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Some time ago I had decided that other than Ultimate Spider-Man, I had given up completely on the Ultimate Universe. After a steady decline for several years, I realized I just didn’t care anymore. So recently when I saw Ultimate Thor on the stands, I passed it by several times before I eventually bought it. The reason for doing so can easily be summed up: Jonathan Hickman. Hickman is so good these days, based on Fantastic Four and especially SHIELD, that his name carries a lot of weight with me.

Ultimately, I made the right call. Just like SHIELD, I was very impressed by the scope of Ultimate Thor and the suspenseful and grandiose method in story-telling which is being used. It already feels incredibly epic: Baron Zemo in WWII; Ragnarok; a young Thor, Loki and Balder having adventures together; Dr. Don Blake visiting Ultimate Thor who may or may not be losing his mind. Hickman can write and I love his style.

Carlos Pacheco, who isn’t my favorite artist, does a fantastic job here, and impressed more than he ever has before. His art looked very clean and exciting.

This was a pleasant surprise and I’m committed to the rest of the series now.

Hey LW! Where are all the Random Reviews?!!

I’ve decided I will at least be trying out all of the Stan Lee / Boom Studios comic books for the first issue, and make a decision about collecting them after that. Having already decided not to continue Solider Zero, I also picked up Traveler and read it; this one I was a little more excited about because of Mark Waid’s involvement, as for the most part, I’ve enjoyed Waid’s superhero stories tremendously over the years. Overall, I’d say Traveler is much better than Soldier Zero, though there are still some things about it that could be much improved upon.

The good: the basic premise, while still not completely clear, is a very science-fiction-y superhero type setting that I find very appealing, especially when in conjunction with Mark Waid’s writing. Though only one issue into it, the pacing and entire “feel” of the series is similar to Waid’s Flash (which I loved), and that was very helpful. Now, to be clear, it’s certainly not there yet but I feel like it *could* get there (unlike, say, Fantastic Four by Waid, which I feel never did). Waid does a great job pacing the comic with sprinkles of science-fiction while not letting it overwhelm the story. He also brings a very fresh approach to time-related science that I found interesting and am curious to know more about.

The slightly annoying: what I dislike, and so far every single comic I’ve ever bought from Boom Studios has this problem, is that you don’t really get a full story in a single comic. I felt like way too much was left out of the issue and I didn’t really get enough bang for my buck. And I hate that. The story could have used some additional pages providing a little more *something*. A lot is left unanswered, which isn’t always a bad thing, but IMO, it’d be better to at least have learned something about the character, the Traveler, or at least something about the premise, or at least something about the way time/his powers work. That’s three major factors that remain unexplained. C’mon guys—there’s a lot of things competing for my $$ and you need to step it up.

The art: Chard Hardin provides the artwork, whom I’m unfamiliar with (or at least, can’t remember him from anything). It’s a solid effort that I thought accomplished what it sent out to do, though to be perfectly honest, a few days later and I’m not recalling all that much about it, so that isn’t perhaps so great. In other words, it was good, but not fantastic—but with potential to get there.

All in all, I think this was a “pretty good” first issue with potential to get good and then possibly great; it all depends on how long I’ll stick around to let it get there. At this point I probably will buy #2, but I won’t guaranty it—there are plenty of times I’ve said I’d buy the next issue but forgotten about the comic and never followed up.

You know him from his work on Warlord (the recently-ended version), though you may not realize it. He's the guy who came aboard after Joe Prado did the initial issue or two. Chad also spelled Grell here and there after Grell became the semi-regular artist. Chad's art was solid enough and told the story well but wasn't anything jaw-dropping. I've considered picking up some of the Stan Lee/Boom titles, but having artists aboard like Hardin, who didn't overly impress, have kept me away from anything other than leaving the possibility open for checking out the eventual trades if reviews merit.

You are, however, absolutely RIGHT about Boom's essential problem of not delivering satisfying individual issues. I've felt the same about titles I've tried and dropped from them (including 28 Days Later and Incorruptible). The only Boom! title I still get and enjoy is Irredeemable, but I'll admit up front that it would probably read much better in trade form.

I feel that to succeed as a monthly, you've GOTTA deliver a satisfying product every month! Boom! obviously writes for the trades, so I'm unlikely to purchase any other ongoing (other than Irredeemable) they solicit on that basis, especially when they're uniformly $3.99 a pop!

^I'm really glad I'm not the only one who noticed that about Boom! I was starting to wonder if it was just me.

IMO, from a business stand-point, the smartest way to make money in comics is to produce solid individual issues that also works cumulatively as a solid trade paperback. Then publishers get the double-whammy. When they don't this, I can't help but feel that someone is being incrediblys stupid. No doubt the Sandman stories by Gaimen work incredibly well as trades, but all those individual issues also worked incredibly well as individual issues, even when part of a larger story.

I haven't checked out Starborn yet (the third Lee/Boom title) but I've heard it suffers from the same problem. I'll probably still give #1 a try but if that problem exists, it's a huge hurdle to overcome in order to get me on board.

Rest, by Mark Powers (writer), Shawn McManus, Marco Castiello, Abhishek Malsuni (line art). TPB.

Full title: Why Sleep? Take REST (Seracetinol).

What could you accomplish if you didn't have to sleep?

John Barrett is a young man in a dead-end job, going nowhere with his life. Out of his past comes his old college roomie and best friend, offering him a chance to change everything. All he has to do is sign up as a test subject for a new drug, Seracetinol aka Rest.

His life certainly changes, but with the unintended consequences you would expect from such a story. The drug has some unfortunate side effects, as well as dark secrets from an earlier trial.

Pharmarceutical skulduggery, corporate spies, a trashy woman, best laid plans gone wrong... and, in the end, you can't keep a drug like that off the market - so there may be a sequel.

It was a good read, if somewhat predictable. There was a sci fi story years ago about children who were born without the need for sleep; that story was much more positive (although not without a downside). Rest is probably more realistic.

The art was good, muted colors suited to the tone but not very complex scenes. (Some of the covers from the five individual issues were very striking, notably by Tim Sale and Phil Jiminez.)

Based on some pretty high praise throughout the internet, I picked up Marineman #1 by Ian Churchill, published through Image. It was a very satisfying read, though I'm unsure at this point if I want to continue.

For whatever reason, Churchill has never stuck out in my mind, so I can't really recall his prior work. I know he provided art for a plethora of comics I've collected (X-Men, Superman, etc.). Here, he does just about everything: writing, pencils, inks, etc. Whenever someone does that, I am always impressed (even more so if they deliver on time).

The premise is something I like--a non-superhero adventure title that would be a perfect fit for people who like the Disovery Channel, History Channel and Animal Planet (all channels I really enjoy). It captures a sense of adventure while at the same time it's--dear I say it?--educational. In other words, it's the kind of comic I'd really love for a young kid to be reading. (Naturally you can't say that or no one will buy it).

Thus far, Marineman has no 'superpowers', which I think is a good thing and hope it stays that way. It will help differentiate him from Namor and Aquaman, which he clearly is inspired by. Interestingly, his look & tone of the series thus far is much more in line with 1950's Aquaman, which was an adventure/social commentary strip more than anything.

The artwork is really beautiful IMO, and I ended up being really impressed by Churchill. Something else else that sticks out is the vibrant coloring, which is nicely done in contrast to the deep blues of the ocean.

My major problem is: is this something that interests me? In a very hypocritical manner, I want this comic to suceed, yet I'm not sure if I want to be the one to buy it. (An arguement I hate from other comic book fans, yet here I am). I certainly don't want to buy something and then not really get into it. I'll have to struggle with this a bit longer and make any further decisions in the store.

What could make or break it is where the opening storyline is going. Will it venture into the more weird, with a higher sense of adventure? That could tip me.

I have to first state my opinion on Alan Moore. I feel bad for him in that DC continues to whore out his better works, but I also feel that he's somewhat conceited, as he has no right to criticize Blackest Night on the grounds that an event book was built out of a tiny plot point he created, as most of his work is pretty much based off of something someone else already created. Terra Obscura, Swamp Thing, Miracle Man (or Marvel Man, I don't know), Supreme, Glory, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, not to mention Watchmen would've originally been a book about the Charlton characters had DC said he couldn't use them.

However, the most work by him I extremely enjoy his America's Best Comics, my personal favorite being Tomorrow Stories. It's an anthology-type series that ran for 12 issues and two specials, although most of the segments are more humorous and meant to satirize certain comics tropes.

Greyshirt, with artist Rick Veitch.
Cobweb, with artist/wife Melinda Gebbie.
First American and U.S. Angel, with Jim Baikie.
Jack B. Quick with Kevin Nowlan.
Splash Brannigan with Hilary Barta.

Greyshirt is a take on the pulp heroes of the 1940s, a detective/vigilante dressed in a grey suit and a bandana mask covering most of his face. The stories are pretty straightforward, but consistent and certainly not boring.

Cobweb is a femme fatale/glamorous vigilante who works with her partner/chauffeur/lover Clarice, but the stories are really just Melinda Gebbie's vehicle for exploring different art styles and feminist erotica. Gebbie only worked on Cobweb until the seventh issue, at which point Dame Darcy took over for two issues, followed by Joyce Chin, and then Rick Veitch handling art in a crossover story with the Greyshirt segment.

First American and U.S. Angel highly satirizes the superhero trend, F.A. is totally inept and overwight and Angel hates him. Beyond satirizing superheroes, they also satirize pop culture, with the first issue dealing with a Jerry Springer-type parody who turns out to be an alien invader.

Jack B. Quick, a take on the boy genius trope, is a highly intelligent farm boy who does often ill-conceived experiments based on incorrect logic and beliefs. This has actually driven his parents to become suicidal. In the first issue, his mother asks "Jonathan Beauregarde Quick! You better not be usurping the Almighty's divine option again!"

Splash Brannigan lampoons the comic industry in general, Splash being made of living, 4-dimensional ink, and his co-star being Daisy Screensaver, a female inker struggling with deadlines and her crank, suicidal boss Sydney J. Kaput of Kaput Comics. The comics often questions the previous, more innocent state of comics to today's hyper-violent, sarcastic thugs. One of the comics in Splash Brannigan is actually called Sarcastic Thug.

I want to focus on the segments for each individual character that really drew my eye.

Cobweb was the whole reason I had gotten interested in Tomorrow Stories. As I said previously, each issue features Melinda Gebbie trying out different styles and themes. I particularly enjoyed the story in #5, "La Toile dans Chateau des Larmes", (Cobweb in the Castle of Tears). La Toile is actually a villainous ancestor of the current Cobweb, Laurel Lakeland, whom lived in 19th century France. The story focuses on La Toile's descent into the underworld, and consequent ascension to heaven upon realizing that everything is meaningless, done in a style similar to that of a collage of metal engravings in a violet color. The story uses phrases such as "she misplaced her wicked life on the top deck of a deconsecrated omnibus", or "the previously beloved devils of her senses now stirred nothing from her loins save nagging Lamias and damp, exhausted crocodiles". The artwork is beautiful, and while there is no dialogue, the words and tone of writing just make you want to come back for more.

In issue #7, the last Cobweb story Gebbie illustrated for the Tomorrow Stories series is done in the style of black-and-white newspaper comics from the 1920s. The story, called "Mondo Gowando", has "Congo Cobweb and Congo Clarice" taking a trip into the jungles of Gowandogandoland, where the two fall into the clutches of the Lost Housewives of New Jersey, a tribe of statuesque housewives who disappeared during a package tour, and have since assimilated to jungle lifestyle. Their speech is nothing but an exaggerated New Jersey accent, example: "Cheedeez buggzamoydah". After receiving attire from the Lost Housewives, Cobweb and Clarice spend the remainder of the story fleeing for their lives from the Housewives (who intend to sacrifice the two to their god, Gowando) Mark Male (a parody of the male jungle scientist character), and Tarquin of the Woodlice (don't ask). The artwork is more conventional, but the themes aren't less erotic, as at one point, Cobweb and Clarice attempt to camouflage themselves with mud, but simply turns into mud wrestling as the Housewives, Mark Male, and Tarquin ogle.

Despite the feminist erotic themes, Cobweb has been depicted as loving both men and women, as she has had a relationship with Greyshirt, and also had something of an SM relationship with a villain named the Mongoose, but it is implied that Clarice is her true love, and vice versa. As it turns out, there has been a long line of Cobwebs and Clarices in the Lakeland family, dating back from Incan ancestors, who discovered a way to parthenogenetically reproduce, thus meaning that Cobweb and Clarice are sisters, but not related by DNA. Most of the previous Lakeland women were thieves, murderers, and Satanists, until the companion to La Toile, Clothilde, became disillusioned and ran off with their daughters to America during the start of the 20th Century.

The reason for this explanation is that the Cobweb stories tend to take place in different times with no explanation. The first story seems to take place in the 1940s, another focuses on Li'l Cobweb and Li'l Clarice, and another a 1960s story with Grooveweb and Cosmic Clarice. The answers are provided with ABC A-Z: Greyshirt and Cobweb.

The artistic duties went to Dame Darcy as the story that Gebbie and Moore had originally wrote for #8 was shelved because the editors considered it too controversial, so it was published by Top Shelf with Cobweb's costume being colored green and renamed "La Toile".

To be honest, I actually prefer Clarice to Cobweb, as she has to deal with her mistress and sometimes act as a voice of reason.

If you guys are up for breaking taboo, I suggest you try out Tomorrow Stories. I'll be back later for more.

JSA PRESENTS: STARS AND S.T.R.I.P.E. VOLUME ONE

Collecting "Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #1-7

My reader/author relationship with Geoff Johns has been like a tempestuous love affair where the apparent nice apple-pie guy turns out to be morose, moody, morbid, and deeply disturbed.

And yet, every time I say I'm never coming back to him, I do.

What brought this about was when I borrowed the fifth volume of Starman Omnibus from the library, and lo and behold, it included a reprint of Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #0, included because of Jack Knight's sizable guest-starring role. And I loved the story. It was a timely reminder of how good Johns used to be. So I figured, the library has both S&S trades, I've always loved Courtney, and she's based on Johns' beloved kid sister, so there can't be anything too horrible, right?

Well, yes...and no. Johns' penchant for the grotesque and creepy is already evident -- giant bloodthirsty mosquitoes, the head of the cheerleading squad being the abused daughter of a super-villain -- albeit not in-your-face like it's been these last few years. Still, it spoils the fun.

And there is fun to be had. Courtney and her best friend Mary are wonderfully written, as is Courtney's loveable lug of a stepdad, Pat "Formerly Known as Stripesy" Dugan. Johns really knows how to do characterization, and it's something that's gotten lost of late among the gallons of gore.

On the other hand, my beloved Young Justice doesn't come off too well in their guest appearance, and neither do the Marvel Family (I assume it was a crossover with Power of Shazam, and it would have been much appreciated if DC had included the Shazam issue in this trade.)

But I'm still going to read the second trade, and hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised.

My daughter has read through these and enjoyed them quite a bit. She loves Courtney.

Courtney was awesome back in the day, but I lost sight of her after I quit "Justice Society" shortly after its relaunch. How has she been written lately?

And, Bug, just curious, has your daughter ever read back issues of "Young Justice"?

Unfortunately no. I never got into that at the time, so she has not had the chance.

That's a shame. It was so good. I wasn't into it at the time, either, and since there's only one out-of-print trade, I had to look for back issues. STILL haven't found the final two issues.

JSA PRESENTS: STARS AND S.T.R.I.P.E. VOLUME TWO

Collecting "Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E." #0, 8-14.

Except for #0, which now looks like a fluke, the second volume was more of the same, with the added annoyance of continuity mania. The flashback to the 7 Soldiers' legendary battle against the Nebula Man is well-written, but did it HAVE to be told? Whatever happened to leaving things to the readers imagination? And the resolution of the over-arching storyline brought out that paternalistic side to Johns that bothers me almost as much as his taste for the gross and the creepy.

And yet, as before, there are moments of well-observed humanism and sharp characterization. Maybe Johns just needs some therapy to cure the Jekyll-and-Hyde tendencies of his writing.

I think maybe, perhaps that like Giffen and Byrne, perhaps Johns works nest when paired with someone else to keep him in a target range. This is not to say that I do not like his, or any of their solo efforts, jus that they seem to do better things with others.

Good point. To give but one example, all of Johns' best JSA stories were co-written by David Goyer.

FL, I enjoyed the reviews of Stars & STRIPE, a series I haven't thought about in a long time! I remember enjoying the series at the time--not really overly impressed by the stories, but rather just loving Courtney and the portrayal of Stripesey. Courtney is one of the best new characters that came out of the 90's.

I think a few mistakes have been made along the way with her: making her Stargirl (kind of a useless change), and letting her get lost in the crowd in the ridiculously overfilled JSA comics.

One quick question: am I correct that Stripesy's youth (since he was born in the 1920's) is explained by his time travel / Seven Soldiers / returned in the JLA story adventure? I can't remember ever confirming that, but I've always just assumed.

Fickles, while I'll agree that Geoff worked better generally on JSA with Goyer, he has had numerous terrific solo credits that, IMO, would refute your claim. Just to name a few, I'd put Green Lantern, both Flash runs, Superman: Secret Origin and his issues of Action Comics without Richard Donner out there as examples. I know you might disagree with some of those, but the critical acclaim and success they experienced cannot be discounted. He has his flaws, but to say he's always better with another writer seems unsupported. I mean, for starters, just look at all the bile thrown at Brightest Day, which he co-writes with Peter Tomasi.

Cobie, that explanation is indeed in S&S, issue #8 to be exact. It's the old "I spent a week in the past but it was forty years later when I returned to the present" paradox.

Chief, I do think Johns did an exceptional job solo on Green Lantern: Rebirth and the first 25 issues of the GL ongoing, but I think it's because he had a strong editor (none other than Peter Tomasi) for most of the way, and that the excellent Sinestro Corps War event was already set in stone even though Tomasi had left the book by that time. Tomasi also edited Johns' entire pre-relaunch JSA run, both with and without Goyer, BTW.

I think Johns is currently in that dangerous position where he's so powerful that editors don't dare question his more dubious tendencies. It'll be interesting to see if Johns' writing changes for the better under Bob Harras as DC EiC, as Harras has a reputation for being very tenacious.

I sampled Thunderstrike #1 on a whim recently and finally got around to reading it. When Thunderstrike was first introduced, I disliked the character because I hated the “replacement of Silver Age characters” phase at Marvel. But once I read the entire run of Thor in my early teens, I actually began to love the character of Eric Masterson and he became a big favorite of mine; I absolutely saw the potential for him to be a great friend of Thor’s with Thor restored and Eric as Thunderstrike. So with that in mind, I picked up the new title, delighted to see the team of DeFalco and Frenz, who created Thunderstrike and basically wrote all of his solo stories.

First off, with Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz as the creative team (with finished by Sal Buscema, who also did some Thor work with them), this comic felt so 1980’s that it hurt—and in a GOOD way. I forgot how much I like Frenz’s style, especially when he channels Kirby, which he tends to do on Thor & Thunderstrike. Meanwhile, DeFalco hits all the classic beats of story-telling, such as providing set-up, character interaction, super-action and an easy flow to the story that I’ve missed. DeFalco was never my favorite writer when he was a high profile Marvel guy, but I realize now he was actually pretty good (or got that way over time).

The character himself is not Eric Masterson, but his son, who we knew when he was a boy. The son is now a teen and to say he is troubled is an understatement—but you can’t really blame him, given what’s happened. So what we’re seeing is an angry teenager, who surprisingly gains immense power with the Thunderstrike, and reluctantly takes on the role of superhero when all he wants to do is lash out at the world, especially the heroes who were once his father’s allies. Not the most original concept but a good one and one I can get behind.

The premise also takes on a bit of a Shazam type quality since it’s a teenager taking on the form of an adult; in fact, he looks just like his father when he was powered-up so that’s a level of weird there too (whether the creative team addresses it as weird or not we’ll see).

Honestly, I didn’t expect to enjoy this comic that much but I really did. It’s not the best comic book on the market but it was good enough to get me to buy the series. I already have an invested interest in the lead character, and more generally, the history of Thor, so that is a little bit more of a push for me to get this (people who didn’t read Thor in the 80’s might not feel the same). The comic book itself is definitely a great example of how story-telling from the 80's in superhero comics was much better at using single issues to draw in readers, whereas many creators today could learn a few things.

Cobie, the only time I liked Eric Masterson was in the few issues of the Harras Avengers that he was in. I know you're a fan of the Harras Avengers like myself, and would certainly be interested to know what you thought of his appearances there.

As for the new book, I appreciate your review, but I may or may not give it a go. I wasn't a huge fan of that Thor era, and never followed the first Thunderstrike book.

BTW, Eric, his son Kevin, and the whole Thunderstrike thing were actually the creation of Tom DeFalco, not Ralph Macchio.

A couple of years ago I checked out America's Best Comics from the library, by which I mean the TPB that had the 64-Page Giant, The Many Worlds of Tesla Strong, and the ABC Sketchbook. Of course, the library's copy had some pages torn out of the Many Worlds part.

I'm really just reviewing the Many Worlds of Tesla Strong. It's a special about Tesla traveling through the Multiverse looking for a missing Solomon, and each Earth she visits she encounters a version of herself, and learns that on each parallel Earth THEIR version of Solomon has just gone missing too.

Tom Strong had previously visited the concept of a multiverse at least twice, however this one is more connected to Tom Strong #10, where most of the variants of Tesla originally appeared. We have, among my favorite...

*Tekla Strong: From an Earth where WWIII happened and led to a large, radioactive crater. All that's left is 40,000 survivors in a bunker built by Tekla's dad, who saw the thing common, some Mormons, the Swiss, and mutated, meat-eating cockroaches. Tekla wears body armor and uses curse words like "freck" and "goober". Tekla had previously appeared in Tom Strong #10, and she's one of the more fleshed out alternates. Her segment is illustrated by Michael Golden.
*Tesla Terrific: A world where Tesla and her father, Tom Terrific, are more closely Superman and Supergirl analogues. Tesla's secret identity is college student Tara Stone, she has a nosy neighbor named Lily LaGuna, and Tesla's boyfriend is "a 28th Century science geek who doesn't write". This segment was illustrated by none other than Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez.
*Tamla: Now, this segment I hadn't earlier read because it'd been ripped out of the book. On Tamla's world, her father is black and her mother is white... and they're all naked. Tamla's world is one where human sexuality wasn't so repressed. It's the little touches in this world, such as Tamla's mother mention that her boyfriendS will be coming back to join ALL THREE OF THEM in the hot tub, along with a poster in Tamla's room that reads "Back Sync Boys". Tamla's parents are actually trying to get Tesla's clothes off, well, it's more like examining them, but the implied presence of incest without the retardation is right out there. Illustrated by known cheesecake artist J. Scott Campbell.

We also meet multiple alternate versions of Solomon, including one who's really a guy in an ape mask and jacket, an inner city Solomon, an ape woman, a Robin Solomon, and one who is really the infamous Weeping Gorilla who has appeared multiple times in Promethea.

Tesla's travels also bring her to the Earth home to the Queztlcoatl-9, the sentient serpent program/god who also earlier appeared, and finally Tiberius and Twyla Strong, the evil counterparts of Tom and Tesla. We also meet good versions of Tom's archenemy Paul Saveen (here Peter Saveen), and Ilsa and Alois Weiss, good versions of Nazi uber-bitch Ingrid and her bastard son Albrecht. The writer mentions the previous altercation between Ingrid and Tesla's mom, Dhalua.

This is a comic on the Multiverse that you don't need to have secondhand research for. And it uses a variety of artists that don't clutter the book.

the funny thing is I was looking at Tom DeFalco’s name on the comic book and writing out Ralph Macchio. Talk about the brain seeing what it wants! I always get them confused for some reason.

To answer your question, I thought Harras did a great job with Thunderstrike for the little time he had him. In fact, since I was a young teen when the Harras run was coming out, my intro to Eric Masterson actually works backwards: the first time I ever saw him was via Harras. I only ever went backwards to read the Masterson Thor / Thunderstrike stories afterwards. Having read the Harras run numerous times since, I can see why I liked him at first (I always recall him showing up right at the end of the Black Knight / Sersi Saga); like most Harras depictions during the run, he nailed the character completely, highlighted what made him unique and also made him very likable.

In the Avengers, Masterson always felt like an outsider since he was the “fake-Thor” and that was the right way to approach his membership. I felt bad for him but understood.

Something else else I forgot to mention in my above review is there is an excellent back-up with Todd Nauck artwork where Sif is speaking to the Valkrye, telling the story of Eric Masterson (as a set-up for a Valkrye supporting character who will be joining the series next issue). The back-up does a wonderful job showing how heroically Masterson saved Thor and helped Thor on numerous occasions. It highlights that he wasn’t a *replacement Thor* but rather, an ally of Thor, like Beta Ray Bill.

Todd Nauck?

I'll have to Byrne-steal it for sure, if only for the back-up. Thanks, Cobie.

Re: Eric in the Avengers, I thought his finest moment is near the end of Operation Galactic Storm, when he's the only one of the killing expedition to have second thoughts.

Today at lunch was my off-day for the gym so I caught up on one of the best kept secrets in comics (though probably not since it sells better than 80% of DC and Marvel’s comics)—namely, Superior by Mark Millar and Leinil Yu. It’s very different from many of Millar’s other projects that you almost might think it’s not him (aside from a few ‘fucks’ and ‘shits’); I can see he is harkening back to his Superman Adventures days, trying to capture what would make a young pre-teen / teen fall in love with a series.

Of all of Millar’s independent works, which by and large I feel are quite good, this one may end up being the best. It captures a sense of ‘larger than life’ that many super-heroes have lost. Rather than dismissing old tropes, it revels in secret identities, secret origins, discovering & testing of powers, media reaction to the superhero, people not believing what they are seeing and all the other facets of a superhero that were prominent for 50 years and yet nowadays are seen as old fashioned. Yet, this comic screams ‘modernity’ where you know it is clearly 2011.

A huge aspect of this is the art by Leinil Yu. In my above quoted post, I mentioned how his art never did it for me though Superior #1 was changing that. Well, Superior #2 and #3 have cemented me as a Yu fan for life. His style is so different from comic book past, yet he is able to capture a certain innocence here. Superior himself is a clean-cut superhero out of the Captain Marvel / Superman of the Golden Age mold, yet still retains that distinct Yu dynamic / slightly scratchy look.

Once again, I have to praise colorist Dave McCraig who just makes this whole issue POP. The lush colors bring out every scene, whether it’s urban New York or the a remote forest invoking a small town or whatever. The greens, the blues and everything else makes it feel like a classic superhero story. And Superior’s very simple, elegant and colorful costume just continues to work.

I thought this was a miniseries but either it’s longer than expected or ongoing. Personally, I hope ongoing. With #3, we are introduced to a Lois Lane type, yet she is clearly a 2011 snobby celebrity reporter with more flaw than good; yet the narrative makes us think she’s going to end up being more Lois (the good qualities) as time goes on; I’d like to see her get there. Considering Superior is actually a 12 year old boy, this won’t be a Clark / Lois love affair (though it wouldn’t be beyond Millar to go there); the comic does pay homage to the movie Big a lot though, so it may tackle the issue like that movie did.

#3 was splendid in how it captured the awe the public felt when Superior started doing superhero things. It makes me realize how much fun a new universe could be when there aren’t already pre-established superheroes. You’d think I’d be used to seeing this type of seen again and again after countless movies and comics but it felt refreshing and actually new.

Recommended!

(I'm posting this REBELS review here because the thread on the LSH board is already focusing on issue 24 and would seem out of place)

REBELS #23 concluded the story arc called "To Be a REBEL" in a manner that I feel was just a bit two tidy.

This arc was largely about the territorial/jurisdictional conflict between LEGION and the Green Lantern Corps in the Vega Sector and particularly how it involved the two rookie GL's assigned to the sector. I think that Bedard made both rookies fairly good three-dimensional characters. The backgrounds and motivations he gave the two were pretty interesting and tied in very well to how Bedard is building the sector's political and cultural setting.

So LEGION and the Corps are meeting to settle their differences, but sneaky ol' Dox has a plan set up to undermine the Corps in public opinion. With the help of son Lyrl, Dox sets up a phony terrorist plot to destroy the Vegan sun. He plans for the rookie GL's to fail and for LEGION to pull their proverbial fat from the fire. Turns out, however, that the rookies are actually up to the challenge and stop the bomb from going off without assistance.

The problem is that the solution just comes too easy. Longtime LEGION/REBELS readers know that nothing comes that simple when Dox (let alone TWO Doxes) is involved! Dox has backup plans to his backup plans, yet here it seems Dox just whiffed it. There's no "ah-ha!" moment, just a quiet scene between the two Doxes showing they simply underestimated the rookies.

John Stewart appears here, though, and is utilized pretty effectively by Bedard, particularly how his past failure in a similar situation with the planet Xanshi is brought up. Soranik and Ganthet appear as well, but are little more than cameos and not particularly resonant.

The art by Claude St. Aubin and Scott Hanna is pretty good as usual. Some issues they knock out better than this one. There are some jarring panels, like one where John's forehead looks elongated. And the Psions just look a little goofy and unrealistic and that holds for the Psion GL who is one of the featured rookies.

Another weakness is that the larger cast of REBELS seems to barely do more than cameo in recent issues. It's basically all Dox with a line or two maybe or a group shop of most of the rest. Hopefully, Bedard will get on track with this arc closed. There's just still so much to be explored with cast members like Ciji, Bounder and the Dominator just ripe for some exploration.

Lardy's rating for REBELS # 23: 2 Donuts (out of five)!

Sounds like I'm still not missing anything. REBELS has been a missed opportunity in my opinion.

It totally jumped the shark with Stealth's death, but wasn't all that great before that either.