I (HEART) Kurt Busiek's Superman!

[Uncle Mxy]

Cant wait for kurts Insect Queen Story Line (with lana lang)

hopefully its the orignal insect queen. (or close enough)

Kurt will be teaming with comic's latest movie/TV-director turned writer, David Cronenberg.  Rumor is that it'll start out as a rehash of The Fly, but in a head-blowing twist, we'll find that Scanners in Smallville have really been responsible.  Can Superman be re-animated?

And no, not being serious, except in an Iron Age sense.  I hope we get something like the original Insect Queen too. 

[carmine]

Man I would be all over that comic!!!

cronberg and busiek together!!!

-I dont know why I kind of hope Queen Bee from JLA shows up too. (and maybe ambush bug)

[panthergod]

...yeah...I still say that Busiek's Superman is bland, uninspired, directionless, and dreary. I'll put up any single issue of All Star Superman up against Busiek's entire run.

After reading that Astro City Samaritan Special, which is the best Superman story Busiek ever wrote, I remain dissapointed with bueisk's run, which had taken a year to tell a story Morrison would have finished in three months, tops.

[JulianPerez]

I'm glad Busiek is developing the idea of Insect Queen, because it involves a reappearance of one of the more interesting subplots he's using in his run: that of Lana Lang as head of LexCorp. She's a divorcee so there is a possibility of some scandalous romance with her and Clark Kent. Who knows what mysteries will be examined? It's a comic like this that makes you tap dance to the comics store on Wednesdays.

I'm not a fan of the original Insect Queen concept...however, if it can be applied in an interesting way, I'm all for it. Busiek got me to like...no...LOVE the Prankster.

The original Insect Queen...ah, now there was a case of "Claremontism" before Chris Claremont was even on the scene:

1) It involved a formerly nonpowered female becoming liberated and powerful;

2) It involved a weird, unwelcome twist to a previous straightforward character.

I have just have this to say: can't some characters just be...NORMAL? I mean, what's wrong with that?

This reminds me of a moment on Byrne's run on ALPHA FLIGHT. He revealed in dialogue that Puck was "in constant pain." This was because Puck was a midget and had spinal problems.

Claremont later ran with this and revealed the reason Puck was in pain was because (are you ready for this?) he was actually a normal sized man possessed by an Ancient Arabian demon.

I remain dissapointed with bueisk's run, which had taken a year to tell a story Morrison would have finished in three months, tops.

I agree, but that's because of how amazingly little real story there truly is in your average issue of All-Star Superman, the modern Superman titles' poor inbred cousin.

Here's issue 2 of ASS in five seconds:

SUPERMAN: "Look, my Fortress is full of shiny objects!"
LOIS: "Wow! All these shiny objects distract me from the lack of real conflict!"
SUPERMAN: "Right! Glad you mentioned that, Lois! You need to behave erratically and out of character now for a forgotten reason pulled from nowhere."
LOIS: "Okay! DIE DIE DIE SUPERJERK!"
SUPERMAN: "Great! Now let's set up issue three's cliffhanger, and have a chaste, frigid kiss."

THE END

Busiek actually has long-term subplots. What's Grant Morrison's long-term development? In issue 3, the Last Action Hebrew, Samson, reveals to Superman all the things he's going to beat up in future issues. That's not a story, that's a program for a professional wrestling event.

[panthergod]

I remain dissapointed with bueisk's run, which had taken a year to tell a story Morrison would have finished in three months, tops.

I agree, but that's because of how amazingly little real story there truly is in your average issue of All-Star Superman, the modern Superman titles' poor inbred cousin.

Actually, it's more of a statements of the fact that Morrisons packs in more concepts, contexts, themes and honest emotion in a single comic that Busiek has over a year of slow motion decompressed mediocrity.

Here's issue 2 of ASS in five seconds:

SUPERMAN: "Look, my Fortress is full of shiny objects!"
LOIS: "Wow! All these shiny objects distract me from the lack of real conflict!"
SUPERMAN: "Right! Glad you mentioned that, Lois! You need to behave erratically and out of character now for a forgotten reason pulled from nowhere."
LOIS: "Okay! DIE DIE DIE SUPERJERK!"
SUPERMAN: "Great! Now let's set up issue three's cliffhanger, and have a chaste, frigid kiss."

THE END

Beautifully irrelvant strawman, by the way,

That's tons more than what has happened in any single issue of Bueiek's "Camelot Falls storyline.

Busiek actually has long-term subplots.

hastily established, and easily forgotten.

Did you forget that All Star is a finite storyline? wutth a definite beginning middle and end?

And BTW, did that little thing about Superman's impending DEATH ring a bell? Lois figuring out Superman identity and the ramifications for their relationship?

What's Grant Morrison's long-term development? In issue 3, the Last Action Hebrew, Samson, reveals to Superman all the things he's going to beat up in future issues. That's not a story, that's a program for a professional wrestling event.

Long term development? more Claremont-esque

Any given issue All Star Superman contains so  far more emotional depth, cosmic imagination, thematic mytho-poetic grandeur than any Superman story Busiek's ever written this side of the Astro City Samaritan Special. That's the closest I've seen Busiek come to Morrison's typical level.

So Superman perfoming feats "isn't a story"? Last I checked, performing feats are a part and parcel of the Hero's Journey.

Busiek's ru had potentially, but it was quickly wasted inn the face of lazy uses of the kryptonite crutch, out of character moral deficiencies(lois cheating for Clark), a reaffirmation of the  Peter Parker, super-farmboy persona, long paced issues with virtualy nothing happening but long-winded speeches and narration...Busiek's ru is....decent, at best. nothing reallt stands out about it, really. It's no better than some of the better issues of the Loeb/Casey/Schultz/Kelly era, as far as I'm concerned. All Star stands apart and is on a higher level entirely.

[JulianPerez]

Okay, where to begin.

Actually, it's more of a statements of the fact that Morrisons packs in more concepts,

Yeah, but they're all misused so all the grandiosity and imagination is sucked out of it.

Superman is revealed to be able to communicate with his far-future descendants, and the only thing it's used for is a friggin' J-Lo joke?

Superman has a Sun-Eater, the most terrible creature ever invented, which can render lifeless an entire galaxy, which once required a Legionnaire to perform the ultimate sacrifice...and he uses it as a PET for a brief sight-gag?

Ideas, or concepts, are totally worthless. I have ideas, you have ideas. Here, let me tell you one of mine: I once thought it would be really interesting if Max from HART TO HART got a job at the Daily Planet. Okay, it wouldn't really be Max, but it would be a guy like him: an older, gravel-voiced working-class guy that keeps Clark Kent and the rest in touch with the common man.

Ideas don't matter. What matters is how they're used. In some ways, Green Lantern had very few "ideas:" the Lantern Corps, the Guardians, the Weaponeers. And that's pretty much it. Compare that to the sprawling mess that was Weisenger Superman. It's not because they had a LOT of ideas, but how they were developed and used.

themes,

The most important Superman theme from Maggin to RED SON, that of Superman wondering if he does too much for mankind or if he is an alien interfering with man's destiny, is not only on display in the Busiek SUPERMAN, but is the Busiek run's CENTRAL CONFLICT.

Morrison did some lip-service in the first issue of his magazine about how Superman inspires mankind to great heights, but all that was forgotten after the first issue, and even then, it wasn't a part of the story. More like a distracting sideshow: "step right up! See your blue Zero-Gee giant here...."

and honest emotion

There was nothing more fake and artificial than that chaste Disney kiss at the end of issue 2.

Superman discovers he's dying. Imagine how gut-renching a situation that is, and none of that is explored. What if you learned YOU were dying?  Superman is a can-do, never say die kind of guy, but he's not a robot.

in a single comic that Busiek has over a year of slow motion decompressed mediocrity.

Busiek introduces a mystery and it isn't solved in the first issue. It makes you excited to pick up a second one.

And that's a BAD thing...how?

Beautifully irrelvant strawman, by the way,

What strawman? That was my point: in a whole issue nothing freaking happened.

Seriously, what was the story? The conflict? Grant comes up with something totally artificial in the last few pages out of desperation with Lois wielding a Kryptonite laser. But the issue had NO conflict.

Let's compare what actually happens in ASS #2 to SUPERMAN #660:

ASS #2

Superman gives Lois a tour. (No conflict or mystery)
Lois goes crazy in the last five pages.
Cliffhanger where Lois gets powers.


SUPERMAN #660:
In the mystery of the Third Kryptonian, it is revealed Power Girl isn't the one.
Superman finds Sirocco in "our" timeline and foils terrorists.
But...it's revealed that Khyber is dead. How?
Subjekt-17 is revealed to be alive and living in Tibet.
Superman searches his soul and wonders if he is doing too much for mankind, his central conflict

...and that wasn't even one of the busier issues.

But I wouldn't say ASS is decompressed. That would be a step-up, actually. It doesn't even have a story TO decompress.

hastily established,

Hastily established? The guy spent TWO issues detailing the threat Khyber posed. He showed us an alternate universe and expended effort and thought into creating the world.

Something I should add, Morrison is chronically unable to do with his alternate worlds.

Do me a favor: take out pen and paper and write down everything you know about Morrison's Antimatter Earth from his entire JLA story arc. Now, take a pad and paper out and write down everything you know after just the SECOND ISSUE ALONE of Busiek's "Syndicate Rules" arc.

Now, I can forgive little things like not mentioning Barracuda, but...not mentioning the favor principle? The very BASIS of how this entire world functions? Not even establishing the teensy-weensy but ever so important little detail that...oh yeah, Ultraman and Superwoman are married? Their entire relationship made no sense until that detail was revealed.

Sad how in EIGHT ISSUES, Busiek utterly outshone and outdid everything Morrison accomplished in years on JLA.

and easily forgotten.

We can't know that for years to come, but we'll see.

I doubt Khyber will be forgotten. Truly grandiose villains are so uncommon it's not like comics can afford to misplace one or two here and there.

While we're speculating about which will be better remembered...when the sensationalism and hype dies, ASS will be left with a nonexistent story and wooden characters. Twenty, thirty years from now, I'll bet the Superman comics that will be talked about will be SUPERMAN and ACTION COMICS. Not just because they are of better quality, but because  they "really" happened in real continuity. They can have significance and influence on later stories. CHALLENGE OF THE SUPERHEROES was forgotten, but people still buy TPBs of CRISIS.

Did you forget that All Star is a finite storyline? wutth a definite beginning middle and end?

...because if there's one thing that finite stories can't have, it's stories other than the main one in each issue!

And yes, I did forget it was a finite story, because the last issue came out sometime during Ancient Rome. To be fair, this isn't Morrison's fault, but still. It's a strike against the book.

Long term development? more Claremont-esque

Though Claremont could be ham-handed, there's nothing wrong with the technique of viewing an entire arc as one big story. Englehart did this, and Gerber did this too.

Last I checked, performing feats are a part and parcel of the Hero's Journey.

"Morrison doesn't suck! Because, look! Joseph Campbell!"

I'll say one thing Busiek has over Morrison (unworthy to be mentioned in the same breath): Busiek has Superman be cosmic and mythic by just being who he is...whereas Morrison has to come up with ham-handed, unsubtle, illiterate references to Greek Mythology.

Busiek's ru had potentially, but it was quickly wasted inn the face of lazy uses of the kryptonite crutch,

Whaaaaaaaaaaat? Look above at all the reviews and commentary I've done for these issues. NOT A SINGLE FREAKIN' ONE has Kryptonite in it!

reaffirmation of the  Peter Parker, super-farmboy persona,

baloney. Give me one example.

Because here, let me give you an example of him NOT being a Super-Forrest Gump: he's clearly defined as Superintelligent. The scene of him reading the book on the plane with microphysics, for instance.

long paced issues with virtualy nothing happening but long-winded speeches and narration

Again, baloney. Give me one example.

But I can come up with TWO pretty easy examples of comics where nothing happens but people talking: ASS: #2 (aka "Superman Travel Channel Edition") and the issue where Luthor walks around and gives an interview for a whole freakin issue.

Not to say the rest of ASS isn't wheezy and asthmatic, but those two are just the biggies.

All-Star stands apart

Oh, I agree it..."stands apart."

[carmine]

Man that last issue of Camelot falls was disapointing. NOTHING HAPPENED!! I buy two comics a week and I have been picking up Kurts Superman but I really could have skipped that issue.
For 2.99 I expect a bit more. (nice art though)

I think in retrospect it might have been a mistake for kurt to do this huge camelot falls story right from the start.
He said next year he's going to do shorter storylines (i guess like the 3 part Insect Queen). I just hope lana just has a costume and not having a gross bug bottomhalf but a normal human top half (it just looks weird)

I guess people can't be normal in comics is because their is only so much stuff you can do with normal people when all this weird stuff is going on. Though maybe in comicbook universe, weird stuff is totally normal.
Hey joe what happened yesterday? we were suppose to go to the movies??
-oh ya I got kidnapped by a time traveling tyrant from the year 20000000 AD. But Aquaman saved me so I didn't miss work.
oh again?? I hate getting kiddnaped by supervillians.  Did you get Aquaman's autograph?

PS. it was byne who wrote Alpha flight not Claremont

[Super Monkey]

PS. it was byrne who wrote Alpha flight not Claremont

It's a fun little game to catch all the endless errors in his posts, ironically Kurt Busiek was the best at it.