JulianPerez
Council of Wisdom
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Posts: 1168
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« Reply #11 on: August 22, 2007, 09:27:30 PM » |
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SUPERMAN 658:
WOW. It’s very rare that an opening splash page blows me away, but that’s Carlos Pacheco for you. The scene of future Wonder Woman was incredible. What I like most is the attention to detail. And it’s interesting to note Wonder Woman at this future point is wearing the starry “goddess garb” of Donna Troy. Actually, I like this look much better than I like her traditional outfit; she’s one of the “famous” heroes whose outfit I have never liked.
God, I love Busiek’s characterization of Luthor. Here he is building green armor and gadgets like the “seismax” for Jimmy and the rest, and telling Lois ever-so-arrogantly that “she’s almost as good as I am.” Of all the people that have characterized Luthor, Busiek’s arrogant, semi-heroic, territorial supergenius is one of my favorites. He’s more like a particularly dislikable hero than villain. The scene where he identifies himself as the only man that could battle Khyber, he was just as magnificent as Superman himself…amazing to find oneself rooting for Luthor.
Luthor’s much more magnetic and charismatic, more fascinating as an armor-wearing semi-hero. It’s somehow fitting that even in this alternate universe, he died giving food to people…who ultimately was buried right next to Superman.
Also, note the admiration that Jimmy Olsen has for Lois Lane.
I love Busiek’s description of the Ghostwolves, partially cybernetic, high-tech Arabian assassins. A quality of a good villain is how distinctive their henchmen are, like Doom’s Doombots or the Leader’s robots that can merge into a super-robot.
Luthor himself has some pretty good minions of his own: check out his protoplasmic ooze warriors, and his robot dogs. Though shouldn’t they be named “Bottweilers?” And is it my imagination, or do his Petrocommandos look like gray versions of the Kryptonite Beasts?
Can anyone else but me identify the red-haired person in the armor suit and turtleneck in the panel right above Jimmy Olsen?
I like the immortal guy, Sirrocco, that heals because of the sun quite a bit, and not just because of his cool golden sun-spear. A hero with a link to the villain, who experiences his immense crimes, who always appears to fight him? It’s a novel way to account for why a hero can be so fixated on stopping him. Though I get a feeling, good as he is, that he was created to deflect charges of prejudice. This is actually something of a tradition in movies: give the hero a sidekick that’s the same ethnicity as the villains.
SUPERMAN 659:
If Busiek is going to have a co-plotter (what that means exactly, I don’t know) it’s good to know it’s Fabian Niceza. I loved his stuff since he did PSI FORCE for the New Universe. His NEW WARRIORS was the most consistently entertaining team book since the Wolfman/Peréz Titans.
Though it doesn’t get off to a good start: Superman saving a random person by just brute-force stopping a car. Even Superman himself admits this wasn’t clever. When Cary Bates or Len Wein had Superman perform superfeats against generic gangsters, it was interesting because the WAY he did it was so clever. For instance, he once stopped gangsters with Kryptonite by not going through the door as they expected, but LIFTING THE ENTIRE BUILDING UP and shaking them out. It’s only entertaining to see Superman do a “generic” superfeat like saving a crashing plane, if he does it in an interesting way: like for instance, easing it down with Superbreath as he did in one Bates story.
I like that Superman is shown here as being an understated, real, unassuming person that doesn’t pose. There’s a definite Christopher Reeves vibe to the Busiek/Niceza characterization.
Now THIS I like: the old lady’s scrap-book establishes the Challengers of the Unknown, at this point in time at DC comics, are contemporaries of Superman. As much as I like those guys, the idea they’d come before Superman is a truly strange idea.
Permanus, you said you wanted good excuses for why Clark had to change to Superman? Well, here’s your answer. Clark Kent has to go so often, the other people in the Planet assume he has prostate problems.
So far, this story about a bad neighborhood needing help and finding it in some crazy lady is interesting, but it doesn’t feel like SUPERMAN. It’s like they accidentally reprinted a comic from 1994, with all this grimy, street-level stuff. That one panel where Superman is fighting a Hanna-Barberra style electrical monster, that jolted me back and reminded me this was a Superman comic. Whoa, whoa, hold up I want to read the story with the MONSTER in Antarctica!
So far, this is the only issue of Busiek’s run that’s disappointed me. It was about Superman failing and Superman’s limitations, and while Superman certainly can fail, the whole point of the character is he doesn’t experience limitations. It’s a style of storytelling, and a mentality, that is circa-1994.
The monster story is a thousand times more interesting, and it’s just seen in flashback. Superman discovering a strange, exotic kind of monster is really innocent once he discovers a means of communication and diplomacy? See, THAT’S a Superman story, based on a science fiction concept, an exotic locale, and a resolution based on a combination of intelligence and diplomacy where the “humanity” of so-called “aliens” is affirmed.
Maybe I shouldn’t be too hard on it because it was obviously a fill-in issue. But STILL.
SUPERMAN 660:
I like this story already. Here, we get a window into the Prankster’s day-to-day life. A wonderful bit of characterization that redeems a “loser” villain. The detail Busiek added about being wanted in 57 countries is a great touch that emphasizes his real, formidability. He isn’t a joke: he’s a scary underworld figure.
I really, really love it when writers show a villain like Prankster to really be a functional villain. He really CAN go toe to toe with Superman. Not just as a joke, or a gag, but as a real villain. A worthy addition to his rogue’s gallery.
The Prankster’s debonair appearance (incongruously combined with his wardrobe) was a great addition, giving the Prankster a sort of “old Vaudeville” look. One enhanced by the movie posters in his lair and an army of attractive assistants. He is shown quoting humorists. There’s a dichotomy between his obvious erudition and attractive appearance and his tacky stunts, like causing an entire marathon to fail with banana peels, or alarm clocks that shoot out boxing gloves.
Suddenly, Busiek gets right to the core of the Prankster’s personality: he’s an erudite, old-fashoined sort of person, who values manners, and who loves comedy. LOVES it. Views it as a divine revelation, and himself as an artist. His pranks are art, and it’s more important to have art than money. The conflict: placing Loomis against a person with very modern, very thuggish sensibilities (he doesn’t even get that explosions and glue guns don’t GO together!) you see this.
(Of course, expect everyone on this forum to female dog and whine about how now that Busiek the Prankster’s a REAL PERSON and a FORMIDABLE MENACE, he’s no “fun” anymore. They’d much rather have stories like that one where the Prankster tricks Superman into breaking obscure laws, like how you can’t stick a penny behind your ear. That is why…though I love Superman Through the Ages and Superman’s great past as an adventure hero, the “core” membership is based on a perverse fixation, that fetishizes terrible stories that aren’t done anymore for a reason. I take my low karma as a badge of pride when surrounded by Bat-Mite loving savages.)
Anyone else see that the Prankster’s plan – dropping free money – is identical to the Penguin dropping bird dollar coins in “The Malay Penguin?”
All in all, a great villain-centered issue. Probably the best yet.
SUPERMAN 661:
I expected not to like this story because, except for when Marty Pasko wrote her, I’ve never understood why Wonder Woman is such a big deal. I should have had more faith in Busiek’s ability to make me like characters I otherwise wouldn’t.
Right away we see how Busiek establishes Wonder Woman is different from Superman: she’s pacifistic, humanitarian, hates violence, and is philanthropic. Good characterization.
I love the Lois-Clark repartee. They tease each other, they’re best friends as well as married. I also love the detail about Clark Kent being such a forgettable, ignorable person, that no one looks directly at him to the point where even when he is removed of clothes to reveal Superman nobody remembers what he looks like.
The story is interesting to read because it really engrosses you in the Wonder Woman atmosphere, with the Greek statues and mythological references. The story is about a piece of folklore come to life. Wonder Woman’s surprise at an internet café shows the most interesting aspect of her character: she’s superintelligent, but somewhat distanced from pop culture.
I also like the idea that Lois and Wonder Woman are friends and also something of partners. Pairing them together was one of the masterstrokes of this issue. Virginia Woolf once said that the surest way to know if female characters are real people instead of male-created objects, is if they form friendships with each other.
A person cursed to require and demand intimacy with others because she refuses to do so…this is reminiscent of Tanith Lee’s THE DEATH’S MASTER, which I’m certain Busiek has probably read.
Blink and you miss the DOOM PATROL reference to a “John Dayton,” probably a relative of Mento’s.
What I find most interesting about Khyrana’s attitude that Wonder Woman wants Superman for himself, is that…at first it sounds like she’s just being irrational. But what gets more intriguing is the possibility she’s RIGHT!
Khyrana is a very sympathetic villainess. I’ve noticed that Busiek’s run on SUPERMAN is all about the villains. Though if I have a problem it is that Khyrana’s powers are so ill-defined and unclear.
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