And Then I Read: JIMMY OLSEN #7

Image © DC Comics. Written by Matt Fraction, art by Steve Lieber,
colors by Nathan Fairbairn, letters by Clayton Cowles

This comic is fun for me, as I remember the goofiness of Jimmy Olsen comics in the 1950s, and a lot of that is here. I can’t say I was a fan of those comics, though I did like Jimmy Olsen on the “Adventures of Superman” TV show of the same era. Then Jimmy’s title became part of Jack Kirby’s Fourth World in the 1970s. I loved those comics, even if Jimmy wasn’t a big part of them really. The current series doesn’t have much of that influence, maybe a little in the outer space/inner space storyline. This issue we visit Jimmy’s psychiatrist who discusses the many Olsen personalities, see Jimmy and his siblings as small kids in a sequence not unlike “Li’l Archie,” follow current day Jimmy and his sister to Opal City (I didn’t get that one), find out what’s happening at Jimmy’s Gotham City apartment rental (a lot!), and perhaps most fun of all, we see Jimmy’s job interview at the Daily Planet that landed him his job. If that’s not enough, there’s another piece of the Olsen and Luthor families feud. The writing, art, colors and lettering are all excellent. And the story is so fragmented in this series, it almost doesn’t matter where you start.

Recommended. Make that highly.