Action Comics #1037 BTW, the cardstock variant cover kicks ass, and might be worth the extra $1...but I went for the regular version. This was a rather astonishing comic book, actually...but there's no way to talk about that without a gigantic, big, really large SPOILER. So we're going to white type after THIS. Okay. Um...Superman fucking DIES, man. I know, I know, and I am sure that that will be the case this time, too, but (1) we were told last issue that he was in a weakened state, (2) he was exposed to Red Sun radiation, and (3) he was impaled on a weapon. The blade actually went all the way through his body. So it will take some major cheating to get out of this one. I mean...this is even worse than the Terminal Beat Down that Doomsday gave Superman in Superman #75 ( November 18, 1992). And I guess nobody believes it this time. I mean, I went into the store on a Friday...as in two full days after the issue hit the stands...and there were plenty of copies left. But I've got a feeling, a feeling deep inside...about this. One big difference between THEN and NOW is that Jonathan Kent is on hand to take over the role of Superman. And I have to admit...I think it really is time for something like this to happen. But it won't, right? I mean...DC would never kill Superman. Would it? Well, just in case...I'd go buy a copy of this. Maybe two. In fact, if it's still on the stands next week, I might could buy that variant cover after all. Time (& I) will tell. Oh, by the way...I have to say that I'm very happy to be reading Action Comics again. It's been awhile. (I stopped shortly after Brian Michael Bendis started, checked in for a second when he left, and now think I might be back for a bit.)
Clans of Belari #2 & 3 Yep, I actually came through on my vow to buy issues 2 and 3 from the back issue box. Unfortunately, issue #4, which came out October 20th, wasn't it The Box, so I may have some trouble coming up with it...but there's always hook and crook if needed. And you know, after reading issue #2, I wasn't so sure that it would be needed. The cover was as lovely as that of the first issue, but the interior art was pretty sloppy. And the story...well, last time out I wrote that the premise was pretty stupid but that the story itself seemed to be okay. And this issue leaned heavily on the premise. So I was less than thrilled about that. There was a little bit of Te'a and Gummy, but it was pretty much everything that you expect to happen if you were reading a science fiction cliché. So it was all on the line for me with issue #3. And? Well, the good news is that interior art was better this time around. I don't know what happened to #2, but whatever it was, Daniel Maine seems to have gotten over it. But the story? Oh my God. If I thought #2 was science fiction cliché, then I don't know what to say about this one. There's even a ship traveling through an asteroid field...where the asteroids are about fifteen feet apart. I consider that to be the tiredest cliché in science fiction storytelling, and invariably the sign of an inferior story. (Yes, even Star Wars.) If this had been my first issue of the comic book, it would have been my last. Same goes for #2. And it makes me wonder...if I had picked up #4 when I first saw it, would I have hated it and come out of this whole think $15 richer? I don't think I'll ever know, because after these two loser issues, I have no desire to read anymore of this story. So long, Clans of Belari.
Dark Knights of Steel #1 This book came out a month ago (so why hasn't #2 come out yet? Jeeze, DC, you know you can't get away with this kind of shit, don't you?) but it was sold out at The Great Escape, and even though I found a copy at The Destination and it looked pretty good, I didn't pick it up. But when it showed up this week at TGE, I decided what the hell and went for it. And? It was pretty good. Tom Taylor is the writer on this one, and he almost always does interesting stuff. And I like the whole Batman and Superman as medieval knights thing. So if the second issue ever comes out, I might pick it up. Oh, the art (by one Yasmine Putri) is quite nice...almost delicate looking, but in a GOOD way.
Fantastic Four #38 This was an interesting issue. For one thing, it guest-starred the She-Hulk...but she spent almost every panel in her Jennifer Walters guise. For another thing, there wasn't a single punch thrown. Unfortunately, it also didn't further the story of All Flame, All The Time Johnny Storm one little bit...and that's the main reason I started reading FF again. I'll probably come back for another issue, though.
Hardware: Season One #3 Another great Hardware issue. You know, it's possible I missed something, but I think this might be the first regular art gig (inking) that Bill Sienkiewicz has done for a long time. And I must say that his inks on Denys Cowan's pencils looks great. Cowan has a nice solidity to his figures, and Sienkiewicz's inks add not only some polish, but also the crackle of some weird energy. It's a great combination. And Brandon Thomas's storytelling is very solid. In this issue the battle between Alva and Hardware continues to rage, with Hardware eventually seeking out some help...but it looks like that might not work out so well, and we end on a bit of a cliffhanger. Unlike most cliffhangers in comics, though, I actually don't know how this one will come out.
Previews #399 brought some Very Exciting News: Saga is coming back! Issue #56 is coming our way on Feb 23rd, 2022. And get this: it's still going to be selling for $2.99. I guess Brian K. Vaughan made so much off of the tv version of Y: The Last Man that he can afford to run at a deficit for awhile. (Just kidding, folks who don't follow the FX Channel: the show was cancelled after the first few episodes aired.)
Other things mentioned herein which Greatly Interested Me: Beyond the Farthest Star: Chronicles #1 courtesy of American Mythology. I have tried several of American Mythology's Edgar Rice Burroughs comic books, and have found that almost all of them are poorly written and have very bad art. Art which I would consider poor amateur art. The only exception was the two issue Carson of Venus: Pirates of Venus which reprinted the Len Wein / Michael William Kaluta series. And the good news is...this Beyond the Farthest Star is of like ilk. It reprints a series that was a back-up in DC's Tarzan way back when, and features the work of Marv Wolfman, Denny O'Neil, Robert Kanigher, Dan Green, Howard Chaykin (!), Murphy Anderson (!), and Rudy Florses...and covers by Roy G. Krenkel (!!). So yes, I shall be looking for that on or around 2/23/22.
I am also interested in two Alan Moore collections: Neonomicon (176 pages, $19.99 list price) and Providence Compendium (480 pages, $29.99 list price). I don't know if I'm interested enough to buy them, since (1) I have all of Providence and at least some (possibly all) of Neonomicon, but I at least want to fondle them a bit. Although it does burn my ass a little that I spent around $72 to get the single issues of Providence. But that's the way it is on this bitch of an Earth.
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