Super Powers Which Way Book #2: Supergirl, The Girl of Steel

Growing up, I loved those Choose Your Own Adventure books. Being given the chance to be your own director and guide was such a novel idea that I fell in love with. It's a genre of book, that if I find a comic or graphic novel that follows the Choose Your Own Adventure format, I will read it and review it.

I'm also a member of a Facebook group devoted to Kenner's Super Powers lineup. It's where I discovered the existence of this book. From 1984, this novel dropped during an important time for the Maid of Might. Supergirl was set to take the world by storm with a live action film starring Helen Slater. Unknown to fans, the existence of Supergirl in the DC Universe hindered on the success of the film. Unfortunately, it was a flop. Thus, the axe fell on Superman's cousin, resulting in her death in Crisis on Infinite Earths #7. Also on the chopping block was Kara Zor-El's inclusion in the Super Powers toy line.

This interactive novel debuted a year after book #1 starring the Man of Steel did. A Wonder Woman and a Darkseid heavy Justice League volume were both slated to join the lineup. Later in the year, fans got to control the JLA's fate against the New God despot. Batman was given the CYOA treatment in 1986. Ultimately, Wonder Woman's adventure never came about.

With this Supergirl time, there are essentially 4 main story lines that readers can explore:

Direction A: Resist or assist Mr. Mxyzptlk in a 5th dimension contest of strength.

Direction B: Research the days of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table for a school project by going back in time.

Direction C: Save Superman from the clutches of Brainiac.

Direction D: Escape From the Land of Oz after being transported into the pages of L. Frank Baum's masterpiece due to a mad scientist!

There's also a minor 5th plotline where Supergirl remains in her secret identity of Linda Danvers and helps a classmate struggling with math.

One peeve I had with 'select your fate' books would be if you made a wrong turn and the story ends after literally only making 3 or 4 choices. This time around, I made sure that I would explore as many story lines as possible. The cover to this book informs you of the 4 main paths to take Supergirl. You'll have to dig to find that secret identity plot and there could be more. I dug deep. But maybe I didn't hit the absolute bottom line of material available.

I liked that Supergirl battles traditional villains such as Brainiac and Mxyzptlk. I'm torn over the inclusion of Superman. He's only in 1 plotline. Yes, I'm more than aware how much the Kryptonian cousins fared in each other's titles. But did Supergirl guest in Superman's book? Or did writer Andrew Helfer or this book's editor lose faith that the Girl of Steel could lead the book on her own?

I enjoyed the heck out of this book. Now I've got to figure out a way to display it in my office because this is going into my Supergirl collection!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

DC League of Super-Pets: The Great Mxy-Up (Family Comic Friday)

This all-new original graphic novel takes place immediately after the events of the 2022 animated film starring Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Kevin Hart. The Justice League is slowly adjusting to all having become pet owners. While the heroes are doing a fantastic job of team-working with their powerful pets, the Justice League still likes to conduct business cloistered away from the animals. The heroes have even rigged the main conference room of the Hall of Justice to not accept pets!

The Fifth dimensional imp, Mr. Mxyzptlk, sees this injustice and decides to have a little fun at the Justice League's expense. After a little bit of mischief, Mxy turns all of the human heroes into animals. Superman is now the Parrot of Steel. The Dark Knight has become the Wombat-Man. Now with the amenities of the Hall of Justice working against them, the Justice League has got to team with the League of Super-Pets in order to stop Mr. Mxyzptlk from reeking continual havoc on the people of Earth; even if that means teaming up with a old enemy...

This was a brilliantly made graphic novel done entirely in the essence of the full-length animated film. If DC decided to make 'The Great Mxy-Up' the plot of the inevitable Super-Pets sequel, I would be 100% okay with this. Though I would have Mr. Mxyzptlk take things to the next level and turn Krpyto, Ace and the rest of the pets into humans. I think it would be hilarious to have Krypto looking like The Rock and to see tiny little Kevin Hart barely fitting into the costume of the Batman. 

Plus, such a change would keep things from being completely like this book. 

I'm also hoping that this isn't the end of the Super-Pets in graphic novel form. I really enjoyed this book. Though I wish I had read this AFTER seeing the movie instead of the other way around. I did miss out on a couple of things that weren't really explained unless you had already seen DC League of Super-Pets. For instance, I didn't know Merton was a female turtle until I was about 80% through this book. Also, there are a few plot point surprises from the movie that get spoiled if you read this graphic novel first.

However, if the young reader in your life is in love with DC League of Super-Pets and they love reading, then you must get them this book! It's about 150 pages long and has a full, rich vocabulary that is perfect for those in grades 2nd-5th. Plus, the action is more heroics than violent encounters as Mxy likes to stir up trouble in order to make Superman and his pals have to sweat instead of hurt people needlessly. 

Lots of fun involving a fan-favorite character that really gets portrayed perfectly. I guess it's hard to portray an inter-dimensional sprite on series TV without spending a ton of cash on special effects. But if this does become the plot for Super-Pets 2, I really think Warner Bros. and DC Comics could pull it off.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Bizarro Comics

Bizarro Comics is a rather odd collection of stories written and illustrated by a star-studded cast from the realm of Indy comics. It's book-ended by a Mr. Mxyzptlk/Bizarro yarn that's straight out of Chuck Jones' Looney Tunes!

An alien conqueror arrives in the 5th Dimension with the intent of adding it to his domain. But this despot wants to be fair. He's willing to play a series of games (best out of 5) for the plain of existence. 

With Mxy appointed as the de facto ruler of the 5th Dimension, it's the imp's role to win those games. But when he's caught cheating, Mxyzptlk must appoint a substitute champion. Naturally, he wants Superman to win the games for him. But what version? Faced with the Golden Age Man of Steel, that time the Man from Tomorrow's head was replaced with an ants, and that ill-fated electric Superman from the 90s, Mr. Mxyxptlk stumbles upon Bizarro! 

Not the Superman he was hoping for, a technicality makes Bizarro the champion of the 5th Dimension. And that's where the craziness really begins. 

Sidekicks, giant apes, teen angst and an apocalyptic concert for the ages, there was a wide assortment of stories in this book. But what really was the selling point for me was the inclusion of the Letitia Lerner: Superman's Babysitter story that resulted in the recall and ban of the Elseworlds 80-Page Giant. 

That legendary comic has now since been re-released (and I own a copy) but it was a while before I finally got around to reading. Actually, No! That's not true. This is a re-read. But other than that Elseworlds tale, I just don't remember this book at all. Now that I think about it, I must have checked this out from the library and then later found a really cheap copy. 

Yeah. That's what I did!

Was it worth a second chance? Yeah. For the most part. Some of those stories were truly weird. But I enjoyed the chance to substitute some 2020 insanity for some good ol' fashioned DC Comics lunacy. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars. 

Tales of the Bizarro World

Growing up, I loved reading my dad's old Superman Comics. To me, I always felt that the Man of Tomorrow had some of the best villains... The Parasite, Brainiac, that ape with Kryptonite eyes... But the one that always was a delight was Bizarro! A faulty duplicate of the Man of Steel, Bizarro always got things wrong. 

Ugly was considered beautiful. The Earth was supposed to be square, not round. Prisoners broke into jail- not out. That kind of stuff.

This book collects the original 15 back stories that ran in the early 1960s in the pages of Adventure Comics. A couple I had read as a kid and a couple I had read sometime in the last year. I seem to have started this book and when I came to the Halloween issue, I stopped to wait to read it when the holiday came around. And then I forgot all about it until almost a year later. In some ways, I too was Bizarro in my reading of this volume.

Another childhood favorite Superman villain of mine, Mr. Mxyzptlk is featured here. (I love how I still know how to spell his name without looking it up- as long as I do it phonetically.) That imp from the Fifth Dimension has a Bizarro counterpart roaming around a couple of these tales. Instead of creating mischief, this fella tries to do good deeds. 

Along with a good Lex Luthor, who was a refreshing take on the one Superman character I have actually grown tired of over the years, this was a really great read from long ago. I only wish there was a Bizarro Brainaic who would try to put cities into the Bizarro World, and watch the chaos of urban development!

Featuring some Superman legends of the DC bullpen including Jerry Seigel, Curt Swan, and Wayne Boring, I love the cover done by Love and Rockets' Jaime Hernandez.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Superman 80-Page Giant #1

This 80-page Giant is very 1990s.

For one there's a story about a big Kryptonian brute named Scorn. He looks a lot Blue Devil but seems to have about 40 less IQ points. Now on the straight and narrow, Scorn is trying to fit into life in Metropolis as a hot dog vendor. It does not turn out well.

Then there's the Sixpack story by Garth Ennis. He's clearly a mentally ill man with alcoholism to boot. His story has him dreaming of becoming teammates with Superman. I just feel that in today's climate, this story would never fly. But in recent years DC has done at least 2 miniseries based on the character and friends. So what do I know?

My favorite story was the Mr. Mxyzptlk affair in which the Fifth dimensional imp take Lois and Clark on a genre filled ride through cable TV. I loved the parodies of The X-Files and kids cereal commercials. 

There's also a very charming story about an all-new character named Captain Tomorrow. He's a cartoon character in the Daily Planet's funny pages and for some reason, his life parallels that of Clark Kent. Has someone discovered Superman's secret identity? The ending was super heartwarming and classic DC!

For a Superman special, this one was pretty great. All-new stuff...no reprints! Yeah, it was a little dated. But I enjoyed it quite a bit. The only thing missing was an appearance by Bizarro!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars. 

DC/ Looney Tunes 100-Page Spectacular

Mr. Mxyzptlk is super-bored. Annoying the Man of Steel just doesn't have that pizzazz it once does. So the inter-dimensional imp goes on a trek through the multiverse to find some fun. 
  
Mxy winds up in the Looney Tunes universe where he meets the Do-Do. In this new world of wonder, the prankster is inspired to take the characters who inhabit the Do-Do's universe and have them give the superheroes of the DC Universe a run for their money.

It's the Justice League's greatest challenge as Looney Tune meets the World's Finest. Now the World's Fastest Man is challenged by Speedy Gonzalez for the title of Speedster. Superman must answer the question 'What's Up Doc?' And Gotham has a new protector- the Duck Knight! The excitement is just too much for Mr. Mxyzptlk who wants to make the Looney Tunes permanent resident's of his earth. Only the combined forces of the residents of both dimensions can save the day and prevent the DC Universe from becoming a laughing stock!

This super-sized comic collects the Superman/ Bugs Bunny crossover from 2000 and it's a bit confusing. When DC collected this series, they re-titled it the DC/Looney Tunes 100-Page Spectacular. Yet the cover still lists the original Superman/ Bugs Bunny title. I'm not really sure what DC's thought process was behind this. But when I was requesting this book from my local comic book store, we had a devil of a time trying to figure out how to order it because the titles didn't match. So if you are trying to find this book online or in a store, who knows how the seller is going to have it listed or filed away.

Mark Evanier (New Gods) penned a great crossover that had me chuckling. One of the best running gags is when the Connor Hawke Green Arrow discovers music genius Michigan J. Frog singing for him and then he clams up everytime Connor shows him around. "I swear, this frog can sing!" This wouldn't work with the Oliver Queen GA. Connor is such a straight man, that to slowly have his sanity unravel because of a frog, is brilliant!

The art by the legendary Joe Staton was perfect as well. The Batman artist has proven over the past 40 years that he's got what it takes to illustrate the members of the Justice League. But how he seamlessly blends the Looney Tunes characters with those of the DCU is further evidence of Staton's genius. 

Not everyone was a fan of the DC/ Looney Tunes crossovers. Well, except for the Batman/ Elmer Fudd Special. Everybody loved that (and it was great!) But even if you are NOT a fan of funny animals, this is one special you should not gloss over! 

A perfect read for comic book fans of all ages. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9.5 out of 10 stars but only because of the very confusing title!

Superman Adventures: The Man of Steel

  This digest-sized collection is a time capsule of the amazing Superman Adventures comic based on the cartoon of the same name. Superman Adventures was an indirect spin-off of the Batman Adventures and it lovingly explored that corner of the DC Universe devoted to the Man of Steel. First up are a series of short stories from the little-known Superman/ Batman Magazine. 

   The publication only lasted about 8 issues but the Superman stories contained in the magazine were early sketches of what would be the Superman Adventures cartoon. The artwork was done in the vein of Batman: TAS but it shows that preliminary designs were still underway and reflected the long-haired look that Superman bore after his return from the dead.

   Then 4 stories are reprinted from the Superman Adventures comic. In these tales, Superman is given a blast from the past when Mr. Mxyzptlk brings his beloved childhood pet, Krypto into the present day. Then Clark Kent must juggle his responsibilities as a reporter and the Man of Steel when Perry White gives him a deadline that might cost him his job should he fail to submit his article on the new subway line on time. Then Jimmy Olsen takes the new intern for the Daily Planet under his wing in hopes of showing him the ropes of being a photographer in busy Metropolis. Lastly, are a series of one-page tales that explore the day-to-day activities of the Superman Family. Called '22 Short Stories About Superman' this story was very similar to my all-time favorite Simpsons episode (22 Short Stories About Springfield) and I just loved it.

   Finishing up this awesome little collection is a Justice League Unlimited in which the League must travel to the Phantom Zone to conduct a rescue mission for the Man of Tomorrow from the clutches of General Zod and his Kryptonian army. But is a more sinister presence behind the hostage taking of the Last Son of Krypton?

   Featuring art and stories by a host of amazing talents that are well-known for their work on Superman such as Louise Simonson, Dan Abnett, and others. This book is now a permanent part of my collection but I don't think I will wipe out the books contained in this volume from my wish list. What if something was reprinted? I would hate to miss out on anything!

   Worth every full-price penny I paid for it!

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Bizarro Comics

  This is actually like 54 comics in one. The best and brightest Indy artists and writers team-up to provide the most absurd, strange, hilarious, and of course bizarre assemblage of comics to star the heroes of the DC Universe. The book starts off in the 5^th Dimension with Mr. Mxyzptlk being awarded the role of President. But it’s all a ruse as an inter-dimensional being named ‘A’ has arrived to conquer the realm. Mxy is allowed to choose a champion in his stead since he kinda cheated during a game of checkers. Hoping to pick Superman, the imp accidently selects Bizarro.

   Seeing that Bizarro really isn’t up to snuff, ‘A’ allows Mr. Mxyzptlk to train Bizarro for one hour on the whole being a superhero thing. Sadly, this idea blows up in everyone’s faces as Bizarro spends his time drawing story after story of ‘Bizarro Comics.’

   Then for about 200 pages, we get a mix of artists and writers who aren’t known for doing anything ‘superhero’ as well. Some of these tales are very clever and witty. Some are not. The best tales involve bath time with Aquaman, a return to Bizarro World, and a too short story starring the Challengers of the Unknown. The worst tales involve Wonder Woman at the mall and a Batman story by Tony Millionaire and Paul Pope that should’ve blow away the other stories with the level of talent behind the adventure.

The book ends with a conclusion to the 5^th Dimension story that opened this whole comedic can of worms. A bunch of super-hero guest stars and a best out of 7 tournament of games that seemed like a Tex Avery Looney Tunes adventure finishes the book with satisfaction and a wonderment- “Is there a sequel?”

The only thing that I am really unsure of about this book is how to classify it? Is it a Superman book? Is it just a DC Universe graphic novel? How about an Elseworld? It has the controversial ‘Superman’s baby sitter’ story in which baby Clark Kent is put in a microwave and nuked. So, which is it?

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Superman and Batman: World's Funnest by Evan Dorkin and Friends

WORTH CONSUMING!

This is one of my (new) all-time favorites. Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite destroys every possible world in the DC Universe (Pre-Crisis, Post-Crisis, and even the Crisis itself). And it boasts an all-star cast of illustrators. This is very much in the realm of “Matt Hembeck Destroys the Marvel Universe”, only funnier.

Essential for DC fans, even if you don’t like Elseworlds.

Once I finish with all the Elseworlds, I may re-read this tale to bring the whole series full circle.