Superman Adventures #1(2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Superman: The Animated Adventures ran on the WB from 1996-2000. It was a spin-off of the now classic Batman: The Animated Adventures. 

Featuring the voice talents of Tim Daly as Superman/Clark Kent, Dana Delaney as Lois Lane and Clancy Brown as Lex Luthor, the series was lauded for it's sleek futuristic design and cerebral script writing. Utilizing a majority of the production staff from Batman: TAS, names such as Paul Dini, Bruce Timm and Jean MacCurdy appeared regularly in the closing credits.

This cartoon version of the Man of Steel wasn't a god among men as he was originally designed by creators Siegel and Shuster. Instead, Superman: TAS structured their Last Son of Krypton with the same limitations as developed by John Byrne in the 1987 post-Crisis reboot of Superman. Though severely hampered with the restrictions put on the character, making for more dramatic storylines, Superman rose to every challenge he faced because there was one superpower to which the hero had no weakness against: Superman's unwavering moral code!

Unlike the pre-Crisis Superman, this version of the Man of Tomorrow still had access to his adopted parents, Ma and Pa Kent. Whenever faces with a crisis of conscience, Superman could always make a quick trip to Kansas and work out his problems as Clark Kent with words of wisdom and encouragement from the Kents. Unaware that Superman has a secret identity, Clark's morality was the one thing Lex Luthor's advanced technological schemes against Superman that he could never defeat!

Just as the animated series was debuting on television, DC Comics released a monthly all ages comic book. The first issue was written by Paul Dini with art by Rick Burchett and inks by Terry Austin. The opening story titled 'Men of Steel', sees Superman on scene in Metropolis for just a few weeks. Clark Kent is also still pretty wet behind the ears in his reporter job as the Daily Planet. Luthor sees Superman as a threat to his stranglehold as the de facto ruler of Metropolis as well as a potential alien invader, operating under the guide as a heroic savior. 

The corrupt business leader has been testing out Superman's powers and weaknesses through a series of tests designed as super villains randomly attacking Metropolis. After Superman's latest encounter with terrorist John Corben, inside a suit of 'stolen' LexCorp armor, Luthor has enough data to fully active a life-sized robotic replica of the Man of Steel!

The plot of this issue's story is a partial retelling of part three of the debut episode 'The Last Son of Krypton.' Corben's theft of the LexCorp rebo-suit and Luthor's determination to make a fool of Superman are almost verbatim scenes taken from show. Only Kent's attempts at love and the revelation that Brainiac survived the destruction of Krypton are not included in this premiere issue.

DC's Superman Adventures ran for 66 issues, outpacing the TV show by a dozen stories. A year after the cancellation of the series, Superman, Batman and others would return, this time as a team. Justice League and it's spin-off series Justice League Unlimited would run for 5 seasons; ultimately pitting the Superman led Justice League against the Injustice League, headed by Lex Luthor.

The wrap-around cover is by Bruce Timm.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #16 (Book from the Year You Graduated High School) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Minicomic Collection

I've wanted this collection for quite some time! 

Back in the 1980s, when you got either a Masters of the Universe action figure or vehicle/playset, you got a free mini-comic. Generally what happened was on you way home from the store, you would read the minicomic in order to learn more about the item you have just bought. (Yes, I realize now that these books were basically 8-12 page ads. But they were so much fun to read!) Once you got home, you'd take your new toy and act out the adventures in the book. Or you'd nag your parents to buy the missing characters from the book. 

Over the years, finding those minicomics would become a mission for many fans such as myself. I don't have room to display dozens of action figures and playsets. But I have a couple of inches of space in one of my long boxes to house a complete run of minicomics. 

Turns out that the minicomics are even harder to find than the figures. That's because the minicomics would get lost or thrown away or damaged. In the over 10 years plus I've been collecting as an adult, I've only found one He-Man mini comic. It was only a couple of bucks but not in the best of shape with some apparent water damage. 

Thankfully, someone at Dark Horse decided to hunt down those lost treasures. And they went above and beyond including not just the complete run of MOTU, but the inserts from She-Ra, Princess of Power, the 1989 space reboot of He-Man, the original storybook set of 4, and some never before published minis as well!

This collection is massively small. It has well over 1100 pages. Yet, it's just slightly bigger than the size of the mini-comics. So the transferring of original works to copies prevents the artwork from looking stretched-out!

This massive volume includes early work from some of the industries legends such as Bruce Timm, Lee Nordling, Stan Sakai, Mark Texeira, and Robert Kirkman! 

It's really hard to complain about this book. Yes, some of the stories are quite silly, if not ludicrous. (They were written for kids aged 5-10!) The volume, it's got just about everything a MOTU minicomics collector would want- except for the final 8 minicomics produced for the He-Man classics line. I'm not sure why those weren't included unless Dark Horse was afraid that the book and it's costs were getting too out of hand. 

This book, from 2015, originally retails for $29.99. If you are patient, like I was, you can find it for a very good deal on Amazon. If you are wanting to revisit the wonder of being a He-Man fan back in the 80s, this is the perfect MOTU collection for you! And it will save you money and time for something else instead of trying to complete this set individually. 

Now if only DC Comics would release a collection of the Super Powers minicomics, my mirco-sized comic book searches would be complete!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars. 

Batman: Harley & Ivy

Witness the formation of one of DC Comics' most tightest friendships turned whirlwind romances! Batman: The Animated Series' Paul Dini and Bruce Timm rejoin forces to bust Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy out of Arkham! While on the lam, the girls will take on a banana republic known for it's massive deforestation practices, Hollywood big wigs making a movie about the criminals, the big guy Batman, and each other!

I was surprised how titillating this story was. There's nearly nude prison showering, gratuitous crotch shots in lingerie and much more. Well, based on that scene in Mad Love when Quinn asks Mr. J if he wanted to take a ride on his Harley, maybe I'm not that surprised. 

While the story is firmly set in the TAS universe, this miniseries isn't all ages!

This volume also includes 2 short stories. Judd Winick (Red Hood: The Lost Days) pens a tale in which Harley seeks to best The Joker with planning the greatest heist ever pulled! Unfortunately for Harley and Ivy, they pick an event attended by Bruce Wayne and Tim Drake. Then Paul Dini is back with a story that has Harley and Ivy betting who can get the most smooches while confined in Arkham. Can Harley even compete against a villain who can control men with her special plant based pheromones? 

If you love Harley Quinn- and I truly do- you will enjoy this collection of stories! Poison Ivy isn't one of my favorite characters. But she works really well with Harley Quinn. They are such a great paring of opposites. 

Again, not suitable for all ages because of the eye candy artwork and innuendos. Those jokes might work on TV as they could be glossed over. But when they are in print, it's hard to avoid the tongue-in-cheekiness. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.