A
comic review of art, storytelling, and theology.
COVER
GRADE: A+
Art:
Nick Cardy
This
cover is an utterly ridiculous… and I love it! I love the simplicity of the
design. I love the minimalistic use of colors. I love the expression and
emotion on all three character’s faces. I love the actions implied in the
contorting of their bodies. I love that I don’t have to overthink it – just one
look and you know what’s going on. I love that this image puts a smile on my
face and also makes me curious about the story inside.
Last
month in Action Comics 433,
the cover was littered with unnecessary thought bubbles. Here the headlines
appear out of the way at the bottom of the page. I much prefer this because it
adds details without interrupting the image. Unless a character on the cover is
saying something important, we don’t need word balloons.
My
only problem is that the nurse is standing in midair. Maybe she’s just a
super-ballerina standing on that one side of her toe.
In
an even more amazing twist, there’s something funny about the dentist on the
cover. He seems like just some guy, but before I read the story I remember
looking at him and thinking, he looks evil …and not just because I don’t like
dentists. After reading the story, it turns out he is actually a villain that
has appeared in a handful of Superboy stories in the 1960s. I have to wonder if
that was on purpose since the covers were drawn before they writer put together
the story.
STORYTELLER'S
GRADE for "<Superman Title>": C-
Story:
Cary Bates
Clark
Kent gets a horrible toothache from eating a chocolate covered cherry mysteriously left by his
new fan club. Lois rushes Clark to a nearby dentist. Clark is in so much pain
he willing to try anything even though it shouldn’t be possible for Superman to
get a toothache or for a dentist to be able to help him. Much to Clark’s
surprise, the dentist is able to successfully put him to sleep with anesthesia.
Lois recognizes the dental assistant as the lady from the fan club that brought
the chocolates and the assistant quickly erases Lois’s memory and sends her
away with no memory of bringing Clark to the dentist. As Clark part of Clark’s
anesthesia sleep, the dentist and assistant reveal themselves to be Dr. Xadu
and his wife Zeda (usually written as Erndine Ze-Da in other comics). They
taunt Superman, telling him that they’re letting him go just so he knows they could attack him at any time. Clark wakes from the anesthesia with Xadu and Zeda
gone but fortunately his toothache is gone as well. Clark returns to work, concerned
about Dr. Xadu’s next move, but he remembers he has something else he
needs to do – destroy the world! Xadu and Zeda are pleased to see that their
hypnosis is working.
TO
BE CONTINUED!
So
here’s the deal: If I was to grade only this story as a cliff hanger, my
overactive imagination could pull a thousand different possibilities for the
conclusion. Here’s some of the loose ends just screaming to be tied up in the
end of the story:
·
Clark Kent’s co-worker, Steve Lombard, puts a prank “razzle-dazzle
gun” in Clark’s office. When touched, it shoots off “psychedelic streams of
light.” Maybe Clark could use this prank to trick Xadu and Zeda?
·
Steve Lomard and Jimmy Olsen see Lois Lane take Clark Kent to
the dentist, but when Lois returns by herself with her memory wiped of the
whole situation, Steve and Jimmy think maybe Lois and Clark are hiding a big
new story from them to keep the scoop to themselves. Maybe Steve and Jimmy
stumble upon the truth of Xadu and Zeda?
·
A man tries to rob a bank using a garbage truck that transforms
into a tank that fires energized garbage. Xadu and Zeda mysteriously stop the
tank just to make sure Superman isn’t harmed. Maybe the tank has some kind of
technology Superman can use to stop the villains.
With
all these possible hooks in mind, I would lean toward giving this story a B
grade.
But
on the first read of the garbage truck tank, I had a sneaking suspicion that
the writer just threw this random plot point in there to have some action in an
otherwise dialog heavy story. I felt like I couldn’t accurately grade
this story without reading the conclusion. So I did and all my suspicious were unfortunately
proven correct.
Absolutely
none of those loose ends have any bearing on the story. They are all just passing
moments that are never mentioned again. I guess it’s not a surprise since any
of these events would have to be retold to make sense in the next issue. Now
that I think about it, there is one hint in the loose ends mentioned above.
Xadu and Zeda need Superman alive for the master plan to work, so that’s why
they save him from the “garbage tank.” But even they admit they probably didn’t
need to intervene.
The
story is 13 pages total. About 7 of those pages are part of the core plot, but
1 page is entirely dedicated telling Xadu and Zeda’s backstory from Superboy
100. You’ve got 3 pages of the “garbage tank” and 3 pages of “razzle-dazzle
gun” and talking to people on the way to and from the dentist. So only half of
the pages are really supporting the story. On that basis I would give the story
a D grade.
It
seems somewhat unfair to grade this story to heavily on how it ends in the next issue, so I split
the difference a bit and ended with a C- grade.
The
one thing I absolutely love about this story is bringing in villains from
Superman’s past. And not just villains from Action Comics or the Superman
books, but from Superboy!
The writer made up the Phantom Zone as a hazard for Superboy, then made up 2 criminals to provide backstory. The Phantom Zone and General Zod went on to become mainstays of the Superman mythos, but somehow Xadu got left behind.
Besides
this issue and the next Xadu would appear 2 more times in Phantom Zone specific
comics and a 1960s story would be reprinted in an issue of Superman Family.
However,
Xadu was reimaged in the New 52 with the alias as the Phantom King. He just
finished up a 3-part story arc in Supergirl volume 7 issues 9 through 11.
And
so he’s back, from outer space. I just walked in to find you here with that sad
look upon your face. (And now that song will be stuck in your head for the rest
of the day. You’re welcome.)
How
I’d fix the story:
Alright,
let’s stick with our 13 page story and leave the 7 pages of core plot
untouched. That means we need to make up 6 pages. I get that every comic book
needs action so I understand why the writer put in the garbage tank fight, but
it’s just …meh. Let’s look at some alternatives. After a quick scan through
Superman’s enemies pulling
from the Central Rouge’s Gallery, adjusting for characters actually available
in 1974, let’s go with Kryptonite Kid. Just
the name alone sounds like someone who can kill Superman. It’s also a nice
touch because Kryptonite Kid appeared in Superboy 99 and Xadu and Zeda appeared
in Superboy 100. You could easily put together 2 pages of Superman fighting
Kryptonite Kid (perhaps now Kryptonite Man as he would later be referred to in
his non-Superboy appearances). You might not even need bad guy backstory beyond a footnote that Kryptonite Kid was last seen in Superboy 123. You’re already doing a one page backstory for Xadu so two in the same issuet might be too
much. Anyways, on page 3 Kryptonite Kid is actually about to kill Superman. On
page 4, there’s a miraculous intervention which Superman only later discovers
is from Xadu and Zeda because they need him alive. That leaves us with two
extra pages. So how about we up the ante on the cliffhanger. In the current
story, Superman simply looks at the reader and says, “Oh yeah, I forgot I want
to blow up the planet!” How about instead you take 2 pages of him actually starting the process. The story ends with no hope in sight. Whammy! Now you need to buy the
next issue.
ARTIST
GRADE for Superman: C-
Art:
Curt Swan & Vince Colletta
Let
me just start by saying from experience: hands are really hard to draw. Anyone
who has tried to draw a hand knows that. Unfortunately these artists aren’t so
good at it. Even worse news is that the villains use a superpower known as the
cosmic power grip, which involves …you guessed it…
…lots…
…and
lots…
…and
even more…
…pictures
of slightly weird looking hands. They look fine if you just scan through the pictures, but don't look too long or you'll see just how weird they look. It’s funny how simple your hands seem, but
when you think about it, how complex they really are. For cartoons it’s easy to
just draw an outline of the hand and be done at that. For detailed sketches you
can focus on every minor detail. But for superheroes you need the right amount
of realism without taking too much time. It’s a tough balance.
The
one thing I did appreciate in this issue was the artists tried to shake up the
standard panel layouts a couple times. It turned out great when Superman is
having a flashback through his anesthesia.
It
turned out funny when, the artist tilted the panels.
I'm guessing he did this to save space more than for artistic merit. It
just feels weird to read. And not in a good way.
But
one thing I’ve never seen before in this Action Comics run was an impressive
display of coloring…
By
my count, this image has 9 color variations to give off that rainbow effect. While
primitive by modern standards, I think this is pretty impressive for 1970s
halftone color printing (halftone is printing little color dots of different
sizes and angles close together to look like a more complex color or fading
when you look at it from further away). Even more impressive is that the
coloring stayed inside the lines. It has been so common in all the Action
Comics I’ve read so far to have colors spilling out where they shouldn’t be that
I’ve stopped even counting it against the grading.
On
the whole, the art in this story was just not very good. It just barely stayed
in the C range thanks to attempts at creative panel layouts and the coloring on
that one panel.
STORYTELLER
GRADE for "Zatanna’s Double Identity": B
Story:
Elliot Maggin (with a little help from Allen, Sal, Neal & Joanne)
Zatanna
romantically embraces Oliver Queen in front of his girlfriend Dinah Lance. To
prevent herself from knocking out Zatanna, Lance leaves to let Queen resolve
the matter. Queen needs to check out a demonstration of an anti-crime system
offered by his competition so he takes Zatanna with him to figure out what’s
going on with her. At the demo, real robbers show up. Queen as the Green Arrow
and Zatanna fight back. Green Arrow notices that instead of using magic, Zatanna is
using judo like Dinah Lance aka Black Canary. Green Arrow tricks Zatanna into
using magic words and she snaps out of her spell remembering her true identity. Zatanna reveals that in a
previous mission she needed to stop multiple attackers in hand to hand combat
and transformed herself into the Black Canary. She became a judo expert but
also took on the Black Canary’s personality such as Dinah Lance being in love
with Oliver Queen.
It’s
a average story that gets a boost from bringing in guest star Zatanna. This
was her first appearance since she ended a backup run in Supergirl in 1973. She
appeared once more in 1974 in Justice League of America but didn’t show up again until 4 years later. The story does a great job of introducing
the character and her powers while playing off the whole Queen/Lance relationship
that is just getting started. It gets a little petty with the girl fighting but
what do you expect for books geared toward adolescent boys?
This story is a huge milestone in the relationship of Green Arrow and Black Canary because it is the first time Dinah Lance confesses her true feelings for Oliver Queen
This story is a huge milestone in the relationship of Green Arrow and Black Canary because it is the first time Dinah Lance confesses her true feelings for Oliver Queen
ARTIST
GRADE for Green Arrow: C-
Art:
Dick Dillin & Frank McLauglin
Remember
what I said about not counting poor coloring against the artistic grade? I've changed my mind. This story is a mess with it. It’s too much to
ignore. You may have to zoom in since I resized the pictures to fit the screen, but at real size the color bleeding is painfully obvious.
Apparently green and blue bleed off of both Green Arrow and Zatanna's hats pretty bad.
...and eyes. Eww.
On
top of that, the art is clunky.
“AAAAHHH!
…I mean… Ah! It’s you Zatanna. I almost didn’t recognize you with your tiny
arms and massive hands and extreme lean to one side.”
Oddly
the thing that bothers me most about the art in this story is this one example of poor panel spacing.
There's that huge white bar right there in the middle of everything.
But
it’s not all bad. More often than not Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Zatanna
look good. Plus this issue has a lot of strong women kicking butt.
And
having their hair ripped off.
Oh
wait. That last one might not be a positive.
THEOLOGY
GRADE: A
In
both stories there is a theme of Superman and Zatanna being controlled to act
differently than they should. In Superman’s case it’s really bad because he wants
to destroy the world. In Zatanna’s case, it’s not so bad, but it is still brutal
to Dinah Lance. If you wanted to physically control another person you would normally think about
magic spells or hypnotism or being possessed. But Paul argues that everyone is
controlled by an evil force.
Romans 7:21-23 I have discovered this
principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is
wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me
that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is
still within me.
Have
you ever done something wrong that you didn’t really want to do, but you just
couldn’t stop yourself? Paul would argue that this is an example of being a
slave to your sinful nature. You want to do what’s right, but this sinful
nature inside you urges you to do the wrong thing instead.
Some
people would argue that there is good in everyone, but it’s much easier to
argue that there is evil in everyone. The goal is not make you feel worse about
yourself, but to admit that there is a problem. Only when you recognize there’s
a problem can you ask for help. So what is Paul’s solution?
Romans 7:24-25b Oh, what a miserable
person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and
death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.
CLARK
KENT’S MONTHLY GOOF:
Hasn’t
anyone ever told you not to take candy from strangers?!? I guess if you’re
Superman you don’t have to worry about such things.
EXCESSIVE
USE OF FORCE:
In a
surprise twist, Superman is remarkably reasonable this issue (besides the part where
he wants to destroy the world). Instead here’s a example of Superman using an
appropriate amount of force to kick a tank in half without harming the driver.
Explosive?
Yes. Extreme. No.
DEAR
EDITOR (seen in #438):
Richard Morrissey
makes an interesting observation that he thought Dr. Xadu’s wife’s name was
Erndine. The editor replies “True, Zeda was called Erndine in her first
appearance. But you know these criminals – always plenty of aliases!” So it
would appear that thanks to this issue her name is retconned to Erndine Ze-Da at some point in the future.
But more
than that, I was surprised by Bob Rodi’s first comment. “Where, oh, where is
the Superman of the ‘70s? Where is the man burdened with powers of the gods?
Where is the tormented super-doer, unable to discern a justifiable medium
between his own beliefs and disbeliefs? Where is he? Gone for good, I hope.
After a trial run the relevant Superman of the ‘70s proved quite boring. Boy,
am I glad to have the Superman of the 60’s back again!”
I’m
curious if that’s how everyone felt at the time or if the editors are just filling
the letters pages with Yes Men. Oddly this is what I hope to say to the DC
cinematic universe if they move away from their gritty realism to remember that
comics are ultimately fun.