April
29
Super Debut
Superman #204
Creators: Brian Azzarello, Jim Lee and Scott Williams
DC Comics, 32 pages, $2.50
So? Given the immense success of Jim Lee's run last year on Batman, it only makes sense that he'd turn his attention next to Superman. After all, Lee's slick style has made him one of the most popular comics of the past 15 years, even if his art output suffered while he founded and ran Wildstorm studios, which he eventually sold to DC. What's surprising, is that Lee's teamed up for his year-long run on the title with writer Brian Azzarello, whose gritty crime masterpiece 100 Bullets is a must-read, but not the sort of thing that automatically makes you think this guy would be great on Superman. Azzarello really does a nice job of not tipping his hand as to where this story's going in this first issue. Superman finds himself talking to a preist about his personal doubts and a large failure. The priest is having his own crisis of faith. This is the sort of stuff that's been done with grittier heroes, like Daredevil, but it's pretty different for Superman, perhaps the most lilly-white of all superheroes. Even more fun is the way Lee draws the story, with a full splash page that pretty obviously compares Superman to Jesus, which is somewhat appropriate given his godlike powers. This potentially disastrous idea is handled with taste by both Azzarrello and Lee. And by the time Superman reveals the reasons for his crisis of faith, it's hard not to want to come back for the next issue. Inker Scott Williams and really nice production values make this book a great example of what can be done on a monthly comic. And that this is, so far, better than Lee's run on Batman makes the inevitable topping of the sales charts something to really enjoy. Grade: A-
Batman: Harley and Ivy #1 (of 3)
Creators: Paul Dini and Bruce Timm
DC Comics, 32 pages, $2.50
So? Dini and Timm are best known as the driving forces behind the extremely popular 1990s TV show Batman: The Animated Series. Their most popular addition to the Batman mythos was Harley Quinn, the criminally cute girlfriend of The Joker. Over the years, Harley and her creators have moved into the comics realm more and more: the character is now part of the "regular" Batman canon and Dini writes a fair number of comics these days on the side from Cartoon Network's Duck Dodgers series. Having hit the ball out of the park on their first Harley comics, Batman: Mad Love, in the mid-1990s, there's more than a little excitement about this title. The good news is that, creatively, it's a blast. Reading the dialogue is almost unnecessary because Timm's beautiful art (inked by Shane Glines) tells the story perfectly. But Dini's script adds a lot of the personality to Harley and her partner in crime, longtime Bat-foe Poison Ivy. There's even a shower scene with lots of conveniently placed balloons that should tease fanboys old enough to get it but without being out of bounds for (slightly) younger readers. The bad news isn't really bad, as much as it is a question as to why DC chose to do this project as a three-issue miniseries and then have the printing be so muddled. This would have been nice to see as a single, 72-page comic printed on nicer paper and selling for a bit more (that's the format that worked so well for Mad Love). As it is, the flat reproduction of the colors just kind of seeps some of the life out of what is otherwise a really fun book. Grade: B+
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