Doomsday Clock Part 1

Bought at Boocup, Kerry Parkside Mall, Pudong, Shanghai, China

Title: Doomsday Clock
Issue: Volume 1
Date: 2019
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Gary Frank
Colorist: Brad Anderson
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor:Brian Cunningham, Robin Wildman

Hardcover collection of the first six issues of Doomsday Clock, a DC-Universe/Watchmen crossover.

So first of all, The Watchmen did not need a sequel. It stands very well on its own, and the self-contained story and universe of the Watchmen is in some ways part of the point of why it is so good.

That being said, a lot of this was entertaining, even if in places it felt a bit like reading Watchmen fanfic.

We get a new Rorschach, and he's a pretty interesting character. We get a new pair of costumed criminals from the Watchmen universe with a solid backstory and pretty interesting chemistry between them.

We also get the return of a number of key Watchmen players, including (of course) some brought back from the dead).

And we get Superman, the Batman, the Joker, and a bunch of DC heroes and villains. The Watchmen world (I'm sure it's been given an Earth-Number, because of course it has, but I don't know which it is and whether it's a number between 1 and 52) is descending into nuclear war after Adrian Veidt's attempt to force world peace has, to the surprise of no one as Lex Luthor snarkily points out, collapsed under the weight of human nature.

And things aren't much better on Earth, um, is it 1 or 2 these days? Anyway, in whatever slightly-off version of the standard DC Universe this is, there is a conspiracy theory that claims that almost all superheroes and villains are actually government agents simply playing their roles while the US government, well, controls them.

This conspiracy has taken hold of the public consciousness and the result is anti-superhero (dare we say, anti-mask?) sentiment in the streets and rising international tensions. In short, similar circumstances that the Watchmen world faced in the original story.

And somewhere, Doctor Manhattan is manipulating things from behind the scenes.

This collection covers six issues and spends a lot of the time introducing the new characters, which is fine because they're pretty interesting. The rest of it alternates between a fairly intriguing plot with many moving pieces, an assortment of bits that are just violence for the sake of showing that various characters are violent, and bits from a series of Nathaniel Dusk noir films that play a similar role in this series to Tales of the Black Freighter.

Overall, this was an interesting enough story to keep me entertained. It's certainly no Watchmen, but that may be an unfair standard of comparison. A lot of attention to detail went into this, it's visually effective and introduces new characters that hold their own in the company of some iconic creations.

Rating: 6/10

Batman #700

From the Random Stack of Unread Comics.

Title: Batman
Issue: 700
Date: August 2010
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Tony Daniel, Frank Quitely, Scott Kolins, Andy Kubert, David Finch, Richard Friend
Colorist: Ian Hannin, Alex Sinclair, Tony Avina, Brad Anderson, Peter Steigerwald
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Mike Marts, Janelle Siegel

I reviewed Batman #699 way back in 2011, in the early days of this blog (it was the first time I missed a day, something that I learned to get a lot less uptight about since then, as this blog has not usually been even close to daily since then).

I'm always a fan of "big round number" milestone issues. This one had two special features. The frist was a Batman pinup gallery by Shane Davis, Juan Doe, Guillem March, Dustin Nguyen, Tim Sale, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Phillip Tan. The other bonus item was a detailed map of the Batcave by Freddie Williams II.

The main story was something of a hot mess, a time-travel piece involving multiple version of the Batman, bunches of classic villains, and too much Damian Wayne. It did feature a lot of great visuals by its rotating cast of artists, some great action, and a ton of nods to past stories (I particularly liked the use of the Mutants gang from The Dark Knight Returns, and a rare appearance by Chief O'Hara). It was not very accessible to the casual fan, which is too bad, as these milestone issues often attract some casual fan interest, and the convoluted plot of this story would probably leave a lot of them wondering what the heck they just read.

I was a bit unsure myself. Very pretty issue, but not enough reward for the effort of parsing all of the time travel threads to try to get it to make sense.

Rating: 5/10

DC Universe Rebirth #1

Second of a small stack of new comics purchased at Newbury Comics at the Cape Cod Mall, Hyannis MA.

Title: DC Universe Rebirth
Issue: 1
Date: July, 2016
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Gary Frank, Ethan Van Sciver, Ivan Reis, Phil Jimenez, Joe Prado, Matt Santorelli
Colorist: Brad Anderson, Jason Wright, Gabe Eltaeb, Hi-Fi
Letterer: Nick J. Napolitano
Editor: Andrew Marino, Eddie Berganza
Cover: Gary Frank, Brad Anderson

This is DC's reboot of their previous reboot. Well, in some sense, it's just the latest reboot in a long series, but this reboot in particular is aimed at correcting some of the more unpopular aspects of DC's New 52.

As is typical for this type of event, this plays more for serious fans than for casual readers. In fact, in some sense, I am the target audience: A longtime fan of DC comics, who read the early New 52 issues extensively, but lost interest and am no longer reading current DC comics on a regular basis.

The narrator and main character here is Wally West, who was trapped in the Speed Force as a result of the Flashpoint (the triggering event for the New 52 reboot (and by "trapped in the Speed Force" what we mean is "written out of the current continuity"). No one remembers Wally West, and he is only capable of appearing on Earth for brief moments before being pulled back into the Speed Force. He's desperate to escape, and he has a warning to bring: Some unknown force has been tampering with time and space.

I'm not a huge fan of the Flash, but it was very clear from the writing that Geoff Johns is, and I have to say that he won me over by the end. This was a nice mix of nostalgia with some teases for future storylines.

There was also a surprise twist ending that came from so far out of left field, that it almost felt like DC Comics is trolling us. No spoilers here other than to say that it's definitely aimed at the serious comics fans. Your mileage may vary, but it worked for me in terms of 1) I really was surprised, and 2) I am intrigued to see where this is going.

Mission accomplished.

Rating: 8/10

Action Comics #6

I still have a lot of early New 52 books to read. I'm on the #5's and #6's with most of the titles that I kept following. I read up to #7 on most of those, and that was when I realized that the comics were stacking up unread again and I stopped buying them regularly.

Title: Action Comics
Issue: 6
Date: April 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Grant Morrison, Sholly Fisch
Penciler: Andy Kubert, Chriscross
Inker: John Dell, Chriscross
Colorist: Brad Anderson, Jose Villarrubia
Letterer: Patrick Brosseau, Carlos M. Mangual
Editor: Wil Moss, Matt Idelson
Cover: Rags Morales, Brad Anderson

Superman gets some help from time-traveling members of the Legion of Superheroes to deal with a threat that is hiding in plain sight. This story had a lot going on, and a ton of plot twists. Some of the paths taken to get to the end were a bit awkward and overly complicated, but the good moments were really good, including a really awesome Superboy/Legion ending.

Backup story is another look into the past. This time, it's Clark Kent's last day in Smallville before heading to college. It's sweet and sentimental, with some amusing bits of dialogue.

This was worth the slogging through all of the time-travel silliness.

Rating: 8/10

Batman And Robin Annual #1

I had some time to kill at the Cape Cod Mall this afternoon, so I picked this up at Newbury Comics. I wanted something that would be a self-contained story.

Title: Batman And Robin Annual
Issue: 1
Date: March, 2013
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Penciler: Adrian Syaf
Inker: Vincente Cifuentes
Colorist: John Kalisz
Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual
Editor: Rickey Purdin, Rachel Gluckstern
Cover: Andy Kubert, Brad Anderson

Here's something surprising: A Damian Wayne story that I actually liked.

Damian has set up a scavenger hunt for the Batman, his way of saying thanks for Bruce Wayne's efforts to care for him and mentor him. Damian has discovered a series of moments from the lives of Thomas and Martha Wayne during their time in Europe, and he is traveling through Europe, leaving a trail of clues for the Batman to follow.

Except that he's not.

Damian's plan has more than one layer, and while Bruce is off on the vacation that Damian has devised, Damian is having his own kind of vacation.

This had a surprisingly Silver Age feel to it, especially considering that it centered on Damian, who is usually used in darker fare. It was nice to see Damian having fun, Bruce having fun, and a plot that wasn't overloaded with blood and gore on a massive scale. You can't do stories like this all the time (well, in the Silver Age, actually, you kinda could), but it was a really nice breath of fresh air for the annual.

The insights into the lives of Bruce Wayne's parents were great. Not continuity-shattering. Just nice little insights and vivid details.

Not everything here worked. The villain in the Gotham-based subplot felt thrown-together. And some attempted comedy in the ending sequence fell a bit flat.

But overall, this was a good story about the growth of trust between Damian and Bruce in a situation that was not life-or-death.

Rating: 7.5/10

Action Comics #5

Title: Action Comics
Issue: 5
Date: February 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Grant Morrison, Sholly Fisch
Penciler: Andy Kubert, Chriscross
Inker: Jesse Delperdang, Chriscross
Colorist: Brad Anderson, Jose Villarrubia
Letterer: Patrick Brosseau, Carlos M. Mangual
Editor: Wil Moss, Matt Idelson
Cover: Rags Morales, Brad Anderson

Variant cover is pictured.

This issue is almost entirely made up of retellings of bits of the Superman origin story. It's effective, but not terribly groundbreaking. There's some retconning, of course, but again, nothing that is all that shocking.

When we finally get into current plot, it's a messy time travel story that doesn't really go in any direction except toward the needlessly complicated.

Backup story is more Superman origin stuff, this time focusing on Jon and Martha Kent in the early years of their marriage and their struggles with infertility. It's generally good, although it very quickly goes down the path of "everything happens for a purpose" which is pretty much the least interesting thematic direction this could have been taken in.

All of that being said, there are some good details throughout the issue, and it does a nice job of laying seeds for future stories.

Rating: 5.5/10

Action Comics #4

Title: Action Comics
Issue: 4
Date: February 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Grant Morrison, Sholly Fisch
Penciler: Rags Morales, Brad Walker
Inker: Rick Bryant, Sean Parsons, Brad Walker
Colorist: Brad Anderson, Jay David Ramos
Letterer: Patrick Brosseau, Carlos M. Mangual
Editor: Wil Moss, Matt Idelson
Cover: Rags Morales, Brad Anderson

In the midst of a full-scale robot invasion, the people of Metropolis begin to realize that Superman is one of the good guys. I particularly liked Clark's reaction to the police who try to arrest him (As a huge robot looms over them: "Slap on the bracelets, boys. Otherwise, stand back and let me do my job.").

The alien force behind the robot invasion is the same force that "collected" Kandor. Now it's grabbing a significant chunk of Metropolis (including Lois Lane). Meanwhile Superman has his own problems in the form of John Wayne Corben AKA Metallo.

But Superman has some backup too. As it turns out, Corben isn't the only guy named John who can put on a suit of armor.

Steel gets the backup feature, and his introduction is handled in short-and-sweet style that integrates nicely into the overall plot. And references back to the original tale of John Henry are always fun in Steel's stories.

Rating: 7.5/10

Action Comics #3

So, of course, after a weekend of running bonus reviews to get back on track toward 365 in 2012, I get hit with a stomach flu and a major malware problem simultaneously. I'm recovering, and so is my PC. So onward with the reviews!

Title: Action Comics
Issue: 3
Date: January 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Grant Morrison
Penciler: Rags Morales, Gene Ha
Inker: Rick Bryant, Gene Ha
Colorist: Brad Anderson, Art Lyon
Letterer: Patrick Brosseau
Editor: Wil Moss, Matt Idelson
Cover: Rags Morales, Brad Anderson

The third issue of the new Action Comics gives us our first look at Krypton, focusing on the destruction (well, shrinking, I suppose) of Kandor, rather than the fate of the planet Krypton itself. The scene give a few interesting new insights, including a link to some of the current villains in the main timeline, but it's also presented as something of a confusing jumble of telepathic chatter that detracts more than it enlightens.

Things get better when we get back to Clark Kent, who gets in some great lines ("You need to be the cop you wanted to be when you were a kid."), while making classic amateur superhero blunders, and questioning his own path in the face of an onslaught of bad press from corrupt media tycoon Glen Glenmorgan (doing his very best J. Jonah Jameson; all we needed was "Superman: Threat or Menace?" on the cover of the Planet).

Most awesome detail in this issue? A glimpse inside Clark's perfectly organized sock drawer! Ha!

The ending brings the issue full circle with the origin of Metallo and a robotic invasion all connected back to Kandor.

Everything worked but the opening scene.

Rating: 7/10

Action Comics #2

Title: Action Comics
Issue: 2
Date: December 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Grant Morrison
Penciler: Rags Morales, Brent Anderson
Inker: Rick Bryant, Brent Anderson
Colorist: Brad Anderson
Letterer: Patrick Brosseau
Editor: Wil Moss, Matt Idelson
Cover: Rags Morales, Brad Anderson

Still in the "Superman Year One" mode. The military has captured Superman following last issue's train collision, and Lex Luthor is in charge of giving the Man of Steel a little taste of what Dick Cheney liked to call "enhanced interrogation techniques". In this case, it involves an electric chair. When Luthor is done with that, he plans to try some fluoroantimonic acid (Which is actually pretty cool stuff! Wikipedia it! I did!). And speaking of chemistry, Clark gets the best line of the series with this exchange:

Luthor: Does the word 'Krypton' mean anything to you?
Superman: Noble gas... Number 36...

Oh, hey! It's John Henry Irons! We also get to see General Lane (who gets a visit from his daughter, who's on the trail of the captured Superman). Also introduced is John Corben, who has some past romantic history with Lois.

Not surprisingly, the army doesn't hold Superman captive for long, but the story had lots of good details and little plot developments along the way to its inevitable ending. A major revelation about Lex Luthor sets the stage very nicely for some future storylines.

This was good. Superman is still "super" but a bit more limited than in some past versions. The young, inexperienced, and slightly cocky attitude is refreshing, while still maintaining the underlying potential to grow into the familiar heroic persona. The supporting cast had plenty to do and the action was fun and clever.

Backup feature is picture-essay with the creative team discussing character and prop design and it's a pretty interesting read, especially the revelations about their inspirations from very early Superman stories.

I've neglected to mention this in a few previous reviews, but all of the New 52 #2's contain a preview of the Christmas-themed Batman graphic novel, Batman: Noel. The artwork is gorgeous, but there isn't much you can make out as far a plot goes. It appears to be a variation on Dicken's A Christmas Carol.

Rating: 7.5/10

Action Comics #1

Title: Action Comics
Issue: 1
Date: November 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Grant Morrison
Penciler: Rags Morales
Inker: Rick Bryant
Colorist: Brad Anderson
Letterer: Patrick Brosseau
Editor: Wil Moss, Matt Idelson
Cover: Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair

The first Action Comics #1 since 1938! I'm still disappointed that the series won't go to #1000, but as I've mentioned before I understand how DC felt that the renumbering would only be seen as a true relaunch if they renumbered all their titles, including the "big number" books like Action and Detective.

I bought the variant cover version with Jim Lee's artwork, which is actually taken from a (really good) splash page in Justice League #1 (my review of that issue is here).

What we have here is a new take on Superman. He's younger, and clearly inexperienced. He's also got a solid case of cynicism for the legal system, and a cocky and arrogant attitude, particularly toward the Metropolis Police Department. Detective Blake: "We used to have laws in this town. Like gravity." Ha!

The opening scene has him pulling a Batman-style stunt of dropping a white-collar criminal off of building ledge and catching him just before impact to force a (clearly inadmissible!) confession.

Superman's powers have also been scaled back considerably. He's a lot more vulnerable to harm (although still tough enough to take a shot from a tank's main gun).

As for villains, we've got a decent (and pretty much by-the-book) portrayal of Lex Luthor working as a consultant for General Lane (Lois' father). Oh, and the other major adversary in this issue is a bullet train (emphasis on "bullet").

A lot of people probably won't like Superman's new cocky attitude. I didn't think I would. But I did find myself enjoying this portrayal of the character, particularly if the direction we're going in is toward a some growth and maturing. The villains were spot-on (bonus points for Luthor's reference to the brown tree snake and the cane toad!). I liked Clark's interaction with his landlady, who seems like a good supporting character, and I liked his vibe with Jimmy Olsen. There was also a fun scene where some bystanders came to Superman's aid against the military.

The ending sequence was visually pretty cool, but I was a bit lost on the logic behind the scene, which involved a bomb on a train for no reason that I could figure out. It looked like this was a case of trying to fit too much material into a limited number of pages. Something had to get rushed. The ending cliffhanger was still pretty effective, with an great visual.

Rating: 7/10

Action Comics #900

What can I say? I'm a sucker for these "big number" milestone issues, and Action Comics has the highest number in comics, now at #900. Picked this one up at Newbury Comics today, day of release.

Title: Action Comics
Issue: #900
Date: June 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Paul Cornell, Damon Lindelof, Paul Dini, Geoff Johns, David S. Goyer, Richard Donner, Derek Hoffman
Art: Pete Woods, Jesus Merino, Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund, Rags Morales, Adrian Syaf, Jamal Igle, Jon Sibal, Gary Frank, Ryan Sook, RB Silva, Rob Lean, Miguel Sepulveda, Brian Stelfreeze, Matt Camp
Colorist: Brad Anderson, Blond, Java Tartaglia, Paul Mounts
Letterer: Rob Leigh, John J. Hill
Cover: David Finch
Editor: Wil Moss, Matt Idelson

Issue #900! Wow! That is a lot of comics.

As is typical for these milestone issues, this one is extra-long and loaded with backup features.

The main story serves two purposes. First it wraps up the ongoing Lex Luthor plotline about Lex seeking out the ultimate power needed to destroy Superman. Meanwhile, it's also setting up a new plot that's a fun little variant on the famous Reign of the Supermen storyline that followed up the death of Superman at the hands of Doomsday.

Unfortunately, the problem with giving a villain godlike omnipotence is that the universe still needs to be intact when it's all said and done. We know going in that no matter what Luthor does with his newly acquired cosmic powers (acquired through a rather convoluted pathway that involved black power rings, the Phantom Zone, and something called the Zone Child), we're going to be hitting the reset button by the end of it. It's just a matter of how interesting the ride is going to be. In this case, it's inconsistent. Luthor tortures Superman in an effort to "break" him, by having him re-experience his greatest losses. This seems a rather futile strategy, since Superman has already proven his resilience in the face of those very events. It does set up one really clever scene in which Luthor searches for the worst moment of Superman's life, expecting to find some sort of planetary-scale tragedy, and instead finds some true insight into what Superman is really all about.

Of course moments later it's time to cue up the convenient amnesia. We do get a nice little cameo by Death, but little else of consequence happens either in the main plot or in the Doomsday subplot, which simply engages in a stalling action to set the scene for the next issue.

Next come the backup stories. The first of these "Life Support" by Damon Lidelof and Ryan Sook, is far and away the best thing in this issue. It focuses in on a very small, but very important moment in Superman's history and does so with a strong plot, a good sense of mystery, and some powerful emotional content. The art is understated, but still among the best in this issue, which is saying a lot because this issue is loaded with strong visuals.

"Autobiography" is a conversation between Superman and an ancient alien being about the choices made when interacting with other species. It's a good bit of science fiction, especially for those fond of pondering "prime directive" type dilemmas.

Next up is the (seemingly) obligatory comedy piece, "Friday Night in the 21st Century", which serves as an excuse to 1) mock Lois Lane a bit (apparently she has a messy desk and is a bad cook) and 2) have a gratuitous appearance by the Legion of Super Heroes. Harmless fluff.

"The Incident" is an attempt at a political story, and it almost works really well. The President's national security advisor has a clandestine meeting with Superman to discuss an incident that too place in Iran. Apparently, Superman decided to sit in on a protest in Tehran. This doesn't sit well with the US government who feel like diplomacy should be handled the old-fashioned way (you know, by sending in Hillary Clinton). The actual Iran stuff was great. Absolutely brilliant discussion about the true limitations of Superman's effectiveness in solving the world's problems. But then the story takes things a step too far with Superman deciding that he is going to renounce his US citizenship. Look, I'm no ultra-patriotic conservative, but I respect tradition. "Truth, Justice, and the American Way" may be something that was made up for the TV version of Superman, but it's become ingrained as part of the Superman tradition and mythology, and I have a hard time with Superman going against those ideals, even if it might make logical sense for him to consider himself more of a "world citizen". It's too bad, because this detail seems hastily thrown in and unnecessary to the story being told here.

Last story is an odd screenplay/storyboard sequence featuring a rival of Clark Kent's who is using a STAR Labs suit to gain superpowers and challenges Superman to a "friendly" competition. This had a bit of a Silver Age flavor to it, and featured some good interaction between Superman and Lois.

Finally, a Brian Stelfreeze two-page pinup showing different character designs for Superman ends the issue. Interestingly the "current" Superman is shown holding an American flag. Mixed messages?

This issue is artistically excellent from David Finch's cover to the cosmic Lex Luthor sequences to the Doomsday fight to some great illustration in different styles for the backup stories. It's the kind of visual feast you expect from a milestone issue. The stories themselves were generally good for what they were. I had a few gripes, but for the most part this was an enjoyable read.

Rating: 7/10

Action Comics #894

Title: Action Comics
Issue: #894
Date: December 2010
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Paul Cornell, Nick Spencer
Art: Pete Woods, RB Silva, Dym
Colorist: Dave McCaig, Brad Anderson
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Wil Moss, Matt Idelson

Yup, that's Death on the cover, straight out of the pages of Neil Gaiman's Sandman. And she's here to have a little conversation with Lex Luthor. Lex: "And I suppose you're claiming to be Death. You don't even look like him." Death: "Are you looking for the scythe? Or the skis?" Ha! First of all, kudos to Pete Woods who does a gorgeous rendition of Gaiman's classic character. Luthor, as might be expected, tries everything he can think of to get out of the plight he's in, right down to playing for sympathy. Death, as might be expected, greets all of this with mild amusement and a touch of curiosity. Paul Cornell does the best he can in a story where he's basically handcuffed. He can't actually kill Luthor, he can't really have Luthor defeat Death like she's some rival super-villain, and he can't even really answer even the most obvious of questions because DC comics isn't in the business of giving definitive answers about the existence of God, the nature of the universe, and what happens to souls (if there even are such things) after death (or, in this case, after Death). Along the way we do get Lex admitting that he's an atheist, which makes reasonable sense. He's forced to admit that Death is what she is, but he's not ready to acknowledge any supreme being (aside from himself, of course). While the plot doesn't really go anywhere, the dialogue is quite good throughout, and it's refreshing to see these familiar characters having a chance to talk philosophy for a bit. The discussion of what Luthor would want in an afterlife was quite interesting.

Backup story has Jimmy Olsen playing escort to a group of aliens who are scouting Metropolis for a location to hold a massive party. Why come to Earth to party? Well, as it turns out, oxygen gets this species drunk. Jimmy really should have taken the keys to the spaceship from the cute alien girl before she started driving. Some aspects of the story are a bit over-the-top. It would have worked just fine without it turning into a planet-threatening (but still played for laughs) scenario. But that being said, it was pretty funny, and I enjoyed this depiction of "Superman's Pal". Nice mix of hip, nerdy, cocky, and clever. Good silly fun to balance out all the deep philosophy in the main story.

Rating: 7.5/10