Adventure Comics #528 – Review

By: Paul Levitz (writer), Geraldo Borges & Ransom Getty (pencillers), Marlo Alquiza & Rob Hunter (inkers), Hi-Fi (colorist)

The Story: Now would be the time to sing the Legion Academy school song, but no one has kazoos on hand, do they?

The Review: Back when Jim Shooter took over the Legion “Three-boot,” the estimable comic book blogger Rokk Krin compared the move to getting a famed football coach out of retirement to rework the magic with a failing team.  I think that analogy works very well to summarize the situation we have with Levitz on the current Legion.  No one can deny his now legendary run with the team back in the day, but that’s where the brilliance has stayed: back in the day.

The formulaic writing which drove me away from Legion of Super-Heroes has undeniably reared its ugly head in the sibling title, as this entire issue reads much the same as almost every issue prior.  Developments, both in terms of plot or character, come minimally, if at all.  Mostly Levitz just recycles the same talking points that have long since failed to illicit anything approaching excitement, or even interest to see what will happen next.

Take the Legion Academy graduates.  Their final exam back in Adventure Comics #525 should’ve been the last we ever saw of these guys, especially since they offered virtually no worth or substance to this title to begin with.  But once again, we have to devote ourselves to far too many pages listening to them bemoan their fates about not getting into the Legion (because whining is such a cherished virtue among Legionnaires).

Adventure Comics #527 – Review

By: Paul Levitz (writer), Geraldo Borges (penciller), Marlo Alquiza (inker), Hi-Fi (colorist)

The Story: Calling the love of your life chubby may not be the best way to get on his good side.

The Review: Of the Legion Academy cast, Comet Queen is most likely to have any familiarity, first appearing to the Legion in the eighties (also under Levitz’s pen) then joining the first set of Academy recruits.  As such, she has the most developed personality and history among her classmates and she acts as a direct link between them and their mentors.

All this is grounds to question why Levitz would choose to devote an entire issue to retelling her origins.  Her motivations for wanting to join the Legion read like a stalker’s biopic: small-town girl, enamored with a Legionnaire (Bouncing Boy, of all people), follows any and every crazy impulse possible to get close to him.  She literally stands in the path of a passing comet, turning her into a super-powered energy creature instead of, well, space dust.

About halfway through her story, you’ll regret that comet didn’t just toast her off, as most of her astoundingly shallow behavior rings home just how annoying a character she is.  Her ridiculous speech patterns are just the tip of the iceberg, but they demonstrate very well Levitz’s often unwise storytelling decisions.  Such obviously artificial dialogue wears thin quickly if not written with some restraint, and he goes all-out, giving you lines like, “Settle your grav-drive in, and I’ll tell you, still-shaking-from-your-first-thrill-ride-girl…”

Levitz spends more time glossing over the major events of her life, and so fails to make her very sympathetic.  Getting pawned to the Legion of Substitute Heroes hardly merits her description of them as “burned-out stars that never shined” (look how many ended up in the Legion proper).  Her mind-wipe at the hands of Saturn Queen has more potential to give her character some depth, but Levitz avoids showing you any really harmful effects.  Her first reaction upon waking from the wipe is to love-tackle Bouncing Boy—which she probably would’ve done anyway.

Adventure Comics #526 – Review

By: Paul Levitz & Geraldo Borges (storytellers), Marlo Alquiza (inker), Hi-Fi (colorist), Jeffrey Moy (2^nd feature penciller), Philip Moy (2^nd feature inker)

The Story: Glorith performs the first genetic exorcism, and XS tries her hand at modern art.

The Review: Even though DC’s co-features largely didn’t work, the concept of them as bonus tales to your title’s usual offerings had a nice appeal.  Whether they were worth the tacked-on dollar was arguable, but they never harmed the main series story-wise.  Occasionally they even enhanced their partner feature, if the creators put a little effort into it.

Not so here.  Levitz’s follow-up features have done little for his ongoing storyline except take away space that could’ve been devoted to more action and plotting.  Chemical Kid’s family problems had the potential to be a strong opening arc for these kids’ misadventures, but four issues in, the pace reduced to a crawl, the story still hasn’t got the excitement or intrigue it needs.  The stolen gene-mods could’ve been the first step to a much larger adversary for the Legion wannabes, but Levitz seems intent on letting the plot end on an anticlimactic note.

At least he spends time giving some interesting new shades to our young heroes.  Dragonwing gives off a tough vibe, but she’s also sensitive to her teammates’ feelings, even smoothing tensions between Gravity Kid and Chem Kid.  Glorith may be naïve about the modern world, but she’s respectfully strict about her magical traditions.  And Chem Kid’s lack of scruples when it comes to money may be the thing that gets between him and being a true hero.

Adventure Comics #525 – Review

By: Paul Levitz & Phil Jimenez (storytellers), Andy Lanning & Sean Parsons (inkers), Hi-Fi (colorist), Geraldo Borges & Marlo Alquiza (2^nd feature artists)

The Story: It’s not easy having a dad who gives superpowers to the people trying to kill you.

The Review: Having a magic-user on your superhero team can be a great idea in practice, but very risky for a comics writer.  Magic can be a great catalyst for telling stories, but it can get out of hand very quickly.  Too often, magicians end up acting as deus ex machina by instantly getting their team out of otherwise inescapable scrapes—just look at Dr. Strange on the Avengers, or Zatanna on the Justice League.

There’s plenty of reason to fear Glorith will wind up doing the same thing for her Legion Academy mates.  With all her pals out of commission, she still manages to take down the rest of the gene-modified gangsters by herself using some vaguely portrayed powers (Illusions?  Mind control?  Telekinesis?).  Let’s hope Levitz doesn’t make this a habit—it can get old pretty fast.

On top of that, you have the dissatisfying non-conclusion to Chemical Kid’s storyline, where as it turns out, his dad’s been selling off his gene-mod tech to cover his gambling debts.  It’s a pretty cliché sort of explanation that doesn’t lead anywhere, although it’s kind of fun to see Chem Kid’s dad as a whimpering coward. The kids don’t really have a chance to do anything about it either, since Levitz chooses to abridge their plot with two other stories in the issue.

Senior Academy members Lamprey and Power Boy get their graduation final by taking down some exotic animal smugglers (which, amusingly enough, include elephants—nice to know we haven’t completely killed them off by the 31^st century).  It’s a low-stakes test, and since you don’t really know the Legion-hopefuls all that well, you have little interest in their success.  Let’s hope their getting shunted to prison duty on Takron-Galtos ends their part in this title for good.

Adventure Comics #524 – Review

By: Paul Levitz & Phil Jimenez (storytellers), Andy Lanning (inker), Hi-Fi (colorist)

The Story: What—my rich dad’s credit card is totally wiped?  He’s got to be in trouble, right?

The Review: The rite of passage for any teen superhero group usually involves disobeying their chaperones or having a run-in with foes out of their league.  Almost always, the two incidents go hand-in-hand, and they usually wind up testing the kids’ powers, their code of ethics, teamwork, friendships, and relationships to their mentors.  The success and value of this old plot usually depends on the setup for why they end up in trouble in the first place.

Levitz takes a rich, bratty know-it-all out for some kicks and turns the story into one about family ties, a very worthy change in gears.  Even after one issue, Chemical Kid’s snide (Bouncing Boy says “spirited,” but I’m going with Duplicate Girl on this one) attitude has already begun to wear thin, so it’s a relief to see he’s aware of his own jerkiness, and beneath the swagger, he’s actually very sentimental—look how tenderly he holds his damaged robot nanny.

Besides Chem Kid, all his Academy mates get some interesting character moments in this issue: Glorith’s magical destiny forcing her removal from her parents; Dragonwing’s own parents trying to sell her off; even Gravity Kid’s decision to join the others hints he’s not the totally strict do-gooder he seems.  These are all little threads that can easily spin into bigger storylines down the road, so Levitz clearly has far-sighted plans for this bunch of rascals.

In fact, if I may be so bold to say so, it feels Levitz is more invested in this team than he is with the full-blooded Legionnaires, or at least he writes them better.  His expository style of dialogue seems to suit characters with history left to spill more than it does characters that already know most of the ins and outs of each other.  When the Academy kids interact, it feels like they’re actively building relationships and learning, rather than bantering pointlessly.

Adventure Comics #523 – Review

By: Paul Levitz & Phil Jimenez (storytellers), Andy Lanning (inker), Hi-Fi (colorist)

The Story: These ain’t your mama’s Legionnaires—they like to fight hard, and party hard.  And do it on their parents’ money, apparently.  Kids these days…

The Review: Bringing in a team of unknowns can be a risky, even redundant move, especially in the overpopulated universes of mainstream superhero comics.  There’s bound to be outrage over the neglect of established characters in favor of those who may turn out to be nothing better than thinly veiled copies of what’s already been done.  Still, new characters can inject fresh energy onto titles even when they’re raw, and it’s just plain fun to speculate on their possible evolutions.

Adventure Comics’ set of rookies breathes new life into the title—a good thing.  Since the futuristic team has returned to its Silver Age continuity, under the helm of Levitz, its veteran writer, the Legion seems a bit creaky with age when it should be appealing to a younger generation of devotees.  No one can tell if an all-new cast of young characters will do the job, but the interest they generate in their first issue looks and feels promising.

Levitz has clear direction in mind for these kids, allowing them to express their distinctive voices throughout the issue, though the focus lands mostly on a select number of the bunch.  Levitz wisely uses the newest recruit, Glorith, as a cipher to guide you through the setting and dynamic of the title.  Each snippet of dialogue reveals a layer to the character speaking, and they bounce off each other very well, making for a very lively sounding issue.

As strong as the dialogue can be in this issue, there are still a few weak links.  Levitz still overly relies on telling you straight up what’s happening.  The gimmick can really start to grate on your nerves during the action sequences, where lines like “Accelerating my own metabolism makes you sound so dreary—but it makes this easy!” sounds not only awkward, but ridiculously corny.  It’s a very old-school style from Levitz, which feels somewhat unnatural and melodramatic.

Adventure Comics #6 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (writer), Francis Manapul (artist), Brian Buccellato (colorist)

The Story: The Boy of Steel, Part Five: In this 30-page issue, Luthor has the drop on Superboy, who is then forced to gather rare and difficult ingredients for something very surprising that Luthor is doing. In the meantime, Conner’s journal gets filled up with a lot of up-close data that Conner gets from observing Luthor.

What’s Good: I’ve harped a lot in my reviews about how I like realistic art. Manapul is definitely stylized, with unconventional takes on texture and shading, but I love it! He goes old school with those lines trailing behind people to show motion and has some very dynamic poses (check out Superboy tackling a bizarro guy or the appearance of Brainiac). Color work by Buccellato, as always, compliments Manapul well. The colors, tones and shadows are all subdued, giving an older feel to this art.

As much fun as it is to meander over the art, the story is what I tuned in for and Johns delivers the emotional punch. This is the final issue in this arc of Conner trying to figure out what bearing his heritage has on him. It is not a coming of age story so much as a rite of passage one. Conner’s quirky note keeping is great and comes to a head here, face to face with his father and the true nature of what Luthor is inside. The dialogue works without more than a couple cutesy moments from Lori and the ending satisfies.

Adventure Comics #5 – Review

Superboy Prime Story by Geoff Johns and Sterling Gates (writers), Jerry Ordway (artist), Bob Wiacek and Jerry Ordway (inkers)
Superboy Backup Story by Geoff Johns (writer) Francis Manapul (artist), Brian Buccellato (colorist)

The Story: Superboy Prime fights a bunch of zombies through the offices of the DC editors and creators. Alex Luthor teleports the whole donnybrook back to Superboy Prime’s basement where the climax occurs in blackest night fashion. The backup features our black-shirted Superboy who gets himself in trouble when he goes after a most charming vandal.

What’s Good: Ordway on art, especially with Wiacek, is a great treat, and he caught the flavor of blackest night with moody effects, black-costumed zombies, and the colored emotions. You can also tell that they had a good time drawing about twenty of the DC staffers in various states of shock. On Manapul’s side, the art is evocative and powerful. And he draws a mean Krypto, expressions and all. Manapul manages the expressive faces, those startled reactions and the arriving menace.

On plotting and story, blackest night looked at one of the least sympathetic characters in the DCU and put him through his own grinder, making him find a solution to the blackest night problem unlike any other’s so far. On character, both Clark (Prime) and Conner’s stories are about their feelings and how they fit into the world. Both stories are effective as character pieces.

What’s Not So Good: The tactical choices in these two stories were fine, but where the book fell down for me was on the strategic choices: using Superboy Prime and the whole metafictional angle. Superboy Prime really is the Jar Jar Binx of the DCU. He’s unsympathetic and whiny and it’s difficult to watch him do anything because I didn’t care about him at all. You have to be able to root for someone in the story, or at least sympathize with someone actively trying to accomplish something. Superboy Prime is craven, and in my opinion, even at the climax, unheroic, and is no fun to read.

Adventure Comics #4 – Review

by Geoff Johns, Sterling Gates & Michael Shoemaker (writers), Jerry Ordway & Clayton Henry (artists)

The Story: Superboy-Prime gets his hands on his own copy of this very comic book and, upon discovering how it all ends, desperately tries to find spoilers about the next issue.  Things become difficult, and creepy, when Alexander Luthor returns from the grave in order to break Prime’s heart, figuratively and literally.  Meanwhile, in the 31st century, the Legionnaire Blok visits former flame, the White (or is it Black) Witch.

What’s Good: Ahhhh.  Now THAT was a breath of fresh air.

Johns and Gates deliver an issue that surpasses everything expected when this was originally solicited.  Blackest Night tie-in?  Okay, that’ll mean someone dead shows up and tries to eat someone’s heart or something.  Superboy-Prime appearance?  Ugh, so soon?  I could’ve used a bit more of a break between this and Legion of 3 Worlds, but okay.  He’s whiny and annoying, but I’ll deal.  These were my preconceived notions, and yes, all of those things do happen, but damn this comic book is so much more than that!

As soon as I flipped past the cover and saw, on Page One, Superboy-Prime looking back at me, holding a copy of the same comic that I was holding in my hands, grumbling, “Oh, great!” I knew I was in for a fun, fourth wall-breaking good time.  “Why couldn’t they leave me out of this?  People already hate me enough as it is.” Prime literally echoes the same opinions that I had at his presence in this story, and I found myself laughing.  At the chutzpah the writers showed in poking fun at the readers in such a brazen manner.  At the promise that this very likely would break out of the box that the other Blackest Night tie-ins, no matter how good they are, find themselves in.  And most of all, I laughed because Johns and Gates were right.  They knew what I’d decided about this issue before I’d even picked it up, and they weren’t letting me off the hook for my judgments.  Boy, am I glad they didn’t.

Odds are, if you possess even a tiny ability to laugh at yourself as a comic geek, you’ll find something in this issue to chuckle about. And, really, if you’ve made it through at least one complete thread on a comic book message board, you’d hardly blame them!  As Alexander Luthor (of Earth-3, of course) takes a look at a computer and notes “This box.  It’s a conduit for the rage of the people of this Earth,” I found myself replying, “No shit.”  The writers obviously use the script to let off some steam when it comes to the fan community, but it never comes off petty or mean.

It’s not all barbs and jabs, though.  The metatextual conceit of the plot allows for a somewhat unconventional tale that delivers a welcome break in the Blackest Night tie-in formula.  While there is still the obligatory info dump followed by the resurrected villain attacking the “hero” of the piece, the fact that Prime is aware of the nature of his existence makes it all feel brand new.  Meanwhile, Jerry Ordway brings his usual amazing artwork to bear.  Forgive my brevity as to the pencils, but I really have no more to say than that it’s perfect.  Ordway knows what makes Superboy-Prime work visually and he proves that once again.

What’s Not So Good: Well, unfortunately, the Legion of Super-Heroes second feature gets the short end of the stick here.  Despite solid artwork from Clayton Henry, Johns and Shoemaker submit a, while perfectly serviceable, fairly regular tale.  It’s a nice little story about love and what one would sacrifice for the sake of that love, but when you place this ordinary story beside the unique and surprising lead feature, it falls somewhat flat.  DC would have been better off going the same route as they did with their other tie-ins and simply stretching the main story to thirty pages.

Conclusion: A pleasantly surprising piece of metafiction delivered ably by Johns and Gates made this, hands down, the best comic of the week.  While the amazing lead feature has the regrettable side effect of eclipsing the Legion back-up, it’s so good that I just didn’t care.  Highly recommended.

Grade: A

– Joe Lopez

 

Adventure Comics #2 – Review

By Geoff Johns and Michael Shoemaker (writers), Francis Manapul and Clayton Henry (artists), Brian Buccellato and Brian Reber (colorists)

The Stories: Johns opens the book on a squadron of military helicopters searching for Brainiac and Luthor, who have both just escaped. Brainiac and Luthor are in cahoots and nothing good is going to come of this. Flash forward to Conner getting ready for Cassie to come over for supper. They each have issues to struggle through. The second story is about the Legion of Superheroes. Mekt Ranzz (Lightning Lord) will tell the Legion where all the supervillain safehouses are if Lightning Lad will talk to him in prison. Seems easy, right? Wrong!

What’s Good: Johns did some very solid character work on the Superboy story. Connor  is wound up, worrying about how he looks, and he’s hopelessly transparent, yet perfectly believable. I also really like the clever use of Conner’s obsessive little lists. What did Superman do? What did Luthor do? The amount of time he spends looking at those two columns and comparing himself to them show how worried he is about who he is. Johns also did really deft work on Cassie and Conner catching up. That year apart put a lot of space between them. This character work sounds like it would be dull, but it’s exactly the opposite because both characters are so likable with their desires so obvious.

Johns and Shoemaker pulled some more fine writing out of their hats for the Legion story. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to follow the Legion, so I don’t remember Garth being so spun up, but Johns sets up the characters so even a long-absent fan like me can understand everything. The human supremacy movement was an interesting touch (not original, but interesting), as were the words that Garth and Mekt shared. I didn’t see that surprise coming.

Manapul’s art was brilliantly page-slowing for me. I’d be done with the words, but reluctant to turn the page, because I wanted to keep admiring the art. The double splash page opening the book was awesome and I loved the realism combined with the rough, almost old-school pencil lines that Manapul left for strategic shading. Brainiac sitting in his control chair, wires sprouting from his head, Luthor standing in prison browns with smears of blood on his wrists… All memorable and awesome…Also Manapul’s and Buccellato’s work on Cassie and Conner under a pink, starry sky was just great.

What’s Not So Good: I had no complaints whatsoever about the Superboy story. However, I wasn’t wowed by Clayton Henry’s pencils on the Legion back-up story, nor was it easy on my suspension of disbelief to see super-powered prisoners manacled in their cells in costume.

Conclusion: This issue is worth buying just for the Superboy story. Little action on the outside, but lots of action on the inside. Buy this book.

Rating: B

-DS Arsenault

Adventure Comics #1 – Review

by Geoff Johns (writer), Francis Manapul (art), Brian Buccellato (colors), and Steve Wands (letters)

The Story: Conner Kent returns to life in Smallville, trying to understand and relive the experiences of both Clark Kent and Lex Luthor.

What’s Good: If there were ever a wholesome, family comic, this is it. This really is a kid-friendly comic, but I don’t mean that in a disparaging or simplifying sense that should put off any more wizened fans. Adventure Comics is kid-friendly in the way that the Paul Dini/Bruce Timm manned Batman animated series was kid-friendly. It’s comfort food certainly, but it doesn’t condescend, leading to an awesome comic for younger readers and a fun, relaxing read for the more wizened.

This entire issue serves merely as a prelude of things to come and certainly opens promising doorways. I enjoyed the characterization of Superboy, a character as much trying to find his place in this world as he is attempting to negotiate his lineage, recognizing both Luthor and Kal-El as his parents, leading to a very effective ending…  And of course, there’s Krypto– only the most heartless of readers can despise Krypto, who has a scene this month that is guaranteed to put a smile on your face. The damned mutt is adorable, thanks in no small part to Manapul.

Speaking of Francis Manapul, the man’s work is a thing of beauty. His work carries that same warm, lovable tone as the writing, truly capturing the sparse grandness of the American heartland. Manapul makes Smallville look like a place that’s impossible not to embrace, while many of his frames carry a kind “flashback” feel, thanks to the pseudo-painted style to run parallel to the warmth and vitality of the young characters.

What’s Not So Good: Unfortunately, plot-wise, there’s not a whole lot going on. I said that this month functions mostly as a prelude, and really, one can’t help at times to feel that this issue is nothing but a giant preview. Characters of future importance are given the barest glimpse, Superboy begins to establish his life in Smallville, and well, that’s pretty much it. It is done fairly masterfully so that it isn’t blaringly obvious, but in hindsight, there’s only the slightest bit of forward momentum, and that comes from the ending. If this weren’t a full-sized issue, I’d be tempted to call this Adventure Comics #0 if there wasn’t one already.  There’s no sign of clear direction and no real development of any of the supporting characters.

Also, the back-up is a complete mess and an utter waste of time. Despite being advertised as a Starman story, you’re getting one page recapping Superboy’s history with the Legion, a double-page spread detailing all the Legion’s members, and a final page of teasers for things to come. That means the actual story is all of four pages. Those four pages feature a babbling insane Starman, playing an albeit amusing game of bowling, before having an encounter/revelation that’ll probably only be of any worth if you’re fairly familiar with the character. There’s just nothing here.

Conclusion: A lead feature that goes down easy, yet it is unfortunately paired with a weak back-up…  Make no mistake, the main is good and expertly executed, but it’s just a preview.

Grade: B-

-Alex Evans