Comic Review: Superman: Last Son of Krypton

Published: October 8th, 2013
Written by: Geoff Johns, Richard Donner
Art by: Adam Kubert

DC Comics, 252 Pages

Review:

I wanted to read this because it was the first official comic book appearance of General Zod, the made-for-the-big-screen villain from the first two Superman movies by Richard Donner.

What makes this even cooler is that Donner worked on this story with Geoff Johns.

This collection is actually two separate stories. However, they both feature Zod with the first one being primarily about the character and his introduction into DC Comics canon. The second story primarily features Brainiac as the antagonist.

Ultimately, this was a really good read and one of my favorite Superman trade paperbacks of recent memory. Both stories were solid and they actually connect in a way that makes wedging both of them together, a more enjoyable, overall narrative.

I thought that Donner and Johns came up with a pretty satisfying story to introduce Zod and his family. I also thought that the Adam Kubert art was top notch but I’ve also always loved all the Kuberts.

If you grew up with the two Donner Superman films like I did, this should definitely peak your interest. It’s a worthwhile story that was both engaging and entertaining while also being a great homage to Donner’s Superman film work.

Rating: 7.75/10
Pairs well with: other Superman comics featuring General Zod.

Comic Review: Infinite Crisis

Published: 2005-2006
Written by: Geoff Johns
Art by: Phil Jimenez

DC Comics, 241 Pages

Review:

I hated Crisis On Infinite Earths but I had hoped that this more modern version of it would’ve been more to my liking. I guess it is better but not by much because it falls victim to the same bullshit.

It’s overloaded with characters to the point that it’s difficult to follow and it just becomes a mega clusterfuck, trying to be larger than life while wedging a fuck ton of characters into double splash pages.

DC likes doing these big events that try to “reset” the multiverse and all they do is become overly complicated messes that ignore their own established rules because new writers don’t have time to read the old stuff or pay attention to it. In Geoff Johns’ defense, the event this is a spiritual sequel to was a convoluted shitstorm, so I don’t blame him for paying it no real mind.

If I’m going to try and look at the positives, there is really only one: the art by Phil Jimenez. It’s spectacular and it is lively and even if I don’t enjoy the story, it’s hard not to get caught up in the absolute beauty of Jimenez’s work. It’s stunning and even on those overcrowded splash pages, he fills the space magnificently and dynamically.

Apart from that, there’s not much to say. This isn’t as messy as its predecessor but it is still an over-sized shit meatball.

Rating: 5/10 – because of the art more than anything else.
Pairs well with: other massive DC Comics events that are overloaded with characters.

Comic Review: Red Hood and the Outlaws, Vol. 3: Bizarro Reborn

Published: April 24th, 2018
Written by: Scott Lobdell
Art by: Joe Bennett, Tyler Kirkham, Dextor Soy

DC Comics, 188 Pages

Review:

Out of all the volumes of the Red Hood comic that focus on the trio of Red Hood, Artemis and Bizarro, this is my favorite.

Man, this story was solid as hell and it was also a pretty emotional due to how we see Bizarro die, come back to life as a super-genius and then find out that he is still going to devolve into a dumb brute again.

For long-time fans of Jason Todd, this is especially emotional, as we see him finally find a sense of family that has eluded him for so long. He’s no longer alone, he’s with people he loves but you get the sense that it’s all going to be taken away from him in the near future. Re-reading these issues now, it certainly adds more context to his more recent stories.

Scott Lobdell has done such a fantastic job with this series and even though my pull list from my local comic shop keeps shrinking, this is a series I just don’t want to give up. It’s much better than the industry standard in modern times and it is awesome that there is top tier talent working on a book that mainly features B or C level characters.

This volume actually collects three short story arcs, which see cameos from a lot of cool characters like the modern Suicide Squad, Nightwing, the modern Bat-family, Lex Luthor and others.

I’m also now a big fan of Dexter Soy’s art style. I didn’t know much about him before this series but the issues he works on just look fantastic.

Red Hood and the Outlaws is one of the best DC Comics titles of the last few years. I wish more people would read it, even if the most recent stuff is a bit different due to Jason Todd being alone, once again. But I feel as if that’s leading to him reuniting with his Outlaw family.

With DC cancelling a bunch of titles in the very near future, I really hope that this isn’t one of them.

Rating: 8.75/10
Pairs well with: the other Red Hood and the Outlaws collections post-Rebirth. Also, the recent Bat-family titles: Nightwing, Batgirl and also the current runs on Suicide Squad and Deathstroke.

Comic Review: Red Hood and the Outlaws, Vol. 2: Who Is Artemis?

Published: October 10th, 2017
Written by: Scott Lobdell
Art by: Mirko Colak, Kenneth Rocafort, Dexter Soy

DC Comics, 117 Pages

Review:

This is about where I picked up the Red Hood and the Outlaw series. It was nice going back and reading this whole story arc, especially after getting more context from the arc before it.

In this chapter, we see the bond between Red Hood, Artemis and Bizarro strengthen. They still aren’t as tight as they will become but there is a trust and respect being formed after a bit of a rocky start.

This continues the plot thread about Artemis trying to track down a mystical Amazonian bow. It gives us some of her backstory and introduces us to her former best friend who has been corrupted by the power she was given to be the proper wielder of the bow. It’s a battle of the Amazons and even Wonder Woman shows up here.

The story also takes the Red Hood back to the exact spot where he was murdered by the Joker years earlier when he was the second Robin. Additionally, Bizarro learns to be a hero for the people of the foreign land that our trio finds themselves in.

Who Is Artmeis? had some solid writing by Scott Lobdell and the art was also really good.

I love this series and this story arc enriches these characters, their union and the DC Universe as a whole.

Rating: 8/10
Pairs well with: the other Red Hood and the Outlaws collections post-Rebirth. Also, the recent Bat-family titles: Nightwing, Batgirl and also the current runs on Suicide Squad and Deathstroke.

Comic Review: Red Hood and the Outlaws, Vol. 1: Dark Trinity

Published: May 2nd, 2017
Written by: Scott Lobdell
Art by: Dexter Soy

DC Comics, 150 Pages

Review:

Man, I really dig this series. Unfortunately, I came into it a bit late. But now that I’ve read this first story arc, it’s added a lot more context to the three main characters and how they are actually very similar to DC’s “Trinity” of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman.

Here, you have Red Hood: a former Robin under Batman, Artemis: an Amazonian warrior like Wonder Woman and Bizarro: a clone of Superman. While they aren’t together at the beginning of the story, this arc shows you how they came to be a unit.

The story also focuses on Red Hood trying to take down Black Mask. He infiltrates his gang, wins over his trust and must wait for the perfect moment to bring the crime boss down. He also has to do all of this without breaking Batman’s rules or else he will have to answer for it.

Scott Lobdell really penned a good script and the art of Dexter Soy is fantastic and gives this fine story a lot of life. It’s vibrant and colorful yet it is still as gritty as a story about Gotham’s criminal underworld needs to be.

Red Hood and the Outlaws has been a favorite series of mine over the last few years. I came into it just after this arc but I am now going to revisit all of it.

Rating: 8.5/10
Pairs well with: the other Red Hood and the Outlaws collections post-Rebirth. Also, the recent Bat-family titles: Nightwing, Batgirl and also the current runs on Suicide Squad and Deathstroke.

Comic Review: Red Hood and the Outlaws, Vol. 4: Good Night Gotham

Published: November 6th, 2018
Written by: Scott Lobdell
Art by: Dexter Soy

DC Comics, 184 Pages

Review:

Good Night Gotham is a pivotal story arc in the Red Hood and the Outlaws series post-Rebirth. It is the story where Red Hood crosses a line and is kicked out of Gotham City by his former mentor and friend, Batman. The line he crossed was shooting Penguin in the face on live television.

Following this story, Red Hood went off on his own, once again, and the comic was then simply re-titled Red Hood: Outlaw.

What does kind of suck, is that I really enjoyed the trio that made up Red Hood’s Outlaws team. Along with Red Hood, you had Artemis and Bizarro, who throughout this title’s run, was actually a super genius. Well, a super genius with a catch, as he struggled to maintain his intelligence and feared reverting back to the lummox that he once was. Bizarro’s journey throughout this series has been great and we sadly see it come to an end for now, as Jason Todd a.k.a. the Red Hood, is forced to move on and his allies are stuck dealing with their own new problem.

This has consistently been one of my favorite DC Comics series that has come out in recent years. I’ve always loved Jason Todd and I feel like he was well represented in this book. This volume brings things to a new level of badass and Todd taps back into the hard edge that he’s been missing lately.

I love the art in this series but it’s the writing that has really yanked me in and kept me invested. In fact, I want to go back and read the three volumes before this one, once again, as it just hit all the right notes for me.

I also loved the story here between Red Hood and the Penguin and it was nice seeing the Penguin as a sinister presence, as opposed to the mostly lame side character he has been now for years. He feels like a true villain and a formidable foe, something that he hasn’t been for quite some time.

Good Night Gotham is high octane end of an era for the character of Red Hood, his team and also a good way to kick off the next phase of his life.

Rating: 7.75/10
Pairs well with: the other Red Hood and the Outlaws collections post-Rebirth. Also, the recent Bat-family titles: Nightwing, Batgirl and also the current runs on Suicide Squad and Deathstroke.