Why I Can't Stand John Byrne's Superman: Man of Steel

After a discussion I had with Paul Cornish, the guy behind Last of the Famous International Fanboys, a while back, he proposed to me a "blog crossover," where we both talk about John Byrne's SUPERMAN: MAN OF STEEL at the exact same time. I will say what I don't like about it, Paul will say what he does like about it, and then we'd link to each other's articles.

MAN OF STEEL was a complete remake of Superman, done by John Byrne in 1986. Basically everything that had been done with Superman before was thrown out the window and Superman was rebooted from the ground up. 

The most common reason people give for liking MAN OF STEEL is that it humanizes Superman, bringing down his power levels and making him more relatable. The most common reason people give for not liking MAN OF STEEL is that it humanizes him too much, taking away the sense of wonder that had defined him for decades.

My dislike for Byrne's take on Superman is related to that, especially when we're talking about his Superman run that followed MAN OF STEEL. You see, I was around four years old when this came out, and I was reading this at the same time I was reading some Silver Age reprints! In those Silver Age reprints, Superman had a Fortress of Solitude in the Arctic, a Legion of Superheroes in the future (along with a Legion of Supervillains!), some superpets, and a bottled city called Kandor. And most importantly, he always won. I get that this "always winning" thing may have gotten old for readers, but Byrne overdid this in his Superman run, when Superman just always lost. I mean, this is the cover of SUPERMAN #1:

I get why they have to knock down the powers, though. There's a fine balance when it comes to Superman, and it does seem that this balance is mediated through the powers. Basically, when he's really powerful, there's an overwhelming amount of charm that no one aside from, say, Captain Marvel can match. But the drama is knocked down because he's too powerful. Knock him down on the power scale though, and you increase the drama but decrease the charm. It depends on the writer. I did an interview recently for a local magazine where I say that basically, there's a spectrum of Superman fans, and it begins with the powered-down Siegel and Shuster "realistic" Superman and ends with the powered-all-the-way-up completely "unrealistic" Mort Weisinger/Otto Binder Superman. I clearly run near the second extreme, and Byrne's take is closer to the first. So it's not like I don't get it; I just think Byrne went overboard with it.

But this is about MAN OF STEEL, and not the rest of Byrne's Superman run, and with the DCnU ACTION COMICS #1 out next week, written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Rags Morales, I'll just go over really quickly what I really didn't like about MAN OF STEEL specifically. And that can be symbolized by one thing perfectly: the birthing matrix.

Comics Cube! Reviews: Wild Girl

Several months ago, I picked up the first two issues of this series from the 20-peso bins at Comic Odyssey. Or was it Planet X? I'm not sure. Regardless, it's the first two issues of WILD GIRL:

If you look at the cover and if you've been reading The Comics Cube! long enough, you'll see what attracted me to the series, and that's JH Williams III is credited. Williams is my favorite artist of the last decade (pretty much by a country mile), and the additional names on the cover just convinced me to get it. Shawn McManus is a really expressive artist, whom I most remember for doing the famous "Pog" story in Alan Moore's SWAMP THING run (in this volume, specifically), and Leah Moore, aside from being Alan Moore's daughter, has also written a couple of stories for her dad's TOM STRONG. John Reppion is her partner, both in writing and in life. So it was a pretty enticing package.

WILD GIRL is the story of 13-year-old Rosa Torez, who has for her entire life had the ability to speak to animals. Things come to a head one day at home while she is babysitting her kid brother Michael, and a bird crashes into her window. She feels the bird's pain and is fed a lot of information in the process, which prompts her to run away. Note how expressive McManus' art is here. No words, folks!

Rosa then has to deal with a variety of animals — dogs, birds, alligators, you name it — and a man who can also communicate with animals and wants to kill her! Once every issue, she has a dream or a fantasy sequence, provided by JH Williams III. This is the first one. Although this scan has no dialogue (the ones with dialogue aren't big enough to read), it gets across the message that animals have been connected with myths and gods for centuries.

WILD GIRL isn't a perfect series. Some questions go unanswered and for my part, it's more than a little decompressed. It tells in six issues what could be told in four, but considering that I got it in the 20-peso bins, it's hardly a complaint. The main story is fun and entertaining, and the dream sequences add a layer to it that would make those looking for more depth more satisfied with the series. It actually hits a level of quality that makes me surprised that I hadn't heard about it until I saw it in the bins. I ended up asking Sandy Sansolis, the local retailer, for the rest of the series, and while the story could use some more development — or perhaps more explicit explanations between the connections of the dream sequences and the main story — I would have gladly paid cover price for it.

But don't take my word for it, folks. Let's take a look at what my other resident kid thinks of it.

She's six, folks, and she read the series in 90 minutes. She enjoyed it a whole awful lot, and the artist in her absolutely loved the dream sequences.

If you see it in the bins, go get WILD GIRL. I recommend it pretty highly. If you have a niece or a daughter, it's good to share it with her.

For your convenience, here is the series on Amazon. I'm linking to the cheapest ones. See how much I like you guys?

Reclaiming History: Superman Vs. Captain Marvel

Welcome to a new installment of Reclaiming History, an ongoing series where the Comics Cube! tries to balance out what the history books say and what actually happened! Click here for the archive!

Today marks the first time we reclaim history for a character instead of a creator, though I guess by doing so for that character, we do so for his creators. Folks, you know I love this guy. Meet Captain Marvel, the "Shazam!" guy:

Now I've covered Captain Marvel most notably here, in my A Sense of Wonder feature, which mostly talks about why DC has continually failed to utilize him effectively since acquiring him in 1974. And there are, of course, comprehensive histories of Captain Marvel elsewhere on the net, such as here on Newsarama, so I'm going to focus my attention on one simple thing: Captain Marvel vs. Superman.

Easter Eggs in Comics: A Magic Bar in MYSTIC #15

Welcome to another installment of Easter Eggs in Comics! Click here for the archive!

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine gave me EDGE, a compendium of one or two issues of five of CrossGen's various series. And so, today's Easter egg comes from CrossGen's MYSTIC #15, by Ron Marz, Brandon Peterson, and John Dell. MYSTIC tells the story of Giselle Villard, who has gained magical powers.

In this issue, we get a scene in a bar. The bar is full of analogues or stand-ins for magical characters from other realities. Check 'em out.

Now, I could tell you who these people all stand in for, but then I did some surfing and found out that this was not the original version. According to a blog dedicated to The Phantom Stranger, this is the original version.

There's Promethea, the Scarlet Witch, the Phantom Stranger, Dream of the Endless, Dr. Strange and Clea, Dr. Fate, the dread Dormammu, Bat-Mite, and Mxyzptlk.

Interestingly, Medieval Witchblade and the Seven Dwarves were not changed.

Why did they change this for the EDGE edition? One would think copyright issues were involved, but then why didn't they change the Seven Dwarves?

Anyone know?

UPDATE: The colorist of this book, Andrew Crossley, recently commented below on this post, explaining what happened. Here it is:

I can tell you why. I was the colorist on that book. When I got the double page spread from Brandon, John and I thought it was great and funny what he did on it. Ron in the plot had said just put a bunch of magic using people in the back ground. It was Brandon's idea to use existing characters. But we also knew we would get flak from other companies about it. I wanted as a joke to mosaic out the faces like in cops or other shows like that. But we decided to do it anyways and see what happens. Well we got a bunch of legal letters as expected. So we had to make the changes for future publishing. Whoever we did not get a letter from we just left in. That's the story.

Also, I really liked this issue, so I'll be on the lookout for more MYSTIC back issues.

Gateway Comics: Discovering Tintin

Until last month, I had never read a TINTIN comic.

You may ask, "But Duy! How can someone purporting himself to be an authority on comics not read this one quintessential piece of sequential art?"

Well, first of all, I don't consider myself an authority in comics, but the rest of it is a cultural thing. And thus, until last month, I had never read a TINTIN comic. Oh, sure, I've seen it in bookstores, browsed through it, and then put it back. But see, while some people in other countries grew up with Herge's TINTIN, I simply didn't. Here, or at least in my grade school, TINTIN is a book given to children by some parents. You see it around, but it's hardly ubiquitous. When comics were big in the 90s, TINTIN wasn't even thought of as a "comic." It was a kids' book. And some kids read it. Most didn't. So when I saw Scott McCloud praising it in UNDERSTANDING COMICS, I was shocked and taken aback.

Well, a friend of mine lent me three TINTINs last month: THE BLACK ISLAND, KING OTTOKAR'S SCEPTRE, and RED RACKHAM'S TREASURE.

 

And I read them all. What did I think?

Filipino Komiks and History

I've recently been reading 1953's LAPU-LAPU by Francisco V. Coching, which was reissued by Atlas Publications back in 2009.

Combined with the Filipino Invasion panel from SDCC (mp3 here), I started wondering how Filipino komiks impacted and was impacted by local culture and history.

I'm still a novice when it comes to Filipino comics, to be honest, but I found certain connections fascinating, so I'm going to try outlining them here. I hope that anyone who spots mistakes in this article will feel free to correct me.

It Came From Comics!

Welcome to the index of It Came From Comics!, where we at The Comics Cube! discuss some aspects of general culture that originated from comics!

1. Yellow Journalism

2. Happy Hooligans: The 119th Wing

3. Goon

4. Jeep 

Back Issue Ben: Spider-Man

Back Issue Ben is a column written by Ben Smith for the Comics Cube! See his archives here.

SPIDER-MAN!

by Ben Smith 

The next stage in my comic book evolution was an important one, and it could very well mean the difference between life and death for you. That’s the importance of this blog. Consulting your personal physician will do nothing to alleviate the effects of the utter despair and sorrow you will feel from declining to participate.


I’ve previously relayed information to you on how I became a lifetime comic book fan, through the means of a Marvel comic book called THE TRANSFORMERS. The astute reader will also recall how a Marvel character called Spider-Man had guest-starred in the third issue of that particular series. Though the impact and personal interest of this guest appearance would not be immediate for me, it would later serve to birth me head-first into the larger world that is the Marvel universe.

If there are 18 things I know about comic books, one of them is that it is unwise to roll naked in a pile of comic books (not without proper protection), and another is that Spider-Man is the single greatest comic book character ever created. Some would choose to dispute this fact, citing opinions and relevant environmental factors involving upbringing and social status, but they would be wrong. Dead wrong! If you don’t like it, you can kiss my Giant-Size Man-Thing.


While I cannot specifically recall the first Spider-Man comic I ever read, I can tell you that I collected them with a voracious appetite. The level of appetite usually only seen in those lost at sea with no food or water, or some kind of prison-type scenario. Elaborate on that in your own mind however you would like.

I can, however, using advanced mathematical formulas and theoretical physics, guess at what comics I was picking up as a younger lad, as they are probably the same ones that resonate the most with me to this day.

Three Spider-Man Fans Get Ready for Spider-Island

In preparation for AMAZING SPIDER-MAN's new event Spider-Island, by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos, I virtually sat down with two Spider-Man fans whose opinions I absolutely respect, Ben Smith and Ryan Malone. Ben sometimes contributes to The Comics Cube!, and you can see his contributions here. Ryan's from New Jersey and should never be taken seriously. Just kidding! Ryan's been a Spider-Man fan for a long, long time, and he's a smart guy to boot. I picked these two guys specifically because their opinions on Spider-Man differ so much. I "met" these guys on the Comic Book Resources forums some time ago, and it can get ugly there, but see? Here's proof that comic book fans can get along!

Ben loves Gwen Stacy, Ryan loves Mary Jane Watson.
I think this makes me The Jackal. Or Ned Leeds.

One thing that these two guys have in common is that they were both reading Spider-Man when the infamous "One More Day" storyline breaking up Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson hit in 2008. I was not.

We were just supposed to talk about BIG TIME, and the conversation went all sorts of places! Read on after the jump.

Escher in Comics: PROMETHEA

Welcome to another installment of Escher in Comics, in which we take a look at how some comics use MC Escher's artistic techniques! Click here for the archive!

MC Escher (1898-1972) was a Dutch graphic artist that was known for tessellations, optical illusions, and mathematical pictures.One of his most famous pieces was "Bond of Union"  (1956).

He was also known for his tessellations,  which are these frieze-like effects that cover a theoretically infinite surface via repetition. Sometimes, he would do something where he changes a pattern partway through a drawing, such as in "Sky and Water" (1938).

In the cover of PROMETHEA #15, JH Williams III, Mick Gray, and Todd Klein utilized both techniques! Thoth and Hermes had been established as two aspects of the same god earlier in the series, so showing their "bond of union" was a stroke of genius.

Pretty cool, huh?

This story can be seen in:

Local Comics Stores in Manila, Philippines

I recently got into an argument with someone who makes comics. I won't mention his name, but you can easily find it on my Facebook page. This guy claimed that he knew what would happen to my local comic shop if certain things, such as a Marvel/DC boycott happened.

This made me laugh, because I don't have a local comic shop. I have, by my last count, eight (or nine, depending on how you count Filbars). That's not even counting the ones I don't know. He basically called me a liar, especially when I told him that I had one local shop that survived on indie comics. I told him that he is in no position to say anything about my local shops because he isn't from here, which led to him calling me a bigot because he's "been living in the States for 11 years." Well, that's all well and good, but how does living in the States make you qualified in any way to speak about the local scene in the Philippines? I can tell you what's going on with Borders — it's been in the news — but I couldn't tell you how The Phantom of the Attic comic store in Easton PA (which was an excellent comic store as recently as five years ago) is doing at this moment. (This is also a guy who has never commented on anything, ever, other than to spam my page with his work in the last couple of months, so for him to not know I was from the Philippines after two months of being on my page just really meant that he was nothing more than a spammer.)

But it did make me think — you know, there are seven stores in this city alone that I know of, and that's not even counting the bookstores like Fully Booked and Powerbooks with their extensive graphic novels selection. Everyone's been to the basement of Fully Booked, right?

This isn't even half of Fully Booked High Street's basement.

Most people who visit The Comics Cube! aren't even Filipino, so this may be a good topic for them. I can almost guarantee that one of them will blow your mind. And for the Filipinos who come here, well, I'm sure you frequent at least one of these stores, but in case you ever want to visit others for "the hunt," here's a list of all the comics stores I know in Metro Manila.

Everyone knows Comic Odyssey. It's the number 1 comic chain the Philippines, and has three branches: one at Robinsons Place Manila, one at Robinsons Galleria, and one at Eastwood/Libis.

Comic Odyssey is so successful that it not only has three branches in the same city, but it also provides mail-order services to the rest of the archipelago. The main branch is the Galleria branch, which hosts events such as artist signings and, of course, Free Comic Book Day. Comic Odyssey runs regular sales, not because it needs the revenue, but because it constantly has new stuff coming in. They just had a sale last month to clear the back-issue bins... because they were getting a new stock of 30,000 back issues, with even more to come. They are having a sale starting on August 12 as well, to run through the end of the month.

Comic Odyssey also competed with Metro Con, our largest comic con of the year, where David Lloyd was a guest, during Free Comic Book Day, and the line was still so long that I had to wait two hours to get my free comics. Incidentally, Sandy Sansolis was giving out 50 additional free comics to each customer.

That's me with Sandy, who is a genuinely nice guy you can talk to about comics.

And seriously, guys, if you need a back issue, tell Sandy. He'll find it for you.

Visit Comic Odyssey on Facebook.

For the most part though, I've bought my comics at Planet X. Planet X has two branches: one in Glorietta and one in TriNoma. It's a sister company of Comic Odyssey, and Eric and Jessica, the store owners, have been two of the kindest and most accommodating retailers I've ever met. They're always in time with their orders, and they know how to take care of their customers. They don't hold the events that Comic Odyssey does, but where at least the Glorietta branch beats out everyone is in terms of location. Glorietta's the easiest mall to commute to, and in fact, from my workplace, all I have to do is walk.

The TriNoma branch isn't as accessible or as big, but I don't think it needs to be.

Visit Planet X Comic Shop on Facebook.

I don't frequent Druid's Keep, which is located behind the first building in the Magallanes complex (the one with the Pancake House), but it's a store that is frequented by artists such as Gio Paredes and Leinil Francis Yu.

The comics store of my youth was Comic Quest, which had multiple branches in various parts of the Philippines. I don't know if the other branches still exist, but the only one I know now exists in SM Megamall. It's not as prestigious as it used to be. Comic Odyssey clearly knocked it out of its spot.

Photo comes from here.

The original "big" comic store chain was Filbar's, which was and still is all over the place. My friend's uncle used to own it — I don't know what the situation is now. These days, it's not so much a comics store as it is a magazine shop that sells some comics though. But it still is the most ubiquitous.

And now, here's the one that's just going to blow your mind.

Sputnik (sometimes called Sputnik Fantastik) is a store that runs on indies and local titles. Yes, it has some Marvel and DC TPBs and HCs, but that's not what runs the store — mainly because you can get those for a cheaper price at the other stores mentioned, as well as the bookstores. Sputnik runs on indies.

The location of the store (Cubao X) is actually quite ingenious, as it is situated in a complex that is populated by several bars that are frequented by musicians, writers, and artists. It is the only comic shop in the area that I have seen that carries back issues of TwoMorrows publications such as COMIC BOOK ARTIST. It carries many anthology collections and history books about comics. It is the only place in the Philippines where I have found a copy of Will Eisner's COMICS AND SEQUENTIAL ART and GRAPHIC STORYTELLING AND VISUAL NARRATIVE. It also carries a lot of local comics, most of which you can only get at the conventions.

Even when you look at Sputnik's Tumblr, you'll see that the tastes of the store is clearly and obviously not mainstream.

Sputnik isn't as profitable or as big as Comic Odyssey, but it does very well for itself, as it is the only other store that has highly publicized comic book events. It has signings with local artists such as Gerry Alanguilan:

Gerry with Chez, Sputnik's store manager

And recently, it hosted a signing with French artist Ivan Brun.

Visit Sputnik Fantastik on Facebook.

There you go. Six comic book shops, three of which are chains, two of which hold events that are regularly attended and packed. You see, maybe it's not true for the entire country, but in this city, at least, comics, while not being on the same level as it was maybe 20 years ago, are still a social activity, with room for different tastes and avenues.

So there. I can't speak for Druid's Keep since, again, I don't frequent it, but I would go so far as to say that if DC and Marvel bombed, at least two, probably three, of these would not go out of business.

Sputnik certainly won't.

Reclaiming History: The Uncredited Captain America Creators

Welcome to another installment of Reclaiming History, an ongoing series where the Comics Cube! tries to balance out what the history books say and what actually happened! Click here for the archive! 

So I watched Captain America today. I think it was a good movie — everyone I watched it with pretty much agrees that Thor was better. But I can't really judge because we were surrounded by really inconsiderate viewers who just soured me on the experience. I do like how it was completely unironic, with Steve Rogers' inherent goodness as a human being played completely straight. If this starts a trend of people who do the right thing simply because it is the right thing to do, then I'm happy this movie came into existence.

One thing that I really didn't like was the end credits, where the filmmakers specifically thank Joe Simon, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Mark Millar, Bryan Hitch, Ed Brubaker, and Steve Epting.

You can't make a Captain America movie without the first three. Simon and Kirby created Captain America, after all, and they need to be acknowledged for that.

Stan and Jack brought the good Captain into the modern age with AVENGERS #4, and really defined him for a generation.

But Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch? Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting? That's all? Really? Where are the people who have taken care of this character for the fifty years in between Lee and Kirby and those creators?