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.
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.
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.
SUPERMAN:
THE GOLDEN AGE OMNIBUS
VOL. 1
(DC, 2013;
Hardcover)
Collects
Superman
Nos. 1-7 and the Superman stories from Action
Comics Nos.
1-31 and New
York World’s Fair
Nos. 1, 2 (cover dates June, 1938- December, 1940)
This
is not a review* of this book as much as it is a preview
of this book. I'm going to try something a little different: an
opening video with format critique. Let me know if this is something
that everyone would like to see more of in the future.
*I
read the first four Superman
Chronicles
trade paperbacks (which are compiled in this book in their entirety)
before I was blogging. I do have a treat for you, though: some of my
earliest attempts at reviewing. I used to correspond (as in write
actual letters) to my wife's uncle who is a hardcore comic book
collector living in Florida. He was off the grid in those days, with
no computer at home. So I would type out letters where we would both
critique what we were reading. Luckily I saved all of these files
(except for one; it somehow got corrupted in a crash and is lost
forever). I could post some of these old school reviews sometime if
folks are interested. They aren't as detailed as my modern reviews
are, and they are from 2004-2007. After that I moved my reviews to my Myspace blog and then
moved over here in 2009, bringing those Myspace reviews over here
(check the earliest postings under Back Issues over there on the
sidebar.
So
here goes, the books as I viewed them when they were originally released...
THE
SUPERMAN CHRONICLES VOL. 1
(2006)
Collects
Superman
No. 1 and the Superman stories from Action
Comics
Nos. 1-13, New
York World’s Fair
No. 1
First
off, I love the format in The
Chronicles
line. These are cheap ($14.99 list price) softcovers that collect
Golden Age comics on heavy stock pulp paper in color. These stories
have been available as DC
Archives
for years, but I cannot afford yet another slew of $50 hardcovers, so
these are a great alternative. (EDIT/NOTE:
This was well before my illness/addiction really kicked in. I now
sell blood and organs (sometimes even my own!) to fund this cursed
hobby.)
This
is nowhere near the caliber of The
Batman Chronicles
trade, but was still enjoyable based on historical significance alone.
It is fascinating to watch the evolution of both the character and
the comic book medium in this embryonic era (1938-1939). My knowledge
of Superman is limited to the movies and the Superfriends
cartoon from the late ‘70s, so this was an eye opener.
On
to the stories: These are crude, both in grammar and plotlines, often
rushing in the last page or two to wrap it up due to space and time
constraints. Having said that, these are still more sophisticated in
terms of story and artwork than Timely Comics from that era.
Action
Comics
No. 1: The one that started the whole superhero phenomenon. The
iconic cover image sets the tone for these early tales. Superman’s
uniform is an almost indigo blue in this first appearance, with his
“S” emblem being all yellow, except for the cover and the final
panel. Maybe the fibers of his alien uniform changed colors later on
because of Earth’s sun? Who knows! Superman cannot fly in any of
these issues, instead relying on his “powerful leg muscles to jump
1/8 of a mile”. His super strength and speed are apparent in this
issue, when he takes on… a wife beater. Superman takes on… a wife
beater. Right.
Lois Lane is a bee-yotch in these early issues.
Action
Comics No. 3: Superman takes on the menace of… unsafe coal mine working
conditions.
Action
Comics No. 4: This time, it is the shocking story of how Superman drugs and
kidnaps a college football player to take his place in “the big
game” because he has uncovered a plot by the rival team’s coach
to hire thugs as ringers to take out the star players in the game.
Okay!
Action
Comics No. 5: Clark Kent works for The Daily Star, not the Daily Planet, in
these early issues. This issue sees that bee-yotch Lois Lane lie to Clark
Kent and send him on a bogus assignment so that she can steal his
scoop about a dam breaking. The editor wouldn’t send her because
the story was “too important for a girl.” Ah, yes, the
chauvinistic ways of men in the 1930s. I love the cars and fashions
in these stories, and I have to keep it in perspective that these
were
the styles at the time.
Action
Comics No. 6: A crooked businessman pretends to be Superman’s manager so
that he can sell his likeness and make money off of him. Of course
Superman foils this dastardly plot!
Action
Comics No. 7: With his first cover appearance since Issue 1, Superman (with
yellow boots and a yellow S due to printer plate errors and kept for
posterity) saves a circus from closing by going to work for them. No,
really, that is what happened.
Action
Comics No. 8: A crooked fence who hires juvenile delinquents to steal for
him frames one of the boys after he wants more money for his deeds.
Superman uncovers his plot to frame the boy’s three accomplices,
and defends the boys by saying that saying that they’re not
responsible for their actions because of their environment. Hello? Is
he nuts? If these kids were black they would’ve been thrown in the
slammer! So, Superman takes matters into his own hands by kicking
everyone out of the tenements so that he can demolish them. He takes
on the National Guard and tricks the bombers into razing the
neighborhood, thus resulting in shiny new “apartment-projects”
which, ironically enough, will become the same ghetto some 30-40
years later.
Action
Comics No. 9: Some crack detective from Chicago comes into town to catch
Superman and put him on trial for his crimes. These stories all have
a serial, carry over feel to them, which is cool.
Action
Comics No. 10: Superman causes a car accident so that he can be sent to the
slammer. He uncovered prisoner cruelty on the chain gang, and needed
to fix it from the inside. After all, it’s not like he could just
jump over the wall, or break through the wall to get in, right?
Action
Comics No. 11: That crafty Superman! He uncovers a plot by crooked
stockbrokers to swindle shareholders with an oil well that has never
spit out a drop of oil. So, he wears a hat to conceal his identity
and becomes Homer Ramsey! He breaks into the offices of the crooks,
and rifles through their files, stealing confidential client
information (can you say felony?). He then proceeds to buy all of the
shares off of the individuals for their current depressed value. Then
he takes a drill bit and goes to the drilling site and strikes oil,
making himself into a millionaire. Isn’t that considered
conspiracy? Then he forces the crooked brokers (who recently received
news of striking oil) to pay him in cash. So, after swindling the
shareholders, conspiring to commit fraud, and extorting the money
from the brokers, Superman then proceeds to destroy the oil rig!
Unreal. What a “hero”!
Action
Comics No. 12: This guy needs some badass super-villain to show up, because
now the obviously bored hero takes on careless drivers. He smashed up
a defenseless used car salesman’s lot because he sells “accidents
looking for a place to happen.” The self-righteous piece of crap
also bullies a drunk driver, and then destroys an auto factory
because this company’s cars get into more accidents than other
companies. That’s okay, because Superman gets his in the end, as
Clark Kent gets a parking ticket because the police, frightened by
Superman’s unprovoked rampage, become Nazis and start cracking down
on people.
Action
Comics No. 13: Superman takes on the Cab Protective League, a sordid group
who bullies independent cab drivers. He forces them to take
sledgehammers and destroy their own cabs as restitution. Reynolds,
one of the guys involved in the Cab Protective League, is taken into
police custody. On the way to the station, he asks if he can smoke a
cigarette. The police say no problem. Oh, but there is a problem…it
is a cigarette that contains a “mysterious gas”. Of course, the
mystery to me is why didn’t this gas affect Reynolds. Did he get
immunized to the effects of said gas, or do I read too much into this
stuff? Reynolds takes off in the police car, which Superman tracks to
a cottage. Then Superman takes on his first super-villain…the
Ultra-Humanite, a cripple who is “the head of a vast ring of evil
enterprises”, and his brain, due to a scientific experiment, being
“the most agile and learned on Earth!” He has rigged up a voltage
line on the floor, which shocks Superman into unconsciousness.
Strapped to a table, he heads towards a buzzsaw. A buzzsaw which
shatters upon hitting his thick Kryptonian skull, and the shrapnel of
which stuck Reynolds in the throat, killing him. The Ultra-Humanite
escapes with his lackeys into an airplane, which Superman causes to
crash by slamming into its propeller. He searches the wreck, but he
got away. So let me get this straight: a guy in a wheelchair can get
up and walk away from an airplane crash? Oh yeah, somewhere along the
way, Superman develops super hearing and X-ray vision. All in all,
this was some pretty funny stuff.
THE
SUPERMAN CHRONICLES VOL. 2
Collects
Superman Nos. 2, 3 and the Superman stories from Action
Comics Nos. 14-20
Speaking
of affordable, here is another book in the Chronicles line, which
offers 192 pages of Golden Age goodness on heavy pulp paper in color
for $14.99. You can’t beat that with a stick! These stories are so
much fun to read, partially because they are quaint snapshots of
Americana, partially because they feature our hero doing things that
aren’t really heroic.
Action
Comics No. 14: The return of the Ultra-Humanite.
Action
Comics No. 15: Superman puts one million dollars of the money that he
swindled from shareholders in that oil rig scam from a previous story
to help save an orphanage.
Action
Comics No. 16: Superman breaks up a gambling
ring to help save a guy’s marriage. Superman No. 2: Larry Trent,
ex-boxing champion, has his suicide attempt interrupted by that
buttinsky, Superman. When asked why he tried to kill himself, he told
him that he was forced to throw a fight and was drugged and lost the
title and self respect. Superman’s answer to this problem is to
pose as him, and box his way back up to a title spot. The guy wins
his title back himself, and when his manager, who was in cahoots with
the mob’s betting rings, tries to drug him again, Superman forces
him to drink the drugs and causes him to overdose. In another story
in the same issue, Superman violates international treaties and goes
and retrieves a stolen formula that can create a gas that gets past
any gas mask. The last story is not noteworthy.
Action
Comics No. 17: The return
of the return of the Ultra-Humanite.
Action
Comics No. 18: A yellow rag drugs a
senator and takes pictures of him with another woman in an attempt to
blackmail him before his re-election. Superman gets wind of this, and
proceeds to smash the presses of the newspaper. He also develops
X-Ray vision in this story, although he still is not flying as of
yet.
Action
Comics No. 19: The Ultra-Humanite unleashes the Purple Plague upon
an unsuspecting city, and Superman saves the day again.
Superman No.
3: Superman saves the children at a crooked state orphanage. It looks
like a Little Rascals crossover, judging by their attire. The last
story is not noteworthy.
Action
Comics No. 20: The only interesting thing to
happen in this one is that Superman develops his super-breath to blow
out a torch. There are still no power of flight or Kryptonite as of
yet. According to the back cover, this book features the early
appearance of Lex Luthor. He must be the Ultra-Humanite, as there is
no one else in the book that could be him. We’ll find out in Volume
3, due out this August.
THE
SUPERMAN CHRONICLES VOL. 3
Collects
Superman Nos. 3, 4, and the Superman stories from Action Comics
Nos. 21-25, New York World’s Fair 1940
This
batch is cover dated February, 1940-Summer, 1940 (the title proper
was still quarterly at this point). See* above.
Action
Comics 21: The
Ultra-Humanite returns, but as a woman. Did I miss something?? Oh
well, I’m too lazy to go back and look to see if this happened
before or not. A scientist develops an atomic bomb, which Superman
warns against. Here we are, well over 18 months before we enter WWII,
and years before the Atom bomb, and they are writing about this
stuff.
Action
Comics 22: Clark and Lois are sent to cover the war in Europe.
Superman still cannot technically fly, but the way that he is drawn,
he may as well be flying. His ridiculous invulnerability is becoming
more and more apparent, as he shatters a plane’s propeller with his
bare hands.
Action
Comics 23: The antagonist behind the war in Europe is
revealed to be Lex Luthor, seen with orange hair here. He zaps
Superman with green rays which sap his strength, but there is no
explanation given as to why they do this, or what they are. This
could very well be the first appearance of Kryptonite.
Superman No.
4: Superman is still being referred to as the Man of Tomorrow. The
Daily Planet is mentioned for the first time here, no excuse being
given if the Daily Star was bought, folded, or whatnot. Lex Luthor
coins the phrase Man of Steel for the first time here, and it is used
often from here on out. Superman develops super-hearing to go with
his X-ray vision. In fact, he seems to develop new powers in every
story.
Superman No. 5: Alex Evell, a crooked politician, tries to
control information in Metropolis, first by buying one newspaper,
then by trying to buy the other. The moral, in Superman’s own words:
Two newspapers are better than one! Lex Luthor conspires to plunge
our country into another depression by controlling people of power
and influence with his own brand of incense. I am not making this
crap up. This stuff was passed off as serious action! Superman
develops yet another new power: the power to contort his face to
resemble another person. He also says up!—up! and seems to fly
away.
THE
SUPERMAN CHRONICLES VOL. 4
Collects
Superman Nos. 6, 7, and the Superman stories from Action Comics Nos.
26-31
Politically
incorrect cheesy Golden Age goodness!
As
you can see, I wasn't even trying anymore by that point. Ha!
You
can buy all four of these books at InStockTrades!
