Putting the "Super" in Superman

While I loved the first two Superman movies from the 1970s/80s, as well as the Super Friends Saturday morning cartoon series and its spin-offs, as a kid, I was never that crazy about reading the Superman comic books.  Week after week in the 80s, I'd visit my local comic book store.  Superman comics, including Action Comics and DC Comics Presents, never entered the rotation, with the exception of the occasional issue that guest-starred another character I liked.  That was, until John Byrne came onboard in 1986.  At that point, I was already a huge fan of his work on the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Alpha Flight.  He made Superman interesting and more relatable for me.  That is to say, he gave him more human qualities, developed his personality, and gave him better storylines.  Meanwhile, George Perez was doing the same for Wonder Woman for me.  

Cut to 2008. I began reading Superman again and followed him up through his "Grounded" storyline until the long-running series ended with the events of Flashpoint.  Then DC Comics announced the New 52 and that Superman would feature George Perez and Nicola Scott.  I was intrigued.  I think they're both extremely talented.  Sadly, neither of them lasted on the title for very long, and Superman's storyline in the New 52 was obviously dictated from high above.  Still, I continued reading through many writer and artist changes, I guess out of some sort of weird obligation.  Then Geoff Johns finally took over the writing reigns with #32.  A-Ha!  Maybe now it will get better.  Along with him, he brought artist John Romita Jr.  I'm not sure what the craze is about his art.  The characters look so stiff and, many times, unlifelike.  Naturally, Johns didn't last long on the book; he's got way too many other obligations.  Then it was announced that Gene Luen Yang was coming onboard as writer with #41.  Who?  Never heard of him.  The Superman comics piled up while I read other series.  Then I finally sat down to read a few months' worth.  The writing was fantastic.  I had to flip back to see who it was.  Gene Luen Yang.  Wow.  Still never heard of him, but thought his writing was the best I've seen on this latest Superman series.  Now if only they'd bring back Nicola Scott on art chores.

On my drive home last night, I was listening to NPR.  (Yes, I know.  It makes me feel old, too.)  A segment came on about a Gene Yang.  It was talking about him being named the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.  I thought, could this be the same Gene Yang?   When I got home, I Googled him to find out.  Sure enough, it was.  Wow.  Congratulations, and well-deserved.  I guess I'm not the only one impressed with his talent.  I hope Yang remains a permanent fixture in the DC Universe.  They need all the help they can get with the stale comics they've produced in the New 52 and beyond.  I hope they realize that it's not all about action, action, action and churning out boring, elongated stories just to later sell in graphic novel format.  Comics, too, can (and should) have character development (and aging).    

Amanda Conner Shines on Silk Spectre

 I wanted to like The Watchmen.  I really did.  Unfortunately, it was ultimately a bit boring for me.  I tried reading the maxi-series back in the 1980s when it first came out and didn't get beyond the first issue.  Compared to my favorite comics at the time (Marv Wolfman and George Perez' The New Teen Titans, John Byrne's Fantastic Four, and Chris Claremont's Uncanny X-Men), it lacked a lot, both in story and in art.  

I again tried to read the entire collection in 2009 before the movie came out.  I got about halfway through the graphic novel before finally deciding to put it to rest.  I discovered that I wasn't actually too young at the time to appreciate it in the 80s; it was actually very boring.  Worse, each page consisted of 9 tiny rectangular panels, one after the other.  It didn't vary at all from that formula, making the artwork bland as well.  And each tiny panel had more words in it than should have been allowed.  What happened to showing the story instead of just telling it?   I'm all for dialogue to keep a story flowing.  In fact, I thrive on dialogue much more than descriptions when reading a novel, but too much -- especially in a comic book -- can be incredibly distracting.  

I saw the Watchmen movie and enjoyed it overall, although I felt that it did drag in spots.  Following that, I decided to pick up a few of the Before Watchmen series that DC Comics released in 2012.  I picked up Comedian, Doctor Manhattan, Nite Owl, Rorshach, and Silk Spectre.  While I surprisingly enjoyed Nite Owl more than some of the others, it was Silk Spectre that really stood out, both in story and art.  I wasn't that crazy for Amanda Conner's cartoonish art in the short-lived Power Girl series, but in Silk Spectre, she really did an AMAZING job.  The quality rivals Nicola Scott and George Perez, two of my favorite artists.  The characters feel very lifelike and each panel feels like a work of art.  I was VERY impressed.  After seeing what she can do on this book, I'd love to see her on a monthly series. 

The story itself was more interesting than the others, too.  Silk Spectre's mother Sally Jupiter (the first Silk Spectre) is very controlling and self-centered.  She's like the Norma Desmond (Sunset Boulevard) of superheroes, always concerned about aging and her looks.  She consistently puts down Laurie, making her feel alone and unwanted.  Unlike in the original Watchmen series, in the panel to the right, the author Darwyn Cooke shows how a 9-panel page can tell a LOT about a person (aka Sally) and hold the reader's attention.  Naturally, the excellent artwork by Amanda Conner complements the scene.  

Cooke wraps the Silk Spectre's story up nicely, introducing her to the rest of the Watchmen team, giving us her first impressions. Again, he does this successfully in a page cluttered with words, but Amanda Conner's beautiful art doesn't take a backseat. 

I'm not saying that I'd read any other Watchmen series in the future.  I'm really not that crazy about any of the characters and the world in which they live.  However, I would love Amanda Conner to get another regular monthly gig on a DC Comics series because she's demonstrated that she can do so much more than Power Girl. 

Superman: An Alien Among Us

I just read the new Action Comics #3 and Superman #3.  

Let's start with Action with the preface that I'm not a fan of Grant Morrison.  Surprisingly, though, the writing in this issue was decent and easy enough to follow.  (I guess Morrison took a break from the crackpipe to write this issue.)   I'm disappointed, though, that neither Superman nor Clark Kent isn't liked.  Superman for being new, different, and a bit scary to the public; reporter Clark Kent for trying to right the wrongs of the city by uncovering corruption.  Neither of these characters are the characters that I've known my entire life, so it's really difficult to accept this as the "new normal."  Lastly, why is DC charging $3.99 for Action Comics when we don't get any more story than a $2.99 comic?  "Filler" that is basically marketing for other Superman-related comics in the New 52 doesn't constitute an additional $1 upcharge to me. 

I liked Superman #3 better than the first two issues of the latest Man of Steel reboot.   The story seemed to flow and move along quicker.  While I appreciate that writer George Perez gave us more story for our $2.99 in issues #1 and #2, thanks to his throwback to the 80s with his tiny panels with lots of dialogue, it also made for stories that dragged on longer than they should have.  It was also fantastic to see Nicola Scott's return to a monthly comic!  I love her detailed, realistic, beautiful artwork and I think she's among the Top 5 current comic book artists. (And Superman's ass looks fantastic on the cover.)  But Ma and Pa Kent both dead already?  What reason does Clark have to return to Smallville in the future?  His visits to Smallville were always comforting.  Now it just seems he'll be a brooding superhero a la Batman.

All in all, the enthusiasm of "faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound" seems lost on Superman in the New 52.  He's no longer exciting to people, he's just plain alien.

The New New Teen Titans

Teen Titans #100

As you can tell from my previous posting, I'm thrilled by the new direction and writing and art chores on the Teen Titans comic.  After the disaster that was Felicia Henderson, I have nothing but high praise for J.T. Krul and Nicola Scott, especially the introduction of their newest diverse member, Solstice.  

On June 1, DC Comics announced:  "DC Comics will be making history this September. We’ll be renumbering the entire DC Universe line of comic books with 52 first issues. We’re publishing innovative storylines featuring our most iconic characters helmed by some of the most creative minds within the industry."

My first thought was, Damn!  And the Teen Titans are so close to reaching their 100th issue!  Luckily, though, it looks like they still will.  The Teen Titans comic is shipping twice monthly this summer, so it will reach issue #100.  That looks to be like the last issue, though, as DC Comics' series will begin with #1 in September, thereby eliminating the long-running Batman, Superman, Action Comics, Detective Comics, and recently renumbered Wonder Woman comics as well.  So much for reaching issue #1000 for those series one day!

Teen Titans #1 (2011)

DC recently posted on their DCU Source blog some samplings of the future comics/series that will begin anew.   One of those was for the Teen Titans.  In the new series, "Tim Drake is forced to step out from behind his keyboard when an international organization seeks to capture or kill super-powered teenagers. As Red Robin, he must team up with the mysterious and belligerent powerhouse thief known as Wonder Girl and a hyperactive speedster calling himself Kid Flash."  And then there's the image of the new Teen Titans team and their new costumes.  I really like Red Robin's new costume; it's very "Black Condor."  It's also much more visually appealing than his current costume and really sets himself apart from any Batman, Robin, Nightwing, or Red Hood costumes, giving Red Robin his own identity.  The rest of the team's costumes, though, I can do without.  They look like a throwback to the early 1990s when storylines and character development were "out," and stylized art, accentuated body parts (hello, big female boobies and tiny, tiny waists), and hologram covers were "in."  Who's that crawling on the ground with their hair sticking straight up?   Legion from The New Mutants?  And is that a new Solstice or Terra in the background?  She looks awfully dirty, whoever she is.  I guess the color scheme for the new group is black, red, and gold?   

I'll definitely give the new series a try, since the Teen Titans are my favorite group of all time.  Sadly, though, just when the Teen Titans were getting back on track with Krul and Scott, in comes writing chores by Scott Lobdell with art by Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund.  I hope they do the Teen Titans proud, but I hope this isn't the rebirth of the quality-lacking 1990s that drove me away from comics oh-so-many years ago.

Teen Titans: Back on Top

Teen Titans #93

I just finished Teen Titans #93, and I have to say that I'm very pleased that my favorite comic series is back on track, thanks to fantastic writing by J.T. Krul and beautiful art by Nicola Scott.  Geoff Johns' Teen Titans is what got me back into reading comics after a 15-year absence (and The New Teen Titans was my favorite comic in the 1980s), so I have a special affinity for the team. 

I love the introduction of Solstice to the team.  She's a welcome addition; I think she has a lot of potential, and she brings a bit of diversity to the team.  I hope she sticks around and doesn't go the route of Terra.

Superboy,
art by Nicola Scott

J.T. Krul has a great handle on the schematics between and personality traits of each team member (unlike some writers whose name I won't mention again).  The dialogue is fitting and the stories move along quickly.  Nicola Scott draws each of the Teen Titans beautifully.  Superboy never looked more handsome with his dark hair and baby blues.  I can't help but look at the cover, though, and think that Solstice eerily resembles Mary Kate and/or Ashley Olsen.  Speaking of the cover, where was Red Robin?  Was he late for the photo shoot?   

Kudos to everyone on this issue.  I'm looking forward to reading The Teen Titans up through their milestone 100th issue and beyond!

Secret Six...the ongoing series

After reading Villains United and the Secret Six mini-series, I was SO excited to learn that The Secret Six were getting their very own ongoing monthly comic, written by Gail Simone, the writer who made me fall head over heels for the team members originally, and drawn fantastically by Nicola Scott.

I've now read the first three issues of the ongoing series and all I can say is, "Meh." What happened to the wonderful character development? What happened to the weird conversations with Ragdoll? And, most importantly, what happened to giving us some sexy Catman action?

Sigh...

I'm sticking with you, Gail, but I hope you can make me drool with antipication every month like you did with the previous limited series.