Adam Graham's Blog: Christians and Superheroes, page 95

Book Review: Batgirl: The Greatest Stories Ever Told

Batgirl: The Greatest Stories Ever Told by Dennis O'Neil

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is an odd book in DC's 21st century "Greatest Stories Ever Told" books. It stands at 160 pages which is 32 pages less than the other books in the series. The book also lacks an introduction. While Batgirl is a wonderful hero, the way the book is published wreaks of an affirmative action decision after only one of the books published between 2004-08 featured a female hero rather than someone DC believes actually merited a book. And to be fair, Batgirl is not on the same level as the previous characters featured.

The book features exclusively Barbara Gordon as Batgirl though others have held the name. It begins with her mid-Silver Age origin in, "The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl" with Batman which is decent origin story, though it does seem to demean most of her heroic acts as either unnecessary or counterproductive.

Next up are five of her 8-9 page solo stories from Detectives in the 1970s. The first two tell the tale of Batgirl on the hunt for a serial killer. This is a decent story, typical of the series. I could think of some I liked better, but they're fair enough picks.

Then there's the final three stories which tell of Barbara Gordon deciding to run for Congress and leaving Gotham City once she wins. It's an essential story for the pre-Crisis Batgirl, and again solidly written even if its a bit dated.

The big reason to pick up the book though are the reprints of two Batgirl and Robin stories from the Batman Family comics. These comics haven't reprinted and are very expensive. The story in Batman Family #1, "The Invader from Hell," has the new dynamic duo battling the powerful ghost of Benedict Arnold and the Devil himself in a story with a good patriotic message prior to America's bicentennial. The story from Batman Family #9 is a little more disappointing. While it's a good story, the book is really more of a Robin/Teen Titans story and as this book is about Batgirl she should have featured more prominently.

We're then offered three post-Crisis Batgirl stories, all of these were post Barbara Gordon being crippled in, "The Killing Joke" so were basically flashback stories thought not told that way. "Photo Finish" is a cute 1997 story about a precocious Batgirl and Robin meeting up. Again, it's cute, but the greatest?

The book concluded with a 40-page story that appeared in two issues of Legends of the DC Universe in 1998. The story isn't bad, but it is really padded. There's really twenty pages of story padded to two issues with a lot of half page columns. And once you come down to it, the story is more okay rather than all that great.

Overall, the book isn't bad particularly if you like Batgirl. The problem is that the term, "Greatest Stories ever told" leaves us expecting something grand and epic. This book doesn't deliver with the exception of, "The Invader from Hell." Had this book been called, "The Best of Batgirl Volume 1" or something like that, I'd have been okay with it. However, it just doesn't live up to its name. We have some good stories and no real horrible stories, but we have a book that's 32 pages shorter than predecessor volumes with no introduction. This book just doesn't measure up.



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Book Review: Essential Daredevil Volume 5

Essential Daredevil, Vol. 5 by Steve Gerber

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book collects Daredevil Issues 102-125 along with Marvel Two in One #3 which comes between Daredevil #109 and #110.

The majority of this book is written by Steve Gerber (#103-115 plus Marvel Two in One #3) with Tony Isabella putting in a solid run (#117-#123)and is rapped up by Marv Wolfman (#124 and #125), with fill in issued by Chris Claremont (#102 and #117) and Gerry Conway (#116). The art chores go mostly to Bob Brown, but Gene Colan and some other artists contribute.

Claremont's issue is worth commenting on because it leads off and its weird mainly because it has Stiltman dreaming of world domination. Stiltman? There are many Marvel villains who have that dream. Stiltman isn't one of them.

Then the Gerber run resumes and Daredevil gets really good. While Daredevil still does pander to the audience with random philosophical meandering while fighting crime, the character is much better done than during than the run by Conway. We get a guest appearance by Spider-man by #103 and then Kraven the Hunter is brought to San Francisco in Issue #104-105 which leads into meeting Moon Dragon and a battle with the villain who has been behind every attack on Daredevil and Black Windows since their arrival in San Francisco and Daredevil has to save the world with the help of Captain Marvel. Then he faces a deadly criminal who is able to control all women through mind control in the Mandrill and teams up with Shaina the She-devil. Then Daredevil gets into a battle with Deathstalker in a cross-over with man-thing. All these plots are fantastic comic book fun. Issues 116 and 117 feature an okay story with Daredevil battling Owl Man again with the villain more dangerous than ever.

After Conway writes Issues 118, an okay story with the Circus of Crime, Tony Isabella takes over in Issue #119 and the book becomes more fun than it's been since Stan Lee was writing it. He begins with a visit to Battlin' Jack Murdoch's old gym, and then to a fantastic four part story where Foggy Nelson i invited to become part of SHIELD's governing board and is kidnapped by Hydra. Isabella adds in two text stories that detail the history of Hydra.

After that all-too brief run, Marv Wolfman takes over with a story about a vigilante imitating a pulp hero.

Overall, these are mostly solid fun. The Black Widow and Daredevil relationship works a lot better under Gerber and Isabella with her also generally being a more rounded character who is pretty dangerous in her own right and really contributes to the partnership. The title changed from Daredevil and Black Widow back to Daredevil in Issue #108, but she didn't disappear from the book until Issue #124. Even there, Gerber deserves points for adding reasons for tension in the relationship, particularly Natasha Romanoff's tendency to brutalize suspects and her lack of compunction about killing. Though by the time Issue #124 rolls around the only reason given for the end is her fear of being in Daredevil's shadow, which makes her seem so insecure and concerned about self-image and position that she can't be a gracious partner.

Overall, the book works and is probably the most enjoyable volume since the second essential collection.



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The Not Gods of Asgard

There was a somewhat interesting part in the movie, Thor: The Dark World in regards to the deity of the Asgardian characters according to Paul Asay at Plugged In

Thor, Odin, Loki et al are, of course, plucked from Norse mythology. They are sometimes referred to as deities, and Loki tells his father that he wanted to rule Earth like a beneficent god. Odin, however, rebukes Loki's claim on the divine.

"We are not gods," he tells Loki. "We're born. We live. We die. Just like humans do."

"Give or take 5,000 years," Loki amends with a smirk.

This is a significant quote and it was also interesting to note that the introduction to the last season of Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes introduced Thor as "The prince of thunder."

In many ways, the statement by Odin in the movie seems a lot more consistent with how Marvel has dealt with Asgardians in general. They exist and they're powerful but they can be killed. Never is it suggested that the Asgardians are worthy of worship. Respect, sure, worship no. They're powerful aliens when you come down it.

That stands in contrast to Wonder Woman in the DC Universe where the Greek pantheon exists, speaks to people, and commands the worship of Amazonians, and at points, Wonder Woman even makes veiled criticism of patriarchal religions in some of the more modern comics.

For my part, I'm a lot more comfortable with how Marvel is dealing with introducing mythological characters into their storyline and the movies.

Book Review: Justice League Adventures Vol. 1: The Magnificent Seven

Justice League Adventures Vol. 1: The Magnificent Seven by Dan Slott

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


These all-ages stories are based on the Justice League Adventures cartoon series. I read the second one first, that's okay because these stories don't require much continuity and can each be read in isolation. This book collects Justice League Adventures Issues 3, 6, and 10-12

With that said, let's take a look at the stories:

Star Lost- The Justice League rescue several prisoners from a dead space ship. They claim that their red son planet's rulers was a tyrant while the records seem to indicate they were madmen. Superman embraces them as idealistic heroes with similar powers to him, while Batman thinks they may be dangerous. Could they both be right. Grade: B

Wolf's Clothing-The best story in the book. Chronos summons all the world's supervillains to bid on Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman who are in suspended animation. However, Martian Manhunter's there's in disguise as Parasite and when they start noticing some villains have gone missing, suspicion breaks out among the ranks. So many supervillains, so many disguises, so many heroes. Really, a fun story. Rating: A+


Must There Be a Martian Manhunter: When the Justice League battle Scream Thief, a supervillain powered by fear, Superman goes down, and Martian Manhunter has to fill in for Supes. During this Adventure, Manhunter is struggling with what makes him so different than Superman and his true place in the world. A good story that ties back into the fight with the villain. Rating: B+

The Moment: Kronos is released from prison after a parole hearing. His character witness-a future version of himself who comes along with a recording from future Superman. However, it becomes apparent that while the older version of Kronos may have changed, he's still up to dangerous tricks. This time with the Space-time continuum as he tries to prevent the death of his firefighter brother. It's up to the Flash to stop him with an assist from the Atom. Rating: A

Cold War: A supervillain from space teams all of the Earth's many cold-based villains into a team to take over an impoverished nation and fix it. They have other designs and it's up to the Justice League to stop them. This one features some tension on the team. Also, I'm not certain I buy Mr. Freeze as a mercenary for hire. But otherwise, this was a good story. Rating: B

There's not really a bad story in here and the third and fourth stories reach to a deeper emotional level than most kid-friendly comics. Overall, a solid read.



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Short Story: Crisis of the Multiple Powerhouses, Part Two

Continued from Part One:

“Ah-ha!” Fournier’s voice came from a box with a picture of a Wookie costume on it. “You are one of the most evil incarnations of Powerhouse. Kill him.”

“Fournier? I killed you last year. Is this some alternate universe?” He rubbed his hands together. “Excellent! I get to have my revenge twice. Where are you?”

Powerhouse glared. “Hold it, chum. No one kills people in my universe.”

“Who are you to stand in the way of justice? He’s a mad scientist who has worked for so many mobsters and even spies. He doesn’t deserve to live.”

“That’s not for you to say.”

“Please, Mr. Goody Two Shoes, take a walk on the darker side of justice.”

“I did and sorely regret it.”

“There was no error in becoming the Emerald Avenger. Only in getting weak about it.” The Emerald Avenger pointed to Evil Dave. “I suppose you’re going to turn that insult to my face over to the authorities?”

Evil Dave cursed.

Powerhouse sighed. “That is what we’d be like if we’d grown up in his terrible circumstances. You know, my pastor once said, ‘If but for the Grace of God, that’d be me.’ Or something like that. Does it make you think?”

Emerald Avenger laughed. “Yeah, it makes me think you’re a lame Christian weakling. I know the truth. Grandpa was wrong about everything, Powerhouse.”

“You’re being manipulated by Zolgron. He wants to control the world.”

“You know nothing.” The Emerald Avenger laughed. “He’s been no trouble to me since I killed Night Lord. He probably talked you out of killing that pathetic drug dealer.”

Powerhouse nodded.

“The thing with not killing Night Lord was like the Garden of Eden. Zolgron wanted to keep us from becoming like God, with the ability to destroy life and be the judge.” He laughed. “I saw Zolgron’s little plan and made it my own. I am the most powerful being on Earth, and I decide who lives and who dies, and all the people who are guilty die and never hurt anyone again. Not a Reverend Jones and not a Jimmy Olsen.”

“How many people have you killed?”

“There are more guilty than I would have thought. Now stand aside and let me deal with Fournier.”

Powerhouse shook his head. “Fournier, you better help me get rid of him.”

Fournier’s hologram appeared as an anthropomorphic reptile. “I can’t right now. I’m going to get you some back up.”
Emerald Avenger sneered. “Won’t be in time. I’ll find you first, Fournier.”

Powerhouse imagined the Emerald Avenger tied up.

“Please!” He snapped the ropes.

Powerhouse dived at the Emerald Avenger and swung his fist. The Emerald Avenger caught it, knocked Powerhouse to the ground, and held him down with a knee in the back. “Yield, fool. I’m as powerful as you and willing to kill.”

Powerhouse tried to get up, but he was nailed to the floor. He had one hope. “You have to do it with dignity, don’t you?”

“What do you mean?”

Powerhouse visualized the Emerald Avenger changed into a clown with big shoes and oversized pants.

The Emerald Avenger pounded Powerhouse’s back. “What have you done?”

Powerhouse imagined a mirror appearing.

“The dark spirit of Justice can’t be seen like this.” The Emerald Avenger let Powerhouse up as he changed his costume.
Powerhouse ran away at a blinding speed.

“You can’t fight what you can’t see.”

“I don’t need to see you. I’ll still kill you.”

A vortex had opened. Two voices said, “Not if we have anything to say about it.”

Out of the vortex came two more heroes in costumes identical to Powerhouse’s.

The three Powerhouses said, “You cannot defeat all of us.”

“No, I will never give up,” The Emerald Avenger said as he was tied up with three sets of ropes and surrounded with three separate force fields.

He vanished.

All three of the Powerhouses gasped. “We killed him.”

Powerhouse Prime looked around. “The others are gone, too. I don’t think my Universe can support more than two extras.”

His extras both said, “Ah. That makes sense. I’ll have to let the writers know.”

Powerhouse Prime cocked his head. “How are you different from me? Let’s see what choices might have created you. Did you have pizza and watch a movie tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you patrol the city today and catch two burglars and a car thief?”

The two nodded.

“Did you take Naomi to Olive Garden last night?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Did you get the Fettuccine Alfredo with breadsticks?”

“Right,” Powerhouse three said.

“Nah.” Powerhouse two waved. “Naomi was on a kick about bread.”

Powerhouse Prime and Three said, “I had the breadsticks anyway.”

So what else? Powerhouse Prime eyed Powerhouse Three. “Did you have Salad?”

“Who passes up that at the Olive Garden?”

“True.” Powerhouse Prime rubbed his chin.

“Did you let the waitress put cheese on your salad?”

Sighing, Powerhouse Two shook his head. “I decided to go to the restroom right then, and Naomi didn’t have her do it.”

“Yeah, I suspected she might and decided to hold it.” Powerhouse scratched his helmet. “So, based on how I ordered at Olive Garden, that created two
universes.”

Fournier’s hologram reappeared this time in a wizard costume against the backdrop of a medieval castle. “Every decision creates a universe. There could even be universes where Olive Garden doesn’t serve breadsticks or doesn’t exist.”

“No!” The Three Powerhouses gasped.
“That’s not possible!”

Powerhouse Two said, “Shouldn’t we go after the Emerald Avenger to free his universe from his evil?”

“That’s a good idea.” Powerhouse Prime smiled. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Powerhouse Three pumped his fist in the air. “You did!”

The three Powerhouses laughed.

Fournier said, “That’d be silly. If you don’t go after him, there’s an alternate universe where you will. It’s easier to be the ones that don’t.”

Powerhouse Prime frowned. “There’s something wrong with that logic. I think.”

“Yeah.” Powerhouse Two and Three sighed. “James has a soccer game tomorrow, though. We can’t miss that, if another three Powerhouses will handle it.”

“True.” Powerhouse Prime sighed. He didn’t want to miss another one.
“Fournier, get them back to their dimension.”

Fournier’s hologram changed to Fournier in a Good Humor man outfit in a desolate wasteland. “Okay, I will help you, but only because I don’t want three Powerhouses running around. I will set it up so if you return in forty-five minutes, they’ll return to their own universe. If you try to catch me now, they’ll be stranded here.”

“This isn’t over, Fournier.” Powerhouse Prime shook his fist. “Guys, let’s go get Pizza. At least we won’t fight about toppings.”

The world shook and began to dissolve. Dave Johnson opened his eyes as he sat in his living room.

Naomi leaned down over him. “Honey, you fell asleep watching the movie.”

Huh? He glanced at the DVD case beside him and moaned. “I should never go to sleep after eating pizza and watching Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths.”

“I saw some of it. That was an interesting concept about all the alternate universes and how every choice creates one. Kind of like in Star Trek with ‘Mirror Mirror.’ Neat.”

“You can keep it.” Dave groaned.

Naomi frowned. “Are you okay? You want some antacid.”

“Depends.” Dave grinned. “Will my choice create another universe?”

Naomi laughed. “Don’t be silly. That’s not real.”

“Yeah, but it’s fun to imagine how things might be different if one or two things changed, and it also makes you grateful that God created reality and cares about you and looked out for you, so you didn’t come a Mama’s Boy Billionaire who ruined Spider-man, a thug with ugly tattoos, a murdering psychopath vigilante, or somebody who didn’t eat breadsticks or have cheese on your salad at Olive Garden last night.”

Books featuring Powerhouse:

Tales of the Dim Knight
Fly Another Day
Powerhouse: Hard Pressed

Book Review: Superman in the Sixties

Superman in the Sixties by Jerry Siegel

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is the third Superman decade collection and it may or may not be the best, but its the most fun. It begins with a great introduction from Comic Book superstar Mark Waid who clearly has a fond love of this era.

Then were off to the stories and I honestly was surprised by how poignant the first few stories in the book were. "The Last Days of Ma and Pa Kent" was a tragic tale of how a time traveling trip led to his parents' death. The second story, "Superman's Return to Krypton" featured the man of steel travelling back in time and ending up stranded on the doomed planet of his birth and meeting his own parents as they were getting married and Superman even fell in love with a woman, and engaged to marry her, only to escape Krypton quite by accident and lose her forever.

However, the stories don't stay that sad, we get to see Superbaby getting kidnapped from Krypton and wreaking havoc on Brainiac. Then Superman's lovable cousin tries to fix him up with a bride in, "Superman's Super Courtship." which includes Superman's somewhat startling statement that he would marry Supergirl if it weren't for Kryptonian law on marrying cousins.

Then we're given another emotional issue in which Superman believes he's dying of a Kryptonian Virus, Virus X and spends his last days trying to leave a lasting legacy for Earth. Even though the ending was a necessary cop out, it was also a beautiful story.

"Lois Lane's superdaughter" has to be my least favorite story in the book as in this imaginary story, Lois and Superman are married and adopt Supergirl and she struggles with being a stay-at-home mom after the social worker demands she quit her job to adopt..

"The Impossible Mission" features Superboy travelling back in time to try and save Lincoln, yet one supervillain unintentionally gets in the way and regrets it leading to the line, "I had nothing against Lincoln! I may be evil--but I had no hate for him."

"The Showdown between Luthor and Superman" features a battle between the two enemies on a red son planet where Superman has no natural advantages. However, it quickly becomes a tale in which Luthor ends up showing some nobility and humanity in the end.

"The Sweetheart Superman Forgot" is another tragic tale as Superman loses his power and memory, as Superman's yearning for a woman who'd love him for himself not for his powers is answered but quickly taken away.

"Superman's Mission for President Kennedy" features Superman trying to get unfit Americans in shape at the request of the late President. Sadly, many of the statements in this 50 year old story turned out to be prophetic.

After that we get a series of wacky adventures, there's Jimmy Olsen becoming "The Giant Turtle Man", and the highlight of the book is a look at opposited mind Bizarro world as Bizarro Krypto seeks out abuse and neglect in, "The Halloween Pranks of the Bizarro Superman."

Lois takes a konk on the head and decides to blackmail Superman into marrying her, but she's tricked into spray herself with a liquid that makes herself start to become younger. She sprays Superman back, the result is the charming, "The Romance of Superboy and Baby Lois." Then we get treated to another Bizarro story in, "The Bizarro Invasion of Earth," and the book wraps up with Beatles-obsessed Jimmy Olsen travelling back to Bible times.

Overall this is a fun collection which shows a Man of Steel that inhabits a nutty world while he fights for truth and justice, but has his own pain and insecurity. It's a great package. Highly recommended.



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Book Review: Superman Chronicles, Volume 2

The Superman Chronicles, Vol. 2 by Jerry Siegel

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is the second story in the Superman Chronicles which detail Superman's comic book adventures in Chronological order across multiple book. This book collects stories Action Comics #14-20 and Superman #2 and #3.

Action Comics #14, #17, #19 and #20 feature Superman's first archvillain the Ultra-humanite, a wheelchair bound mad scientist. Action Comics #19 is probably the best of these as Superman has to help a scientist combat a purple plague that's decimating Metropolis' population. My only problem with Ultra is that his aims are vague. He mentions global domination, but how one thing will lead to another is always a question with him. However, Ultra does succeed in knocking Superman unconscious a few times and that's pretty good for 1939.

Action Comics #15 has Superman trying to raise a million dollars to help a knock off of Boys Town and he plans to do it by finding sunken treasure and rents a boat to do it as Clark Kent. Unfortunately, he finds treachery among the crew.

Action Comics #16 has Superman taking on organized gambling as a vice that must be stopped.

Superman #2 and #3 borrow heavily from the daily newspaper strip with a couple of my favorite stories. One being Superman helping a boxer down on his luck make a comeback against corrupt gamblers, and a story in Superman #3 shows Superman helping an orphanage fulfill of orphans being abused by their corrupt headmaster.

Clark Kent is a reporter,but in Action Comics #18, we're introduced to a less savory member of the fourth estate who just wreaks of sleaze and runs a blackmail racket to boot.

As mentioned earlier, Action Comics #19 features a chemical attack on Metropolis in the form of a purple plague that only Superman is safe from. He helps a research scientist find the cure even as public skepticism grows. It's probably the best-written story in the book.

If you love Golden Age Superman, this is a great book. It's true that Superman is still a bit rough. He uses threats of violence to get confessions quite a bit. And he even robbed a chemical factory so that our scientist could could continue his work.

Still, despite this bending and breaking of rules, Superman's caring and heart are on full display. He peps up the discouraged scientist in #19 and encourages him to keep going and trying. Superman was written at a time when the remembrance of corrupt cops was fresh in people's minds and the law too often worked on behalf of criminals and those who crushed the poor. Superman is called the "savior of the helpless and the oppressed" in the text story and that's apt.

Despite how rough his behavior is for twenty-first century readers, Superman's selfless caring for others makes this book a winner.



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Book Review: Spider-man Fights Substance Abuse

Spider-Man Fights Substance Abuse by Marvel Comics

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The title makes the book sounds like its chalk full of boring PSA comics, but for the most part, this isn't true.

The book begins with the landmark Spider-man Issues 96-98. Stan Lee ran the books without the Comic Code Authority blessing so that he could discuss how drugs were a plague not just on the lower classes, but on all of society. The story features the Green Goblin and Harry turning to drugs to deal with the rejection of Mary Jane Watson.

Overall, the story is okay, but certainly not up to the highest standards of Goblin stories, but it is a true Spidey story featuring Peter Parker dealing with real life problems while having to keep a supervillain at bay. While the battle with the supervillains aren't memorable, Peter Parker has his best moment as he gets medieval on the drug dealers who sold his friends drug. The story has heart though its been reprinted elsewhere. Grade: B+

Next up was Spider-man, Cage, and Storm battling Smokescreen in anti-smoking story that was just silly. While the book arguably works the best in terms of communicating actual information about the dangers of drugs, the story is absurd as three of the most powerful heroes in the Marvel Universe battle one guy trying to make a fortune by rigging the betting on high school track meets. And Storm disappears for three days after being knocked out by one of the henchman. Oy vey. Rating: D-

Next up are two Canadian promo comics that featuring Spider-man going to Winnipeg on the trail of Electro and illegal drugs being shipped to the country. These comics flow well with some good Spidey action against Electro and the Chameleon. These aren't the toughest battles Spidey ever faced, but it's still good clean Spidey fun. Rating: B+

Next up is a four part 32 page insert called, "Fast Lane" that Marvel did with an anti-drug message as Spider-man battles Mysterio, while one boy tries to follow his idol, a drug-using star and quickly learns that things aren't quiet what they seem. The battle with Mysterio is decent and the character development with even Jonah showing some depth of character. There was a two page spread with a weakly explained cameo by most of Marvel heavy hitters. Still, pretty fun with a good message. Rating: B

Finally, we have Spectacular Spider-man #1000. (No, there weren't really 1000 issues of that magazine. Marvel was just trying to tell comics.) This out of continuity tale has Spider-man and the Punisher teaming up to take on Russian drug dealers, while a young jock has to make some tough decisions about life. This was a good character study in the boy. Not really sure this was a story worthy of an Issue 1000, but since I didn't actually buy the comic, I'll take it for what it is. There's some violence, some tension, and some pretty mature material dealt with decently as our teenage focal character discovers a lot about himself. Overall, I'll give this a grade: B-

One additional complaint I'll add goes to the book's editing. The first 129 are numbered. The rest aren't. Come on, that's just sloppy.

W0hile the book doesn't contain the greatest Spider-man stories, it does contain some rare ones (other than Issues 96-98) and it's worth a look for Spidey fans.



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Book Review: Superman Archives, Volume 3

Superman Archives, Vol. 3 by Jerry Siegel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book contains full color reprints of 1941's Superman stories and it's a blast. There's nothing monumental here, though Lex Luthor puts in a couple of pretty good appearances. In 1941, Siegel was gearing up for World War II by putting Superman up against obvious stand-ins for the Germans.

There's Clark Kent acting weak and cowardly to protect his secret identity while Lois gets herself into one terrific danger after another. There's weak characterization on part of many of the one time use villains. There are problems and repetitiveness.

However, any book with Golden Age Superman is a good book. He's at his scrapping best as he fights evil and takes on some pretty good mysteries. Siegel's solution to the inherent problem of Superman's strength: give him a mystery that requires some brain power. These are good-sized stories particularly with the number of panels per page in these 14 page stories.

This book was also nice for showing some of the other features including the less than stellar text stories and some amusing short comics including strange facts and one liners. A big highlight for me was the inclusion of two newsletters from Superman trying to teach kids good citizenship. It's great stuff and an enjoyable read.



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Book Review: Superman-Batman Generations II

Superman & Batman: Generations 2, An Imaginary Tale by John Byrne

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This was a great concept. Imagine Superheroes aging like normal passing on the mantle to the next generation rather than magically remaining artificially young to hold a fickle reading public and corporate executives who love having established commercial properties.

Apparently, this was a sequel to the original Generations book and it attempted to focus on other heroes such as the Green Lantern, the Flash, and Wonder Woman as well as Superman and Batman. The book eight stories set eleven years apart each beginning in 1942.

The first three stories work pretty well but by the 4th some of the weaknesses in concept begin to show. First of all, while the first two stories did pretty well with the concept particularly as we saw Wonder Woman having a child in 1953, the attempts to pay attention to other Justice League characters becomes sporadic at best after the 1960s story. Superman, Batman, and their families take up so much space.

The other big problem was that it felt like, he just didn't have space to do this story right. To do this right, I think you'd need a whole book dedicated to each decade. The way it was, it felt like I'd picked up a book that collected eight random comic books, many of them taken out of the middle out of other story lines. That makes for some frustrating reading.

The last story too is a bit of a cheat as it "happens" at the Fortress of Solitude in 2019 but it's Batman and Superman viewing a video of an attempt by Jonathan Kent to prevent the murders of Martha and Thomas Wayne. The story was moving at the time, but the more I think about it, the less sense it makes from a pure human perspective.

In the end, it's a mixed bag. Worth a read from the library or as used book, hard to imagine shelling out coin of the real for a new copy.



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