A fine sendoff for Ms. Cruz

Green Lanterns Vol. 9: Evil’s Might
DC Comics
Creators: Dan Jurgens, Mike Perkins, Marco Santucci, Scott Hanna, Hi-Fi, Andy Troy, Pete Pantazis, David Sharpe and Wil Quintana
Release date: June 2019

I guess you could say that I’m a Jessica Cruz fan.

My first exposure to the character was her debut in the pages of Justice League (The New 52 version) No. 31 during the “Forever Evil” event. She was created by Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver. Now, for the purists among you, I know her true first appearance was in The New 52 Green Lantern series, issue No. 20, a few months earlier. But that was just a closeup on her hand, and I didn’t read that issue. So, I was first exposed to Jessica Cruz in Justice League when she appeared in full view both on the cover and the interior.

Jessica stood out among Earth’s many Green Lanterns for a number of reasons. She had issues before taking possession of a power ring; she was introduced as someone so very agoraphobic that she could no longer leave her apartment. Her natural anxiety was only increased when an alien ring from an alternate universe tried to assume control of her life. That’s right, Jessica’s first ring was from the Crime Syndicate’s Power Ring. The Latina heroine was at first terrified of the power the ring gave her and the control of her life it sought in return.

I continued to follow the character in the pages of Justice League. She gained confidence alongside the other heroes of the League while also briefly dating the Flash. She was a fine addition to the team at that time. When the “Rebirth” era came along after The New 52, Jessica and the other newbie GL, Simon Baz, both became stars of their own title, Green Lanterns, with an “s,” and Jessica was also one of the stars to headline the new title Justice League Odyssey following the “No Justice” story arc. As much as I liked the character, though, neither of these titles held my attention for long.

Enter Dan Jurgens, a writer and artist whose work I very much enjoy. Jurgens was the writer of Green Lanterns when that title recently ended. I’d been curious to try the title again when Jurgens took over the writing chores, but “Evil’s Might” was the first arc to really grab my attention. This storyline featured not only Jurgens’ writing, Mike Perkins’ fine art style and Jessica Cruz as one of the lead characters, but it also promised a story featuring the return of Hank Henshaw, the Cyborg Superman, a character created by Jurgens way back in 1990 in Adventures of Superman No. 465.

I’m not really giving away spoilers about the big bad of the story since he appears on the cover of this trade. Cyborg Superman is one of those villains I love to hate. He’s right down there with Black Manta, Solomon Grundy and Gentleman Ghost as one of my “favorite” villains. And he’s a great choice for a villain to face off against the entire GL Corps and the Guardians with his ability to access and manipulate any kind of technology. Cyborg Superman, imprisoned in the Arctic Fortress of Solitude, manages to gain access to the Guardians’ central power battery on Mogo and through it, nearly all of the thousands of GLs across the universe.

This trade did not disappoint. The story features not just Jessica, but the entire GL Corps, in a gripping story that held my attention and kept me turning the pages. Perkins’ art was gorgeous to look at. But the real attention grabber is how this volume ends, nicely showcasing Jessica’s growth since “Forever Evil.” At the end of this story, she announces that she feels she has grown enough and is confident enough to leave Earth and seek other adventures and discoveries among the stars.

Perhaps this was meant to explain how she is alone out in space at the beginning of Justice League Odyssey. I prefer to think of her boldly exploring, overcoming the fears that once held her captive back when she was stuck in her apartment. I wish her Godspeed on her explorations and hope this is not the last we see of this fine character.

To trade or not to trade

Superman/Wonder Woman Vols. 1 and 2 (Power Couple/War and Peace)
DC Comics
Creators: Charles Soule and Tony S. Daniel
Release dates: 2013/2014

I picked up these two trades during a recent trip to the library with my family. I wasn’t overly interested in the New 52 versions of either Superman or Wonder Woman, so I didn’t much care when this new title was announced amid the hype surrounding the blossoming relationship between the two heroes. But I thought I would give these two trades a try after seeing them among the growing graphic novel section at our local library.

The first volume is all about Superman and Wonder Woman exploring their new dynamic, and it tells a nice little story about the pair, how they interact with each other and the world, and how their respective world views differ from each other. All of that is juxtaposed nicely against the action scenes that start out with a surprise return by Doomsday, progress into an attack by Kryptonians Zod and Faora, and end with the renewed threat presented by the still free Doomsday.

While some of writer Charles Soule’s scene transitions can be a bit jarring, this is mostly an enjoyable read that moves along at a brisk pace. It was an entertaining read that gave me a satisfying chunk of story despite continuing into another trade. And Tony Daniel’s art is very pretty to look at. The New 52 Superman’s hair always seems too spiky to me, but that is “on model” for the character at this time. Daniel’s Wonder Woman and Lois Lane are drawn beautifully. I’m very glad I decided to check this trade out, and it is a good example of what a collected edition of a modern comic can be.

Then everything went off the rails.

The Doomsday teasers at the end of the first volume and my enjoyment at reading that trade had me glad I had borrowed both volumes from the library. I was eager to continue with the story. But I was immediately lost. The fight with Doomsday was already over when the second trade begins, and Superman is suffering severe aftereffects of that battle.

I went back and looked to see if I was missing issues not collected, but that wasn’t the case. The first trade collects the first seven issues of Superman/Wonder Woman. The second begins with issue No. 8. That’s when I recalled that a storyline around this time and focusing on Doomsday had run through all of the various Superman titles at the time, but none of these other titles were collected in either of these volumes. There weren’t even any editor’s notes or other indications beyond my own memory as to where to look for the missing pieces of the story.

And the gaps didn’t stop there. More of the story apparently took place in other Superman titles between Superman/Wonder Woman Nos. 8, 9 and 10. I was only getting pieces of a multi-title crossover. There was a text page at the beginning of each of these issues masquerading as a Daily Planet article from Lois Lane that might have served to keep readers in the know at the time, but they did little to address the missing action from the trade.

Rather than a cohesive narrative, this second trade gave me interesting snippets of a story, but no matter how well-crafted the snippets were, they just reinforced the notion that there was much more I was missing. As good as the first trade was, as enjoyable as it was to read, the second volume seemed more like a train wreck than a story.

This second trade also collects two Future’s End stories published at the time that have nothing to do with the Doomsday/Brainiac storyline that picks up from the end of the first trade. DC editorial should have excised those tales and left them for another trade, and instead focused on giving readers the complete Doomsday/Brainiac tale that is severely truncated here to very ill effect. Otherwise, they seem to be telling readers who bought the trade, “You’re lost? Sorry. Guess you should have bought all the various issues of the crossover instead.” Not cool.

Glad I gave it a try

Cover tpb Vol. 1
Jinxworld/DC Comics
Creators: Brian Michael Bendis, David Mack, Zu Orzu, Bill Sienkiewicz and Michael Avon Oeming
Release date: May 2019

The advance solicits for this series caught my eye with its mixture of comics culture and international spycraft. Add in the creative team of Brian Michael Bendis and David Mack, and I was very curious. The fact that the narrative was a fictionalized version based on some actual events from David Mack’s life was just icing. And now that I’ve held the book in my hands and read its contents, I can attest that it did not disappoint.

Mack writes the graphic novel’s foreword and tells a bit about the real-world events that both inspired and led to this book’s creation. As I’m already recommending you go and buy Cover, I’ll let him tell those details for anyone who follows my recommendation and heads to their LCS.

As for the fictionized story, it follows fictional comic book artist Max Field, who is gaining no small renown for his latest creation, “Ninja Sword Odyssey.” Suddenly, he finds himself being recruited by a government spy who wants Field to engage in some basic spycraft under the cover of attending international comic conventions. The novelty and thrill of being a covert spy, however, quickly takes a dangerous turn for Field as he learns that his recruitment is not a unique situation and that not everyone is recruited by the same side.

I’m usually more of a story consumer, and it’s no secret that Bendis can weave quite a story when he is hitting on all cylinders as he is in this book. I’m sure Mack also had a hand in the writing chores here as this is his story. But I have to give a lot of credit where it’s due on the art side of this book, too. Mack uses a more traditional comic book cartooning style for much of this book than I am used to seeing from him, but that feels right in the passages about the conventions and the fictional creator’s everyday life. Mack’s excellent painting skills are also expertly showcased in the sequences of “Ninja Sword Odyssey” that are presented here, and also show up from time to time in the more intense moments of Field’s life (as depicted above). Bill Sienkiewicz and Michael Avon Oeming also lend their talents to portions of the book that need additional styles to further differentiate portions of the narrative. So the art style truly follows and shapes the story being told in different ways at different times in this book.

Overall, it adds up to a very nice, engaging package that was a joy to read. Well done, all!