Superman Earth One

J. Michael Straczynski

Shane Davies

In Superman Earth One, Clark Kent weighs his life options. Does he want to be the hero his parents rather obnoxiously want him to be, or does he want to "pass" as a normal but very gifted person all his life?

It makes for a very grim Clark Kent. He broods as he walks around Metropolis. He worries about having a job that will allow him to help his mother financially. He stares into the cityscape, a lot. He ponders how he can put his gifts into good use. He has an existential moment as he floats in space. He is very intense. And then suff happens.

The pacing is way off. The story starts really slow, and without build up throws a huge battle in the middle of Metropolis. Even if you consider that it has a filmic story structure, it's still too slow in the first act. At the same time everything feels too compressed. The character motivations get really muddled.

For example, in Superman's original origin (ja!) Martha and Jonathan couldn't have children and were too old to keep trying. Clark was a miracle to them, they found him by accident and he was exactly what they wanted. In Superman Earth One, Martha and Jonathan are very young when they find Clark and they decide to keep him because he displays super strength. But they'll tell everyone in Smallville that Clark is a bastard and that Martha's no good "laybout" sister made them take care of the baby! WHAT! For the rest of the story, they come off as salivating stage parents, sewing his costume, naming him and talking about branding. Ugh.

Lois and Jimmy get simplified. Lois even more so than Jimmy. Jimmy gets to be fearless searching for the perfect shot because the "truth" is there. Lois gets to debate why a reporter should be able to inject their opinions into the story. She gets shut down by Perry and since she didn't get to name Superman (Jonathan Kent did) and since she didn't write the first interview with Superman (Clark shows up last minute with one) all she did was report on the alien invasion, and save Superman's life AFTER Jimmy tried to do it by himself and failed. Uff.

So yeah there's this alien invasion because (sigh) a planet that was constantly in war with Krypton made a deal with a mysterious character (Braniac? Braniac! Braniac!) and they blew up the whole planet and NO ONE was supposed to survive. So this alien comes and tries to kill Clark but he really forces him to grow up and become Superman. For the sequel, you have the possibility of more aliens attacking Earth plus the mysterious (Braniac) character (Braniac).

As you read Superman Earth One, you feel like you're watching a movie you've seen a couple of times. Familiar and different at the same time but frustrating all the way around.

Books of Magic

Neil Gaiman

John Bolton

Scott Hampton

Charles Vess

Paul Johnson

I keep returning to this book every so often because the fantasy is so primal. Who didn't think as a kid that magic was awesome. You just had to meet that certain stranger, find a book or a token, open the right door and bam! Magic!

It's too bad that Tim Hunter is untouchable thanks to Harry Potter. They are very similar, both are British boys with brown hair and glasses and they are both destined to be the greatest mages of their time.

In books of Magic, Tim is guided by the Phantom Stranger though Magic's past, by John Constantine and Zatanna through Magic's present, by Doctor Occult through Faerie and the Far Lands, and by Magic's future by Mister E. Neil Gaiman weaves DCs history around these voyages and gives you a sense of the history of magic in comics.

Books of Magic is full of wonderful tidbits. My favorite are: Zatara handling dead rabbits and explaining that he hides in plain sight. Zatanna and Tim partying with black and white magicians at Halloween, seeing Hamnet by Titania's throne in Faerie, and the weird green transparent humanoids living at the end of time.

So put down your Harry Potter and the whatever, if you want to read about true magic get the Books of Magic and the accompanying series.

Chicken With Plums

Marjane Satrapi

What I like most about this comic is the structure of the story. It simmers like a nice stew and as you stir the pot secret desires and connections reveal themselves in the most appetizing ways.

The story follows a man, Nasser Ali, a famous Tar (traditional Iranian percussion instrument) player. His wife in a fit breaks his Tar and since he cannot find solace in another instrument decides to lay down and die. He doesn't eat for seven days.

As he dies slowly, certain events in his life float to the surface of his memories and we come to find that no one in the story is blameless, or innocent, or truly guilty. They are all petty, foolish, grubby, selfish, heartbroken people.

The story has as many layers as the title dish, chicken with plums, has flavors and Marjane's unique illustrations provide the depth we need to empathize with Nasser, a selfish and tragic character.

Superman Family Vol. 1

The Betrayal of Superman (no credits found)

There's something endearing about Jimmy Olsen. He can be so arrogant and naive, at the same time. He's so smug about his endless queues of mad scientists clamoring for his attention and his face fills with childlike wonder as soon as the kooky inventions work!

In The Betrayal of Superman, through the most absurd and complicated events we see just what a real pal, Jimmy Olsen is. This is the theme of almost every single Jimmy Olsen story ever. This one is special because Jimmy pretends to be Scotland Yard with fake British accent and mannerisms.

Jimmy needs to help his other pal, an private PI who needs an operation and in order to get the money, he needs to solve the case of Superman's identity. Jimmy goes diligently to work. Getting a set of fingerprints off a cornerstone (Why Superman touches the cornerstone is not explained), a set of footprints in mud, figuring out his weight because Superman stood on a scale with a bunch of stones (for charity!) and then Jimmy subtracted the weight of each stone from the total, and measuring his height because Superman leaves cartoon cutouts of himself each time he breaks through a wall!

Here's the complicated part.

Jimmy calls Mr. X (the client) and arranges a meeting with Superman disguised in his secret identity. We are led to believe that Jimmy found out it was Clark, because Clark is at the house where the meeting will take place. Clark has his back turned to Mr. X so that his face is hidden. Mr. X shoots Clark because that is how you check to see if random people aren't Superman. I mean don't you check if bullets bounce off your neighbor? Mr. X leaves frustrated though because Superman never turns around and so never shows his face!

It turns out Superman was in on the case all along! Jimmy and his best pal Superman have a great time mocking Mr. X and taking the $1000 from this case to the Private Investigator in need of an operation! Everything is super duper!

Or is it? As Jimmy cleans his desk, he finds the photo proofs of Superman in different disguises and in one of them he has glasses! Superman sweats bullets until Jimmy rips the picture saying the glasses were drawn crooked. JA JA JA wink towards the reader and Superman is safe once again.

Queen and Country: Operation Broken Ground: Report of Proceedings 1

Greg Rucka

Steve Rolston

I feel kind of lukewarm with this comic. On the one hand I like government intrigue and officials playing off each other with hidden agendas, but on the other hand I know very little of British Intelligence to make heads or tales of what's going on.

The story follows Tara Chase who is Minder 2 in this agency, which looks like the CIA. They communicate with the CIA throughout the story, each agency owing the other favors. Tara was sent to Kosovo to kill a "General" dealing in arms and who knows what. She completes the mission, and gets home safely through the skin of her teeth. The guys who really liked this "General" retaliate in British soil and it all becomes a dialogue heavy discussion about whether to capture them alive or to kill them. Paul Crocker, the Director of Operations, wants them dead and he deals with the CIA and tries to keep Tara from becoming bait in the operation to capture them.

It's not as confusing as it sounds, but it's also not as exciting. I never thought Tara was in real danger, and all the different directors and rules left me confused. There was no personal interaction between characters, at one point I thought Tara might be pregnant or having an affair with Paul (it would explain why he is so protective) but nothing came of it.

The art was too cartoony for the story, and it was funny to read that many critics thought so at the time. It wasn't distracting but it did made me wonder why it wasn't as gritty as it could be. It could have been the sharp contrast between the Tim Sale covers and the interior art. Tim Sale's heavy inks would've helped the mood Rucka was going for. Shady dealings under the cover of daily life.

On the subject of Race in The Hunger Games

Back in December I read The Hunger Games. Now as casting for the movie is well under way it seems Jennifer Lawrence is the top choice to play Katniss. Jennifer Lawrence was the lead in Winter's Bone which I thought had a LOT of similarities to Hunger Games. Both book and movie deal with the poverty predominantly white people suffer in the Appalachia.

This has stricken a cord with people who didn't place a specific race on Katniss (the main character in the books). She's described as having dark hair and grey eyes, but there's no mention of her skin color...no "creamy, rich, or luminescent" adjectives anywhere. So in theory you can place yourself in Katniss no matter the race which is a good way to play it. Kudos, Suzanne Collins!

But the book does hint at problematic race relations in the Districts. They are separated by race, because Rue is clearly described as African-American(/Panem?).

"And most hauntingly, a twelve-year-old girl from District 11. She has dark brown skin and eyes, but other than that, she's very like Prim in size and demeanor."

[On a side note, the Hunger Games Wiki has a picture of Rue and she's shown as white. Whitewashing Wikis-- Good Lord!] Anyway...

So Rue has dark brown skin and District 11 (where she's from) deals with agriculture. She's kind of living in a "slave" like environment where they pick crops, get very little food, and have their lives dictated upon by higher ups. Oh yeah and Rue sings to signal the end of the day-- which I hope is a play on stories where slaves are so happy to be slaves that they sing-- or I also hope it's a small tribute to how slaves communicated escape planes through song so the higher ups wouldn't get it.

In this case, Katniss' life sounds more like the poverty stricken white people working in coal mines. Her District is more lenient, and Katniss enjoys a great deal of liberty compared to Rue. Katniss hunts and is respected for her ability and skill. But Rue is just another cog in the agriculture machine. Race plays a subtle but important part in The Hunger games and it would be a shame to lose it in the movie where in can play a more prominent role.

Brain Camp

Susan Kim

Laurence Klavan

Faith Erin Hicks

We bought this book for Faith Erin Hick's art and nothing more. That the story is actually good is a bonus.

This is one of the creepiest body snatcher type stories that I have read in a while. Parents are shipping off their lackluster kids to Camp Fielding where they become prodigies in music and sciences. Our main characters, Jenna (a fantasy geek) and Lucas (hoodlum with an abusive mom) are forced to stay at Camp Fielding and eventually find themselves in the middle of a conspiracy. It reads like a modern Twilight Zone episode including the ambiguous ending.

This could have been a cliche story but there's enough original twists that keep it interesting coupled with Faith Erin Hick's art and you get something that makes you nauseous, then makes you appreciate the simple lines and expressive gestures, and then makes you nauseous again.

It would make a killer animated series.