• February 2026
    S M T W T F S
    1234567
    891011121314
    15161718192021
    22232425262728

  • On Facebook

    On Facebook

  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Comic Blog Elite

    Comic Blogs - BlogCatalog Blog Directory

The ’90s Revisited: Action Comics #761

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Walt

actioncomics761For a Thousand Years…

Writer: Joe Kelly
Penciler: German Garcia
Inker: Joe Rubinstein
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Seps: Wildstorm
Letterer: John Costanza
Associate Editor: Maureen McTigue
Editor: Edddie Berganza
Published by: DC Comics
Cover Price: $1.99
Cover Date: January, 2000

This is one of those fairly “one-off” issues, the sort I tend to quite enjoy, despite being one who thoroughly enjoys a rich “continuity.” While cover-dated as January 2000, this came out in 1999, and is one of the later issues of the ’90s run on the Superman titles that has really and truly stuck with me through the years.\

While there’s stuff with ongoing plot details, the heart of this issue is about Wonder Woman recruiting Superman to assist an ongoing battle of the gods. Unfortunately, the two find themselves stuck–they cannot return home until the war is over…and they learn that war can last for a very, very, very long time.

I quite like the cover of this issue…at least compared to the main interior art. The art isn’t bad, mind you–but it’s a bit less detailed and more cartooney than I remembered. Beyond that, I’m neither put off nor enamored by the art–it does what it should conveying visuals of the story, it just doesn’t blow me away in and of itself.

The story is what really makes this issue stand out in my memory, such that I had but to see the cover to know this was the issue the story was in, and recall the overall plot. This is the Superman I grew up on, and hold to be “my” Superman: the one who is great friends with Wonder Woman, but extremely sure of himself and his relationship with Lois. That what he had with Lois was essential to who he was, and not something casually set aside for some woman who also happened to be “more than mortal” or some such.

I like the epic-ness of the issue, though it’s a bit far-fetched in a lotta ways, especially in this “era” of Superman. At the same time, it fits–as there had already been hints–if only in Kamandi: At Earth’s End and the DC One Million stuff–that suggest Superman would go on to have an extremely long lifespan. I honestly don’t recall how much “fallout” there was from this issue–but there was some, I’m almost certain.

Despite plenty of attention given to the supporting cast, this issue is a fairly good stand-alone issue, if plucked by itself from a bargain bin. For me, it’s one of the stand-out issues of the 1990s-era Superman run, of all the ongoing titles, simply FOR its dealing with the Superman/Wonder Woman/Lois “triangle” and (to me) strongly affirming where the characters stand with each other.

Filed under: The '90s Revisited | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

The ’90s Revisited – Superman: Man of Tomorrow #9

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Walt

History Lesson

Writer: Roger Stern
Artists: Paul Ryan & Brett Breeding
Letterer: John Costanza
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Separations: Digital Chameleon
Editing: Mike McAvennie and Joey Cavalieri
Published by: DC Comics
Cover Price: $1.95
Cover Date: Fall 1997

I grabbed this issue out of a 25-cent bin last week. What grabbed me was the cover itself. This is from right in the middle of the whole “Electro-Supes” era from 1997 to 1998 when Superman was transformed into an energy-being with electrical powers and a new costume. The cover is billed as “The Secrets of Superman’s Costume!” and shows a bunch of the different costumes Superman’s had in the current continuity.

I couldn’t remember what the secret(s) of the electric costume were, and liked the cluster of variant costumes, and for only $.25 decided to buy this to re-read (having bought a copy originally the week it came out, at full cover price–but that copy’s buried away in one of my longboxes with the rest of my Superman comics from this era). Re-reading it didn’t bring quite the experience I was looking for, but certainly was worth my 25-cents.

We open on Jonathan Kent falling asleep to some news about Superman, and dreaming an amalgamation of current events and stuff from the 1986 Man of Steel mini-series. He remembers the incident that brought Clark into the public eye as Superman, but replacing the development of the “classic costume” with the energy containment “electric costume.” When Martha wakes him, the two remenisce over the various events their son’s been through, essentially hitting on key points in the then-current continuity of Superman, as measured by the costume variants he’d been depicted in. By the end of the issue, Clark drops in, and we see the current costume in action.

Overall, I really like the art in this issue. I’ve generally enjoyed Breeding‘s art, and while an occasional panel here and there might have an element that seems a bit “off,” it’s hard to know if that should be pinned on the pencils, inking, coloring, or what, within the process. The overall visuals of the issue are a real treat–it’s quite enjoyable seeing all these different costumes Superman’s had, even if most of them lasted for only a few weeks or a single story and weren’t necessarily an “official” costume change the way the electric suit was.

Story-wise, I’m really not all that impressed. This is definitely a throw-away issue in terms of ongoing continuity–it’s relatively “timeless” and seems to have nothing to do with anything immediately before nor does it lead into something else. It’s a one-shot, and fairly contrived: Jonathan dreaming and then he and Martha having a conversation with these sorts of details recapping all these events just doesn’t seem at all realistic.

Despite that, this issue deals very much with long-term continuity by touching on all these events, Stern showing an obvious knowledge of the events, having been part of a lot of them (particularly the Death/Return of Superman). In contemporary terms, this would be a great 0-issue or Point-One issue.

And while this does not continue a particular story from the previous week nor lead into the next week–that makes it a nice stand-alone one-shot. I remember this era so have vague recollection for context, and it’s nice to take a peek back without getting sucked into wanting to immediately re-read anything else from this time.

Filed under: The '90s Revisited | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Superman (vol. 2) #75 [Back-Issue Review]

Posted on November 18, 2008 by Walt

Doomsday!

Words & Pictures: Dan Jurgens
Finished Art: Brett Breeding
Colors: Glenn Whitmore
Letters: John Costanza
Assistant Editor: Jennifer Frank
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover: Jurgens & Breeding
Triangle #: 1993/2

This is it: this is THE comic that most affected me in my youth as a young, new comic reader. The issue that promised “The Death of Superman.”

Opening with Superman locked in a savage combative embrace with Doomsday, the issue moves us quickly through the final blows of the fight, while allowing Superman a last moment with Lois as he explains that he must match Doomsday down to seeking the death of his opponent–something Superman once swore never to do. We move into a “silent” scene as narration takes an outside-of-things tone, describing the nature of the final blows of the battle, of the feelings experienced by those near and far, related and unrelated, all watching as Superman and Doomsday both fall.

The art throughout this entire issue is superb–it is eye-catching, character-defining, and allows us a much more personal view to the desperate nature of the battle. Images from this issue have often been used either directly or as inspiration for moments seen for years in flashbacks to Superman’s battle with Doomsday; other images from the issue have been reprinted on trading cards, used in ads by various comic retailers and mail-order companies of the time; and on the whole, these images have all been extremely memorable to me, personally, having been an impressional eleven-year-old at the time these saw print.

The story is at once minimal yet phenomenal. It’s easy to lay the kind words for the issue at writer/artist Jurgens’ feet, but the praise is due the entire team, as well as those of the other Superman books that brought the story to this issue. The ending of the issue–the “voiceover narration”–is particularly touching and powerful…and memorable. The issue closes with a final moment between Superman and Lois…and then Superman is dead.

It’s hard to find words to do this issue justice, particularly on the “meta-textual” level. This single issue–and the entire story arc–can be pointed to as sparking a number of things known in comics through the 1990s through the present. It’s also the single issue I have read more than any other comic I own, in all its formats. For whatever its objective weaknesses/problems, I cannot fully separate myself from this comic.

From cover to cover, every part pertaining to the story itself proves memorable and meaningful, as this issue has gone down as one of my absolute favorite single comic books of my lifetime…and provided one has dared to actually read it, this might be one of the most widely-read single comics out there, carrying much impact regardless of continuity and context from previous chapters.

My favorite cover, my favorite moments, and my favorite issue of the story…the issue is greater than the sum of its parts in the eyes of this now-a-late-20-something adult.

Story: 7/10
Art: 8.5/10
Whole: 9.5/10

Filed under: Back-Issue Reviews, Doomsday: The Death of Superman | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Superman (vol. 2) #74 [Back-Issue Review]

Posted on November 14, 2008 by Walt

Countdown to Doomsday!

Story & Art: Dan Jurgens
Finished Art: Brett Breeding
Colors: Glenn Whitmore
Letters: John Costanza
Assistant Editor: Jennifer Frank
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover: Dan Jurgens & Brett Breeding
Triangle #: 1992/46

We open with Ice and Maxima determining the fate of the Blue Beetle–one argues medical need, the other a warrior’s death. While Ice prepares to face the beast that’s taken the Justice League apart, we cut to a boy arriving home from school–he is not a fan of Superman, nor of living with his mother. As they argue, Ice is thrown through their window as Doomsday approaches. When Superman and Booster Gold arrive, the creature officially gets his name. As the battle is joined, the combined might of Superman, Booster Gold, Bloodwynd, Guy Gardner, and Fire is unleashed upon the creature. When it’s over, not only is the creature still standing–it is no longer restricted, the League’s attack having destroyed its bindings. Seeing the destruction caused, Superman refuses to allow the creature escape–though this might come at high cost to the Man of Steel.

Aside from the debte between Ice and Maxima, and a couple pages of setup/establishing-the-scene with Mitch and his mother, this issue is all fight-scene. Not much on story, though there are some almost cheesey lines from Mitch to provide context–divorced parents, angry at passive mother, prefers dad, thinks Superman’s a wimp and Guy Gardner’s cool, etc. Not too much on the writing front–I have no complaint, really, as–three issues in–Superman and Doomsday finally come face-to-face, exchanging their first punches in this classic battle.

Jurgens’ art is top-notch; the images in these pages have–through consistent re-reading as well as nostalgia–become some of the best-known to me, and are what I often hold as a standard for other comic book art. Probably the only weakness I see visually is the cover, which has never much appealed to me.

Taken as a whole, this was a solid issue, keeping the story moving and upping the ante as Superman realizes the Justice League can’t help him finish this.

Story: 7/10
Art: 8/10
Whole: 7.5/10

Filed under: Back-Issue Reviews, Doomsday: The Death of Superman | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

« Previous Page