Adventures of Superman 425

The conclusion of the Emil Hamilton two-parter. Interesting that Hamilton here is a kind of tragic, nigh-villainous character. I know he's at some point redeemed, and eventually he's in various on-screen adaptations. He's become a pretty significant part of the lore since 1987, but his beginning here really paints him as a pathetic figure, whose only purpose is to come to a kind of ironic, tragic ending -- like one of those one-off side characters that you see in a Will Eisner Spirit comic.

One reason I wanted to do a re-read of this era was because I am kind of fascinated at how the creators who worked on Superman post-Crisis came to create some of the characters and concepts that have since become Superman staples. Cat Grant and Emil Hamilton, who both debuted in the previous issue from Wolfman/Ordway, have each proved to have a lot of staying power. Which is kind of cool. Even though I'm not finding myself hugely entertained by most of what I've read so far, it is cool to see how these creators were generating so much raw material with which to enrich Superman's world. Creators who have come later -- particularly in other media -- have had the luxury of being able to take this abundance of *stuff* and refine it, picking and choosing what works and what doesn't, and using it all as building blocks to create more streamlined takes on Superman's story. And I love a lot of that stuff -- Timm/Dini Superman; The WB's Smallville; the recent "Superman and Lois" live-action series; the anime-style "My Adventures" cartoon; even the Cain/Hatcher show had its moments.

A lot of those iterations make this early post-Crisis stuff seem crude in comparison, but I recognize it is an unfair comparison. These creators were trying to build a lot of stuff up from scratch, and on pretty tight deadlines, month after month. They were crawling so later re-imaginings could fly.

All that said ...

This was not an entertaining funnybook. Hamilton narrates the whole thing, and his ranting is pretty relentlessly bland and one-note. Superman fights some guys in a sci-fi tank, which I suppose could be cool, if the tank was designed by Jack Kirby. But it wasn't, so.

Pretty boring.

And the art is ... I mean, it's not good. I feel like Ordway is a well-respected name when it comes to funnybook artists. But this issue looks awful.

So far, the Superman reboot is less than impressive, yo.

Trying to keep track of what I'm reading, so I'll keep a list ...

1. Man of Steel 1
2. MoS 2
3. MoS 3
4. MoS 4
5. MoS 5
6. MoS 6
7. Superman 1
8. Action Comics 584
9. Superman 2
10. Adventures of Superman 424
11. Adventures of Superman 425

2. MoS 2
3. MoS 3
4. MoS 4
5. MoS 5
6. MoS 6
7. Superman 1
8. Action Comics 584
9. Superman 2
10. Adventures of Superman 424
11. Adventures of Superman 425
12. Action Comics 585

Action Comics 585

Now that Ordway has taught me not to take Byrne's visuals for granted, I can see that this is a fun one to look at. Superman fights a big monster, while the Phantom Stranger does some magic stuff. Fun to look at.

Oh and before Supes fights the monster, he has a few pages battling a magical babe named Barb Kowaleski. Talk about some GRANDEUR in these villain names, am I right?

But yeah, she's a babe in a bikini. That's what my incel self is here for, baby! Love it.

So Superman defeats her, and then explains how he defeated her. And then of course if you actually read the dialogue when he fights the monster, it's all exposition. Superman thinks to himself what he's doing, and talks to the Stranger about what they're doing, blah blah blah.

It turns out everything was the result of a magic stone. I'm all for magic-jewel macguffins. I've used that trope in about twenty things I've written.

It's facile, but it's superhero comics so I'm cool with it. I'd be a hypocrite not to be.

The dialogue is still boring. I had to start skimming some of the ponderous Phantom Stranger stuff.

I still wish Byrne could have swallowed his pride and just let Wolfman write his dialogue. Byrne still could have done co-plotting, like he did with Claremont. But let someone else write the words, Byrne, for god's sake! LISTEN TO ME, JOHN BYRNE OF 1987, I AM SPEAKING TO YOU!!!

Anyway. I guess that's my review of that one.

Doot, have you ever done full on Byrne FF run?

No, sir.

I sensed it. I can always suss out a fake fan.

My character is Artimus Blake, Fake Fan Hunter

Superman 3

Part 17 of "Legends."

We're only 12 issues into the reboot, and suddenly it's Part SEVENTEEN of a crossover! Yikes. I seem to recall Linda saying she was not a fan of this.

In fairness, it doesn't read like Part 17 of something. It feels relatively self-contained. There's a sense of being dropped "in media res" but Byrne has done that in previous Superman issues, so it doesn't feel too jarring.

More to the point, this is Byrne's (first?) chance to play with Jack Kirby's Fourth World. He seems to be enjoying it. And thankfully I have now read all the Kirby Fourth World stuff, so this all makes sense to me.

Anyway, Superman is kidnapped by Darkseid to Apokolips. We're not told why. He escapes Darkseid's presence and starts bumming around Armagetto with the Hunger Dogs and what-not ... and then he fights a Glommer. The Glommer drags Superman into a fiery pit, while Darkseid watches and laughs.

Villains always laugh when bad things happen to heroes, you ever notice that? They're always like, "Say, the hero just got stabbed -- and that is a pretty good joke. I appreciate not just the ironic observational humor of it, but also the punning wordplay."

Normally I wouldn't be so quick to pounce on such a well-worn cliche as "Villain laughs maniacally" ... but Byrne is such an arrogant, superior asshole that there's something extra annoying about when he resorts to these basic-bitch superhero-writer cliches. Why not just have Darkseid give a smug, silent smile at the sight of Superman's seeming death?

Naaahhh, full-out belly laugh. So much more subtle. As subtle as a porn video!

Still, this is actually one of the most enjoyable issues of the run so far, I thought. Byrne seems to relish getting to draw a Fourth-World adventure, and the visuals are pretty great.

I dug this one.

When you said you liked his Alpha Flight and Fantastic Four, and I replied, "Yeah, I like Alpha Flight," I think in retrospect I can see what gave me away.

It was a subtle tell ... I almost missed it myself.

1. Man of Steel 1
2. MoS 2 ***
3. MoS 3
4. MoS 4
5. MoS 5 ***
6. MoS 6
7. Superman 1 ***
8. Action Comics 584
9. Superman 2 ***
10. Adventures of Superman 424
11. Adventures of Superman 425
12. Action Comics 585
13. Superman 3 ***

*** will be my code for "issue I actually liked."

Edit: I guess so far I have liked every issue of the "Superman" comic itself, even though MoS was mostly not very good to me, and "Adventures" and "Action" have both failed to impress.

But Superman 1, 2, AND 3 all got the stars.

Totes cray!

Don't minimize my work. This is the culmination of 19 years of work. It was like a Tyler Durden, Sixth Sense flashback. I went into a full on Artimus Blake trance and had the answer

But yeah, the Alpha Flight remark. Primarily.

It was the cherry on the Artimus Blake sundae.

P.S. I don't know who Artimus Blake is. Wait, is that Reed Richards' dad?

No, I made up a character name for myself on the spot.

It's something I'm good at. My character is Krakatoa Carson, Character Creator.

So ... Artemis Blake was Reed's dad, and then Krakatoa Carson was his mom?

It sounds like a typical Byrne retcon, I admit.

Artimus Blake sounds inspired. Krakatoa Carson, maybe not so much. Unless the character is a maniacal explosives expert. Or a really gonzo vulcanologist.

I still think Aragunt Wypearse was my masterpiece.

1. Man of Steel 1
2. MoS 2 ***
3. MoS 3
4. MoS 4
5. MoS 5 ***
6. MoS 6
7. Superman 1 ***
8. Action Comics 584
9. Superman 2 ***
10. Adventures of Superman 424
11. Adventures of Superman 425
12. Action Comics 585
13. Superman 3 ***
14. Adventures of Superman 426

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN 426
A babe called Amazing Grace seduces Superman and takes over his mind. He inspires the Hunger Dogs in Apokolips to rise up and revolt ... but in fact, Grace works for Darkseid. The whole thing was just a means of getting the Hunger Dogs all out in one place, out in the open, so Darkseid's parademons could swoop in and murdelize them. Whoah!

Wolfman/Ordway joint which means me no like the artwork.

After having read the entirety of Jack Kirby's Fourth World (in Sacred Miller Order ... well, mostly), I'm kind of enjoying this return to that milieu. I at least recognize all the references.

And the final twist, with Superman actually in Darkseid's thrall, was well executed. It was clear that Amazing Grace was manipulating Superman, but not that Grace was actually on Darkside's seid all along. All. Along!!!!

Also there's an implication that Amazing Grace is mind-controlling Superman into servicing her ... SEXually. And that's pretty hott. Turns out Wolfman first opened the doors for Fourth World porn, and Byrne was merely acting in the office of a copycat.

I NEVER KNEW THIS

I don't know if I'd give this one the stars, though. Some hott mind-control in the style of Claremont and a good twist on the final page ... That's not enough for this to be a thumbs-up, I don't think. Especially cause I really don't like the art.

I'm interested in how Linda feels about this thread, because I recall that she likes Ordway, I think? Or am I mixing him up with Dan Jurgens (the two of them seem similar to me)

ACTION COMICS 586
The conclusion of the Darkseid three-parter, albeit not the "Legends" crossover as a whole, I suppose. But, close enough.

Superman fights Orion and Lightray. Granny Goodness is there, too. Kirby Fourth World stuff abounds!

All in all, it was a fun, action-packed conclusion. Byrne's dialogue sounds less weird when he's got the lofty New Gods speaking it. Gods are allowed to be ponderous, I guess.

Byrne's visual storytelling is on point, as always. The actual drawing seemed a little weak to me, but that could be the inker's fault.

I'll admit, I would have expected a lot more from this three-parter, given Byrne's love of Kirby and the Fourth World. I'd have expected Byrne to really go all out here ... but it's a fairly conservative story, really. Maybe limitations were imposed by the "Legends" main event -- about which I know nothing, nor am I at all curious.

But for what it is -- a Byrne-illustrated shallow dip into the Fourth World milieu -- it worked for me.

Once again, I am thankful that I read the Fourth World stuff before attempting reading post-Crisis Superman. Without that context, this would have all been pretty meaningless.


1. Man of Steel 1
2. MoS 2 ***
3. MoS 3
4. MoS 4
5. MoS 5 ***
6. MoS 6
7. Superman 1 ***
8. Action Comics 584
9. Superman 2 ***
10. Adventures of Superman 424
11. Adventures of Superman 425
12. Action Comics 585
13. Superman 3 ***
14. Adventures of Superman 426
15. Action 586 ***

Linda discusses her opinion of Ordway in this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=82910

Embarrassingly for Doot, the other Fun Boys also seem to hold him in high regard, one of them talking about how much less he has 'dated' than 'Byrne' #awks

I thought she liked the Jurgens. 'Cause he's so sex-ay.