This Week's Haul: Supergirl for Everyone!

So I've already told you how awesome The War at Ellsmere, which came out this week, is. But there were also a lot of other awesome comics! Probably some bad ones too, but I fortunately didn't read any of those!

Batman #682

I think that all the confusing mess that was Batman: R.I.P. was worth it if it got us to this issue. It is absolutely bananas, but really, really enjoyable. It reminded me of All-Star Superman, the way that it embraced and celebrated Batman's zany silver age past. Grant Morrison...you are alright with me!




Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade #1

I definitely had high hopes for this one, and I wasn't let down. It's fun and silly and it pays no attention to proper canon or continuity. In other words, it's perfect for kids. And, much like Tiny Titans, it is fun for adult nerds as well.





Superman/Supergirl: Maelstrom #3

Everyone should seriously be reading this series. I am going to keep saying that every week until it is over. This is the Superman/Supergirl interaction I have been waiting for.






Jonah Hex #38

And everyone should seriously be reading this series. I can't say enough good things about Jonah Hex, even though I don't talk about this comic nearly enough on this blog. It's completely and totally awesome. I know it is perpetually in danger of being canceled, and it would be tragic if it happens. Comic fans keep asking for one-shots and this is a whole series made up of them. Plus it has great writing and all-star artists.



The Amazing Spider-Man #579

I don't want to say the word 'perfect' here, but these last two issues of Spider-Man, by Mark Waid and Marcos Martin, have been pretty damn close. They have everything you could possibly want in a Spider-Man comic. Not only is Spider-Man witty and likable throughout, he is also incredibly heroic. I was almost teary-eyed. HE JUST GIVES SO MUCH OF HIMSELF!



JSA #21

Man, that Gog guy wasn't as cool as he seemed. Colour me surprised. I was sure everything would work out fine for those tortured souls who populate the Justice Society.






Hey! Y'know what else came out this week?! Showcase Presents: Supergirl v.2!!!

Ohhhh yessssss.

Not convinced? How about a 2-part story where Comet the Superhorse turns into a human temporarily and starts dating Supergirl?

Oh it gets worse...

That's why I don't date horses. They lie.

This Week's Haul: So very sick

Welcome to Living Between Wednesdays...where we like our coffee black and our comic reviews late.

I have been awful sick lately, but fortunately there were a lot of good comics to read. I have been very slowly writing these mini-reviews over the past few days, taking frequent nap breaks.

Super Friends #9

J.Bone not only did the cover for this issue, he did the interiors! Yay!

It's Superman's birthday and everything is adorable, from Lex Luthor being cranky about not being invited to the party, to Batman explaining pinatas to the readers.





Amazing Spider-Man #578

Mark Waid teams up with Marcos Martin to bring us one of the most delightful comics I have ever read. This was seriously great stuff, the latest in a long series of great Spider-Man comics.







Terra #2

If you like hot naked ladies, then you will probably enjoy this. And even if you are more into well-written, nicely-drawn ladies, like I am, then you will also enjoy this.







Uncanny X-Men #504

And speaking of hot ladies, Terry and Rachel Dodson provide the art for this month's issue of Uncanny, and that made me very happy. Especially since this issue gives us a tour of Cyclops' horny psychosis, which is full of beautiful women made even more beautiful by Team Dodson's art.

I'm glad I am reading X-Men comics again. It makes me feel like I'm 15.




Superman/Supergirl: Maelstrom #2

I just wanted to remind everyone that this series is great and the art is beautiful. Look at that cover! She's tying her hair up! Just like girls do when they are exercising!







Supergirl #35

I am loving this New Krypton cross-over story so far. Not only because there are so many talented people working on it, but because it is non-stop and has been coming out on time. Every week we get a new piece of the story via Superman, Action Comics, Supergirl, or a number of fantastic one-shot specials. It's fluid, it's interesting, and it's fun. And Sterling Gates is doing a great job writing Supergirl.




The Age of the Sentry #3

I can't even tell you how much I am loving this series. And a good thing is made even better this month because there is a very long back-up story drawn by Colleen Coover! And it features Milly the Model!

Seriously, Jeff Parker. You are killing me.





Ghost Rider #29

My love of Jason Aaron's run on Ghost Rider runs deep. This issue gave us what he has been building to since he started: a big ol' battle between Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch! Sweet Ghost Rider on Ghost Rider action!







Ambush Bug #4

It's a good time to be an Ambush Bug fan. Not only has this series been a lot of fun (and badly needed because there is so much DC craziness to make fun of right now), but it looks like we're finally going to get the long-rumoured Showcase Presents Ambush Bug collection in February! Yay!

If you have an extra $9 you could do worse than picking these up.

This is a little late, but there were three comics that came out last week that I'd like to bring everyone's attention to because they were good and probably overlooked.


Superman/Supergirl Maelstrom #1

If you have been enjoying recent Supergirl comics as much as I have, then you should definitely check this out. If I had to say when it takes place in continuity, I would say sometime in the last year, before the Death of the New Gods and certainly before New Krypton or a lot of recent Superman events. Supergirl is still heavy into her self-doubt phase, and Superman has decided to help her out with that.

The main premise is that a Apokaliptikan babe named Maelstrom is in love with Darkseid and is hoping to impress him by killing Superman. She goes to Earth, destroys a chunk of Metropolis, and makes Supergirl sad. It's all very well-written (Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray) and beautifully drawn (Phil Noto). It's one of those mini-series that you can easily ignore, but if you are a fan of Supergirl at all, this looks like it's going to be a really high-quality mini-series starring her, and that alone is something to celebrate.

Terra #1

It's been a Palmiotti/Gray-heavy week for me. For the record, Jonah Hex was also awesome this week.

I stopped reading Teen Titans months ago. And I REALLY don't care about the Terror Titans or whatever. I definitely would not have picked this up if it weren't drawn by Amanda Conner, who is fantastic and doesn't draw nearly enough books. So if I have to read a comic about a charcter I don't care about to see her art, I will do it.

But this actually was really enjoyable. The Justice Society, and, in particular, Power Girl played a big role in it, so that was good. Everyone looked really hot, especially Terra. And I love the fun stuff that happens in the background of Conners' art, and her facial expressions.

X-Men/Spider-Man #1

This comic was BEAUTIFUL. Mario Alberti throws down some gorgeous art for this story which is set in the sixties. The comic tells a story of one of the first meetings between the original X-Men and Spider-Man. Christos Gage provides fun dialog and lots of humour. AND...Kraven the Hunter is the main villain!

My understanding is that this 4-part series will move out of the sixties and tell a story that spans the last several decades. I think this is going to be a great mini-series.

Supergirl Week: To be Continued...

Alright, so I picked kind of a busy week to attempt a theme week on this blog. But I have much more to say about Supergirl. So I promise another Supergirl Week sometime soon. Because I didn't even get into anything past the Silver Age, or her team-ups, or any of the other awesome adventures the last daughter of Krypton has had. And that's a shame, because look!:

Remember to vote today, Canada. And if you want to vote against Harper, that's cool with me.

Supergirl VS Max Headroom

Very sorry for the lazy theme week. I'm having a pretty busy week. Maybe I should extend this to be Supergirl Month.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving everyone! Here's a clip of Supergirl kicking ass from the terrible-yet-adorable 1984 film. Fun fact! The skinny truckdriver is played by Matt Frewer, aka Max Headroom, aka The Guy on my T-shirt in my Profile Picture!

Supergirl How-To Guide #1

How to assist a child in getting adopted:

1. Assess situation and develop plan.

2. Call upon slave robot clone to take your place while you implement plan.

3. Use superpowers to fool potential parent(s) into believing child is worth their time and money.

4. Repeat until goal is achieved.

5. Return slave robot clone to hollow tree until next time.


Supergirl treats that robot as badly as Superman treats Supergirl. That robot probably has a rock or something inside that tree that it likes to boss around.

Supergirl Plays Cupid

Here's a little story about a time where Supergirl gets tired of living in an orphanage and resorts to drastic measures in hopes that she can get the hell out of there. It's from Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #14 (1960).

Oh, calm down Lois. It's Superman. What's he going to do? Take all those waterskiiers back to his tour bus after the show?

How often does Supergirl spy on Lois?

Aaahh!! Those eyes! They will haunt me forever!

So this is how desperate and crazy poor Supergirl has gotten. And here's her plan:

Alright! Way to beat Superman at his own game! This is the sort of crap he would normally be pulling on Lois, because Superman loves nothing more than making Lois think she's crazy. Here's my favourite one:

Ahahahaha! A coffee pot! Nice one, Supergirl!

Also..."Severe Kitchen Ware."

So Superman decides that he might possibly be in love with Lois. Which I never thought was the issue. I thought he just didn't want to put her in danger so he never acted on his feelings. Right?

Well, anyway:

"Perry said I could borrow his pleasure schooner any time I want."

I'll bet he did.

Good lord! Look at the size of Perry's pleasure schooner! How much does the editor of the Daily Planet make?!

Back to the date...
Those are some unorthodox cooking classes they are teaching at the Midvale Orphanage.

Holy crap, Lois! Do you want to date Superman or not? Because sometimes Superman has to go save lives, alright?

And now it's time for Supergirl to make some romance happen:

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

What?! No! Ok, look Superman. It's one thing to suddenly decide not to propose to a lady, but you should NOT tell her that you were just about to propose but decided not to because she fell in the water. That's just cold. As is flying away suddenly, leaving Lois alone on a boat.

Superman feels kinda bad the next day, and decides to go apologize:

What?! That TRAMP!

"Love, Batman." I just melted. I know it's not really him writing that card, but still...

I have to say, this is bold for Supergirl. Especially since she hasn't actually met Batman yet. At least not that we've seen.

No! If anyone is going to be his Bat-Queen it's going to be me!!!

Ohhhhh dear. Now you've done it, Supergirl.

Oh, you Super-heel!

Well, it turns out that Superman was playing along the whole time:

"I'll never interfere with Cousin Superman's romantic life again!"

Well, at least not until your next appearance, when Superman makes you pretend to be his fiance. And it is just as creepy as it sounds. But I already talked about that story way back here.

The Supergirl From Krypton Meets Her Asshole Cousin!

I think the logical starting point for Supergirl Week is with her first appearance in Action Comics #252. I think Superman's initial treatment of Supergirl is one of the greatest (fictional) injustices of all time. Let's have a look:

Superman is just about to smash the missile to bits until he realizes that there's a person inside:

Ok, Superman in that third panel? Amazing. He goes from being totally shocked in the previous panel to being completely calm and thoughtful. And skeptical.

"I'm from Krypton!"
"Nope."

Man, Supergirl is just so cute in that last panel. Seriously. And I love Superman's off-panel babbling.

Supergirl cheerfully proceeds to tell the tragic tale of her family's short-lived escape from Krypton. And when she's done, Superman is shocked to learn something else:

How quickly he pulls his hand away.

So this is pretty great, right? Superman, who has been alone on this Earth for so long with no family and believing he is the last of his race learns he has a cousin! And she's here!

Yay! This will be perfect! She can live with Superman and they can bond and he'll help her adjust to life on Earth after the tragic and sudden loss of her family and equally-traumatizing solitary voyage through space!

Right?

"Yeaaaahhhhh...about that...see, I have a really small apartment, and y'know...I'm pretty busy. I can't really take care of a kid right now...I've got a lot on my plate...and the place is a mess, really..."

But don't worry! Superman has a "great idea" for her life on Earth! It's not like he's a douche or anything...

WHAT?! That is not a "great idea," Superman. That is actually the worst idea.

SERIOUSLY?! An ORPHANAGE?! After all she's been through?! What do you credit your heroism to, Superman? I'll tell you: your loving parents who adopted you when you crashed to Earth. So why do you think this is ok?

Superman gets some clothes to make his cousin less hot. He feels much better now.

Hey, you know what a good Earth girl name is? Kara.

Let's see what name she picks:

DC doesn't think much of its readers. They remind us that Linda Lee is Supergirl in the very next panel.

I also want to comment on Superman's story: wouldn't the guy at the orphanage want more information about that "big disaster that wiped out her whole community"? Wouldn't something like that have made the news?

Poor, poor Supergirl. She probably thinks this is how it goes on Earth. "Sure thing, Superman. Even though I am just as powerful as you, I will live in this godforsaken orphanage and remain unseen until you need me. Just let me know! I'll be right here...wearing this wig...alone..."

Her first Super Job? Cleaning her room!!!

Man that sucks.

No, Supergirl. No. You can't use your x-ray vision for spying on other kids. Also: you are disobeying Superman, actually, and I approve.

Proud of your cousin, eh? Maybe you should read some Superboy comics. He isn't the greatest friend in the world. You should talk to a guy named Mon-El.

Oh, Supergirl. Just you wait! I got two words for you: Flying Cat!