Weekly Geeky Question #41: A DC Extended Universe Gameplan

Every week in 2018, the plan is that my friend Rod is going to ask me some geeky question that will answer in a post. This week is Week #41, and this time around the question is the same as it was last time, because I didn’t finish it last time:

How would I save the DC Extended Universe (again)?

Weekly Geeky Question #28: Favorite Comic Book Villains

Every week in 2018, the plan is that my friend Rod is going to ask me some geeky question that will answer in a post. This week is Week #28, and this week’s question is a pretty straightforward one.

Who are my favorite comic book villains?

Re-Reading Crisis on Infinite Earths #10 & 11

And we’re now heading into the home stretch of the massive 1985 maxi-series, Crisis on Infinite Earths, written by Marv Wolfman and penciled by George Perez.   We last ended with the villains of five universes teaming up under the leadership of Brainiac and Luthor to take over the remaining earths in the multiverse, as everyone believes for the most part that the Anti-Monitor is no longer a threat.  Of course that’ll turn out not to be true!

In the final moments of the last issue, Brainiac was suddenly destroyed by Psimon, who wanted to take over this villainous cabal for himself…

What’s Black and White and Read All Over? – DC Showcase Presents Superman vol. 2

Going on to the next step of my examination of DC’s Showcase Presents editions (at least, the ones that I own), we proceed to Showcase Presents Superman, Volume 2 (click here for comments on Volume 1)

As I’ve stated previously, I enjoy these books, partially because I get a certain weird amount of fun out of reading the strange old days of DC’s Silver Age, and because I don’t mind the black and white.  Not only do I find it to be an acceptable trade-off for the ream of comics that I am getting, but also sometimes I find it strangely more rewarding to have to “plow through” the black and white art than to have it all fed to be me in normal color.  It’s almost like it gives the stories a classic feel, even in actuality they are silly and dated.

(Beware: some cheaply done image capturing ahead)

What’s Black and White and Read All Over? – DC Showcase Presents Superman vol. 1

For a number of years now, DC has been releasing their Showcase Presents line–500+ page soft-covers in glorious black and white, reprinting piles of comics in each volume, mostly from the 50’s and the 60’s, but then also from the 70’s and even the 80’s.  Some of the titles are long running series like Superman or Batman, while others are more obscure stuff  that might be done-in-one, like Bat-Lash or Atomic Knights.  For a continuity-junkie like myself, these books are a goldmine.  Or maybe more accurately, considering the low cover price, a zinc-mine.  The lack of color can be a little off-putting, but overall I find that a small pay-off for the benefit of having so many pages of story and art made available so affordable.

Last Stand of New Krypton vol. 2

The latter half of this penultimate chapter of the New Krypton saga keeps things moving in high gear as General Zod, Superman, Superboy, Supergirl, Mon-El, the Legion of Super-Heroes, and even Lex Luthor do battle with Brainiac. The upcoming war between New Krypton and Earth gets a few story beats, but the bulk of the action is focused on saving Kandor and the other bottled cities.  It’s good that the other bottled cities are part of the mix because otherwise the inevitable doom at the end of this epic would make this one feel like a bit of a waste of time.

Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Volume 3 • Part 3

Volume 3 of the Legion of Super-Heroes Archives finally concludes…

Superman: New Krypton vol. 1

A while ago, I decided to give the Superman mega-story, New Krypton, a real go.  And then more recently, 15 trade paperbacks later (plus 2 prologues), I have finally completed it.  So it’s been quite an investment.  Worth it?  Eh…it’s hard to say.  It’s not terrible by any means, though I can see it might have been a bit much to read it as it came out – and maybe it tries to deal with a few too many threads to really hold together as a solid story, but it’s interesting to see DC undertake such an ambitious arc.  So now I’m going to give it a quick re-read, starting with New Krypton vol. 1.

Truly All-Ages: Supergirl – Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade

As a comic book reader and fan, I regularly run into a particular quandary, and that’s the way that female characters are depicted.  Not just the roles they play in the stories, which can also be an issue, but especially the way they are drawn. 

Superman / Batman: Public Enemies

I just watched the original DC Comics animated movie Public Enemies – renting it off of iTunes for some light entertainment as I was traveling.  It’s based on the comic arc of the same name by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness, and made the opening storyline of what was then the new Superman / Batman ongoing title at the time.  Overall, I guess I enjoyed it in a stupid cartoon superhero sort of way, which I guess makes sense since that’s what it was.  There are some big flaws, which is similar to the comic it’s based on.