Mark Waid has still got it, although I must admit I'm a little lost on current DC continuity (has there been a Doom Patrol reboot, is the Robin in thiMark Waid has still got it, although I must admit I'm a little lost on current DC continuity (has there been a Doom Patrol reboot, is the Robin in this Damien? Or wait, does this take place in the past?)
And I generally don't love a magic-based villain, with mind control. That being said, Waid crafts a good introduction to this series by using the plot to guest star many famous heroes and villains. The art by Dan MOra, by the way, is cool as hell reminiscent of Greg Capullo.
As usual with these teamup books, it's more of a Superman story fighting end of the world threats while having Batman gets the sales. That is not a criticism at all...more
I liked this almost as much as Kingdom Come when I first read, continuing the story with time travel and hypertime worked well. As epic as Kingdom ComI liked this almost as much as Kingdom Come when I first read, continuing the story with time travel and hypertime worked well. As epic as Kingdom Come was, getting into the specifics of the future generation of heroes was fun. Mark Waid has earned his place as one of the best superhero writers for both DC and Marvel....more
While I've found Tom King something of a hit-or-miss writer, there's no denying he is a unique voice in the mainstream comics field today. I was a fanWhile I've found Tom King something of a hit-or-miss writer, there's no denying he is a unique voice in the mainstream comics field today. I was a fan of both the Vision and Mr. Miracle, which were about superheroes in the suburbs, and I've also heard bad things about the DC event Heroes in Crisis.
What I didn't realize was the range of this author, as Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow explores an surprisingly fresh fantasy space epic. Superman, and Supergirl as well, often suffers from a storytelling perspective by being too powerful and hence too boring. The answer to this, it seems to me, is to focus on the outer space cosmic element. Enough of mad scientist robots and more going to other planets, am I right?
Tom King's Supergirl does this so right. And it works as a self-contained graphic novel that anyone can enjoy without continuity baggage. She's Kal-El's cousin, that's all you need to know. There is the point-of-view character, a young girl exploring the universe for revenge against the evil villain, as each chapter goes to strange worlds of tragedy and wonderment. It's almost like a European scifi comics, ala Moebius and Heavy Metal, with limitless imagination.
In today's media environment, I can't help thinking about adaptations. Yes, this would make a great movie. With no cinematic universe world-building necessary, just fantastical settings and deep human (alien) drama. Why, I must wonder, can't superhero stories these days be more like this......more
The very epic finale of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's universal saga, which started with the flagship New 52 Batman and concludes past DC Rebirth inThe very epic finale of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's universal saga, which started with the flagship New 52 Batman and concludes past DC Rebirth into a meta-crisis of all crises. Note also you should have read all of Snyder's Justice League and Year of the Villain before this.
The thing of it is, DC has too much of this. Every crossover these days is about how a Crisis muddles with continuity and history. It's certainly a unique take to have a heavy metal music aesthetic, and Capullo's art is absolutely incredible. It's even an improvement on the Dark Nights: Metal of a few years ago--this time the plot being a bit easier to follow.
But enough of these. Can DC just have a consistent world, and not make all the stakes so damn infinitely complex all the time? There has to be a better way to tell stories than this.
So nice ending, we all love a cosmic Bat-themed story and yeah also that's where the money is, but let's move on already and do something new and purer with the superhero genre....more
Fresh of the Death Metal crossover, Scott Snyder - along with frequent collaborator James Tnyion - helms an ambitious new Justice League run taking thFresh of the Death Metal crossover, Scott Snyder - along with frequent collaborator James Tnyion - helms an ambitious new Justice League run taking the universal threats as far as it can go. Lex Luthor and the familiar Legion of Doom are even heightened to cosmic villain status.
Snyder does tend to be hard to follow, and Tnyion may not be at his same level of scifi weirdness but at least reads smoother, and hopefully all this is worth the challenge. Right off the bat, the entire moon explodes and that's just a minor off the cuff moment.
There's shrinking Batman, the invisible Ultraviolet Lantern Corps, and a space gods transforming our heroes into half-fish creatures. If this isn't fun, what is!
The deluxe edition covers both the Totality and the Drowned Earth, the latter of which puts Aquaman in the center of saving the planet.
The art is inconsistent; Jim Cheung only draws like two issues. Regardless, whichever artist happens to draw a chapter the quality is still very high. Frankly, all the visuals are beautiful.
As always, knowledge of endless DC continuity is kinda required to even half understand what's going on. That just goes with the genre territory, this is either your thing or it isn't, it's the Justice League after all and the reboot era is over at least for now...
So, if it is your thing, this is pretty much as good as modern superheroes gets. ...more
A solid Superman story that takes the character back to the Golden Age progressive roots, while at the same time very relevant in for the current natiA solid Superman story that takes the character back to the Golden Age progressive roots, while at the same time very relevant in for the current nativist MAGA-era.
Eerily relevant, in fact. This is a reinterpretation of a classic Superman radio drama in which the original superhero indeed smashed the Klan. (To those naysayers who say comics are "too political" these days: learn some actual history of the genre.) The radio serials were very important to the mythology back then, also introducing such elements as kryptonite and the flight ability. This new edition also references the Fleischer animation styles, something old school fans will appreciate.
The real heart of the story is Gene Luen Yang's take on a Chinese immigrant family which feels semi-autobiographical. As they are attacked by bigoted nationalists, the narrative overlaps with Clark's storyline as he is of course literally an illegal alien.
I look forward to reading the rest of these volumes and seeing how the story unfolds. The great thing about the superhero genre is the timelessness; these stories can be told and retold again and again teaching valuable lessons to new generations...
A near perfect all-ages Superman story with an important message of empathy and tolerance, marketed for young readers but definitely an enjoyable arc for both kids and adults. ...more
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