Adam Graham's Blog: Christians and Superheroes, page 53

Book Review: Superman: Earth One, Volume 1

Superman: Earth One, Volume 1 by J. Michael Straczynski

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book is a modern retelling of Superman's origin tale with a modern Superman. There are many ways this should not have worked, yet JMS brings a lot to the table to make it work.

First, it was great how he explored Clark Kent having other options in his career. With his brain and might, the book explores the idea of him having many options and being torn as to what to choose with big piles of money being offered on one hand. This mirrors many of the struggles of Millennials and their search for fulfillment.

I liked the Planet staff. The people were written like real journalists, Perry White specifically. Too often these characters are written by people who don't understand how a real newspaper works. It was a nice touch having Jimmy and Lois play a part in Superman's decision.

I also thought the portrayal of how the Kents instilled the values that made him who he was was actually quite moving. Their advice was mostly good and inspirational, so they sheer volume of epigrams is slightly overwhelming. The book's storyline offers many ideas that were adopted by the film Man of Steel. It's a pity the portrayal of the Kents here wasn't what we got Man of Steel.

Beyond that, the book is very well done. While this Superman is a reinvention of the character, I still think JMS captures his essence and that, particularly for an origin story, this is Superman. The art is beautiful and the action is exciting.

The book's biggest flaw was just not knowing where to stop. There are two natural stopping places, it drives right through after the main plot's been resolved.

Still, other than that, this is an intriguing and worthwhile take on Superman.



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Book Review: Atomic Robo and the Shadow from Beyond Time

Atomic Robo and the Shadow from Beyond Time by Brian Clevinger

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Atomic Robo is a robot who has been around since the 1920 when he was created by Nikola Tesla and starting in 1929 one shadow has chased him throughout his life, a lovecraftian creature who exists outside linear time--and (as we learn early in this book) actually sprang out of H.P. Lovecraft.

This story is a high concept thrill ride that takes advantage of Robo's long life to tell a tale that involves Robo and friends throughout his life. There's 1920s Robo teaming up with Charles Fort, cold war Robo, 1970s Robo getting help from Carl Sagan, and of course the modern robo an the scientists of Tesladyne, and the ultimate team up in the final issue.

The art is fun and imaginative. The story is engaging. Writer Brian Clevinger does a good job having Robo "age" as each version of Robo has slight differences in personality as he's learned more over time. He still remains wise cracking and charming at any age.

The back up stories are not nearly as fun. At best, they're amusing, with the funniest piece being a text interview with Robo. Not bad, but certainly not as good as the main story.

Still, this is a very enjoyable read. Highly recommended.



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Book Review: Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor Volume 1 - Gaze of the Medusa

Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor Volume 1 - Gaze of the Medusa by Gordon Rennie

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith find themselves in London in 1887 and at the center of a mad plot by Lady Emily Carstairs to re-awaken an ancient entity for her own purposes.

This book is a great piece of nostalgia. Featuring the Doctor and his most beloved companion, Sarah Jane Smith, the story feels like something that could have been aired on Doctor Who during Season 13. Every page has that gothic horror feel that was so characteristic of the Philip Hinchcliffe era on Doctor Who: the settings, the monsters. In that way, it's perfect. The story and the human guest villain are solid, but not particularly great other than in their design.

My main criticism of the book is that Sarah Jane is taken out of the action for nearly two full issues out of five in the book. In a limited series, having Sarah Jane is a big deal and so taking her out of the action seems ill-advised, and the substitute companion is okay but there's no real good substitute for Sarah Jane.

Other than that, the book is worth a read for how brings a long ago era of Doctor Who to life in comic books.



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Book Review: The Flash: Lightning Strikes Twice

The Flash, Vol. 1: Lightning Strikes Twice by Joshua Williamson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book collects the Flash: Rebirth and the first eight issues of the new Flash series.

The book is a couple issues longer than the usual rebirth book has been but with good reason. It's an exploration of the Flash as a character. The Rebirth event brings Wally West back into the DC Universe and this event is more personal for the Flash and it tugs on what's been missing from him. Barry Allen is portrayed as a man who is the fastest man alive but is always late, always behind, never able to be where he needs to be in time...and alone.

Over time, the Flash became more than just a single hero...It became a brotherhood, a tradition, with speedsters like Jay Garrick, Wally West, and Bart Allen part of something larger and always there for each other. In Flash's own book, he has pretty much been on his own since the new 52.

But he's not on his own for long in this book. An old friend gets speed powers after being hit by lightning and then it happens to people all over Central City. Meanwhile, the other Wally West is developing powers of his own but not telling his Aunt or the Flash. We get to see Barry as teacher and mentor and he rediscovers joy and a bit of love.

This story is incredibly effective with some solid new characters and a great emotional journey. There's also several mysteries beyond the big one involving Doctor Manhattan. There's the question of whose behind giving so many people speed powers which is never answered. As well as a search for a killer speedster named Godspeed who shows up towards the middle of the book. In addition, there are some very cool speedster scenes which are just a joy to read.

The book is a great jumping on point for new readers to the Flash, although there are a few Easter eggs for old fans as well. Taken together with the solid action, great characters, and fundamental examination of Barry Allen as a character, this is a great book to check out for fans curious about the Rebirth event.



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Book Review: Batman: The Silver Age Newspaper Comics Volume 2 (1968-1969)

Batman: The Silver Age Newspaper Comics Volume 2 by Whitney Ellsworth

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This second volume of Batman newspaper strips contains Batman comic strips from 1968 and 1969 and it's a bit different from the first volume. While the first volume was chock full of Batman's rogue's gallery and evoked the TV show a lot, this one has no guest appearance from a regular Batman rogue the entire two years but does feature guest appearances by Batman's friends Superman, Batman, and Aquaman.

There's a lot to like about this volume. The story feels more like an adventure strip with the stories going on pretty much as long as required with the book beginning with a story that had been going on for the last four and a half months of 1967 for a total of 8 months, and the story lines in this book are five, seven, and six months long respectively ending in the middle of 1969.

"Shivering Max, Pretty Boy Floy, and Flo:" This story about a mafia reward for Batman's demise continues in this volume as Batman's survival endangers those who originally collected the award. There's cross and double cross, as well as luxurious island where Batman is exiled forever. The way this plays out is a lot of adventure strip fun.

"Diabolical Professor Zinkk" : Superman needs Batman's help as someone is robbing him of his powers. Zinkk has an insane plan and is just one of those crazy mad scientists who is a lot of fun to read and certainly, the Batman and Superman friendship is on display as never before in comic strips.

"Breathing Underwater," A young woman takes illegally desperate measures to get Batman's attention because she needs Batman's help to locate Aquaman because Aquaman had been working on a formula with her father to allow people to breathe underwater. Both she and Batman take the underwater breathing pills only to discover that they, like Aquaman, have to get back to the water within an hour or die. The story is probably my least favorite in here. While the underwater breathing pills seem silly, there are technologies that are somewhat reminiscent of that in early development. My big problem with it is that Batman is only needed as a means to contact Aquaman and the story is mostly what happens while they wait. It's not horrible, but I prefer stories where Batman's more central.

"I Want Bruce Wayne's Identity," A wanted criminal decides he wants to take over Bruce Wayne's life and turn Bruce Wayne into him. Wayne unwittingly helps this plot by sending Dick, his new tutors, and Alfred overseas on vacation. The story has some fun twists and is a good adventure that goes beyond the typical superhero amnesia story in comics because of the length you can get away within in a comic strip that goes on for months. Oddly, it's almost like a Silver Age comic strip version of Face Off. Overall, a fun tale.

If you love the Silver Age of Batman or adventure strips in general, you'll get a lot out of this book.





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Book Review: ultimate Comics Spider-man Volume 5

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, Vol. 5 by Brian Michael Bendis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book collects Issues 28-33 of Ultimate Comics Spider-man and is set one year after the previous volume as Miles Morales has been out of action for a year following the death of his mother in the previous volume. Meanwhile, some teenagers who have received amazing powers as result of illegal experiment are being unleashed on the city.

The story is generally good, but it's not without problems. The biggest is in the "Spider-man No More" storyline. Miles is incredibly surly to everyone who is even gently trying to get him back into the Superhero game or in general. While aging the character a year is a good thing, I think that this year of not being Spider-man almost makes him seem too passive and even what gets him back into being Spider-man is less a de, cision and more something he's pushed into. I also think there are far too many people hassling him about it at once. It's repetitive and what's worse, we don't really get to see Miles thought process because we're just hearing everyone trying to push.

However, once we get past that, and to Jessica Drew's plot, there's a lot to like as we meet young people with superpowers. We learn their back stories and they're interesting people who don't react in ways that are typical of comic books. And then everything is set up for all sorts of awesomeness to break forth in Issue 33, which it does.

SO, while this book is probably the weakest of the five volumes, once the main storyline really gets started, it really is another solid read.



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Book Review: Black Lightning Vol. 1

Black Lightning Vol. 1 by Tony Isabella

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book collects Black Lightning Issues 1-11, along with a planned issue 12 which appeared in World's Finest #260. All but the last two issues are written by the Character's creator Tony Isabella

In addition to the comics, the book also features a very fun to read introduction by Tony Isabella giving the origin of the series and how he managed to get DC to back down from a hilariously horrible idea for its first black Superhero to be a White racist.

The first eight issues focus on Black Lightning's battle against the 100, a big-time gang in Suicide Slum. There's lot to like about these issues.

First of all, the origin story is superb. It's really in Issues 1 an 2 both and in many ways, it's a familiar story of a tragic death leading someone to become a superhero, but I love the way they handled it. As the book opens, Jefferson Piece is a high school teacher who has returned to his old neighborhood. The person killed is a character Jefferson just met, but the book makes you care about the death and understand why he's doing it. It has an epic feel that draws you in and the story has a great sense of creating drama and action. It's a really fine epic start.

The arc's got a great villain in Tobias Whale. He's menacing but with a very whale-like look. He looks like a cross between the Kingpin and something out of Dick Tracy. Being in Metropolis, the series also has cameos for Superman and his pal Jimmy Olsen.

Black Lightning is put through his paces as he deals with tragedy and has to find the will to fight on even after a major betrayal. There are some nice touches. The Black Lightning Poem is epic, "Justice like lighting ever should appear. To some men hope and to other men fear," and the way it's used in one battle scene is a thing of beauty. It's also not afraid to subvert our expectations. One example is when a character dies and a big secret is learned and he leaves behind a letter, you'd typically see a long comic strip revealing the whole truth but Black Lightning does something different that surprised me but really felt true to Black Lightning.

After the arc, the book reverts to villain of the month format for the last few stories (with the exception of Issue 11 which has a more urban crime story without a supervillain.) These are all entertaining though not as enjoyable as the arc story.

Does the book have problems? Yes. My main complaint would be Piece's ex-Wife Lynn. She's introduced in the midst of the "100" arc and she really felt surplus to requirements. The stories were 17 pages in length, so she felt shoe-horned in. It might have been better to wait to introduce her. While I think Isabella concluded Black Lightning had been divorced, that could have been acknowledge without featuring her. As it is, she barely makes an impact.

Also the social message of the final issue is a little whacky and some of the plot points regarding the teen hotline someone calls are silly by today's standards.

However, by and large, this series is very well-done. It was cancelled far too soon. It offered readers who was different in many ways from many other DC character, while being no less heroic. It really deserved more than these 12 issues but it got cancelled way too soon. This holds up very well when compared to most comics of the era and it's definitely worth a read for fans of the Bronze Age of comics.





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Book Review: Justice League Volume 1: The Extinction Machines

Justice League, Volume 1: The Extinction Machines by Bryan Hitch

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This first story of the Rebirth Justice League has some good points.

I think it's a good idea for the Justice League, particularly Batman to be somewhat suspicious of the new Superman. The characterization on Wonder Woman and the two Green Lanterns aren't bad. Nor are the generic aliens who are invading the Earth. It's not great, but it makes sense for a first Justice League story not to feature a complex villain so we can focus on seeing our heroes work together.

Ultimately what made me not like this primarily is the characterization of Superman's son Jon and Lois in particular. Writer/Artist Bryan Hitch tries to have Lois give a big emotional talk to Superman to join the Justice League and it doesn't sound natural at all. There's one point where Superman has gone on a particularly dangerous mission and Lois tells Batman that she's holding him responsible if Superman doesn't come back. Lois Lane would never say that. And that's just the most egregious example of how Hitch doesn't get these characters.

Speaking of Superman's dangerous mission, the end of Issue 3 is a huge problem. Superman has to go to the center of the Earth an risk his life. He tries heat vision and realizes it won't work on the threat and then the thought caption has Superman saying, "I don't know what to do." Huh? Might want to think about that BEFORE you go to the Earth's core. It makes Superman and Batman both look like complete idiots for not figuring out a plan.

There are also a few spots on the art that seemed a bit off.

This isn't horrible and indeed if the book were otherwise superb, I would probably overlook the book's weaker points. But in the end, this is a mediocre story that becomes disappointing because it fails to do the little things right.



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Book Review: Doctor Who: The Highgate Horror

Doctor Who: The Highgate Horror by Mark Wright

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book collects Doctor Who Magazine Comic strips from Issue 484 of Doctor Who Magazine and from Issue 489-500.
Here’s a look at each story:
Space Invaders (484): The Doctor and Clara attend an auction at a storage unit IN SPACE and get into a bidding war. This one has some dull moments and then the action feels a bit rushed with the Doctor actually telling us the moral. Still it has some humor and it’s not bad. Grade: C+
Spirits of the Jungle (489-491): The Doctor and Clara visit an alien jungle in search of treasure and things go wrong. Clara encounters a vision of Danny Pink which I thought was an annoying rip off of what was done in the Christmas but they had a few twists with this one. This wasn’t bad but it felt very busy with a dull villain and a story that Doctor Who’s done a lot. Grade: C+
The Highgate Horror (492-493): Strange goings on in a cemetery in the 1970s with a weird cult and hate to be repetitive but this is yet another story where there’s not a whole lot memorable or interesting and it feels like it’s treading old ground. Grade: C
The Dragon Lord (494-495): First story I really got into in this volume. The Doctor and Clara land on a theme planet that’s modeled on Camelot and local creatures have been made into dragons. However, the Dragon Lord has taken control and is terrorizing the colonizers. The art isn’t realistic but it’s wonderfully stylized for this sort of dark fantasy situation. We also get a bit of the feel of Series 8 12th Doctor in the way he reacts to the problem as well as how he leaves it. Grade: B+
Theatre of the Mind (496): A great one shot strip in which the Doctor and Clara visits the Doctor’s old friend Houdini who has gotten himself into trouble exposing a phony spiritualist, leaving all three of them in a very bizarre and perilous position. Overall, a great story and the art makes it come alive. Grade: A-
With Hunt (497-499): Clara agrees to be the witch in a Halloween maze fundraiser for Coal Hill School but along comes Miss Chief, a Mister Mxyzptlk like interdimensional sprite who decides to play a joke by sending Clara back to the 17th century where she’s captured by a witch finder. This is actually a very clever story and Miss Chief is really a treat. I hope she returns. The story is very funny, but with some poignancy at the end as 499 was Clara’s last DWM strip and just like they did for Donna’s departure, DWM showed they know how to create a sad yet ironic end. Grade: A-
The Stockridge Showdown (500): The Doctor returns to a frequent stop in Stockridge where an old comic strip enemy wants to exact his vengeance, but will the Doctor instead finally get justice for an old friend. This strip is an extra long anniversary special with a host of guest stars who have graced the comic strip over the past several decades. The more you know the strip’s history, probably the more you’ll get out of it. I didn’t recognize all of them but I recognized enough to enjoy it. Grade: B+

Overall, not a bad book, but a bit uneven with the first few stories being average while the final four were really good. On its merits, I’d probably give it 3 ½ stars. The 500th script makes it a must-read for long-time fans of the DWM strips, but for everyone else, it’s hit and miss.




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Book Review: Superman, Volume 1: Son of Superman

Superman, Volume 1: Son of Superman by Peter J. Tomasi

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book collects the Superman Rebirth One Shot along with Issues 1-6 of the new Series as the Post-Crisis Superman once again becomes the main Superman.

The rebirth One Shot has Superman dealing with the death of the New 52 Superman. While it's an Issue of transition, it's much more about Superman than his predecessor on this Earth. Superman's behavior is heroic and it reflects the type of person he is. He's not in a hurry to be "The Superman." And even if he can't, he seeks to honor this younger Superman and show respect for his legacy. The story reflects the utter class of the Man of Steel.

The main story deals with Lois and Clark coming to terms with their son Jonthan's emerging power n with the Eradicator, who was was foe on post-Crisis Earth but could help Jonathan quite a bit on this one.

The story works on many levels. Superman having a family was featured as imaginary stories in the 1960s and 70s, but always seemed silly. Ironic, that it's the 21st Century, that comics can be adult enough to talk about what it's really like to be a kid. The emotional journey Jonathan on really makes him an interesting characters. He feels a lack of belonging, lied to, scared, and also resentful about the lies he's going to have to tell to keep these secrets. It's also believable and very deep.

So often the argument against having Superheroes marry is that it closes off a lot of possibilities of romances and plots that you can do. This book shows that marriage creates opportunities for the right writers. In the 4th and 5th Issues, there's a coming together as a Superfamily that's really quite marvelous and beautiful. It's just a joy to read. There's also some conflict that very subtly working its way in between Lois and Clark over how much training Jon should have. Neither want him off fighting Darkseid but Superman wants to get him exposure that's kind of akin to a ball player having his kid in the clubhouse.

The book isn't perfect and I think it's biggest flaw is that sometimes it uses cool visuals that don't benefit the story. My favorite example of this is at the end of Issue #1, Superman stands framed against Jon's bedroom doorway in a very intimidating way frowning and says, "You're coming with me." It's a cool way to end the issue but it doesn't really work with the st ory. I also think that while Tomasi does a solid job handling the Superman family, there are a few week moments. I don't think he's quite at Dan Jurgents level on that point.

Still, overall, I'm quite pleased with this book and this first volume left me excited for what comes next.



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