Comic Update #7

Thursday I continued on my DC kick as I read Superman #8. This starts the storyline that eventually ruins the Legion of Superheroes franchise. You see, in the Post-Crisis DC they decided that Superboy can't be involved with the Legion anymore because Superman was never Superboy in this continuity. So this storyline is their way of closing that chapter on the Legion's history. Superman is hiding out with his parents after the events of the previous issue when he checks out a disturbance. He comes across several Legion members and accidentally attacks them, his heat vision is acting up, and a brief battle follows. Brainiac settles things down and they explain how they met Superboy and why they are here. The issue ends with Superboy confronting everyone. This was a decent issue. I don't like what this storyline does to the Legion as a franchise but the actual story isn't bad. It was kind of funny that it took them 4 pages to recap what was originally an 8 or 10 page story. This one is going to continue into Action Comics and I think an issue of Legion of Super-Heroes. I will make sure to read any issues that this ties in with.

Sunday I started off with Adventures of Superman #431. This one featured a villain called Dr. Stratos. He believed he was a god and had created a machine that could control the weather. Most of the issue is Superman saving cities from extreme weather until he finds Stratos. The issue ends with Stratos being hit by a beam and falling into the sea. At the end of the issue he's become a god and vows to come back. Unfortunately for Stratos, he never makes another appearance in a DC comic. Erik Larsen filled in for Jerry Ordway on art duties this time and the result was not so good. I've never been a big fan of Larsen's art but this seemed bad for even him. I didn't care for this issue much to begin with. Watching Superman battle the weather isn't my idea of a fun comic book. This was obvious filler so they would be able to get the Gangwar arc completed on time. You're always going to get some bad issues here and there so it's no big deal.

Next I read Action Comics #591. This continued the Legion story from Superman #8. This issue really explains the whole pocket universe concept and how Superboy was a part of the Legion. It's a really convoluted idea that they came up with here. I honestly think the fix was worse than the problem they had. Superman and Superboy fight until Krypto alerts the Kents to Superboy's stash of Kryptonite. It has no effect on Superman but Superboy gives up. Superman points out that Superboy wanted to lose the entire time and Superboy admits to it. They release the Legion and prepare to combat the Time Trapper. The Legion sends Superman back to his time to end the issue and this story will continue into the Legion comic. Like I said, kind of a convoluted story but this was a decent farewell to the Pre-Crisis Superboy. These are the kind of issues that you hate trying to explain to non-comic readers. The plots are just so ridiculous and convoluted that you know you just sound like an idiot for trying to make sense of it. Kind of a disappointing slate of Superman books for this month compared to the awesome output from last month. The Legion stuff was okay but not great and the Stratos stuff was pretty bad. The next set of issues are better, I do know that much. We'll get Big Barda in Action Comics, the Gangwar story starts and the Joker shows up in Superman.

In the afternoon I read Justice League #4. This issue features Booster Gold vs. the Royal Flush gang. Booster gets the win and impresses the League. An android Ace attacks and is designed to defeat every member of the League. Booster Gold saves the day and earns a spot on the team for his performance. Maxwell Lord continues to be a thorn in the side of the League as he announces that he's their media liasion as the issue comes to a close. I thought this was a really good issue. They do an excellent job of introducing Booster Gold to an audience that maybe hadn't read his series yet. You know what the character is all about and his motivations from this single issue. They also immediately start to establish his friendship with Blue Beetle which is cool to see. I honestly love this book so far. It's an interesting team and the dynamic of the characters makes you want to read more issues. I've always had a love/hate relationship with the Justice League. I love the concept and love the 2000s cartoon but the execution in the comics has always lacked something to me more often than not. This version of the League is really hitting a sweet spot for me. People rave about the Giffen/DeMatteis League and I 100% see what they were talking about.

Suicide Squad #4 was the next thing I read. This featured a racist vigilante called William Hell. The Squad came in to discredit Hell in their typical fashion. Not a bad issue here. It seemed a little less than the suicide missions that they established the group with but not every mission will be a big one. Captain Boomerang acting like an ass has been a constant highlight of this book so far. I'm really enjoying this series as well but I do think the last two issues were a little down from the quality of the first 2 issues. That's not to say either issue was bad though. They were above average comic books, just not great comic books. I like seeing original concepts like this playing out. I wish Marvel and DC would take more risks like this from time to time.

Before I end this post, I wanted to talk about some of the things I'm hoping to get to as the year progresses. I want to continue reading DC in the manner that I currently am. There will be some additions of titles as I progress through time. I also want to dig into the Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams run on Batman in the Bronze Age at some point in the near future. I have read some of those issues but I've never gone in depth with that series. I also want to read Marvel's Invaders series from the 1970s by Roy Thomas. I hear great things about that and it's on my list. I would also like to get into some Legion of Super-Heroes, more Defenders and Avengers West Coast as the year progresses. Hopefully I can knock a few things off of my list but only time will tell.

2014 Comic Count: 27