Superman (1939) #241

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I guess Wonder Woman wasn’t much of a draw back in the early 1970s because her guest appearance is a surprise (there’s no mention on the cover) and she’s practically in the issue more than Superman.

Following up on Superman’s epiphany from the previous issue (he’d prefer to live a normal life), Wonder Woman’s Indian sidekick convinces him otherwise. It’s only a couple pages, but it’s effective, maybe because O’Neil’s dialogue for Superman is so desperate.

But then there’s the subsequent problem (where Wonder Woman takes over). Superman has super-brain damage and is acting like a (well-intentioned) goofball. It’s almost like they have him do Silver Age things, then deal with the “real world” consequences.

The sand double gets a solid explanation here, along with a goofy name: Pseudo-Superman.

The reprint back-ups are cute, but out of place for the serious–if humorously handled–feature story.

Superman (1939) #240

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Superman’s powers finally go this issue, burning out as he uses them more and more. It’s a very awkward issue, with Supes coming across almost like Spider-Man at times, he’s so depressed. He discovers, for example, average people don’t really care about him. Without his powers, he’s an object for their scorn.

Given the Pre-Crisis Superman is without an immediate support system, he’s basically on his own… until Wonder Woman’s pet sufi shows up to offer a cure. It’s such a small story–Clark Kent gets tailed by bad guys who go after an impaired (human) Superman–and O’Neil’s frequent references to Superman’s Silver Age planet juggling abilities make it feel unique.

The conclusion is, though somewhat hackneyed (human Superman versus thugs), very effective.

Lots has to do with Swan’s art. His figures in action are great, but he also goes for viscerally involving panel layouts.

Good stuff.

Superman (1939) #238

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Superman finally decides he can’t go around on half-power–but there’s a great butt shot from Swan on the first page for the ladies when he’s leaping instead of flying–at the end of the issue. His sand-double has been sucking his powers away and worse, the sand-double isn’t willing to help as Superman has to save the planet.

It’s kind of a neat way to agitate a situation (it starts as a ransom demand, but then there’s the atom bomb being dropped into the earth’s core) and O’Neil’s of the crisis is excellent. His devices to distract from Superman when Superman’s off page getting his plan together… not so excellent. They’re okay, but basically just standard “Where is Superman?” scenes with the supporting cast.

The back-up Krypton story has nice art from Gray Morrow, but it’s a lame Adam and Eve as sci-fi story.

Superman (1939) #237

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Here’s a packed issue. Superman even comments on it–he rescues a rocket, Lois crashes, there are killer ants, his sand-double is around, he’s a carrier of some strange space bug–it goes on and on. O’Neil fits it all in with barely any room for anything else. Only when Superman decides he’s going to leave Earth (it takes him a panel, not an interconnected eight issue story arc), does the story take a breather.

There’s a particular moment, with Superman sitting out in space, waiting, basically, for Lois to die. He’s sacrificing her for the greater good (fear of infecting the rest of the planet with the space bug). It’s a very strange moment, because Superman’s given up. The solution appears, deus ex machina, to Superman; he doesn’t even try to save Lois.

Add in Swan’s odd head shots (they all look taped on) and the issue’s problematic.

Superman (1939) #235

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The issue ends with Superman in Metropolis Stadium attempting a heart-to-heart with his sand-double. It’s a really awkward moment, since the Colosseum’s full of people. O’Neil doesn’t get a single reaction shot in this sequence, after getting them in an opening action sequence at the Colosseum. It’s off. I mean, Lois should have a reaction, shouldn’t she?

There are other weak points to this issue–Morgan Edge being the J. Jonah Jameson of the DC Universe is problematic, regardless of if he’s just stooging for Darkseid–but there’s a lot of good stuff too, like Superman waving at a crowd of people to say hi to Lois. Or just O’Neil’s plotting, which allows for these nice action sequences without them taking over the entire issue before the big finale.

It’s solid, unspectacular.

O’Neil’s Superman seems way too nonplussed too, given the sand-double and losing his powers.

Superman (1939) #234

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Ok, here’s where it’s a little hokey. Both stories actually (there’s another history of Krypton back-up, which has a goofy villain reveal at the end). O’Neil has Superman trying to stop a volcano, but he doesn’t want to trespass on the land to do so. While I kind of get O’Neil making it “real,” he also makes it absurd. The villain’s the landowner who’s shooting his fleeing employees… pretty sure, even in 1971, you weren’t allowed to murder disobedient employees.

Otherwise, it’s a solid enough story. The sand-Superman is really creepy, Superman worrying about doing his newscast while fighting the volcano is amusing (though there’s a big plot hole when he talks, as Superman, and he’s still got his news commentary microphone on).

Nice artwork. Lots of thought balloons again, this time explaining how Superman’s thought process for combating the volcano.

Unfortunately, the back-up’s pretty weak overall.

Superman (1939) #233

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What a pleasure it is to read a Superman comic book where he’s not supposed to be perpetually thirty-one or whatever goofy age DC pins on him. The more mature Clark Kent, here becoming a television personality as the Daily Planet goes through changes, brings something else to the comic. I hate to sound like Joe Quesada, but a married Superman has different sensibilities.

The superhero antics–opening with a Kryptonite event–are a lot less sensational than the modern comics–it’s Superman versus gangsters. Gangsters in jets, but gangsters. The real boon to these scenes is the artwork. Curt Swan’s action sequences are fantastic. Even with O’Neil’s tight script–somehow, he gives Superman a lot of thought balloons but never makes them overbearing–it’s Swan who makes the issue feel like an experience.

And then there’s even a cute backup story featuring Jor-El and Lara getting together.

Daredevil (1964) #223

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Jim Shooter co-wrote this issue (the first Secret Wars II crossover I’ve noticed him work on) and it shows. There’s a lot of idiotic nonsense about the Beyonder trying to buy the world legally. Of course, what lawyer to go to for help? Matt Murdock.

This issue might be my first Mazzucchelli Daredevil and, I have to say, I’m disappointed. It’s sort of Marvel style, but it’s also very retro. It looks like an old romance comic at times. The art’s fine and good and all, but I was expecting it to blow me away, it being Mazzucchelli after all.

The story itself is affecting, as Daredevil gets his sight back, but it’s way too short. Mazzucchelli creates some amazing moments, but they only last a page. If they’d stretched this one out to two issues, something, it would have been better.

Still, it’s an excellently produced comic book.

Iron Man (1968) #197

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I think, seeing the cover, I had this issue as a kid. I don’t remember any of it–it’s a bunch of electrical engineering mumbo jumbo after a certain point–but I certainly hope I didn’t like it. Marvel always prides itself on that shared universe idea, but this issue, despite some lip service, certainly doesn’t show it.

While Rhodey’s off fighting a Beyonder-powered supervillain (a disgruntled television writer–I guess doing a disgruntled comic book writer would have been too New York at this point), Tony’s worried about his ex-girlfriend. Instead of sending, I don’t know, the Avengers to help her, he goes himself and fails. Only then does he save the day for Rhodey, who isn’t smart enough to take out the villain alone.

Then there’s the painfully mediocre artwork and the bickering techie siblings.

It’s a painful read; Tony’s characterization as a jerk doesn’t help.