Review of Action Comics #837

ACTION COMICS #837 – I wonder if Geoff Johns knows just what a brilliant writer he is? He might not be the most technically brilliant but the man knows how to stuff a comic full of so many original twists and turns, you can’t help but appreciate the hell out of it.

Action Comics #837 continues the “Up, Up and Away” storyline (this is part 2) that greeted us in Superman #650. Johns continues this arc with a solid issue, one that takes the story in a place that none of us could have predicted. Clark, of course, is still without his powers and he spends the issue searching the tunnels of Metropolis for Luthor (a nice nod to Superman: The Movie) but instead finds a group of punks who’ve stolen Luthor power suits in an attempt to get into Intergang.

Clark doesn’t dispatch the foes, rather some help from Green Lantern and Hawkgirl helps to save the day. Clark, without powers, does save an entire train from diaster when he risks his life to push one of the power suited criminals out of the way of an oncoming train (the train would have exploded pretty good).

Luthor’s story moves forward, as he enlists the help of Metallo to do something. We’re not quite sure yet. The best part, though, is the final panel, in which Green Lantern offers Clark a Corps ring. Will he take it? God, I really, really hope so. Even if just for one, single issue. That would be uber-cool for a Superman/Lantern fan, as I am.

A solid CUT & PRINT YEAH!

Review of Superman/Shazam: First Thunder #4

SUPERMAN/SHAZAM: FIRST THUNDER #4/4 – What do you get when you match writer Judd Winick with the beautiful pencils of Joshua Middleton and two of DC Comics best heroes, Superman and Shazam? You get an awesome story full of fun, excitement and great moments.

Perhaps the best moment in this short arc is found within the last pages of issue #4, which seals the deal for me, easily recommending that you try to get your hands on the entire run of comics.

First Thunder is the story of how Superman and Shazam first came to meet and beat up bad guy’s together. Shazam, of course, is the young Billy Batson who yells “Shazam” and is transformed into the mightiest mortal and we all know who Superman is.

Winick writes this thing as straightforward as possible which is refreshing in a time of convoluted storylines of multiple Earths and the like.

In this awesome final chapter (you don’t even really need to read the first three if you don’t want to), Captain Marvel goes on a rampage after Dr. Sivana’s men kill his best friend, a kid named Scott. Superman, obviously finding this behavior weird, goes to confront Captain Marvel only to discover that he is indeed just a boy with the world on his shoulders.

There’s some great writing here, especially when Superman confronts the almighty wizard Shazam and the final two pages. I don’t want to spoil anything so just take me word for it and check it out. A CUT & PRINT SHAZAM!

One Year Later - Superman #650 Review

SUPERMAN #650 - With DC’s top writer, Geoff Johns (along with Kurt Busiek) now on tap as the writer behind Superman, it’s time for the Superman comics to get kicked up a notch.

Since coming back into the world of comics last summer, I’ve collected the Superman titles with diligence, hoping that the hero that I love will turn into the must read comic. While there have been some fun issues, like the crossover in Action Comics and The Adventures of Superman which saw Superman team up with another favorite of mine, Captain Marvel, for the most part, the title has been lacking.

With #650, though, Superman is relevant once more. While it’s anybodies guess where this arc (Up, Up and Away, continued in Action Comics #837) is going, it starts off on a marvelous track and makes us all scratch our head, wondering why Johns hasn’t been writing Superman for the last couple of years.

The story is remarkable because the lack of knowledge of the last year adds a level of mystery and intrigue that the title has been sorely missing. It seems that in the aftermath of the Infinite Crisis, Superman is no longer Superman.

Yeah, you read right. Superman no longer exists. Clark Kent is around but if you think he’s going to get into the costume and start flying around by the end of this book, you are sorely mistaken. Clark has lost his powers. We don’t know how or why. We don’t know if it was his choice or something that effected him during the crisis, but Clark is now simply Clark. He gets beat up by Lex Luthor (which is awesome) and the protector of Metropolis is now Supergirl, who’s been trained by cousin Clark.

The book kicks off with a “Superman Retrospective”, a film that is playing in the park and ends with Clark lying in a back ally, beaten and bloody, from an aquitted Lex Luthor who didn’t appreciate the expose that Clark has written in the last year (Clark is now an outstanding reporter). The comic also houses some straight forward art that accompanies the straightforward and refreshing storyline.

It’s also intriguing that the comic is somewhat borrowing from the upcoming Superman Returns film, which follows a similar storyline, except that Superman has been flat out gone from Earth. I’m really excited to see where Johns is going to take this storyline. It’s fresh and brings a human element back into Superman that, just now, we realize has been missing for who knows how long.

A CUT & PRINT GREAT.

Review of Infinite Crisis #5

INFINITE CRISIS #5 (of 7) - Just got done reading the fantastic Infinite Crisis #5. I must say, I’m eating this epic comic book writing up like nobodies business. Geoff Johns is a fantastic comic writing, bringing all the elements of the DC universe into perfect balance.

Fill with some fun art, Infinite Crisis #5 builds on the emotional excitement of issue #4, which was the first comic to ever actually bring a sort of tear to me eye. This is the issue that sets up the year ahead jump that every DC comic is about to go under. I’ve JSA #83 right beside me but I haven’t had a chance to crack it open yet.

I must say, while I should really be mad at DC comics for creating an event that really requires you to read all the comics that are related to the core story, for some reason I just can’t say no. Somehow, they’ve roped me into collecting almost every title that DC puts out. I had said no to all the Batman titles, just because I had the Superman ones and didn’t want to stretch the wallet but now I just have to know, “why has Batman been missing for a year and why is he suddenly back in Gotham City”.

And what is going to happen to the multiverse. Is it here to stay? I sure hope not but I’ve got read to find out what the hell is truly going on. Superman is a mess, Wonder Woman’s mission is over. Infinite Crisis #5 doesn’t do a good job of actually moving the story forward but there are some interesting moments. Primarily, it’s the showdown between the normal DCU Superman and the Earth -2 Superman (the one with gray temples) and the return of Superboy Prime from the speed force (which happened just last issue).

Basically, the story leaves me wanting more. I want more. Damn it. I really want more.