Mild Mannered Reviews - "Superman Adventures" Comics

Superman Adventures #7

Superman Adventures #7

Cover date: May 1997

"All Creatures Great and Small" - Part One

Writer: Scott McCloud
Penciller: Rick Burchett
Inker: Terry Austin

Cover: Rick Burchett and Terry Austin

Reviewed by: James Lantz



Feeling Jax-Ur and Mala are now subject to Earth's laws, Superman has freed them from the Phantom Zone and, with the aid of Professor Emil Hamilton's Molecular Scaling Generator, has had them reduced in size. The pair of tiny Kryptonian villains are being held in a glass case inside a cell that prevents their bodies from absorbing solar energy from Earth's yellow sun. Jax-Ur trades insults with Metropolis Special Crimes Unit Police Inspector Dan Turpin, but the would-be conqueror eventually stops. He and Mala must wait for the right moment to get their revenge on Kal-El and his allies.

Several weeks have passed since Jax-Ur and Mala's incarceration. An explosion occurs at the Metropolis Federal Reserve. An armored car belonging to Intergang speeds through the streets with Superman in pursuit. The vehicle's weapons are fired at the Man of Steel. He smashes the automobile only to find that the driver and passenger are missing. A policeman tells Superman where the thieves had parked. He notices an opened manhole cover and scans under the pavement with his X-ray vision. He burrows underground to grab the Intergang agents. As he delivers them to Stryker's Island, he learns that Intergang has broken out its top officers. They didn't count on Dan Turpin putting up a fight. However, there is another shocking event. Jax-Ur and Mala have escaped, and they've been exposed to yellow sunlight.

In spite of their size, Jax-Ur and Mala have used their powers to beat Turpin and Superman. The pair of murderous Kryptonians then use the Molecular Scaling Generator to shrink the Man of Steel. To add insult to injury, Turpin falls on Superman. The next morning, Superman has gone to the Daily Planet to ask Lois Lane for assistance. She is to meet him and Professor Hamilton at her apartment at 7:30 PM. Hamilton brings the Molecular Scaling Generator to reverse its effects on the Last Son of Krypton. Unfortunately, Jax-Ur and Mala attack the scientist before he can activate the machine. There is a heated battle between the two Kryptonian criminals, Lois and Superman. Much of Lois' property is damaged, including the roof. There is a rumbling as the piece of the home is lifted up by Jax-Ur. He used the Molecular Scaling Generator on himself. However, this time, the renegade general is gigantic. Superman will have his work cut out for him if he is to stop his foe.

4Story - 4: The first panel of page seven contains a plot hole. Superman uses his X-ray vision to scan the sewers. Don't the pipes down there contain lead, or am I missing something? It would make more sense if he had heard their footsteps with his superhuman hearing. Aside from that, I was pleasantly surprised by this issue's story. In the wrong hands a story like this could be hokey, but I'm happy to say that it wasn't that way at all. It was a fantastic comic book. McCloud's characterization is once again right on the mark, especially Jax-Ur. I actually heard Ron Perlman's voice in my mind as I read his dialogue.

5Art - 5: The art, as always, is stupendous. The reader is always given the feeling that they're watching Superman: The Animated Series when Burchett and Austin do the visuals, and that's simply magical.

4Cover Art - 4: The background looks a little too much like CGI for my taste, but it's an otherwise stupendous cover. Kudos to Rick Burchett and Terry Austin for doing it.


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