TF Views

Action Comics #1000

For the City Who Has Everything - Dan Jurgens - As the writer for the last 40 issues, Jurgens properly opens the issue as writer and artist, as a reluctant Superman attends "Superman Appreciation Day" in Metropolis with his family, while the other heroes conceal and fight off a Khund invasion so he doesn't have to.

Never Ending Battle - Peter Tomasi, Patrick Gleason - Vandal Savage hits Superman with a Hypertime weapon. The story is an excuse for a bunch of pin-up pages featuring Superman of different eras, and it's really well done.

An Enemy Within - Marv Wolfman, Curt Swan - some unused Curt Swan art has a script written to fit it as Brainiac tries out mind control on a high school principle while Superman is in Japan. Not a stellar story, but as a way to get some previously unused Curt Swan art into a Superman anniversary issue, it's appreciated.

The Car - Geoff Johns, Richard Donner, Oliver Coipel - one of my favorites of the issue. Butch, the thug whose car Superman is smashing on the cover of Action Comics #1, gets his car to the garage, has to walk home, and is paid a visit by Superman who has learned a bit more about Butch since the night before. A bit of compassion and tough talk convinces Butch to take a different path in life. Stories where the antagonist of the story saw the error of his ways did happen in the 1940s, so it's not all that out of place. Probably the best of the bunch.

The Fifth Season - Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque - Superman and Lex Luthor have a conversation at the Smallville observatory. Probably my least favorite of the issue.

Of Tomorrow - Tom King, Clay Mann - Billions of years in the future, as the Earth is about to be swallowed up by the expanding sun, Superman pays a final visit to the grave of Ma and Pa Kent to say goodbye for the last time.

Five Minutes - Louise Simonson, Jerry Ordway - Straight back to the triangle era and my favorite Superman artist as Superman has to solve a few disasters within the five minutes he, as Clark, has until a deadline.

Actionland! - Paul Dini, Jose Luiz Garcia Lopez - Wow, Garcia Lopez came out of retirement to contribute to the issue. The story is another trip through some aspects of Superman's history, this time framed as a Superman theme park built by Mxyzptilk and his girlfriend. And Bat-Mite even gets a cameo.

Faster than a Speeding Bullet - Brian Meltzer, John Cassaday - in the time it takes a thug with a gun held to the head of a hostage to pull the trigger, Superman has has flown from the outskirts of Metropolis to put his hand between the gun barrel and the girl's head and catch the bullet.

The Truth - Brian Bendis and Jim Lee - The book opened with the outgoing writer, and it closes with the incoming writer, who writes the only non-retrospective story of the book, as Superman and Supergirl fight Rogal Zaar, a deformed alien who bats both around rather easily, and who claims to have not ony promised Jor El to end all Kryptonians, but to have destroyed Krypton. It's more of a teaser than a story, so there's very little so far to judge Bendis' writing by at this point.

Grant Morrison to write Green Lantern? https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/04/20 ... esh-start/

Not sure how I feel about that. Morrison can write some good stuff, like Multiversity, but he's also written some clunkers. Potentially this is good for the franchise.

Flash #45
Barry and his allies clean up Central City after Grodd's attack, and the other characters either exit the series for now or get a scene setting up future plotlines. This is an epilogue for a storyline I read very little of, but it is good to see Barry and Iris finally together. I'm likely to keep buying this book for the Flash War storyline, as long as Wally is heavily involved, and this issue contains possibly the biggest key point in his storyline since he returned in Rebirth #1. He finally goes to see his Aunt Iris for the first time, and not only does she remember exactly who he is, but the last two pages of the issue feature Wally saying "I remember everything" with the montage of images implying that his full pre- and post-Crisis history is back in play. Iris also seems to realize that people that should be there are missing. I didn't see Wally's kids on the last page, but his marriage to Linda is depicted, his time as kid Flash, his time as the Flash, and if I'm not mistaken, Bart/Impulse is also there. The whole overarching Rebirth story resolution is waiting on the glacial release of Doomsday Clock, so I have no idea how quickly any of this will be resolved.

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #43
Part 2 of the Darkstar's arc does a great job of setting up the Darkstars as a credible threat to the Green Lanterns. John and the other Lanterns convince the Guardians they need to stop the Darkstars asap, because they've been executing criminals around the universe. The Guardians agree, and a strike force of Lanterns head to space sector one to put an end to the threat, only to be ambushed and teleported back to Mogo... all except Hal, who talks to Tomar-Tu, who insists he's not being held against his will. The Darkstars badly outnumber the Green Lantern Corps, and John decides not to pick a fight, opting instead to take the opportunity to recruit allies before taking them on. Good issue, but it flew by.

Mera: Queen of Atlantis #3 of 6
This is a breather episode as most of it is taken up with a conversation between Orm/Ocean Master, Mera and Erin, Orm's fiance, as they discuss and define duty and how it drives them in life. I think more dynamic art is needed for an issue of this type, to keep it from being too static. It is interesting to see Orm enjoying life on dry land, an irony he himself discusses with Tula, particularly after his attitude back in Throne of Atlantis. He's come a long way, and he goes a bit further as he and Mera, who have a long and hostile history together, agree to work together to help resolve the situation in Atlantis. To that end they go to Xebel, Mera's home, and end up confronted by Nereus, king of Xebel, who Mera was intended at one point to marry. At the halfway point, this mini series feels like an Aquaman subplot elevated to mini-series status, but the characters are strong enough to carry the book, and maybe we'll get some follow up to Orm and Nereus' meeting at the end of "The Dead King" storyline.

DC Nation #0
It was 25c. Can't beat the price, particularly for three stories. It's a preview issue essentially.

Your Big Day - Tom King and Clay Mann - The Joker picks a random house to sit and wait for the mail, convinced he'll get an invitation to Batman's wedding. The poor homeowner begs for his life, and of course in the end the Joker kills him, after sitting with him all afternoon, telling jokes (which aren't too bad, all in all) and generally being lighthearted and jovial... until he blows the man's head off. He tells him at the beginning that only only kills people when he's angry, but in the end, he kills people when he's happy. Good crazy Joker story.

Office Space - Brian Bendis, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez(!!!!) - Gives us a better idea of where Bendis might be going than the short story in Action #1000. I don't like the return of nervous Clark Kent... that's a pre-Crisis characterization I'm glad was left behind. On the other hand, Perry White is well written, the dialogue is good, and the setup for the plot is interesting. Lois has left the Daily Planet, and a new gossip reporter is interested in Clark. There's no real indication where in Superman's history this takes place, and I'm assuming it's present day, but I'm not sure. No mention of Jon unless I missed it. For what it was, I liked it.

No Justice: Prelude - Scott Snyder, James Tynion, Jorge Jimenez - a sampler for the uncoming Justice League storyline that follows up on Metal. The league has split up into four teams, taking plenty of new characters on board including Starro and Sinestro. The story gives the reader very quick glimpses of in progress threats and efforts to counter them by the various teams, so it's an appetizer that hopes to hook you with odd character combinations if it doesn't get you with possible plotlines.

For a quarter, it's well worth the purchase.

Action Comics Special #1
I'm not sure why Booster Shot couldn't have been an issue shorter and the first of three stories in this issue included as part of the normal Action run. Still, it's a good issue with three stories, some of which I'm guessing were probably orphaned inventory stories that needed somewhere to go and ended up here.

Dan Jurgens ends his "heroic Lex" storylines with the story of an old, utterly bitter Luthor who comes back in time, learns Clark's secret id by breaking into the Fortress of Solitude, and then attempts to hurt Superman by going after Lois Lane. Current day Luthor helps stop his older self without really understanding just who the dying old man in the battlesuit is. I guess in the end Luthor will never overcome his hatred for Superman.

The other two stories: one features Lois and Clark at the White House correspondents dinner, roasting Lex Luthor (who decides to run for President at the end, so this one's set in the past), and a warm-hearted Christmas story that sees Superman promise to help a first time criminal get back on his feet when he gets out of jail, and help Lois when her car, which she's really quite fond of, is wrecked in a collision. Good stuff all around.

Titans Annual #2
The annual wraps up the Monsieur Mallah and the Brain storyline that's been running over the last few issues of Titans. The entire team is not reassembled, but Arsenal and Donna Troy are assisted by Nightwing and Flash as they managed to stop the Brain from achieving full omnipotent mental power that will essentially enable him to alter reality at will. Mallah and the Brain are just weird villains. Mallah is an intelligent gorilla and the Brain is a brain in a jar that looks like a skull face (Sort of like the robot Brainiac). Their plan does almost work, but poor Mallah is distressed at losing his friend the Brain, and ultimately helps the Titans prevent him from achieving full transformation.

The thing that's bothered me about this whole storyline is that it seems out of character for Nightwing and the other Titans to just meekly submit to Batman's insistence that they disband. It looks like that's over, as Donna is defiant at the end when informing Batman that they're responsible for ending the threat. I think the book is going on hiatus during the "No Justice" storyline and the team will look completely different when the book comes back, so I may or may not continue reading. The appeal of the Titans for me is that they're largely the original generation of kid sidekicks, and when the book strays too far from that makeup, I tend to lose interest.

Morrison on "Green Lantern"? Color me interested.

Current pull file:
-Mega Man Mastermix
-Mister Miracle
-the Punisher
-WWE

Series that I read casually:
-the Avengers
-eXiles
-Iron Man
-Uber
-X Men Red

Things I'm currently reading are Optimus Prime, Lost Light and what I refer to as Lady Thor, but I've only been getting those in trades.

Flash #46
Hunter Zolomon reflects on his attempt to work with Eobard Thawne to make the Flashes "better" heroes, only in the end to decide that he's been wrong, and Thawne was right to make them hurt, and he's going to provoke a war. Meanwhile Wally's completely recovered memories of a reality that doesn't currently exist mean he keeps seeing things that aren't actually there, such as imagining a Flash museum that looks real and solid when it doesn't exist, or seeing Cyborg as he appeared in the 80s New Teen Titans series rather than his New 52/Rebirth armor. Wally goes from perceiving things as he remembers to perceiving them as they are, and he's frustrated and angry with the whole experience. Iris, oddly, has not been affected in the same way. Barry tries to help, but it's clear things will get worse before they get better. Now whether they'll be able to fully explore the consequences of this story with Doomsday Clock going bi-monthly remains to be seen. If every other book at DC is treading water waiting for it to finish, I'm not sure how this story will play out. I'm about done with the teasing about Dr. Manhattan and the altered reality. I'd like to get some closure to that whole idea.

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #44
This issue really does take full advantage of the long history of the Green Lanterns to go back to the Crisis and show Goldface murdering Tomar-Re, a crime which is repaid when Tomar-Tu summarily executes Goldface in his prison cell, continuing the brutal "justice" of the Darkstars. Hal and Barry investigate the crime scene. What follows is a series of incidents as the various human Green Lanterns attempt to round up allies. Kyle's looking for Orion, John goes to General Zod, Guy goes to find drinking buddy Arkillo (that's just great!) and Hal attempts to break Hector Hammond out of prison, only to be attacked by Atomic Skull. There's some good discussion between Hal and Barry about how they consider whether just ending the lives of criminals would be the best solution, but they refuse to cross that line. But a lot of the universe apparenty agrees with the Darkstars, so the challenge of stopping them is growing. Another good issue, and the callback to the Crisis and Tomar-Re is appreciated, since it's used as motivation for Tomar-Tu and not just a continuity nod.

When is "Doomsday Clock" supposed to end? And, when is DC settling on a new direction?

Dominic wrote:When is "Doomsday Clock" supposed to end? And, when is DC settling on a new direction?

Rebirth was supposed to last two years, and we've passed that point. Doomsday Clock is on issue 4 of 12, and it's gone bi-monthly, so it'll be the middle of next year before it wraps up. Will anyone still care at that point?