Review of "Last Family of Krypton and Superman Meme-time!
Hmmm… Honestly think it would be neat to meet Richard Donner honestly but at the same time I suspect I would not even rate on his radar and probably would be as quiet as a mouse when meeting him. Not fun at all. I definitely think it might be interesting to meet Cary Bates in person one day though. Not only did he write for the Silver Age Superman and he'd writing for the Elseworld that I'm reviewing right now but I just found out that he also wrote a number of episodes for one of my early animated fandoms growing up, "Gargoyles."
Day 26- Who would you want to write a Superman Comic?
Honestly I think it might have been neat to have seen what Christopher Reeve might have come up with but as he’s no longer alive it’s impossible to call for him to attempt one (although I guess you could somewhat argue that Superman IV was partially him considering he was on it as a producer). I guess beyond the fantasy of Reeve doing one I’m unsure who I would want to write him. The key would be to keep a sense of idealism in the face of great (but not insurmountable for the Man of Steel) odds. Singer had his chance with the movie adaptation and the prequels if I’m not mistaken. I’ve read the prequels and while they’re decent (and flesh out the contextual backstory to Superman Returns) some of the precepts the movie is based upon are contrived and don’t fit where Clark/Kal-El was in terms of his idealism and who he is as a character.
I just bought my first "off the rack" comic book today. I've been looking forward to "The Last Family of Krypton" and now the first of the three parts are here! Spoilers in the review below the cut.
Ok, while a lot of people really adore the front cover I'm not as fascinated by it as a lot of other people. It could be because while Alex Ross's art is extremely intricate and the cover artist did a good job imitating Ross's style I'm not as fond of the overly muscular Superman. A balance has to be made and unfortunately the cover art wasn't it. Luckily Renato Arlem did an amazing job with the artwork behind the cover. The version of Jor-El LOOKS likes what many see as Superman. Lara looked quite attractive in her own way but it is also very obvious that she is concerned how her child will grow up and doesn't want him over-exposed to the paparazzi-lifestyle that is so extremely prevalent in this modern era. Because of that she goes on a search to find a foster family who would help by being (mostly) surrogate parents. They interview various people (some of whom are familiar to us... there's one I really liked seeing but I'm not going to spoil the surprise on this one) until a meteorite falling into the Kent's farm gives them the perfect family for their needs (one that is humble and takes the paparazzi in stride but isn't over-enthusiastic plus an extremely good ethical compass). Lara expedites the process and within a few days Kal-El is now Clark Kent. He seems to enjoy his time with his earth parents in a way that works very well for explaining how Kal-El could be the Clark Kent we know today/in the movies/in the current era while still being raised (in part) by his kryptonian mother.
In addition to the things going on in Kal-El's life I would be EXTREMELY remiss in not mentioning a very important point within this story. Jor-El is suffering from an acute case of Survivor's guilt. Every day he would go into his "Sanctum of Solitude" he has built for himself and play out holographic ideas of how he could have fixed the problems which caused Krypton's destruction. Some of them even included something that is very specific to Brainiac, shrinking the cities so he could transport them across the universe. Eventually Lara has enough and they end up having a loud argument which nearly everyone in Metropolis can see an hear. Let's just say things don't stay tense for long. *hee!* You can't be a fan of the Superman comics without being a Jor-El/Lara shipper, now can you?
Fans of the Superman movies will recognize some of the conversations and words from the movies. In addition, Lara and Jor-El's early important saves will be similar to events which happened in the late 70s-early 80s making it at times obvious that it takes place approximately in the late 70s-early 80s on forward.
The only thing which I really disliked was their decision to have Lex Luthor as a childhood protogee who is in Clark's elementary school class before he is hired by Jor-El for his company, Jorcorp. It's something that has become commonplace within the current mythos and I suppose it has become the new normal considering everything since "Birthright" seems to have made it part of the story but in this case (as in the case I remember seeing somewhere else within "Secret Origins") it was extremely contrived and just didn't make ANY sense at all. How did this child even know the math that went with what he did? While I have never taken any classes in teaching I have worked at three different museums and two of them are very-child/hands-on oriented and in many ways you have to be a very observant person to work in a museum. Children learn how to make something long before they learn to write down how they did it (which would also include the intricate calculus they have Luthor give Jorcorp). There is NEVER any explanation given for why and how he would know such intricate calculus. The only way it might have made any sense at all is if Brainiac has something to do with his super-intelligence. This is not to discount the traditional view of Luthor as a scientific genius it just doesn't make sense to have that extreme of a math base as well as crafty/creative knowledge without him either being an adult or artificially enhanced somehow.
Goodness, I'm tired. It's been a long day and I think it will only get longer tomorrow... or is it today?
Day 26- Who would you want to write a Superman Comic?
Honestly I think it might have been neat to have seen what Christopher Reeve might have come up with but as he’s no longer alive it’s impossible to call for him to attempt one (although I guess you could somewhat argue that Superman IV was partially him considering he was on it as a producer). I guess beyond the fantasy of Reeve doing one I’m unsure who I would want to write him. The key would be to keep a sense of idealism in the face of great (but not insurmountable for the Man of Steel) odds. Singer had his chance with the movie adaptation and the prequels if I’m not mistaken. I’ve read the prequels and while they’re decent (and flesh out the contextual backstory to Superman Returns) some of the precepts the movie is based upon are contrived and don’t fit where Clark/Kal-El was in terms of his idealism and who he is as a character.
I just bought my first "off the rack" comic book today. I've been looking forward to "The Last Family of Krypton" and now the first of the three parts are here! Spoilers in the review below the cut.
Ok, while a lot of people really adore the front cover I'm not as fascinated by it as a lot of other people. It could be because while Alex Ross's art is extremely intricate and the cover artist did a good job imitating Ross's style I'm not as fond of the overly muscular Superman. A balance has to be made and unfortunately the cover art wasn't it. Luckily Renato Arlem did an amazing job with the artwork behind the cover. The version of Jor-El LOOKS likes what many see as Superman. Lara looked quite attractive in her own way but it is also very obvious that she is concerned how her child will grow up and doesn't want him over-exposed to the paparazzi-lifestyle that is so extremely prevalent in this modern era. Because of that she goes on a search to find a foster family who would help by being (mostly) surrogate parents. They interview various people (some of whom are familiar to us... there's one I really liked seeing but I'm not going to spoil the surprise on this one) until a meteorite falling into the Kent's farm gives them the perfect family for their needs (one that is humble and takes the paparazzi in stride but isn't over-enthusiastic plus an extremely good ethical compass). Lara expedites the process and within a few days Kal-El is now Clark Kent. He seems to enjoy his time with his earth parents in a way that works very well for explaining how Kal-El could be the Clark Kent we know today/in the movies/in the current era while still being raised (in part) by his kryptonian mother.
In addition to the things going on in Kal-El's life I would be EXTREMELY remiss in not mentioning a very important point within this story. Jor-El is suffering from an acute case of Survivor's guilt. Every day he would go into his "Sanctum of Solitude" he has built for himself and play out holographic ideas of how he could have fixed the problems which caused Krypton's destruction. Some of them even included something that is very specific to Brainiac, shrinking the cities so he could transport them across the universe. Eventually Lara has enough and they end up having a loud argument which nearly everyone in Metropolis can see an hear. Let's just say things don't stay tense for long. *hee!* You can't be a fan of the Superman comics without being a Jor-El/Lara shipper, now can you?
Fans of the Superman movies will recognize some of the conversations and words from the movies. In addition, Lara and Jor-El's early important saves will be similar to events which happened in the late 70s-early 80s making it at times obvious that it takes place approximately in the late 70s-early 80s on forward.
The only thing which I really disliked was their decision to have Lex Luthor as a childhood protogee who is in Clark's elementary school class before he is hired by Jor-El for his company, Jorcorp. It's something that has become commonplace within the current mythos and I suppose it has become the new normal considering everything since "Birthright" seems to have made it part of the story but in this case (as in the case I remember seeing somewhere else within "Secret Origins") it was extremely contrived and just didn't make ANY sense at all. How did this child even know the math that went with what he did? While I have never taken any classes in teaching I have worked at three different museums and two of them are very-child/hands-on oriented and in many ways you have to be a very observant person to work in a museum. Children learn how to make something long before they learn to write down how they did it (which would also include the intricate calculus they have Luthor give Jorcorp). There is NEVER any explanation given for why and how he would know such intricate calculus. The only way it might have made any sense at all is if Brainiac has something to do with his super-intelligence. This is not to discount the traditional view of Luthor as a scientific genius it just doesn't make sense to have that extreme of a math base as well as crafty/creative knowledge without him either being an adult or artificially enhanced somehow.
Goodness, I'm tired. It's been a long day and I think it will only get longer tomorrow... or is it today?