Justice Society of America #2 (May, 1991)
"Vengeance from the Stars! Chapter Two: The Sack of Gotham"
Writer - Len Strazewski
Artist - Grant Miehm
Letterer - Janice Chiang
Colorist - Tom Ziuko
Editors - Mike Gold & Brian Augustyn
Cover Price: $1.00
Lookit that... our #Action100 endeavor is going so well, we can afford to take a day or two off from looking at Action Comics! At this point I wasn't expecting to be on schedule, much less ahead of it!
How's them for "famous last words"?
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We open with a report from GBC's Alan Scott, wherein he informs all of the Gothamites within earshot that there have been intermittent power outages throughout the city. Since we've already read the issue that comes before this, we know that these "outages" are most definitely not limited to Gotham City. We meet up with a crew of nogoodniks who figure, while the gettin' is good... they may as well loot! Unfortunately for them, the Canary's already on the case!
After a few pages of clunk-y fighting (hey, that's their sound effect, not mine!) she manages to kayo the baddies. Before she can take her leave, however, she overhears a news briefing about a robbery-in-progress at the Gotham Museum of History.
She arrives on the scene and finds an overturned police car. After helping an officer to his feet she enters... and comes across a very much dead security guard. Vowing to bring his killer(s) to justice, she heads into the Treasures of Ancient Egypt exhibit. Inside, a trio of wise guys are attempting to hoist the Crown of Cheops... Cheops is apparently how the Greeks referred to the Egyptian King, Khufu. Well, now we know.
Canary lunges in, and attacks with a butt-thump! Okay, it's more likely some sort of swinging kick, but c'mon... if that's not a butt-thump, I don't know what is. Then again, I'm really not sure what a "butt-thump" might be to begin with. Let's just move along.
Canary grabs the crown and manages to give the geeks the slip. As she admires the collected crown, the real threat of the issue lumbers into the scene... Solomon Grundy!
We shift scenes over to Ted Knight's Observatory, where he is still being held against his will by... somebody. The bad guy tosses a phony beard onto a desk... then picks up Ted's Star Rod. Heading outside, he points the Rod toward the stars... and summons himself another constellation. This time, Sagittarius!
Back in Gotham, Canary and Grundy have one heckuva "go round". They both get their "licks" in, and the advantage shifts back and forth. The struggle continues until Canary manages to monkey-flip Grundy out a window and into the alley down below.
She follows him down... and it looks like Solly might've been playin' possum! He grabs her and tosses her into a wall. He goes to mount her, however, she manages to grab a pair of garbage can lids... and she pulls the ol' "cymbal" crash maneuver.
At the point, more police have shown up on the scene... and they open fire at Grundy. This is, of course... futile. He flips their car just as he (presumably) did the other. He is then distracted by a light from above... then again, so is Dinah. She's preoccupied long enough to be beaned in the brain by a blackjack.
We wrap up by seeing what was so distracting up above... why, it's Green Lantern in the heat of battle with Sagittarius!
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This was... a fight scene. I quite enjoyed it, but at the end of the day... it was still a fight scene.
The only reason that might be a problem is... I mean, what can one really say about a fight scene? It was well done. Howzat for an "analysis" segment?
I struggle with finding a way to really "heap praise" on this... however, I also struggle to come up with even a single complaint. I suppose we could look at that in and of itself as a "net positive" and move along.
I feel like this series (so far) is a case of... If you already know and care about these characters, you're going to really dig this. If you have no investment in these characters, this won't rock your socks... and it probably won't change your mind. It's been forever-ish since I last read this series to completion... so, my opinion may change on that.
Though, I must say... if this was the first JSA I ever tried to read, I don't think I'd come back for the next issue... there just isn't enough there. I mean, that's a pretty "ehh" statement.. but I'd definitely recommend the later JSA series as a "gateway book". I feel like, after reading that, you'll likely have a greater appreciation for this run.
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(Not the) Letters Page:
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Action Comics #827 (July, 2005)
"Strange Attractions, Part One"
Writer - Gail Simone
Penciller - John Byrne
Inker - Nelson DeCastro
Colorist - Guy Major
Letterer - Pat Brosseau
Associate Editor - Tom Palmer, Jr.
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $2.50
For today's piece we're going to cover a book from that really weird time back in the mid-2000's where John Byrne started getting along with DC Comics again! I know it's crazy, but it's true.
I was kinda on the "outs" with DC around this time... really wasn't picking up much. Actually really wasn't picking up much in the way of comics, period. Felt like we were learning that Byrne was taking over another book like every day... though, in reality it was "only" like 3-4 of 'em. I guess we can politely say that his work was a "mixed bag" at this time... though, I could bet that his take on the Doom Patrol is probably at least a couple of folks' definitive take.
Anyhoo... let's take a look and see how his Superman Homecoming went.
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We open in Metropolis... duh. A traffic copter flies overhead, sharing the information of the evening's commute with the populace... and a strange cloaked woman approaches the retired superhero, Aura to inform her that she's a fan... and also, that she has similar powers. She introduces herself as "Repulse" and to prove that she's just as magnetic... she drops that traffic copter right on top of her.
We shift scenes to an African village where some bad dudes are threatening the Wise Mother who oversees it. They attempt to railroad her... unfortunately for them, she's got some back-up in the form of Superman. He smashes their vehicles and crumples their weapons... and promises the tiny tribe that they won't be back to bother them anytime soon.
Wise Mother refers to Superman as Moja Ini Chapa Nyumba, which translates to "One Heart, Many Homes"... though, if you run it through Google Translate... it means "One Liver Print House". Either way, he's touched. He even leaves his cape with them, so anybody who might do them harm knows just what they're messing with.
Superman zooms back to Metropolis to deliver Lois some goodies he'd picked up while he was "out". I know a lot of us bag on Byrne's post-1980's work... but he still has a really good Lois here.
Anyhoo, she has to get ready to head into work... a new shutterbug named Willis is picking her up to take her in. Clark remains at home... where he can work on his next novel... which from the looks of it, looks kind of like an article for the Planet. "His" writing here is also pretty lame... it's got that thing we all learned in Junior High where you start with something poignant... write a paragraph or two... then repeat the poignant phrase verbatim for emphasis. Not to be confused with rewriting your thesis... this is far too cute for that.
We jump over to the Planet, where Perry is riding Jimmy for not being out taking snaps. Turns out that it's currently "raining cars"... and the Chief would really appreciate some photos. Just then... a car lands right on the newsroom floor!
Jimmy peeks outside and sees... Doctor Polaris! S'funny... my first "Polaris" in comics was Lorna Dane from the X-Books... and so I just can't see the name as fitting a man. No matter how many times I see "the Doc", I still take a pause when it hits me that his name is "Polaris". Anyhoo... he's in Centennial Park... and he's really freaked out.
We can see that he's facing off with Repulse from earlier... she's the cause of the torrential car-storm.
After beating him up for a bit, Repulse attempts to choke him out with some cables. Luckily, Superman happens by and nyoinks Polaris away. Dude is frantic, explaining everything that Repulse has done... including nearly killing Aura. So, if you were worried about a former "Raver", you can breathe a sigh of relief... or disinterest.
As they chat, Superman is a bit incredulous. His attention is drawn behind him... where he is blinded by a flash of light, courtesy of Repulse.
He regains his druthers (but not his vision)... scoops Doc Polaris in his arms, and flees the scene. He takes him to the top of a nearby bridge where he informs him that... Repulse does not exist! It's all in the Doc's head, maaaaaaaan. With that, the Repulse "alter" appears to rear its head inside Polaris... and he wallops Superman with a blast.
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Ehh.
This was okay... really didn't do much for me though. As far as "jumping on points" go, this was decent enough. It's a solid story opener for the decompressed era... but not all that exciting.
The idea of Polaris having an "alter", if that's even what this is, is pretty neat. Total disclosure, I don't think I've ever read this run before... so, I can't speak to where this is headed. For all I know, "Repulse" might just be introduced as a real living and breathing humanoid. Who knows?
Superman protecting the African village was a good enough scene... but nothing we haven't seen before. Not that everything has to be new and novel... but, if we're trying to set a tone for this "all-new" run on Superman... there were probably more creative ways of doing that. Then again, what do I know... maybe this wasn't supposed to be a "brand new day" for the character. Again, it didn't have to be. At least it led to Clark writing that really neat report for his 8th Grade English class though... right?
The Return of Byrne is... well, it's okay. Feels kind of half-hearted... which might just be the perfect descriptor for this issue as a whole. Non-committal... non-socks rocking... just kinda "there".
Overall... I hate to be all "ehh" but, it's really all I can muster. Perhaps if I were to continue along, I might retroactively appreciate this more... but, I mean... aren't we, as comic fans, like really tired of that kind of mindset? I really don't wanna go off on a tangent... but, these are still periodicals, right? Shouldn't we get some measure of satisfaction every time we plop a few bucks down on our local shop's counter?
Oh well... I'll just curb it here, lest I go on for days and lose the plot (even more than I already have!). I'm feel like this issue will have a certain appeal for folks... so, I guess this is one'a dem "your mileage may vary" books. For your convenience, this bugger's available digitally.
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Action Comics #660 (December, 1990)
"Certain Death"
Writer - Roger Stern
Penciller - Bob McLeod
Inker - Brett Breeding
Letterer - Bill Oakley
Colorist - Glenn Whitmore
Editor - Mike Carlin
Cover Price: $0.75
There's always a bit of a "come down" from our bombastic (relatively speaking) milestone pieces here. It's like my fingers start to get itchy as we get into the last ten posts of any given hundred... then, poof... it's over!
Today is our EIGHT HUNDRED... and first daily discussion... and we're in "scoring position" for wrapping up our #Action100 Endeavor. Looks like we're actually going to meet our self-imposed deadline!
Let's get right to it.
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We open with Lex Luthor shuffling through the credits for the issue while the Grim Reaper has come to take him away! He ducks the scythe-slash and scurries across his palatial office. Just then Happersen pops in... and so, Luthor offers his unwitting assistant up to Grim Death in his stead... whatta guy!
Luthor goes so far as to shove Hap' into the Reaper... which reduces him into a skeleton in a suit. Death then lowers his hood, revealing himself to be... Superman?! He hoists Luthor up... and suddenly they're atop LexCorp Tower. Luthor is dropped... to his doom!
Or not... because this is all a dream, silly! Luthor springs up on an examination table, where he is comforted by his personal physician Kelley. He tells her that he's seen death... he knows he's not long for this world. Probably ought to give a bit of backstory, right? Ya see how Lex is wearing that glove on his hand? Well... that's because it's not really a hand. Due to his wearing of a Kryptonite Ring, he contracted cancer and had to have it amputated. The cancer has spread... and will soon claim his life.
We shift scenes to the newly-engaged Lois Lane and Clark Kent enjoying a night out. After eating, Lois gets a time via 1990 cellular telephone technology about a fire at the old brewery. Clark listens in as he finishes a glass of wine...
Lois splits to get the scoop... but cannot seem to catch a cab. Lucky for her, Superman was also just on his way to take a gander at the fire. On the way, they talk about Lois and Clark's pending nuptials... leading to a cute exchange about whether or not Superman expected Lois to wait around for his proposal!
Moments later, they arrive at the blaze... and Superman does his thing. He saves the folks trapped amid the debris, and flies off to grab truck-fulls of water to douse the flames. In a weird bit, as he's taking off to procure the water... the officers and fire fighters question where he's going... as if he's just going to leave'em hanging. Really weird for them to question him.
Back at LexCorp, Mistuh Luthah is enraged that his brewery is ablaze... and orders whoever responsible for the faulty maintenance be fired. Not killed? Hmm, maybe the illness is making you soft, Lex? As he rants, Kelley pops in to give him the what-for for working late. This leads to a flashback montage of Kelley's relationship with Lex.
She takes her leave, suggesting that what Lex really needs isn't a doctor, but a miracle worker... and suggests that he only has one year left on this side of the ground. Lex remains in his office, and recalls a time when he considered himself a "miracle worker"... and decides to start "making miracles" again.
And so, we shift ahead three days... Lex along with pilot Nick Buxton plan to take the new X-27 model of the Lex-Wing on a record-breaking around the world pole-to-pole flight. Before taking off, he fields a few questions about his declining health... and kinda waves 'em off. Then, with an oddly-wicked look in his eye, he boards the jet and readies for lift off.
Back at the Daily Planet, Jimmy meets with Lois and Clark... who casually mention their hopes that nobody at the office will make a big deal about their engagement. Well, wouldn'tcha know it, the Daily Planet staffers are just about to throw the happy couple a surprise engagement party! Whoops!
We jump back to Lex, who is currently flying over St. Croix... where he ejects his co-pilot Mr. Buxton so he can test what "this baby can really do"!
Back at the Planet, Lois and Clark notice that the Chief is kinda keeping to himself. This is just after the death of his son, Jerry White... who was actually Lex Luthor's biological son... but, we don't need to really get into that right now. Anyhoo... they tell Perry that they're basically like his kids too... which manages to get a half-smile.
Meanwhile, Lex's flight of fancy continues... right into the ground! In a neat bit, just as Lex crashes, we transition to a cork popping out of a bottle of bubbly.
Back at the party, a news broadcast plays... the staffers learn of Luthor's crash... and before Lois can even ask for Clark's thoughts, Superman is halfway across the globe.
At the crash-site, Superman sifts through the wreckage... and wonders if Lex perished deliberately.
We wrap up with the news of Lex's death hitting all of the global news outlets... and folks sharing their reactions, as Superman looks on and attempts to process what has just gone down.
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Ya know... when we think about "death" in comics these days... it's like getting a hangnail in the real world. I minor, though annoying, inconvenience that... in time, will pass. Back in 1990, deaths seemed a little more shocking... and a little more permanent. I think this story straddled that "permanent" aspect about as well as you might hope.
We get a boom... but we don't get a body. I think that's the right way to do this, especially when... I mean, it's Lex Luthor... he's not going to stay dead forever... and at least this way, you don't have to "explain away" having seen his corpse.
Lex's lingering illness has loomed large for a long time at this point... and, as with every subplot... something would eventually have to be done with it. I think subverting the "sickness" and just pulling the quick exit makes a lot of sense. If we look at Lex, he's not the kind of fella who you'd expect to just whither away his final months in a hospital bed. If he has to "go out", he's going to do it "his way".
We get some fallout from the Lois and Clark engagement... and it's all pretty cool. This is that interim period between the proposal and the reveal... so, it makes for some interesting Lois/Clark/Superman love triangle dynamics. Really dug the bit where Lois asked Superman if he expected her to wait for him to "come around".
I thought it was interesting that we see Clark drinking wine at dinner... and nobody thought to say "boo" about it. Man, there are times I think about how much more enjoyable the books would be today if not for social media. That's... probably a discussion for another time though.
Overall, thought this was as good a way to "off" Luthor as possible given the circumstances and plans for the future. The book delivers on what the cover copy claims... and sometimes, that's just enough. I'd say this one's worth checking out. Doesn't look like it's available digitally at the moment, but shouldn't be a toughie to track down.
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Letters Page:
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