posted
Well, so far his WW has underwhelmed, so that may be an easy drop. (I have last month's issue still to read, though, so if it sets my nads on fire... )
The Superman stuff has been much better, IMO. But I'm not sure if a different scripter will make the stories resonate as much as they have for me with JMS. Don't get me wrong--"Grounded" hasn't exactly been an instant classic, so far, but it's been enjoyable. I've heard good things about Roberson (and about Hester's writing, as well), but I might just wait and see how the reviews go on Roberson's first issue and base my decision on those.
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
I just finished Superman #705 and then instantly called my comic shop and asked them to drop this book from my pull-list. JMS or no JMS, this book is a walking abortion IMO and I want nothing more to do with it.
Preachy, heavy-handed, cliched, unoriginal, completely lacking in surprise or excitement, BORING - all words I could use to describe #705... and nothing I buy comics for.
I get what JMS is trying to do with this storyline - he wants to use a larger-than-life, other-worldly man-God like Superman to address all these much more down-to-earth, 'human' problems like neglecting our communities, drug-abuse, xenophobia, domestic violence, child abuse and so on. But he's gone about it in the worst way possible.
By having Superman trudge across America in this almost depressed fashion literally coming across the 'issue' of the week (almost Smallville krypto-villain style) and then having Superman deliver a ham-fisted lecture to us (literally to us the reader in #705!) at the end of each issue - it's like JMS's storyline is an after-school special that won't end!
The worst thing is, these important themes/issues have ALREADY been addressed, AND BETTER, in the excellent and much-missed 'Triangle' Superman period of the late 80s to mid 90s. There, Superman dealt with things like...
and so on in ways that were much more integrated into the storytelling (and therefore all the more interesting and powerful for it) than this hackneyed and frankly amateurish way that JMS is telling his story here.
Honestly, I cannot believe that this is the same writer who's been giving me the incredible Brave and Bold month after (late) month. I remember people (not at Legion World) accusing some of his stories there as being preachy (the Dial-H-for-Hero one springs to mind) but the message Batman delivered to Robby at the end of that issue was *earned* and a necessary conclusion to Robby's actions earlier.
Here, Superman literally just strolls into town; meets some new, completely throw-away characters who have some problem or other; addresses it in some way; delivers a preachy message about how we all need to look after each other or something; and then strolls on to tackle the issue of the month next month. Rinse and repeat.
Not good comic books IMO.
From: Australia | Registered: Dec 2003
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posted
On Monday I bought two issues of Peter David's Supergirl series, 40 and 41. It was a two-part story revolving around Ember, the Earth-Angel of fire whom preceded Supergirl, and the revamped Satan Girl. As you all know, Sterling Gates revealed ANOTHER revamped Satan Girl in the Supergirl Annual, but she was visually based off of David's Satan Girl.
I picked these up because I had read a review of the two issues on a Supergirl blog, and a comment on them read about how themes like joy, affection, redemption, salvation, and non-romantic love are practically NEVER done anymore.
The story behind these two issues is that Supergirl wished to know more about her predecessor, Ember, from her descendant Tammy Neil. A spell meant for Supergirl to contact the currently deceased Ember backfired and led to the resurrection of Dolores Pratchet, Satan Girl. She does battle with Supergirl, mistaking her, at first, for Ember, but Satan Girl manages to switch Supergirl and Ember in time.
Ember, as it turns out, was a slave whom belonged to Dolores Pratchet during the 1700s. She was the nanny and caregiver of Dolores' young daughter, Rachel, and loved the girl dearly. Ember was also a Satanist under the tutelage of Dolores, and had an affair with her husband. Dolores accused Ember of witchcraft and seduction, and had her burned at the stake. Now, Ember was not a good person, but she did love and care for Rachel, as did the young girl. Don't assume though that this is "ooh chil'" mammy type of thing. Rachel loved Ember and tried to help her escape from being burned at the stake, believing in Ember and loving her back. She loved Ember so much, that Rachel threw herself on the fire trying to save her.
The basic belief in Peter David's Supergirl, was that an Earth-Born angel was created when a good person sacrifices their self in order to save a damned person, so by sacrificing herself, Rachel was reborn along with Ember as an Earth-Born. Dolores, however, enraged that her daughter was now merged with the woman who tried to steal her husband, sold her soul and became Satan Girl (she originally bore a costume identical to the ORIGINAL Satan Girl). She battled Ember many times over the next couple of centuries. I must point out that Ember lasted a while as an angel because she rarely used her powers, and another belief was that the Earth-Born would slowly become corrupt by the human element. Finally, Ember, and by association Rachel, were cast into hell when Ember killed Satan Girl.
Satan Girl intended for Ember to allow Supergirl to die in her place, so that way Rachel would not be damned along with Ember. However, Supergirl and Ember share a moment where the two can speak face to face. Ember admitted that she was scared of going back to damnation, and Supergirl replied that Ember should do what she thought was right, and let God sort out the details. She was willing to allow herself to die in Ember's place, if she so chose to do. Instead, Ember did the right thing and returned. With that act, Satan Girl was reclaimed by the grave, and Ember had managed to gain salvation for herself AND Rachel.
Satan Girl's motives were anger for her daughter being lumped together with the self-serving Ember, and then trying to save the girl from damnation. Satan Girl was a villain, and had murdered many people, including children, but in its twisted way, it was a noble motive for her as a mother.
Ember was a sinner and rightfully damned, but it was apparent that she loved Rachel, going as far as to defend the girl from a herd of search dogs, and Rachel loved Ember, going as far as disobeying her parents and throwing herself on the fire to save her.
Supergirl was willing to let Ember choose whether or not she lived, not making judgements and handling the situation in stride, like a heroine.
You don't see this kind of writing, I'll tell you that much.
-------------------- I want to be hated by lies - Bring Back Lian Harper
posted
The recent issues of Supergirl saw creators Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle wrap-up their run on Supergirl, which has lasted a number of years. The story was a small-scale but very good story about the Toyman (and his son, the Dollmaker), although the story was really about bringing some closure to the Cat Grant / Supergirl fued which has been going on since their run began. On both levels it succeeded and the Cat Grant / Supergirl story was very well done. It finally let this ‘new’ Cat Grant connect to the readers on some level, and also at long last tied together her history to her previous long run as a supporting character for the title, since that has basically been ignored.
(In fact, Gates seems to be the only one who helped tie together Lana Lang and Cat Grant’s current status to their long history with the Superman family when everyone else ignored it; for that, I give him thanks).
The story was very good but more important, I think readers should pause for a moment and think about how much Gates & Igle have succeeded. When Supergirl was reintroduced a few years ago, it was quite frankly—a catastrophe. DC failed on every level and basically presented her a Paris Hilton-like jerk, self-centered and possibly even going evil. They did so much damage that many people—included many on Legion World—still see her this way even though readers of her title know that is not the case. It’s actually been a few years since she’s been like that, and the damage is still there; I want to kick other posters when they still think this, but honestly, I can’t blame them.
What Gates & Igle have done is come in and essentially restore a level of respectability to Supergirl. They took the modern version and made her the Silver Age Supergirl in the same way the modern Superman is the Silver Age Superman (and the current Legion is the Silver Age Legion). None of those three are exactly the same, but they’re pretty close. Supergirl at long last *is* Supergirl!
Gates made her someone who, as a teenager, makes mistakes, makes bad decisions, and is overwhelmed by the world at large. Yet, he showcased her heroic side, her intelligent side, her brave side and the part of her that is at least trying to be a better person, but forgiving her enemies, taking the high road and giving people a chance. He did all of those things so well, that I now see Supergirl that way.
Meanwhile, Igle came in and took the style Supergirl had been presented in—which frankly, was pretty slutty—and subtly changed the image so there was a touch of class to her look once again. I know some people go nuts about the belly shirt (but c’mon that’s a kind of ridiculous item to get mad about), but IMO, Igle made the costume work. The very clear decision (and I know it was his from interviews) to no longer show ‘up-skirt shots’ was a small yet major step. In the meantime, he also provided solid story-arcs that were exciting and dynamic.
This creative team doesn’t get a lot of praise and that’s a shame. Because the damage had already been done and readers had already given up on Kara so they didn’t get to see these guys come in and restore her to her proper place in the DCU. I’m very much looking forward to the next creative team (Nick Spencer—alright!) but I recognize that any success they have is partially due to Gates & Igle coming through in a big way on this run.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
I read one of the Gates/Igle trades, I forget the title, but it's the one with the mystery of who Superwoman is. I enjoyed it until the end, when (spoiler box)
Click Here For A SpoilerSuperwoman turns out to be Lucy Lane, and she literally explodes.
I thought that was DISGUSTING and all to typical of DC in the last few years. It's like so many DC books, even the decent ones, are tainted.
posted
I just read Supergirl #59 the other night. As Cobie remarks above, this is the end of the excellent run by Gates and Igle, a run that was awesome for all the reasons Cobie states but still feels as if it's ending too soon. This is especially so because their run was constantly intruded upon by the New Krypton storyline. They did the best they could with those intrusions, but it was their issues that were unfettered by the crossovers which truly showed what the team was capable of.
Sadly, I will be leaving with Gates and Sterling because the previously-announced new writer, Nick Spencer, has since pulled out. I've never heard of James Peaty, and Nick's aborted run makes me thing DC might be imposing undo influence on the future direction of the series. I will watch the reviews though and check the series out if they are enthusiastic.
Back to the issue at hand: I thought 59 was a wonderful coda to the Gates/Igle run! It tied in very nicely to their first issue which introduced Cat Grant's antagonism with Kara and resolved that antagonism (or at least showed progress to it). It's the conclusion of a two-parter in which Cat reluctantly enlists Supergirl's aid in finding some missing children. Cat has been receiving dolls coinciding with each disappearance.
Last issue, they went after the villain whose modus operandi most fits the crimes, Winslow Schott, the Toyman, who is still in prison. After the dolls viciously attack Schott, Cat and Kara get the idea that someone else is behind the crimes. This issue it turns out someone else is Schott's son, the Dollmaker. It seems Cat Grant has been his fixation all along because Cat lost her son to Toyman (or one of his creations if you believe the Johns retcons) years earlier. In the end it's up to Kara to rescue Cat from this truly maniacal individual, and Cat gets some closure on her son's death as they save the kidnapped children.
A subplot that I really enjoyed was when the villainous Superwoman gets a visit from her sister. If you don't know who Superwoman is, let's just say that she's an established family member of a famous supporting character. It's a satisfying, emotional resolution for one of the major plot points of the Gates/Igle run.
I think Gates does a superb job of making this issue an accessible one if you hadn't read the first part or even if you hadn't read any of their run to date.You could argue that the recap takes a lot of space, but to an extent it is any creative team's responsibility to make each issue accessible.
The ending is heartwarming and unapologetically happy as members of the Superman family gather at Ma Kent's for a Christmas celebration. We don't see nearly enough of this anymore in comics as I would like. A fabulous way for the run to end.
Jamal Igle has a clean style that's a cousin to Jurgens and Ordway with a bit of a modern edge to it. He always delivers with the storytelling, and as Cobie points out, he's subtly de-sluttized Kara's look while essentially keeping it the same. The leggings under the skirt were a terrific idea as was the narrowing of the amount of midriff showing.
I hope we see Gates and Igle on some other title(s) very soon, preferably together. It can't be overstated what a terrific reclamation they did on a character that had been missing the mark so badly since being reintroduced. I will miss them (and Kara) for now.
Lardy's rating for Supergirl #59: 4 donuts (out of five)!
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
^Excellent review Lardy, and you bring up an important point about how this series was hampered by tons and tons of editorial mandated crossovers with the bore of a storyline, New Krypton. I'm hugely dissapointed that Spencer is coming on (as I was unaware he backed out) and it makes me wonder if DC's editorializing their writers is part of the reason?
You bring up something else about Gate's writing that is a good point: his stories were for the most part very accessible to new readers.
Catching up on Superman, I read the ‘abused child’ story and it dawned on me that JMS’s run has now done what I feared: it crossed over from a well-written story where there are no easy answers to being way too preachy, with each issue being a ‘very special issue’ a la Judd Winnick or Punky Brewster / refrigerator madness. It was enough where I really didn’t enjoy the story at all. Looking back through this thread, Blacula on the previous page lists several excellent stories in the 90’s where Superman dealt with these issues in a way that was well-written and not preachy at all. With that in mind, it renders this lesser story pretty worthless.
The following issue, by G. Willow Wilson, who I like quite a bit, is a focus on Perry White and the Daily Planet, which I was glad to see. I thought it was a good effort, but Wilson didn’t seem to have quite the right grip on Perry White’s character. Ultimately it left me a bit flat. Between Action Comics (which I’ll review later this month) and Superman, I realize nothing much has changed in the last year: the two Superman titles are the worst of the Super-familiy.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Chief Lardy: Fickles: Click Here For A SpoilerLucy/Superwoman got better.
That's a relief. Thanks, Chief. Now, after reading your reply and your review of the final Gates/Igle issue, I wish the library had the rest of the Gates/Igle run. Maybe they'll get in the final trade.
quote:Originally posted by Chief Lardy: Fickles: Click Here For A SpoilerLucy/Superwoman got better.
That's a relief. Thanks, Chief. Now, after reading your reply and your review of the final Gates/Igle issue, I wish the library had the rest of the Gates/Igle run. Maybe they'll get in the final trade.
I should qualify my reviews for Supergirl, Fickles, by stating that graphic violence did rear its head hear and there in the run. The Dollmaker's dolls, for example, do attack Toyman and stab him.
Personally, I think the violence is used effectively there, and not gratuitously. The scene you mention with Superwoman to me was shocking but very effective. But I don't want to just recommend it, then have you come back wondering why I didn't warn you about the violence. I was shocked that you found such a disturbing level in Booster's series as it never really stuck out with me. So be forewarned.
Also, the storyline that preceded the Dollmaker wasn't my favorite and would likely be included in the trade. It involved a prolonged Bizarro Supergirl storyline that was very hit or miss. But the annual with the LSH was done very well. Also the first annual (from 2009) focused mostly on Superwoman and her origin (and rebirth), and I thought it was very well done.
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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There were actually only two things in the Booster series that really bothered me -- one was the alternate-timeline Beatriz being graphically burned to death, the other was the Rip's off-panel torture of Ray. But they both bothered me a lot, especially what happened to Beatriz!
posted
I know it's splitting hairs, but the fact that it's an alternate Beatriz didn't bother me as much. I mean, part of the purpose of being a time cop is to prevent events from unfolding in bad ways. Sometimes you need to see the bad things happening to understand what Booster's fighting for, IMO.
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
SUPERGIRL 60: It's a testament to the writing when a conversation in a college cafeteria is so gripping that Supergirl vs. Silver Banshee, Parasite, Kryptonite Man(!) and Metallo takes back seat. But that's the case here.
Harvard students Alex, David, Justin and Elise are in on the creation of 'FLYOVER', an app that allows users to post sighting of superheroes as they're seen. Potential for good? Yes. For entertainment? Of course. For evil? Oh, yes. Since villains can sign on, too- they'll know just when and where to strike.
Which seems to be Alex's aim. He thinks superheroes are inhibiting the advance of civilization. He has a distinctive motivation that makes a perverted kind of sense. Though I question his interpretation of the Roman Empire and their dealings with blacks, Jews, etc.
I haven't seen THE SOCIAL NETWORK yet, so I don't know how closely the creation of FLYOVER mimics that of Facebook, but there's an obvious homage going on. Alex is an instant 'keeper'. What a villain he could make. Or an interfering 'gray'? Alex's already practicing 'personal' crime as he seduces Elise, threatens to 'out' Justin and manipulates/blackmails David.
If FLYOVER is used elsewhere, its evolution could be interesting to watch. I'd imagine the DCU heroes would hate it. Other than Booster Gold and, maybe, Jade. Anyone else?
A comic with a fight, an 'Idea' with a capital 'I', and a compelling new character at the center of a fascinating concept. Can't ask for much more. Well, maybe a bit more of the central character. Focusing elsewhere hasn't been something this title's done, to date.
From: Knoxville, TN | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
As I’m nearing the end of an enormous pile of comics I’ve been going through during CBRM, I’ve found that I can hardly get through an entire issue of Action Comics. It’s a combination of not caring that much about Lex Luthor and his story and finding the writing and the art to be rather bland. Even with the Secret 6 present, I found myself just skimming through, wishing that somehow this comic book can get back on track.
Meanwhile, I’ve been absolutely loving the Jimmy Olsen back-ups! They’ve been the saving grace for Action Comics, which is a shame, because they’re ending and will be completed in a one-shot. I think Nick Spencer has injected the sense of fun into the feature that recalls Jimmy’s glory days when his own comic was a top-seller, but Spencer has also been very smart to make sure it is an adventure heavy feature as well. I really wish this could be an ongoing series! The latest story is absolutely too cool for DC right now: Mr. Mxytplk’s (sp?) daughter or niece or something wants to marry Jimmy and he goes along with it until he realizes it’s too good to be true—unfortunately, not enough rape and torture for DC Comics these days and their ‘teen or older’ ratings!
I wish Superman could retake Action Comics and Jimmy could have his own title, not to mention a new team taking over Superman and somehow, someway, the Superman titles could be awesome again.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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