REVIEW: SUPERBOY #14

(w) Tom DeFalco
(p) RB Silva

Alright. Here's the situation -- the 'New 52' Superboy has become so dull and drab for me that I'm pretty much done with it. I've been holding onto the Boy of Steel's series because, to be frank, I used to really like Superboy as a character. His origin and personal motivations were so much different and unique from almost any other hero in the DC or Marvel universe. Once upon a time, Superboy had to learn how he fit into the world by actually trying to fit in, he used to want more from life than just satisfaction in proving emotional misgivings. These days, Superboy has been reduced to the comparable importance of a stage prop -- there's no personality behind his vacant eyes, no longer does he want to be a functioning member of society, and his overall attitude is just unbecoming.

I've commented before about Superboy's seemingly erratic judgements between right and wrong. In Superboy #14, Kon-El finally manages to be the biggest dick he can be by whining about not having any friends or close relationships, then bluntly pushing away those attempting to be the friends he needs. After accosting Jocelyn Lure -- a woman claiming to be from the future, come back to look out for Superboy -- Superboy ditches her (for reasons that might be completely justifiable, but I'll never know because that whole story happens in Legion Lost, which I don't read...thanks, DC) and flies off to his apartment where he finds fellow Teen Titan Bunker waiting for him. Instead of being a normal person, Superboy immediately accuses Miguel of breaking and entering. The least insufferable Teen Titan kindly reminds his asshole teammate that they had plans to hang out and that it was, in fact, Superboy who had made the gaffe by forgetting.

And I haven't even mentioned H'el yet.

Thus far, the only time we've seen the (I assume) rogue Kryptonian is at the end of Superman #13, which was a prologue to the "H'el on Earth" event. There, H'el is only on the last page, and he doesn't even interact with Superman or Supergirl. Here, in Superboy #14, Tom DeFalco apparently assumes we all just know who H'el is, why he's doing what he's doing, and what he can do powers-wise. Seriously, I have no idea how DC or any of the creative teams working on "H'el on Earth" could possibly think it was alright to just throw readers into the deep end like this. Granted, the fight between Superboy and H'el is awesome, but there's no context to it, so it's just frustratingly confusing. I couldn't help but wonder the entire time how this all came to be. How did H'el find Superboy? Does this issue take place before, after, or concurrently to Superman #13? Why does H'el seem to have green TK powers, but keeps on insulting Superboy and his TK powers? Why were the Teen Titans even included in this issue if H'el was just going to wipe them away with a single attack?

This is an issue of comics embroiled in the non-explained. That's a ridiculous, weird sentence because it's the only way I can think to express how terrible Superboy #14 was by the end. I keep holding out, hoping that Superboy will improve, that it will become something greater than a sad excuse for a story about a sad clone. 'Sad Clone' sounds like a witty, off-beat, and zany mini-series by Grant Morrison, not the theme to a series about Superboy.

GRADE

3/10

SUPERBOY #13

(W) Tom DeFalco
(P) R.B. Silva
(I) Rob Lean

What garbage. I'm sorry - I usually refrain from using such frank and harsh words in the name of decency and (semi)professionalism. But this time, I just can't help myself. Superboy #13 is such a a terrible example of the comic book format that it embarrasses me. DC's 'New 52' initiative was largely meant to introduce new readers to comic books in a way that wasn't embroiled in continuity and studious knowledge of past chronology. Now, I'm all for a strong, cohesive continuity within a comic book universe, but Tom DeFalco just kills the concept by bringing up obscure references from past issues like it's going out of style. I've read every issue of Superboy so far, so if I'm annoyed by the amount of Editor's Notes littered throughout the issue, I can't even begin to imagine what a curious reader might think.

Superboy #13 is the epitome of unnecessary and stupid. Not only does the ongoing narrative plot of the series fail to progress, but it feels like a step backwards because at the end, Superboy reunites with Caitlin Fairchild and her not-Ravagers-but-Ravagers group of misfits. I thought we were done with all that N.O.W.H.E.R.E. bullshit, but here it comes again just to make me mad, I'm assuming.

No, I would not recommend reading Superboy #13. There's literally no value to that purchase. Wait for "H'el on Earth" to start - hopefully that event can shoot some life into the dull, formless mess DeFalco is calling an ongoing series. Jocelyn Lure? The most underdeveloped, least interesting character I've seen in years. Superboy's landlord, Dallas? So completely useless and stupid, I cannot even tell you. And because this series' chronic problem of hideous inner monologue persists, there doesn't seem to be any redeeming factors about this issue. Don't buy it, don't read it. I promise you're not missing anything.

Oh, and the cover features the special handcuffs designed to suppress Superboy's powers because that's definitely worth making prominent on the cover image of your comic booj.

GRADE

1.5/10

SUPERBOY #0

STORY: Tom DeFalco
ART: R.B. Silva and Rob Lean

I don't know what to think anymore. I know that's a pretty bold statement to make, but seriously, I'm all but out of reasons to continue reading Superboy. Since the beginning, the Boy of Steel's story has been one muddled, under-developed narrative after another with no discernable connecting factors. Superboy himself is a two-dimensional character whose only character development has come from sloppy inner monologue penned by a writer who doesn't know how to write as a teenager. Add to that plot lines riddled with obtuse, vague advancement, and a reliance on shock value to sell a complex story. Of course, there's always an exception to the rule, and Superboy #10, back in June, was a refreshing change of pace from the constant threat of N.O.W.H.E.R.E., the secretive criminal organization who manufactured Superboy, and acted as the 'big bad' for the first nine months of the title. Unfortunately, after that one month, Superboy descended back into mediocrity.

In Superboy #0, writer Tom DeFalco brings back N.O.W.H.E.R.E., for reasons that seem obvious at first, but slowly become incessantly annoying and unimportant. Harvest makes his unwanted return to the 'New 52' as he tells a story about the clone uprising on Krypton eons ago. Yes you read that right: this issue prominently features a villain telling a story.

It. is. so. boring.

Without any sort of backstory or identity, Harvest is already a boring villain because his motivations don't have meaning. Readers don't know why he's doing any of this, so it's not interesting. It's the same reason children's cartoons often feature mad villains who simply want to "take over the world." - they tend to not have a concrete reason for their actions, allowing for a range of stories. But they're intended for children. I expect a bit more from DeFalco and DC in general when it comes to one of their semi-flagship characters.

Harvest's tale is about Kon, the first clone on Krypton to rise up against his creators. Eventually, he starts a violent revolution against the Kryptonians, resulting in a defeat and the extermination of all clones planet-wide. It's an interesting enough story, but it's presentation is just so lazy it's hard to get past the fact that we're literally being read an alien fable. I can think of at least five different ways issue could have gone that would have effectively conveyed the ideas without stooping to the most basic and frustrating of storytelling styles.

In the end, not much is revealed in the way the origins of Superboy. Sure, the tale of Kon and his bloody rampage against his makers could foreshadow future events, but as a stand-alone issue, this one falls so short of good it's hard to put into words. As I flipped through the issue upon initial purchase, I pondered for a moment if perhaps Harvest was a Kryptonian clone looking to restart his revolution. It got me excited to read the issue, thinking DeFalco would actually make some connections and give me something to hold onto going forward. The opposite happened: I was so let down by this issue that I don't even know if I want to continue reading Superboy.

Good luck going forward, DeFalco.

GRADE

F

SUPERBOY #12

STORY: Tom DeFalco
ART: Robson Rocha, Eduardo Pansica, Greg Adams, Mariah Benes, and Andy Owens.

Well, so much for that short-lived run of passable Superboy issues. Scott Lobdell's reintroduction of the Boy of Steel has been riddled with problems since the beginning. The task of reassigning years of convoluted backstory is already a daunting one, yet Lobdell decided it would be fun to make things even more complicated by starting off with one of the most complex, interwoven, boring story arcs I've read in a long time. That being said, issues 10 and 11 went on the upswing, taking Kon-El (and the Teen Titans because they can't possible exist without each other, right? RIGHT?) to Mystery Island then to New York City, giving him new placed to explore and discover more about himself without the distractions of villains constantly swinging at him.

Superboy #12 loses it's grip and falls down to "N.O.W.H.E.R.E." levels of sap and disingenuousness. Last month, we learned that Kon's understanding of good and bad are somewhat skewed when he purposefully robbed a bank in order to live a comfortable enough life in New York City. While this situation was approached by fellow Teen Titan Bunker, I gave Lobdell and Tom DeFalco a pass because it was such a small part of the overall issue. Unfortunately, the same problem that's been plaguing Superboy since it's first issue are back, and it's worse than ever after a couple of decent issues that showed these writers can actually do good work with this character. This issue, however, is not good work. There really isn't a story in these pages as much as a string of random occurrences that somehow culminate in a confrontation with some unexplained mystical enemy. Every bit of this issue is groan-worthy and eye-rollingly silly.

It turns out Superboy's landlord, Dallas, is a Paris Hilton-esque party girl with little ambition and a cadre of semi-famous friends that aren't all that interesting. DeFalco transports us readers to a stereotypical nightclub with cliched night owls raging to indistinguishable dance music. It's here that the audience is treated to pages and pages of inane dialogue between Dallas, her friends, and the ever-annoyingly-naive Superboy. Last issue, I explained that the main problem with Superboy's limited understanding of the real world is that it's inconsistent. If N.O.W.H.E.R.E. was trying to create a competent being that could operate in the human world, basic morality and ethics would have been a part of the downloaded curriculum. Here, it's more evident than ever. How does a person who knows advanced mathematical formulas and can manipulate telekinetic energy not know how to dance? He never even saw a clip of people dancing? The idea that simple pieces of knowledge like these apparently slipped through the cracks is just preposterous. And I haven't even got to the issue's villain yet.

Up at bat this month is Kiva, a woman with glowing eyes who can make you see things that aren't there. It's really no more complicated than that, but DeFalco spends most of these panels with Superboy's continued confusion at the situation. It's extremely frustrating to see the main character fumble around so much in his own series. Yes, it's jarring to have your surroundings suddenly change in an instant, but Kon-El has been through much worse than some wonky demon-looking things.

Really, this issue feels phoned in. Tom DeFalco's awful story is just boring and gratingly inane, while the artwork from Robson Rocha and Eduardo Pansica is plain ugly. There was only one panel I truly enjoyed and that's because it had hints of Darwyn Cooke's style nestled in there. Otherwise, the panels looked rushed and dated. I really did have high hopes for Superboy after it's last two issues. I even conceded that my issues with the series were due to the cumbersome N.O.W.H.E.R.E. arc. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Superboy is just bad.

GRADE:

D-

SUPERBOY #11

STORY: Scott Lobdell (Plot) and Tom DeFalco (Scripts)
ART: R.B. Silva and Rob Lean

I don't know why Scott Lobdell and Tom DeFalco are so intent on making Superboy such a difficult character to write. Not only did they take Kon-El's original clone backstory and make it so convoluted that it's mostly just a blur of 'super secret organization' gobbledygook, they're moving forward with a characterization that makes Superboy sound (and act) like a HUGE dick. That being said, Superboy #11 continues an upward trend of overall quality that started last month, which is interesting seeing as Lobdell penned last issue all by himself, while DeFalco is back to scripting duties this month.

Apparently, some time has passed since the Titans were transported to New York City by Danny the Alley, and Superboy has his own penthouse now, complete with weird, random antiques and art pieces that make him look like some rich, foppish trust fund baby with too much time on his hands. This seems like a missed opportunity for DeFalco - glossing over an major part of Superboy's very young life like meeting a regular person person for the first time. Kon-El takes some time to tell his visiting guest, Bunker, all about his new landlord and how he robbed (ahem, borrowed from) a bank for personal funds. It's scenes like these that make me want to ask Lobdell and DeFalco how they plan to compensate for the errors in their narrative. If Superboy is supposed to have collective knowledge that was pumped into his head since he was created, how was it never explained that robbing banks is wrong? If Superboy knows that messenger bags are fashionable, he's got to know that bank robberies are faux pas.

It seems like DeFalco often uses Kon-El's origins as a clone to explain his misunderstanding of the real world. Unfortunately, scenes from early issues will prove that, even though their endgame was to make Superboy a weapon, N.O.W.H.E.R.E. attempted to give their clone a bit of real-world experience through psychological manipulation.  In so facto, basic ideals of right and wrong must have been ingrained, otherwise he could never have known that hurting people was wrong. "Money's a thing - you can't hurt it," says Superboy like it's no big thing. What's supposed to sound naive just sounds pretentious and snooty.

Superboy #11 also brings about the dreaded 'S' tattoo that whining fans got their panties in a bunch over when the 'New 52' started last year. At the time, Kon-El was wearing a black tank top with a pencilled Superman logo duct-taped to his back, which may have made the tattoo seem all the more ridiculous. Now, it doesn't feel so forced. In actuality, Bunker and Superboy's visit to the tattoo parlor is one of the more grounded parts of the issue. Bunker explains that Kon needs to feel a connection with his symbol, the only thing that is part of him now. It sounds sappy when I write it (and it very well might be a lot sappier than I'm interpreting), but the friendship between Bunker and Superboy feels more natural and organic than almost any interactions in the first nine issues of Superboy.


Superboy's relative age becomes more and more apparent when new villain Detritus starts attacking the city. Kon feels like he's being taken advantage of - as the team's powerhouse player - whenever a "big bad" attacks. All he wants is a more normal life, something Bunker explains is "boring!" While this sentiment of normality might work for Peter Parker or Jaime Reyes, nothing up to this point has given readers the impression that Superboy wants to live a normal life. Why would he? He's a super-powerful telekinetic clone of Superman. Why be normal?

GRADE

B-

(COMIC) TEEN TITANS #9

STORY: Scott Lobdell and Tom DeFalco
ART: Ig Guara and JP Mayer

"The Culling" has been a mixed bag when it comes to crossover events. While the series connected to the event - Superboy, Teen Titans, and Legion: Lost - haven't really been the critical achievements DC probably hoped they would be (except Legion: Lost - who knows why this book is around), this crossover between the three has made for a compelling read. I mean, what better way to introduce a whole cadre of characters into the 'New 52'? But instead of bringing "The Culling" to a satisfying conclusion, Teen Titans #9 wades around in it's own ridiculous plot so long it becomes tedious.

Harvest has, so far, been an enigmatic villain. With no backstory and only minute references to his true agenda, it's hard to find any sense - and thus, meaning - in anything he does. Villains need just as much motive as heroes to affect their actions, and Harvest has no motive, so to speak. It's incredibly frustrating as a reader because Harvest simply flies away after the Titans and Legionnaires destroy his base (or whatever compound of weirdly-named locations he traipsed about.) There is literally no conclusion.

Basically, Caitlin Fairchild gets all the metahuman teenagers out of the Scarlett Letter the Crucible and the two teams go all-out on Old No-Eyes. The fighting isn't even satisfying because throughout the pages and pages of brawling, Harvest keeps blathering on about his new world order, or whatever it is he talks about. He's basically reduced to a super-annoying demi-god with no real purpose. Supposedly, he meant for the kids to escape so they can be dangerous in public so the government will need organizations like N.O.W.H.E.R.E., not only to curb the rise of teenage metahuman crime, but also to placate the job demand for silly name acronyms. Then he flies away. That's it. Oh, then the Titans wake up on some island?

If you look back at my review of Superboy #9 and even Teen Titans Annual #1, you'll see that I was actually enjoying this story more than I have for either series thus far. But this sloppy, uninteresting "conclusion" is so weak, it drags down the entire crossover.

GRADE:

C-

(COMIC) SUPERBOY #7

Written by Scott Lobdell and Tom DeFalco
Artwork by R.B. Silva, Rob Lean, and Iban Coello

A few months ago, a friend recommended I read The Hunger Games. If you haven't heard of this franchise by now, let's just say it's getting pretty big. So, I downloaded the ebook, loaded it onto my Kindle Touch and sat down to check it out. I had already been to the Wikipedia page, so I had a general idea of what I was getting myself into. After three sentences, I turned my Kindle off and I haven't attempted to read it again, nor will I. The Hunger Games is written in a terrible point of view; first-person present, making all the pronouns and verbs present-tense. First-person present is like the frat boy douche of narrative modes; they think they sound sooo good, while in reality they sound cocky, pretentious, and narcissistic. Unfortunately, Superboy falls into this category.

On a personal level, I despise first-person present tense because it makes me feel that the author thinks his audience is dumb, unable to make connections and infer ideas on their own, like they absolutely need a guiding hand to make sure the terribly super-complicated superhero story plot can be conveyed appropriately. It's insulting and belittling. Of course, the narrative point of view is only one of the bad parts about Scott Lobdell's Superboy.


Tactile telekinesis is the worst. It's such a vague, overly-used power that it's lost any real definition and simply become an amorphous idea that gives writers an easy out for a variety of situations. Stuck in a cell?; telekinesis. Not strong enough?; telekinesis. Have all the powers of Superman and still a whiny little brat?; in Lobdell's case, Superboy and his telekinesis. It's hard watching a character who used to have conviction and a strong base be turned into the 'New 52's version of Connor Oberst with superpowers.

"Whew! Centerhall's energy barrage hurt a lot more than I let on!" thinks Superboy in the least-convincing though ever. EVER. No one talks like that let alone has thoughts like that in their heads! It's preposterous that Lobdell hopes to keep readers engaged while treating them like infants. All in all, Superboy continues to leave me wanting more, whether it's actual character development, something close to an advancing narrative, or even a good reason for things to happen would be nice.

Even the cover looks unbecoming!

GRADE:

D