The Inevitable Mediocre Spin-off

No popular character can be a sidekick, there will always be too much demand for more focus on said 'subordinate'. Fans will demand more active roles for their favourites, compatance and equality! I would like the in-universe suggestion that while these heroes are good the future is bright, Dick Grayson will eclipse Bruce Wayne's reputation by leading the Justice League against a Starro Invasion of multiple planets. That Donna Troy will reconcile the Amazons with Men and create an alliance against evil in all forms. That Supergirl will live on and on and on and on as kryptonians do and when the Earth meets its end she moves on and continues her fight against evil across the stars.

I got 2 Brave and the Bold issues through the post today, both featuring Batman and Supergirl. Issue 147 from Feb 1979 and issue 160 from March 1980. Back when comics were 15p rather than £2.15. I honestly can't wait to read them. The art looks great and the texture of the paper makes it feel comic-booky. They came bagged and boarded. Its strange, I believe comics are for reading and just keeping them in their plastic is an insult to the people that worked on them but when I get 20th century comic books I feel compelled to treat them with more respect than I usually would. I like to think I keep all my comics in good condition but mostly so that they don't fall apart but there is something about old, out of print comics that makes me treat the pages with more care.

This week I'm picking up Action Comics, Batman #686, R.E.B.E.L.S and Superman #685.

I'm on the fence about getting Booster Gold. I want to start reading it because I've heard so many good things. I love fun comics. I expect a payment at the end of the month and may set some aside for some trades of the early stuff. Then again, Booster could really do with the monthly sales. Perhaps I should start with 52? Decisions, decisions

Action boasts the return of Mon-El and the propect of a legionnaire appearing regularly in a monthly is exciting in these uncertain times. Batman begins 'Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?' by Neil Gaiman. The preview was beutiful. I'm not really a Batman fan but feel this may be a must read. (I'll always prefer his supporting cast. Even Alfred is more entertainment value than Bruce) Next up is R.E.B.E.L.S, its Vril Dox and Supergirl was I ever not going to buy this. This was my most anticipated comic this month. Finally Superman, where he finally gets to mourn his father. I'm only buying it for the probable Supergirl appearance.

And finally I bought Jamal Igle's sketchbook from his site. It will take a while to get here and was probably a bit expensive (in delivery, I live a long way away) but I'm determined not to beat myself up about it. I probably would feel better if I hadn't bought two Doctor Who annuals and the Star Wars vault this week. Anyway, I'm looking forward to the awesomeness being in my hands.

Its 1.42 in the morning and I have a uni presentation I haven't written due this morning...oh and I've had a bit too much wine. With that in mind I've decided to write my review of Final Crisis 7!


A general disclaimer before I start. I like Final Crisis...sorry. I may be called elitest or whatever but I don't think it takes a Brainiac to understand what is going on. This comic is as much part 3 of superman beyond as it is Final Crisis 7. It begins with the extension of Zillo valla's quest to find the Supermen of the multiverse carried out by the Billy Batson of Earth 5. Firstly I love that Billy got such a pivotal role in this book. I prefer Billy to Superman so much. There is an innocence that comes from his youth rather than an artificial innocence they give to Superman. So the book opens with our first superman AKA Super-Barack. Its easy to call him super-barack now that he's won and I have no doubt the use of such a character was inspired by the election but we must keep in mind people in comics/tv have been using people of colour in presidential positions for years. He's joined by Nubia who could be considered a reaction to this article from November- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7718580.stm even though she outdates the article. They meet Marvel's ship, the ultima thule as it breaks through the bleed.

I have to echo Renee here 'A whole ... multiverse and they all look like you guys'. Which is part of my problem with the 'Superman' idea. They are gathering the supermen and its intertextuual based on Superman being the 'real' start of the DCU. I understand that, but they are gathering all the characters based on Superman like Captain Marvel but they all aren't Kal-El. Not all have a kryptonian power set so what makes them a 'Superman'? Why don't we see the Superwoman from Earth-11 despite the fact she is an analogue of Kal-El? Why don't we see more Supergirls, Kara is arguably just as much inspired by Superman as captain marvel, if not more and definitely more in the Superman image than Captain Allen from Superman Beyond and what appears here to be Ozymandias. In the end the Supermen are assembled because they are the strongest team ever but why not make the team stronger by using Nubia and others of Superman's calibre. I don't want to scream sexism because I understand the 'image' of superman but the in-universe reasoning is lacking. Also there are more than 52 supermen and thats including the vampirised Ultraman, Superboy Prime and Mon-El (who should have been represented by a multiversial equivalent, Valor for certain) and as said before Superwoman of Earth-11 or Super-lad if a penis is a necessity!

So we go next to our next big theme, story. A theme more prominent in Superman Beyond than Final Crisis but lets roll with it. Lois, Jimmy and the Daily Planet is important here because they keep the story going. Supergirl tells the children inspirational tales before they 'go to sleep'. In Resist we see Black Lightning delivering the Daily Planet because it keeps the survivors hopeful.We see what would be the final issue of the Daily Planet, 'Earth Endures'. Almost an acceptance that the story is coming to an end. Its placed in a rocket with a miniture bat signal and one of Supergirl's capes before launching in a hope that their story will continue somewhere. This also links to the second idea in this comic. Time as relative. Imagine the time stream folding like a concertina. When compressed enough Darkseid has a straight shot from the end to the beginning and kills Orion. The Flashes can stop time by running so fast they match light, Superman can get the key to save the universe from the future and events an hour ago seem like days ago. The issue may not seem like it flows right or is in any kind of order but there is your reason. We readers have to put it together like a jigsaw because we are as confused as the characters.

The final theme I got from this comic is that of Science vs Religion. Darkseid would have all worship him, he is a New God he is brought down by a man made gun and the universe is saved by Brainiac 5's thinking and the creation of advanced scientific technology. The new gods where always an uneasy mix between science and religion. The mother/father box is the most advanced tech in the universe and it comes from the 'gods'. Metron gives Anthro knowledge which must seem like magic. Its not. These people are Gods only to those lowlier down the intellectual chain. I believe only Brainiac 5 could compete intellectually with a new god and we saw in the reboot how he idolised Metron. Brainy could be quite the apprentice for Metron. We also see how Superman writes the plans for the Miracle Machine, in Metron's chair. It is the God of Science, almost an oxymoron in itself that proves intrumental in Dax Novu's rebirth and the salvation of New Earth through his mark. The agents of the christian god are drained dry when they confront Mandrakk, though as they are dead to begin will I don't think this is an issue other than thematic repetition.


Finally some odds and ends. This issue concludes as the -Supermen, Green Lanterns and a Kara Zor-El toe New Earth out of the abyss. Seen that before? I have.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryao4zCRImE
Is it coincidence that Grant Morisson once wrote classic who and is interested in writing more?
http://splashpage.mtv.com/2008/10/23/grant-morrison-talks-idw-doctor-who-reprints-possible-film-ideas/
http://www.comicmix.com/news/2008/04/29/interview-grant-morrison-on-final-crisis-and-doctor-who/

-I have no idea why Ultraman has Kara. Well presumably to feed on her but they never say why her. Maybe Mandrakk realises that a Supergirl is more fearsome than a Superman?
-The Green Lanterns collectively give a nod to Buffy-'Lets spike this vampire' rather than stake a vampire.
-We see the New Gods have returned, Mister Miracle's belief in the source seems to have paid off. Also Barda, an apokaliptan by birth is now judged worthy of rebirth with those of New Genesis. It is a judgement of evil based on individuals rather than species.
- It concludes with Batman taking over from Anthro upon his death, he's ALIVE. I don't actually care.

No spoilers here for forthcoming issues just some shallow cover oggling. To start with Final Crisis issue #6. I called it but then again I think everyone did. Its a Batman cover, the next will be Superman of course. First, the image itself. It doesn't sell 'power' to me. Maybe it's the intention but Batman looks frail and not tough. I'm not intimidated by the image at all and as far as powers go that is Batman's number one. Technically as with all JG's character covers its exceptional. In his painting style he's really outdoing the master, Alex Ross right now. We'll go into that later.

So far we've had on our character covers, #1 Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, #2 The Flash/ Barry Allen, #3 Supergirl/ Kara Zor-El, #4 Darkseid, #5 Wonder Woman, #6 Batman, #7 presumably Superman. Darkseid is definitely a separation point, in story at least. In issue #4 he's the winner (if you've read #3 that is no spoiler at all). In these covers he seems to separate the big three and the big three returning Silver Age characters. It could be coincidence of course. Why those six heroes? Why Supergirl? She's not one of the big seven usually considered the JLA founders. She was also barely in the issue she covered. Maybe its because its a crisis. In Crisis on Infinite earths she died heroically, in Infinite Crisis her earth two counterpart Power-Girl's backstory was re-established as that on alternate Kara, in Final Crisis? Does Nazi Supergirl hold the key to Kara's importance? Will her death in COIE lead to a rebirth in the coming issues? We'll have to see...


Next to November's Batman. You can feel the Burt Ward/ Adam West vibe! Pow, Bam, Biff in neon lights. I'm sure in line its a divine cover but that green, yellow and red just hurts. That said, if an average artist did this it would be completely unworkable but its Alex Ross you can see the nostalgia and each character drawn to perfection so its not a wholesale failure. Marketing wise its going to stick out on your local shelf, you're going to wonder what is going on with Barbara as Batgirl and Dick as Robin and how it fits in to RIP. Also this month Ross paints the JSA/ Kingdom come crossover covers. He's on a red vibe.
I haven't got spectacular interest in either Batman RIP or Justice Society and have issues with Kingdom Come so neither of these really excite me. I may end up picking up Batman just for the flashback factor.




Terra is finally arriving after her debut in Supergirl in 2006.
I think she may have been in one more comic since then but at least we know the issues will be done by now! I'm sure that cover has been around for over a year but its still great. I'm a fan of Amanda Conner's covers, and to a degee her interiors. She does great expressions and rounded characters. Although I much preferred Ale Garza's cutesy Supergirl Conner's does rank up there for me. I won't be getting this mini although I'm sure it will 'pop up' out there on those internets.

Does this character really need a full mini behind her? She's Terra, stuff her in the Titans and get it over with. This Terra so far has shown she'd give Robin a run for his money in the serious stakes! The Titans have been the canon fodder of the DCU of late so it makes sense that they should fill their ranks. Other than that I see no other place she can fit in the DCU. She's not going to get her own ongoing, I hope at least. There are so many other characters more deserving. What other team will she be on unless she nomadically travels from title to title.


Speaking of Terra, the writers of her guest spot on Supergirl write Superman/Supergirl. A five part mini that will come out twice in November. Looking at the cover I have one issue. Superman is running to rescue Supergirl. I really don't like that. Let the girl handle herself instead of being rescued by her bigger male cousin. Saying that though Kara doesn't seem very bothered by being lifted by this woman. A woman who is visibly strained. She has a look of 'WTF lady?' I can imagine a dieting joke in this issue somewhere if that does happen.

So this mini was unexpected. I can't remember it announced at any comic event this summer. I think it seeks to clarify Clark and Kara's relationship. One problem with that. He's Superman. Do we think that DC will let Kara rescue him? Do we think she will be shown to be better than him in any way at all? It was always the case pre-crisis that Kara was the weaker female cousin and when she gained immunity to Kryptonite it was swiftly taken away and it was re-affirmed that once again Superman is better. This is the modern day, I'm not envoking female liberation here just the plea that she can be weaker than Superman but can that be balanced by her being smarter, faster, more creative...whatever just something.

Full solicits at 5pm EST on newsarama though I'm on UK time, guess I'll see them all on Tuesday.