Superman #714 – Review

By: J. Michael Straczynski & Chris Roberson (writers), Jamal Igle (penciller), Jon Sibal & Robin Riggs (inkers), Marcelo Maiolo (colorist)

The Story: Stop eating those French fries, Superman, have some self-respect!  Don’t you know you can fly?!

The Review: Superman has been around for so long, has been written by so many different kinds of writers, and has gone through so many permutations that it gets a bit harder every year just to give him a story that avoids the formulaic, let alone one that brings something new to the table.  And while “Grounded” as a premise made an admirable attempt to try break away from familiar plotlines, it long ago lost its novelty and is now knee-deep in clichés.

It doesn’t get any more so than Lois Lane in a threatening situation and Superman coming to her rescue.  To start off an issue with this kind of thing already tells us not to expect much in the way of mind-blowing material.  And even though you have zero doubt Supes will get Lois out of this safe and sound, it’s amusing to see him accomplish the task within the first three pages.  Not surprising, though; we all know Lois is just a tool to get Superman into action, nothing more.

That said, the action we get hardly counts as the big blowout you’d expect at the end of such a long, hyped story arc.  Part of the problem lies with our villain—I’m sure she mentions her name somewhere, but I don’t care enough to really remember or look it up—who nurses, predictably enough, a misdirected, personal vendetta against our hero, and has no qualms about stating it with ridiculous explicitness: “I want you to suffer, Superman!  Like you’ve made me suffer!”

I can only imagine Roberson’s fatigue with this storyline (it does feel like it’s gone on forever, doesn’t it?) has caused him to throw the dialogue to the wind, as it all falls into embarrassingly corny territory: “I am your shadow.  I am all of the doubts and fears you’ve been afraid to face!”  Superman’s response?  “What you are is annoying!”  Terrific rejoinder, big guy.  Your time on New Krypton clearly deprived you of practice in the art of American repartee.

Superman #713 – Review

By: J. Michael Straczynski & Chris Roberson (writers), Diogenes Neves, Oclair Albert, Eddy Barrows, JP Mayer, Jamal Igle, Jon Sibal (artists), Marcelo Maiolo (colorist)

The Story: This is a job for Superman!  What?  He’s not there?  Leave a voicemail, I guess….

The Review: No matter how much you get into a superhero comic, at some point you’ll notice the faint tingle of suspended belief tingling at your amygdala (or whatever part of your brain matters of faith are located in—obviously I should never be anyone’s doctor or shrink).  But keep it at bay you must, otherwise all sorts of uncomfortable questions about the logic and realism of what you’re reading will cow your simple pleasure into submission.

But when the writer himself chooses to address those questions, there’s really nothing you can do about it, is there?  Fortunately, Roberson brings up several valid, thought-provoking issues that neatly ponder the implications of having a super-powered alien in our midst:  the fear of his overwhelming might; whether he can be trusted to use his powers appropriately; the possible resentment from the mere mortals.

The subject matter works; the format which Roberson chooses to address these things does not.  Characters telling stories within stories can be tricky to begin with, but in a comic, a bunch of brief, exemplary anecdotes just produces facts and details with little to no movement or substance whatsoever.  Having Clark and his “guide” asking random passerby their opinions on Superman certainly adds no dramatic depth, and it just seems inherently forced.

Superman #711 – Review

By: J. Michael Straczynski & Chris Roberson (writers), Eddy Barrows (penciller), J.P. Mayer (inker), Rod Reis (colorist)

The Story: No, Superman–not the electric-blue costume!  The situation’s not that desperate!

The Review: It’s pretty obvious the original premise of Straczynski’s storyline—Superman walking across the country, discovering the real America, or something—has largely faded from view.  This may be a wise choice, since there’s only so much angst to be mined out of it, especially for a dozen-plus issues.  Whatever hang-ups prompted the Big Blue to embark on this bizarre journey in the first place long ago exhausted all dramatic possibilities.

Since his takeover of the series, Roberson has pretty much been giving you the usual Superman activities, and only the non-Metropolis settings tip off the fact you’re still reading “Grounded.”  Except for Supes’ singing of praises for America at the end (those of you concerned after reading the over-sensationalized story in Action Comics #900 can rest easy—he still loves us), Superman steers clear from the dislikable preachiness of this storyline’s early issues.

Instead, he spends most of his time doing what he does best: in the air, helping people with his usual sincerity and sympathy, even someone as troubled as Livewire.  Her outrageous behavior and senseless rants (“Every time I try to have a little fun, you have to come along and spoil everything.”  ) come off a bit contrived, but shutting her down puts Superman’s old electric costume to good use, and at least she gets a more formidable power set out of it.

And at least her antics allow for some fun guest spots.  It’s great seeing Jimmy Olsen using his quick-thinking (and high school physics on top of that) to offer his pal ground support.  Nick Spencer showed us Jimmy really takes off as a character when he has a more active role in facing trouble, instead of acting the mansel-in-distress for Superman to swoop in and save.

We also get cameos from some relatively obscure characters, like Dr. Roquette, young genius of Cadmus (Superboy’s old haunt) fame, now of S.T.A.R. Labs.  Honestly, it’d be great to see her more regularly, with all her retro gear (spangled jacket-vest—really?) and colloquialisms (“Oh, poop.”) intact, as she can serve a very useful, if semi-deus ex machina role to the title.  You can’t say the same for Iron Munro, who has little sway over the plot, and gets hardly any face-time with Superman before taking off to replace Livewire-thrashed dinner jacket.

This issue also introduces a mystery lady with an attitude problem, who has in her possession a crystal a là Kryptonian tech, with Superman’s most painful memories held within.  No doubt she’s a sign this storyline’s finally getting some much needed direction, but she vanishes before you learn anything about her, so her appearance seems rather superfluous to the plot.

Superman #704 – Review

by G. Willow Wilson (writer), Leandro Oliveira (penciller), Walden Wong (inker), Rod Reis (colorist)

The Story: During a break from Straczynski’s Grounded storyline, Wilson has us meeting up with Lois Lane, as she returns to Rushmark, Indiana, where we learn she spent some of her college years.  As she walks up and down the familiar streets, she is reminded of times gone by, which leads her to reexamine where she is in life, as opposed to where she saw herself back during her college days.  Getting a glimpse of “normal” life, from a visit with an ex-boyfriend and his family, she starts to question is you can ever really go home again and is she leading the life that is ultimately fulfilling to her.

The Good Decent: Wilson’s idea of taking Superman’s lead to reexamine life and applying it to Lois Lane came off as a bit of a stretch in this issue.  It’s not to say that it didn’t fully work, but he really pulled back on the reigns of the workaholic that is Lane and put her in a position that, really, has never come across as a priority for her before.  Lois Lane has strived to always bring the best stories that she can, uncover the biggest secrets and conspiracies, and always be the first to do so.  The idea that she would possibly want to be a mother with a husband and kids to take care of just doesn’t really fit into the “Lois Lane” mold.

To further complicate this idea, Wilson then has her questioning her need by Clark.  She knows that his mission is split between saving Earth from the problems it faces and writing about the problems Earth faces from behind a desk.  In an uncomfortable, out of character moment, she wonders what good she is to the world and, essentially, has the life she lead been nothing more than a facade on an otherwise meaningless life.

Wonder Woman #601 – Review

by J. Michael Straczynski (writer), Don Kramer (pencils), Michael Babinski (inks), Alex Sinclair (colors), and Travis Lanham (letters)

The Story: Diana learns about the fall of Paradise Island and sets off in pursuit of her people’s mysterious tormenters.

What’s Good: If there’s one thing JMS’ first full issue of Wonder Woman has going for it, it’s tone, and that’s a very big thing that I fully expect will carry his run.  This story feels big, it feels epic, it feels important, and it feels grand.  I’ve at times referred to comic artwork that has a “high-budget feel,” but in this case, I think that’s just as appropriately applied to JMS’ storytelling.  This doesn’t come across like just another day in the office for Wonder Woman.  Rather, this issue presents sweeping storytelling and high stakes that, if anything, feel fresh and vital.  I was excited reading this issue, and that’s not something I’ve felt about the character in some time.

A lot of this is thanks to JMS’ decision to spend the first half of the issue recounting the fall of Themyscira.  The narration does a good job depicting the scale and the heroism of Hippolyta and the Amazons.  The wholesale slaughter and the mysterious bad guy all seem credible, visceral, and emotional; this doesn’t read like just another typical scene of hackneyed mass destruction.  I was surprised by how much I was invested in this flashback, especially the downfall of Hippolyta.  The extended scene very effectively propelled Diana on a quest where she has to balance her hunger for vengeance and her obligation to save the surviving Amazons.

Thor: Defining Moments Review

by J. Michael Straczynski (writer), Marko Djurdjevic (pencils & inks), Danny Miki & Allen Martinez (inks), Christina Strain (colors), and Joe  Sabino (letters)

The Story: Bill’s final fate is determined while Sif and the Warriors Three battle the doombots.

What’s Good: If you approach this book as just another 22-page issue of JMS’ run on Thor, it really is pretty solid and is consistent with the series’ quality as of late, at least as far as the writing is concerned.  It’s also got a couple of moments that’ll have you saying “hell yeah.”

Chief among these scenes is one involving a very angry and very naked Volstagg that is a perfect combination of comedy and pure awesome.  It is, of course, that same combination that defines the character himself.  The sequence is outrageously badass, but maintains Volstagg’s characteristic charm.  Oh, and Hogun and Fandral are absolutely on fire this month with the fat jokes.

Most readers are probably coming to this issue most concerned about the fate of Bill.  At first, it’s hard not to be a little disappointed.  That said, if you expected him to scream “I HAVE THE POWER,” turn into a god, and battle Doom, you’ll be sorely disappointed, but really, such an ending would be just a little stupid.

Instead, Bill’s ending is the best he can manage by just being Bill, and so Straczynski maintains the integrity of the character and his sub-plot.  Make no mistake, he is a hero and, ultimately, he is accepted as an Asgardian, but he does so without abandoning his humble roots or acquiring superhuman powers.  Bill’s tale has always been about being a mortal, a little guy in a world suddenly populated by the very large.  Bill’s fate is only so poignant because JMS retains this theme; Bill remains that little guy, but even so, he manages become a hero among the biggest of the bigs.

Meanwhile, JMS leaves us hanging regarding Kelda.  I think we all suspected she was more powerful than she let on, and now we’re going to see that in action.

What’s Not So Good: It’s hard not to be a little underwhelmed by this issue.  JMS’ run has had such an epic quality, that it’s hard not to expect his final issue to be grander.  What we get isn’t really any sort of massive flourish or cataclysmic ending.  Rather, we just get another solid JMS issue that simply lives up to the quality of his previous issues, no more and no less.   This final issue really has no feeling of closure and though the cover may say “finale,” that’s not what we’ve gotten.  That said, the issue also didn’t contain the sort of “hot potato” landmark shift in status quo that writers often leave off their runs with.  Ultimately, this feels like the last issue of a story arc, but certainly not the last issue of a run.

Finally, this may be the worst looking issue of Thor that Djurdjevic has drawn.  While the art is by no means unbearable, it’s weak by the standards Djurdjevic and Coipel have set for the series.  It reeks of an artist desperately trying to make a deadline.  The level of detail continually falters, with many of the more zoomed out shots and smaller panels suffering a great deal.  There are also a few panels where Donald Blake looks like a substantially younger version of himself.  Having three different inkers on the book also certainly didn’t help, making the book feel even messier with its details even more in question.  It makes the book feel sloppy, chaotic even.

Conclusion: It’s a strong issue of Thor, but it’s not the “finale” it claims itself to be.

Grade: B

-Alex Evans

 

Thor #603 – Review

By J. Michael Straczynski (writer), Marko Djurdjevic (pencils), Dany Mik (inks) Jelena Kevic Djurdjevic with Lauran Martin (colors)

The Story: Thor is in deep trouble as he and Sif try to get acclimated to their new lives together while Loki and Doom plot all-out evil and destruction. William has his first heroic adventure that ends in disaster for him and possibly his new King, Balder. While all these dramatic themes and dire threats culminate, the Warriors Three look for small town employment.

What’s Good: Happily, everything about this book is great except for the fact that this is the second to last time that JMS will be on this series. Seriously, raise your hands if you will be reading Thor after JMS will wrap up his run in thirty days. I for one won’t be. To me, the fact that JMS decided to leave this series is a gross mistake for Marvel. Basically, because he refused to write Thor into the next “event,” whether it is Dark Reign Seige or World War Hulks, JMS had to leave the series. Let me not understate this point; Marvel lost one of their most prolific writers and in turn, arguable their best on-going series because one of the best writers of all times wouldn’t write his muse, Thor, hit She-Rulk with his hammer. Insane, insane and insane.

Anyway, back to this issue. It’s basically perfect. The art is way back on track since the dip in quality that took place last issue. It’s a gorgeous affair and works on every level ascetically and story telling wise. Especially note worth was the band of attackers at the end. Those character designs are almost unforgettable. However, the biggest compliment to the art is that it perfectly compliments the varying perfect moments that JMS writes. The comic beats are flawless and the slower dramatic moments are lasting and emotive.

Of course every comic works from the top down. It all starts with the writer. JMS has so many great ideas and characters being flawlessly executed simultaneously. This is master story telling in any medium and Thor is a true classic. The best part is Thor is mostly absent from this issue, but the whole story revolves around him completely. You lean so much about his character by his influence in his world.

The other high point is the Loki and Doom relationship. The reader gets the feeling that these two could easily destroy and rule the world and their characterizations are impeccable.

Conclusion: A great, great issue. There is something in Thor for everyone. The only down side is that it signals JMS’s run coming to an end. It’s hard to not long for what could have been if JMS was able to stay on this series for another dozen or so issues. Marvel promises that the next and final installment in this run will be in thirty days and trust me, I’ll be the first in line to buy it.

Grade: A

-Rob G.