Joe Casey's Adventures of Superman #595: Our Worlds at War: Casualties of War!

Our Worlds at War: Casualties of War!: "The Red Badge of Courage" / "Kissing on the Apokolips" / "Escalation" / "Split Decision" / "War Letters" / "Total Abandon" / "Amazons! Attack!" / "Trial by Fire" / "Finale"

The Adventures of Superman vol. 1 #595 (Oct. 2001)
Superman: Our Worlds at War (2006), reprinting Action Comics vol. 1 #782, Impulse #77, Superboy vol. 4 #91, Superman vol. 2 #173, Superman: The Man of Steel #117, Wonder Woman vol. 2 #173, World's Finest: Our Worlds at War #1, Young Justice vol. 1 #36 (Oct. 2001)

Writers: Jeph Loeb, Peter David, Joe Casey, Todd Dezago, Joe Kelly, Mark Schultz, and Phil Jimenez 
Pencillers: Ed McGuinness, Bill Sienkiewicz, Todd Nauck, Mike Wieringo, Carlo Barberi, Pascual Ferry, Doug Mahnke, Phil Jimenez, Kano, Mark Buckingham, Yvel Guichet, and Duncan Rouleau 
Inkers: Cam Smith, Bill Sienkiewicz, Marlo Alquiza, Jose Marzan, Jr., Juan Vlasco, Keith Champagne, Tom Nguyen, Andy Lanning, Walden Wong, Mark Morales, Wayne Faucher, Dexter Vines, Lary Stucker, and Duncan Rouleau
Colorists: Tanya & Rich Horie, Jason Wright, Tom McCraw, and Patricia Mulvihill
Letterers: Richard Starkings, Ken Lopez, Bill Oakley, and Janice Chiang
Asst. Editor: Tom Palmer, Jr.
Editors: Eddie Berganza, Joey Cavalieri, and Mike McAvennie

from Superman vol. 2 #173
(script by Jeph Loeb, art by Ed McGuinness & Cam Smith)

The last third of Our Worlds at War, "Casualties of War!", kind of thuds to a close. The middle third of this storyline was definitely the best part. In theory, things should be winding up, but instead, the story piles on unnecessary and seemingly un-thought out twists and complications that it has no time to explore the repercussions of.

At first, things get off to a good start. "The Red Badge of Courage" (Superman #173) kind of picks up from the end of All-Out War!, with Superman now voluntarily working for President Luthor (though at the end of All-Out War! he seemed very resigned and submissive, whereas here he's all confrontational), and still awkward around Lois. Superman leads a space expedition to destroy Imperiex with some American soldiers and Strange Visitor (back for the first time since Adventures of Superman #592), and this has some decent moments, though I thought it was a little cruel for the erstwhile Sergeant Rock to lecture Strange Visitor the way she did. She clearly did not ask for any of this, of course she doesn't know how it works!

At the end of this issue, though, things begin to spiral out of control. Imperiex is destroyed, but Warworld (from all the way back in the first issue of this storyline) reappears and absorbs Imperiex's power. Brainiac 13 somehow fires on Apokolips using LexCorp Towers (though the art here in confusing; when I first read the issue I though Warworld was firing on LexCorp Towers and on Apokolips), and Darkseid declares war on Earth, ending the alliance. I'm not sure why Darkseid is so dumb in this moment.

from The Adventures of Superman vol. 1 #595
(script by Joe Casey, art by Mike Wieringo & Jose Marzan, Jr.)

Superman goes to Apokolips to stop Darkseid, but is somehow surprised to learn Warworld is at fault even though we all saw it happen. Darkseid's son (?) Grayven says he's taking over Apokolips, but it's the worst conceived coup ever because Darkseid just shoots him with his eye-beams and throws him into a boom tube. Like, what did he think Darkseid would do?

Then things accelerate even more. The last two Super titles issues here, Superman: The Man of Steel #117 and Action Comics #782, are more exposition than story, piling explanation upon explanation about who Brainiac 13 is, what his plan is, what Imperiex (not actually dead) is up to, how they are going to be defeated, and how they are actually going to be defeated when that doesn't work. So much stuff happens in these two issues that it mostly has to be explained in narration boxes, and loses all of its potential impact. Maxima breaks the alliance (why?), Steel comes back to life, Wonder Woman volunteers to throw Paradise Island at Warworld, Jimmy Olsen has some kind of computer powers, the Amazons worship Darkseid to revitalize his depleted powers, the heroes decide to send Warworld back in time to jumpstart the Big Bang(!), and more. It's all a bit too much, and a bit too messy to be enjoyable.

A lot of things set up in the first third, "Prelude to War!", never really came into fruition. Like, why did the population of Metropolis have to be evacuated into space?

from Superboy vol. 4 #91
(script by Joe Kelly, art by Pascual Ferry & Keith Champagne)

As always, there are a few issues of other titles sprinkled in here. Three star Young Justice and its members (Young Justice #36, Impulse #77, and Superboy #91). They were running medical aid missions during the space battle when they got sidetracked and crash-landed on Apokolips; the three issues follow their attempts to stay alive on the most inhopsitable planet in the universe. These are both fun and dark at the same time; I was surprised how much I liked them. I've never read any Young Justice before, but it's a group of well-meaning but often-at-odds characters trying to do their best, but often doing their worst, so of course I enjoyed them. The Superboy issue was particularly good (showing what's beneath his 1990s "attitude" as he writes a letter home from the war), but they're all good. The issues do feel pretty irrelevant to the big story, though, so I'm not sure why they're in here. I also wish the issue showing how they actually escaped Apokolips (Young Justice #37, I think) had been included, since as it is, their story just kind of stops, aside from a one-page appearance in the "Finale" epilogue.

There's also an issue of Wonder Woman again, "Amazons! Attack!"* (#173), which makes sense as some pretty dramatic things in Wonder Woman's life happen. It's oddly placed, though (I would have moved it to after Action #782), and doesn't really answer the big question I had after reading Man of Steel #117: why would Wonder Woman make such a dramatic choice as to destroy her homeland so easily? On the other hand, the mental powers of Aqualad (I think that's who this "Garth" fellow is) prove key to the final battle... but were never mentioned before it. It might have been nice to throw in whatever the relevant issue of the relevant title was beforehand.

from World's Finest: Our Worlds at War #1
(script by Jeph Loeb, art by Ed McGuinness & Cam Smith)

The story is technically over before its final issue. "Finale" (World's Finest: Our Worlds at War #1) is an epilogue, showing various bits of fall-out: mourning for Aquaman (I forgot he died, actually), a ceremony for Wonder Woman's mother, Mongal (!) taking over Warworld, Strange Visitor's husband being mad, and so on. It's fine. Jeph Loeb's schtick of running famous speeches over the action of this series has lost its impact, though.

Overall, I feel like this series didn't live up to its potential. Too much spectacle, not enough humanity. The first third threw too many ideas out; the middle one had some great character hooks that never got followed up on because the last third got overtaken by the Big Action of the story. But it's possible the character moments will get followed up in Adventures of Superman going forward, which might redeem the story for me somewhat. We shall see!

ACCESS AN INDEX OF ALL POSTS IN THIS SERIES HERE

* Note the two exclamation marks, which most indexers on the Internet seem to have missed. "Amazons Attack!" is something else entirely.

Joe Casey's Adventures of Superman #594: Our Worlds at War: All-Out War!

Our Worlds at War: All-Out War!: "Death Be Not Proud" / "A Date Which Will Live in Infamy" / "The Doomsday Protocol" / "Chest Deep in Heroes' Blood" / "Thousand Yard Stare" / "Her Mother's Daughter"

The Adventures of Superman vol. 1 #594 (Sept. 2001)
Superman: Our Worlds at War (2006), reprinting Action Comics vol. 1 #781, JLA: Our Worlds at War #1, Superman vol. 2 #172, Superman: The Man of Steel #116, Wonder Woman vol. 2 #172 (Sept. 2001)

Writers: Jeph Loeb, Joe Casey, Mark Schultz, Joe Kelly, and Phil Jimenez
Pencillers: Ed McGuinness, Ron Garney, Mike Wieringo, Doug Mahnke, Kano, and Phil Jimenez
Inkers: Cam Smith, Mark Morales, Lary Stucker, Tom Nguyen, Marlo Alquiza, and Andy Lanning
Colors: Tanya & Rich Horie, Rob Schwager, and Patricia Mulvihill
Letters: Richard Starkings, Bill Oakley, and Ken Lopez
Ass't Editor: Tom Palmer, Jr.
Editor: Eddie Berganza

Imperiex arrives in the solar system in force in the middle third of Our Worlds at War, appropriately called "All-Out War!" Honestly, I found many aspects of the story confusing at first-- with a high focus on action, Superman vaults from escapade to escapade and there's not a lot of time spent explaining what's actually going on. Big events seem to happen off-page. Possibly they happen in tie-in comics not collected here, but still. (At one point, there's an alien armada coming to Earth's defense; at another, it's been destroyed.)

from Wonder Woman vol. 2 #172
(script by Phil Jimenez, art by Phil Jimenez & Andy Lanning)

There's an issue of Wonder Woman (#172) collected here in addition to the Superman-focused titles, and I'm not really sure why from a storytelling standpoint, as it doesn't seem to add much to Superman's story (it expands on events from JLA: Our Worlds at War #1 and Action Comics #781 from Wonder Woman's perspective)... but I was so thankful it was included, because it contains a bunch of exposition clearly designed to bring Wonder Woman readers up to speed. However, this is all exposition that was never provided to readers of the actual Superman issues of Our Worlds at War! Finally, someone explains who Imperiex is, how he works, what his goals are, and how his weapons function. I'll come to the actual story later, but by God I was so grateful for this much-need dump of information the characters already know because no one had ever told me!

The stories here chronicle increasing desperation on the part of Earth in general and Superman in particular as Imperiex advances. Lots of big fights and big losses and big deaths: Lois's dad and Aquaman and John Henry Irons and Wonder Woman's mother all die, Atlantis is destroyed. Some are more about what happens than how or why, and those I struggled to engage with. Jeph Loeb usually uses character narration to keep things grounded, but both of his issues in this span populate their narration boxes with famous speeches that counterpoint the action: the Gettysburg Address in Superman #172 and FDR's Pearl Harbor speech in JLA:Our Worlds at War. It's not really interesting enough to have a noteworthy positive effect.

from The Adventures of Superman vol. 1 #594
(script by Joe Casey, art by Mike Wieringo & Lary Stucker)

The best issues take you into Superman's head during all of this action. Joe Casey's Adventures of Superman story (#594) teams Superman up with Doomsday for a battle in space. It's called "The Doomsday Protocol," but I would argue that the "Doomsday protocol" of the title isn't Luthor's decision to release Doomsday and use him as a weapon to defend Earth, but Superman's decision to essentially become Doomsday in his mentality: "he has cut loose. Subsequently, the probes have offered little resistance. He can't help but think... if only he'd come to this conclusion on Earth, how many more might have been saved...? Is this how men like Luthor can walk between the raindrops...? By cultivating their inherent ruthlessness... their lack of conscience...?" I like how it's done, too-- a third person narration that's next to the imagery, not in it, giving it all a timeless feel, like you've lost track of time just as much as Superman has in the fight, pondering the difficult questions while the battle goes on automatically. It's well done and character driven, and I can also envision how it's going to contribute to Superman's legendary renunciation of violence whenever I get to that part of the run.

from Action Comics vol. 1 #781
(script by Joe Kelly, art by Kano & Marlo Alquiza)

I also liked Action Comics #781, where we continue to see Superman's emotional self-isolation; an increasingly desperate Lois keeps reaching out to him, but he literally cannot hear her even though he can hear everything else, because he cannot afford to let himself hear her, otherwise he will break. At the end of the issue, he has this cold, heart-breaking moment with her. They're in public, so they can't acknowledge that they're married as he tries to say he's sorry for the death of her father. But then he turns to Luthor and says, "Tell me what to do, Mister President. Whatever it takes to win this... I'm yours." Wow. Heck of a way to end the chapter!

Which is why it's kind of a bummer that Wonder Woman #172 comes next. If it had to be included, I think it would have been better placed earlier, before Action #781. As it is, the Wonder Woman issue feels like a backtrack, but moved earlier, I think the chronology of Superman's actions would be more straightforward, and we'd have a better sense of what he's actually doing in Action. The first issue of the next chapter, Casualties of War!, picks up with Superman working for Luthor, so it seems like it should go right after the cliffhanger. Anyway, the issue itself is fine, and Phil Jimenez's art is great, but it's really a Wonder Woman story, clearly tying up some big emotional threads from that series that the reader has to struggle to catch up on if they haven't been reading it already.

from Superman vol. 2 #172
(script by Jeph Loeb, art by Ed McGuinness & Cam Smith)

On the whole, this was okay, and better than the first chunk of Our Worlds at War because of the parts more focused on Superman himself. I hope the story continues to develop that approach going forward.

It's also interesting to note that this set of issues are dated September 2001 and this story is all about how you respond to an existential violent threat without compromising your ideals, including an American president who is willing to put values aside for security. But the on-sale date was July 2001, and of course it would have all been plotted and written much earlier than that. Something was in the ether, I guess. If the comic ends up doing anything particularly interesting with these themes, I'll discuss them more when I get to "Casualties of War!"

ACCESS AN INDEX OF ALL POSTS IN THIS SERIES HERE

Joe Casey's Adventures of Superman #593: Our Worlds at War: Prelude to War!

Our Worlds at War: Prelude to War!: "Of Course, You Know This Means... Warworld!" / "Suicide Mission" / "Metropolitan Rapture" / "The End of the Beginning" / "Down And Out In Kansas"

The Adventures of Superman vol. 1 #593 (Aug. 2001)
Superman: Our Worlds at War (2006), reprinting Action Comics vol. 1 #780, Supergirl vol. 4 #59, Superman vol. 2 #171, Superman: The Man of Steel #115 (Aug. 2001)

Writers: Jeph Loeb, Joe Casey, Mark Schultz, Joe Kelly, and Peter David
Pencils: Ed McGuinness, Mike Wieringo, Doug Mahnke, Kano, and Leonard Kirk
Inks: Cam Smith, Jose Marzan, Jr., Marlo Alquiza, and Robin Riggs
Letters: Richard Starkings, Bill Oakley, and Ken Lopez
Colors: Tanya & Richard Horie, Rob Schwager, and Gene D'Angelo
Asst. Ed.: Tom Palmer, Jr.
Editors: Eddie Berganza and Mike McAvennie

And we're back in giant crossover mode, for what I am pretty sure was the most giant Super titles crossover of them all: Our Worlds at War. The crossover ran through 37 different issues across three months! Reading all that seemed excessive, so I decided I'd either buy just the Super titles (only 14 issues), or I'd pick up the trade (20 issues), whichever was cheaper. That turned out to be the trade. The trade is almost 500 pages long, so I'll be reviewing in three chunks; Our Worlds at War had a different subtitle each month, the first of which is "Prelude to War!"

from The Adventures of Superman vol. 1 #593
(script by Joe Casey, art by Mike Wieringo & Jose Marzan, Jr.)

It's not an entirely satisfying read, mostly because it's a lot of foreshadowing. First Superman goes into space to see if Pluto is back and ends up fighting the Fatal Five (from the Legion of Super-Heroes) and is warned something is coming; then he goes to a deserted military base and fights Manchester Black and a new Suicide Squad and is warned something is coming; then the inhabitants of Metropolis are abducted into space and Superman fights Darkseid and is warned something is coming; then goes to Germany and fights General Zod and is warned something is coming. Okay, I get it! But the hints are all so vague that I found them hard to put together into anything coherent as a reader. Plus it seems like Superman keeps punching people instead of actually trying to get explanations, and thus undermining his own purpose.

Part of the issue is, I think, that I've only been reading Adventures of Superman for five issues. This story draws on a lot, and is clearly a climax for a number of long-running storylines. But that just gives me a lot of questions: what did happen to Pluto? Who is the woman Brainiac? Is there some kind of connection between Mongal and longtime Superman foe Mongul? Why is General Zod a guy from the Middle East? How do all the myriad different villains here relate to each other? Maybe I should look some of this up in my copy of the Essential Superman Encyclopedia, but I'm worried I'll read spoilers for the storyline.

from Superman: The Man of Steel #115
(script by Mark Schultz, art by Doug Mahnke & José Marzan Jr.)

There were two issues I wanted to comment on specifically. First, I thought the Man of Steel installment was the weakest component of Return to Krypton, so I was pleasantly surprised when its contribution here turned out to be the best part of Prelude to War! In "Metropolitan Rapture" (#115), all of the citizens of Metropolis wake up to find themselves in some kind of internment facility. Superman must try to investigate things without giving away who he is; Lois must try to organize everyone. It's a neat premise that stands on its own as a story. When Superman figures out what's going on-- a cabal of people including Adam Strange abducted everyone so that futuristic Metropolis's technology could be used in the coming war-- the answer actually makes sense, and thus the foreshadowing works. Plus, Adam Strange is 1) someone known to me, 2) not a villain, and 3) actually somewhat explains himself. A great example of how to do a single issue that still manages to inform a bigger story.

from Supergirl vol. 4 #59
(script by Peter David, art by Leonard Kirk & Robin Riggs)

The other is the one issue here that's not actually part of the core Super titles: "Down And Out In Kansas" (Supergirl #59). I should say that near the end of Prelude to War! things actually start to happen instead of just being foreshadowed. At the end of Action #780, while Superman is fighting General Zod, a beam of energy hits Kansas, causing massive devastation. "Down And Out" follows Supergirl, who happened to be travelling through Kansas at the time, in the aftereffects of the blast, along with a friend of hers whose name I don't think is ever even mentioned but is clearly meant to be a loveable amoral jerk. (Also, judging by his over-the-top dialogue, English.) It's weird because between Supergirl having a concussion and the jerk's hijinks, it seems like writer Peter David is going for... comedy? In a story showing the ground-level devastation of a cosmic war? Of course it has its dark elements, but the result is a bizarre tonal mishmash that undermines what I imagine was the intended effect of closing out Prelude to War! with it.

ACCESS AN INDEX OF ALL POSTS IN THIS SERIES HERE

Joe Casey's Adventures of Superman #589: Return to Krypton

Return to Krypton: "Fathers" / "Sliding Home" / "Second Honeymoon" / "The Most Dangerous Kryptonian Game" / "Escape from Krypton"

The Adventures of Superman vol. 1 #589 (Apr. 2001)
Superman: Return to Krypton (2004), reprinting Action Comics vol. 1 #776, Superman vol. 2 #166-67, Superman: The Man of Steel #111 (Mar.-Apr. 2001) 

Story: Jeph Loeb, Joe Casey, Mark Schultz, and Joe Kelly
Pencils: Ed McGuinness, Duncan Rouleau, Doug Mahnke, and Kano
Inkers: Cam Smith, Jaime Mendoza, Marlo Alquiza, and Tom Nguyen
Colors: Tanya & Richard Horie and Rob Schwager
Lettering: Richard Starkings, Chris Eliopoulos, and Ken Lopez
Assistant Editor: Tom Palmer, Jr.
Editor: Eddie Berganza 

Joe Casey's second solo issue on Adventures of Superman isn't really a solo issue at all, because Adventures is promptly plunged into a crossover between the four ongoing Super titles, Return to Krypton, and Adventures #589 is thus part two of a four-part story. (The Return to Krypton trade also collects a one-issue prologue, Superman #166.) In this story, the sterile Krypton of John Byrne's Man of Steel reboot is revealed to be an illusion, and the "true" Krypton is something closer to the Krypton that we saw in the comics of the Silver Age; Jor-El created fake data about Krypton for Kal-El so that he wouldn't miss his home. It's a little convoluted-- retconning a retcon always is, I suppose-- and probably doesn't really track with the details of Man of Steel, which I remember really liking, though it's been over a decade since I've read it. In that story, people on Krypton no longer bore children, so baby Kal-El was sent to Earth in a "birthing matrix," and thus literally born in Kansas. Return to Krypton makes it clear that Lara bore Kal-El in her body, and then he was placed in the birthing matrix to be sent to Earth, so the story maintains some details of Man of Steel while ignoring its spirit.

from Superman vol. 2 #167
(script by Jeph Loeb, art by Ed McGuinness & Cam Smith)

Superman learns much of this from a message Jor-El left in his rocket in a crystal. Then, with the help of Professor Hamilton and John Henry Irons, he is able to use thought projection to make an image of Krypton in the Phantom Zone, into which he and Lois travel to see what the planet was "really" like before it was destroyed; the story is ambiguous about whether Clark and Lois actually traveled to Krypton of the past, or if only to a recreation of it. Clark is able to hang out with his parents briefly, but soon events get crazy: he helps Jor-El adjust Krypton's orbit so it won't be destroyed, but this drains his powers so Lara has to rescue him in a rocket, but space travel is against the law, so General Zod comes to arrest Jor-El and Lara, but they all go on the run, and Zod gets angry and deposes the Kryptonian leadership because he blames their complacency for the crisis, and then all of a sudden Jor-El has been made president in a counter-revolution. Whoa.

It's action-packed (particularly part three, Man of Steel #111), which is the big weakness of it all: I feel like this story should have had more emotional weight. This is momentous! But most of the story is spent 1) massaging the continuity to the preferred form of the 2000s writers, and 2) making things explode again and again. The human story gets lost in the middle of it all. I know this is a superhero comic, but I feel like there must have been a way to balance them better than they were.

from The Adventures of Superman vol. 1 #589
(script by Joe Casey, art by Duncan Rouleau
and Jaime Mendoza & Marlo Alquiza)

One thing I do like about these comics is their emphasis on narration. Three of the five issues use narration: the prologue is Pa Kent, while parts one and three are narrated by Lois. This keeps some emphasis on character, and I particularly liked the focus on Lois, who I think could otherwise have very easily gotten lost in the shuffle.

As for the retcons... I dunno. The Steve Mollmann criterion for judging retcons is that The new thing must be at least as interesting, if not more interesting, as the old thing being replaced. I did like Byrne's Man of Steel, especially its vision of Krypton, but I'm open to stories about other forms of Krypton being told. But based on this tale, this new old version of Krypton doesn't have more to offer, but I also believe it could. Weirdly, the story indicates Superman might actually have changed Kryptonian history (wouldn't that have wiped him from existence) and kind of hints that the Man of Steel Krypton still exists. I guess I'll see if either of these ideas are picked up in Adventures going forward.

(Incidentally, the method of the retcon here would itself be retconned! In Superman: Infinite Crisis we're told that Kal-El's backstory changed because of Superboy-Prime punching at the edge of reality, and thus not because Jor-El had been lying about the truth.)

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Faster than a DC Bullet: Project Gotham, Part XVIII: Catwoman: When in Rome

Comic trade paperback, n.pag.
Published 2005 (contents: 2000-05)
Borrowed from the library
Read March 2015

Catwoman: When in Rome

Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Tim Sale
Lettering: Richard Starkings
Colorists: Dave Stewart

Year Three, February
I don't think I really cared what Catwoman was doing when she disappeared from the narrative of Dark Victory, but who cares when the answer is so entertaining. I don't really understand what was going on in this story-- who knew what about whom didn't always seem to hang together-- but everything was always fun; Loeb writes enjoyable dialogue, and no one draws quite like Tim Sale, who employs a somewhat different style here than on The Long Halloween and Dark Victory. As a week in the life of Catwoman, this is pretty enjoyable stuff, and I look forward to reading more Catwoman comics.

Next Week: Dick Grayson tries to see if he's got what it takes in Robin: Year One!

Faster than a DC Bullet: Project Gotham, Part XVII: Absolute Batman: Dark Victory

Comic hardcover, n.pag.
Published 2012 (contents: 1999-2000)
Borrowed from the library
Read March 2015

Absolute Batman: Dark Victory

Storytellers: Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale
Colorists: Gregory Wright

Letterers: Richard Starkings

Year Two, December - Year Three, March
As good as The Long Halloween is, Dark Victory is disappointing. Did you like the idea of holiday-themed murders that it takes Batman a year to solve? Well, here it is again. This feels like warmed-over leftovers, except for the addition of Robin; the part of this about how Batman realizes he needs Robin is well done, I'll admit.

Next Week: Find out what Catwoman was up to during this very story in When in Rome!

Faster than a DC Bullet: Project Gotham, Part XV: Batman: Haunted Knight

Comic trade paperback, 190 pages
Published 1996 (contents: 1993-95)
Borrowed from the library
Read January 2015

Batman: Haunted Knight: The Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Specials: Three Tales of Halloween in Gotham City

Storytellers: Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale
Colorist: Gregory Wright

Letterer: Todd Klein

Year Two, April - October
Batman and Halloween go together like Doctor Who and Christmas. These three Batman Halloween tales were the earliest Batman collaborations of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, who would later do character-defining work in The Long Halloween. Their later work is better, but you can see that what they'll later perfect is nascent here. I like the style here, even when the stories themselves don't really work, like the A Christmas Carol riff that I think is supposed to have taught Bruce some kind of lesson, but mostly comes across as random. I did really like the one where Batman and Commissioner Gordon have to team up to save young Barbara from the Mad Hatter. (I am pretty sure this was the first appearance of the future Batgirl in my Batman readthrough. More on her soon!)

Next Week: If you liked Year One, then what could be better than Year Two!?

Faster than a DC Bullet: Project Gotham, Part XIII: Absolute Batman: The Long Halloween

Comic hardcover, 399 pages
Published 2007 (contents: 1996-97)
Borrowed from the library
Read December 2014

Absolute Batman: The Long Halloween

Storytellers: Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale
Colors: Gregory Wright

Letters: Richard Starkings

Year Two, June - October
I've reviewed this one before, but man, was I in a bad day then or what? Or maybe I was just in the wrong mode. This is Batman at his best: a vehicle for madcap adventures in darkness. Tim Sale's artwork captures the grotesque nature of Batman's villains so well; I just love that scene of Batman battling the Joker in a biplane on Christmas, made even better by the dimensions and quality of the oversized Absolute Edition. My old review decries Batman's lack of characterization, but that's utterly untrue; this is a Batman in love with Gotham, doing what he has to to save the soul of his precious city. Of three men doing that, actually: I really like the Batman, Gordon, and Harvey Dent team, three honest men in a city of crooks. I don't really get how the mystery is supposed to work here, but that doesn't bother me, what matters is the exceptional beauty of the journey.

I do have one criticism, but it's more of the other books I've read so far than this one per se. The whole point of Harvey Dent is that he's Batman's friend and colleague who went bad... but we almost never see him good. He plays a decent role in Year One, but there's been a good ten Batman stories chronologically between that one and this one in which, if Harvey's been in them at all, he's done so little I don't remember it (with the exception of Snow). Why does no one take advantage of this aspect of Batman's early days? It seems a wasted opportunity to make what happens in The Long Halloween even more poignant.

Next Week: Sure, we've already read the origins of Scarecrow and Two-Face... but why not read them again!?

Faster than a DC Bullet: Project Crisis!, Part XXVI: Superman: Infinite Crisis

Comic trade paperback, n.pag.
Published 2006 (contents: 2006)
Borrowed from the library
Read June 2014

Superman: Infinite Crisis

Writers: Marv Wolfman, Joe Kelly, Geoff Johns, with Jeph Loeb

Artists: Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Cam Smith, Art Thibert, Nelson, Ed Benes, Mariah Benes, Howard Chaykin, Renato Guedes, Kevin Conrad, Dick Giordano, Jose Marzan Jr., Ian Churchill, Norm Rapmund, Phil Jimenez, Andy Lanning, Lee Bermejo, Doug Mahnke, Tim Sale, Tom Derenick, Wayne Faucher, Kark Kerschl, Duncan Rouleau, Dale Eaglesham, Drew Geraci, Ed McGuinness, Dexter Vines, Ivan Reis, George Pérez, Dave Bullock, Kalman Andrasofszky
Colorists: Jeromy Cox, Guy Major, Renato Guedes, Dave Stewart, Tanya & Richard Horie, Rod Reis, Tom Smith, Michelle Madsen, Kalman Andrasofszky, Dave Bullock
Letterers: Travis Lanham, Pat Brosseau, Nick J. Napolitano

Like the Infinite Crisis Companion, this plugs some gaps in Infinite Crisis. The first story here shows what time in their "paradise dimension" was like for the Alexander Luthor of Earth-Three, the Superman and Lois Lane of Earth-Two, and the Superboy of Earth-Prime. Though it doesn't really help me comprehend Luthor's motivation, it does help make Superboy and Superman's actions more palatable. It's by Marv Wolfman, who revisits his theme that the new universe created after the Crisis on Infinite Earths was intrinsically darker.

It helps explain more clearly what all the Countdown to Infinite Crisis stories had to do with the main event. It's interesting to note that one of things Superboy-Prime observes from the paradise dimension that causes him to think the new timeline is too dark is Wonder Woman killing Maxwell Lord, but when Superboy-Prime crosses over into New Earth, he meets Blue Beetle during the events of The OMAC Project-- obviously before Maxwell Lord was killed. Superboy and Luthor manipulate events somewhat, but I think their manipulations must precede even this, as their interference was the reason Maxwell Lord was able to create OMACs to begin with. So it's all a little bit predestination paradox, but I wonder if this isn't a commentary in and of itself: just like Superboy and Luthor commit violent actions to rewrite the universe to eliminate violence, so too do authors like Geoff Johns depict awful violence in order to write stories about how awful violence isn't necessary for good stories.

One should also note that this is the origin of the infamous Superboy-Prime "retcon punch": as he hits the edge of the universe in frustration, he causes time and history to shift. We see changes to the form of baby Kal-El's rocket, the Legion of Super-Heroes, Jason Todd's death, Power Girl, Hawkman, Wonder Girl, Fury(!), and so on. I kinda both love and hate this. Like, it's both incredibly elegant and incredibly stupid!

Like the Companion, I think it would have worked better as part of the main story than on its own like this. Heck, if you chucked this story plus the four Companion stories in with the main miniseries, you'd have twelve issues: just like the original Crisis. Perfect!

The rest of this book fills in some of Infinite Crisis from the perspective of the Supermen of New Earth and Earth-Two. First we see some snippets from the eve of the original Crisis on Earth-Two, as Lois gives Clark a scrapbook she's made of his greatest moments, illustrated by Tim Sale with his usual flare and skill. Most of it is the two Supermen trading blows, causing them to experience each other's lives-- and make changes to them. It's a neat conceit, showing how each Superman perceives a simpler morality than the other: Superman-Two thinks New Earth is too dark and tries to act to correct it more forcefully; Superman-New thinks Earth-Two is innocent but that too many wrongs are allowed to happen. Both discovers nothing is quite so obvious as that, that the other universe is just as complicated as his own, and that each of them probably did the best they could, given the circumstances. It's not essential, but it slots nicely between the pages of Infinite Crisis and gives us some insight into both Supermen.

Faster than a DC Bullet: The Houses of Mystery and Secrets, Part VIII: The Witching Hour

Comic hardcover, n.pag.
Published 2000 (contents: 1999-2000)
Borrowed from the library
Read November 2013

The Witching Hour

Storytellers: Chris Bachalo and Jeph Loeb

Inker: Art Thibert
Colorist: Grant Goleash
Letterer: Richard Starkings

With The Witching Hour, I jump from the classic DC horror titles of the 1970s to their modern revivals. Beyond the presence of the title and some witches, this bears no relation to the classic The Witching Hour!; Mildred, Mordred, and Cynthia do not put in an appearance. This is a different group of witches, with a different modus operandi, migrating through the world to both sate their own desires and help those in need of it.

It's a complex tale, with flashbacks nestled within flashbacks, out-of-order storytelling, and seemingly unconnected plots. In a way, it feels like what James Robinson's WitchCraft aspired to be and failed at-- a magical tale of mystery and revenge, of the immortal entering mortal affairs. The dialogue is great, full of obscurities and digressions, rarely on point, mysterious in the way that people both real and unreal often are.

What makes it all worth it is Chris Bachalo's amazing art; there's some gorgeous stuff here, and I'm not just talking about how he draws women. I don't know who's responsible for the use of dots in key scenes, but it really works. Add to that Grant Goleash's judicious use of color, and you have a visual feast. It would be easy to get lost in the world of The Witching Hour, but Bachalo keeps you anchored all the way through. In all honesty, this book has very little to do with the classic Witching Hour! and nothing to do with The Sandman, but my time spent decoding it was well spent indeed.

Faster than a DC Bullet, Issue #12: Superman Batman: Absolute Power

Comic trade paperback, n.pag.
Published 2005 (contents: 2005)
Borrowed from a friend
Read September 2009

Superman Batman: Absolute Power

Writer: Jeph Loeb

Penciller: Carlos Pacheco
Inker: Jesús Merino
Additional pencils: Ivan Reis
Colorist: Laura Martin
Letterer: Richard Starkings

DC Universe Timeline: Two Years Ago
Real World Timeline: 2004?

Jeph Loeb can write good comics, right? I know this. I've read Superman For All Seasons and The Long Halloween; he can do absolutely brilliant work. He can, and I know it. So what the hell happened here?

What happened here, as far as I can tell, is that Jeph Loeb ingested the entire DC Universe and then vomited all over some pages and called it a script.

Absolute Power opens with someone traveling back in time and altering the origins of Batman and Superman-- Bruce Wayne's parents' killer is gunned down, and the Kents are fried electrically, and both children are taken away to be raised as the new rulers of the Earth. Of course, you might object that there are a lot of other superheroes out there who would stop that, so our mysterious time travelers also go back in time and kill off Green Lantern, the Flash, and the rest of Earth's great heroes, plus Aquaman. Quite why someone would pick Batman to rule the Earth baffles me-- he has no powers, so they'd have to train him from scratch. What makes him different from anyone else in that case? Might as well pick the Blue Beetle or even Doiby Dickles.

The perpetrators of these time-travel shenanigans are three people called Lightning Lord, Cosmic King, and Saturn Queen. I think they have something to do with the Legion of Super-Heroes, but it's not like anyone ever explains what they're doing or where they came from or why they're taking over the Earth of the 21st century. Or perhaps most importantly, why they can't just take over the Earth themselves, instead of getting Batman and Superman to do it for them. Or why they creepily insist on being called Batman and Superman's parents, while the provide their "children" with hot babes for sexxxing.

Wonder Woman and Uncle Sam round up a group of should-be superheroes to take down the Axis of Evil. A storyline about the Earth's heroes striving to take down an evil Superman and Batman-- you might think that this is where things would start to get interesting. Well, you'd be wrong. This is where things start getting stupid. They assemble a team in about two pages, then there's lots of incoherent fighting, including some of that good-old Superman-on-Wonder-Woman violence Jeph Loeb needs to work into every issue. Then Batman dies. Then everyone travels through time! Why? WHO KNOWS.

This is where the Jeph Loeb Upchucked Continuity Tour really begins, as we randomly hop through the DC Universe, visiting Kamandi, some Wild West characters (in Gotham for some reason), and Apokolips. Also, the Kingdom Come Superman shows up. Again. Plus, the demon Etrigan. Oh, and Metron. Seriously, Loeb, is there anyone else's better idea you need to work into your story? Then Superman and Batman go back in time and stop the villains from changing history. Then Batman shoots his parents' killer before he shoots his parents. This disrupts history even further! OH NO! MORE RANDOM TIME TRAVEL.

Now they have to fight R'as al Ghul, who's apparently taken over the Earth and killed everyone ever with Batman gone. Also, World War II is still going on for some reason. Bruce Wayne learns to be Batman again in twelve minutes (apparently it's not that hard after all), the Justice League is brought back to life only to be killed minutes later, overly portentous narration bubbles mention "The Age of Heroes" a lot, Superman gets stabbed, and then everything's okay. Except-- can Superman ever live with the guilt of killing Wonder Woman in a world that never happened? And can Batman mention the life he should have had one more time? And will Steve ever recover from having to read a bunch of nonsense held together with no rhyme or reason?

WHAT THE HECK. It's like Jeph Loeb has ADD and no plotline interests him for more than five pages. I'm not sure what this was supposed to be about, why most of it happened, or why I should even bother to figure it out. These aren't Batman and Superman, they're two random people with the costumes. It's amazing, but Loeb seems to have created something with even less redeeming value than Supergirl. Thank God this is all James owns of the Superman Batman series, because I'd hate to see what comes next. Actually, it's probably just Batman and Superman making out while Wonder Woman gets beat on by sixteen hundred copies of Doctor Polaris and the Anti-Monitor.
I'm actually kind of disappointed with this review, as I don't think it adequately represents the sheer depth of loathing I have for this story, though the only way to do that might be to just say "please make it stop" a dozen times, and then I'd be too much like Tat Wood for comfort. But dang, this was awful. At least the artwork was pretty.

Note that this originally appeared on my old LiveJournal and included pictures back then. Sadly, the pictures are lost in the mists of the Internet.

Faster than a DC Bullet, Issue #11: Superman Batman: Supergirl

Comic trade paperback, n.pag.
Published 2005 (contents: 2004)
Borrowed from a friend
Read August 2009

Superman Batman: Supergirl

Writer: Jeph Loeb

Artist: Michael Turner
Colorist: Peter Steigerwald
Letterer: Richard Starkings

DC Universe Timeline: Two Years Ago
Real World Timeline: Late 2003?

(This story picks up immediately after the events of Public Enemies, with Superman confined to the Watchtower until the bits of the kryptonite asteroid from that storyline are cleaned up.)

Well, it's time for another rollicking team-up of the World's Finest. Jeph Loeb is back on writing duties for this second volume of the Superman Batman series, with Michael Turner taking over the art. This story explains some of the background behind what has happening in Public Enemies (no explanation for the abortive the-guy-who-killed-Batman's-parents-is-still-out-there plotline, though), telling us that the kryptonite asteroid had a Kryptonian space capsule with Supergirl in it at its heart, and the reason it came straight for Earth was because the capsule was following the one little Kal-El was sent to Earth in. I think the reason Lex Luthor knew this was Darkseid, but how Luthor was going to go public with that explanation and maintain his credibility, I have no idea.

The plot of this story is astoundingly simple. It opens up with Batman discovering a space capsule with a Kryptonian in it while taking part in cleanup operations-- a Kryptonian who turns out to be Kara Zor-El, Superman's cousin. The problem with this series is that it wants to show you the conflict that comes from Superman and Batman's very different worldviews-- something's that been done well in other stories-- but Jeph Loeb seems capable of doing this only by making the two characters act like total jerks. Superman wants to raise Kara and take care of her-- she is, after all, the only member of his race he's ever encountered-- but Batman doesn't trust her for some reason. Of course, it's because he's Batman, but we're never sufficiently sold on the notion that she might be in some way untrustworthy, so he just comes across like a snarling jerk. Especially when he, in a move I cannot understand, convinces Wonder Woman to help him kidnap Kara and take her to Paradise Island. No one even asks Superman if he would like this idea, and I have a hard time believing that any of these people would actually ever think it was necessary. Superman doesn't come out good here, either, though, refusing to explain anything to his friends, and making fun of Batman for losing the second Robin, Jason Todd, an act so out of character that Superman spends the rest of the book thinking to himself, I can't believe I made that crack about Jason Todd.

Loeb's inability to get the characters right is not limited to the Big Three, however. Harbinger, of Crisis on Infinite Earths fame, makes an appearance... an appearance where instead of being the scion of one of the most powerful beings in the multiverse, she giggles like a schoolgirl as she swaps teenage gossip with Kara. Harbinger would never shout "Go Kara! Kick her butt!" Her power was speaking in overly portentous prose! And then she gets killed off-- what a load of nonsense. The book's real crime in this regard is, however, Darkseid. Loeb's Darkseid is a brute and an idiot, not the cunning demigod created by Jack Kirby. There is no way that Batman could have brought Kirby's Darkseid and the forces of Apokolips to their knees within minutes given the centuries of battling the New Gods have put in. And the plan Superman and Kara (now operating as Supergirl) use to trick Darkseid makes no sense. Supergirl throws herself in front of Darkseid's omega beams to protect Superman, but actually teleports out at the last second, and some ash is teleported in to make it look like she's been vaporized. But if she wasn't actually there when the omega beams hit, surely they would have gone right through and killed Superman? Notwithstanding the fact that the power of the omega beams is that they always hit their target! They bend and twist to avoid any obstacle, to catch any runner. If Supergirl was in the way, they'd just go around her! But the worst part of this is that Superman beats up Darkseid and throws him into the Source Wall! What the crap? The entire might of New Genesis can't bring down Darkseid; there's no way that Superman can-- he might be the strongest man on Earth, but Darkseid is a New God! This is justified by Batman at one point, who says that Superman "knew Darkseid would get overconfident if he believed his Omega Effect killed Kara. And it certainly put Superman in the mindset he needed to go into battle." Um, what? Sure, Darkseid may have momentarily dropped his guard after he thought Supergirl was dead, but this isn't an RPG; someone getting the drop on you isn't a deleterious effect on the entire battle. Surely after Superman jumped on Darkseid and threw him into the sun, Darkseid would put his guard back up and stop gasping "I... am... Darkseid" like he's some ineffectual powerless goon. This isn't Mongul we're dealing with here.

Possibly the worst bit of characterization in the whole thing is the titular character, Supergirl herself. Or rather, her total lack of characterization. This is a girl who lost her home planet as a young adult (not as an infant like Superman)... but she doesn't really seem fussed about it at all, content to take baths with Harbinger. Really, the only thing we learn about her is that she loves shopping. Of course she does, she's a teenage girl, right? Hahaha, oh that joke is so great Jeph Loeb, and it never gets old. Girls like to shop! Of course! What else would they do after waking up on an alien planet, newly orphaned? Why does Kara decide to become Supergirl? Who the heck knows! She spends most of the book either amnesiac or under Darkseid's mental control; this book isn't about her in any way, shape, or form, it's about a bunch of people talking about her. She's agency-less in her own story.

In my Public Enemies review, I said the story was saved by some excellent artwork. Can I say the same here? You would think so, going by Loeb's introduction to the collection. He says of Michael Turner: "he drew the darndest sexiest women in comics. What made them sexy wasn't the typical pinup shot of adolescent male fantasies. Mike imbues all his female characters with a strength, both externally and internally..." I think Loeb was confusing the sparkly anime eyes every female character has for inner strength, because there's so such thing going on here. How is Supergirl stalking naked through the streets of Gotham not an adolescent male fantasy? Our first full picture of her is in the nude with a strategically placed sheet and cape magically held in place!

I would criticize Turner for drawing Kara with an improbably long torso and improbably large boobs yet thin body, but I don't think it's a fault with his drawing of Kara so much as his drawing of women, because everyone in this comic has the same body type. Even Wonder Woman. Even Big Barda, who's supposed to a be a colossus; in Turner's hands, she looks like just another teenage girl. She also wears improbably sexy outfits, of course. We're told Lois bought her clothes, but would Lois really buy her a shirt that does this?

What is that shirt even doing? How can it just tuck in in the front like that? Later we get her in a shirt that stops just below her breasts and a g-string that rises up above her jeans. What the heck? Who actually dresses like that? I guess that maybe maybe some girls do, but I find it improbable in the extreme that Lois Lane bought clothes like this for a girl she'd never even met! And she's supposed to be a teenage girl; this just makes me feel dirty. And DC wonders why no girls actually read their Supergirl comic. I also can't believe that Ma Kent would ever devise a Supergirl costume that looked like this:

Conservative, Kansan, sixty-year-old Ma Kent designs Supergirl an outfit that shows her entire improbably long midriff and has a miniskirt!? Right. And we won't even get started on the costume Darkseid puts her in. The art is not noteworthy otherwise: a little too rough from time to time, which shows up in how similar Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne look out of costume.
So, with Supergirl, the Superman Batman series has gone from bad to worse. These books are written so unsubtly they should come with a two-by-four; every narration box hits you over the head with, "They're different... but also the same! And because they're the same... but different they're strong together! Like a team of people who are different... but also the same! Makeout time!" And the only reason they're even different is because Jeph Loeb writes them like total jerks. And Batman doesn't even do anything in this book; why was he even here? Good Lord, what a bunch of crap and nonsense.

Note that this originally appeared on my old LiveJournal and included pictures back then. Sadly, the pictures are lost in the mists of the Internet.

Faster than a DC Bullet, Issue #10: Superman Batman: Public Enemies

Comic trade paperback, n.pag.
Published 2005 (contents: 2003-04)
Borrowed from a friend
Read July 2009

Superman Batman: Public Enemies

Writes*: Jeph Loeb

Pencils: Ed McGuinness
Inkers: Dexter Vines
Colors: Dave Stewart
Letters: Richard Starkings
Prologue Art and Colors: Tim Sale with Mark Chiarello

DC Universe Timeline: Two Years Ago
Real World Timeline: Fall 2003

(Luthor's president, but hasn't yet served a full term, so this must be before 2004, as he was elected in 2000. In that case, the publication date of issue #1 of this series is as good as anything else. He doesn't seem to be gearing up for reelection, though, so perhaps it occurs even earlier? The last six years of DC continuity have to squeeze into two years, which seems a bit of a tight fit, especially when you consider that the events of 52 occupy an entire year of that by definition! No doubt DC will retcon it to being called 26 soon enough.)

Incidentally, last month was the one-year anniversary of Faster than a DC Bullet, a fact which went distressingly unnoticed by myself. I kicked off with Superman: Birthright, but a week after that, I reviewed Superman For All Seasons, one of the best Superman stories I have ever read. Three months after that came Batman: The Long Halloween, a very good Batman story. Both of these stories were penned by Jeph Loeb, so it makes sense that a storyline uniting the two would also be his work. After all, he has to have a good grasp of the characters.

And he does. His Superman is an optimistic, stand-up guy while his Batman is a brooding pessimist. The problem he runs into, though, is the need to continually set them up as perfect opposites of one another, especially via cute narration boxes where they're always thinking parallel but different thoughts. This results in both characters being somewhat uncharacteristically exaggerated-- his Superman is a little too much of a brute-force guy sometimes, and his Batman is pretty joyless.

Mostly I think I just quickly got aggravated by the alternating narration boxes, though; outside of these, his characterization is fine, and usually it's very good. I particularly liked the fact that Clark Kent got to show off his investigative journalism skills. Also excellent is the sequence where Superman has been shot by a kryptonite bullet, and Batman much take him back to safety (fortunately for them, the cave they are in connects to the Batcave). It showcases the strength of both men well: Batman's fantastic ability to think of his feet, where he blows a hole in a wall, shielding himself from the blast by standing on the other side of an ailing Superman, as well as Superman's sheer determination, as he continues to do what has to be done even though he's minutes from death.

Unfortunately, the characterization for the rest of the characters is not so great. Indeed, the characterization for other versions of the same characters is not so great; a future Superman comes back in time to stop a disaster from transpiring. Mostly this is an artificial attempt to heighten the jeopardy our characters are in, as it contributes very little to the story, but it's made worse by the fact that future-Superman is an idiot. For some reason, he thinks the best solution is to murder his previous self as well as Batman as soon as he shows up, which seems like it would cause more problems than it would solve, given the role they play in resolving the situation. Why not sit the two of them down and say, "You need to do x, but not y, as that will result in the destruction of the Earth"? It's a clumsy way to shoehorn a Superman/Superman fight and a Superman/Batman fight into the narrative. Also, why in a postapocalyptic future did Superman take the time to change his outfit to the Kingdom Come version? Nothing better to do after seeing the human race wiped out? Loeb's characterizations of the other supporting heroes is similarly clumsy; to make Superman and Batman look better, they're all written as brutes. Captain Atom is a particular offender in this regard; he feels nothing like the character I remember from Justice League Europe.

The biggest offender is this regard is Lex Luthor, which is surprising, as Loeb wrote an absolutely fantastic Luthor in Superman For All Seasons. This Luthor, however, is nothing more than a ranting maniac whose plan makes very little sense. He tells the world that Superman is responsible for the kryptonite asteroid heading towards the Earth, but never tells anyone why they should believe this. Fortunately for him, everyone just goes along with it. When he can't find Superman and Batman anywhere, he announces that they've been captured, causing a cadre of heroes to break into the White House to liberate them (because of course that's where you'd imprison two of the most dangerous men on the entire planet), so that when they show up, Luthor can ask them where Superman and Batman are. Um, hello? If Nightwing knew where Superman and Batman were, he wouldn't have fallen for your trick, would he? In the end of the story, Luthor abandons all signs of intelligence or reason, puts on a battlesuit, and starts beating up on people left, right, and center. Why? Who knows? The problem here is that Luthor keeps on doing things seemingly just because he's a villain. Why would he want an kryptonite asteroid to destroy the Earth? It doesn't help him in any conceivable way (he lives on the Earth after all); it's just something EVIL for him to do. I've always liked the idea of Lex Luthor as President of the United States (the election arc in Justice League Unlimited was fabulous), but I've never actually read any of the "President Lex" tales before. If this is the kind of terrible use that was made of that idea, I'm glad I haven't.

The other big logic problem here is in the resolution of the story-- it absolutely comes out of nowhere. All of a sudden Batman and Superman are talking about having to get to "the boy". He turns out to be the Toyman's son (the Toyboy? the Boytoy?), who has built a charmingly bizarre rocket that looks like Superman melded with Batman, which can blow up the asteroid by punching it real hard. When did they set this up while being chased by various supervillains and then Captain Atom's forces? And why does Power Girl need to distract the boy, aside from providing an opportunity for a joke about her prominent boobs? How did Superman and Batman escape from the custody of Captain Atom and Hawkman and steal their outfits when they were unconscious? It's a great moment when the two of them turn up in disguise, but as soon as you think about it, it makes no sense. (The narration box implies that Hawkman and Captain Marvel were distracted by the news that Luthor has captured Superman and Batman, which is really really dumb.) What the heck is even going on here?

Loeb's cartoony, exaggerated writing is perfectly complemented by Ed McGuinness's cartoony, exaggerated artwork. Except that McGuinness's artwork is cartoony and exaggerated in a good way. Superman and Batman look fantastic, and his rendition of all the other characters is spot-on as well. It's a clean look, and McGuinness rarely fails with even the most complex and crowded of battle scenes; we always know exactly what is happening. Looking at the pictures is probably the best part of this thing.

Apparently, Public Enemies has been chosen as the source material for one of the upcoming direct-to-DVD DC cartoons. I can see why-- it looks great here, and I imagine it'll look great in motion, too. But hopefully the vocal performances of Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly, and especially Clancy Brown can give the story a credibility and logic it utterly lacked in its original form. I've got two more Superman Batman trades by Loeb to read; they'd better be better than this.

* "Writes"? That's one of the dumbest things I've ever read.

Note that this originally appeared on my old LiveJournal and included pictures back then. Sadly, the pictures are lost in the mists of the Internet.

Faster than a DC Bullet, Issue #4: Batman: The Long Halloween

Comic trade paperback, ~368 pages
Published 1999 (contents: 1996-97)
Borrowed from a friend
Read August 2008

Batman: The Long Halloween

Writer: Jeph Loeb

Artist: Tim Sale
Colors: Gregory Wright
Letters: Richard Starkings

DC Universe Timeline: Twelve Years Ago
Real World Timeline: 1987-88?

(Much like the same authors' Superman For All Seasons, this could pretty much be set at any time. In the DC Universe, it follows on the heels of Batman: Year One, covering eighteen months in Batman's early career, from June to December of the following year. I'm uncertain how much time has passed since Year One because I don't have that book on hand anymore.)

You know, there's this thing about Batman. There are a lot of people out there who like Batman more than they like Superman. And I'm actually okay with that, because I know that when it comes down to it, Superman could beat Batman in a fight so easily, and that's what matters most of all when you're talking about superheroes. What I'm not okay with is their reasons. "Batman is more realistic than Superman." Or "Batman is more relateable than Superman."

Excuse me, what?

Who on Earth can relate to a man who saw his parents brutally gunned down in an alley when he was eight years old, spent his young adult life traveling the world and being trained by the greatest masters of martial arts, science, and awesomeness, and now uses his billionaire wealth and mega-corporation to fight crime in the alleys of Gotham City dressed up as a giant bat? He's nothing like anything anyone has ever experienced! Superman, on the other hand, is an ordinary decent person who woke up one day to find out he could fly. And shoot lasers out of his eyes. Incredible unrealistic in a sense, but-- you could be Superman. You could not be Batman.

As more more realistic? I think Batman's lack of superpowers make him less realistic, not more. Superman's powers come from a yellow sun and his Kryptonian heritage; if you happened to have that, you could do all of the things Superman does. Batman has got no excuse for the fact that he can do all of these amazing things. He just can. And no matter how much you or I trained, no matter how much we hung out with Liam Neeson in the mountains of Tibet, we could not be Batman.

This, I think, is the fundamental root of my problem with the Batman comics I have read so far in this incredibly drawn-out blogging series. (I mean, one comic a month? How hard can this be?) The Superman we see in Superman For All Seasons is a guy we can relate to, as I hammered home in that review again and again. Even the one in Birthright fairs pretty all right. But Batman... he's never really depicted as a character. He's just there, this force of nature that spends all his time disappearing mid-conversation with Commissioner Gordon and kicking people in the face. You never get a feeling that he's an actual person, a man with struggles and difficulties and problems.

Except for once. In chapters 8 and 9 of The Long Halloween, which take place on Mother's Day and Father's Day, respectively, Batman's long, drawn-out hunt for the serial killer known only as "Holiday" is paralleled with his youthful memories of his parents. Of course, Batman does everything he does as part of some almost insane devotion to his long-dead ancestors. And here, that really comes through-- you feel that when Batman's failed, he's not just failed himself, he's failed his mom and his dad. And for a man who's spent his entire life making up to them, that's a pretty crushing blow. For once in the book, you know what it is to be Batman. And these chapters were my favorite parts of the story.

Not that the rest of it is terrible. But... what it seems to come down to in the end with this, just like Batman: Year One is... it's not as good as Batman Begins/The Dark Knight. Everything this comic does, those movies do better. In them, Batman does feel like a person you can relate to and understand. His actions really do feel like a struggle. I think that's because the movies use his supporting cast, especially Alfred, much more effectively. In this comic, much like Year One, Alfred is a two-scene nonentity with no real impact. And I think Dent's descent into Two-Face was much more effectively handled in the films-- the coin thing feels incredibly random here, as it's scarcely mentioned before he goes evil. In the movie, it's an integral part of his personality from the beginning.

Of course, not being as good as Christopher Nolan's Batman films is hardly the worst criticism you can give something.

This comic is good. It's got some problems-- most of the time, it feels like our protagonists are just standing around waiting for Holiday to kill someone else. Which I suppose might happen with real serial killers, but it makes for dull reading at times. The final solution as to who Holiday is is at first a cheat and then just muddled. But aside from that, the story is decent enough.

Most of the supporting characters are well-handled, especially the members of Batman's Rogue Gallery. I really like how the Joker, the Mad Hatter, Solomon Grundy, and the Scarecrow were handled. I really liked how the Riddler was handled, which is surprising, as I usually find his character pretty stupid. Catwoman confused me more than anything else: in Year One Selina Kyle's a prostitute, in this story she's part of Bruce Wayne's social circle. The gangster stuff was very well done, too, and probably some of my favorite parts-- another area where these comics obviously infuenced the Nolan films.

Jim Gordon continues to be awesome. Actually, I really like the stuff with the GCPD in general; Wikipedia tells me they got their own comic book series called Gotham Central, and I mean to check it out someday. This small group of people in their enternally-losing battle can't help but be appealing.

Tim Sale's art, of course, is fantastic, aside from the occasional panel where Batman is somewhat over-muscled. Overall: it was decent, but the lack of real character in Bruce Wayne/Batman prevents it from becoming great. Not so much a mixed bag as just... average.

Note that this originally appeared on my old LiveJournal and included pictures back then. Sadly, the pictures are lost in the mists of the Internet.