#j.r. lemar reviews comic books

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Superior Spider-Man #6

Written by Dan Slott Drawn by Humberto Ramos Published by Marvel Comics

Here's a retro review of a comic book that was published by in 2013. The premise of this series is that Doctor Octopus had managed to take over Spider-Man's body.

That's right, through some sort of supervillain shenanigans (I wasn't reading that storyline, so I still don't know the exact details, but for the purposes of this review it's irrelevant), he was now in Spider-Man's brain and had all of his memories. And the plot twist is that once this happened, Doc Ock's massive ego made him decide that he was going to prove that he could live Spider-Man's life, both as a superhero and a civilian, better than Spider-Man ever could. And thus this new series was launched as Doc Ock set out to be a superior Spider-Man, get it?

This is #6 of the new ongoing series and part of a longer overall story arc but, thankfully, Dan Slott writes it as a self-contained story that any reader can follow even if they hadn't read the previous issues, which I hadn't done. I don't recall exactly how I found out about this issue in the first place but I picked it up because I'd somehow heard of the villains who appear in it, and I thought they sounded intriguing. The characters you see on the cover are the duo of Screwball and Jester, a couple of costumed criminals armed with various joke-related weapons like paintball balloons, slingshots, and squirt guns Their modus operandi is that they go around filming themselves "pranking" people in public and uploading the videos online to get hits. But with their software they're able to secretly phish the accounts of everyone who subscribes to their website, and hack all of their credit card and bank info.

I thought that was a clever idea for modern supervillains, as technology advances you'd think more supervillains would be engaging in cybercrime instead of just robbing banks or whatever. In this issue, J. Jonah James, who was the Mayor of New York at the time, is Screwball and Jester's latest victim as they throw a pie in his face and pull his pants down in the middle of a press conference. Jameson is outraged and contacts Spider-Man to track down and apprehend the criminals. So that's the main plot of the issue. There are a couple of subplots. We see that the real Spider-Man is still "alive" sort of. His mind and personality is trapped inside his body, he's unable to control anything, but he can see everything Doc Ock is doing, and can also access Ock's memories, including one flashback of Ock being picked on by a bully when he was a young boy, which is something we see motivates Ock's hatred of people like Screwball and Jester who like to humiliate other people.

Also at this time, Spider-Man was still serving as a member of the Avengers, and in several scenes we see his teammates, Captain America, Wolverine, Spider-Woman, Thor, Black Widow, and Spider-Woman, having a private meeting at Avengers HQ as they discuss Spider-Man's behavior. In recent weeks he's gotten more violent in his treatment of villains, even killing one of them. They don't know about Doc Ock, so they just think Spider-Man is getting out of control. Only Wolverine, no stranger to violence and killing himself, ever speaks to Spider-Man's defense. But they vow to keep a close eye on him.

In his private life, we see that as Peter Parker, Ock has re-enrolled in college to get his PhD. He's also struck up a close friendship, possibly more, with a woman named Anna Maria Marconi, a fellow college student. I can't tell if she's meant to be a Little Person, or just is just really short. But we see her getting made fun of by some other students because of her size, which enrages Ock but Anna Maria takes it in stride. Doc Ock manages to track Screwball and Jester, but when they get the upper hand and mock Spider-Man (all while broadcasting the encounter on their website), Ock snaps and proceeds to brutally beat the crap of both of them, to the horror of the real Spider-Man who can do nothing but watch. I really enjoyed this issue, the characterizations were all spot-on, J. Jonah Jameson is as insufferable as ever, and through captions of Doc Ock's private thoughts, we can see that even as he's trying to be a hero he's still an arrogant egomaniac. And I've also been a fan of Huberto Ramos' artwork and think that Spider-Man is a character that's perfect for his style. Re-reading this issue again after these years makes me think I should probably track down the rest of this series to see what happened next... SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #6

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CHAPEL

Written by Brian Witten & Eric Stephenson Drawn by Tom Tenny & Calvin Irving Published by Image Comics

The character of Chapel is a standard Big Muscular Soldier With Lots of Guns that Rob Liefeld is known for, making his debut in the very first issue of Youngblood, the series that launched Image Comics. He was former U.S. soldier and CIA operative named Bruce Stinson who was recruited onto the first Youngblood team and given the codename Chapel (I don't think it was ever explained what the name is supposed to mean). His distinguishing characteristics are that he’s a Black man, and he wore face paint of a white skull on his face. In an early synergistic connection of the burgeoning Image Comics Universe, it was eventually revealed that Chapel was the man who murdered Al Simmons, who then came back as Todd McFarlane’s Spawn. When Spawn finally remembered that, he tracked down Chapel looking for revenge, but instead of killing him he burned the paint on Chapel’s face, now giving him a permanent skull-face (the implication is that this would make Chapel, who was a notorious womanizer in her personal life, look like a freak and that would scare women away from him, which is something that would be worse than death for a man like him).

I'll note that when the character appeared in the 1997 Spawn animated series he was named Jess Chapel. Chapel was also revealed to have HIV (which was purposely injected in him by his old boss, Jason Wynn, another character from Todd McFarlane's Spawn series), which got him removed from Youngblood and sent to the covert ops Bloodstrike team.

This two-part series, published in February 1995, takes place during that time, as Chapel is alone and feeling like his life is spiraling out of control, and he flashes back to a mission he had when he was still a U.S. Government soldier.

It’s 1983, Chapel leads a handpicked squad of soldiers to Nicaragua, where they’ve been sent to assassin a man identified only as Col. Black, said to have been a former U.S. ally who’s gone rogue and set himself up as some kind of warlord. We’re introduced to his team of six soldiers but even though Chapel notes the specific skills of each one (one is a martial arts expert, one speaks multiple languages, etc.), it’s pretty clear that these guys are basically red shirts, just there to further Chapel’s story. The only notable thing about any of them is that one is named Billy Zane and one is named Jet Li. The team lands in the jungle where they immediately encounter some of Black’s soldiers and a massive gunfight ensues, which Chapel and his team win. But Chapel has noted that there were rumors of Col. Black engaging in voodoo and necromancy, and he sees evidence of that when one of the dead soldiers speaks to him after Chapel killed him. The team continues exploring the jungle, cutting through a lake where Chapel is suddenly dragged underwater by a giant anaconda.

In issue number two, which came out a month later, Chapel of course survives the anaconda attack, and the team makes it to a local village where they see that all of the villagers had been slaughtered and had their hearts ripped out. Even Chapel is outraged at the loss of all those innocent civilians and is determined to make Col. Black pay for them. They then get attacked and surrounded by another batch of soldiers, but these are zombies, making them extra difficult to “kill.” Most of Chapel’s team gets killed (like I said: redshirts) and this leads to Chapel’s one-on-one showdown with Col. Black, who does turn out to possess demonic powers.

This series is heavy on action, and lots of brutal gun violence, ably illustrated by Tom Tenny and Calvin Irving in the first issue and just by Irving in the second issue. It’s like a Rambo movie on paper. The story itself shows that Chapel is not the unfeeling brute that he often appeared to be, through the anger he felt at the deaths of the villagers and his team members, plus at one point he admits to himself that he’s scared. He also shows intelligence in figuring out how to defeat Col. Black. Thus it's an entertaining little series for what it is.

Unfortunately, the series is long out-of-print and not available for sale digitally, but I'd recommend tracking down copies if you're a fan of Rob Liefeld's Extreme Universe characters. Chapel (02/1995 1st Series) comic books 1990-1999

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SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #26

Written by Mark Millar Drawn by Aluir Amancio Published by DC Comics

"Yesterday's Man of Tomorrow"

In this issue, Mark Millar brings back Mr. Mxyzptlk, who was last seen in Superman Adventures #16, the first issue Millar wrote for this series.

The once-every-ninety-days window in which Mxyzptlk can travel from the 5th Dimension to ours is almost coming up, and as he sits with his girlfriend Miss Gsptlnzm, who points out how Superman always outsmarts him, he's trying to figure out some new plan to beat Superman and for all. Realizing that the main problem now is that Superman is always ready for him to return, Mxyzptlk comes up with the idea to travel back in time to when Superman was young and inexperienced and didn't know about Mxyzptlk's existence and will be easier to mess with. The story jumps back to "13 years ago," when Superman was a teenager, still living in Smallville. At this point in his life, it's only been a few weeks since Clark found out from his parents the truth about his heritage. We see him in class with Lana and getting bullied by a boy named Brad, where Clark has to swallow his pride and walk away from a fight, in order to keep his powers a secret. As Clark is walking out on his parent's farm, feeling sorry for himself, Mxyzptlk appears before him and shows him visions of his future. But they're fake visions. He shows Clark how he grew up to become Superman, started off as a hero, but eventually grew to believe that the only way he could truly protect humanity was to conquer the world and rule it, so he did just that, becoming a super-powered tyrant. Clark is disgusted by what he turns into, and Mxyzptlk convinces him that the only way he can prevent himself from becoming that tyrant is to never become Superman and instead just exile himself on the moon. Clark follows this advice and jumps ahead to the present. With no Superman to stop him, Mxyzptlk is able to run wild, he uses his powers to cause all sorts of crazy mischief in Metropolis, from turning trains into dragons to turning bridges into spaghetti. But then he gets bored. With no Superman around to try to stop him, there's no challenge for him. Plus he looks in on Lois, Jimmy, and The Kents, to see how their lives have turned out without Superman (not good). So Mxyzptlk goes back in time again and tells Clark the truth. but Clark's reaction is not at all what Mxyzptlk expects. I have to say, Mr. Mxyzptlk is a character that I've always liked in theory, but there are not that many good stories with him, because his limits are so silly. I mean, seriously, how do you ever trick someone into saying their name backward? At least when John Byrne rebooted the character in 1986 he eliminated that aspect. But in this continuity, Mxyptlk not only has to say it, he has to say it twice! Nevertheless, this is probably one of the best Mxyzptlk stories I've ever read, so much credit goes to Mark Millar for this. And Aluir Amancio returns on the art chores for this issue, doing his usual stellar job. Check it out!

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PROPHET/CHAPEL: SUPER SOLDIERS

Written by Brian Witten and Robert Loren Fleming Drawn by Mark Pajarillo Published by Image Comics

It turns out THAT Brian Witten wasn’t done with Chapel just yet. In May 1996, just a month after Chapel #7, this two-part miniseries was published, teaming up Chapel with another Rob Liefeld character,  John Prophet, a surgically enhanced superhuman with deep Christian values. So there’s a Japanese terrorist known as Hayakama, he has a hidden fortress with a legion of devoted cult members called The Singleminded. He’s responsible for some kind of nerve gas attack, and so the U.S. Government sends in a squad of special forces soldiers to take him out. But when the soldiers arrive they’re ambushed and killed by a bunch of ninjas. So Bill Clinton then calls in “Agents Alpha and Bravo” to go in to take out Hayakama. Those agents are actually Prophet and Chapel. At least it makes sense that Chapel is called in, with his history working for the government, but this has never been a role Prophet has been shown to have. It’s not explained how these two came to be called, but it’s the first time they’ve worked on a mission together, and Prophet is uncomfortable due to Chapel’s history as a demon in Hell. In any case, they arrive in Japan and make their way to Hayakama’s fortress but are ambushed by 24 soldiers. A gunfight ensues, and although each sustains some wounds Prophet and Chapel kill them all. But as they finally get to the fortress, they’re attacked by the ninjas.

The second issue, which came out a month later, is even more action-packed than the first one. Ninjas, Samurais, helicopter fights and lots of lots of blood until the final confrontation Hayakama. There’s not much to spoil here, you should know that Prophet and Chapel are going to win, the fun is in seeing all the shit they get into before that happens. And they end with a grudging respect for each other.

This isn’t meant to be anything deep, just a fun little action story, and on that level, it works. Although I wasn't happy overall with the way Brian Witten wrote the Chapel ongoing series, this series makes me wonder if it would have gotten better if he'd been able to continue on it longer? Or maybe the improves are due to the co-writer, Robert Loren Fleming? Who knows? With the PROPHET movie in development, it may be a good idea for fans to track down this series now. Just sayin'... PROPHET/CHAPEL: SUPER SOLDIERS

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CHAPEL (one shot)

Written by Robert Napton Drawn by John Stinsman Published by Awesome Comics

By September 1997, Rob Liefeld had left Image Comics and set up his new imprint Awesome Comics. And this month he published this one-shot, written by Robert Napton, who previously co-wrote issues four, five, and six of Chapel's ongoing series. Like the first Chapel miniseries, this issue tells a flashback story set during Chapel's past when he was a soldier doing covert missions for the U.S. Government. It's 1989, and a Middle Eastern dictator named Kustan Hakmed has gotten his hands on a stolen sample of X-7, which is described as the "super soldier" serum that Chapel himself had been injected with, which increased the strength and stamina of it's subject to superhuman levels. The U.S. Government is worried that he'll use it to create his own army of super soldiers to use for terrorist acts, so Chapel is sent in to Hakmed's small island nation of Liban, located off the coast of Africa, to destroy the lab that Hakmen'd scientists are working on reverse-engineering the sample they have so they can mass-produce it. As Chapel is sent in alone, he muses how three years earlier he'd been part of a team sent in to assassinate Hakmed, but they messed up and killed his daughter instead. Since then Hakmed has vowed to revenge on everyone involved, including Chapel. So much like the first miniseries, Chapel stalks through a jungle, brutally killing soldiers along the way until he finally has his face-to-face showdown with Hakmed. I won't spoil how the fight goes, I mean suffice it to say Chapel emerges victorious in the end, but you'll have to buy the comic book yourself to see how he does it. What I will spoil is that when the mission is over and Chapel returns to the Pentagon, that's when he's given his next mission, which is to assassinate Al Simmons. And thus this issue becomes a defacto prequel to Todd McFarlane's SPAWN series. I thought that was a cool little detail to add to this story, and at first I was surprised by it since Rob Liefeld was no longer connected to Image, but in hindsight, I realize that the Spawn animated series had debuted earlier that year, which featured Chapel in it as Al's killer, so it's possible that this issue was published specifically to capitalize on the Chapel's connection to Spawn. If so, I can't say it's not a smart move. It's a decent story and makes me think a series that focused on Chapel's adventures as a covert operative could have been interesting. John Stinsman, who had previous done work for Liefeld on the Team Youngblood series at Image and would go one to do more work for him on other titles at Awesome, does a decent job here, he's got the basic "Extreme studios style" down pat. Of the Chapel comics I've reviewed here, I'd call this one of the better ones. Chapel (1997 3rd Series)

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CHAPEL #7

Written by Jim Valentino and Robert Loren Fleming Drawn by Richard Horie Published by Image Comics

Released in April 1996, two months after the release of the previous issue, this issue is actually part two of a five-part crossover called SHADOWHUNT that ran through five of the Extreme Studios comic book series'.

This storyline focused on Jim Valentino’s character Shadowhawk, one of the original Image heroes. Shadowhawk was Paul Johnstone, a Black man who was a district attorney in NY, who was injected with HIV+ blood by some mobsters. This was back when that was basically a death sentence. Johnstone decided to use his remaining time as a vigilante, building some crude armor to fight crime as Shadowhawk. Except instead of just beating up criminals like Batman, or outright killing them like The Punisher, his signature movie is that he would break their backs.

Shadowhawk and Chapel crossed paths before, in Shadowhawk #12 as they both were checking out a secret U.S. government facility where they suspected there was a cure for AIDS (Chapel had also been injected with HIV by his previous boss Jason Wynn). Later Johnstone sought out the WILDC.A.T.S. for help, and they instructed a cybernetic body that they could transfer his brain into so he could live, but for some reason the project didn’t work, and Johnstone eventually succumbed to AIDS and died. Chapel eventually killed himself to become a demon and then was resurrected and, apparently, his HIV was erased, as it hasn’t been mentioned in this series. So this storyline, which began in Shadowhunt Special #1, had that android body Johnstone couldn’t use gain sentience and decide to resume Johnstone’s crimefighting work, except it has zero human compassion. So the robot is brutally murdering every criminal it comes across, even someone simply jaywalking. It’s also killing law enforcement officers who gets in its way, and occasionally the victims of the criminal (in this issue we see it slit the throat of a woman who was screaming because that was “disturbing the peace”). In this issue, we see that the FBI has hired Chapel to take down the robot.

Chapel, armed with guns, swords and a bazooka, tracks the robot in NY and basically we get a long brutal fight. There’s also an unnamed female FBI agent who is accompanying Chapel even though he doesn’t around and keeps trying to get rid of her. She does end up saving him at one point, however, it’s not enough. In the end, Chapel is defeated, and the Shadowhawk robot emerges victorious, with the FBI realizing it’s time to call in Youngblood, so this storyline is set to continue in the next issue of that title.

As a Chapel story this is actually pretty good. This is the kind of status quo that would work for a Chapel ongoing series, he’s retired from Youngblood and traditional superhero adventures now and is working as a mercenary for the U.S. Government, tracking various superhuman threats that the public superheroes can’t handle. This should have been the premise from the beginning. The problem is that as the final issue of this series it’s unfulfilling, ending with the lead character defeated. But it is what it is.

Chapel (08/1995 2nd Series) 

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SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #28

Written by Mark Millar Drawn by Mike Manley Published by DC Comics

PREVIOUSLY: SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #27

"Jimmy Olsen vs. Darkseid"

Darkseid's son Kalibak has traveled to Earth with plans to use some machine to actually swap bodies with Superman, after which he intends to use Superman's powers to conquer the planet. He sets a trap to lure Superman by kidnapping Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane, but when Superman arrives the plans go awry and Kalibak's machine causes Superman to swap bodies with Jimmy instead. Kalibak then kidnaps "Jimmy" and takes him back to Apokolips, where Kalibak faces the wrath of Darkseid, who did not approve of Kalibak's plan.

Back on Earth, Jimmy has to learn how to use Superman's powers, which are overwhelming for him at first, and find a way to get to Apokolips so he can rescue Superman and switch their bodies back.

I'm once again impressed with the way Mark Millar is able to take such an epic storyline like this, which could be a multi-part crossover in the mainstream Superman comics, and condense it into a simple single-issue story that's suitable for, and accessible to, all ages. We get Superman, Lois, Jimmy, and also Professor Hamilton at S.T.A.R. labs in this tale featuring Apokolips and New Genesis. It's exciting action on a grand scale, like a space opera. Mike Manley, who last drew Superman Adventures #25, returns to do the artwork again, and does a stellar job. This is one of the best issues of Millar's run on this title.

Check it out!

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SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #27

Written by Mark Millar Drawn by Aluir Amancio Published by DC Comics

"How Much Can One Man Hate?"

A new superhero, calling himself Superior-Man, appears in Metropolis and immediately makes a big impression on the city. Possessing powers rivaling the Man of Steel, he quickly begins apprehending many of Superman's biggest enemies, from the Parasite to the Toyman to Kalibak, as well as cleaning up regular street crime, and performing other helpful feats for the citizens. He becomes a media darling. Superman can't help but be suspicious, as he doesn't know anything about this new hero, who also possesses a cocky attitude and often publicly brags about being better than Superman, but he's not doing anything wrong.

Until finally the ruse is revealed. This isn't exactly a spoiler, as the cover of this issue basically gives it away, it turns out that Superior-Man has been secretly working for Lex Luthor all along, and the two heroes eventually come to blows. There is a plot twist that I won't reveal here regarding Superior-Man's origin, but the story wraps up with Superior-Man defeated and Superman and Lex's rivalry intact.

This issue shows that Mark Millar loves Lex Luthor almost as much as he loves Superman, and he really gets the dynamic between them. We get some fascinating insights into Lex's personality and what drives him to hate Superman so much. It's really impressive how much he was able to explore this in a simple "kid's comic book" like this. And it shows why I think his work on this series is worth revisiting, as I've been doing here.

Check it out!

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SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #25

Written by Mark Millar Drawn by Mike Manley Published by DC Comics

"(Almost) The World's Finest Team" In this issue, Superman takes a trip to Gotham City. The Mad Hatter has managed to kidnap Bruce Wayne, and is holding him hostage. He's broadcasting live on TV from a secret location, where he's got a gun to Wayne's head and is threatening to kill him unless Batman shows up by Midnight and unmasks himself to the world. He's also managed to put one of his special mind-control hats on Robin and has him out of the picture, and Nightwing is out of state, so the only one in town is Batgirl. Superman arrives and meets with Commission Gordon, who appraises him of the situation, and then Superman rushes off to catch with Batgirl, so the two of them can team up to try to track the Mad Hatter. But it turns out that Batgirl isn't initially too happy to see Superman. The theme of this story is that Superman's usual methods don't work in a crime-ridden corrupt town like Gotham. Batgirl was interrogating some criminals, but they shut up when Superman arrived because they were no longer afraid. Batgirl they were scared of because, like Batman, they don't know what she's capable of, but they view Superman as a "boy scout" who would never harm them. So after some convincing, Superman tries to adopt a harsher demeanor, to put the fear of God into the criminals of Gotham, to find The Mad Hatter in time. It all comes down to the wire but, at the last minute, Superman and Batgirl manage to save the day. And it ends with Superman and the Batman family each developing respect for each other's methods. Okay, I could nitpick a little. The explanation for how The Mad Hatter caught Bruce Wayne seemed like it was too easy, the kind of thing Batman would have been prepared for. And he didn't even keep Batman sedated or anything, he just has him tied to a chair with a rope. Even with a gun in The Mad Hatter's hands, you tell me Bruce Wayne, the master escape artist, couldn't get out of those ropes and knock the Hatter out before he could blink? But, ignoring that, the interaction between Superman and Batgirl, written here as a competent crimefighter on Batman's level, was so well-written, so I really enjoyed this story. Michael Manley did such a great job aping the animated series' art style as well as Aluir Amancio, who drew the previous issues that Millar wrote, usually does, that I wouldn't have even noticed that there was a different artist if I hadn't checked the credits. This is a great story for Superman and Batman fans of all ages.

Check it out!

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SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #24

Written by Mark Millar Drawn by Aluir Amancio Published by DC Comics "POWER CORRUPTS, SUPERPOWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY" In this issue, the Parasite, one of Superman's most formidable opponents, attacks. He stages a fake rescue to draw in Superman and then proceeds to drain all of his powers. Now with all of Superman's powers at his disposal, Parasite goes on a 24-hour rampage, terrorizing the citizens of Metropolis, as Superman is helpless to stop him. Then when Parasite kidnaps a woman, Superman has no choice but to get back in action, even before he's fully recovered. There's a surprising twist regarding the Parasite's connection to this woman, which leads to a somewhat heartbreaking ending. This is a good story, with a perfect mix of action and drama, and beautifully drawn. Check it out!

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SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #23

Written by Mark Millar Drawn by Aluir Amancio Published by DC Comics

“WAR GAMES PART 2” This is the 2nd part of the story that began in Superman Adventures #22. With his ally Professor Hamilton in tow, Superman traveled to his Fortress of Solitude at the North Pole, where they discovered the mastermind being all of the technological chaos in Metropolis is the one and only Brainiac. It turns out that he did what he did in Metropolis to distract Superman while Brianic used the tech in the Fortress to build a spaceship. Now he's downloaded all of the information about Earth onto a special orb and plans to escape with it as he ignites the entire world's nuclear arsenal to destroy the planet. And when Superman arrived Brainiac used Superman's projector to blast him into the Phantom Zone.

So now Professor Hamilton is desperately trying to keep the orb away from Brainiac, knowing that he won't want to leave the planet without it, and tries to find a way to release Superman. Back in Metropolis, the supervillain Live Wire has escaped from the super-prison during the blackout and is ready to wreak havoc until Lois Lane explains the situation to her. With her electrical powers, she may be the city, and the world's, last hope. Do they succeed?

Well, DUH, of course they do. I won't spoil how they do it, but Superman, Live Wire, and Professor Hamilton manage to save the day together, although at a great personal sacrifice to one of them. There are several knuckle-biting moments before this story reaches its conclusion, and I love it. Honestly, ever since I first read this, I thought it would make a great story for a live-action Superman movie. Check it out!

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SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #22

Written by Mark Millar Drawn by Aluir Amancio Published by DC Comics

"WAR GAMES PART 1"

Mark Millar tries a different track with this story, as it's part 1 of a rare 2-part story for this series. A rash of technical malfunctions starts happening all across Metropolis. Boats, planes, and trains are crashing due to computer malfunctions, a S.T.A.R. Labs space shuttle falls from the sky, traffic lights are going out causing dozens of car accidents, and even Lex Luthor almost dies when his private helicopter loses power mid-flight. Superman does his best to save people and avert disasters, but even with his speed, he can't be everywhere at once. And things get really bad when all power shuts down, plunging the city into a blackout.

Eventually, with the help of his friend Professor Hamilton, Superman tracks the source of this chaos to his own Fortress of Solitude, with a dramatic return of one of his most deadly foes.

I won't spoil the ending, which hinges on a dire cliffhanger. But it's a very thrilling issue, with lots of action. Millar also manages to inject some comedic moments, such as when a train is set to crash and everyone is freaking out, but one passenger is calm because he sees Lois Lane sitting across from him, and notes that she's "that reporter lady that Superman always rescues from burning buildings and stuff," so he's sure they'll be fine. There's also Lex Luthor's embarrassment at having to be saved by Superman.

And, again, Aluir Amancio illustrates the action beautifully. Check it out!

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SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #19

Written by Mark Millar Drawn by Aluir Amancio Published by DC Comics

"THE BODYGUARD OF STEEL" In this issue, someone has placed a one billion dollar hit on the President of The United States, who is set to sign an international peace treaty in two days. Due to the severity of the threat, Superman volunteers to move into the White House to act as the President's personal bodyguard until the threat is over. Several supervillains attempt to collect on the bounty, the most consistent being the Toyman, who first sends a remoted-controlled squadron of toy plans armed with real missiles and then later a giant robot dinosaur to attack the White House, both of which are disabled by Superman. We also see Superman fighting a group of heavily armored soldiers carrying laser rifles, who are said to be sent by Intergang. But the main supervillain is a character called Multi-face, whom I'd never heard of before. I don't know if he was a comic book villain or perhaps an original character created for the animated TV series? But Multi-face appears to be some kind of shape-shifter, he's got the ability to assume the form of any other person to precision, adopting their voice, mannerisms, posture, etc. He's used these abilities as an international assassin, and the FBI says he's never missed a target. We see an example of his powers as he imitates Lex Luthor, to gain access to the Lexcorp. tower.

Multi-face meets with the real Lex Luthor and in this meeting, we're led to believe that it's Luthor who's put the hit out on the President (Lex, being a weapons manufacturer, doesn't want the peace treaty signed), and hands him a special gun to do it. This all comes to a head when the press conference occurs. I don't want to spoil the ending (although the cover gives a major surprise away), but there is a clever plot twist in the end. This was an even better issue than Millar's first one. It's another exciting self-contained issue, with great artwork by Aluir Amancio, who particularly shines during the opening 5-page sequence where Superman tests the White House's security by breaking into the Oval Office, facing a gauntlet of tanks, soldiers, chemical weapons, freeze-rays, and steel doors. Millar also introduces General Hardcastle, the man in charge of protecting the President, who initially shows disdain for Superman as he doesn't trust working with aliens, but they gain mutual respect in the end. This title is making me miss the days when you could buy a comic and get a satisfying story in 1 issue.

Check it out!

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SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #16

Written by Mark Millar Drawn by Aluir Amancio Published by DC Comics Superman: The Animated Series was a cartoon that launched on TV in September 1996. One month later DC Comics launched this comic-book series to go along with it. The comic was set in the same continuity as the cartoon and lasted 66 issues (12 issues more than the cartoon's 54 episodes). The series employed several different writers, all mostly writing single-issue stories that could be read in any order, and artists who were deliberately imitating the artist still of Bruce Timm, the animator of the cartoon. I'm going to start reviewing the issues of this series that were written by Mark Millar. Millar was 27 at the time and still breaking into the American comic book industry as a writer. It's interesting to look back at these issues, as the simple all-ages stories are drastically different in tone from the action-packed and violence-prone adult-oriented stories that he would become known for later in his career.

This issue is titled, CLARK KENT, YOU'RE A NOBODY. Clark Kent discovers that he's lost all of his powers, as well as all evidence that he was Superman (his costume has disappeared too). Clark even tries exposing himself to Kryptonite, but it has no effect on him, proving that he's fully human. He takes a plane back to Smallville to visit Ma and Pa Kent to discuss it with him, but they act like they have no idea what he's talking about, as they have no memory of him being Superman. Meanwhile, Superman is shown to be fully active, stopping regular criminals, supervillains, and saving people from natural disasters (including saving Clark and The Kents from a tornado that was heading to their house). So what's going on?!?

Spoiler alert, I guess.

It all turns out to be the latest plot by Superman's long-time nemesis, the 5th Dimensional imp, Mr. Mxyzptlk. He's behind it all and is the one impersonating Superman. After figuring this out, Clark manages to trick Mr. Mxyzptlk into saying his name backward twice (although he only needs to say it once in most comic book continuities, but either way he remains dimwitted enough to regularly be tricked into saying it), so that everything is reverted to normal. This issue is a fine introduction to this version of Superman, whether you've watched the cartoon or not you'll easily be able to follow the story. Mark Millar slips in a funny sequence where Clark gets mugged by two guys who beat him up and steal his wallet, and when a cop finds him he remarks that without his glasses Clark looks like Superman. And Aluir Amancio apes Bruce Timm's animated style very well. Check it out!

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NEWMEN #3

Written by Eric Stephenson Drawn by Jeff Matsuda Published by Image Comics

This issue is the conclusion of the two-part story that began in Newmen #2. Opening right from where the story left off, Exit and Kodiak have joined the others at the carnival to fight GIRTH. But then Girth pops a pill which makes him start flashing with light blue energy and gives him enhanced strength. The battle rages on for several pages until the Newmen get the upper had thanks to this new guy, Pasttime, who we see has some sort of time manipulation powers. Girth decides to give up and teleports away. And that's that. We get a couple of subplots, hinting at future stories. Back at the Colorado HQ of The Brother of Man, we their leader, who looks like Dr. Sivana, introducing three of their soldier to some new giant mechanical armor they can use to hunt Nu-Gene Positives. In some other secret lab, we see a man, presumably Proctor's associate KHYBER, who was mentioned last issue, studying Elemental, the villain from Newmen #1, but after a brief power blackout he goes to some other lab, and when he comes back Elemental is missing.

Re-reading this book today does take me back to the 1990's, it feels like such a typical "Image book," light on story, but heavy on action and witty dialog, along with the exaggerated art style of Jeff Matsuda. For fans of that era, you'll probably like this.

NEWMEN

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NEWMEN #2

Written by Eric Stephenson and Rob Liefeld Drawn by Jeff Matsuda Published by Image Comics

This is the first of a two-part story. The issue opens with Exit and Kodiak at home, recuperating from the injuries they suffered during the team's fight against Elemental in the previous issue. Meanwhile, Dash, Reign, and Byrd are attending a local carnival. They see a magician about to perform for the crowd, but then a man called GIRTH appears. Girth, as you can see from the cover, is a big fat and muscular guy with many high-tech guns. And he reveals that the magician is "Colin Simonson...aka Pastime" who's a wanted man and he has been sent to capture or kill him. The Newmen suit up and confront Girth who, despite his apparent lack of powers, proves to be a formidable foe for the teen heroes.

So, storywise, there's still not much advancement in terms of character development. But Eric Stephenson tries to set up several mysteries in this issue. When the subject of what's happened to Elemental since the Newmen defeated him, it's mentioned that Proctor shipped him off to someone named KHYBER. Girth mentioned someone named "Walt," who sent him after Pasttime, with whom he shares some kind of history. And there's an interlude at the Colorado headquarters of THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN, an organization introduced in the Extreme Prejudice crossover, that is dedicated to killing Nu-Gen Positive people. It's ambitious, but there's still room for improvement. The same goes for Jeff Matsuda's art. He was a young man, the same age as the target Image Comics demographic at the time, and his art embraced all the "extreme" artwork that was popular, for better or worse. NEWMEN