Congrats, Matt Camp!

It's great to see that DC Comics is using Matt Camp again for a regular series. With Supergirl #47, he rejoins the DC family. After the Infinity Inc. reboot was cancelled, I was sad to see his stunning art disappear from DC Comics titles. Congrats, Matt!

Titans...Together?

The New Teen Titans was my favorite comic book in the '80s. I loved everything about it -- the stories by Marv Wolfman, the art by George Perez, the relatable characters, the character development, the relationships between the characters, the villains, and on and on. So when DC Comics decided to band the original team back together in 2008 into a new Titans comic, I was all for it. Many said that it was just DC trying to capitalize on nostalgia without providing any substance to the comic or giving it much marketing. And they were right.

The first year of issues rehashed several storylines that I felt I had read and re-read several times before like "Raven's Demonic Father Trigon Tries to Take Over the World" and "Jericho Gone Bad. Again. For, like, the 12th time. No, really. Those Titans are such SUCKERS." Sigh...I felt duped. And taken advantage of. And I felt that the Titans had been wronged. How could DC Comics treat their bread-and-butter from the '80s so horribly?

After these two failed storylines, Nightwing leaves the team as he becomes the new Batman. It's then that I felt that weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. It's not going to get any better, is it? Surprisingly, I was wrong. In an odd sort of way. With Nightwing out of the picture; Beast Boy (and possibly Raven, too) going to the Teen Titans; and Donna Troy, Cyborg, and Starfire moving to Justice League of America; the Titans comic is now focusing on the breakdown of the team. They're providing single issue stories, with each issue focusing on one character of the disassembling team. These are some of the best Titans stories I've read in years. Their disbanding is the best thing that ever happened to them. It's too bad DC couldn't have put this much energy and creativity into the comic when they weren't sending it into the crapper. I guess it's just as well. We all have to grow up sometime. Those who were your friends when you were young won't always be your friend as an adult. People grow apart. It's about time the Titans did, too.

Superman's Origin Gets A Breath of New Life

Throughout my many, many years of reading comics (from about ages 10-24), I never really got into reading Superman in the comics. I liked him as a character...but his storylines never seemed to interest me. Now getting back into comics as an older adult, it seems that DC Comics has finally given Superman the storylines he's always deserved. I currently read all of his titles, from his self-titled series to Action Comics. They all offer a unique and interesting perspective to the Superman universe.

I've recently picked up the first two issues to DC Comics' new mini-series, Superman: Secret Origin. I wasn't sure how interesting it would be given that I'm already familiar with Superman's origin, life in Smallville, move to Metropolis, etc. Plus, the story's been done before, several times. This one, though, thankfully brings something new to the table, as one would only expect from writer Geoff Johns.

Johns shows Clark Kent as being like any other kid. He delves into Clark's uncertainty of himself and his abilities, his fear of hurting people, his fear of fitting in, his fear of being adopted, and his fear of being from another planet. He's your everyday naive kid with a good heart that doesn't want to hurt other people's feelings. Johns also moves along the storyline at a quick pace so as to not lose readers already familiar with Superman's secret origin. Each issue is a totally new part of Clark's life as a kid. The first issue of the mini-series deals with Clark learning of his extraterrestrial origins, discovering his abilities, and meeting the teenage Lex Luthor at a county fair. The second is Clark's first meeting with the Legion of Superheroes and donning his Superboy persona and costume.

Geoff Johns also adds new information about Clark as an adolescent boy, his first meetings with his friends and foes, and discovering his powers. Case in point: Clark accidentally discovers his heat vision power when he gets excited from Lana Lang kissing him.

In addition to the fantastic writing, there's the art. Gary Frank does a beautiful job bringing the characters of the Superman mythos to life. His rendition of Clark Kent looks exactly like a young Christopher Reeve who, as you know, played Superman in the original Superman movies. (And, if you don't know that, WTF?) It's remarkable. And Clark's facial expressions really complement Johns' comfortable writing style and help to move along the storyline.

Whoever thought they've seen all there is to see about Superman's secret origin should give this new mini-series a try. You'll discover something you never knew before...and get a great storytelling experience. What do you have to lose?

Giant-Size Old Man Logan

The finale of the "Old Man Logan" tale that ran through Wolverine #66-72 was released in a "Giant-Size" comic last week. At $4.99, the only thing giant-sized about it was the price. Knowing how popular the "Old Man Logan" storyline was, Marvel Comics decided to capitalize on that and serve up a regular-sized story with the other half of the issue being images of past covers that we've already seen, and some rough sketches. Big effing deal. To me, that wasn't worth $4.99. I expected a giant-sized story. Boo, Marvel!

The finale focuses on Wolverine's final confrontation with the Hulk family, who are basically a bunch of crazy rednecks like something out of Deliverance. While I was satisfied with the ending, I look forward to this becoming a regular series. It certainly has the potential to be a great ongoing comic. The characters are well fleshed out, the story is fairly simple yet intriguing, and the art is amazing and "dark," as it should be for this particular kind of story.

Unless you're a collector, save your money, though, on the Wolverine: Old Man Logan Giant-Size comic and buy the entire series in hardcover that comes out shortly. Read it from cover to cover and discover a familiar Wolverine that you've never seen before.

Here Comes the "Reign" Again

Continuing with the "Dark Reign" storyline that Marvel Comics has basically spread throughout all of their series, I've picked up a few of the series that focus on the individuals within Norman Osborn's "Dark Avengers." You know the ones: they vaguely resemble and dress up like actual Marvel superheroes, so everyone thinks that they're the real deal, despite the obvious differences (like swearing, maiming, killing, destroying property) and the fact that the real superheroes are...actually still doing their thing. Anyway, once you suspend your disbelief at this ridiculous notion, there are some pretty decent stories going on...and some rather horrible ones.

The GOOD:
The Wolverine series has become a playground for "Dark Wolverine" instead of the normal, lovable (?), fuzzy, one-of-a-kind Wolverine. Dark Wolverine (blecch! I can't stand the "Dark" titles in every name and/or group) is actually Wolverine's son. Wolverine was apparently married long ago to a Japanese woman (but not the famous Mariko from his first limited series back in the 1980s) and had a child that he thought long since dead. Daken (Dark Wolverine) is all grown up now and sports a mohawk and tattoos underneath his mask and costume. He has similar mutant powers to Wolverine, plus a unique pheromone manipulation ability, which I find very intriguing. It's something unique that I haven't seen in comic books before. He is also struggling with his own identity, and between good and evil. Lastly, Daken seems pretty comfortable in his sexuality...whatever it may be. He made a couple of joking sexual innuendos to "Sinister Spider-Man" and The Thing to f**k with their heads, using his pheromone ability. For all of these reasons, he is a very interesting character and not just the child of a superhero with the same abilities. I hope Wolverine gets his own series back and Daken goes on to new adventures in his own series. I'd definitely invest my reading time in finding out more about him.

The BAD:
In the tradition of the new "Dark" Hawkeye limited series comes Sinister Spider-Man. Why "sinister" instead of "dark" like everyone else? Other than for alliteration purposes, who knows!? Anywho, this new Sinister Spider-Man posing as Spider-Man is actually...Venom. I know, I know. It's pretty hard to believe considering he's actually wearing the black and white Venom symbiote costume while posing as Spider-Man. It would be like me walking into work wearing a rubber Obama mask, toting myself as our President. Deceptive, right?

Apparently there have been some changes to Venom over the years. He's no longer Eddie Brock. He's now Mac Gargan, formerly the Scorpion. This in itself is kind of sad, because I always liked the idea of the Scorpion as a villain. Maybe another one is in the works. But I digress...

I read Sinister Spider-Man and all I can say is {YAWN}. It's a four-issue limited series by writer Brian Reed and artist Chris Bachalo. Reed says, "the whole Marvel Universe thinks Spider-Man is living in Avengers Tower, when it's really Mac Gargan, who has a long history as a sociopath." Venom...er, Sinister Spider-Man...er, "Spider-Man" is a womanizer, a killer, and an all-around a-hole. He's the male equivalent of a Black Widow spider. He bites the heads off the women he f**ks. And it's all on the news. So, you can see why people would naturally believe him to be the real Spider-Man. Especially with the real Spider-Man out there swinging around in his red and blue tights. After the first issue, I didn't want to read the rest (and had wished I hadn't already purchased them), but I did anyway. The story of Sinister Spider-Man felt rushed and randomly thrown together, unlike Dark Wolverine or Dark Reign: Hawkeye (previously reviewed), just to sell comics.

The UGLY:

The artwork on Sinister Spider-Man. With all the talented, unused artists out there looking for employment, why settle for mediocre?