Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: The Beginning

 Bought at Foreign Languages Bookstore, Shanghai, China.

Title: Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: The Beginning
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Date: 2018
Writer: Brandon Montclare, Amy Reeder
Artist: Natacha Bustos, Marco Failla
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Letterer: VC's Travis Lanham
Cover: Amy Reeder
Editor: Mark Paniccia, Emily Shaw, Jennifer Grunwald

Reprints issues 1-12 of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.

I loved the original run of Devil Dinosaur as a kid, so this brought back all of the nostalgic vibes, in spite of it bringing Devil Dinosaur out of prehistory and into the modern Marvel Universe continuity. Nine-year-old Lunella Lafayette is a brilliant mind stuck and bored in a New York public school. She is also a carrier of the inhuman gene, and terrified of the transformation that could happen if she is exposed to the terragen mists, which have been activating the powers of other inhumans around New York. Devil Dinosaur is, well, a dinosaur, but he pretty much plays the big slobbering dog role in this story.

Add in a timeshifted tribe of "Killer Folk", a kree boy with big ambitions and some daddy-issues, and guest appearances by Ms. Marvel and (Amadeus Cho) Hulk for a fast-moving story that brings the Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur pairing into the ranks of Marvel's New York based heroes.

That fast pace does hurt things a bit. Interactions between Lunella and her parents come as generic fare, as do a lot of the school scenes. Lunella herself is a nice blend of snarky and clever, but the story doesn't do enough to show how brilliant she is. Devil Dinosaur is wonderfully expressive, but there is not much potential for character development there.

And character development is what this story needs. "Captain Kree" gets a simple, but satisfying story arc, and the interactions with Amadeus Cho and Kamala Khan show good potential, but need more space to grow.

The Killer Folk are not very interesting villains, but are used sparingly, and are mostly absent from the second half of this volume. I can't say that I am particularly eager for their inevitable return.

What I would like to see is more of Lunella Lafayette. She has great potential here, but in twelve issues, we are still seeing only the beginnings of that potential.

Rating: 6.5/10

All Star Superman #1 Free Comic Book Day 2008 Edition

From the stack of random unread comics, and originally from Free Comic Book Day 2008.

Title: All-Star Superman
Issue: #1
Date: June, 2008
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Grant Morrison
Penciler: Frank Quitely
Inker: Jamie Grant
Colorist: Jamie Grant
Letterer: Phil Balsman
Editor: Brandon Montclare, Bob Schreck

This is one of several promotional reprints that DC Comics has produced of the first issue of All Star Superman. I read and reviewed a more recent reprint (coinciding with the release of the Man of Steel film) here.

This edition uses the original cover (formatted for Free Comic Book Day), which is something of an improvement on the Man of Steel promo (or rather, the new cover for the Man of Steel promo was not an improvement on the original).

My opinion on the story holds up after a second reading (actually, this was probably at least my fourth time reading this; I've got the original printing somewhere).

This is an excellent, and complex story, with Superman facing the possibility of his own mortality due to a scheme by Lex Luthor that lured Superman into the sun and left his cells dying slowly from a solar radiation overdose. The story feels very Silver-Age, and is reminiscent of Alan Moore's great Silver Age tribute, "What Ever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?".

The artwork is absolutely gorgeous.

It's not the best introductory story for non-fans, in spite of DC constantly reprinting it as such, but for a fan, this is a really intriguing beginning that holds up nicely after multiple readings.

Rating is up half a point due to the better cover.

Rating: 8.5/10

All-Star Superman #1 (Special Edition)

This was "free with any purchase" at Barnes & Noble this week. Free comic? I'll take that, please.

Title: All-Star Superman
Issue: #1
Date: August, 2013
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Grant Morrison
Penciler: Frank Quitely
Inker: Jamie Grant
Colorist: Jamie Grant
Letterer: Phil Balsman
Editor: Brandon Montclare, Bob Schreck



This is a reprint of the first issue of the All-Star Superman series from 2005, reissued this year as a free promo given out at various retail stores (I got my copy at Barnes & Noble; I know it's also available at Sears) in conjunction with the release of the film Man of Steel.


Superman rescues a mission organized by Dr. Leo Quintum to research the sun. The ship had been sabotaged by Lex Luthor. As a result, Superman is poisoned by an overdose of solar radiation, the Dr. Quintum determines that Superman is terminally ill. With only one year to live, Superman begins to think about what there still is to accomplish.

This story reminds me a bit of Alan Moore's "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" in the sense that it embraces much of the Silver-Age fantastical elements of the Superman mythology and still tells a serious story. This is not a toned-down Superman for the sake of realism. This is a Superman who flies into the sun.

It's also a complex story written for readers who know Superman. There is a lot going on, even in this first issue, and the large cast of supporting characters shows plenty of promise.

Frank Quitely's art is perfect for capturing the awesomeness as well as the humanity of the Man of Steel.

Rating: 8/10