2023 Comic Book News Archives
August 20, 2023: Superman & Batman: Generations Omnibus Review
Superman & Batman: Generations Omnibus
Published: March 2, 2021Writer and Artist John Byrne
Reviewed by: Craig Boehmer
Being a huge fan of John Byrne's run on Superman in the eighties, and loving Chip Zdarsky's "Spider-Man: Life Story," I was shocked and excited to learn about Byrne's late 90s early 2000s trilogy, "Generations." As I researched what it was, I saw a lot of passionate vitriol reviling the book as trash. I found the Omnibus collection deeply discounted on Instocktrades.com, where I buy 90% of my Omnibuses, and quickly purchased it. It was a fast paced read, broken up into three overarching stories aptly titled, Generations, Generations II, and Generations III. The premise of each is that the stories provide snapshots of where the titular characters are during different eras of their lives. Each story features a different decade, until Generations III where they jump a century each story, rather than a decade.
Story - 4: Generations
Be warned... SPOILERS!!! I really liked most of this story, until the last few issues, but I'll get to that. The miniseries starts with Clark, Lois, and Bruce in the 30s, Superman and Batman meet and have to defeat the Ultrahumanite's latest robot. We then follow the heroes through the 40s, 50s, 60s, etc. Each issue showcases the new status quo in each decade, but the stories aren't given enough time to breathe and be explored. It follows Batman and Superman and their children. Superman and Lois have a son and a daughter, but due to supervillain machinations, their son has no powers while their daughter has powers. Batman and his wife have one son, Bruce Wayne Jr. who dates Superman's daughter, Kara. But Luthor works to help Superman's son, Joel, feel ostracized and unloved. This leads to my biggest complaint of this story, near the end it becomes incredibly dark. Luthor chokes Lois to death, Joel reveals his betrayal and kills Kara, and then Joel dies. Superman deserves a happier ending then this, and it didn't really fit the tone of the rest of the story.
Generations II
This story was the most forgettable of the collection. It follows the same pattern as Generations, but opens it up to more characters in the DCU. It mostly showcases different moments of the first stories characters. We have a bit more with Kara and Bruce Wayne Jr. with the Teen Titans, and the manipulation of Joel by Luthor. We also build on Superman's search for Luthor after his murder of Lois, and the deaths of Joel and Kara. It's entertaining, but reading after the revelations of the first Generations lessens its impact.
Generations III
This was the longest of the three stories, comprising twelve issues. The basic gist of the story is that in the far future Desaad brings back Darkseid who hatches a plan to defeat all of his enemies. His plan involves evolving Parademons to be able to think for themselves then empowering them to attack earth and retreat back in time to attack a weaker opponent. This is told against the backdrop of the heroes aging and trying to figure out why every one hundred years, Parademons catastrophically attack earth. Meanwhile Luthor, not Ultrahumanite, is blowing up cities and destroying technology. This story provided Byrne with a chance to revisit Kirby's creations, especially the New Gods and characters like Kamandi. It was more fun than the previous stories, even if some issues were confusing and crazy.
Art - 3: I really wanted to give this a higher grade for art. I am a huge fan of Byrne's artwork, but while this story is mostly serviceable, it never hits the highs of what I expect from him given his runs on X-Men and Superman. A big part of that is the changes in inkers, inkers have a tough job, but the ones on this book don't mesh well with Byrne's style. Plus, the designs are pretty simplistic and lack any pizazz. For example in "Generations III" we have Superman's grandson donning a red and black suit, while his great granddaughters have black leotards with different coloured capes, boots, and gloves. It is very bland and doesn't look cool. I also did not like Bruce Wayne Jr.'s Batman costume. Byrne gave himself a tall order when he chose to do a story evolving the characters, how do you routinely alter those classic costumes in ways that seem new, but maintain the elements that people loved about the originals. Byrne still nails his layouts, and most of the fight choreography, but the sadly the designs fall short.
Cover Art - 4: The cover art is fairly cool, dominated by an image of Superman and Batman standing back to back. Having the background split to depict Superman facing the Joker, and Batman facing the Ultra Humanite is an engaging tease of the book.
2023 Comic Book News
Listed below are all the Comic News items archived for 2023.- January 10, 2023: Superman Comic Book Creators Attending Comic Conventions in January
- January 12, 2023: Superman Comic Books in 2023 - Poll Results
- January 15, 2023: The Return of Superman's Secret Identity
- January 17, 2023: DC Adds “Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #1” to Digital Collectible Comics
- January 18, 2023: Superman Comic Book Creators Attending Fan Expo Portland
- January 18, 2023: Dan Jurgens Shares Unused “Electric Superman” Design
- February 6, 2023: Jon Kent Faces the World of “Injustice”
- February 7, 2023: Looking Back at the “All Star Superman” Comic Book Series
- February 13, 2023: Big Time Collectibles “Superman #1” Blue Foil Logo Exclusive Sells Out!
- February 14, 2023: Superman Stars in “Batman: The Brave and The Bold” Title Return
- February 14, 2023: Superman Comic Book Creators at Fan Expo Portland
- February 16, 2023: Alex Ross Announces Collaboration With CGC for Private Signing
- February 23, 2023: Horror Overwhelms the DC Universe in “Knight Terrors”
- February 23, 2023: “Superman vs. Meshi” to be Translated to English
- March 2, 2023: Review - “Superman: The Man of Steel” Hardcover Collections
- March 3, 2023: Rags Morales Attending Retro Expo in Allen, Texas
- March 7, 2023: DC Adds “Superman #75” to Digital Collectible Comics
- March 8, 2023: Heritage Auctions Lists More Original Superman/Steel Art by Jon Bogdanove
- March 9, 2023: CGC Announces First Ever Custom Provenance Label
- March 10, 2023: DC Announces New “Steelworks” Comic Book
- March 28, 2023: DC Adds “Kingdom Come #1” to Digital Collectible Comics
- March 31, 2023: DC Reveals New Superman Costume
- March 31, 2023: Video - “Dawn of DC” Comic Trailer
- April 4, 2023: DC Adds “All-Star Superman #1” to Digital Collectible Comics
- April 8, 2023: Review - “Superman: The Man of Steel” Hardcover Collections Part 2
- April 11, 2023: Up to 70% Off in Barnes & Noble DC Comics Sale
- April 12, 2023: DC Announces “Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor” by Mark Waid
- April 13, 2023: Horror Invades The DC Universe in “Knight Terrors”
- April 13, 2023: Which Current Superman Comic Book is Your Favorite? - Poll Results
- April 15, 2023: Superman Faces “Knight Terrors”
- April 18, 2023: DC Launches “Daily Planet” Website
- May 3, 2023: Jim Lee Promoted to President of DC Comics
- May 12, 2023: DC Announces “Action Comics Presents: Doomsday Special #1”
- May 17, 2023: Why SUPERMAN: WARWORLD is Worth Your Time
- May 17, 2023: Joshua Williamson - DC Creator Q&A Video
- May 21, 2023: Long-Time Superman Editor Mike Carlin Retires
- May 25, 2023: CGC Announces Private Signing Event with Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding
- June 20, 2023: Why “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow” is a Must-Read
- June 30, 2023: “Dawn of DC: Knight Terrors” Official Trailer
- July 5, 2023: Review - “Superman: The Exile and Other Stories Omnibus”
- July 21, 2023: DC and Legendary Comics Announce “JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. GODZILLA VS. KONG”
- July 22, 2023: Joe Casey Returning to Write Superman After 20 Years
- July 26, 2023: “Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong” Comic Trailer
- August 2, 2023: SDCC 2023 - WORLD OF METROPOLIS Panel
- August 10, 2023: Review - “Superman: The Death and Return of Superman Omnibus”
- August 17, 2023: San Diego Comic Con 2023 - “Dawn Of DC: Knight Terrors” Panel
- August 20, 2023: Superman & Batman: Generations Omnibus Review
- September 5, 2023: “Superman '78 #1” New York Comic Con 2023 Exclusive Variant Cover
- September 29, 2023: Sina Grace on the Young Adult Graphic Novel “Superman: The Harvests of Youth”
- October 6, 2023: “DC Comics: The Golden Age (1938-1956)“ Prestige Comic Book Collection
- October 12, 2023: Legendary Comic Creator Keith Giffen Dies, Aged 70
- October 13, 2023: DC Announces “Superman Superstars” Takeover of “Action Comics” in 2024
- October 19, 2023: Fan Interest in “Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong” - Poll Results
- November 2, 2023: DC Announces DC Compact Comics
- November 22, 2023: “Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #2” Comic Trailer
- November 28, 2023: Mild Mannered Reviews - Superman: For All Seasons
- December 13, 2023: DC Announces an All-Ape “Jungle League”!
- December 13, 2023: Bizarro and Dreamer Join Amanda Waller's New Task Force X in “Suicide Squad: Dream Team”
- December 14, 2023: William Shatner on the Cover of “Batman/Superman: World's Finest #25”
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