tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post7489185459741916845..comments2024-03-27T21:12:28.287-05:00Comments on Collected Editions: Review: Superman: Grounded Vol. 2 hardcover/paperback (DC Comics)collectededitionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14698269790653953645noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-44344234920587132612012-03-11T01:19:07.182-06:002012-03-11T01:19:07.182-06:00I agree with much of what you pointed out, but I f...I agree with much of what you pointed out, but I feel the book is good if you let it stand as it's own title and terms. I simply like to think about the vol.1 as "Straczynski's Grounded" and Vol.2 is "Roberson's Grounded". <br /><br />Just think about Vol.1 and vol.2 as different ways of how Superman would act like after New Krypton.AngryLionheart1https://www.blogger.com/profile/08551845755863689101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-72419636250114247852012-02-28T17:34:18.010-06:002012-02-28T17:34:18.010-06:00I finally got hold of this at my LPL (local public...I finally got hold of this at my LPL (local public library), and I think I liked it, but not enough to purchase it. I liked the way the tone shifts from Super-Emo more towards Grant Morrison's "Superman is the best idea we've ever had" theory. I definitely noticed the reversals you outline above, and those really detracted from my enjoyment, as well as the apparent filler chapters with Batman and The Flash. I had to chuckle at the "This guy doesn't know Superman!" scene in which the writers have to be commenting on the Internet backlash, but overall I liked the ending as an "ending" to the story because I've always been partial to stories that point to Superman's legacy being as important as his actual good deeds.Zach Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17905320964723323391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-5588872751445112962012-01-29T10:09:43.289-06:002012-01-29T10:09:43.289-06:00Thanks, Anon. Comment more!
@dl316bh -- Just to ...Thanks, Anon. Comment more!<br /><br />@dl316bh -- Just to be clear, liked vol. 1, didn't like vol. 2. Your results may vary. Cheers!collectededitionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14698269790653953645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-46292416349439663122012-01-29T09:59:13.420-06:002012-01-29T09:59:13.420-06:00Great review---rarely do i post, but i felt a defi...Great review---rarely do i post, but i felt a definite discrepancy between v.1 & v.2. <br /><br />Your review has put into words what i accurately feel is the reason for my dislike of the 2nd volume.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-25911634043950502142012-01-27T19:31:27.437-06:002012-01-27T19:31:27.437-06:00I'm actually kind of amazed you liked this. I ...I'm actually kind of amazed you liked this. I thought it was good for some Superdickery style laughs and not much more.dl316bhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14779958088602323101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-87623624057857611352012-01-27T17:38:47.973-06:002012-01-27T17:38:47.973-06:00Yes, that's true; it's not as though Super...Yes, that's true; it's not as though Superman asks Inspector Henderson for permission before he destroys Lex Luthor's latest war machine. The drug dealer, however, is chiding Superman in the scene that Superman "abide[s] by the law" and so therefore can't take away their drugs or knock their houses down. Which, I grant, does suggest the dealer hasn't seen Superman destroy one of Luthor's war machines on TV; at the same time, under the auspices of the DC Universe, I think if the public at large had a sense that Superman was going into houses and taking away anything he thought was bad, people might get a little nervous, so maybe the dealer isn't far off in saying that's not something Superman *normally* does.<br /><br />Combined with the scene with the jumper, where Superman knocks out a spotlight much to the chagrin of the police because the jumper asks him to, I think what Straczynski is trying to show is that his interpretation of Superman is one where Superman has a strict moral code -- a humanistic moral code, perhaps -- that doesn't necessarily abide by the rule of law or being chums with the police. And that's an attractive Superman to me, whereas Roberson's Superman who *must* choose the environment over the jobs of the Kansas factory workers is a Superman too cut and dried for my tastes.<br /><br />Love the discussion going on here. Just for good measure, here's a link to my review of <a href="http://collectededitions.blogspot.com/2011/09/superman-grounded-vol-1-hardcovertrade.html" rel="nofollow">Superman: Grounded Vol. 1</a>. Thanks.collectededitionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14698269790653953645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-73943981329686992732012-01-27T13:57:04.641-06:002012-01-27T13:57:04.641-06:00"one where Superman sets fire to all the drug..."one where Superman sets fire to all the drugs in dealers' private residences even though he doesn't have a warrant"<br /><br />Not sure I understand this bit. Does Superman have some affiliation with a law enforcement agency that would allow him to obtain search warrants? Even if he got one, he could only seize but not destroy the relevant evidence.Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12138569154751342410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-40960225460740382942012-01-24T21:09:44.244-06:002012-01-24T21:09:44.244-06:00The Krypto story (just to be clear, and you might ...The Krypto story (just to be clear, and you might have intended this) was Kurt Busiek's, not Chris Roberson's.<br /><br />No doubt the second volume has editorial interference from top to bottom, and the reversals within could just as easily be Roberson's as the editor's -- it's hard to say. To be sure, the kind of non-questioning, "all my values are OK" Superman that comes out of the second volume of Grounded seems like the kind of non-controversial direction DC was headed, in line with killing the Sinbad issue. <br /><br />At the same time, at that <a href="http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/08/22/chris-roberson-dc-comics-exit-interview/" rel="nofollow">War Rocket Ajax</a> link, Roberson seems pretty straightforward about what was his and what was not, and he says Grounded Vol. 2 was mostly his, so I tend to believe that.<br /><br />Where did I think Grounded was going, as Anoymous asked? Straczynski had the scene where Superman fought that beast in his dream, with the woman asking him if he'd keep fighting to save people even if it was useless. Obviously we know the answer is "yes," but I wonder if Straczynski would have pursued that further -- not just whether Superman would continue to fight against impossible odds, but whether he could inspire those around him to do the same. <br /><br />Straczynski set up a Superman who followed the law but wasn't beholden to it, who thought about what was right for the people in front of him, not just what was right. After Grounded, I'd have been interested to see Superman take that attitude back to Metropolis, maybe start to speak out to the people of Metropolis against Lex Luthor, cause some consternation with the police, and so on. Not to get too "topical," but this might've been the start of Superman as the head of a "people's movement" of sorts -- similar, I think, to what Grant Morrison is doing now in Action Comics.collectededitionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14698269790653953645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-69258662616618875162012-01-24T20:35:49.736-06:002012-01-24T20:35:49.736-06:00As much as I agree with this, I just can bring mys...As much as I agree with this, I just can bring myself to fault Roberson. Not entirely at least. He was thrown in to a situation that he could not help but lose in. He is a perfectly capable writer both in and out of comics. This book screams editorial interference. From the Story that failed to make the cut to the revisions noted in your post that were not even 5 issues old. The story that replaced the Muslim/kitty in a tree (depending on who you believe)story was easily the best issue in the back half of this arc. For those that missed it, it is a great Krypto story that will probably never be collected anywhere, since it was an old inventory book that DC had wanted to forget about. It was the show stealer, and had Grounded vol 2 been even half as good as that single issue, it would have been far better than the "we phoned it in" book we ended up with.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-67559252483357758912012-01-23T18:05:37.608-06:002012-01-23T18:05:37.608-06:00Grounded volume 1 was the best superman story I ha...Grounded volume 1 was the best superman story I had read in ages at the time, which was when the hardback came out, Straczynski is a pretty awesome writer, he always seems to capture the spirit of the character he's writing, amazing spider-man i'm looking at you.<br /><br />This review is spot on. JMS gave the superman character so much depth, and while I enjoyed the new krypton saga, volume 1 of grounded made me realise exactly what this character means to people and why he has become such a powerful symbol over the years and also why he seems to be so difficult to write well. <br /><br />I can't remember any other superman publication that has this inner conflict of character, and that makes you think about things so much. Its great that volume 1 is so self-aware and that for a brief period superman was brought into a real world where everything wasn't so black and white. I guess to give fuel to the anti-superman fire, it's nice to see him thinking about things and not solving them simply by punching them.<br /><br />It's a damn shame that straczynski didn't finish the masterpiece that he startedrobinarmourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00213379529533886957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-72506938559539339112012-01-23T14:53:25.143-06:002012-01-23T14:53:25.143-06:00I should have refreshed the page before I posted m...I should have refreshed the page before I posted my comment. I guess I didn't misremember the negativity after all. :-)D. Mark Simmshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16537028797086907873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-75463837163608457032012-01-23T14:50:45.264-06:002012-01-23T14:50:45.264-06:00Wow, I find it so interesting reading this review ...Wow, I find it so interesting reading this review (and of Vol 1) and comparing it to the comments that the "Internet comics community" had when the issues were coming out. It seemed like JMS's issues received a lot of negative feedback, while some felt that Roberson improved things. That was my impression of it, anyway. I wasn't reading the issues so maybe I misinterpreted (or misremembered!) what everyone was saying.<br /><br />Still, CE, I trust your reviews far more than Joe Somebody on some forum. It's really too bad that JMS didn't get to finish his runs on Superman and Wonder Woman; perhaps, once finished, people would have had greater appreciation for what he was trying to do in those stories.D. Mark Simmshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16537028797086907873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-40173065267690218002012-01-23T13:20:56.767-06:002012-01-23T13:20:56.767-06:00That's interesting, sounds like you liked this...That's interesting, sounds like you liked this arc for the exact reasons others hated it, and hated it for the reasons others liked it. Perhaps it really is a matter of taste. Or maybe it's a perspective difference coming from reading it in issues vs. a collected edition -- I've read comic books arc I loved in the past that other people hated, and I suspect it's because I read them all at once instead of over agonizing months.<br /><br />You seem disappointed about lack of payoff for the problems JMS set up in volume one. Where do you think he was going with it? What would've been a satisfying ending? Maybe you saw it going somewhere specific where other people thought it wasn't going anywhere at all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-49470252160738192942012-01-23T13:08:58.906-06:002012-01-23T13:08:58.906-06:00I do feel differently, though I respect your alter...I do feel differently, though I respect your alternate take (thought <a href="http://collectededitions.blogspot.com/2011/09/wonder-woman-odyssey-vol-1.html" rel="nofollow">Odyssey</a> tripped a bit when Hester came on in the first volume, too). Let me ask, can you point out a scene in Roberson's Grounded, Vol. 2, that you thought was a marked improvement over volume one? I'm curious to hear your take on a specific scene so I can consider it through the eyes of someone who liked it.collectededitionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14698269790653953645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-77266229133535687132012-01-23T13:02:53.328-06:002012-01-23T13:02:53.328-06:00I'm honestly astonished you feel this way. I ...I'm honestly astonished you feel this way. I thought that Stracsynski's work on the two monthlies--Superman and Wonder Woman--were awful and lacked any real meaning (despite some potentially interesting high concepts), and that the titles were redeemed only when the replacement writers, Roberson and Hester, took over. Basically, I thought that they made brilliance out of the dreck they were given.<br /><br />Apparently, you feel differently.Shanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09526065680698553188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-60426786083710552182012-01-23T10:24:55.298-06:002012-01-23T10:24:55.298-06:00I completely agree with you.
I found Grounded Vol...I completely agree with you.<br /><br />I found Grounded Vol. 1 a very good, emotional and moving Superman story. <br /><br />Finally a writer goes deep into Superman's mind, instead of his powers, and I loved it.<br /><br />Grounded Vol. 2 was so... comics-bookish. Such depth was thrown with the same "is all magic" stuff. <br /><br />I also recommend Grounded 1. The second volume, while not terrible, is not as good as the first one. <br /><br />In Volume one I see the Superman I always saw and admire in a fight that is rarely seen. An inner fight.Xavicohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13635218594820077469noreply@blogger.com