Adventures of Superman #558 (June, 1998)
"Another Typical Day"
Plot - Karl Kesel
Script - Jerry Ordway
Pencils - Steve Yeowell
Inks - Denis Rodier
Colors - Glenn Whitmore
Separations - Digital Chameleon
Letters - Albert DeGuzman
Assistant Editor - Maureen McTigue
Editor - Joey Cavalieri
Cover Price: $1.95
Now there's a cover that's gonna tickle your curiosity, ain't it? I mean... what in the world could it be about?! Tell me that wouldn't just jump off the shelves atcha!
This cover is credited to little Tommy Grummett... though, I'm not sure if this is actually a doodle from his childhood, or just an approximation at drawing "kiddie". Either way, it's really neat!
So, let's find out what this one's all about.
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We open with Jimmy Olsen waking up, and ooh boy is he running late! It's half passed ten, and he knows the Chief'll have his hide if he doesn't get to work with the quickness. At that very moment, Superman is hanging out somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean... when a "ball" comes flying his way, which he swats away with a broken piece of mast!
The "ball" is sent into orbit, where it's caught by... Supergirl. She doesn't really look like the Supergirl who was running around during the turn of the century, but it's definitely a Supergirl. By the time she snags it, Superman is flying over Machu Picchu. In case you haven't picked up on it yet, they're playing a game of sorta-kinda Cosmic Baseball.
Supergirl hurls the "ball" back to Earth, where Steel is waiting for it. He whacks it away, hopeful that it might find its way to... Superboy, who is flirting with some local ladies in Paris. His costume doesn't really look "contemporary" either, it's worth saying.
Back in Metropolis, Jimmy Olsen arrives at the Daily Planet. He's instructed to get to the roof right away to snap some pictures of what's about to happen. As he climbs the stairs, however, he is overcome by a weird paralysis... which he blames on his "accidentally" injesting an alien isotope (during the Superman Forever Prestige Format book), because of course he did.
On the roof, Lois waits with a Superman Robot to find out if the Real Steel Deal or the "ball" arrives first. Looks like Superman wins by a nose.
Well, er, he does cheat though... by using Krypto to pluck the "ball" out of the sky. Superman retrieves the "ball", which is going to be auctioned off for charity later on. Krypto kind of freaks out a bit when he gets a load of Jimmy Olsen...
... who appears to have been turned into an alien. Whoops.
We head back inside, where Superman "kents down". It's made clear right off the bat that Lois isn't "in" on the secret. They head over to Jimmy Spaceman who has turned the "ball" into gold! Why it's like he's got the Midas touch! That sounds familiar...
Jimmy and Lois are then sent to Krypton Park... a Superman-inspired park set to be dedicated with tonight's Charity Auction. There, they meet Lois' sister (and Jimmy's squeeze) Lucy. She's okay with Jimmy looking like a Spaceman... so long as it ain't permanent. Gotta figure, this might be one of the tamer transformations she's lived through.
Later on, the Auction is set to begin. Before it can, however, the (all too realistic) "Fire Falls Riverbed" goes boom threatening to flood the whole place with firewater!
Superman hops into action, and quickly deduces that this wasn't no accident. Oh, and Jimmy is now missing as well! After checking his Pal's favorite "haunts", Superman is alerted by the Zee-Zee-Zee of the Signal Watch, which guides him directly in for a speedy rescue... from, Lex Luthor (naturally).
Later on, back at the newsroom... Superman and Lois consider just what they're going to do with Jimmy... who hasn't yet shown any signs of returning to "normal". They compare him to a child, and set him aside do some doodling. Lois suggests that Jimmy Spaceman might benefit by having a Mom and Dad to look after him... which Superman sees through as yet another attempt at having a ring put on it.
Just then, Jimmy Olsen emerges from the Fire Exit. Wait, what? Well, ya see, it turns out he never transformed! The isotope he "accidentally" must've belonged to the Spaceman... and so, the alien demanded payment, in the form of... Jimmy's clothes? Okay then. Anyhoo, at this point, a blinding pink light fills the room... and when it clears, the Spaceman is gone!
All he's left behind (besides Jimmy's clothes) is a doodled picture of Superman! Could the Spaceman be little Tommy Grummett?!
The Man of Steel snags it... and takes it back to the Fortress of Solitude to try and analyze it.
A Fortress of Solitude... full of some very strange relics and artifacts for those of us who came in after 1985. Different shades of Kryptonite... strange Kryptonian costumes. Heck, you oughta see the door on this thing!
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Well, that was... weird.
This came out during one of my "DC dark" periods where I wasn't really following all that much from the publisher. I did grab the Superman Forever one-shot prestige book that proceeded this arc, and remember feeling wildly lost when I gave it a shot. I'm sure had I stuck around, I'd have been even worse off!
Ya see, the gimmick here is "Forever"... and the disparate Superman Family books are all taking place during different times/ages. Man of Steel is a tribute to the Golden Age, Superman (vol.2) is in the future... and I wanna say Action is in the present... or closest to the present. This book is, of course, is a celebration of the Silver Age.
The Silver Age is something I've grown to have a lot of affection for, however, back in the 90's I doubt I would have appreciated this silly story all that much... or understood it!
This time around though? I really enjoyed it. I'm still pretty confused by how this story is happening the way it is, but I'm intrigued enough by the strange little doodle being left behind that I really want to come back for more. Also, the juxtaposition between contemporary characters (the then-current Superman Family) among all of the Silver-Age trappings was interesting to see!
Ya see, writing this blog every day can be kind of handcuffing in a way where I get very little opportunity to do any "fun" reading... but it also affords me the chance to fill in some interesting blanks in my own fandom "career". Today is a pretty good example of that.
Overall... I'd say this one is worth it for the cover alone. I mean, it's just so wild, it's hard to believe it's even real! The story might not live up to the cover (how could it, really?), but it's a fun and intriguing little tale. This issue is available digitally.
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Flash (vol.5) #9 (December, 2016)
"Kid Flash of Two Worlds!"
Writer - Joshua Williamson
Art - Jorge Corona
Colors - Ivan Plascencia
Letters - Steve Wands
Assistant Editors - Amedeo Turturro & Diego Lopez
Editor - Brian Cunningham
Cover Price: $2.99
Hey there's an interesting cover... looks like we'll be crossing one off my "Rebirth Wish List" here, the meeting of the Wally's. As we have learn from the post-Rebirth pay-offs... we probably shouldn't get all that excited, eh?
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We open, and it's Halloween in Central City. This ain't going to be all that Halloweeny... but there is a pumpkin! Anyhoo, Iris has been getting mysterious bouquets of flowers for a little while now... which makes Barry a little uncomfortable, ya know, considering they're not from him. Before she and the guys can do the Halloween horror movie thing, she is called away to a situation on the Keystone Bridge. Flash and Kid Flash decide to unknowingly tag along to help out.
The narration is Wallace's, and he talks about "meeting your heroes". He's met his... it's the Flash. Only one thing though, the Flash won't share his secret identity with him just yet. After diffusing the bridge sitch, the two speedsters are joined by a third... the real Wally West. He taps into the Speed Force to stop an explosion, which leaves the younger Wallace a bit bamboozled.
As the dust has settled, the trio of speedsters get acquainted. When Barry goes to shake Wally's hand, however... a bit of an odd reaction occurs, giving Barry some strange visions... and a heinously ugly full-page spread.
Then... dude snaps! He starts (verbally) laying into the Wally's... refers to their both being abandoned by their parents. Heck, even mentions nu-Wally's dad going so far as to pretend to be his uncle! This is all new information to nu-Wally, by the by.
Real-Wally explains that the Speed Force must be trying to absorb Barry... which, I mean, that concept is getting pre-tty, pre-tty old by now, ain't it? Speaking of overstayed/overused concepts, there's Zoom! Anyhoo, the Wally's gotta nyoink him outta the lurch.
And they do... and it's apologies all around. Unfortunately, nu-Wally heard some things he can't un-hear, and so he throws a tantrum... which has gone on to become his defining character trait, unfortunately.
We jump ahead to a Halloween Party where nu-Wally and Chester P. Runk are supposed to be hanging out. Still not sure there was any point to de-aging Chunk... ya know, besides the whole "funny, ha-ha, look at this random character I know about" sort of reason. Anyhoo, they don't make it inside, because real Wally is there for a chat.
They share stories about their unpleasant childhoods... and what it all comes down to, more or less, is... give Flash a chance, he's not such a bad dude.
They then run off together so real-Wally can show him some Speed Force tricks.
We head toward the close with Barry and Wally talking about everything that's gone down of late. We learn that Wally's the one sending Iris the flowers... though, we already knew that since we're reading this out-of-order. He refuses to inflict himself on her yet... not until he knows a bit more about why he's back. They talk about Abra-Kadabra being responsible for making people forget about Wally, which... I'm sorry... just sucks. What's wrong with just having Dr. Manhattan be responsible for the lot of it? Why complicate matters even further by adding some d-list villain to the mix?
We wrap up with Barry sharing one particular vision he had while in the Speed Force... he's not sure what it was, but it filled him with hope. Psst, it's totally a Mercury helmet... even with no memory of Jay Garrick he ought to be able to identify that!
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As with many of our Rebirth-payoffs... this was quite underwhelming. We keep leaning on the Speed Force crutch as a facilitation device... and, I mean, there's that law of diminishing returns we gotta take into account, right? I mean, we just rescued Real Wally from there... like twice, right? Do we really need to do this like every time out?
What is this art? I'm on record saying (usual artist) Carmine DiGiandomenico isn't my cup of tea (especially on a title like this... and woof at that "Of Two Worlds" homage cover), but... what am I, reading the third story deep in an issue of X-Men Unlimited here? Is this a reboot of Ren and Stimpy? This art really hurt any "oomph" this story might have had right off the bat. I mean, this was supposed to be a big story, right? The two Wally's meeting? Least I thought it was going to be a bigger deal. Maybe that's my bad.
Because what we get... ain't much. I feel like so many of these early-Rebirth era books are in such a hard spot, because there's only so much they can do until DC Brass and Geoff Johns (who might've still been part of DC Brass at this point) decide what they're going to do with the Watchmen characters. Looking back, it makes the entire "Button" reveal feel more like a gimmick and less like a long-term plan. It was the very definition of a "cheap pop", without anything (concrete) to back it up. I mean, we're nearly three-years removed at this point... and we're still waiting! Worse yet... we're still going to be waiting a long time (longer by the day, it seems!).
Even with all that said, however, this issue could have been better handled. It could have felt more special... and, it should have used a different artist. Nothing tells me a story matters less, than when they drop a fill-in artist with a unique "novelty" style into an issue.
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Green Lantern (vol.3) #138 (July, 2001)
"Away From Home, Part One"
Writer - Judd Winick
Pencils - Dale Eaglesham
Inks - Rodney Ramos
Colors & Separations - Moose Baumann
Letters - Chris Eliopoulos
Associate Editor - Michael Wright
Editor - Bob Schreck
Cover Price: $2.25
Had such a good time checking out a Kyle story yesterday... I figured why not go ahead and read the next issue? Also, I'm still getting over being sick, and don't feel up to slinging longboxes looking for something else to discuss quite yet!
Let's hear it for accessibility!
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We open with Kyle getting a call from Martian Manhunter about acting as an Ambassador for an off-planet peace treaty ceremony. This is a pretty funny little scene. Ya see, initially the Tendaxians called looking for Hal Jordan, who as we know, is... unavailable. Then, they wanted Superman... or J'onn himself... and it goes on and on until Kyle asks for his feelings to be spared. Kyle agrees to oversee the signing... so long as he can bring his girlfriend along for the trip.
J'onn gives him the thumbs up, and so Kyle goes about putting himself ahead of schedule so he can afford to spend a week off-planet. It's here that we learn that Terry Berg has, come to accept his homosexuality, and is even taking part at a local youth center.
From here, we spend... probably more pages than we need to, watching Kyle and Jen fly to Tendax. They share like the sitcommiest banter... it's almost like they know we're reading. You ever around "those" kinda people? The ones who won't stop "putting on a show" around perfect strangers? It's like they're hoping we're all thinking "Wow, they must have a super-nutty home life!", when we're all really thinking "I wish these #@%@#$ would just shut up and go away!" Yeah, it's like that.
Anyhoo, they eventually arrive on Tendax, and we're given the quick 'n dirty on them... and, I'm not the most knowledgeable on affairs of the Middle East, but it feels like a loose-ish analogy to the situation between Israel and Palestine.
Kyle and Jade are then introduced to Minister Illus, the elected leader of Tendax... who is extremely pleased to see, not one, but two Green Lanterns. Jade quickly corrects... confuses... and probably annoys him (I know it annoyed me!). C'mon Jade, just stop.
The treaty ceremony isn't for a little while, and so our visiting Lanterns decide to take in some of the sights. First stop, the "water side", because Tendax doesn't have a word for beach. Jade pops her top and tries to soak up as much Sun as possible. Kyle ain't keen on her "hanging out", so he tries to cover up her baubles.
Later that night, they attend a celebratory dinner in anticipation of the treaty ceremony. Everyone is in the best of spirits, they all eat some vegetable lasagna (blech)... and Kyle plays some Rock'em Sock'em robots with a kid. You do see where all this is going, right?
While Kyle is busy being a big kid, Jade chats up Minister Illus. We learn a bit more about his role in the "unfortunateness". Ya see, he was a terrorist in his own right before realizing that there had to be a better way to protect his people. He seems very regretful... though hopeful that everything will eventually work out in the end. You... do see where this is headed, no?
The next day... the ceremony begins. It's such a gala event, Kyle compares it to a Royal Wedding. People are dancing in the streets... there's music... lotsa pomp 'n circumstance!
Then... boom.
Terrorists had blown up a school transport train killing 43 children. An additional 116 people were killed in the blast, with over 400 more injured. Kyle and Jade hop to, and try and do whatever they can to aid the Tendaxians... but for many of them, it's already too late.
We wrap up with Kyle and Jade approaching Minister Illus... and offering their services in this conflict.
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Well, this was pretty heavy, huh?
Not that we didn't see it ending this way, right? I mean, it is a "Part One"... which, nothing to do with this story in particular, is something that kind of annoys me straightaway. Let's tangent for a bit...
When you buy a book with called "STORY, Part One", we're kinda trained to expect a twist/cliffhanger ending... which, to me, kinda lessens the impact of that twist/cliffhanger. Just yesterday we read a "one and done" issue... if this issue didn't have a "Part One" in the title... we might've been expecting another, with a focus on the Kyle/Jen relationship and a backdrop of an off-planet peace summit. Then, the "boom" might've had more of an impact. Instead, I was just waiting for it to happen. Not that I haven't read this story before, but it has been nearing on (Oh Lord) twenty years.
On another note, not naming each individual chapter feels kinda lazy to me. All these "Part 1"s or "2 of 6"s just feel like a cop-out when every issue used to come with a different title. I guess I should be happy the arc got a name... so often anymore, they don't even name the arc until the trade is solicited!
Okay, nit-picky tangent over... probably.
For the issue itself... it was fine. The Kyle and Jen relationship, which I do remember fondly... kind of grated on me a bit here. They feel like that "circus couple" that gets invited to game night. It's like, as soon as they arrive the "show" begins, and you question why you even bothered to invite them. It's like the "You're Schmoopy" episode of Seinfeld. What I'm trying to say is... they're a bit much.
The Terry Berg story gets a requisite mention... we find out that he's going to be okay, which is fair enough.
I think my favorite bit here was the opening pages, where J'onn is running down all the names the Tendaxians actually wanted, before Kyle basically came out and asked him to stop busting his chops. That was cute.
Overall, not a bad issue by any stretch, but one with a somewhat telegraphed ending... and one that laid it on a bit too heavy with the cutesy couple banter. This issue is available digitally.
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