The Lost Battle of the Superman Family

Action Comics #983
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Viktor Bogdanovic

It’s the Superman family (sadly still missing Connor Kent and Linda Danvers) versus the Superman Revenge Squad and wow did they get their asses handed to them by the bad guys. In the end, they are all sent to the Phantom Zone and it looks like Zod may have killed Lois and Jon, although I suspect they were not in that ship he blew up despite what Superman thinks I am sure Lois came up with a plan and saved them both. I enjoyed this issue and I look forward to seeing them all try to escape the Phantom Zone and what Zod is up to exactly.

Incomplete Superman Family

Action Comics #982
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Jack Herbert and Jose Luis

This was an okay issue. The Superman Revenge Squad comes after Superman at the fortress of solitude and nearly beats him to a pulp because he is blind from the last issue. Luckily it looks like the rest of the Superman family shows up on the final page to save him. Seeing that spread of these characters – I can’t help but miss Connor Kent and especially Linda Danvers. Sad.

The Name of the Team

Suicide Squad (Volume 5) #19
Written by Rob Williams
Art by Neil Edwards

I always though Suicide Squad was just a nickname and they were really Task Force X – but they sure call themselves Sucide Squad a lot here and are even called that by amanda Waller. I don’t know why but that bothered me. As for this issue, it was okay. Nothing really of note happened except a fight with Zod who is a character that I have never thought was all that interesting.

Superman Goes Dark

Action Comics #981
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Jack Herbert

This Jack Herbert seems like the perfect Superman artist. He draws the hero in such a beautiful way. I thought that Jurgens was showing us that the trio of the Eradicator, Cyborg Superman, and Zod are a force to be reckoned with in this issue but the final issue shows that something else has happened to Superman! And it is something I wonder will last for a while or will be fixed in one issue? I hope it gets explored well because I don’t remember this ever happening to Superman before this. This was a good issue of Action Comics.

Suicide Squad 14 – 18

Suicide Squad (Volume 5) #14
Written by Rob Williams
Art by John Romita Jr. and Eddy Barrows

Big shocker…Amanda Waller is not really dead. Actually, no one in this series ever stays dead so why call it Suicide Squad? I can’t say I enjoyed this issue all that much. It was just the Suicide Squad for some reason going after that Rustam guy and I don’t buy at all that they would stick together after being released from jail. This makes me miss how good Gail Simone’s Secret Six was. Remember when Deadshot had actual characterization?

Suicide Squad (Volume 5) #15
Written by Rob Williams
Art by John Romita Jr. and Eddy Barrows

Okay I have to give it to Rob Williams he did write some funny Harley Quinn dialogue in this issue. At one point she yells a command, “Suicide Squad attack! Make defamatory comments! Use Sarcasm.” That gave me a chuckle. This was a much better written issue. Amanda Waller’s evil is always fun to read in a weird way. That being said, Romita and Barrows have very different art styles and it is jarring to see them both in one issue.

Supergirl Rebirth 1 – 9

Supergirl (Volume 7) #1
Written by Steve Orlando
Art by Brian Ching

I went into this issue expecting to at the least find it boring if not hate it. I love Linda Danvers – she is Supergirl to me and ever since Kara Zor-El replaced her I have been pissed – and mostly pissed because no one ever seemed to mention there was a Supergirl before her. I want her to be acknowledged! And now we have Kara living with people who are Danvers. Can we at least ackowledge her somewhere Steve Orlando?! Anyways, I did not hate this issue. It was actually a good set up of taking what has worked with the Supergirl tv series and applying it to the comic book universe but still keeping it different enough to be its own thing. I sure hope Martian Manhunter shows up soon! That being said, I find the art distracting.

 

Supergirl (Volume 7) #2
Written by Steve Orlando
Art by Brian Ching

Cat Grant is written as interesting as she is on the tv show in this issue when Kara goes to interview at the new Catco Worldwide Media. I appreciate that they followed continuity and explained that Cat left the daily planet to find this new company. The stuff about Supergirl’s Dad being maybe still alive as a robot annoys me as it has been done before. We don’t need more Kryptonian angst in DC Comics. Can we also get a new artist on this book? Sometimes Ching doesn’t even draw faces!

Action Comics 977 – 980

Action Comics #977
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Ian Churchill

I expected that Superman would now remember his New 52 life and his Pre-New 52 life after events of the last issue where the New 52 Superman and our Superman were combined but that isn’t exactly what happens here as Superman explores his history through the Kryptonian recording we only got a story similar to the Pre-New 52 history with a combination of the Geoff Johns and John Byrne origin stories. Also, Perry White knows about Jon Kent and Lois and Clark got married again in this universe and everyone remembers it. Interesting.

Action Comics #978
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Carlo Barberi

More of Superman’s history is told in this issue as see Death of Superman, Superman’s marriage and proposal, and pretty much his entire history up to 2011 and the New 52 is back! I can’t be happier about that. If you were a fan of the New 52 Superman – and I do not know why you would be – you would not be happy as that history is completely written over where now Superman disappeared for the new 52 era as he focused on raising his son out of the public eye and only returned to the Daily Planet and a public life as Superman recently. The New 52 era is at least not remembered by Superman or completely erased. This all ties into DC Rebirth as Mr. Oz threatens Superman again in the fortress of solitude. I loved this issue.

The Memories of All Restored

Action Comics #976
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Doug Mahnke

This is part 4 of the Superman crossover that began here , and continued here, and here. This made me so happy! The real DC Universe…the one that was destroyed six years ago and broke my heart…is back! As Mr. Oz said in this comic, the memories of all has been restored. Superman now remembers his life before and after Flashpoint. What is next? Will everyone else remember their entire histories? Will Cassandra Cain remember she is Batgirl again? Is the “him” Mxyzptlk refers to Dr. Manhattan? Speaking of Mxyzptlk…I could see David Lynch directing a Superman  movie with him as the villain. This was a fantastic Mxyzptlk story. Thank you Dan Jurgens!

Action Comics Rebirth 957 – 975

Action Comics #957
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Patrick Zircher

Ok here we go this is Action Comics Rebirth…the real Superman that I grew up with returning to Action Comics in his own series again! Written by the great Dan Jurgens no less. In this issue, the Pre-Flashpoint Superman comes out of hiding after Lex Luthor tries to replace the New 52 Superman as Metropolis’s protector after the New 52 Superman’s death. And if that itself isn’t mystery enough…someone who looks just like Clark Kent is now working at the Daily Plaent! This was a good start. I do wish Jurgens was the artist though. And I don’t really care about seeing Doomsday again.

Action Comics #958
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Patrick Zircher

This issue has Doomsday brawling with Superman most of the issue while Lex Luthor helped. It was not exciting…and Doomsday is almost never exciting. But the mystery of Mr. Oz and the strange Clark Kent are enough to keep me interested.

Action Comics 900-904

Action Comics #900
Written by Paul Cornell, David Lindeloff, Paul Dini, Geoff Johns, David S. Goyer, Richard Donner, Derek  Hoffman
Art by Pete Woods, Jesus Marino, Ryan Sook, RB Silva, Gary Frank, Miguel Sepulveda, Matt Camp, and Brian Stelfreeze

This is the 900th issues of Action Comics and we get a special 96-page issue to celebrate. Some great things here. I loved that they actually mention Superboy’s tactile telekenisis power which has been ignored since the days of Young Justice it seems sometimes. Anyways, Lex Luthor is now a God and shows Superman some of the most emotional moments in the Man of Steel’s history, and then Lex finds out that Clark Kent is Superman finally! I love that Cornell has Superman confirming that the Kents made him who he is today. That is something that has been lost since Johns took over the Superman franchise and overemphasized Superman’s kryptonian heritage. The issue also shows how fundamentally wrong Lex is about Superman’s nature believing that he isn’t capable of human emotion which is the exact opposite because in many ways Superman is more “human” than Lex is. With all this look back at the death of Superman, would it have killed them to have the Matrix Supergirl/Linda Danvers involved instead of or in additon to Kara? That angers me but whatever. Anyways, Lex Luthor projects universal happiness well literally universally and we see even Death of the endless feel it. That was a genius moment from Cornell. Lex then learns that he can keep his new Godlike power and never kill Superman or do anything negative or he must give it up. Lex being the villain that he is chooses the second option and loses his memory of Clark Kent being Superman and the ending leads to what I don’t think looks that great called Reign of the Doomsdays. The rest of the book are smaller stories celebrating the 900th issue. Paul Dini, Geoff Johns, and David Goyer’s stories stood out. I loved Brian Stelfreeze’s final page art too.

Action Comics #901
Written by Paul Cornell
Art by Kenneth Rocafort and Jesus Merino

This continues the Reign of the Doomdays arc which is stupid but Cornell shows he is a good writer even when given a stupid story. The Doomslayer is a clever creation too.  I wish there was just Jesus Merino on this issue though. It looks like The Eradicator may be dead.

 

 

Action Comics #902
Written by Paul Cornell
Art by Kenneth Rocafort and Alex Gimenez

Wow! I was pleasantly surprised by this issue. Superman, Supergirl, Superboy, and Steel all work together and act like a real heroes. This is something that should happen on a regular basis and DC Comics but Paul Cornell really knocked it out of the park and had Superman not even want to have Doomsday die. I love that these are real heroes and I’m glad that they’re written that way.

 

Action Comics #903
Written by Paul Cornell
Art by Alex Gimenez

This was a great issue with plenty of guest stars including the Justice League and the Teen Titans plus more I really enjoyed it and I was surprised by that. Paul Cornell is a good writer he knows how to create good suspense.

 

Action Comics #904
Written by Paul Cornell
Art by Alex Gimenez and Ronan Cliquet

I’m very glad that DC is returning this book to its original numbering. This is the final issue before it relaunched under the new 52 Banner. It was a fantastic finale that it really showed Paul Cornell understands the character . I literally cheered out loud when Lois said Jonathan and Martha made Superman not Krypton. That was fantastic and it is the truth.

Justice League of America 55-60

Justice League of America #55
Written by James Robinson
Art by Brett Booth

This James Robinson Justice League was so fantastic. It really was totally underrated. Robinson is a writer who understands that the DC Universe is so rich with diversity of characters. Anything CAN happen in the DCU and Robinson and really knows how to play with its toys. I also loved how odd this group of Justice Leaguers was at the time. This issue is actually part of a wider crossover but Robinson does what any good writer should do and incorporate the crossover into the ongoing story of the book without a hitch. It was cool to see Dick Grayson Batman’s space suit too.

Justice League of America #56
Written by James Robinson
Art by Brett Booth

Congorilla calls in the Justice League Reserves which I didn’t even realize existed but I am sure glad they do because Zauriel is a great character to put against Eclipso. Robinson is brilliant with his use of DC characters. Even Manitou Dawn got a name drop! He joined the League back when I first started reading comics as a kid and has been barely seen since! I did find it odd that the Shade is aware that two heroes teaming up is called The Brave and the Bold. How would he know that in-universe? What does the media in the DCU say that?  The issue ends with Obsidian showing up as the Big bad.

Justice League of America #57
Written by James Robinson
Art by Brett Booth

Robinson’s use of Theology in this DCU is fascinating to me. Earth as the Conduit for God’s love for the Universe. Theology in the DCU would be an interesting topic for a paper don’t you think? Anyways, The Spectre shows up now (Robinson is brilliant I can’t say that enough) to fight Eclipso and Eclipso absorbs Spectre’s power. His whole plan with this is to kill God. That is the ultimate villainous plot is it not?

Justice League of America #58
Written by James Robinson
Art by Daniel Sampere and Miguel Sepulveda

Jesse Quick makes mention here that she is no faster than Donna or Batman now that she has lost her link to the speed force. Does Jesse Quick think that Batman has super speed powers? Because Donna does have superhuman speed so why is she saying that like Batman and Donna are equal in speed. I hate to sound like a broken record but Robinson’s knowledge of DCU obscurity is great and he uses that to a great advantage in the story. All of the Leaguer’s histories are mentioned in this arc so far and this time we get a look at Donna Troy’s past which is quite interesting. But I sure hope Eclipso did not just kill Donna at the end. I like Sampere’s art here.

Justice League of America #59
Written by James Robinson
Art by Daniel Sampere

The Justice League defeats Eclipso in this issue and all returns to normal, but there is a tease that the League will be breaking up next issue (which is the last issue of this series) after the Atom expresses how impressed he is with this new ver

 

Justice League of America #60
Written by James Robinson
Art by Daniel Sampere

This is the final Justice League issue before the New 52. Sad because James Robinson made this comic good for the first time since I can really remember. Certainly specifically this volume of the comic was pretty awful till he showed up. I look forward to reading more Justice League Comics during the Rebirth of the DCU. The beginning of this issue is a quick summary of an arc he probably had planned for the book where all the robots in the DCU get corrupted. How cool would that have been as a full arc! Robinson has so many obscure Robots name dropped. Instead he fast forwards through that and has the team meeting and talking about why each one wants to bow out of the League. Donna wants to discover who she is again now that her rage is gone, Supergirl wants to do the same after dealing with New Krypton, Jade wants to enjoy her second chance at life outside of the superhero costume, Jesse Quick is pregnant, Congorilla wants to become a hero for Africa, Starman is nursing a broken arm,  Batman thinks he will be too busy with Batman Incorporated,   They look back on an untold story (has to be another arc Robinson had planned, this guy is great!) about a war between Saturn and Thanagar and an untold story in Gemworld. Donna makes a comment at the end she wants the world to forget her which is ironic because I think at the beginning of the New 52 they had forgotten her. This was a very bittersweet ending to Robinson’s run and I love that we get a taste of what he would have done with this group if the book wasn’t ending.

 

 

Surprise Ending

Green Lantern Corps (Volume 2) #52
Written by Tony Bedard
Art by Ardian Sayaf

 

Well that was an unexpected ending. Did Cyborg Superman always have that ghost-like power? I liked it as it wasn’t at all how I expected this arc to end. I am also pleased with the changes to the Alpha-Lanterns. Sayaf doesn’t do his best work here but I can’t really complain, he is following Gleason who you can’t really beat and I am glad to hear he is going to be doing Birds of Prey which I think he is more suited for.

Death Of An Alpha

Green Lantern Corps (Volume 2) #51
Written by Tony Bedard
Art by Ardian Sayaf

 

Boddikka dies in this issue….I doubt it I mean it is not like death in this comics hasn’t been reversed immediately before….but I think it’s a shame cause shes is such a cool/creepy looking character. Loved the moments with Ganthet and Cyborg Superman – that was very emotional and intense. Although the main GL book has gotten better recently and Emerald Warriors is pretty good as well, I still say this is the best GL Book on the stands (And yes a lot of that has to do because it feature Kyle Rayner)

Ignored By Death

Green Lantern Corps (Volume 2) #50
Written by Tony Bedard
Art by Ardian Sayaf

 

Cyborg Superman is such a tragic villain. All he wants to do is die and in this issue we are shown that he went to Nekron himself to get his wish and Nekron wouldn’t even acknowledge him. I wonder why Scar told him that Ganthet can help him? He can Ganthet fix him? No idea but I can’t wait to find out. This was another great issue of this book as Kyle gets most of the issue dedicated to him. I love when that happens!

Evil Alphas

Green Lantern Corps (Volume 2) #49
Written by Tony Bedard
Art by Ardian Sayaf

John Stewart is captured by the Alpha-Lanterns who have gone rogue and are now working for Cyborg Superman. The Alpha Lanterns have been a pain ever since their creation I wonder if they will be decommissioned after this storyline. John’s retconned Marine thing is really being shoved down our throats and it kind of annoys me but I suppose I am getting used to it. Kyle and Soranik are still going strong although their is tention over Jade – I hope they stay together I like them as a couple. The new creative team continues to make this the best GL comic being published now.

Old Booster

Booster Gold (Volume 2) #30
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Jurgens and Jerry Ordway

 

This storyline comes to an end as Coast City is destroyed. I understand how hard of a choice it had to be for Booster and he really wouldn’t be the hero he is if he didn’t at least try to save the city so I was glad that he involuntarily left Coast City. It was also cool to see older Booster – aware that Rip was his son – and secretly helping out. I didn’t even think of that! Good issue!

Seven Million Lives

Booster Gold (Volume 2) #29
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Jurgens
Co-Feature by Matthew Sturges
Art by Mike Norton

 

Booster arrives in Coast City at the hour of its death in this very suspenseful issue. You can just feel the tock clicking for the fictional city’s seven million inhabitants as you read this issue. The debate Booster has with the government agent from the future is a valid one and makes you think. Could Rip Hunter be right? Could seven million people need to die so history is not altered? I do not know but it’s interesting to ponder about such a question. Great stuff. The Blue Beetle back-up was a rushed finale.to the feature. It made me sad, why exactly is Blue Beetle not going to be in this title anymore again? Shouldn’t they wait to see how a trade paperback does before booting Jaime from the book? Oh well.