Review: Action Comics #880

This issue is the second chapter of the Codename: Patriot story that kicked off in Worlds of New Krypton #6.  It picks up where that issue left off.  But don’t worry if you missed part 1.  Everything you need to know is included in this issue.

Since the “New Krypton” story started, all of the Superman titles have been telling more or less their own stories with very little overlap.  That all changes with Codename: Patriot.  All of the players from all of the different titles come together for this one.  While I’ve enjoyed each of the individual Superman titles, there’s a real thrill seeing them all come together for this story.

Action Comics in particular benefits from this crossover.  For whatever reason, it has been the least compelling of the New Krypton books.  This issue, things finally start to heat up.

The premise is this: On New Krypton, a Kryptonian assassin made what appears to be a successful attempt on General Zod’s life.  After which, he fled to earth with Superman and Supergirl in pursuit.  With tensions between earth and New Krypton at an all-time high, the arrival of three Kryptonians sets the military in motion.

Of course all is not what it seems.  General Lane has been working behind the scenes.  The extent of his planning is hinted at here.  It’s not exactly surprising, but it is interesting.  I look forward to seeing how his game plays out.

The first half of the book mostly deals with the multiple plot threads of the crossover coming together.  In the second half of the book, we catch up with Nightwing and Flamebird as they continue their search for Nadira and Az-rel.  In the midst of all the action, we finally get an emotional pay-off to the romantic tension that has been building between the book’s two leads.

The issue ends with the long-awaited confrontation between Nightwing and Flamebird and Nadira and Az-rel.  But as has been the case with everything in this storyline so far, all is not what it seems.  The issue ends with a twist that I found genuinely surprising.

Two issues in, Codename: Patriot is the rare cross-over that works.  If you’ve been reading any or all of the Superman books, this is where it all comes together.  And it promises to be one hell of a ride.

The issue also includes a Captain Atom back-up feature.  The first installment of this back-up was intentionally confusing.  This installment offers a little more coherence, but it’s still a head-scratcher by design.  As such, it’s really hard to weigh in until more is revealed.  Although I will say I enjoyed the art by Cafu.  Hopefully I can form more of an opinion after the next installment.

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Review: Superman: World of New Krypton #6

Hey everyone.  Sorry about the continued backlog of reviews – I’ll try and get them out this weekend!  Just finished the last of my coursework for my Master’s degree two days ago, so I’m finally free and clear.  Now, if I can just find a pesky ‘job’ before my money runs out!

As someone who isn’t traditionally a fan of the character Superman or any of his books, the quality of his titles right now has come as something of a surprise.  No title illustrates this quite as well as Superman: World of New Krypton, a sprawling sci-fi book about Superman’s adventures off Earth, among his own kind.  Working together, Greg Rucka and James Robinson have turned what could have been a labored year with Superman off his main titles (and Earth) into one of the most creatively intriguing periods of the character in recent memories.

With the attempted assassination of General Zod, New Krypton is panicked, and the House of El steps up to try and maintain order.  Rucka and Robinson continue to portray all the characters, from the sociopathic Ursa to the cold Alura, with far more humanity than they’ve ever been shown elsewhere, and it makes the drama all the greater.  Things continue to degenerate on New Krypton, and the big crossover between the Superman family titles – “Codename: Patriot” – clearly starts here.  It’s an exciting opening to the story, though I have to say, I hope you don’t have to read all four relevant books in order to follow the story.

Woods, normally quite good, demonstrates a little bit of weakness early in the issue as the assassin attempts to fight his way through the crowd of Kryptonians, but picks up quickly – by the time you see him dragged down, screaming, by forty or more angry supermen, you’ll begin to realize the damage a riotous population can do.  He also continues to do excellent design work on the world itself, amping up the alien feel of the technology while still making it a recognizable offshoot of the familiar Fortress of Solitude designs.

Ultimately, World of New Krypton remains an interesting, fun book that does an exemplary job of illustrating just what it is that makes Superman so great while laying seeds for a ton of potentially fascinating future stories.  With hope, “Codename: Patriot” can live up to this excellent opening issue.

Grade: B+

- Cal Cleary

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Superman: World of New Krypton #5

Superman: World of New Krypton #4

Review: Superman: World of New Krypton #5

It’s weird to say but the last time I enjoyed the Superman books this much, Superman was dead.  Of them all, I’d have to say that Wolrd’s of New Krypton is my favorite.  This issue in particular was a stand-out for me.

*Spoiler warnings on*

The first half of the issue is Kal-el’s trial for disobeying General Zod’s orders last issue.  Visually, the trial pays tribute to the trial scene at the beginning of Superman: the Movie.  Only this time Zod was in the Jor-el role rather than being the one on trial.  Frankly, the pages could have been text-free and I would have been in fan-boy nirvana.  Superman: the Movie is my own personal superhero crack.

The trial is somewhat surprising.  Kal-el has every opportunity to save himself.  But he refuses to lie.  The court adjourns for the evening and it’s very obvious to everyone that Kal-el has signed his death warrant by telling the truth.

Superman’s friend, Tyr-van, offers him an out.  He gives Kal-el a device that will allow him to escape back to earth.  But being Superman, Kal-el does not use the device.  In truth, the device was given to him by General Zod who seems impressed by Kal-el’s convictions.

The next day in court, Kal-el is found guilty of treason.  Since the Phantom Zone is no longer an option, he is sentenced to death.  But then something truly surprising happens.  General Zod invokes a Kryptonian tradition to have Kal-el spared!  Afterwards, he explains that he has come to realize that the Kryptonian army is stronger with Kal-el in it.

But that surprise is nothing.  The issue ends with a cliff-hanger that obviously sets-up the multi-part Codename: Patriot storyline.  New Krypton is celebrating the removal of the dome that has sealed their city since its creation.  But in the midst of the celebration, an assassination takes place.  I won’t spoil the identity of the victim here.  It’s just too good.

The collaboration of Robinson and Rucka is a successful one.  This book delivers more consistently than either of their individual books (although Robinson’s Superman is also a very good read.)  And Pete Woods does a bang-up job of presenting the fascinating alien world of New Krypton.  I always look forward to this book and it never disappoints me.

DC July Solicits + Commentary

BLACKEST NIGHT #1

Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis raise the dead in the most anticipated comics story of the year! Throughout the decades, death has plagued the DC Universe and taken the lives of heroes and villains alike. But to what end? As the War of Light rages on, the prophecy of the Blackest Night descends upon us, with Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps at the center of it all.