All-Star Superman

/ / Home Video
  • Title: All-Star Superman
  • IMDb: link

Based on the comic of the same name by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely All-Star Superman gives us the world’s first super-hero in his final days. Lex Luthor (Anthony LaPaglia) has finally won. He’s found a way to slowly kill the Man of Steel, but the last son of Krypton isn’t going to go away quietly.

The movie begins with Superman‘s (James Denton) overexposure to the Sun’s radiation and follows a series of adventures in his final days including fighting with the Parasite, dealing with newly arrived survivors of Krypton, and finally admiring the truth to Lois Lane (Christina Hendricks).

The straight-to-DVD film is a good adaptation of the original series, but does make some changes to the story. We don’t get Jimmy Olsen / Doomsday story or Superman’s adventure to Bizarro World, and Krypto, sadly, finds himself on the cuttting-room floor as well.

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Supergirl #61

/ / Comics

supergirl-61-coverBetter watch out Damian, you wouldn’t want Red Robin to find out you got saved by Supergirl. Although I’m still on the fence with Bernard Chang’s art, I’m always glad to see a team-up with Supergirl and Robin. I can hardly wait until Batgirl gets brought in to this story arc and the fun can really begin.

After fighting off her own gang of super-villains, who appear and disappear without a trace, Kara travels to Gotham to save Robin from the same fate. And if that’s not enough for you there’s a touching (if slightly forced) moment between Lois Lane and Supergirl that goes further in validating Kara than any super-villain knockdown ever could.

There are a couple of nagging issues here (the most obvious being the continuity issue surrounding Blue Beetle‘s involvement in this story), but it is FUN and a far cry from the dreary story arcs the character was stuck in just a few months ago. Definitely worth a look.

[DC $2.99]

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Darkwing Duck #9

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After a brief meeting with an image consultant in an attempt to clean up his image after the army of Darkwings helped demolish large sections of St. Canard. Next up for our hero: an unlikely team-up with an agent of F.O.W.L.

Things must really be bleak if Steelbeak is willing to turn on his own criminal organization and befriend the duck who has thwarted his criminal enterprises for years. So what could be so awful, so unthinkable? F.O.W.L. has decided to use dark magic to bring forth… Duckthulhu!

Okay, I’ll grant you that this isn’t a great idea for a story, but I actually enjoyed Darkwing Duck and Steelbeak together on the same side, and the plot for this story arc (even if it makes me groan) does allow this to happen. It also gives us a chance for a harebrained scheme and the pair behind overwhelmed by an army of Eggmen.

Throw in the funny opening with the Duck Draper (which goes over as badly as you’d expect) as well as the reactions of both Gosalyn and Morgana Macawber to being taken for granted, and there’s more than enough here that’s worth a look.

[BOOM $3.99]

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The Devaluation of a Hero

/ / Comics

The Silver Surfer is one of my favorite Marvel characters. Sometimes I lement that he goes long stretches without a monthly comic on his own, but then I take solace in the understanding that not everyone can write a good Silver Surfer story. And when the character is done poorly it’s excruciating to read. Take this comic as an example.

Writer Greg Pak’s “Devolution’ strips Marvel’s most noble hero of his adamantium skin and then shoots him several times in the chest. Honestly, I can’t imagine a worse Silver Surfer story, and I’ve read Ron Marz‘s take on the character. And we’ve got four more issues!

Pak’s writing comes off like someone who has read Silver Surfer stories in the past but didn’t understand them. In essence what he’s done here is given the Surfer the Michael Bay Transformers treatment. (And if you find a way to take that as a positive I hate you.)

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