tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post7933913314007485942..comments2024-03-27T21:12:28.287-05:00Comments on Collected Editions: Review: Superman: Secret Origin deluxe hardcover/paperback (DC Comics)collectededitionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14698269790653953645noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-80262499730386942592011-05-14T16:55:20.028-05:002011-05-14T16:55:20.028-05:00True, now that you mention it, Krypto is in that p...True, now that you mention it, Krypto is in that panel. For me, though, imagining if I was someone who really knew nothing about Superman, I imagine I'd think that was just a dog, and still be confused about a second rocket ship that lands and no overt follow-up about it. Maybe Johns felt that panel explained it, but it didn't quite coalesce for me.<br /><br />Glad you enjoyed the review, Danny; thanks.collectededitionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14698269790653953645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-8322664474667466722011-05-08T04:09:46.387-05:002011-05-08T04:09:46.387-05:00Just finished reading SO.
But Krypto does actually...Just finished reading SO.<br />But Krypto does actually appear on one panel I think.<br />It's when Superman and Jimmy meet on the roof of the Daily Planet and Jimmy asks "What'd your parents say?"<br />Anyway, thanks for the great review again!Dannynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-14058386406809645162011-04-18T16:56:08.219-05:002011-04-18T16:56:08.219-05:00Actually, this conversation inspires me to move Le...Actually, this conversation inspires me to move Legacies down even farther on my reading list than it was already. A history of the already established DC Universe -- one that may or may not be canon, and doesn't explain the current Wonder Woman/Wonder Girl Donna Troy conundrums, among others? Count me out.<br /><br />Though, I was thinking today, I take a fairly simple view of continuity -- what's in canon is what's referenced in the book I'm reading. As far as the Nightwing series was concerned, Robin: Year One was in canon; in Batman: Life After Death, the contradictory Batman: Long Halloween is in canon. That's OK -- I can go from this equals this to that equals that pretty easily, and the <a href="http://collectededitions.blogspot.com/2009/09/dc-trade-paperback-timeline-tpb.html" rel="nofollow">timeline</a> works much the same. <br /><br />It's when this equals this and that equals nothing that I get annoyed -- Superman didn't kill Zod anymore, so he never met the cleric in Superman: Exile, so he never brought the Eradicator to Earth, and yet there's an Eradicator running around in Outsiders. With an iota of explanation, I'd be satisfied, but one writer using one origin and one writer using another origin at the same time seems sloppy to me; that's my pet peeve. And to that end I don't have much use for a "kinda" History of the DC Universe.<br /><br />On Birthright, I rather liked the Clark Kent/Lex Luthor friendship as Mark Waid portrayed it; I was surprised Geoff Johns short-cutted said friendship, though it made sense to me Johns's way, too. And I thought the last two pages were sheer brilliance; only that Waid went a little too far in giving Superman aura-vision and making him a vegetarian, things I think the "average" Superman fan (not the comics reader necessarily, so much as the TV or Halloween costume Superman fan) wouldn't ever have accepted.collectededitionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14698269790653953645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-28055727615599144222011-04-18T10:26:59.694-05:002011-04-18T10:26:59.694-05:00Well it sounds like I should move Legacies up my r...Well it sounds like I should move Legacies up my reading list to know what you're talking about here! I didn't want to start reading it in case it went up past Blackest Night (which I haven't read yet), but it looks like the last issue deals with Infinite Crisis, so that's okay with me for avoiding spoilers.<br /><br />I'm okay with Legacies being slightly different, provided that it's purpose it to get current readers a synopsis of the DCU up to a certain point, where they can use that knowledge to understand current and future storylines. But it shouldn't be used as a "Bible" for new stories to go back to and say "this is exactly how it happened" as that's likely to lead to inconsistencies that require Geoff Johns to come in and explain it all! :-)D. Mark Simmshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16537028797086907873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-10293832360576153962011-04-17T22:58:24.761-05:002011-04-17T22:58:24.761-05:00Yeah, the only way to enjoy DC LEGACIES is to see ...Yeah, the only way to enjoy DC LEGACIES is to see it as one guy's interpretation of the events in the DCU. The last few pages of the last issue make me think we're not even supposed to believe even _that_. <br />The implications that the creators and editors see the people who love the ongoing stoiry of the DCU as an addled kook are a little disturbing but at least we'll be spared writers trying to make sense of it all in the future.<br />I've said this elsewhere, but my recurring nightmare is that at one of the DC Panels over convention season, someone will ask how canonical LEGACIES is. And Bob Wayne or Dan Didio will say- despite having not read it- that it's THE OFFICIAL HISTORY. On the other hand, you'd get to see Geoff Johns spontaneously implode when he realizes he'll have to come up with CRISIS at FLASHPOINT in 2017 to make everything (not) work.sdcineramahttp://twitter.com/sdcineramanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-26058639072994272572011-04-17T13:18:48.889-05:002011-04-17T13:18:48.889-05:00@ Abu
I liked Yu's art, or maybe I got used to...@ Abu<br />I liked Yu's art, or maybe I got used to it. It didn't turn me off. Besides Marvel took Yu later on for SECRET INVASION, so he can't have been as unpopular as it seems. Then again, they took Tan for SHADOWLAND so I might be a tad mistaken. Though it wasn't as clean as Byrne or Frank, it was decent enough. The only thing I hated with Birthright was that the 1st 2 issues seemed inspired from a previous SUPERMAN: THE ODYSSEY by CHUCK DIXON & GRAHAM NOLAN, though the overall theme was rendered better in BIRTHRIGHT, this & the portrayal of Jimmy Olsen ticked me off a little. Also, I loved Lex's portrayal. Seeing him in smallville as evil as later on made me feel pity for him, & also appreciate the character development. Also Waid provides closure in the last 2 pages...Jor El & Lara see Kal grown up, as Superman & take satisfaction in the fact that he made it. Full marks!Aalok Madhusudan Joshihttp://aalokmjoshi.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-53371084984573951212011-04-15T13:15:51.381-05:002011-04-15T13:15:51.381-05:00I was in the same boat Mark. When I started readin...I was in the same boat Mark. When I started reading comics a few years ago trades were a great way to catch up. I too didn't want to shell out the extra $ for hardcovers and the paperbacks look nice and even on my shelf.<br /><br />But I soon began to tire of waiting so long for the paperback releases and started getting hardcovers. I think they're more durable but I'm with you in that I hate the dust jackets. I wish DC would do what they did with Earth One and just have the cover on the actual cover, I think it turned out nice.<br /><br />I tried monthly issues and couldn't stand it. I would usually forgot what happened by the time the new one came out. Also, I didn't like taking them in and out of bags. Plus, if you follow trades and monthlies you run the risk of spoiling arcs. <br /><br />Spider-man was the monthly I followed and because I'm current with him it ruined the whole "death" arc in Fantastic Four. I heard that one member was going to die but I stayed away from message boards and such to wait for the trade but that didn't happen. When my ASM issue came in the mail with a flaming 4 on the cover it pretty much shot my hopes of waiting for the trade.deletehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12856724984415756953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-74507224058803412342011-04-15T11:06:38.314-05:002011-04-15T11:06:38.314-05:00I started buying trades when I got back into comic...I started buying trades when I got back into comics a few years ago in order to catch up to current events (which I STILL haven't done - waiting for Blackest Night to come out in softcover). I did start buying The Brave & The Bold monthly, as is was pretty continuity-light (especially after JMS took over), but I had a few problems with it: <br /><br />- It's a hassle making sure you get to the comic store to pick up your copy before they're sold out.<br />- Sometimes the order comes in late, so you have to come back again in a few days/next week.<br />- I have a lot more things on my mind than when I was a kid, and comics these days generally don't have a few panels of the characters thinking to themselves and recapping recent events to remind you of what's going on. So if you wait a month between reading issues, it can be hard to remember what happened last month.<br />- Because of this, I started waiting until I had the entire storyline (pretty easy to do with B&tB, as the arcs were short and self-contained) so I could actually clearly follow what was going on.<br />- I find it distracting reading with ads, because many of the ads are very kiddy-oriented, even when the content of the comic is pretty PG-13.<br /><br />Those are many reasons why I decided to stick with trades (although I did complete my B&tB singles collection - speaking of which, DiDio recently mentioned that the series is now officially over). The problem I have now, is DC seems pretty intent on putting out hardcovers first, and then waiting a year for the softcover release. This leaves me stuck behind, which can get annoying when you're anxiously reading those darn "Flashpoint Friday" posts every week! I was torn on switching to hardcovers, but I don't like the higher price and I HATE dealing with dustjackets.<br /><br />The solution, for me, is to try to go digital. Even without day-and-date, the Comixology releases of Flash and Green Lantern are maybe 5 months behind (I believe this puts them ahead of the hardcover releases), there are no ads, and I put a stop to the growing pile of longboxes (I don't have any shelf space for my trades). As well, as your site has shown, DC has released issues digitally that were never part of a collection. Plus their cost (at $1.99/issue) is better than singles and generally not much worse than softcovers (better, in fact, here in Canada, where I still get the US price digitally but pay a higher Canadian price on the books).<br /><br />Digital has its own problems of course, such as the whole licensing vs ownership thing, not being able to lend them to your friends, not being able to resell them, etc. I don't think I will stop buying trades completely, but I will be limiting my trade purchases to titles that I really want to "own" (e.g. Blackest Night) vs titles that I just want to "read" and move on (e.g. the many tie-ins to Blackest Night).<br /><br />Anyway, sorry to post this in the Superman: Secret Origin article, but it was in response to CE's question about singles vs wait-for-trades. I hope no one minds!D. Mark Simmshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16537028797086907873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-82271355892148648152011-04-15T09:58:22.838-05:002011-04-15T09:58:22.838-05:00Great point Aalok; thinking about it now it does s...Great point Aalok; thinking about it now it does seem like there was a checklist involved so DC could make this origin fit with what was going on in the DCU at the time.<br /><br />X has a good point too. Reading Secret Origin makes me feel like watching those Donner films. Frank does a dead-on Reeve/Supes and when I see his Supes work it just brings me back to my childhood.<br /><br />Birthright is my origin. I still enjoyed SO quite a bit - moreso because of Frank's art, but also to complete Johns' run. It seems people aren't into Lu's art, I thought it was great and would love to see BR in deluxe or absolute edition.<br /><br />On that note, I just picked up my first absolute - six of them: All Star Superman, DKR, New Frontier, COIE, For Tomorrow, and Long Halloween. I'm super excited. Ofcourse, this means I'll probably be hooked and will have to buy more.deletehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12856724984415756953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-3768722819844421092011-04-15T06:09:35.290-05:002011-04-15T06:09:35.290-05:00For my two cents, I'd adhere to Waid's BIR...For my two cents, I'd adhere to Waid's BIRTHRIGHT or Byrne's MAN OF STEEL. They were consistent, most loose ends wrapped entertaining reads. BIRTHRIGHT was most entertaining, while MOS was serviceable, but it seemed with SECRET ORIGIN as Geoff had a checklist of events & was checking them off as he wrote them. The only reason I'd buy this one would be to complete Geoff Johns Superman run or to enjoy Frank's dynamic art.Aalok Madhusudan Joshihttp://aalokmjoshi.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-28452694773457379672011-04-15T06:04:55.581-05:002011-04-15T06:04:55.581-05:00If I may, I'd put SECRET ORIGIN firmly in plac...If I may, I'd put SECRET ORIGIN firmly in place with Geoff Johns Superman (and an addition to Superman by Geoff Johns Omnibus when it comes out). Just as the way ALL STAR BATMAN & ROBIN THE BOY WONDER falls in place with Miller's other work....like if the way Bruce treats Dick in ALL STAR is any indication, it's no wonder Dick turns out to be against him in THE DARK KNIGHT STRIKES AGAIN.Aalok Madhusudan Joshihttp://aalokmjoshi.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-61587362779345838812011-04-14T18:51:31.682-05:002011-04-14T18:51:31.682-05:00Some people regard Superman: Birthright as a class...Some people regard Superman: Birthright as a classic, but I could never get past what I saw of the art. Just a major, major turn-off. Sometimes I feel bad, like I should look past that, but, well, the art's half the experience.dl316bhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14779958088602323101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-66247489181016947602011-04-14T13:20:38.118-05:002011-04-14T13:20:38.118-05:00And I'm not anti-fun, but it would seem to me ...And I'm not anti-fun, but it would seem to me that DC: Legacies -- purely because of the way it was advertised -- isn't the place for non-continuity antics (though I thought the story was pretty funny).<br /><br />That I found myself holding single issues until I had them all, and then reading them all together, was one reason why I went wait-for-trade. I wonder if that's common among readers to wait until they have all the single issues to dive in.collectededitionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14698269790653953645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-43471627266075015302011-04-14T13:17:10.111-05:002011-04-14T13:17:10.111-05:00I picked up Legacies in singles (as I was unsure i...I picked up Legacies in singles (as I was unsure if it would be collected), but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. I tend to read the few mini-series that I buy in singles the same way I read collections - wait until I have it all and then read them together. <br /><br />Anyway, I just checked out that Comic Box Commentary link and it seems the Legion/Superman meeting is not meant to be anything but non-continuity fun. So I retract my earlier statement about coordinating with the story in Secret Origin.D. Mark Simmshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16537028797086907873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-27900640475746978442011-04-14T11:26:14.446-05:002011-04-14T11:26:14.446-05:00I liked Superman: Birthright, although I still hav...I liked Superman: Birthright, although I still have problems with the art. <br />Superman: Secret Origins... I JUST LOVED IT!!!. Maybe because I'm a huge fan of the movies, and the way Jones and Frank handle it, well, it was like watching Christopher Reeve doing his thing again.Xavicohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13635218594820077469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-35211026731201688652011-04-14T10:55:25.246-05:002011-04-14T10:55:25.246-05:00I don't want to criticize too much a book I ha...I don't want to criticize too much a book I haven't read, but I understand DC: Legacies is all sorts of confusing, from characters and costumes drawn at Superman's funeral who shouldn't have been there, to the Silver Age Supergirl making an appearance. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a trip back through DC's history for the sake of it, but as this book was promoted as the next "History of the DC Universe," it seems to me it does more harm than good.<br /><br />See our friends at <a href="http://comicboxcommentary.blogspot.com/2010/10/review-dcu-legacies-6.html" rel="nofollow">Comic Box Commentary</a> about said Superboy/Legion meetin.collectededitionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14698269790653953645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-41427592362472192582011-04-14T10:47:39.096-05:002011-04-14T10:47:39.096-05:00I think it's clear that DC is updating their c...I think it's clear that DC is updating their core heroes to make them instantly familiar to the more casual movie/TV fans. Not saying it's wrong; they hope that people seeing the movies/shows will give the comic the chance, with the thinking that they are more likely to stick with a character who feels like the same one from the other media.<br /><br />You mention DC: Legacies has a different Supes/Legion meeting; I find that interesting, as the two series (Legacies and Secret Origins) were not very far apart. You would think they could coordinate better on that!D. Mark Simmshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16537028797086907873noreply@blogger.com