Future State - Top Ten: #8. Batman/Superman

 

Writer: Gene Luen Yang

Artist: Ben Oliver

As far as I’m concerned, it seems overly difficult to find a good Batman/Superman comic. The modern gold standard is still the original, Jeph Loeb’s, which achieved its magic by relying heavily on dueling caption narrative. Of course, DC has kept a team-up title going (switching the order of the names, as Batman has once again supplanted Superman in popularity, beginning with with a Loeb comic; I still have no idea how idiot fans managed to convince themselves he’s a bad writer, which of course happened over at Marvel) ever since. No one has seriously challenged Loeb’s work.

Until Gene Luen Yang.

Yang is one of the greats working in superhero comics at the moment. He spent a bunch of time hiding in New Super-Man (the Chinese Superman), and then took over Jeff Lemire’s Terrifics, before getting this Future State assignment.

Yang always knows how to keep things lively. A lot of writers get caught up in tropes, unable to personalize them, so that a superhero comic is just a superhero comic, or try desperately to make it stand out (some succeed, some are just desperate, and only “succeed” because of equally desperate fans). Yang might be able to break off from that because he’s the rare superhero comics writer whose knowledge base isn’t totally superhero comics themselves. Yang made his name writing graphic novels translating his Chinese-American and Chinese heritage. As such he’s aware of the need to adapt rather than simply write. The result, as I’ve encountered it is a style that’s both familiar and distinctive.

His Batman/Superman is a friendship (a friendship) presented in dialogue. They aren’t rivals. It’s not secretly Batman humoring or condescending to Superman, as writers can sometimes slip into. It’s bona fide mutual respect. (Too often in superhero comics, writers will allow the popular status of a character define how they’re presented rather than depict a dynamic, engaging personality.)

With that as a base, Yang also unfolds an actual story involving a father and son caught up in Professor Pyg’s latest scheme, which also ties in with the early days of the Magistrate era that plays out in the Batman titles elsewhere in Future State. Being tangential to that arc, Yang’s story is free to do as it pleases, and also serves as an object lesson in what the other creators might have achieved had they considered their options.

The result is perhaps the Future State comic with the lowest profile but perhaps highest return on investment. Yang has since graduated to the main title, with his innovative approach wowing unsuspecting readers in his first issue, which I skipped (but corrected by the second).

Reading Comics 240 "Batman #85, Doomsday Clock #12, and more"

Because there were a few comics I had to read at the end of the year, I put in another order at Midtown, and this is what I got:

Batman Annual #2 (DC)

This isn’t the issue I was aiming for, but it was nice to revisit all the same, as it demonstrates Tom King’s lyrical grace, a quality that seemed to have eluded many of his readers, or at least his many critics.  But if something like this escapes them, I suppose it doesn’t matter whether or not they approve.  At the end is a coda for King’s whole conception of Batman, and Catwoman, and it is beautiful.

Batman #85 (DC)

Here’s King’s grand finale, which splits time between defeating Thomas Wayne/Flashpoint Batman, and tying everything up, how the whole thing flowed from Batman’s theory of a “good death” at the start of King’s run, how he finally reconciled the death of his parents and what that meant about the existence of Batman, and his continued existence, and how his relationship with Catwoman confirms all of it.  I think it’s brilliant, but then I think just about everything Tom King does is brilliant.  He has no contemporary equal.  He may in fact be the best superhero comics writer ever.  And he has set the bar very high indeed.

Batman: Last Knight on Earth #3 (DC)

A Batman finale of a different order, this is Scott Snyder and Greg Capulo’s farewell.  As I was reading it, it suddenly occurred to me that if there’s any logic Snyder has followed all these years, it’s probably Dan Jurgens’.  Dan is famously the guy who in the final analysis is responsible for the death of Superman.  He further contributed to DC ‘90s lore with Zero Hour, an event that’s frequently overlooked but is probably one of the greatest event comics ever written, a “Crisis in Time” that expanded on Hal Jordan’s fall from grace to truly epic proportions and offered a plausible reshaping of continuity that hit a very soft reset button.  But Jurgens more often writes his superheroes in broader strokes.  His ideas are seldom as grounded in grace as his best stories (sort of like Mark Waid), and so he’s kind of easy to dismiss as the comics great that he ultimately is, at his best.  Snyder, meanwhile, has so often leaned on the assistance of cowriters it’s probably easy to forget that he has relied so often on them, when his legacy has shrunk to the “one great thing to come out of the New 52.”  He needs someone to temper his crazier instincts.  He’s the kind of writer who looks at the examples other writers have set, and considered only that they look like the most outrageous thing that could’ve been done, and so what he needs to do is the most outrageous thing he can come up with, and the logic will explain itself.  And his ideas are sound, but the execution always beggars the imagination of the reader more than convincingly tells a story.  His big finale, as he seemed to decide after coming up with the Court of Owls in his original Batman comics, centers around Batman’s relationship with the Joker.  As far as the Joker is concerned, everything he has ever done was meant to make Batman the best he could be.  But I don’t think Batman would ever be comfortable with that assessment, even in a scenario where he’s confronted with a version of himself that’s the worst he could be (and even there, Snyder doesn’t adequately account for how Batman could end up wanting to take over the whole world; that’s a story that would contrast Batman with Lex Luthor, not himself, much less Joker) (and while we’re on the subject, Snyder really, really missed a trick with his current projects when he called his upgraded Luthor “Apex Lex,” when, since the rhyme is already there, the logic clearly dictates calling him “Apex Luthor).  As far as Snyder’s own logic goes, I suppose this is as appropriate a finale as he could’ve envisioned.  This isn’t what I thought the original cloning concept he introduced way back in Detective Comics #27 (the New 52 edition), but at least he did something with it.

Doomsday Clock #12 (DC)

The second grand finale I wanted to catch (the above Snyder was merely incidental, not something I had intended to go out of my way to catch), or at least read for myself, since I had allowed the internet to spoil it for me.  Naturally, the internet was most interested in Geoff Johns outlining the theoretical future of DC lore.  I don’t think anyone at DC seriously expects this material to be followed (considering one of the stories referenced is apparently another crossover with Marvel, a situation always fraught with complications, as the long development of JLA/Avengers proved).  The sentiment itself represents the central thesis that DC follows Superman, that wherever he goes, his new continuity is the foundation of DC’s new continuity, even going so far as to suggest that if comics are still being made in 3020, a thousand years from now, the age of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Superman’s origin will take place then, and continuity will resettle around him once again, even though the Legion took its inspiration from the exploits of Superboy a thousand years earlier.  I think the whole project is justified.  It gives Doctor Manhattan a far more satisfying arc than he got in Watchmen (although I think Zack Snyder corrected that in his movie, too), removing the cynicism of Alan Moore himself and allowing a man who can see everything (except his ultimate fate) to adequately comprehend it, given the opportunity to make a decision, or in this instance, rethink a decision.  Which may also have been the point.

Family Tree #2 (Image)

I wanted to have a look at this latest Jeff Lemire project.  The guy is the most prolific creator in comics!  The art is from Phil Hester, whom I always love to see pop up with new work.  A fine variation on familiar Lemire themes.

Flash Forward #4 (DC)

I had already read what happened in this one, too, but wanted a chance to experience it for myself: Wally West meets Lightspeed, Linda Park!  But, of course, a Linda Park from an alternate reality, and who doesn’t particularly care what a counterpart made of Wally.  But the comic is also toying with Wally reuniting with his kids, which is something I’ve become much more fond of in the years since Mark Waid first introduced them in his return to Wally’s adventures, which were sort of a soft launch of the Tomasi/Gleason Superman, which wasn’t as good as their Batman & Robin, but still well worth existing.  And I think most fans will agree, if Wally is back, his whole family ought to get to join him, too.  Hopefully this comic has a truly happy ending.

Incoming! (Marvel)

Basically a tour of the current Marvel landscape, another visit with the Masked Raider (I don’t know if this guy, that name, and his gunslinging costume, is destined for greatness, but he’s nice to hang these stories on), and the push for the upcoming Kree/Skrull invasion of Earth!  The movies are probably headed somewhere in that direction, too, so it’s nice for the comics to get there first, for a change (a lot of recent comics belatedly obsessed over Thanos, which seemed way too obvious at that point), picking up where a famous, but forgotten-except-by-diehards-because-Marvel-can’t-keep-its-defining-stories-in-print Avengers epic left off way back in the ‘70s (or ‘60s? but I think ‘70s).  And central to all this?  My 2005 inner Marvel nerd is excited that it’s characters from Young Avengers! 

Invisible Kingdom #8 (Dark Horse)

Lately I’ve been feeling kind of bad about not caring that G. Willow Wilson has enjoyed so much success in recent years, since Air was such a favorite of mine from when nobody else cared, so I checked out an issue of this project.  It’s okay. 

Joker: Killer Smile #2 (DC)

Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino once again reunite for a tale of a psychiatrist’s descent into madness when he believes he can figure out the Clown Prince.  A bit obvious, but a sort of welcome companion to Lemire’s brilliant Moon Knight.

Klaus: The Life & Times of Joe Christmas (Boom!)

I haven’t had much luck reading the annual Christmas follow-ups to Grant Morrison and Dan Mora’s original Klaus, so I was pleased to order (because as I’ve come to understand, I just won’t be able to find it in an actual comics shop) the latest.  This one’s sort of in the model of a calendar, which counts up from December 1 and ends on the 25^th.  And there is no dialogue, only a chronicle of the life and adventures of Joe Christmas, who sort of becomes Klaus’s sidekick.  I almost choked up when I realized the cat had died.  Great comic.  Might singlehandedly justify Morrison’s whole concept of making Santa Claus a superhero.  Years from now someone could write a whole series around Joe Christmas based on this one comic, or maybe they could base a movie on it.  (Hint hint.)

The Old Guard: Force Multiplied #1 (Image)

I read the original miniseries in trade paperback at the library, and was immediately smitten, so I was extremely glad to discover this follow-up.  Perhaps moreso than the story itself is value of the Greg Rucka essay at the end detailing his thoughts about the origins and emerging legacy of Old Guard, including an upcoming Netflix movie version.  I’m glad things are working out this way.

The Amazing Spider-Man #36 (Marvel)

I was suckered into buying this issue because the solicitation listed Pat Gleason as the artist.  He was not.  But I subsequently picked up a slightly earlier issue, and he was. 

Superman Smashes the Klan #2 (DC)

Gene Luen Yang writes perhaps his most important Superman and/or DC comic, at last, detailing a group of kids’ experiences with Superman as he, well, battles the Klan, centering around a Chinese perspective, not in the way Hollywood has been catering to the massive Chinese market in recent years, but because Yang has more immediate ties, the kind that stretch across American history.  We tend to forget, except for all that Chinese food that was actually invented in America, how long the Chinese have been here, and how complicated their lives have been here.  Thankfully Yang is here to help fill in the gaps.  Included is an essay detailing Superman history that’s both familiar and also relevant to Yang’s perspective and intentions.

Reading Comics 205 "Trips from the past month"

Here's a rundown of what I've been reading lately, sort of a hodgepodge of new and slightly less new material (new titles in bold, slightly les new titles in italics):

Batman #23, 25, 26 (DC)
Tom King is still doing wonders in this title.  The first issue is the Swamp Thing issue, while the latter two are the beginning of "The War of Jokes and Riddles".  I was thwarted in my attempts to find a copy of #24 (the proposal issue) and Batman/Elmer Fudd, alas.

Dark Knight III: The Master Race #9 (DC)
Miller/Azzarello/Kubert finally delivered the conclusion of this story.  I like how the ending is basically that Batman is finally acknowledging that he can learn from someone else.  Seems like a metaphor, Miller's concession that it was okay for Azzarello to help out.

Codename: Baboushka #1, 3 (Image)
What with Atomic Blonde hitting screens soon (based on his Coldest City graphic novel), I figured it was time I had a look at another Antony Johnston spy comic.  It's good stuff.

Dark Days: The Forge (DC)
The title of this event and the manner of starting it are peculiar things that still elude me, but this particular piece struck me as pure Scott Snyder.  He may not be my favorite, but I'm glad he's finally getting to tell a DC event comic.

Earth 2 #24 (DC)
Funny to go back to the early days (relatively speaking) of Earth 2 and read the story where this reality's Superman first reveals his costume.  Also interesting to see the Thomas Wayne Batman in action.  That's honestly one of my favorite Earth 2 elements to this day.

Earth 2: World's End #7 (DC)
The weekly comic spinoff got crapped on ten ways to...Wednesday, I guess.  But it reads okay to me, every time I sample it.  Includes a nice nod to the "lost" Alan Scott gay storyline from Earth 2's early days.

The Flash #14 (DC)
It's, I don't know, hilarious or sad, but I was reminded recently that Josh Williamson worked on Captain Midnight, a Dark Horse comic that received a Free Comic Book Day back in Williamson's pre-DC days, and a collection I received from one of those crate companies a few years back.  I was not a fan.  I outright dismissed it both times.  So this is one of the more remarkable turnarounds I've experienced as a reader, because I remain a fan of Williamson's recent work.  I'm torn about rereading the Captain Midnight collection.  What if I dismissed it for all the wrong reasons?  What if I convince myself I like it now just because I now associate good things with Williamson?  Anyway, this issue begins a Rogues arc.

Green Valley #1, 2, 3 (Image)
Max Landis made a name for himself writing the movie Chronicle, but I became a fan reading Superman: American Alien.  I'm glad I got around to reading some of his original concept comic Green Valley, about knights being confronted with what as of the last issue I read seems to be a time-traveling dude from more or less the present with future tech he doesn't really understand. 

Justice League Dark #35 (DC)
Focuses mostly on Zatanna.  Honestly, if her main distinguishing feature weren't casting spells by speaking backwards, Zatanna would be so much bigger.  Also glimpsed: Frankenstein and the lead from I, Vampire, two relatively short-lived New 52 characters whose series I caught up on in their collections a few months back.  Also, Zatanna's Identity Crisis actions are coming back to haunt her in the Rebirth era.  That's cool.

Justice League #33 (DC)
Funny to see what's become of the concepts Geoff Johns was exploring in this issue: 1) the Doom Patrol, in a different incarnation, now stars in a Young Animal series, 2) Jessica Cruz now stars in Green Lanterns, and 3) Lex Luthor has continued his strange heroics in the pages of Action Comics.  Clearly fruitful ideas, Geoff!

Justice League vs. Suicide Squad #1 (DC)
Love that DC gave Williamson a soft event book.  He deserves it.  Also love that Max Lord is revealed as the villain on the last page.

King #1 (Jet City)
I really wish Joshua Hale Fialkov could enjoy greater exposure.  This thematic update of Kamandi, however, is probably not the best way to go about it, entertaining though it may be.

Monstress #1, 12 (Image)
This is one of those books I've heard and heard and heard about, and so I figured I should finally have a look at it.  The extra-length first issue was reprinted at $1.99, so I scooped that up, plus what's counted as the most recent issue for a few months now (returning from hiatus soon!).  Marjorie Liu actually kind of interests me more as a creator who like Gene Yang is bringing an international voice to the table.  Seems a lot like Saga, insofar as it includes random elements of mature material.

Saga #43 (Image)
Speaking of which!  This special twenty-five cent issue (it's Image's 25th anniversary, yo!) was practically a gimme on two scores: 1) the price, obviously, and 2) the price combined with the fact that I've been a faithful reader in the past, but've lapsed in recent years.  So here was my chance to catch up.  Again the series seems almost as interested in cheap shock tactics as decent storytelling, which is what bumped me off the bandwagon, the seeming increased inability to balance these instincts.  I guess at this point it seems necessary, the cheap shock tactics.  The tactics this issue, of all issues (!), where potential new readers might have no idea what they're in for, include what's apparently a flippant trip to an abortion clinic, which is such a galvanizing issue, where you'll either get people to love or hate you depending on your conclusions.  And what's become typical of Saga, it reaches different conclusions (probably) than what they initially seem.  So I don't really know if I should care about this series again...

Saucer State #1, 2 (IDW)
I could not have been happier when Paul Cornell announced that his short-lived Vertigo series Saucer Country was due for a revival at IDW.  So when I had a chance to scoop it up, I scooped it up.  Funny that artist Ryan Kelly seems to have somewhat changed his style since the last time he drew these characters, but colorist Adam Guzowski does what he can to keep thing fairly consistent.  The story itself remains intriguing, by the way!

Superman: Doomed #2 (DC)
I've been trying to track this down (not too hard, but y'know) for a while, so I'm glad I finally succeeded.  This update of Doomsday not only led to the short-lived Doomed series that saw an updated Alpha Centurion debut in the New 52 (!), but also featured Brainiac a relative handful of months before his big New 52 event, Convergence, which this issue, knowingly or otherwise, alludes to.  There were so many complaints about Superman in the New 52, but I think a lot of them were a result of previous complaints that just kept snowballing rather than had a real basis in the comics themselves.  This was good stuff.

Superman #33, 42 (DC)
Speaking of Gene Yang (a little earlier; feel free to scroll up a little!), the latter issue is one of his, while the former is Geoff Johns'.  I think this was an especially good time to be reading Superman, personally, and yeah, it was New 52 material.

Wonder Woman #1 (DC)
Greg Rucka got a lot of hate, surprisingly, for his Rebirth run.  I guess he was too ambitious.  He ruffled feathers by contradicting Brian Azzarello's New 52 run (even though it wasn't all that popular...until fans didn't much care for the Finch run that followed it).  I still want to get around to reading more of it.  It's funny that the origin story is being revisited so much lately. Just goes to prove how neglected the character has been.  If she were as popular as she is important, this would not be happening.

Reading Comics 198 "DC Rebirth Week 10, All-New All-Different Avengers, Civil War II: The Accused, and The Fuse"

Featured this edition: All-New All-Different Avengers Annual #1, All Star Batman #1, Civil War II: The Accused, Deathstroke: Rebirth #1, The Flash #4, The Fuse #18, New Superman #2, and Superwoman #1.

All-New All-Different Avengers Annual #1 (Marvel)
I kind of had to buy this one as an early fan of G. Willow Wilson's Ms. Marvel, because this whole issue is dedicated to fan fiction, or Marvel creator versions of fan fiction, which turns out to be pretty funny.

All Star Batman #1 (DC)
Scott Snyder is never a sure-thing for me, although I did read through much of his New 52 Batman run, which was that era's biggest success story.  I had to at least give his follow-up a shot.  Turns out I love it, at least in this debut.  This is a Two-Face story, which may have things to say about the current US presidential campaign season, and it's some of the best writing I've ever seen from Snyder.  It doesn't hurt that he has John Romita, Jr., to help guide him along to greater creative heights.  That's something few fans appreciated about Romita's Superman run, which was a real shame, but I think they'll have less of a problem accepting his style in this series. 

Civil War II: The Accused (Marvel)
Screenwriter Marc Guggenheim has hopefully done enough comics where fans will accept him as one of their own.  It can't possibly hurt his cause exploring one of Civil War II's touchstone moments: Hawkeye murdering the Hulk.  Guggenheim helps Matt Murdock (Daredevil) navigate the intricacies of the resulting trial, exploring a range of relevant social topics.  The only knock is that this could easily have been expanded.

Deathstroke: Rebirth #1 (DC)
Unlike other Rebirth one-shots, Christopher Priest's (he's now billing himself strictly as Priest) Slade Wilson primer doesn't really make the origin explicit so much as exploring his complicated history as a father, and the kind of morality he inhabits as DC's most famous mercenary and frequent star of his own series.  The results are certainly fascinating, and they allow the reader to reach their own conclusions.  I haven't read too much solo Deathstroke, but this may be the start of his best run yet.

The Flash #4 (DC)
Joshua Williamson continues to nail it.  What else can I say?  Even moreso than Sam Humphries' Green Lanterns, this is feeling like comics that will be remembered fondly for years to come.  When this happens in the pages of The Flash, it usually means someone has managed to become the new standard by which all others follow.  Williamson joins the ranks of Mark Waid and Geoff Johns in that regard.

The Fuse #18 (Image)
This issue was released earlier in the year, after which the series took a hiatus that just ended last month.  The Fuse is Antony Johnston's police procedural set aboard a space station, and the issue concludes the "Perihelion" arc, which represents the day of the year Earth and the station are closest to the sun, which seems to bring about more communal chaos than usual.  I like that Johnston (who became a legend, at least as I'm concerned, with his masterful Wasteland) not only builds scenarios but thinks of scenarios-within-scenarios like this.  Also, the plot of what brought Ralph Dietrich to the station ramps up, and continues in the next arc, "Constant Orbital Revolutions."  That's another Johnston trademark, the ability to build his stories a layer at a time, so that different arcs actually mean something and don't just mean another story in the series.  This is much rarer than you'd think.  Geoff Johns in his epic Green Lantern run would be another such example.

New Super-Man #2 (DC)
What Wilson's done in the pages of Ms. Marvel is something Gene Luen Yang is doing in the pages of this comic, introducing a unique cultural perspective that also presents a unique perspective on superheroes.  I love that DC let Yang do this even after the lackluster response to his Superman.

Superwoman #1 (DC)
The blockbuster "Last Days of Superman" story that helped round out the New 52 era has proven to be reach creative groundwork for the Rebirth era, which now proudly includes Superwoman in its ranks of successes.  Marvel has been swapping the identities and genders behind their icons for a couple years now, which in truth is kind of old hat in comics.  On the surface, Superwoman probably seems like it's climbing aboard the bandwagon, but DC has at least put considerable thought into it.  "Superwoman" is actually "Superwomen" in this issue, in which long-time creator Phil Jimenez gets another chance to shine in writing and art duties (he's previously done so with the likes of his early millennial Wonder Woman run), and features longtime supporting cast members Lois Lane and Lana Lang gaining powers.  As Lois points out, this would hardly be the first time for her (perhaps the most famous example was in Grant Morrison's All Star Superman, but she also had Brainiac powers in the New 52, among other instances).  Jimenez also acknowledges Lois's role in the controversial "Truth" arc, in which she exposed Superman's secret identity.  The clever thing, though, is that Lana is along for the ride, too, and so any fans still grumbling about how Lois Lane was depicted in the New 52, and the lack of a romance with Clark Kent, can instead focus on Lana, Clark's Smallville crush.  In fact, without giving too much away, Lana Lang is actually the star of this comic.  I also like that her costume and powers harken to the much-maligned "Electric Superman" (as did Strange Visitor fifteen years ago).  Good creators always know better than naysaying fans.  This issue more than proves that Jimenez is a good creator.

Reading Comics 194 "DC Rebirth Week Six, Earth 2, Millarworld Annual, The Vision, Old Man Logan"

Covered this edition: Detective Comics #936, Earth 2: Society #14, The Flash #2, Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps: Rebirth #1, Millarworld Annual 2016, Nightwing: Rebirth #1, Action Comics #959, New Super-Man #1, The Vision #9, Old Man Logan #8, and Wonder Woman #2.

Gosh, so I kind of got all the DC Rebirth releases this week...

Detective Comics #936 (DC)
This isn't the first Detective Comics issue of the Rebirth era, but I was curious to read an issue because the spotlight was on Batwoman, Kate Kane, a character that's fascinated me since her debut in 52.  As one of the more high profile openly homosexual characters in comics, Batwoman has had a certain level of prominence over the years, although since she was created by Greg Rucka and had J.H. Williams III as her artist for a number of years, she was allowed a great deal of creative freedom, too, up to and...excluding, infamously, a wedding in her New 52 series.  The writer of Detective Comics is James Tynion IV, whom I've somewhat unfairly judged over the years due to his association with Scott Snyder, whom I've sometimes found difficult to appreciate.  But Tynion is a pretty good writer, and as this issue is a pretty good Batwoman story, I may have to once and for resolve to consider Tynion positively going forward. 

Earth 2: Society #14 (DC)
I'm not sure how much Dan Abnett is commenting on the creative reputation of the series he inherited several issues ago or if it's just coincidence, but there's much ado about the broken nature of the new society this alternate world of heroes represents.  Still, there's a strong focus on Dick Grayson's Batman, which hasn't really happened since Convergence, and that was good to see, as was the return of his son.  Which, all told, Dick himself is far less pleased about, given the unfortunate circumstances...I still think Earth 2, under its various creative directors, has been one of the shining successes of the New 52 era.

The Flash #2 (DC)
Barry Allen begins training his friend and colleague August Heart, who has just acquired access to the Speed Force, and that's fun in and of itself, their contrasting stances on what they should do with it, when the series takes a page from the unrelated TV show and has STAR Labs become the source of trouble, revealing who's behind the freak lightning storms, and what they're after.  It's such a good feeling, knowing I love reading The Flash again...

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps: Rebirth #1 (DC)
Maybe it was because I never intended to read it full-time, but Robert Venditti's Green Lantern eventually lost its status as a worthy creative follow-up to the work of Geoff Johns, in my estimation, and once it fell, it plummeted.  Funny enough, Venditti explains his thought process in this issue, and it has great relevance in the policing controversies spread across newspapers seemingly every day for the past few years.  I have no idea where Venditti started the idea, but it begins to make more sense, seeing it all laid out, and where he has Hal Jordan continue to go with it.  So I'm glad I can finally say I get his take.  It's not Johns (but few could be).  And I'm okay with that.

Millarworld Annual 2016 (Image)
Putting all the cards on the table, the international competition for this thing that sought submissions from new creators was something I entered last year, basing my entry on Starlight, which you can look elsewhere to see how much I enjoyed.  I've been a member of the Millarworld message boards ever since, and so was able to keep tabs on when this would be released.  Obviously I had something of a vested interest in it.  The writer I got to know the best from the boards, perhaps somewhat naturally, was Deniz Camp, whose Starlight effort did win.  I can admire Camp, because he too admires Grant Morrison.  But the standout entry in the annual, for me, very easily, was Cliff Bumgardner's American Jesus script (just as amazingly illustrated by Steve Beach), which took a moment out of time from Mark Millar's original comic (originally titled Fallen) and explored the consequences of saving a dog's life, which was to inadvertently have the effect of stopping death from occurring, during those moments, around the whole world.  It gave me chills to read.  It was like reading Stephen King, or at any rate, a first-fate professional.  Kudos, Cliff!

Nightwing: Rebirth #1 (DC)
This was exactly the connecting story fans of Dick Grayson could have hoped for, as Dick's adventures with Spyral aren't just unceremoniously dumped, but incorporated into his greater adventures, as he realizes he probably really does have to become Nightwing again, an identity Tim Seeley (Dick Grayson's amazing co-writer, along with the incomparable Tom King, but more on him a little later) explains, as been explained many times before but still comes out fresh, because for the duration of the New 52 it was kind of ignored, as having been inspired by Superman and not Batman, as might be easy to assume.  There's also some good Parliament of Owls stuff in the issue, proving that maybe that whole story really should have been Dick's all along...

Action Comics #959 (DC)
The Rebirth era Doomsday saga continues, with parallels popping up all over the places, plus a few new wrinkles, like Superman being forced to concede that the New 52 Lex Luthor may not actually be an exact match for the one he used to know.  Otherwise, the reader will just have to continue waiting to see just where the new wrinkles are really headed...

New Super-Man #1 (DC)
I loved, loved, loved Tony Bedard's The Great Ten, which was about a group of Chinese superheroes.  Each issue told each member's story.  It was a true overlooked masterpiece.  Fortunately, someone realized China is perhaps a hotter topic today than when Great Ten was published only a handful of years ago.  And even more fortunately, a writer of Gene Luan Yang's quality is around to explore the landscape all over again.  Yang's Superman wasn't everyone's cup of tea, perhaps unfortunately coinciding with the "Truth" arc that wasn't really what anyone wanted to read in the Man of Steel's adventures.  His New Super-Man features as unlikely a protagonist as you'll find.  When first seen he appears to be a jerk!  (Bonus points to the Silver Age for being relevant again.)  But his personality is entirely in keeping with Chinese society, which is an extreme example of what we experience in the States (and you thought it was bad here!), with income disparity resulting in social dynamics that will probably surprise readers.  Yang's origin continues along so that his Chinese Superman ends up kind of being a DC Captain America, with his powers literally being infused into him (and making Chinese Superman to be something of the Rebirth Superboy).  I applaud DC and Yang for coming up with this, and I hope enough readers are culturally curious enough to keep it going a while.

The Vision #9 (Marvel)
For me, there was no question that Tom King's greatest superhero work of the past year was The Omega Men, to the point where I was willing to sell his Vision short (heh).  Yet, as of this issue, which details how Runaways character Victor Mancha went from uncle to murderer, explaining all over again how rich a creative source King's war experience really is, I'm completely sold on it.  So clearly King had room for two masterworks, in a very short time.  Here's hoping he has many more.

Old Man Logan #8 (Marvel)
This spin-off of Mark Millar's original story, generated in the wake of Secret Wars and I'm not sure how related to a similar Brian Michael Bendis mini-series during that event, was something I was slow to give much credit to (there I go again), because I just didn't see the point.  But if comic book logic counts for anything, then something like this makes its own kind of sense.  And it can't possibly hurt to have Jeff Lemire writing.  This is the story of Wolverine, decades older, whose whole life and world crumbled in the wake of a catastrophic supervillain victory (think Final Crisis or  Forever Evil, but more permanent), and he was left virtually alone to pick up the pieces.  Somehow he was transported to the present.  This issue, Lemire helpfully spells out the whole thing, and helps Logan come to a kind of peace with his situation.  He's been in constant dread that he's going to have to experience the fall all over again.  Curiously, the time-displaced Jean Grey, from Bendis's (it figures, right?) All-New X-Men, is the one who helps him.  This is Jean at the start of her career.  She hadn't even met Logan yet, when she was pulled from the past.  And all over again, the value of Jean Grey is exhibited.  Great issue.

Wonder Woman #2 (DC)
Greg Rucka's origin of Wonder Woman begins.  Suddenly, there are a million Wonder Woman origin stories going on.  There's Legend of Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman: Earth One, the upcoming Wonder Woman movie, the upcoming Wonder Woman: The True Amazon...  Yet, for all that, it is worth visiting and revisiting.  Every creator has a fresh perspective, and with Wonder Woman, finally getting her creative due, it's more relevant than ever before.  This is a character who's always been touted as one of DC's most important characters, but she's never been near as popular as Superman or Batman, and as such her origin isn't as well-known.  As more fans come to check out what she's all about, it presents, obviously, a rich opportunity to explore, right from the beginning of the story.  Rucka's vision is pretty focused, as the Amazonian princess Diana is alone interested in a world she never knew, as she's the first of her kind to be born since they were sealed off from Man's World.  He assumes you already know, or don't care, about the particulars of her birth (although the alternating arc in this twice-monthly series does feature exactly that), and just runs from there.  The in-house ads talk about each series of the Rebirth era featuring a new epic that starts now, and as far as I can tell, that's exactly what DC has been delivering.  Azzarello set such a high mark in the New 52 with Wonder Woman.  Rucka seems intent to, and capable of, surpassing it.

Reading Comics 181 "Always a Fan"

I went shopping again, in part because Christian Mock got a letter in a comic book, and so I'll be heaping further praise on Tom King's masterful Omega Men, plus some other thoughts.

First, a word on Comic Shop News.  This is a free weekly newsletter you can find in most comic book shops (although I've had a rough time finding it in recent years with a lot of stores simply not making enough to give away stuff like this).  It's basically the last print source for fans in the age of the Internet, which is probably what killed Wizard.  While its interior content is more or less superfluous these days, its main articles are an excellent resource, the rare all-inclusive source for notable projects throughout the medium.  Without it, for instance, I may never have heard of Andi Ewington's breakthrough 45.  I'm talking about it at all because I picked up a copy, which turned out to be #1,500, which is a milestone if there ever was one.  The cover feature this issue concerns Paul Dini's forthcoming graphic novel Dark Night: A True Batman Story, which looks like an amazing project.

Before I get into the comics I bought, it's also worth noting that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is opening this weekend, and the merchandising blitz is in full force, including select cereal boxes including mini-comics.  Most of these mini-comics aren't much to write about, but Jeff Parker's "Playground Heroes" turned out to be a pretty good one.  In it, he explores Superman's impact on a boy struggling with how to respond to bullies.  It's a worthwhile character study where these things tend to be fairly generic storytelling.   Presumably, the other three mini-comics in the set are equally worth reading. 

Plus, y'know, that movie they're technically hawking is a pretty big deal.  As a fan of Man of Steel, I'm glad the Justice League franchise is spinning out of it.  Even if fans still prefer the irreverent hijinks of the Avengers and Deadpool at the box office, this is still some of the best superhero material on the big screen, ever. 

Anyway, onto the comics proper:

Dark Knight III: The Master Race #3 (DC)
I nearly bought the deluxe version of the second issue.  In my more limited comics experience these days, I won't read the complete story until the eventual collected edition.  I previously read the first issue digitally.  As of this issue, I would equate DKIII with DC's previous Before Watchmen, with Brian Azzarello once again stepping up to help make it a reality.  Frank Miller's voice is still there, but there's clearly a filter this time around.  I decided to pick up this issue because the mini-comic this time features Green Lantern, apparently from the perspective of the ring itself rather than Hal Jordan.  It's interesting stuff. 

Martian Manhunter #10 (DC)
I figured I had to revisit this series when the cover boasts, "The Secret Origin of J'onn J'onzz," which otherwise means Rob Williams is getting around to explaining exactly what's been going on, and that's exactly what this issue is all about, a new version of Mars mythology and origin of the Martian Manhunter, how J'onn is involved, and why he ended up splitting himself up into a variety of guises, including Mr. Biscuits.  I liked it.  Should anyone be interested in expanding on these concepts, they could easily once again tie in Bloodwynd with the rest of it, as confused readers two decades ago...

The Omega Men #2, 4, 5, and 9 (DC)
While accidentally duplicating my print collection of #5, now I'm only missing #3, which I'd read previously in digital form.  I can't get over how brilliant this series is.  Tom King obviously got to write the greatest non-Geoff Johns Green Lantern story of the New 52 era by making the ostensible leads the terrorists/freedom fighters Omega Men, making alien politics as realistic and intriguing as possible, and featuring a heavy dose of Kyle Rayner to move the narrative along, including #9 finally featuring him reuniting with the white ring.  I think Omega Men represents what DC has routinely done better than Marvel, which is to look deeper into the superhero narrative, looking for alternatives in storytelling approach.  Marvel does it on occasion, like Frank Miller's Daredevil, Matt Fraction's Hawkeye, and King's Vision, but more often than not it clings to the tradition more than anything else, even in the Ultimate Comics experiments.  DC, meanwhile, routinely pushes the boundaries of literature storytelling, not as exceptions but increasingly as the rule.  It frustrates fans to no end.  They want simplicity and familiarity above everything else.  They want what they always had.  Omega Men flies in the face of all the rules.  Nine issues in and we're still waiting for Kyle to pick a side.  Shouldn't it be obvious?  Isn't it obvious?  And yet King is writing something truly great here, buried in a series that has some of the worst sales of DC's whole catalogue, which DC itself saved from cancellation in order to give King the chance to complete his story.  Because, as I've said time and again, DC knows better than the readers what it has with Omega Men, and King.  Word is that King will be writing Batman once the full details of DC Rebirth are revealed.  I couldn't be happier.

Robin: Son of Batman #5, 6 (DC)
These are the remaining issues under Patrick Gleason's creative direction (although I guess I missed #4) in the follow-up series to his and Pete Tomasi's brilliant Batman and Robin.  The more issues I read, the more I'm convinced that Gleason had more creative input in Robin: Son of Batman's predecessor than previously thought, because he proves a deft hand as writer, so similar to and in the same spirit as it that it's a seamless continuation.  These issues features Damian's reunion with his mother Talia, confronting the matter of what happened in Grant Morrison's Batman, Inc. while also exploring Goliath's secret origin and rounding out Maya Ducard's story.  I have no idea why fans wouldn't embrace this series.

Superman #50 (DC)
Gene Luen Yang's final issue is a big one, concluding both the 'Truth" and "Savage Dawn" arcs.  I follow two blogs that both savaged (heh) the issue, and weren't particularly keen on Yang's run in general.  For me, putting aside my incomplete reading of it to this point, it was a natural extension of Geoff Johns' (it's rare when two different writers can do this; previously I can think of Chuck Dixon and Devin K. Grayson in the pages of Nightwing, and...really, that's about it, except for maybe Karl Kesel and Stuart Immonen in the Superman comics).  The whole point of it, taking away Superman's powers, was to provide one of those extreme situations that the '90s did on a constant basis.  And in fact, Superman lost his powers in the '90s, too (in the wake of The Final Night).  This time, however, his identity was exposed at the same time.  He began to feel hounded, and no longer knew who to trust.  For a lot of readers, this didn't feel true to character.  Yang's fight club, I think, was what most alienated readers.  It's a common trope, but as far as I could tell from the issue that debuted it, Yang's version was uniquely positioned to explore Superman's insecurities, kind of like if he'd ended up in the Bottle City of Kandor instead, or some other environment where he had to rediscover what being Superman means.  Because that's really what it was all about.  It was a place where he was safe when he felt unsafe everywhere else, both because of the powers and the identity being compromised.  So this issue has him dealing with Vandal Savage, who presents him with further options, ultimately forcing Superman to once again affirm what he does and why he does it.  At the end of the issue, he's reunited with Lois (and Jimmy), who tell him, "Go be Superman!" and, "Go be Clark."  Because far too often, there's confusion as to which he is.  When he's really both.  Which, again, was the whole point of this crisis.  We've become too comfortable with the notions of Superman and his secret identity.  The modern era has been trying to dismantle that for twenty years.  I guess it'll have to keep trying.

All-New Wolverine #5 (Marvel)
Mock's letter appears in the letters column of this comic.  It's one of those letters from a fan who has found a comic that's let them be a fan again.  Mock as been a reader longer than I have.  He's probably a different kind of fan than I am.  Which is fine.  This is another of the many Marvel series in recent years featuring a new character in a familiar guise.  It's an old DC trick but one Marvel has only recently begun to embrace.  A lot of them have been about switching the gender.  This is one of them.  Since Death of Wolverine (which some have interpreted as Marvel's campaign to undermine the X-Men movies by removing the most popular mutant from the comics landscape, except in the pages of Old Man Logan), classic Wolverine has remained dead.  In his place is now the character formerly known as X-23 Laura Kinney.  This particular issue reminds me a great deal of Valiant's Bloodshot Reborn, which features a character who is very much a Wolverine variant himself.  I can't say I find this to be a bad thing, because it's always nice to see the big guys pay attention to the competition, and to have a comic that pays attention to mythology in general.  I can't say the issue made me want to read the series faithfully (all told, I guess I'm more interested in Bloodshot Reborn), but it was certainly worth reading at least once.  Cheers, Mock!

I guess, if there's an overall lesson to be learned from this particular post, it's that I'm always going to be a fan, no matter how my readership evolves.

Reading Comics 171 "A Frustrating Week"

Last week I ended up skipping on Justice League: Gods and Monsters - Batman #1 (DC), but I decided to get it this week, along with JL:GaM - Superman #1.  These are comics that help flesh out Bruce Timm's return to the animated DC fold after helping shape its legacy (along with Paul Dini) in the '90s and early 2000s with Batman, Superman, and Justice League cartoons.  I initially skipped out because the art inside Batman was nothing like the Timm I know, but I guess if these spin-offs go in a different direction artistically, it only goes to emphasize the stories more.  Batman features Kirk Langstrom, the erstwhile Man-Bat, in the role of the Dark Knight, having transformed himself, instead of a giant bat, into a vampire.  But the neat thing about the story is that it focuses on the matter of whether or not Batman does what he does because he enjoys it or out of a sense of justice.  Superman features a Man of Steel, meanwhile, who ends up being raised by Mexican immigrants, ending up more resentful as a superhero as a result.  I guess these are the variations that make them monsters...

Anyway, when I entitled this week's edition "A Frustrating Week," I wasn't really thinking about Gods and Monsters, but rather a couple of comics I tried for the first time because of my familiarity with the writers.  (J.M. DeMatteis, by the way, wrote both GaM tie-ins.)  The first sampling was Low #8 (Image) from Rick Remender, and the second was Sex Criminals #11 (Image) from Matt Fraction.  Remender is one of those writers I seem to constantly go back and forth on.  Recently I had gotten around to liking him again thanks to his Captain America work.  Fraction, meanwhile, just concluded what ought to be considered a seminal run on Hawkeye.  Both are well-known for their creator-owned work, as well.  The problem is, these particular efforts seem to have been greenlit by Image with the express interest of trying to duplicate or at least build off the momentum of Saga (which in effect makes them like all the superhero comics that all these nonsuperhero comics are constantly trying to say they're more interesting than for the simple fact of being more original in a vast sea of superhero comics...).

Low, for instance, is the latest in an increasingly long list of comics that hinge a great deal on their art and distinctive coloring, not to mention general sci-fi adventure flavoring.  In a lot of ways, Saga provoked Image into returning to the art-heavy days of its origins, but in a more thoughtful, nuanced way.  The problem is, if Image starts to produce a lot of comics with the same general artistic interests (what is otherwise termed a house style), they all begin to be lost in the shuffle.

Like Deadly Class, Remender apparently takes Low personally, and has attracted, or so the letters column suggests, an audience that seems to have instinctively gotten exactly whatever it is he's trying to accomplish.  Because the results, as with Deadly Class, are somewhat impenetrable.  And again, part of that is because the art so thoroughly dominates the storytelling, the story itself becomes lost in the shuffle.

Sex Criminals, meanwhile, is one of those comics intended to appeal to that hip audience that gravitates to taboo material, or otherwise "mature audiences" that premium cable seems to think must include, well, sex.  Graphic sex.  And again, Saga opened those doors.  The gimmick behind Fraction's comic is that the central characters stop time every time they have sex.  This would be an excellent gimmick indeed, if this were any other medium besides a comic book, which by nature exists in static images.  Which sort of limits the ability for time being stopped looking like anything other than your typical comic book panel...

But the thing is, Fraction seems to have gotten how slim a gimmick that really is, because Sex Criminals is at its best as metafiction, as he addresses the reader directly, explaining certain matters of the art that he talks over rather than allows to be depicted (but not the sex, naturally).

But are either worth reading, at least for someone like me?  I wish.  I really wish, because these are writers I want to like, and every time Remender talks about how personal something is or how much he's risking to do this particular project...I want to believe in the material, too.  But I don't.  I see creators doing stuff because no one told them to try harder.  They go for something easy, or attempt to cash in on some other hot project...

So I was happy indeed to have broken my usual alphabetical reading order and started out with Superman #42 (DC), the continuation of Gene Luen Yang's origin behind the "Truth" crossover event.  This issue we find out who the villain is, a cult figure who calls himself Hordr_Root.  This is another instance of John Romita, Jr. remaining as continuity past the Geoff Johns run paying dividends, because along with the solar flare thing, this is truly a new era for Superman, with new villains popping up, sharing a similar technological bent that speaks to modern times (needless to say, but this guy is similar to but distinctive from Machinist).  If you have no interest in "Truth," then Yang's storytelling at least has something to say about today's controversies over privacy.

Romita, meanwhile, continues to evolve.  If his Superman remains the same, it's striking how his Lois Lane looks a lot like Ron Frenz's.  Frenz was a Superman artist in the '90s.  I actually hated his work a great deal.  But to see it, in a roundabout way, again is to recognize that if just a few things had been different about it, maybe it wouldn't have been so bad.  This is ironic, because Romita's Superman work has received a great deal of criticism, too.  But I'd still take Romita's over Frenz's any day.

Needless to say, but Superman was my favorite read of the week, followed by the expectation-challenging Gods and Monsters and then whichever of the two remaining I can form a more favorable opinion at the given moment...

I won't be checking in for a couple of weeks, as I'll be visiting family in Virginia and hopefully finding a bunch of comics duly pulled for me.  But I won't know for sure until I visit the shop next.  We'll see!

Reading Comics 166 "Comics from 6/24/15"

Covered this week: E for Extinction #1, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #215 (plus #214), Green Lantern: Lost Army #1, Superman #41, and We Are Robin #1, as well as The Multiversity: Pax Americana Director's Cut.

E for Extinction #1 (Marvel)
Among the many, many Secret Wars spin-offs attempting to pick up the pieces of past Marvel stories is that incredibly rare title, E for Extinction, otherwise known as acknowledgment that Grant Morrison did, in fact, write X-Men stories for a number of years.  You may be forgiven to forget this happened, because Marvel has been trying to scrub history of this for years.  The minute Morrison left, for instance, Xorn was retconned far away from being Magneto.  Perish the thought!  To be fair, this run did have a fair impact on the future of mutants, but any and all associations with Morrison seem to have been severed as completely as possible, and everyone agreed that Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men was in fact the true watershed of the franchise, and that was that.

I confess to have played a part in this debacle.  Observers today might assume I've always been a hopeless devotee of Grant Morrison.  This is true to a point.  I became a fan through JLA, which is probably true for the vast amount of us.  But then I had to work my way back in.  I never read New X-Men, only a few issues here and there in later years (still working my way toward the complete run, as with Invisibles, Animal Man, and Doom Patrol, the titles the truly devoted would call the starting point, although this would be from a critical and not popular standpoint).  I was keenly aware of Morrison's mutants, so there's a kind of mythological element to the run, as with the fourth-wall Animal Man breakthrough, mostly what became of Xorn and how Beast became subject to a secondary mutation (to his present look).

All of which is to say, I'm glad E for Extinction exists.  Named after the opening arc in Morrison's New X-Men (in all, forty issues, with eight arcs), which along with several others features the art of Frank Quitely (the cover of this issue closely mirrors the famous art for the run), this is a wonderful reminder of how Morrison attempted to push the franchise forward.  Morrison himself isn't present, but Chris Burnham is.  Burnham is currently collaborating with Morrison on Image's Nameless and also did the art for the second run of Batman Inc., and as such has become associated with him enough that I guess he was a go-to guy for Marvel for this project.  That, I guess, and the fact that his art somewhat resembles Quitely's.  But he's not doing the art for this, rather another guy who somewhat resembles Burnham's!

Burnham himself has an issue of Batman Inc. in his credits as writer (#11, plus credit for #0 along with Morrison).  For most of this issue he's remarkably adequate, although he has instincts that one would not typically associate with Morrison material (although I could be wrong; I'm not familiar enough with New X-Men to identify all the characters in E for Extinction who come directly from it).  At any rate, he does an excellent job of conveying everything Morrison hoped to accomplish.  The representative panel in relation to that philosophy demonstrates how it's hilariously outdated to suggest today that minority groups in America haven't gained a certain mainstream credential (if not outright equality) that can no longer be denied with the simple moral equivalencies typical for mutant allegory.  Magneto (no mention made of Xorn, naturally) leads the new X-Men, with hopelessly dated Cyclops and Emma Frost used in counterpoint (the clearest connection to more recent material like how Bendis started out All-New X-Men).  Thrown in as well is Wolverine, because: Wolverine.

I'm just not a big fan of Burnham.  I don't like his art, and I think he tends to ruin what he does.  As a writer this is less so, but then there's the guy hired because he kind of draws like Burnham, so more or less, this is all Burnham all the time.  Unfortunately.  Fortunately there's plenty of Morrison present.  So as far as this first issue goes, I like this project.  I'm very glad it exists.  Clearly Marvel kind of desperately wants Morrison back in the fold (going back to the Marvelman annual that finally brought to life one of his old scripts).  I guess we'll see where that goes...

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #215 (IDW)
(and #214)
IDW did something somewhat remarkable when it acquired the G.I. Joe franchise.  It began publishing new issues of Larry Hama's Marvel run along with its own material.  This in itself was not hugely unique, since at the time Marvel itself was doing (or very near to doing) the very same with Chris Claremont and the X-Men.  But the Claremont experiment ended years ago, and Hama's G.I. Joe continues.  And it's just completed its biggest arc ever: "The Death of Snake Eyes."

And so apparently readers get to discover that when a publisher like IDW does a story like this, the rules are different, because the actual death occurred two issues ago.  I found that out because I was only reminded this was happening at all when I looked at the cover and saw the arc's title, so I flipped through the issue.  Seeing that the death didn't happen this issue, I went to see what other issues had to say about it.  Needless to say, #213 was not available.  I'd assumed it did occur in #214, but no such luck.  I decided to buy it even though it's a silent issue (appropriate) depicting full G.I. Joe honors for the body.

What this issue does is conclude a journey for the new Snake Eyes, someone Hama is careful to set up in the same mute mode as the original (seems somewhat convenient, but I'm willing to go with it).  So a little like "Knightfall," which ended with the new Batman defeating Bane rather than Bane's snapping of the original Batman's spine, the next chapter has already begun.

The issue also includes a tribute to Hama's original collaborator, Herb Trimpe, who passed away earlier this year.

Green Lantern: Lost Army #1 (DC)
I figured I'd give this one a shot because with the end of Red Lanterns I would otherwise not have been reading Green Lantern, and generally speaking, for as long as I've been reading comics I've been reading Green Lantern.  And I'm still not particularly interested in Robert Venditti's run (his revamp in the main title is something that looks radically...desperate to me).  And this does feature Guy Gardner, although the how and the why of his having a red and a green ring will apparently have to wait.

Otherwise, the most interesting thing about Lost Army is the inclusion of Krona, a traditional Green Lantern villain who for some reason or other is working alongside the heroes.  If anything, Lost Army reads like New Guardians crossed with Red Lanterns.  I have considerable doubts about whether I will be reading this long-term.  Why oh why did Venditti have to be given control...

Superman #41 (DC)
In Gene Yuen Lang's debut, quite unexpectedly "Truth" technically has not even begun yet.  Unlike the rest of the titles included in the arc, which have already released their first entries, anyway, the moment of, well, truth hasn't been reached yet.

Actually, thanks to the continuity of artist John Romita Jr., this issue reads as seamlessly with the Johns run as Romita's own issue, and I guess that's probably the point.  The other common link is Superman's apparent obsession with his new solar flare power.  It seems likely at this point that Superman will have probably used it once too often, and thus deprived himself of all his powers, which accounts for the other gimmick of the "Truth" arc.  The other being the loss of his secret identity.

And that is to say, I think the whole point of the arc is a complete deconstruction of Superman.  At this point, DC probably feels more than ready for something to dramatically shake things up.  Other than Grant Morrison's run in the early issues of Action Comics, nothing any creator has done since the start of the New 52 has really stuck.  This tends to make DC think there's a problem, and the answer invariably is a defensive one.  So: "Truth."

Given that he has managed to make himself at home in the Romita era, Lang already has my endorsement for being able to pull it off.  I'll be skipping the tie-ins from other series.  As far as I'm concerned, Superman is absolutely worth reading again.

We Are Robin #1 (DC)
For whatever reason, DC decided to be all mysterious about this series from writer (usually known as artist, but in Suicders, both) Lee Bermejo.  But to clarify, this series stars Duke Thomas, one of the many characters Scott Snyder has tossed off in the pages of Batman.  As depicted in a possibly unreliable Futures End: Batman and Robin #1, Duke at some point does in fact officially become Robin.  For now, he will have to content himself with a more unofficial distinction.

It's perhaps helpful to mention, as well, that Bermejo has made at least one thing official: finally, a connection between the concept of Robin and the legendary Robin Hood.  Traditionally, DC has attempted to make such distinctions with Green Arrow (most blatantly during the "Brightest Day" era just before the New 52).  In a nutshell, that's what the concept behind We Are Robin seems to be.

But really, it's just good seeing Duke again.  Featured in "Zero Year" and "Endgame" (the timeline seems a little muddled, but then as far as Batman's concerned that's been true throughout New 52, so it's just best not to worry about it), this is the first time he's gotten his own story (which is one better than the other Snyder castoff, Harper Row, who fans must be content to find in the pages Batman Eternal, apparently).  The artwork is nothing like Bermejo's cover, and it's easy to suspect that DC may have been thinking of Miles Morales with art that somewhat evokes Humberto Ramos (who has been identified with Spider-Man for a number of years now).

Also along for the ride is Leslie Tompkins, a Batman staple whom fans have been protective of over the years (she was tied up in the Stephanie Brown arc when the once and future Spoiler took on the role of Robin), so that's good to see.  Overall, I like this series quite a bit.

The Multiversity: Pax Americana Director's Cut (DC)
The local shop finally stocked copies of this, so I snapped one up.  As you can see, the crux of this is the entire issue reprinted with Frank Quitely's original pencil art, which I think actually looks better than the finished work.  There're also excerpts from Grant Morrison's script and looks at the art in development.  For some reason it always humbles me to see how much Morrison is involved in helping to visualize the art, since I stopped doing artwork of any serious nature years ago.  If I were to try what he does, it would not be fit to print.

To the extent that I've read any reaction to this release at all, it's griping that this is all it is.  "Director's cuts" in comics usually tend to include creator commentary if not outright added story (which is impractical in comics).  Morrison's script is represented only in part, his descriptions for panels, showing just how much he does in collaboration with Quitely to accomplish this ideological answer to Watchmen.  It begins with a full-blown description of intent, actually, which for the subsequent reader is also like an introduction-after-the-fact.

It was also an excellent excuse to read the whole thing all over again, by the way.  Still love it.

Also included in this polybagged issue is a larger version, in fold-out poster form, of the Multiversity map.