posted
I went into the CBS today on the fence as to whether I'd pick up the third issue of Paul Cornell's Action Comics run. The first two issues just didn't grab me like I hoped they would. (The art by Pete Woods, however, was terrific as it has been since he did World of New Krypton.)
So I flipped theu it and nothing grabbed me. The Superboy preview actually looked more impressive, but ultimately, I didn't want to blow $3.99 on what looked to be more of the same that we got in the first two issues.
A book starring Lex Luthor just has to be better and cleverer than average if it's going to grab me and make me spend my hard-earned bucks on it. Nothing I saw in the comic promised what I was looking for, so I didn't buy it.
As curious as I am to see how Death is going to be written and how she'll figure into that issue, I just don't feel compelled to keep buying for that one reason.
Anyhow, curious to see what anyone else thinks of these Luthor-centric issues.
(BTW, LOVED JMS's first issue on Superman! Haven't read the second yet, but I'm stoked for it!)
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
The second issue of JMS's Superman run is out and I have to say I'm already loving it. Just like on his Brave & Bold run, JMS appears to be focusing more on stories with some real heart & soul, that are more about complicated situations where the lead character has to stand up and make a decision to do something. Rather than "villain of the month" or "yet another cosmic crisis", the scale of the problem Superman faces isn't really the point of the story, rather, the decision Superman has to weigh in on is the point, and ultimately this showcases who Superman is better than anyone.
I like that JMS is providing no real easy answers here and is not really being that preachy. I think the resolution of the second issue of his run is something anyone from any political viewpoint could get behind.
The artwork by Eddie Barrows and J.P. Mayer is terrific and I love the extreme amount of detail poured into every panel, with backgrounds and facial expressions paramount among them. Barrows is able to convey a more personal side of Superman and then the following page show an iconic, powerful side.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Chief Taylor: I went into the CBS today on the fence as to whether I'd pick up the third issue of Paul Cornell's Action Comics run. The first two issues just didn't grab me like I hoped they would. (The art by Pete Woods, however, was terrific as it has been since he did World of New Krypton.)
So I flipped theu it and nothing grabbed me. The Superboy preview actually looked more impressive, but ultimately, I didn't want to blow $3.99 on what looked to be more of the same that we got in the first two issues.
A book starring Lex Luthor just has to be better and cleverer than average if it's going to grab me and make me spend my hard-earned bucks on it. Nothing I saw in the comic promised what I was looking for, so I didn't buy it.
As curious as I am to see how Death is going to be written and how she'll figure into that issue, I just don't feel compelled to keep buying for that one reason.
Anyhow, curious to see what anyone else thinks of these Luthor-centric issues.
(BTW, LOVED JMS's first issue on Superman! Haven't read the second yet, but I'm stoked for it!)
I think Lardy has it exactly right about a Lex Luthor series—I feel the same way. So it’s with that in mind, that so far, I’m only finding the Lex Luthor story “okay”. Don’t get me wrong—it isn’t a bad story—but it’s just not good enough so far to justify Lex being the star in Action Comics. In order for that to occur in my mind, the story should be ground-breaking.
The plot & writing are average (even slightly above average) and the Pete Woods artwork is absolutely terrific. But so far, I’m left wondering what the point is. I think this would make for a really excellent long-running subplot in a Superman storyline; as a lead story, I’m not so sure.
Superboy Back-Up The Superboy back-up, for one issue only, was actually pretty good! It definitely got me excited for the upcoming Superboy series, which looks like it’s going to be pretty damn excellent! I have to say though: this brief back-up story read like a teaser, more than a back-up story. It was entirely incomplete, and almost felt like pages pulled out of the first issue of the upcoming comic. That makes me think this was more marketing ploy/editorial blunder than any decision to make Superboy a one-off back-up.
Superman: Secret Origin The final issue of S:SO came out and all in all, the overwhelming emotion I feel for it is disappointment. Superman’s origin story / early days have been told *so* many times that the bar may be too high. You need to be both excellent and original. I felt like this was mediocre and really didn’t add much to the mythos. Perhaps it was designed to be a supplement to the awful New Krypton arc that just ended, and because of stupid delays came out way after the fact, but that only compounds the problem.
I do have to say though, I enjoy me some Gary Frank artwork. I know he has his detractors on this board, but I like seeing him draw Superman & his cast, especially Lois.
Supergirl Supergirl continues to be a series where everything is right: writing, artwork, atmosphere, supporting cast, etc. The only problem is the latest story is a Bizarro-Supergirl story and I realized once again, that I just don’t enjoy Bizarro stories. I want to; but I just don’t. And that was enough to limit my enjoyment here.
Things I’m looking forward to: Superboy ongoing series & the Jimmy Olsen back-up!
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
OK so three issues into his Superman run now and I have no idea what JMS was thinking going down this road with the character.
Why is it that when big name writers finally get their chance to work on the Big Red S in his flagship book they always decide to tell some maudlin, heavy-handed, preachy, 'message' story that has the world's greatest hero acting like an impotent schlub out-of-touch with humanity and powerless to do anything about it. At least Kal hasn't started crying in this story yet (see: the woeful For Tomorrow by Brian Azzarello for an example of another writer who thought Superman readers only read the character for preachy cry-fests).
Now that sounded harsh and to be fair to JMS, this isn't a bad story. Preachy and heavy-handed and fairly dull and maudlin - yes, but it's not badly written. In fact, even though I only know his work from the wonderful Brave and Bold, JMS is showing me here why he's known for being the excellent writer he is. He really is gifted with his narration and dialogue and turns of phrase IMO.
But WHY couldn't he be putting those excellent writing skills of his to work on a story that was actually interesting to read about? And so far this story has just not been interesting (IMO). And I came into it VERY open-minded and wanted it to succeed.
I'm sure as big a fan of the character as JMS is has other stories he wants to tell about Superman and all his supporting characters and villains in Metropolis. I wish Kal would quickly finish his walk so JMS can get to all that.
On the plus side, Eddy Barrows' artwork has been phenomenal! From starting off as what I thought of as a poor-man's Tony Daniel clone, he is now one of my favourit artists at DC. Fantastic work AND he seems to be able to handle a monthly! DC needs to hold onto him tight!
From: Australia | Registered: Dec 2003
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posted
I'm actually really enjoying JMS story so far. The scope may seem smaller scale than some other Superman stories, but I think the writing and artwork are good enough to still really enjoy each issue.
Superman from the Golden Age to the Silver Age had a nice history of these types of personal stories anyway, so I think this is a more fitting story for Superman, than say Flash or Green Lantern.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Anyone know if Gates and Igle are off Supergirl?!?! DC's latest solicitation has another creative team listed (Nick Spencer and Bernard Chang) and a vague enoughj description to make it unclear as to whether this is a fill-in or a creative change. Though a Supergirl title with Spencer writing could be a good thing, I'm pretty fond of Gates and Igle. Did I miss an announcement somewhere?
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Yea, new creative team comes in with #50 or 51. The new team looks solid but like you, I think Gates / Igle has been outstanding. They've undone all the bad Supergirl-ness from when Kara was reintroduced and made her firmly "the real Supergirl".
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Chief Taylor: Anyone know if Gates and Igle are off Supergirl?!?! DC's latest solicitation has another creative team listed (Nick Spencer and Bernard Chang) and a vague enoughj description to make it unclear as to whether this is a fill-in or a creative change. Though a Supergirl title with Spencer writing could be a good thing, I'm pretty fond of Gates and Igle. Did I miss an announcement somewhere?
posted
So, as per a thousand angry message board posters, it seems JMS is stepping back from the Superman (and Wonder Woman) monthlies to concentrate on his Earth One sequel... ALREADY!
This is very surprising to me. I'd heard of his bad reputation for not finishing books but to do it so soon into his high-profile relaunches of 2 of DC's top 3 flagship books - that takes some serious chutzpah IMO.
I'm not sure what to do with this book now. I haven't really been enjoying the stories but I have been really appreciating the way JMS has written them (if that makes sense), so to take him away from the one thing he's doing good at and leave it some complete unknown (to me) to follow his not-very-interesting plots seems like the worst result possible.
I'm looking to drop books to save money for a holiday anway so this might just be the first to go.
From: Australia | Registered: Dec 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Blacula: So, as per a thousand angry message board posters, it seems JMS is stepping back from the Superman (and Wonder Woman) monthlies to concentrate on his Earth One sequel... ALREADY!
No one at DC seems to have expected SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE to do as well as it has. Now that the numbers are in, they're fast-tracking the followups. (There were always meant to be followups, but now DC wants them sooner. That's something some of the whiners don't seem to get.) It's less JMS' fault than it is a business decision made by the company.
What I haven't seen addressed yet is what's going to happen to Brave and the Bold, which has been in limbo for a while now.
posted
^ I know right. B&B is the only book in this whole drama that I really care about... and I can't find a straight answer from anywhere about what's going to happen to it.
I will be devastated if it gets cancelled. It's my fave book on the stands right now ('now' meaning 5 months ago or whenever the last issue came out).
Since JMS doesn't seem to be able (or want) to commit to a monthly I don't know why DC doesn't just get a different creative team on this book and have JMS do an issue every now and then when he feels like it (I get the impression he was enjoying working on this book so I'm sure he'd be up for that). It's not like this book needs a consistent creative team anyway. All it needs is good stories.
From: Australia | Registered: Dec 2003
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posted
JMS called B&B his way of "getting an education on the DCU", so I think you're right that he did enjoy it. He's also announced (I believe on DC Source) a break from writing monthlies to focus on original graphic novels.
If there aren't any finished scripts lying around for a team to put together, they could always do on that book what they are doing with Supes and WW and make use of JMS' story ideas.
posted
Well, I've enjoyed his stuff on Supes and WW quite a bit so this sucks to me, personally. Too bad--I was looking forward to more. I'll keep reading as other writers finish his plots but I've lost my excitement.
I understand the business end of it much in the same way I understand insurance companies raising your rates, prescription drugs costing so much and Wall St bankers giving themselves crazy bonuses. My feelings about all of those things are very similar to how I feel about this business decision.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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