tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5755048035714678151.post651321863910240920..comments2024-02-24T04:36:23.481-08:00Comments on Authentic Geek!: Back from a recent hiatus...authentic geekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00689765735209963097noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5755048035714678151.post-30129283667057899822010-11-04T16:23:11.734-07:002010-11-04T16:23:11.734-07:00I agree completely, it's really nice to finall...I agree completely, it's really nice to finally have another reason to pay attention to Superman (All Star was great, but way too slow...); but I was quite let down by the art.<br /><br />I don't know why exactly, but in a media that highlights the talents of hand-drawn illustration, it just feels like cheating when they trace over people. I mean, what about all the hundreds of thousands of successful comic artists who didn't need to rely on photographs of people to get their work done. And the photos they chose were flat and superman looked like a 20 something emo grouch instead of the epic farm-strong adonis 30 something that he's portrayed as in the comics.<br /><br />Plus the whole, Clark gets the first interview with Superman thing, what was J. Michael thinking? I mean, it makes sense for Superman to get an interview with Lois because it distances him from his identity of Clark. <br /><br />With Clark getting the interview, a stranger walks into the planet, who is a male with dark hair around the same height as superman, who just happened to appear a little before Superman did, who claims to have been at ground zero of the Superman battle (without any corroborating witnesses) and he gets the only face-to-face time with Superman? Come on, that's so suspicious even Maxwell Smart would be on to him!- big G -https://www.blogger.com/profile/13250399940193587969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5755048035714678151.post-51989005527553049452010-11-03T21:23:08.223-07:002010-11-03T21:23:08.223-07:00These are some pretty astute comments. Overall I ...These are some pretty astute comments. Overall I enjoyed the story, but shared some of the problems you had with it. <br /><br />I wasn't as much of a fan of the art as you are, though. I found he relied too heavily on what I assume is photo-reference for the characters, which often made his art look stiff (something you touched on when describing his first appearance in the suit). The first reveal of Superman in his Clark Kent/glasses and suit garb was flat-out embarrassing, I thought. <br /><br />The characterization also bothered me a bit, how long it took Superman to actually step into action, being so willing to stand idly by, or jog over to the laboratory while the aliens destroyed buildings and cities (certainly harming people, no?) to draw him out. Even if he felt alone, different, or superior to humans, or whatever they were going for--this boy was raised by the Kents. Surely he'd be less selfish than this.<br /><br />Also the new villain's design was very trapped in the 90s (he looked far too much like Lobo for my liking) and the cosmetic changes to Superman's suit were so small, it made them feel all the more unnecessary. We really needed his boots to point up instead of down? Yellow around his crest? Dirty hair? 70 years without changing his costume, and that's as far as they go? Why change it at all, then? <br /><br />The very worst part in the whole book, though, came at the end when the Daily Planet printed Clark's cringe-worthy interview with...himself. The descriptions he uses, knowing we know he's talking about himself--it's pretty awful writing. Unless that was the point (that Clark, who is so good at math and sports kinda sucks at journalism) they should have left that whole part out. <br /><br />Overall I think new Superman readers will like this. The story was pretty good, and we still have a lot of characters to meet (I have a hunch it was Brainiac who sold Tyrell's people the ability to destroy Krypton--which brings me to another point--the name of the villain. Tyrell? He sounds more like a point guard than an alien conqueror) <br /><br />As a Superman lifer, it felt pretty unnecessary, especially given how awesome both Man of Steel and the recent Secret Origin was, but it's neat to have people talking about Superman again.Don Sparrowhttp://www.twitter.com/donnysparrownoreply@blogger.com