Tag Steel (DC Comics)
The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special #1 Micro-Review –
***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***
TITLE: The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special #1
AUTHORS: Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Roger Stern, Louise Simonson
ARTISTS: Various. Cover by Jurgens, Brett Breeding, & Brad Anderson
RELEASED: November 8, 2022
By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder
For those of us who were around back when Superman “died” in the early ’90s, this is a nice little supplement featuring many of the same creators who worked on the classic story.
The main feature sees a young Jon Kent learn about the big fight with Doomsday as his father fights an opponent named Doombreaker that’s almost identical. It’s a great performance on both the writing and art side by Dan Jurgens.
Meanwhile Steel gets a back-up story written by his creators Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove. The affection they have for him is evident on the page.
Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.
Weekly Comic 100s: DC Future State, Star Wars: The High Republic, and More!
***”Weekly Comic 100s” keeps it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***
By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder
Dark Nights: Death Metal isn’t my thing. Just not my flavor of ice cream. But apparently it just changed the DC Universe on a cosmic level. So I had to do a little research.
Apparently, coming out of Death Metal, the DC Multiverse is now a DC Omniverse. An omniverse is, of course…*looks it up*…“a universe that is spatiotemporally four-dimensional.” What does that mean? Apparently it means there are, like, a lot of alternate universes out there, and everything is canon somewhere.
That should be DC’s new tag line: “DC Comics: Where everything is canon somewhere!”
Out of Death Metal we go into Generations Shattered, and the two-month long Future State event, which shows us “glimpses into the possible unwritten worlds of tomorrow.” These Future State stories are taking over virtually all the main DC books until March. So whether we like the future or not, it’s here…
Oh, and Star Wars: The High Republic started this week too.
Oh, and there’s other stuff too.
Everybody gettin’ this, so far? Good. Now let’s dive in.
TITLE: Generations Shattered #1
AUTHORS: Dan Jurgens, Robert Venditti, Andy Schmidt
ARTISTS: Various. Cover by Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, & Hi-Fi.
RELEASED: January 5, 2021
This one didn’t do it for me. Which was a surprise, as DC usually does pretty well with these one-shot event kick-offs (think DC Universe: Rebirth). Plus, the idea of all these heroes from various decades (’40s Batman, ’90s Steel, etc) coming together is pretty cool.
But while there’s tons of great artistic talent on display here, there’s a certain emptiness to Generations Shattered. I was left wanting more. And not in a good way.
Quite a shame. There was a lot of potential here.
TITLE: Star Wars: The High Republic #1
AUTHOR: Cavan Scott
ARTISTS: Ario Anindito, Mark Morales (Inker), Annalisa Leoni (Colorist), Ariana Maher (Letterer). Cover by Phil Noto.
RELEASED: January 6, 2021
This has more of a fantasy vibe than a traditional Star Wars book. Not the least of which because we’ve got a fairy-like alien on the opening pages.
This issue drew me in, but the hook wasn’t that strong. I’m wondering whether Yoda, who is in this issue, should have played a larger role. As the only character we know who’s alive during this time frame, he would have been the natural segue in, wouldn’t he?
TITLE: Future State: The Next Batman #1
AUTHOR: John Ridley, Brandon Thomas
ARTISTS: Nick Derington, Tamra Bonvillain (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer). Cover by Jose O. Ladronn.
RELEASED: January 5, 2021
Right now, people should be reading anything that has John Ridley’s name on it. This is good stuff. Very street-level in both writing and art. I also love that the Santa Prisca gang wears ’90s style Bane masks.
The issue also does a lot of justice to the Outsiders, and oddly enough, the Peter Tomasi version of Arkham Knight from Detective Comics. That story didn’t do much for me. But the character feels like she belongs in this world.
TITLE: Star Wars #10
AUTHOR: Charles Soule
ARTISTS: Jan Bazaldua, Rachelle Rosenberg (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer). Cover by Carlo Pagulayan, Jason Paz & Rain Beredo.
RELEASED: January 6, 2021
Spoiler alert: Luke Skywalker isn’t in this issue. So that’s a misleading cover, right there.
Put that aside, however, and this might be the best issue of the series thus far. We’ve got some good character stuff, including the exploration of the relationship between Lando and Lobot, the latter of whom doesn’t get played with that often. Han Solo’s absence leaves a big void in the Star Wars story that can be used for newer or lesser known characters. This issue is a textbook example of that.
TITLE: Future State: Wonder Woman #1
AUTHOR: Joelle Jones
ARTISTS: Jones, Jordie Bellaire (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer)
RELEASED: January 5, 2021
This issue is pretty. That’s par for the course for a Jones & Bellaire book. Jones draws the underworld like a crowded city subway station, which is fun. Our new Wonder Woman, Yara Flor, also has a flying horse named Jerry. Because why not? There’s also humor injected into things, which is nice.
The thing is, I’m not really sure what to think of all this. The issue is fun, but there’s not much to get me invested in our new hero, or to make me want more. So I’m on the fence about coming back next time.
TITLE: Future State: Harley Quinn #1
AUTHOR: Stephanie Phillips
ARTISTS: Simone di Meo, Tamra Bonvillain (Colorist), Troy Peteri (Letters). Cover by Derrick Chew.
RELEASED: January 5, 2021
Simone di Meo and Tamra Bonvillain look good on Harley. They give this issue a feel akin to a much brighter Batman Beyond. They also give Professor Pyg a gas-mask-centered redesign that’s pretty cool.
The art is inspired, but the plot isn’t. An imprisoned Harley helping the police (who are aided by Scarecrow, oddly enough), track down Gotham City villains. It’s essentially a twist on the Hannibal Lecter character. Harley devotees may come back next issue. But I’ll pass, thanks.
Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.
Weekly Comic 100s: Suicide Squad, and Playing Catch-Up
***”Weekly Comic 100s” keeps it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***
By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder
Playing a little catch-up this week. With it being the week of the presidential election here in the United States, Lord knows it’s a hell of a lot more fun to be in a land of escapism right about now…
TITLE: Suicide Squad #10
AUTHOR: Tom Taylor
ARTISTS: Bruno Redondo, Adriano Lucas (Colorist), Wes Abbott (Letterer). Variant cover by Travis Moore & Alejandro Sanchez.
RELEASED: October 27, 2020
Has Black Mask ever had his mask ripped off his face? Because that happens in this issue, and it’s really the only notable thing about it. Oddly enough, we don’t really get a good look at his face without the mask. I imagine it looks something like raw hamburger meat.
I’d recommend the variant cover on this one. Harley gets center-stage, obviously. But it’s a pretty cool group shot.
TITLE: Detective Comics #1029
AUTHOR: Peter Tomasi
ARTISTS: Kenneth Rocafort, Daniel Brown (Colorist), Rob Leigh (Letterer)
RELEASED: October 27, 2020
Still digging Kenneth Rocafort’s work. He and Tomasi won some sentimental points with me in this one by putting in a shot of the Batpoles, straight out of the ’60s Batman show.
Tomasi’s run on Detective has been notably disappointing so far. But he may very well turn things around with these next few issues. We’ve got a story about a mayoral candidate running on an anti-vigilante platform. There’ve been stories in that territory before. But I’m intrigued to see what Tomasi does with it.
TITLE: Batman/Superman #13
AUTHOR: Joshua Williamson
ARTISTS: Max Raynor, Alejandro Sanchez (Colorist), John J. Hill (Letterer). Variant cover by Mark Brooks.
RELEASED: October 27, 2020
I had started to write this “Planet Brainiac” story off as fluff. But in this issue we have a couple scenes where our robotic villain (who is not Brainiac) talks to both our heroes respectively about their motivations as heroes in attempt to understand them. If you’re a big fan of Superman and/or Batman, it’s not terribly insightful. But I like some of that stuff for more casual readers. I’d prefer we get it via storytelling as opposed to plainly stating it the way Williamson does here. But I give him points nonetheless.
TITLE: Something is Killing the Children #11
AUTHOR: James Tynion IV
ARTISTS: Werther Dell’Edera, Miquel Muerto (Colorist), Andworld Design (Letters). Variant cover by Inhyuk Lee.
RELEASED: October 20, 2020
We meet a character called “the Old Dragon” in this issue who has a really cool look. I hope to see more of him soon.
Not a very eventful issue outside of meeting this new character. Though we do get a nice back-and-forth between Erica Slaughter and our resident cop character. Tensions continue to rise. Despite some of my reservations about children and gore, I can’t deny Tynion, Dell-Edera, and Muerto have put together one of the most suspenseful books on the stands.
Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.
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