EVEN BETTER

One of my Christmas presents was Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes, a hardcover collecting the six issue storyline from Action Comics. Written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Gary Frank and (inker) Jon Sibal, it features Superman reconnecting with his childhood friends and allowed me to reconnect with mine, as this series features the original versions of the long-running (and twice-rebooted) Legion. I talked some about this issues as they came out but I think I enjoyed the story even more this second time around.

Originally, I was swept up in the plot and the pure joy of seeing Blok and Dawnstar and Polar Boy again. But Johns really nailed the essences of these characters - the hotheadedness of Wildfire balanced by the calm practicality of Dawnstar; the arrogance and compassion of Brianiac 5; the positive attitude of Polar Boy.

He also showed why Superman was the inspiration for the future. A non-powered Clark (thanks to Earth's sun having turned red) still fights the fight and is not only loyal to his friends but is still able to inspire them. Obviously, he does not appreciate the Justice League (former Legion rejects, some of whom were members of the Legion of Super-Villains) distorting his life to spread xenophobia on Earth and bring the United Planets to the brink of war. In their final confrontation, Earth-Man tells Superman he doesn't know what it's like to be an outsider, to be rejected. Superman's reply is powerful and well set up by the story.

All of these serious themes and subjects are undercut by bits of humor as well. A major source of this is the reappearance of the Legion of Substitute-Heroes, who hijack a space bus and attack the Justice League in their headquarters. I do love Stone Boy.

The art is a big draw here as well. Frank and Sibal like working on the ladies - rarely have Dawnstar and Shadow Lass looked so good. But they also give us a Superman we can believe in, as well as the entire Legion. Johns ended each issue with a great cliffhanger and the art did not let down the story - Chapter 5's ending of a powerless Superman taking the fight with Earth-Man into space is awesome.

I'm very glad I got this series in hardcover, as I suspect it's one I will return to. My rereading also comes at a good time, since there has been a long gap between issues of Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds (the third is coming at the end of the month, finally) and I was itching to see more of the Legion. It is work like this that makes me continue to love super-hero comics.

REVENGE OF THE ROLE MODELS

I spent the last few days reading one of my recent trade paperback purchases, Green Lantern: Revenge of the Green Lanterns. It is the second collection of the current ongoing series and contains issues #7-13, which were published back in 2006 (the series has several more volumes collected in hardcover). It was written by Geoff Johns and pencilled by Carlos Pacheco (#7, 8), Ethan Van Sciver (#9), and Ivan Reis (#10-13).

The collection starts out with a two-parter guest-starring Green Arrow and features Mongul's son as the villain. Hal (GL) and Ollie (GA) get trapped by a Black Mercy plant, which puts its victims to a dream of their happiest wishes while it kills them (and was also featured in the Justice League Unlimited episode "For The Man Who Has Everything," where the villain was...Mongul). This setup allows Hal to work through some of his guilt issues with his family and some solid interaction between the two old friends. That is followed by a one issue team-up with Batman, which works through some relationship issues with Hal and Bruce. Finally, there is the big titular four-parter, in which Hal and Guy Gardner travel to Sector 3601 to look for long-lost Green Lanterns and discover Cyborg Superman and a whole slew of Manhunters. Oh, and those presumed-dead Lanterns, including one who was a main cast member of the Green Lantern Corps series in the 1980s (I was a fan). Lots of big drama here and we also get hints of something big coming down the line. Yes, I know it's the Sinestro Corps War but I won't get around to reading that for a while yet.

It is a solid read for fans of GL, though I wouldn't say it is Johns' best work. Still, I'm looking forward to the paperback release of the next collection early next year and after that I may think about getting the Sinestro Corps stuff in hardcover. We'll see.

This afternoon I decided to go to the movies. My wife and son were going to see Madagascar 2 and since I still haven't seen the first one, I took a pass. But it was the perfect time to catch Role Models. The trailer they've been showing on TV caught my eye and my interest seemed to be supported by solid reviews, so why not. I do not regret going.

To have a successful comedy where you can see the plot turns coming a mile away, you need it to be funny and you need to care about the characters. Well, Role Models passes the funny test quite easily. And it's not just the crude jokes either - there are plenty of throwaway lines and little bits that make it work. And you know what, you do care about the characters. The kid who played McLovin in Superbad is great as a kid into LARPing and Paul Rudd does what he does best, playing an asshole that you like anyway. I'm a fan of Rudd's and he had a hand in the script as well. And yes, Sean William Scott mines that kinda dumb, kinda lovable character he can do and Jane Lynch is hilarious in a role that is a close cousin to the one she played in The 40 Year-Old Virgin. This movie does have some Apatow connections, but it's very ably directed by the funny-in-his-own-right David Wain. A fun way to spend a couple hours on a Friday afternoon.

FANBOY CATNIP

Geoff Johns knows how to write for DC fanboys in their mid-30s, probably because he is one himself (I think he's a couple years younger than I am). His latest issue of Booster Gold (#8, with co-writer Jeff Katz and the usual art team of Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund) finds Booster and Blue Beetle in an timeline that's been twisted so that Max Lord is overrunning most heroes with OMACs and the two heroes have joined with a disparate band of heroes that features....Wild Dog! Not only that, but Pantha and Anthro too. And what fun it is amidst all the danger and drama and the sinisters machinations of a villainous cabal. The issue also ends with a promise of trying to get the old Justice League International team back together again to fight back against Lord, who was their benefactor and friend. Fanboy catnip, indeed.

The other comic I picked up last week was also written by Johns, Justice Society of America #14. It continues the "Thy Kingdom Come" storyline with the arrival and confrontation with Gog. Along the way, there are nice character bits (like a nice opening with Sandy and Power Girl) and some humor as all the heroes try to pile around the table (also, there's a printing snafu on one page but it is still readable). Of course, all that gives way to the fight in the second half of the book and nice cliffhanger ending. I'm ready for more.

Zack Snyder has found a new way to build interest in his upcoming Watchmen adaptation - a set of 12 production videos that will debut around the web on the 6th of every month (which means that final one will arrive the same day as the movie opens next year). The first video deals with the set-building and creating of New York circa 1985, Watchmen-style. Watch it here.

THE HOOK

Earlier this week I was feeling a bit burned out on comics. It happens from time to time. I love comics but sometimes the sheer amount of stuff I want to read and/or buy overwhelms me, not only for monetary concerns but for space around the house as well. It's just one of those moods and it may well have colored my thoughts on JSA Presents: Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. Vol. 1 a bit. I felt like I could take or leave comics for a while...then I read about the trailer at the end of Action Comics # 863 and I was hooked all over again.

I had planned on picking up Action Comics #863, of course, with it being the final issue of the "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" storyline that I've been greatly enjoying. It didn't disappoint either as Superman gets his powers back and Yera reluctantly kisses Sun Boy and the full Legion is present for the victory and the uplifting end. It was great story and not only for bringing back the Legion I fell in love with, though that certainly helped. Of course, it makes me want to read the continuing adventures of my Legion (well, even better if I could write it) - and that's where the trailer comes in.

Geoff Johns first used a trailer at the end of Justice Society of America #1, which helped cement a great first issue by giving glimpses of what was coming up in the book. The trailer at the end of Action Comics #863 gives us a glimpse at an upcoming mini-series by Johns and George Perez (!) - Final Crisis: Legion of the Three Worlds. Ohhhh yeah. Superman. Superboy-Prime. The Legion I grew up with as well as the Legions of the two reboots (it's cool seeing XS in the ad). The Time Trapper. Universo. Mordru. And Lex Luthor? It begins it August and I already can't wait. Thanks for jolting me back into my love of comics, Johns. Well played.

COMICS, OLD AND NEW

Sad to say I abandoned a book about comics the other day. I'd started on David Hajdu's new look at the comic book wars of the 1950s (where the industry was drastically censored and changed), The Ten-Cent Plague. I'm familiar with the story and many of the players, which may have colored my reading of the book. Or maybe reading two non-fiction books back to back wasn't the right way to go. I don't know. I'm not saying the Hajdu is bad book or that you shouldn't read it...it just wasn't for me right now.

I mentioned in my previous post that we took a trip to a cool comics shop yesterday. I try to make it to The Laughing Ogre every time I'm in Columbus - it's a big, clean store just filled with a wide variety of comics and trades. They have super-hero and non and indie and manga and magazines and all sorts of cool stuff. I could spend $100 every time I went, easily. I didn't spend that much. of course. I did pick up two trades, though - Casanova: Luxuria and JSA Presents: Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. Volume One. The first is a collection of the ongoing series by Matt Fraction and Gabriel Ba; the second collects the first half of the Geoff Johns series from 9 years ago. Thus continues my trend of buying new material to me and stuff that I like but don't have in single issues anymore. I'm already about halfway through Casanova: Luxuria and will do a proper review later on.

SMASHING

Last Thursday Grant finally had enough money to buy Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii. He's been playing it a lot, obviously, but Jill and I have gotten in the act too. Man, it is a ton of fun. You can fight on a variety of worlds from Nintendo games and as a wide variety of characters. You get to punch and use lightsabers and flip and all sorts of cool things as you try and knock out the other players. Last night I dominated as Mario, cutting way down on getting knocked off and upping my kill power. I love this game.

Yesterday I got a score of 8919 on computer solitaire, which is easily the highest score I've ever reached. I should probably retire, especially since I could be doing more productive things than playing it.

I spent a couple days last week reading through Justice Society of America: The Next Age, which collects the first 4 issues of the relaunched and ongoing series. I read these as they came out last year and liked them enough to get them in a collected edition. Geoff Johns is dealing with the legacy of the JSA, bringing in new characters and tieing into the past. It's the kind of DC comic that I go for and would love to write. Maybe someday.

I watched a cool Doctor Who two-parter ("Human Nature" and "The Family of Blood") over the weekend, breaking my self-imposed rule of watching show off the DVR in chronological order. The Doctor is being hunted by the family and flees to 1913 to hide, becoming fully human in the process. The aliens track him and Martha (masquerading as a servant) isn't sure what to do. It's a look at what it means to be human and what the Doctor sacrifices by being who he is. Really great work by the cast and writer Paul Cornell. This now brings me back to where I came in on the series, as "Blink" airs this coming Saturday. I'll probably watch the end of the third season again, especially now having seen just about the entire series (I missed maybe an ep or two somewhere along the line). Season 4 starts airing in April too, I think.

Speaking of series starting in April, I need to watch Battlestar Galactica: Razor before the final season starts on April 4. Frak yeah. Oh, you can find the cast's appearance on David Letterman doing a Top Ten list on You Tube...in character!

I also watched the first part of HBO's John Adams mini-series yesterday and found it thoroughly engrossing - both for the story and the performance of Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney and John and Abigail. Part two takes John to Philadelphia for the first Contintenal Congress and part three is also on the DVR.

Meanwhile, we're heading to Columbus for a few days tomorrow to visit Jill's dad and his wife. It will be nice to get away for a few days!

ENDINGS, BEGINNINGS, AND THE LONG MIDDLE

A week ago HBO aired the final episode of The Wire, one of the best TV shows ever produced. While I'm sorry to see it go, I am glad that we got 60 episodes of the series. That's a lot more than many series get, many lesser series even. The finale was 90 minutes long and wrapped things up as much as you could wrap them up. Redemption for some, release for others. We checked in with all of the main players from the start of the series and many since then. It's hard to sum up the show. I do look forward to the day when I can sit down and watch the whole of the series...most likely it will be when I make my wife watch the show. Well done, David Simon and company. Well done.

Today I finished a new novel by a writer who worked on The Wire over the last few seasons, Richard Price. He's someone I've always meant to get around to reading and took advantage of the release of Lush Life to do so. It centers around a robbery-turned-murder and what that does to all the people involved - perpetrators, victims, cops, families, and more. It has a sprawling cast and it told from many viewpoints. It's full of humanity and it feels real. I liked it a lot.

Last Sunday I finished another novel, The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes. Set in the Victorian era, it features a man who lives his life backwards, secret societies, the reanimated corpse of Coleridge, and much more. It's also a lot of fun.

I recently reread Green Lantern: Rebirth (though this time in collected form), a mini-series from 2005 that featured the return of Hal Jordan to the role of Green Lantern. Why now? Well, the current storyline in the ongoing series has been getting high praise and the collected editions of the series are now starting to come out in paperback, so I thought it was time to reacquaint myself. Geoff Johns did a great job creating a reason for what happened to Hal over the years - his fall from grace and murderous nature than was at odds with his previous character - and brought him back in a story full of great moments. Of course, Ethan Van Sciver's art doesn't hurt either. I'm looking forward to getting caught up on the series.

Today I read Powers Vol. 10: Cosmic, another volume in the ongoing series by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming. Its release was delayed for a long time and during delays like that, you can forget what a good comic it is (and by "you" I mean people who read the series only in trade, like me). The most interesting development is that Christian Walker is given powers once again by taking up the mantel of Millennium, a group of intergalactic cops run by aliens (akin to Green Lantern, which made me laugh). His partner, Deena Pilgrim, isn't doing as well. The next trade in the series has been out for a while and will have to move up the to-be-read list (and to-be-bought list).

THE WEEK IN COMICS: DEC. 28

New comics day was delayed until Friday this week due to Christmas and I actually bought multiple comics. Actually, I bought two comics and three trades (thanks for the Christmas comics cash, Mom and Dad!)...can't remember the last time I bought that much at once. Plus, I got Previews and the new issue of Wizard, which is the 2008 preview issue (I'm a sucker for a preview issue). I love comics.

So, Action Comics #860 is the third part of the "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" storyline and I just have two words: Shadow Lass. Okay, I have more but the appearance of the sexy Shadow Lass as drawn by Gary Frank was really cool. Okay, it was great to see Polar Boy and Night Girl and Timber Wolf and everyone as well. Some fight scenes and character moments and an ending that further complicates things just give it that much more. Three more issues to go and I can't wait to see where it goes.

Hmm, I guess it was a Geoff Johns day because I also picked up Booster Gold #3 (thank you, reorders!) and have now read every issue of the series, albeit out of order. This issue saw Booster going back and getting drunk with Jonah Hex and ties into The Kents maxi-series from the late 90s (which I never did read). Plus, another encounter with Supernova and some complications for Booster's ancestor and some nifty Dan Jurgens art. Not the best issue of the series but still highly enjoyable.

When I get around to reading the trades, you'll hear about it. Next year, most likely.

MY LEGION

I've mentioned several times that I trace my love for comics back to Legion of Super-Heroes #272 back when I was in 4th grade. I remained a huge fan of the myriad heroes of the 30th century throughout my first phase of fandom and it was the first comic I checked in on when I came back to comics in 1994. Later that year, the series was relaunched and my Legion was no more. I still followed the series for many more years, eventually losing track as I made the switch to buying only trades. A third relaunch occurred a few years back; I reviewed the first collection of that series a few months back.

Earlier this year, member of the original Legion made a reappearance in the pages of JLA and JSA, in a five-part crossover that culminated in the return of Wally West, the Flash. Now a new story, "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes," is running in Action Comics and I have decided I couldn't wait for a trade, making the first two parts (#858 and #859) my first single issue purchases in three months.

The story (written by Geoff Johns) begins with a couple on an alien planet in 3008 who make the decision to send their son to Earth, since it had worked out well long ago for Superman (who still remains "the ultimate symbol for truth, justice, and the universal way"). This time it doesn't work out, as the Ma and Pa Kent-like couple who find the kid make the decision to kill it...something is amiss in the 31st century.

Cut to the present, where Clark Kent is ignored by his colleagues trying to join them on the elevator; soon is being lectured by Perry White that he needs to have friends other than Jimmy Olsen. He's saved by the appearance of Brianiac rampaging through Metropolis (a gigantic Brianiac no less!) and goes off to fight. Turns out it's not really Brianiac - it's Brainiac 5 from the Legion - and he helps Clark remember his past (lonely before meeting the Legion). Now the future needs Superman's help and Clark jumps in the time sphere to come help.

Superman lands in Legion HQ but he is attacked by the Science Police and subsequently rescued by Colossal Boy, Dawnstar, and Wildfire. They try to send him back but the time sphere is destroyed; even worse, Superman learns the sun is red and he has no powers.

In the next issue, we start to get some answers as to why he is in danger in the 31st century. His legacy has been distorted and his name used to drive aliens away from Earth and for Earth to secede from the United Planets. Earth is being policed by the Justice League, a group of Legion rejects (we see them defeat Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, and Saturn Girl in the remains of the Batcave). Of course, Superman still wants to help and sets out with the three Legionnaires who rescued him to try and find Brianiac 5 (who's been missing for months).

Obviously, I'm hooked. I'm looking forward to seeing what other glimpses we get of my old favorites and where the story goes and hoping that this could lead to a new series chronicling the ongoing adventures of my Legion. The art by Gary Frank and inker Jon Sibal is very dynamic - Dawnstar has rarely looked better. It's a good package all the way around and I wish I didn't have to wait until a few days after Christmas for the next installment. But I do.

MORE COMICS CHATTER

When we were in Columbus a couple weeks ago, we went to The Laughing Ogre, which is one of the most-known comic book stores in the country. It can be overwhelming when you walk in there, as they have rows and rows of single issues and trade paperbacks and so much more. I wandered around and looked at all the possibilities...and ended up buying just one comic. Eh, I'll be there again.

The comic I bought that day was Nexus #99, the first new issue of the series in 10 years. Obviously, it's been a while since I read those last issues and I no longer own them, of course. But Nexus has always been one of my favorites and it wasn't hard to get back in the groove. Mike Baron and Steve Rude are back in their groove with this issue - a plot against Nexus, the Elvonics and Alvinites are at each other's throats, and Sundra is about to give birth to their son. All that and a letter column to boot. One of the best comic books ever is back and here to stay for what I hope is a long, long time.

I also brought a trade along on our vacation and managed to get it read. The All-New Atom: My Life in Miniature collects the first six issues of the recently-relaunched series, this time with a new Atom at the helm. Dr. Ryan Choi comes to Ivy Town to take Ray Palmer's (the previous and longstanding Atom) place on the faculty and ends up taking his place as the hero as well. The series is full of weirdness and humor with a scientist support group, a new villain who shares the same powers, intergalactic war, a cancer god, and a man trying to adjust to his new powers. Gail Simone does a great job in writing the series and the art (by John Byrne and Eddy Barrows and Trevor Scott) is super-hero solid. I will definitely pick up the next volume in the series.

The week I bought the first two issues of Countdown I also picked up Justice Society of America #8. It foucses on Jesse Quick, the daughter of Golden Age heroes Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle (who starred in one of my favorite series of the 80s, All-Star Squadron). I've always had a fondess for the character and the mixture of her history and the present day (where she is married to Hourman) works very well. The issue also deals with some redemption for Damage and Jesse learns even more about herself. This is how done-in-one comics are supposed to be. Thanks Geoff Johns and the solid fill-in art by Fernando Pasarin (and Rodney Ramos) for that.

Finally, I picked up Batman #667 last week. It teams Grant Morrison with J.H. Williams once again and that's a great thing - Williams is easily one of my favorite artists. This is the first issue of the three-part story which features "Batmen" from around the world. It's funny and twisted and features Batman the way you want him to be. Can't wait to see where the story goes from here...