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                T H E    K R Y P T O N I A N    C Y B E R N E T
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                       http://www.ms.uky.edu/~sykes/kc

                            Issue #39 - June 1997

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CONTENTS
--------
Section 1:  Superscripts: Notes from the Editor
               Rattling Around The Brain
            Ratings At A Glance
            News and Notes
               A new Superman fan; News on the 60th anniversary; S:TAS 
               second season; Superboy gets back to his roots; Doomsie;
               SUPERMAN LIVES; and Christopher Reeve's SUPERMAN back in
               theaters!?

Section 2:  Just The FAQs
               "What is Kandor City?" by David T. Chappell
            The Beginning ... of the End of Everything
               John Byrne brings a GENESIS to the DC Universe
            A Perspective on the Essence and Appeal of Superman
               By Yosef Shoemaker
            Superman: The Animated Series
               "Two's a Crowd," Episode Review by G.M. Nelson

Section 3:  New Comic Reviews
               The Superman Titles
                  Superman: The Man of Steel #69, by Thomas Deja
                  Superman #125, by David Chappell
                  Adventures of Superman #548, by Anatole Wilson
                  Action Comics #735, by Shane Travis

Section 4:  New Comic Reviews
               Super-Family Titles
                  Steel #40, by Dick Sidbury
                  Superboy #40, by Rene' Gobeyn
                  Superboy #41, by Rene' Gobeyn
                  Superboy and the Ravers #10, by Chip Chandler
                  Supergirl #11, by Thomas Deja

Section 5:  New Comic Reviews
               Other Superman Titles
                  JLA #7, by Dan Silverstein
                  Superman Adventures #9, by Cory Strode
               Specials and Guest Appearances
                  Superman Annual #9, by Daniel Radice
                  Sovereign Seven #24, by Rene' Gobeyn

Section 6:  Who is Superman Blue -- The Man Beyond Tomorrow?
               By Steven Younis
            After-Byrne: Manuscripts of Steel
               Superman Annual #2, by Denes House

Section 7:  Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
               "Where did the baby come from?"
                  A brief look at the never-to-be fifth season
               "Toy Story"
                  Episode Review by Scott Devarney
               "The Family Hour"
                  Episode Review by Dick Sidbury

Section 8:  Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
               How It All Began
                  A history of L&C, by Zoomway
            The Mailbag


STAFF:
------
Jeffery D. Sykes, Editor-in-Chief
Shane Travis, Executive Editor: New Comic Reviews
Nancy Jones, Executive Editor: Lois and Clark section
Neil Ottenstein, Executive Editor: S:TAS section

Editors:
   Chip Chandler         Steve Hanes           D.M. Simms
   Joe Crowe             Curtis Herink         Shane Travis
   Trevor Gates          William O'Hara        Steven Younis


LEGAL DISCLAIMERS:
-----------------
Superman and all related characters, locations, and events are copyright and
trademark DC Comics.  Use of the aforementioned is not intended to challenge
said ownership.  We strongly suggest that each reader look to the media
sources mentioned within for further information.

All original material published in The Kryptonian Cybernet, including but not
limited to reviews, articles, and editorials, are copyright 1997 by The
Kryptonian Cybernet and the respective authors.  Reprinting in any format is
expressly forbidden without the permission of The Kryptonian Cybernet and the
contributing author.

Opinions presented within this issue belong to the authors of the articles
which contain them.  They should in no way be construed as those of any other
particular member of the editorial or contributing staff, unless otherwise
indicated.

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desire to share this publication with other on-line services, please contact
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Back issues are available via ftp at oasis.novia.net.  These archives can also
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        http://www.ms.uky.edu/~sykes/kc

_____________________________________________________


                      SUPERSCRIPTS:  Notes from the Editor
                      ------------------------------------


RATTLING AROUND THE BRAIN

Every now and again you've just got to empty out the old filing cabinet...

You know that incredible new feature I promised last month?  Well, it looks
like it's going to be on the shelf a while longer -- just a few logistics that
we have yet to work out.  (What I get for opening my big mouth before all the
details were in place...)  But trust me, it's going to be *very* nice!

Leave it to KC God-send Shane Travis to pull my butt out of the fire, though! 
Here I am, sulking about the delay, when what should appear in my mailbox but
the all new RATINGS AT A GLANCE.  On his own initiative, Shane came up with a
brief new system providing us with a look at our general opinions of the
current status of Superman comics.  Shane has gathered our current and past
ratings and organized them into a nice chart, ranking the titles and
highlighting the best and worst of the crop.  Check it out, and if you have
the inkling, throw your hat into the ring -- we'd certainly like a larger
sample size for this tracking!

That darned inflation.  When Judas betrayed Jesus, it only cost the chief
priests and elders 30 pieces of silver.  It took $20 million and 13 episodes
of another series to entice Warner Brothers into betraying LOIS AND CLARK.  

That other series, by the way, is called HUNGRY FOR SURVIVAL.  It's about a
new species of humans with an appetite for evil.  The self-anointed "family"
network picks this over Superman?  Call me old-fashioned, but what happened to
the redeeming shows that were on the air when I was a kid?  Where are the
programs you *know* don't need to be screened in advance before letting your
children watch them?

Speaking of history, every single one of you should run out right now and pick
up the first issue of THE KENTS.  I am generally not a fan of Westerns, so I
figured I'd pick this up just to sample it, fully expecting I'd not buy any of
the remaining eleven issues.  But folks, this is not really a western.  It's
like reading a beautifully vivid history book -- John Ostrander has obviously
put a lot of time and effort into researching this story, and the meticulous
attention to detail is astounding.  I was absolutely enthralled by the entire
book, including Ostrander's lovely essay about the book's origins.  And might
I even dare suggest that those of you with school-age children should pick up
a copy for them?  I guarantee they'd find this ever so more interesting than
their school history texts -- and they'd probably learn a lot more about the
period, as well...

While I'm begging everyone to pick up a comic, why don't you also check out
STEEL?  If you haven't read any of the Priest issues, then you're missing out.
Priest has taken a character who has always held a lot of promise, and he's
unleashed that promise.  There's a great deal of characterization and
intrigue, mixed with a healthy dose of humor and mystery.  However, the book
isn't selling well, and I have a sneaking suspicion it's simply a matter of
people not giving it a chance.  It's a shame, really, because I think it's the
best of the Superman family titles right now.

You know, I'm really sick and tired of people whining and complaining about
the new powers storyline.  Especially those idiots who seem to actually
believe that DC has no intention of changing things back.  It seems to have
become *so* easy to whip folks into a frenzy these days.  We *know* it's a
temporary change, and that this is likely just part of the lead-in to next
year's 60th anniversary.  The team is actually telling consistently good
stories again (I haven't been this caught up in the super-titles since
"Reign"), and even the supporting cast has returned to prominence.

The bottom line is this.  There are a lot of people who are enjoying the
story, who decided to give it a chance and see where the writers want to go. 
Then there are a bunch of folks who just closed up their minds from the get
go, deciding there was no way (no how, no sir) that they were going to like
this story -- and surprise of all surprises, they haven't enjoyed it.  But
does that make either point of view any more or less valid?  No.  Just accept
that the whole world doesn't revolve around *your* concept of Superman, and go
about your life.

Having said this, let me point out that I'm trying my hardest not to pre-judge
the upcoming Superman movie.  I went to see CON AIR the other night, and I'll
admit that my impressions of Nicolas Cage's range have kicked up a few
notches.  I have no doubt in my mind that he can play a good Superman -- *if*
he's true to the character.  I can put up with a non-traditional look.  I can
live with a non-traditional suit.  As long as the core of Superman is still
there, the character will work.  Now if we can just convince Peters and Burton
not to mess around with that core...

Kevin Smith recently clarified the polar bear fiasco.  Producer Jon Peters
wanted Brainiac to have to fight his way into the Fortress of Solitude, and
suggested a tussle with polar bears since no humans even knew of the Fortress.
Would anyone else prefer to see *Peters* have to battle polar bears? :)

Is anyone else more thrilled about the possibility of a re-release of
Christopher Reeve's SUPERMAN than they are about SUPERMAN LIVES?  And
wouldn't it be funny if the 1978 film outdrew the 1998 version?

A quick wish list:
* James Cameron or Steven Spielberg directing a Superman film.
* A commercial release of the WB animated series on video.
* A line of Superman action figures with the entire cast of characters, and
  not just myriad variations on Kal-El.
* Reprints of the original Siegel and Shuster issues, in a less expensive
  format than the archives.
* A mint copy of ACTION COMICS #1 would be nice :)

Ah, well.  Enough rambling for this month.

Jeff Sykes, Editor

_____________________________________________________


                RATINGS AT A GLANCE:  Titles shipped May 1997
               -----------------------------------------------
               Prepared by Shane Travis (travis@sedsystems.ca)

Key:
----
Issue   -- Issue for which 'Current' Rating and Rank are calculated.  The
            'Previous' columns refer to the issue immediately prior to this.
Rating  -- Average Rating, in Shields (maximum rating is 5.0). The number 
            in () indicates how many people submitted ratings.
Rank    -- The relative ranking of the book among the regularly-published 
            Superman titles.
Average -- Average of the ratings for this title over the indicated number 
            of months, based on the book's cumulative average. Each month is
            weighted equally, regardless of the number of people rating the
            book that month. If this book is averaged over fewer months than 
            the rest, the number of months is displayed in ().


                               Current         Previous       Avg (2Mth)
Title              Issue    Rating  Rank     Rating  Rank    Rating  Rank
-----              -----    ------------     ------------    ------------
Superman Annual       9     4.1(6)    -       --       -      --       -
Superboy             41     4.1(3)    1      2.0(4)   11     3.05      8(T)
Superman Adv.         9     4.0(2)    2      3.9(3)    4     3.95      2
Steel                40     3.9(3)    3      4.5(2)    1     4.20      1
Sovereign Seven      24     3.7(4)    -       --       -      --       -
JLA                   7     3.5(5)    4      4.0(5)    3     3.75      3
Supergirl            11     3.4(4)    5      3.4(4)    6     3.40      5(T)
Adv. of Superman    548     3.2(5)    6      3.6(6)    5     3.40      5(T)
Man of Steel         69     3.2(3)    7      2.4(5)    9     2.80     10
Superman            125     3.1(4)    8      3.0(5)    8     3.05      8(T)
Action Comics       735     2.8(4)    9      3.2(6)    7     3.00      9
SB and the Ravers    10     2.3(4)   10      4.1(3)    2     3.20      6
Superboy             40     2.0(4)   11      2.3(3)    -     2.15      -

Critic's Pick: Superman Annual #09  (4.1/5.0 Shields)
 - A rollicking ride in the first "Pulp Heroes" Theme Annual of the year.

Critics Pan: Superboy #40 (2.0/5.0 Shields)
 - A go-nowhere story in the middle of a 5-part arc with horrendous art.

Big Loser: SB and the Ravers #10 (-1.8 Shields)
 - Bernado art and a weak tie-in to Meltdown cause a lot of ill-will on a
usually-popular title.

Big Winner: Superboy #41 (+2.1 Shields)
 - A new artist and a smash ending to the story-arc have people hoping that
this book may be on its way back to greatness.


Information for 'Ratings at a Glance' and the ratings accompanying the
monthly reviews of Superman comics are obtained from KC readers.  Anyone
interested in contributing may contact Shane Travis (travis@sedsystems.ca)
and will be added to the monthly mailing-list to receive a Ratings Form.

_____________________________________________________


                                 NEWS AND NOTES
                                 --------------


BUNDLE OF JOY

    Many of you may have noticed the fairly small number of LOIS AND CLARK
    articles and reviews in the past few months.  Believe it or not, ABC's
    game of "hide the program" wasn't the only reason for this.  At 8:34 PM
    on May 1, our own Nancy Jones gave birth to her son, David Donald
    Gansinger.  (And just to stave off the questions which inevitably arise,
    Nancy kept her maiden name when she married.)  I'm certain that everybody
    joins me in passing along congratulations and best wishes for her newly
    expanded family!


POLISHING THE DIAMOND

    Since we're starting to get bits and pieces of news about projects in
    the works for next year's 60th anniversary celebration, I thought maybe
    we should organize these under a unifying theme.  So you'll be able to
    check here each month for the latest news.  First up: GENERATIONS, John
    Byrne's Superman/Batman Elseworlds miniseries.

    Last year, Byrne's BATMAN/CAPTAIN AMERICA special was extremely
    well-received by the fans, who immediately clamored for more.  Now,
    Byrne's gonna give it to them, but this time teaming the Man of Steel
    with the Dark Knight -- well, sort of.  

    GENERATIONS begins in 1939, and will be told in eight chapters.  Each
    will take place a decade after the previous chapter, and each will
    evoke the comics of that era.  For example, Byrne explains that the
    1959 chapter will feature Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite and will "probably
    involve Superman turning into a giant red ant because he's been exposed
    to red kryptonite, that kind of goofy stuff."  The 1969 chapter "will
    be relevant, and there will be drug stories."  For 1989, we turn grim
    and gritty.  

    The miniseries will unfold in four prestige format volumes, with two
    chapters per volume.  As well, the series will wrap around into 1999, in
    order to also catch Batman's diamond anniversary -- so the final volume
    will include a chapter evoking current comics, as well as a look at a
    Batman and Superman of the 21st century.


SUPERMAN'S SECOND SEASON

    Some further information on the second season of the animated Superman
    series, courtesy of Andy Mangels' Hollywood Heroes
    (http://smash.mgz.com/amhh/amhh.html).  First, the "World's Finest"
    team-up with Batman may appear this summer, either as a three-parter or
    as a prime-time animated movie special.  As with last year's "The Last
    Son of Krypton," the movie will also be released to video.  And expect
    a direct-to-video Superman feature to be released around the same time
    as next year's SUPERMAN REBORN.

    Now, as for the series itself, Andy Mangels reports that there will be
    26 new episodes produced for the upcoming season, and that Warner
    Brothers is reportedly holding 13 episodes for a third season.  So what
    can we expect in these episodes?

    Well, how about some other heroes?  Scheduled guest-stars include Green
    Lantern, Guy Gardner, The Flash, and Dr. Fate.  The Flash episode centers
    a charity race which is interrupted by the Weather Wizard!  Jack Kirby's
    Fourth World characters will all appear, including Kalibak (voiced by
    STAR TREK's Michael Dorn), Orion, Mister Miracle, and the rest of the
    New Gods.  Kirby collaborator Mark Evanier joins with Steve Gerber to
    script most of these episodes.

    There's no Superboy scheduled for season two, but Steel (Michael Dorn)
    and Supergirl (Nicholle Tom) will both make their debuts, and both are
    expected to be recurring characters.  Supergirl, while not a relative
    of Superman, will hail from Argos, a neighboring moon of Krypton, and
    she'll move in with the Kents after her introduction.

    Villains?  Try return appearances by Metallo and Intergang.  We'll also
    see the series debuts of Livewire, Mr. Mxyzptlk, and the Phantom Zone
    villains (each of whom has already appeared in the companion comic
    SUPERMAN ADVENTURES), and the introduction of Mxy's girlfriend, Ms.
    Gsptlsnz.  Bizarro and Titano will pop up, and Kirby's Fourth World
    villains will show up in force, including Darkseid, Kanto, Granny
    Goodness, the Female Furies, and Desaad.

    It sounds like we've got a full platter ahead of us!


DO THE SUPERBOY SHUFFLE

    Well, there's been a lot of moaning and griping about Ron Marz and Ramon
    Bernado's work on SUPERBOY.  Bernado's already gone, but it appears DC's
    not quite done fixing the problems.  I have received word from a very
    reliable source that Karl Kesel and Tom Grummett will probably be
    returning to SUPERBOY beginning with issue #50.  (This news was also
    published in Michael Doran's Newsarama last week.)  My latest is that
    the deal isn't yet done, but that it looks probable.

    Newsarama also reports that SUPERBOY AND THE RAVERS may be ending its
    run with issue #19, though DC has not made any official comments on this
    possibility.  Kesel mentioned that RAVERS might be replaced with a new
    monthly title featuring Superboy, Robin, and Impulse.  Again, this is
    still speculation, and DC has not officially made any decisions on
    RAVERS.


AIN'T I A TEASE?

    In The Mailbag a couple of months ago, we discussed the idea that
    Superman's new powers seem like the perfect excuse for a Doomsday
    reappearance (remember that he can't be beaten twice by the same
    methods).  A *very* inside source now tells me that a Doomsday
    reappearance would be a pretty good assumption...


BURTON'S SUPERMAN GETS THE HEINRICHS MANEUVER

    Corona's Coming Attractions (http://www.islandnet.com/~corona/films)
    reports that Rick Heinrichs, a long-time Tim Burton collaborator, has
    been hired as production designer for the new Superman movie.
    Heinrich's credits include production designer for FARGO, art director
    for BATMAN RETURNS, and set designer for THE FISHER KING and EDWARD
    SCISSORHANDS.

    In other Superman movie news, screenwriter Kevin Smith confirmed that
    he was taken off of the project, but that his contract ended after he
    delivered the second draft.  Though Burton brought in Wesley Strick to
    work on the script, Smith understands that about two-thirds of his
    remaining work is still there.

    And in a final note, some sources are reporting that Danny Elfman will
    be scoring the film.  As always, more news as it becomes available.


REEVE'S SUPERMAN BACK ON THE BIG SCREEN!

    On a completely different note, the Superman in the Movies unofficial
    website (http://members.aol.com/dsupermanc/index.htm) has broken the
    news that the original 1978 Superman movie starring Christopher Reeve
    is getting the Star Wars treatment.  The color and sound are being
    improved with modern technologies, additional footage left out of the
    original release is being restored, and the film will be released to
    theaters in June of 1998, one month before SUPERMAN LIVES is scheduled
    to premiere.

    Warner Brothers hasn't officially announced this yet, though the site
    assures the announcement is forthcoming.  Additional news is that the
    second film may also be restored and released on laserdisc.  More info
    once Warner makes this official!

_____________________________________________________


                                Just the FAQs
      More Details about Frequently-Asked Questions about the Man of Steel

                            by David T. Chappell


This month's column combines some famous pre-Crisis history with a modern 
topic.  Though I normally do not delve into the days before the Universal 
Crisis, such is necessary as I attempt to explain,

                            "What is Kandor City?"

Introduction

The Bottle City of Kandor ranks among the more famous items associated with 
the Last Kryptonian.  In a bygone era, it provided Superman with a link to his 
heritage and Supergirl with a link to her family.  In more modern times, the 
city has reappeared and taken a role in several stories even as it has resumed 
its place of honor in Superman's Fortress of Solitude.

The Pre-Crisis Kandor

The pre-Crisis Brainiac was an android constructed by the computer tyrants of 
the planet Colu.  They sent Brainiac into space with a powerful shrinking ray, 
which he used to steal sample cities from other worlds.  One of the first 
shrunken cities Brainiac stole was Kandor, the capital of the planet Krypton.  
Years later, Brainiac took the city Metropolis from Earth and added it to his 
collection of miniaturized cities stored in self-contained bottles.  Superman 
defeated Brainiac and restored Metropolis to full size, but the shrinking ray 
did not have enough energy to enlarge the city of Kandor as well. [ACTION 
COMICS #242, July 1958] Superman was overjoyed to meet other Kryptonians, and 
he promised to work to find a way to restore their city to full size.  In the 
meantime, Kal-El stored the city on the second level of his secret Fortress of 
Solitude.  The bottle city was connected to tanks that supplied it with a 
Kryptonian atmosphere, and artificial gravity and an artificial red sun 
completed the environmental setting.

Over the years, a number of stories took place in the bottle city.  Due to the 
miniature red sun, Superman lost his powers and was vulnerable in the city.  
Kal-El and Jimmy Olsen went into the city several times as non-powered heroes, 
and they adopted the secret identities of Nightwing and Flamebird based on 
Batman and Robin [e.g., SUPERMAN #158].  In one story, Supergirl's parents 
were brought out of the Survival Zone [a Phantom-Zone type dimension], and 
they joined the other Kryptonians in Kandor.

Eventually, Superman did find a way to restore the city to full size [SUPERMAN 
#338].  The full-size city was located, however, on a special planet that 
shifted between dimensions and thus could only be visited periodically.  
Superman had more than one exact duplicate made to take the place of the 
original bottle in the Fortress [SUPERMAN ANNUAL #11, 1985].

Kandor Revised, and the Fall of Krypton

After the Universal Crisis reshaped the DC Universe, the city of Kandor had a 
very different role in the history of Krypton.  During Krypton's Fifth Age, 
disagreement over cloning and clones' rights led to the formation of terrorist 
groups.  The extremist Black Zero cell decided that the only way to atone for 
the murder of billions of clones was to destroy the entire planet.  As the 
first major step, members of Black Zero detonated a thermonuclear device in 
the heart of Kandor City and killed 40 million inhabitants.  The destruction 
of Kandor caused the spreading conflicts to quickly erupt into the War of 
Clone Rights, and it ushered in the horrible Sixth Age of Krypton. [THE WORLD 
OF KRYPTON #2, 1987]

As horrible as the destruction of Kandor was, it was only the beginning of an
even worse holocaust.  The bombing set into action a slow but steady reaction
deep in Krypton's core.  Pressures began to fuse the native elements in the
planet into the radioactive ore known as kryptonite.  It took nearly a hundred
thousand years before the chain reaction began to be felt near the surface as
the "green death" caused by kryptonite radiation began to overtake much of the
population.  Meanwhile, the reaction continued to build, and soon the extreme
pressure shattered the planet from within and forever destroyed the population
of Krypton.  [THE WORLD OF KRYPTON #4, 1987]

Thus, while Kandor City remained quite important in the revised history of 
Krypton, the existence of a bottle city of Kryptonians was out of the 
question.  Kandor City had been destroyed, and no Kryptonians other than Kal-
El survived their planet's untimely death.

The New Bottle City 

Though it seemed that there would never again be a bottle city in the 
Superman saga, a new bottle appeared in a distant land.  During Superman's 
interstellar travels in the "Trial of Superman" story line, a mysterious 
"wizard" figure appeared with a strangely familiar bottle sitting in his 
laboratory.  Superman drove Tolos away from the secret place known as 
Sanctuary [SUPERMAN #107, Dec 1995], and the master of Kandor began to plot 
his revenge.

The mad Tolos finally made his move against the Man of Steel in the three-
part "The Bottle City" story, starting in ACTION COMICS #725 (Sep 1996).  
While Tolos planned to capture the Kryptonian's body for use in his bottle 
city, Superman and a Daxamite inhabitant of Kandor worked together to defeat 
Tolos.

Superman himself best explained Tolos as a "nasty little creature" who has 
"apparently existed for centuries and spent his time traveling the universe 
collecting a wide array of life forms.  With his magic, he shrinks people's 
bodies and imprisons those poor souls in a small bottled city called 
Kandor!"  But Tolos is more than a collector of alien species, for he "can 
pull any body he wants out of Kandor and actually inhabit it!" [SUPERMAN 
#116, Pre-Oct 1996]

In the months since Superman saved Kandor from Tolos's tyranny, the city has 
appeared in the background a number of times.  Prof. Hamilton has worked on 
the city and established a device to enable one-way viewing of the city.  
Superman eventually placed the bottle in his Fortress of Solitude, unaware 
of the growing social problems in the city.  The citizens of Kandor were 
unaware of Tolos's defeat, and they were split between those who remained 
faithful to the tyrant and those who supported freedom.  The conflict came 
to a head with the recent Kandorian crisis in Superman comics cover-dated 
July 1997.

Conclusion

Kandor has been an important part of Superman comics in all its 
incarnations.  The original bottle city provided Superman's strongest link 
to his heritage and his people.  The destruction of Kandor led to the 
eventual explosion of the entire planet Krypton.  The new bottle has brought 
Superman several more adventures and is rumored to be connected to his 
recent change to energy-based powers.  The modern bottle city is certain to 
appear again, though only time can tell whether it will become as famous as 
the forerunner which inspired it.

_____________________________________________________


                   THE BEGINNING ... OF THE END OF EVERYTHING
                 ----------------------------------------------
                     by Jeffery D. Sykes (sykes@ms.uky.edu)


     Remember the great legends of how the world of the first gods, the
     old gods, died?  Split asunder by the fury of their final Ragnarok...
     Out of that cataclysm were born two worlds... Bright and beautiful
     New Genesis, home of all that was good and pure in our forefathers,
     and dark and terrible Apokolips, spawning ground of ultimate evil... 

     But what we ... never guessed ... was that the destruction of the
     old world had unleashed in all directions torrents of unimaginable
     energy!  Energy that hurled itself across the universe, until one
     searing bolt struck home on a planet one day to be called the Earth,
     in a cluster of islands some call Greece.  That energy created, in
     time, a race of beings who came to think of themselves as gods...

These seeds, first sown in ACTION COMICS #600 by John Byrne, would continue to
grow for some nine years.  The effects of this so-called Godwave, the blast
which swept throught the universe out of the destruction of the Godworld,
would later be expanded to account for the existence of not only the Greek
gods, but also the Norse gods, the Roman gods, and essentially all of the
various pantheons known in the DC Universe.  But why stop there?

Byrne and editor Paul Kupperberg later developed the idea that the Godwave
would eventually reach the boundaries of the known universe and reverse
course, collapsing back towards its origin.  On its second pass through the
universe, the Godwave would once again seed the planets, providing the sparks
of power that would give rise to super-heroes.  

But this is ancient history, and simply the background for GENESIS, this
year's DC Universe crossover event.  The Godwave's second pass through Earth
happened some five to six thousand years ago, and now it is finally nearing
The Source, where it first began its journey so long ago.  The evil lord of
Apokolips, Darkseid, has figured this out and now plans to position himself at
the center of the approaching wave -- hoping to collect all of its power unto
himself.

GENESIS follows the heroes as they join forces with the Gods of New Genesis in
an attempt to foil Darkseid's scheme.  But the compression the Godwave is
causing on The Source has resulted in some strange effects on the heroes'
powers.  Some find their abilities altered or changed completely, while others
find that their powers have deserted them all together.  With these
unpredictable results heightened near the Source Wall, how can the heroes be
expected to defeat Darkseid's evil intentions?

GENESIS is a four-issue miniseries written by John Byrne (WONDER WOMAN, JACK
KIRBY'S FOURTH WORLD) and illustrated by Ron Wagner (THE BOOK OF FATE,
SUPERGIRL ANNUAL #1) and Josef Rubinstein (SUPERMAN).  The miniseries' four
covers are provided by Alan Davis and Mark Farmer, the popular cover art team
for LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES.  Edited by Paul Kupperberg, GENESIS arrives in
comic stores weekly beginning August 6, each issue with a US cover price of
$1.95.

During the month of August, many of DC's titles will tie in to the events of
GENESIS.  Each tie-in will sport a unifying cover element indicating its
participation in the crossover.  These individual titles are not required to
enjoy GENESIS, but they will further explore the effects of the Godwave's
return to The Source.  A complete checklist of the tie-ins follows below.


GENESIS CHECKLIST:
-----------------
Arriving August 6:                      Arriving August 13:
   Green Lantern #91                       Azrael #34
   Power of Shazam! #31                    Batman #547
   Starman #35                             Impulse #30
   STEEL #43                               Jack Kirby's Fourth World #8
   SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #72          Sovereign Seven #27
                                           SUPERGIRL #14
                                           SUPERMAN #128


Arriving August 20:                     Arriving August 27:
   ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #551             Legion of Super-Heroes #97
   Aquaman #37                             Robin #46
   Lobo #44                                The Spectre #58
   Resurrection Man #6                     SUPERBOY AND THE RAVERS #14
   Young Heroes In Love #5                 The Teen Titans #13
                                           Wonder Woman #126
                                           Xero #6

_____________________________________________________


             A PERSPECTIVE ON THE ESSENCE AND APPEAL OF SUPERMAN
             ---------------------------------------------------
                              By Yosef Shoemaker


Obviously, there are numerous minor -- and unlamentable -- differences between
the Byrne-Superman and the pre-Byrne version. Not too many tears had to be
shed when Super-Monkey went by the wayside. No one really mourned the loss of 
Kryptonian judo. Even the losses of Morgan Edge, Josh Coyle, and Steve Lombard
were not distressing. There are, however, many fundamental differences between
the two versions, and taken as a whole, they touch on an aspect of Superman's
core essence, not the peripheral elements. The common theme underlying all of
them is: The Elimination of Alienation. Byrne's Superman is no longer a tragic
figure, an outsider, an alien, an outcast. For example, he is born on Earth,
not on Krypton, and is so decidedly divorced from Kryptonian
self-identification that he could never, would never exclaim, "Great Krypton!"
[This in and of itself is acceptable, but it is a sign of the larger issue.]
He is no longer the bereft orphan with a plethora of memories of
self-sacrificing biological parents Jor-El and Lara. He is no longer the
pained figure who survives the passing of his loving adoptive parents, the
Kents. Not only is he like [just about] everyone else, with loving parents
doting on him, he is not even thought of as an adopted child; the world
perceives him to be just one more biological product of a happy marriage.
Clark Kent is no longer a vulnerable, fearful, pathetic figure; now, he is as
confident and capable and as socialized as the next fellow. He even grows hair
on his face and chest -- like most any other man -- which the pre-Byrne
version did not.

I maintain that this tragic alienation was part of the essence of Siegel and
Shuster's creation. Their Clark Kent/Kal-El was an outsider, an outcast,
different and alienated from everyone else. And yet, he was also someone
confident, capable, invulnerable -- the Superman beloved and admired by all.
Who among us was so free of self-doubt, so secure in their abilities and their
social-acceptability, that they could not identify -- on some level, at
certain times -- with Clark Kent or Kal-El? Who among us didn't experience
moments when they wanted to become Superman? Siegel and Shuster knew that, and
they built it into their character. Take that away, and the character has been
fundamentally altered.

Much of the above has been said before. One thing that I have never seen
before is a comprehensive discussion of Superman's appeal. I think the
character's appeal has to do with more than just the powers and abilities. In
my opinion, not only do we want to see ourselves as capable, confident, and
invulnerable, we also want to see ourselves as GOOD. We want to like
ourselves; we want to believe that we are nice people. Part of the essence of
Superman is his high moral caliber, his compassion, his commitment to ethical
deportment. In that sense also, Superman addresses our wishes for ourselves.

This, by the way, may perhaps explain -- in part -- the choice people make
between Batman and Superman. Even before Frank Miller, Batman was not an
angelic figure; his benevolent rescue of crime victims was launched by the
desire for vengeance; he waged a war on evil while Superman waged a crusade
for good. The Bat-fan may find this self-made, self-affirming,
somewhat-dangerous figure more appealing than the altruistic, other-affirming
Man of Steel. [See Jim Steranko's History for the ideas that serve as the
basis for this.]

[By "self-affirmation," we refer to Batman's need to strike terror into the
hearts of criminals, a superstitious and cowardly lot. Revenge is motivated by
the need to repair one's dignity and sense-of-self after they were "attacked."
What greater "attack" could there be on a boy than murdering his parents in
his presence, making him feel powerless and victimized and vulnerable?
Frightening someone is a (not healthy) way of building-up the self by
annihilating the dignity and sense-of-self of the one being frightened.
SUPERMAN: SPEEDING BULLETS and others have touched on the issues of
humiliation and revenge.]

_____________________________________________________


                         SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES
                    ---------------------------------------


26 new episodes for season 2!  Check out this month's News and Notes for
further information on the impending second season!

Ratings Panelists:

    CH: Curtis Herink
    GN: G.M. Nelson
    JS: Jimmy Stewart
    NB: Nathan Bredfeldt
    SD: Scott Devarney
    
The first rating given after the average is that of the reviewer.  The average
rating given for a particular episode may correspond to a larger sample of
ratings than what is printed following the average.  Given airdates correspond
to the date of first US airing as regularly scheduled on the Warner Brothers
Television Network.

============================================


                          Episode #13: "Two's A Crowd"
                 ----------------------------------------------
                   Reviewed by G.M. Nelson (kalel224@aol.com)


February 15, 1997
Written by Stan Berkowitz
Directed by Hiroyuki Aoyama

Cast: Superman/Clark Kent  --  Tim Daly
      Parasite/Rudy Jones  --  Brion Jones
      Professor Hamilton   --  Victor Brandt
      Maggie Sawyer        --  Joanna Cassidy
      Dan Turpin           --  Joseph Bologna
      Dr. Earl Garver      --  Brian Cox
      Doctor               --  Rosalyn Sidewater
           

RATINGS:

Average: 3.8/5.0 Shields

GN: 4.5 Shields
NB: 3.7 Shields - A good ep but not very much fun; they could have chosen
        a better season ender.
SD: 3.2 Shields - OK episode but for some reason Parasite works better in
        the comics for me. Joanna Cassidy's portrayal of Maggie Sawyer was
        a little better this time.
CH: 3.6 Shields - A very suspenseful episode, but it is hard to believe
        Garver's motivations. If he has the resources to afford the defenses
        shown at the beginning, why is he blackmailing the city for money?
JS: 4.0 Shields - An action-packed episode with an interesting twist on the
        threat of the Parasite. Great animation, with a few questionable
        story elements. Once again, the writers let Superman walk into an
        obvious trap, forcing the Man of Steel into a battle with the
        Parasite. At least this time Supes didn't try to wrestle with him.
        Nice ending, lots of room for Parasite to return.


This well-paced episode offered not only further development of Superman's
relationship with the Special Crimes Unit, but an original use of the Parasite
-- relying on his ability to absorb a victim's memories rather than his
physical attributes. It was also a clever touch having the Parasite bargain
not for something he wouldn't have a chance of getting -- namely, his freedom
-- but instead trying for something to make his confinement more bearable.

As with the previous "Tools of the Trade," this episode focused exclusively on
Superman and the police, without the traditional Supes' cast. Though it was
nice to see another Luthor-less episode -- the temptation to overuse
Superman's greatest foe is always there, I know -- Clark Kent and his
supporting cast have been missed these last two times, and their return in the
second season is awaited eagerly.

It was a surprise that this season's reported final first-run episode was less
of a blockbuster than might have been expected, but it was nonetheless
welcome. The animated series has gotten off to a good start, indeed.

Oh, kudos for giving Rudy Jones his MTV.

_____________________________________________________

                               NEW COMIC REVIEWS
                               -----------------

Ratings Panelists:

  AW:  Anatole Wilson       DR:  Daniel Radice        RG:  Rene' Gobeyn
  CC:  Chip Chandler        DSd: Dick Sidbury         ST:  Shane Travis
  CS:  Cory Strode          DSv: Dan Silverstein      TD:  Thomas Deja
  DC:  David Chappell       JSm: Jim Smith            VV:  Vic Vitek
                            JSy: Jeff Sykes
  

As always, the first rating given after the average is that of the reviewer.

The average rating given for each book may correspond to a larger sample
of ratings than what is printed following the average.

==========================================


THE SUPERMAN TITLES:
-------------------
26. SUPERMAN: MAN OF STEEL #69                  July 1997  $1.95 US/$2.75 CAN

    "Prey"

    Plot:          Karl Kesel
    Writer:        Louise Simonson
    Pencils:       Scot Eaton
    Inks:          Dennis Janke
    Lettering:     Ken Lopez
    Color:         Glen Whitmore
    Separations:   Digital Chameleon
    Assoc. Editor: Mike McAvenie
    Editor:        Joey Calivieri
    Cover by:      Jon Bogdanove, Dennis Janke and Patrick Martin


RATINGS

Average:  3.2/5.0 Shields

TD:  2.5 Shields -  An improvement over last issue's debacle, even if it does
        read like the middle chapters of a miniseries.
JSy: 3.6 Shields - Nicely handled plot twist, foreshadowed with fairly subtle
        scenes and dialogue in both this and the previous issue.  The art by
        Scot Eaton is a mild improvement over Bog's, but Janke's inks often
        cause distortions in the images.  And Supes scowls too much.


I'm not quite sure why the men behind the Big Red S decided to devote a
whole month's output to Supes and The Atom bopping around Kandor, unless
it's to drum up interest in a new Atom series, but at least this story
line has been a slight relief from the increasingly silly stuff we've had
to endure ever since the Man of Steel became The Man of Sparks. 

Basically, what we've got is a civil war in Kandor, with a nihilistic 
faction trying to destroy the atmosphere controls.  Supes and his ally Faern 
fight their way through a supercharged riot to give The Atom time to fix the 
failing atmosphere machinery.  Unfortunately, The Atom has only partial 
memories of his days as a genius, and can't quite understand why the damage 
caused by the rebels is so prefunctionary.  It shortly becomes obvious that 
the damage is just a blind for a bomb.  Lucky for us the Man of Sparks can 
absorb energy, huh? 

Supes is so intent on absorbing the energy of the explosion that Faern, now 
revealed as a vessel for Tolos, is able to take over Supes' body.  Finally
in control of one of the most powerful beings on Earth, Tolos heads for the 
outside world, leaving a Kandor in turmoil and a buried Atom in his wake. 

Elsewhere, we have the Daily Planet in a quandary over Scorn; Perry White 
is convinced he's a misunderstood creature deserving of attention, while Dirk 
Armstrong is positive Goat Boy is a ravenous maniac who's going to hurt his 
daughter.  Armstrong, in fact, discovers Scorn playing around with his kid 
and chases him off with a gun. 

What we have here is basically the equivalent of the third issue of a
four-part miniseries. You all know what I mean--a lot of running around
and waving arms to get us het up in a lather for the climax.  As an example 
of that, this isn't bad; the story flows, the characters retain their
distinctiveness, and there's enough action to keep you awake, but there's
nothing really surprising going on, either--including Tolos' reappearance. 
It's a standard story, a time-waster between big moments, and as a time-
waster it works. 

One thing I liked was that Simonson has enough respect for The Atom to make
the character sound like Ray Palmer and not Jonathan Taylor Thomas.  I really
thought that the de-aging of the Atom was a pointless stunt far more offensive
than what was done to Green Lantern, Green Arrow and the like (I *prefer* Kyle
Rayner to Hal Jordan, who was valiant but also the world's biggest stick in
the mud, thank you very much), and ADVENTURES OF SUPERMANs' tack of making 
him into some sort of slang-slinging mook made me ill. In this issue, we get 
the impression of a man who was once a genius yet no longer has access to 
those intellectual abilities.  It's sort of poignant in a way, and it works.

Scot Eaton, who blew me away with his art job in ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN
a few issues back, submits an art job that's okay.  With its heavier shade
and claustrophobic layouts, it's more reminiscent of the work the artist
did for SWAMP THING a few years back.  There's something disquieting about
a Superman done ala' Bissette and Totleben -- a few of the shots of Scorn
seem lifted whole from some Vertigo comic.  Its obvious that Eaton doesn't
have the enthusiasm for the Man of Sparks as he did for the Man of Steel,
but he's still proving himself to be the best artist of the bunch right now.  
If Calivieri can't find a regular S-Book for him to draw, somebody needs 
to be killed. 

SUPERMAN: MAN OF STEEL #69 was a relief from the rock-bottom travesty of
last month; in the face of that mediocrity, even the average entries like
this one stand out. 

Thomas Deja
<manciniman@rocketmail.com>

==========================================

27. SUPERMAN #125                               July 1997  $1.95 US/$2.75 CAN

    "Retribution"

    Story:         Dan Jurgens
    Art:           Ron Frenz and Joe Rubinstein
    Letters:       John Costanza
    Colors:        Glenn Whitmore
    Separations:   Digital Chameleon
    Assoc. Editor: Mike McAvennie
    Editor:        Joey Cavalieri
    Cover by:      Ron Frenz, Joe Rubinstein, and Patrick Martin


RATINGS

Average: 3.1/5.0 Shields

DC:  3.6 Shields
JSy: 3.5 Shields - Interesting in that it appears Tolos isn't directly behind
        the new powers after all.  I love watching Ceritak/Scorn develop as
        a character, and his "oblivious youth" hit and run tactic in helping
        the police was priceless!
TD:  2.8 Shields - Decent layouts make this abrupt end to the Kandor saga
        mildly amusing.  Wish the Atom would grow up, though.
VV:  2.5 Shields - Good story right up to the end: to have the opposing sides
        agree that "The Face of Death" is a good guy seemed forced to me.
        I hope Ceritak is not being set up as a misunderstood hero who gets
        turned into cannon fodder.


As I assume duties as reviewer of SUPERMAN starting with issue #125, I'll
try to add a little bit of general review of the Jurgens-Frenz-Rubinstein
team even as I concentrate on the conclusion of the crisis in Kandor story
line.  Many true Superman fans may not realize the extent to which SUPERMAN 
is considered the flagship title of the Super-books: it consistently ranks 
as the best-selling Super-book (as listed in COMIC SHOP NEWS) and many 
bookstores that do not specialize in comics nor understand the various 
Superman titles will carry just this one comic from the set. 

SUPERMAN #125 wraps up the current situation in the bottled city of Kandor 
and is probably the last we'll see of that city for a couple issues. It also 
exposes one of Kandor's inhabitants (Ceritak/Scorn) further to the outside 
world.  See my "Just the FAQs" column this month for more information on the
history of Kandor.

The action picks up just moments before the point where MAN OF STEEL #69
left off. Jurgens sets a quick pace as we follow The Atom's hurried attempts 
to first defuse and then survive a bomb.  The Atom uses his powers wisely, 
and Jurgens keeps track of details about the way they and other special 
powers work differently in the bottled city. 

Although set in the main title (see above), The Atom dominates the story 
even past Superman's first appearance on page five--Kal-El does not actually
take any actions in this particular issue until the second half of the book.  
Despite this, the story is just as involving and interesting as one that 
truly stars the Man of Tomorrow.  In a way, we get three Supermen for the 
price of one; we see Tolos controlling Superman's body for a few pages, we 
witness Scorn saving the day in Metrpoplis while wearing Superman's classic 
costume, and we get to watch The Atom -- who really saves the day in the end.
When Kal-El does finally take action, it is primarily to use his charisma and 
personality to address the citizens of Kandor and convince them that 'freedom 
does not come easily', and they should, 'unite to form a working city'.

The presence of different heroes appeals to me, and I enjoy the fact that 
Superman does not truly dominate the book.  Most of the action takes place 
inside Kandor, but we also get glimpses of the Fortress of Solitude and 
Metropolis.  While I can understand the lack of Clark Kent in this issue, it 
would have been nice to see one or two members of the Daily Planet staff in 
a subplot for at least a panel or two.  In the subplot category, Jurgens 
scores points by having the Metropolis villains mention Prof. Killgrave as 
the source of their weaponry, but the dialogue is too forced as explanation 
to the reader.

A number of little touches about the guest star contribute to a good book. 
The Atom's personality and powers are well handled, though the consistency
is certainly aided by Jurgens' work on THE TEEN TITANS (in which The Atom 
regularly appears).  While Ray Palmer's thought balloons do a good job of
catching readers up on the action, I feel like an entire page (p. 3) worth
of dialogue is wasted on catching me up on things I already read once. 
Faern's warm welcome of Ray after she meets him again for the first time
reminds me of Atom's relationship with a certain other little blue lady. 
[Years ago, Ray Palmer lived in South America for a while with a culture of 
tiny people.]

At times it seems like the main action--the defeat of Tolos, the saving of
Kandor, and Superman's rousing "freedom" speech at the end--are a bit rushed, 
but I would rather see those scenes rushed than dragged out unnecessarily.  
A better solution might be to include more details within the single book by 
the use of more panels (see also below).  The story also does a good job of 
setting up possible future plots involving Scorn, Kandor, and even Tolos, yet
it leaves the two main issues of Tolos and Kandor at stable states. 

Although I personally consider the story to be more important than the 
artwork in a comic book, I also think that a good story is meaningless with 
bad art and a comic can be great only if a good story is accompanied by good 
art.  Frenz and Rubinstein do a good job portraying Superman and the other 
inhabitants of Kandor and Metropolis.  The characters are recognizable, the 
faces portray emotion well, and the art is generally good.  However, a few 
close-ups of faces are too stretched and linear for my taste.  I also dislike 
the use of pin-point eyes when irises should have been visible.

The use of different angles of perspective provides variety in the artwork
and gives a cinematic concentration on the proper focus of each panel rather 
than just providing a static camera. The layout also contributes to the 
story with occasional items that leap out of the page by crossing panels and 
appropriate stretching of columns horizontally or vertically. 

Although I acknowledge the skilled use of the panel design, I also feel that 
the book has too many large panels.  Not counting the title page, I count an 
average of 4.25 panels per page, showing an emphasis on big art to tell a 
story. An experienced team can use a larger number of small panels to portray 
a story with more depth and feeling It seems like modern comics go for big 
showy art and use panels more for the sake of pictures than for storytelling.
Having even a small panel or two on a subplot can advance it enough to be 
worthwhile--but too many big panels don't leave the room for those wonderful 
subplots.  A good example of my point is SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE, which uses 
more pictures and more text to fit more depth and more story into the same 
amount of space. Contrast this with SUPERMAN, which has a little more beauty 
but a lot less substance: a beautiful comic book that does a poor job of 
telling a story won't convince fans to spend their money. 

In summary, SUPERMAN #125 is a good conclusion to the current Kandor crisis.  
While the book almost entirely ignores Metropolis and even keeps Superman's 
appearances to a minimum, it is a good story where the day is saved by means 
other than a fist fight.  The characters are solid, and the main and 
secondary plots are well handled.  The art is strong and creatively 
contributes to the story.  Some parts use too much art and too little story, 
but the story and art still work together to provide an enjoyable comic 
book.

David T. Chappell
<dtc@acpub.duke.edu>

==========================================

28. THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #548             July 1997  $1.95 US/$2.75 CAN

    "Friends, Lovers, and Strangers!"

    Writer:        Karl Kesel 
    Penciller:     Stuart Immonen 
    Inker:         Jose Marzan, Jr. 
    Letterer:      Albert De Guzman 
    Colorist:      Glenn Whitmore 
    Separations:   Digital Chameleon 
    Assoc. Editor: Mike McAvennie 
    Editor:        Joey Cavalieri 
    Cover by:      Stuart Immonen, Jose Marzan, Jr., and Patrick Martin


RATINGS

Average: 3.2/5.0 Shields

AW:  2.5 Shields - Superman and the Phantom Stranger were out of character, 
        but the pacing was superior to past issues.  The artwork is much 
        improved -- even the costume looked good! 
JSy: 4.2 Shields - I really enjoy this type of "so much going on that not
        much happens" issue.  We see a little bit of advancement on a lot
        of the stories, and Kesel gets to strut his stuff, showing how good
        he is at characterization.  He did miss the mark, however, in the
        "berzerk" scene with Superman and Luthor.
TD:  2.6 Shields - (Writing 2.1, Art 3.2) - Some good art from Immomen
        (love the Colan-esque Man of Sparks) and a brill Ashley/Scorn scene
        cover up a pretty bad writing job.  The Phantom Stranger is out of
        character and used badly.
VV:  3.0 Shields - Good appearance by Lex and the Contessa - I hope Superman
        will be able to keep an eye on him in his new condition. As much as
        I like Atom's little chair in the JLA, making him the Teen Titans
        equivalent of J'onn J'onzz will give him a chance to shine.

   
Despite the obvious attempt to stretch out the "New Powers" Super-opera by
telling us who *isn't* responsible for Superman's molecular change, (and not-
so-longtime readers will remember the same tactic in the unlamented "Dead 
Again," story arc), AOS 548 has some passable writing, an interesting plot 
twist, and improved Immonen/Marzan going for it. 
   
In the proverbial nutshell, here's what happens: Superman and the Atom have 
returned from Kandor. The Atom is interested in joining the JLA, but Superman 
convinces him that he could be more valuable training the new Teen Titans. 
(Good thing Clark isn't a professional career counselor!) That taken care of, 
Superman shrakk-kooms over to the Daily Planet, where he's got an article to 
write.  A mysterious shadowed figure lags behind... 
   
Meanwhile, the ever-brash Ashbury Armstrong is running around with Ceritak 
(Scorn), teaching him to dispense justice in her own manner. A recipient of 
this justice is a jerk who parked in a handicapped spot. Finding parking 
spots will no longer be a problem for him--his Scorn-compacted Mercedes 
SL 300 can now conveniently fit in any glove compartment. Dirk Armstrong is 
less than thrilled at his daughter's exploits, but as far as I can tell, 
she's just being a chip off the old block. 
   
Back at the Planet, Simone does her tired old flirt-with-Clark routine, only 
to be interrupted by Lois, who passes on the information that Superman's 
containment suit was created by LexCorp. He leaves to confront Luthor while 
Simone vaguely suggests she'll try harder to keep Clark's attention in the 
future, and the mysterious shadowed figure arrives just a moment too late... 
   
Superman confronts Luthor, who enjoys the irony of being able to torture 
Superman without really having done anything. His fun is interrupted by 
Erica, who feigns going into labor to get Luthor to confess his innoncence 
and convince Superman to leave. Afterwards, she admits to to an infuriated 
Luthor that it was all an act, and adds mysteriously, "He never asked if *I* 
did anything." Hmmm. 
   
The shadowed figure finally catches up with Clark at home.  Given the cover 
of the comic and the title of the story (not to mention the ID revealed in 
past letter-column hype boxes), is anyone surprised that the shadowed figure 
is none other than the Phantom Stranger?  The Stranger has tracked Superman 
down so he could tell him that, well,  something is clouding his senses and
he doesn't know what's going on, but something's wrong and Superman may be in 
danger. Oh--the psychic prediction is that things may get worse. Now that all 
life's mysteries have been cleared up by the DC version of Psychic Friends 
Hotline, Clark goes back to dinner. The irrritation I felt that the Stranger 
had nothing to say was only exacerbated by the fact he was making exclamations 
like, "by my amulet!" Kesel should've done a little more research on the 
Stranger before he started writing. 
   
Finally, we get two pages of the Saviour's escape from jail. Wouldn't we be 
disappointed if he didn't stop by Metropolis and wreak some havoc?  
   
Compared to last issue, the creative team has gotten their act together. The 
humor is more balanced, and I like the tension in the relationship between
Luthor and Erica, and the ominous tone set by her pronouncement. Lex may 
finally have met his match.  
   
Immonen and Marzan seem to have put behind them the inconsistent artwork 
that has characterized the past few issues and put out some very solid, 
attractive work. The cover pays homage to the old "Phantom Stranger" series, 
where the Stranger's silhouette was always in the background, silently 
watching the conflict before him. A nice touch. What I found particularly 
surprising is that for the first time, the new costume looked...right. 
For the first time, I even started to think it had some pizazz! 
   
BUT... all the stylistic improvements still can't cover up the fact that 
nothing really happened this issue. The scene of Superman confronting some 
super-foe and uncharacteristically losing his temper only to find he (and we) 
have been on a wild goose chase, is starting to become a cliche. It's a 
delaying tactic while we wait for the next milestone comic (like AOS #550?) to
come around. I've said it before and I'll say it again: the plot-by-committee,
stretch-each-storyline-over-all-titles strategy leads to too many mediocre 
single issues, and a soap opera-like atmosphere that stretches each storyline 
out way past its natural ending point. It may produce better sales, but it 
prevents the creative teams from reaching the creative heights I know they 
are capable of, and it's unfair to us, the readers.  
   
Still, it should not be ignored that for a do-nothing issue, this wasn't 
too bad an effort. 
   
With this last combination of kudos and condemnations, I'm ending my run as 
AOS reviewer. I think I've said all I have to say about Superman in his own 
titles. Fear not, though--I'm not leaving the Kryptonian Cybernet, I'm just 
moving over to a new spot as the regular reviewer of JLA. I'm looking forward
to commenting more on Superman's place in relation to the rest of the DC 
universe, and--as a longtime, avid collector of the original Justice League 
of America--how the "new generation" of heroes contrasts with those of years 
gone by.    
   
Anatole Wilson 
<awilson@us.oracle.com>

==========================================

29. ACTION COMICS #735                          July 1997  $1.95 US/$2.75 CAN

    "Deadly Deliverance!"

    Writer:      David Michelinie
    Artists:     Tom Grummett and Denis Rodier
    Letterer:    Bill Oakley
    Colorist:    Glenn Whitmore
    Separations: Digital Chameleon
    Assoc. Ed.:  Mike McAvennie
    Editor:      Joey Cavalieri
    Cover by:    Tom Grummett, Denis Rodier and Patrick Martin


RATINGS

Average: 2.8/5.0 Shields

ST:  3.0 Shields (Story 2.4, Art 4.0)
JSy: 2.6 Shields - I *want* to like Saviour, because this is a villain with
        serious threat potential.  Unfortunately, he becomes more stupid
        with each appearance -- though clearly insane, he was much more
        crafty and intelligent in his first appearances.  And can someone
        please explain the purpose of an artist to Mr. Michelinie?
TD:  3.0 Shields - A return to the thinking & experimenting' Superman gives
        this issue a lift.  Scorn and Supes, oddly enough, seem to work
        pretty well together.  Who knew?
VV:  2.5 Shields - If this was just about Scorn and Superman meeting, I'd 
        rate it higher. I'm not impressed by Saviour, and Superman seems 
        to be able to think up a lot of doublespeak ways to win battles 
        with his new powers.

Synopsis:

The newly-escaped Ramsey Murdoch, a.k.a. Saviour, has come to Metropolis to 
hunt down Superman.  Murdoch clings to the belief that Superman died defending 
Metropolis from Doomsday, and never came back to life -- and  that the current 
Superman is just a pretender to the title.  Seeing himself as the punisher of 
all deceivers, Murdoch thinks it is his job to expose the fraud-Superman to 
the world... and if Big Blue dies in the process, well, no real harm done, 
right? After all, as far as Murdoch's concerned, the _real_ Superman is 
already dead... 

Saviour terrorizes the crew of a television studio into putting him on the
Jumbotron so that he can broadcast his challenge to the Pretender Superman.  
The two meet in Metropolis' equivalent of Times Square and proceed to duke 
it out. 

News of the fight is broadcast on the local radio stations, and is picked
up by Ashbury and Ceritak as they camp out (er... hide) in the abandoned
pool-room of her school.  Ceritak leaves Ashbury amidst empty Kentucky
Fried Turkey boxes to go and help the man whose costume he wears. 

Despite the fact that he can create objects out of nothing and give himself 
almost any power he can imagine (I'm talking about Saviour here, although the 
description fits Electri-kal almost as well), Murdoch is short on creativity 
and he relies on bystanders and surroundings for inspiration. Just as a well-
meaning cop gives Murdoch the idea of manacling Supes to the pavement, what 
should appear but a psychotic megalomaniac's wet dream -- Scorn in Superman's 
original costume, a.k.a. another deceiver to punish! 

Ramsey spies a billboard bearing a cigarette advertisement and realizes that 
'Smoking Kills' -- almost kills Scorn, in this case. A foolhardy child shouts 
a Pee-Wee Herman-esque, "I'm rubber and you're glue," which inspires Ramsey 
to bounces Supes' energy bolt back at him.  This is enough for the two guys 
wearing the 'S' to realize that they had better get Saviour away from further 
inspiration, and they co-operate to move the fight to a barge in the harbour. 

Bereft of people to give him ideas, Saviour hits on the idea of combining
the powers of his two opponents and therefore being stronger than either. 
Ceritak attacks, but is swatted off the barge and into the harbour. Unable 
to beat him with sheer physical force, Superman scans Saviour's energy 
signature and recognizes that his conjurations are all psionic in nature.  
With his total control of all forms of energy -- even psychic energy, 
apparently -- Superman feeds Ramsey a 'reverse pulse surge' which burns him 
out. 

Superman searches for the drowning Ceritak and pulls him from the drink, but 
Murdoch uses the opportunity to escape.  The issue ends with Superman and 
Scorn having a heart-to-heart about heroism, and Murdoch swearing revenge 
on all deceivers...

Thoughts:

There were some nice moments in this book, most of them involving
Ceritak/Scorn. The adventures in the bottle city opened Superman's eyes a
little, and gave him more of a clue to Scorn's origins. Thus, although
properly wary of someone whose powers and disposition are still mostly
unknown, Superman shows little of his original inkling to shoot at Scorn
first and ask questions of him later.  Of course the fact that Goat-boy
can communicate now and that he shows up wearing a familiar red-and-blue
outfit make him seem far less threatening....

The relationship between Ceritak and Ashbury is handled well -- sort of a
George and Lenny thing.  I do wonder why the two of them are still hiding
out though -- surely Ashbury could intercede on Scorn's behalf with the
authorities.  Speaking of authorities... Ashbury phone home! Your father
last saw of you being carried off by a seven-foot alien and he's probably
more than a little worried by now.  Oh, to be a thoughtless teenager again. 

I could have done without the repeat of Saviour.  I wasn't too fond of him
during Dead Again, and he didn't impress me overly this time around ether. 
For a guy who has the the powers of a god, he certainly uses them poorly. 
In fact, it seems that he's gotten dumber during his incarceration.  I can
buy the whole 'lack of imagination' thing, but is the guy totally lacking
in the short-term memory department too?  On page four he conjures up a
high-tech blaster to threaten a cop, but during the Battle on the Barge
the best he can do for a weapon is an oversized broken bottle... Hello?
Mcfly? Guns are weapons! Knives are weapons! Make another oversized gun or
a sword appear out of thin air! 

For once, though, Michelinie's habit of over-writing everything comes in
handy. Without thought-balloons describing the fight in torturous detail,
there's no way we could have doped out how Supes defeated Saviour just by
looking at the pictures. 

Some gorgeous colours from Whitmore really make a lot of the panels in
this issue stnd out -- but then this is so often the case that we've
almost come to expect it from him.  For once, I am not 100% approving of
Grummett's work. While most of his outside shots are rich in detail and
minutae, too many of his interior panels look sparse and two-dimensional;
many have no backgrounds whatsoever.  Despite this, the book is still
beautiful to look at with clean inks from Rodier and the most expressive
faces of any current Superman artist, so I won't come down too hard on the
guy.

Final Notes: For all my kibitzing, I'll miss this creative team once they 
switch titles and Action Comics becomes a Stuart Immonen Production. I do 
wish that they'd look more closely at some of the little things though, like: 

- What is it with the trend towards fighting on barges these days?
- Why does the Jumbotron have its own TV studio?
- If Supes doesn't have vision powers, what is he using to see the energy?
- For that matter, how does he recognize the different readings he sees --
        a semester of Energy Patterns 101 at the local Heroes College?
- Have the people of Metropolis grown so blase that they stand around to 
        watch three guys who can total city blocks as though it were a
        schoolyard brawl?
- And finally... Doesn't Kandor have doors?

Shane Travis
<travis@sedsystems.ca>

                                   -- 30 --

_____________________________________________________

SUPER-FAMILY TITLES:
-------------------
STEEL #40                                       July 1997  $1.95 US/$2.75 CAN

    "The Never Ending Story"

    Writer:          Priest
    Penciller:       Vince Giarrano
    Inker:           Prentis Rollins
    Letterer:        Pat Brosseau
    Computer Colors: Stu Chaifetz
    Assoc. Editor:   Ruben Diaz
    Editor:          Frank Pittarese
    Cover by:        Denys Cowan and Tom Palmer


RATINGS

Average: 3.9/5.0 Shields


DSd: 2.8 Shields - A new story begins.  Steel gets mixed up with the Mob and
        Natasha starts at a new school.
JSm: 4.0 Shields - Would have been higher because of the always-excellent
        Priest, but Giaranno's art has always made me long for the talent
        and skill of Rob Liefeld.  Ugh.
JSy: 4.7 Shields - Not quite as good as last issue, but it didn't miss by
        much.  Another hilarious "about town" scene, testing the new hammer,
        and exceptional characterization in the school scenes.  Incredibly
        powerful last two pages -- not good to mess with a superhero's
        family.

Story:

Our story begins with Steel charging down from above with his new hammer 
(it says it's new right there on the page), in front of a billboard that says 
"I <heart> Jersey City". Steel's new hammer hurtles through the air toward
a small panel truck with an ice cream cone on the top (seen in a reflection 
on the hammer), flies through the front window of the truck and knocks Mr. 
Freez-cone right out the back. He comes up with an automatic pistol blazing; 
apparently he doesn't just sell ice cream.  Three kids pull out their pieces 
and point them at Freez-Cone. Apparently this is a police drug raid. 
Freez-Cone threatens to make Steel regret his actions, claiming to be a 
member of the local crime family. Meanwhile, the driver of the ice-cream van 
tries to shoot Steel in the back, but Steel senses this and tosses his new 
hammer backwards toward the henchman.  

Here we get the first description of Steel's new hammer. "Steel's new hammer 
maintains a unique damping field which increases its inertia to multiples of 
its initial thrust over its complete trajectory curve. The field increases
the hammer's mass while affecting the stress capacity of any object in contact 
with its field. In other words, Steel's new hammer multiplies its own speed 
over the course of its thrown distance . . . and can plow straight through 
an M-1 tank"  In other words, DC is fooling with the laws of physics again.  
Either that or there's an engine into the hammer to cause it to speed up as 
it moves.  Oh, and by the way -- it also responds to voice commands. That 
means that when the hammer is travelling through the air at 60 or 70 miles 
per hour and Steel says "STOP!" it comes to a dead halt and hangs motionless 
in space just inches away from the bad-guy's face. Just think what John Henry
could do if he gave up this foolish superhero stuff and stuck to good old R&D!

Back to our story... Steel picks up a Nutty Buddy-like ice-cream and opens 
it to reveal several vials of crack.  Margot arrives on the scene to arrest 
the henchman. Steel, however, takes the vendor and throws him through a plate 
glass window of the Palermo Social Club. Standing at a pool table in the bar 
in none other than Carmine Garacci, the local Mafia boss.  Steel tells 
Carmine that his ice cream vendor has been using Carmine's name to try to 
intimidate Steel.  Steel goes on to inform Carmine that he is now living in 
Jersey City and that there will either be peace or war between Steel and 
Carmine, then leaves to visit Natasha on her first day at her new school.

Here's where the issue goes straight down the toilet for me.  Natasha is 
somewhat jittery at facing a new school all alone, so she goes into school 
wearing what I can only describe as a more revealing costume than the typical 
female super-hero wears into battle; I have belts wider than the skirt Natasha
wears.  She goes up to three of the trend-setters of her new school (who are 
pushing out their breasts and sucking in their navels as only comic book women
can) and starts a diatribe against them.

Three guys in shades are impressed by Natasha's method of introducing herself,
and one of them, named Kilo and wearing a suit and tie, tries to impress Nat 
by offering to... umm... sleep with her.  She declines, and is about to make
further comment when John Henry shows up with the intent to bring her the 
cel phone she forgot -- which embarasses her to no end. When Nat's teacher
(Ms. Wallace) finds out who he is, she introduces him to the class, 
embarassing Nat even more.

The thing is, Natasha left the phone at home on purpose.  John Henry, still
wary from the Scorpio affair of several issues ago, forces Nat to take the 
phone.  When the three girls from earlier tease Nat, she throws the phone at 
them and ends up knocking a jar of red something-or-other (paint, blood, ???)
out the window onto the windshield of a Mercedes -- Kilo's mercedes. Nat runs 
but is caught by Kilo, punched out and told straight out that if she doesn't 
show up at his place and come through for him, then he will kill her, her 
family, and her friends.

Nat arrives home at 1:12 am and spends the next hour in the shower. John 
Henry finds her and is enraged to see that she has been beaten up (or worse).

The next morning.  John Henry is arrested -- for murder.  

To be continued ...

Art: 

This month's issue features art by Giarrano and Rollins, with Chaifetz on the
as coloring as usual.  As I read the book nothing jumped out at me about the 
artwork.  I read it a second time to get ready for my review -- still nothing
special, either bad or good.  Although the first page is a splash and the 
second and third are a double splash.  The main feature of the two pages is 
Steel's new hammer.  Most of the art is flat.  By this I mean that all of the 
action seems to be taking place in two dimensions.  Almost all of the effects 
that make faces look three-dimensional is the result of Chaifetz' coloring.  
This may also be true for the last ten issues, but I hadn't noticed it before.

Pages 19 and 20 are nicely done, showing the confrontation between Natasha 
and Kilo.  He grabs her by the hair in a wide shot, then holds her chin and 
pulls her in close in the next panel. You see her fear reflected in the 
mirror, and then we see two panels from a distance showing him beating her.  
Move to a wide angle in muted greys and blues where the blood dripping from
her mouth is the only red in the entire panel. Close up of his pistol against
her head -- then a shot looking up at him as he gives her the ultimatum. The
final scene shows her from high above, alone and cowering, as Kilo says from
off-panel, "It's up to you."  Very effective artwork, the strongest in the 
issue.

Cowan and Palmer do the cover for this issue.  Steel sports his new hammer -- 
and a costume which makes him look like an automaton.  I'd say this cover is 
the worst one we've had in several months.  Apparently I should be more 
impressed with the new hammer than I am.

Summary:

This issue starts out as a mixed bag for me.  Getting mixed up with the mob 
is the kind of thing that you would expect to happen.  On the other hand, as 
is probably obvious, I have severe misgivings about the new hammer. Natasha's 
introduction to her new school seems totally out of character to me.  She is 
harsh and edgy and very  unlike the sophisticated teenager who was running 
around with Paul just a few issues ago.  I wonder if other regular readers of 
this book think this is a really big change for her.  Finally I think Kilo's
threat to Natasha was portrayed very well.

Dick Sidbury
<sidbury@cs.uofs.edu>

==========================================

SUPERBOY #40                                    June 1997  $1.95 US/$2.75 CAN

    "Meltdown 3: Life Support"

    Writer:    Ron Marz
    Pencils:   Ramon Bernado
    Inks:      Doug Hazlewood
    Colors:    Tom McCraw
    Letters:   Richard Starkings & Comicraft/AD
    Editor:    Frank Pittarese
    Cover by:  Bernado and Hazlewood


RATINGS

Average: 2.0/5.0

RG:  3.0 Shields (Story) - Getting better, good use of supporting cast.
     0.5 Shields (Art) - Does not work for me -- tastes differ.
DC:  3.1 Shields - Marz's writing is improving, but the art still sucks.
JSy: 1.8 Shields - Took Marz an awful large number of pages to *hint* at a
        cure and collect some equipment.  I get the distinct impression this
        was originally going to be the final issue of Meltdown, but someone
        chose to drag it out a bit more.  Why is Supergirl's hair normal on
        the cover, but three feet tall inside?
ST:  1.5 Shields - (Story 2.5, Art 0.0) Nice to see the rest of the 'family' 
        show up--I just wish they acted (or looked!) more like they do in 
        their own titles. Nice development with Match and The Agenda; might 
        be some promising stories that way... but I'm _really_ getting sick 
        of Bernado's 'art'.

Superboy is in real trouble now. His body is degenerating at an accelerated 
rate, and it doesn't look like even the Cadmus scientists are going to be able
to help him on their own. Guardian and Dubilex send out for some high powered 
help, and when Superman, Supergirl, and Steel all answer the call, you know 
that something is going to happen.

***

A good story, with enough character interaction to make me happy. Marz is 
getting a good handle on the book's regular characters and is starting to 
take them in a few interesting directions. It's obvious that while there is
still some friction between Roxy and Tana, they will do whatever is necessary 
for Superboy. One big surprise (for me at least) was that Rex showed up for 
the Kid, I was beginning to think that Marz was going to forget about him.

Superman and Steel were... OK. While not up to the presentations they have in
their own books, they were recognizable in their actions. Superman is as much
an icon as a character, and it's pretty tough to mess him up. There are a few 
problems with the portrayal of Superman's new powers, but I can forgive most 
of these. I'm not too clear on some of them myself yet. 

Steel on the other hand is quite a bit tougher to get right. In this book, 
Steel is portrayed as just a big guy in a steel suit. Marz seems to have 
completely forgotten that John Henry is really an accomplished engineer and 
inventor -- easily in the class of the Cadmus scientists. Marz could have 
made much better use of him than he did, especially after he and Superman 
arrive at the ruined Agenda Base. An interesting note is that Superboy's 
clone, Match, is still alive and has at least one power we hadn't seen yet.

The only really bad characterization for me in this story was the poor 
handling of Supergirl. She was hardly recognizable in the way she was 
presented here.  Her actions were nothing like her current incarnation in 
her own book, and they weren't even anything like the way she behaved after 
she and Luthor broke up. I don't know where Marz got this Supergirl from, 
but I hope she never shows up again.

As to the art, the less said the better. As I've said before, it doesn't work 
for me.

Rene Gobeyn
<bedlam@frontiernet.net>

==========================================

SUPERBOY #41                                    July 1997  $1.95 US/$2.75 CAN

    "Meltdown 5: The Cure"

    Writer:    Ron Marz
    Pencils:   Paul Ryan
    Inks:      Jose Marzan, Jr.
    Colors:    Tom McCraw
    Letters:   Richard Starkings & Comicraft/AD
    Editor:    Frank Pittarese
    Cover by:  Ramon Bernado and Doug Hazlewood


RATINGS

Average: 4.1/5.0 Shields

RG:  4.0 Shields (Story) - Good characterization, a few real surprises.
     3.5 Shields (Art) - A big step in the right direction!
JSy: 4.0 Shields - If Marz can write *this* well, then why doesn't he do it
        all the time!?  I hope that the stunning plot twist is not soon
        forgotten, and that the new relationship between Roxy and SB is
        explored.  It's amazing how much better this book looks without
        Bernado -- Ryan and Marzan have a very nice take on the characters.
ST:  4.6 Shields - This one had it all! Drama, Excitement, suspense, plot,
        characterization... wow! Easily the best single issue of this comic
        since the definitive Zero-hour crossover of #8.


Superboy's body continues to deteriorate, and the Cadmus scientists are 
forced to use the Agenda's cloning chambers to attempt to save him. The only 
problem is, they need a cellular pattern to work with. The donor may surprise 
you, but the final consequences will have major implications for Superboy and 
his supporting cast. He will never be the same again.

***

They did this one right! As a conclusion to what I had thought to be a pretty 
mediocre story line, this one worked well -- better, in fact than the story 
probably deserved. It was such a breath of fresh air, that for the first time 
in months, I was actually glad I picked up the book.  Was it good enough to 
have suffered through the preceding books? I don't know, but this book leads 
Superboy in what I think will be a an interesting new<?> direction. I can't 
believe that I'm actually looking forward to next month.

As the story opens we get single panel fantasy of Superboy taking over from 
Superman. This is such an obvious bit of foreshadowing that I discounted it 
at first. After reading the story, it made a lot more sense. In one panel, the 
whole impact of the overall story line comes together. Taken with the ending, 
it <for me> made the whole thing worthwhile. A few of the other plot develop-
ments show promise to really make this title interesting in the near future.

Marz has even found a way around the stereotypical DC stereotype love triangle 
that has been bothering me since the Kid first moved to Hawaii. The book was 
worth picking up for that alone. He also did something else in this book that 
I really liked; he actually made use of all the little clues and developments 
of the past few issues without turning them into a cliche. This is no mean 
trick considering what he had to work with.

The interior art was so much better than the past few months that I was 
sorely tempted to give it much higher marks than I did. Ryan and Marzan do a 
good Superboy. Their take on the supporting cast is also excellent. My only 
complaints with their art is that the lack of background details made some of 
the panels seem a bit too much like talking heads, but this is a complaint I 
have with most comic art.

If DC can keep up with this quality of work, this title could become one of 
the best in the Superman family.

Rene Gobeyn
<bedlam@frontiernet.net>

==========================================

SUPERBOY AND THE RAVERS #10                     June 1997  $1.95 US/$2.75 CAN

    "Meltdown, Part 4: Flatline"

    Writers:       Steve Mattsson and Karl Kesel
    Penciller:     Ramon Bernado
    Inker:         Dan Davis
    Color/Seps:    Joshua Meyers
    Letterer:      Kevin Cunningham
    Assoc. Editor: Ruben Diaz
    Editor:        Frank Pittarese
    Cover by:      Paul Pelletier and Dan Davis


RATINGS

Average: 2.3/5.0 Shields

CC:  1.8 Shields
DC:  3.3 Shields - Too loosely connected to Meltdown; Bernado's half of
        art stinks.
JSy: 2.1 Shields - This may have been a good book -- Karl Kesel rarely lets
        me down -- but I was so distracted by Bernado's art that I really
        don't have a clue.  I *can* say, however, that pages 9 and 21 have
        convinced me that we need a Rex/Krypto special! :)


I have great faith in this comic book. Kesel and Mattsson have a great
vision -- and more importantly, a great time -- with their stories, so
when the occasional clunker comes along, I'm able to overlook it. 

What we've got here with issue #10 is certainly a clunker. That's due in no 
small part to its insertion into a dud storyline running in SUPERBOY. I'm 
something of a continuity nut, so I like the fact that The Kid has been seen 
in SaTR for the last couple of months with a giant zit. But was it really 
necessary to draw this title into the mess that is Superboy's regular title 
these days? 

Making matters worse was the choice of Bernado as penciller. Though the
art here was slightly less coarse than in SUPERBOY, it was still dreadfully 
distracting - sort of a bad Bogdanove. I thought Half-Life was from the 1950s,
not the Cro-Magnon era. And speaking of Half-Life, does his ectoplasmic goop 
help keep his hair up that high? [Ed Note: At least he has an excuse. How do
the rest of Bernado's characters do it? -ST]

As for the story itself, Kaliber, Hero and Half-Life encounter a Tana Moon 
clone (art-wise at least) and a boring villain. Sparx goes home for a visit 
and is mentally summoned by Dubbilex.  After sneaking into Cadmus, she gets
really freaked out by his appearance and apparently watches him die.Could 
have been handled in a couple of panels of the regular title, but oh well.

On the good side, though, I always love seeing the Force family, and the 
blind seer Granny Iris was a great addition. I liked her cryptic comments 
about why Hero isn't the right man for Sparx. Or should I say Sparx isn't 
the right man for Hero?

Oh well, better luck next time.

Chip Chandler 
<chipc@arn.net>

==========================================

SUPERGIRL #11                                   July 1997  $1.95 US/$2.75 CAN

    "Sound and Fury"

    Writer:       Peter David
    Artist:       Greg Land
    Inker:        Prentice Rollins
    Letter:       Bob Lappan
    Colorist:     Gene D'Angelo
    Separations:  Digital Chameleon
    Editor:       Frank Pittarese
    Cover by:     Gary Frank, Cam Smith, and Patrick Martin


RATINGS

Average:  3.4/5.0 Shields

TD:  2.8 Shields - Peter David gambles on mixing humor with horror in this
        story... and comes up craps.
DC:  3.2 Shields - A nice story, but too much concentration on the
        supernatural for Supergirl.
JSy: 3.7 Shields - While I don't normally care for mystical/demonic stories,
        Silver Banshee and Satanus have always been exceptions for me.  This
        was a strange twist on the Banshee, but it made for an interesting
        story.  Greg Land's pencils are beautiful, and he doesn't fall into
        the cheesecake trap that often corraled Gary Frank.
VV: 4.0 Shields - I've never met the Silver Banshee, but she intrigues me in
        this story. I assume the questions raised will be answered in the
        books ahead. I *am* getting a wee bit tired of seeing Herbie and his
        baseball bat; why not give him a lollipop and have it over with? <g>


No this isn't right.

Allow me to explain:

One of the possible pitfalls of mixing humor into your dark fiction is the 
risk of the humor inhibiting the horrific elements  rather than enhancing 
them.  If done carelessly, humorous dialogue or an absurd situation serve to
confuse the reader, keeping him off-base without any promise of a pay-off --
which brings us to this issue of SUPERGIRL.

Supergirl inadvertently frees The silver Banshee from the weird cavern we saw
last issue.  Instead of behaving like a homicidal maniac, however, Banshee 
thanks Supergirl and goes to the beauty parlor.  While Supergirl is filled 
in by Lord Satanus as to why The insane Banshee is behaving so erratically, 
the Leesburg Police comes down hard on The Silver Banshee, which only gets 
the gal angry.  You see, The Silver Banshee is in the process of dying, and 
doesn't like being reminded who she really is... so guess who gets a faceful 
of Banshee wail?

Supergirl arrives too late to save a number of policemen, but manages to 
take down the decomposing Banshee.  As she apologizes for having to do this 
the hard way, The Silver Banshee finds a kindred spirit and possesses P.J., 
who is still torn up over her brother's death.  Now revived, Mattie/Banshee 
prepares to bear down upon the Maid of Might.

Whenever "Sound and Fury" depicts The Silver banshee acting loopy, the story 
breaks down.  The sequence is played a bit too broadly, coming off goofy 
rather than disturbing.  It also doesn't help that Lord Satanus is sucked 
into David's vaudeville tendencies... it's hard to take a Lord of Hell --
even one who looks as magnificent as Land makes him look -- when he mumbles 
about having to handle "one damned thing after another."  Luckily, once the 
Banshee gets her senses back, the story clicks into place.  When Banshee 
getting the names of the doomed policemen from their name badges, the moment 
chills to the bone. You even get to feel for the old girl when she bewails
her fate as Supergirl comforts her.

Of course, we've got other things to worry about in this issue, too.  Cutter
Sharpe makes a bet concerning Linda with his ex-wife in a confusingly 
choreographed scene (first she's in front of the desk, then she's on top of
the desk, then they're both on top of the desk -- in a matter of seconds!).  
Furthermore, in a scene that's far too short, we get the impression that
Mr. Danvers doesn't approve of his wife's decision to go into the ministry.
This is my favorite sub-plot right now, and I wish David wouldn't give it 
such short shrift.

Art-wise, Land's Satanus (as previously mentioned) is choice, and Land's 
portrayal of the Mrs. Danvers scene is decently laid out.  His Supergirl is
still inconsistent and needs work, and the fight scene on page 16-19 is 
confusing and unimaginative.

One gets the impression Land isn't comfortable with the heavy, blood-and-
thunder aspect of super-hero comics.  With all that being said, I can see him
growing into the book in the next few months; pity that the fans who buy the
book because "Frank draws bitchin' babes" aren't going to give him a chance.

"Sound and Fury" is a stumble, sure, but it's not a fatal one.

Thomas Deja
<manciniman@rocketmail.com>

_____________________________________________________

OTHER SUPERMAN TITLES:
---------------------
JLA #7                                          July 1997  $1.95 US/$2.75 CAN

    "Heaven on Earth"

    Writer:      Grant Morrison
    Penciller:   Howard Porter
    Inkers:      John Dell & Ken Branch
    Colorist:    Pat Garrahy
    Separations: Heroic Age
    Letterer:    Ken Lopez
    Editor:      Ruben Diaz
    Cover by:    Howard Porter and John Dell (and Liquid Crayon?)


RATINGS

Average: 3.5/5.0 Shields

DSv: 4.6 Shields
DC:  2.8 Shields - Nice concept, poor execution; JLA shouldn't have stood
        a chance.
JSy: 3.9 Shields - Okay, we've got one angel leading a horde of others to
        rebel against God, and Zauriel is quitting to be with a woman.  And
        Morrison would have us believe that God is clueless?  Uh-uh.  But
        darned if he and Porter didn't have one of the most spectacular
        Superman scenes I've ever seen...
ST:  2.2 Shields - Nice teamwork by the League, but the premise was so 
        flawed that it destroyed my enjoyment of the book. Angels becoming 
        mortal? God is 'distracted'? Celestial Beings -- ones who think they 
        are big enough to take on _God_ -- getting whupped by the JLA? Come 
        on... The only redeeming feature was the characterization of Kal-el.
TD:  4.0 Shields - Superman moves the moon to foil Neron and two (out of
        three) demons while some interesting, if silly, action goes on.
        And did I mention SUPERMAN MOVES THE MOON??? COOL!!!!


We start this issue with the stunningly large battle-angel Asmodel wreaking 
havoc in San Fransisco.  Asmodel is demanding that Zauriel, a renegade angel 
who sought out the Justice League, return to Heaven or be destroyed.  Green 
Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman stand at Zauriel's side. 
Superman finds is busy elsewhere, trying to stop the moon from colliding into 
the Earth. Normally the moon would be just fine where it was, but Neron (from 
Underworld Unleashed) has enlisted two of his devilish cronies to send it on 
a crash-course to the planet.  This entire plot is portrayed as a distraction 
to keep Superman busy.  The Flash is no help, as he is stuck in mid-teleport 
between the moon and San Fransisco ("Which sounds like a really bad song and 
feels worse"), and Batman is... well, he's really nowhere to be found at the 
moment.

Using his new electromagnetic powers, Superman is able to stop the moon's
plight by stringing up some fancy metal poles and charging the satellite with
a repellant force to that of Earth.  Meanwhile, Asmodel has begun his attack
on the League, and J'onn J'onzz has taken it upon himself to hold off the 
decidedly unfriendly 'angel'.

Brief interlude: A patient in the hospital, comatose for years, utters the
words "Justice League," and walks out of the room.  Madness erupts around him
as he leaves, including one of the other patients madly scribbling the word 
"unlock" repeatedly on the wall.

While the Martian Manhunter holds off against Asmodel, Aquaman, Wonder Woman,
Green Lantern, and Zauriel (did I mention that he bears a striking resemblance
to Hawkman?) contend themselves with the chore of stopping Asmodel's heavenly 
chariot from crashing onto the streets of San Fransisco and killing millions. 
Just as things look their worst, Superman and the Flash show up to offer 
assistance.  Superman holds his own for a while against Asmodel, but their
hand-to-hand combat is never resolved; Green Lantern and the Flash figured 
out a way to cancel out the supersonic frequencies on which Asmodel and his 
heavenly minions exist.  The battle is over.  The Justice League has defeated 
the forces of Heaven.

Epilogue:  Superman extends an invitation to Zauriel to join the League, 
noting that "there's always a place...for a big fella with wings...." Zauriel 
rejects the offer, choosing instead to go and meet the mortal woman for whom 
he gave up angel-hood. In the final page, the coma patient is revealed to be
The Key, who makes a triumphant return and knocks all seven Leaguers flat in 
a mere matter of seconds.

Thoughts:

Next to Mark Waid, Grant Morrison is DC's hottest pen right now.  The one-
liners that he throws in are spectacular.  Here's a smidgen of Morrison's
prime quotes this issue:

"He smiles, and it's that one smile he has -- the one that reminds you he's
not really from here.  'There were larger forces at work today, Wally,' he
says.  Go figure."
    --The Flash reminiscing on Superman's explanation of how he used
       magnetism to stop the moon from falling

"This is the guy who said he couldn't live up to his myth.  He's wrestling
an angel..."
     --Flash, commenting on Superman's battle with Asmodel


Morrison's dialogue is the main drive behind this new incarnation of the 
League, and it kept this issue going even when the plot became too hard to 
fathom.  I mean, the forces of Heaven coming to Earth and being stopped by 
the Justice League?  That's heavy stuff for a comic book. The involvement of 
Neron in this whole affair has yet to be explained; if Asmodel was really an 
angel, why in Hades would Neron try and distract the big Leaguers from 
fighting him/it?  

I'm skeptical about angels and devils becoming embroiled in the workings of 
superheroes. I find it hard to believe that Superman or the Martian Manhunter
could really stand up to a servant of God and/or Satan.  I understand that 
Morrison needs to come up with threats to this new and vastly powerful League,
but I don't think involving these types of beings is the way to go.  Besides,
who needs to have them fight angels when The Key can take them all down in 
three panels?

In closing, I hope that Morrison doesn't forget about Zauriel.  I'd like to 
see this new character in the league, if only because it'd be nice to have 
some sort of a question mark thrown in there with all the established heroes.
It's obvious that he was setting up a Hawkman comparison, from the wings and 
taloned feet all the way down to the hawk-like crest worn on the shoulder.  
My question is, why introduce a character like this if he's not going to be 
used later? 

Dan Silverstein
<dsilvers@scf.usc.edu>

==========================================

SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #9                          July 1997  $1.75 US/$2.50 CAN

    "Return of the Hero"

    Writer:    Scott McCloud
    Penciller: Mike Manley
    Inker:     Terry Austin
    Colorist:  Marie Severin
    Letterer:  Lois Buhalis
    Editor:    Mike McAvennie
    Cover by:  Rick Burchett, Terry Austin, and Marie Severin


RATINGS

Average: 4.0/5.0

CS:  4.0 Shields - Solid story brought down a notch by art that doesn't
        capture the emotion and nuances of the story. 
JSy: 4.1 Shields - This was a good example of how this book *should* be used.
        Not only does it tell a story which would never make it as an actual
        episode, but it doesn't feed off of or lead into any other episodes.
        It simply further defines the characters for the readers.


What make someone a hero?  I was a kid during the 70's and 80's, and for as 
long as I can remember I have heard that we don't have heroes any longer.  
This issue of Superman focuses on the Hero part of the word Super-Hero as 
well as giving us a long over-due look at this universe's Lex Luthor.

The story starts with Superman saving people trapped in a burning factory.  
Superman's face is obscured in shadow as he goes about the task of saving 
people, and the narration is in quotes filling us in that Superman has been 
flying in and out of the building saving people.  When Superman thinks he 
has saved everyone, a security guard tells him that someone was left inside, 
prompting him to fly back in and save the guard's dog.  This entire sequence 
is narrated, distancing us from Superman and making us focus on how people 
see him.  It's a novel way to start the story, since the readers are used to 
being privy to Superman's thoughts through thought balloons.  Here we have 
to guess at the conversations he's having and the reasons for his actions. 

We then meet the narrator of the story so far, a young man named Frank. He 
is in his apartment in Suicide Slum.  He's telling his sister about the fire
he saw and that he has two heroes.  Superman is the first, but he surprises 
us by saying that his second is Lex Luthor.  Frank admires how Luthor pulled
himself up from the same abject poverty in which Frank lives.  If the most 
powerful businessman can come from Suicide Slum, then it means that Frank 
has hope fr how his life may turn out.  Since Luthor hasn't been shown much 
in this series, I would assume that the animated series has gone back to the 
immediate Post-Crisis Luthor -- a well-respected businessman who keeps his 
shadier dealings quiet.

At a fund-raiser in an upscale part of Metropolis, Lex is presenting 
Lexcorp's plans to revitalize Suicide Slum by putting up shopping malls and 
high rent apartments.  Lois Lane interrupts his speech in the style of Sam 
Donaldson by asking if he is behind the rash of fires in Suicide Slum. She 
accuses him of burning out the people who won't sell to him, and he draws 
the presentation to a close. 

Frank watches the report of what Lois has done on the news and fumes that
people should leave Lex alone.  His mother tries to steer him toward seeing 
his father as a hero.  "Dad was a crook and you know it," is his response.  
Lois Lane happens to be a a friend of Frank's mother, and picks this time to
show up; Frank confronts her over attacking Lex and storms out of the room.
Frank's mother hints to Lois that there is more to her husband's jail term
than meets the eye as the scene shifts to another fire in the Slum.  Frank 
and his friends try to loot a store while everyone is watching the fire,
but when Frank has a change of heart everyone takes off -- leaving Frank
to take the rap. 

Luthor bails Frank out of jail and shows him all about his business, saying 
that Frank might be able to help in the future.  Like the opening sequence, 
this scene is also shown through Frank's eyes.  The way it is told is more 
intimate, however, as we both hear Lex's dialogue and witness Frank 
assigning emotions and motives to Luthor's actions. 

The scene shifts to Luthor, who is reminiscing about Frank's dad, Francisco.
It seems he cut a deal with Luthor where if he did not talk about what he 
knew, Luthor promised that no harm would come to his family. Francisco died
in jail a year later, having kept his end of the bargain, and Luthor had
intended to keep his end as well. Luthor finds out that one of his arson
had mixed up an address, and is on their way to torch Frank's apartment.

Luckily, when the fire starts both Clark and Lois were at the apartment to 
get the story of why Luthor paid Frank's bail and to fill him in on what his 
father had done to save the family.  Superman is able to save everyone in 
the building.  Luthor, who arrived in his limousine after the building was 
ablaze, drives off when he realizes what has happened and sees that there 
is no need for him to act.  Frank puts the pieces together and decides that
Luthor is not a hero he wants to have any more.

The story has a nice, even flow, and as I stated above, the different 
perspectives of how Superman and Luthor are seen through Frank's eyes is
both interesting and well done.  My problem with this issue is that Mike 
Manley's art is not up to the task of telling the story well.  The animated 
style is a hard one for artists to pull off.  It isn't merely a matter of 
drawing the characters the way they appear on the character designs, as
Manley seems to do, but using the simpler form to make each line count. The 
sequence on page 15 is a good example of what I mean.  In the center block 
of panels, Lois wonders if Luthor might really have changed.  There is a 
silent panel, followed by a panel of them both saying, "No!" Clark's facial 
expression does not change from panel to panel, diluting the joke.  With a 
thoughtful expression in the second panel and then a whimsical one, the joke 
would have been highlighted, and the timing made clear.  As it was drawn, it 
was almost as if Clark was utterly expressionless. 

Also, with characters not from the series, Manley seems lost, not knowing
how to make the people he has in his mind work in this art style.  Marie
Severin's colors are wonderful, as always, using the tones to heighten the 
emotion of the flashback sequences, or to give a panel more impact by doing 
it in separate shades of the same color. 

If nothing else, this issue shows how much the art can help a story told in 
this format.  As it was, I loved the look at how the rest of Metropolis sees 
Lex Luthor. It also reminded me how Luthor was a near perfect adversary for 
Superman when he was still a businessman who disliked Superman because the 
super-hero took the attention from him.  He's still in the regular Superman 
books, but doesn't seem as much of a threat.  Scott McCloud has a better 
handle on what makes this character and his world tick, in my opinion, than 
anyone working on the continuity Superman books. 

Cory Strode
<c.strode@genie.com>

_____________________________________________________


SPECIALS AND GUEST APPEARANCES:
------------------------------
SUPERMAN ANNUAL #9                                   1997  $3.95 US/$5.50 CAN

    "Black Crucible"

    Writer:      Dan Jurgens
    Penciller:   Sean Chen
    Inker:       Brett Breeding
    Letterer:    John Costanza
    Colorist:    Glenn Whitmore
    Separators:  Digital Chameleon
    Assoc. Ed.:  Mike McAvennie
    Editor:      Joey Cavalieri
    Cover by:    Glenn Orbik


RATINGS

Average: 4.1/5.0 Shields

DR:  4.0 Shields (Story)
     4.3 Shields (Art)
DC:  4.1 Shields - Great, well-done, fun story.
JSm: 3.5 Shields - It cost too much and it wasn't spectacular, but it was
        a pleasant surprise to get a decent Jurgens story for once.  And
        *this* is the Sean Chen who's doing Busiek's IRON MAN this fall?
        I can't wait.
JSy: 4.6 Shields - Fantastic story with a healthy dose of mystery, intrigue,
        and action.  And very little of the "Man of Sparks" for those of you
        who still won't have anything to do with him.  All together, a rip-
        roaring adventure with gorgeous art -- let's get Sean Chen doing
        something more than just an annual!
ST:  4.3 Shields - This isn't really a Superman Annual; it's a "Superman's
        Pal, Jimmy Olsen" Annual, but that's fine by me! Action-packed story
        with some marvellous interactions -- especially between Drysdale and 
        Bibbo. The first time Jimmy has _deserved_ the title of 'Mr. Action'.
        Really had the feel of a pulp story, with nice homages throughout.
TD:  4.1 Shields - Easily the best thing Jurgens has written for Big Blue
        (keep in mind, though, who's telling you this) -- a goofy thing with
        echoes of Johnny Thunder and Doc Savage.  An example of the potential
        fun to be had with this Pulp Heroes' premise.


Capsule Review: A very good effort from Jurgens. His writing is a little 
stronger, and the characterizations were almost dead on. My only complaint 
with the story was the dialogue of E.D. Drysdale, which seemed a little too 
stilted, and with the leader of the Black Crucible which was far too cliched;
"Infidel"-this "Infidel"-that. Sheesh. Sean Chen and Brett Breeding click for 
a very clean style. Breeding's inks, which are normally dark, bring out the 
fine detail in Chen's pencils. Finally, a great cover by Glenn Obrick -- I 
hope he does more!

Having never been exposed to the wonder of pulp comics from so many years 
ago, I can only wonder how exactly looked, felt, smelled, and most 
importantly, read. This years crop of DC theme annuals fall under the title 
of 'pulp heroes', a harkening back to the days of yore, when men were men and 
comics were a dime.  Although costing significantly more than a dime -- try 
40 dimes, or 55 Canadian -- for what we recieved, the price was worth it.

The story begins in the country of Bhutran, home of Shadowdragon (whatever 
happened to him, huh?), where a secret cult known as the Black Crucible 
begins their plan to take over the world. The first step involves the killing 
of Superman's Pal -- though jerk as of late in the Super-books -- Jimmy Olsen 
and taking his place. A member of the Black Crucible takes on Jimmy's facial 
appearance through mystic means (how else?), and journeys to America to kill 
Jimmy. 'Mr. Action' is undercover trying to expose a drug smuggling operation 
for GBS (I still don't believe that any reporter would ever do this sort of 
thing) when Bibbo blows his cover. A fight ensues and Superman comes to the 
rescue. After the minor kerfuffle, as Jimmy is heading back to his car, the 
Black Crucible assasin strikes! He fails to kill Jimmy, is captured and 
promptly commits suicide. "Never be taken alive. Never talk."

If the appearance of the Jimmy-double wasn't enough, Jimmy then finds that he 
has inherited a valuable and mysterious (insert spooky music) medallion from 
a woman in Bhutran.. Whatta coincidence. Assuming that the man who tried to 
kill him is from Bhutran, Jimmy and company -- comprised of Lois, Clark, 
Bibbo, Professor Hamilton, and E.D. Drysdale (a lawyer) -- head off to 
Bhutran to solve this puzzling situation.

Jimmy subsitutes himself for the subsitute of himself (I had to make that as 
confusing as possible) and moves in on the Black Crucible's plans. The 
adventuring group splits up in an attempt to understand the goings-on and 
finally comes back together (sans Clark) in a shark tank at the Crucible's 
headquarters. Jimmy, still pretending to not be himself, breaks the charade 
and the tank, freeing his friends. 

Our group leaps from the frying pan (shark-infested though it was) into the 
fire -- litterally -- as the entire Crucible complex becomes engulfed in 
explosions and flame due to Superman's timely intervention. The Crucible 
makes their getaway by letting their, "minds drift and connect with one 
another until [they] form a single, unique being -- Panzer!"  Our heroes do 
the same (make their getaway, that is, not form a giant creature.)

In the epilogue, the group finds that the medallion "blesses the owner with 
incredible mystic powers," thus the reason behind the Black Crucible's desire 
for possession of it.  The previous owner sent it to Jimmy because she had
seen him on TV and believed him honest enough to keep it.  Just before leaving
Bhutran, a shadowy unidentified group steps forward to warn Clark of the 
amulet's power, and the consequences should it fall into the wrong hands... 

The art in this book was great. It contained a nice, clean style to it, with 
fine detail put into backgrounds and textures. Sean Chen and Brett Breeding 
mesh perfectly. I wouldn't mind seeing them do more projects together. One 
thing of note is the common Superman white eyes/normal eyes' dilemma. I 
believe Superman has white eyes when he is scanning the different spectrum 
of light and normal eyes when he is not -- this may be an artist preference, 
though. 

Storywise, it's very good, particularly from Jurgens. I rarely have problems 
with Jurgens' plots, just his dialogue. I find that his characters say things 
like, "Whoa!" and, "No way!" too much. Read Superman/Doomsday Hunter/Prey for 
some bad dialogue (Superman saying "Whoa! Darkseid is down?" sounds more like 
Superboy). This time, however, his writing is dead on for the characters, 
though I don't think Jimmy would have been so cocky in the face of death.

Another important aspect of the story was the homage to Doc Savage. What 
Jurgens did in putting  together the team he did for this story is create a 
DCU-version of Doc Savage and his Amazing Five. Also, the group seen in 
shadows at the end is clearly intended to be that team. The leader of the 
team is called "Mr. Dent" -- a reference to Lester Dent, creator of Doc 
Savage. 

A great start to a series of annuals that I hope will only get better. Maybe 
Jurgens will use start to apply his love of "pulp" stories to the regular 
Superman book. This is a style which really suits the Man Beyond Tomorrow.

Daniel Radice
<dradice@caninet.com>

==========================================

SOVEREIGN SEVEN #24                             July 1997  $1.95 US/$2.75 CAN

    "Triage"

    (Guest-starring Superman/Clark Kent and Lois Lane, with appearances by 
    Jon and Martha Kent)

    Writer:        Chris Claremont
    Penciller:     Ron Lim
    Inker:         Chris Ivy
    Letters:       Richard Starkings and Comicraft
    Colors & Seps: Prismacolors
    Assoc. Editor: Eddie Berganza
    Editor:        Kevin Dooley
    Cover by:      Ron Lim, Chris Ivy, and Angus McKie


RATINGS

Average: 3.7/5.0 Shields

RG:  4.5 Shields (Story) - excellent wrap-up to a back 
     4.5 Shields (Art) - nice perspectives, wonderful detailing
JSy: 3.4 Shields - Those of you who have missed seeing the "good old Lois"
        in the core titles need look no further.  Claremont resurrects the
        daring, spunky Lois who is very good at what she does -- *without*
        resorting to a "Commando" Lois characterization.  I don't care for
        Lim's take on the new costume, but the rest of the art is nice.
TD:  3.8 Shields - You can't fool us with that SOVEREIGN SEVEN on the cover;
        this was a Superman story through and through (well, a Lois Lane story
        more likely).  Some fierce art and some great insight into the Lois/
        Clark dynamic; why is it that the writers with the tightest grasp on
        what makes Superman tick are the ones *not* writing Superman titles?


If you haven't been following this title, then this story might not make much 
sense to you. If you decide that you want to read this story, then you may 
want to pick up the preceding three issues as well to better understand what 
is going on. That said, lets get on with this.

Sovereign Seven is probably one of the best books (IMHO) DC is producing at 
this time. The details and sub-plots surrounding the story are wonderfully 
intricate and hold together well. While it is a team book, and subscribes to 
most of the stereotypes associated with such, the resemblance to other team 
books ends there. Part of this is due in large part to the individuals that 
make up the team itself. Each of the team is the sole survivor of their 
respective cultures, thrown together by circumstances. This makes for a more 
interesting range of interactions than we normally see. Each of the team 
members has their own unique personalities and their powers often have side 
effects that show up as realistic character traits. Overall, these detailed 
personalities and the stories that seem to grow out of them give this title 
an appeal that is missing from so many of the other books on the rack.

One of these misunderstandings and conflicts resulted in the leader of the 
group, Rhian Douglas (Cascade) leaving the group and going to Metropolis to 
try to make a life for herself. While there she meets up with Clark and Lois 
and becomes friends with them.  Clark has spent most of his life as a sole 
survivor and knows some of what she is going through. Eventually they take 
her home to Smallville where the Kents take her in, much as they did with 
Supergirl when she needed to adjust to Earth.

Last issue, the other members of the team were attacked, captured and 
imprisoned by enemies who were able to counteract each of the Sovereigns 
powers.  Cascade is the last remaining Sovereign still at large, and they 
must capture her to complete their mission. They force the team telepath 
(Network) to contact Rhian to bring her to them. They weren't counting on 
Lois and Superman interfering with their plans.

Lois plays a bigger role here than she does in the majority of the main 
Superman titles.  For me this was one of the selling points of the story. It 
goes a long way to showing that Lois and Clark have full lives outside of the 
main Superman titles, which (more) often seem to ignore the supporting cast 
in favor of a 'villain of the month' fight. If you give this title half a 
chance, you'll probably end up hooked.

Rene Gobeyn
<bedlam@frontiernet.net>

_____________________________________________________

                WHO IS SUPERMAN BLUE -- THE MAN BEYOND TOMORROW?
                ------------------------------------------------
                      By Steven Younis (younis@dot.net.au)


This column is my attempt at collecting everything we know about the New
Superman from the Superman comics. It is a reprint from my New Superman
section within the Superman Homepage at
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Vault/7771/

As each new comic is released, and as more new powers and new information are
revealed, I will update and add to my New Superman web page. I welcome any and
all feedback about this column. Please e-mail me at younis@dot.net.au if you
see any errors, omissions or just want to make a comment.

I must put out a big public THANK YOU to Gareth Baker (ghlbjedi@aol.com) who
helped me put together this information.

The information here is current as of SUPERMAN ANNUAL #9 and ADVENTURES OF
SUPERMAN #548.

==

THE COSTUME

This has been dubbed, by the creators, as Superman Blue. Gone are the red
underpants and cape, the hallmarks of Superman. Now he wears a blue costume
with white lightning bolts down all four of his limbs. His chest carries a new
stylized 'S' in the same lightning bolt motif. His whole body is covered by
the costume, except for his hair and face, which have also taken on a blue
energy hue.

The new costume is in fact a containment suit. In the month leading up to the
landmark issue SUPERMAN #123, Superman slowly changed into a being made of
energy. The suit is made from a fabric which was designed and patented by
Lexcorp, and "kindly" donated by Contessa Erica Del Portenza, the new CEO of 
the corporation. The 'look' of the costume was probably put together by
Professor Hamilton (an old friend of Superman's) and Lois, his wife.


THE POWERS

These are a little more complicated. The main thing is all his old powers are
gone. No more heat vision, X-Ray vision, Super-hearing, or invulnerability!

It all began in SUPERMAN #122 when he blew up a toaster, passed his hand
through a coffee pot, and most alarmingly, accidentally hurt an innocent
bystander when bullets passed right through him. Another side-effect is that
electrical goods go *K-Phut* when he's near them. These problems seem to have
been cleared up now thanks to the containment suit.

Things really heated up in ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #545, when everything went
wrong! His whole body started to pass through things, he lost his flight
power, and his vision powers completely changed. He began to pass through
things because he had been knocked out of phase with our reality. In SUPERMAN
ANNUAL #9, we are told that as Superman he is 100% energy, and is slightly out
of phase with the normal reality plane.

By concentrating hard, he can solidify himself back to a human state (and into
the normal reality plane), but then he has NO powers at all. At first when
changing back into Clark Kent he had no clothes on, but that isn't a problem
anymore. Although where his clothes are during his phase into Superman is
unknown.

Okay! So, what can he do?

Any names that DC have given these new powers have been used. Any that I have
made up are marked with an asterisk (*).

Zapping/Flight
At first, Superman lost his ability to fly. Instead he was able to 'Zap' from
place to place. The first time Superman did this was in ACTION COMICS #732,
when he traveled to a research station in Antarctica, and then back to
Metropolis again. This appears to be some kind of teleportation. However, he
needs to concentrate to be able to get the location for his landing right. In
ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #546, he used this power to travel down a telephone
line and into his and Lois' apartment.

It also appears that Superman creates a Sonic Boom when he zaps from one place
to another, and so far this seems to be outside of his control.

There seems to be some confusion between the writers at DC Comics as to
whether or not Superman can indeed fly!! In ACTION #733, when Superman meets
with The Ray, it is said that Superman initially could only Zap from one place
to another, but now he can either Zap or Fly because he is more experienced,
has more control over his new powers. Now he is able to fly "reeeeeally,
really fast," as The Ray said. The words 'faster than light' were used. BUT!!
In MOS #69, when Superman is taken over by Tolos (on page 21) he says, "Ah!
The Rocket Belt! Just what I need! This body can't fly now... it bolts from
place to place..." and then uses the Rocket Belt to fly away. I wish they'd
make up their minds!! Can he or can't he fly?!?!

Vision Powers
He has the ability to see radiation, wavelengths and spectra, all of which he
could not see before. In SUPERMAN ANNUAL #9 we read that Superman used his
vision powers to trace an infra-red trail left by a car. (Note: He no longer
has his X-Ray, Telescopic, or any of his other 'old' vision powers.)

In MOS #68, Superman shot beams of energy from his eyes at a villain
(Scareware), but Scareware appeared to teleport away from the scene before we
were able to see just what these beams of energy could do. Although in ACTION
COMICS #734, Superman shot "Vision Bolts" of energy from his eyes, melting his
opponents' guns.

Electron Manipulation
This first manifested itself in ACTION COMICS #732 when Superman tried to stop
a lorry. A beam of energy, which appeared to be magnetic in nature, shot from
his out stretched hand and 'grabbed' the vehicle. In MAN OF STEEL #67 when
Clark tries to shave, using his trusty heat vision, he sends himself bouncing
around his apartment, leaving all metal objects clinging to the walls. It
appears that Superman can manipulate his electrons to form any power he can
think of, just like a Green Lantern Power Ring. Also in MOS #67, Superman uses
his *Power Punch* for the first time. Using his experience from Action #732,
he manipulated the electrons around his fist to produce another 'fist' with
which he can use to 'project' a hit.

In ACTION #733, following advice from The Ray, Superman manipulated his
electrons further to create two new powers. The first of these was a Tractor
Beam, which he used to pull Metallo towards him. The second was a pulse that
increased Metallo's mass by affecting the gravitational field, so that the
villain's body would sink into the ground. Another similar power was used in
ACTION COMICS #734 when Superman created a "Repulsing Energy" field to act as
a battering ram.

He can also "Morph" or change his appearance by manipulating the electrons of
his containment suit and energy. As seen in ACTION COMICS #733, while Superman
was getting advice from The Ray, he appears to make his containment suit morph
into a blue and white version of The Ray's costume. Again in ACTION COMICS
#734, Superman changed his appearance to look like a Peacekeeper within
Kandor, this time also changing the color of his appearance to match the
soldier's uniform.

In MOS #68, Superman manipulated his solid-energy field to smother fires. With
the ability to expand his body size, Superman was able to encase a whole
burning building and together with his solid energy field managed to put out
the flames. Superman also used another variation of his Electron Manipulation
power, creating a solid energy wall to protect people from fire as they waited
on the roof of an apartment block. Then when the roof collapsed, Superman fell
with the people and appeared to move the shield under the people to catch
them.

In MOS #69, Superman used his new powers to weld shut a metal door. This may
be a similar power to that which he beams out of his eyes (as mentioned under
Vision Powers).

*Computer Symbiosis*
In ACTION #732, a frustrated Superman slammed his fist onto a police computer.
His hand passed into the monitor and he began to access the data on the disk
drive and network.

*Energy Absorption*
In ACTION #732, Superman draws radiation from some illegal nuclear waste
directly into his body, cleaning the waste of radiation. In MOS #67, Superman
accidentally draws energy off of the whole city of Metropolis, causing
everything to short out. In SUPERMAN #123, Superman draws power from a neon
sign and then uses it to attack Ceritak. By doing this, Superman was able to
travel faster than light (at least that's what it says).

In MOS #68, the ability to expand his body mass enabled Superman to absorb the
energy from a number of flying rockets (rendering them useless) and also the
massive amounts of radiation from within Metallo's Aircraft Carrier Nuclear
engine power supply. With the absorption of so much radiation, Superman was in
extreme pain. It is yet unknown just how much energy/radiation Superman can
absorb, although we know that he has his limits.

Superman also is able to absorb the momentum of any moving object that passes
through him, thereby slowing down the object/person (as seen in AOS #547).

*Conscious Multiplicity*
In MOS #67, Superman splits his energy up and 'zaps' around Metropolis in many
places at once, collecting information as to what is happening EVERYWHERE in
the city.

*Self Healing*
As seen in ACTION COMICS #733, when injured as Clark, Superman can change back
into his Superman Blue form and concentrate to "pull himself together". We saw
him actually heal a broken arm, cuts, and bruises this way. His first
impression was that "Energy doesn't bleed" but in his panic, his injuries just
converted themselves to his energy form by "spurting" out energy in the same
places as his injuries. It was Lois who convinced him he needed to calm down
and concentrate on re-forming himself. A similar result also is possible in
reverse. When Superman's energy form is disrupted too greatly to reform
himself, a change back into his Clark Kent form makes him whole again,
although he seems to need time to recuperate to reform as Superman.


WEAKNESSES

So far it is unknown if Kryptonite or Magic (Superman's classic weaknesses)
still hold any power over him in his new form.

Since obtaining the Containment Suit, Superman has fallen prey to the
following:

Excess Radiation Intake - Superman (and his containment suit) has a limit to
how much radiation and energy he can absorb. Absorbing too much can cause him
pain and maybe even kill him (as seen in MOS #67).

Shock Pods acting like Tasers were seen to paralyze Superman in ACTION COMICS
#734, basically rendering him powerless.

An Energy Control being (an inhabitant of Kandor) was able to capture and
contain Superman in ACTION COMICS #734 by using its ability to control all
forms of energy it comes in contact with.

Disrupter Cannon or similar technology can cause Superman's energy form to
disperse, making it very hard for him to reform himself, and he therefore
needs to revert to being Clark Kent to carry on (as seen in SUPERMAN ANNUAL
#9).


UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

At time of writing, it is yet unknown why Superman's powers have changed,
although many speculate that Tolos, The Bottled City of Kandor, and the
Contessa (Lex Luthor's wife) all may be involved somehow. Even the Eradicator
has been mentioned.

It is also unknown what happens to the containment suit when Superman Blue
reverts back to his "human" form of Clark Kent and in reverse, what happens to
Clark's clothes when becoming Superman.

The complications and confusion mentioned above about whether or not Superman
can actually fly and not just zap from place to place is still a mystery.

There also seems to be some confusion over whether or not Superman can
actually physically hold, grab or wear solid objects. Bullets and rockets have
been seen to pass through him, his hand has been seen to pass through objects
as he is supposed to be 100% energy. Yet we've also seen him wearing a
parachute, grabbing hold of Lex Luthor by the throat and other examples where
he appears to be solid. Puzzling!?!?

Joe Kaposta (kschwic@indyvax.iupui.edu) e-mailed me asking: Does Superman have
some kind of internal power storage that needs recharging, like a power ring
and its battery, or in his energy form is he connected to something like the
Flash's "speed force", so that he has a constant supply of energy available to
him?

It seems that Superman himself *is* the energy source, but I guess in time all
these questions will be answered.

==

I hope you've enjoyed this column and invite you all to drop by the Superman
Homepage at http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Vault/7771 to keep up-to-date on
any new developments.

While there, you'll also find a wealth of Superman information, TV and Cartoon
Episode Guides, Comic Reviews, FAQs, Comic Book Index List, Who's Who, Icons,
and so much more!

I've also designed a puzzle called "Mr. Mxyzptlk's Mix-Up Puzzle" that's
updated weekly. You'll find it in the GAMES & PUZZLES section of my Web of
Wonders at http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/5071/

Later!

Steven Younis
younis@dot.net.au

The "WHO IS SUPERMAN BLUE - THE MAN BEYOND TOMORROW?" column is Copyright (C)
1997, Steven Younis. All rights reserved. Making copies in any format is
expressly forbidden without the written permission of the author.

_____________________________________________________


                              MANUSCRIPTS OF STEEL
                         ------------------------------

                Reviews of After-Byrne Superman Special Stories

                 by Denes House (dhouse@itsmail1.hamilton.edu)

   --------------------------------------------------------------------------

                               SUPERMAN ANNUAL #2
                               The Cadmus Project

                             Written by Roger Stern
                      Art by Ron Frenz and Brett Breeding
                            Colored by Petra Scotese
                          Cover by Frenz and Breeding
                                      1988
                      Standard Format, $1.50 US/$2.00 CAN

                                     Rating
                                     ------
                                4.2/5.0 Shields

           ---------------------------------------------------------


"The Cadmus Project" is the story that brought a whole world of Jack Kirby's
creations to the post-Crisis DC Universe. The Project, the Newsboy Legion, the
Guardian, the Hairies, and the D.N.Aliens were the co-creations of Kirby and
Joe Simon, introduced, I believe, in the comic SUPERMAN'S PAL JIMMY OLSEN.
This Annual celebrates that legacy and brings these classic creations into the
modern comics age.

The story opens in Cadmus, identified only as "a top-secret government
installation." Inside, alarms go off, and a group of familiar-looking
scientists discuss the escape of the "alpha subjects." They are chastised by a
shadowy alien figure. To track down the alpha subjects, the scientists assign
Agent Harper to the task. He suits up in a blue and gold costume with a
badge-shaped shield, promising to get them back, "no matter what."

The scene changes to Superman, flying alongside fire engines roaring to
extinguish a fuel tanker fire. Heroically, Superman lifts the flaming tanker
high into the sky -- hoping to bring it outside the atmosphere. Unfortunately,
he does not succeed, but does get it high enough to contain any damage. In
questioning the driver of the truck, Superman discovers that he had swerved to
avoid someone coming out of a manhole. Investigating, Superman finds a scrap
of torn cloth, bearing a distinctive, twisted ladder-shaped insignia. He
tracks down the outfit it was attached to in a thrift store. Someone had
traded five jumpsuits, bearing those insignia, for old clothing. Agent Harper
observes it all.

The story unfolds -- Agent Harper turns out to be the Guardian, a WWII-era
hero who operated out of Suicide Slum. He was the protector of the Newsboy
Legion, a bunch of homeless kids who got into lots of scraps and sold
newspapers to get by. The Newsboys turn out to be the escaped "Alpha Subjects"
-- clones from the secret government installation -- The Cadmus Project. But
why have the directors of the Project, the grown-up Newsboys, created clones
of themselves? Why is the Guardian young? And who is the alien presence
controlling the Cadmus Project?

I'm not going to tell you. I will tell you that the story is a good one. Roger
Stern excels at portraying Superman as a thinker as well as a fighter. This
Superman walks his way through the first half of this story using his brains
to do a little good, old-fashioned deductive reasoning. There are plenty of
humorous moments (my favorite being a confrontation between the Newsboy Legion
and a gang of drug dealers) and Guardian is convincingly able to give Superman
a run for his money. Everyone is in character, and everyone is -- darn it all
-- intelligent. Even Scrapper, the think-with-your-fists Newsboy is
streetwise, and gets off a few good lines.

It's a rock-em-sock-em adventure, told in bravura style, with some solid
storytelling and intelligent writing.

Ron Frenz pencilled this book while he was the regular artist on Marvel's THE
MIGHTY THOR. Here, as there, he brings a very Kirby-esque feel to his pencils.
Using the same thick, dynamic anatomy as in his current work, nine years ago
his figures were blockier and less detailed. One can see how his character
work has grown, as has his storytelling and posing styles. I believe this is
the book that brought Brett Breeding to work on Superman, a distinction I am
not so pleased with. Breeding had been Frenz's inker on THOR, and here he
brings the same chunky, angular quality to his inks that he does to his
current regular penciller, Dan Jurgens. [It should be noted that while
Breeding inked Jurgens for quite a long time, his current Superman work is
sporadic at best, the inking of Paul Ryan's pencils on MAN OF TOMORROW being
his only regular Super-assignment. --Jeff] In both cases, I don't think the
fit works. Frenz starts out chunky and angular. He needs an inker that brings
out the grace in his work. Josef Rubinstein does that for him now. Breeding
makes Frenz's 1988 work feel claustrophobic in the extreme. Still, it is
powerful work, and evokes the spirit of the King admirably.

There is a backup story here as well, "Love's Labors..." by John Byrne. 1988's
Superman annuals had backup stories following the "private lives" of Superman
supporting cast members. This backup story follows Dan Turpin and Maggie
Sawyer, as Dan falls in love with Maggie and proposes, only to find out that
she is a lesbian. This was a landmark story in the Superman mythos, and it
does its job in only 8 pages. Great writing and art by John Byrne.

Capsule review:

Story: An interesting story, with smart characters who think their way through
problems, but aren't unable to slug it out when need be. 4.5 Shields out of 5.

Art: Frenz does Kirby doing Superman. Good, but blocky and claustrophobic. 3.8
Shields out of 5.

Backup Story: Byrne drops a bombshell. 4.2 Shields out of 5.

Overall: 4.2 Shields out of 5.

Next Up: Superman the Space Gladiator

Denes House

_____________________________________________________

                 LOIS AND CLARK: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN
             ------------------------------------------------------


Before we get into this month's reviews, let me answer one of the questions
which has been on the mind of many of LOIS AND CLARK's fans since the series
finale:

                        "Where did the baby come from?"

LOIS AND CLARK Executive Story Editor Tim Minear made an appearance on the
weekly L&C IRC chat shortly after the finale aired, at which time he outlined
the ideas that the producers and writers had planned on using in the not-to-be
fifth season.  The infant was a blood descendant of Lois and Clark, sent back
in time for his own protection.  Note that this would have immediately
confirmed for Lois and Clark that they *would* eventually have children of
their own.

The first few episodes of the fifth season was to be concerned with this
plotline, including time travel and almost certainly appearances by Tempus and
H.G. Wells.  They were also considering the idea of having the child age at an
accelerated rate so that they could use episodes later in the season to
explore a teenager with Clark's powers.  A Superboy, if you will.  

But as we all now know, ABC and WB have now prevented that season from ever
happening, so we must be satisfied with this episode as the end of the story. 
Even before I knew of the intended direction of the fifth season, I sat in
livid silence at the conclusion of "The Family Hour," seething over the fact
that we would never get the chance to *see* Lois and Clark and their families
deal with this new situation.  Alas, the cast, crew, and fans were eventually
betrayed by corporate Hollywood.

Next month, we'll provide the skinny on some of the details of the
cancellation, as well as some thoughts on the planned fifth season.  We'll
also try to look back at some of the fourth season episodes that we missed
during the season -- with the ever changing air schedule, perhaps you missed
them as well...

Jeff Sykes

============================================

Ratings Panelists:

  DSB: Dick Sidbury
  DST: Debby Stark
  NOT: Neil Ottenstein
  SDM: Simon Del Monte
  SDV: Scott Devarney

The first rating given after the average is that of the reviewer, if one was
submitted.  The average rating given for a particular episode may correspond
to a larger sample of ratings than what is printed following the average. 
Given airdates correspond to the date of first US airing.

============================================


                           Episode #4-21: "Toy Story"
              ----------------------------------------------------
                Reviewed by Scott Devarney (devarney@ll.mit.edu)


June 7, 1997
Written by Brad Kern
Directed by Jim Pohl

Guest Starring: Grant Shaud as The Toyman
                Kenneth Kimmins as Dr. Klein
                Stacey Travis as Wendy
                Mary Frann as Alice
                Jeffrey Byron as Alex Turner
                Irene Olga Lopez as Ms. Beckett
                Susan Isaacs as the nanny
                Jillian Berard as Brittany Turner
                Myles Jeffrey as Ryan
                Ben McCain as the anchorman
                Brian McLaughlin as Joey
                Laurie Stevens as the woman


RATINGS:

Average: 2.8/5.0 Shields

SDV: 3.4 Shields
SDM: 1.6 Shields - The most unwatchable episode of this series, ever.  Bad
         acting by Grant Shaud, a lame plot, and a horribly sluggish pace
         make this hour seems like it lasts forever.  If this what L&C had
         in store for Sweeps Month, it earned its cancellation.
NOT: 3.5 Shields - A solid story which for a change didn't have the villain
         going after Lois and Clark from the start.  They only got involved
         through their work.  Good Peter Pan allusions.  I can't believe
         Perry's plot was the pina colada song.


Grant Shaud stars as Dr. Harold Cripsley, a toy inventor who kidnaps orphans
to provide a better life for them.  When Cripsley discovers that STAR Labs is
developing a transporter-type device called the Re-Integrator, he goes
ballistic.  He claims that he developed the idea first and pitched it to the
board of directors of Dynacorp, STAR's parent company.  Cripsley takes his
revenge by kidnapping Dr. Klein, the project's director, and using truth serum
to force Klein to help him get Cripsley's prototype Re-Integrator working. 
Using the now working device, Cripsley kidnaps the children of Dynacorp's
Board of Directors.  Lois and Clark, who have been investigating the missing
orphans, begin investigating Dr. Klein's disappearance.  They foil Dr.
Cripsley's scheme when Lois is accidentally transported in place of one of
Cripsley's victims.

Although never called this in the episode, Cripsley closely resembles the
comic book villain The Toyman in motive and modus operandi.  He kidnaps
children to save them from "evil" adults and he uses toys as weapons.  Writer
Brad Kern  erred by turning the focus of this episode onto the Re-Integrator;
we've seen this fantastic weapon plot many times before.  It would have been
much more interesting to focus on Cripsley's crusade to save children, but it
was ignored after the opening act. There could have been a debate as to
whether Cripsley's actions were evil or just misguided.  Brad Kern also erred
by never fleshing out Cripsley's history.  There was an early scene where his
childhood is brought up and he explodes to never mention his childhood again. 
Had we known more of his past, Cripsley may have been more sympathetic instead
of just another crackpot.

The story was not helped by Grant Shaud's performance.  He spent half of the
show shouting his lines and gave a flat delivery of his lines during the other
half.  He came off as creepy, but he didn't show any reason why kids would
trust him and want to wander off with him.  In fact, Shaud never had any
scenes where he had to really act with any of the children.

However, Kenneth Kimmins gave a wonderful performance as Dr. Klein, perhaps
his best ever.  This is even more impressive considering that he spent most of
the episode strapped to a dentist's chair.  The scene where Dr. Klein marches
through STAR Labs, a prisoner of the deadly toys, shows the absurdity of using
toys as weapons.  Kimmins had great facial reactions to blurting out the truth
as a result of the truth serum, and he got to deliver some very witty lines.

The B-plot concerned Lois becoming more at ease with the idea of motherhood
and it dovetailed nicely with the children's aspect of the main plot.  This
has been steadily building since the Lex Jr. trilogy and it has been logically
played out.  Lois admits to Martha that she's been thinking about parenthood a
lot lately but she's still obviously uncomfortable about the subject.  K
Callan's reactions during this scene, where she thought that Lois was pregnant
were great and very believable.  Later, as she's forced to entertain
Cripsley's captive children, Lois is still very uneasy.  Then you can just see
her nervousness melt as instinct kicks in; her features soften and her voice
becomes steadier.  She is able to calm the children and make them feel better.
As she discusses this moment with Dr. Klein, you can see the realization that
she's ready to become a parent.

There was a C plot concerning Perry's taking out a personal ad.  The whole
purpose of this plot was to get Perry together with his ex-wife Alice, who
answered his ad.  This was nicely played out by Lane Smith and Mary Frann. 
The awkwardness was believable and the two actors had great chemistry playing
off each other.

Over all, this was an uneven episode where a great B-plot bolstered a weak
A-plot.  A fun performance by Kenneth Kimmins countered an uninspiring
performance by Grant Shaud.  Not a bad episode, but not really a stand out
either.

_____________________________________________________


                        Episode #4-22: "The Family Hour"
               --------------------------------------------------
                 Reviewed by Dick Sidbury (sidbury@cs.uofs.edu)


June 14, 1997
Written by Brad Buckner and Eugenie Ross-Leming
Directed by Robert Ginty

Guest Starring: Harry Anderson as Dr. Fat Head Mensa
                Beverly Garland as Ellen Lane
                Harve Presnell as Sam Lane
                Brian George as Misha
                Jane Morris as Constance Bailey
                Rick Lawless as Carter Clavens
                Michael E. Bauer as the guard
                Eric Fleeks as the lieutenant
                Denise Ryan-Sherman as the female cop


RATINGS:

Average: 3.4/5.0 Shields

SDM: 3.0 Shields - Despite a bad performance by Harry Anderson and a
         surprisingly weak visit by Beverly Garland, this episode kept my
         attention.  The handling of human/alien compatibility deserves
         special kudos, as does Harve Presnell's performance.  As for the
         foundling on the doorstep, I hope that SOMEONE from the series
         lets the FoLCs and Superfans in on whatever secret what being
         planned for the fall.  A good final episode.
SDV: 4.8 Shields - It was appropriate that the relationship story was the
         A-story this time. The usual great chemistry between Teri and Dean
         was especially evident in the scene where Clark tells Lois the
         results of STAR's tests and in the scene with the social worker.
         This episode reminded me of why I've watched this series for four
         years.
NOT: 3.2 Shields - Not a strong ending episode to the series, but at least
         the villain didn't start out going after Lois, Clark, or Superman.
         The danger of revealing "the secret" was made quite clear.  The
         mysterious baby appearance in of itself was actually a nice ending
         as it presented a new beginning.
DST: 2.5 Shields - Senseless hope on L&C's part led to manipulative waffy
         moments. Didn't like elder Kents blithely assuming L&C could use
         their gift. Villain had no redeeming qualities. Lois was played for
         a buffoon in the adoption scene; Ellen was a buffoon throughout.
         Not a thrilling ending to the series. Great acting though, and
         funny "We're okay, Superman" scene near end.


REVIEW:

At one time LOIS AND CLARK: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN was my favorite
show of all time, so I desperately wanted it to go out with a bang rather than
a whimper.  But life has never been fair.  From the moment I saw Harry
Anderson's cheap looking faux head, I knew I was doomed to disappointment. 
Maybe this will make the end easier to accept -- I'm not sure I'd want the
show to continue if this is the type of story that we would be blessed with
next year.


The Story:
A large package arrives at Lois and Clark's apartment.  It contains the
bassinet that Clark used as a baby.  Martha and Jonathan sent it since they
are eager to have grand children.  They discussed this with Lois and Clark by
finishing each others' sentences just the way we've seen Lois and Clark do on
numerous instances.

Dr. Klaus "Fat Head" Mensa is being released from the Metropolis Penitentiary.
As he leaves, he kills a guard that he hates by using telekinesis to force
the prison gate to fall on the guard.

After the opening credits, we see Fat Head getting revenge on an associate,
Carter Clavens, a member of Dynamonics, a group founded by Mensa to use brain
power for crime and evil.  Fat Head kills Carter by mentally forcing him to
ride his stationary exercise bike through his 30th story apartment window.

Lois returns to the Planet after having lunch with her dad, Sam.  Sam has
rented lab space in Metropolis so that he can pursue serious scientific work
-- "breasts in a bottle", a pill to increase a woman's endowment, and
"bummer-be-gone", an electrode filled helmet that when properly used will
cause you to lose unpleasant memories.  Unfortunately, it isn't available to
viewers of this episode.

Jimmy tells Lois about the second death and she notices the similarity between
the two.  Lois then sends Jimmy off to do some investigative research on them.

Clark returns to the newsroom after a visit with Dr. Klein with the news that
he is apparently genetically incompatible with human women.  Lois takes this
very hard, although, to me at least, the major part of her disappointment is
caused by her knowledge of how much Clark wants children.

That night they talk it over and decide that they should not take STAR labs
results as final.  They should seek another medical opinion -- Sam Lane, Lois'
dad.  This, of course, necessitates letting Sam in on the secret (which almost
everyone else in the world already knows anyway thanks to the concept of the
current creative team that only some continuity matters from episode to
episode.)

Misha, Sam's associate in the lab, is apparently a former member of Dynamonics
and therefore a target for Fat Head's revenge.  Misha stops Fat Head's effort
to kill him by promising to have a brain enhancer available to him within
twenty-four hours.

The next morning, Sam, at Lois and Clark's request, comes to their home for a
delicate conference.  Unfortunately, Ellen comes with him. Clark quickly
concocts an excuse: Sam is giving them technical advice on a story.  Ellen is
corralled by Jonathan and Martha in the living room while Lois, Clark, and Sam
convene to the kitchen for their consultation.  They tell Sam that they are
worried about their ability to have children, and why: Clark walks through the
kitchen door and Superman walks back in. Superman walks through the door and
Clark walks back in, without glasses but with Superman's hair style.  Sam:
"That's humanly impossible."  Clark: "Exactly."  Sam promises to help.

As Sam and Ellen are saying their good-byes to everyone, Ellen immediately
sees through the charade and knows that a secret has been passed around and
she's the only one who's not in the know.

Meanwhile, back at the lab, Misha is desperately seeking Sam's help on the
brain enhancer, but Sam is too busy trying to help his daughter's problem.
Misha deduces that Sam knows something and puts truth serum (which he happens
to have lying around the lab) in his coffee.  He finally learns Sam's secret,
which is Clark's secret, and tells the secret to Fat Head to buy even more
time.

Concurrently, Fat Head is trying to hold up an armored car by willing a guard
to knock himself out and then telekinetically driving the car to his secret
hideout.  Fortunately, Superman thwarts the attempted robbery.

Lois, in the meantime, has put together the fact that Klaus Mensa was released
from prison at the time of the first murder and notices the similarity between
the attempted armored car robbery and two murders.

Ellen shows up, afraid that Lois is dying and she's the only one who doesn't
know.  Lois assures her that this is not true and Ellen leaves when Lois can't
have lunch with her.

Next, Lois and Clark talk to Ms. Bailey, from the adoption agency.  Ms. Bailey
talks glowingly about Clark's profile as a potential father, 97 out of a
possible 100.  Poor crabby, dumped-on-again-for-the-sake-of-comedy-Lois, gets
19 out of 100, because she "dangles above the jaws of death" and has a career
that is too dangerous for consideration.  So adoption seems out of the
question -- at least through the local authorities.

Using the information that Clark is Superman, Fat Head captures the Kents and
the Lanes to use as insurance against Superman in his next crime -- the
robbery of a shipment of gold bullion from the Metropolis branch of the
Federal Reserve Bank.  He leaves them in Sam's lab, tied up under the watchful
eye of Misha, who's terrified for his life if he doesn't obey Mensa's every
word.

Fat Head's robbery attempt is keeping the police at bay since his telekinetic
ability has increased to the point that he can stop bullets in flight and
redirect them.  Superman shows up at the scene of the robbery and stops Fat
Head, who threatens to kill the Kents and the Lanes with poison gas
administered by Misha.  However, Jonathan and Sam have convinced Misha not to
do it, and Sam clues in Lois via a message that he used when she was a child. 
The Kents and Lanes convince Fat Head that they are dying by coughing and
hamming it up over a radio link.  Fat Head escapes Superman's clutches and
runs back to the lab to get Misha to use the brain enhancer on him before
Superman returns.  Instead Misha uses the "bummer-be-gone" which, fortunately
for all, actually works, removing the unpleasant memories from not only Mensa,
but also from Misha, Sam, and Ellen.  Since Superman's secret identity was one
of the unpleasant memories, the whole everyone-knows-the-secret-identity-thing
is reset back to where it was at the beginning of the episode and as an added
bonus, Mensa's telekinetic ability is lost.

The episode ends with Lois and Clark in bed talking.  [I'm reminded that many
years ago, I learned the amazing fact that one of the synonyms for talk is
intercourse <g>, but that's not what I'm uh, ... talking about here]. 
Suddenly, Clark's super-hearing picks up a sound (which for a change we can't
hear).  He and Lois go downstairs to investigate.  They discover a baby and a
note in the bassinet.  The note says: "Lois and Clark, this child belongs to
you."  Parents and in-laws come down stairs; Clark looks proud; Lois looks
maternal; "grandparents" have an appropriate expression ---

To be continued ...

NOT

Instead ... End of series


Things that I really liked:
1) I liked the discussion of grandchildren by Jon and Martha in which they
finished each other's sentences just the way we've seen Lois and Clark do with
each other on innumerable occasions.

2) The comment by Ellen Lane, "It's starting to feel like every single person
in the world knows something I don't. [But see my comment #6 below.]

3) K Callan delivered a stellar performance.  You could read Martha Kent's
mind just by watching K's face.

4) Lois was very intuitive in piecing together the clues that pointed to Fat
Head as the mastermind behind the plot.  On the other hand, it seems to me
that she doesn't do anything anymore and neither does Clark.  They think up
ideas and then leave Jimmy to do the investigation and research that good
reporters should be doing.

5) Dean very effectively showed the disappointment that Clark felt in the
scene when he was sitting by the bassinet drinking milk.


Things I really didn't like:
1) Dr. Mensa's name.  I've come to the conclusion that one of the ways that
Buckner and Lemming work is to use clever dialogue and zingers for comedic
effect.  So they name a smart villain Mensa, after the organization for
geniuses.  And calling him Fat Head because his head grew is funny too.  I
never liked BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD humor in its original form and still don't in
its derivative form.

2) Related to the above comment is the treatment of Lois' parents.  Ellen Lane
is a one dimensional character portrayed strictly for laughs, and even though
Beverly Garland delivers a consistent portrayal of Ellen from episode to
episode, I don't find it very funny to make fun of an alcoholic with
self-esteem problems.

3) Sam is a serious scientist whom Lois and Clark trust, hoping he'll find a
miracle for them.  That's not bad, but to make him a buffoon who's working on
big boob pills and a helmet to relieve serious psychological problems smacks
of creators who like to make fun of science.

4) There was no Dr. Klein.

5) No Perry for the last episode and very little Jimmy.

6) Another failing of the BB/ERL style is their disregard for continuity. 
Shows like this can either be written in such a manner that the story
continues from episode to episode, like DALLAS, or so that the episodes are
independent of each other, like PERRY MASON.  This show was originally
conceived as a show about the relationship between two people, a romantic
comedy within the framework of an adventure (Superman)/mystery (newspaper
investigation).  To me this meant that the format of the show had to be more
like DALLAS than PERRY MASON, and therefore continuity from episode to episode
is important.  Unfortunately, when the producers had a clever idea that
necessitated changes in continuity, they ignored continuity and went with
their clever idea.  What I'm being long winded about here is yet another
episode in which everyone on the planet (except Jimmy and Perry) finds out
Superman's secret identity and it is either totally ignored by the end of the
episode or gets washed away by a hokey trick.

7) There was way too much angst in this episode for me.  Specifically, based
on the fact that Kal-El is an alien, the chance that Lois and Clark could have
a "natural" child is very remote indeed.  So they should have been better
prepared for the result.  Sending the bassinet to Clark and Lois seems very
insensitive of Martha and Jonathan, given that they know that Lois and Clark
want children but that the probability is very low that they will be
successful.

8) Fat Head.  Harry Anderson's performance was shrill and way over the top. 
It reminded me of some of the worst villains in the series.  His headpiece
seemed like a passable job for a little theater production, but way below the
standards of commercial television.


Conclusions:
This episode reminded me of "And the Answer is ...", the finale to season two.
Find out Superman's identity; capture his parents; capture his in-laws too,
for good measure.  The action story involving Fat Head was below the level I
expect for children's cartoons on Saturday morning.  In fact, if Fat Head had
spent time watching PINKY AND THE BRAIN, he probably would have been able to
use his head to find better things to do than lame minor league robberies. 
The having-a-child story did not seem to be integrated with the other story at
all and of course was left hanging as the show ended.  I felt as if the
relationship story was designed primarily to manipulate the feelings of the
audience rather than to explore the relationship of Lois and Clark.

Now that it's over, I can look back on four uneven years of television.  A
show can't be great unless it is willing to risk failure.  Some of the
episodes were brilliant and I'm eagerly awaiting their return to TNT this
fall.  Others were not so great, but until the wedding mistake of season
three, the successes outnumbered the failures.  I still remember watching the
premiere episode of SEAQUEST instead of the LOIS AND CLARK premiere.  I
switched after about two or three episodes.  Then I started recording them.

LOIS AND CLARK and THE BATMAN ADVENTURES got me back into reading comic books
after a hiatus of over thirty-five years, and I've discovered many good comics
and good friends over the last three and a half years.

I joined mailing lists and learned how to IRC.  I have a few T shirts and a
collection of trading cards.  I've met a lot of people through mailing lists
and IRC.  I had a party during the summer after the first season and
cyber-friends from as close as 20 miles away and as far away as Australia and
California came to my Pennsylvania party.  I started an on-line trivia contest
with another cyber-friend.  Unfortunately the trivia contest died because only
four or five people out of the original eighty-something sent in answers on a
consistent basis.  But it was fun anyway.  I've met other fan/friends on
trips, and next weekend when my daughter takes a trip to New Zealand and
Australia, she will spend some time with fans we've met through the show. 
Even though there have been disappointments for me, I'd rather have the
memories I have than have the number one rated show on TV.

_____________________________________________________

                                HOW IT ALL BEGAN
                             ----------------------
                               By Zoomway@aol.com


It sadly appears, despite ABC's promise to the contrary, that LOIS AND CLARK:
THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN will not have a 5th season. That being the
case, I thought it might be interesting to go back and give a brief history of
the show that has come to mean so much to so many. A show that took two lonely
people from strangers to a loving married couple contemplating parenthood in
just four years.

Shortly after Lorimar Television was gobbled up by Time Warner, creating
Warner Bros. Television, executives at the studio began rummaging through
their plunder and found DC Comics, and thus Superman. A decision was made to
bring the "Man of Steel" back to television, but in an updated 90s retelling
of the legend. The John Byrne revamp of Superman was still a very young
innovation at the comics, and so, being fairly unknown, it was hoped it might
take quite a few people by surprise. To state very briefly, Byrne rewrote
Superman's history in 1986 and traditional conventions of the hero that were
changed included: Clark Kent was the real guy, and Superman the disguise that
allowed him to do his good deeds, but maintain as normal a private life as
possible; his powers came to him gradually (traditionally he was born
'super'); and his adoptive parents, The Kents, were alive.

Deborah Joy LeVine, who had a career in law and had been in practice with her
mother, moved to television and became the story consultant for the series
EQUAL JUSTICE. She seemed an odd choice to approach for either a Superman
series or a relationship series since neither were her forte. However, LeVine
became intrigued with the 90s twist and locked herself into a room with 300
Superman comics and quickly was won over with the idea of bringing this
"human" side of the superhero to television. The series conceptually set into
motion, it was time to make it a physical reality.

The pilot was given a lavish 8 million dollar budget, and was filmed in
CinemaScope (a trademark name for a process that gives a film a width two and
half times its height and has been the standard for making feature films since
the mid 1950s). It was given the large budget (by pilot standards) and filmed
like a feature motion picture in case the pilot ultimately did not sell to the
network. It would be given a limited release in Europe to recoup the cost of
production and hopefully turn a profit. Robert Butler was hired to direct. In
Hollywood, the saying goes, "If you want a successful pilot, hire Butler."
Then the casting calls went out.

Teri Hatcher, despite having been in a few notable feature films; THE BIG
PICTURE, TANGO AND CASH, and SOAPDISH, failed to make the big breakthrough,
and seemed chronically typecast as either a "bimbo" or other unsympathetic
female stereotypes. This tradition seemed to continue in television bit parts,
however, even though attempts were made to turn that image around with
featured roles on a couple of failed sitcoms: KAREN'S SONG, where Teri played
the daughter who disapproved of her mother's May/December romance, and SUNDAY
DINNER, where Teri herself played one half of a May/December romance that was
disapproved of by others. However, somewhere along the line, Teri got noticed
and was asked to read for the part of Lois Lane. It may have been her role in
SUNDAY DINNER, where Teri's character often spoke to God referring to Him as
"Chief".

Dean Cain, a Buffalo Bills hopeful who was benched permanently by a pre-game
knee injury, had done a few commercials, had acted in a dreadful film titled
MIRACLE BEACH, and had a small continuing role in BEVERLY HILLS 90210. Cain
had to suffer the more traditional "cattle call" to audition for the part of
Clark/Superman. Though almost dismissed without a hearing because he did not
fit the "type" the staff was looking for (about 34 years old, 6'2 or taller,
and blue eyes), Cain (26 years old, 6' tall, and brown eyes) seemed to attract
attention from any and all females who were anywhere near the auditions. He
was called back four times to read for the part. He and Teri Hatcher were not
paired up for a reading until dead last.

The chemistry between Teri and Dean was so palpable that the auditions did not
need to continue. The actor whom Dean had beaten out for the role was Kevin
Sorbo, who went on to find success as another famous legend, Hercules. Robert
Butler commented, after seeing dailies (raw footage of filmed scenes) of Teri
and Dean interacting, "What's with these two? They've got it!" The lead, and
supporting roles cast, the pilot for the series was shot, and then fingers
were crossed waiting for word from ABC. The answer was "yes", but...

The show, conceptualized for a mid-week 10 P.M. timeslot, was somewhat typical
of what American television dubs "adult" romantic comedy.  It was bestrewn
with sexual innuendo, but no sex, filled with one-liners between characters in
the MOONLIGHTING format of setup and payoff:

Setup:  "Who's the new tight end?"
Payoff: "Why don't you make your usual forward pass and find out."

Adding Cat Grant into the mix, a character who elevated anonymous, promiscuous
sex to an Olympic event level, the show found itself in hot water when it
landed on Sunday night at 8 P.M., deep in the heart of the family viewing
zone. Even toning down the more salacious by-play, the show still managed to
maintain a sexy quirkiness attracting a small, but loyal, adult viewership.
Unfortunately, in network television, "small" will always overshadow "loyal".
Changes were on the wind.

By mid-season, ABC stepped in. The network was manic about beating their chief
rival for young adult viewers, NBC's SEAQUEST DSV (CBS's MURDER SHE WROTE was
seen as unassailable, and also a show that skewed to a much older audience).
Billed in the media as the "race for 2nd place" or the "Sunday night
shoot-out," LOIS AND CLARK beat SEAQUEST more often than it lost to the
underwater adventure series, but by a narrow margin, and not often enough to
please ABC. The network was also obsessed with attracting pre-teen girls to
the show as SEAQUEST seemed to easily accomplish with young heartthrob Jon
Brandis. Though Dean Cain had no problem attracting teens and older women,
Michael Landes, the younger male lead on the show, seemed to leave the little
girls cold, and so Chris Demetral was introduced into the cast as something of
a "proud punk" type. He too failed. His doom, as well as that of Michael
Landes, was sealed.

The character of Jimmy Olsen was seen as too important to the Superman saga to
dump, and so the role was recast. Justin Whalin was brought in to replace the
departing Landes. All of this backstage maneuvering paled to the bigger
changes taking place. LeVine was told by ABC to institute certain changes.
Chief among these were getting rid of Lex Luthor (John Shea) and shifting the
emphasis of the show from Lois and Clark's relationship to a more
action/Superman based format. LeVine took a vacation to "clear her head," but
when she returned, she found that she'd been replaced by Robert Singer (V,
MIDNIGHT CALLER, REASONABLE DOUBTS). LeVine commented, "I really wasn't
interested in doing an action show or a superhero-saves-the-day show." She
moved on to SWEET JUSTICE, COURTHOUSE, and EARLY EDITION, whose do-gooder lead
is very similar to Clark Kent.

Early 2nd season seemed plagued with problems. Jim Crocker, a producer from
STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE, wasn't working out. His function, in Singer's
words, "was to keep the kids happy." There were no writers left from 1st
season, and so characterization and continuity were very uneven in the
beginning. Lois Lane's apartment went from the first floor, to the third
floor, to the fifth floor, and even became a high-rise building in one episode
just to accommodate a scene that called for Lois to fall several stories and
become entwined on a flag pole. ABC reasoned that by showing more leg and more
cleavage and increasing the Superman action, they'd attract a larger male
audience. ABC's stereotype of the male viewer almost became their undoing. Not
only was the show not attracting new male adult viewers, it was losing the
ones it had before plus losing the adult female viewers. Fortunately for LOIS
AND CLARK, NBC was just as shortsighted when retooling SEAQUEST. Both shows
had become so unappealing to adults that THE SIMPSONS became the choice of the
key demographic of 18-49 year old viewers on Sunday night.

Heaped atop all of this, the ever shrinking fan core was howling in protest
over the arbitrary replacement of Landes and the de-emphasis of Lois and
Clark's relationship. Warner Bros. was so concerned by the downturn that they
placed a representative on the boards at Prodigy. He asked fans if replacing
Landes made such a difference. Fans replied it was the attitude. The idea that
one actor could be plugged in for another and no consideration to viewer
loyalty was even considered. Their main concern, however, was the loss of the
relationship. They talked about the show being boring and stagnating. The
characters not growing. The representative told the fans to "hang in there"
because the relationship was making a comeback. The wind was shifting again.

ABC scheduled a guest appearance for Teri Hatcher on AOL in November of 94.
She assured fans that a deepening of Lois and Clark's relationship was coming.
What wasn't mentioned is that this direction wouldn't be coming for two months
yet, and in the meantime, the show continued to lose viewers and adult
demographics. Dean Cain put in an appearance on Prodigy stating that his
episode, "Season's Greedings," would reflect the direction he would like the
series to take. So, just about a month after Teri's AOL appearance, Dean's
episode aired. It was obvious he wanted a real romance to start up between
Lois and Clark, and his episode was greatly appreciated by fans. However,
subsequent episodes did not pick up on this beginning initiated by "Season's
Greedings", at least not in any obvious sense, and so the numbers began to
slide again. When the show had reached what seemed its nadir with "The Eyes
Have It", a coming attractions promo for "The Phoenix" aired, and that promo
was discussed by fans more than the episode they had just viewed. It should be
mentioned that ABC was more stable and more generous with its programs two
years ago. If it were the same panicky network of today, LOIS AND CLARK would
have been pulled for February sweeps, and likely the one episode that was able
to turn everything around, would never have aired.

ABC was also a clever and aggressive promoter two years ago. While Lois and
Clark was on a three week hiatus from January 22nd to February 12th, "The
Phoenix" was promoted repeatedly during that time period. It was a sexy and
humorous ad, and best of all, it showed Clark Kent asking Lois out on a date.
It was an irresistible combination. When "The Phoenix" aired, it rose 20 rank
points over what its last episode had accomplished. LOIS AND CLARK kept up the
momentum and continued to build its ratings with the "stumbling in the dark"
route to true love. The show began doing so well that reruns were doing better
in the ratings than first run episodes of SEAQUEST. The 2nd season cliffhanger
of Clark proposing to Lois is still the best season-ender the show has ever
produced. Oddly enough, anticipation for the 3rd season premier wasn't
generated by what Lois's response would be to the proposal, but rather whether
or not Lois had figured out that Clark was Superman.

When Lois removed Clark's glasses in "We Have a Lot to Talk About", the 3rd
season's opener, LOIS AND CLARK was in for its best season in the ratings
ever. This status was also helped by the fact that CBS moved MURDER SHE WROTE,
the long-standing ratings champ of Sunday night and replaced it with CYBILL.
NBC moved SEAQUEST and replaced it with MAD ABOUT YOU. Facing two strong
sitcoms was tough competition, but the follow-up shows for both sitcoms were
weak and could not hold the lead-in from the stronger shows. The defectors on
the half hour seemed to gravitate to LOIS AND CLARK. The changes from 2nd
season to 3rd included Jackson and Blake being replaced by Ross-Leming and
Buckner. Some type of dispute had erupted between Singer and the Jackson/Blake
writing team, and they moved onto SLIDERS. John McNamara also played a lesser
role in the 3rd season due to his show PROFIT. Stepping in to fill the gap was
David Simkins, who not only wrote one of the more popular episodes of 3rd
season, "Don't Tug on Superman's Cape," but also introduced Dr. Klein of STAR
Labs. Probably the smartest addition to the series ever made. It would seem
nothing could go wrong, but then again, on network television, the adage "if
it ain't broke don't fix it" never carried any weight.

As the show seemed to be gearing up for a wedding, riding high in the ratings
and getting a great deal of positive press coverage, ABC seemed to be waiting
in the wings ready to stamp an expiration date on the show's high energy,
positive direction, and the route to the altar. Something happened on the way
to that altar, and likely what really happened will never be known -- unless
someone steps up and confesses. All that is known for sure is that the "powers
that be" at LOIS AND CLARK wanted a wedding, and the "powers that be" at ABC
did not. Was the wedding started knowing full well it could not be finished?
Was the wedding started and then stopped at the last minute by ABC? That is
unknown, but the cost to the show, and in a much more insidious sense the
effect on the creative people (actors and writers) was enormous.

The writers Chris Ruppenthal and David Simkins would not be returning. Dean
Cain and Teri Hatcher expressed their unhappiness with the wedding that never
happened during 3rd season, and the energetic enthusiasm the two seemed to
share just one year ago vanished as well. Dean, who had stated early 3rd
season that he loved doing the show, cared about his character, and wouldn't
mind if the show lasted into a sixth season, began making noises early in 4th
season that he wanted to move on, and the same was true of co-star Teri
Hatcher. Part of this was due to the drain the show placed on their personal
lives. Dean Cain's long-term relationship with Gabrielle Reece ended and Teri
stated on the Howard Stern show that she needed her husband, actor Jon Tenney,
on the set because she "was fried". If low morale was not enough, the show
would be facing its toughest competition 4th season, and would fall victim to
an act of betrayal from its own network.

CBS placed its number one drama TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL and NBC placed its most
popular new sitcom 3RD ROCK FROM THE SUN opposite LOIS AND CLARK. The Superman
romantic adventure was never designed to fight top 10 programming, but even
that being the case, LOIS AND CLARK stubbornly held onto 12 million viewers
every Sunday against the best the other networks had to offer. Stable ratings
did not interest ABC, and so there was concern that LOIS AND CLARK could face
the cancellation axe. Such fears were laid to rest in November when Jamie
Tarses, head of programming at ABC, announced that Lois and Clark would
receive a full 22 episode renewal for a 5th season as part of a deal made with
Warner Bros. to secure the rights to the ROSIE O'DONNELL SHOW for ABC's major
market affiliates. Tarses decided to move LOIS AND CLARK to the earlier hour,
against 60 MINUTES, a show that has been number one in that time slot for 20
years, there wasn't too much fear because the renewal was already
assured....or so everyone though.

What the general public didn't know is that ABC was already trying to undo its
deal with Warner Bros. By the time LOIS AND CLARK was sent limping to Saturday
night in April, the least watched night of television, and a particularly bad
night for the 18-49 year old demographic, the writing was already on the wall.
The ratings on Saturday wouldn't even be playing a part in the show's fate.
Just two days after it had moved to Saturday, and less than a week after ABC
had cashed the check from fans wanting to put a "thank you" in USA Today to
the cast and staff of LOIS AND CLARK, "The Hollywood Reporter" announced that
sources had confirmed that ABC was trying to "worm out" of its deal with
Warner Bros. They were finally successful, and LOIS AND CLARK was canceled by
ABC. No dignity whatsoever was accorded the series. It was canceled after the
show had wrapped for the season, and so there was no way to give the show a
proper ending or closure. Even its final episode of all time would be shown in
June, during the summer rerun period when half the viewers and most of the
critics are no longer watching network television.

In the end, it became a show about a superhero who could defeat any foe until
he faced network television's politics and the ledger's bottom line. It was
not just about making a profit, it was about making a profit at the expense of
integrity.  In a way, it's understandable that Superman could not fight this
ultimate foe. Perhaps he said it best himself, "I thought I'd seen every kind
of evil there is. Every perversion known to man, law, and God, and I thought I
knew how to fight them all. But there's something out there I can't fight
because I don't understand it. Greed."

_____________________________________________________


                                  THE MAILBAG
                     -------------------------------------
                     (sykes@ms.uky.edu, KryptonCN@aol.com)


                 KC Responses are indented and begun with ****

     ==================================

From: Rich Morrissey (RMorris306@aol.com)

Loved Shane Travis' review...I agreed with almost all of it except, to an
extent... "If TPTB wanted a younger, hipper Atom, they could have just had him
pass off the suit and the title to his kid, to his nephew or heck! even to a
stranger.  If it worked for Green Arrow, for the pre-Crisis AirWave, and for
Kyle Rayner respectively then I don't see why the Atom should be forced to
endure these indignities."

Well, opinions differ as to whether it works for Connor Hawke, and especially
for Green Lantern (although handicapped, in the latter case by the writing of
the same person who deservedly won two Worst Writer awards in this year's
Kaycees). Agreed that Ray Palmer doesn't deserve such indignities, though.

**** Not having much background knowledge of The Atom, I'm unqualified to
     enter this debate, but I'm much more knowledgeable about the Green
     Lantern situation.  To be more accurate, the issue with GL generally is
     *not* whether or not passing along the mantle has worked.  The reason
     so many people are *still* up in arms is solely the question of whether
     Hal Jordan was given a fitting treatment in that hand-off.

And I'll admit that STEEL is a book I've dropped early on, so I'm a little
confused about the new supporting cast members Priest has added, not all of
whom your reviewer identifies fully. Is "Double" private detective Jonny
Double, who appeared in several DC stories (most notably as Wonder Woman's
one-time boyfriend) in the early '70's?

**** Double is, to the best of my knowledge, a new character, unique to STEEL.
     Introduced during the Louise Simonson run on the title, Double is a
     secret agent working with (if memory serves) the British government.
     He was instrumental in helping to relocate most of John Irons' family
     into "kind of a witness protection program," and seems to be the only
     contact John has with his family.
     
     ==================================

From: Dan Rudolph (rudolph.family@mcleod.net)

[Regarding the poor showings of SUPERBOY and RAVERS in the 1996 Kaycees]:

I like SUPERBOY AND THE RAVERS.  I also liked "Losin' It."  After it was over,
the kid's life returned to more or less normal.  Except he now knows that Roxy
is in love with him.  As for the new SUPERBOY team, Marz's writing isn't
terrible, but he hasn't turned out any really great stories either.  Bernado's
art makes me shudder.  All the male characters look alike.  The females look
exactly like the males, only with larger breasts.  Everybody has screwed-up
facial features and limbs that look broken.  The only character that looks
remotely right is Dubbilex.  I'm glad to hear Bernado is leaving.

**** Of course, in the month since you wrote this, there have been some
     interesting developments.  To begin with, Marz turned out an excellent
     story in issue #41, and it looks like Kesel and Grummett will be
     returning in a few months!  Keep your fingers crossed, and let's hope
     Bernado doesn't find his way onto any other Super-titles :)
     
     ==================================

From: Kevyn (RKrinn@aol.com)

I sure hope someone at Warner Brothers reads your most recent editorial. Once
again you do a great job of writing down what the majority of the fans are
thinking. How can anyone think that entrusting Superman to Tim Burton is a
good idea after BATMAN RETURNS and MARS ATTACKS (didn't see it, looked
stupid.)

**** Let me make something clear, just in case it wasn't before.  I don't
     have anything against Burton -- I'm definitely a fan of his work.  His
     two Batman films were much better than the Joel Schumacher takes.  MARS
     ATTACKS was intended to be a spoof of classic sci-fi from an era long
     gone, and on that level it succeeded.  ED WOOD is about the only time I
     found him a bit too weird for my tastes.  However, nothing in his
     repertoire suggests that he's right for SUPERMAN LIVES.  Sure, he'll
     probably come up with some really great looks for the film, but I expect
     we're going to see a darker, quirkier version of Superman -- and that's
     not anything I'm interested in.  Of course, I'll still end up in the
     theater on opening day...

Why make a movie that alienates the one built-in audience it has? Why not make
a movie that makes the fans happy and is strong and compelling enough to
attract a wider audience? How do these people in Hollywood keep their jobs?
(Or even get them in the first place?)

**** Well, to be brutally frank, we're not a large enough number to matter.
     If only fans of the comics went to see the Batman films, there would
     have been only the first one.  We're talking about millions of movie-
     goers versus thousands of comic book fans.  The idea in Hollywood is to
     try and determine what the general public will want to see.  The evidence
     is that Hollywood believes a movie which pleases the fans will not draw
     in the wider audience.  Unfortunately, what I've heard about *this*
     project seems to indicate that they're not only willing to sacrifice the
     fans, but the character as well...
     
     ==================================

From: Jason Arnett (jalawa@falcon.cc.ukans.edu)

Hear, Hear!

It's about time someone told it like it is!  Let Burton and Peters do another
Batman movie, or perhaps the Catwoman film that Michelle Pfeiffer is
reportedly STILL interested in doing.  I hope that the folks at WB and DC are
reading your column, because they really need to learn not to mess with the
big guns.  Supes is still popular because he embodies everything that a hero
for all time should be.  And I must agree with you on the "Man of Sparks"
storyline currently, no pun intended, running through the regular titles.  The
creators of the comics are doing a bang-up job, and maybe THEY should be given
the chance to re-write script that Kevin Smith worked so hard on...

**** I would absolutely *love* to see Burton and Peters return to the Batman
     franchise (imagine, if you will, Burton's take on a Clayface story, or
     perhaps a Ra's Al Ghul story).  What I have to wonder is why Kevin
     Smith's script needs to be re-written at all?  If DC and WB were so gung
     ho about it, why not simply find a director who is willing to work with
     that script -- Hollywood makes less sense to me every day.

As for Cage in the role, no.  No way should that be allowed.  Let Dean Cain do
it.  Through the miracle of modern technology, he can be made to be more of
the Superman that we all know and love.  Add to that, he's been playing the
role for four years now! I think the only person who might have more of a
handle on the character would be Chris Reeve.  Keep Sandra Bullock out of it,
but the news about maybe Patrick Stewart as Brainiac is certainly very, very
interesting.

**** First, Cain doesn't want to be involved -- he and Teri Hatcher have both
     expressed their feelings on this subject, and it's highly doubtful that
     anything could entice them back into these roles again.  Second, I have
     never thought that Cain handled Superman well.  He was a fantastic Clark,
     and his chemistry with Teri was wonderful, but I never bought into his
     heroic acting.

     Again, if we can get the "hero to be loved" angle out of Cage's mind, I
     think he can do a good job of playing Superman -- I'm willing to give up
     the look, as long as the acting is quality.  It's just a matter of
     whether or not he's actually portraying Superman.  I personally think
     Sandra Bullock would play a wonderful Lois Lane, and Patrick Stewart has
     the versatility to handle Brainiac *really* well.
     
     ==================================

From: George Malinaric (clark@cheerful.com)

You say that you have no idea who can play Superman apart from Nicolas Cage. I
strongly feel that Paul Gross of the series DUE SOUTH would be an excellent
choice for Superman. He is an accomplished stage playwright/actor and
television actor, who has won awards for his performances and plays. If you
have watched DUE SOUTH, then you know that his character acts a lot like Clark
Kent (a glorified Boy Scout). I think that Mr. Gross is capable of being the
Man of Steel. I have had a lot of people, who I have approached with this
suggestion, agree with me. Many of them have never actually watched the
series, but also feel that Mr. Gross has the look for Superman.

**** Small point here, but if you look back at my editorial, I said that I
     couldn't come up with anyone who has Nicolas Cage's acting talent *and*
     a background suggestive of the ability to portray Superman.  I think
     there are quite a few other actors with the talent of a Nicolas Cage,
     and I think there are quite a few actors who have played characters
     similar to Superman.  Unfortunately, those pools don't seem to overlap.

     As for Paul Gross, his is a name I've heard mentioned many times before,
     but I'm unfamiliar with his work.  I've never seen DUE SOUTH, but his
     fans from that show all seem to be convinced that he would make a
     spectacular Superman.  I tend to agree with the concept of this, at
     least.  Though I didn't know it at the time, there were many "big name"
     actors tossed about for the part in the 1978 SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE, but
     relative unknown Christopher Reeve eventually got the nod.  Why not
     hire relative unknowns for the cast this time, apply the savings in
     actor/actress salaries to the script and special effects, and then let
     the strength of the film sell it?  Since when has it been a requirement
     for a film to have a superstar cast in order to bring in the fans?
     
                                                    -- Jeff Sykes

_____________________________________________________
*******************************************************
End of Section 8/Issue #39