DC Universe Classics Eclipso

I hope the first week of A Comic A Day was indicative of this year's direction, what with mini reviews of issues old and new, a little superhero TV, reflections of comics' parallel with current events (a la the Superbowl), and of course the random merch that thrusts comics in our faces every day. This week starts a little differently, furthering the eclectic flair with a glimpse of my extensive action figure collection!

A few weeks ago, I had an apartment warming party at my new digs in Arizona, and a fellow fanboy friend of mine gifted a DC Universe Classics Eclipso to me. I opened the figure tonight, and despite my general apathy toward the character as a whole I'm pleased to add him to the shelves in my living room. First of all, he's a bad guy, and I learned to appreciate villains when my grandparents first gave me my Super Powers Superman and Batman back in the day, and they had nobody to fight. Had Eclipso been a part of the picture, he could've turned them against each other with his evil black diamond . . . before defeating the true baddie together, of course!

Secondly, Eclipso is a well sculpted figure, and though I'm usually against props built into the character (think Two-Face's coin), this one makes sense, especially since it's so small and critical to his appearance. If children are actually still playing with toys like this, they need that diamond to make Eclipso the formulative foe he was meant to be.

Alas, if Eclipso clouds my collection in any way, it's in his driving me to collect the rest of the figures in his wave and complete the Darkseid their respective loose parts build. Aw, who am I kidding . . . Even without Eclipso, I'd still be a man possessed.

Putting the Super Back in Superbowl Sunday

DC Comics Presents Superman #1, by Stan Lee, Paul Levitz, Darwyn Cooke, J. Bone, Al Milgrom, Dave Stewart, Jared K. Fletcher, Ken Lopez, and Lovern Kindzierski

Continuing the Superbowl Sunday tradition I kicked off (heh heh) with my reviews of NFL Superpro #3 and Strange Sports Stories, I'm pleased to review DC Comics Presents Superman #1, a football-oriented comic book remembering the dearly departed Julius Schwartz's impact on the medium. In this issue, a dream team of writers and artists tells two tales inspired by the Schwartz-helmed cover of Superman #264 originally illustrated by Nick Cardy.

Firstly, Stan Lee, Darwyn Cooke, and J. Bone tell the story of Professor Harold Gorky, who, fed up with society's glorification of muscleheads like superstar quarterback Tank Torgan and charitable-guest referree Superman, creates an invisible robotic football player to best them both in the field and win the heart of his secretary Tiffany. He succeeds, and when Superman gets to the bottom of things, he decides no punishment is better for the borderline mad professor than letting him win the vapid vixen of his dreams. Darwyn and Bone's definitively retro art is the perfect compliment to Lee's cooky script, creating a nostalgic yarn that respects the power of the mind -- in the midst of a game that celebrates getting one's skull bashed in.

The second story is pretty heavy by comparison, as a washed up football player ups his dose of experimental steroids to become an energy-crackling juggernaut, but fortunately Superman is in the neighborhood and uses his cosmic treadmill to run the wayward runner's energy out. Levitz and Giffen tell an engaging tale, with campy Silver Age staples that shine under an otherwise potentially dark fable about faded glory. I suppose any of us are just a washed up career away from becoming the phantom quarterback.

In conclusion, Wanda Sykes mentioned me on her Fox talk show last night, describing folks like me that watch the Superbowl for the commercials "like someone that orders pizza for the box." Hey, the game itself is really just one long commercial for spandex-clad team-ups . . . and we comic books geeks certainly understand that.

Smallville Does Justice to the JSA

Last night's television debut of the JSA on Smallville was just campy enough to dissuade superhero naysayers, and just reverent enough to make fanboys like me absolutely ecstatic with the sweeps-snagging episode. Consider Stargirl, the babe (in youth and looks) of the veteran group, one moment swinging her predecessor's gaudy light staff with the straightest of faces, and the next claiming that "Stripesy" is indeed the worst sidekick name ever. If that doesn't represent a realistic portrayal of the superhero myth, I don't know what does. The Justice Society saved the CW's Friday night ratings, too, a responsibility Smallville has grown accustomed to carrying. In fact, writer Geoff Johns might've symbolized both the mantle of heroism and the weight of supporting a whole TV network when Green Arrow said of Hawkman's mace, "It's heavier than it looks."

The winged warrior responded, "You get used to it."

My only criticism was the length of the episode -- not that I minded two hours of superhero TV, but that the reverence of the whole thing demanded so much of its own screen time. Clark soaking in the JSA brownstone, its trophies . . . I guess since the show took the time to make the props, producers didn't want to relegate them to mere background Easter egg fodder. Further, the final showdown was a bittersweet moment, a perfect slow motion panorama of what could've only been 30 real-time seconds of battle. Still, to see Superman, Martian Manhunter, Hawkman, and Green Arrow fight the Icicle wearing Dr. Fate's helmet . . . it reminded me of the days spent on my bedroom floor enacting similar scenes with my Super Powers action figures.

Like the JSA themselves, it reminded me of earlier, better days. It did those old superhero fantasies justice.

Superman, Tights and Flights

Daniel Tosh's Comedy Central special reran for the umpteenth time last night, in which he jokes (and I paraphrase):

"How does Superman fly faster? I get that he flies, but how does he do it faster? Is it just more -- (extends hands outward)? I know some geek will come up to me after the show and explain, 'You see when the planet exploded . . .' Then I'll describe to him what a vagina feels like."

Ha ha.

Well, folks flipping through prime time tonight will see the Justice Society's television debut on Smallville, complete in their costumes, a niche the WB has avoided in their attempt to attract a mainstream audience. I'm pretty excited about it -- a feeling Tosh would never understand.

Weekly Haul: The Lone Ranger #20 & Savage Dragon #157

For decades, three little words have haunted avid comic book readers everywhere: "To be continued." Nothing inspires more fist-pounding frustration than reading twenty-two to thirty pages of nail-biting action and drama only to discover you'll have to wait another four weeks to see how it all ends. Thanks to my experience as a longtime reader, I've oftentimes accurately predicted the next issue's events, essentially reconciling the story before I've even read its conclusion. This helps me sleep at night.

Alas, every now and then, issues like The Lone Ranger #20 and Savage Dragon#157 come along and totally disrupt this delicate balance.



The Lone Ranger and Savage Dragon are two of my most favorite titles and among the chosen few ongoing series I collect monthly, and when they come out the same week, it's a good week, indeed . . . but this week, I'm not so sure. See, at the end of The Lone Ranger #19, John confronted Linda about her hidden feelings, and Linda rebutted . . . by kissing Tonto. Now, I expected this issue to open with her using the P.D.A. as a means of exposing John's love via jealousy, but it turns out Linda and Tonto are really an item. So, this issue's first page definitely wins The Most Painful Page to Read Award, as John stammers, "Right. I knew that. I mean, I knew about him. That it's him you've been wanting to talk about. That you wanted . . . Right." Artist Sergio Cariello so captures the twisted face of a broken heart, I can't stand to look at it. Still, this issue also wins The Bros Before Hos Award, as the Lone Ranger and Tonto refuse to end their partnership, especially now, on the run from the feds and on the heels of their worst enemy. Writer Brett Matthews pulls no punches, to the heart or the head.



Now, longtime readers of A Comic A Day know how I feel about Erik Larsen and Savage Dragon, and just when I think I have that book figured out, Larsen takes his title character on another point of seemingly no return. In the thick of his "Dragon War" story arc, two Dragons from parallel dimensions are battling over the title, but the one we know and love already isn't himself, as his brain had been eaten by a monster (long story) and has regenerated sans memories of his current life. At last issue's end, with the mindset of alien despot, Dragon was eating the brain of his other-dimensional doppelganger (to prevent it from growing back like his did, of course), when his son showed up. Now, I anticipated a slugfest, with perhaps a climactic emotional plea to Dragon's suppressed psyche, but instead, father clobbers son, who then hides in the sewer (as I suppose a frightened boy would do). Meanwhile, one-time archnemesis Overlord has become an advocate for freak rights, infusing his once-villainous Vicious Circle with Dragon blood and mutating them into proverbial citizens on patrol. At this point, I don't know who to root for -- and either way a Dragon will win! Larsen is the only writer/artist I know capable of slaughtering his sacred cows so effortlessly.

Sometimes, comics can rip your heart out, or leaving you standing beside yourself. So, why keep reading 'em? Why endure thirty days of cliffhanging torture? Sure, they aren't always predictable -- but the feelings of wonder and excitement they inspire are reliable. They're absolutely consistent in their potential to be as inconsistent as possible, and isn't that the point of escapism? Those three little words are as fist-poundingly frustrating as they are promisingly reliable: "To be continued!"

The Lone Ranger written by Brett Matthews, illustrated by Sergio Cariello, colored by Marcelo Pinto of Impacto Studios, and lettered by Simon Bowland.

Savage Dragon by Erik Larsen, lettered by Tom Orzechowski, and colored by Steve Oliff.

Dubble Bubble Tee

Another Wal-Mart find, one of their "cool" screen-printed tees. When I started collecting comics in 1991, an issue of Amazing Spider-man cost $1 a month. Now, I'd cough up $3.99, and it comes out weekly! Can you ever imagine a time when comics -- even three-panel, muddily-printed-on-wax-paper comics -- only cost a penny? Blows my mind -- and my gum right outta my ears.

Marvel Briefs

That's what I'm talkin' about! No less than a day after relaunching this blog with the focus of finding a comic a day, I discover that Wal-Mart gives you the chance to wear one . . . in your pants. Now, when your girlfriend says, "What's that thing?" -- she's really talking about the Thing!