Superman: Doomed

I haven't been overly enthralled with everything New 52. Batman: Zero Year was decent and the #0 books that tie-in about 2 dozen members of the DC Universe to that incident was fantastic. But when it came to the portrayal of the Man of Steel in the pages of Superman and Action Comics left me frigid. That all changes here in Superman: Doomed!

A clandestine group that thinks Superman is a threat to our planet, makes the brilliant decision to free Doomsday from the Phantom Zone projector located in Kal-El's Fortress of Solitude. At the exact same time, the entire town of Smallville has been rendered unconscious under mysterious circumstances. When Doomsday arrives on the outskirts of the town, Superman takes things personally and unleashes hell on the colossus!

In a show of unlimited power, Superman lands a punch that vaporizes Doomsday. And then the Man of Tomorrow inhales him! Always thinking of others, Superman absorbs his foe in order to prevent the creature from reforming and possibly mutating any of the by-standers of the battle. As a result, Superman has infected himself with the most deadly killing machine in history and he's turning into a version of a Kryptonian powered Super-Doom!

Three things really impressed the heck out of me in this 500 page plus book:

1. The relationship between Superman and Wonder Woman. This is a great power couple and they work very well. Not liking the other Superman books, I never went for the Superman/Wonder Woman team-up title. That will change.

2. Taking a page from The Incredible Hulk, readers get a chance to see inside the mind of Kal-El. There's this amazing banter between the Clark Kent and Doomsday sides that are battling for control. Yes, I know it's a swipe from Marvel's most well-known dissociative. But the massive creative team headed by writers Greg Pak and Charles Soule, among others, managed to make these scenes extremely fresh and entertaining. 

3. The Maid of Might. I love Supergirl and I am doing my best to get the entire run of her New-52 title. I don't quite understand why she's with the Red Lanterns. But I like it. I also don't understand why half-way through this story Kara stops being a Red Lantern. Did she renounce membership? Is she on hiatus? It's not made clear. But I'll find out one day. I guarantee it!

As for some of my other questions, like if the Big Boss at the end of this book is really the one behind the release of Doomsday and if the infection of Superman was pre-planned or just a happy accident are questions that I doubt I'll ever get a definite answer on.

Lots of different artists, inkers and colorists are involved in this story. Really too many to mention. I didn't feel like a single page was wasted. This was a massive read and I got one fantastic discount having found this $30 book for less than $10 at Ollie's. If you love Doomsday and are a giant fan of the epic 'Death of Superman' storyline, this is a book you cannot afford to miss. Even if it is a part of the New 52!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Star Wars: Lando

Charles Soule (Death of Wolverine) takes Star Wars fans on an adventure set during Lando Calrissian's time as a scoundrel prior to becoming the baron administrator to Cloud City. 

Lobot is a main character in this story. Learning Lobot's origins; especially how the character lost his ability to talk was one of the main selling points for me enjoying this story. 

As with any Lando story, there are double crosses, swindles and heists. But above all, there is tragedy and the ending of this Marvel miniseries is gonna stick with me for a very long time.

The artwork by Alex Maleev (Age of Ultron) was good. But if you are going to a photo-realistic Billy Dee Williams Lando, you will not find that here. Yes, Lando is recognizable. But it does not look like the breakout star of Brian's Song. 

A great read that answers many questions about Lando and especially Lobot's early days. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Strange Attractors

E=NYC Squared

    New York City. The City That Never Sleeps. What if the key to understanding how such a complex microcosm works is based on a simple equation? If such a formula existed, could the Capital of the World be saved from itself in times of trouble and tragedy?

    According to disgraced professor Spencer Brownfield, the answer is yes! Not only could New York be rescued from imminent threats with a slide rule and a calculator, it’s been done by before by Professor Brownfield. Or so he claims… However, age is catching up with the de facto savior of the Big Apple. To maintain the city in running order, a replacement must be found soon. Will Dr. Brownfield be able to find the right man for the job before the next forecasted disaster strikes? If it strikes at all.

  Manhattan Tourism Authority

     Charles Soule’s (Letter 44) look at the five boroughs through the realm of mathematics is an excellent read. It does start off very slowly; like putting a puzzle together without a box for reference. Yet as the disjointed segments started to come together as beautiful mosaic of the American melting pot. Building a mystery from the ground up is really Soule’s style. Thankfully, he’s got a great foundation in the metropolis that is New York City.

Helping Soule on visuals is native New Yorker Greg Scott. His flowing sketches capture both the good and bad elements of NYC. Scott is also the creative genius behind the flow charts that Brownfield and his colleagues use. The artist takes painstaking care to make each equation match the personality of the characters who draft them. Together,  Soule and Scott are the perfect guides to the Empire City.

    There’s so much to this amazing story. To reveal too much would be a disservice to the reader. One must really explore Strange Attractors with as little knowledge of the plot as possible. But if it helps, I will at least reveal the source of the enigma behind this Boom Entertainment work. It can all be traced back to the music scene of Gotham.

     Unlocking the Music Box

     Soule references New York based bands such as Blondie, the Talking Heads and the Paper Clips extensively throughout this book. The patterns Professor Brownfield notices throughout New York looks almost like sheet music. Now I can’t read music to save my life. But I am sure that at least 1 pattern is this book is actually the musical bridge to Blitzkrieg Bop!

    Math, music, and New York. Thrown in a dash of the Magician’s Apprentice with a smattering of Minority Report and you will have deciphered the mystery of Strange Attractors.

      Worth Consuming!

      Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Daredevil, Volume 2: Supersonic

  Elektra Natchios, former college lover of Matt Murdock and dangerous assassin has reappeared in Daredevil's life. But this isn't a social visit as Elektra comes to the Man Without Fear demanding the safe return of her child. But Elektra doesn't have a child or does she? If she does, if the protector of Hell's Kitchen the father? It will take all of combined resources of Matt and Daredevil to get to the bottom of this intriguing mystery.

   Then Matt Murdock travels to Macau in order to enter a high stakes poker tournament. Featuring an epic team-up with the Amazing Spider-Man, this story reveals a little more about how Daredevil made the world forget that he and Murdock are one and the same. But the how the vigilante pulled it off is still unexplained.

    Lastly, in two one-parters, Daredevil, with the help of a deaf superhero named Echo, must take on Klaw as the master of sound infects the Big Apple with a sonic virus and then our hero battles a villain named Gladiator who has buzz-saws attached to his hands and murder in his soul.

    I loved the Elektra and Spider-Man stories. Both would very well written and had great twists and turns. Charles Soule's (Letter 44) writing is slowly winning me over throughout this Daredevil run. It's not Mark Waid quality but the mix of gritty and light-hearted is enjoyable. The artwork of Ron Garney (A+X) is really good and I like how he interprets what Daredevil sees with his sonar-vision.  And man, do I dig those Bill Sienkiewicz covers on issues 6 and 7. 

    The last two stories, which originally appeared in Daredevil Annual #1; those I'm on the fence with. Soule does a fairly good job with both stories. (I think I would like the Gladiator story better if I knew who that character was.) Though how Echo and Daredevil are able to communicate with one another seems a little far fetched. 

    During Klaw's sonic attacks, Daredevil is wearing noise cancelling head phones. So how can he tell what Echo is saying to him if he's blind? Even worse, how can Echo understand what he is saying to her? Yes, I know that those who are deaf can sometimes read lips (and maybe Daredevil can too with his sonar) but in a couple of panels, the Man Without Fear has his back turned away from her! Did the artist Vanessa R. Del Rey forget that Echo can't hear?

      The new Daredevil series (which some dub Back In Black) is gradually getting better. But there's still some rough edges, like with the stories contained in annual 1. But should I get my hands on further volumes, I can honestly say that I will continue to read them.

    Worth Consuming

    Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.
  

She-Hulk, Volume 2: Disorderly Conduct (Marvel NOW!)

   A business neighbor of Jen's hires She-Hulk, not for a case but to complete some superheroing work. The neighbor is a scientist, who along with his partner, are making strides in the field of shrinking organic material. Only, the partner has gone missing, and presumed shrunk- also, there's the nasty business of the formula not quite being perfected yet, so he might explode at any moment and take half of New York with him. Enter the pioneer of shrinking technology, Hank Pym, who along with She-Hulk and Hellcat, race against time in an adventure straight out of 'Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.'

    Then She-Hulk must travel to the West Coast to defend Steve Rogers in a wrongful death case dating back to his days before becoming Captain America. But will she be able to defend the aged Sentinel of Freedom when she learns that her civil court opponent is none other than the Man Without Fear, Matt 'Daredevil' Murdock.

   Lastly, Jen gets to the bottom of the mysterious Blue File. But, with nobody able to remember just what happened in the Dakotas, She-Hulk will have to use all of her technical legal resources available to find the answers she's looking for. Plus, she'll probably call in a few favors from the superhero community as all New York lawyers are able to do as well.

    This volume marks the end of yet another dynamic She-Hulk series that just couldn't find an audience. She's a fan favorite (and a favorite of mine), but she's more often looked at as a comedic sex-pot like Marilyn Monroe as opposed to a serious kick-ass superheroine. This should be considered a crime because while she's a very funny character, She-Hulk a top-notch Marvel hero to boot. 

    Another thing Jennifer Walters is is a crackerjack lawyer. But it might be this very reason that the series ended way too soon. The series writer, Charles Soule, claims in the book's afterword, that this series was meant to be heavier on law as opposed to action. Maybe that kept fans away but as a fan of the comedic law thriller 'Supernatural Law' I enjoyed the Law & Order approach to this series. 

   Some might argue that She-Hulk wasn't meant to go more than 12-issues because of everything going on with the Marvel reboot series Secret Wars. But, if that was the case, then She-Hulk would be returning with an all-new series later this year and that just doesn't seem likely to happen. Soule claims that this series was only planned for a year's worth of issues but I've heard that line so much, it's become a cliched excuse when a series ends early.

   I want to go back to the art for just a second. I have mentioned that She-Hulk is a cult favorite because of her sex appeal. Well, in this series, she's attractive looking but she's not cheesecake material. Series artist Javier Pulido has more of a Latin style in his work. It's big on using pastels and watercolors to flesh out the art. It can also give a character a bit of a blotchy look to them and it's not the cleanest of art styles. It's not quite Impressionist art, but it's close and I think this style makes She-Hulk look less like a goddess and more down to earth. If anything, I would bet that it's how she and the other females in this book are drawn that kept the fanboys away. Yet another crime of passion against the great green female superhero of the Marvel Universe.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.