Action Comics and its Legion of Superheroes storyline continues to shine its latest issue, number 862. Picking up from the cliffhanger that we left with in 861, issue 862 brings in some of my favorite ancillary Legion characters. They are the Legion of Substitute heroes.

For the unaware, the Legion of Superheroes regularly audition new heroes for membership in the legion. The minimum requirements are that each hero must have at least one superpower and it must be inborn. The Legionnaires only pick the best and most useful powers and heroes for membership. As you can imagine this results in a great deal of disappointment. However, a small group of interviewees who were rejected did not want to give up the opportunity to become a superhero and instead formed the Legion of Substitute Heroes. Their idea was that when the main Legion was preoccupied with the latest global crisis and a new dangerous situation arose they would “sub” for Legion.

Some of the most entertaining substitute Legionnaires are Stone Boy and Chlorophyll kid. Stone Boy posseses the power to make himself nearly invulnerable but he loses the ability to move while doing so! Chlorophyll kid can make plants grow really fast. Though these powers may seem useless, the subs always find a way to make them work to their advantage.

Anyway, the story in this issue is that as that the Legion is getting close to zero hour for intergalactic warfare, Superman suggests calling in the Substitute Legionaires. Together the subs and the primary Legion members have a final confrontation with Earth boy and his psychotic cronies. Success will be difficult with Superman have almost no powers left because of the sun becoming red.

One of the best highlights of this issue was one scene in which Earth Boy tries to wrap Superman in his own cape. Superman pulls the cape away and then says “Don’t tug.” Also, the cliffhanger ending was very cool too and featured an awesome and appropriate use of the Legion flight ring.

As usual, the artwork by Gary Frank is top notch in the issue. However, the cover for me is a bit of a miss. There’s not a lot going on in the page and I think the composition isn’t very interesting or strong.

However! Don’t judge a book by its cover. Action Comics is good right now and worth picking up.

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The first issue of Kick-Ass, the new comic by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. proudly proclaims “The greatest superhero book of all time is finally here.” However, after reading the issue one is left ponder, how is this the greatest superhero book of all time? Also, what exactly is so “kick-ass” about it?

Mark Millar continues the same theory he explored within the page of the mega-crossover event “Civil War” I.E. that to be a superhero, the least important thing is the possesion of powers. Professional training, focus, and determination are key. However, the biggest key is to know what you are actually doing. The consequences of being over your head are made clear right from the opening in which a would-be hero tries to wing glide off of a new york skyscraper. Needless to say, he fails and falls to his death. Dave Lizewski, our protagonist doesn’t fair much better as we see him tortured early on in the issue.

Dave is much like Peter Parker, a nerdy unliked high student, and I wonder is Kick-Ass is some sort of demented (I use demented in an affectionate way that other readers of Mark Millar’s work will understand) love-letter to Spider-man. My only complaint is that the issue features too much failure and disappointment in the efforts of the Dave Lizewski to actually feel as “Kick-Ass” as all the quotes on the back and the blurb on the front claim it to be. I mean, there is quote from Damon Lindelof (from Lost) on the back cover that exclaims, “Reading this book made me want to dress in spandex and fight crime.” I’m baffled. Where is all the excitement about watching a high school kid get beaten up coming from? I’m still on board for the next issue and hopefully the book will become a bit more compelling by then.

John Romita Jr’s artwork is fun in simplistic kind of way. By no means is it the best work I’ve seen him do, but there are several pages in which I enjoy the artwork quite a bit. Dave and his friends (who are comic book nerds) at school are drawn in a very expressive and entertaining way.

I’ll try to keep you updated as I read more of Ass-Kicked comics…errr Kick-Ass I mean.

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I figured I should chime in with my opinion on the comic series “Countdown” or as it is now titled “Countdown to Final Crisis. ” For those who are not familiar with this series, Countdown is a weekly series which is composed of 52 issues counting down to zero. Allegedly the series was supposed to serve as the spine to the D.C. comics universe. The concept of a 52 issue weekly year long comic is an encore of a previous series called 52. On the whole, Countdown has been a serious dull and uninspired comic.

Now, issue 12 continues this trend of mediocrity. It opens with a rather disappointing and unattractive cover and goes downhill from there. While the villainous character Darkseid using his eyebeams to blow things up is fun to look at, it is however uninteresting to see him blasting a chess set to pieces.

The story of the main issue intercuts between several characters who are all drawn to and teleported to the planet Apokolips, the home of Darkseid. The whole issue reeks of the author’s artificial manipulations of the characters to get them where they need to be for the final act of the series. It’s hardly enjoyable to read a story in which the author’s hand is so visible and working independent of the story and character motivations.

Highlight of Awfulness:

The single page in which the reader discovers that the all the banter between the two villains Pied Piper and Trickster was more than just homophobic back and forth. Yes, well they decided to out Pied Piper and make the character gay. Gay and Lesbian superheroes and villains seem to be the new hot thing and this feels like Countdown jumping on the bandwagon. Ideally, we’re supposed to feel some sort of poignancy from the fact that Piper is coming out now that Trickster is dead. Also notice the worst drawing of Darkseid I’ve ever seen in a mainstream comic.

There are also several other revelations within the issue besides the Pied Piper one, but I’m at the point in which I don’t really care anymore. If you’re not already reading Countdown (In which case you won’t understand what I’ve been writing about this whole time), don’t start.

Ok, that’s all I got on this one. Next time I’ll try to review something I like.

P.S. There’s a new D.C. weekly series called Trinity, which will hopefully be better. It focuses on Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman and is drawn by Mark Bagley.

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I just barely read the death of Alfred. No, don’t worry. It wasn’t in any recently released comics. It was in my Showcase Presents Batman trade paperback that I’m currently reading. I had never realized that way way way back in the 60s they bumped off Alfred. The story goes that while on a mission, he believes he needs to save Batman and Robin from danger and he rides in on a motorcycle and pushes Batman and Robin out of the way of a falling boulder. In the process of saving them he then is crushed to death by said boulder! How could they? How could they kill off Alfred? I don’t know about you, but he was always one of my favorite characters. To matters worse, they introduce the character of Aunt Harriet to replace him. yes, that Aunt Harriet: the annoying aunt from the tv series.

However, I do have two amusing things to gleen from this tragedy. After Alfred’s death Bruce Wayne sets up a charitable foundation. Was this foundation called “The Pennyworth Foundation?” No, it’s the “Alfred Foundation.” You know, like if my friend Matt died, I’d set up the “Matt Foundation” so everyone would know it’s named after him (/sarcasm).

Also, looking at the wikipedia entry on Alfred I found this:

“The Pre-Crisis comics (i.e., comics published by DC Comics between 1938 and 1986) established Alfred as a retired actor and intelligence agent who followed the deathbed wish of his dying father, Jarvis, to carry on the tradition of serving the Wayne family.”

That’s right! Jarvis! I knew all butlers were connected. Jarvis, the Avengers butler is Alfred’s dad…somehow. Apparently this is true in post-crisis continuity too. But if Jarvis is dead how can he be alive to serve the Avengers? I don’t know. Maybe they can resolve this in Final Crisis.

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I had picked up a few random issues of Action Comics, most notably the “Escape From Bizarro World” storyline. I’d enjoyed what I read and eventually decided I wanted to pick up the title regularly. Action comics 861 is my first comic I received when I started ordering Action Comics. While I found myself jumping into the middle of a storyline, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the story. Written by Geoff Johns and art by Gary Frank.

Gary Frank is an artist whose work I had never encountered previously. However, I’ve got to admit that I really really digged his artwork. First of all, if you look at the cover, you’ll notice how much it rocks. While some of the pages of the issue contain figures that look poorly proportioned and a little strange, on the whole all the drawings look very nice. Frank’s style lends an element of weight and realism to the characters. The characters clothing seems as if it sits upon their muscles and bones, which are also clearly defined. There are also folds, shadows, and other details which are either absent from other artists drawings (or even worst misued). There seems to be quite a bit of attention to anatomy.

Geoff Johns’s story also harkens back to old silver age Legion stories in which the Legion of Superheroes send a time sphere back to get Superboy in the past to combat some crisis in the future. Many of the same legion members I’ve read about in my “Showcase Presents Legion of Superheroes” are there, which is a real treat too. Also included are newer characters I’m not familiar with like Wildfire and Dawnstar, who are also very cool. Needless to say, I look forward to more issues and will have to keep my eye on Gary Frank since his artwork is so pleasing to the eye.

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“Torso” is a graphic novel by Brian Michael Bendis telling the tale of the hunt for the real life “Torso Killer” who operated in Cleveland, Ohio in the 1930s. I picked up the book as part of my shipment from Instock Trades and thoroughly enjoyed it. Bendis is a writer who I’ve been reading a lot of lately because he is the “it” writer at Marvel right now. He spent a long time doing a run on “Daredevil,” which I thoroughly enjoyed, and he’s currently writing “New Avengers.” I find his “New Avengers” stuff to be hit or miss mostly. I’ve also listened to quite a few interviews with him on various podcasts around the internet. He’s an artist and writer I’ve been aware of for some time and through that familiarity I decided to try his indy book, “Torso.”

In “Torso,” Brian Michael Bendis also picked up the artistic chores on the book. I dig the artwork in Torso quite a bit. Bendis illustrates his book in a high contrast style using deep black shadows to create a mood. He also inserts in the book photographs from historical records of the case. The use of photos (which are black and white like the artwork) is not jarring or disturbing to the reading experience. They’re nicely integrated into the work. I really appreciate the simplicity of the artwork and how Bendis is able to break down each character into simple straightforward characteristics. For example, you can always identify Ness by the part in his hair or Detective Myrlo by the angle of his hat.

For the most part, the I have no complaints about the artwork but I feel I should mention a few minor criticisms. The use of the benday dots at the beginnings and endings of chapters didn’t feel like it fit into the book very well for me. The artwork had this human feel to it and the dots bring in this digital, mechanical feel. It just doesn’t sit very well with me. Also, I’ve said it before on my Cerebus review and I’ll say it here again. I don’t really enjoy when the artist makes me turn the book on its end just to keep reading a page. Bendis has several pages where the art and dialogue are presented in a circular composition. Basically, I have to keep rotating the entire trade paperback to read those pages. It’s more of an annoyance than anything else.

The writing in “Torso” is excellent. The book is full of the usual quick Bendis dialogue which is always amusing. It’s obvious to me that Brian Michael Bendis also spent considerable time researching the history of the Torso murderer in Cleveland. His book is enough to make me want to go out and seek more information on the subject. I’ve always been fascinated by Eliot Ness and I think Bendis’s book will encourage me to go out and buy Ness’s “Untouchables.” Frankly, “Torso” is an excellent crime story and if you enjoy such works, I suggest you go out and get it.

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It is not often that I make a foray into buying independent books, which I know little or nothing about. As those of you who have followed my postings on this blog know, the indy books I have discussed here have garnered a plethora of excellent reviews prior to my considering them. Examples of this are “Cerebus” by Dave Sim and “Blankets” by Craig Thompson. With “Lexian Chronicles” I picked something I had known close to nothing about. I had heard the name dropped by Chuck Satterlee during his interview on Comic Geek Speak, and saw the trade had an attractive cover, but other than that I was heading into uncharted territory!

So what was the result? “Lexian Chronicles” was alright. The interior artwork was not really my taste and I found the storytelling to not be particularly gripping. I don’t regret buying the book, since it was a decent experience. however.

The artwork is done by Inaki Miranda. On the whole the artwork is kind of Mr. Miranda’s riff on anime style (Note: I’m assuming by a review I read that Inaki Miranda is male, if I’m incorrect, I apologize). Reena has large eyes and many of the male characters have the large boots which is typical of the style. Unfortunately some of the male characters have really bizarre looking hairstyles. The worst offender is probably Reena’s father, whose hair is slicked back horizontally in a gravity-defying style. With all the conquering and fighting he does, it is impressive he finds the time to put enough product in his hair to shape his hair so it flows horizontally from the back of his head. Also, many of the male characters are burly enough to make any Olympic lifter look like a pipsqueak. Their heights vary from six foot six to 7 feet tall. I’m not really trying to nitpick Miranda’s artwork, but all the strange proportions and hairstyles serve only to pull me out the book. They are very distracting. I understand that the men in “The Lexian Chronicles” are supposed to be big and intimidating, but they don’t all have to look like the Hulk, do they?

Now, it should be mentioned that “Lexian Chronicles” the comic book is based on a novel by Harry Gallan. The person handling the adaptation is Chris Bunting. I have never read the novel, so I do not who is to blame for the rather uneventful and plodding story in “The Lexian Chronicles.” The trade entitled “Full Circle” collects the first five issues of the series. After reading all five issues I cannot but help feel that nothing really happened. It was mostly large chunks of exposition and flashbacks which merely set the stage for the events yet to come. Five Issues of setting the stage! Come on. Now, maybe I’ve been reading a little too much silver age one and done issues, but I do not think it unreasonable for something to happen in that much time.

The book opens with the skinny, blond heroine, Reena, being teased by some of the other children and then quickly flashes back to when she was a baby. Her father, Koss, and her mother, carrying baby Reena, are walking through the woods when they are ambushed by the Vulture tribe (the only short male characters in the book). Koss is quickly incapacitated and his wife is murdered. Before their assailants can do anything else, Samm of the Lion tribe, saves Koss and baby Reena. Vowing revenge, Koss begins to conquer all the neighboring tribes, with Samm’s help, and unite them all under his rule. The land is then at peace until the return of the vicious Leopard tribe.

The biggest issue I had was that I was not sure I really empathized with Koss. While yes it is terrible to have one’s wife murdered, does it really justify making war with tribe after tribe and creating countless refugees, who are exiled from the land? It seems to me that Koss’s problems with the return of the Leopard tribe are self-inflicted. If he had tried to make a little more like a peacemaker and less like Napoleon, then maybe his tribe would have more friends than enemies. Reena and many others in the tribe seem to be paying for Koss’s past mistakes.

“The Lexian Chronicles” was only $9.75 through Instock Trades. At that price, it was worth it. While it is not as good as any many of the comics I have been reading recently, it is a decent bargain priced book. Check it out, if it sounds interesting.

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