Review: Superman #311

Last week, on a lark, I reviewed Superman #312, the second part of a 4 part story. The response was very positive with folks wanting to hear more about the story itself. Perhaps starting with part 2 wasn't the best choice.

So I am here today to catch you up! Today I cover Superman #311, by Marty Pasko, Curt Swan, and Frank Springer. The issue sports a delightful cover by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. If you are looking for a cover that screams ' buy me' from the spinner rack it is this one. Superman being manhandled by a horned unknown villain. People dying around him from plague! Guest starring the Flash! This one has it all true believer.

Pasko does a great job for an opening chapter, dropping us into the action scene immediately and then catching us up. There are a lot of mysteries here. Who is the villain in the scientist (revealed in #312)? Who is the newcomer in the trench coat? What is causing the new plague? And how can Superman recover from an philosophical crisis? Add to that a lot of supporting cast interactions, including the worst 'Steve Lombard is a jerk' scene on record, and you have a winner! And all that in 17 pages!

As I said in the prior review, Springer on Swan is a weird mix. But the action is brisk and beautiful. It is the more character driven scenes that seem to suffer here.

On to the book!

Back Issue Box: Superman #312

When I do back issue reviews here I often try to tie them to some sort of theme or plot that is happening in books currently on the rack.

Sometimes I look at them because I do a deep dive in some aspect of Supergirl's history, like the recent look at Comet's origin.

So why I am I looking at Superman #312?

Is it the great Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez cover, showing Superman and Supergirl teaming up to fight Amalak? Is it writer Marty Pasko's recognizing Supergirl's history or his deepening of Kryptonian lore? Is it the interesting if imperfect teaming of penciler Curt Swan with inker Frank Springer?

All of those would be good enough reasons. But they weren't THE reason. 

It is that recently I saw this picture of Mork reading the issue on an episode of Mork and Mindy.

This is a wild issue. It is a primer on Bronze Age story-telling, covering a lot of plot in a scant 17 pages. It is the second part of a four part story. (I suppose I should cover all of them here.) And while Supergirl is made a damsel in distress in the story, she also is treated with respect by Pasko who makes her act like Superman's colleague, not sidekick or mentee. 

On to the book.

Leviathan Wednesday: Flash #22 and Manhunter #9

Welcome to what has basically become Manhunter Wednesday, my deep dive into the Mark Shaw character as I try to show how his history leads him to become Leviathan.

Last week, I reviewed Manhunter #8, an Invasion crossover. This week I cover, as quickly as I can, Flash #22 and Manhunter #9, more Invasion information.

This is a decent story if you look at it from the viewpoint of Shaw seeing how secret organizations and duplicity lead to disaster. Remember, Leviathan is all about destroying spy organizations and abolishing secrets. What better storyline to hammer home that than a secret invasion by shape-shifting aliens. Moreover, let's throw in an immature hero like the then Wally West who almost gets taken in by it all. Shaw learns he can't trust heroes to see through these things.

Writers William Messner-Loeb, John Ostrander, and Kim Yale give us a pretty crazy story. Within the issues, Fidel Castro gets a lot of lines. In some ways, Castro almost gets a sympathetic voice. That is kind of odd. I don't delve into that too much here as I am concentrating on Shaw. But that stuck out to me.

The art is by Greg LaRocque in the Flash issue and he gets to showcase his talents nicely. There is a costume party in the issue with everyone in superhero or villain garb. LaRocque has different invitees pair off in the boozy atmosphere so we see Superman and Starfire flirting, etc. As a fan of his Legion work, it was nice to see his stuff here. Frank Springer and Pablo Marcos give us some solid if uninspired work in the Manhunter half.

Settle in. It's a two issue review so it'll be long but I'll try to keep it brief!

Review: Manhunter #8

I am now 8 issues into my look at the 1980's Manhunter series as I gather clues into the ultimate transformation of Mark Shaw to Leviathan. It interesting for me to see just how much of this early run has been devoted to secret societies, masks, and outright duplicity. No wonder Shaw is so disturbed.

Manhunter #8 is no different, with Shaw tangentially involved the DC event Invasion. Shaw gets sent to Cuba to check up on the Flash and runs into Durlans. The whole thing, in many ways, is nonsensical. But from that 10000 foot view of Leviathan, it is just one more brick in the foundation of this turning of Shaw from hero to leader of the Leviathan army.

Writers John Ostrander and Kim Yale again show us a Shaw who is haunted by his Manhunter history. Shaw again sees secretive, manipulative groups trying to control others from behind the curtain of disguise. These themes have been prevalent from the beginning of the series. Whether Brian Michael Bendis read this to get his ideas for Leviathan is a mystery. 

But the plot of Durlans trying to take over Cuba but not really using their powers or being ruthless seems a bit inane.

The art here is done by Frank Springer with inks by Pablo Marcos. This is standard fare, nothing fancy.

On to the book.