Sunday Comics #20: Superman Special

Full Disclosure: I didn't start out reading comic books as a Walt Simonson fan. My first experience with Simsonson--other than through his wife, Louise, who wrote the series Superman: The Man of Steel--was the Auron story in The Legacy of Superman, a comic published when the Superman titles went on hiatus after Superman was killed by Doomsday. But over the years, as I have seen and read more and more of his stuff from Thor to X-Men to things in between, his art has really grown on me. It's bold, dynamic, and simplistic all at once. Simonson is one of the last genuine comic book artists in my opinion. There are many still out there but Simonson is one of the more prolific.

The Superman Special from 1992 is an odd beast. It's a retelling of the Sand Superman story from 1971 that began in Superman (vol. 1) #233. The story was originally scheduled to be published as Superman Annual #3 in 1990, but Simonson took too long to finish the book. The story was eventually released in 1992 just weeks before "The Death of Superman" began so the book was buried and forgotten. In 2011, a theory was posited that the Special was written to be a major plot point saying that it had been the Sand Superman running around Metropolis since 1988 and that was going to be revealed in 1995's storyline "Dead Again" but DC backed down when Marvel's Clone Saga got so many negative reviews. That theory doesn't hold water but you can read on that over at the Fortress of Baileytude.

A product of its time, 1990, the story takes place before Clark and Lois got engaged and Lex Luthor "died" and came back as Lex Luthor II so we get scenes of a fat, bald Luthor and Clark and Lois not exactly getting along which makes this even stranger considering its placement in 1992.

The cover is one of my favorite from this era. It took a while to grow on me but it really comes at you and the color scheme is an interesting choice. I like the look of the sandman morphing into Superman--or is he? Anyway, onto the story. We open on Superman flying to the Fortress of Solitude and breaking and smashing some rocks into the image of General Zod, Zaora, and Quex-Ul, the three Kryptonian criminals that Superman killed back in Superman #22, as a remember to himself that he shall never take another life for as long as he lives.

Superman took extra care carving Zaora's hindquarters.

Back in Metropolis, we get a Lois and Clark scene where Lois exposits to Clark that she is going Cosmography Industries on a lead. They are apparently working on stealth-fighter technology but no one seems to know who owns them. But Lois has an idea because she is smarter than your average bear. As if Cosmography knew Lois and Clark were talking about them, problems arise and something explodes so Clark runs off so he can get to the site as Superman. As Superman dives into the building to rescue some scientists still trapped in the rubble, the building explodes again.

Elsewhere, not far from Metropolis, the Newsboy Legion is picking up seismic activity which they feel is their business so they hop in the Whiz Wagon, stop to pick up Jimmy--with Lois hitching a ride--and head off toward Cosmography Industries where Superman has been thrown into some rocks. Luckily, Supes is already recovering and those scientists even survived the second explosion so Superman has some work to do. As Superman is rescuing employees of Cosmography, Lex Luthor arrives and immediately tells Superman to get off his land. Superman tells Luthor to shove it and that Luthor is clearly up to no-good. "Stealth technology? Ha! You're covering something up!" Luthor then throws out a giant chunk of kyptonite and says that he has been trying to synthesize it, but Superman instead takes the kryptonite from Luthor and, well, just see for yourself.

Luthor's last kryptonite chunk is now just ordinary lead. As Superman flies away, he wavers just a bit--a dizzy spell he waves it off as--but Luthor notices it before ordering everyone off of his property.

As night arrives, the sand around where the explosion threw Superman begins to swirl and move while the narration box yammers about nightfall, jaws of Hell and the witching hour. A skeleton-like sandman that bears kind of a passing resemblance to Superman is born and the first thing it does is scare and kill a security guard at the site.

Back at Clark's apartment, Clark is doing dishes when his super breath disappears, concerned and knowing that it has something to do with what happened at Luthor's facility so he heads out there to investigate where he begins losing his powers but some of his powers transfers to the sandman who hiding out nearby. Luthor and a tracker named Stacky arrive and Luthor is using Stacky to figure out what is going on. The Sandman has followed Superman to his apartment. Flight is one power that the sandman hasn't gotten yet so he falls to the ground, smashing himself back into normal sand.

But only for a minute or so, the Sand Superman returns and begins wreaking havoc in the garment district. Luthor sends Team Luthor to fight and capture the creature. Once captured, Luthor offers the Sand Superman a deal. Superman is off trying to figure what's going on when bank robbers strike but it is all just a ruse from Luthor to get the Sand Superman closer to Superman. Superman and the Sand Superman duke it out a bit before Jimmy and the Newsboy Legion come to the rescue to stop the bank robbers while Superman deals with the Sand Superman. Unable to get the upper hand, Superman steals the Whiz Wagon and flies to the Fortress of Solitude with the Sand Superman close behind.

One by one, each of Superman's power is painfully transferred to the Sand Superman and the Sand Superman is starting to look more and more like Superman, even getting color into his costume. The Sand Superman finds the real Superman unconscious on the ground and tries to shake him awake so that he can see it coming but Superman plants a kiss on the Sand Superman painfully transferring more power and memory to him.

The Sand Superman is then startled by the statues of Zod, Quex-Ul and Zaora, destroying them but remembering the promise that Superman, and ergo, he, made earlier of not killing. The Sand Superman cradles Superman's lifeless body in his arms and then he...explodes. I'll be honest, I'm confused here.

Back in Metropolis, Luthor arrives at work to find Superman sitting in his office. Superman gives Luthor a big speech about where the Sand Superman's pain came from (becoming Superman, not destroying Superman) and that this was a job for Superman and that Luthor made it happen. Luthor is less than thrilled about the outcome of this story.

This is such an odd story and most of the weirdness comes from the ending where the Sand Superman explodes and Superman is revived. I can see how someone would walk away from this story now believing the Sand Superman has just become Superman after the original's death. The story is followed by seven of the most unremarkable pieces of Superman artwork I've ever seen. But that's it for this issue. Let's read some of Simonson's Thor.

Sunday Comics #19: New Beginning, Part 2

Almost exactly six years ago, I published a Thursday Comics detailing and mocking the first issue of Unicorn Comics' "New Beginning", a comic book featuring a guy named Terry who saves his high school classmates when a nuclear holocaust breaks out during their 10-year reunion. If you haven't read it yet, go right ahead. I'll wait.

For years, I've been searching for a hint of the other issues. I came to the conclusion that there were four issues spanning from 1988 to 1992. I could never find them which was a huge letdown for me. But then, I found them. Or at least, three issues of them. And they were only four dollars!!

I was right! The back cover on issue #1 was the cover to issue #2.

We open issue two where we left off in issue one. The survivors have emerged from their bunker only to find a pack of probably rabid dogs chowing down on their dead friends and classmates. Debbie tells Terry to go back inside the bunker and wait until the dogs leave but Terry takes another tack.

Issue two is also signed.

The dogs clearly don't listen to Terry and he begins plugging the dogs full of holes. Since there are too many dogs (at least a dozen of them!), the others grab guns and begin shooting. Steve is attacked by one of the dogs, who tears a huge chunk out of his arm. While he cries like a little bitch, Terry finishes off the dogs,

If this page were in color, it might be
pretty beautiful.

commenting "Man's best friend? Yeah, right!" I take it that Terry is not a dog person. Really, Terry isn't even a person person. Terry doesn't trust anyone as far as he can throw them. And all because someone pushed him into a pool in high school. The survivors pump Steve full of morphine because this comic takes place in an alternate universe where morphine is sold over the counter. The other survivors want to stay in the bunker until Steve is all better but "we [don't have the] luxury of time down here" and "it's beginning to stink" so Terry forces his classmates to climb the stairs back into the
world above. What's hilarious is that all of them climb the stairs, find the door blocked by rubble so Terry sends them all back down the stairs in order to blow up the rubble. I am also getting more and more disturbed by the porn-stache on Bruce's face. It's really bothering me for some reason.

Now that the survivors are back on the surface, Terry has more surprises up his sleeve. From an underground garage, he reveals that he has tricked out a couple of armored vehicles. Curtis, a floppy-haired blond guy, comments that Terry's insane. I agree.

Despite me making fun of him spending 8 million of an 11 million dollar settlement and Terry being right, I concur with
Curtis' astute assessment of Terry.

See? I told you so.

The survivors take to the road for several days in order to look for other survivors. The search doesn't go well but they do stumble onto a small town where the guys siphon gas out of abandoned cars for their giant vehicles while the women go shopping. Terry decides that they will never find anyone out in the boonies so they head off to Chicago where just minutes in, they run into a reject gang from A Clockwork Orange. The reject droogs, one whose name is Marvin, begin firing on our survivors, shooting Rob in the arm, side, and hip. Porn-stache, er, Bruce, opens fire with the M-60 on the roof of the truck blasting the reject droogs into Kingdom Come. Marvin, ever the stereotypical

Same.

villain, runs away so he can "kill and mutilate some other day". During Marvin's escape, he runs into Terry and the two attempt to kill each other. Unfortunately, Terry is out of ammo and Marvin underestimates Terry dodging ability. The gang the droogs were harassing integrate themselves into Terry's gang. One of the members of this gang is Jim Nosirrom who was the leader of the rock band The End. We then segue into Jim's origin story which involves being trapped for seven months in a recording studio after the bombing and now only communicating through song lyrics. Terry immediately becomes annoyed by this turn of events because all traces of humor and empathy on him were washed off when he was pushed in that pool ten years ago.

Marvin returns to his base to meet with the Colonel. The Colonel tells Marvin to take his five best guys to hunt down these "renegade soldiers" and then he tells muscular behemoth Tank to keep an eye on Marvin. Marvin and his baddies attack the factory Terry and everybody else is staying at but, like the insane moron he is, fails in his mission and later, while camping on his way back to the Colonel's, Marvin is killed by Tank for failing the mission. When Terry stumbles upon the dangling corpse of Marvin, we learn that the Colonel is really Terry's brother Gerry. To be continued.

Gerry's order falls on deaf ears and two shots are fired at Terry. Tank extends an olive branch to Terry's gang and after a passionate kiss from Debbie, Terry goes to meet the Colonel and is delighted to see that it is his brother. Terry apparently doesn't notice or care that the collar on Gerry's coat has "S.S." embroidered on

"Gerry! You're looking very Reich-ous
these days!" Get it?

it. Gerry invites Terry's gang back to his compound and while Terry agrees to go, he doesn't trust Gerry so he tells everyone to keep on their toes. Terry and Gerry make a convoy to Gerry's compound where they are pulled over by a sheriff still enforcing the laws of his county. That's dedication right there. They also pass a group of robed strangers heading off to "the valley".

"What are you doing speeding?"

"Uh, there's been a nuclear holocaust. Why
are you still enforcing these laws?"

*sniff* "Move along, sir."

They all arrive at the compound where Gerry warns Terry and the others about the robed strangers and Pat reveals that he and several other people want to leave because they are sick of the killing. Terry both chastises and allows Pat and the others to leave and even sends a couple others with them to help them get back to the main road. Terry's such a swell guy. Shortly after dropping off the deserters, their tire is flattened by a board with a nail in it and they are run off the road. Back at the compound, it's going on lock down because tonight is apparently the night where the robed strangers do their annual "purge". How convenient.

When the others don't come back, Terry attempts to leave to find them but Tank won't let anyone past the gates. Terry demands that Tank open the gate and Tank responds with "Make me" so Terry hits him and a fight ensues. While Terry holds his own, Tank gets the better of him and is about to kill Terry when Debbie pulls a gun on Tank. Gerry stops the fight and, while arguing against it, lets Terry and his gang leave the compound to look for the others. They find the wrecked van and discover that they were taken by the hooded strangers to be used in their sacrifices tonight. We end issue three on a massive battle scene featuring Terry and his gang fighting the robed strangers while Gerry's minions enter the fray.

To be continued.

And that's it for "New Beginning" until I am able to get issue four. I've seen a panel from it but haven't found an actual copy yet. I will keep looking or if you have one, let me know.

Sunday Comics #18: Super Duck

You may know Super Duck as a confusing character tucked in the pages of various Archie Comics digests, notably Laugh Comics Digest, between a subpar Sabrina or Josie and the Pussycats story and L'il Jinx getting yelled at by her dad. The name Super Duck makes no sense. For most of his existence, Super Duck existed in some sort of anthropomorphic suburban city raising his young nephew Fauntleroy. Or maybe Fauntleroy is his younger brother. It just depends on the year and the writer. Anyway, for the first three issues of his self-titled comic, Super Duck could acquire powers by taking a pill, Vitamin A-Z, he becomes super-fast, super-strong, and Super Duck. The pill was written out after the third issue and Super Duck became your standard Donald Duck clone. While not your conventional superhero character, it's probably the only example of the superhero being sidelined in favor of the secret identity. What would've happened if in Action Comics #5 or something, Clark Kent never became Superman and just stayed Clark, solving crimes and mysteries as the mild-mannered reporter and it stayed that way for the next 75 years? Then we'd probably be celebrating Siegel and Shuster's greatest creation Dr. Occult instead of Superman.

Sunday Comics #17: 1922 B.N. (Before Nancy)

I've been wanting to do a Nancy post for a while now but I didn't want it to be your standard Nancy post. Nancy has, in my opinion, become one of the greatest strips of all time. I think you could safely add Nancy to the eschelon of comic strips with Krazy Kat, Peanuts, Pogo, and Calvin and Hobbes. Everybody knows Nancy and Sluggo and the wacky, and oftentimes weird, adventures that they get into. But more than a decade before Nancy became the star and namesake of the feature, there was another--one who still appears to this day as Nancy's aunt and adoptive guardian. Fritzi Ritz.

Fritzi Ritz was your standard 1920s comic strip featuring flapper Fritzi Ritz created by Larry Whittington. Fritzi spent many years focused on men, clothes, and money. In 1933, Fritzi's niece Nancy came for a visit and never went home. In 1938, her friend Sluggo was introduced and the title of the strip was renamed shortly after.

A comic book page featuring Fritzi and her boyfriend, Phil Fumble. By Ernie Busmiller.

Nancy strip from April 5, 2009 by Guy Gilchrist.