Watching the Walmart Giants 10 “April 2020, with Jim Lee!”

Apparently I hadn’t been to Walmart since the beginning of the month when I made the trek last weekend. I didn’t really expect new giants to have shipped, but they had! Including one that had received a fair amount of press, for these giants, because it features new Jim Lee art, which is:

Our Fighting Forces 100-Page Giant #1

• The first story is from Christopher Priest & Christopher Mooneyham, featuring the Unknown Soldier. I don’t read a lot of DC’s war comics, usually, but I at least knew about this character. As he’s prone to, Priest sells the hell out of the concept, making Unknown Soldier feel like a fresh and compelling concept. I’d read Priest’s Unknown Soldier monthly, easily!
• The second is from G.I. Joe legend Larry Hama with Mirko Colak, featuring military-era Kate Kane (Batwoman), a modern character who absolutely deserves all the attention she gets.
• The third is Jim Lee’s, with a script from Brad Meltzer based on a speech Barack Obama gave awarding Sal Giunta with the Medal of Honor. Lee spends most of it drawing Batman, but that’s because it’s clever enough to swerve the reader with a story of real heroism juxtaposed on a typical superhero adventure. Absolutely stunning.
• Then five reprints from the New 52’s Men of War, with the highlight coming in last from J.T. Krul & Scott Kolins, featuring a soldier post-war finding it difficult to get a job, eventually ending up in an interview where he’s upstaged by some former local football star...It’s incredible to think how poorly vets are treated, regardless of how you feel about the wars they’ve fought. They deserve a helluva lot more. Kolins, whose art can sometimes be a little weird, turns in some career-best material. This whole issue is outstanding.

Superman 100-Page Giant #3

• The first story is from Robert Venditti & Paul Pelletier, featuring Superman caught in the crossfire between Lex Luthor and Toyman, who’s trying to redeem his toy company after it’s been acquired by Luthor. Pelletier turns in sharp work, arguably the best I’ve ever seen from him, and he’s someone who’s been working in comics since the ‘90s!
• Reprint of Supergirl #56, featuring Bizarro.
• Reprint of Action Comics #868, part of Geoff Johns & Gary Frank’s excellent Brainiac arc.
• Reprint of Action Comics #0, the exceptional “Boy Who Stole Superman’s Cape,” which single-handedly makes a mockery of fans who dismissed Grant Morrison’s run in the New 52.

Titans 100-Page Giant #2

• New from Phil Hester & Scott Koblish, featuring a Titans team with Red Hood.
• New from Andrew Aydin & Juan Gedeon, featuring Beast Boy & Raven, and once again Red Hood, that’s about halfway to the storytelling style of Teen Titans Go!
• Reprint of Teen Titans #51, from 1977, featuring two teams of Titans, continuing where the last giant left off.
• Reprint of Starfire #2
• Reprint of Adventures of the Super Sons #2, which kind of emphasizes Tomasi really just wanted to have fun for a change.