JMS Ends His Runs on 'Superman' and 'Wonder Woman'

DC announced today that J. Michael Straczynski would be off his monthly runs on Superman and Wonder Woman to focus on a sequel to wildly successful Superman: Earth One OGN. Earth One hit No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list during its first week out so naturally DC is eager to see what more can be done with this fledgling brand.

Good call on DC for knowing how to take advantage of their talent. Personally I was frustrated with Straczynski’s “Grounded” storyline in Superman, partly because the story was dull and partly because the writer couldn’t seem to find the character’s voice. While Earth One wasn’t exactly what we’ve come to know about Superman, that wasn’t the point. This was a new take on the Man of Steel and it required the freshness that Straczynski was able to bring. The author’s retelling (or re-imagining) was unencumbered by what came before it and that may be key to why it has been embraced.

Sadly we won’t get to see the exact road he would have taken Diana down in the pages of Wonder Woman. It has been a brief and fascinating road as Wonder Woman has been forced into a new reality and odyssey to find her way back to her world. This was a fantastic way to address a character that is slowly becoming synonymous with reboot. There was little to not like about Straczynski’s run on this title.

Chris Roberson (iZombie) will take over the reigns of Superman with issue #707 in January and Phil Hester (Firebreather) begins writing Wonder Woman as of issue #605 (currently scheduled for December). DC stated that both writers will continue to work from Straczynski’s story notes. I pray that Roberson will take Superman in another direction (i.e. “Grounded… in the Heart of the Phantom Zone!”).

Straczynski’s monthly runs may have been shortened at DC, but it looks like the publisher is really playing to his strengths by letting him control his own playground.

Review: 'Superman: Earth One'

By Don M. Ventura

A rocket ship. An explosion. An alien child lands on Earth. The child has powers that manifest with age. The boy becomes a man and goes to the big city. He uses his powers for good and becomes the city’s protector. And then the world’s.

All the beats are familiar and have been told time and again. But not here and not this way. I think this is what makes J. Michael Straczynski’s Superman: Earth One a success. While it is not perfect, this book is absolutely worth a read.

Straczynski has taken the Superman story and told it in a wholly different manner, while introducing some familiar concepts, the writer has brought just about the freshest take on the Man of Steel’s story that I have ever read. The book is not bogged down in continuity and Straczynski takes full advantage of this by presenting twists to his Superman tale.

We open with a younger Clark (early 20’s perhaps) traveling to Metropolis for the first time.  He’s still undecided about his future and whether his destiny is to wear the iconic costume Ma Kent has sewn for him. Clark ponders the opportunities presented to him; he is both smart and strong and there are men who are eager to take advantage of this.

Naturally Clark eventually finds himself at the Daily Planet, meets with Perry White, takes an application, then throws it in the trash. What? Yes. This is only one of many scenes that are unexpected but refreshing. I did not miss those familiar beats. What I loved about Straczynski’s approach to the material is that it felt as though he was not obligated in the least to reference the original material and, rather, was determined to write the story that he wanted to tell.

This is good. For my money, I wanted something new and that is exactly what I got. I questioned whether fans would embrace something like Superman: Earth One. I figured The Man of Steel, Superman: Birthright, and Superman: Secret Origins have famously retold the character’s early days and rise to prominence, there was no reason to revisit much of what has already been mined and re-mined.

Add to this, beautiful artwork by Shane Davis. There is nothing that feels rushed in any panel in this book. Clark’s initial steps into Metropolis, the first scene of Clark flying which culminates in him hovering over his adopted planet, the battle between Superman and Tyrell—Davis’s work is astonishing from cover to cover. The artwork is enhanced by Sandra Hope’s painstaking inks and gorgeous colors by Barbara Ciardo. This artby Davis, Hope and Ciardo feels like a labor of love.

There are a few missteps in the book, most significantly with the villain Tyrell. I thought the character’s design felt dated, especially for this book, like something that would be featured in a late 80’s or early 90’s X-Men book. I did not care for the casual tone of Tyrell’s dialogue either; while his intentions were as evil and sadistic as a Superman villain could be, the character did not speak in a way that felt particularly menacing.

Additionally, the story felt as though it was missing an act in the middle. I believe in the importance of at least two showdowns with the main villain. This could be a matter of taste, but I believe by introducing and thwarting the bad guy over two different acts, the characters are allowed to ruminate over their fate and the reader becomes more invested in how the heck the hero is going to fix what seems unfixable.

Make no mistake though, Superman: Earth One is a really strong read. Straczynski, who understands pacing from a film and television standpoint, brings a cinematic quality to the story and it is absolutely effective.

Business is Healthy for 'Superman: Earth One'

Early congratulations appear to be in order for DC and J. Michael Straczynski for this week’s Superman: Earth One release. According to Jim Lee, DC Comics co-publisher, the OGN is heading back for a second printing and Amazon has sold out of their initial inventory before the book even debuted yesterday.

This is wonderful news and continuing proof that Superman can still generate excitement. Earth One’s publication has been all over the mainstream news this week, which is also exciting for fans that don’t want to see their favorite entertainment medium going anywhere anytime soon.

Next up? Batman: Earth One by Geoff Johns and probably more Superman adventures in Straczynski’s new universe.

Superman: Earth One Preview

Yesterday I posted a not so complimentary review of Superman #703. My two main beefs with J. Michael Straczynski’s interpretation of the character are: 1) the writer does not have Superman’s voice down, and 2) the story is not an interesting one.

The original hardcover Superman: Earth One has been previewed throughout the DC comics published last week. So my initial thoughts based on the six brief pages we’ve been allowed to read is that the writing is not up to par, but the art is phenomenal.

Straczynski may simply be the wrong writer for Superman. This just doesn’t feel right. I understand that this book is totally out of continuity, allowing the writer to offer his take and play with the origin however he wants, but the characterization has to be familiar. Is that wrong of me to expect? There is a scene where Clark comes off like a dismissive jerk with the landlady at the motel he makes his home. This Clark Kent does not appear to have been raised by John and Martha.

On the other hand, Shane Davis’s art is breathtakingly good. There isn’t a single misstep with any of the preview panels. The drawing of Clark stepping out into Metropolis stopped me in my tracks.

This is not a complete reservation of judgment. I’ll read Superman: Earth One when it is released later this month and offer a complete opinion then.

Wednesday's Finest: Superior vs. Superman, 10/13/10 Releases (Part 2 of 2)

By Don M. Ventura

Two books about supermen came out this week. One features the original Last Son of Krypton and the other is an original creation from the (sometimes warped) mind of Mark Millar.

Superman #703
DC

For three months J. Michael Straczynski has taken Superman down an unfamiliar road with little success in the character’s self-titled book. The basic premise is that Superman was away with the whole New Krypton thing for over a year and now he’s back and trying to relate to the “real” people of his adopted planet.

I guess this may go down as one of the more polarizing books in recent memory because there are fans who really love what Straczynski is doing on Superman. I hate it. I’m sorry if that seems like too simple a response, and I’ll share some thoughts, but I find this to be just terrible.

I don’t feel as though Straczynski has found the character’s voice; in fact, from the beginning, Superman has done and said too many things that have been out of character for him. I just do not buy that Earth’s most powerful being would be so irresponsible as to take a walk across the country and not tell people why he’s doing it. Add to this, forced humor, heavy handed moralizing, and great leaps of logic in terms of plot points (e.g. the press stopped following him in the first issue).

This last issue in particular has a very Bruce-sounding Dick as Batman comes to town to advise Superman that trouble may follow him as he crosses the country and that would be bad. Okay. So it’s bad for Main Street, U.S.A., but it’s okay when Mongul or Brainiac rain holy hell on Metropolis?

Of course, three pages later a whole lotta bad hits Cincinnati in the form of a piece of New Krypton that landed on Earth and can make people evil and/or super powered (it affects two characters differently). Okay, so Superman gets into some fisticuffs with some brute whose secondhand exposure to the rock gave him great strength. Supes and the guy wreck up the small town.

One woman is interviewed on the news and claims that the fight wasn’t good for her heart. Another guy’s house is destroyed and, although Superman fixed everything, he lost his wedding photos. Is this a joke? I’m surprised someone didn’t say, “I was working on a presentation for tomorrow—really sweet PowerPoint—well, I was just about to hit ‘save’ before the power went out. Thanks Superjerk! Guess I’ll work over the weekend!”

If there is a bright side to this run, it’s Eddy Barrows artwork. He draws a fantastic Superman and all of his characters have distinctive characterization to their faces. In this issue and last, Barrows has been able to do some action sequences and they are phenomenal. Unfortunately the scripts condemn him more to multiple sad-faced Superman expressions and people standing around on the street.

Superior #1
Icon

Then came the big event of the week: Superior. Which it was when compared to Superman.

For those living under a rock, Superior is Millar’s somewhat unique take on a super powered man with a cape who can fly, bend steel, and all that good stuff. The spin is that Simon Pooni, a kid afflicted with Multiple Sclerosis is granted a wish from a talking monkey named Ormon in an astronaut suit. Perhaps the wish is one buried deep down as Simon never verbalizes it. He is instantly transformed into the hero Superior.

Now I mentioned that it is somewhat unique for a reason. The rest of the book plays out like Big, the Tom Hanks movie where a kid becomes and adult because he’s tired of being a undersized boy. He’s stuck in the house, his mother thinks he’s been kidnapped, he has to escape, then he goes to see his best friend. I’m interested to see where the rest of the book goes—but I couldn’t shake that it took too familiar a path in the third act.

My preconceived notions were forgotten about five or six pages in as I became totally absorbed in Millar’s story. I was worried that I would be treated to some over the top shocks, but they weren’t there (except perhaps in some crudely realistic language from teenage bullies). Millar presents an extremely touching scene in which he narrates the onset of Simon’s M.S.; these pages ring with sincerity and reminded me of the writer’s strength as a storyteller.

Previously I have had a love/meh affair with some of Franci Leinil Yu’s artwork, but his work on Superior is magnificent. He continues to improve with each project. The scene with Ormon talking to Simon is just beautiful. The guy knows how to draw a monkey.

If you’re keeping score, Millar has written the superior man-with-super-powers tale.

Amazing Changes on the Way for Spider-Man

By Don M. Ventura

Around the summer of 2001 I got back into reading comic books after listening to an interview with Kevin Smith on The Howard Stern Show.  The two discussed their love of comics; Stern went on about his love of Superman and Smith spoke of his recent Green Arrow relaunching for DC.  This was enough to pique my interest and get me back to the comic shop.

As overwhelming as it was, I knew there was one character I wanted to immediately catch up with: Spider-Man.  And there was a lot of good stuff to pick from.

J. Michael Straczynski had recently taken over the writing duties on The Amazing Spider-Man and I followed with great delight for a few years.  Then came a creepy Gwen Stacy story, the Spider-Armor (seen below), Spidey’s unmasking in the pages of Civil War, and finally, the coup de gras: “One More Day”.  In the span of two years, Spider-Man had gone through one dramatic status quo change after the next and I wasn’t enjoying where they were taking the character so I eventually dropped all of the Spider-titles.

Love it or hate it, Marvel is to be commended for the choosing to unmask the character.  Significant changes to such a mainstream character’s status quo are a rare thing (Hulk doesn’t count because his character demands it).  Ultimately though, Peter Parker may have been backed into too tight a corner.  Magical cleanup was required.

Only recently, thanks to stories penned by the likes of Mark Waid and Joe Casey, has The Amazing Spider-Man gotten back to some really strong stories.

Today’s announcement that Dan Slott would become the ongoing writer of Amazing seems to hit most of the right chords. Humberto Ramos, who drew a fantastic Peter Parker: Spider-Man arc back in 2002, is the artist of the first arc—I’m not sure if he’ll be sticking around.  According to Slott, Peter will be given a career befitting a man with his obvious intelligence.  This sounds good.  He’s going to get some kind of new sciencey-enhanced costumed. This sounds… like another opportunity to reserve judgment.

While I have been enjoying most of the stories produced by Amazing’s rotating team of writers, it will be nice to have a single, consistent voice for the character.  Is it too much to ask for something this side of spectacular?