Great Setup; Uneven Follow-Through

Supreme Power (2011) 1-4
Marvel Max
Kyle Higgins, writer
Manuel Garcia, artist

The biggest problem with this limited series is its ending.

I first came to the concept of the Squadron Supreme with the 1985 12-part series from Marvel. The characters pre-date that limited series as occasional secondary characters in The Avengers and several other Marvel titles. Each of the various heroes on the team is a direct analogue of a member of the Justice League. A few years ago, the concept was rebooted as Supreme Power. The series ran for 18 issues, and then has had several follow-up limited series.

That initial reimagining by Gary Frank was very good, but some of the later series seemed to wander away from the core concepts a little too far. This series, focusing on Joe Ledger and Hyperion, returns the series to that core concept and is a very good read because of that fact and a marvelous story from Higgins. In fact, the only shortcoming of the series, as mentioned above, is the ending, or rather, the lack thereof. Obviously, this series is intended to lead right into another one, one which hasn't yet materialized almost two years later. That is a little disappointing.

Guest-Starring The Batman

I’m both excited about the upcoming return of The Brave and the Bold, and more than a couple of today’s comics, while not strictly Bat-books, do, in fact, guest-star a certain Dark Knight Detective. What can I say? Sometimes a theme just comes to you; other times, you have to make one up as you go along.

Tales of the Unexpected 4 (DC Comics) — Former Gotham City police det. Crispus Allen, now joined with the spirit of vengeance as the Spectre, has been keeping pretty close to his old stomping grounds. So, it’s only surprising that it has taken Batman this long to show up. And he’s none to happy about the Spectre claiming lives in his town. The lead story in this book just keeps holding my interest as a well-written, down-right creepy detective story. The Dr. 13 backup — the less said, the better.

Green Arrow 70 (DC Comics) — The Red Hood has traveled to Star City for an arms deal with the Brick. Batman has followed him. So we have GA and Bats against Brick and a former Robin. Two issues in and this story is still in the opening acts, but next issue promises to be a little more action-oriented. And writer Judd Winick is doing some nice characterization in this story.

Justice Society of America 2 (DC Comics) — I love this book right now. The sense of history. The feeling of family and legacy. I wish they would tone down Damage’s attitude just a bit as he seems a bit more angry than I remember him from previous appearances in the DCU. And, at least so far, Starman is just too crazy to safely keep around young heroes in training, in my opinion. But otherwise, this book, with just the right mix of new characters and ones picked up from other books in continuity, is a great read.

Outsiders 44 (DC Comics) — OK, no Batman in the last book. None here, either. But not just one, but two former Robins. This issue of Outsiders begins explaining where the Outsiders were during 52, and how they went from a divided super-team to everyone believing they were dead. Obviously Nightwing is part of the group, although at the beginning of the flashback, he’d be with Batman somewhere, and the Red Hood is to figure prominently in the story. I’m curious to see where this one goes.

Squadron Supreme: Hyperion vs. Nighthawk 1 (Marvel Comics) — OK, not really Batman in this one, either, but Nighthawk is obviously an “elseworlds” version of Bats. This limited series pits the two heroes against each other as expected, but uses the real-world events in the Sudan as a backdrop.

52 Weeks 37 and 38 (DC Comics) — The bulk of the first issue is taken up by the explanations about Supernova — who, how and why. Rip Hunter, Booster Gold and Skeets all figure into that mix. Plus, a quick check-in with the space heroes reveals that Animal Man is, in fact, not dead, but still in trouble. Next comes the unveiling of the monstrosities the mad scientists have been concocting and more on Montoya’s efforts to get the Question to Nanda Parbat before he dies.

Green Lantern 16 (DC Comics) — We really are back to Batman guest-starring this time as the entire Justice League descends on Russia to assist Hal. Doesn’t mean things are going well for the ring-slinger, though. In fact, the son of the late Abin Sur, the “villain” of this story, is quite happy at the end of this issue. On a personal continuity note: the League members depicted in this issue are not generic Leaguers, but rather the exact members from the new book. So obviously, this GL tale must “take place” after the new team is officially formed.

Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis 48 (DC Comics) — The new Aquaman, King Shark and the Dweller in the Depths are on the “road” seeking injustices for Arthur to right when they run afoul of the Fisherman gone just a tad freaky. Y’know that goofy-looking hood he always wears? It ain’t just a hood!

Birds of Prey 102 (DC Comics) — I’m really wondering what Manhunter’s secret agenda is here. The other agents coped quite nicely without Oracle’s help. And all I can say about Lois Lane is — classy. I really think she enjoyed baiting Barbara just a little bit, but I should’ve known she’d never betray a friend.

Checkmate 10 (DC Comics) — Pawn 502 gets lucky, or does he? This story arc concludes and I have to say: This is what this comic should be about. The heroes of Shadowpact were involved in this story line. That’s OK. Checkmate operates in a world filled with superheroes and supervillains; that fact should be acknowledged. But by and large, this should be a spy series. This story was. Kudos.

Fables 57 (DC Vertigo) — Snow and Bigby take the cubs to visit their grandfather, the North Wind, and the children promptly get into trouble — very dangerous trouble. Plus, a peek in on Pinnochio and Gepetto reveals a rather nasty temper on the part of the Adversary. Have I mentioned that I like this book? A lot.

That’s all we have for today, Kiddie Cops, because that closes out the comics I have until the next box arrives in a week or two. That means I’m caught up, which means next time we’ll have some more retro-reviews from 1987. However, that may or may not be next Tuesday as I will be out of town for a few days. See ya next time.

Posting While The Posting Is Good

Despite some complications both at work and at home already this week, I’ve managed to do a little bit of reading and I have a little time with the computer, so here’s some more reviews of recent comics:

Superman 654 (DC Comics) — This was a fun stand-alone issue. It continues to show just as much of the life of Clark Kent as it does Superman, which is nice. And the Daily Planet newsroom is a little more like what I expect from real newsrooms. The anniversary Clark and Lois are trying to celebrate is a nice one. And the ending is a nice little gift from Lois to her husband that rings true of her character and of the partnership these two share in modern comics. I was afraid some of the storyline quality would suffer after the initial arc. I like Superman as part of the group, but tend to get bored with him solo. This issue gives me hope for the Man of Steel’s future.

Squadron Supreme (2006) 5 (Marvel Comics) — This book is a guilty pleasure. It is much darker than the original 1986 series, playing as it does off real world prejudices and events, but Straczynski and Frank do a wonderful job making these characters real and consistent, both in action and appearance.

Fables 51 (DC Vertigo) — Another great charcter-driven title. I don’t so much like what Willingham does as a writer on superhero comics. I particularly did not care for his run as Robin scribe. But his attention to detail and characterization in this title is superb. This issue focuses on superspy Cinderella providing a wonderful little solo story, nicely advancing the overall Adversary War plotline and creating some new threads for future stories, all of it in a pretty package by guest penciller Shawn McManus. If you aren’t already, read this title.

Civil War Front Line 3 (Marvel Comics) — This issue was somewhat of a letdown. I haven’t been following She-Hulk’s adventures in the Dan Slott title, so I am not exactly sure how she comes down in the whole registration debate, but she seems in support of registration and quite out of character in “The Accused” as the former Speedball is further railroaded by the government. The main “Embedded” story is still the best, but this issue left me scratching my head more than anything else.

Dorothy 6 (Illusive Arts) — This is an intriguing quarterly title. I grew up watching “The Wizard of Oz” on television even though I’ve never read Frank Baum’s original books. I'm curious whenever a book visits Oz. This independent comic updates Dorothy Gale to a modern, rebellious teen with spikes, studs and dyed hair. An attempt to run away from the restrictive home of her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em is interrupted by a tornado and Dorothy is deposited in a strange land. Rather than strictly drawn panels, however, this title uses Photoshopped photography and computer enhanced images to depict Dorothy’s adventures.

Dorothy is not the only character to get a makeover, however. Oz is a place ruled by a dark witch and full of political machinations. So far, Dorothy has been befriended by a small robotic canine ToTo unit, an unfortunate political dissident who has been mind-wiped and left an adle-brained Scarecrow, and a Tin Man with the soul of a poet and the mind of a tortured genius trapped in a mechanical body.

OK, I’m getting tired, so I think I’ll call that a post right there, and grab some Zs. Later, kiddie-cops.

Busy Weekend of Reading

HHere’s some more thoughts on comics I read this weekend, and there’s a lot of them so here we go:

Civil War Front Line 1 (Marvel Comics) — OK, I don’t know who this Sally journalist is but I’m guessing she’s been in some previous stories from the conversation she has here with Spider-Man, but I do know who Ben Urich is; this comic holds promise. This first issue doesn’t start out slow either.

Wonder Woman (2006) 1 (DC Comics) — The Amazing Amazon is re-launched with Founding Teen Titan Donna Troy in the title role, or is she? Steve Trevor certainly wasn’t who he appeared to be. And Diana does show up in the final scene, so there’s more to this title than meets the eye in the first issue.

52 Week Six (DC Comics) — This was a good issue. It was especially nice to see Ralph go off on somebody, venting his grief, and I can’t think of anybody more deserving of some anger directed their way than Booster Gold.

The Battle for Bludhaven 5 (DC Comics) — Again, I’m not real sure about this miniseries. It seems a little disjointed and some of the more familiar characters don’t necessarily act like themselves. Green Lantern Hal Jordan shows up in this issue; he can’t save it.

Superman 653 (DC Comics) — “Up, Up and Away!” continues; it started so promisingly, but now that Superman’s powers are back, I dunno. Maybe I’m just losing interest, but I’m just not feeling the excitement I was in the first few chapters.

Checkmate 3 (DC Comics) — Still not sure about this title, but I’m warming up to it. Alan Scott, Sasha Bordeaux and Fire seem more in character to me. I’ve also decided to give the first Checkmate series a try. Worked out a trade over the weekend swapping some of the comics from the Web site for all 33 issues from that series. Hopefully they’ll be arriving soon.

Green Arrow 63 (DC Comics) — Ollie is one of my favorite characters, but I’m just not sure what writer Judd Winick is up to. I’m losing interest in what is going on, and while I’ve liked his art in the past, Scott McDaniel’s art in this title is just rubbing me wrong.

Fables 50 (DC Comics) — WOW! I love Bigby and I’m happy to see he and Snow finally together. I just hope their seeming bliss at the end of this fantastic anniversary tale doesn’t mean we won’t be seeing them again. Great espionage tale winding up several plot threads from the first 50 issues.

Civil War 2 (Marvel Comics) — Obviously this is the main series Front Line spins out of. It’s getting a lot of great buzz online, and Cap’s great escape from S.H.I.E.L.D. in the first issue was great. This one, not so much except for the big shocker on the last page, which, of course, was ruined for me online since I get my books after everyone else. Oh, and I’m a little shocked at the side of the CW Ben Grimm is on. I figured he’d be more on Cap’s side.

Squadron Supreme (2006) 4 (Marvel Comics) — I still like this title, but it seems to have lost some of its kick with the move from Marvel max to the mainstream Marvel U titles.

Nightwing 121 (DC Comics) — This Bruce Jones guy is just writing my absolute favorite hero stranger and stranger.

Donald Duck and Friends 341 (Gemstone) — Love me some Donald Duck. Not much to say about this specific issue, but these are fun to read.

52 Week Seven (DC Comics) — Oops! Read so many comics this weekend, I forgot. This is the issue where Ralph goes off on Booster. We also get our first glimpse of the new Kathy Kane, the soon-to-be all-new Batwoman.

JSA Classified 13 (DC Comics) — The final installment of this travesty. I’m not the biggest fan of Vandal Savage anyway, but I just didn’t care for this arc.

Toldja it was a lotta readin'.