Briefly, TV (12 October 2025)

Alien: Earth (2025) s01e07 “Emergence” D: Dana Gonzales. S: Sydney Chandler, Alex Lawther, Essie Davis, Samuel Blenkin, Babou Ceesay, Adarsh Gourav, Erana James. Lawther once again fails to deliver, dragging an already wobbly episode down at the finish. Everything is full red alert, moving pieces in place for the season finale. Ceesay also stumbles, while Chandler gets an iffy part in the script. Olyphant gets an outstanding showcase, as ever. Great special effects, not long enough action; Michael Crichton’s ALIEN 3 continues.

Alien: Earth (2025) s01e08 “The Real Monsters” D: Dana Gonzales. S: Sydney Chandler, Alex Lawther, Essie Davis, Samuel Blenkin, Babou Ceesay, Adarsh Gourav, Timothy Olyphant. Solid enough finale with some great direction from Gonzales–including what appears to be an ALIEN 3 visual homage; warms the heart. Either way the cliffhanger goes–renewal or not–doesn’t touch movie canon; fine, but safe. No one gives a standout performance, either. This episode really showcases how sacrificing actor gristle can lead to more dramatic success.

All Creatures Great & Small (2020) s05e07 “All God’s Creatures” [2024] D: Andy Hay. S: Nicholas Ralph, Samuel West, Anna Madeley, Rachel Shenton. Stressful, well-acted wartime Christmas episode tries giving everyone something, but only Madeley and Woodhouse get completed arcs. Woodhouse only because he can pick up some more narrative heft thanks to Madeley. Ralph and Shenton are trying to make a nice Christmas for the baby, which is barely a plot. It’s nice to see Tony Pitts and Imogen Clawson.

All Creatures Great & Small (2020) s06e01 “Gathering the Flock” [2025] D: Brian Percival. S: Nicholas Ralph, Samuel West, Anna Madeley, Rachel Shenton. The series jumps ahead to 1945 and the war winding down. Madeley has moved away, leaving West and Ralph to their own devices. Ralph copes, West does not. Can Ralph and Woodhouse get things right? Some great moments, strong performances from Madeley and Wedt, and a cracker of a veterinary case. They handle the time jump quite well.

All Creatures Great & Small (2020) s06e02 “Old Dog, New Tricks” [2025] D: Stewart Svaasand. S: Nicholas Ralph, Samuel West, Anna Madeley, Rachel Shenton. Great episode gets away with not addressing various changes since last time, instead continuing West’s unpleasantness and the various repercussions. Fun subplots for Ralph, home and work, and continuous nice moments for the characters nearly post-war. Outstanding work from the cast, including Hodge, who sets up a promising season plot. The optimism’s back; ditto the particular charm.

My Life Is Murder (2019) s05e08 “The One That Got Away (2)” [2025] D: . S: Lucy Lawless, Ebony Vagulans. Meandering wrap-up to the two-parter should give Lawless more to do character development-wise but the episode intentionally avoids it. Vagulans’s trip to Fiji is a lot less interesting than it ought to be as well. It’s not bad or anything, but there’s very little payoff from this episode or last, which doesn’t work for season finale.

Only Murders in the Building (2021) s05e04 “Dirty Birds” [2025] D: Chris Koch. S: Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Michael Cyril Creighton, Logan Lerman, Christoph Waltz, Renée Zellweger. This episode feels a little like the fourth season premiere, confirming Lerman, Waltz, and Zellweger as the season adversaries (or at least level bosses). It’s a fine episode–great acting (Waltz and Zellweger are particularly delightful opposite Martin and Short, respectively)–but the season’s herky-jerky. And Gomez’s season isn’t looking good. For a final season, it’s unduly erratic.

Only Murders in the Building (2021) s05e05 “Tongue Tied” [2025] D: Robert Pulcini. S: Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Michael Cyril Creighton, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Richard Kind, Téa Leoni. Funny but thin episode gives Martin and Leoni a comedy set piece, which rocks while also being a little pointless as things unfold. Randolph’s back, which also rocks. But then Gomez is just reacting to finding out it’s the last season from a shoehorned detail. Solid Short moments and a great showcase scene for Creighton.

Only Murders in the Building (2021) s05e06 “Flatbush” [2025] D: Robert Pulcini. S: Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Michael Cyril Creighton, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Meryl Streep, Téa Leoni. Good episode for Gomez, great episode for Short and guest starring Streep. There’s also some great Dianne Wiest and Leoni, and also Randolph. It’s an absurdly good showcase for everyone (minus Martin and Creighton, who’ve had their turns already). Short and Streep get some wonderful character moments, ditto Gomez. Albeit with less oompf. Too bad the end reveal’s lukewarm.

Slow Horses (2022) s05e01 “Bad Dates” [2025] D: Saul Metzstein. S: Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas. Well-acted and fairly well executed opener respects the formula–terror attack (related to the HORSES but how)–while they recuperate from last season. Oldman gets very little this episode, mostly just yelling at Edwards, who’s this season’s loose cannon. Meanwhile, Lowden gets less likable; they do ground him better. It’s good, it just hasn’t clicked into place yet.

Upload (2020) s04e01 “Wedding Weekend” [2025] D: Daina Reid. S: Robbie Amell, Andy Allo, Allegra Edwards, Zainab Johnson, Kevin Bigley, Owen Daniels. Allo and Edwards still each have their own version of Amell, albeit with some differences in virtuality. Everyone in the real world lives with Johnson (who gets a lot and is so good she makes up for the more extreme gags), and Edwards’s wedding is imminent. Zilch about the politics or conspiracies; good acting, overly enthusiastic–nearing desperate–writing.

Upload (2020) s04e02 “Workload” [2025] D: Daina Reid. S: Robbie Amell, Andy Allo, Allegra Edwards, Zainab Johnson, Kevin Bigley, Owen Daniels. Amell’s splitting his time between bewildered and doofus, without clicking in either mode. Allo’s trying to find one of those versions, but mostly in background to Daniels’s romance arc or doofus’s honeymoon planning. Johnson continues to have the season’s best subplot, this rushed corporate espionage future spy thing. The season reveal is impressively woven, and the cast’s still appealing.

Upload (2020) s04e03 “Spa Day” [2025] D: Jeffrey Blitz. S: Robbie Amell, Andy Allo, Allegra Edwards, Zainab Johnson, Kevin Bigley, Owen Daniels. It’s Amell’s easy best episode of the season, but they also rush through the big setup. They had the money for the idea but not to take it anywhere. There’s also a bunch of filler with Amell and Edwards on their honeymoon, which is slightly less time wasting than Daniels’s plot. Johnson’s great as always, though.

Upload (2020) s04e04 “Mile End” [2025] D: Jeffrey Blitz. S: Robbie Amell, Andy Allo, Allegra Edwards, Zainab Johnson, Kevin Bigley, Owen Daniels. Well. Some good acting–maybe not from the people who needed to be giving the best performances–but a fairly big whiff of a series finale. Show creator Greg Daniels is back scripting the finish, which accounts for Allo and Amell getting to be cute, and it’s an intentional conclusion. A bad one, but certainly intentional. Oh, well.

Briefly, Movies (11 October 2025)

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (2025) D: Simon Curtis. S: Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, Laura Carmichael, Paul Giamatti, Hugh Bonneville, Alessandro Nivola, Phyllis Logan. Dockery’s divorce sends shock waves through London society and even follows her back to DOWNTON. Meanwhile, Giamatti’s over from the States with some bad news for McGovern. And Bonneville doesn’t want to retire from overseeing the estate. Fine acting, strong moments, but it feels like mini-series hastily edited down. Especially if Dockery’s supposed to have any character development.

The Dragon Murder Case (1934) D: H. Bruce Humberstone. S: Warren William, Margaret Lindsay, Lyle Talbot, Eugene Pallette, Helen Lowell, Robert McWade, Robert Barrat. Philo Vance (William, who does fine) investigates a blue blood going missing at a party. Despite some elaborate sets, the script’s nothing but red herrings, false starts, and bad one-liners for Pallette. Lindsay, second-billed as the missing man’s fiancée, barely figures in. Talbot’s her would-be beau but strangely not a suspect. Humberstone’s direction’s blah, too.

The Garden Murder Case (1936) D: Edwin L. Marin. S: Edmund Lowe, Virginia Bruce, Benita Hume, Nat Pendleton, Gene Lockhart, H.B. Warner, Kent Smith. Engaging programmer has Philo Vance (Lowe) maybe falling for murder suspect Bruce; they’re exceedingly charming together. There’s a lot going on with the other suspects–layers and layers of impropriety and ick–and a genuine surprise for the finish. Marin’s direction is fine enough, with occasional superlatives. The supporting cast’s mostly good, though sadly not an under-directed Pendleton.

The Iceman (2012) D: Ariel Vromen. S: Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Ray Liotta, Chris Evans, David Schwimmer, Robert Davi, John Ventimiglia. Mostly middling period piece organized crime drama about unfeeling hitman Shannon, the family he loves, and all the cameos the producers could afford. Plus Schwimmer as a doofus mob fanboy. There’s a lot, with a masterful performance from Shannon but to no end. Ryder gets worse as her character ages, fine to bad. The third act’s a truncated mess.

Night of Terror (1933) D: Benjamin Stoloff. S: Bela Lugosi, Wallace Ford, Sally Blane, Bryant Washburn, Tully Marshall, Gertrude Michael, George Meeker. Old dark house thriller but one with a serial killer on the looser, a suspended animation science subplot, a family inheritance bickering and backstabbing subplot, a romance subplot, an anti-romance subplot, and low and high key racism. All in an unrewarding single hour. Ford’s a bland lead, Blane’s a likable damsel, Lugosi looks embarrassed as the “heathen” butler.

The Renegade Ranger (1938) D: David Howard. S: George O’Brien, Rita Hayworth, Tim Holt, Ray Whitley, Lucio Villegas, William Royle, Cecilia Callejo. Not boring (but not any good) Western about Texas Ranger O’Brien sent to bring in righteous rebel Hayworth. She’s battling evil businessman Royle. O’Brien’s ex-pal Holt is now working for Hayworth. Also, O’Brien thinks Hayworth’s hot. And maybe innocent. Fisticuffs, romance, villainy, and shootouts occur, but O’Brien’s terrible; it fumbles. Hayworth and Holt are at least likable.

Stir of Echoes (1999) D: David Koepp. S: Kevin Bacon, Kathryn Erbe, Illeana Douglas, Zachary David Cope, Kevin Dunn, Conor O’Farrell, Jennifer Morrison. Disappointing adaptation of a Richard Matheson novel about blue-collar Bacon (with an ill-advised Chicago accent) all of a sudden seeing dead people and needing to solve a mystery. Screenwriter and director Koepp doesn’t have much interest in the mystery, mise-en-scène, characters, or performances. Some interesting visuals, nowhere near enough. A bad production more than misfire.

Surviving Desire (1992) D: Hal Hartley. S: Martin Donovan, Matt Malloy, Rebecca Nelson, Julie Kessler, Mary B. Ward, Thomas J. Edwards, George Feaster. Theatrical (not stagy) hour-long skips the first act in depressed, bad at his job literature professor Donovan obsessing over student Ward. Lots of talking. Donovan can’t shut up, while Ward puts it into her writing. About him. Donovan’s performance’s uneven, Ward’s great when the film doesn’t hate women; Malloy and Nelson are standout supports. Not unimpressive, just unsuccessful.

Union Depot (1932) D: Alfred E. Green. S: Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Joan Blondell, Guy Kibbee, Alan Hale, David Landau, George Rosener, Earle Foxe. Young hobo Fairbanks–in an astonishingly charismatic performance–schemes his way into a good outfit and a good dinner, leading him to meet Depression damsel Blondell. Unfortunately, some of his good luck turns out to be counterfeit dough, putting Secret Service agent Landau on his tail. Despite returning to the romantic drama–the better material–the end falls flat.

Young Adult (2011) D: Jason Reitman. S: Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser, Collette Wolfe, Jill Eikenberry, Richard Bekins. A good–albeit pointlessly so–performance from Theron anchors this pseudo-character study. Theron’s a drunken YA ghost writer who goes home to blow up high school boyfriend Wilson’s marriage. Along the way, she reacquaints with high school nobody Oswalt. Reitman’s indistinct direction doesn’t do the film (or the actors) any favors. The smug elitist misanthropy’s a yawn, too.

All-Star Comics (1976) #69

Paul Levitz (script)

Joe Staton (pencils)

Bob Layton (inks)

Elizabeth Safian (colors)

Ben Oda (letters)

Joe Orlando (editor)

This issue’s writer Paul Levitz’s magnum opus on the book so far. It’s an action-packed issue—most of the pages are just Justice Society members fighting, whether amongst themselves in the Batcave (holy set-piece, Batman!) or against the Gotham P.D. The cops zap Power Girl with some seventies Earth-Two ray guns and almost kill her; is the reaction for the cops to then try to kill all the superheroes? Earth-Two might not have Apartheid South Africa, but it’s still got killer cops.

Cops versus Justice Society comes after some catch-up. While the heroes found out last All-Star Psycho Pirate had been controlling them and making them dicks, they then had their annual team-up adventure with the Justice League. So they’re just now having a chance to debrief and process. Someone’s trying to console Green Lantern and points out he just saved the world; Lantern whinges about it not being Earth-Two he saved. Psycho Pirate clearly didn’t give him that voluminous gallantry.

After a little more poor communication, the team ends up in their headquarters, where Police Commissioner Bruce Wayne is waiting with his laser gun-armed cops. The Kryptonian casualty leads to fisticuffs and retreat—at this point in the comic, even though the cover promises the JSA in-fighting (and an all-new team member)—it’s a visual miss. Penciller Joe Staton will get to do better work, but he and inker Bob Layton fumble the first showdown.

Things start to improve after there’s a “Batman slapping Robin but for a gag” moment (also, Levitz writes Dick Grayson’s obsequiousness at eleven; he’s a twerp), and then the mystery guest star appears to surveil the retreated Society. They’ve gone to a secret Gothamland hospital for superheroes. The mood’s effective, even if the scene ends with the observer noting the “good guy” superheroes are acting maliciously.

One could put in a pin in that item, but—at least as far as this issue goes—one shouldn’t bother. Levitz throws in big red herrings multiple times just to get to the finish. The narrative contortions he successfully puts this issue through are wild. Especially considering Staton and Layton; their work is much better with the set-piece fight scene, but they’ve still got their limits. They have a good issue: the mystery observer’s second appearance is probably their best work (on the book together), and they can sell the melodramatic ending.

The story has Dr. Fate leading the stars of this comic book against Commissioner Wayne, Robin, Hourman, Starman, Dr. Mid-Nite, and Wonder Woman. Whenever All-Star has needed a body, the writer has thrown in a character from the latter group. Robin even started this All-Star comeback; he was on the original Super-Squad. And Dr. Mid-Nite almost died once—or was it Hourman—it was at least one and probably both.

They’re all of a sudden not second-stringers—Batman’s Red Shirts more than hold their own against the “good guys,” with Robin refusing to listen (and fighting dirty as hell), and Wonder Woman trying to get Green Lantern to chill out and let her lasso him. Starman and Star-Spangled Kid have a bad interchange, considering Kid’s supposed to be Starman’s legacy hero or whatever. But at least Levitz tries. And it gives Staton variety in the intricate fight scenes. So much foreground and background going on.

The finale’s not a surprise, other than what threads Levitz does and doesn’t bring in.

For All-Star, maybe the most successful issue ever. Is there any reason to believe next issue isn’t someone else being revealed to be under Psycho-Pirate’s control? No, but this issue does earn it some hope.

The Spirit (February 16, 1941) “Radio Station WLXK”

Will Eisner (editor, script, pencils, inks)

Joe Kubert (colors)

Sam Rosen (letters)

WLXK is a beautifully plotted strip, with lots happening in a very short amount of time. A rather unlikely amount of time, actually, but considering part of the plot has kids listening to the Spirit kick ass on the radio and cheering along… Eisner and studio have all the slack they want.

The strip opens with radio station owner Marion Dale refusing to let fifth columnists threaten her. They’ve promised to blow up the station if she doesn’t report an Eastern European country welcomed their invasion by a certain (still unnamed) bad guy. She reports the truth, and boom goes the station.

Luckily, the bomb goes off during Ebony’s radio serial, which piques the Spirit’s interest, and he goes down to the station. He finds Marion very enthusiastic about his plans to foil the spies, regardless of the scant details. She’s too busy throwing herself at him. Her amorous intentions end up being the proverbial rifle on the wall, to great effect.

After repairing the station by flying new wiring between the antennas in the autoplane, the Spirit reveals his great idea. They’re going to do a radio play about the attempts to silence the station. The idea is all the attention will piss off the wrong people, who will send thugs to the station. At that point, the Spirit will beat them up and get the necessary information to foil the ring.

Lots could go wrong with the plan, but Commissioner Dolan happens to be listening to the radio broadcast with an acquaintance, and—again—the strip moves so well, works so well, has such good fisticuffs—Eisner can get away with pretty much anything. Especially since everyone gets in on the radio play energy, including Dolan. It’s less proof of concept for a Spirit radio series and more Eisner exploring how Spirit’s particular celebrity fits right in with radio’s fictional adventurers.

The art is solid throughout, with some great long shots to move the story along quickly. They slow down for the fight scene, of course; Ebony’s nowhere to be found, but Marion tries her best to help. The strip’s neatest bit is how the Spirit’s fight on the radio plays out with Dolan, who’s as thrilled as the kids listening.

It’s a great one. The end joke is a particular standout, with Eisner hanging onto the moment to get a better bit. Excellent work, start to finish.

Teen Titans (1966) #50

Bob Rozakis (script)

Don Heck (pencils)

Joe Giella (inks)

Jerry Serpe (colors)

Milt Snapinn (letters)

E. Nelson Bridwell (associate editor)

Julius Schwartz (editor)

Writer Bob Rozakis—and I mean this statement as a compliment—has a wonderfully juvenile vibe for Teen Titans. Their dialogue is very groovy, maybe a little too groovy for 1977 (though they are down with disco, thank goodness), and Rozakis seems to be targeting a younger audience than the cast. The Titans are all either post-high school at this point, going to college, or working jobs; Rozakis positions them aspirationally. For example, Kid Flash’s concerns about his parents being able to afford a better college for him aren’t character development fodder for Wally West, rather some didactic storytelling to let the pre-college readers know sometimes you don’t get to go to a fancy college with Robin and Harlequin.

The issue’s setting up for next time, with strong cliffhangers for each team of Titans, and it ought to finish a little less substantial, but Rozakis (and artists Don Heck and Joe Giella) deliver an impressively solid (for a setup narrative) outing. Again, against the grain, if Rozakis were writing for the characters, the issue’s a collection of purposeful vignettes more than a story with rising action. The cover promises the East Coast Titans (Robin, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Speedy, Harlequin) against the West Coast team. The West Coast team is mostly retired—but still young—heroes: Hawk (without Dove), the original Bat-Girl, Golden Eagle, and Changeling. Though maybe he’s still Beast Boy.

The issue delivers separate stories for each team and no obvious link between their adventures yet—hence why you’ll be back next time.

The East Coast team opens the issue, with everyone in their civvies, riding the train back from Kid Flash and Wonder Girl visiting Robin and Harlequin’s aforementioned fancy university. There’s a strange disaster, followed by a strange villain fight. The disaster is odd, the villain is bizarre, the fight and heroics are just excellent superhero work from Heck and Giella. Their backgrounds are sometimes too sparse, and they lack detail, but the action moves beautifully.

The West Coast team’s adventure involves a levitating aircraft carrier. It’s a big enough carrier to host original Bat-Girl Betty Kane’s tennis match, but not big enough to warrant any crew scenes during the match or levitation sequence outside them, being background for the heroes. Hawk is currently serving in the Navy on the carrier. He and Bat-Girl team up to save the sailors while Changeling and Golden Eagle both get involved aerially.

Rozakis does varying levels of setup on these characters, with Golden Eagle and Changeling getting more than the others (Hawk gets the least, even giving up some of his time to establish he doesn’t know jack about Batgirl canon). The East Coast team will—thanks to their second scene—get the better character stuff, but the superhero team-up action of the West Coast team is superior. The East Coast team basically does solo heroics, West Coast works together.

After the West Coast team meet a couple surprise guest stars, they cliffhanger, and the action returns to the Titans in their headquarters. Rozakis trades Kid Flash and Wonder Girl for Speedy, Guardian, and Bumblebee. Guardian and Bumblebee have their own subplot (including some knowing, toxic masculinity-based decisions), but it’s even more for Speedy. Robin tells him to stop being creepy about women, and Harlequin takes him to task for being a pest. It’s fantastic stuff, and where Rozakis distinguishes himself.

Then they have to go to an action scene, which turns out to be connected to their first action sequence, and—according to the ending tag, anyway—will involve them meeting up with the other team… next issue!

For a Bronze Age teen superhero team comic, it’s hard to imagine it can get any better; the issue’s an exemplar of the category.

The Spirit (February 9, 1941) “The Substitute Spirits”

A week has passed since last strip, and the Spirit still hasn’t let Commissioner Dolan know he’s alive. Ebony points out he’s being unkind to a friend, and Spirit’s surprised to realize he’s got affection for Dolan. Now, despite Dolan constantly trying to pull one over on Spirit, Dolan’s always concerned for him. They’ve been pals since the first strip; the strip’s used to open with a preamble mentioning Dolan being his only friend; not to mention they spent Christmas together. Spirit not thinking they’re friends is profoundly weird.

And Ebony can’t convince Spirit otherwise, either. Spirit is happy to let Dolan think he’s dead the rest of the strip.

In addition to mourning, Dolan’s got a concerned citizen with money very upset the cops aren’t doing anything about the fake yogi fleecing his wife. Spirit doesn’t get a pass for the racial and religious caricatures, because although the yogi is indeed a fake and completely ignorant, Spirit’s going to do accent work. So it’s cringe but less offensive than if anyone weren’t knowingly conning. Ish.

And the “Eastern” visuals are additionally complicated by the gorgeous damn art in the fight scene. Eisner and studio do a big Buddha statue fight panel. Breathtaking page.

Most of the strip’s great looking. Eisner intersperses the yogi mystery with Dolan and some other cops getting it in their heads—independently of one another—they should wear all blue, don some distinctive masks, plop on a fedora, and fight crime as the new Spirit. None of them are very good at it, though some of them are worse than others. The bumbling leads to a nice constraint—visually and narratively–then to the Spirit and the fake yogi’s showdown.

While the fight is the central visual spectacle, the last couple pages are quite good, too, particularly as an example of Eisner and studio’s accomplished flexing. Spirit’s got an idea for keeping himself dead; great panels, but also a very nice visual callback to early Spirit attempts at stagecraft.

With the humor threaded throughout, the strip moves at a fine pace. The cops get their setups—though one of them is Dolan’s assistant, Finnegan, who’s multiple times tried to arrest the Spirit, and his decision to carry on the good work is bewildering. It’s hilarious because Eisner’s only ever used Finnegan as comic relief; the implication he’s a secret Spirit fan is profound.

The other cop, O’Rourke, may also be a returning character. He gets some very funny material, but is only interested in the Spirit II gig because he can’t get any respect at work. So he’s doing it as an ego thing, Dolan’s doing it as sincere homage, and Finnegan’s doing it for his own reasons.

It’s an outstanding strip. The bumbling pseudo-Spirits contrast the relative calm and very moody temple, giving the strip a lot of energy.

Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes (1977) #231

Paul Levitz (script)

James Sherman (1), Michael Netzer (2) (pencils)

Jack Abel (inks)

Elizabeth Safian (colors)

Ben Oda (letters)

Joe Orlando (editor)

The Legion of Super-Heroes had cover title billing with Superboy for over thirty issues before this issue. It’s one officially titled Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes in the indicia. Even more—literally—they’re going up to fifty-two pages an issue. To celebrate, writer Paul Levitz, pencillers James Sherman and Michael Netzer (each handling one of the two chapters), and inker Jack Abel deliver an almost perfect space superhero epic. It holds until the very last panel, when Superboy is concerningly malevolent.

Superboy’s mad because the issue’s supervillains—the Legion’s nemesis team, the Fatal Five—have escaped death. During their escape, the Fatal Five tried to blow up the Legion, but failed. So Superboy’s grandstanding about how he’s going to make them pay in their next appearance. It just does not play.

And Levitz’s intentional in this move; earlier in the issue he characterizes Superboy’s attack on the Five’s spaceship focusing on how Superboy’s righteous anger fuels his extreme power. It both does and doesn’t stand out in the moment; Levitz is just saving up headliner Superboy for big moments (this attack is his first foray into the conflict), so it comes with a punch. But it’s also a bit of a strange vibe.

In that earlier scene, Superboy is super mad because the Five are taking advantage of a planet about to explode. According to the narration, he’s thinking about Krypton and the tragedy. It’s emotionally too much for the Boy of Steel. The Legion is on the planet, evacuating all the people, but time is running out. The psychic on the psychic planet (Levitz skates over this absurdity real fast, but there are telepaths in Legion, so sure, why not) saw the star go supernova too late.

It’s a strange spotlight, like Levitz was assuring someone, even though Legion was officially in the title, Superboy would still get featured special.

But once he’s got that first solo attempt out of his system, Superboy mostly syncs with the rest of the team. Levitz delights in his purple exposition with lots of second-person call-outs and thoughtful echoes in the prose. It never gets tedious; he and editor Joe Orlando always seem to know when the narration’s gone far enough and it’s time to focus on the art.

Because even though this issue’s a giant-sized epic featuring five distinct narratives (the evacuation, examining the star, kidnapped Legionnaires, the rescue team, and the leader of the Fatal Five’s plotting), it’s a visual delight. Sherman pencils the first half, opening on two Legionnaires happening across the Five and getting captured, then cutting to the planet-wide evacuation. Great visuals, with varied panels showing off the scale of the evacuation and the rush of the Legion’s work. But where Sherman really gets to flex is Brainiac-5 and friends’ science mission to the planet’s doomed sun; the Emerald Empress with her Emerald Eye attacks them. Thanks to Sherman and Abel—and Levitz, who doesn’t go overboard with the green theme—it’s a dangerous, thrilling fight. Empress thinks she can handle the good guys since Superboy’s not with them (she’s hot for Superboy; sadly, they never get any interaction).

The good guys have to use their specific powers in tandem to counter her successfully. Levitz loves writing about how the powers work. So he lines up action scenes so he can explain the recipe for the superpower combinations.

All with that great art. Space superheroes comics doesn’t get better.

The issue cuts back to the planet for another big action sequence, involving three of the Fatal Five and a growing number of Legionnaires who just can’t quite get an upper hand. Superboy isn’t there to help because he’s about to launch that attack on the spaceship and fail, which concludes the first chapter.

A handful of Legionnaires get a little more than the others, mostly just in dialogue, though sometimes starting a lengthy scene by themselves. It’s a small planet when you can fly, so no one’s by themselves too long.

The second half, featuring Netzer art—while not as strong as Sherman’s, is still excellent (and Netzer gets to do a fantastic, “this should be a poster” full-pager)–has the Legion figuring out the Five’s plan and how to defeat them. The reader doesn’t get all of the information on the latter, because there needs to be some surprise.

Right up until Superboy starts humming a murder ballad, it’s smooth sailing. Levitz’s reveals all drop at the right time, Netzer’s good at conveying the variety of actions (including, of course, Legionnaires with different powers fighting bad guys who have their own different powers). Even something simple like a fight between two giant-sized individuals (good guy Colossal Boy and bad guy Validus) gets complicated with all the regular-sized flying superheroes and villains weaving in and out.

It’s a stellar comic, with Levitz’s enthusiasm in the exposition carrying over the sillier future elements, and then the art starting at a high level and only getting better throughout.

The Spirit (February 2, 1941) “Davy Jones’ Locker”

Will Eisner (editor, script, pencils, inks)

Joe Kubert (colors)

Sam Rosen (letters)

Davy Jones’ Locker is a straightforward strip, but only because Eisner doesn’t allow it to get bogged down. There’s plenty of potential for it to drift, and Eisner doesn’t want any of it; any tangents would affect the verisimilitude.

The strip opens with a group of sandhogs (underground urban construction workers) deciding they’re sick of the politicians and builders taking credit for their work, so they decide to become underwater robbers. The Davy Jones of the title is their leader, who presumably came up with the idea to steal a section of the underwater tunnel they’d been working on, and use it to destroy and loot merchant vessels.

The story takes place over eight weeks (as usual, presumably the Spirit has other cases during those weeks, but they’re unacknowledged). Jones and his crew convert their tunnel section into a base, loaded with mines. Whenever a large ship full of gold goes over them, they send up a mine, sink the ship, and collect the gold at their leisure.

Those activities raise numerous unanswered questions Eisner avoids asking. He also avoids explaining how the Spirit, inserting himself into the investigation and taking advantage of Dolan’s reluctance to be benched when the FBI arrives, somehow commands a team of Central City’s finest. Who are armed with rifles capable of firing underwater.

There’s lots of underwater battling, but nearly all of it happens off-page. The first skirmish between the cops and the bad guys quickly goes topside, where Ebony and Dolan worry about the Spirit. These sections are good, but nothing compared to when Spirit encounters Jones himself and the two face off. There’s a lot of mood to the art, and there’s a lot of mood to the interaction. Spirit’s at a disadvantage, so’s Jones, and they’ve got to resolve their hostilities (one way or another) before the police’s depth charges find them.

The finale’s got a surprising amount of heart, with Eisner leaning into it to a fine result. Even though the undersea battle only gets cursory attention from the creators, it’s all the characters have been thinking about.

Very little jealous Dolan here, and even less foreign intrigue. There’s just a single mention musing about foreign powers being behind the sinking of the ships. And we get to see the west side of Central City (at least the river) and the plains beyond. Nice landscape work throughout, too.

Locker’s finely executed.

DC Special (1968) #29

This special is the result of a letter to All-Star Comics about the origin of the Justice Society. Someone wrote in wondering about the canon, and, after diligently doing some research, DC staffers discovered the 1940 comics didn’t come with an origin issue for the Justice Society. The team was already together in their first appearance. So the All-Star team of writer Paul Levitz, penciller Joe Staton, inker Bob Layton, and editor Joe Orlando are doing the first-ever origin of the Justice Society of America right here.

It’s not good. It’s not a good story, let alone good origin story. Levitz front-loads the narrative, too, and not just in terms of pacing; the Spectre will eventually show up in the comic and be able to kill anyone with a glance. He will not, however, be able to impede in any way the enemy demigod Valkryies. Now, the Valkryies—the exposition boxes point out multiple times they’re German (called to Earth on the side of the Führer), though it sure sounds like they’d know Thor (and he’d be on the Nazi side). The human heroes will either be able to jostle the Valkyries easily or they will be utterly impervious to all pain and damage.

Including from the Spectre.

So there are no real stakes in the comic. Not even when it comes to the team-up value. Nine of the world’s most powerful mortals (though the Spectre and Dr. Fate aren’t really mortal) meet for the first time and it’s done without dialogue and just a bunch of handshaking. None of the heroes have much personality: Superman will be a dick, but otherwise, it’s just Dr. Fate. And only because he’s the one who knows what he’s doing. And the Atom gets a lot more dialogue in the second half than anyone else. This comic is always trying to find new levels of perfunctory.

There are a handful of solid moments. The Spectre reaching out over a Nazi fleet is cool. Except then he’s got no significant advantage fighting the Valkryies. In the exposition, Levitz routinely tracks how many heroes are fighting the good fight and how the increasing numbers and power sets never help. It’s weird. Especially when he uses it to set up Superman, who will come in and save the day, talk shit about not being some touchy-feely foreigner, which FDR will cosign, and then Supes will demand “Justice” is in the title of their club.

The art’s often odd. The Batman take is visually very Adam West, not Bob Finger. Staton and Layton do not do a good Superman. As a reader of All-Star, which had at one point Wally Wood (and Keith Giffen) doing very careful, respectful, Golden Age Superman—-it’s jarring. Not only isn’t it good, he looks forty-five.

But the Franklin Delano Roosevelt… good grief. Levitz writes FDR as a vapid jingoist while Staton draws him… puffy. Like exaggerated puffy; like a blowhard. It’s very strange. The Special feels like it’s being targeted at seven-year-olds in 1940, while acknowledging they’re in their forties now. By creators whose nostalgia—even when they bother with it—never comes off as sincere.

They do get through it, which is an accomplishment for all involved–particularly the reader—but it is a combination of wasted opportunities, bad ideas, and creative limitations.

The Spirit (January 26, 1941) “The Conquistadores”

The strip takes place in Mexico, where the Spirit foils an attempt by some treasonous Mexican army folks to side with foreign powers to overthrow the government. The foreign powers are presumably German, but Eisner’s still not being specific.

But Spirit doesn’t show up until page three, with the strip opening instead on a young man named Pedro arriving in town to tell everyone about enemy aircraft. No one believes him, so he keeps trying; the sequence gives Eisner and studio the chance to do some slice-of-life panels for the village. Lots of good little panels establish the setting before the action turns to the villains.

Using their silent bombs, the bad guys take out a different village, which is explained in the expository text, but, visually, it seems like it’s the opening village. These silent bombs do all the damage and exploding of regular bombs, only with no sound whatsoever. All of a sudden, Spirit’s flying car becomes a lot less far-fetched.

The Spirit arrives and tries to take on the baddies himself, only to get captured and dropped out of a flying plane. Luckily, he’s got those gymnastics skills and is able to save himself; he then comes across Pedro and enlists him in the effort.

There’s a somewhat complex setup involving Pedro using the silent bombs against their makers while Spirit goes in for the direct approach. The last few pages have some wonderful art, whether Spirit’s fisticuffs or the bad guys walking around the ensuing wreckage.

The strip feels a little forced with its politics, and, despite the villains being indistinct, spends a lot of time with them. Spirit’s never really the protagonist (it’s either Pedro or the bad guys running scenes); he’s presumably in Mexico on assignment from the U.S. government. It’s never clarified. Missed opportunity for a very humorous scene of Spirit gassing up the autoplane for his approximately two-thousand-mile trip.

Eisner’s characterization of Mexico has the accent and portrays all of the villagers as so layabout they literally do nothing but layabout, while also putting Mexico as comparable to the United States as both countries threw off the imperial yoke. A 1941 version of ahistorical good vibes.

The art, action, and timing make up for the rockier bits.