TONY’S TIPS #172

Newspaper comic strip creators fascinate me. They always have, even though the first one I met was a jerk. That fascination grew when, a few years back, I started writing for or other assisting several of them. My admiration for what they accomplish, day in and day out every day of the year, has only grown since then.

Robb Armstrong’s Jump Start, which is about a married couple with kids, is one of my favorite strips. Joe Cobb is a police officer. Marcy Cobb is a nurse. The supporting cast is as likeable as they are. Which wouldn’t mean beans if Armstrong’s writing and drawing weren’t as excellent as they are.

Fearless: A Cartoonist’s Guide to Life [Reader’s Digest; $24.99} is a three-in-one book by Armstrong. It’s a third drawing lessons and a third autobiography and a third life lessons.

The drawing lessons are challenging but not complicated on account of Armstrong knows his craft and is able to explain it in a manner even us non-artist types grasp. Each drawing lesson is followed by a portion of his life story. At the end of each chapter, we get a life lesson combining what we have learned from the drawing lesson with what Armstrong learned (or didn’t learn) at each stage of his life. I was amazed at how well it all ties together.

Armstrong is a person of faith, but his Christianity is truer than most in its acceptance of the world around him. His older brother converted to Islam and Armstrong couldn’t be more complimentary in praising his sibling’s commitment to that faith and how it has made him a better and stronger man. God doesn’t divide us; that’s a job for foolish human beings.

The book also includes a section on art supplies and a gallery of some of Armstrong’s favorite Jump Start strips. Oh, dear, I think I will now have to buy as many traditional Jump Start collections as I can find. I do love this strip.

“Inspirational” is an adjective that gets tossed around a lot, but Fearless deserves to wear it proudly. In the middle of my own very busy schedule, reading this book recharged my energy. Which is why it’s my pick of the week.

ISBN 978-1-62145-287-4

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Lost in Space

Irwin Allen’s Lost in Space: The Lost Adventures #1-3 [American Gothic Press; $3.99 per issue] features a comics adaptation of “The Curious Galactics,” an unproduced script by Carey Wilber. He wrote several episodes of the TV series, the famous “Space Seed” episode of the original Star Trek and lots of other TV shows in the 1950s through the 1970s. The script was adapted by Holly Interlandi with art by Kostas Pantoulas.

This is huge news for avid Lost in Space fans, but I can’t really include myself in their number. I didn’t hate the show. I was a fan of all the cast members with some of them – Guy Williams, Bill Mumy and June Lockhart – being among my favorite TV stars. I watched the show up to the point where the stories just got too silly for me. Also, I have a vague memory that, at one point, it was scheduled against a show I liked better. Maybe even the original Star Trek.

“The Curious Galactics” is more serious than the later episodes of the series. It involves some aliens – Hey! Wouldn’t the Robinsons be considered aliens out there? – testing John Robinson, Don West and Will Robinson to see if they are intelligent beings as defined by their own emotionless standards. It’s not a bad premise, but it simply isn’t three issues worth of premise. The result is a story that drags to its conclusion.

The writing is so-so as the art. The story’s conclusion is flat and the aliens never quite make sense. The human characters are stiff with faces that often look like they were lifted from a press kit’s photos. When the characters do show some emotion, it’s exaggerated.

If you’re an avid must-have-it-all Lost in Space fan, you will want these comic books. If you’re not, give them a pass.

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Eerie Volime 1

Pre-Code Classics: Eerie Volume One and Volume Two [PS Artbooks; $59.99 and $64.99] reprint issues #1-14 of the 1950s horror comic series from Avon Periodicals. Avon had published a one-shot comic with the same title in 1947, but didn’t begin the ongoing series until 1951. The title ran for 17 issues, but the last three issues were reprints of the first three issues.

Eerie starts off with the usual horror comic fare: werewolves and vengeance-driven ghosts and other undead creatures. The writing is adequate, but only occasionally rises above that. We know Sol Cohen was the editor of the title, but the names of the writers have yet to be uncovered.

Some of the better stories would include issue #2’s “The Thing from the Sea” (art by Wally Wood); “The Stranger in Studio X” from the same issue; issue #3’s “The Mirror of Isis” (art by Joe Kubert); and “Cremation of Evil” from issue #4 (art by Gene Fawcette). More unusual monsters would appear in issue #8: “The Phantom Python” and “The Curse of the Bulaga.” issue #11 would unleash “The Anatomical Monster” while #12 would feature an issue-length adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The basic plots of Eerie’s stories are all good, but the execution was mostly journeyman.

Eerie Volume 2

The art on these comics is a mixed bag. There are some first-rate jobs from the afore-mentioned Wood, Kubert and Fawcette, as well as Fred Kida, Louis Ravielli, Manny Stallman, Carmine Infantino (hurt by so-so inking), George Roussos, Harry Lazarus, Everett Raymond Kinstler and Alvin C. Hollingsworth. But there are two many stories by Norman Nodel, Vince Alascia and even lesser lights.

These hardcovers aren’t cheap, but they are way less expensive than if you tried to buy the original issues in decent shape. My usual recommendation is that fans of pre-code horror and historians will want them. Less committed readers will probably want to pass them by. As for me, I’m delighted to have them.

Pre-Code Classics: Eerie Volume One:

ISBN 978-1-84863-926-3

Pre-Code Classics: Eerie Volume Two:

ISBN 978-1-84863-950-8

I’ll be back next week with more reviews,

© 2016 Tony Isabella

TONY’S TIPS #171

First up this week is This Magazine is Haunted Volume One [$59.99] from PS Artbooks. This was Fawcett’s first supernatural anthology, which the company that gave us Captain Marvel published from 1951 through 1953. When Fawcett got out of the comic-book business, the title was sold to Charlton which continued the series from 1954 to 1956. This volume reprints the first seven issues [October 1951 to October 1952].

The title was created by legendary comics creator Sheldon Moldoff. He pitched it to Fawcett, who initially passed on the very idea of getting into horror comics. EC Comics was more receptive, but, as Moldoff would later say in interviews, EC reneged on a dale to pay him royalties on their horror titles. By this time, with those EC books doing very well, Fawcett took the plunge.

Edited by Will Leiberson and Al Jetter, Haunted never went in for gore. While the stories certainly inflicted some gruesome fates on many of their protagonists, those fates were always depicted with restraint.

The stories themselves were a mix of the usual ghosts and unearthly creatures. There were some tales inspired by the surprise endings of the renowned O. Henry – You probably read his “The Ransom of Red Chief” in school – and some which were influenced by horror movies. The stories aren’t credited, but we know Paul S. Newman wrote for the magazine and it has been suggested Roy Ald also did.

There are some terrific artists on these stories. Besides Moldoff, these included George Evans, Bernard Baily and Bob Powell. There’s also work by the unknown artist which the Grand Comics Database has dubbed “Jokerface” for his habit of drawing minor characters with cartoony elongated faces.

Most of the stories reprinted in this book are, at the very least, readable. Several are excellent. In “The Green Hands of Terror,” a scientist creates disembodied, seemingly sentient limbs that live on after he’s murdered. “The Slithering Horror of Skontong Swamp” deals with swamp creatures. “The Ghost of Fanciful Hawkins’ is as mad a ghost story as I’ve seen. In “The Grim Reality,” which could be my favorite of this volume’s stories, a con man’s manufactured legend comes to life.

Though not as expensive as the original EC horror comics, the first seven issues of This Magazine is Haunted – in merely good condition – would set you back over three hundred bucks. At less than a fifth of that cost, this reprint volume is far more economical. If you’re a fan of comics history in general or 1950s horror in particular, this hardcover volume is a bargain.

ISBN 978-1-84863-958-4

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Is This Tomorrow

Is This Tomorrow [Canton Street Press; $8.95] is a digest reprint of the legendary anti-Communism comic book originally published by the Catechetical Guild Educational Society. It has been digitally colored and restored by Canton Street Press.

There are politicians and political movements who seek to inspire us to greater achievements and unity. Then there are those who just want to bend us to their will by scaring the crap out of us. This comic book falls into the latter group. It puts forth a series of absurd events, seasoned with extreme paranoia, leading to America crushed under the absolute rule of a Communist dictator. Though I suspect some would disagree with me on this conclusion, the answer to the question asked by the title is…

No. It isn’t. But maybe you’ll have better luck with all the other absurd conspiracies scooting across our national conversations like dogs trying to wipe themselves on the carpet.

There are no credits on the comic book itself, but they came later when the story was reprinted in Catholic Digest. The writers were F. Robert Edman and Francis McGrade.

The artists? The identity of one of them will shock you. Here’s the scoop from the Grand Comics Database:

“Script credits not in the comic, but show up when the story was reprinted over three issues of Catholic Digest (information from Ken Quattro via the Comics History Exchange page on Facebook, posted August 11, 2015).

“Charles M. Schulz pencil, inks, and lettering credits come from Schulz himself in an interview with Shel Dorf, in Comics Interview (Comics Interview Group, 1983 series) #47 [1987], page 15 and in Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography by David Michaelis (Harper, 2007 series), pages 161 and 167, as reported by Jean Paul on the Comics History Exchange page on Facebook, August 13, 2015.

“The artwork for this issue was done by several artists and Schulz’s work is hard to determine. Michaelis states that Schulz drew the climactic panels for the story.”

Whatever my views of this comic book from 1947, I consider it to be historically important. Canton Street Press did a first-rate job restoring it and the smaller size of the reprint doesn’t hurt the readability of the book. If you could find a merely good condition copy of this comic book, it would likely set you back about thirty dollars. Nine bucks seems like a great deal to me.

ISBN 978-1-934044-17-9

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New Super-Man

The “DC Universe Rebirth” continues to entertain and intrigue me. Case in point: New Super-Man #1 [$2.99] by writer Gene Luen Yang with artists Viktor Bogdanovic and Richard Friend. This new series takes place in Shanghai, China.

Kenan is a bully who delights in tormenting pudgy Lixin. Kenan is a working-class kid whose mother died in the crash of a commercial jet. Lixin’s father is the CEO of that airline. Kenan knows he is being a creep and struggles with it. When Blue Condor, a villain who terrorizes the rich and powerful, goes after Lixin, it’s Kenan who comes to the boy’s rescue. Before long, Kenan becomes a minor celebrity, is praised for his courage and recruited by some weird scientists to become a super-hero.

When I read this issue, I felt some of the thrill I felt when, as a kid, I would read the first issue of a new super-hero comic book. I love that it’s set in Shanghai. I love the conflicted characters. I love the conspiracies swirling delicately in the background. This is a well-written comic that looks great and flows well. It could be the Firestorm or Nova of a new generation.

New Super-Man #1 is my pick of the week.

I’ll be back next week with more reviews.

© 2016 Tony Isabella

TONY’S TIPS #170

Who has time to read a nearly 900-page graphic novel biography of a comics creator? You do.

Make time to read The Osamu Tezuka Story: A Life in Manga and Anime [Stone Bridge Press; $29.95]. If you love comics, you should make time to read the life story of one of the greatest – and, arguably, THE greatest comics creator of them all. If you make comics, then you must make time to read a biography that will amaze and inspire you. That is the power of this book.

You might have watched Astro Boy or Kimba the White Lion when you were a kid. Those are only two of the almost countless characters created by Tezuka. The list of Tezuka works – manga and anime – is almost countless. He was a pioneer in nearly every genre and type of Japanese comics. He was a pioneer in animation, commercial and experimental. He was Walt Disney and Jack Kirby and Stan Lee rolled into one unbelievable talent, a man who earned and deserved to be remembered as the “God of manga.”

While reading this book, I was frequently overwhelmed by how much Tezuka accomplished in his too-short sixty years of life. He would write and draw over 300 pages of manga in a month and repeat that in more months than seems humanly possible. Yet, despite all that production, Tezuka’s commitment to quality and innovation was not compromised. He brought his “A” game to every game.

An aspect of Tezuka’s body of work that amuses me far more than it would have amused his editors is how they would hunt him down when he owed them pages and how they, editors from rival magazine, would sit patiently outside his studio waiting for him to finish each of his stories one by one. These editors would literally live at the studio for days at a time.

In a recent dream, I imagine myself, whose own multiple commitments would probably strike Tezuka as a good afternoon’s work, listening to multiple editors in my head. I try to make them comfortable in my noggin. I might be more annoyed that they are. Dreams are funny things, aren’t they?

Yet dreams were Tezuka’s stock in trade. Visions of times past and times to come. The world and especially the world of comics is so lucky to have those dreams.

The Osamu Tezuka Story: A Life in Manga and Anime is by Toshio Ban and Tezuka Productions with translation by Frederik L. Schodt. It’s my pick of the week. No comics reader should be without it.

ISBN 978-1-61172-025-9

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Fun Family

Benjamin Frisch’s The Fun Family [Top Shelf Productions; $24.99] forced me to ask myself this question: Can I praise the effort that went into and the quality of a graphic novel while finding the work itself revolting? Let’s see.

Frisch’s graphic novel debut is a mean-spirited deconstruction of Bil Keane’s immensely popular newspaper feature The Family Circus. There appears to be something about such popular comic strips that enrages the sensibilities of younger cartoonist. Normally, it takes the form of “If only the newspapers would drop these features that readers have enjoyed for decades, then my comic strip would become successful I would receive the acclaim I deserve simply because I want it. But, in the case of The Fun Family, the intent is to smear and debase dopplegangers of Keane’s beloved characters.

Using a style akin to Keane’s, Frisch drags his characters through an emotional hellscape. Mom leaves the family to have a succession of sordid affairs with her manipulative psychiatrists. Between the death of his mother and the discovery by his eldest son of a room full of porcelain statues representing a more loving family, Dad is a basket case. As Mom moves out with the two kids she likes best, the son has to take over Dad’s comic strip, take care of what is left of their family and, oh, yes, even pay the psychiatrists who are having sex with his mother. His sister becomes a religious nut whose faith revolves around her late grandmother. Before long, the little girl has started a virtual cult.

With the exception of the eldest son, every character in this book is either a horrible human being or a not-so-horrible human being who exists to make the eldest son’s life even more miserable. This is an abusive story about abuse. I loathe it.

So I guess the answer to my question is: I can’t.

ISBN 978-1-60309-344-6

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The Beauty

The Beauty Volume 1 by writer/artist Jeremy Haun and writer Jason A. Hurley [Image; $9.99] is a horror/medical/sci-fi thriller with a high concept to die for. Literally.

Our beauty-obsessed modern world is hit with a sexual-transmitted disease that makes its victims beautiful. Which sounds pretty good until those victims spontaneously combust. A corporation has a cure for the disease, but is holding off on releasing it in a quest for obscene profits.

Two detectives battle corrupt politicians, murderous agents of the corporation, arrogant federal agents and the anti-beauty movement to expose the threat and end it. Haun and Hurley give us heroes we can root for, ordinary people caught in the lies and secrets of the rich and the powerful and some downright scary villains. The story and the visual storytelling are first rate…and this book has such a satisfying ending that I have no idea what they are planning for the second volume.

I recommend The Beauty. It’s a keeper.

ISBN 978-1-63215-550-4

I’ll be back next week with more reviews.

© 2016 Tony Isabella

TONY’S TIPS #169

I’ve already received quite a bit of response to last week’s piece on DC Universe Rebirth. The friends and readers who have spoken to me are optimistic in generally and intrigued by some of the wilder things that have happened in these initial issues.

There are those fans who want DC comic books to be exactly like the DC comic books they read when they were twelve or exactly like the DC comic books were before Crisis or after Crisis or…you get the picture. What’s embarrassing for me as an older reader – I’ll be 65 in December – is how these fans cling to the past. Those great old comics are still there. You can always read them in the originals or in the many wonderful collections DC and other publishers have been putting out for decades. But to expect comic books, even those published by major players like DC and Marvel, to remain exactly as they were decade after decade, is delusional.

New readers get turned onto comic books all the time. Maybe not in the numbers we would like, but they are coming and I welcome them. I don’t expect them to find the often-buffoonish Jimmy Olsen of the 1960s as entertaining as I did. I don’t expect them to be enamored of female characters who exist merely to be rescued by male heroes. I don’t expect them to be satisfied with nothing but Caucasian male heroes of indeterminate religion (but probably Christian). Comics today reflect the world of today, a world lush with different kinds of characters. You can enjoy the old comic books without being so hostile to change.

My take on comics continuity reflects my views on the longevity of popular characters and universes and the telling of great stories for readers old and new. What’s most important to me are the core values of the characters. If those are present, everything else is up for grabs.

Is there something in past continuity that is dated or just plain dumb? Ignore it. Really. Just pretend it never happened. Don’t do a six-issue arc explaining it or explaining it away. Just – and you can use your best mobster impression here – forget about it.

Can a writer revisit a character and make improvements in how he or she formerly envisioned the character? Of course they can. The only constant should be the commitment to quality writing and those core values mentioned above. When I return to comic-book writing in the near future, these are going to be my guiding philosophies. I hope the readers who have enjoyed my work in the past will like my new work even more.

Philosophy aside, here’s some comments on some of the “DC Universe Rebirth” comic books I’ve been reading…

Aquaman Rebirth #1 [$2.99] was a mixed bag for me. It had elements of which I’ve become weary, notably Black Manta and the seemingly endless Atlantean political disunity. I get more than enough of the latter from the evening news. As for Black Manta, he’s become the go-to-villain for Aquaman. While understandable, he’s been gone to too many times for my tastes. Give him a rest. Especially since his plans seem to bode ill for Mera. Sixty-five years of life and over thirty years of glorious marriage to a terrific woman has be less than enthusiastic over the whole “woman in jeopardy” bit in comics. Especially since Mera could certainly kick Black Manta’s ass before breakfast.

Aquaman also had elements I liked very much, especially the strong love between Mera and the title hero. Again, I point to my decades of happy marriage. There should be comics for folks like me, too.

Aquaman has great power and enormous responsibilities. That’s also on display in these initial Rebirth issues. Let his acceptance of and successful carrying out of those responsibilities play a major role in future issues – Should I mention that I enjoy super-heroes winning clear-cut victories over villains? – and I’ll be hooked on Aquaman. No fishing pun intended.

Detective Rebirth

Detective Comics #934 [$2.99] won me over with the saner-than-he’s-been-in-years Caped Crusader putting together a team of heroes that are more than cannon fodder for his obsessions. Inviting Clayface to be part of the team is brilliant and uplifting. Batman has often played lip-service to believe his foes can find redemption. Here, he’s actively working towards that end. I hope it sticks with the tragic Basil Karlo, says the guy who hated, absolutely hated, when Marvel Comics reformed the Sandman and than took that great bit of character development away from us.

It seems like The Flash will be pivotal to whatever is happening in Rebirth, which seems fitting since it was his actions that led to Flashpoint and the New 52. I haven’t been knocked out by the first couple of issues, but I’m keeping an open mind. I don’t want to see the legion of super-speedsters we’ve gotten over the years, but I could live with a few.

Wonder Woman rebirth

Wonder Woman Rebirth #1 [$2.99] did knock me out. I love the idea of Wonder Woman realizing her life has been altered over and over again.  It’s audacious and intriguing for the title to look at those clumsy continuity missteps squarely in the eye and try to sort them all out. If you’re asking for my votes, I would recommend ditching the dark mess that was the New 52 version of the character and give us something powerful and uplifting. Not because the lead character is a woman but because she’s Wonder Woman. I want a hero I admire and love as much as I admired and loved Lynda Carter in the live-action TV show and as much as I admired and loved the Wonder Woman in the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited cartoons. Wonder Woman should be a hero for both the ages and for all ages.

As more Rebirth titles cross my path, I’ll doubtless return to this conversation. In the meantime, I’ll be back next week with reviews of other things. See you then.

© 2016 Tony Isabella

TONY’S TIPS #168

“Tony, what’s this DC Universe Rebirth stuff about?”

Now that is not an unusual question to be asked of someone like me, a comics professional and writer about comics for well over forty years.  What is unusual was that I was asked the question at G-Fest, a glorious Godzilla convention, and PulpFest, a terrific gathering of pulp magazine collectors. As I’ve been saying for some time now, even people who don’t follow our beloved comic books closely have a familiarity with them.  Even if that familiarity comes from news and other mainstream sources.

My familiarity with Rebirth comes from having read the first month of the involved titles. I don’t often read news articles or opinion columns on things I’m likely to read. I suppose I could ask my new friends at DC Entertainment to explain Rebirth to me…and I might do that soon…but, here, I’m going it alone.

DC Universe Rebirth strikes me as a soft reboot of the DC Universe most recently represented by “The New 52.” Some unknown person has been playing with reality. What we have at the moment seems to be a DC Universe which has some elements of the traditional universe and some of “New 52″ universe. I find this interesting. I want to see how it all shakes out.

There also seems to be a more optimistic atmosphere to the Rebirth titles. As I have always felt the super-hero genre is, at its very heart and soul, an optimistic one, that’s a good way to convince me to buy and read these comic books again.

DC Universe Rebirth #1 [$2.99] kicked off this new chapter for the Universe. It was written by Geoff Johns with stunning art by Gary Frank, Ethan Van Sciver, Ivan Reis and Phil Jimenez. It contains 63 pages of story and art, which, at today’s comics prices, is a great buy for three bucks.

I’m not going the review route per se this week, but I will touch on some of the appealing and/or interesting things in the issues I have read. Most of these issues have gone into multiple printings, so they shouldn’t be too hard for you to track down.

There seems to be a link to Watchmen, the landmark limited series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. I surprised myself by being pretty much okay with this. Moore seems to have divorced himself from the property completely and Gibbons, who seems a mite miffed about this possible use of the characters, was okay with the Before Watchmen comics of a couple years back. I think what convinced me not to be upset was a comment from Marvel’s Tom Brevoort. While agreeing the original Watchmen series was complete unto itself, he said that if Marvel had owned the property, they probably would have brought the characters into the Marvel Universe a decade ago.

“Everything you thought you knew is a lie” is a common and seldom completely truthful come-on for super-hero stories. However, in the case of DC Universe Rebirth. It does appear a great deal of what we (and the heroes) know about the “New 52″ universe was a lie or, at least, a manipulation of reality. Wally “Kid Flash” West is back. A very old Johnny Thunder is screaming for his thunderbolt. Ryan Choi may be back as the Atom. Someone with a Legion of Super-Heroes ring is looking for Superman. The young Blue Beetle is working with Ted Kord. Green Arrow and Black Canary, who barely knew each other in the “New 52,” feel a connection with one another. And someone is watching our world with Batman knowing something is going on that isn’t right. I’m intrigued.

In Batman Rebirth #1 [$2.99] by writers Scott Synder and Tom King with artist Mikel Janin, Batman seems more sane than he has in too many years. I like that. Duke, the “Robin” whose parents remain in a mental hospital due to their exposure to Joker gas, is coming to work for the apparently integrated Bruce/Batman and not as another Robin. I like that. And there’s also a positively unsettling take on the Calendar Man.  I like that, too. I’m feeling better about the Batman after reading this.

In Green Arrow Rebirth #1 [$2.99] by writer Benjamin Percy with art by Otto Schmidt, Green Arrow and Black Canary are exploring their mutual attraction. Some of the conversations between them, mostly about Oliver Queen’s wealth and self-proclaimed status as a social justice warrior, lands with loud clunks. The points are made, but the speeches are unnatural.

GL Rebirth

Green Lanterns Rebirth #1 [$2.99] by Johns and Sam Humphries with art by Van Sciver and Ed Benes focus on rookie lanterns Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz, who neither like nor trust one another. They are forced to work together by Hal Jordan. There’s also terrible menace growing beyond our planet. As is usually the case with me and the Green Lantern comics, I like the Earth stuff much better than the outer space or other universes stuff. Still, as with every Rebirth one-shot I’ve read, I find the characters and stories interesting enough that I want to see what happens next.

Superman Rebirth #1 [$2.99] by “storytellers” Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason with art by Doug Mahnke (pencils) and Jaime Mendoza (inks) is a very human story of the Superman who came to Earth from a parallel universe with his family. In it, he helps Lana Lang give the recently deceased “New 52″ Superman a proper burial alongside Jonathan and Martha Kent.

Action Comics

Meanwhile, we get another Superman in Action Comics #957 [$2.99] by writer Dan Jurgens with artist Patrick Zircher. It’s Lex Luthor in a super-suit. Which does not sit right with the Superman mentioned above.  Oh, yeah, and there’s a new Clark Kent who doesn’t seem to be Superman and a new Doomsday, sporting his original “burlap sack” look. So, yes, I want to see what happens next.

The Luthor of this comic book is more nuanced than many previous incarnations. I don’t trust him any more than the married Superman does, but decades of reading Superman comics have conditioned me to think of him as a stone villain. He may not be the Superman I want, but maybe he’s the Superman his city needs right now.

In apology to the artists who worked on the above comics, I know I give them the short shift when I discuss the issues they’ve drawn. First and foremost, I’m a story guy. That said, all of the art in the above issues was at least good and some of it, like Zircher’s Action Comics, was amazing. There’s a full-page shot of Superman in the issue that should be a poster.

I’m going to continue my examination of DC Universe Rebirth in my next column. See you then.

© 2016 Tony Isabella