Superman Batman 79 and 80

Superman/Batman #79
Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Jesus Merino

 

Roberson introduce (or re-introduces for some) to the DC Universe of the 853rd Century and I am one of the few who have never read DC One Million and therefore I am fascinated by this Justice Legion with its many worlds and I can’t wait to see more next issue. Epoch Lord of Time doesn’t seem like a new character but I could be wrong but he was a great way to frame the story and allow for the past and the future to collide.

Superman/Batman #80
Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Jesus Merino

Epoch is stopped by the Bronze Age World’s Finest and travels through time being defeated by each era’s Batman and Superman – Brilliant! I am looking forward to seeing more of Roberson’s run on the main Super-book after reading this awesomeness.

There’s An App For That

Supergirl (Volume 5) #60
Written by Nick Spencer and James Peaty
Art by Bernard Chang

The new creative team takes over Supergirl and while I was worried – I can say that I am quite happy with this issue. The idea of an app for tracking heroes is brilliant and something not done before. How many comic plots can be described like that? And Alex already seems like such a bastard he will make a great villain. I am intrigued!

Maggie Mxyzptlk

Action Comics #896
Written by Paul Cornell
Art by Pete Woods
Co-Feature by Nick Spencer
Art by RB Silva

 

I was utterly confused at what exactly went down in the boardroom at LexCorp here. Could it be the art? Did I read too quick? I don’t know but I am not sure why everyone was freaking out at the end. I liked the back-up a lot more as Jimmy goes in a date with Maggie Mxyzptlk! Awesome! It’s sad that this Jimmy Olsen co-feature won’t be continuing. I can’t believe I actually loved a Jimmy Olsen co-feature!

New Media

Superman #706
Written by G. Willow Wilson
Art by Amilcar Pinna

 

Despite I am sure being told to write these fill-ins quickly and close to deadlines, I am sure, Wilson has managed to hammer out some nice little interludes for Superman’s walk and this issue was no different as Perry White must deal with a blog damaging the Daily Planet’s representation. I took a New Media class in school and it’s no secret that print journalists are afraid of bloggers and the New media so I think this was a great concept to explore for the Daily Planet and the ending was quite good. I don’t know why Wilson didn’t use Jimmy Olsen instead of this new Sandeep character but oh well it works. And you would think someone would have seen Lois and Superman in a compromising postion by now and thought she was cheating on Clark right? Why didn’t anyone think of that before?

Fallen For This Book

Action Comics #895
Written by Paul Cornell
Art by Pete Woods
Co-Feature by Nick Spencer
Art by RB Silva

I have seriously fallen in love with Action Comics. This is a book starring Lex Luthor and Jimmy Olsen. I never would have guessed I would be loving it this much but I have to say that this book has stole my heart. Everything about it is good. The Jimmy back-up was hilarious. The Lex story made great use of continuity. In other words, buy it.

Every Page Is Filled With Awesomeness

Action Comics #894
Written by Paul Cornell
Art by Pete Woods
Co-Feature by Nick Spencer
Art by RB Silva

 

When did Action Comics get this good? I mean every page of this book is just fun awesomeness from Lex Luthor’s meeting with Death to Jimmy Olsen’s party with Aliens. Whatever I say will not do justice to how good this issue is. I loved every moment and Death stays true to her character in Sandman. I loved how Blackest Night was something she kinda noticed and found amusing – the Endless characters are so above and beyond the main DC Universe characters things that seem huge to the superheroes are very minor to them.

Grodd And His Battle Spoon

Action Comics #893
Written by Paul Cornell
Art by Sean Chen
Co-Feature by Nick Spencer
Art by RB Silva

 

The main feature was pretty awesome – although I don’t remember Grodd eating brains or having a giant spoon before this issue – that was weird and kind of annoying if its just being introduced here and I didn’t miss something. The end was fantastic but I almost wish DC hadn’t announced her appearance beforehand it would have been even more exciting! I was skeptical about the Jimmy Olsen back-up as I was never a huge fan of the character but it rocked as well! It helps that Chloe is in it too! Welcome to the DCU Chloe Sillivan!

Supergirl 55 and 56

Supergirl (Volume 5) #55
Written by Sterling Gates
Art by Jamal Igle

 

This was an a fantastic issue as Supergirl continues to fight Bizzarogirl who has some absolutely hilarious lines here and Kara decides to escape to Bizarro World. I like how she remembered Reactron’s captivity and connected that with Bizarrogirl being studies by Doctor Light.

Supergirl (Volume 5) #56
Written by Sterling Gates
Art by Jamal Igle

 

Supergirl goes to Bizarroworld and finds it being attacked by a big monster. It was a decent issue but not much to write about I guess.

Bizzarrogirl’s Party

Supergirl (Volume 5) #54
Written by Sterling Gates
Art by Jamal Igle

 

Supergirl decides to get over her moping and save Metropolis from the Bizarro version of herself. Igle’s art is quite beautiful in this issue and I like how he gave Supergirl shorter hair and all the details in her bedroom. Bizarrogirl trying to have a party was pretty amusing I actually didn’t mind her compared to how annoying I find Bizarro Superman. This was a good issue. I wonder what is going on with that creepy cop though?

Past, Present, and Future

Superman #700
Written by James Robinson, Dan Jurgens, and J. Michael Straczynski
Art by Bernard Chang, Jurgens, and Eddy Barrows

 

In this anniversary issue we get three stories in one. The first by Robinson closes off his run on this book by focusing on the reunion of Lois and Clark after the whole New Krypton thing. The dialogue is a lot of awkward but I think the message that these two really love one another came across well. Jurgen’s story takes place in the past and has Superman teaming up with Dick Grayson Robin and in the end doing his homework for him so he doesn’t get in trouble with Batman. It was really good and I loved the surprise ending where Clark gets a note from Batman at the daily planet. The final story begins JMS’s run on this book as a woman comes to Superman angry that he was off planet and because of this was unable to save her husband’s life. Honestly, I think she was a out of line here but I can see why this would effect Clark emotionally. We will see where JMS goes with it. All-in-all it was a good issue, I don’t think it was as epic as Batman’s anniversary issue but it was still good and focused on the character’s past, present, and future.

Time Loops

Adventure Comics #514
Written by Sterling Gates
Art by Travis Moore
Co-Feature by James Robinson
Art by Bernard Chang

In the main feature Brainiac 5 delivers Brainiac to the Coluans and Vril Dox and then delivers the Lanothians to Titan where they will be ruled over by Jemm and called Titanians from now on. I love the use of Legion continuity here and really establishing the origins of these places. I wonder if Titan will interact with earth at all in the 21st century? The back-up was an excellent ending to James Robinson’s entire run on Superman. He wraps up Mon-El’s storyline by having him return to the Phantom Zone and then arriving in the future all the way back to whatever issue of Legion he first appeared in the future in. I liked that he didn’t just leave but gave the letter to Billi Harper and remembered that he spent a year in this century on earth. I will miss his character and I think Robinson – in the end – really did a great job with him.

Fifty Issues And Still No Mention of Linda Danvers! Come On!

Supergirl (Volume 5) #50
Written by Sterling Gates
Art by Jamal Igle
Co-Feature by Helen Slater
Art by Cliff Chaing

 

The main feature of this book was Supergirl vs. Lana as Insect Queen. I liked that we fast forwarded a few days later and Supergirl is now a prisoner of the hive, and is rescued by Gangbuster and Doctor Light. But Kara takes down the Queen way too easily for a story that has been building for so long. I have a feeling this was rushed due to the New Krypton storyline which is kind of a shame. Kare’s reaction and anger toward Lana seems like her old self and that is kind of annoying so I don’t know how I feel about this issue just yet. The Helen Slater written back-up was a neat little look at the history of this Supergirl and I rather enjoyed it. But damn…I thought in 50 issues Linda Danvers, the previous Supergirl, could have been mentioned somewhere!

A Continuity Buff’s Wet Dream

Superman/Batman #68
Written by Joe Casey
Art by Ardian Syaf

This is the beginning of Casey’s run (not counting the one issue before Blackest Night) and the first issue of this book where the new format is Superman/Batman stories crossing over with the big events of the past. In other words, this is a continuity buff’s wet dream! Now I think they should have done a quick recap of 2001’s Our Worlds At War crossover but whatever, you don’t have to really know anything about that to understand this issue. The art was fantastic and each page was breathtaking. Definitely the best art we have had on this book in a while. The new villain is interesting at least in the shape shifter sense, I am not so sure about the other guy just yet. Good start to Casey’s run!

Revelations

Superman #695
Written by James Robinson
Art by Bernard Chang

I love the Superman books right now! I really can’t get enough of them. Robinson’s threads are coming together slowly but surely and it is so fun to see how tightly plotted everything is here. Steel wakes up from his coma, Jimmy is alive, the Legion has been behind a lot more then we thought…there are so many revelations in every issue of this book and I don’t think that’s a bad thing at all. This book is much better then Robinson’s awkward Justice League writing, if only it got a regular artist. I miss Guedes’s Metropolis.

Building

Action Comics #880
Written by Greg Rucka and James Robinson
Art by Julian Lopez
Co-Feature by Rucka and Robinson
Art by Cafu

This is the second part of the Codename: Patriot that began in World of New Krypton. I really enjoyed this. Probably even more so then I did the New Krypton crossover at this point in it. The plot and mystery is so thick; Rucka, Robinson, and everyone involved are telling a really awesome complex story here. Chris and Thara kiss before being captured by Project 7734. I loved Superman’s reunion with Lois after being away for so long. I wasn’t surprised that Zod’s shooter is working with General Lane after all the scheming we have seen Lane do. Everything is coming together and I imagine it is all going to explode in craziness. I can not really predict what is going to happen, but this is all leading somewhere big. The Captain Atom co-feature was beautiful to look at as he begins to remember who he is. The question now is where is he? Or When? Good stuff.

Robinson Understands His Playground

Superman #689
Written by James Robinson
Art by Renato Guedes

Mon-El spends this issue traveling the globe and meeting up with heroes and villains from all different countries. Each of these tales could have had their own issue or two but something about him summarizing it made everything a lot more exciting and less decompressed in the way most comics are. Robinson really takes advantage of writing in the DC Universe in a way that most writers don’t. That is what makes him one of the best writers that DC has right now. He utilizes his playground to the max. It was a lot of fun to see the different heroes internationally (some old and some new) and to cap it off, it looks like Steel is in trouble. Sam Lane is such a douchebag for wanting to kill Steel.

Supergirl 40 – 42

Supergirl (Volume 5) #40
Written by Sterling Gates
Art by Jamal Igle

So Lucy Lane is Superwoman! How? I do not know. Why? I do not know. Do I still wish she was Linda Danvers? No because Linda wasn’t a killer. This issue leaves me with more questions then answers but it was cool seeing Kara use her Batman and Amazon training.

Supergirl (Volume 5) #41
Written by Sterling Gates
Art by Fernando Dagnino

Oh my Rao! That was the most disturbing ending of an issue I have read in a while. Supergirl pulls off Lucy’s disc thingies in a costume and Lucy cries as she expands and then freaking blows up disgustingly. What the hell? We still don’t have any answers as to why or how Lucy was Superwoman, but she is seemingly dead now.

Supergirl (Volume 5) #42
Written by Sterling Gates
Art by Jamal Igle

So I can’t really say that I am happy with this issue. We did not get any pay off! Sure, we know Lucy was Superwoman but not much more then that. This entire issue just featured Lois getting upset over the possibility of Lucy’s death and General Lane being a douchebag as usual. Really, I want answers and I am getting impatient.