Superman (vol.2) #153 (February, 2000)
"Say Goodbye"
Writer - Jeph Loeb
Guest Pencils - Mike McKone
Guest Inks - Marlo Alquiza
Letters - Comicraft
Colors - Tanya & Richard Horie
Associate Editor - Maureen McTigue
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $1.99
Welcome to the penultimate day of our Third Annual Twelve Days of Christmas on Infinite Earths! I hope you've all enjoyed 2018's trip down Santa Claus Lane.
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It's Christmas Eve (just like in real life!), and Lois Lane is trimming the tree at the Kent Family apartment... talk about waiting til the last minute, right? She is lost in thought, and shares with us some "journo code". Ya see, Perry would always put a "-30-" at the end of her pieces when they were ready to print... I guess that's something folks in newspapers understand... and something that Jeph Loeb really wanted us to know that he knew as well? Fair enough.
We shift scenes over to the rooftop of the Daily Planet, where Jimmy and Superman are having a pow-wow. This is right off the heels of Jimmy running a story about there being a "Mrs. Superman"... which is something he is very sorry for. Superman shrugs it off, and reveals to his pal a wedding band. Ya see, Jimmy, Superman is married... so, quit makin' waves. Of course, Superman doesn't share the who's and how's of the situation.
Their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of... Mongul! Well, Mongul's son... who is also named Mongul. Uh, not the guy behind the destruction of Coast City... nor the guy from For the Man Who Has Everything... but the son of that guy... ya dig? Whole thing would be easier if we could just call him "Junior", so we're gonna.
Mongul (Jr.) informs Superman that he needs his help. Turns out the world-eating Imperiex is heading toward Earth... and if they don't stop him, billions of lifeforms will die. Superman turns to Jimmy and gives him the phrase that pays, "Beef Bourguignon With Ketchup"... he tells him to go find the Kents and repeat that phrase to them.
Superman and Mongul, Jr. arrive in deep space... might be Saturn... might be another ringed-planet in another galaxy (I assume there might be one or two, right?). Suddenly the planet explodes... I think... so, yeah, probably not Saturn then? Amid the boom, we can see Imperiex's tremendous warship.
Imperiex doesn't seem all that worried when he notices Superman and Mongul, Jr.... in fact, he just goes about his work until it becomes clear that they probably won't be leaving him alone. Despite getting nailed by a tremendous blast from the baddie, Superman maintains that he and Mongul ought to remain diplomatic... and attempt to negotiate.
Junior ain't havin' none of it... he tells Superman that it's fight or flight at this point, the time for talking has passed... if, in fact it was ever there to begin with! They pile on Imperiex... and manage to stagger him... if only a bit. The baddie then launches Junior out of the fray!
Back in Metropolis, Jimmy passes the phrase that pays over to Lois. We learn that this is sort of an "I'm okay, and I'll get home as soon as I can" sort of message, that has origins in tornado alley, where Clark grew up. It was a special way to let family know you were still kickin'.
Back in space, Superman lunges after Mongul to save him from... I dunno, crashing into another planet or something. This ticks Junior off in a big way... he scolds Superman for taking his eyes off the prize.
And indeed, as Superman makes his way back to the site of the battle, Imperiex has already bugged out. At this point, Round 2 can begin... Mongul, Jr. attacks Superman from behind! He's still ticked that Superman had often humiliated his father.
They fight for a bit, and Superman winds up winning... duh. At that very moment, it just so happens that the Main Man is riding by! He notes that Mongul's got a pretty large bounty on his head... and so, Superman hands him over as a sort of Christmas gift. Okay, that was pretty funny.
We wrap up back at the Kent apartment where Superman has arrived just in the nick of time to grab a Christmas Eve kiss from his wife.
But then... an Epilogue! Imperiex returns to his home base... and we learn that, the being that fought Superman and Mongul, Jr. to a standstill wasn't Imperiex at all... only a probe of the real Imperiex!
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I feel like I'm using the word "breezy" as a descriptor a bit too often these days. Maybe I'm just looking at too many post-2000 books in a row... but, that feels like the right word to use. This doesn't necessarily feel decompressed, as it (for the most part) is a self-contained story... and doesn't so much seem like it's being stretched to fill space... the pacing, though, is smooth and fast. Might have something to do with Loeb's screenwriting background.
A few days back I talked about how much I enjoy those "quiet" downtime issues... and while this one was chock-full of action, it was very much a transitional issue... bridging between the first "beat" of the Berganza era and Y2K era "City of Tomorrow" Metropolis. It allowed us to both catch our breath and get a taste for what's to come. Really well done.
Let's look at Imperiex. Love this design! There's just something about it that feels, I dunno... substantial. Just looking at him, you know he's going to be a force to be reckoned with. Superman needed more threats like him at the time!
I always talk about these grand "rereading projects", and this era (through Our Worlds at War) is always toward the top of my list. It'll likely never happen... not anytime soon, anyway... but, it's always scratching the back of my brain. Rereading this issue makes me want to pull the trigger all the more!
The Lobo cameo really cracked me up. I'd completely forgotten that he makes an appearance here... and it's such a silly thing. Superman just hands Mongul, Jr. over to him as a Christmas gift. How cool is that? Loved it!
Overall, a pretty great issue. Mike McKone, who, back in the long ago, wasn't my cuppa tea... puts in some great work here. It fits in with the bubbly bombastic tone set by (series regular) Ed McGuinness, and I really dug it! This one's certainly worth a look... and it's available both digitally and collected in Superman: No Limits!.
Remember to come back tomorrow, if you can fit it into the festivities and we'll wrap our Third Annual Holiday celebration up!
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On the Eleventh Day of Christmas on Infinite Earths, I gave to you, Superman (vol.2) #153, Spectre (vol.4) #12, Batman #598, Batman #596, Flash (vol.5) #17, Batman and the Outsiders #31, Captain Atom #13! Scooby-Doo! #139, Superman #369, Impulse #34, and a Flash (vol.2) #73 Discussion and Review.
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Martian Manhunter (vol.2) #24 (November, 2000)
"Revelations | Double Stuff"
Writer - John Ostrander
Guest Pencils - Doug Mahnke
Guest Inks - Pat Gleason
Letters - Bill Oakley
Colors - Carla Feeny
Color Separations - Jamison
Associate Editor - L.A. Williams
Editor - Peter Tomasi
Cover Price: $2.50
After spending the last several months (it's been months, right?) wading through Titans Hunt, it's pretty refreshing to read something just a little bit different.
Before we get into the issue itself, the Revelations arc that ran through Martian Manhunter was a handful of stories which showed J'onn throughout different eras of DC History, and depicted him rubbing shoulders with folks like Superman, Batman, Abin Sur... it provided (perhaps newer) turn-of-the-century readers with context to illustrate where J'onn's been and why he is so important.
I think we'll eventually cover it in full, but... there's just something about this particular issue that makes me want to put it at the front of the line!
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We open back in the days on the Justice League International. We're at the New York Embassy, and J'onn is sharing the story of the time he'd lost his... cookies! Being something of a Cookie Monster myself, I can see how troublesome this could be. Turns out he didn't so much lose them, as they were hidden from him by Booster and Beetle.
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| Hashtag-Villains |
After bragging to Guy, Fire and Ice about the theft (as well as buying up every Choco in a few mile radius)... they bolt outta the place. Just then, a fired up J'onn returns to the living room... and he ain't pleased.
The other Leaguers play coy... they sure don't want to be the ones to break the news and suffer J'onn's wrath. J'onn goes from positively psychotic... to "hey, it's all good" when he realizes he can just trudge up the block to the store and buy some more. Well... about that.
We rejoin Booster and Beetle as they tap into a camera at the local convenience store. J'onn is there trying to procure some Chocos... and is... ehh, a bit miffed that they're sold out.
Then... we get one of the best panels put to paper. J'onn "hulks up"... we definitely wouldn't like him when he's angry hungry.
J'onn rampages through the streets of New York... flipping over cars and everything! It's really quite the scene. Booster and Beetle finally realize their little gag might've gone a bit too far, and intervene. Beetle lets it slip that they were behind the cookie-heist... whiiiiich, might not have been the best idea.
J'onn doesn't react all that well. I mentioned he "hulked up" earlier, well... now we go full-blown Hulk!
Booster and Beetle do their damnedest to take to the air and flee. Elsewhere, Maxwell Lord is meeting with his contact at the United Nations. Looks like the U.N. has lost a measure of confidence in the Lord-led Justice League International... and is considering severing ties. Max doesn't like the sound of this, and so... his nose starts to bleed.
Just then, Booster and Beetle fly by... followed quickly by Hulk-J'onn. The windows of the U.N. shatter... annnnnd Max's nose bleeds again. Such a funny scene!
We rejoin the pursuit with J'onn crashing through the roof of a warehouse. Lucky for all of us, it's a Chocos warehouse! He digs into the loot, and regains his composure. He is soon cornered by Max and a bunch of "official-looking" fellas. It's really great, J'onn's just sitting there eating, like it's no big thing.
Back at the Embassy, Max holds a little intervention with J'onn. He suggests that the Martian Manhunter's cravings for delicious sandwich cookies might be signs of... addiction. Batman joins in via video-monitor, and actually goes as far as to refer to J'onn as a *gasp* "Chocos Junkie"!
J'onn ain't buyin' it... after all, he could kick the Chocos habit anytime he pleases. Max decides to put this to the test... whiiiiich goes exactly how you might imagine it would.
At this point, J'onn realizes that... yeah, he might just have a little problem when it comes to impulse control when in the presence of Chocos. And so, he focuses inward... to purge himself of this addiction. An addiction that takes the form of... a Venom-like symbiote?!?!
After J'onn evicts the beastie, it immediately looks to rejoin it's old host. Unfortunately, Tora hops in its way... and takes it into herself. It's revealed that her craving is for... delicious baby seal? Well, that's disturbing.
Guy Gardner blasts the beast... which only makes it hop into him! We learn that Guy craves... his mommy... specifically, his mommy's womb. We should'a known.
Then, the symbiote hops into Fire... and it's confirmed that she craves attention. Yeah, nobody could've seen that coming. Off to the side, Booster and Beetle are taking notes... this is definitely information they can profit off of later on down the line!
The symbiote makes one final stop... into the body of Maxwell Lord. He wants everyone to do what he says... particularly Wonder Woman. We... won't go any deeper into that.
J'onn's finally had enough of this... and so, he collects the symbiote in a glass canister and delivers it to Reed Richa... errr... um... no, he actually just uses his heat vision on it. Once it's gone, so too is his addiction. He walks over to Booster and Beetle to... thank them, for helping him save him from himself. Meanwhile, Tora is still crying over eating baby seals.
We wrap up with the realization that this entire issue has been a story told to Kyle Rayner. Once Kyle leaves, Wonder Woman reveals that she'd overheard it, and... really doesn't remember anything like that happening. Welllll... that's because it didn't.
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Well, dang... it's not that often we get to read something that flat-out fun! I haven't talked much about J'onn here over the years... but, the Martian Manhunter as part of the JLI has always been a favorite of mine. He's usually depicted as the only sane person in the room... though, there's also a feeling that if he's cool hanging around all of these nuts... he might just be the craziest of them all.
I usually refer to him as "Dick Loudon" from Newhart. He looks like the he's cool and collected... but you get the feeling he could fray at any moment... like say, if someone stole his cookies. Hey, I get it... cookies are important. I know I've had days where I looked forward to getting home and having a sweet snack... only to find that the wife had nabbed it by the time I get there! It's that weird, irrational anger... where I'm not sure if I'm more ticked that the snack is missing... or that I'll have to put my shoes back on and head out to the store.
It was cute that so many "Marvel-ous" elements were included in this silly story. Having J'onn "Hulk out" was a lot of fun to watch... and was especially antithetical to his usual demeanor. With the underlying issue being his missing cookies... it's almost too much fun. I mean, at this point, it was obvious that we were reading an "imaginary story", but I was enjoying myself too much to even care.
Another Marvel-ous touch... a craving symbiote?! Too funny... and helpfully facilitated revealing some of the other Leaguers' deepest-darkest cravings. Some were obvious... okay, all but Tora's were obvious... all told though, it was a pretty cute scene.
I'm a fan of Doug Mahnke... but, I gotta say, there were a few unpleasant-looking panels here. I know sunken and deeply-shadowed eyes are one of his hallmarks, but sometimes it's just off-putting. Overall though, I feel like he did a great job conveying this weird mix of action, emotion, and humor.
This issue comes with one of my higher recommendations... it's really just pure fun. You don't need to be following the Martian Manhunter (or even JLA) series to "get" this issue. You could just read this one, and have a blast with it. As luck would have it, this bugger is available digitally!
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Letters Page (Featuring Michael Bailey and Paul Hicks!):
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JSA #11 (June, 2000)
"Split"
Writers - David Goyer & Geoff Johns
Breakdowns & Inks - Michael Bair
Pencils & Inks - Buzz (Aldrin Aw)
Letters - Ken Lopez
Colors - John Kalisz
Separations - Heroic Age
Assistant Editor - L.A. Williams
Editor - Peter J. Tomasi
Cover Price: $2.50
After discussing the first appearance of Hal Jordan yesterday (I know, I know), I had to decide which thread to follow. Do I look at another appearance of Air-Wave/Maser... or do I maybe throw a curve ball and look at another appearance of Roy Harper's band, Great Frog?
Well, we're going with the first one... today, anyway. Jumping all the way up to the turn of the century too!
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We open on board a airplane about to make its descent into JFK. It's here that we meet Atom-Smasher's mother, who is heading into the city for a visit... and is currently chatting up a prospective PYT for her boy. Just then, the plane is electronically hijacked by... Kobra! He appears on the in-flight movie monitor and tells them all they're about to crash and die... and, unfortunately, he's not jokin' around.
We shift scenes to D.E.O. big-wig, Mister Bones giving a presentation at the JSA Brownstone. He's informing the Justice Society that Harold Lawrence Jordan has been abducted by Kobra, and locked in a Faraday Cage (which would cancel out Air-Wave's abilities, natch). Kobra is using some stolen S.T.A.R. Labs tech to harness Jordan's abilities... which would give him control over the elecromagnetic spectrum... heck, he might even be able to crash an airplane.
Mister Bones pauses to give his condolences to Atom-Smasher... who, understandably, doesn't seem terribly receptive.
Off to the side, Star-Spangled Kid awkwardly stands in the doorway. She's clearly uncomfortable. When Hawkgirl inquires as to why, Courtney mentions how it was during the days of Infinity, Inc. when Mister Bones' "cyanide touch" killed the original Star-Spangled Kid, Sylvester Pemberton. Wouldn'tcha know it, right at that very moment... Sly saunters in!
The entire Society kinda freaks out... and lemme tell ya, Pemberton isn't exactly comfortable with the sight before him either. Hourman realizes that somebody is mucking with the timestream... causing timelines to converge. It's not Kobra's doing, however... it's Extant!
Who?! Well, we know that guy... it's just a little weird seeing him mentioned again, ain't it? Jay Garrick gives the quick 'n dirty on Extant and all the messing about he did during Zero Hour.
Sand decides that the team needs to split up... one following up on Kobra (who is hankered down on Blackhawk Island), and the other pursuing Extant through the timestream. Boarding Hourman's Timeship will be: Hourman, Hippolyta, Flash, and the Star-Spangled Kids. As soon as they enter the timestream... Extant knows.
Back on dry ground solid ground Earth, the rest of the JSA is heading to Blackhawk Island in the South Pacific. This lineup includes: Sand, Black Canary, Atom-Smasher, Dr. Mid-Nite, Wildcat... and a new member. Since the electronics are likely to get wonky the closer they get, they are being led in by Jack Knight. Sand claims that this "new member" has already done re-con of the Island.
When they get close enough to Blackhawk, they head underwater so they might get the jump on Kobra's forces... and they do! We get a couple of pages of infiltratin' and punchin' fun, before meeting that new member... Mr. Terrific! After freaking Jack out with his T-Spheres, Terrific shares the schematic for the Island Base. We learn that Holt was the perfect person to perform the re-con, as he cannot be photographed, sensed by infrared, or picked up by audio recorders. That's pretty handy.
The JSA ventures deeper into the base, with Sand phasing directly into the lab where Harold Jordan is being held. A few pumps on the sleep-gun is all it takes to put down all of the Kobra guards.
Instead of looking relieved, Harold begins freaking out... pounding on the Faraday Cage. Sand doesn't realize that one of Kobra's bigger-bads is standing right behind him.
This is Catalyst... former teammate to Harold Jordan during his time as Maser of the Captains of Industry. What a goofy bunch of stuff. Anyhoo, Catalyst causes Sand to seize... and drop to the floor.
Then, Kobra himself monologues for a bit... live on television (thanks to Jordan's powers)! He invites a world-wide audience to watch as be executes the Chairman of the Justice Society... and with a WVVVASSSH, he does just that!
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I wanna say it was around this time that I started picking this book up. Probably drawn in by some good word of mouth from Wizard Magazine (I think JSA was listed as their "best book" around here)... and, first time going through... I was lost. Not quite "hopelessly" lost, but I didn't know enough to get the most out of what was going on. Making me realize that I really ought to prioritize revisiting some turn-of-the-century DC fare... at the time, I lacked so much of the context to truly appreciate the books of that era.
Now, having a "better" grasp on these characters and their histories... I'm actually a bit taken aback by just how great this run is. I mean, sure... it's well-written, and all of the "nuts and bolts" are there... even a newbie (like me, at the time) could pick it up and enjoy it... however... if you were a seasoned DC Comics fan, there's so much more to love.
It's crazy that the team that I'd always looked at as being part of "that old DC" that I wanted no part of, has now become the very team that defines DC for me. The legacy... the family... the continuity. The DC Universe just doesn't feel right without them (so, yeah... finish Doomsday Clock already, so maybe we can get them back!).
Now, for this issue... it might not be the "Air-Wave tour de force" we (err, I) might've hoped for... but, I can't say that he wasn't treated with respect. That's always been one of the strengths of Geoff Johns, especially when he's writing JSA... taking a wackier character from the Golden/Silver/Bronze Age and doing them a proper service when bringing them back. Not just doing it for the "funny, ha-ha"... but, accentuating their strengths, power-wise or narrative-wise.
Infiltrating Blackhawk Island provided a great opportunity to shine a light on Sand's leadership... as well as facilitate Mr. Terrific showin' his stuff. Really well done, feels like a lot of thought went into how to best depict the characters. The timstream stuff... I don't remember where this is going, but I gotta say... happy to see Extant get a moment to shine. He's another one... easy to write off as a "funny, ha-ha" due to the perceptions many have of early-to-mid 1990's comics (that a lot of folks probably haven't even read).
Overall, this was a fine fine issue... superb art too! Really enjoyed this revisit (especially with all of the context I'd lacked the first time through). Well worth a read... it's been collected a number of times, and a number of ways... it is also available digitally.
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