Thursday, November 26, 2009

Superman: Secret Origin #3 - DC

I really like this team of Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. They really seem to bring out the best in each other. They've done a few story-arcs together now, and I feel like each of them knows what the other expects and is trying to do with their respective parts of the story-telling process. They're a dream team . . if you will. Anyways, this issue gives us Clark's first day in Metropolis. Like the usual farm-boy coming to the 'big-city', at first he's overwhelmed by the sheer size and scope of everything. And he definitely seems like the proverbial 'hay-seed' coming to the big new world. But that's quickly put aside as he rushes to get to his first day on the job. The way that the Daily Planet is portrayed would be kind of funny . . if it weren't so sad. Basically, the paper has been black-balled by Lex Luthor because he didn't like some of the 'revealing' stories that the Planet has printed about him. So now . . now they're on the brink of bankruptcy. Everybody working there, except for Lois, and Jimmy since he's not even getting paid, are like prisoners foraging for the last piece of food. They all know that the Planet could go under at any time, so they're all doing their best to hang onto their jobs as long as possible. Even if it means screwing over their fellow employees. Lois takes Clark out on a story with her. Actually, she's looking for him to be a distraction as she tries to sneak into a press conference that Lex is holding. The Planet has been banned from these, after all. So in usual Lois and Clark fashion, Lois makes it up to the roof for the unveiling of Lex's new technology, but she's soon found out as she's a regular party crasher here. In her haste to escape she distracts the Metallo Robot that Lex was putting through it's paces . . it drops the helicopter that it was holding up, and Lois falls over the edge of the roof. This scene seemed like it was right out one of those 70's Superman books. Back then it seemed like this kind of stuff happened every issue. Anyways, Clark has to change into his pajamas to rescue Lois and catch the helicopter. Of course when they all land there's a million questions. He just 'outed' himself, and then touched down right in the middle of a major press conference. Clark quickly takes off. He's not looking for adulation or notoriety . . he just wants to help where he can. But now he's let the cat out of the bag. And as with some advice from he father before he took off on his walk-about, 'Once you let it out, you can't put it back in.' The issue ends with Clark having second doubts about what he's done. He didn't really want the attention. This wasn't an overly exciting issue, but . . it was interesting. It was neat to see us introduced to what will become Clark's huge supporting cast. Geoff does a great job of giving them each their own distinct personalities. And he really captured the 70's or 80's feel for this book. You know . . back when things were more 'innocent'. But it does feel like it's set in modern times. I don't really expect to learn much 'new' from this story, but . . with Geoff and Gary at the helm, I also can't pass it up. Gary's 2 covers were fantastic. This is one of those books that it's just fun to read.

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