Adventure Comics #517, 518 and #519 - DC

I think Paul Levitz is trying to reintroduce a new generation, and perhaps some of the old, to the Legion again. Obviously, in order to tell current stories of the Legion, he's going to have to show things from the past as a sort of prologue. And I assume, since the Legion of 3 Worlds combined a lot of the most recent story-lines, and teams, that Paul has a bit of artistic license when it comes to showing us the past. The Legion's past. Our future. You know what I mean. Anyways, my point is, in issue #517 we're shown a story from the very early days of the Legion. Irma, Garth and Rokk have just barely gotten together, and they're still trying to figure out not only their own relationships, but the Legion's with other entities, such as the Science Police. Irma is still at the point where she feels like she has to prove herself . . constantly. We're also introduced to a new threat . . a techno-pirate named Zaryan, who's going around and stealing robot parts from many different manufacturing plants, and various planets. Although, after looking it up, Zaryan's first appearance was back in Jan. of 1963. In a battle with the Legion . . he was then called Zaryan the Conqueror . . he ended up killing Lightning Lad. Which kind of shows how Paul is tweaking things, just a bit. Anyways, this is one of their very first missions, and they're doing it in tandem with the Science Police. Specifically a Sgt. Esquivel. Whom, although she doesn't like the access that's been given to Brande, simply because of his money, is still a believer in the Legion and what it hopes to stand for. Through the course of the mission, and Irma's training, she and the Sgt becomes friends. So on one of the raids when one of Zaryan's men take out the Sgt, Irma is especially vulnerable. Which leads her to sleeping with Rokk. Luckily, for her, it follows a night of drinking, so she can make him forget and blame it on the booze. We also see in this part of the story how these first 3 Legionnaires come to the conclusion that they need to expand their ranks. The issue ends with their new friend Brainy planning a trip back to the past so that they can meet their idol . . Superboy. RJ Brands actually wants them to meet Superman, but . . Brainy has other plans. The next issue goes into the present of the Legion and we see Superboy in the future visiting his friends. This issue is kind of told from Clark's perspective, in that he doesn't always like what he finds in the future, especially when he starts to see glimpses of his own. There's lots of things that happen to him, as Superman, that he's in no way prepared to face yet. Which is part of the reason why Irma insists on mind-sweeping him before he returns to his own time. The information, and feelings, that he experiences while in the future can't be carried back into the past with him. He can't face the threats he destined to face with any prior knowledge. In order to now affect the future, he has to handle them in the way that he originally did . . good or bad. But while in the future . . it's a heavy burden for him to bear. There's also a mystery going on, in that the Legion Headquarters seems to be haunted. Phantom girl tries to give Superboy the tour, but she's kind of distracted by the other things going on. And Clark actually hears the supposed phantom's voice while in the Superman museum. The next issue takes place about a year after the Legion's formation, and . . the Legion has grown tremendously. But something that is constant is that they're still chasing after this Zaryan guy. Irma is especially hell-bent on capturing him because of what happened to her friend. But she's temporarily pulled off the mission so that she, Rokk and Garth can go back to meet Superboy. Brainy supposedly has a list of the things he wants the team to do with the young Clark Kent, but the real point of their mission is to intercept a Brainiac droid that is sent to Earth to scout out their technology. We also see the first glimpse of the Legion Espionage Squad this issue . . Chameleon Boy, Shrinking Violet and Invisible Kid. Anyways, the Legionnaires have fun in the past up until they realize why they're really there. And why Brainy brought them to Smallville in the first place, instead of Metropolis to meet Superman like RJ wanted. He knows that Superboy isn't prepared to face Brainiac, and if they could defeat the droid and make it disappear . . it would be consistent with what the future records show. Of the three, I especially liked this issue because it came the closest to giving me the feeling that I used to get when I read those old Legion stories . . the ones from Superboy and Adventure, back in the 60's and 70's. Overall, I think Paul is doing a great job and, I think, is trying to bring the Legion into the future, without rewriting to much of the past. But like I said, there are some subtle tweaks here and there. Kevin Sharpe and Marlo Alquiza provide the art for the first 2 issues, with Eduardo Pansica filling in on #519. I thought they all did a good job, and gave their books a really good feel. I'm also enjoying the Atom back-up story by Jeff Lemire and Mahmud Asrar. Someone is after Ray's technology. And it appears to be the Colony. We find out later, from Ray's uncle, that the Colony started out as a government think tank . . Project Colony. But when their governmental funding was pulled, they decided to carry on under their own direction. They felt that the work they were doing was to important to the future of the nation and the world. Anyways, for some reason they're after Ray's White Dwarf Star. They've been able to copy his technology, but . . without the star, it's unstable . . at best. And somehow Ray's uncle Dave is involved in all of this. Dave shows Ray his life's work . . the Ant-Farm. It's a microscopic world that he's created should the need arise for humankind to vacate the planet . . 'pandemics, nuclear or biological war, natural disasters, overpopulation, famine, even meteorites that may collide with Earth one day. We need a backup plan . . this . . this is a microscopic panic room for humankind.' But even though Dave created it, he's never been inside of it, because . . he doesn't have the technology. Only Ray does. So I think, for some reason, Dave's tricked him into coming here. Anyways, through the course of these stories, I thought Jeff Lemire did a fantastic job of reintroducing us to Ray's character, and that of the Atom's. He does a little bit to update him . . without changing him, and does a good job of explaining why he's always had such a hard time of fitting in with the Justice League. He's always wanted to help, but . . he approaches things . . problems, a different way than is usually their method. I thought it was good insight into the character and made us really think about who he is. This is another book that I'm glad is back on the shelf. I'm thrilled to read every issue of it.

Adventure Comics #516 - DC

Well now that the Legion has wrapped up the adventure that RJ Brande has sent them on . . fixing the time-line, and saving Superman during the War of the Supermen storyline, they've come back to the future and are ready to view the rest of Brande's last will & testament. It was a good story. It showed a lot of the elements of the rich history that has made the Legion so great. And for new-comers, it showed how serendipity brought everyone together . . Rokk, Irma and Garth, on the flight that Brande was taking back to Earth to try to recover it's greatest hero . . Superman. Shortly after they end of saving his life. And that was the match that started the bonfire that spread across the future universe . . the Legion of Super-heroes. It's kind of funny because we didn't discover Brande's connection to the Legion, and specifically to Chameleon Boy until, I think, the 80's. But to people just starting to follow the Legion now? They get all of that information right up front. Which is cool because the past is the past. It's been written . . it's known, now . . now it's time to move on and create new stories. I think this issue was kind of set up to pull it all together . . to fill in the reader of what came before. And now, with the next issue, we can move on to bigger and better things. I love the Legion. And even though I felt like this issue was basically a recap. I still enjoyed it. I'm thrilled that Paul Levitz will be chronicling their adventures. And I think Kevin Sharpe is doing a great job on the pencils. I can't wait to see more. I also enjoyed the Atom back-up story. It's good to see Ray Palmer back. Even if he does seem to be the target of the Calculator. And it appears his father is in dire straights. This one comes straight out of the Atom one-shot, with the same creative team of Jeff Lemire and Mahmud Asrar. This also looks to be an interesting story. I can't wait to see where it goes.

Adventure Comics #12 - DC

Well . . DC seems to be trying to charge $3.99 for as many of it's books as it can. But, at least for that charge you get 30 pages of art, instead of the usual 21 or 22. They started out doing it with back-up stories. But every now and than, as with this issue, they just stick the extra pages onto the main story. Which in this issue, with Superboy and the Legion being the source . . it's a very special treat. This story gives us one of Superboy's very first visits into the future. He knows who the Legionnaires are, but . . he hasn't actually seen where they come from. Overall, it was a pretty basic story. But, if you're a Legion fan like I am, it was still pretty cool. Basically, it was under the premise that . . Superboy visits the future, but . . rather than following along with the normal tour, as provided by Saturn Girl, Brainiac 5 or Phantom Girl . . Clark has his own to do list for the day. The funny thing is though, I don't think that it was necessarily a list for this specific day, but rather a list for the day that Clark finally was allowed to venture out of Smallville. It includes . . '1 See the city, 2 Test what my powers can do, 3 Play a ballgame without holding back, 4 Have fun at party, 5 Kiss a girl without my glasses on, 6 Be myself'. And with the help of the Legionnaires he able to do all of that and more. But of course, before going home, Saturn Girl has to tweak his memory a bit so that he doesn't remember anything that he's learned about the future. Also this visit to the future was before RJ Brande had died. You know, the whole Lightning Saga, and Legion of 3 Worlds and all that. So, as much fun as it was reading this issue, next issue is advertised as . . 'Brande Speaks! (and the real story of how the Legion was founded)'. As a long-time fan, I'm pretty sure how that story goes, but . . with Paul Levitz writing it, it'll be interesting to see what he adds to what we know so far. Or if he changes anything. Overall I really liked this issue. It was brought to us by Paul and Kevin Sharpe. Oh yeah . . and, next issue we start a new back-up feature . . the Atom. Ray Palmer is back in the DC Universe . . the full-sized version, and I guess these stories will be spinning out of his adventures in Brightest Day. Also . . nice covers by Scott Clark and Lee Bermejo.

Adventure Comics #11 / #514 - DC

Everything with the Legion Espionage Squad comes to fruition this issue. So, I'm guessing, that they're no longer going to be involved in the Earth-war with New Krypton. Which is fine. They were really only involved because of Brainiac, anyways. Apparently when RJ Brande died, the founder of the Legion, he left specific instructions in his will. And this goes back all the way to the Lightning Saga in Action Comics a few years ago. His first priority was for Veep, Chameleon Boy . . his son, to take one of the cities, Tenz, to the planet that would become New Durla. Also because one of the Kel'Par, Queltop Daggle, was Cham's ancestor. Then Mon El would take the rest of the cities throughout the galaxies and help establish the new home-worlds of Rimbor, Cargg, Xanthu, Bismoll, Imsk, Phlon, Zoon and Titan. The last of which was the hardest for Mon El because he had to convince Jemm, King of Saturn, to allow him to enlarge the city on his moon. After all that was done, most of the Legionnaires returned to the 31st century. All except for Veep. He had one more mission. He had to save Mon El. The serum that Brainiac 5 had sent to him, for the lead poisoning, has begun to wear off. But before he dies, he'd gotten the information for Natasha Irons on where the base was where the gorilla scientist had experimented on him. He wanted to go back there because the gorilla had eluded to experimenting on another Daxamite . . a female. Which is also why he had asked for Connor's help in repairing his ship. He wanted it to be able to return to the stars, but not with him . . with the female Daxamite that he rescued. She'd been there for quite a while. I guess she also appeared in 2003's Human Defense Corps mini series. After she leaves, he's about to give in to the illness when Veep shows up and offers him a way out . . the Phantom Zone. Apparently only he can help out Mon El with this because the Zone is closed off to the 21st century. It takes quite a bit of convincing, but . . he finally talks him in to it. And once again Mon El has to experience the loneliness of the Zone. But we also get the image of him coming out, centuries later, to get his first look at the Legion. I guess it's assumed that he had forgotten all of this during his time of isolation. Oh yeah, and during all of this Brainiac 5 helps to transport his ancestor back to Colu, where he'll be imprisoned in a thought-cell. But Brainy is almost over confident. He wants to ask him some questions, so he brings him around just enough to provide some answers. But Brainiac tries to make a break for it. Luckily, Vril Dox, another of Brainy's ancestors, shows up to complete the transport. After which Brainy returns himself to the future. All of this was told in 2 different tales. One by Sterling Gates and Travis Moore. The second by James Robinson and Bernard Chang. All in all I thought it was a great issue. It wrapped up a lot of the various story-lines, and basically sets the stage for the new Legion series. Which I can't wait to read. Plus the Legion is still going to be taking up a big part of this series. Paul Levitz will be here scripting their adventures, as well as in their own title. Plus we have an Atom second feature coming up soon. I'm so glad this series is back. Even if we did take an almost 30 year hiatus. Man . . that was a long wait!

Adventure Comics #10 / #513 - DC

In the lead story this issue . . everybody seems to be having trouble with Brainiac. At the end of the last chapter, we saw that Superman had been hit with a Red-Sun ray and was hurtling towards New Krypton's surface. Obviously that's not going to happen. But, it was funny when Quislet, who's been jumping in and out of Brainiac's robots, uses one of them to save Superman. Meanwhile, Superboy and the Legion are still on board and they're trying to get to, and save, all the captured bottled cities. Afterall, the future of the universe rests on them being able to do this. But they aren't having any better luck than Superman. It seems that the walls of the ship themselves are holding the Legion at bay. Meanwhile Mon-El is enjoying his travels through space. This is all he's really wanted, ever since he was a kid . . to be able to fly among the stars and witness the miracles of the universe. The problem is . . this is all a dream. It seems that Brainiac has already captured him, and has him mounted in some kind of device that's feeding him these images. Superboy gets hit by a cheap-shot from Lex, and when he wakes up he's been shrunken and inserted into the miniaturized version of Kandor. He doesn't have his powers, but he does still have his Legion ring. But in Zod's eyes, that's not enough to qualify him as a soldier. Zod is taking a small force outside of the bottle . . the Brainiac Revenge Squad, but he won't let Connor help them out. He still considers Connor a clone, and not a true Kryptonian. Zod's forces are outside of the bottle and ready to fight Brainiac when the story ends. This story will be picked up next in Supergirl #52. Sterling Gates and James Robinson had a lot going on in this story, but . . there wasn't a lot of progress made. And for everything that's going on . . all the people attacking Brainiac from various fronts . . we don't even see him this issue. So . . is he off orchestrating everything, or . . is he just off taking a nap? I gotta ask, because apparently nobody attacking him is important enough to draw his personal attention. Travis Moore and Eduardo Pansica do the pencils for this part of the story. In the second one . . we see that Officer Romundi . . er, Car-Vex, is trying to settle into her undercover position within General Lane's ranks. She's devastated that she had to eliminate her friend, Quex-Ul, to prove her loyalty to the General, but . . she's confident that it'll all pay off in the end. That's a big mistake. It turns out that ever since she entered the General's base, he's known that she's Kryptonian. And . . she's fallen into her own trap . . the irradiated bacteria that adheres to the Kryptonians when they move at super-speed . . removing their powers. But before going down, she finds out that the General has also captured Nadira and Az-Rel. It seems that they're the ones that gave her up because the General was after Quex-Ul. They didn't know where he was, but they knew that she did. And they just wanted to stop the pain. I know these guys are the bad-guys, but . . I almost feel sorry for them. General Lane has no compassion or understand. He's single minded in the plan to reach his goal. Car-Vex learns that at the cost of her life. I really enjoyed Eric Trautmann's story here. You could almost feel Car-Vex's frustration and anger permeating off of the page. Especially at the moment when she realizes that she was never actually fooling them. Pier Gallo does the art, and . . it looks really good. Not that it matters much, but . . I guess with the next issue they're just going to stick with the original numbering of this series. So #514 will be the next issue. I don't know why it matters, but . . whatever. Overall I'm enjoying this story-line. It's a little frustrating, but . . I think that's the point.

Adventure Comics #9 / #512 - DC

This issue gives us three different perspectives, again, into the storyline Last Stand of New Krypton. First we see Brainiac 5 in the future. Basically, he's trying to stop the end of . . well, everything. It appears that everything . . all space and time, is collapsing in upon itself. It's presenting itself as a giant red-storm that's consuming the universe. Brainy has surmised that it's because his ancestor, the original Brainiac, has killed Superman. But that was never supposed to have happened. So just before the Earth is consumed, he sends himself back to try to save the Universe. We also get a lesson on the actual lineage of the Brainiac family. This part of the story is by James Robinson and Travis Moore. In the second story, Connor and Supergirl are on New Krypton trying to help save some of it's citizens from these attacks by Brainiac's robot drones. The problem they're having is that none of the Guilds want to cooperate with each other. But because of that . . people are being mowed down. Connor and Tellus come up with an idea. Using Kara's connection to her people, Tellus broadcasts through her and tries to erase the years of class separation that have existed with these people. He's trying to get them to see themselves as one people and to fight together accordingly. He makes some small progress . . the people in their immediate vicinity. But in order for the plan to work on a planet-wide scale, he's going to need the help of some more powerful telepaths. Luckily Brainiac has a city on his ship filled with just the people Tellus needs, the Lanothians. With the Kryptonians focused as one force, Superboy, Supergirl and the Legion can focus on getting aboard Brainiac's ship and saving all the people in those bottled cities. This part of the tale is brought to us by Sterling Gates and Eduardo Pansica. And finally in the last story, we see Officer Romundi, formerly of the Science Police, but now working under the guidance of General Lane himself. But Romundi is actually Car-Vex of the Phantom Zone. Anyways, in order to prove herself she's tracked down another Zone fugitive, Quex-Ul, and she's leading an ops to capture or kill him. Unfortunately, the officers of Squad K are a bit overzealous, and . . they take him down with a head shot. Car-Vex is shaken, but . . she has to stay stoic to stay in character and not give up her true allegiance. With this operation, she proves herself to General Lane gloriously. He couldn't be happier. The third part of the story is by Eric Trautmann and Pier Gallo. Overall, I really enjoy this book. Especially with the inclusion of the Legion. They're one of my favorites. Also, I have to say, I much prefer the way DC tells these big stories, as compared to it's Marvelous competition. Especially when it goes throughout the Superman books. I think about 20 years ago, they started this thing . . because there were 4 Superman books coming out monthly at the time, where their stories would run congruently from issue to issue, and they put a number system on the cover just to make sure that no one was confused about which order to read things in. Over the years, they've kept that system going in the Superman books, and . . I think it helps out with the progression of the story tremendously. There's not a lot of back-tracking, or re-capping, therefore making more progress with the story-lines. Also if the Supergirl title is included in the mix, then that book will also get a number. If not . . then it won't. Like I said, I really like the system. You don't have to worry about making sure you read the books in order. They're already set up that way for you. Anyways, I enjoyed the book. I love the Legion. And I'm glad that Connor is back.

Adventure Comics #8 / #511 - DC

This issue deals almost entirely with the upcoming storyline . . the Last Stand of New Krypton. It's told in three separate and distinct chapters. All related to . . but different aspects of , the upcoming story-line. The first one is told from the future. In it, Brainiac 5 is looking into his family name. He's a direct descendant of the Brainiac in our timeline, but . . for about 1000 years, their family gave up the Brainiac name. Because of everything bad that their ancestor had done, they were tired of being associated with him, and evil, through blood. This all weighs on Brainiac's mind because he feels like he has to prove himself, but at the same time . . feels like he shouldn't have to. Anyways, the Legion is fighting what appears to be cosmic storms, or events. However, upon further investigation, Brainiac finds that they're actually chronal tears happening all around the cosmos. He also finds out that they're directly linked to his ancestor Brainiac, 1000 years in the past. And that he has to stop Brainiac from killing Superman and destroying 1000 years of history. This part of the story is by Sterling Gates and Travis Moore. In the second chapter, the story picks up straight out of Action #697. In it, Connor has asked Mon-El to come back to Smallville with him. In the Kent family barn, the Legion Espionage Squad has assembled. They've come back to ask for Mon-El and Connor's help, and to give them a dire warning. 'The future is in danger. To be more precise, the future of the Legion. If we're not around one day to protect the universe, countless terrible things will come to pass.' But the problem isn't on Earth. The problem is on New Krypton. That's where they're headed next. And into the direct path of Brainiac. This part of the story is brought to us by James Robinson and Julian Lopez. And finally . . we get another look into Project 7734. This time it's right after the explosion at the Science Police headquarters. General Lane is looking into Officer Romundi's actions. We know that she's actually Car-Vex. An undercover Kryptonian placed here by Zod. She's worked her way into the Science Police, and now she's trying to get into General Lane's good graces. But he's suspicious. Her record is too clean . . and too good. So she has to win his trust. In order to do so, she gives up one of her compatriots . . Quex-Ul. She basically paints a target on him for General Lane. This is one cold bitch. Of course the General isn't all that stable in his thinking and reasoning either. So this should be an interesting pair. This part was by Eric Trautmann and Pier Gallo. All of the chapters brought us information about various aspects of the upcoming story-line. So it looks like it'll flow through this book, the Superman mini-series, and Action comics . . in the coming months. I can't wait to see where all the players land after all the dust settles. I don't think Superman and his cast of supporting characters are going to be the same after all of this. It should be interesting.

Adventure Comics #7 / #510 - DC

Superboy / Connor, gets the entire issue to himself this time. 30 pages of art with him and Cassie slugging it out. In Blackest Night, Nekron recently assigned Black Lantern rings to the 'heroes' that he had spared by allowing them to come back again. Obviously, that included Connor. This issue picks up shortly after that as he and Cassie are fighting. Cassie's trying to get Connor to assert himself. After the time when Luthor used his 'trigger-word' to control Connor, he and Cassie went all over the globe to try and teach him how to resist any future mind control. He uses that training to slip a couple of things past the Black Lantern ring. First he slips out a whistle. A whistle that no one can hear, but Krypto. Who soon rushes to his aid. And then he uses his heat vision to send Cassie a message. He carves 'Fortress' into the ground. His plan? His original dead body is there in the Kryptonian chamber. If he can get close enough to it, while wearing the ring, maybe he can confuse it. Then he uses the tricks that Raven taught him to make his mind 'slippery'. With the ring already confused, it chooses the path of least resistance and goes after the corpse. But, the tricky part is . . Connor also has to keep the ring away from the corpse once it's off of him. This is the previous version of him . . his past self, if you will. But . . it's still him. So he if rings makes contact and Connor or Cassie has to destroy it to stop it . . they'd effectively be destroying Connor. His future self may no longer exist. Anyways, long story short . . I know, too late . . Connor freezes the ring, with his newly discovered 'freeze-breath', and Cassie casts it off into space. Obviously there's only a matter of time before the ring breaks out and comes back for it's target. But . . in the meantime, Connor and Cassie and Krypto are all heading towards Coast City to do anything they can to help the rest of the heroes beat this thing. Tony Bedard has taken over on the writing chores of this book. Bye-bye, Geoff Johns! But I thought Tony did a pretty good job. I really enjoyed all the dialogue and interaction between Connor and Cassie. And I liked that Connor used his head to get out of this. The boy is growing up. Plus I think Cassie is a good influence on him. Travis Moore does the art. The Legion returns next issue. Unfortunately . . so does Brainiac. I love this book, and I'm glad it's back. I don't really care how they number it.

Adventure Comics #6 / #509 - DC

This issue still had 30 pages of art, but the entire story was spent on Superboy, Connor Kent. Last issue Connor was trying to help his friend Lori when a knock came at her door. It appears that Lori is actually Lex's niece. Which makes her mom, Lexi, Lex's sister. It appears that when he left Smallville, he tried to leave everything from his past behind . . including his family. Anyways, Connor goads him into helping his sister, who is paralyzed, and seems to be having some type of problem with her mind. He asks him how come if he always blames Superman for him not being able to help the world, now that he's off-planet . . the least he could do is help his sister. Anyways, he sends Connor and Krypto on a list of errands. He produces a formula. And he cures his sister. She gets out of her wheel-chair, she walks, and she's very coherent. Everyone is happy. And then . . Lex takes it away from her. 'Lex giveth . . and Lex taketh away. I proved what I could do. And the secret stays with me until Superman is dead.' Connor starts knocking Lex around, but it isn't long before Brainiac returns to retrieve his protege. It isn't long after that before they both just take off. Connor tells his 'friends' what has happened, and Tim has Wayne Industries paying for the finest medical attention they can get Lexi. And Lex? Lex has given up on Connor. 'Superboy is no longer my son, Brainiac. He was a mistake. A failed experiment. Because I used the wrong alien DNA. So let's try phase two.' It looks like Lex is going to grow himself another son. This time with his and Brainiac's DNA. But that appears to be a story for another time. This was a great issue by Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul. But then . . we've come to expect nothing less of Geoff's work. However, the bad news is . . it appears to be Geoff's final work in this book. Tony Bedard comes on board for next issue. And then James Robinson and Sterling Gates for the chapter after that. But . . I think we all knew that Geoff wasn't going to be here forever. He had a great run, and contributed some fantastic Superboy stories. But now it's time to move on to this book's next chapter. As I'm sitting here looking at the digest versions of this book sitting in front of me . . I'm reminded of the rich history that this title has. And I'm reminded, that history comes from a plethora of creative talent. Some great . . some mediocre. But . . it's all part of the Adventure. Pun intended.

Adventure Comics #5 / #508 - DC

In this next chapter of the Superboy-Prime story, we see the the Black Lanterns, specifically Alexander Luthor, have come to visit Clark Kent also. At first Clark appeared to be back in the visage of a normal Earth boy. He no longer appeared to be Superboy. Although he's still filled with the anger and hatred . . his parents and family are still scared to death of him, but . . it doesn't look like he's Superboy-Prime anymore. That is until Alexander shows up. He changes him back, giving him back his powers and costume, and then attacks him with the rest of the Black Lanterns . . everyone else that Clark has killed or terrorized. In this instance . . I'd say that the recipient of the Black Lantern's wrath was well deserved. You reap what you sow, as it were. But, through the course of this story it seems that Clark wants to change. The Black Lanterns have forced him to face his true feelings. After fighting them for a while, Clark realizes that he's not going to beat them in the traditional way. They just keep coming back. 'So if I can't beat you, Alex . . I'll join you!' And he puts one of the Black Lantern rings on his own hand. The weird part is . . maybe because he's alive, the ring takes him through the entire emotional spectrum. He goes through Green/Willpower, Blue/Compassion/, Orange/Avarice, Yellow/Fear before he finally settles on the Red/Hate. Apparently that's what he has the most of inside of him. Until he comes face to face with the feeling he has for Laurie . . Sapphire/Love. Because of that spectral outburst he seems to have defeated the Black Lanterns. Which leaves him to face his own thoughts and feelings . . 'I loved h-her . . I loved her so muh-much. I n-never . . I never get what I want. They don't want me to h-have it. They made me into their puppet. Forced to hurt people. I wasn't supposed to be like this. I was a her once! Why c-can't I stop being this way? Don't I get to make my own decisions? I do hate myself. I hate what I've become. They turned me into this monster. They turned me into a villain. But I was Superboy. Why didn't they give me a happy ending?' And by 'they', he's talking about the writers and artists and editorial staff of DC Comics. That's where his 'stories' originate in his world. But on the final page they do give him a little bit of hope. They give him Laurie back. The problem? She doesn't show it, but . . she's also wearing a Black Lantern ring. So where does this story go from here? It may be a while before we find out. This chapter was beautifully brought to us by Geoff Johns, Sterling Gates and Jerry Ordway. This truly is the character that we love to hate. It'll be interesting to see where he pops up next. Meanwhile, in the back-up story, Connor comes across his own 'Lori', in the girl that he met at school. He catches her doing a little vandalism. She's hit the Smallville Clinic. Connor tries to talk to her but I think he's overwhelmed by his conflicting emotions. On one hand he knows she's doing wrong, but on the other . . she does seem to have a pretty valid reason for her anger . . her mother is in bad shape, and this doctor has refused to help her once her insurance ran out. So Lori is acting out. I think Connor is trying to tell her that she's wrong, but . . he can also see her point . . feel her frustration. They're at her house talking when there's a knock on the door. It seems that Lori is niece of Lex Luthor . . and he's standing at the door, with a box of Kryptonite, as Connor and Krypto lay on the floor in the hall. It appears that Lex has finally shown up to claim what he thinks is rightfully his . . Connor Kent/Superboy . . a clone that Lex made with his and Superman's own DNA. This has made me wonder . . since these 2 worlds are so closely related, there's a Superboy and Laurie and Lex in both worlds . . is Superboy-Prime's Laurie also related to Alexander? And if so, what affect does that have on that story? Hmmm . . lots of questions, and very little answers. At least not yet. But that's the beauty of one of Geoff's stories. That and the fantastic interaction between Connor and Lori. You can almost feel his frustration and confusion as he's trying to figure out her motives and reasons. And Lori isn't doing anything to help ease his confusion. If anything, her advances are adding to it . . making things more complicated. I thought it was a great chapter, and I'm beginning to love Francis Manapul's interpretation of this character. Simply fantastic. I can't wait to see where all of these characters go from here. Adventure Comics is back . . long live Adventure!

Adventure Comics #4 / #507 - DC

This issue the lead story is completely devoted to Superboy-Prime. On his world, Earth-prime he's also recently gotten this issue of Adventure. He's so distraught over the ending that he makes his mom and dad immediately take him to the comic shop so that he can find out what's going to happen in issue #5 . . or, #508. It's also the Blackest Night cross-over for this book. So Clark is visited by Alexander Luthor. He rises out of the vaults of the Hall of Justice, but then almost immediately heads off to Clark's world. The Legion of Earth-prime is also concerned because they've sensed that something has just pierced the multiverse, back in the 21st century, and . . Superboy-prime is supposed to be under house arrest. They're concerned that he's out and running around. Anyways, Alexander appears in the comic shop and turns Clark back into Superboy-prime. I guess he doesn't want to fight the powerless geek. But Superboy's powers don't help him much because Alexander brings along some of the other people that are pissed about Superboy killing them. But then everything fades away as Clark is shouting, 'No, Wait! Wait, Alex! It can't end now! What happens next?' Well . . neither he, nor us will know until next issue. I liked Geoff Johns story here, but . . I thought it was kind of a cheesy way to end it. But . . we'll see what happens next issue. Maybe it will all be worth it. In the Legion story, Blok is distraught over the White Witch's leaving. She's recently beat Mordru, thereby assuming his powers, but . . that means she has to return to, and live on Sorcerer's World. Plus, after their encounter with Mordru, Blok seems to be going though some changes also. Rather than fight him about it, Wildfire and Dawnstar decide to accompany him back. Once there they soon discover that the White Queen no longer exists. At least not under that name. She now calls herself the Black Witch . . and she dresses and looks accordingly. She switches back for a moment, to help Blok complete his transformation, but then she quickly goes back. 'This world is free of the dark magic that ruled it for centuries. This world is free. But I am not. It's taking all the strength I have to contain Mordru's power and transform it into good. I fear rest. I fear sleep. I fear my weakness, but I don't fear my choice.' Afterwards Blok looks different, but . . I don't know how he's changed. I guess we'll find out later. Anyways, Wildfire and Dawnstar take it as a cautionary tale, because there's is also an unrequited love. I thought it was a good chapter in the Legion's lives by Geoff Johns, Michael Shoemaker and Clayton Henry. I really like the way Clayton is illustrating these Legion stories. And as I've said for the last 3 issues, I'm thrilled that this book is back on the shelves.

Adventure Comics #3 / #506 - DC

I was thrilled to see Connor and Tim back together this issue. I think these 2 make a great team. The best team. In fact, I don't know if anyone else will agree with me, but I think they make a better team than Bruce and Clark. At least Tim's not making contingency plans on what to do should Connor lose control of his powers. Tim would just be there to bring him back . . no matter what. Connor catches up with Tim in Paris, and through trying to find Luthor, Tim shows Connor one of his old labs. The place looks like it's been ransacked . . and it has . . by Tim. Tim tells him how he tried to bring him back. 'My girlfriend die. My dad died. My best friend died. And I couldn't accept it. I couldn't lose you too.' He also tells him about his mission to find Bruce . . his impossible, hopeless, unconfirmed mission. So Connor shares a little secret with him . .'I'm keeping a journal with a list of things Superman did and Lex Luthor does and I'm checking them off. Yeah. I'm that paranoid now. I don't want to find Lex Luthor so I can drag him to prison . . I want to find him to see if there's anything good inside him at all. Hell, not even Superman can do that.' He may not have to look for long though. Luthor is actually aboard Brainiac's ship, and he's been studying Connor's return. But not as a father. He created Connor. He sees him as his property. I don't think he likes the idea of that property running around doing whatever it wants, and being influenced by Superman. I thought Geoff Johns did a fantastic job with the interaction between these 2 characters. To bad he's only going to be here until issue #6. I also liked the way that Krypto was included in this issue. In the beginning he starts retrieving and bringing Superboy's rogues to him. Basically, he's a pet looking for his master's approval. At first it was weird, but when Connor realizes what he's trying to do . . it's actually kind of touching. Which is what I really like about Geoff's writing. After reading this book you really have a feel, almost an emotional connection to these characters. You can feel their frustration, and their drive. You can also feel their relief knowing that no matter what they'll always have each others back. I thought Francis Manapul gave this book a great feel with his art also. In the Legion story we see Dirk and Brek on a mission together. They've come to Brek's home planet, Tharr to try to retrieve the Cryo-King. He's been trying to make a name for himself so that the Legion of Super-villains will accept him. The boys end up taking him down, when they finally do a little teamwork, but the really important part of this story was a little revelation at the end. In Cryo-kings possession they find a map from the 21st century . . a paper map. Dirk wants to know what it's all about. Cryo-king tells him, 'You think you're the only Legion with an espionage squad in the 21st century?' It was another good story by Geoff and Michael Shoemaker. Clayton Henry did the pencils. As I've said from issue #1, I'm so happy that this book is back. I always liked this title, but it ended rather abruptly . . some 26 years ago. Superboy and the Legion is the perfect way to get things started again. I am wondering though . . who's taking over after Geoff?

Adventure Comics #2 / #505 - DC

Have I mentioned again lately how happy I am that this book has returned? No? Well let me say it here . . this is fan-frikkin-tastic!! And . . to have Geoff Johns writing the stories for it . . what more could a comic-geek like me ask for? Oh yeah . . the Legion's here too. Ok. That's enough excitement for one day. My doctor warned me about these spikes to my blood-pressure. Anyways, I want to start with the Legion story. Michael Shoemaker helps Geoff with the story. And Clayton Henry turns in a fantastic piece of artwork. Anyways, Garth has been summoned to Takron-Galtos, the prison planet, by his brother, Mekt. He assumes it's for some more ranting and raving, but he has to go because he's offered up the Legion of Super-villains safe-houses in exchange. It appears that this story picks up almost immediately following Geoff's Legion story in Action Comics. It ran from issue #858 to #863. As Garth states, "The state of the Earth . . it's swarming with anti-alien sentiment and we've got a President who's a freaking human supremacist." And the JLA, or rather the former Legion of Substitute-heroes, have been locked up. Garth comes across Storm-boy when he goes to visit Mekt. I'm sorry. That's all just a lot of history on the background of this story. This story is actually about Mekt. This time, he's asking Garth for help. He's convinced that when they were children their parents actually lied to them. Mekt is convinced that he does indeed have a twin out there, and he wants Garth to help him find him. Now the lead story . . Superboy. First of all . . I'm glad he's back. And I'm thrilled that Geoff is handling his re-immersion into the DC Universe. Nobody could do it better. And he was the one responsible for bringing him back during the Legion of 3Worlds story-line. Anyways, Connor seems to be obsessed with trying to live his life the way Clark did. He knows that he's equal parts Kal-El and Luthor . . and he wants to make sure he exhibits more qualities of the former. He has a list with him at all times. While talking to Cassie, it seems that thing that he most regrets is turning on him team-mates, and breaking Tim's arm. He just wants to make sure nothing like that ever happens again. But Cassie has a few regrets of her own. She admits to Connor that she kissed Tim. She regrets it, but . . she did it. Connor quickly forgives her. He's just happy that they're back together, and that they love each other. But who knows how long that'll last. We also see Luthor, who's currently riding around with Brainiac, and he's perusing the latest head-lines that he's missed. He's happy about all the conflict that seems to be occurring, but then he comes across the headline for Superboy's return. He doesn't look happy, but . . he also looks like he doesn't know how to feel about that. You can choose your friends, and you can choose your foes . . but you can't choose your family. Good or bad . . you're stuck. Poor Connor. And this story is only just beginning. By the way, fantastic artwork and cover by Francis Manapul. I have a feeling this is quickly going to become one of my favorite books.

Adventure Comics #1 / #504 - DC

As much as I was looking forward to the Darkest Night books this week, I was equally as excited to get my hands on this edition. And not just for the return of Connor . . although I think that's fantastic. But rather I'm a huge Adventure Comics fan. I have a whole long box filled with just these books. No I don't have all the Legion books, but at one time I was trying. I do however have all of the digests that came out from #491 to #503. It was a great experiment, and I couldn't believe it when this book was cancelled back in 1983. 26 years ago. Wow! I can't believe it's been that long. I just looked, but in the final issue Paul Levitz gave us no hope for an eventual return of the title. We did however get to see some great covers from the early years. A quick note . . the final issue was a 100 page digest that cost $1.25. Anyways, on to the present. Like the original Adventure Comics, this one contained a couple of stories. First, and foremost, Connor is back and he's decided to live in Smallville with Ma. I always enjoyed the Superboy book, but I gotta say . . Geoff Johns wrote one of the best Superboy stories I think I've ever read. It covered a lot of ground, but still gave us insight into his character and emotions. It was great to see him back in action again. I'd tell you more about the specifics of the story, but I think this is one that everyone should pick up and read for themselves. It's a fantastic book. Francis Manapul also does a great job with the art. We then get a quick history of the Legion. And finally, in a 'sort-of' Legion story, Starman still has a mission to complete. He's seeking out the other Legion members that are hidden in this time, and the first one he comes across is Tellus. Starman's story was illustrated by Clayton Henry. We also get a brief look at some upcoming Legion storylines. One in particular includes the induction of a new Legion member . . a Green Lantern. I just can't say enough about this book. I'm thrilled that it's back on the shelves, and even more happy that Geoff Johns is writing the stories. Fan-frikkin-tastic! Like I said, everyone needs to get out there and get this one. You won't be disappointed. It's the beginning of a new era. Get on board while you can.