Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities Superman, Action Comics, and Supergirl

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!)

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.

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!

Guys. Check out this crack at Rise of Arsenal in a preview page to the next Supergirl issue.

http://blondthecolorist.deviantart.com/art/Supergirl-57-p3-181293240

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!

I don't care, I'll keep saying it, Bizarro Arsenal!

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?

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".

Timely article .

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.

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.

^ 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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

Domestic violence - http://www.comics.org/issue/51945/cover/4/?style=default

Families falling apart -
http://www.comics.org/issue/87719/cover/4/?style=default

Child abuse -
http://www.comics.org/issue/87739/cover/4/?style=default

Grief and revenge - http://www.comics.org/issue/87740/cover/4/?style=default

Racism - http://www.comics.org/issue/42709/cover/4/?style=default

Homelessness - http://www.comics.org/issue/47422/cover/4/?style=default

Drink driving - http://www.comics.org/issue/49074/cover/4/?style=default

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.

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.

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.

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)

<span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text">Superwoman turns out to be Lucy Lane, and she literally explodes.</span></span>

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.

Fickles: <span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text">Lucy/Superwoman got better.</span></span>

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)!

^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.

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.

Thank you for the warnings, Chief.

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!