Review- SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL VOL. 8

SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL VOL. 8 (DC, First Printing, 2014; Softcover)

Collects Action Comics #598-600, Adventures of Superman #439, 440, and Superman #16-18 (cover dates March- June, 1988)

Writers: John Byrne, Paul Kupperberg, and Jerry Ordway

Artists: John Byrne, Jerry Ordway, George Perez, Mike Mignola, Ross Andru, Dick Giordano, Curt Swan, Murphy Anderson, Kurt Schaffenberger, Ty Templeton, Karl Kesel, John Beatty, Keith Williams, and Dennis Janke

John Byrne's Superman reboot of the mid-80s continues in this eighth book in the line. I've enjoyed all of these books and wouldn't bat an eye on the inevitable double dip when they repackage this stuff in an Omnibus line. It's that good.

Superman #17 was incredible. I loved his battle with the Banshee, and the whole story had a Marvel feel to it thanks to John Byrne. His defection to DC was a big deal at the time, but back in the '80s I was a company man forbidden to cross the picket line to DC. More fool me.

Action Comics #600 is the highlight of this book. It would be pretty hard to read this issue and not crack a smile. Byrne draws everything except for Wonder Woman, whom George Perez was drawing at the time and draws here. We get a “comic jam” style team-up similar to the All-Star Comics Justice Society stories of the 1940s. Add in Darkseid and you have a can't miss comic clocking in at a whopping 80 pages.

This is a fantastic read. There is a ninth book in this line but I passed on it in anticipation of the inevitable Omnibus line. DC discovered the double dip repackaging game late but are making up for lost time. It wouldn't surprise me to see it announced within the year.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations and materials used in physical media. Those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or women who are pregnant should exit my blog at their earliest convenience, as their safety cannot be guaranteed beyond this point.

Linework and Color restoration: The color palette is faithful for the most part, although some of the blends are off (as in too much here, not enough there) and some of the blends were done with a lazy, airbrushed gradient style. This method drives me nuts on material which was done with flat coloring because it sticks out like a sore thumb and looks inauthentic.

The linework is often obliterated, with Action Comics #599 being the worst looking issue in the book. It has what I call “the Sharpie effect”, where a restoration artist tried to fix the problem by doubling the lines. The black linework looks far too heavy while all of the fine detail is gone.

Scan of original comic book.

Restoration from this book. 

My overall take is that this is a serviceable job. Since this is DC, they will never bother remastering or doing any touch ups if this material is repurposed in other collections. This is it, folks.

Paper stock: The pros: The paper looks and feels like authentic pulp comic book paper. Cons: The paper looks and feels like authentic pulp comic book paper. I have many DC collections which utilized this chintzy paper stock and they begin yellowing like real comic book paper. Even though this Mando stock doesn't have as much acid as true pulp paper it is still susceptible to aging processes.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Laminated cardstock cover.

Review- SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL VOL. 7

SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL VOL. 7 (DC, First Printing, 2013; Softcover)

Collects Action Comics #596, 597, Adventures of Superman #436-438, and Superman #13-15 (cover dates January- March, 1988)

Writers: John Byrne and Jerry Ordway

Artists: Pencilers- John Byrne and Jerry Ordway; Inkers- Karl Kessel, John Beatty, Keith Williams, and Leonard Starr

John Byrne relaunched Superman in 1986, back when relaunching and rebooting was a bold concept. DC wanted to make an entry point for new readers instead of being saddled with 50 years of continuity. We all know what has happened since then and things are as messy as ever, but journey with me to a time when the status quo was the status quo.

John Byrne and Jerry Ordway handle all of the scripting and the penciling portion of the artwork. They keep the continuity tight as a drum in spite of the fact that these issues are part of the Millennium crossover, one of those crossovers that required you to buy 46 different comics to get the whole story. Those are what drove me out of buying monthly comics as the '80s wound down.

I really enjoyed seeing John Byrne draw the Spectre for the team up in Action Comics #596. Adventures of Superman #437 is one of those split screen stories that Byrne first did back in Fantastic Four #277. One story runs across the top half of the page for the entire issue and another story runs across the bottom, with the events being tied up over the last few pages of the issue. It was a novel idea at one time but I find it to be annoying today. Not all experiments work in retrospect.

Not only are these issues fun to read but there's a lot of great character development going on here. Superman #15 is especially great. Adventures of Superman #438 features a new Brainiac, or at least the consciousness of the old Brainiac beamed into the brain of someone else. I am a sucker for circus stories so you can see why I liked that one.

I fail to see why DC hasn't repackaged this run in a series of Omnibus books. It seems like a no-brainer. They did it with the George Perez Wonder Woman trades so it's not impossible.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.25 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations and materials used in physical media. Those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or women who are pregnant should exit my blog at their earliest convenience, as their safety cannot be guaranteed beyond this point.

Linework and Color restoration: It's DC, so while the color palette is faithfully maintained for the most part the blends are harsh and lazy and some of the linework is washed out.

Paper stock: Thin pulpish paper. Some folks like it, some don't. I prefer a heavier stock for collected editions.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Laminated cardstock cover.

Review- ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN: GIL KANE

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN: GIL KANE (DC, First Printing, 2012; Hardcover)

Note: Book actually released in 2013

Collects Action Comics #539-541, 544-546, 551-554, DC Comics Presents Annual #3, Superman #367, 372, 375, and Superman Special #1, 2 (cover dates January, 1982- April, 1984)

Writers: Martin Pasko, Bob Rozakis, Marv Wolfman, Gil Kane, Cary Bates, and Roy Thomas

Artist: Gil Kane

I was a Marvel kid growing up. I wouldn't even pull a DC Comic* out of the slot on the spinner rack at 7-11, young comic snob that I was. Little did I realize that many of the creators whose work that I enjoyed via quarter box comics at the time were busy making new material over at the Distinguished Competition after being chased away from Marvel by that ol' taskmaster Jim Shooter. If you use the phrase dynamic action sequences in comics there should be one name that comes out of your mouth in the same breath as Jack Kirby and Neal Adams: Gil Kane. Kane was an absolute master of getting kinetic motion to translate to the printed page. Like Adams and Kirby, Kane's battle sequences were drawn with exaggerated anatomy to represent motion. He used perspective to also trick your eye into believing they were moving. Genius.

*Calling it DC Comics seems redundant, since DC stands for Detective Comics. It feels like calling an ATM an ATM machine.

Like many artists, Kane's craft deteriorated with time. His 1960s and early 1970s heyday was long gone by this point. While his panel composition and storytelling ability were still clear, he insisted on inking his own work here. Kane is a great penciler but a piss poor inker. He does not posses the heavy hand necessary to make lines survive the primitive four color printing process. If you compare the original comics and especially this book to scans of his original artwork you will see how much detail was lost. Kane was best when paired with the a heavy handed inker such as John Romita, Sr.

I was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable the writing was in many of the issues collected here, especially the one by Marv Wolfman. Wolfman is seemingly forgotten by modern fandom, which is sad because he was a solid craftsman who bridged the gap between the glory of the Silver Age with the creative renaissance of the 1980s. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time for accolades I suppose.

My favorite issue in the entire book was Action Comics #544, which deals with the rebirth and reinvention of Brainiac. While I love the original version (mostly through my exposure from The Super Friends cartoon as a kid in the 1970s), this then-new version is pretty badass. DC Comics Presents Annual #3 was also really enjoyable. In it, Shazam and Superman face off against Dr. Sivana, Shazam's arch nemesis going back to the 1940s (thanks Internet- I have never read a Shazam or Captain Marvel comic). While these stories are all fun reads, the presentation and production values mar the experience. I will go more into that below. DC's collected editions strategy remains a mystery to me.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.25 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This being one of DC's artist-centric collections from this era, the covers which Gil Kane did not do the artwork for are omitted.

Linework and Color restoration: Linework is murky or obliterated. The original color palette is faithfully maintained, but this being DC means that some of the blending is done with awful lazy airbrush style gradient shades which stick out like a sore thumb to me and are the equivalent to sticking a needle in my eye. Painful.

Paper stock: Bright white glossy stock. While I love coated stock I prefer it with little to no sheen for vintage material with flat coloring like this. Flat colors always look too saturated on glossy stock for my taste. Your mileage may vary.

Binding: Perfect binding. Yes, that means glued binding on a hardcover. DC tries to straddle the line between high end hardcovers and lower price points, with the end result of neither side being happy. The books are still priced too high for the casual buyer ($39.99 MSRP) while not being high end enough for the serious hardcover collector. Everyone wins!

Dustjacket and Hardback cover notes: Nice lamination on the dustjacket. The casewrap on the hardback has a faux cloth texture to it but has little finish. No dye foiled stamping. Couple that with the light boards that DC uses and you get a cheap feeling book that tries to compete with high end hardcovers from other publishers but comes up woefully short.