Superman American Alien

Superman: American Alien
by Max Landis and various artists

I've seen this on a number of suggested reading lists, and it sounded interesting, so I gave this compilation of the mini-series a try. It's a wonderful story re-imagining Superman's origin story, with the focus on key points in Clark Kent's life as he discovers his powers at a young age and slowly grows into becoming Superman. In this version, he doesn't know he's from a planet called Krypton, and his friends and at least some of the people in Smallville, most notably, the sheriff, know he's super-powered. As a teenager, he encounters Oliver Queen when he's mistaken for the almost never seen, rich playboy Bruce Wayne. As a journalism student/Daily Planet intern, he meets Lois Lane and gets to interview both Lex Luthor and a young Dick Grayson, new ward of Bruce Wayne. And during it all, he comes to terms with his abilities. It feels like a smaller, more personal story than Busiek's "Secret Identity." That story also hit on key points of Clark's life, but more clearly had a larger story in mind, as Clark had to grapple with trying to keep his privacy in a world that sought to understand and control him. That story also benefited from one artist handling each chapter. While I liked all the art in this one, the change of artist from chapter to chapter -- or issue to issue -- is jarring, and disruptive to the narrative flow. At times, it didn't seem to be one long story, but more a series of vignettes, which is fine, but a bit less than it could have been.

I really enjoyed this, but I don't think it quite lives up to hype. This Clark seemed to not be as serious, as earnest, as dedicated as the Clark I know and love and during so much of the story, I didn't feel as if I really knew him. His journey to maturity is worth reading, but I'll admit I was hoping for something a bit more.

Another Reason I'm Not Happy with DC

Superman and Wonder Woman. Together. As in an affair. With sex. That might or might not be seen.

Seriously? This is gonna be the big storyline next up for the new 52? Or as I prefer, the DCnU.  This might excite some people, but for this middle-aged chick who grew up with Superman and Lois Lane and loved the idea that he could and did love a mere mortal woman who none the less proved herself over the decades to be a worthy role model, the marriage of Clark and Lois was the culmination of the great comics romance and when the DCnU broke up that marriage, it was the first sign I was not going to like much in DC Comics, anymore.

I could understand if this is a fling, and after, Supes realizes it'll never work and he goes back to trying to win over Lois and Diana realizes it'll never work because she doesn't need a man permanently in her life. Or something like that. But the love match had been teased even when I was a kid, so I guess it was inevitable that they do it for real.

This disturbed me, though:

"The creative team believes the heroes are right for each other. She’s a mythic Amazonian warrior; he’s a veritable demigod. Both have huge hearts for mankind, yet also feel estranged from humanity. Relationships with civilians are tricky for caped crusaders, even liabilities."

Right, sure. Never mind that Kal/Clark came to Earth as a baby and was raised by Earth humans. (That is still canon, right?) Not to mention that that's all it takes to be perfect for each other. Apparently, something horrible is going to happen in the DCnU next week that will drive them to "seek solace" with each other, because, yeah, that's how the best, strongest relationships develop. When did the DCnU become a soap opera?

And this:

"This isn’t to say that fans will understand or support the hook-up. In fact, Johns and Lee expect some outcry and certainly some debate. Actually, they’re counting on it.  'Hopefully this will raise a lot of eyebrows,' Lee says. “We welcome the watercooler chatter."

Really? That's what's driving DC now? Being controversial, getting people to talk about their comics as if they were TV shows like Dallas or Mad Men? Ok-kay. Well, I never worked with anyone who was a comics reader so water cooler talk was never an option, and I would rather have talked about how good the stories were and the art and not about how bold DC was or how much they were pissing me off. Just sayin'.

I hope this romance doesn't impact Batwoman and Nightwing and World's Finest, the main DCnU books I'm reading.

I am so not the demographic they're looking for or care about. I haven't felt this depressed about DC since they offed Lian Harper.

Y'know, I hope this works for DC. I hope this leads to lots more attention and sales and helps make them a healthy, viable component of the mothership, Warners. I'm just one reader in a decided minority, I guess, and they sure don't need me to be buying 35 or so comics a month, anymore. The 5 or 6 DCs I do buy makes me even less noticeable by them. So be it. I'm not important to them. I got that message years ago.

The End of the Super Marriage is Big News

The NY Daily News had something to say about Superman in the DCnU. Just reading the two pages that have been circulating all over the comics blogosphere today, I've got to say: I can't go through this again. I've read Clark as dweeb for so many years, decades, even. And while I don't read all the Superman books, I was thrilled that good guy Clark finally got the woman of his dreams. I really don't want to read all that angst until he wins her over, again.

I get that it's new to a lot of people. I get that the younger writers are itching to write it. Don't mean I gotta read it. And I won't.

Superman and Lois Lane

I left this comment on this post, and thought I'd repeat it here.

One thing I love about Superman and Lois being married is that it shows a nice, happy marriage, which is a rare thing in comics. They're partners in every sense. The only other DC marriage that worked as well IMO is the one with the couple already married (and I sure do miss Ralph and Sue Dibny!) Even Barry and Iris doesn't have the dynamic that Superman and Lois have. 

The other thing I love about Superman and Lois being married is that it fits perfectly with his ideals and with his upbringing. He grew up in a loving home with the Kents. He witnessed a near perfect marriage firsthand. It makes sense for him to want that and when he meets Lois, he finds his lifemate/soulmate. It makes sense for them to be married.

Marriage does not have to be a jump the shark event. It just takes good writers to write a loving partnership and the Superman writers for the most part have done a great job with it.

And because it's Father's Day, the last time Roy and Lian were together...

Roy and Lian

This is how I remember them. This is always how I'll remember them. Roy Harper went through a lot in his life and it was discovering he was a father that finally gave him the purpose and stability he needed and craved. Here's to fathers everywhere, especially my own, on Father's Day.

In the "real" DCU, Lian is still alive and Roy is happily raising her. The current DCU is an alternate reality and the upcoming DCU is merely another alternate reality. I'd love to have this DCU back, but I know that['s probably impossible. I can hope only that a better DCU will be along in another year or so after the upcoming one crashes and burns. A gal can hope, right? ;)

Nostalgia Lane

My long boxes aren't long for this world, so before they fall completely apart, I'm swapping them out for corrugated plastic short boxes which will fit in my bedroom closet (the long boxes don't and I'm running out of room for them, anyway). I'm working on the box with Justice Society comics, including anything related to the old Earth-2 JSA and Infinity, Inc. And the comic pictured here is one of my favorites. It's an Earth-1 Superman comic, but this story features the wedding of Earth-2's Superman and Lois Lane. In light of the death of those characters in Infinite Crisis, it seemed appropriate to post this homage to the first Superman and Lois. The date? June 1978.