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!

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!

Mxyzptlk Rebirth

Superman (Volume 4) #19
Written by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason
Art by Gleason

This is Part 3 of the crossover that began last issue and continued over in Action Comics. As it turns out Mr. Oz has been keeping Mxyzptlk imprisoned as well because of the chaos the imp could cause but he has escaped and kidnapped Superman’s son and erased Jon Kent from Lois’s memory. Mxyzptlk states that the universe is in “francture quantum space-time” and refers to those who are tinkering with the timeline which means he is aware of what Mr. Oz is doing or whoever is behind all this (Dr. Manhattan) or whatever. Mxyzptlk’s feeling of betrayal that Superman never came to save him from Dr. Oz is very amusing and shows how deranged the character is believing Superman and him were such good friends. He also says that Superman was split into 2 beings! Which further supports my theory that this is the same Earth as Pre-Flashpoint with memories erased because Superman was the only character that was split into 2 beings which explains the 2 Supermen. I could be wrong but the New 52 Superman and Lois return as red energy and help Jon Kent and the end of this issue. We shall see if I am right. I have to give it to Tomasi and Gleason – they are really demonstrating how good of a villain Mxyzptlk can be for Superman. He is powerful.

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.

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.

Superman Batman 49 – 53

Superman/Batman #49
Written by Michael Green and Mike Johnson
Art by Shane Davis

This concludes the fantastic arc of the search for Kryptonite and I was a little worried that they had succeeded but it looks like Batman still has a stockpile! Nice. What Superman said to Lana was hurtful, but true. I can’t believe she would do that to him over keeping LexCorp alive. That was shady. Good issue.

Superman/Batman #50
Written by Michael Green and Mike Johnson
Art by Ed Benes, Matthew Clark, Ian Churchill, and Allan Goldman

I really wanted to like this story. It’s heart is in the right place, the art was good, and the writing was good. But I have to say the idea that Jor-El and Thomas Wayne met a long time ago is soooo unlikely and ridiculous that it takes away from what could be a good Batman/Superman story. Not recommended.

Superman/Batman #51
Written by Michael Green and Mike Johnson
Art by Rafael Alberquerque

While the lil’leaguers are funny and cute, especially their hilarious origins…..I wouldn’t want this all the time. It’s always good to have comic relief sometimes but let’s face it, cute gets annoying after it’s over done. So despite the fact that some bloggers want to read Tiny Titans (even though they are adults) and want nothing bad to ever happen in the DCU, I don’t want that nor do the majority of readers. Anyways, besides that rant this was a good issue and a nice break from the serious storytelling.

Superman/Batman #52
Written by Michael Green and Mike Johnson
Art by Rafael Alberuerque

This was another fun issue featuring the lil’leaguers, I do question Bat-Mite’s place in current continuity as here it seems like he actually is a guy from the 5th dimension while over in Batman’s own series he seems to be a mental delusion of Bruce. Anyways, I loved the end where Lil’Joker meets The Joker and Lil’Superman’s death was very sad. Good issue.

Superman/Batman #53
Written by Michael Green and Mike Johnson
Art by Rags Morales

After a tussle with Silver Banshee, it looks like Superman has lost his powers and Batman has gained them. Always a fun plot development no matter if it has been done before. Morales’s art is amazing this issue and makes me miss Davis on this series less. Green and Johnson are the BEST thing that has ever happened to this book.