______________________________________________________

              T H E    K R Y P T O N I A N    C Y B E R N E T
       _______________________________________________

                      http://www.ms.uky.edu/~sykes/kc

                        Issue #54 -- September 1998
______________________________________________________


CONTENTS
--------
Section 1:  Superscripts: Notes from the Editor(s)
               Final Genesis Hour One Million Unleashed
            Ratings At A Glance
               Titles Shipped August 1998
            The KC Newsroom
               Kingdom, the Multiverse, Fantastic Four, World's Finest,
               Supergirl/Batgirl animation, a new Superman hardcover, and
               a little doting on one of our own

Section 2:  New Comic Reviews
               The Triangle Titles
                  Superman #139, by Thomas Deja
                  Superman: The Man of Tomorrow #11, by Derek Jackson
                  Superman: Save the Planet #1, by Shane Travis

Section 3:  New Comics Reviews
               The Triangle Titles (cont)
                  Adventures of Superman #562, by Dan Radice
               Super-Family Titles
                  Superboy #56, by Rene' Gobeyn
                  Supergirl #26, by Thomas Deja
                  Superman Adventures #24, by Cory Strode

Section 4:  New Comic Reviews
               Team Titles
                  JLA #23, by Anatole Wilson
                  Young Justice #2, by Rene' Gobeyn
               "Ghosts" Annuals
                  Superman Annual #10, by Thomas Deja
                  JLA Annual #2, by Anatole Wilson

Section 5:  New Comic Reviews
               Miniseries
                  Superman for all Seasons #2, by Douglas Wolk
                  Superman: The Dark Side #1, by Rene' Gobeyn
            After-Byrne
               Manuscripts of Steel
                  Denes House turns his attention to 1994's Elseworlds
                  annuals, beginning with Superman Annual #6

Section 6:  The Phantom Zone
               Tales of Earth-One
                  Episode 6 - Revenge is a Dish Best Served Over and Over
                  Bob Hughes looks at the Superman Revenge Squad
               World of Krypton
                  DC's first miniseries retells the story of the last days
                  of Krypton, by Scott Devarney

Section 7:  The Phantom Zone
               Giant Superman Annual #1
                  Rich Morrissey treats us to a review of DC's first-ever
                  80-Page Giant, recently reprinted for the newer legion
                  of Superman fans

Section 8:  The Mailbag


STAFF:
------
Jeffery D. Sykes, Publisher and Co-Editor-in-Chief
Shane Travis, Co-Editor-in-Chief and Executive Editor of Comic Reviews
Neil Ottenstein, Executive Editor of STAS Reviews


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 1998 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.

This magazine can be distributed, in whole, freely via e-mail.  Should you
desire to share this publication with other on-line services, please
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        http://www.ms.uky.edu/~sykes/kc

__________________________________________


                    SUPERSCRIPTS: Notes from the Editor(s)
                  -----------------------------------------
                       By Jeff Sykes (sykes@ms.uky.edu)


FINAL GENESIS HOUR ONE MILLION UNLEASHED

Like clockwork, it appears every year at approximately this time -- the DC
Universe Crossover Extravaganza!

Each year, in late summer or early fall, DC decides to regale us with a
tale so large that it must consume a miniseries and all of the DC Universe
titles for an entire month.  

But why?

One obvious answer is that it increases sales for a month.  If my shop is
at all representative, then almost every DCU title involved in the _DC One
Million_ crossover has seen an increase in sales this month.  I suspect
that even bad crossovers like _Genesis_ still realize these sales bumps.

Another answer is that the increased exposure can lead some to begin
reading books that they used to ignore.  Say a Superman fan picked up
_Resurrection Man_ #1,000,000 because of the tie-in to _Adventures of
Superman_ #1,000,000.  Perhaps he finds himself intrigued by Mitch Shelley
and decides to pick up the next few issues as a trial.  A well-written
crossover issue certainly has that potential.

So then why do we have these things once a year, always at the same time of
year?  Why not whenever a great crossover idea comes along, whether that be
more often or less often than once a year?  And why *force* all of the DCU
titles to participate?  If the participation is meant to increase sales and
expose new readers to the title, then why not give that editorial/creative
team the option?

With each passing year, the crossover event seems less and less special,
less and less important, regardless of the quality of the event.  Perhaps
it's time for DC to put this particular form to rest for a few years and
just concentrate on making each and every ongoing title as good as it can
possibly be...

Oh, and one last thing, going out to one reader in particular.  Here's
hoping that editorial one day realizes that Superman is a bit more than
just a job, that they would best serve the fans and their own bottom line
by hiring talented people who actually care about the Man of Steel...

__________________________________________


               RATINGS AT A GLANCE: Titles shipped August 1998
            ----------------------------------------------------
               Prepared by Shane Travis (travis@sedsystems.ca)

Not a good month for the Super-titles. Lots of marks way, *way* below the
cumulative averages for the titles, and even the annuals and specials
didn't seem to be up to snuff.  Well... most of them didn't. There is
always the beautifully-rendered _Superman For All Seasons_ if you need a
bit of a lift, and Peter David continues to impress with _Supergirl_. (Too
bad he didn't do the same with _Young Justice_.) At least _Superboy_
managed to get back on track... let's hope that the Triangle Titles can do
the same, and pull themselves up from their sub-par showings.

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 (6Mth)
Title	Issue	Rating	Rank	Rating	Rank	Rating	Rank
-----              	-----    	------	------     	------	------     	------	------
S. For All Seasons	2  	4.3(7)  	-    	4.6(7) 	-    	--   	-
S: The Dark Side 	1   	4.0(6)  	-     	--   	-     	-- 	-
Supergirl      	26      	3.9(5) 	1     	4.1(7) 	1  	3.65  	1
Superboy        	56   	3.6(6) 	2    	2.5(7) 	9     	3.52  	2
S: Save The Planet! 	1   	3.1(8) 	-   	--  	-    	--   	-
JLA Annual        	2    	3.0(7)	-   	--  	-    	--   	-
JLA              	23  	3.0(8)	3     	3.7(7)	3    	3.47	3
Young Justice  	2   	2.8(7) 	4    	4.1(6)	2    	--  	-
Action Comics     	**    	--   	5    	3.2(10)	5    	2.73 	7
Adv. of Superman  	562 	2.6(7)	6 	2.8(11)	8 	2.97	6
Man of Steel     	**    	--   	7    	3.0(7) 	7    	3.20 	4
Man of Tomorrow   	11  	2.5(8)	##    	2.3(11)	##   	2.37(3)	##
Superman Annual  	10    	2.4(6) 	-      	-- 	-    	--   	-
Superman      	139  	2.3(10)	8  	3.0(9) 	6     	2.68  	8
Superman Adv.    	24   	1.9(4) 	9    	3.2(5) 	4    	3.15 	5

**No issues of _Action Comics_ or _Man of Steel_ were published in August
due to the _Superman: Save the Planet_ special *and* the publication of
_Superman: Man of Tomorrow_. All four core titles will return next month
for the _DC One Million _special event.

##_Superman:Man of Tomorrow_ is published so infrequently that despite its
status as a Triangle Title, it is treated as a special for the purposes of
monthly rankings. The Overall Average is based on the average ratings for
issues 9, 10, and 11.


"I got those second-issue blues..."
YOUNG JUSTICE #2             (2.8 Shields, -1.3 Shields, 4th place)
 - It would have been difficult for Peter David to top his side-splitting
debut on this comic, but it would have been nice if he had tried. Last
issue, even the horrible puns elicited mirthful groans, but this issue
things just fell flat. David is somewhat hampered in his role as writer on
this title, since he can't make the major changes to the characters that
have become his (self-lampooned) trademark, but he is known more for his
strong characterization than his humour... which is a good thing, as some
folks are already calling for a return to more serious stories after just
two issues.

"Can't we just say he's *evil* and get on with it?"
SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #24      (1.9 Shields, -1.3 Shields, last place)
 - The public's response to this comic has been increasingly negative 
since Scott McCloud stopped writing it, but this month's rating represents
an all-time low. Apparently, people either don't care why the Parasite
does what he does, or they don't like (or believe) Mark Millar's
explanation. Either way, this rating was enough to drag the six-month
average so low that even one of the Triangle titles (_Man of Steel_)
finished higher than it.

"If I blow up the planet, Dad, *then* will you love me?"
SUPERMAN: THE DARK SIDE #1   (4.0 Shields)
- Moore and Dwyer present an interesting Elseworlds look at the Last Son
of Krypton, also known here as the Third Son of Darkseid. This is the same
team that brought us last year's acclaimed _Elseworlds' Finest_ mini-
series, and they don't look to disappoint this time out either.


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.

__________________________________________


                               THE KC NEWSROOM
                             -------------------


THE KINGDOM COMETH

For the past two months, fans have been flooded with information, rumor,
and speculation about December's "Kingdom Event" -- not only about what the
story will encompass, but about the reported long-lasting effects on DC
continuity. Michael Doran's Newsarama
(http://www.mania.com/newsarama/index.html) has been on top of the story
since it broke, and most of the following information comes from his
wonderful news source.

So what do we know?

The event will take place during the final three weeks of December, with
the tales spread across 7 different titles. The first week will see the
release of _The Kingdom_ #1, written by Mark Waid (_Kingdom Come_) and
illustrated by Ariel Olivetti (_JLA: Paradise Lost_). The story picks up
immediately after the events of _New Year's Evil: Gog_ #1, which closed
with Gog's murder of Superman. Gog decides that killing Superman in that
time isn't enough, and so he begins travelling backwards in time, stopping
periodically to kill Superman yet again. As the timeline begins to
destabilize, the Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman of the _Kingdom Come_
future set in motion a plan to save all of reality.

This leads into five specials the following week, all written by Waid, and
three of which focus on characters so far only seen in the pages of
_Kingdom Come_: _Kid Flash_ #1 (art by Mark Pajarillo) features the
daughter of Wally West; _Nightstar_ #1 (art by Matt Haley) features the
daughter of Nightwing and Starfire; and _Son of the Bat_ #1 (art by Brian
Apthorp) features Ibn al Xu'ffasch, the son of Bruce Wayne and grandson of
Ra's al Ghul. The fourth title, _Offspring_ #1 (art by Frank Quitely),
introduces the crime-fighting son of Plastic Man. Each of these four titles
takes place about nine months after the _Kingdom Come_ epilogue. Finally,
in the only of the five books taking place in the present day DC Universe,
_Planet Krypton_ #1 (art by Barry Kitson), Booster Gold opens his new
super-hero-themed restaurant.

In the third and final week, it all wraps up in _The Kingdom_ #2 (art by
Mike Zeck). The Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman from _Kingdom Come_
arrive in the present day DC Universe, where they team up with their
contemporary selves to stop Gog. DC is being *very* tight-lipped about the
outcome of this book, but promises that the conclusion of the final battle
will be something that nobody will expect! (More detailed information on
all seven books can be found in the next issue of Previews!)

So what's all the gossip?

Almost since the end of _Kingdom Come_, rumors have flown that the events
in that miniseries would become *the* future of the present day DCU. Ever
since _Crisis on Infinite Earths_, fans have used small details and/or
mistakes to speculate that DC plans to bring back the Multiverse. At the
San Diego convention this summer a DC panel, including Mark Waid, answered
questions about the significance of the "Kingdom Event," including
questions about the rumors mentioned above. Waid's standard responses
included, "no matter what you think the answer is, the answer will surprise
you," and "It's all true!"

As regards the concluding issue, _The Kingdom_ #2, Waid suggests that
readers look towards _DC One Million_ for an important clue (I'm guessing
he's referring to the Linear Men scene in issue #2), as well as to
*another* book that DC published earlier this year -- though he wouldn't
say which one. He adds, "...once all is revealed, the answer will be
startlingly and shockingly clear."

Some rumors have Waid and Grant Morrison (_DC One Million_, _JLA_)
collaborating to once again revamp the entire DC Universe, but Waid denies
this, stating, "The last thing either of us wants to do is to hit the
Cosmic Reset Button *once again*. Suffice it, for the moment, to say that
everything you know is still true ... *everything*."

So how *could* Gog have killed Superman in _New Year's Evil: Gog_ #1, yet
Superman still be alive in the 853rd century (even though this has yet to
be shown)?

Well, Nik Stanoshek's Superboy Website (http://fly.to/superboy) may have
*the* scoop. (Incidentally, if you want Superboy info, Nik's site is *the*
place to go!) _Superboy_ writer Karl Kesel gets in touch with Nik from time
to time, and he's spilled the beans a bit -- it seems that whatever the
long-lasting effect the "Kingdom Event" will have on DC continuity, the
rules for this re-written DC standard will be explored in the pages of
_Superboy_, beginning on the 50th anniversary of the original _Superboy_
#1. Says Kesel, "_Superboy_ #60-63 (or 64) will be a story that explores
certain things revealed during the upcoming Kingdom Week -- something so
big that the JLA should handle it, but can't. Only Superboy can. It should
thrill old and new fans alike. It is without a doubt the biggest, most
important story to ever appear in _Superboy_. And if, by some chance, our
Superboy was to meet the 'Silver Age' Superboy, they would remember meeting
in _Superboy_ #8."

While it would appear that *some* sort of Multiverse, or alternate time
lines, will be the net result, it is still unclear whether this will be
*the* Multiverse -- or even whether any of the pre-Crisis "Earths" will be
a part of this new reality.

Regardless, it sounds like Mr. Waid has quite a bit in store for us this
holiday season! And remember -- "no matter what you think the answer is,
the answer will surprise you!"


THAT MIGHT REQUIRE SOME TUMS...

For years, Dan Jurgens has dreamed of teaming Superman with the first
family of Marvel Comics, and now that dream has come true! The Man of Steel
will meet the Fantastic Four in a 64-page one-shot due to hit stores in the
spring. Jurgens will write and pencil the tale, in which Superman discovers
that Krypton didn't just blow up -- it was devoured by Galactus! (Think
Elseworlds, folks.) This will, of course, bring Superman and the Fantastic
Four together with lots of unexpected twists and turns.


KESEL... WORLD'S FINEST... NUFF SAID!

Teamings of the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel have been a natural almost
since their introductions in the 1930s. Now, Karl Kesel (_Superboy_) is
working on the next edition of these team-ups, but with a new twist. In a
new 10-issue miniseries, Kesel will let readers in on the fact that
Superman and Batman have actually been teaming up as an annual event for
each of the past ten years. Each issue will essentially highlight one year
of their relationship, with _World's Finest_ #1 being a type of "Year One"
story. In this tale, something will happen which will require them to meet
again in a year, leading to the second issue's "Year Two" type of story.
And so forth.

Along the way, Kesel will reveal previously unseen meetings between the
two, including the time when Batman checked up on the four Supermen that
took the Man of Steel's place after his death, and the time when Superman
checked up on the Azrael-Batman while Bruce recovered from his broken back.
Also expect both good times and bad, as their initially rocky relationship
develops into what it is today. Kesel told Newsarama, "In issue #3, we see
what happens when Superman assumes that Batman is much friendlier than he
actually is. It's a horrible mistake in character judgment by Superman, but
we'll see how they can put that behind them and move on. Like any
relationship, sometimes they tolerate each other and are fairly friendly,
and sometimes they can't stand each other. All in all, it should be a nice
exploration of the two characters and their distinctively different
outlooks from crime to family to women." Artist Dave Taylor will illustrate
the series, which is expected to debut early in 1999.


SUPERMAN'S SON?

Newsarama also reports that Howard Chaykin (_Superman: Distant Fires_) has
written a 96-page hardcover entitled _Son of Superman_, to be illustrated
by the art team of J.H. Williams and Mick Gray (_Chase_). No word on the
content of the project, but given the conclusion of _Distant Fires_, might
this be a sequel to that Elseworlds tale?


WORLD'S FINEST -- THE FIGURES

Coinciding with last month's video release of the "World's Finest" animated
teaming of Superman and Batman, Kenner has released a Wal-Mart exclusive
two-pack featuring action figures of the animated Batman and Superman. The
Batman figure is a slightly redecoed version of an earlier figure, while
the Superman figure is the previously-released Capture Net Superman. Both
figures now have cloth capes, however, where the original Superman figure
had a plastic cape. You can find pictures of this two-pack at the Raving
Toy Maniac (http://www.toymania.com/sdcc98/dc.shtml).


ANIMATION SHORT CUTS

The Batgirl/Supergirl team-up episode will count as one of the new Batman
episodes, and is entitled "Girls' Night Out." The episode, written by
Hilary Bader, features Livewire, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn as the
villains.

The rumored JLA series doesn't seem to have much forward momentum at the
moment. Said producer Alan Burnett, "It depends on if the rights are
available and if we can come up with it so that it's just not another team
show, that it has some personality. That's where it's at right now."  But
producer Paul Dini has also been quoted as saying, "It's very, very
doubtful we'll do a Justice League series. You never know." (I'm personally
still pulling for a Legion of Super-Heroes animated series!)


LOCAL BOY MAKES GOOD

Our own Thomas Deja (monthly contributor of _Superman_ and _Supergirl_
reviews) has recently had a tale of the Hulk published! His story, "A
Quiet, Normal Life," appears in _The Ultimate Hulk_, which is edited by
Peter David and Stan Lee, and published by Byron Press Publications and
Berkley Books. Congratulations Tom!

__________________________________________

                              NEW COMIC REVIEWS
                  -----------------------------------------
                    Comics Arriving In Stores August 1998


Whew!  Thirteen reviews this month, and we haven't even begun looking at
the big _DC One Million_ crossover yet!  Nonetheless, there are still a few
things we've chosen to leave out.  First, the Man of Steel's presence was
finally felt in _The Nail_ #3, but we didn't think it a good idea to review
only the final issue of the miniseries.  Look for a review of the complete
series in "Manuscripts of Steel" in the coming months.  Lesser appearances
include cameos by Superman and the rest of the JLA at Wally West's wedding
in _The Flash_ #142 and in _Martian Manhunter_ #0, the debut issue of that
title.  Finally, look for a review of the _Giant Superman Annual_ #1
reprint in this month's Phantom Zone!


Ratings Panelists:
-----------------
AW:  Anatole Wilson       DWd: Darrin Wood          MS:  Mike Smith
CoS: Cory Strode          EJ:  Enola Jones          RG:  Rene' Gobeyn
DC:  David Chappell       EM:  Edward Mathews       ST:  Shane Travis
DJ:  Derek Jackson        JO:  Joey Ochoa           SDM: Simon DelMonte
DR:  Daniel Radice        JSy: Jeff Sykes           TD:  Thomas Deja


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 TRIANGLE TITLES:
-------------------
37. SUPERMAN #139                             Oct 1998   $1.99 US/$2.85 CAN

    "A Matter of Time"

    Writer:     Dan Jurgens
    Penciller:  Jim Starlin
    Inker:      Joe Rubinstein
    Letterer:   John Costanza
    Colorist:   Glen Whitmore
    Separator:  Digital Chameleon
    Assistant:  Maureen McTigue
    Editor:     Joey Cavalieri
    Cover:      Jim Starlin, Joe Rubinstein, and Patrick Martin


RATINGS

Average: 2.3/5.0 Shields

TD:  4.0 Shields
DC:  2.5 Shields - Mediocre ending that leaves things too ominous with
        Dominus.
DJ:  2.4 Shields - A ho-hum ending to a ho-hum story. Very anti-climactic.
DWd: 2.0 Shields - Boring story, boring art, and a totally pointless
        conclusion to this whole Dominus thing. The S-titles have one
        month to get it right before I drop them.
EJ:  2.7 Shields - I found this one crowded and undecipherable. I've been
        following the storyline since its inception and I am still in the
        dark. The art has been muddled slightly as well... the characters
        are barely recognizable in my opinion.
JO:  1.7 Shields - This book had it's moments but was a disappointment
        overall. It was too open ended on the Kismet issue and dragged
        the Daily Planet thing out for too long.


Three whole points of this issue's rating is for Jim Starlin.

Kirby may have created the concept of the 'cosmic saga,' but Jim Starlin
certainly perfected it, refining and amplifying its scope with his own
obsessions with sex, death and religion to create a series of top notch
entertainments (never mind that in the last ten years he's been doing
nothing but telling the same story with different trappings again and
again--but I digress). He's the perfect artist for this wrap up--from the
first shot of Waverider propelling himself through the timestream to a
flashback establishing Kismet's bond with Superman, the art is a treat...

Which is good, because this is a mediocre wrap-up to a mediocre storyline. 
At the end of this issue, we still have no grasp of who Dominus is, his
motivations for wanting to become Big God on Campus, and no real sense of
resolution; the last panel shows Dominus kind of walking away muttering
that he'll be back. This whole storyline has read like a bunch of guys
making it up as they went along, and boy does it show. 

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The story begins with an absolutely
gorgeous sequence of Waverider (looking a damn sight better than Jurgens
ever made him look) locating a point in Clark Kent's life which ended in
tragedy. Clark, Pete Ross, Lana Lang and a girl named Sharon, all pre-teen,
are playing pirates on a jungle gym. Sharon loses her footing and begins
to plummet towards what we learn is a fatal impact--except Waverider stops
the fall.... 

Cut to: Dominus about to seal Superman's fate with some Kryptonite. The
Linear Men show up and are dismissed almost immediately, but not before
Waverider touches Supes and assures him it will all work out in time.
Dominus drags the Man of Steel into another dimension and tries to force
him to reveal the location of Kismet. What ol' No-Arms finds out is that
Kismet is hiding in a egg-shaped object held by ol' Mr. Odetts (whose
stubborn insistence in not moving from the Hypersector has been a thorn
in Luthor's side these last few issues). Dominus takes Kismet back to his
dimension, where Superman uses his heat vision to distract ol' Creepy Face
Waverider's machinations. Waverider transports Kismet back through time 
and merges the being with the soon-to-die Sharon, positioning Clark so he 
can catch the girl and create the bond between them. For the time being,
Kismet is safe from Dominus. 

Dominus, not realizing Kismet is hiding in the 70's, comes back to his
dimension and rails at the Man of Steel, dismisses him, and promises that
the universe has not heard the last of Dominus, Master of Really Vague
Storylines. 

To say that this resolution is kinda disappointing is an understatement. 
It is a VASTLY disappointing resolution to an overlong storyline. Not only
that, but the major motivation for Dominus' harassment of Supes was this
bond--a bond that was supposed to be explained in this issue. Yes, a bond
is 'created' between Clark and the girl Sharon, yet Jurgens' writing seems
to imply this bond *replaces* the initial bond. You have to wonder why
Dominus, who is established as being able to warp reality all the way down
the eras, only scans the present -- especially since he knows the Linear
Men are involved. It's all confusion, and it's all unsatisfying. 

There *is* some fairly decent foreshadowing of things to come; on one page,
Dirk Armstrong approaches Perry, furious that their new health care
provider no longer covers pre-existing conditions. He threatens to take his
column elsewhere, to which Perry replies that he should--the Planet is now
losing money at an alarming rate. Jurgens dialogue is as weak as ever, but
the blocking is excellent. I wanted more of this and less of Dominus
floating about claiming he was going to be God.

Thank God Starlin is doing pencils for this issue; his job here is simply
breathtaking. The opening two pages are worth the price of admission all
by themselves. They have only four panels, but show an understanding of
the way Waverider moves that the other Team Super artists *wish* they had.
Starlin makes Dominus look truly unworldly....his robes being plucked by
unseen winds, his body sometimes being part of his dimension, then part of
the galaxy itself. He is drawn visually to be an impressive figure. After
week after week of Ron Frenz' tired Kirby knock-offs and Paul Ryan's
decent but journeyman work, having a stylist like Starlin is a breath of
fresh air. I wish we could get more 'big name' artists to break up the
monotony, maybe tailoring the assignment to the artist's strength like in
this issue. Imagine a Maxima rumble penciled by Adam Hughes, a pulp-style
adventure penciled by Tim Truman or a supernatural mystery penciled by
Gene Colon or Tom Mandrake... the mind boggles.

I guess what depresses me about this story is that it signifies a return
to business as usual for Team Super; more 'event' programming that just
drags and drags, with no end in sight. Even if Mike Carlin won't allow
the end of the Triangle format, the time has come for a year-long 
moratorium on big-e Events. Let our boys collaborate on smaller stories
and concentrate on the characters instead of the big temporary changes we
keep on getting put through. Maybe then we can get big talent to climb
aboard, even for an issue or two. *That* might bring more readers in than
another goofy villain with no arms advancing a vague agenda in even vaguer
stories.

Thomas Deja
<tdj723@webtv.net>

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

38. SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF TOMORROW #11         Oct 1998   $1.99 US/$2.85 CAN

    "Anomaly"

    Writer:    L Simonson
    Layouts:   P. Ryan
    Finisher:  D. Janke
    Letterer:  J. Costanza
    Colorist:  G. Whitmore
    Seps:      Digital Chameleon
    Asst. Ed.: M. McTigue
    Editor:    J. Cavalieri
    Cover:     Paul Ryan, Brett Breeding, and Patrick Martin


RATINGS

Average: 2.5/5.0 Shields

DJ:  1.9 Shields
EM:  2.8 Shields - In haiku:  Alternate future
                              Hints at a new Multiverse.
                              Is Earth-1 near by?
JO:  2.7 Shields - Some nice action in this book but no substance. Who is
        this future guy and why should I care?
MS:  3.0 Shields - Nice bit of continuity with the 1996 annual, but this
        story felt rushed. One issue isn't enough for a "I must kill you
        to save the future" plot.
ST:  2.0 Shields - Any significance to Kaleb's appearance was lost in
        the jumbled mish-mash of other elements; surely the resolution
        of the time anomalies deserved better than this. The scratchy
        inks and distorted faces of Ryan and Janke didn't help matters.
TD:  1.3 Shields - Reason to kill off S:MOT #34: Another in a series of
        inconsequential single-shot stories that do nothing except -- in
        this case -- feed Luthor's evil. As if we didn't see the 'surprise
        twist' of this story coming....


It seems like yesterday when the new quarterly The Man of Tomorrow came
out, and we are already up to issue 11. Where does the time go? (Get it?
Time?)

Anyways...

Main Plot: Investigating a strange sound, Superman finds dinosaurs,
medieval knights, and spaceships all in downtown Metropolis. He does
his best to ensure that no innocent bystanders get hurt before everyone
returns to their own time. Just when Superman thinks everything is back
to normal, he hears another faint sound similar to the one proceeding
the time travelling interlopers... 

A longhaired man wearing a Superman emblem materializes in an alley in the
slums of Metropolis and is attacked by gang members, but easily defeats
them with help from Bibbo. He claims to be a time-traveller, and upon
seeing Luthor's face on TV, he announces that he is going to kill Lex, and
heads off to do so. Crashing into Lex's office, the declares Luthor guilty
of 'crimes against the galaxy' and throws him out a window. 

Superman catches Lex before he bounces, and draws out this strange man's
story. He introduces himself as Kaleb (whom readers will remember from
1996's _Man of Steel_ Annual) and tells of a distant future where Lex
Luthor has pretty much taken over everything. Superman tries to talk Kaleb
out of killing Lex, but Kaleb is so blinded by hatred he attacks Supes.
They fight for a while, but suddenly Kaleb disappears! Superman suspects
that he has simply snapped back to his own time like the other anomalies,
but the truth is far more sinister; Lex stunned Kaleb with an experimental
weapon and spirited him away. As the story ends, Lex toasts the fact that
he will one day rule the universe.

Subplot #1: The financial crisis continues at the Daily Planet, and rumors
abound of a takeover. Some of the staff is fired (nobody major). Dirk
brags about winning a journalism award, and Lois rips into him for his
egocentric attitude.

Subplot #2: Lucy tries to tell Ron she is pregnant, but keeps getting
interrupted. Eventually Ron discovers the truth by accident.


What? I paid $1.99 for this? It is definitely time for a rehaul or some
new writers, because this story indicated to me that DC is lacking ideas. 
Hasn't the 'Daily Planet in financial trouble' plot been beaten to death
already? And why are we seeing the return of characters from what is
essentially an Elseworlds story? Didn't somebody tell Simonson that
they're called Elseworlds for a reason? 

Firstly, the art. It's pretty good, for the most part. Characters are
well drawn and the coloring is well done. Ryan does an excellent job of
drawing both Superman and Kaleb. My only real complaints are the inking --
especially the shadows on people's faces -- and the awful picture of Lex
Luthor on the last panel. 

Secondly, the sub-plots. The Lucy-Ron interests readers yet is small
enough that it doesn't distract us from the main plot. It is tasteful and
so far shows us a realistic side to being young, unmarried and pregnant. 
(Hey! Waitaminute! People aren't supposed to be having sex in a Superman
comic book!) My hat is off to DC for addressing the issue. The second
subplot, the Daily Planet troubles, stinks. Been there, done that. Can we
please come up with something new? Of course, maybe DC has something cool
planned and I'll end up eating my words.

Now to the main event. The story itself isn't bad, I guess, but the whole
idea just seemed like someone was reading back issues and decided to throw
in a character they liked. As for characterization, though... Lex Luthor
is not arrogant enough to assume that just because somebody says he's
still alive in the future means he really will be. He's a brilliant man
and well aware of multiple futures. Superman has fought hundreds of fights
against the most feared villains of all time, is one of the most
experienced members of the JLA, and knows every trick in the book. Despite
this, he doesn't use x-ray vision to check around him to make sure an
enemy *who has just told him he can warp space and time* hasn't teleported
to a nearby location. 

Kaleb's appearance, attacks, and quick disappearance made him seem like an
average Villain of the Week. They've taken someone that (theoretically) 
should have powers on par with Superman and knocked him out in one quick
issue rather then having a good fight or doing some character-work and
having Superman convince Kaleb that this isn't the answer. If you're just
going to have a Villain of the Week, at least bring on the Parasite or the
Cyborg.

And hey! If Earth has been destroyed (a la 'Legends of a Dead Earth') then
how do we make it to DC One Million, with Superman alive and well in the
853rd century?

Derek Jackson
<djackson@iconstructs.com>

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

39. SUPERMAN: SAVE THE PLANET!                Oct 1998   $3.95 US/$5.75 CAN
                                                         $2.95 US/$4.25 CAN

    "Save the Planet!"

    Writer:          Louise Simonson
    Penciller:       Scot Eaton
    Inkers:          Denis Rodier and Jimmy Palmiotti
    Letterer:        Albert T. DeGuzman
    Colorist:        Glenn Whitmore
    Separations:     Digital Chameleon
    Asst. Ed.:       Maureen McTigue
    Mild-Mannered
     Reporter:       Joey Cavalieri
    Direct Cover:    Kevin Nowlan and Patrick Martin
    Newsstand Cover: Scot Eaton, Denis Rodier, and Patrick Martin


RATINGS

Average: 3.1/5.0 Shields

ST:  3.4 Shields
DJ:  2.8 Shields - Decent story, albeit a little rushed. Haven't we seen
        this plot already?
DWd: 3.0 Shields - Oh gee, Asteroids! What an original concept! The only
        thing I liked was seeing the Planet staff react to their job-loss.
        The after-affects will be better (I hope).
JO:  4.0 Shields - This was a book about the characters and that's always
        the way to win me over. Best of the triangles this month.
MS:  2.7 Shields - Sooo... was the Superman vs. the meteors "plot" just
        there to fill space, or have the writers completely forgotten
        how to incorporate Supes into his own comic?
TD:  2.3 Shields - An interesting storyline stretched out to special
        length. Why couldn't this have been a regular issue of the book?


 Time was... when a great metropolitan newspaper meant a good deal more
 to the people of this city.

 Four editions a day -- with "extras" -- kept the town informed with
 a constant flow of news from sources around the globe and around the
 block. Kept the sports scores fresh too.

 The photos seemed somehow larger than life. They could bring the terror
 of a war into the living room, capture the pain of poor souls trapped
 at sea, deliver the drama of daring rescues from blazing buildings in
 midtown.

 Gossip columnists stayed up all night to get the lowdown on your
 favorite stars for you to read in the morning. Advice? It came from
 those 'Miss Lonelyhearts' types who knew when to tell you to, "Wake up
 and smell the coffee." A good laugh? The funny-pages were 'must-see'
 situation comedies before the cathode ray was invented. 

 All of that is easier to get somewhere else now...

                             _Superman: Save the Planet_, newsstand edition

Synopsis:

After a protracted period of financial woes, cutbacks, ship-jumping,
rumors, worrying and general stress, things couldn't get any worse at the
Daily Planet. The paper has been sold -- lock, stock, and barrels of
printer's ink. By page 20, the speculations are laid to rest, and it is
revealed that the new owner of this venerable institution is none other
than the cold-hearted Lex Luthor. 

This news couldn't come at a worse time for Lois, who has *finally*
managed to gather proof that Lex is behind the attempted destruction of
Jeremiah Odetts and his Hypersector-blocking property. Too bad Perry
can't print the story...

The news is no less traumatic for Ron Troupe, especially after just having
learned that he is about to become a father. While making some discreet
inquiries about his health coverage, he learns that there's a new Human
Resources team in place. Out with the old, in with the new; a new broom
sweeps clean; etc. etc. Knowing who the new boss is has not diminished the
staff's worries; if anything, the knowledge puts them in even greater fear
for their jobs. 

Turns out they have every right to be. In an effort to block the
automation of the layout and pagination process, the Printer's Union has
decided to go on strike. That turns out to be just the excuse that Lex
needs to shut the whole place down. Seems that this might have been his
plan from the very beginning; a conversation with Perry White reveals that
Lex is still fuming from when the Planet ran front-page pictures of his
new-born daughter Lena. Hold a grudge much, Lex?

By the time the dust settles, the only people who haven't been fired are
Dirk Armstrong, Simone DeNiege, Lois, and Jimmy. They're left wondering
where exactly they're going to work, though, since the Planet has
apparently published its last edition. The whole staff gathers together
at Dooley's bar to raise a glass to, "The voice of Metropolis! The best
newspaper ever published! The Daily Planet!" as they watch the lights go
out on the Planet globe for the last time...

Oh yeah. Superman has to 'save the planet' from a muckling great meteor
shower. Pfaugh.


Opinions:

There were a lot of things which were done really, really well in this
issue. Unfortunately, the meteor subplot wasn't on that list.

First of all, it was trite. We've seen it all before, most recently in a
made-for-tv movie and two summer 'blockbusters'.

Secondly, it was logically inconsistent. If this was such a global threat,
where were the rest of the world's heroes? Why didn't Superman call in
the JLA, the Global Guardians, Alpha Centurion, *anyone* who had the
capability to help? Or don't they all consider 'planetary devastation'
as much of a reason to pal around as a trio of half-mile high behemoths?

Thirdly, it was scientifically insulting. If you're going to write about
something, at least take the time to learn the *rudiments* of the subject. 
Meteors the size of those depicted are rare occurrences, happening once
every 80 000 years or so; an event of this magnitude is literally an
impossibility. Earth is *not* a cosmic rock-magnet. Even overlooking this
for the sake of the story, basic physics comes into play. There is a
mile-wide hole in Arizona called the Barringer Meteorite Crater that was
formed from an impact with a house-sized rock. The one that slipped by Kal
on page 24 would have done a *lot* more than just destroy a subway. 

Finally, it was superfluous. Its sole purpose for existence was to turn
the title into an inane play on words. Granted, it didn't take up a lot of
space (thankfully) but the few pages it did take would have been better
spent on the *real* reason for the special; the closing of the Daily
Planet and how it affected Superman's alter-ego and supporting cast.

Despite my kvetching, I would still recommend this comic and gave it an 
above-average grade. Why? Simply put, because of the people -- the very
real people to whom we were re-introduced in this issue.

Contained in this book were some of the most powerful and humanizing
snippets I've seen in recent months. Simonson painted pictures with her
words, and Eaton told stories with his images, both of them marvellously
conveying the full spectrum of human emotions felt by the Planet staff
during this incredibly stressful time.

We see Perry White's impotent frustration as he tells Lois that he cannot
print her story. We witness the anger in Ron Troupe as he tells the
glad-handers where to stuff it, and the fear that causes him to blurt his
secret to Jimmy. The cocksure invulnerability of Carrie Axelrod is
shattered as her every ambition is crushed by an unforgiving Luthor. We
also see the crushing guilt borne by Allie, long-time staffer with a heart
of gold, inflicted bit by agonizing bit as she must call the others to be
fired. The way she herself is let go as the final layoff serves as one
more brutal reminder of how people are used and discarded. Finally, we
see the staff band together for perhaps the final time, seeking comfort,
solace, and reassurance in one another's presence as they watch the lights
go out on the Daily Planet.

That's how things stand, and *will* stand for at least two months while we
put everything on hold to run off and play with _DC One Million_ and the
Bottle City of Kandor. What will happen beyond then? Well, DC tried to
'modernize' Clark's job back in the 1970s, transforming him from a
reporter into a TV anchor man, with mixed results. The Planet was still
there, though, so there was always the possibility that he could return
to his old job. Not so this time, though; The Powers That Be have done
a pretty thorough job of burning this bridge, and barring geothermic
ley-line-induced massive power-expulsions, I don't see any way back. 


Final Comments: 

Can someone please explain to me why on God's Green Earth I would pay
*more* money so I could get *less* story?

For reasons of economy, I decided to buy the less-expensive version of
this special. Before doing so, however, I compared the cover-enhanced,
costlier direct-sales version with the newsstand editions to ensure I
wasn't missing out on something in the cheaper copy. Imagine my surprise
to learn it was the people who were buying the more expensive version who
were losing out!

The very first page of the newsstand copy holds a silhouette of the Planet
building and a brief explanation of the history of the newspaper business
that explains quite well why Real World newspapers (as well as the Daily
Planet) are in financial straits -- the same text that appears at the
beginning of this review. In the direct-sales version, though, this page
is used to hold the Superman image that went under the enhanced plastic
cover. What I want to know is... why? How can DC *possibly* justify
removing this rather important set-up from the comic that costs more?
Especially when all we get in exchange is nothing more important than
a cover gimmick?

I can't answer that question, but I wish I could. All I know is that it
made *my* shopping decision a whole lot easier. Maybe if a few people
wrote to DC and asked, we might get an answer....

                                  -- 30 --

Shane Travis
<travis@sedsystems.ca>

__________________________________________

THE TRIANGLE TITLES (cont):
--------------------------
40. THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #562           Oct 1998   $1.99 US/$2.85 CAN

    "End of an Era"

    Plot:        Karl Kesel
    Dialogue:    Jerry Ordway
    Pencils:     Tom Grummett
    Finishes:    Denis Rodier
    Letterer:    Albert DeGuzman
    Colorist:    Glenn Whitmore
    Separations: Digital Chameleon
    Ass't. Ed.:  Maureen McTigue
    Editor:      Joey Cavalieri
    Cover:       Tom Grummett, Denis Rodier, and Patrick Martin


RATINGS

Average: 2.6/5.0 Shields

DR:  1.5 Shields (Writing) - The entire tale was sub-par, and neither 
        Kesel nor Ordway, could salvage it.
     2.0 Shields (Art) - Grummett gives us excellent layouts, wonderful
        figures, great panel flow, and nice facial expressions. Rodier
        ruins it all.
DJ:  2.9 Shields - Another decent story, but it seemed like filler. 
        Catching Donovan was too easy.
JSy: 2.5 Shields - Luthor shines (in a bad way) for a third consecutive
        week, and Kesel sets up some future headaches for Superboy and
        Cadmus, but Torcher and Gunn still leave me cold. I'd rather 
        Grummett concentrate on _Superboy_ than continue these lackluster
        performances.
MS:  2.9 Shields - Gee, maybe if Superman got a chance to interact with
        his supporting cast he might find out that HE DOESN'T HAVE A JOB!
        Why are we doing this story if Superman can't even be in it?!
SDM: 3.2 Shields - A very strong follow-up to _Save the Planet_. Ordway
        is settling in nicely as a scripter, and it's nice to have an issue
        focus on characterization more than action. If only the Lexcom
        story wasn't postponed; I hate a two-month pause in the plot.
TD:  2.0 Shields - Did we really need all this running around with
        Intergang this issue? Another tale that seems to be treading
        water until the next event kicks in.


In my many years (read: one) of reviewing Superman and related books, I've
always thought myself to be a fair and impartial judge. I have now come
to the decision that I should re-evaluate the way I critique. Why in the
world would I do that, o' faithful reader? Well, I've realized that
I am far too lenient on Superman, and if anyone can take my harshest
criticisms (though I'm not promising I'll make any) it's the Man of Steel. 
What better issue to apply my new way of thinking upon but this one? Let's
see how Superman fares up against the new, improved, deadlier, Dan! (Psst. 
Don't bet on the guy in blue.)

Following the blase closing of the Daily Planet in last week's _Save the
Planet_, the Last Son of Krypton isn't given a moment to rest. In his
alter ego as Clark Kent he has to face the final moments of his job when
the ultimate mantelpiece, the Daily Planet globe, is taken down from atop
the building. Then, changing from sorrow to destruction via a cry for
help, Superman is on the job trying to solve the mystery behind "The
Amazing Exploding Daily Planet Newspaper Machines!"

In the meantime, Mike "Machine" Gunn escapes from a cell within the
holding center of the Metropolis SCU with the assistance of his girlfriend
Torcher. We find that Torcher is behind the incendiary devices causing the
newspaper machines to explode, and is using them to create a distraction
whilst she and Gunn make their getaway. Like all good villains, however,
they're captured just before they make refuge within Dabney Donovan's Lab. 
As an added bonus, the SCU manages to arrest Donovan, but his containment
is merely temporary.

So what's wrong with this issue? Well, for starters, I skipped over a lot
of plot synopsis because the story jumps around too much. Superman appears
on a whole 8 pages, while 14 pages are devoted to things not pertaining
to him. The closing of the Daily Planet was handled poorly; it's as if it
meant nothing to Clark Kent, when the entire concept of his character
is bonded to being 'a reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper'. The
Torcher and Gunn subplot serves only to move Dabney Donovan from the
Superman books to Superboy. Also, the ongoing subplot of Lucy Lane's
pregnancy has absolutely *nothing* to do with Superman, so I really don't
see the purpose of it's inclusion. (At least, I *hope* it has nothing to
do with Superman....)

Simply put, the book is no longer about Superman. The book is about the
people that Superman knows. Their lives have become far more important
than Kal-El's, and that's a major mistake. Whoever is responsible for this
direction should be slapped around with a dead trout. If I wanted a soap
opera I'd watch daytime television or pay more attention to my family. I
-- and I have to believe I'm not the only Superman-fan like this -- want
to see the Man of Steel. 

Then there's the dialogue. "Gosh, Chief--"? Jimmy's not 5, Mr. Ordway. "I
hope you screws are listenin'..." Mike may be from another era, but even
then people then didn't speak in such cliches. The only good dialogue from
Ordway was the two-page scene where Lucy and Ron discuss the pregnancy.
Too bad I don't care about it.

Now, over to art. If you've read any of my previous columns you might have
noticed how I've been gradually warming up to this amazing Grummett/Rodier
combination. No more. Crazy glue Denis Rodier's hands to his head and
break all his ink brushes. His inks are far too heavy and scrawled to work
with Tom Grummett's tight pencils. Everything looks like it was inked with
a thickly nubbed marker. Pull Doug Hazlewood out of limbo, please, and
reteam him with Tom Grummett. I can then smile again.

What a glowing review, huh? Well, I'm sorry, but I'm sick of the current
state of the books. Even when they say they're about Superman, they're
really about someone else. Dominus' tale? About Kismet. Superman Blue/Red?
About Lois Lane coping with not having a husband. The writers are missing
the boat on many a concept, and I'm worried that they don't know how to
swim.

Dan Radice
<dradice@caninet.com>

__________________________________________


SUPER-FAMILY TITLES:
-------------------
SUPERBOY #56                                  Oct 1998   $1.99 US/$2.86 CAN

    "Here There be Monsters"

    Writer:      Karl Kesel
    Penciller:   Tom Grummett
    Inker:       Karl Kesel
    Colorist:    Buzz Setzer
    Letterer:    Comicraft
    Asst. Ed.:   Frank Berrios
    Editor:      Mike McAvennie
    Inspiration: Jack Kirby
    Cover:       Tom Grummett, Karl Kesel, and Patrick Martin


RATINGS

Average: 3.6/5.0 Shields

RG:  4.5 Shields (Story)
     4.0 Shields (Art)
DC:  3.0 Shields - Fun like S-boy should be, though the changes at Cadmus
        may be good or bad.
DWd: 3.5 Shields - Nice to see the art return to the correct standard.
        Interesting turn having the S-Boy an agent of Cadmus.
JO:  3.7 Shields - They really must want to take this title back to it's
        roots. Too bad the kid has to suffer so much for them to do it.
JSy: 3.7 Shields - *What* a busy issue! When Karl and Tom clean house,
        boy do they clean house. This book has once again managed to
        capture my attention; I'm more intrigued by what's developing
        here than in any other title I read. Kudos all around!
SDM: 3.8 Shields - Karl does a great job in putting the final touches on
        his re-invention of Superboy's world. The new characters are quite
        intriguing, and I'm thrilled that Guardian is staying in the cast.
        Rapidly becoming one of my favorite comics.


What do you get when you take the Kirby Cadmus, D.N.Aliens, the Newsboy
Legion, and The Guardian, mixed with the Kesel and Grummett Superboy, and
shake them up? Well you get the new direction of this title, and I think
the fun is only just beginning. If the Wild Men had made an appearance the
book would have been perfect. 

The story continues from last issue as Superboy, Guardian, and Dubbilex
return to Cadmus with Grokk the Living Gargoyle. The homecoming is marred
by the fact the US Government agency that funds Cadmus has decided that
things need to change. One of the things that changes is that Mickey 
'The Mechanic' Cannon (he seems familiar, I'm going to have to do some
research), has been named as the new head of Project Cadmus. 

Mickey has brought with him a new Military Commander, Colonel Adam
Winterbourne, who had been one of Sacker's slaves in the Wild Lands.
(He may be trouble; while he says he requested the assignment at Cadmus,
he doesn't seem happy to be there.) Cannon also demotes all of the old
Newsboys from their directorships and takes full control of the project. 
He offers the head of research to Dr. Thompkins, but isn't too surprised
when he elects to leave Cadmus with all the other Newsboys -- fully-grown
directors and young clones alike -- rather than work under the new
restrictions. 

The remainder of the book revolves around the departure of the old
staff and the arrival and settling in of the new. Life is going to be
interesting. I can't wait to get to know Serling Roquette, the new head
(?) of research. 


It appears my fears were groundless. DC is not turning this book into one
of the many mindless Superhero fight books. The entire book is a blend of
plot and character development. Some of the old dangling plot threads are
wrapped up, while plenty of new ones are started. It appears that Kesel is
serious about taking this book in a totally different direction. To do it,
he needed to make Cadmus more dynamic; if most of the stories are going to
revolve around there, there has to be more going on. A regular diet of
'make a new monster, monster escapes, Superboy catches monster and brings
him back' would get old in a hurry. 

Furthermore, Superboy needs a solid supporting cast. Dubbilex and Guardian
are great, but we also need a cast that will generate interesting plot
lines. I think that the cast is nearly complete. While I was very sorry to
see the Newsboy Legion (both old and young) depart, they will have more
opportunities to generate stories (e.g. find trouble) in Metropolis than
they would stuck in the hidden labs. 

I'm looking forward to watching Guardian play mentor to Superboy. 
Dubbilex is a great character, but he doesn't have much real world
experience (although he seems to be learning fast). Guardian can give
Superboy some real values, roots, and direction to help him mature and
become the hero he wants to be. 

Art-wise, what can I say? With Tom Grummett back as penciller, this book
is back to being my favorite title again. Nobody draws a better Superboy,
and his adaptation of Kirby's style is nearly perfect. It brings back many
good memories (and a few not-so-good) of reading the old Kirby _Jimmy
Olsen_, _New Gods_, _Forever People_, _Kamandi_, etc. 

Overall, this is a most auspicious start. I trust the Karl and Tom have a
lot of new, and interesting stories to tell us, and personally, I can't
wait.

Rene Gobeyn
<bedlam@frontiernet.net>

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

SUPERGIRL #26                                 Oct 1998   $1.99 US/$2.85 CAN

    "The Flying Game"

    Writer:     Peter David
    Pencils:    Leonard Kirk
    Inks:       Robin Riggs
    Letters:    Pat Prentice
    Colors:     Gene D'Angelo
    Seps:       Digital Chameleon
    Asst. Ed.:  Frank Berrios
    Editor:     Mike McAvennie
    Cover:      Leonard Kirk, Robin Riggs, and Patrick Martin


RATINGS

Average: 3.9/5.0 Shields

TD:  3.0 Shields
EM:  4.0 Shields - Why is this consistently the best of the Superman
        family titles? PAD manages to keep things serious and light at
        the same time. The Kents are adorable. Every issue is someone's
        first and PAD manages to give enough information for anyone to
        enjoy the story.
JO:  4.5 Shields - Forget about Wally, PETER DAVID IS GOD!! I love what
        he's doing to this storyline. GIVE ME MORE!
JSy: 4.0 Shields - Another great issue by PAD, while Leonard Kirk and
        Robin Riggs just keep getting better and better. Not so sure
        about this return of the protomatter, though; it just seems a
        bit too _Hellraiser_ to me so far.
ST:  4.2 Shields - PAD's explanation of Comet's origin tied those loose
        ends up nicely, and yet left tons of room for things to keep
        developing. The humor was subtle and far more 'real' than usual,
        which was a nice change. 


It takes guts and confidence in doing two straight issues without combat,
without super-villains, and without slam-bang action, yet here it is; the
third issue with very little in the way of a fight scene for SUPERGIRL,
and it's still pretty compelling reading. Judging from this issue, though,
this stretch of bliss is about to end. 

Ladies and gentlemen, the horror is slouching toward Leesburg.

In Andy Jones' motel room, Andy explains to Supergirl the origins of
Comet. She tells of a young girl named Andy Martinez who had problems
dealing with her lesbianism and behaved in a reckless fashion, ending in a
foolish attempt to climb Mount Everest by herself. The attempt was a
disaster, and the original Comet -- named Andy Jones -- sacrificed his
life to try and save her. The two souls ended up merging into a singular
being, which brings us to where she is now; she took his surname as a way
of remembrance. Thus it seems, cleverly enough, that Comet's first
origin, placed before us a while back, is probably still true.

Sound familiar? Exactly. Linda decides that Comet is one of the other two
Earth Angels -- the one representing love. She offers to help Andy figure
out what being an Earth Angel entails, but spurns the woman's advances. As
Andy agrees to be 'just friends', Linda gets a call from Sylvia, inviting
her to dinner. It seems Wally's talk with Sylvia last issue has caused her
to have a change of heart, resulting in a reconciliation with Fred, a
resolution to go back to AA, and a series of gray streaks in her hair.
Tearfully, Linda claims that good things are happening from now on.

Unfortunately for her, the other major plot thread depicts the creation
and growth of a new lifeform that results when a derelict accidentally
drinks a pinkish fluid. This lifeform seems to have metamorphic
capabilities, devours victims leaving only charred skeletons and smells
really, really bad. I suspect this is the 'Carnivore' to which Wally
made reference last issue, and he/it appears to be a very, very nasty
individual. There also seems to be resonances between it and the
'original' Supergirl in appearance and powers. He/She/It should end up
being a scary new addition to the rogue's gallery -- something Supergirl
really lacks.

I'm unsure how I feel about Fred and Sylvia's reconciliation. Considering
how dysfunctional the family has been portrayed, the resolution seems a bit
too pat. That might be the point, though; there are some hints (especially
in the last panel of page nine) that this is not the first time they've
broken-up and made-up. I wish that John and Martha Kent hadn't just been
dragged into the scene to serve as a punchline. David has demonstrating a
fine handling of the elder Kents up until now; having them treated as a
joke seems hollow.

As for the art, I'm afraid Kirk got a bit lazy and uses facial types that
are far too similar at times. Look at Andy Jones and the victim in the
sequence on page 15 and 16; they are almost indistinguishable from each
other. Furthermore, his layouts are sometimes confusing; a double-page
spread without borders on pages 11-12 sometimes is hard to follow. Having
said that, Kirk still has some striking images; page 16 is well blocked
and is horrifying in the extreme. I'm hoping this is just a stumble on
Kirk's part, but the intimations that things are about to get action-based
may blunt his progress.

There was very little David could have done to top off the plot twist of
last issue. "The Flying Game" keeps things on an even keel, and starts
putting into place some really frightening things to come.

Tom Deja
<tdj723@webtv.net>

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

SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #24                       Oct 1998   $1.99 US/$2.85 CAN

    "Power Corrupts, Super Power Corrupts Absolutely"

    Writer:    Mark Millar
    Penciller: Aluir Amancio
    Inker:     Terry Austin
    Colorist:  Marie Severin
    Letterer:  Lois Buhalis
    Assistant: Frank Berrios
    Editor:    Mike McAvennie
    Cover:     Rick Burchett, Terry Austin, and Marie Severin


RATINGS

Average: 1.9/5.0 Shields

CoS: 2.5 Shields - An average issue with bright spots and flaws that
        cancel each other out. 
JSy: 1.0 Shields - What is with the need to rationalize criminal behavior
        these days? Can't we accept the possibility that some people are
        just evil, power-hungry villains? The *only* thing I liked about
        this one was how the Parasite initially grabbed Superman's powers.
SDM: 2.0 Shields - This was the first time I tried this book, and
        it failed to impress. I feel like it was being written for a
        younger audience to the exclusion of older readers. None of the 
        _Adventures_ books ever seem as good as the animated shows on
        which they're based.
ST:  2.0 Shields - Nothing about Parasite has ever indicated he needs an
        'ulterior motive' for what he does, but if it had to be a crush,
        wouldn't a high-school be more believable than grade-school?
        There were some really good bits here (Superman's attitude, "I
        stole your experience too!") but good bits aren't enough to make
        a good story. Millar's take on things seems simplistic, rather
        than simple.


The story starts with Superman flying to the rescue of a skydiver whose
chute has failed to open. As Superman goes about this routine (for him)
rescue, the skydiver reveals himself to be the Parasite. Draining all of
Superman's power, Parasite uses that power to humiliate Superman, drive
away the onlookers who try and protect him, and fly off. 

While Parasite uses his new-found powers to amass great wealth, Clark Kent
holds up in his apartment, husbanding his strength and feigning the flu. 
As he calls in sick, Lois tells him he should see her New Age Crystal
Healer, whom Perry White is seeing. In an amazing (and story crushing) 
coincidence, Perry White is visiting the crystal healer at the very same
time that The Parasite shows up to take her away; it seems that the two
somehow know each other.

We learn that Parasite once had a romantic interest in the Healer --
Rainsong -- and had been amassing the wealth to impress her so that they
could live happily ever after. Before Rainsong can respond to his offer to
run away into the sunset, A partially-recovered Superman and the SCU
converge on Parasite's horribly un-secret hideout. 

Maggie Sawyer agrees to have the SCU wait outside as back-up in case
Superman can't handle the Parasite in his weakened condition. Superman
bursts in but is easily defeated.  As the Parasite is getting ready to
finish the fight, Rainsong intervenes. She has him absorb her emotions
to learn how she feels; he is stunned to find that she considers him a
loser. It turns out that she hasn't seen him since the Third Grade, and
didn't much like him then either.

In an effort to help, the SCU, fires a missile into the hideout, causing
massive damage, and only a super-powered Parasite prevents a wall from
crushing Superman and Rainsong. He orders Superman to save 'his girl', as
the powers are fading, and the two of them escape just as the building
comes down around them. Parasite is presumed dead, but no body is found. 


Yet again, a Mark Millar story has left me with mixed feelings. I know
that all writers are given one coincidence to get a story rolling, but
there were so many in this story that it seemed like poor construction to
me. Lois *just happening* to be using a crystal-healer, who *just happens*
to be Parasite's old classmate; Perry White being there *just as* Parasite
shows up; everyone finding Parasite's HQ at *just* the right moment --
this string of happenstance caused me more than a little trouble. It's a
shame, too, since I liked the idea of Parasite being a character who
doesn't know how to interact with people, having to resort to living in
his past. It gives him a psychological effect to his power of draining
other people's energies; an emotional as well a psychological vampire, as
it were. 

The Parasite design itself doesn't work well for me in this format. When
Jim Shooter created the character, it was so the Superman od that era
could have a foe with whom he could go toe-to-toe. As with most of
Shooter's villains, he was a one-note character, but that can work well in
a story-driven plot. The Parasite in the animated series doesn't resemble
an "average Joe" (which is one of the aspects of the character I like) and
his costume looks as if it was designed by someone going for the Jack
Kirby Symmetrical look and not quite understanding it. 

Rick Burchett starts off the issue with a great cover that almost leaps
off the newsstand, effortlessly pulling the reader into the issue. The
problem is that it demonstrates how well he was able to use the animated
art style in the static medium of comics -- a task with which current
artist Aluir Amancio is still struggling. Maybe if Amancio was given
stronger material, I wouldn't notice his problems adapting from one medium
to another, but this issue is no help in that department. 

There are several places where Amancio goes for a powerful image but fails
because he ignores the basics. The splash-page is one of these. We are
shown Superman's viewpoint as he flies to the rescue (immediately drawing
the reader into the story), but Superman's hands are splayed oddly which
dilutes the effect. It happens again on Page 13. The image is a strong one
(Superman coming in over the spotlights with flags billowing behind him) 
and the basic design is strong, but Superman's arms are perpendicular to
his body and look unnatural. The way the torso is drawn is so out of
proportion, it draws attention to the distortion, rather than the story
impact the panel should have. Amancio does have the ability to use his art
in service to the story, though; the sequence of Parasite using Superman's
powers (page 7) is a great example of showing us just how dangerous the
situation is. 

Lately, this book has been frustrating. There are good and worthwhile
stories inside the flaws, and the art is getting better, but I can only
recommend the title to completists. I continue in my hope that Millar
tightens his plots, and Amancio keeps improving. 

Cory Strode
<Solitaire.Rose@worldnet.att.net>

__________________________________________


TEAM TITLES:
-----------
JLA #23                                       Oct 1998   $1.99 US/$2.85 CAN

    "Conquerors"

    Writer:      Grant Morrison
    Penciller:   Howard Porter
    Inker:       John Dell
    Letterer:    Kenny Lopez
    Colorist:    Pat Garrahy
    Separations: Heroic Age
    Asst. Ed.:   L.A. Williams
    Editor:      Dan Raspler
    Cover:       Porter and Dell


RATINGS

Average: 3.0/5.0 Shields

AW:  2.5 Shields
DJ:  2.9 Shields - Very confusing and rushed. Morrison seems to have some
        trouble ending good stories.
EM:  3.5 Shields - Daniel Hall is enough of a reason to buy this book.
        Evil space starfish are enough of a reason to buy this book.
        The story depends on one dreamer's belief in the Last Son of
        Krypton, and this 2-parter doesn't disappoint.
MS:  2.4 Shields - Very forced, and not much teamwork at all. Everyone
        cooks up their own plan to beat Starro, and lo and behold,
        everyone's plan works. And where's Steel, darn it?
TD:  3.7 Shields - Arguably the most bizarre 'crossover' since the JLA
        guest shot in _Swamp Thing_. A good ending, though... not too
        shabby at all.


I'm torn, this issue, between congratulating Grant Morrison on writing a
story where the heroes out-think their foe instead of just out-blasting
it, or scolding him for throwing away the many promises made in the first
part of this story and giving great characters mere throwaway parts. 

In the previous issue, Superman, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman were
trapped in the Sandman's realm, "The Dreaming," as they sought to save
Mike Haney, a little boy whose dreams and faith in Superman are the only
obstacles to "IT's" total domination of the Earth. Powerless, they were
about to be overwhelmed by the thousands of enslaved IT-slaves. Back on
Earth, Batman, Aquaman, Zauriel, Flash, and J'onn J'onzz were facing the
physical Conqueror and IT's armies of massive starfish-like creatures. 

Up to this point, I was impressed. Starro the Conqueror seemed like
a truly unstoppable menace. The Dreaming, as always, had unlimited
potential, especially since Green Lantern came armed with his "wishing
ring." Daniel, the Sandman, could also have been a character of unlimited
potential, since it has been DC's policy (up until now) to forbid use of
the character without creator Neil Gaiman's participation. 

In this issue, all this potential fizzled into a combination of broken
promises and irrational characterization. It's not that Morrison didn't
do some things well and put Aquaman to good use in an almost unprecedented
fashion for the JLA, but that I always feel cheated when a story shifts
gears in the middle and becomes what seems to me to be a completely
different story. 

So what happened this issue?

While the Dream Team (sorry!) battles on in the Dreaming, Aquaman
(supported physically by Zauriel and tactically by J'onn J'onzz) confronts
the immense Conqueror, who has planted itself on the floor of an Hudson
Bay. (For the first time in a long time, a League writer has remembered
that Aquaman, as well as J'onn, has telepathic powers.) Aquaman is
overwhelmed by the strength of IT's consciousness, but the confrontation
is interrupted by Orion of the Drool Gods, who irrationally attacks IT
with full Astro-force. Orion and Aquaman are rewarded by being blasted
away. Orion is rendered unconscious while Aquaman escapes unscathed. 

Batman formulates a plan in which J'onn, through Aquaman, launches his own
telepathic assault that subtly plants the idea in IT's mind that the Earth
is hostile, poisonous, and therefore unconquerable. IT's resistance is
lowered when little Mike Haney sees the famous Red "S" and remembers
Superman, restoring the Man of Steel's powers just in time. Revealed and
dispirited, IT quickly shrivels and becomes one of Sandman's trophies
trapped in a goldfish bowl.

As a final, nice, last touch, "little" Mike Haney turns out not to be a
little boy; he's a vagrant and a dreamer, rewarded with many gold coins
from Daniel's coffers.

Perhaps this could be considered an enjoyable story on its own, but when I
look back on JLA #22 I ask, "what happened? Where did the imagination go?"
The Dreaming setting was, frankly, boring. I understand that in the first
half, they were going for the small-town, "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"
look, but when IT reveals itself, *something* visually interesting could
have happened. Then there's the issue of Green Lantern's "wishing ring,"
which Daniel tells him is possibly the most powerful weapon in the
Dreaming. Why, then, was he unable to use anything but physical force when
battling the crowd? And when it comes time for Green Lantern to counter-
attack, he proclaims, "I figured this is just a dream... that means I can
make anything happen." Knowing this, he creates... a bunch of little
spaceships? That's it? Morrison, Porter, and Dell have been much more
imaginative with Green Lantern's powers in the past.  Finally, Daniel's
role in this second part was disappointing. He could easily have been
replaced by the Phantom Stranger or any other of DC's mystery characters.
In fact, 20 years ago they *would* have used the Stranger for this.

I'd go on about how Orion's intrusion was annoying, but what's the use? I
assume Morrison is leading up to something in future issues, but I regret
that current stories are being sacrificed for it, just as "Rock of Ages" 
went two issues longer than it had to so we could get an advance look at
"Justice Legion A."

I consider comics as short stories, not novels or continued soap operas.
Therefore, when I see the literary technique of foreshadowing, such as
Daniel's remarks to Green Lantern, I expect something to happen within
that storyline. Instead, Morrison aims several issues ahead, leaving
each story incomplete within itself and leaving me to hope that my poor,
withering memory will remember the little details when he finally deigns
to tell the story they hinted at.

Visually, as I have said, this issue fell flat. Porter and Dell had ample
opportunities to take off with the art and to provide stunning visual
effects in imaginative realms, but instead they concentrated on showing
how large IT was, which I must admit they did effectively. 

So to the JLA team this issue I say; "Thanks for giving Aquaman a role
that makes sense, and good work on making the struggle a battle of
intelligences instead of mere strength or luck, but try to let yourself
go more, have fun, and remember to tell the present story before you tell
the stories of the future." 

As a final note (and just to show I still have a lot of faith in Morrison
as a writer), I suggest you check out "DC One Million." This could be
Morrison's finest JLA writing so far; the characterizations in issue #1
were wonderful. 

Anatole Wilson
<awilson@us.oracle.com>

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

YOUNG JUSTICE #2                              Oct 1998   $2.50 US/$3.50 CAN

    "Sheik, Rattle and Roll"

    Writer:   Peter David
    Pencils:  Todd Nauck
    Inks:     Larry Stucker
    Colors:   Jason Wright
    Seps:     Digital Chameleon
    Letters:  Ken Lopez
    Weeping:  Eddie Berganza
    Cover:    Todd Nauck, Larry Stucker, and Patrick Martin


RATINGS

Average: 2.8/5.0 Shields

RG:  1.0 Shields (Story)
     3.5 Shields (Art)
DC:  2.5 Shields - Fun and entertaining for now, but it'll get real old
        real fast.
EM:  3.2 Shields - It's funny, but I hope that this doesn't become a
        one-trick pony. Plenty of PAD in-jokes, so buy if you like them,
        avoid if you don't. I happen to like them.
JO:  4.0 Shields - Nice to see a writer who knows how to have fun with his
        characters. This title is silly and I love it that way!
JSy: 2.8 Shields - Not bad, but quite a let down from the first issue.
        The jokes weren't all that good, especially the lame Ben Stein
        references. I'm ready for the serious turn....
ST:  2.6 Shields - Not nearly as many smiles as last issue; _this_ is
        the PAD humour I've grown to know and feel apathy for. Still, he
        knows how to write character interaction, so I'm not bailing yet.
TD:  2.5 Shields - David is STILL sacrificing stories for gags, but
        there are enough goofy gags that work (the 'calling the
        Super-cycle' gag in particular) to make the book readable.


Last issue saw our heroes rocketing into space aboard a futuristic 
"super-cycle". While we never really find out how, Robin somehow manages
to interface with the cycle and convince it (yes it is intelligent) not
to take them out of the atmosphere.

I can live with this, but now the cycle is taking Superboy, Impulse and
Robin on a round the world tour as it searches for something. What, you
might ask? Apparently, the story. In the middle of the desert is an oasis
of ice and snow with the castle of Sheik Ali Ben Styn. Why hasn't this been
mentioned before? According to the tribes who live there it's been there
for just short of 2000 years. In the stone above the palace is a four-
armed giant. This can't be a good thing for our heroes After a short time
of finding out more of the cycles abilities, causing problems in China,
and rescuing a passenger liner in the North Atlantic, our heroes find
themselves in the desert where the trusty Super-Cycle frees the giant from
the stone (was anyone surprised?). 

It appears that 2000 years ago, the Gods of New Genesis imprisoned Rip
Roar (the giant) all because (you guessed it) he had stolen and hidden one
of their super-cycles. Rip had the pure motives of destroying all life on
Earth, and now that the cycle has freed him, he intends to continue where
he left off. There is only one small problem; the cycle wants to stay with
Robin. Oh well, he wasn't going far anyway, not after he is covered in
lava and imprisoned in stone again.

There is a first time for everything, and this is the first time Peter
David has written a story that I absolutely hate! Peter has always been
one of my top five comic writers, but this is a long way from his usual
quality. He doesn't seem to be putting any effort at all into this one at
all. 

The story managed to take the three most interesting young heroes in the
DC Universe and put them together in a way as to make them all appear at
their worst.Impulse was simply annoying, Robin was distracted, Superboy
was infantile, and don't get me started on Rip Roar as a bad guy. If
Peter's name wasn't on the credits I wouldn't have believed he could write
something this lame. Though there were a few nice touches (nuns with a
car-load of high explosives in China?) there weren't enough of them to
save the story.

The only real saving point for the book was the art. While the figures
were a bit too stylistic for my taste, the perspectives and detailing were
excellent. Parts of the book almost looked like Jack Kirby had worked on
it. I'll be looking for Nauck and Stucker's work in the future. 

Two issues isn't enough to make a decision on the overall quality of a
title, but unless the writing improves dramatically, I'll have to drop
this one soon. Not even my ten year-old nephew liked this one, and Impulse
and Robin are his favorite characters.

Next issue has *got* to be better.

Rene Gobeyn
<bedlam@frontiernet.net>

__________________________________________


"GHOSTS" ANNUALS:
----------------
SUPERMAN ANNUAL #10                           Oct 1998   $2.95 US/$4.25 CAN

    "The Death Sentence"

    Writer:     Dan Jurgens
    Layouts:    Paul Ryan
    Finishes:   Chris Ivy
    Letters:    John Costanza
    Colors:     Glenn Whitmore
    Seps:       Digital Chameleon
    Asst. Ed.:  Maureen McTigue
    Warden:     Joey Cavalieri
    Cover:      Bernie Wrightson


RATINGS

Average: 2.4/5.0 Shields

TD:  1.5 Shields
EM:  3.0 Shields - This wasn't bad, but it could have been much better.
        The lack of a reason for these guys just popping up bothered me
        (even though it was explained in the JLA Annual). At least we know
        where Kal-El stands on the death penalty now.
JO:  3.7 Shields - It's nice to see Superman reminded of his failures
        once in a while. Despite being the last son of Krypton, he's only
        human.
JSy: 3.1 Shields - A little too political for my tastes, though it's
        sometimes interesting to see how close to taking a side the
        creators will get. Ryan and Ivy work really well together on
        the interior art, but I didn't care for the Wrightson cover.
MS:  1.6 Shields - Pretty weak storytelling and pretty stiff art. How
        does lightning disperse a ghost? Just one of numerous plot-holes
        in this debacle of an annual.
ST:  1.5 Shields - Too many gaping holes to count. How can he have proof
        he's innocent when he's really guilty? Why do it for the cash but
        then never tell his wife where it is? Why does Clark not use his
        lie-detector super-hearing? Painful inconsistencies and sub-par
        artwork. Ugh.


Oh, dear. You know that review just a short while back, where I claim
most of the rating was due to the art by Jim Starlin? Well, the bulk of
this story's rating (or lack thereof) is due to the absolutely horrid
art of Paul Ryan and Chris Ivy. This stiff, sketchy art job is a true
monstrosity, especially in light of the nature of the story. 

That's not to say the story is any great shakes. I've let my feelings
about 'relevant stories' known, especially those written by former
artists. Relevancy stories are the last refuge of the unimaginative --
an easy way to jerk tears and fool readers into thinking this is 'great
writing.' It is possible to do relevant stories correctly, but it requires
a writer who has both a talent for dialogue and a subtle hand with
characterization so that the views expressed don't become heavy-handed. 

So you can imagine that when Jurgens and relevancy comes together, trouble
happens. 

But first, the story: Clark is asked by a Death Row inmate to look into
his case. The case itself looks clear-cut, with a video tape showing the
convict walking into a 24 hour convenience store, shooting a clerk and
stealing money.  Clark feels that something isn't right, though, and
he starts digging into the case history despite everyone -- and I mean
*everyone* -- telling Clark this guy is guilty.

The thing is, Each JLA member has had ghosts from their respective pasts
show up in this year's annual, and wouldn't you know it, this is the
time that Clark's ghosts show up to bug him. Clark's guests are the
three Phantom Zone criminals from John Byrne's last story arc. They
harass Clark, accusing him of being a murderer, doing _Poltergeist_
impersonations and then whaling on his ass outside of the convict's
apartment. All this serves to hinder Clark until he gets rid of the three
in a real, real offhanded way, never truly confronting his feelings about
this visitation except in the most superficial manner. 

Now I'm not going to tell you what the resolution of the convict
storyline is, except to say that it's not quite what you expected from
this paint-by-freaking-numbers plot. Still, it's not nearly as satisfying
as it could have been. 

The biggest problem with this story is that all the 'relevant parts' fall
flat. Jurgens' flair for dialogue is impaired at best, and the characters
he trots out to help make his views are wincingly bad. Even regular
characters like Lois, whom you think Jurgens should know, gets shorn of
everything but a single dimension in an effort to get her to spout
Jurgens' rhetoric. The most embarrassing characters, however, are the
parents of the murdered boy, who spout lines like "What kind of bleeding-
heart monster are you?" in utter seriousness. These two are so absolutely
without character that their redemption in the end falls flatter than a
Clinton alibi. Jurgens' dialogue for the ghosts is even more bothersome,
as the Kryptonian criminals start flinging around modern-day slang in the
appropriate situations... only it's not really appropriate at all if these
are supposed to be aliens with no grasp of Earth culture.

And I'm sorry, but the Ghosts angle is so tacked on it isn't funny. The
three Kryptonians do all the cliched ghost things -- showing up on TV
screens, disappearing into thin air, and all the other stuff ghosts do in
bad movies -- yet, unlike the other stories in this thematic tie-in where
the heroes face their fears, Supes comes up with a goofy rationalization
for a muscle-based solution. 

The true nail in the coffin is the stiff, inexpressive artwork of Ryan and
Ivy. This is extremely lifeless work, with action scenes without any
dynamism or flow. I liked some of Ryan's earlier work, so I suspect most
of this is Ivy's fault, yet I can't blame an inker for a wax-mask Clark
who looks more like one of those robots used in pre-Crisis stories than
a human being. Some of the facial expressions in crucial scenes are
particularly embarrassing; one silent panel of Clark, supposedly feeling
ashamed by the convict's rhetoric, looks more like Clark is contemplating
what he's having for dinner. 

"The Death Sentence" is bad, bad stuff, ladies and gentlemen. I pray that
Jurgens stays away from relevance in the near future, because this sort of
story is just too painful for me to look at.

Tom Deja
<tdj723@webtv.net>

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

JLA ANNUAL #2                                 Oct 1998   $2.95 US/$4.25 CAN

    "Life Itself"

    Story:       Ty Templeton
    Pencils:     Mark Pajarillo
    Inks:        Walden Wong
    Letters:     Kurt Hathaway
    Colors:      John Kalisz
    Separations: Digital Chameleon
    Assoc. Ed.:  Tony Bedard
    Editor:      Dan Raspler
    Cover:       Bernie Wrightson


RATINGS

Average: 3.0/5.0 Shields

AW:  1.0 Shields
DJ:  4.2 Shields - Great story; ties in all the annuals nicely.
EM:  3.5 Shields - This was a fun annual, even if there were some
        research mistakes. (Despero that killed Steel, not Starro.)
        Seeing Tora was worth the price of admission.
JSy: 3.5 Shields - Mark Pajarillo joins my list of artists who should
        never draw Superman; the Man of Steel does *not* have a receding
        hair line! Ty Templeton's story is quite engaging, and I was
        thrilled to see Ice once again.
MS:  3.0 Shields - Cool story, but why is Batman in the ocean and Aquaman
        in a cave? I mean, how can you mess that up? Fish/Water: Bats/Cave.
ST:  3.1 Shields - A moving and interesting story, marred by inaccuracies
        and inconsistencies. Why the odd pairings and locations? It was
        nice to see Felix Faust again; both main villains were used well.
TD:  2.9 Shields - An okay story, maybe a bit too full of blood and
        thunder. It's surprising that Ty Templeton gives the old 'New JLA'
        of the 80's more personality dead than anyone did alive...


This JLA Annual provides the main storyline that explains the "ghosts" the
DC heroes encountered in their own annuals. While I haven't read any of
the other annuals -- this attempt at mining the past to attract a few
reminiscing viewers just didn't catch my interest -- if they were as bland
as this one, I know I didn't miss anything.

Here's the story: 

To escape the spectre of his own death and subsequent damnation, old-time
JLA foe Felix Faust resurrects an ancient wizard, Hermes Trismegistus, so
the wizard can reveal the location of an ancient emerald tablet that will
give Faust eternal life. Problem is, Trismegistus was tired of life and
committed suicide, so he doesn't take kindly to being brought back. To
prevent this happening ever again, he decides to destroy the universe
(he's never heard of "Do Not Disturb" signs?). A terrified Faust pleads
with the JLA to locate the three parts of the tablet before Trismegistus
can use them to bring an end to everything.

While retrieving the pieces, the JLA members encounter the ghosts of Vibe,
Ice, and Commander Steel. I suppose there are those who miss Ice (Guy
Gardner is, of course, one of them), but Vibe and Steel were killed during
low-points in the old Justice League series and are easily forgotten. In
fact, the death of Vibe was actually the high point of his career; it
signaled the end of the Justice League of Amateurs, and the end of the
series until it was revived with a completely new membership, better art,
and a sense of humor. Hank Heywood, who had his own brief comic series
_Steel the Indestructible Man_ and a spot with the All-Star Squadron
fighting Nazis in Roy Thomas' version of World War II, never made much
of a mark either. He was killed as the occasional ritual sacrifice that
happens to B-level heroes from time to time so we can know that the
villain at hand is serious. (Zauriel should take note and be very, very
careful.)

I must admit that I was sad when Ice died, because her character added a
naive sweetness to the JLA, because she was somebody who actually found
something nice in Guy Gardner's personality, and because the Global
Guardians have held a soft place in my heart since their first appearance
in _Superfriends_ ushered in Zan and Jayna, the Wonder Twins.

Be that as it may, the JLA retrieves the pieces and assembles the tablet,
but it turns out that Trismegistus is hiding inside Faust's body, and now
that the tablet is together, blasts the JLA and is ready to destroy
everything. Ice, the spokesperson for the ghosts (presumably because she
died most recently and is most likely to be remembered by the readers),
interferes, as does Vibe. For some bizarre reason, Trismegistus calls back
all the heroic spirits who had been released, and they promptly turn on
him. Ice enters the tablet, destroying it, and Trismegistus is trapped
forever in Faust's mind. The spirits are all returned to the land of the
dead (or wherever), and Faust, poetically, is now as afraid of living as
he is of dying. 

I might have enjoyed this story more if more time had been spent with the
ghosts and less time on fetching the tablets and the mundane storyline. I
can only hope that more was done in the other annuals than was done here,
or a lot of money was wasted this summer.

Visually, this issue was also disappointing, from the dull Wrightson cover
(who I know can do much better) to the stilted inside art. Pajarillo has
some nice individual panels, but apparently the amount of dialogue
prevented him from taking advantage of the graphic opportunities offered
by the revivification of some readers' favorite heroes of the past. 
Particularly frustrating was the few, small panels devoted to other ghosts
when a couple of full-page spreads would have been very exciting. I did,
however, enjoy Pajarillo's rendition of Superman; it had a sort of crude
yet strong, Golden Age feel to it. 

The "Ghosts" series, I think, was meant to allow readers to reminisce
about long-gone and much-missed heroes of the past, and perhaps to give
the assorted writers a chance to explore their characters' pasts.
Unfortunately, neither goal was fulfilled here. No ghost was allowed
enough room to engage in a full conversation with the living, avoiding the
creative possibilities, and I can't imagine that many readers would have
bought this issue to see the ghosts of heroes killed in the various JLA
series. Let's face it: a hero is usually marked for death when the writers
and editors judge that the hero has enough support that some people will
be saddened when the character is gone, but overall the hero won't be
missed. At that point, he or she is killed by a villain who needs a career
boost. It was nice to see that Blue Devil, Amazing Man, and Crimson Fox
have not been completely forgotten after they were offered up as fodder to
boost the Mist's career. 

I rarely buy Annuals anymore. They used to be special events, stories that
needed the extra pages, or collections of shorter stories that allowed new
writers and artists a chance to tell a special story. Now they tend to be
centered around a single concept, and rise or fall on the strength of that
concept. Most often they fall, and this annual is no exception. 

Anatole Wilson
<awilson@us.oracle.com>

__________________________________________


MINISERIES:
----------
SUPERMAN FOR ALL SEASONS #2                   Oct 1998   $4.95 US/$6.95 CAN

    "Book Two: Summer"

    Words:    Jeph Loeb
    Pictures: Tim Sale
    Color:    Bjarne Hansen
    Letters:  Richard Starkings
    Cover:    Tim Sale and Bjarne Hansen


RATINGS

Average: 4.3/5.0 Shields

DWk: 4.6 Shields
EJ:  3.5 Shields - Weak art, but a good story. I loved the woman at the
        end who turned him into her god, complete with shrine.
JO:  4.5 Shields - This is an excellent series on all fronts. If you
        aren't reading this one, you're missing out on a lot.
JSy: 4.8 Shields - Wow. I just can't express how good this book is.
        Anyone who loves Superman should absolutely adore this series.
        I really, really, *really* want this collected in hardcover!
SDM: 4.2 Shields - Brilliant art and an excellent script with excellent
        character play make this a must-buy, again. Only the rather
        simple plot keeps this from being a perfect comic book. If only
        every Superman book were as full of color, life, and soul.
ST:  4.5 Shields - Sale uses more one- and two-page panels in this issue
        than last, and to poorer effect, but the overall effect is still
        beautiful. A comic worthy of the bookshelf format; I do not mind
        paying $7 for this.        
TD:  4.0 Shields - Absolutely brilliant continuation, with a Clark who
        *feels* inexperienced and cocky and capable of making mistakes.
        Sale has created a look and a feel that is distinct and wondrous.


The second installment of the best Superman story in ages traces, as its
title suggests, the first summer Superman was active in Metropolis. It is
narrated by Lois Lane, fascinated by this caped marvel, questioning her
reportorial instincts, and ultimately affirming them. It starts with
Superman zooming out into the summer air to stop a missile with his bare
hands (in a classic Joe Shuster pose) and retrieving the submarine that
fired it, then returning the sub to the man who manufactured the missile: 
a young, redheaded and very irritable Lex Luthor. There's a terrorist on
board the ship, who threatens Lois Lane; Superman dispatches the threat,
and Lois takes care of the threatener.

Afterwards, Lois wonders about Superman's secret life -- where he goes
when he's not saving the world. These musings take place over a scene
showing his alter doing nothing more spectacular than going back to his
bachelor apartment with his groceries. Clark returns to Smallville to
visit his parents, and confides to his mother that the little town he grew
up in doesn't quite feel like home any more. 

On the last day of summer, a fire breaks out at a chemical lab in
Metropolis. LexCorp's battle-suited "Guardians of the City" attempt to
fight it, but Superman finds and rescues a woman they'd missed,
extinguishing the fire as Lois looks on, reporting. The woman Superman
saved calls him 'her angel'. Luthor pays her a visit to enlist her help
with something and discovers that she has set up her apartment as a shrine
to Superman.

Loeb and Sale are at the top of their game here, telling the story less
through the conventional action sequences than through little details.  In
the opening scene, every pose is foreshortened for maximum mightiness, and
everything Superman does is big; his fingers making dents in the front of
the missile is a powerful image, and holding the sub one-handed even more
so. Even in the scene with the Guardians of the City, Loeb and Sale do
their work through body language. On page 41, we see a Guardian giving
Superman the back-off-we're-working sign, and then Superman going about
his business having flicked the Guardian away. Neither is quite a
confrontational action pose, but you can just tell that neither of them
have any time for each other.

Likewise, Luthor comes off as a creep here in subtle ways, muttering "A
walk-up, in this day and age," interrupting his doe-eyed secretary with a
curt "Yes, yes, give it to me." This is not the dialogue of a super-
villain; it's the dialogue of a person who's decided that if you have
enough money there's no need to be nice, or pleasant, or 'good'. His cry
of "I am talking to you!" as Superman brushes him off and flies away is
perfectly in character and very, very funny. The suggestion that he makes
$150 a second (and therefore shouldn't waste his time picking up a $100
bill off the ground) is very similar to something that appeared in the
Usenet newsgroup rec.humor.funny a while ago about Bill Gates, but the
point is a good one. 

Even the terrorist who holds a gun on Lois is sharply written: he's
not just a random bad guy, he's convinced that Superman is tipping the
balance of power too far in the "imperialist" direction -- which may be a
legitimate argument if you're not on the side of The American Way. The
only problem I have with the writing this issue is that the Guardians
don't add much to the plot besides an excuse to show more people in
costumes. This series is about people's perceptions of Superman early on,
so it doesn't actually need very many action sequences. 

This issue is really Sale's show, and it's full of visual delights.  His
Metropolis is beautifully futuristic-looking (dig those midair
pedestrian-walks, which look like something out of _Judge Dredd_ or
_Legion of Super-Heroes_ yet don't seem excessively out of place) and he's
got everyone's body language down. Contrast the midair cockiness of
Superman as he flies Lois back to the Planet to Clark, just a few pages
later, juggling his grocery bag and looking like a total nebbish. And
it's a beautiful detail that Clark, at dinner with his parents, is bending
his legs to fit them under the table and to give his dog a place to rest
her head. 

Sale has gotten some flack on the Cybernet for how "stylized" and "out of
proportion" his characters are, but for me, that's a lot of the charm of
_Superman For All Seasons_. The point of this issue is that for Lois --
whose job is being the eyes of the public, and turning what the city sees
into words -- Superman is so much bigger than life that he has changed
everything. He is an icon in the minds of the people of Metropolis (in
Miss Vaughn's case, even literally an icon), so he looks like an icon
on-panel compared to everyone else. When he's Clark, he's an icon trying
to look like a normal person; compare his very simply-rendered features to
the wrinkled, detailed faces of his parents.

Once again, Bjarne Hansen gets in some marvelous coloring effects,
capturing the full sweep of the summer throughout the book, working toward
autumnal colors near the end. He's probably also responsible for the
execution of a brilliant device on page 22 as Superman, getting the gun
away from the terrorist in a fraction of a second, turns into a rough
red-blue-yellow blur of paint, zooming forward and back at a sharp
angle (though Sale gets credit for having it blow Luthor's hat off his
head).

One other note: The scene in the Smallville general store -- which is now
ridiculously small-town, low-scale, and a little embarrassing to the more
citified Clark -- seems to be a tribute to Lester Girls' home town
Dullsville in Will Jacobs and Gerard Jones' brilliant, almost-forgotten
series _The Trouble With Girls_; Pete's line "Welcome back to Dullsville,
Clark" underscores that. Sale's big, bespectacled Clark even looks a
little like Tim Hamilton's eternal innocent Girls. If you want a laugh,
search this series out in your comic store's quarter bins.

Douglas Wolk
<dbcloud@panix.com>

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

SUPERMAN: THE DARK SIDE #1                    Oct 1998   $4.95 US/$6.95 CAN

    Words & Story: John Francis Moore
    Pictures:      Kieron Dwyer
    Inks:          Hilary Barta
    Letters:       Steve Dutro
    Colors:        Trish Mulvihill
    Separator:     Jamison
    Cover:         Kieron Dwyer, Hilary Barta, and Trish Mulvihill
    Logo:          Todd Klein


RATINGS

Average: 4.0/5.0 Shields

RG:  4.0 Shields (Story) - A different view of Superman, nicely done.
     5.0 Shields (Art) - Nicely detailed, excellent perspectives. You
        could buy this book just for the art and not be disappointed.
DJ:  4.7 Shields - While much of the art is muddled, the design of Kal's
        armor is worth the price of the book alone. The story is very
        well done and I look forward to the next book.
JO:  4.5 Shields - A scary concept that was well-written and well-drawn.
        Can't wait for the next one.
JSy: 4.3 Shields - Another excellent Elseworlds tale from the creators
        of _Elseworlds' Finest_. Seems awfully unbelievable that Kal-El
        could turn against Darkseid's programming as quickly as he seemed
        to in this issue, though.
ST:  3.2 Shields - Why does Kal lose his powers when arriving on earth?
        If this Kal becomes a hero without *good* reason, I'll be quite
        disappointed; Nurture is working against him, and unlike Scott
        Free, he doesn't have Nature to explain any inherent goodness.
TD:  3.0 Shields - It has its promising moments, although I wonder if it
        could be condensed a bit; it seems sprawling.


I've been getting tired of what I call Elseworld Plot Device #2 -- have
Superman found by someone else. (#1 involves Batman.) I thought that the
plot had been milked for all it was worth already. I'm happy to see that
I was wrong.

Yes, the basic plot is there -- Superman lands on Apokolips instead of
Earth and is raised by Darkseid -- but like most stories, it is the
details that make things interesting. To be honest, I had expected Kal-el
to be thrown to Granny Goodness, raised with Scott Free, and... well, it
doesn't make any difference what I expected, that isn't the way things
are. Kal is raised in secret by Darkseid himself. Instead of becoming
Scott's friend, he makes his debut into Apokolips society by killing
Kalibak. In fact, Kal is responsible for causing Scott to flee Apokolips.
This gives Darkseid an excuse to destroy New Genesis, which he does by
having Kal deliver an Omega Force weapon to the heart of that planet,
opening the way for Darkseid to conquer the universe. In doing so,
however, Kal is sent to Earth by Highfather. This is about all the story
we get in this book. Not a bad start, but there is so much more here.

The story opens with the destruction of Krypton, not very original. What
set this retelling apart from the others that I have seen was the art.
Wonderful detailed art that for the first time made me think of Krypton as
an alien world. Jor-el and Lara looked like something out of _Tron_. I
can't remember seeing Dwyer's work before, but I'll defiantly be watching
for it in the future.

As the ship nears Earth, it is pulled through a boom tube to Apokolips. 
Again this wouldn't have done much for me except for the breathtaking art. 
Armagetto looks alien, mean and hopeless, and Darkseid and Metron don't
look like dressed up humans. Humanoid, yes; human, no. What a wonderful
difference art makes. I've been re-reading some of Kirby's original Fourth
World work in "Jimmy Olsen" and "The New People". It's hard to put the
differences into words, but Kirby's Darkseid didn't look menacing. Dwyer's
does. 

The story spends most of it's time on Apokolips, mostly following
Scott Free, until Kal comes back into the picture as a grown man. It's
interesting to note that Scott has a real personality; Kal doesn't at this
time. He truly seems to be an extension of Darkseid's will. When he meets
Highfather and is taken to the Source Wall for a prophecy then sent to
Earth to find his destiny he is more lost and confused than anything. This
is not a side of Superman we often get to see; I'm looking forward to it.

One minor complaint about the way the Elseworld Plot Device #2 always
works; why is Lois always the first girl Kal meets? There *have* been
other women in his life. Just once I'd like to see the potential love
interest be Lana or even Lori. <sigh>

Not much more I can say at this time, but I'm looking forward to the next
book to see how Kal does now that he's on Earth. If it's as well done as
this book is we're in for a treat. I hope that this wonderful start isn't
destroyed by a cliche' book two. 

Rene Gobeyn
<bedlam@frontiernet.net>

__________________________________________


             AFTER-BYRNE: Reviews of the post-Crisis Man of Steel
         ------------------------------------------------------------


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

               Reviews of After-Byrne Superman Special Stories

                      by Denes House (househld@borg.com)
                    
     --------------------------------------------------------------------

                              SUPERMAN ANNUAL #6
                           "The Feral Man of Steel"

                          Written by Darren Vincenzo
                       Art by Frank Fosco and Stan Woch
                          Colored by Darren Vincenzo
                            Cover by Mike Mignola
                                     1994
                    Squarebound Format, $2.95 US/$4.00 CAN

                                    Rating:
                               3.7/5.0 Shields

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

"In Elseworlds, heroes are taken from their usual settings and put into
strange times and places - some that have existed, or might have existed,
and others that can't, couldn't or shouldn't exist..."

Elseworlds is all about shedding new light on a familiar character by
telling stories set in an unfamiliar world. It is a way of asking "what
if..." outside the bounds of a character's regular continuity. Before the
watershed _Crisis on Infinite Earths_, these types of tales were ironically
called "imaginary stories." For those who love creative storytelling as
much as I, the Elseworlds concept has been a rich source of entertainment
and fascination. There have been Elseworlds duds, but they have been far
fewer and less concentrated than in other formats.

Annuals are all about telling larger stories than could be told in a
character's regular title, stories of greater import, stories of deeper
significance. At least, that's how the theory goes. In practice, DC's
Annuals have often been segments of larger, overarching stories - "events"
- that have seriously lacked in depth and artistic merit.

What happens when these two concepts collide? "Elseworlds Annuals." A
concept to put chills of both horror and delight down the spines of
comics-loving people everywhere.

Would the Elseworlds overwhelm the Annual, or would the Annual drag down
the Elseworlds? In the case of the book in our sights this month - a little
of both.

"The Feral Man of Steel" transplants the orphan of Krypton into the middle
of a "Jungle Book"-like scenario: What if Superman were raised by wolves in
India, rather than by Jonathan and Martha Kent? The idea is indeed a
strange one, and simply typing that out brought a chuckle to my lips, but
the execution is far stronger than the concept may suggest.

The story opens with the titanic struggle between K'l'l of the wolves and
Khan the tiger, as told by "Sir Richard" to a breathless interviewer.
Amazingly, K'l'l is able not only to hold his own against the mammoth
tiger, but even to prevail in the struggle! The story flashes back to the
birth of this fabulous person, as a "shining egg," an "air boat" falls to
earth in the midst of the jungle. Found by M'r'r the she-wolf, the egg
contained a "man-cub," whom she adopted, over the protests of the hungry
and angry Khan. The wolves name the child K'l'l, or "white skin" in their
language. With the guidance of his wolf parents and Jahd Bahlja, the
panther, K'l'l grew and learned the ways of the jungle. But Khan always
watched, angry at having been thwarted, and attacked the young boy,
scarring him for life. Saved by the intervention of Jahd Bahlja, K'l'l grew
in strength and invulnerability to injury. He also grew intellectually,
introducing the concept of narrative into the wolf language. As he grew to
manhood, K'l'l learned an important lesson -- "beware...of the jungle's
deadliest hunter...MAN."

Concealed by the foliage, K'l'l and Bahlja observed the camp of "Sir
Richard" and Sir John Ellis' jungle expedition. Some of their hunting party
practiced their aim by shooting at nearby animals, including a wolf cub.
Suddenly, the cub's mother, M'r'r, attacked the man who killed her cub,
killing him. In retaliation, one of Sir Richard's men shot the she-wolf.
Her death-howls reached the distant ears of her mightiest cub, K'l'l
himself! The now-grown man of the Jungle tore into the party, stopped not
by the bullets that bounced off his skin but by the plea of Sir Richard
himself. Collecting the dead bodies of the slain wolves, K'l'l flew into
the jungle...and into the realm of public fascination.

While K'l'l mourned the death of his mother, Jahd Bahlja brought him news
-- Kahn was challenging for leadership of the wolf-pack! Angered, K'l'l
confronted the massive tiger for the last time -- which is where this tale
began. After a titanic battle, K'l'l emerged victorious. He decided to wear
Kahn's skin as a token of his victory, and to set off on a quest to avenge
his mother's death. At that time, Jahd chose to tell K'l'l of his origins
-- and showed him the "egg" from which he was born. Within, K'l'l finds a
pentagonal "hieroglyph" that he adds to his garb as "a symbol of the
man-pack that bore me and sent me here."

Meanwhile, in Bombay, Sir Richard and Sir John go about mounting a return
expedition to find the "Jungle Man." But theirs is only one of many, and
they eventually meet up with one led by adventurer Lois Lane, and another
led by the wealthy Lex Luthor. The three expeditions join forces -- Lois
searching for the adventure of it, Sir Richard for the knowledge, and
Luthor for sinister purposes known only to himself! Their search is very
shortly successful, as they encounter an attack led by the Wolf King!

Romance with Lois, a plot to take over the world's largest empire, and a
dramatic fight to the finish make up the second half of the book -- and I'm
sure that you can guess the participants in each of those plotlines.

Again in this column I express my ignorance as to the prior work these
artists have done. Darren Vincenzo turns in a solid tale, with some
well-imagined answers to the "what if..." question he poses. His characters
are consistent, his pacing strong, and his conclusion suitably intriguing.
Where he lacks somewhat is in the originality of some of his details.
Reading the story, my reaction was often not, "this is an interesting new
take on this element of the Superman mythos," but rather "I think I saw
this take used in _Superman: Kal_."

Probably the strongest example of this lack of originality is in Vincenzo's
use of Kryptonite. I suppose it's inevitable that Elseworlds tales make use
of Kryptonite -- it is a significant component of the Superman mythos, and
it is Superman's greatest weakness. Each Elseworlds tale creates its own
universe of possibilities, and thus many writers use Kryptonite as a
significant plot point. But a little Kryptonite goes a long way, and
constantly seeing it trotted out as a threat in Superman Elseworlds tales
is somewhat tiring.

But perhaps that's just a nit I'm picking, because for the most part this
is an interesting story, and an enjoyable read. I struggled a bit in
accepting that while bullets could not pierce his skin and he was strong
enough to wrestle elephants, K'l'l was scratched badly in his final battle
with Khan and actually had any sort of challenge in the fight at all.
Still, I tend to suspend disbelief fairly willingly when it comes to
entertainment.

The art is a mixed bag, as well. Fosco and Woch's simple, linear style is
at the same time refreshing and tiring. When compared to the frenetic
scrabblings of most of today's hottest artists, it is refreshingly simple
and straightforward. When endured for 54 pages, however, it gets a bit
dull. I was ecstatic to see that Darren Vincenzo actually colored this
story in addition to writing it. It makes the package a bit more complete,
and shows how important this book was to Vincenzo. His coloring is about
average, however, and neither helps nor hinders the book.

One treat about these Elseworlds Annuals are the stunning covers by Mike
Mignola. I shudder to think of how outstanding this book could have been if
Mike had handled the interior artwork as well, for he captures perfectly
the "feel" and appeal of the story within with just one image on the
outside. Mignola is one of the finest artists working today, and it is a
delight to see the bold, striking covers he crafted for this series.

Capsule review:

A decent outing, with some interesting story bits and simplistic artwork.
Intriguing premise that would have enjoyed better ratings if the art had
been stronger and the story details a bit tighter.

Story: An odd premise worked out with intelligence and care. Some more
juice in the creativity department and this would have had top marks. 3.8
Shields out of 5.

Art: Simple and often effective, but the dull linework and blocky
characters get repetitive and dull after a while. A full point extra for
the Mignola cover pulls this rating way up. 3.5 Shields out of 5.

Overall: Worth a read, and if you like Mignola's covers, worth picking up.
Doesn't quite reach the potential Elseworlds stories can hit, but doesn't
seriously disappoint, either. 3.7 Shields out of 5.

Next Month: Invaders from Krypton?

__________________________________________


           THE PHANTOM ZONE: Reviews of the pre-Crisis Man of Steel
      ------------------------------------------------------------------


                             TALES OF EARTH-ONE
                   --------------------------------------
                   by Bob Hughes  (rhughes3@ix.netcom.com)
           (or see my web page, "Who's Whose in The DC Universe" at
                    pw2.netcom.com/~rhughes3/whoswho.htm)


Episode #6
Revenge is a Dish Best Served Over and Over

As the Sixties rolled on and Mort Weisinger's "Superman Legend" began
rolling into high gear, he honed a story-telling technique that depended on
accumulating as much moss as possible. Each new character or concept that
was added to the Superman had to be at least mentioned somehow, somewhere
in each new adventure. Perhaps the easiest way to do this and still have
room for a plot was to make the actual villains as faceless as possible.
And there was hardly any group as faceless as the Superman Revenge Squad.

Born in January 1962's _Superboy_ #94, "The Superboy Revenge Squad" had
apparently already run afoul of the Boy of Steel in some untold tale. They
inhabit the planet Wexr II, a world composed entirely of space pirates
whose ambitions for conquest were previously frustrated by the Smallville
Marvel. As depicted by Al Plastino, the Wexrites are fat, bald and
blue-skinned with pointy ears. Their shirts have triangular symbols with
two parallel lines super-imposed. None of their names are mentioned, which
is probably okay since they never leave their space ship during the entire
story.

This is because the Squad are not the main characters in this tale. That
role belongs to Superboy's Pal, Pete Ross, an earlier Robert Bernstein
creation who was sort of a "reverse Jimmy Olsen". Where Olsen's antics
almost always got Superman into trouble, Pete's prime function was to get
Superboy out of it. As is recounted in a flashback that would be repeated
endlessly throughout the era, Pete had accidentally discovered Clark's
secret identity while on a camping trip and vowed never to tell Clark that
he knew, but instead use that secret knowledge in any way possible to help
his friend.

Thus when their camaraderie is interrupted by a flashing light in Clark's
living room, Pete knows it's time to make an excuse to leave, so that
Superboy can receive an urgent message from the war department. Somehow in
this pre-radar era, the war department's scientists have detected an alien
space ship approaching Earth and wisely turned the matter over to Superboy
to handle alone. After all, what are they going to do about it? They
haven't even got jet planes yet!

Superboy investigates the ship with his x-ray vision, telescopic vision and
super-hearing (either that or he's lip reading, since even super-hearing
shouldn't work in outer space) and discovers the invaders from Wexr II. He
recognizes them and recalls the past battle in which he destroyed all their
ammunition dumps and arsenals with his x-ray vision, which was 1000 times
as strong on Wexr as it is on Earth.

He discovers that the Wexrites have been searching for him ever since to
claim revenge but they don't know from which world he comes. They are using
a machine that detects super brainwaves so that they can find him wherever
he's hiding. After they find his home world they plan to destroy it in
revenge.

What a dilemma! Superboy can't leave Earth and distract them because, by
sheer coincidence, a deadly band of Kryptonite is currently encircling the
planet. Yet if he stays, the Revenge Squad will surely detect his super
thoughts. So Superboy turns off all his robots and super-hypnotizes himself
into forgetting for 24 hours that he has super-powers! Ergo, no super
thoughts for the Wexrites to detect!

The plan works perfectly -- except for one thing. Clark doesn't know that
Pete knows he's Superboy, and Pete doesn't know why Clark can't seem to
remember. Luckily, Pete is prepared. He has a Superboy costume and mask
stashed in his school bag in case he ever needs to use them to help Clark
protect his duel identity from that nosy Lana Lang. So when he and Clark
witness frogmen (frogmen!?!) breaking out of the local prison, Pete ducks
down an alley and switches to Superboy. Unknown to Pete, Clark catches him
at it! Now Clark thinks he knows Superboy's secret identity, but won't tell
Pete. And Pete has a Superboy costume but no powers. The only way he can
catch the criminals is by tricking Clark into using powers he doesn't
remember he has and without telling Clark he knows he's Superboy. The
things one has to do for one's friends!

Pete skillfully tricks Clark into protecting him from the hail of the jail
breakers' bullets by having Clark walk in front of him, telling Clark that
he's melting the bullets with his heat vision so that Clark isn't in any
danger. Later, he has Clark squeeze coal into diamonds by hiding it inside
snowballs. When the 24 hours are up, Clark's memory comes back, and Pete,
relieved, can go back to being a normal high school student, albeit one
with a big secret to carry.

The Revenge Squad failed on that mission. However, they returned 2 months
(and 20 years) later to confront Superman in _Action_ #286's "Jury of
Super-Enemies". Robert Bernstein and Curt Swan threw in Luthor, Brainiac,
the Legion of Super-Villains and somebody named Electro for good measure.
At least those are the people who sit on Superman's jury on Swan's
spectacular cover. Manacled with Kryptonite, Superman stands in a glass
booth thinking, "My X-ray vision reveals they've found me guilty and
they're about to sentence me to the most horrible doom in the universe!"

The story opens on Wexr II where we meet the leader of the Revenge Squad,
Rava. At a meeting of the high council, three new Red Kryptonite meteors
are delivered and tested on a captured Krypto. Two of the three meteors
prove to be useless, but the third induces titanic nightmares in the poor
dog. Cleverly waiting for a time when Supergirl has decided to take the
bottle city of Kandor on a tour of the universe(?!), Rava and his henchmen
unleash their dastardly plan by sneaking red K powder into Clark Kent's
ketchup. (In 20 years they've gone from not knowing what planet Superboy
lives on, to knowing Superman's secret identity, so they've made *some*
progress.)

Soon, while Superman and Jimmy sleep at the Fortress of Solitude, the
dreams begin. Superman finds himself five generations in the future, where
descendants of Pete Ross and Lana Lang attack him with an atomic ray that
can turn rubber into Green Kryptonite as revenge for the way he mistreated
their ancestors. Superman's twisting and turning wakens Jimmy, who is able
to rouse Superman with some Super sound equipment they had previously been
tinkering with.

Next Superman falls asleep during a meeting of the Jimmy Olsen Fan Club (no
argument there) and dreams he's in the far future where Luthor, Brainiac
and the Legion of Super-Villains capture him and put him on trial for
foiling all their schemes. The most horrible doom in the universe mentioned
on the cover? The dastardly villains sentence Superman to battle Supergirl
to the death. But Superman wakes up again, just in time for the "continued
next issue" box.

(A great back-up story in this issue has Supergirl meet Lex Luthor for the
very first time!)

Part 2 is entitled "Perry White's Manhunt for Superman". The cover features
Perry, cigar clamped firmly in his mouth, sporting a sheriff's badge and
being led by Krypto as part of a posse hunting down a powerless Superman.
This time Superman falls asleep while flying over Metropolis! He dreams he
is captured by the Super-Hypnotist who hypnotizes him into breaking down
the State Pen and letting all the prisoners go. Then he robs Fort Knox.
Lastly, the Super-Hypnotist takes away all of Superman's powers and
abandons him to take the consequences of his misdeeds, being hunted down by
his former friends from the Daily Planet.

Having driven Superman to distraction with nightmare after nightmare, the
Revenge Squad finally launches their real attack, secure in the knowledge
that Superman will be convinced it's just another dream. As alien robots
land on Earth and begin blasting the ground with deadly acid, Superman
stands placidly by, determined not to be panicked by yet another nightmare
-- only this time it's real. Fortunately, at the last minute Superman
realizes that this dream is not following the pattern of the previous ones,
and he leaps into action. Foiled, Rava and the Revenge Squad fly back into
space, and Superman never finds out who his attackers were.

Somehow, eight months later, Bernstein and Swan seemed to forget what the
Revenge Squaders were supposed to look like, because in _Action_ #295 the
blue Wexrites are nowhere to be seen. All of the new Revenge Squaders are
Caucasian, wearing orange Curt Swan-style futuristic suits with yellow
skull caps and wide belts. Their emblems vaguely resemble tuning forks. The
leaders get to wear blue capes with varying insignia.

Vagu and Dixo, two members of the Squad, have come up with a telepathic
signal gun which, because it is attuned to Superman's brain waves, can take
over his mind, and when they turn it on "Superman Goes Wild!" Once they
turn it off, he forgets what happened. Superman trashes the UN and then
escalates by destroying Perry White's office and even Atlantis (Lori's, not
Aquaman's -- at least we don't see Aquaman). Each bout of destruction is
followed by a period of contrition in which Superman tries to explain his
behavior to his increasingly skeptical friends. This time the Revenge Squad
members can't help but gloat and let Superman in on what they're doing to
him, just before they force him to smash his robots, the Eiffel Tower, the
Sphinx and other major landmarks. Then they turn the machine off and
Superman surrenders to Earth authorities and Perry White carts him away in
chains. Only the strong friendships and trust that Superman has built up
over the years save him this time.

In August 1963, Ed Hamilton took over the Revenge Squad story line and
introduced two more personality-less plot movers in _Superman_ #163's
"Wonder Man, The New Hero of Metropolis". Curt Swan once again handles the
art. Attal of Vrunn reveals that he, not Rava, was the originator of the
Superboy Revenge Squad. This guy didn't wear any of the previous Revenge
Squad uniforms, but then again, he was in disguise. The latest plan is to
transplant a Superman robot brain into an android body. He tells the
resulting Wonder Man that he is now a human and has no need to obey any
master. Attal gives the former robot a Green Kryptonite meteor to use
against Superman should he try to interfere in his new life.

That new life turns out to be Superman's old one, as Wonder Man moves to
Metropolis, eclipses Superman's feats, declares his love for Lois and then
tries to take over the Fortress of Solitude! But in the end the former
robot and his master band together to stop the Revengers once and for all.
Together, Superman and Wonder Man hurl the Revenge Squad's ship deep into
space, where it spirals out of control.

The Superboy Revenge Squad returned in _Superboy_ #118 (Jan 1965) in "The
War Between Krypto and Superboy" by Otto Binder and George Papp. These
Revengers have different uniforms yet again, with the yellow skull caps
replaced by yellow crested helmets (a la Adam Strange) and big oval chest
symbols showing two small "S's" with a large "R" in the center. Rava is
seen in this story to be a blond-headed Caucasian! Perhaps the original
blue-skinned Wexrites were wearing disguises(?). Rava is again falling back
on his standard plan, a Red Kryptonite attack. This specimen will cause
hatred between Superboy and Krypto. Their battle ends with Superboy
imprisoning Krypto in a cage made of pure Green Kryptonite!

Of course the squad was back again a couple of months later, and continued
to lay into Superman and Superboy with one hare-brained scheme after
another throughout the Sixties. Once Julius Schwartz took over the Superman
titles, they seemed to disappear, but eventually Cary Bates brought them
back for one last knock-down as Superman invaded their home planet. This
adventure took place in _Superman_ #365-68 in 1981 and so is well outside
of my Silver Age territory.

The Revenge Squad, I don't think, ever made anybody's list of top ten
Superman villains, precisely because of their lack of any real identity.
They wore different outfits almost every time they appeared. They had
different leaders. Or, more accurately, the same leader-types showed up
with different names. There never seemed to be anything personal in their
battles with Superman. Their creator, Robert Bernstein, used them solely as
a method of launching new Red Kryptonite meteors at Superman or Superboy.
His successors continued to focus on the gimmick rather than giving the
Squad any form of memorable characterization. Yet, given their limitations,
the Revenge Squad often featured in interesting and memorable stories. They
gave Superman something to do without shifting the focus away from the hero
and his friends. And since friendship was what the Sixties Superman was all
about, they worked out quite well.

__________________________________________


                               WORLD OF KRYPTON
               ------------------------------------------------
                         July, August, September 1979
               Reviewed by Scott Devarney (devarney@ll.mit.edu)


Credits:

Issue #1:  "The Jor-El Story"
Writer:    Paul Kupperberg
Artists:   Howard Chaykin & Murphy Anderson
Colorist:  Adrienne Roy
Letterer:  Ben Oda
Editor:    E. Nelson Bridwell

Issue #2:  "This Planet Is Doomed"
Writer:    Paul Kupperberg
Artists:   Howard Chaykin & Murphy Anderson
Colorist:  Jerry Serpe
Letterer:  Shelley Leferman
Editor:    E. Nelson Bridwell

Issue #3:  "The Last Days of Krypton"
Writer:    Paul Kupperberg
Artists:   Howard Chaykin & Frank Chiaramonte
Colorist:  Jerry Serpe
Letterer:  Ben Oda
Editor:    E. Nelson Bridwell

Overall Rating:  4.5 Shields


When Jenette Kahn became publisher of DC in the mid-to-late 70's, she
introduced a number of different formats: the short-lived "DC Explosion"
which increased the page count of the regular books and used those extra
pages for a variety of features; "Dollar Comics", double-sized books which
cost $1, as opposed to the 40 cents for regular books; and the mini-series,
a title which would tell a specific story within a set number of issues.
The very first mini-series that DC published was _World of Krypton_, which
told the history of Superman's father, Jor-El, from his childhood to
Krypton's last day.

Each issue begins with Superman, in his Fortress of Solitude, viewing his
father's diary; the rest of each issue is told as a series of diary entries
narrated by Jor-El. Superman informs the readers that he found the diary on
the moon and speculates that it was pulled into the space warp formed by
the experimental rocket which brought him to Earth.

The first issue describes Jor-El's school years, his first job at the
Kryptonopolis space center, his first encounter with and instant
infatuation of cadet Lara Lor-Van, his discovery of anti-gravity, the
disastrous first test of his anti-gravity rocket drive and subsequent
rescue of Lara. It also tells of Jor-El's and Lara's attempt to get
permission to wed from Matricomp, a computer which makes pronouncements on
who may or may not marry, and the discovery of flaws in Matricomp's
programming which nearly destroyed their union. The issue ends with the
wedding of Jor-El and Lara.

The second issue covers the time that Superman was trapped in Krypton's
past and posed as Jor-El's assistant. It focuses on Jor-El's discovery of
Krypton's doom, his initial efforts to organize a rescue of the planet, and
Brainiac's abduction of Kandor which ruined that early rescue work. It also
describes Jor-El's discovery of the Phantom Zone which enabled him to win
election to the Science Council, Kal-El's bi