Flash (vol.2) #73 (1993)

Flash (vol.2) #73 (February, 1993)
"One Perfect Gift"
Story - Mark Waid
Pencils - Greg LaRocque
Inks - Roy Richardson
Letters - Tim Harkins
Colors - Matt Hollingsworth
Assistant Editor - Ruben Diaz
Editor - Brian Augustyn
Cover Price: $1.25

Can ya believe it?  It's already time to kick off our (third annual!) Twelve Days of Christmas on Infinite Earths extravaganza!  Just another reminder of how quickly time passes when y'ain't paying attention!  Any bets on how many of these synopsises are going to begin with "It's Christmas Eve..."?

Now, not including the issue we're going to look at today, there are 38 other Christmas-themed books that have been covered on the blog.  You can click the Christmas on Infinite Earths button to check those out, if you're still feeling holly and jolly!

Another cool thing I just realized, once we're through this round of "Twelve Days", we'll be sitting at an even 50 Christmas Discussions/Reviews!

In the "down-below" portion of this piece, I did a little bit of decorating... the last two-years worth of "Twelve Days" trees, if you're interested in giving them a look.  Not sure how they look on mobile... okay, just checked... looks good... only if you hold your phone sideways though!

Anyhoo... let's kick things off with Christmas Eve with the Flash Family!

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It's Christmas Eve... and Wally and Linda are sharing the evening with the Garricks.  Wally is being especially anal about trimming the tree... which totally hits home with me.  I'm the same way, only without the benefits of super-speed.  In the kitchen, Jay and Joan Garrick are preparing dinner and discussing how great it is to be having a "family Christmas" once again.  They're also being constantly interrupted by Wally, who'd really like to help out with the meal.  Joan asks Jay to removing the well-meaning speedster before she kills him.  Yeah, that one hits home too...

The Flashes rush into town, and talk a little bit about times past.  Jay asks if Wally is thinking about proposing to Linda anytime soon... but he dodges that one, artfully.  Then they start talking about Christmas... it's been a minute since they'd last shared one, and now Wally's a full-blown growed-up!  Wally talks about how the magic of Christmas has shifted from "gifts" to "family"... and while understanding that's the way it oughta be, still misses the thrill of unwrapping something like a baseball mitt on Christmas morning.  Yup... another emotion that's hittin' home with me!

The fellas do a bit of work at a soup kitchen before deciding to head back home.  As they're leaving, however, they notice a very pregnant woman wandering through traffic!  Wally performs a quick-save, and the poor woman is just babbling on about trying to stop someone.

Turns out her husband (Joey) is losing his job that very day, and is looking to explore some nefarious means to procure some cash.  At present, he's wrapping up his last day working at Boone's Department Store... from there, some wise guys have put him up to robbing their night deposit box!  Just as she says this... wouldn'tcha know it, she goes into labor!  Jay decides to fetch some doctors for the delivery, while Wally heads to Boone's.

Wally arrives at the Department Store... and, considering it's Christmas Eve, the place is an absolute zoo!  He makes several passes through the joint, and is unable to find the fella he's looking for.  Now, if you're thinking about a person who works in a Department Store until Christmas Eve... you might be thinking of, well, one of dozens of "seasonal employees"... or perhaps, the store's resident Santa!

After a few passes, Wally figures that out too!  He asks one of the "elves" where Santa got off to... and it turns out he knocked off for the night.  Wally speeds away in pursuit just as the store manager informs the "elf" that a five-year old boy has gone missing.

We join Joey as he's looting Boone's night deposit... all the while asking for forgiveness.  I guess it's that whole "would you steal a loaf of bread to feed your family?" sort of thing.  As he leaves, bag full'a dough, he's approached by that missing five-year old... who chased after him to tell him what he wants for Christmas.  Turns out, all he wants is for his father to come back from jail.

This little moment of profundity is all it takes for Joey to realize the error of his ways.  He goes to take the boy back to the Department Store (with a brief pit stop to return some things to the night deposit)... unfortunately, the wise guys show up, and they're not happy about Joey's sudden change of heart.

And, get this... they just start unloading their guns at him!  Wow, I mean, can't we talk about this?  Oh well, it's a moot point anyway, because Wally arrived just in the nick of time to catch all'a da bullets.

After wrapping up the bad guys, Wally tells Joey that he's gotta get over to the church, because he's about to be a daddy.

We wrap up on later that night, where the Flash Family screws with Wally a little bit... saying that they're all going to wait until morning to open their gifts.  Linda finally gives him permission to open one of his gifts...

... and it's a baseball mitt!  How'bout dat?

As Wally thanks Linda for giving him a little of that childhood Christmas magic back... the doorbell rings.  Well, just who in the world could that be?  Well, it looks like the Christmas Miracles aren't done yet... it's Barry Allen?!?!  It's such a shock, Wally's hair turned blonde!

--

Heckuva fun issue right here!

Strongest part for me, is probably the part I can relate most to... and that's how Christmas changes when you grow-up.  I remember as a kid, looking forward to Christmas Day... I just couldn't wait to open my gifts and whatnot.  Nowadays, Christmas Day is the one day I dread the most, because it means that the Holidays are over.  That warm time with family and friends... it's just done, and everyone's gotta go back to work and real life.

I'd assume you might be able to recapture that "magic" as an adult through your children... their reactions, their excitement, their wonderment.  But as a still-childless fella, that really isn't an option for me at the moment.  I still hold out hope for that "baseball mitt" under the tree though.

I really dig the Flash Family dynamic.  One of the things I miss most about the pre-Flashpoint DC Universe is the Justice Society members as sort of the "grandparents" of the DCU.  Legacy and family are the cornerstones of DC Comics... and to flush 'em for a few months beating Marvel in sales... big-time jerk move.  C'mon, even though it's Christmas, I still gotta get my New-52! digs in!

The Joey/Maria story... ehh, it was a nice little moralistic tale... and it ended the way it should have.  Christmas stories need happy endings, I feel.

The twist ending, though?  Man, I wish I were following this title back in the winter of 1992... and understood the significance of what a Barry Allen return meant!  It's really just about the biggest cliffhanger you could hope for as a post-Crisis Flash fan!  Really just great stuff all around.

Overall... I'd say if you're a Flash fan, this is one ya gotta read.  If you're a sucker for Christmas comics... this is one that'll leave ya smiling.  This one is available digitally.

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Letters Page:

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On the First Day of Christmas on Infinite Earths, I gave to you a Flash #73 Discussion and Review.

"12 Days Tree" 2017:

"12 Days Tree" 2016:

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Action Comics #976 (2017)

Action Comics #976 (May, 2017)
"Superman Reborn, Part Four"
Writer - Dan Jurgens
Pencils - Doug Mahnke
Inks - Jaime Mendoza, Christian Alamy & Trevor Scott
Colors - Wil Quintana
Letters - Rob Leigh
Associate Editor - Paul Kaminski
Editor - Mike Cotton
Group Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $2.99

Alrighty, today we're going to wrap up the latest (as of this writing) of the skatey-eight hundred attempts to straighten out Superman's continuity.  Four issues to fix 'em all!

As with most other of our "completed" subjects, you can pop over to our Collected Editions Page and check Superman Reborn out in it's entirely... chronologically even!

Let's wrap this puppy up!  Tomorrow begins our Third Annual Twelve Days of Christmas on Infinite Earths!

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We pick up where we left off, and ol' Mxy sure is ticked!  He lambastes the high-collared Kryptonian for being a cheater... but, here's the thing... the fix is already in.  Jon celebrates the return of his parents, though when he calls out to his father... Superman doesn't recognize him as his son!  What's worse, neither does Lois.  They just figure him for a delusional lost boy.

Mxyzptlk celebrates his victory... and the Super-Fam is confused as to just what he's getting all excited about.  Mxy comes clean that this whole mess is way above his pay-grade, and there's someone far more powerful pulling the strings... but doesn't say who.  Superman has about had it with the imp, and goes to choke him out.

Mxy shape-shifts into Clark Kent, and jokes about fixing the "secret identity problem".  Yeah, yes and no, I guess.  Meanwhile Jon pleads with Lois to remember him... and, sadly she just can't.  Mxy then grows real big and reminds Superman of the contract they signed last issue before racing to the top of the Infinite Planet Building.  If you recall, if Superman won... Mxy would screw off back to the Fifth Dimension... what wasn't made so clear is that, he would be taking Jon with him.

Amid the chaos, Jon is approached by a pair of glowing blue orbs (you see where this is headed?).  They encourage him to use his power to fight of Mxyzptlk... and he does!  Only, it's a weird telekinesis-type thing... but, I guess the "normal" rules don't quite apply right now.

Suddenly, Mxy's world begins to crumble... Superman and Lois look at the boy, and, although they still don't know who he is... they realize that he is the key to everything.

The blue essences merge with Superman and Lois... making them remember everything... also, making them complete.

The whole situation is being monitored by Mr. Oz... who can't quite believe what he's seeing.  Upon turning the page, I'm not sure I quite believe what I'm seeing!  It's as though everything has been put into its place.  Superman's entire history made (relatively) linear!  He and Lois were never on the run as the "White" or "Smith" family... they've always been at the Daily Planet.  Jimmy and Perry know all about their son, Jon.  They're married.  Doomsday once killed him.  It's a blend of new and old... and for the most part, it works well!

Then... Superman appears with a brand new-ish costume!  I remember them making a pretty big deal out of this... and it had a shelf-life of less than a year!  Oh well.

We wrap up with the Super-Family returning home... to Metropolis.  Another event that Mr. Oz is paying keen attention to... and it's here that we get the impression that all of these changes are even above his pay-grade.  There's someone else out there...

--

Okay, let me get this much out of the way.  I was satisfied with the ending.  Despite my misgivings with The New-52! overall, I'm still a stickler for the "everything matters" school of thought when it comes to comic book storytelling.  To my mind, if something from continuity hinders a story you wanna tell... you've got a couple of options.  You either rewrite the story you want to tell (ha!), or you just don't draw attention to the contradictions.

So often these days writers and editorial go out of their way to prove their stories are correct by simply taking the old ones out of existence... see also: 52!, The New.  There is a way to "fix" things without ticking off entire generations of your customer base though... and I think stories like this (also DC Universe Rebirth) does as good a job of that as any.

Dare I say... if they used a story like this (but sorta-kinda in reverse) to introduce The New-52!, I'd have actually been more on-board with the entire endeavor!  All we got in the Summer of 2011 was... hey, everything's new... because we want a few awesome months on the sales charts.  I honestly believe there wasn't much more thought put into it after that.  The way much of the line meandered (even right out of the gate) might be more evidence of that.

Now, while I really like the result... the story here, is kinda all over the place.  Over the past few days I've referred to these issues as "breezy"... which I stand by.  You could read through all four part inside a half hour... and that's including making a sandwich beforehand.  So part of me feels like we spent far too many pages telling this story...

... but, another part feels like we didn't use enough.  Let me try and put my thoughts together and explain this.  I feel like Dan and Peter tried taking us on a roller-coaster ride here.  If we were interested in playing along (and not spoiling things on social media), the sky really was the limit for this storyline.  It could have resulted in the loss of Jon Kent.  It could have resulted in the dissolution of the marriage.  It could have resulted in a return to the Bronze Age "protect the secret identity at all costs" type of stories.  Hell, it could have even brought back The New-52! Superman as "they guy" going forward...

... but they didn't take enough advantage of the uncountable possibilities.  So many potential gut-wrenching moments left on the table.  Lois and Clark don't remember Jon?  Well, don't worry, they'll remember everything in 3-4 pages.  I just feel like this was a missed opportunity to really play with our emotions... really make this feel like just one of a million outcomes it could have been, instead of just speeding along to the one we all had a pretty good idea it would wind up being from the get-go.

I mean, we had four issues to tell this... and, as mentioned... they were all five-minute reads.  Why not "compress" a little bit, and explore some of the possibilities?  Make this a true celebration and acknowledgement of Superman's entire history... even if some bits of it were to be kinda molded to fit the new(est) chronology?

Oh well... what do I know anyway?

Overall... I'd say this is certainly worth reading (in collected format), but you might wanna bring a second book to bed with ya, because this one will zip on by.  It's important, and it's pretty... but, that's really about it.

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Superman (vol.4) #19 (2017)

Superman (vol.4) #17 (May, 2017)
"Superman Reborn, Part Three: Don't Pass Go"
Story - Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason
Pencils - Patrick Gleason
Inks - Mick Gray
Colors - John Kalisz
Letters - Rob Leigh
Assistant Editor - Andrew Merino
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Special Thanks - Dan Jurgens
Cover Price: $2.99

So yesterday, I discussed how the "professional" comics reviewers spoiled the Mr. Mxyzptlk reveal, right?  Well, guess what?  The following week, the jerks spoiled the last page of this one too!

Ya know, I don't wanna tell DC to quit handing out comps so willy-nilly... but, maybe penalize the jagoffs that go out of their way to show how special/important they are, and ruin the experience for everyone else.  Nahhhh, I guess so long as they rate everything 10 outta 10 they're safe!

--

We pick up right from the previous chapter... Lois no longer knows who Jon is.  What's more, she also doesn't appear to know that Superman and Clark Kent are one in the same!  A frustrated Superman calls out to Mxyzptlk, demanding to know what kind of "game" he's playing... and also why he's currently glowing with a blueish aura.  We'll get to it...

... but first, Mxy decides to strip away all of the rules of physics, gravity and reality.  As everything goes wonky, the imp shares that, regardless of which reality, Lois and Clark are invariably connected.  He finds it gross... which, I suppose he would!

Then... things get weird-er.  Mxyzptlk reveals that at some point there was a split... leading to two Supermen, and two Lois's's's.  I'm still not sure how I feel about this concept, but we'll play along for now.  Anyhoo, the other, that is the New-52! Superman exploded into red energy right before Rebirth hit.

Superman and Lois are escorted to a floating Daily Planet Building that stretches way up into the cosmos.  Mxy refers to it as the Infinite Planet, and offers up a challenge.  Ya see, young Jon Kent is currently up inside the Planet's globe... if Superman can beat the imp up there, he can have his boy back.  However, if he can't, Jon will remain in the Fifth Dimension forever, and Superman and Lois will be lost and forgotten.

Meanwhile, inside the Infinite Planet globe, Jon Kent is chatting up a pair of glowing balls of red energy.  They reveal themselves as being the New-52! Superman and Lois.  They're the same as his parents... only different, ya dig?

Back to the race... which is depicted as being run on an actual game board... which makes for a neat splash page, if nothing else.  Mxyzptlk sings a song... which, for whatever reason, convinces him that he'll win the race?  I dunno... these beats are kinda missing the mark for me.  Trying to be a bit too "out there" and esoteric... but, I mean, we're dealing with a race to the top of a building...

... which Superman and Lois still win, by... I dunno... telling themselves that they still exist?

Anyhoo, Mxyzptlk feels like this is cheating, and calls them out on it.  Meanwhile, Jon (who can hear all of this going down) pleads with the red energy to help his folks.

Outside, Mxy's had about enough of the fun 'n games, and decides to move on to the conclusion... he tells Superman to forget.  Forget about his son, hell, maybe forget about everything.  And... he begins to do just that!

Suddenly, when all hope (and memory) looks to be lost, the Infinite Planet globe explodes in a brilliant red flash.

We wrap up the chapter with a high-collared, very New-52! looking, Superman holding his wife and son!

--

So, yeah... Superman-Red and Superman-Blue.

I dunno about you all, but... I didn't have much of a problem with the way things were set up with the Supermen post-Convergence.  I was cool with the idea that the real Superman was hanging in the background, while the new, young, brash hip-for-the-kids Superman was "the guy" for a little while.

I feel like this "split into two" concept really just complicates things.  Seems like anytime we have the option to keep things simple, or add a bunch of confusing layers... we always get the latter.  I guess I just don't understand what merging the real Superman and the New-52! one really does for anyone.  I mean, the New-52! series'... ya know, kinda undelivered... outside of the "unmasking" I can't recall a whole heckuva lot from 'em.

As for the issue itself... it, like the other chapters, is breezy.  For dropping so much information, it's still kinda light on actual story.  Hell, we could'a (should'a?) deep-sixed that overlong back-up in Action #975, and just added this chapter there.  Really, this whole story should've been dropped in an Annual or Special.

Overall... it's an important issue, though a bit confusing at times.  Good thing this is yet another five-minute read, so it won't take you too long to give it a second (or third) look if you need to.  Worth a look... in collected edition.

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