Superman in the Seventies 2000 (SC TPB) 224 pages
Written
by Elliot S! Maggin, Cary Bates, plus Len Wein, Robert Kanigher, Denny
O'Neil, Jack Kirby, Paul Levitz. Pencils by Curt Swan, plus Irv Novick,
Werner Roth, Jack Kirby, Murphy Anderson. Inks by Murphy Anderson, Bob
Oksner, Vince Colletta, Dick Giordano, Joe Giella.
Colours/letters: various.
Reprinting: Superman (1st series) #233, 247, 248, 249, 270, 271, 276, 286, 287, Action Comics #484, DC Comics Presents #14, Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #133, Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #106
Rating: * * * * (out of 5)
Number of readings: 1 (some stories more)
For reasons known only to its editorial staff, DC Comics
has been reluctant to release TPBs that reprint material from the 1970s.
Or from the Bronze Age of comics in general (defined, at least here, as
being from the late 1960s and ending in 1985 when DC released Crisis
on Infinte Earths). They haven't completely ignored the period. There
were Batman TPBs like Strange Apparitions,
Tales
of the Demon and Batman in the Seventies, there have been the
Jack
Kirby Fourth World TPBs (The New Gods, The Forever People, etc.) and
a few others. But the pickings are pretty thin (though seem to be getting more, more recently).
And, of course, Superman in the Seventies -- a
nice but not quite ideal collection of 13 Superman stories from the Bronze
Age. Here we have a slightly different Superman from the modern version
-- a Superman whose earth foster parentss are long dead; a Superman who
is a nebbish in his alter ego who works not just for the Dailey Planet,
but the TV news station, WGBS; a Superman who is surrounded, not just by
Lois, Jimmy and Perry, but by Steve Lombard and Morgan Edge; a Superman
who's arch foe, Lex Luthor, is not an oily big business man, but a scrapy
scientific genius who's history with Supes dates back to their childhoods.
And this is a Superman drawn, more often than not, by
Curt Swan, an artist with a low-key realism that I find only becomes more
appealing the older I get.
The stories here are usually self-contained one issue
adventures, with Superman confronting threats to the entire city or even
the world.
The book is cleverly broken up into sections devoted to
big battles, super-villains, the supporting cast, and character developing
tales.
The highlights? "Make Way for Captain Thunder" (Sup.
#276), a tale of Superman battling a Captain Marvel-like
character. When I reviewed The Greatest Superman
Stories Ever Told I mentioned that it was a glaring omission not to
have included it. You suppose someone at DC was listening? I read the story
first as a kid, so it's hard to be objective, but it's an enjoyable, atmospheric
read. A notorious story that I'm glad they included (but was sure they
wouldn't) is "I am Curious (Black)" (Lois Lane #106), Robert Kanigher's
attempt at social relevancy as Lois transforms into a black woman to see
what life is like from the other side of the colour bar. The story has
been mocked by some as heavy handed, but it actually holds up surprisingly
well all these years later with Kanigher, a middle-aged white guy, seeming
sincere and showing sensitivity to his topic. The piece is nicely served
by Werner Roth's unsplashy pencils.
Another plus is "The Challenge of Terra Man" (Sup.
#249). Not for its introduction of a long serving villain, but for its
plotting and pacing (including an effective "High Noon"-style build up,
appropriate for a villain with a cowboy motif). And its old fashioned idea
that in order to make the action exciting, complications must need be introduced.
Superman must fight while suffering from a Kryptonian illness that makes
his powers go haywire. It's a fun adventure, even if the story ends with
the Terra Man an unexplained figure (a story for another day, I guess).
Closing the book is the highly appealing "The Day Superman Got Married"
(Action #484), which focuses on the Earth 2 Superman at a time when
DC had alternate versions of its heroes. Think of it as an "Elseworlds"
story as Superman and Lois get married (though things aren't that simple).
I've never been a fan of Joe Giella's unsubtle inking, but here it works
beautifully, lending a Golden Age simplicity to Curt Swan's otherwise modern,
realist pencils.
"I Can't Go Home Again" is a short piece that was part
of a back up series called The Private Life of Clark Kent. I'd read it
as a kid, and though I couldn't have articulated it as such back then,
it strikes me as summarizing the essence of the Bronze Age Superman.
There are other, reasonably pleasing tales in this collection,
such as Superman teaming up with his dog, Krypto ("Who Was That Dog I Saw
You With Last Night" Sup. #287). I've never thought much about Krypto,
but there's something oddly affecting about Superman soaring through the
air with his super-dog at his side. It's at once silly, juvenile...but
also iconic and dramatic. And there are entertaining stories featuring
appearances from villains Lex Luthor, The Parasite and Brainiac.
There are also a few missteps.
"Jimmy Olsen Brings Back the Newsboy Legion" (Jimmy
Olsen #133) is intended to be both a Jimmy Olsen tale (from a time
when he had his own comic) and to showcase Jack Kirby's first work for
DC Comics. But the story doesn't resolve, and concepts that we are told
(via Mark Waid's introduction) Kirby introduced in his run on Jimmy Olsen
-- cloning, and more -- aren't articulatted here. As a moment in comics
history, the piece is interesting, as a story, not so much. The same is
true of "Superman Breaks Loose" (Sup. #233). Intended to herald
a much ballyhooed change in Superman, it features Superman becoming immune
to Kryptonite and, supposedly, becoming less powerful (though that's not
clear here), as well as coming to work for WGBS. The WGBS job would last
for the next decade and some, but the rest of the changes were decidedly
short term -- and as a story, it's kind of flat. While "Judge, Jury...and
No Justice" (DC Comics Presents #14) features a clever premise of
having Superman, through a twist of time, battling Superboy (who, back
then, was Superman as a youth), but the story seems to be continued from
a previous adventure and is vaguely unsatisfying. It's also not clear how
the mythos in the various stories relate to each other, something that
Mark Waid's editorials might have cleared up. In one story Clark Kent's
childhood pal, Pete Ross, is still his buddy, in the other he's become
a millionaire and a villain, Morgan Edge is sometimes a good guy and sometimes
a bad guy, etc.
Another problematic entry is "Must There be a Superman?"
(Sup. #247) Although uncontestably considered a classic, I've never
regarded it as highly as others. But given its "classic" status, that shouldn't
preclude its inclusion, and even I admit it's trying to be a thoughtful
story (moreso than the simple hero vs. villain stories that predominate
in this TPB). No, the objection I have is that it was already included
in the TPB The Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told. Sure, that book
was published more than a decade before, but TPBs are sufficiently pricey
that there should be some attempt to avoid duplication.
Superman in the '70s reflects a greater care in
selecting stories than I've (cynically) come to expect from such collections.
"I am Curious (Black)", "Superman Breaks Loose" and "Must There be a Superman",
as well as a Kirby Jimmy Olsen, are all classics to one degree or another
(even if only "I am Curious (Black)" did I feel held up, and to a lesser
extent, "Must There be a Superman"). And the attempt to portray different
aspects of Superman from the time is appreciated. With that being said,
the TPB still reflects the short sightedness of these books. For example,
it could be titled: Superman in the Early Seventies, since all but
two stories were published between 1970 and 1975, ignoring later, arguably
more ambitious stories. The emphasis here is largely on action/fight stories,
eschewing more thoughtful stories that come to mind. And it might've been
nice to see Supergirl, or Kandor, or even a Superboy story that utilized
Superboy's milieu (or even the Legion of Super- Heroes).
Ultimately, this is a good collection, featuring some
fun stories. But it falls just shy of being a great collection. Still,
it's a nice reminder of an earlier Superman, a Superman who inhabited a
slightly kinder, gentler world, where even Lex Luthor had a conscience.
This Superman seems to be slightly older than his modern version: older,
smarter -- more able to think his way through situations -- and just a
little more alone. For those who remember him, Superman in the Seventies
is a nice return, and for those too young, it gives an insight into a different
take on the Man of Steel.
There's a curious sidebar that comes up when reading both
Superman
in the Seventies and The Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told.
In both books, the editors mention they would've included a tale that ran
in Superman #296-299 if not for its length. Consider: two editorial
regimes, more than a decade apart, cite the same story as something they
wanted to collect, but couldn't. It begs the question: why doesn't DC
just collect the story on its own? Why must it always be "considered"
and then rejected for inclusion in another TPB? The answer, sadly, is probably
in the opening paragraph to this review. I have no idea if the story is
really as good as the editors think, but that's not the point. The point
is, since DC releases TPBs all the time collecting second rate story lines
just months after they were first published, why is it so unwilling to
collect a decades old story that at least two groups of editors thought
was pretty good? Why?
Additional note: an e-mailer informed me that Superman
#296-299 was included in a hardcover collection published a couple of
decades ago called The Great Superman Comic Book Collection--
something to keep an eye out for in the used book stores.
Cover price: $31.00 CDN./ $19.95 USA.
Superman: Infinite City
see my review here
Superman: Kal 1995 (SC GN) 64 pages
Written
by Dave Gibbons. Illustrated by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez
Colours: Digital Chameleon. Letters: unbilled.
Rating: * * * * (out of 5)
Number of readings: 1
An "Elseworlds" tale that has Superman rocketing to earth
as a baby and arriving, not in 20th Century America, but medieval England,
Kal
is a nicely told "what if...?" style story.
It's a fairly traditional medieval set story, featuring
the lowly peasant (Kal), his high-born lady-love (Loisse), and an evil
lord (Baron Luthor), with the obligatory midsummer's fair of jousting and
the like thrown in, all made slightly more individual by the fact that
the peasant in question happens to have superpowers. The thing never even
really becomes a "superhero" story in that Kal never actually dons a costume
or adopts a secret identity. But Gibbons delivers a story, with
a beginning, middle and end -- if not quite a novel, the plot could nonetheless
be comfortably transferred to a movie and no one would think themselves
shortchanged. The story's made up of little scenes that build on each other,
forming a whole. A number of "Elseworlds" one-shots I've read often leave
me feeling I haven't read a graphic novel but just a regular comicbook.
That's certainly not a complaint here.
As well, other such stories can seem a little too wrapped
up in the cutesy novelty of an alternate reality, throwing in references
and cameos that can detract from, rather than add to, the story. Again,
Gibbons avoids that pittfall. We have Superman, Lois, Lex Luthor and Jimmy
Olsen (Jamie, Oll's son) and Kryptonite, but it's all there as a logical
part of the story, gaining resonance because of the association with regular
comics' continuity (Jamie as Kal's best friend) but not hamstrung by it.
Gibbons displays a nice ear for dialogue and effectively
entrenches the story in the period, from the fears of Kal's foster parents
that his abilities will be seen as witchcraft, to the mundane idea that
in the disease riddled middle ages, Kal's invulnerability might be evidenced
simply by having a clear complexion (not something that comes up in 20th
Century Superman stories).
The art is by the peerless Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, and
I'm a big fan of his work, mixing realism in his figures and positions,
his expressive faces, with a nice sense of storytelling composition. He
employs a heavier inking style than I associate with him, taking away some
of the realism from his style, but it's still extremely effective and evokes
the period to boot.
The story's somewhat downbeat, and perhaps teeters on
the edge of warranting a mature readers warning. Lois's unhappy fate seems
a bit, um, inappropriate for such a long lasting character, too. But, overall,
this is quite compelling and atmospheric, and even delivers a cute twist
ending.
Cover price: $8.25 CDN./ $5.95 USA.
Superman: Kryptonite 2008 (HC & SC TPB) 132 pages
Written by Darwyn Cooke. Illustrated by Tim Sale.
Colours: Dave Stewart. Letters: Richard Starkings, with Jared K. Fletcher. Editor: Mark Chiarello, Tom Palmer, Jr.
Reprinting: Superman Confidential #1-5, 11 (2007-2008)
Rating: * * * * (out of 5)
Number of readings: 2
DC had good success with Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, a comic in which changing creative teams were allowed to tell self-contained, generally retro story arcs about Batman -- a series that was cancelled after producing more than 200 issues and simply replaced with the similar Batman Confidential. But DC has had less success trying the formula with other characters, from its multi-character anthology comic, Legends of the DC Universe, to Superman Confidential -- the latter only mustering 14 issue before cancelation.
Perhaps the problem was that Legends of the DC Universe and Superman Confidential lacked the same sense of artistic experiment that LOTDK pretended to have, or maybe they were a little too obsessed with emphasizing retro continuity that no one was that interested in (Superman Confidential did a multi-issue arc wrapped around the origin of...Jimmy Olsen's signal watch!). Or maybe Batman's name on a cover sells better than most.
Anyway, despite its short life, Superman Confidential has produced one collection, reprinting its first -- and best regarded -- story arc. Written by Darwyn Cooke, still riding a wave of acclaim thanks to DC: The New Frontier, and drawn by popular artist Tim Sale, this is set during Superman's early days as a crime fighter, still unsure of himself, his origins, his abilities, his place in the world...and featuring his first encounter with the radioactive remnants of his home world, kryptonite.
Sale as artist is an evocative choice, not simply because it suits a pairing with Cooke (Cooke's own pencil style is not dissimilar) but because Sale drew the well regarded Superman for All Seasons which was a similarly retro tale of a novice Superman. Sale's art here is maybe not as detailed in the backgrounds as on that earlier work, but it's effective stuff, the cartooniness deceptively simple looking even as it demonstrates a nice feel for composition, for storytelling, and for character design. All given an extra atmosphere and mood by the colours.
Likewise, Cooke's writing is deceptive, too. Indulging Sale with a lot of big panels, the script can seem a bit thin and simple -- and is, read month to month, the story benefitting I think read as a collected "graphic novel". Yet it is deceptively simple because, like with his DC: The New Frontier epic, Cooke manages to craft a tale with a lot of seeming disparate threads, and lot of nuances, and one that doesn't take you where you think it's going to.
In this case, the rock of kryptonite is mysteriously sentient, narrating much of the story -- nor does it seem as malicious as its toxic nature would imply. The rock is owned the mysterious Gallo, a Las Vegas entrepreneur of shady mob origins who's opened a casino in Metropolis. Daily Planet editor Perry White assigns his crack team of Clark Kent, Jimmy Olsen, and Lois Lane to get the goods on Gallo. There's a retro feel to some of the story that goes beyond even the "early days of Superman" theme, with an almost 1950s vibe in Sale's costume and character designs, and the down-to-earth plot of Supes as an investigative reporter trying to get the goods on a suspected mobster evokes the tone of the 1950s Superman TV and radio series. But of course, that's only part of it, and larger-than-life super feats come into play as there's a natural disaster or two to be thwarted, and super goons in the employ of nemesis Lex Luthor to contend with.
Cooke effectively explores the notion of a novice Superman aware of his own seeming invulnerability...but also unsure how far that extends, never sure if that flood of lava, or that eruption of liquid nitrogen, will prove more than he can take. All this, of course, provides a thematic build up to his encountering kryptonite -- a substance that can kill him.
Along the way, Cooke just delivers some nice, little scenes, too, of Supes talking with his adopted parents, or trying to juggle a romance with Lois Lane while saving the world (and yes, there's that ol' inconsistent DC continuity again, since I thought the mid-1980s revamp of Superman had it be that Superman dated Lois as Clark, not as Superman). There's a cute scene of Supes confiding in a certain Artic critter.
As I said, it's deceptive how much Cooke crams in. There's even a significant twist part way through that effectively changes how we perceive earlier scenes.
Read together, it nicely ties together as a thoughtful graphic novel.
Maybe too thoughtful.
For some reason, there was a huge delay between the fifth chapter and the final chapter. I had initially assumed that, given the gap, issues #1-5 told the story and #11 was maybe an epilogue/afterthought. But, no. #5 ends on a cliffhanger that is resolved in #11.
But ultimately the climax can seem a bit...anti-climactic. As I say, Cooke maybe goes for the thoughtful more than the visceral. So instead of a grand climax, it more just seems to peter out. Even the significant twist to which I alluded, though cleverly turning our expectations on its head, also means that it saps some of the tension out of the earlier scenes. It's a good twist for a first reading...a problematic one for a second reading.
I liked Kryptonite, its mix of elements -- super hero action, and mean streets crime drama, kitchen sink realism with philosophical pondering and light humour -- and that mix meaning in some ways it'll hold up well for a second reading (as you'll probably forget about certain scenes or sub-plots). But I'll admit, the finale doesn't fully live up to what went before. It's not that I can say "Oh, this is how Cooke should've handled it", not at all. But viscerally, there isn't quite the payoff you expect. The result is definitely a really good saga...that was almost a great one.
This is a review of the srory as it was orginally serialized in the comics.
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