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The Never-Ending Battle Superman Didn’t Fight: A Review of ‘Superman: The War Years’

The cover of “Superman: The War Years 1938-1945” by Roy Thomas.

Superman is so powerful, he could’ve ended World War II single handedly in ten minutes. Why didn’t he? What was he doing?

Those are the questions asked and answered by former comic book writer and editor Roy Thomas in Superman: The War Years 1938-1945, a large hardback book that is one part retrospective and one part graphic novel. To put it simply, this book is a collection of over 20 Superman comics—mostly Action Comics and his solo title—that pertain to America’s role in World War II, plus inspirational covers, a few comic strips, and even some ads. These are divided into four sections with introductory essays written by Thomas, which set the stage for the comics that follow.

As a nearly lifelong fan of the Man of Steel, I was excited to read many of his earliest adventures. However, as a critic, deciding how to evaluate this collection is a difficult one. At least 95-percent of this book is the comic material, all of which was published when my grandparents were in their youths. It’d be unfair, even a disservice, to judge them by modern standards. The artwork, pacing, and even layouts would be unappealing—or perhaps jarring—to present-day readers. Compounding the difficulty is the many “politically incorrect” terms and ideas presented in many of them, as noted by Thomas (more on that later). So, in light of that, I’m evaluating this volume more on its presentation of the material and not so much the material itself.

That being said, there are some noteworthy issues here Super-fans will want to read that go beyond the book’s theme. It begins with Supes’ first appearance in Action Comics #1 in 1938. Next is his full origin in the opening pages of Superman #1 in 1939. Later there’s a two-issue story that features the first appearance of Superman’s archenemy Lex Luthor (who had red hair!), though he was only called Luthor in that story. While this book collects highlights from the Man of Tomorrow’s first seven years of publication, I noticed a marked change in Superman’s characterization. He starts as a heroic though often harsh figure. He frequently threatens bad guys with violent deaths like ripping their hearts out, and he arguably kills soldiers when attacking a Nazi military base in one issue (which I guess lends a bit more legitimacy to him killing Zod in Man of Steel, but I digress). For readers like myself whose first image of Superman was Christopher Reeve, this might seem strange. But again, it was a product of its time.

Thomas’ essays, while short, effectively prepare readers for what they are about to read. He gives the historical and cultural context for what was going on at the time. As the United States’ stance on the war changed, so it did for Superman and his creators. The Man of Tomorrow went from forcing fictional warring nations—obvious stand-ins for European countries—to end their hostilities to fighting Axis saboteurs and invaders. Heck, in one issue Superman battles a mad scientist who uses sea monsters to invade America for Hitler! (It wasn’t as epic as sounds, sadly.) The classic comic strip where Clark Kent’s enlistment is denied because he read the wrong eyesight ledger thanks to his x-ray vision is presented, showing why he never joined the war. Interestingly, on several occasions in other issues, Superman says he didn’t go fight the Axis because he believed America’s fighting men could handle it themselves. He contented himself to battling the enemy if they came ashore. Some might call that foolish, but I find it encouraging. Superman knows he can’t and shouldn’t solve all of mankind’s problems. Plus, as Thomas writes, it was a way of boosting morale for soldiers by not cheapening their struggles.
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As noted, given the potentially controversial material included in this collection—like the infamous “slap a Jap” cover on Action Comics #58—it’s a good thing Thomas lets readers know what to expect. However, he insists that these are part of history, and so the comics remain uncensored. (Humorously, I did find a few typos in these unaltered 70-year-old comics). It should be said, though, that a series of comic strips are included that feature Superman helping a young woman decide which branch of the military to join so she can join one of her four “boy friends” in serving the nation. I think that counts as forward thinking.

Thomas’ final essay, however, is confusingly titled, “Part 5,” even though it’s what closes the book. It threw me off because it initially seemed like it could’ve introduced a new section or been an introduction to a second volume collecting some of Superman’s early post-war adventures. I realized as I read it that the “Part 5” is probably meant to reference the essays themselves as opposed to the sections of the book, but it was still confusing. Regardless, it does close out the book well.

Superman: The War Years 1938-1945 serves as a window into the history of both Superman and the United States. Those were years of drastic change for the nation, and they helped define the Man of Steel as a character. Not only that, this volume illustrates how art reflects life. Indeed, Superman served as both a propaganda tool and as a means of escape for soldiers and civilians alike at the time. For modern-day fans, it gives them a chance to see some of the milestones in Man of Tomorrow’s publication history.

And that’s pretty super!

Final Grade: A-

Insight Editions’ Wonder Woman Journal

I finally got a chance to use my Wonder Woman journal. Okay, I lied. I haven’t used it; it’s just too pretty to use. I don’t want to vandalize it with my terrible handwriting and insignificant rambles.

Wonder Woman Journal

The cover is made out of a sturdy material that is scuff and scratch resistant.  With Wonder Woman’s infamous symbol debossed on the front, I feel like I’m part of a secret agency on Earth that works for her. I’m lame, I know, but hey, what do you do?
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To help readers feel like they are even more a part of the DC Universe, Insight Editions included several pages filled with sketches and notes from yours truly. During a battle with Cheetah, Wonder Woman loses her journal and leaves you with the beginning of a looming,  great battle.
Wonder Woman JournalI love this journal. It’s durable, 192 pages, and there’s even a little pocket on the inside of the back cover. I didn’t think Wonder Woman would have a journal—when would she have the time or where would she keep it—but I can believe this one is hers.

You can order Wonder Woman’s or Superman’s journal from Insight Editions for $18.95. I hope a Batman journal is next!

Fans will fall in love with ‘Lois Lane: Fallout’

Image courtesy of Amazon.

Lois Lane, the fearless Daily Planet reporter, is equally as iconic as DC Comics’ seminal hero Superman, but she usually serves as a supporting character. Author Gwenda Bond, however, reverses those roles while asking, “Who was Lois Lane as a teenager?” The result is Lois Lane: Fallout, a new YA novel (that appears to be the first of a series).

Sixteen-year-old Army brat Lois Lane moves to Metropolis where she gets a job as a reporter for a new online newspaper for teens called the Daily Scoop. She then learns a classmate, Anavi, is being tortured by a trio of bizarre bullies called the Warheads. The trio seem to have invasive mental powers thanks to a virtual reality video game.

Fallout is two parts Smallville and one part Sword Art Online. Like the former, it features a popular comic book character in her formative years. Lois, though young, is almost exactly the character fans know and love from the comics, albeit a bit immature. She’s tackling the typical problems a teenage Army brat has to deal with—constant moving, adjusting to new schools, trying to make friends—but with her trademark stubbornness. She may be rough around the edges, but it’s obvious she’d do anything to help the less fortunate, as evidenced by her efforts to protect Anavi. What starts as a simple problem leads to a complicated web of industrial subterfuge. Regardless, underneath all that is the important lesson of intervening to stop bullying.

The plot of Fallout, as I alluded, is reminiscent of the anime Sword Art Online (which is based on a series of Japanese light novels). Lois discovers that Anavi is a gamer and plays a new VR game called Worlds War Three using a holoset. The Warheads also play the game, and they often oppress her in the game, too. The game itself could be described as the bizarre lovechild of World of Warcraft and Mass Effect, creating an MMO featuring both dragons and aliens (among other things). While the game is a huge part of the story, the characters dive into it only a few times, which is to its credit. It would’ve been too easy and cliché to set the story in the VR world. The novel may as well have been a Superman/Sword Art Online crossover fan fiction at that point. Plus, it makes more sense to defeat the villains in “real life” than in the video game. Should this become a series, I don’t know if the VR game will be featured. I’d rather it wasn’t, or at the very least not used as the focal point of the plot.

While some have complained that Lois, despite being a strong woman, is too often rescued by Superman (I’d argue she just has a tendency to get in over her head), she’s quite competent here. Only once or twice does another character have to bail her out of trouble. Yet at the same time, she doesn’t mind being rescued. Bond could have easily turned her into a so-called “feminist heroine” who pretends to be invincible, but her Lois is willing to be vulnerable, although that usually requires people to crack her Army brat shell.
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As is typical with YA, the heroine serves as its narrator, and Lois’ rampant snark never ceases to be entertaining. Bond perfectly replicates Lois’ distinct voice. It really is like hearing a young Margot Kidder except in present-day. Lois’ reactions to the scantily-clad elf princess avatar her co-reporter creates for her in the VR game are particularly poignant and funny. This book’s style has a fairly unique feature: the inclusion of texting/internet chats. The paragraph structures and fonts change whenever these come up, visually signaling to the reader the change. By transcribing these chats, it makes them easier to follow. Interestingly, while Lois is usually a notoriously bad speller, these chats are free of typos and have only a few emoticons or other Internet lingo. Was this a creative license on Bond’s part? Regardless, it’s better for reading purposes.

Most of these conversations are with an enigmatic boy whose username is “SmallvilleGuy.” Well, he’s enigmatic to Lois, anyway. Bond throws in many subtle hints that even the most casual of Superman fans will know this fella is in fact Clark Kent. He never gives his real name, and other than seeing his avatar in the VR (a blue-eyed alien, ironically), he and Lois never meet. While he plays second fiddle to Lois, he’s no incompetent sidekick. He’s proficient with technology and uses his connections within an internet group to gather information for Lois, as she investigates the technology firm behind Worlds War Three. He saves her once within the game—by firing laser beams from his eyes—and helps out during the climax, but for the most part he simply supports Lois’ efforts. Understandably, Lois wrestles with how she feels about him, constantly telling herself he’s just a friend despite their meeting in the VR game feeling like a date (this is YA, after all, the heroine must struggle with such things). It’s a great transposition and foreshadowing of what fans know will come in the future.

Which leads to one of the book’s minor flaws: the rest of the supporting cast isn’t as compelling. Lois’ parents are interesting enough, but her cohorts at the Scoop don’t hold as much intrigue. It’s not that they’re poorly written, but because “SmallvilleGuy” is—or rather, will be—Superman, they’re overshadowed by him. Other than the Warheads, who turn out to actually be pawns, there’s no real villain in the story. There’s a CEO and a few scientists at the end, but they’re hardly ever seen. For a book inspired by comic books, this seems a bit strange. Also, Bond is fond of characters who shrug only one shoulder for some reason. Most of them do that at least once. A nitpick, I know, but it happens a lot.

Regardless, Lois Lane: Fallout is a wonderful read for even the most casual of Superman fans.

Final Grade: A-

Waris: The Poison Ivy Story Fan Fiction

Fan fiction is great for many reasons. It can give any writer a preexisting world in which to tell stories. Or it can allow a story to exist for that random character, whom you see pass by on screen for eight seconds in a film. Here we have a writer telling a story about Poison Ivy, a top villain in DC Comics and more specifically, Batman comics. The title is Waris: The Poison Ivy Story written by Maude Delice.

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The story is kind of all over the place, but in the defense of the writer, it isn’t finished yet. This tale is definitely one told in the same vein as a Tarantino film. This is not a bad thing by any means, and is actually kind of smart. When you are teased with seeing only parts of a story instead of the whole, you’re going to keep reading. It’s the same thing comics do all the time, and since this is based on a comic character, I have no beef with it. I do have beef with the inconsistent writing style. In the same chapter the story can go from detailed dialogue, to a generic scene description, and then end with a paragraph from a novel.

There is definitely a lot of aspects of this story that let you know right away this is from the mind of a fan. A naked woman laid across a bed smoking weed is the first thing that happens in chapter one, and it immediately sets the tone for the rest of the story. Everything, in all of the chapters, is very sexualized: a different Poison Ivy than we’re used to seeing. So far, the story is far beyond (BEYOND!) just the origin story I went in expecting. It’s more of a new take on the life of Ivy.
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While there isn’t much of it here, the art is, a thing. I don’t care for it and in my opinion it doesn’t really capture who Poison Ivy is. I’m sure many out there will love the abstract style that is used, but it just isn’t for me. Whenever pictures do show up they just distract me and take away from the story rather than help.

The best (and most appealing) thing about fan fiction is that the fans are in control of the story. Although it’s generally not for me, I think fan fiction has it’s place and it’s definitely not going anywhere. I’m always up for reading a good story, regardless of who wrote it. This story, however, is not quite there. It doesn’t appear to be close to the end so it could easily pick up. I’ll keep a look out for more of it. If you are interested in checking it out for yourself then you can head over to theivyleaguegrad.tumblr.com and read the first four chapters.

DC Comics: Super-Villains: The Complete Visual History Review

Heroes and villains: two sides of the same coin. Although, one side of that coin is clearly much more important: without villains there could be no heroes, but without heroes, villains would still exist. Look at any battle between good and evil; it’s always the bad guy leading the show. The villain chooses who, what, and when to attack or steal something and the hero just reacts and tries to counter. This chase continues on until one side is ultimately victorious. This isn’t just in comics either. It happens in film, television, books, games, and even wrestling. The bad guys are always the star in these situations. They are the ones dictating where the story goes next, not the hero. That’s why a great villain is important to have, and when it comes to creating an awesome rouge gallery for heroes to fight, DC Comics is definitely one of the best. That brings me to a new book by Daniel Wallace: DC Comics: Super-Villains: The Complete Visual History.

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Even if you don’t read a word of this book, it’s still worth checking out all of the great art. The book is full of the iconic comic covers villains have graced, along with a ton of awesome pictures featuring these characters. The pictures range from the villains’ origins to their current incarnations. Seeing how drastically most of these characters have changed is extremely interesting and is such a great addition—proves my point: comics look so much better nowadays. Also, being able to see how lighthearted most comics were before compared to how serious they all are now is great. Although, admittedly there are some comics now that would benefit from taking themselves less serious, but that’s an argument for another time.

Since I spend most of my time explaining comic origins and story lines to people, the idea of books like Super Villains is much appreciated. Unfortunately, this book suffers from the same problem as others like it: there’s just not enough information about each character. Now I understand you can’t cover every story or appearance of any one villain, but I found myself wondering why so many key moments for these characters were left out and less important moments were included.

There are more DC villains than I can count who are omitted from this book. Sure every bank robber or murderer doesn’t need a page, but I would say Hugo Strange, Amanda Waller, and Paralax all definitely deserve a spot.
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Focus is something this book is really lacking. I can see the ambition here, and it’s admirable. From what I can tell Wallace wanted to include each villain’s history. Not just from the comics, but also from film, television, and games. While the book covers the characters’ notable appearances, you don’t actually get as much info about that character. Instead of talking about every person who has played the Joker, I wish the book focused more on the incredibly messed up things the Joker has done (e.g. how he “created” Oracle). It also would’ve helped if the book focused on either Pre-New 52 or Post-New 52. Instead, we get a mix of both origins for these characters. With the way it’s written, the book reads a lot like a Wiki article and less like the encyclopedia that I was expecting. Considering the lack of focus, the weird mix just makes it even harder to really find out much about these characters beyond (BEYOND!) a few basic points.

Joker

Overall the book is interesting, and while it won’t serve much use to somebody attempting to learn the history of these characters or to someone who already knows the history, it is a great coffee table book. This book has awesome artwork both fans and people who have never read a comic in their lives can flip through and admire, while they wait for you to finish making the chimichangas.