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Columnist Thunder Mod
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Denver Area, between Asgard and Krypton
Posts: 21,358
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The Mighty Reviews 7/15/10
Wktf’s Reviews
Superman #701
DC Comics
Written by: J. Michael Staczynski
Drawn by: Eddy Barrows
Covers by: John Cassaday
Okay, now, this is more like it. To begin, I’m a huge Superman fan and have been reading and collecting Superman comics since the ‘60s. But, have to say, these last few years, I’d abandoned the titles. Pretty much around the time shortly after Lex became President I started losing interest but when Geoff Johns stepped off the title I felt the books had walked away from me. I just didn’t recognize Superman anymore. And, when the “Last Son of Krypton” became more of a moniker than a fact, when Superman abandoned Earth and Lois for New Krypton I said sayonara. Only because War of the Supermen meant an end to his exile from Earth did I pick up that series and, in so doing, was introduced to the art of Eddy Barrows, one of the finest Superman artists in recent memory. Thankfully, Barrows is on as the regular artist for now and he is joined by J. Michael Straczynski, whose stellar Thor and Brave and the Bold work has left many highly anticipating what he’ll do with DC’s flagship character.
And, to the point of how I opened my first paragraph, this is a truly familiar and, at the same time, yes even iconic and far more satisfying Superman than we’ve seen in years. Finally! Superman as he might be if he existed in the real world and walked, literally, among us. Inspiring awe, doubt, skepticism and even fear and anger. Having feeling like he may have lost his connection to the planet and people he’s sworn to defend, Superman has quite literally “grounded” himself to walk wherever the road takes him and participate in the human experience. No, he’s not getting cats out of trees as Christopher Reeve did, but he is eating in diners, confronting drug dealers, identifying internal health issues and even attempting to reason with a suicidal woman. If this all sounds mundane I suppose it might be, except that JMS imbues his story and character with both a sense of discovery as well as the contribution you’d expect of a hero of Superman’s stature. This is a hero who is reflective yet decisive, confident yet (especially as drawn by Barrows here) also worried and a bit unsure, like he’s moving into unknown territory. He knows his place and yet he’s discovering it at the same time.
While JMS deserves all the credit in the world for the direction he’s taking the character and title as well as the poignancy of the incredibly rich dialogue to which we’re treated here, it’s Eddy Barrows’ career launching art that very nearly steals the show. My hope is that this run of Superman does for Barrows what Avengers Disassembled/New Avengers did for David Finch, Astonishing X-Men did for John Cassaday and Captain America did for Steve Epting. Like Barrows, these all were artists who were around and produced great work before these titles, but it was these titles that put them on the map. Same here. Every page is practically flawless and there are so many money shots of Superman that this book could serve as a Barrows portfolio. We’ll have to see if these two creators can be the Claremont/Byrne of their day but, with a beginning like this, we all have reason to believe this storyline may well be the modern day classic Superman story DC is hyping. It will be exciting to see how Superman develops as he moves through the “Grounded” story and how he ultimately must emerge on the other side. But, for now, it’s our pleasure to enjoy the ride. My pick of the week.
Adventure Comics #516
DC Comics
Written by: Paul Levitz and Jeff LeMire
Drawn by: Kevin Sharpe and Mahmud Asrar
Cover by: Scott Clark
The first surprise this issue delivers is the return to this title’s historical numbering. But the second surprise, after last issue’s meeting of Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes, is that this issue delivers a Paul Levitz retelling of the Legion’s very origin. As told by R.J. Brande, the man who created the Legion and also is the father of Chameleon Boy, in the tried and true post-mortem voice-from-the-dead recording (much as Jor-El speaks to Kal-El), Brande recounts for the assembled Legionnaires (in this case, Braniac 5, Chameleon Boy, Lightning Lad, Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and Superboy [the traditional re-retconned since Byrne Superman as a boy, not Connor from the Titans]) his own origin and how they all came to be together.
It remains cool that Superman of the 20th Century inspired Brande and, in turn, serves as inspiration to the Legion. Anyone familiar with the Legion knows this already, but it’s just great that some things just need to remain true in order to retain their power and meaning. But while nostalgia imbues this story with some charm and plenty of fun, the new elements of this origin story serve to make The Legion a newly accessible team for those just getting into this story now. All in all, this is a pretty benign though completely enjoyable story and, frankly, a perfect jumping on point for Legion fans as well as anyone else who may be looking to get on board with a new title.
This issue also contains a short Atom back-up story that picks up where the Brightest Day: The Atom Special #1 leaves off, which makes the opening a little confusing but no more difficult to understand The Atom’s mission or appreciate the fix he’s gotten himself into. Atom fans may well cheer a dedicated storyline for their hero, but I’d be just as fine if Adventure Comics just stuck with the legion and dropped it’s $3.99 price tag down to the more standard $2.99.
Daredevil #508
Marvel Comics
Written by: Andy Diggle & Antony Johnston
Drawn by: Roberto De La Torre
Cover by: John Cassaday
Shadowland, the summer street-level event named after the fortress Daredevil’s created smack in the middle of Hell’s Kitchen, kicked off with a major bang last week with the killing of a major league Marvel villain at the hands of his sworn enemy. Naturally, after the caution already expressed by The Avengers last week, this most recent escapade, broadcast for the world to see, has those closest to Matt, like Foggy and Dakota North, extremely worried about Matt’s state of mind and overall mental health. A question, as we learn this issue, is exactly the right question to be asking. It may well be that, during Matt’s most recent trip to Japan to unite the Hand’s five clans, the Hand’s continental clan leaders have succeeded in a level of corruption similar to poor Regan in The Exorcist. While this is an interesting turn I must admit, though, it’s a little disappointing compared to what I thought was a more natural but warped skewing of Matt’s perspective.
This issue feels like a bit of the calm before the storm or, coming after Shadowland #1 but before #2, the segment that transitions, with its more street level supporting cast compared to the Shadowland book, from the first to the second part of the main event. What makes this particular book stand out from Shadowland is De La Torre’s spectacular art. Since Alex Maleev was on this book, Marvel’s done an outstanding job keep the artistic tone and feel of this title consistent over the years, from Maleev to Lark and now to De La Torre. His perspective, level of detail, dramatic poses, scenes and action, as well as his expert use of shadow make him a perfect Daredevil artist.
It’s pretty clear that Shadowland can’t be read on its own without its primary companion book, Daredevil, much like Green Lantern was to Blackest Night. But with quality this high and storytelling this strong picking up both of these books feels like a natural, regardless. Certainly, with the player who’s entered the fray on the last page, you’ll want to pick up Shadowland #2 to see what happens next.
Sam Wilson’s Review
Captain America Black Panther: Flags of Our Fathers #4(of 4)
Marvel Comics
Written by: Reginald Hudlin (damn straight)
Drawn by: Denys Cowan (like chocolate and peanut butter yo)
For those of you who have been sleeping under a rock, you may have missed Reginald Hudlin’s run on the Black Panther. He redefined the character for a generation. Under Reggie’s pen T’Challa went from b lister to a major player in the Marvel U, marrying into one of Marvel’s first families (the X-men, duh) and sitting at the table with Tony Stark and Reed Richards. He stepped away from T’challa for a minute, and now he’s back, back like a motherfu**er with Denys Cowan in tow. Denys Cowan? You may know him, you know, he redefined the Question back in the ‘80’s in one of that decades most critically acclaimed comic runs, co-founded Milestone Comics (Static, Hardware), had a healthy run on Batman and Detective Comics and most recently redefined the Joker for a new generation (the “Lovers and Madmen” storyline from “Batman Confidential”). Denys Cowan and Reginald Hudlin working on the Black Panther is destiny, a labor of love, chocolate and peanut butter or Cagney and Lacey even (tip of the hat to Big Daddy Kane). Announced this past year at SDCC (where you can frequently see the two of them walking the floor) this book has been on a lot of folks most anticipated list for awhile. That being said, did it live up to the hype? Hell yeah it did…
So yeah, Nazi’s heads on pikes in the jungle (goddamn that was bad a**). Okay, wait, I’m getting ahead of myself. Our story opens with the Howling Commandos, specifically Gabe Jones. Gabe is our narrator (more or less), and he takes us through his history with the Howlers, Nick Fury and eventually Captain America. The set-up is short and sweet, and soon enough the Howlers are en route to Africa? Why? Hitler needs vibranium to build his transatlantic missile, and he figures a bunch of Africans with spears can’t stop him from getting what he needs. Of course he figured wrong and that’s how we got Nazi’s heads on pikes (goddamn). Anyway, Uncle Sam doesn’t have to much faith in the locals either, so in come Captain America and the Howling Commandos. When they touch ground Captain America makes first contact, and sees the Wakandans can handle themselves. That’s great, but he (and America) wants them to be with the allies in the war. King T’Chaka (the Black Panther during WW2, T’Challas father) has no interest in the rest of the world and wants Wakanda to be left alone to its business. So yeah, Captain America (and by extension, America and the allied powers) is not cool with that so a fight ensues. It doesn’t go well for Cap, and the Howlers move in to back him up but are stopped by a bunch of bad a** Wakandan soldiers who have way more than spears. The Nazi’s haven’t given up either, and they’ve enlisted their own super soldier to retrieve Wakanda’s vibranium and yes. I’m guessing there will be more Nazi’s heads on pikes (goddamn). The second issue has Captain America and the Howlers aiding the Black Panther in battle, and end up staying as his invited guests. Cap has an agenda though, he believes the Wakandans can’t protect themselves and need to become part of the allies so they can be sure the vibranium will stay out of Nazi hands. The Black Panther wants no part of this and really doesn’t give a crap what Cap or the US government thinks, but its okay, he’ll humor them for now. Anyway, The Red Skull, in addition to having his own super-powered Nazi assholes enlists the help of the White Gorilla (the Man-Apes grandfather I guess). Meanwhile, Nick Fury enlists Gabe Jones to steal the Vibranium from the Black Panther because he feels the Wakandans are incapable of taking care of themselves. It all goes to sh** though when the Super Nazi’s attack, forcing The Panther and Cap to engage while Nick Fury and the Howlers sneak away to attack the Nazi base camp, and yes, things look hairy which brings us to our final issue. Yup, it’s the big show down and Cap and BP fight side by side, and Gabe is forced to make a moral decision. And the Nazis? Well, you know how things worked out for them in the end…
This book is the sh**. Sorry, I have no other words. Reginald Hudlin speaks to the fans, and, goddamn, does he speak well. I mean seriously, Nick Fury and the Howling Commandos, Cap, the Black Panther, the Red Skull and Baron Von Strucker heading for a big showdown? Drawn by Denys Cowan? Yeah. Nuff Said. Buy the book, buy the eventual trade, put the cover art as your iphone wallpaper, screw everything else. Classic storytelling is back, yo, and its about goddamn time.
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