The Superboy-Kid Flash Race

Superboy (Volume 4) #5
Written by Jeff Lemire
Art by Pier Gallo

 

Anybody notices Superboy calls Beast Boy Garth instead of Gar? Come on DC Editors! Anyways, the Kid Flash/Superboy race was a lot of fun and it was great to see them being heroes on the way across the globe. The winner was Krypto which was kind of a cop-out (we all know Kid Flash would win) but oh well. Fun issue that managed to further the main plot as well.

Superboy 3 and 4

Superboy (Volume 4) #3
Written by Jeff Lemire
Art by Pier Gallo

A boy from the future calling himself Psionic Lad shows up at Smallville High causing havoc and asking Superboy for help but the best part of this issue has to be the talk between Connor and Bart: I think a Superboy/Kid Flash race is a great idea.

Superboy (Volume 4) #4
Written by Jeff Lemire
Art by Pier Gallo

 

Spoiler Warning…….I knew Psyonic Lad was too good to be true. I wonder what his real story is? Or perhaps Superboy is the evil dictator of Acropolis in the future? The stuff with Lori Luthor is well…she is related to him I mean that’s gross and I really hope DC doesn’t go there.

Christmas With Supergirl

Supergirl (Volume 5) #59
Written by Sterling Gates
Art by Jamal Igle

Gates and Igle end their critically praised run on this title with this issue and I think they ended it all quite nicely by kind’ve stopping that Cat Grant hating Supergirl thing after Cat is saved by Supergirl from Dollmaker (who is an incredibly creepy little guy) and showing a nice Christmas with the Superman family of characters at the end. Kara has come along way since Gates took over and I think history will look back on his run very fondly.

Trapped In Her Vines

Superboy (Volume 4) #2
Written by Jeff Lemire
Art by Pier Gallo

 

Another fantastic issue of this book. Lemire’s Superboy is much better than Johns’s Adventure Comics run with him because it doesn’t focus on the whole Lex Luthor thing and has a Connor Kent who has moved past this. I liked Poison Ivy in this, I think she works best as a villain, if a somewhat likeable one, and she is definitely a villain here caring very little for the life of an innocent farmer. I wonder if they will show Superboy bring her to Gotham next issue? That would be cool. Simon Valentine is becoming a rather interesting sidekick for Superboy too and the smallville-hating villains at the end were intriguing.

Welcome To Smallville

Superboy (Volume 4) #1
Written by Jeff Lemire
Art by Pier Gallo

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this series. I haven’t really enjoyed Lemire’s Atom co-feature in Adventure but that is probably more cause Ray Palmer is boring cause I gotta say I enjoyed the heck out of this debut issue. I’d even say it was better then any of Geoff Johns’s Adventure run with Superboy. Lemire sets up a mystery and the supporting cast of Superboy quite well at the same time featuring two supervillains and some great character moments. Gallo’s art is great too. I hope that they aren’t setting up Lori Luthor as a love interest…that’s just weird. And it was great to see Superboy use his tactile telekinesis again!

Mind Space

Action Comics #892
Written by Paul Cornell
Art by Pete Woods
Co-Feature by Jeff Lemire
Art by Pier Gallo

 

Lex discovers the spot where the black rings dissapated I take it and it is able to mess with minds. This is deep stuff involving quantum physics and the mind as part of the space-time continuum. Not what I expected when I heard this book would star Lex Luthor but I like it! Cornell has proven to me this will be a good run! Deathstroke is overused and now even has a book he stars in so I think his inclusion here was completely unnecessary but what can you do. The Superboy Co-Feature which is really just a preview of the upcoming Superboy book was interesting to say the least. Why is Raven half-naked throughout it?

Action 889 and 890

Action Comics #889
Written by Greg Rucka and Eric Trauttman
Art by Jose Perez
Co-Feature by James Robinson
Art by Cafu

 

The main story ends Rucka and Trautmann’s run on the book by having Chris and Thara defeat the false Rao. It was a kind of a wimper of an ending. I have to say that I have grown to like these two characters as they have starred in this book – but not enough to really miss them. I like the mythology of it all but I think it is just time to move on. The finale to the Captain Atom back-up was more exciting as Mirabai is defeated and Captain Atom’s reputation restored. I really thought this back-up was a neat idea all-around and I’d say it was successful.

Action Comics #890
Written by Paul Cornell
Art by Pete Woods

Wow that was unexpected. I wasn’t sure what to think when I heard Lex Luthor would be the new star of Action Comics but damn this was awesome. Lex is an evil bastard and Cornell writes him that way. He has an employee killed just for embarrassing him, he builds a robot Lois to be his companion haha, and he is obsessed with finding the secrets to the Power Rings. Great start!

All Coming Together

Superman #699
Written by James Robinson
Art by Bernard Chang

 

This is part 8 of the Last Stand of New Krypton storyline that began in Last Stand #1 and continued here, here, here, Last Stand #2, here, and here. Things are all falling into place as Kandor is restored by Supergirl and Brainiac 5 and Superman and Zod take on Brainiac. I am not exactly sure what happened at the end – was that a city coming out of Brainiac’s ship. Did Lex just double cross Brainiac? And why is Mon-El worried that Sam Lane knew so much about Daxamite. I am not annoyed with all the questions – just intrigued. I can’t wait to see where this all goes!

Red Robin 9 and 10

Red Robin #9
Written by Christopher Yost
Art by Marcus To

 

The end of this issue is the beginning of Batgirl #8. They weren’t the same scene at all though! What the hell is wrong with the editors at DC Comics. If you are going to do a crossover shouldn’t this all be coordinated? Anyways Tim returning to Gotham is really awesome, loved about every panel of this issue. To draws Gotham fantastically.

Red Robin #10
Written by Christopher Yost
Art by Marcus To

 

Former lovers Tim and Steph continue their team-up in their new personas in this issue and I am still annoyed that Tim has not asked what happened to Cassandra! Whatever the art was good and the mystery with Ra’s, Hush, and Vicki Vale is really interesting. I am still loving Tam Fox as a character. Good stuff.

Wanted More

Adventure Comics #511
Written by Sterling Gates, James Robinson, and Eric Trautmann 
Art by Travis Moore, Julian Lopez, and Piere Gallo

 

This issue serves as Prologue to the Last Stand of New Krypton story that begins next week. In it we get three separate stories. One deals with the Legion in the future, one with them meeting up with Superboy and Mon-El in Smallville, as well as a third story dealing with General Lane unknowingly hiring a Kryptonian into Project 7734. It was all entertaining and revealed some more secrets but I feel like it didn’t further the story as much as it should have. Something better happen soon! We get a better understanding of why Lane hates Kryptonians although its clearly a hate bread from fear, which is what all hate is. I liked that and I like all the Legion stuff but I guess I wanted more from this issue then I got.

Odd Arrangement

Superman #697
Written by James Robinson
Art by Bernard Chang

 

The Legion makes its presence known to Mon-El and Superboy in this issue. I love the idea that the Legion has been in the past for so long, I mean at least since Countdown and the Lightning Saga. This was a good issue I enjoyed it a lot but I was confused by the whole scene at the Kent Farm. Was that supposed to be a flashback? If so, what was the purpose? It seemed kind of odd the way those scenes were arranged not sure how to explain it.

All The Powers Of Superman

Adventure Comics #510
Written by Tony Bedard
Art by Travis Moore

Ummmm Bedard could have taken over this series for all I care because this was a great issue! Bedard shows he knows the character of Connor Kent inside and out by recapping his history while moving the story forward. This was by far the best Blackest Night tie-in yet. We get to see lots of action and great characterization at the same time. The strong love between Wonder Girl and Superboy and their training to make sure Connor is never mind controlled again (Nice use of continuity by the way, I would never have thought of that) allows for Superboy to escape from the Black Lantern ring. The art was fabulous as well. Oh and Superboy gets freeze-breath finally! Now he has all the powers of Superman. I kinda liked it when he was all about the tactile telekinesis but this is okay too.

Lex Luthor Is Quite Evil

Adventure Comics #509
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Francis Manapul

I get the feeling that this was a rushed ending – but that is okay because it was a great story. I can’t say that I understand why Lex did what he did – curing his sister and then reversing the cure. Lex is a whackjob. He really can cure all these ailments but instead chooses to fight Superman and cares about nothing else. I loved that Connor came to the conclusion that he is nothing like Lex and it was great to see Connor with Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, and Red Robin like the old Teen Titans days. They really are the best of friends. I was afraid at first that Johns was trying to show that Lex was actually good and cared for his family, which while would be nice, it really takes away from his character and I am glad that it turned out to just be another evil scheme. Oh and the idea of Brainiac-Luthor hybrid is pretty cool, I look forward to that wherever it plays out. Johns and Manapul will be missed on this title.

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.

Smug

Adventure Comics #508
Written by Geoff Johns and Sterling Gates
Art by Jerry Ordway
Co-Feature by Johns
Art by Francis Manapul

Grant Morrison’s Animal Man and even the final pages of Legion of Three Worlds were a cool way of bring the readers into the story – but when you hammer it into the story too much the coolness disappears and it just becomes annoying, which is how I felt about this issue. Seeing Superboy-Prime tear up the DC Comics headquarters makes the book written for the people writing it and not the fans. I felt like Johns was really being overly self-important here. I did not like it. Especially considering Geoff Johns used to be my favorite writer, I expect better from him. The Superboy back-up was much better then the Prime story as we discover the Lori character is related to a certain evil bald billionaire. I liked it.

The Return of Matter-Eater Lad

Superman #694
Written by James Robinson
Art by Javier Pina

This was pretty slow-paced compared to the break neck speed this book has been going story-wise before this. I can’t say that it’s a refreshing change of pace because I have been really liking how this book has been but that doesn’t mean this was a bad issue. I liked that it was Martha Kent who sewed the S into Mon-El’s costume and the revelation that Mon-El’s friend is actually Matter Eater Lad was pretty damn cool, even if you have no familiarity with the character like I don’t. He just is a hilarious character, and I like that Robinson came up with an extremely plausible use for his power. Good stuff but a little slow compared to what this book has been like.

World’s Finest Best Buds

Adventure Comics #506
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Francis Manapul
Co-Feature by John and Michael Shoemaker
Art by Clayton Henry

Now this is a really great comic. For anyone who knows the history and relationship between Connor Kent and Tim Drake, this would be a lot of fun to read. I have followed them since their Young Justice days and it is great to see them working together again…it reminds me of when I hang out with my old friends and instantly there is that bonding even though we are both in completely different places (emotionally, mentally, and physically) then we were the last time we saw each other. It was very relatable for me. Johns uses continuity awesomely as usual. I wonder why he is building up the supporting cast like Lori and Simon Valentine if he is just going to be leaving this book after issue 6. Is Paul Levitz going to still be exploring these characters? Didio made it seem like that wasn’t so in interviews. Anyways, we get in the heads of both characters and they both open up to each other and were completely genuine about what they are going through and I liked that. As for the Legion co-feature, it was definitely the best part yet as we have a great team-up between Polar Boy and Sun Boy and learn that the Legion of Super-Villains have some of their members hidden in the 21st century.