Future State - Top Ten: #4. Superman vs. Imperious Lex

 

Writer: Mark Russell

Artist: Steve Pugh

Future State played out in January and February 2021 for every other title, but this one’s final issue was published in March. In fact, I would’ve started in on this final ranking earlier if it hadn’t. By its first issue I knew it was a highlight, so of course I was eager to read the final one.

Yeah, I’m a Mark Russell guy. Not the most dedicated reader, but I’ve been keeping track since Prez, which was his mainstream breakthrough, and have been following loosely along ever since. Most of all I’ve been eager to see how far mainstream he can actually go.

Russell readers know his strong suit is social commentary, which tends to run contrary to expected mainstream norms, by which I mean anything remotely resembling traditional superhero storytelling. This wouldn’t be a problem if he didn’t pursue superhero comics, but Russell has. This is the first time he’s tackled Superman, though the focus here is more on Lex Luthor, who seems right up his wheelhouse (and not the first brush between the two; Russell previously tackled Luthor with a Porky Pig team-up).

The premise is Lex retiring to Lexor, a planet from Silver Age comics where he discovered he might pull off being considered the good guy.

The results are more classic Russell social commentary, including the media’s complicity in government messaging, and the public’s willingness to play along, no matter how horrible things really are.

Along the way, Superman, as well as Lois! must outsmart Lex (he’s powerless, literally, on Lexor), whose one ally is a robotic lackey willing to believe anything Lex tells him (the truest of true Lexor devotion), all while Lex flirts with going straight, or as straight as he ever gets, until he determines it simply isn’t in his best interests.

(This is significant because the citizens of Lexor really do believe he’s the good guy, which in Lex Luthor mythology is a big deal, since at times he’s depicted as being bad mostly because he knows he exists in Superman’s shadow.)

I don’t know where Russell goes from here (he’s so far absent from Infinite Frontier), but that’s pretty much always the story with one of the most interesting careers in comics.

Watching the Walmart Giants 11 “May 2020...Probably?”

I’ve been to Walmart sparingly recently, so I haven’t really been able to keep close tabs on the giants, especially since, at least at my local store they stupidly have the aisle with them along a self checkout with a conveyer belt, so...it’s harder than ever to peruse, especially with social distancing. So I assume these giants came out last month? But I got them this weekend. It doesn’t matter. The giants backlog only expands. They started stuffing them in the Marvel box, and to have room for more Marvel there’s...a second Marvel box now. And the giants I picked up were still sort of shoved up against the side of the displays, until I came along and fixed it. Anyway...

Batman Giant #5

• New story from Mark Russell & Ryan Benjamin, featuring Killer Moth, a villain that dates back to 1951 and was actually created by Batman (co)creator Bill Finger. That’s a lot of history and...very little to show for it. Except in Russell’s hands he kind of finally gets his due. In this version, he’s presented as “seasoned when Batman was just getting started out,” which is great. And now he’s looking to retire. It’s another bold step for Russell into mainlining his instincts, seeing how he can fit himself into traditional superhero comic narratives.
• New story from Russell & Christopher Mooneyham featuring “an” origin of the Joker, this one using the now-familiar trope of his prior existence as a failed standup comic.
• Reprint of Batman #5, continuing “Court of Owls,” which I’m increasingly convinced landed so well because Capullo’s art subconsciously triggered memories of Frank Miller, and Snyder’s instant dive into crisis did the same.
• Reprint of Detective Comics #857, finishing out “Batwoman: Elegy.” Ruby Rose recently exited the TV show, which apparently is going to create a new Batwoman to replace Kate Kane. I don’t watch the show, but I see no real problem with that solution. Even leaves the door open should Rose ever choose to return, which might be the point.
• Reprint of Nightwing #7, continuing the Raptor arc. Apparently the dude’s secret origin is that he’s basically Snape. Cool cool.

Swamp Thing Giant #5

New material from Russell, Phil Hester, reprints. 

Part of the publishing changes DC has been making, besides the controversial split from the single comics distributor of the past quarter century, was taking giants original material and adding it to the digital-first lineup. The giants themselves, at a reduced capacity, should continue shipping to Walmart. Should anyone be interested, I will continue checking in as long as they’re available. I offloaded a ton of them to a coworker’s kids just before Easter, stuff I maybe should never have bought in the first place, considering how much, or little, I cared to read the material, which is a large part of why I have been getting fewer of them recently. They take up a lot of space! And I don’t purchase the new comics boxes I need fast enough for just the traditional comics that pile up, never mind these things! So it was win-win.

Pandemic Comics #1 “A Fortuitous Midtown Order”

By sheer coincidence, just as the lockdowns were beginning, I had placed another order with Midtown Comics. A decade back I dug myself into a steep financial hole recklessly ordering comics every week through their website. Longtime readers of my blog (through its many names and locations) know I spent years putting together an annual listing of the fifty best comics I’d read. The Midtown addiction allowed me to expand it to a hundred one year. So it was a long time before I ordered from them again. The first time back it was to help complete my Stuart Immonen Superman collection (which was finally completed last year when I rectified one last oversight). Then last year I began an irregular comeback. This most recent order was deliberately patterned after the old days, when I’d comb the weekly release lists and see what looked interesting. In recent years my comics reading has been drastically limited. The only sequential reads I’ve done have been limited series. I gave up trying to catch Tom King’s Batman in every individual issue (though I’ve collected all the trades), even.

Well, anyway, these are, at the moment, not only some of the last new comics I personally have read, but that got to be released at all...

The Argus #1 (Action Lab)

I found the art to be kind of shoddy, but the familiar concept of time travel being filtered through a single person pulled from various points of his life is still a good one. Could absolutely be salvaged. Kirkman’s Walking Dead, after all, had a different tone and even different art at the beginning.

Billionaire Island #1 (Ahoy Comics)

The latest from Mark Russell is another biting satire skewering privilege. The end of the issue teases the badass who will help find some justice for victims who’ve been locked up. To be clear, involuntarily. Not because, y’know, of a pandemic.

Birthright #42 (Image)

Randomly checked in with the Josh Williamson epic fantasy. Would probably get more out of it with having read more than, oh, the first issue in an Image dollar reprint.

Daredevil #19 (Marvel) 

Checking back in with the excellent Chip Zdarsky run.

Doctor Tomorrow #1 (Valiant)

Valiant may have finally gotten a big screen adaptation (horribly timed though it turned out to be), but in the comics its boon period has officially ended. Would really love for another creative resurgence.

Far Sector #4 (DC’s Young Animal)

Another fine issue in this Green Lantern maxi-series. 

The Flash #123 (DC)

A facsimile edition of the famous “Flash of Two Worlds” issue, one of the truly legendary moments in superhero comics. It’s interesting to have finally read it. Just the recaps of Jay Garrick and Barry Allen’s origin stories, as they were told then, was interesting. 

Flash Forward #6 (DC)

The final issue of the mini-series saw Wally West take on a new destiny. Just had to read it.

The Flash #750 (DC)

One of several big anniversary comics DC was able to get in before all this happened (I was a little too soon for the Robin 80th anniversary celebration). Geoff Johns probably had the highlight. Real shame that Mark Waid seems to have totally rejected his DC past(s) at this point. Should have been a part of this.

Folklords #1 (Boom!)

This was a fourth printing or so (otherwise the series was up to its fourth issue, I think), another fine argument that Boom! may actually be the most consistently excellent alternative publisher of the past decade, still working with Matt Kindt, launching another excellent concept. It may have a lower profile than Image, Dark Horse, or IDW, but it’s consistently reinvented itself over the years and, hey, still boasts Grant Morrison’s Klaus on its release calendar, and is probably the only publisher that would do so.

King of Nowhere #1 (Boom!)

Here they are again. This one looks like it could’ve been published by Image, Dark Horse, or Vertigo, and that’s not something you can say for just any publisher. Was worth a look.

The Last God #5 (DC Black Label)

The shuttering of the Vertigo imprint didn’t mean its aesthetic was dead. This is clearly DC’s biggest bid for old school Vertigo in years. But ended up not being my cup of tea. High fantasy, as it turns out.

Omni #5 (H1)

Pretty annoyed that Devin K. Grayson, who launched the series, was still listed as a creator when, as of this issue, she’s not really an active member of the creative team anymore. Kind of felt like a bait-and-switch.

Plunge #1 (DC/Hill House)

The end of the Vertigo imprint came at the same time as an incredible flowering of new DC imprints, from the Sandman family to the Bendis line, and now Hill House, from Joe Hill (Stephen Kong’s kid). But what brought me here was the Stuart Immonen art. Immonen has once again elevated his game. After he went over to Marvel I thought he was allowing himself to lose what made him distinctive, but it led to, well, this. I love his Superman, always will, as it was, but of course, now I’d love to see him return, with this more detailed approach.

Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy #3 (Dark Horse)

The best thing Dark Horse has done post-Mind MGMT has been Jeff Lemire’s Black Hammer universe. At some point I want to read all of it. This latest installment is basically its Dark Knight Returns.

Stealth #1 (Image)

By far the best surprise in scanning through the releases was discovering Mike Costa had a new series. Costa is an all-time favorite thanks to his G.I. Joe/Cobra comics. In recent years he’s had a small resurgence at Marvel, so it’s nice to see him getting another crack, even if once again it’s someone else’s concept, in this instance Robert Kirkman’s. But, as Costa explains in a postscript, he’s more than capable of internalizing the idea. And he executes it perfectly.

Strange Adventures #1 (DC Black Label)

The latest from Tom King, starring Adam Strange, in Mister Miracle mode with Mitch Gerads and “Doc” Shaner. Love love love that Mister Terrific pops up at the end of the issue. Might be the breakthrough Michael Holt’s been waiting twenty years for...

Wolverine Through the Years (Marvel)

This was a freebie promo for the new ongoing series (which I decided to skip). There’s a code in it that I unscrambled: “Who is the Pale Girl?” Hopefully someone interesting!

Wonder Woman #750 (DC)

Could’ve read this for free at the library, but the pandemic shut those things down before I could get around to it. Ironically still open when I ordered this. Historically speaking, the first time Wonder Woman topped the sales chart. Also the soft launch for DC’s G5.

Watching the Walmart Giants 9 “March 2020”

Suddenly we might be in a much better position to sell Walmart comics to reluctant readers.

The options are narrowing. The funny thing is, so few readers have snatched up the Walmart giants up to this point, you have an excellent chance not only to find the most recent releases, but a generous selection of older ones. That means you can still find the Superman giants with the classic Tom Ming story you ignored, the Batman giants with the Brian Michael Bendis saga, and tons of other gems, like the two Crisis On Infinite Earths giants, or the various Mark Russell shorts.  Walmart’s an essential business. It ain’t going anywhere. Those comics aren’t going anywhere. Unless savvy readers finally show up.

Batman Giant #4

• The lead new story is another Mark Russell, riffing on the prisoner transport concept you might have seen in movies like The Dark Knight or S.W.A.T., with Harley Quinn thrown into the mix (why not?). Still interesting to see Russell play with more conventional narrative structures, rather than the social/political/economic satires he usually does.
• A new Nightwing tale featuring what’s probably the late artist Tom Lyle’s last work. Lyle worked on all three original Tim Drake/Robin mini-series, with a host of other accomplishments as well. He died last fall following complications from an aneurism. 
• A reprint of Batman #4, with Batman recounting a childhood investigation into the Court of Owls that convinced him it didn’t exist, and then his present investigation, which proves it does. Apparently as far as Scott Snyder is concerned, Batman was always a fairly lousy detective, which is really, really strange.
• A reprint of Detective Comics #856, continuing Batwoman’s original solo adventures.
• A reprint of Nightwing #4, in which Tim Seeley seemingly concludes Nightwing’s partnership with Raptor (Mr. “Better Than Batman”) as he contends with the international Parliament of Owls.

Watching the Walmart Giants 6 "January 2020"

I honestly don't know how much longer I'll be checking in with these things.  A lot of what drove me initially was the original content, in extended arcs, from Tom King and Brian Michael Bendis, and the recent selections have suggested that DC just isn't interested in pursuing the equivalent at least in the immediate future.  Some of this is because of reader apathy, not only in seeking out, like I did, the original releases, but the repackaged material released directly to comic book stores.  And I think that's really down to readers just not expecting that DC would've provided substantial material, even from King or Bendis, which I vehemently disagree with, having read the material myself.  King's Superman was exactly on par with his best, and was my favorite comics material published last year by far.

Still, we have some solace.  As I've been talking about recently, the recent releases do have Mark Russell.  But his material is episodic.  I don't know if there are plans for this to change, or if in fact DC abandoned the idea of serialized original content entirely, possibly because of the bad press one of King's entries received (ironically, some of the only press the Walmart Giants received aside from announcements for line revisions).

Ironically, I'm about to talk about another piece, from Russell, that did just that, too.

Batman Giant #3

• New story from Mark Russell and Ryan Benjamin, featuring Bruce Wayne becoming entangled in a scheme to entrap Wayne's upper crust colleagues, who are caught in some of their seedier deals.  The original solicits suggested it would be another Joker story, like Russell's previous Giant tale, but Joker is more a supporting act in this one, while Batman is caught up attempting to play a game of entrapment against these colleagues from both angles, in and out of costume.  The ending is a tad ambiguous.  One panel suggests Batman might actually be shredding some evidence that could be used against him, after it's been revealed that his colleagues routinely launder their dirty money through Wayne Enterprises.  Either way, it's a nice bit of storytelling, a worthy examination of how complicit Batman might actually be in the very crimes he's committed to fighting, simply because his secret identity is billionaire Bruce Wayne.  (If it were Ollie Queen, he'd attempt giving up his wealth, but surprisingly that's never really been considered with Batman.)
• New story from Frank Tieri and Scott Eaton featuring Two-Face's obsession with his lucky coin, which sort of hinges on his awareness of how it cripples him and still deciding to blame Batman for his ill-luck.
• Reprint of Batman #3 from Snyder, Capullo, and the New 52.
• Reprint of Detective Comics #855 featuring Kate Kane's early solo Batwoman adventures.
• Reprint of Nightwing #3 from Rebirth, featuring Batgirl and Raptor, the eponymous "Better Than Batman" of the arc, attempting to give Dick a better mentor figure.  But turns out he's kind of, well, a dick.

Birds of Prey Giant #1
I begin to suspect that the new wave of giants are going to be a lot of first issues without a second issue, except for a select few.

• New story from Gail Simone and Inaki Miranda featuring the team.
• New story from Robert Venditti and Isaac Goodhart featuring Harley Quinn (in case you were in any doubt that this giant was geared toward readers anticipating the upcoming movie).  I'm not really a Harley fan, but this one does a decent job of spotlighting her motives.
• New story from John Layman and Cully Hamner (a solid duo right there) featuring Huntress outlining her familiar personal crusade.  Would be somewhat easier to understand if she were, as she was on Earth 2, still the daughter of Batman and Catwoman.  Here she struggles to stand out, though she had a good running start in the '90s.
• Reprint of Batgirl and the Birds of Prey #14 from Rebirth.  There's an ad for the collections from the original '90s comics, but it's surprising they didn't actually reprint from them.
• Reprint of Black Canary #9, the New 52 series featuring Dinah as a bloody rock god.  I was always curious if it was actually worth reading more, but I'm still undecided after this.
• Reprint from New Talent Showcase, with an artist who probably should not have been showcased.

Back Issue Bin 125 "Exit Stage Left, Havok & Wolverine: Meltdown, and other comics"

A clerk walked up to me and whispered into my ear, "You know, they're five for a dollar at the moment," and that's why I got a bunch of old comics recently.

Air #1 (Vertigo)
from October 2008

I still fondly remember getting into G. Willow Wilson's Air.  My interest at first was tentative, but then it became one of my favorite comics.  I still think it's Wilson's best comics work, which she doesn't seem to have been in too much of a rush to replicate, even after finding popular success years later with Ms. Marvel.  I've never added it to my graphic novel collection, though, so revisiting it was a long time coming, so it was great to find the first issue itself.  And I still enjoyed it.

Azrael #40 (DC)
from April 1998

I always find it funny to be reminded of comics I decided not to read, and there were some in the '90s that in retrospect really leave me scratching my head.  Even if I had no interest in Azrael itself, it's still strange to think there were rematches between the one-time Batman and Bane that didn't feel important enough to catch. About seven years back I read other encounters in the series between them (and maybe even this one?), so it was fun to do it again.  That the series lasted a hundred issues seems incomprehensible today, whether or not I was reading it myself.  But then, companies back then didn't have as itchy a trigger finger as they do now, constantly rebooting the big ones much less being patient with the smaller ones.  You can see how Azrael's lack of appearances in recent years would bode for any new attempt at a solo book.  The best of this issue is being reminded how long the original depiction of Bane managed to stick around, before subsequent generations screwed him up (well after the clownish version in Batman & Robin).  Thank goodness Christopher Nolan and Tom King came around!  This is a legitimately great character, with even greater potential still possible, which seems even more unlikely for a villain seemingly created just to provoke one of those endless '90s crises.

Batman and the Signal #3 (DC)
from June 2018

Duke Thomas was at one time pegged to be the next Robin, at least as far as fans expected, but eventually he assumed his own heroic identity, the Signal (Scott Snyder can be remarkably insular in his imaginative thought).  This was his first spotlight with the new handle.  Cully Hamner seems somehow less assured than usual on art, which was kind of strange.

DC Sampler (um, DC?)
from 1983

Ha!  A few years before Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC seemed pretty assured of its comics line.  This was a freebie they sent out with creative teams giving a small taste of what to expect from most of the titles at the time.  For flimsy reasons, it omits some pretty significant titles: Justice League of America, Green Lantern, and Camelot 3000 (one of the projects the company used to heavily promote alongside Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns, and the slightly less forgotten Ronin).

Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles #5 (DC)
from July 2018

I've been talking about Mark Russell quite a bit here lately, and with good reason: He's struck me as one of the most significant creators to emerge in recent years, and in recent years, he's finally started cementing his reputation.  And for intents and purposes, that reputation begins with Exit Stage Left.

Using as its central conflict the familiar McCarthy Red Scare witch trials of the '50s, Russell reimagines a familiar Hanna-Barbera cartoon property as an allegory for the struggles of the LBGTQ community to find mainstream acceptance.  It was immediately picked up on by observers that Russell had struck upon a compelling concept.  I never had a chance to read it myself, having fallen into a black hole of sporadic comics reading at the time, and the later collection has been impossible to find in places other than the interwebs.  Now I think I may have to finally go that route, because more than Prez, more than Flintstones, it seems Exit Stage Left pushes Russell beyond the concept of social commentary into truly great writing, and finds him at his very best, just as the reports have had it.

The Red Scare is always going to be a fascinating concept in and of itself, what it was, what it provoked, and the general response to it, whether or not we learned anything from it, or might still have a chance to.  Clearly Russell believes it still has things to teach us, and as far as I'm concerned, he was absolutely right.  What emerges is at least the perception of an effect on society similar to the Nazis in Germany, which is an interpretation that history normally flattens into "naming names," something that seemingly only affected Hollywood.  DC itself has used the trials to explain what happened to the Justice Society after WWII, which the same flat interpretation.

Bottom line is, Russell created something that far exceeded a simple Hanna-Barbera nostalgia comic, into something that's valuable in a truly transcendent manner.  It should be a lot easier to find.

Havok & Wolverine: Meltdown #1 (Marvel)
from 1988

What I really like discovering are comics I didn't even know existed but turn out to be far more interesting than such a fate suggests.  This is obviously one of those.

From the husband-and-wife writing team of Walt and Louise Simonson (the latter of which I'd really only previously seen in the pages of Superman: The Man of Steel) and featuring art from Jon J. Muth (whom I'd previously seen in Grant Morrison's Mystery Play), this seems like another of Marvel's inexplicably lost evergreens.  The biggest difference between Marvel and DC that I've seen is that where DC actively celebrates its best stories, Marvel is most content basking in its great legacy.  Even the X-Men have gradually lost their once-celebrated memory for their '80s heyday. 

And this is part of it, perhaps the best part of it.  Wolverine, the poster child for breakout '80s X-Men success, and Havok (you know, Cyclops' brother).  (Oh, wait, you probably don't.  Because Havok has a tiny legacy.)

The Simonsons spend part of the story recounting the then-recent Chernobyl disaster (as recently depicted in a much-celebrated TV mini-series, called Chernobyl).  That was itself fun to read, real history unfolding in the pages of a comic that subsequently has great historic value.

Of course, Muth's art is spectacular in and of itself.  I have no idea, without researching, why Muth didn't make a much bigger name for himself, but it's not for lack of breathtaking talent.

Of course, at its heart Meltdown is a buddy adventure, and Wolverine & Havok play well off each other, in a story that's far removed from typical superhero comics material.

Marvel obviously knew it was a worthwhile project at some point: it was published in the prestige format.  It would be nice for Marvel to remember at some point, so fans can, too.  But thanks to whatever idiot gave up a treasure like this so I could discover it.

Justice League United #16 (DC)
from February 2016

I got this as much to see where the series had gone as astonishment that it had actually lasted that long, because it melted pretty much into oblivion, and I was just interested to see an issue from that late in the game (really only a few months before Rebirth).

JSA Classified #25 (DC)
from June 2007

I loved that DC expanded its Legends of the Dark Knight concept for a number of titles, between this, the JLA (Classified) and Batman and Superman (both Confidential), giving the company some anthology platforms.  This issue has the spotlight on the original Green Lantern, Alan Scott.

Legends of the DC Universe #9 (DC)
from October 1998

This is another '90s series I'm surprised I mostly skipped completely over, and of course it's a precursor to what I was just talking about, with this issue revisiting the classic team-up of Green Lantern (in this instance, Hal Jordan) and Green Arrow, with a tale of how they first met.

Legion of Super-Heroes #88 (DC)
from January 1997

I'm really sure I didn't read this issue when it was originally published, even though 2019 Tony thought it was an immediate necessity, as it features Impulse on the cover, and obviously a guest appearance by him inside, which 1997 should have been far more interested in, as I was a big fan of Bart Allen, and have since begun considering Mark Waid's Impulse perhaps a better overall experience than his Flash, which was itself one of my favorite '90s comics.  And I was happy to discover, even at the late date of 2019, that Impulse still amuses me.  This was a great spotlight for the character.

Marvel Boy: The Plutonian #1 (Marvel)
from March 2010

I thought this was another great discovery.  And I mean, it's interesting, but...Not as much as Havok & Wolverine.  I demand a Havok & Wolverine movie.  Or TV mini-series!  Starring Jared Harris!  As, I don't know, Wolverine!

Millennium #2, 3, 4, 6 & 8 (DC)
from 1987

Yey gods...I had never read Millennium, one of the event comics DC did after the great success of Crisis on Infinite Earths, but was pretty familiar with the concept, the Manhunters story where various characters were revealed to be infiltrators of the nefarious robot predecessors to the Guardians' Green Lantern Corps.  Now I wish I still had never read Millennium, because it's...dreck.  A totally botched event comic.  By the end, it feels like one of DC's perennial excuses to try and introduce a new generation of superheroes.  And absolutely none of them made it past Millennium itself.  At least as far as I can tell.  I had never heard of any of them until I saw their would-be spectacular debuts in the final issue.  And even I, who pride myself in being able to see great potential where others usually can't, couldn't imagine rehabilitating.  Any of them...

Mister X #1 (Vortex)
from June 1984

Mister X: Razed #4 (Dark Horse)
from May 2015

I had a great affinity for Dean Motter's Mister X.  I didn't discover it in that first issue from 1984, but rather years later, in a reprint collection, when interest was just beginning to surface again, leading to the Dark Horse revivals.  I got into Dean Motter comics, including finally reading Terminal City, which Motter had done for DC, and became a pretty big fan.  But Mister X itself is a somewhat peculiar beast.  The whole concept is almost only a concept, in which a character who's never really anything but a background character in his own comic exists mostly for a backstory, in a comic that looks spectacularly designed, regardless of who's drawing it (the original wasn't even written or drawn by Motter).  Yet strangely, I remain attached to it, even as I grow detached from my original excitement.  Seems almost like a secret handshake for true comics aficionados.  One I'm proud to be a part of.

Primal Force #12 (DC)
from October 1995

DC made the curious decision to publish a lot of titles that would've fit nicely with the original Vertigo conceit (an offbeat look at superheroes) under the regular DC label, and I think a lot of great material got buried as a result.  It only occurred to me that Primal Force is a part of that strange distinction upon this latest revisiting.  I didn't read this one at the time, either, of course, but I discovered and devoured it years later, and am always happy to be reminded of it.  I wish more fans understood what it accomplished, too, so that DC could add it to the trade collections always in-print.

The Sandman #4 (DC) 
from September 1975

As you can see from its publication stamp above, not the Neil Gaiman comic!  (Which of course I didn't read in the '90s!)  This is the earlier one, which at least as of this issue featured Jack Kirby art!  And exclamation points!  After!  Every!  Utterance!  Interestingly, features an add for a DC line expansion that includes Warlord (who endures in random appearances to this day) and Claw (who resurfaced in Primal Force and...doesn't endure to this day).

Seaguy#2 (Vertigo)
from August 2004

A lie!  A vicious lie!  Some jerk slipped this cover onto an issue of Fables.  I didn't discover this until I had already brought it home.  Some customers would probably bring it back and demand satisfaction.  I am not one of those costumers.  Makes for a better write-up here, anyway.

Starman #30 (DC)
from May 1997

Of course I didn't read Starman in the '90s.  What were you thinking, even wondering?  But I like to revisit it every now and then. 

Titans #30 (DC)
from August 2001

Hard to think of any date immediately preceding 9/11 without thinking of 9/11 (even though, as time stamps in comics go, this was actually released probably in June 2001, well ahead of that day).  Anyway, as Roy Harper comics go, at this point he was pretty much exclusively associated with Cheshire, the Elektra to his Daredevil, and this tale actually pivots more accurately on Cheshire herself, as she awaits the verdict for a trial concerning her villainous ways.  And then Roy Harper dies in Heroes in Crisis, and all anyone can fixate on is what Tom King did to poor Wally West.  What about Roy, fans.  What about Roy?

Reading Comics 238 "Flashpoint Batman, Far Sector, Second Coming, & more"

I haven't been to an actual comic book store in about half a year, so I decided it was time to visit one, given the opportunity, and found some good stuff:

Batman #84 (DC)
And now there's one issue to go.  Ironically or not, but the longer Tom King's run went, the less fans really cared.  The obvious tipping point was when the wedding didn't actually happen.  Fans felt cheated.  They wanted something truly big to happen, and King seemed to promise exactly that.  Instead the reaction has solidified on...pretty much how all of King's DC material has been received, as so much awkward navel-gazing.  The irony here is that when he did it for Marvel (The Vision), everyone lauded him as a new genius, perhaps because Marvel so seldom publishes reflective material, let alone seems to realize that it has, and that it's worth celebrating. 

I still can't think of any comic book writer I've so consistently admired, who has so often grasped the potential of DC's landscape.  His accomplishments go far beyond anyone else's for the fact of delivering on nearly everything he's done, dating back to Omega Men, when he was entrusted with his first spotlight work.  That goes back to 2015.  Half a decade of excellence, and one long stellar run on a major title.

This particular issue harkens back to his first standout mainstream accomplishment, Grayson: Futures End, where I first came to discover King's remarkable talents.  Grayson was a series he typically wrote in conjunction with Tim Seeley, but for the Futures End one-shot, he wrote solo, and even beyond the clever coding gimmick, it was brilliant character-based storytelling. 

So in the issue, he basically extrapolates the Flashpoint Batman's complete story, which is all the more remarkable because that story was already brilliantly told in Flashpoint itself and the acknowledged best mini-series that spun out of it.  And in doing so, explains his whole purpose for the Batman run he's been doing all along.  This is a master class, not only in itself but in the fruitful extension of someone else's ideas.  When all is said and done, it's something that will need to be included not only in the legacy of Batman, but Flashpoint, and superhero comics in general.

Collapser #5 (DC/Young Animal)
I like to try and discover interesting new material, too, when I visit a comics shop.  Granted, this was far easier when I used to spend far more money on comics (money that I, ah, didn't technically...have?), but now I have to use the old "it looks interesting" approach, or even risk taking recommendations (these don't always pan out, naturally, but then, it's how I discovered Young Avengers).  And Collapser #5 had an interesting cover, and it was a Young Animal comic.  I love the Young Animal imprint, even if fans in general seem strangely apathetic about it.  Such is life.  The results this time were adequate, if not sensational.  I didn't regret buying and/or reading it.  Yay!

Copra #3 (Image)
Ah!  So Copra is being published by Image now!  The last time I can think of that Image picked up a popular self-published comic was Bone.  Probably not the only example, but the only one I really care about.  And Copra is another great acquisition!  It may look crude, compared to the slick packages of virtually every other Image comic (but that goes with the name, right?), but Copra remains a good read.

Doctor Mirage #4 (Valiant)
I've sort of let Valiant's comics slip from my radar in recent years, but I like to keep tabs.  Apparently they finally continued Doctor Mirage's adventures!  Sadly, not under the title The Death-Defying Doctor Mirage, much less written by Jen Van Meter, but it's still nice to see!

Far Sector #1 (DC/Young Animal)
Ah!  It's almost like reading King's Omega Men all over again!  Insofar as it's another Green Lantern tale, without "Green Lantern" in the title, that turns out to be a brilliant new interpretation of what a Green Lantern comic can be!  Far Sector features yet another new human Green Lantern, but N.K. Jemisin doesn't linger (at least in this debut issue) on that aspect so much as the murder mystery she's tossed into, in about as grand a miasma as King's Omega Men featured.  Some readers might complain that Jemisin tries to be too hip, but I think it works, and it makes me want to not only keep tabs on Far Sector, but read some of Jemisin's books.  It doesn't always work, but finding talent outside the usual comic book circles has the potential to find a Jemisin or a Tom King.  And apparently awesome new Green Lantern comics.  Love it!

Flash Forward #1 (DC)
After all the complaints about Heroes in Crisis, I loved when DC announced Flash Forward, a new Wally West tale.  Several issues have been released at this point, but I figured I should see how it began.  And I love it.  Scott Lobdell, who has quietly become one of DC's one reliable character writers, captures a Wally who's even more traumatized than readers by his actions, but thrust all the same into a wild new adventure.  Juxtaposing Wally's arc with another wild ride into the multiverse is itself another interesting choice, but I think Lobdell can avoid duplicating what ultimately happened to Booster Gold when he attempted a career revision in similar fashion (and in the process helped form the foundation of the TV series Legends of Tomorrow, which he inexplicably has never factored into).

Legion of Super-Heroes #1 (DC)
I've never been a devoted Legion fan, but I've read enough Legion comics to have built up an interest, and this is Brian Michael Bendis, still firing on all cylinders in his new DC digs, so of course I dig it.

Second Coming #5 (Ahoy)
Wow.  So I haven't read anything but this issue, but I'm glad this comic exists.  It's exactly what Mark Russell should be writing.  The guy made his name writing stuff like this, so I'm glad he returned to the well.  This particular issue is God and Satan having an awkward attempt at reconciliation, which is itself brilliant, plus the Second Coming Superman analog struggling at another kind of reconciliation, whether or not he'll ever have a child, which '90s Superman (in the comics and Lois & Clark on TV wondered about, too) was also concerned about, although since then we've gotten two versions of Superman's son.  I'm in love with Russell again.  I continue to hope that, even as his profile has risen greatly in recent years, it can go higher still.

X-Men #1 (Marvel)
Jonathan Hickman, riding high from great acclaim for his X-Men universe relaunch, begins to settle in, and I still enjoy the results.

Young Justice #11 (DC/Wonder Comics)
Here's Bendis again, integrating Naomi into the greater landscape.  I love that he's helped Tim Drake finally follow in Dick Grayson (and Jason Todd's! and even Stephanie Brown's!) footsteps and assume an identity that doesn't have "Robin" in it.  I know some fans complain that it's...Drake, which is...already his last name.  But realistically, his secret identity is still firmly intact.  And at the moment, his adventures are so wild, he's far removed from the common element, so it hardly matters.  But I want it to stick.  I want a Drake comic.  (And a comic for everyone in this book!  I wasn't totally committed to the Peter David version of the team.  But I'm glad it's made a comeback.)  And I'm glad Naomi is getting a chance to expand her emerging legacy.  I hope she sticks around for years.

Watching the Walmart Giants 3 "October 2019"

Now, the title of this feature is obviously becoming an anachronism (and it was from the moment I decided on it), since these giants are going to begin appearing in the direct market (comic book shops), but I will continue to pick them up at Walmart.  October's releases were late in my local store, and I guess the release schedule has changed, with apparently a bimonthly scheduled in effect, which means three titles I didn't see last month finally appeared this month, and the final installment of Superman Giant, and King & Kubert's arc.

So here's what I'm talking about:

Aquaman Giant #1

• Original story from Steve Orlando & Daniel Sampere featuring Aquaman battling Black Manta.  Somewhat standard material here, though Orlando introduces the "tether of Amphitrite," and possibly the concept of the mermazons, which alone was worth reading.
• Original story from Marv Wolfman & Pop Mhan featuring Aquaman battling an organization called Scorpio (unrelated to the pseudo Bond villain from The Simpsons, probably, and thus featuring far fewer hammocks).
• Prologue to "Throne of Atlantis" from Aquaman #14 by Geoff Johns.
• Mera: Queen of Atlantis #1.
• Teen Titans #14, featuring the new Aqualad.

DC Super Hero Girls Giant #1

• Original story from Amanda Deibert & Erich Owen.
• Original story from Amy Wolfram & Agnes Garbowska.
• Excerpts from Hits and Myths, Summer Olympus, and Past Times at Super Hero High.

I originally wasn't going to get this one, but I figured I could later give it to my niece. 

Superman Giant #16

• "Up in the Sky, Part 12" from Tom King and Andy Kubert, the conclusion, featuring Superman and the little girl on their eventual journey home, depicted as a conversation they have along the way.  It may not be the flashiest installment of the epic tale (which, as I think I've emphasized previously, has become another of King's many, many highlights for me), but it's a nice way to ground the Man of Steel, as the story has done all along, in his more human qualities, even as he's constantly asked to use his superhuman skills.  This is a far trickier task than it seems, and King has just provided a master class.
• Superman/Batman #50, featuring the improbably team-up of Jor-El and Thomas Wayne (it works, although I wish more of the story focused on them and less on the present-day and extraneous Justice League activities).
• A Superboy tale from Superman80-Page Giant 2011.
• The Terrifics Annual #1, featauring a Tom Strong tale but more importantly a Java flashback written by Mark Russell.  You may remember me talking about Russell's work in the September giants.  He seems to have effortlessly refuted me in advance, because this one's a wonderful narrative that somewhat knowingly takes a note from Russell's own Flintstones but imbues real poignancy in its observations.  It's the best thing I've read from him, personally, since my original impressions of him in Prez. 

This was also the final issue. 

Teen Titans Go! Giant #1

• Original story from Sholly Fish & Marcelo DiChiara featuring Tamaranian hiccups.
• Original story from Ivan Cohen & Sarah Leuver.
• Reprints from Teen Titans Go! and Teen Titans Go! Digital, featuring far more art from Jorge Corona (whom I previously encountered in the pages of We Are Robin) than I expected.

Reading Comics 234 "Mark Russell's Giants"

Reading through the rest of the September Walmart giants this morning, I reached the Mark Russell material from Swamp Thing Giant #1 and Villains Giant #1, and...

Look, I loved discovering Russell in the pages of Prez.  Prez was a wicked political satire.  Russell slowly developed a favorable reputation among fans thanks to his Flintstones, which was less about the classic cartoon and more social satire.  He scored again with Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles.  I've still yet to read any of Snagglepuss Chronicles.  Despite my increased misgivings about being a full-on fan of Russell, I'd still like to.  Recently he's begun branching more into the mainstream, although noting he's the writer of the first-ever Wonder Twins comic may not seem to help make that case.

At any rate, I initially viewed discovering him in the latest round of Walmart giants as another sign of DC's increasing trust in his career.  You don't have to have a career trending upward to get into these pages, but I figured Russell was this round's version of including Brian Michael Bendis and Tom King in the last round. 

And maybe that's still the case, but unlike what I thought of Bendis and King's work, I wasn't overly thrilled with Russell's.

In Swamp Thing Giant #1, Russell writes one of several new features with Swamp Thing himself (a perennial favorite of DC's when considering TV adaptations, although I guess the most recent one was cancelled after a single season; I think the idea would work much better as a movie).  His involves Swamp Thing agonizing over his place in the world, and periodically purging all his negative thoughts into a kind of "beet" he discards.  Then along comes an evil agricultural conglomerate that's been choking the environment in the name of profit.  Swamp Thing turns to an old friend to find answers about what's happening.  The old friend turns out to have betrayed him.  But the joke ends up on her, because she unwittingly eats one of his poison "beets" and ends up paralyzed and buried alive.  The company gets ahold of the poison "beets," too.  And Swamp Thing is basically none the wiser about what's happened.

In Villains Giant #1, Russell writes a Joker story in which he uses viral marketing to trick people into performing outrageous stunts in order to win free money to cover healthcare costs because although Gotham has finally been cleaned up, the budget has to cut healthcare in order to fund the expanded prison system.  And then the solution the city reaches to end Joker's latest reign of terror, ingeniously free of any overt criminal intent, is to reinstate the healthcare budget...this time at the cost of funds intended for higher education.

My problem with both stories is Russell's cynical conclusions, and asking the reader to accept them with characters of higher and higher profile.  Imagine him writing Batman directly with this approach.  It would become less about the character and more about Russell's conclusions, and that's the problem.  This sort of thing works when you're handling minor or obscure characters, but less so when the reader theoretically actually cares about the ones being used.  And it exposes Russell's narrative limitations.  He doesn't really tell stories at all, it can sometimes seem, but a threadbare account of what you read on social media. 

Infamously or not, but Russell's attempted launch for the last wave of Vertigo comics, Second Coming, was cancelled by DC before it ever saw print.  I can begin to understand the company's trepidation.  (It was later picked up by another publisher.)  Russell made his name lampooning the Bible in God Is Disappointed In You and Apocrypha Now, neither of which is actually well-known even now.  The idea that nothing is sacred to Russell is hardly a new phenomenon, then, but he might have finally found territory he couldn't, or couldn't any longer, cross, at least with a major publisher with an increased profile. 

(It's sort of what Alan Moore discovered, too, but that's a different story.)

I have no idea what Russell's future with DC looks like.  Does he eventually get a truly significant assignment?  Does he learn how to really tell a story?  Time will tell...

Watching the Walmart Giants 2 "September 2019"

This month saw the latest revision of the Walmart DC 100-Page Giants line.  I haven't had a chance to read them yet (and it's worth noting that my store apparently wasn't carrying the Aquman, Teen Titans Go or Super Hero Girls Giants), but I figured it was worth outlining the contents:

Batman Giant #1

• A new story from Michael Grey & Ryan Benjamin featuring Clayface.
• A new story from Steve Orlando & Tom Mandrake featuring Batwoman.
• Batman #1 from the New 52 (Snyder & Capullo).
• Detective Comics #23.2 from the New 52 featuring Matt Kindt's brilliant Harley Quinn origin.
• Nightwing #1 from Rebirth.

The Flash Giant #1

• A new story from Gail Simone & Clayton Henry.
• A new story from Jeff Parker & Miguel Mendonca.
• The Flash #13 from the New 52 (still featuring the sweet art of Francis Manapul.
• Green Arrow: Rebirth #1.
• Blue Beetle #1 from 2006, the first of several ongoing series featuring the Jaime Reyes version of the character  Still ashamed to admit I stopped reading after this series ended.

Ghosts Giant #1

• A new story from Dan Jurgens & Scott Eaton featuring the Spectre.
• A new story from Keith Giffen & Priscilla Petraites featuring Gentleman Ghost.
• A new story from John Layman & Andy Clarke featuring John Constantine.
• Various shorts from Cursed Comics Cavalcade, DC House of Horror, DCU Halloween Special 2010, and Justice League #35.

Superman Giant #15

• The penultimate chapter of Tom King & Andy Kubert's twelve-part "Up in the Sky" series.
• Superman/Batman Annual #2.
• Beach Blanket Bad Guys, featuring Lex Luthor.
• The Terrifics Annual #1 featuring new writer Gene Luen Yang.

Swamp Thing Giant #1

• A new story from Mark Russell (!) & Marco Santucci featuring Swamp Thing.
• A new story from Andrew Constant & Tom Mandrake.
• Swamp Thing #1, the 2016 miniseries from Len Wein & Kelley Jones.
• The Hellblazer #1 from Rebirth.
• Zatanna #1, a Paul Dini miniseries from 2010.

Villains Giant #1

• A new story from Mark Russell (!) & Victor Bogdanovic featuring Batman and Joker.  Russell's involvement in these things is a further example of DC's expansion of his visibility, and a good thing, in my mind, in establishing him as a future lead writer for the company.
• A new story from Tom Taylor & Daniel Sampere featuring Deathstroke.  Taylor's profile has risen considerably thanks to DCeased, so his presence in these things is also a sign of confidence from the company.
• A new story from Gail Simone & Priscilla Petraites featuring Harley Quinn.
• Justice League #23.1 featuring the New 52 version of Darkseid's origin from Greg Pak.
• The Flash #8 from the New 52, featuring the origin of the Reverse-Flash.
• Secret Origins #10 featuring Poison Ivy.

Wonder Woman Giant #1

• A new story from Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti & Inaki Miranda featuring Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn.  (Knew Conner & Palmiotti would turn up somewhere.)
• Wonder Woman #2 from Rebirth, the Year One arc.
• Green Lantern #29, skipping the Sinestro Corps War to "Secret Origin."
• Sword of Sorcery #0 from the New 52 featuring Amethyst.

Readings Comics 201 "Second LCS Trip 2017"

Batman #7, 8, 13, 16, 17 (DC)
The first two issues are Steve Orlando writing, with plot suggestions from Tom King, chapters from "Night of the Monster Men," billed as the first crossover event of the Rebirth era.  Caught up in the mess is Gotham Girl, helping make it relevant to King's run.  #13 is the conclusion to King's "I am Suicide," which has been a breakthrough Batman story.  It segued into a breakthrough Catwoman story, and then #s 16 and 17, the first two installments of "I am Bane," the conclusion of King's initial arc in the series, begun with "I am Gotham."  This is the first time Bane has felt like Bane since "Knightfall."  Actually, this is pretty much "Knightfall: Rebirth." 

Catwoman: Election Night (DC) (2016)
Meredith Finch writes a parody of the 2016 election in the lead story. Penguin is cast as Trump, which is a slightly odd fit, given that Trump has never been outright been accused as a criminal, but the Clinton stand-in is cast as a murderer, so I guess it balances out.  It's just surprising to see someone finally just admit that neither of these candidates was a pinnacle of humanity.  Anyway, the backup feature is Mark Russell and Ben Caldwell reprising their Prez.  I don't remember Russell leaning so heavily liberal in his ideology in the original mini-series so much as skewering the political process in general, but after reading some of his Flintstones it may merely be more obvious to me now. 

Daredevil #14, 15, 16 (Marvel)
These are the first issues of Charles Soule's run on the title I've read.  After his departure from DC, I feared Soule wouldn't get the visibly he deserved at Marvel, and with the news that he'd been tasked with the relatively thankless job of following a much-loved Mark Waid run, I figured I had to be right.  But I'm not always right, and anyway, I was still curious as hell about what he was doing.  Turns out I had nothing to worry about.  These issues are great.  I don't know or care what other readers think about them, but hopefully Marvel is paying attention and will elevate Soule further up the ladder later on.

Reading Comics #200 "First LCS Visit of 2017"

Batman #14-15 (DC)
This two-issue interlude features Tom King working alongside signature collaborator Mitch Gerads (Sheriff of Babylon) exploring King's vision of the Batman/Catwoman dynamic.

Divinity III: Stalinverse #2 (Valiant)
Divinity III: Aric - Son of the Revolution #1 (Valiant)
Divinity III: Komandar Bloodshot #1 (Valiant)
Divinity III: Shadowman and the Battle of New Stalingrad #1 (Valiant)
Matt Kindt's epic vision continues, this time in full-on event form with multiple writers participating in spin-off one-shots.  Love the debut and concept of Red Legend, as well as where Kazmir, the third cosmonaut, has been all this time.

The Flintsones #3, 5, 8 (DC)
Figured I'd check out this Mark Russell (Prez) interpretation of the classic cartoon.  I learned more about his creative vision, certainly.

Justice League of America: Rebirth #1 (DC)
Steve Orlando has officially joined the ranks of elite writers at DC.  Love his Lobo, which is the classic one and not the much-derided New 52 version.

Kamandi Challenge #1 (DC)
Dan DiDio (can't believe I hadn't created a tag for the guy until now) and Dan Abnett help launch this latest ode to Jack Kirby with his Last Boy on Earth, which is a concept as set up by DiDio could really be a great story well before he ever learns the truth. 

Star Trek #57 (IDW) (2016)
Star Trek: Waypoint #3 (IDW)
The first issue features the third of four installments from an ode to Spock's legacy as a tribute to the late Leonard Nimoy.  The second features Voyager and Deep Space Nine stories that I found pretty insightful.

Superman #11, 14 (DC)
Pete Tomasi and Patrick Gleason set up Super Sons with the first issue and begin "Multiplicity," which is a direct ode to Grant Morrison's Multiversity, with the second.

X-O Manowar #50 (Valiant) (2016)
I was never particularly a fan of this Valiant rebirth title, but I figured I'd have a look at the final issue.  Most notable are the bonus stories from Fred Van Lente and Matt Kindt, whose effort gives a brief preview of his upcoming relaunch.  I hadn't really considered until this issue that the character is pretty similar to Alpha Centurion. 

Reading Comics 182 "Making a commitment"

Yesterday I went to see Deadpool and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (thought it was entertaining, loved it, respectively) and in between visited Heroes & Villains again.  I wanted to order a copy of Omega Men #3 (the only one missing from my physical collection) and pick up the latest issue, #10.  Then I put in reserves for the two remaining issues, and next week's Wonder Woman: Earth One from Grant Morrison.  Omega Men, as anyone who's been reading this blog since last fall will know, has become my favorite recent comic, certainly favorite since Morrison's Annihilator which concluded early last year (and topped the last two annual QB50 lists).  Things rarely work out this way for me (yet), but ideally I'd like to see Omega Men remembered in the same ranks as Alan Moore's Watchman as a seminal superhero comic.  It's just that good.  It changes everything.  At least DC has rewarded writer Tom King with the plush assignment of Batman in the impending Rebirth era.

I walked away with a few other comics, and so I'll talk about that stuff:

Sam Wilson: Captain America #7 (Marvel)
Billed on the cover as celebrating Cap's 75th anniversary, this supersize issue features a pivotal moment in the "Standoff" crossover arc, for Steve Rogers, and a few extra stories from some acclaimed creators.  The lead features Sam Wilson, who's been Captain America for the past year or so but is also familiar to fans as Falcon, as he enters Maria Hill's misguided supervillain reconstruction town.  He teams up with Bucky, who still responds to the name of Winter Soldier these days.  The writer is Nick Spencer, who made a splash with DC a handful of years ago but has otherwise been making his name with the Image series Morning Glories.  (I'm surprised his name didn't already have a label here, because I was reading him in those early years, including the start of Glories, but I guess that was just before I started this blog.)  Joss Whedon teams with superstar artist John Cassaday for a tale from Cap's WWII past, Tim Sale does a mostly wordless story concerning Cap's oft-overlooked parents, and Greg Rucka features Steve Rogers at the ballet, along with artist Mike Perkins, who worked on Ed Brubaker's Captain America, as well as Marvel's ambitious adaption of Stephen King's The Stand.  Rucka and Perkins easily have the best work in the issue.

Omega Men #10 (DC)
King finally gets to the war the Omega Men have been plotting against the Citadel from the very start, and predictably, there's very little glory to be found, just mere survival.  Kyle Rayner stumbled into the fight of his life, one that has nothing to do with Green Lanterns, and by the end of the issue he walks off into the distance, and his last words in the issue are, "No.  No, I'm...I'm just another Omega Man."  King's quote from William James (always one of my favorite features in this series) says, "Truth happens to an idea.  It becomes true, is made true by events."  It's not until this issue that the Omega Men have truly been allowed to do what they've been promising all along, to be the heroes in a great fight for freedom.  What does it feel like to be a part of that?  Although King has been featuring the secret origins of the team itself, the series has had Kyle at its core since the start.  He doesn't revel in the results they've had so far.  Not having a personal stake, it means something different to him, but it has become personal.  That's King's genius. 

Prez #6 (DC)
This is the final issue of the initial run.  DC's promised to let Prez complete its twelve issue run, just as with Omega Men, but it'll take a little longer.  Ben Caldwell has since started work at Marvel.  I hope he'll be back to finish Prez, because Mark Russell's biting political satire is truly some of the best mainstream work I've seen in years, challenging what I believe, and I still love it.  That's just one of the many things to love about it.  I'm glad to have finally read the issue.

Superman/Batman #1 Special Edition (DC)
This was a freebie released in conjunction with Dawn of Justice, reprinting the debut issue of Jeph Loeb's modern World's Finest series.  Loeb had become one of the most acclaimed writers in comics at the time, and this series continued his trademark psychological insight into superheroes he'd previously brought to works like Batman: The Long Halloween and Superman For All Seasons, plus the more contemporary Hush arc with Jim Lee, in which he helped shape the landscape of DC at that time.  In this issue, President Luthor is still in office, one of the key developments that stretched from the dawn of the millennium to Infinite Crisis, characterization that reflects Lex's role in the later Geoff Johns Justice League and Zack Snyder's Dawn of Justice.  There are far worse free comics out there...

Reading Comics 170 "From 7/22/15 plus more"

Covered this edition: Grant Morrison's 18 Days #1, Cyborg #1, MIND MGMT #35, Prez #2, Superman: Doomed #2, and We Are Robin #2.

Grant Morrison's 18 Days #1 (Graphic India)

Back in 2010, Dynamite and Liquid Comics released what was intended to be a kind of graphic novel trailer for 18 Days, which became an online animated series.  Now, that series is being adapted into a comic book.  The original graphic novel was actually more like an elaborate series bible.  And so this first issue covers familiar material, more setup than actual storytelling.  The art is not exactly the lush work from the graphic novel, and that took some getting used to, but that's what the animated series looks like.  I have no idea how long this will last, but I intend to read it for as long as it exists.  This is Morrison's Morrison Version of the Indian epic Mahabharata, which might be described as The Iliad by way of The Lord of the Rings.

I'm reading this one on delay because I had to request the series from the local shop, and it took a while for it to come in.  If I hadn't asked last week about its status, I still wouldn't have seen it yet, because the shipment came up damaged and the shop owner didn't want to sell it like that.  Listen, I don't read comics, much less buy them, as investment potential.  The best comics are some of the best things I read, period.  For me, that's the best reason to read them.

Cyborg #1 (DC)

Incredibly, this is the first time Cyborg has ever had an ongoing series.  He was originally introduced in Marv Wolfman and George Perez's New Teen Titans.  Since the start of the New 52, he's been a member of the Justice League.  Very wisely, this series seems to have been taken directly from the pages of Geoff Johns' work, written by David F. Walker and especially aided by the art of longtime DC standout Ivan Reis.  Everything that isn't familiar, in the best possible way, sets up space robots who will likely further complicate Victor Stone's relationship with his new body.  I think it was incredibly wise to wait this long to launch the series.  Here I'm thinking of Mr. Terrific from the start of the New 52, which had to reinvent the wheel twice over.  Not only did that series also star someone who had never had an ongoing series before, but far less track record and to that point only one context, as a member of Johns' Justice Society.  And it was not only introducing a theoretically new version of the character, but in totally new context.  It's no surprise that Mr. Terrific was one of the early failures.  And so hopefully, doing everything exactly the opposite, Cyborg will be the success it deserves to be.

MIND MGMT#35 (Dark Horse)

Technically the end of the story, since as far as I know the next and final issue is an epilogue (apparently solicited as NEW MGMT #1), because this issue the good guys defeat the bad guys.  Anyway, I guess what I really want to address is editor Brendan Wright, who spent every letters column I saw fawning over the series, saying how proud he was to be involved in it.  I guess it was a pretty big deal for him (as outlined in how he presents his career).  For a series that lasted three years, which would be a long-term failure for a lot of other companies if it hadn't been the creator who dictated its length (the series was originally commissioned at six issues, and was allowed to expand from there), this is the kind of reaction you'd normally expect from a Vertigo series like Y: The Last Man or Sandman.  It is odd, because MIND MGMT in a lot of ways seems like it should have been published by Vertigo rather than Dark Horse.  I have no idea how or why it happened this way.  The advantage to having it Vertigo would have been to bring Matt Kindt into the DC fold.  Except he's been doing exceptionally well in the Valiant fold.  He's the rare talent who helps comics as a whole rather than merely himself or try and puff up his and/or a given company's chest (the way Image tends to do it, say).  But I don't want to read about how special he is from the editor who probably will never be associated with something this good again.  I want to hear from Kindt himself.  Because in my experience, this is a novelty for Dark Horse.  Which is why I'm confused about how it was published by them to begin with.

Prez #2 (DC)

Last time I believe I talked a lot about artist Ben Caldwell.  I love that guy.  Increasingly, I wonder if it's because his work reminds me of Jeff Smith.  Either way, I need to stress that I love Prez for its storytelling, too, which means I need to stress Mark Russell's contribution a little more directly.  I hadn't even made a label for him, so now there's that.  Prez is such an oddity.  There's nothing superhero about it at all.  I have no idea why it's being published by DC and not under the Vertigo imprint.  Ostensibly, it's because it's a new version of a classic DC concept.  And because there are now a lot of series with superhero connections that are aiming for the youth vote, it's harder for Prez to stand out, especially when it seems like it's nothing more than the stupid gimmick the original was.  This Prez is flat out great political and social satire.  "Corndog Girl" is only elected president this issue, expressly because of all the shenanigans the arrogant official candidates were up to, and the compromises the electoral college (anyone still wondering what that's all about in the wake of the...2000 election might look here for an explanation).

And unfortunately, originally set to be a twelve-issue maxi-series, Prez was just shortened to six.  As someone who absolutely loves what Prez is doing, I'm sad that it's been reduced like that, but at least that's not as bad as when The Great Ten, originally scheduled for, well, ten issues, was dropped to nine.

 Superman: Doomed #2 (DC)

It's been hard to make me care about Superman comics in the New 52 era if it weren't being written by Grant Morrison or Geoff Johns.  Every now and then I check in with what other people are doing.  I was aware of the Doomed event, which was the New 52 version of Doomsday, which was actually a pretty interesting idea.  This and the first issue are the bookends, and are now everything I've read from it.  The writers this time are Greg Pak and Charles Soule, although it's Scott Lobdell who continues to be associated with the concept thanks to his new Doomed series (which does not feature Superman, but will, eventually, have Alpha Centurion in it, which is good enough for me).  There are about a million artists involved in the issue, as well as Lois Lane in her most notable New 52 arc to date (in the least likely way imaginable, unless you're thinking of the Silver Age or Jimmy Olsen), plus Brainiac.  And I read this issue trying to figure out how it related to Convergence, and for most of the issue, I thought not at all, until at the very end.  And I don't know, maybe I'll have to do further research, but that ending makes it look like it might actually completely redefine Convergence.

But getting back to Doomsday, having the concept become something like a Venom parasite is probably better than what DC originally did with Doomsday in the aftermath of killing Superman.  He ended up being a Kryptonian monster who reincarnates after each defeat, no longer able to be defeated that way again, and he and Superman fought again many other times (Dan Jurgens at one point tried his best to further his legacy solely in this way).  While I haven't read the Doomed series itself yet, and generally I've been far more forgiving of Lobdell than fans tend to be, I'm glad this new vision exists even though I'm not immediately interested in delving into it myself.

We Are Robin #2 (DC)

Where you might have expected the second issue to have spent time with members of this Robin gang other than Duke Thomas...Nope, not so much.  This is still the Duke Thomas show in all but name.  I mean, other members are addressed, but they're not really featured.  They exist.  The issue begins to explore the mystery of who has been recruiting them.  There's also teasing of the villain who will apparently kill one of them soon.  Dead Robin.  It's a thing.  So it figures that We Are Robin will be waiting very little to reach its own Dead Robin story.  All the better!  Writer Lee Bermejo's covers continue to represent not at all the interior art, but I guess that's okay.  I can learn to live with it.