New Super-Man 1 – 11

New Super-Man #1
Written by Gene Luen Yang
Art by Viktor Bogdanovic

Going into this new series I did not know what to expect. I thought maybe DC was doing this to sell a series in China but I don’t think they would let a comic book be sold there that has “conspiracy theories” the Chinese government. I did end up finding this first issue to be a lot of fun. Yang is building almost a paralell world to Superman’s world in China with his own Lex Luthor and Lois Lane. But why Shanghai, why not make up a fictional Chinese city? The character of Kenan Kong…the new Super-Man is very interesting in that he is not a reluctant hero. He seems excited about gaining powers which is so different from how these things are usually done in comics.

New Super-Man #2
Written by Gene Luen Yang
Art by Viktor Bogdanovic

Young Kenan Kong is now the Super-Man of China and meets the Bat-Man and Wonder-Woman of China. This Dr. Omen is putting together a Justice League for China. I quite enjoyed Dr. Omen’s no nonsense characterization and Kenan Kong is also a lot of fun. He is so excitied to be the new Super-Man he announces his secret identity on live tv.

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.

Superman Batman 82-87

Superman/Batman #82
Written by Cullen Bunn
Art by ChrisCross

Is ChrisCross’s art always this gorgeous? I sure don’t remember it being this good. This was a fun issue as we see Superman in a future world where magic has essentially taken over the earth because of “the final spell.” Meanwhile Batman is back in time doing occult detective work with Detective Chimp and Doctor Occult. I can never get enough Detective Chimp. And then Klarion the Witch Boy shows up! This is going to be a wild ride.

Superman/Batman #83
Written by Cullen Bunn
Art by ChrisCross

Another fun occult flavored issue finds Batman teaming up with the entire Shadowpact and fighting an evil cult. I loved it. Although I don’t know that I care too much about the Superman in the post-apocalyptic future part. It just has been done so many times before. ChrisCross’s art is beautiful!

 

 

Superman/Batman #84
Written by Cullen Bunn
Art by ChrisCross

This issue concludes the Sorcerer Kings arc and it was well and good. The art was fantastic and there were some great character moments but I can’t say I was blown away by it. I never really enjoy alternate timeline stories all that much.

Superman/Batman #85
Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov
Art by Adriana Melo

This was a cool start to this new storyline. A man washes up dead in Metropolis. It turns out this man was working for the Gotham Gazette and was about to expose who Batman really was. Clark is sent to Gotham to cover the story and also wants to help Batman clear his name for the murder.  It turns out the reporter figured it out because he found a gadget that Batman had forgot to take the Patton number off of that belonged to Waynetech. It shows that even Batman can make a mistake. The art fit the story well. Melo is a great artist for a Batman story.

Superman/Batman #86
Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov
Art by Tomas Giorello

A different artist draws Part 2 of this story. Tomas Girorello is just as good. He draws a beautiful Gotham City. Clark continues his investigation and interviews Lucius Fox who basically says Batman stole the tech. This whole scene is clearly inspired by the Nolan movies. In the comics, does Lucius  know that Bruce is Batman? I can’t remember. I am pretty sure that the Nolan movies came up with the idea that Lucius works on his gadgets and that is what he is show to be doing here but I wonder if they also brought into the comics Lucius knowing his secret identity. Anyways, this was a great issue as we see Superman and Batman doing their best detective work independently with a shocking ending I didn’t see coming. I mean I knew Mayne probably had something to do with it but the Joker came out of nowhere!

Superman/Batman #87
Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov
Art by Tomas Giorello

This is the final issue of Superman/Batman’s long run. It has been a hit and miss book over the years but this issue was a definite hit. The gorgeous art by Giorello and the wonderfully plotted story made it a hit in my book. They never mention it but I bet the Joker chose to kill the reporter because he did not want the Batman’s secret getting out cause it would ruin his fun. I always like the idea that the Joker does not really want Batman dead or unmasked.

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.

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!

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.

Damage

Superman #703
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Art by Eddy Barrows

 

JMS’s Grounded tales is a lot better then I thought it would be and I love that he is incorporating the after effects of New Krypton and not just sweeping that story under the rug but I don’t know if I buy the argument about the potential damage being done as Superman walks across America. What is the difference between this and the damage done when people attack him in Metropolis? Nothing really. Anyways, I wonder what this New Krypton kryptonite does cause it seems to have possessed a school teacher and caused another guy to gain powers hmmm.

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?

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!

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!

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.