Superman/Action Comics

Bigtymin504 wrote:

LordD3r3k wrote:

Bigtymin504 wrote:Paul Cornell goes DC exclusive
http://blog.newsarama.com/2010/06/22/action-comics-writer-paul-cornell-exclusive-to-dc-comics/

Keep an eye on him, I think he will do great things at DC. Sadly, no more Marvel work from him for awhile.

What else did he write?

Captain Britain and MI: 13 which was a widely acclaimed run, as well as Dark X-Men and Black Widow: Deadly Origin, both great minis. Also some solid Young Avengers work.

I absolutely HATED his Young Avengers stuff. He could be a good writer, but his YA stuff left such a bad taste in my mouth that I'm skipping books he writes, at least for now.

Batman25JM wrote:

Bigtymin504 wrote:

LordD3r3k wrote:

Bigtymin504 wrote:Paul Cornell goes DC exclusive
http://blog.newsarama.com/2010/06/22/action-comics-writer-paul-cornell-exclusive-to-dc-comics/

Keep an eye on him, I think he will do great things at DC. Sadly, no more Marvel work from him for awhile.

What else did he write?

Captain Britain and MI: 13 which was a widely acclaimed run, as well as Dark X-Men and Black Widow: Deadly Origin, both great minis. Also some solid Young Avengers work.

I absolutely HATED his Young Avengers stuff. He could be a good writer, but his YA stuff left such a bad taste in my mouth that I'm skipping books he writes, at least for now.

Haha it certainly wasn't his best work, but don't you think it's a bit harsh to completely write him off because of one project you didn't like? I'd recommend checking out his other stuff I listed (maybe if you can borrow it instead of buying), particularly CBMI13 (heh awkward abbreviation).

Bigtymin504 wrote:

Batman25JM wrote:

Bigtymin504 wrote:

LordD3r3k wrote:

Bigtymin504 wrote:Paul Cornell goes DC exclusive
http://blog.newsarama.com/2010/06/22/action-comics-writer-paul-cornell-exclusive-to-dc-comics/

Keep an eye on him, I think he will do great things at DC. Sadly, no more Marvel work from him for awhile.

What else did he write?

Captain Britain and MI: 13 which was a widely acclaimed run, as well as Dark X-Men and Black Widow: Deadly Origin, both great minis. Also some solid Young Avengers work.

I absolutely HATED his Young Avengers stuff. He could be a good writer, but his YA stuff left such a bad taste in my mouth that I'm skipping books he writes, at least for now.

Haha it certainly wasn't his best work, but don't you think it's a bit harsh to completely write him off because of one project you didn't like? I'd recommend checking out his other stuff I listed (maybe if you can borrow it instead of buying), particularly CBMI13 (heh awkward abbreviation).

Well, I've read half of Black Widow: Deadly Origin. It started off okay, but I kinda lost interest.

It might not be fair to write him off completely, and I'm sure one day he'll write a book that I just have to have for one reason or another (be it a character I love and will never not read, or maybe a big event), but right now I just don't feel like trying his stuff. I'm trying to majorly cut back on comics, and since I haven't loved what I read of his I don't feel like chancing it with other stuff of his.

I would borrow some of the other stuff that he's written just to try it, but sadly none of my friends read comics (which is why I first went to the WUMB, since I wanted to talk comics).

Batman25JM wrote:Well, I've read half of Black Widow: Deadly Origin. It started off okay, but I kinda lost interest.

It might not be fair to write him off completely, and I'm sure one day he'll write a book that I just have to have for one reason or another (be it a character I love and will never not read, or maybe a big event), but right now I just don't feel like trying his stuff. I'm trying to majorly cut back on comics, and since I haven't loved what I read of his I don't feel like chancing it with other stuff of his.

I would borrow some of the other stuff that he's written just to try it, but sadly none of my friends read comics (which is why I first went to the WUMB, since I wanted to talk comics).

Cool man, definitely know what you mean on that last part. I just think he's a very talented writer. I probably won't pick up Action Comics yet either cuz I'm reading way too many books as is lol, but might check it out in trade depending on what I hear.

^That was my plan as well. I may get his AC stuff in trade.

I'm just so tired of buying every major book just to keep up on all that's going on, especially when I'm not enjoying a third of them. So, I finally decided to trim the fat, and I figured that with JMS coming on to Superman that I'd get that for my Superman fix. If I hear good things about Cornell's AC then I shall get the trade.

Superman #700

Hearing that it was split into 3 separate stories, I wasn't expecting anything major to happen, and nothing did. Instead, we get 3 small character pieces from Robinson, Jurgens, and finally JMS.

-Robinson tackles Superman and Lois finally reuniting after the 100 minute war

-Jurgens gives us an old school tale of Superman helping out a young Dick Grayson as Robin

-And JMS plants a seed as to what we can expect at the start of his run, Superman getting back to his roots.

None of these stories are going to wow you, and unless you're seriously curious to see what JMS plans to do or a completist, you're probably not missing anything.

I really liked the second story with Robin. It was fun.

Superman #700

jaydee74 wrote:I really liked the second story with Robin. It was fun.

It was my favorite of the stories. I really liked it, esecially the ending. Makes me glad that Bruse will be back. His interactions with Superman were alcays the best.

LordD3r3k wrote:-And JMS plants a seed as to what we can expect at the start of his run, Superman getting back to his roots.

I hated this story. Not so much the story itself but what set it off. To be blunt, the woman was full of shit. I felt like setting the book on fire after that page where she bitch-fits.

"Hey Superman, I heard your planet got blown up and all those people just minding their own business got brutalised by our world and yeah, I know you had to save our world at the same time trying to save your world and you may be one of the last of your people but *SLAP* Fuck yo shit, what about my needs?"

Yeah right, Superman should take time out of his day, time he could be using to save a whole damn continent to save her husband. I'm sorry, that's bullshit. And it has been covered many times before that Superman cares for people and regrets all the people he couldn't save. I recall a comic where it was shown that Superman not only keeps all the thank you notes, but also all the notes of people asking why he could not so and so. He saves them all and recalls them all. I thought it was unfair. He has to handle everything. He can't do it all. Hell, I get on the case of writers about him not doing more but that was silly. I hope JMS's run is not filled with any more Sally Floyd moments like this.

/rant.

That said, how come Morrison can't write this? That would be awesome and he could touch on topics like this without such displays of bitchery.

^ Ha! I hear ya man. I'm hoping he just needed a quick filler for the anniversary issue

I praise god every minute of every day that Morrison isn't writing Superman. He already has his hooks into Batman, I don't want to lose Superman too.

I thought issue #700 was good. The second story with Robin was definitely my favorite as well. The JMS one was weird for me. I COMPLETELY agree with what Wade said. What set things off was stupid, and that woman was ridiculous. I can see why someone would act irrational like that. She just lost her husband. However, it wasn't Superman's fault. He can't do everything.

I did like parts of JMS' story, and I have a feeling I'll like his run, but I didn't like the thing with the woman.

Superman #700

The fact that fanboys are up-in-shams about a recently-widowed and overtly-hysterical woman putting the blame on Superman for her late husband’s death proves JMS’ run is on its way to success. He’s getting us to talk about Supes once again.

The last two years of Superman stories have been pretty up-and-down, to be nice. I followed as much of a World Without Superman, World Against Superman, and World of New Krypton for only as long as I could take. Let’s face it: once Geoff Johns took off the book, it seeped miserably. Sure, there were plenty of high moments as well that many of you have forgotten. When this new idea of taking Superman out of the current happening in the DCU and placing him as General Zod’s top soldier—military garb and all—many of us found the change to be cool. In the long run it didn’t work, only to be salvaged by a surprisingly good War of Supermen, but you couldn’t blame the powers that be for aiming high.

It just came down to execution.

One of DC’s most proven commodities over the years is now perhaps its most controversial. James Robinson’s work as of late has been nothing to write home about (or at least nothing to write positive about). His recent work on JLA and Superman has been forgettable at best. It’s hard to just figure out what happened to the once esteemed comic book writer. Check out the undoubted classic Starman Omnibus’ and you’ll wonder why yourself. That run could very well go down as one of the best of all time. So, why all this information on Robinson? Why, we don’t have to read his Superman anymore. It makes celebrating the 700th anniversary of Superman all the more enjoyable.

Robinson, along with artist Pete Woods, who will be penciling future issues of Paul Cornell’s Action Comics, puts the finishing touches on his New Krypton saga with Lois & Clark tangling above the skyscrapers. Although the ode to Richard Donner’s film is a nice touch, this epilogue was as flighty as some poor 80s film acting. At least it’s over.

And don’t forget, this is an anniversary issue. There’s going to be at least one “untold” Brave & The Bold-inspired story of Superman’s past. Despite coming off mainly a Robin vignette, having Dan Jurgens—author of Death of Superman, etc.—throw in his own piece is a nice touch. Of course the one story out of continuity ends up the most enjoyable.

Saving the most important for finish is JMS’ prologue to an already controversial story arc. Superman feels grounded. Coming off the events that were War of the Superman, Clark seeks out his JLA buddies on the way to seeking himself. This is what JMS does best. He took Peter Parker to places no one dared to go; and if I see Clark roving space one more time in the next year or two, I’m going to cringe. Really.

While “the slap heard around the world” (what is this, Vince McMahon?) is all-too brief, it does come up with some pretty nice art from Ed Barrows. The detail of emotion and facial expression is beyond the pale horse stance Woods and the gang’s covered in recent months. Even if Clark sobs himself to death throughout JMS’ run, Superman comics are sure to look pretty, at least.

3/5

While I wasn't a huge fan of the last story. I mean really? Is Superman going to be blamed for everything that goes wrong in someone's life? I do get the point of the story. It's not all that different than real life. When something goes wrong in someone's life they blame everyone but themselves and it's sort of the same thing. For Superman, he feels responsible even if he's not. He's the ultimate do-gooder and of course he'll take this personally. I did like the scene with the Flash and asking him what he sees as super-speed although do you really think Barry sees things like that? I got a feeling we're going to see a more grounded Superman and that could lead to some interesting stories. The catalyst seems kind of forced and bullshit but that might be the point in the end. I'm curious as to what is to come next so mission accomplished.

Action Comics #890

Not a bad setup to the new arc, but something about the writing just seemed off to me. Lex had a weird "voice". Maybe Cornell just needs to find his stride..

LordD3r3k wrote:Action Comics #890

Not a bad setup to the new arc, but something about the writing just seemed off to me. Lex had a weird "voice". Maybe Cornell just needs to find his stride..

Yeah. Lex seemed a bit off to me.

... and featuring Zooey Deschanel as Robo-Lois.

rwe1138 wrote:... and featuring Zooey Deschanel as Robo-Lois.

Ha! I thought the same thing

that is EXACTLY how I thought Lex would act and do after Blackest night! there is no way he would give up that kind of power

Sandman wrote:that is EXACTLY how I thought Lex would act and do after Blackest night! there is no way he would give up that kind of power

You're right about that. But there was just something in his speech that wasn't clicking with me.

Paul Cornell's big plans for Lex...
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=27068

Action Comics #894


cover reveal

Spoiler:

WOW!! That's pretty cool.

So, I was re-reading Superman #700 again for like the third time and I wanted to give my thoughts about the stories:

#1. You got a nice follow-up to the 100 Minute War. You see the relationship between Lois and Clark. It's kind of like a soldier returning from war and it was cool. I have always loved the two of them together and it was a nice and touching story. I remember that you said at one point Lois asked Clark not to ever leave her again. I'll get to that later.

#2. This was a nice light and fun story and it makes a lot more sense when you compare it to the following story. Robin disobeys Batman's orders and goes out on patrol and soon finds himself in over his head. Not only does Superman bail Robin out of the mess he was in, he flies him back to Wayne Manor before Bruce gets home and he does Robin's Geometry homework. The story ends with Clark getting a note from Bruce basically telling him to let Dick Grayson do his own homework otherwise he'll never learn anything. It's an example of Superman kind of over-doing it which leads to......

#3. I agree with you that the catalyst for the story feels forced. Some random woman comes out of the crowd to blame Superman for something he had no control over and most likely couldn't have done anything even if he was there. I also agree that it would have made more sense if the husband had died due to the 100 Minute War. On the other hand, the more I thought about it, maybe there will be more to this than we think. I mean if you look at it, she pretty much represents the part of humanity that has to blame something or someone for all the problems in the world. What I'm hoping for is that we see more of her in the coming issues of the book. Maybe she tries to sue Superman for damages or something. Or maybe, I am am totally guessing and making a prediction here but maybe this is some kind of plot orchestrated by Lex Luthor. Just a theory but I wanted to put it out there.

So, what I see happening going forward in this book is Superman is going to start taking the slow path. I could even see JMS doing sort of a "Superman: Hard Traveling Hero" type thing which will play into what Lois asked of Clark to never leave again. I could see Clark wandering the world and not being home as much and possibly putting a strain on the relationship. Now this is all theories and guesses but I could see that happening.

Bigtymin504 wrote:Paul Cornell's big plans for Lex...
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=27068

Wow, that's pretty interesting. It's great to see that barrier between DC and Vertigo breaking down, and IIRC, isn't Jonah Hex appearing in The Return of Bruce Wayne? Interesting stuff indeed.

LordD3r3k wrote:

Bigtymin504 wrote:Paul Cornell's big plans for Lex...
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=27068

Wow, that's pretty interesting. It's great to see that barrier between DC and Vertigo breaking down, and IIRC, isn't Jonah Hex appearing in The Return of Bruce Wayne? Interesting stuff indeed.

I am very curious to see this confrontation. DC is really blowing me away with this intriguing stories. Loving it.

Bigtymin504 wrote:Paul Cornell's big plans for Lex...

Spoiler:

As long as Gaiman approves, yes please!

Superman #701


It was weird, this issue was preachy as hell, and yet I didn't hate it. It felt like I was watching an after school special, but I kind of enjoyed it. I can't explain why, but I did.

Batman25JM, I love how you described this issue cause I was having a bit of trouble but I would agree with your description. I did enjoy it but I was unclear why. There are some pretty preachy parts to this issue and pretty talky in places but I found myself enjoying it. I also want to say how much I really liked the cover. While overall, I thought the issue was good, I'm not sure how long something like this can be maintained but then again, I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this issue and I wound up really liking it. I do hope that the woman who slapped Superman comes back though. I'm curious overall where this is going to go so JMS, you got me hook, line and sinker. At least for now.