Superman, New comics

New comics!

Shadecraft 1

Joe Henderson and Lee Garbett, the creative team of the excellent Skyward; Of course I was going to pick this up!  It’s too early to tell much of anything right now (Shadows are attacking girl, girl’s brother who’s in a coma fights them in his own shadow form), but I’m certainly in for the ride. 

Black Cat 4

Jed MacKay’s just a really good writer, even in this slightish story starring a possible future antagonist.  

Batman/Catwoman 4

Strange Adventures 9

I love Tom King, but I really wish I could enjoy his series as individual issues rather than 12-issue epics.  The gap between issues really prevents me from enjoying all the subtleties and continuity in these stories.  Waiting for the re-read to really evaluate these.  

Seven Secrets 7

Just a little bit more origin story for Caspar.  (I had to look up his name.  Not the best sign.)  Still enjoyable.

Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity 8

It feels like this series has been going on forever.  Quick search reveals...October 2019.  Wow, this is older than my daughter, for just 8 issues.  Anyway, Harley doesn’t become a Joker disciple, nor does she go crazy.  That’s all I really wanted from this, so yay.  The ending’s a total let down (she catches him, he goes to jail, she vows to kill future bad guys), but this was still worth the buy.  WIll see if it holds up.  

Superman: Man of Steel 18-19

Superman 74-75

Adventures of Superman 497

Action Comics 684

Justice League America 69

The storyline that kicked off gimmick events at DC - This led to Knightfall (Batman), Emerald Twilight (Green Lantern), Terminal Velocity (Flash), whatever the death of Green Arrow was called, and Wonder Woman’s short biker chick phase.

There’s not much to talk about here - Doomsday pounds on Superman and the Justice League for seven issues.  Doomsday’s lack of origin doesn’t bother me so much, nor does the out-of-nowhere nature of his appearance.  That part of it actually works for me - a lot of people don’t see their deaths coming, and neither did Superman.  As Ron Burgundy says, 

With the decreasing number of panels per issue, the reduced number of images that can be devoted to storytelling means that the fight goes by really quickly.  It leads to my main problem with the arc - Superman really shouldn’t have been able to kill Doomsday.  Most of the story shows him getting his ass kicked.  He gets a few shots in, but given how much Doomsday’s strength has been touted, there’s no way Superman wins this fight.

Still, this is a classic storyline, certainly worth reading and a lot more entertaining than some of the other arcs I listed above.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Action Comics 858-863

There’s something about Geoff Johns and Gary Frank.  They tell some beautiful stories together.  This one, where a powerless Superman travels to the future to help the Legion of Super-Heroes, isn’t quite as good as Secret Origins, but it’s pretty close.  Mark Waid’s the only other person who’s made me care about a Legion story as much as this one.  This is a frickin' good yarn.

This page reveal made me gasp with joy.

Frank's great, but that punch is drawn all wrong.

Brainy's interjection is priceless.

Such a sweet way to connect Superman's adventures across the years.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Really good

Action Comics 864-865

One issue that ties up loose ends from the Legion arc that I really don’t care about.  Another about the Toyman that screams “let’s give Gary Frank some time to draw the next storyline.”  Since I don’t have this complete run anyway, I don’t feel bad cutting these.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Didn’t suck

Action Comics 866-870

Maybe it’s because Superman’s been rebooted so many times that this death of Pa Kent had absolutely zero emotional effect on me.  And this Brainiac lacked any kind of menace.  Good thing they gave Frank time to draw this, because it keeps the less-good-than-usual Johns writing from tanking the rating.  

As always, Frank's Clark is perfect.

Makes no sense from a logistic POV, but I still love it.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Superman 677-678

Tried these out because James Robinson was spectacular on Starman.  He’s not as good here.  I don’t know who Atlas is, but I don’t care in the slightest.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Boring (Cutting)