DC Universe: Legacies (2010) #10

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The story ends before Infinite Crisis, with an OMAC showing up and attacking the narrator. The narrator’s nurse at the assisted living place ends the issue suggesting he’s full of crap, which ends Legacies on a decidedly negative note. Not because the reader would believe he’s a loon, but because it’s such a mundane thing, being elderly and dismissed. It’s a defeat. What’s the point of getting all excited about the superheroes if the elderly are being dismissed in the DC Universe? What, is Superman going to deal with nuclear proliferation next?

Saiz only handles a handful of pages then Derenick takes over. It must be at that point DC finally stopped pretending they cared about Legacies being a professional job. Derenick’s expressions get hilarious at times.

The backup is an Infinite Crisis prologue with Blue Beetle. Nice Frank art, I guess, but totally useless.

Kind of like the series.

Supergirl (2005) #59

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All writers have limits… and it’s too bad Gates’s limit is writing Cat Grant as a likable human being. He just can’t do it. He tries and tries here, but he ends up making Superwoman more likable than Cat. It’s a strange disconnect. There’s just something so hateful about her, he’s gone beyond a point where he can even bring a glimmer of humanity to her.

That statement made, it’s a wonderful issue. It’s a Christmas issue, ending up in Smallville (it’s hard to tell Kara’s supposed to be the one in the glasses—I thought they were still drawing Ma Kent with blonde hair or something). Gates and Igle get in the action, they get in some drama….

They wrap things up beautifully (it’s their last issue). It’s really too bad they didn’t get a chance to do the comic, instead getting stuck with crossover tripe.

Still, lovely work.

Supergirl (2005) #58

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Gates really humanizes Cat Grant here (I didn’t know she had a dead son, for example) and it comes a little late. If he’d done it earlier, she wouldn’t have seemed so shrill. Besides that delay in characterizing, it’s a good issue.

Igle does a great job with Supergirl, as usual, but something about his approach is a little different. This issue is the first in forever not to be laden with New Krypton scenery or props; it gives Igle a chance just to do the superhero stuff and he does it really well.

Gates’s pacing is a little off too, I suppose. He’s going for dramatic emphasis more than content.

Oh, now I remember how this issue ends… with Lois going to visit her psychopathic sister. It’s undoubtedly a setup for something, but it takes the issue away from Supergirl and Cat.

Regardless, it’s a good little Christmas issue.

Supergirl (2005) #56

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It’s amazing how much I enjoy Supergirl even though the issues read so fast. Gates never leaves the Bizzaro planet this issue either, so there’s no subplot development.

It does open a little weak, with Supergirl telling the unconscious Bizarro-Girl helping her will be a cathartic experience (not in those exact words, but close enough). Gates doesn’t know how to do subtle self-reflection. It’s not a superhero comic standard for a reason—there just isn’t room for it.

But once Supergirl and Bizzaro-Girl land, the issue just gets excellent. There’s space bugs, the DC version of Galactus (oh, wait, didn’t he have bugs in Ultimate Nightmare?) and Bizarro. Gates takes the reader on an abbreviated tour of the planet and its population, which is just a lot of fun (even though some of them don’t make it). It’s strangely good-natured.

And Igle’s art is rather excellent.

Supergirl (2005) #54

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Besides one glaring problem (implying there’s a supernatural pedophile out there posing as a Metropolis cop and kidnapping kids), this issue of Supergirl is a great read. It’s a fast read too—really fast, but it all works.

Well, wait… more Cat Grant lameness as she discovers Supergirl and Lana’s relationship/ DC’s unable to produce good new villains.

The issue opens with Jimmy Olsen discovering Bizarro-Girl in a good sequence (so good Gates should do an Olsen series of some kind) then finds Kara (or Linda) moping while Metropolis gets destroyed. Lana has to call her up to motivate her and the scene works well enough. Gates is able to pull it off because the reader wants to see Supergirl in action, not moping. So he gets some slack.

Then there’s a strange one page panel where she pauses to enjoy flying before saving the city.

But, otherwise, great.

Supergirl (2005) #53

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It’s an issue of Supergirl without a bunch of crossover stuff? I mean, there’s still some crossover stuff (and apparently they’re keeping Lucy Lane alive because Superwoman’s just a great villain… eye-roll) but it’s mostly just Lana and Kara talking. Wait, Linda. She wants to be Linda Lang now.

I had to go read up on Wikipedia how the “New Krypton” thing finished up. It’s surprising, with such an iconic cover, the series is totally unconcerned with picking up new readers.

There’s some good stuff between Linda and Lana, but Gates can’t keep it up when he’s got Linda refusing to help people as Supergirl. It’s just too contrived, too forced.

As for his small Metropolis (Dr. Light is testing Superwoman, then goes and discovers the mystery villain), it doesn’t work either. Gates brings charm to Supergirl, but he doesn’t bring charm to the DC Universe as a whole.

Supergirl (2005) #51

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Poor, poor Supergirl. Once again, trapped in a crossover she didn’t make, she takes a back seat to Mon-El, the Legion of Super-Heroes (wait, Mon-El’s in the Legion, right… well, he’s not with them this issue), her mother, General Zod and some cute little Kryptonian girl.

Igle gets to do an action issue, which he handles well. He gets to do some iconic panels too and he likes those… shame they are only occasionally Supergirl-related.

Very little actually happens in the issue, which is probably editorially mandated. It goes… fight scene, fight scene, talking scene, fight scene, talking scene, talking scene.

I made that list from memory, but I think it’s accurate.

Gates also doesn’t sell the silly plot points, like when Supergirl momentarily thinks Superboy is trying to kill her mother or something.

And Supergirl’s mother’s a dimwit for not realizing Zod is a bad guy.

Supergirl (2005) #50

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Yay, Igle’s back. And he’s back for an issue where Gates gets around to doing everything.

Unfortunately, Superwoman and Sam Lane are back too. Apparently one can never get rid of Johns’s worst ideas for the Superman line of books. There’s a great moment where it seems like Lane might dissect his daughter. Then he doesn’t.

But the rest of the issue, featuring the return of the Insect Queen (Lana Lang) and Supergirl defeating her, is good. There’s even some Supergirl knows science stuff, which Gates doesn’t make a big deal about.

The end is pretty sad though. Supergirl abandons a recovered Lana because she doesn’t like the way human families work. It’s a great scene, great art from Igle, but a downer.

Then there’s a backup from Black and Slater, basically doing a little recap of Supergirl’s history. It’s got Cliff Chiang artwork so it’s beautiful.

Overall, excellent issue.

Supergirl (2005) #46

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I love not reading the other parts of this crossover, it makes my brain work a little to catch up. Rucka’s back as co-writer here (and Igle and Sibal get help from Pansica and Ferreira). Again, no idea what Rucka does and doesn’t do. Similarly, Pansica matches Igle (especially with Sibal on inks) close enough it’s hard to tell them apart. There were some pages I really liked, reminding me of Igle before Sibal… then I realized it could be Pansica and Ferreira.

Anyway, Gates and Rucka manage the action versus plot development well here. There’s also a nice tip of the hat to–oh, wait, no, complete rip-off of–“Battlestar Galactica” when it comes to everyone finding out the gods are real.

Still, it packages well. And Lois finally has something to do in this issue. Though she’s not surprised at all her father’s a mass murderer.

Supergirl (2005) #45

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And now it’s in the middle of another crossover… I love it when comic book publishers are hostile to casual readers.

Umm. Rucka co-writes here. Not sure what contributions he made.

From what I can tell, the world now knows Sam Lane is alive and he’s a hero and the Kryptonians (Superman included?) are the villains.

Does anyone else remember the nineties, when you had to read every Superman title just to understand what was going on? It’s very similar. Except they don’t have flashy hologram covers. The nineties stuff was probably a little better in some ways; at least it was the first time they’d done it in that manner.

Again, Sibal’s inks hurt Igle’s pencils. Especially on Kara’s cat.

Gates gets in a good scene with Lana Lang and almost a good one with Lois. The Lois one is undercooked.

Unfortunately, getting through this issue is trying.