Anyway, let's talk comic books.
Archie Comics
Curveball! My hold on Archie V.3: Archie and Katy Keene came in at the library so I popped it to the top of the stack. The series has been a little on the decline since the glory days of the Mark Waid relaunch, but I enjoyed the last volume (Archie & Sabrina) quite a bit. With this volume they pulled the old bait and switch. I might have been more open to this had it just been marketed as what it is, a Katy Keene mini series. Releasing it as Archie v.3 sets up different expectations that were not well met. (Though realistically I wouldn't have picked up a Katy Keene mini series so I guess touché.) Anyway, boring. I wanted more of Archie & Sabrina.
DC Comics
I made good on my Superman promises. First, I finished Superman in the Seventies by Elliot S! Maggin, et al. What a nostalgic romp this was. Brought me back to the glory days of my childhood comic shop, a teal, windowless building filled with quarter bins. These were the kinds of issues I would dig for. Just beyond the extreme goofiness of the 60s Superman and before the Byrne "this is effing serious" relaunch in the 80s. We got some Jack Kirby, the infamous Lois Lane vs. race issue and just a ton of goofy fun. I'd read Superman in the Fifties forever ago and now I might just have to read all of the decade collections. Good times.
On to New 52, where I was on Superman: Doomed. I liked it the first time and I liked it now. A lot goes down in this book. Superman is bit by the Doomsday bug, there's a Braniac angle, Superman/Wonder Woman romance, Red Lantern Supergirl, and on and on. It's impressive that this collection never loses the thread. It also does something that the DCEU never does. It makes a case for Superman's goodness and sets him up to be this necessary figure in the world, something the characters seem to realize while stuff is going down. I really liked it. This is where the New 52 Superman really starts to hit the mark. I'm looking forward to what's next.
Marvel
Quirky X-Men title? Check. This week it was X-Men Ronin by J. Torres and Makoto Nakatsuka. This was a real win for me. I love when they set out to do a take on characters and actually succeed. This wasn't a case where they changed the costume designs and called it good. Conversely it wasn't just X-Men in name only. This was an honest to goodness reimaging of the characters in a very successful way. The redesigns are good and there's a ton of good character work, particularly with Jean (!) and Storm. Yes, the art gets a little fan servicey at times, but the overall story and tone are what really sell it here. I loved it.
Next time on Comic Book Coffee Break:
Well, I do want to finish Secret Avengers as I'd planned, plus a little Black Panther to round out the Marvel side. I'll continue New 52 Superman and try to pick up where I left off in the Rebirth era. I think I'm on Nightwing which would be great! See you then.
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You can find back issues of the video version of Comic Book Coffee Break here.
The audio version of Comic Book Coffee Break is over there.
You can find me as the co-host of 9021 Here We G0: A 90210 Rewatch Podcast for the Radio Meanwhile Network.
I also host Howe's Things, the podcast and radio show of the David A. Howe Public Library.
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