Superman 80 Page Giant 2011 Review
Feb 23Originally published on 02/04/2011 by cxPulp.com. Read and comment on this article here!
Reviewer: Craig Reade
Quick Rating: Entertaining without strings
An anthology of stories featuring several Superman supporting characters.
Written by: Beau Tidwell, Neil Kleid, Abhay Khosla, Steve Horton, Phil Tobin, Colleen Coover, Aubrey Sitterson
Pencils by: CAFU, Dean Haspiel, Andy McDonald, Dave McDaid, Eddie Barrows, Amilcar Pinna
Color by: Santiago Arcas, Joe Infurnari, Chris Beckett, Dave McDaid, Chris Bacjett, Rod Reis
Ink by: Bit, Dave McDaid, JP Mayer
Letters by: Sal Cipriano, John J. Hill, Patrick Brosseau, John Hill
Cover by: Nustin Nguyen
Editor: Wil Moss, Sean Ryan
Publisher: DC Comics
The first story looks like a follow-up to Action Comics Annual #10 and the Johns/Donner penned stories. Jor-El is seen here attempting to break into the Science Council’s Ore Processing Plant to get a sample of Krypton’s core, to help prove his theories about the planets pending demise. Non’s history with Jor-El is mentioned a few times, and we get a fast action-based story in which Jor-El eventually has to flee for his life. This was a pretty good story to lead with – it was exciting, well told, and the art was fantastic.
The next story finds Wildcat and Perry White sharing a drink in a bar, reminiscing about a scene in the past where a young Perry is watching a charity boxing match between Ted Grant and Jim Harper – the Guardian. They also spend some time talking about their sons, and find that their problems are very similar. The art was kind of odd – I wasn’t really a fan of the style Haspiel used to draw the faces, but his layout was phenomenal.
The third story is a day in the life of Jimmy Olsen. He’s been cloned dozens of times, and he and Superman spend the day tracking down his unstable clones, finding out what they did on the last day of their lives. And in true Jimmy Olsen fashion, some of the stories are quite incredible. This one wrapped up kind of as you would expect, and it was pretty fun to see all the different ways Jimmy Olsen might spend his last day.
The fourth story was a Bizarro tale – this was probably the weakest story in the entire issue. The art was kind of a mess – and while I know Bizzaro-speak can be somewhat difficult, it didn’t seem like Horton had a handle on it at all – he was all over the place.
The fifth story brings us to Supergirl, in a classic Superman secret identity moment (“Clark, where are you? Superman was just…). Only this one has her gaining a boyfriend at the beginning of it, and losing him by the end. Pretty solid through and through.
Next we get a Lois Lane story, where a lost credit card and a bet with Lana Lang gets her into an investigation right into the heart of Intergang. This was a great Lois Lane story – and one of the reasons her marriage to Clark works so well. This story was a lot of fun, and probably the best story in the entire issue.
The final story was a standard “We Kents know how to raise a superpowered boy” tale featuring Superboy – who tangles with a werewolf kid named Creighton when he goes out to blow off some steam. It’s doesn’t exactly cover new ground – but it is solid for what it is. Personally, I’d have picked the Lois Lane story to be the closer, but that might just be me.
Overall, I really enjoyed this issue. Every story with the exception of the Bizarro story was solid and fun, with few continuity strings attached. The art varied throughout the issue, some more impressive than other, but in every case (with the exception of the Bizarro story) the art was at least good enough to carry the story, if not improve on it. This is basically 2 and a half issues for $6 – and I think it was worth the price.
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