it happened like two weeks ago. Weird that they'd forget... or choose not to remember that. I mean, John Stewart... a trained field leader... is like right there. Why choose Hal instead of him?
Well, I guess Hal is still the star of the book... so, whattayagonnado? His impetuous ring-slinging in hopes of rebuilding the Corps feels in-line with his character... definitely something he would do before thinking of the ramifications. It's no surprise that all of the pretty shiny rings might gain the attention of Larfleeze... and really, he is as good a baddie as any for Hal's first time out as Corps Leader.
The Hal and Carol scene felt... a bit tacked on. I mean, it's always the same song and dance with these two... and didn't really feel necessary. I suppose it was as good a bridging scene as any... but I wish it would have added something new to the dynamic. It's just more of the same from their dysfunctional romance.
Overall... not a bad start. Decompressed, however, things do actually occur. The art is pretty good, however, a bit scratchy at times. Tan's work evokes a bit of the 90's line-heavy aesthetic that hasn't really aged well to me. I'd say this is worth a look... after all, back in 2013, I did come back for the next issue, and have been back "all-in" with the Lanterns ever since.
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Channel-52!
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Action Comics #806 (October, 2003)
"Hungry Ghost, Part One: Blood, Broads and Bushido"
Writer - Joe Kelly
Penciller - Pascual Ferry
Inker - Cam Smith
Guest Art - Karl Kerschl
Colorist - Guy Major
Letters - Comicraft
Associate Editor - Tom Palmer, Jr.
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $2.25
You see that on the horizon?
That be the finish line for our #Action100 Endeavor, because, dear reader, we are in the "home stretch". Heck, we've already lapped the "home stretch" as today we are about to begin the, a-hem, penultimate installment!
That's right... this is our 99th discussion of Action Comics... and, perhaps most shockingly... we're right on time!
Barring my being hit by a bus, our 100th discussion will be this Wednesday... April 18th, the 80th Anniversary of Superman and the release date of Action Comics #1000!
Now let's learn some street magic, yo.
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We open in the gentrified Suicide Slum. Remember this is "City of Tomorrow/Y2K"Metropolis... so even the worst parts of town have a neat hi-tech sheen to 'em. In one of the apartments is Traci 13... or Girl 13... or Girl¹³... who knows. Anyhoo, she's chatting with, I wanna say her father, about what she's been up to since arriving in Metropolis. She's met Superboy... and, well, that's about it. Worth mentioning she has a large iguana named Leroy... and very odd undergarments. She is advised to ixnay her agicmay... and maybe get a job.
We follow her around town as she goes about her morning (I think it's morning) routine. While out she overhears a couple of passionate sports fans talking about their favorite team. This appears to annoy her greatly, so she wriggles her nose and forces them to kiss. That's pretty mature.
Suddenly screams fill the air... Traci turns around to see what's up and finds Superman splatted into the ground, with a spear run through his chest! She rushes over to check on him, and magicks up a green whirlwind to whisk them to the safety of the underground.
We shift scenes to Second-Lady Lana Lang... is that what we call the Vice-President's Wife? Second-Lady? I suppose I could Google it, but I don't want to find out that that's not what we call them. Anyhoo, she's hunting for an apartment in Metropolis... which she claims will be used for "retreats" for her "Foundation". Lois-on-the-spot smelled news, and so, she's there too. Worth noting, Lois looks like she miiiiight be 16 here.
Lois knows there must be more to this story than that, and decides to pry as best she can. Lana finally lets it slip that she and Pete are getting a divorce. She then requests that it be kept "off the record".
We shift scenes again... this time to John Henry Irons' Steelworks. This is post-"Our Worlds At War", so the man himself is dead... for now. We join his niece Natasha, who is chizzatting with her rewizzired rizzobot Kelex. It's pretty cringy stuff here... and since this was writting in the early 2000's, I'm not sure much of it is meant to be ironic.
Kelex rizzeccomends that Natasha try to pick up her Uncle's hammer... which she is surprised to learn she is able to do! The hammer than proceeds to speak... letting out a "Hammer Time", which makes her cringe just as hard as I've been cringing these last two pages!'
We shift scenes over to The Daily Planet where Jubilee considers hitting "send" on the Lana Lang/Pete Ross article. Wait... that's not Jubilee... that's Lois! I'm tellin' ya, this could be any high school intern! Anyhoo, she thinks back to a chat she had with Clark in bed... thankfully, she looks "of age" in the flashback... and decides that she's going to publish.
And so, we check back in with Lana... whose beans have just been spilled. She is greatly displeased, and is trying to spin the story best she can.
Suddenly, Traci 13 and Superman appear at her (Lana's) feet. Traci didn't know where else to go... and since she saw Superman and Lana on the news, figured this might be her best bet. She also needs nutmeg... and since Lana is in full Bree Vandecamp mode here, Traci figures she just might have some.
Back to the Steelworks, and the Hammer is still reading John Henry's recorded message to Natasha. He wants her to go to college, become a doctor or lawyer... anything but a superhero. He also knows her well enough that she'll probably try her hand at heroing anyway. And so, he's created something special for her.
Back at Lana's, Traci 13 is trying to get into Superman's head to see who or what put him in such a state. We hop into a flashback... Superman is taking care of a group of ninja-flavored nogoodniks. When the dust settles, he saves a woman who is about to be garroted... only for her to slump to the ground anyway. This distraction proves to be enough for Gaki, a "hungry ghost" to impale him with her staff.
We wrap up with Natasha Irons in her brand new Steel costume arriving... and insisting that Traci 13 back the eff off.
--
Well... this was, uh, weird... right?
I suppose we should just addrizzess the elephizzant in the rizzoom right off the bizzat. There was some scarily-cringy dialogue in here... and the thing of it is, I'm not sure if it's meant to be! I mean, if this book were to come out today... then, yeah... this is definitely "for the laughs". Back in 2003, though? I'm not so sure. I really wish I could remember how I "received" this issue back when it first released.
Another thing worth mentioning (again)... man, did Lois look young here. I swear I thought that was Jubilee in the Daily Planet scene... complete with bubble gum! That's gotta be one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to shared-universe storytelling... lack of consistency in character appearance. Anything from hair length to body type... when the characters drastically change in appearance (and back again) from chapter-to-chapter, it just bugs the hell out of me. I know Lois didn't look like a teenager in all of the books at this time. Then again, by the turn of the century, character bibles and "style sheets" were probably already considered a passe relic.
It seems like this is kind of a throwaway story... doesn't quite feel like it belongs in Action Comics. Though, when I look at the last page of the book, there's an advertisement for the launch of Superman/Batman... which is clearly where all of the "important" things are going to be happening for the next little while. I suppose that allowed the regular "Super Team" to flex their storytelling muscles a bit... and explore not-so Super-centric story threads. That's fair enough, I suppose.
Overall... this is a weird one to recommend. Despite the characters not being completely "on model", the art here is pretty great. If you're in the mood for a Superman-flavored story that isn't necessarily about Superman, this might just be worth a shot.
That's it for today... but remember to check back Wednesday (4/18) when we finally cross the #Action100 finish line!
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Green Lantern (vol.3) #118 (November, 1999)
"Women"
Writer - Ron Marz
Penciller - Darryl Banks
Inker - Anibal Rodriguez
Color & Separations - Rob Schwager
Letterers - Chris Eliopoulos
Assistant Editor - Harvey Richards
Editor - Kevin Dooley
Cover Price: $1.99
Just love this cover... I mean, look at Kyle's face as he tries to hold Donna and Jade apart! That's kinda the very definition of an s-eating grin, ain't it? It's like we can almost read his mind here.
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We open with Kyle in fantasy mode... making out with his ex-girlfriend, Donna Troy. In reality he's at a showing of his work at an art gallery with his current girlfriend Jade. Ya see, Donna decided to attend too, and the very sight of her got our Mr. Rayner's old juices flowin'. Jenny's not at all pleased, as you might imagine... not so much that Donna decided to show up, but for the fact that she knows Kyle's heart "skipped a beat" when he saw her. Kyle claims he needs "closure" with Donna... so Jenny storms out.
Donna and Kyle then reconnect... and it's rather awkward, for reasons we're about to go into. They run out of small-talk with the quickness... again, for reasons we're about to go into.
Donna seductively poses and recalls her time as a hero... which is a sorta clunky way to drop exposition, but it works in a pinch for folks unfamiliar with her character and story. She mentions having blamed herself for the death of her ex-husband T-Long and son Robert.
As they walk through the Village, Kyle finds a book of Anton Corbijn (a Dutch Photographer) photos that he'd wanted to get Donna for her birthday while they were together. He laughs about the lengths he went to to try and procure it... which is something that Donna has no recollection of.
Ya see, here's the thing... after a run-in with Dark Angel, Donna was stripped of all of her memories. The life she's living now is based on a reconstruction of Donna Troy from Wally West's memories. Kyle and Wally aren't exactly the best of buds here... so it's not really any surprise that the Kyle and Donna relationship might've gotten the short shrift when it came to the reconstruction info-dump.
Kyle attempts to give her the quick and dirty on their relationship... which kinda smells of desperation. It's as though he isn't sure what he wants. Does he want Donna back? Does Donna even want to be back? After all, she walked out on him. Is he happy with Jade? Is there any way he can have both? What I'm trying to say is, we've got quite the konflicted Kyle.
Donna then tells Kyle that he's not the only one who "moved on", since she's now knockin' boots with Roy "Speedy" "Arsenal" Harper. As you might imagine, this displeases Kyle greatly. To which, Donna throws Jenny in his face. This is such a weird scene... I mean, it's pretty great because it's so confusing. It's as though both Donna and Kyle are dealing with all of these unexpected bubbled up emotions... and their only "release" is to get mad at one another.
Well, maybe that's not their only release.
When Kyle asks if the kiss stirred any old memories, Donna drops the final insult with a "no". Donna suggests that the kiss was a mistake and suggests Kyle go find Jenny.
And so, Kyle proceeds to wander the streets... alone. This is where the Day of Judgment tie-in occurs. If you recall, Kyle had a brief run-in with Enchantress during the opening chapter. Well, here it is again... in long-form. For brevity's sake... they fight a bit, Kyle kvetches about getting home to his girlfriend... and Enchantress lets it slip that the End of the World is coming.
We wrap up back at Kyle and Jenny's apartment... where Jenny is waiting for her boyfriend to return. When he doesn't, she leaves him a note... and leaves.
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What a great issue... well, at least until the Day of Judgment stuff snuck in and ate up the last third of it.
I wanna talk about just how real the Donna and Kyle stuff felt... because, if we strip away the power rings and Gods and Dark Angels... we get some very human interaction here. Least I think so.
We have a couple of confused young people... neither really knows what they're looking for... or if they're happy with what they have. I mean, let's look at Kyle. Donna walks out on him... he meets and falls for Jade, they shack up... then Donna briefly strolls back in to his life, and he's left questioning everything. It looks like he's all but ready to drop Jade and run back to Donna... if only she were available.
Because, she's with Roy. This is where it gets even more interesting. There's this odd passive-aggressive repartee here... Kyle wonders why she bothered to show up if she was already spoken for... not that their "getting back together" was ever really back on the table. Donna's defenses then kick in, and she calls Kyle out for shacking up with Jenny... when, really... she has no right to say anything about Kyle "moving on". She's the one that ended things.
It's this intensity... this weird, irrational intensity between the two that makes this such an incredible scene. All of these emotions bubbling to the surface... all of this regret... all of this confusion. It's really just so well done. They're mad at each other... but they're really grasping for reasons to be mad. I think we've all been there. Halfway through every sentence you blurt out, you ponder why you're even speaking at all. All you're doing is making things worse...
... or just dragging it out longer. Ya see, when we opened this story, the watchword was "closure". Kyle wanted closure with Donna due to the weird way their relationship broke down. Perhaps neither Kyle nor Donna is/was quite ready to "tie a bow" on their relationship. Closure... when you think about it, can be as drawn out a process as you allow for it to be. You can literally be in perpetual closure for the rest of your life, without actually "tying that bow".
I feel like Donna and Kyle might not have been ready to put their baggage behind them at this point. I mean, I'm no expert, but a romantic and passionate kiss (in the rain, even!) doesn't really say "we're done" to me.
But really, you guys... this was one hell of an issue, Marz and Banks deliver yet again... but then, Day of Judgment. We've already discussed that event in long-form... so, you can get my thoughts on it elsewhere on the blog. Basically, it didn't rock my socks... but I also can't get mad at it. In this issue though? It was most unwelcome. I would have loved another half-dozen pages of Kyle and Donna hashing it out... but, the crossover gods demanded the post-staples sacrifice... and unfortunately, they got it!
Overall... I'd say, even in spite of the shoe-horned crossover, this was an amazing issue... and one I would highly recommend. For your convenience, this bugger is available digitally.
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I thought long and hard about what book to cover to commemorate the event... and first thought about just breaking protocol and discussing the book that's coming out today... but, let's face it... you're likely going to see, read, and hear skatey-eight hundred different reviews and impressions of Action Comics #1000 today, tomorrow and in the near future.
