Superman (vol.2) #174 (November, 2001)
"Every Blade of Grass"
Writer - Jeph Loeb
Guest Art - Steve Lieber
Colors - Tanya & Richard Horie
Letters - Richard Starkings
Assistant Editor - Tom Palmer, Jr.
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $2.25
Going with a random pick today, from whichever longbox is closest... sometimes that's fun to do!
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It's the wake of Our Worlds at War, and much of Kansas has been rocked... and that includes a certain little town. Many of her citizens have gone missing... and that includes a certain little family. We open with Lois and Clark at the remains of the Kent farm, with the former digging through the rubble for one thing in particular. Lois manages to find Ma Kent's old journal, which she reads from aloud while Clark rebuilds the place.
Lois takes a look and misspeaks when she says Ma "kept" a journal, past tense. Clark is quick to correct her as he continues occupying his mind with work. This process continues for several days... and nights.
Clark is just about done with his construction project... which includes taking care of such things as pipes, and even the septic tank (which is a nice touch... details we might not always think about). Lois pops in to let him know they're about to have company... in the form of the Vice President of the United States of America... and the Second Lady!
Pete is a complete chucklehead here... almost feels like a middle-aged Eddie Haskell with the way he's talking... "What d'ya hear, what d'ya say?" So weird. Lana pulls Lois aside to ask the question that she's sure is on Lois' mind as well. Will Clark ever take up the cape again? Lois is unsure, but says that he hasn't outright ruled it out.
Back to Clark and Pete. The Veep claims that there are over a million displaced Americans... in Kansas alone! Which means, the likelihood of tracking down Jon and Martha Kent might be slim. Clark ain't about to take this lying down... not that he really has much of a choice, unfortunately. He tells Pete he'd best talk to his boss... or else he will.
After the Ross's leave, Lois begins to hint that Clark really ought to consider being Superman again. She brings up the fact that she'd lost her own father during Our Worlds at War... and knows that this isn't the right time to take a step back. The nearly-contentious conversation is interrupted by the arrival of a stranger passing through. He calls out to Clark and asks him if "Beef Bourguignon with Ketchup" means anything to him. Well, I'll say it does!
Clark learns that someone important to him is recovering at the local Red Cross Hospital... and so, he has himself a shave and heads off for a visit with Ma!
What he's not prepared for... is Ma's first question. "How's your father?" Clark is taken aback... he'd assumed Pa was here with her!
Clark brings Ma home to her rebuilt house... and gets right back to work keeping his mind off of "things". Lois calls him in to let him know that Perry White called. Clark shrugs it off. Ma suggests that it's be best for her boy to return to the real life... but he shrugs that off too, insisting that Pa is still alive.
Hey, wouldn'tcha know it... Clark's right! We shift scenes to Jonathan Kent hitching a ride on a big rig to head "north". Stands to reason he'd want to get away... he likely believes Martha to be dead.
Back at the farm, Ma gives Clark one of her trademark pep-talks. She assures him that there is a way to move on as Superman while honoring those lost during Our Worlds at War. Slowly but surely, her son comes around.
After checking in with Lois, Superman heads back into the Never-Ending Battle... with a slightly-altered "in memorium" uniform.
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Sometimes the "random pick" method will bite us in the backside... other times, I get a chance to revisit something I probably should have already revisited by now! Today was very much the latter.
The Our Worlds at War era of the Super-books kinda marked my going "all-in" after an extended time away. I'd popped in here and again... and kinda traced my finger around the edges of the Super-books going into the turn of the century, but was afraid of making such a large (and potentially daunting) commitment to a family of titles.
With Our Worlds at War, I found myself hooked! Sure, in hindsight the event was maybe a bit on the bloated side, and probably had a few too many tie-in one-shots and the like... but, back in 2001 I was all about it. This "quiet" reflect-y issue was a really good capper... and, just like the Super-book we discussed yesterday, didn't just tie a bow on everything that came before... but also spurred on a few story threads.
Of course to fully appreciate this issue we need to kinda suspend our disbelief. I have trouble reconciling the fact that Ma was holed up so close by at the Red Cross Hospital, and Clark didn't know it. Sometimes he can zero in on a particular heartbeat or voice... and sometimes he can't. Guess we just gotta roll with it.
The costume alteration to include the black shield? Gotta say, I really dug this touch. Heck, I was a bit bummed out when they reverted back to yellow! The black shield was a very striking touch... and a really neat way to pay tribute to those lost during Our Worlds at War... and, in the real world, to those lost during the 9/11 attacks.
Our guest-artist is Steve Lieber, and... while I'm not sure I'd like this kind of art in a "regular" action-heavy issue of Superman... for a quiet issue like this, it does the job. The (McGuinness) cover is also pretty great!
Overall, I definitely recommend this, though with the caveat that you'd probably want to have some familiarity with the events of Our Worlds at War to fully appreciate it. This issue (and many chapters of Our Worlds at War) is available digitally.
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Action Comics #692 (October, 1993)
"And Who, Disguised as Clark Kent?"
Writer - Roger Stern
Co-Plotter - Karl Kesel
Pencils - Jackson Guice
Inks - Denis Rodier
Letters - Albert DeGuzman
Colors - Glenn Whitmore
Associate Editor - Frank Pittarese
Editor - Mike Carlin
Cover Price: $1.50
If you were to take a poll and ask those folks who trawl the 25/50-cent bins which books show up most often during their hunts, you're probably going to get a bunch of different answers... though most, I'd assume would be early-Image (or early-Image adjacent).
If you were to ask me though... it'd be this book, and lemme tell ya, it's not even close! Action Comics #692, for being such an important book (as we're about to talk about), is my most tripped-over weed in the cheap-o bins... and has been for well over a decade!
This is all apropos of nothing, of course... just something that immediately comes to mind when this cover passes my gaze.
Let's get to it!
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We open with our newly-returned Superman digging through the rubble of a building destroyed during the brouhaha with Doomsday... where he manages to find Clark Kent, alive and well! Hey, that takes care of that! Lois rushes over to embrace her missing fiance, before posing for a great photo-op.
Superman is pulled aside by Cat Grant for a statement. While they talk a slimy fellow rushes up to inform Superman (and the world) that the rights to the name "Superman" now belong to Rex Leech Enterprises... and that teen-age Superman clone!
Superman doesn't seem to be sweating this, and just figures he'll have a chat with the kid somewhere down the line. Speaking of Superboy (and the other three would-be Supermen), the news broadcast next jumps to a "where are they now?" segment. After sacrificing himself out at Coast City, the Eradicator is down and out at S.T.A.R. Labs. Steel was also injured during that to-do, and is expected to make a full recovery. Superboy, er, "the Teen Superman" has been seen canoodling with "LexCorp's" Supergirl, and the Cyborg has been confirmed as having been "destroyed".
We rejoin Superman in the sky, when he is approached by Lex Luthor (II) in his helicopter. He wants to know what Superman has done with his Supergirl. Turns out, she's been pretty evasive since the business in Coast City. Superman assures him that he's not Supergirl's keeper before taking off. Luthor seethes... but only for a moment. He now realizes this is the real Superman... which means, he still has the chance to kill him!
Back to Lois and "Clark", who are at Metropolis General. Clark is examined and given the medical stamp of approval. To explain his phenomenal shape, Clark claims that the place he'd been "buried" for the past month was well-stocked with food and water... and plenty of room for him to keep up with his calisthenics.
Meanwhile at S.T.A.R. Labs, the Eradicator is loaded into one of those fluid-filled tubes that people always seem to be loaded into anytime they visit S.T.A.R. Labs. Many of the sci-guys (and gals) assume he's a lost cause... until they pick up a heartbeat!
We shift scenes back to the Kent apartment, where Superman and Clark finally have a "private" face-to-face confrontation. Superman's all "hands off my woman", Clark goes "oh yeah, try and make me". They let Lois decide, and she picks Superman... which was always her way, wasn't it? Anyhoo, it's revealed here that "Clark Kent" was actually a shape-shifted Supergirl!
The Kents thank her for the help, and she heads off to return to her man, Lex Luthor (II). Lois and Clark have a bit of a reunion... until Clark remembers that he never checked in with Pa after his heart-episode. If you recall, Pa and Superman fought side-by-side on the other side during Adventures of Superman #500 (which I could've sworn we'd discussed here... must be getting my Treadmilling confused with my Infiniting).
Anyhoo, Superman goes to dial up his folks... when suddenly the scene dramatically shifts. Next we know, we're in the office of Dr. Occult, who Superman recognizes from an earlier adventure (which hadn't been told yet). He's here to spill the beans on exactly how Superman was able to cheat death.
He first takes them back in time to the battle between Superman and Doomsday. With every punch they experience, (present day) Superman appears to feel it! It's as though he's going through the same ordeal all over again. Occult assures Lois that Superman ought to be strong enough to survive this time around.
As the trip down memory lane continues... Superman dies. Occult explains that after "death", as Superman's spirit was vacating his body... that body was still soaking up energy from the Sun. Also, that Bibbo's efforts in resuscitating him were actually helpful!
Next stop... Superman's coffin. It's just Occult and Lois for this leg of the tour... present-day Superman has been kayoed. Occult drops even more knowledge. Ya see by this point, Superman's spirit did evacuate the body... however, all of the stored energy inside the body managed to preserve it.
All this explains how Superman was able to fight side-by-side with Jonathan Kent during the opening salvo of "the Return".
At this point, the Eradicator awoke and sought to claim Superman's body. The body was taken, and placed in a Kryptonian Regeneration Matrix. During the process, the Eradicator took some of Superman's energies... and as we know, briefly attempted to usurp his role.
And now... Superman's back! Lois wonders if this means Superman is unkillable so long as there's a Sun. Occult assures her that that's not the case at all... and that it was due to the confluence of a whole lot of factors that he was able to come back at all.
Next thing we know, Lois and Clark wake up in a field.
But not just any field... it's actually part of the Kent Farm! We wrap up with Lois, Clark and the Kents having a joyous reunion.
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Well, there we have it... so many questions answered in a single issue, that it's kind of mind-boggling, ain't it? Could not imagine something like this happening today. Explanations today are dragged across six-issues (if we're lucky!) and often wind up rendered moot with the arrival of subsequent creative teams.
It's hard to consider just how tight everything was back then. 90's comics get a ton of flack (some warranted, some not so much) for being vapid and shallow, but... c'mon, this is some solid stuff that doesn't just tie a bow on what came before, but spurs out into several new story threads.
Let's take a look at the explanation... by first being thankful that it wasn't the Phantom Stranger who took Lois and Clark on their magical mystery tour (though, he is sorta Phantom Stranger-adjacent... they're both part of that Trenchcoat Brigade we talked about a few months back).
The actual explanation though? It worked well enough. I mean, we're dealing with the life, death, and return of a superpowered alien here, so it's not like we should go into this expecting some crazy scientific deal... it's your standard "spirit left the physical husk" type'a stuff... only with the hows, whys, and whens included... and, of course the spirit reoccupying the body bit.
I appreciated the "where are they now?" bits discussing the four impostor Supermen. We didn't need full-blown visits with them here, and a panel a'piece (Eradicator excepted) was good enough. This wasn't their story this time out... but, it's good to know there's still "stuff" going on with them.
Overall, it's not quite business as usual for the Super-books... even though the Real Steel Deal is back to wearing the colors. This feels kind of like an evolution from where the books were pre-Doomsday, and I gotta say, it's a pretty welcome change. That isn't to say I didn't like/appreciate what came before... but, a quarter-century removed, this feels more like "my" Superman going forward. This issue has been collected... well, at least the "Clark gets dug out of the rubble" bit, and is available digitally (though, I'm sure if you really want it... dollars to donuts, it's in your local cheap-o bin!).
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Superboy (vol.3) #1 (January, 2011)
"Smallville Attacks! Part One"
Writer - Jeff Lemire
Art - Pier Gallo
Colors - James Grant
Letters - John J. Hill
Assistant Editor - Wil Moss
Editor - Matt Idelson
Cover Price: $2.99
Ya know what's annoying... how if I mention say, Walmart or Target while in the presence of my phone, my social media will suddenly be bombarded with ads for those places... but, my spellchecker/auto-correct, with as much as I've written about comic books over the past three years, still puts the squiggly-red line under the word "Superboy". Ya kiddin' me with this?
Worth noting, Superboy often auto-corrects to "superbly"... could that be an indication of what we're in for with this very issue?!
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We open with Conner Kent, back from the dead and now living in Smallville. As he sits atop a grain silo he thinks to himself what his life might've been like if he'd had a normal childhood... or, ya know, any childhood at all! While he's thinking about this, we see a little boy dressed like a superhero frolicking in the fields. As Kon rubs a grain between his fingers, Krypto barks, informing him that they're not alone. Superboy finds himself joined by... oh, c'mon, the Phantom Stranger.
The Stranger comes with bad tidings, as he normally does. He tells Superboy that the fate of someone close to him is hanging in the balance... and that he should return home post-haste. Just so happens, at that very moment, Ma Kent is stood atop a chair watering some plants on the porch... she slips, but thanks to the warning, Kon is able to swoop in just in the nick of time.
He tells Ma about his recent visit with the Stranger... and wonders if his staying in Smallville might actually do more harm than good. Ma assures him that there's nothing to worry about... and Ma's got a way of being pretty convincing. Worth noting, if you're reading the panels, read these backwards... the page has this clockwise-circular gimmick going on.
We rejoin that tot dressed like a superhero as he happens across a critter that looks to have been sucked dry. Could the Phantom Stranger have been there to warn of a Chupacabra outbreak?! Well, no... instead, a giant purple mass of a man bursts onto the scene and chases the boy away!
We shift scenes to Smallville High School, where Conner Kent is grabbing some books from his locker. He is approached by Lori Luthor (Lex's niece, natch... which also makes her Conner's sorta-kinda "cousin"). She asks why he's been avoiding her... and he coyly tells her he hasn't been. He's just been busy with "other stuff".
Back in the fields, that Purple Beast is trudging his way toward town... leaving a whole lotta dehydrated flora and fauna in his wake. Is it okay to reveal that this is Parasite yet?
After school, Conner heads to a diner... where he meets an old man. The fella informs him that today is the 154th anniversary of Smallville's founding. He hands over a little blobby figurine he'd whittled and wishes Conner a "Happy Birthday". Conner returns the favor... well, more like he returns the sentiment, it's not like he hands over a whittled figurine himself.
On his way out, Conner runs into Simon Valentine... his best pal in Smallville, who naturally has red hair. That's kinduva "thing" with Super-Pals. Simon pulls him aside because he's got biiiiig news. Conner is certain it has something to do with his army of trained frogs, but nope... it's even bigger than that. Ya see, Simon has figured out that Conner Kent... is Superboy!
Before the Boy of Steel can even begin to digest this revelation, he is attacked by that purple beast Parasite!
Parasite is there... to kill Superman. Kon tears off his shirt, and lets the baddie know he's got the wrong dude... but if he wants to get to the "main event", Parasite's going to have to go through him. As luck would have it, that's exactly what Parasite wanted to do! Ya see, he's going to drain Superboy of his power... and use it against the Real Steel Deal!
After getting punched through a Barber Shop window, Simon shouts that Superboy should take the fight off the street... because, ya know, they're tearing the place up. Superboy tackles Parasite and rams him right back into the wheat fields so they might continue. Unfortunately, upon landing... Superboy ain't good for much!
He realizes he's going to have to count on his tactile telekinesis... and attempts to use it to lift up and hurl a tractor. Only, he's not strong enough at the moment!
As Parasite stomps ever closer, Superboy realizes that it might not take the biggest thing around to put the baddie down.
He focuses his attention on the tens-of-thousands of wheat grains in the area... and absolutely bombards Parasite with 'em! It's actually pretty gross if you think about it... which is why we probably shouldn't!
Simon rushes on the scene to see if "Conner" is alright. Superboy informs him that it's, ya know, not cool to call him by his civilian name when he's in his work clothes. I mean, c'mon, that's Super-Pal 101 stuff there.
Suddenly the flora around them starts going nuts... and we wrap up with the arrival of Poison Ivy, who is fearful she's too late to save Smallville!
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Ya know, it says a lot about a book when it can open with the friggin' Phantom Stranger, and close with Poison friggin' Ivy... and I can still give it the ol' "two thumbs up"! This was a wonderfully enjoyable issue, and a fine start to this new volume of Superboy.
Now, if you're a regular reader/listener, my feelings on the Phantom Stranger ain't a big secret. I find him, like many of DC's mysterious/undead/ethereal characters... to be rather a bore. They seem to pop in and either spout some cryptic nonsense, or just serve as a hand-wavin' deus ex machina. Luckily, he only occupies a couple of pages here... and he facilitates a nice discussion between Conner and Ma.
As for Poison Ivy. She's kinda up there with Ra's Al Ghul in the pantheon of "Bat villains I never need to see again". Especially if we were to jump back to the Winter of 2010/2011. Talk about having a lotta Bat-Books today, back pre-Flashpoint, half the line was like Bat-Books on steroids. I mean, the Avengers would raise an eyebrow and say "Innat a bit much?" So, yeah... seeing a (traditionally) Bat-Family character here didn't exactly rock my socks... but, it also didn't make me not want to pick up the next issue, which is the most important thing.
I thought having Conner move to Smallville and live with (the relatively-recently-widowed) Ma Kent was a great idea! Thought this was a great way to make Smallville relevant, and tell stories that didn't necessarily have to take place in the big city. Also looks like Lemire was pulling together a great little supporting cast for the kid!
The fight with Parasite was pretty great... and concluded with a wonderfully clever use of Conner's much-lauded (by him) tactile telekinesis! This one act of understanding the potential value in "little things" showed a (much welcome) leap in maturation for the Boy of Steel.
So, yeah... I loved this issue. With that said... Why am I so annoyed, then?
Well... this book is yet another example of some of the great things DC had going on before flushing 'em down the toilet less than a year later. Actually, if we're to go by The "official" Chris is on Infinite Earths "hot-take"... this issue had the same cover-date as Flash (vol.3) #6... which is where I personally feel like the "other shoe dropped". That was the issue/month (to my mind) where DC decided that Flashpoint was going to be something more than just the next big Flash event.
So... was this book always doomed to a short life? Did DC launch this knowing it wouldn't survive the year... or, was it already in the works before the seminal beats of The New-52! were in the ether? Whatever the case, this series is a shining example of the good-to-great books DC was putting out before the plug was pulled.
Speaking of "great"... how 'bout this art? Where'd this Pier Gallo come from... and why haven't we seen so more from him?! I mean, holy smokes, this was some wonderful work! Gotta say, this is a top-flight book... and it's a shame it had to be sacrificed for whateverthehell The New-52! Superboy was all about.
Overall... yeah, check this one out! I know Kon-El is about to make his return in the pages of Young Justice (vol.3), but I'm not sure he's going to be the same fella as the one we read here. He's still in his 90's togs... which might just be a "funny, ha-ha"... or might be an indication of where he was "nyoinked" from. Whatever the case, this series is worth your time. This issue has been collected as part of Superboy, Volume 1: Smallville Attacks... and it's also available digitally.
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