The Superman Thread

[TimothyCallahan]

We already started talking about Superman Beyond over HERE, but I think we should have a thread where we just talk about any incarnation of Superman we want to.

One of my upcoming WWC columns will be Superman-heavy (just wait and see), and I'm enjoying Geoff Johns's current take and, of course, the work Morrison and Quitely are doing on All-Star.

But I also want to complain a bit too. Renato Guedes has done excellent Superman work in the past, but his work is getting absolutely ruined by inker José Wilson Magalháes and especially the colors by the self-proclaimed "Hi-Fi." James Robinson's Superman isn't clicking with me yet, but I think that's largely because the colors are so horrible. Look at Atlas's chest, for crying out loud!

So yeah, Superman. Let's talk.

[deantrippe]

Man, I think we're on the same wavelength here. All-Star and Action are the best Superman books in years (Action's the best it's been in my lifetime, imo), but the Superman title just isn't working for me.

I could forgive the weak coloring, but Robinson's take on the main characters rings hollow and false to me, personally. His Lois is petty, insecure, and passive. His Clark is naive, slow-witted, and wants to hear alien-skin-color romance stories from Hal Jordan. Holy what. I don't get it. Besides all of that, the story is stuck in the same dang fight it has been for months.

I keep thinking this book's going to hit its stride, but it's not. The sad thing is I'll probably keep reading, because I know the upcoming Superman line stuff is all going to be crossing over, and I don't want to miss a beat of Johns' New Krypton story or his plan to make Supergirl work right.

[TimothyCallahan]

So when are they going to hire you do draw Supergirl?????

[deantrippe]

So when are they going to hire you do draw Supergirl?????

Ha. I'm trying to do more writing lately, actually. I couldn't draw 22 pages a month of any kinda quality.

[4thHorseman]

I could forgive the weak coloring, but Robinson's take on the main characters rings hollow and false to me, personally. His Lois is petty, insecure, and passive. His Clark is naive, slow-witted, and wants to hear alien-skin-color romance stories from Hal Jordan. Holy what. I don't get it. Besides all of that, the story is stuck in the same dang fight it has been for months.

I keep thinking this book's going to hit its stride, but it's not. The sad thing is I'll probably keep reading, because I know the upcoming Superman line stuff is all going to be crossing over, and I don't want to miss a beat of Johns' New Krypton story or his plan to make Supergirl work right.

I'm thinking the same. The book is the worst I've ever seen it at, and the characters seem like completely different people. I'm sick of Robinson writing already, and supposedly we still have several years of him on the book. I don't know how much I can take. Not only am I sick of him writing, but listening to him at the conventions and whatnot makes him seem full of himself and he has the audacity to talk about how writers over the past couple years don't have a handle on the characters yet here he is making the book complete trash. I want him off the book.

[TimothyCallahan]

Robinson has done some excellent comic book work in the past -- Starman, obviously, but even some of his other work has been quite good. Yet his writing seems about 45 degrees off here. Like he's not in synch with Superman yet.

I certainly wouldn't say it's the worst Superman stuff in history, and I don't think it's that much worse than Busiek's recent run (which was mostly mediocre), but the art sure doesn't help. I'm optimistic, though. Maybe he needs to settle into the groove. Um, maybe?

[GRANT!]

I'm not digging the Robinson Superman as much as I'd like to. I think Robinson has been out of the comic world for a little too long and just lost a bit of the momentum he doing monthly runs of Starman. Face to Face. He also doesn't seem to have a handle of the Superman characters either. I don't want to say they are off but the relationships aren't gelling. Something a book like Superman relies heavily on. And I agree that art is a bit messy. I have a feeling Renato will be replaced.

Geoff Johns take is a pleasant surprise. He still has the need to overexplain things (The Cat Grant/Toyman/Brainiac continuity fixes are annoying) but he's done an amazing job raising the stakes something that the Superman books needed. And Gary Frank has been doing a good job as well (those his faces can be kind of creepy looking at times).

I might stick on through this New Krypton arc and see how it goes. I really want to love the regular Superman books again.

Speaking of which it's going to be a sad day when that final All Star Superman book comes out.

[Cayman]

Robinson should quietly step over to a Krypto ongoing.

[GRANT!]

Robinson should quietly step over to a Krypto ongoing.

Alan Moore and Jim Lee couldn't sell a Krypto ongoing.

[TimothyCallahan]

I have a few thoughts on the recent death of Pa Kent.

My full blog entry is here: http://geniusboyfiremelon.blogspot.c...rkness-of.html

Here's an excerpt:

But, as I said, no other major superhero has both parents still kicking around, playing such an important role. And there's a probably a reason for that. A deeply-rooted mythical reason having to do with the son replacing the father. Can Superman realize his full potential when the comics are really Superman and his Amazing Parents? Doesn't that diminish the character's scope? I don't know, but maybe it does. Maybe he needs to step up as not just a Super-Son, but as a Super-Man in his own right, and the loss of the father has historically been the most symbolic way to demonstrate the passage into adult responsibility. I'm just throwing these ideas out there, but they seem important.

The death of Pa Kent also adds that kind of tragic undertone that makes Superman realize his tenuous relationship to humanity all the more clearly. If Johns and company use Pa's death just to emphasize the frailty of homo sapiens compared to the Kryptonians who are due to overwhelm the Earth in upcoming DC months, then I think Pa's death would have been an excessive tactic. But if Johns and company build on the emotional cost of Pa's death -- of the loss of that moral beacon in Superman's life -- and actually give Superman the agency to struggle with his own dilemmas without running home for advice all the time (and Ma is still around, of course, but her relationship with Clark is different), then I think that makes Superman a more interesting character.

Thoughts?