Starman 57, LOTDCU 20, Superman: DarkSide - Points to Ponder REIVEWS
SDelMonte
Starman 57 - B+
Legends of DC Universe 20 - C+
Superman: The Dark Side (TPB) - A-
Spoiler Space...
Starman 57
Plot: Robinson and Goyer
Words: Robinson
Art: Snejbjerg and Champagne
At last, Jack and Mikaal arrive on Prince Gavyn's homeworld to rescue Will
Payton. It took how long to get here? Almost a year? But once they arrive,
things actually happen. Jack and Mikaal have their ship blown up; are tortured
by Gavyn's best friend, Jediah Rikane, now the Crown Imperial's dictator; get
thrown in jail and barely escpae being made the "pets" of Jarko (seen in the
Space Cabbie issue two months back); join a resistance cell whose member
include Tigorr of the Omega Men and Fatbak of the New Gods; and get thrown into
a bottomless pit at issue's end. Yep, a lot happens.
Most of that "a lot" is good. Rikane is determined to hide Payton from
Gavyn's widow, Lady Merria, because somehow Payton has Gavyn's soul. In other
words. he's almost motivated by love, or at least by lust. He also misses his
friend despite betraying everything Gavyn stood for. Thus he becomes an
interesting foe. The roit in the prison was not quite so intriguing, although
it serves to set up what apparently will be the revolution against Jediah. I
like seeing Tigorr among the rebels, but Fastbak seems a bit lost in such murky
circumstances.
The weak points here are some of the script, as Robinson seems to have
Jack on full ramble, and the art. Snejbjerg has done better, so why is his
stuff so flat of late? It's not bad, but after seeing the stunning Tony
Harris/Alex Ross cover, his work could use a boost.
In any case, we're off and running and the final arc in this overlong but
entertaining voyage should be exciting. How does Jack get out of it this time?
Legends of the DC Universe 20
Words: Steven Grant
Art: Zeck and Janson
I wanted to like this story more. I like Westerns, and I like Green
Lanterns. But this meeting of a younger Abin Sur and Hal Jordan's US Marshall
ancestor does little for me. I did enjoy reading it, and promptly forgot
almost all of it. There's little memorable here aside from Abin Sur's origin.
Otherwise, it's a poor amalgam of a sci-fi tale and a Western as Abin hunts the
man who killed his predecessor and Henry Lee Jordan hunts a desperado whose
trail began in Smallvile when Jordan worked for Sheriff Nate Kent.
Perhaps if were just a Western or just a GL tale I wonder have been
happier. OTOH, the interaction between Henry Lee and Abin is reasonably
well-written and may have saved the tale from being a bore. I don't mind
having DCU history intersext at odd angles, but it had better be doen for a
reason.
Given who the artists are, this comic is very cartoony. Again, I expect
better from Zeck and from Janson.
Superman: The Dark Side (trade paperback)
Words: John Francis Moore
Art: Kieron Dwyer and Hilary Barta
I skipped this last year and saw enough good reviews of it to use my comic
shop credit to get it. I would have been worth reading even at full price.
As most of you will know, this tale posits a world were Darkseid diverted
Kal El's capsule to Apokolips so he could raise Kal as his secret ultimate
weapon. In the course of the story, the Fourth World and the world of Superman
meet in new and unexpected ways. Moore, who didn't do the obvious in his
previous "Elseworld's Finest," messes with our expectations so that Darkseid
almost wins, Kal is much darker than we'd ever expect, the fates of the New
Gods end up being rather different, and Lois is not hopelessly in love with
Kal. He never even becomes Superman in name the way he does in almost every
other Superman Elseworlds story.
Moore has a rare opportunity to create his own variation on the themes by
following this approach. The name is Kal-El but he's nothing like the man we
know. And is jsut as interesting. Rather than look at Supes from a different
angle, he's torn down all the scafolding around him to build a dark force of
pure power. The path Kal takes from villain to hero is tortured and touching.
Dwyer's art is not perfect, but it's the best he's done for DC. He
changes the look of many New Gods - especially Kalibak and Darkseid - woithout
affecting their essences. His Kal is suitably fierce and fearsome without
being as ugly as Orion at his worst. Special credit goes to Patricia Mulvihill
for a neat coloring trick involving Superman and the sunlight.
This is the second Elseworlds story I've read this year where our
expectations are totally mucked with (the other is "Superman: War of the
Worlds). While the overall concept is getting a little stale - when should we
have Batman live this week? - it still has a lot of potential and Moore and
Dwyer tap into it superbly.
Simon DelMonte