Bin Fodder - Superman for All Seasons

Welcome to this week’s edition of Bin Fodder!  Today I’m going in a new direction and diverging from my previous posts that dealt specifically in the realm of independent comics.  That’s right, I’m going mainstream.  And what better way to do it than with the oldest and greatest comic book hero in the world, Superman?

With such a grand legacy to the character it was important, for my purposes and the true nature and idea of what this ongoing feature is all about, to pick a storyline that wasn’t so engrained in the continuity of the title.  Additionally, this allowed me to choose a story that isn’t necessarily so mainstream either.  Granted, Superman: For All Seasons is written by Jeph Loeb with art by Tim Sale, a duo who have teamed up on a number of epic stories; Batman: The Long Halloween comes to mind.

This is Superman with a twist.  Unlike traditional stories or adventures it’s not told from the perspective of the hero himself or purely through the dialogue of the scenes as they play out.  Each comic in the four-part miniseries is told from a different perspective.  

Courtesy of DC Comics

Issue one, titled Spring, has Pa Kent playing the role of narrator.  This is really interesting and gives the reader insight into the mind of a character not usually used with regularity (outside the sometimes overbearing role of Mr. Kent on the television show Smallville).  The issue focuses on the time leading up to when Clark left home to Metropolis en route to becoming Superman.  It shows how the Kents struggled with understanding their son’s miraculous powers and how a young Clark Kent struggled to understand what he was capable of and how even he, the would-be man of steel, was humbled in his youth.

Courtesy of DC Comics

Issue two, titled Summer, is set with Lois Lane as the narrator.  The issue really delves into the psyche of someone who loves and adores Superman not just as an idea but as a man, a super man.  She freely admits that she’s lost perspective when it comes to the Man of Steel.  Her objectivity has been compromised by a caped new-age prince charming who, instead of riding a white steed and wearing a crown of gold, flies through the skies under his own power and has a crown of perfectly coiffed hair. 

Courtesy of DC Comics

Issue three, titled Fall, sees the villainy pick-up with Lex Luthor as thenarrator.  It’s well known that Luthor is Superman’s ultimate villain: smart and cunning, rich and powerful.  It’s quite intriguing to see the world of Superman through the eyes of its truest villain.  He views the city of Metropolis as his own, as like a woman he’s invested his life in and built up from nothing to being the jewel of the world.  Superman is a threat to all that he has struggled to achieve and Luthor sets out to destroy him.  Luthor creates a plague that affects all the people of Metropolis.  They are all dying and only he has the cure.  His plan is to leave Superman in a world without fanfare, without people to scream his name and cheer his accomplishments.  The illness doesn’t affect Superman and when he approaches Luthor regarding help to cure it, at the behest of S.T.A.R. Labs, Superman is confronted by the poisonous thoughts that he himself is the cause of the disease.

Courtesy of DC Comics

Issue four, titled Winter, is narrated by Lana Lang and sees Superman returned to Smallville and his role as Clark Kent.  He has run from the idea that he may have potentially hurt people in Metropolis by being around them.  Luthor had poisoned his mind deeply and he went home to get some clarity.  Lana, after learning of Clark’s secret at the end of their senior year in high school, had set off to explore the world.  The issue delves into her own issues surrounding what feelings she has always harbored for Clark, how she dealt with them after leaving Smallville, and what they would always be.

I have always liked storylines that go outside normal continuity for a number of reasons.  Not the least of these is the ability for the writer to really explore an aspect of the character or the universe as a whole that has never been looked at before.  In the case of Superman: For All Seasons Loeb did an excellent job of taking a new perspective on telling a Superman story, which is not something that’s easy to do.  One cannot ignore that in the overall realm of Superman stories ingenuity must be appreciated for what it is.  For that reason it receives a grade of (insert three and one half-stars).  The overall story could have been better.  The art was very Tim Sale and gave an interesting look to the character of Clark but the Superman art seemed a little off.  I think the concept is outstanding and the story is really good but not fantastic.

I highly recommend the read for any Superman fan out there who has not yet read this and for anyone looking for a Superman book that’s not burdened by seventy-plus years of required continuity knowledge to understand (which isn’t entirely true since Crisis on Infinite Earths reset continuity in the 80s, but I digress). 

Superman: For All Seasons is a quality read and definitely worth your time and hard-earned money.

So, my friends, go Bin Diving and find this and other gems!

Until next time,

This is Bin Fodder Guru Tim Blacksmith signing off!

Bin Fodder - Transformers G.I. Joe

Welcome to another edition of Bin Fodder!  This week I’m discussing an old tale with a new twist, Transformers and G.I. Joe.  Over the years these two grand franchises have generated a wealth of comics.  The now-defunk comic company Dreamwave, well-known for its licensed properties, produced Transformers and G.I. Joe before it shut down.  This book is absolutely, hands-down, the BEST of the bunch.  It was written by John Ney Rieber with art by Jae Lee.  This visually dynamic representation of the Transformers and Joes shades them in a view never before seen.

The story starts off in fall 1938 with representatives of Cobra doing something rather common for them: killing people.  But this time they’re actually killing with a purpose, something not-so common.  Their purpose?  Ultimate power.  Cobra Commander had, by ways not discussed in the story, discovered the existence of the Decepticons and sent his forces to awaken them for his own vicious purposes.

The story then jumps ahead to summer 1939 and to the creation of the G.I. Joe corps.  All your classic favorites are there including Duke, Flint, Snake Eyes, Lady Jaye and Scarlett.  As the Joes assemble for their first briefing Scarlett and Lady Jaye are just returning from Europe.  They were taking recon photos in a top-secret new aircraft called a Jet.  The photos show the complete destruction of nearly every major city on the continent.  Two scary things are brought to the forefront.  First, the speed and power needed to cause the kind of destruction that has been wrought.  Second, the fact that there are no bodies: the people are simply gone.

The Joes are charged with invading the Cobra stronghold located on the “Fera Islands”, a location named the “Terrordome” (one can only imagine that Cobra Commander named it himself, being clever as he is).  Their drop in is meant to be under cover of darkness; silent and deadly.  But things take a turn for the worse almost immediately and more than half the squad is cut down.  The remaining members of the two strike force squads set out on their missions.  This does not, however, apply to Snake Eyes.  He is confronted by Storm Shadow and they are immediately entrenched in an epic battle.  As side-stories built into a mini-series go, few have ever reached the level of this one. Rieber clearly had an appreciation for the hatred these two characters share and it comes off the page in palpable fashion.

Some of the remaining Joes stumble upon a repair and reconnaissance drone which awakens and restores the Autobots.  The Autobots, led of course by the incomparable Optimus Prime, are initially not on board with joining the fight.  But after seeing the evil deeds set forth by Cobra, such as the discovery that the missing people are in fact slaves of Cobra and are being used as human war-fodder, they quickly decide that the Joes need their help.  Unbeknownst to the Joes, Destro and Starscream have teamed up to created a hybrid Decepticon called Bruticus, a mindless terror set loose upon the world.

The end battle is intense but rather short lived with several disconnected stories all tying together.  In the end, Snake-eyes destroys the Matrix thus cutting off the power of every transformer, killing Decepticon and Autobot alike, for the good of all mankind.

Now, it should not be ignored that many of your favorite evil characters make appearances in the series such as Baroness, who is of course sleeping with Destro behind Cobra Commander’s back.  There’s Dr. Mindbender who attempts to break the will of the captured Flint.  Also making appearances are Zartan, Major Bludd and the Dreadnoks. 

Thankfully lacking in this story is the over-done battle/standoff/epic conversation between Optimus Prime and Megatron.  Too often any comic, or for that matter any movie, feels compelled to include this event and all it serves to do is remind the reader that nothing ever changes.  But Rieber shakes things up.  The only true downfall of the series is that it seems like it was a twelve-issue storyline compressed into six issues.  Some have criticized the style of the art, calling it murky.  I favor the style; it adds a grittiness and intensity that the story really calls for based on the era it is set in. 

If the story had been able to fully develop and be more linear and comprehensible this would definitely have been a five-star story however it's still a very good read due in large part to the quality of the art, the excellent snake eyes/storm shadow battle scenes and the overall coolness of the story’s original idea and setting.

Until next time,

This is Bin Fodder Guru Tim Blacksmith signing off!

Bin Fodder - Ultra Comic Review

Welcome to another edition of Bin Fodder!  This week I spotlight another Image Comics book, Ultra: Seven Days, written and created by the Luna Brothers.  The Luna Brothers are possibly the best (if only) Asian brother duo in comics.  Other books they’ve created are Girls and Sword, which are both Image books. 

The book is probably best described as a cross between Superman and Sex and the City.  You have the hero everybody loves, Ultra, and her two best friends Aphrodite (the slutty one) and Cowgirl (the innocent girl, daughter of the mayor).  But don’t lose hope, men, there’s plenty of eye candy to keep you into the story if you somehow fail to realize that you’re actually reading an excellent piece of writing.  Each issue ends on a cliffhanger of one kind or another.  It compels you to turn the page or buy the next issue.

Ultra is set in a world where superheroes are commonplace, so much so that they have representation (agents) and do ads for things like “Cool Cola” or “Levy’s Jeans”.  The story of Seven Days centers on the main character Ultra. (insert picture of Ultra)

She’s reached a crossroads in her life as a person and as a superhero.  A random encounter with a fortune teller, forced upon her by best friend Aphrodite, sets Ultra on reluctant search for true love.  Don’t worry though, there’s still plenty of action and sexy undertones throughout.

Ultra, whose real name is Pearl Penalosa, has a chance encounter with a guy whom after an awkward, cut-short-by-superhero-y-things conversation, she agrees on a date with.  The situation ends badly for Pearl in a thankfully unpredictable way.  The man, who seems genuine and even likable in his awkward and self-doubting way, ends up taking pictures of himself in bed with the sleeping super heroine all covered in bruises and sells the pictures and his tale to a sleazy tabloid.  This ruins Ultra’s previously untainted persona as the squeaky-clean heroine. 

As Pearl tries to recover from the public outrage against her she turns to friend Cowgirl, Jen, for a relaxing lunch and talk about life at the top of an under-construction skyscraper (ya know, a normal place to have a nice quiet lunch).  It’s here that Jen decides to express her concern for Pearl’s well being and express her love for her with a kiss.  

The admission that her best friend is in love with her does nothing to help Pearl’s situation, but as a super heroine the job never really stops. The next day she is forced to deal with a new ultra powerful super villain, a pyrokinetic.  During this fight Ultra is nearly killed and when she wakes up the hospital she starts to realize how short and fleeting life really can be.

In the end Pearl realizes that being Ultra isn’t the end-all, be-all of her existence and she decides to leave the business. 

I’d definitely consider this a book for everyone.  It’s got pieces for men and women alike.   

Until next time,

This is Bin Fodder Guru Tim Blacksmith signing off!

Bin Fodder - Phonogram Comic Review

Welcome to this week’s edition of Bin Fodder.  Today I’m spotlighting a personal favorite of mine (as opposed to the previous installments, hah!) called Phonogram.  It was originally sold as individual issues but I picked it up in trade form at a convention at one of those “50% Off All Trades” booths.  You are no doubt familiar with them.  It was probably the best random ComiCon purchase aside from all twelve issues of this gem.  But I digress, Phonogram.

It’s a tale of music and magic and how they are intertwined.  The story follows a “phonomancer” named David Kohl.  Since no one in the whole of Internetdom has taken the time to define and explain what a phonomancer is I will do so here.  A phonomancer is a person whom, through magic, engenders power to music.  That’s possibly the most complicated definition ever, but it’s the simplest.

The world of Phonogram is England with much of the story focusing on the lost state of Britpop (which is curiously a real word…never would have figured that).  Phonogram was written by well-known English writer Kieron Gillen, who is possibly the most worthy writer I’ve spotlighted to be called a Geek.  The artist Jamie McKelvie is less well-known but not for lack of talent.  His style is solid and his shading in this black & white comic is outstanding.  It was not uncommon for me to lose myself in the art as I was reading the story.

So what is the story about?  I’m glad you asked.  It’s a philosophical exploration of how music can impact the lives of everyone who listen to it.  It all starts when a very powerful phonomancer witch named The Goddess tricks Kohl into attending a club event geared towards women, knowing that a wealth of musically challenged, indie-loving, singer/songwriter chicks would be too much for him to pass up.  She attacks and subsequently curses Kohl. setting him on a quest to discover who is messing with Britannia.  Britannia is an idea.  She is rooted in Britpop in its two most well-received formats, the sixties and the nineties.  She also was the phonomancer who created Kohl.  I don’t want to give too much away but I do want to give some insight into the story and character of Kohl.

Courtesy of Image Comics

Phonomancers use magic in different ways throughout the story.  For instance, a basic ability that every phonomancer seems to have is to be able to sense the band that any person loves most of all.  Kohl uses this power on more than one occasion to score with a pretty young thing.  He isn’t a bad guy…or, well ok, he kind of is a prick as is emblematic in this excerpt right from the first page of the story:

I look in the mirror and I like what I see.  Sure, image is the first dogma of the Faustian process – but I’m all too at home with that.  Buzzcut like a squaddie on the town.  Glasses like an existentialist poet.  Black.  Black.  More black.  Still thin enough, just.  And a tough extra, especially for this evening’s festivities.  A bootleg pop-icon t-shirt [black and silver Superman] I picked up on a festival site because it was too damn cold.  Plastic coat packed with silver fluid.  Artificial enough to make you think it’s filled with Chernobyl waste.  Toxic and make.  Utterly noxious.  Totally perfect.  This evening I’m not a man.  I’m a mutation.  A genetic dead-end.  I’m a monster with a tumour hanging between its thighs.  I’m a white man in clitoris palace.  I’m…such a cock.

Before you outright decide to hate the character he does redeem himself throughout the story through acts that may appear at first to be selfless but are really quite selfish.  So where does the redemption come in?  That I’ll let you find out for yourself, but it’s there.  Buried deep in the undertones of the story.  Another version of a phonomancer is a “retromancer”.  A retromancer is someone who uses “classic” music, usually within a club setting, to feed off the memories that the music envokes within the people involved in the setting.  The retromancer gains power, youth, and vitality through magic.  There is a moment where David, who truly despises the retromancer culture, counters the spells of one such phonomancer whilst in a club causing the retromancer to wither.

I recommend this title highly because it’s an extremely smart book, which is saying something in the comics industry.  It gives you insight into a world most Americans aren’t at all familiar with and manages to do so without an overbearing amount of jargon too often found in British titles.  You may be wondering, however silently or loudly, why should I be interested in a story set in England dealing with crazy magic and crazy music references?  To quote someone I can’t remember, the question is the answer.

Music is an extremely powerful entity and this story explores the possibility of people actually using music to sculpt the world.  How cool is that!?  As you read through this potent story you are bombarded with references to bands and songs you may not have ever heard of much less understand or be able to define.  Never fear; the writer doesn’t leave you hanging.  The trade contains a comprehensive list of the bands and songs referenced, each with a brief synopsis of the band or a depiction of the importance of the specific song.

Take it from me, Phonogram is very much worth your dollars and time to read.

So, my friends, go Bin Diving and find this and other gems!

Until next time,

This is Bin Fodder Guru Tim Blacksmith signing off!