Superboy #20

(w) Justin Jordan     (a) RB Silva, Rob Lean, Kenneth Rocafort, and ChrisCross

There exists, in the comic book industry today, a debate over systematic ageism. Jerry Ordway’s now infamous rant detailing his experience of being a comic book writer after his prime has become a sort-of galvanizing point to those who believe middle-aged and older writers are being pushed to the side to make way for younger talent. Ordway waxed poetic about ideas he’s yet to see happen, that he still has a lot to offer story-wise, and that he isn’t ready to be pigeonholed as a commission artist at conventions. On the intimate level Ordway is trying to reach his fans upon, his talking points sound fair and legitimate. Why take a risk on inexperienced, young writers when there’s a gamut of veterans waiting for a call from the Big Two?

What Ordway seems to forget is that it was his generation of ‘Young Turks’ who blew onto the scene in the mid-80s and ‘stole’ work opportunities from creators who carried DC and Marvel through the Silver Age of comic books. The reasoning behind this was simple: comic books were changing, readers were changing, and the industry was changing. Established writers from the 60s and 70s were having a hard time keeping up with the demands of the then-current pop culture zeitgeist, which prompted companies to find writers that understood how to connect to current readers.

It's no different today, yet DC has fallen behind in this way while Marvel has been stacking their talent pool with a diverse group of younger writers whose voices have raised up the company's marketshare and earned critical accolades. DC still has Bob Harras, who likes to hire his friends who all happen to be middle-aged, worked at Marvel in the mid-90s under Harras, and who now produce only echoes of their most popular work.


** SPOILERS AHEAD **


Scott Lobdell spent 20 issues of Superboy trying to make the character's concept new and exciting, and only succeeding in driving the Boy of Steel into the ground. Nothing was the same, and that was a problem. This new Superboy shares no similarities to the pre-relaunch one other than his Kryptonian DNA harvested from Superman, and the title of 'Superboy'. Quite frankly, it was maddening, and if you look back at old entries I've written on issues of Superboy, you'll find a consisten pattern of frustration and anger.

Justin Jordan takes over with Superboy #20, and even though he's inherited yet another ridiculously convoluted Scott Lobdell excuse-for-a-plot, this is the best issue of the series to date, hands down. And it's because Jordan moves away from what made Lobdell's runs o frustrating: valuing action and lore over character and organic plot flow. Even though he's appeared in two issues prior to this, I really had no concept of who Dr. Psycho was until this month. Perhaps it was designed that way, but history shows that Lobdell tended to forget what he started or tried to mask the fact that he didn't have an ending by awkwardly segueing into some new story.

Superboy #20 is great because it feels natural. I wasn't a fan of Jordan's work on Team 7, but that was less about his style and more about the series' base premise being somewhat underwhelming. Here, Jordan finds a voice for Kon-El that makes him come across as a real person and not just a prop in an ongoing narrative that feigns a greater purpose, yet never delivers. A line like "Now I'm pissed. I don't have enough clothes to waste them like this." is so much better than a character thinking this sentiment within the ever-constraining thought balloon.

Scott Lobdell often fails at writing good comic books because he's trying to hard to make everything accessible/easy to read/pick-upable. It attempting to cater to everyone, he caters to no one because how he writers is condescending to readers. Justin Jordan's style is a breath of fresh air and a welcome change for Superboy, who still has one of the foggiest and least-memorable origins of any 'New 52' character. Now, I actually want to read Superboy.

GRADE

8.5/10

FEATURED REVIEW: GREEN LANTERN CORPS ANNUAL #1

(w) Peter J. Tomasi
(a) ChrisCross

"Rise of the Third Army" concludes this week with Green Lantern Corps Annual #1, a rather fantastic finish to a somewhat lackluster 'crossover' event that spanned all four Green Lantern Family titles from the 'New 52'. Things started out well enough last August with Green Lantern Annual #1, but the actual "Rise" of the Guardians' new army has been slow-burning, to put it lightly. In fact, the Third Army was rarely more than background noise that happened to pop into the main story every so often. Fortunately, Green Lantern Corps Annual #1 offers a bit of redemption for "Rise of the Third Army" with a satisfying conclusion that smoothly leads into the upcoming follow-up crossover, "Wrath of the First Lantern".

The Guardians of the Universe have been losing their marbles for quite a while. Geoff Johns provided the catalyst with the reveal that the Blue Ones had been hiding the fear entity Parallax within the Green Lantern central battery for eons. Besides giving explanation to the ineffectiveness of the Green Lantern rings against the color yellow, Johns' revelations in Green Lantern: Rebirth were the first of many that showed how billions of years of immortality have made the Guardians lose sight of their ethics.

In Green Lantern Corps Annual #1, Peter J. Tomasi picks up all the plot pieces -- from Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, Green Lantern: New Guardians, and Red Lanterns -- that have been piling up over the past four months. The Guardians' endgame is near, and part of that includes deceiving all Green Lanterns ignorant to the threat of the Third Army into returning to Oa for a mass genocide. Guy Gardner, new Lantern Simon Baz, and the squirrel-like B'dg concoct a plan to exploit the Guardians and inform the rest of the Corps as to what's happening by manipulating the Guardians' massive egos. John Stewart and Star Sapphire Fatality finally manage to see Mogo's reconstitution through. Kyle Rayner and his Rainbow Brigade show up near the end to add some seriously needed firepower. Finally, Atrocitus' reprogrammed Manhunters join the fray against the most powerful, most insane beings in the known universe.

This is Green Lantern storytelling at it's best: crackling interconnectedness that conveys the larger-than-life essence of science fiction storytelling. And unlike Geoff Johns' previous epic Green Lantern story arcs, the Guardians sit firmly at the center of this conflict, not through past mistakes or misinterpreted intentions, but by the will of their own machinations. Parallax, the Sinestro Corps, the Black Lanterns; all of them pale in comparison to the Guardians of the Universe in terms of raw power. Ganthet and his sorely misled brethren want peace in throughout the universe, no matter what the cost. In one sense, their endeavor is no different than in the past. Just like any other technology, advancements are made as time moves forward. For the Guardians, upgrading their technology means having a singular goal, a shared focus that allows for the best possible results. Under these guidelines, the Green Lantern Corps is like an old PC from the mid-90s: slow, outdated, and not worth the effort it would take to make it better.

Just like any nefarious villain bent on total control, the Guardians bite off more than they can chew, leading to the explosive -- if not foreseeable -- escape of the mysterious First Lantern, now named Volthoom. Without spoiling the circumstances of his escape or his intentions, the First Lantern's plans are a natural step forward from "Rise of the Third Army" that will give all the different Lanterns a lot to deal with in the coming months. Geoff Johns' Green Lantern plans have been coming to fruition for the past eight years, and it will be exciting to see how the Guardians' fall from grace will end. I word it like this because I can't see an outcome to "Wrath of the First Lantern" where the Guardians are still in power. Already in the 'New 52', the rules have changed for the Green Lantern franchise in significant ways, and introducing a First Lantern into the mix makes logical, if not yet evident, sense.

Green Lantern Corps Annual #1 does a great job finishing up one story arc and starting another. While the entire "Rise of the Third Army" event was less fast-paced as I had originally expected it to be, the conclusion makes it worth the build-up because we've been able to slowly integrate the idea of a hive-minded army of locust soldiers assimilating sentience into the basic setting of Green Lantern series. Instead of "Rise" being a one-month blitzkrieg (like, say, "Night of the Owls"), Johns and Company opted for pacing that made the threat of the Third Army all the more real and disturbing.

GRADE

9/10