Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Superman 80 Page Giant #1
DC Comics
Raicht, Wilson III, Immonen, Zonjic, McCool, Camp, McCallum, Shoyket, Hall, Lopez, Hoskin, Silva, Ryan and Henry

DC's anthology about the Man of Steel hits shelves at a whopping $5.99 delivering a decent page count over seven, ten page stories from largely fresh (or even unknown) talent. This particular collection doesn't seem to have much of a common theme as seen in the Batman 80 pager back in December, but it does offer a decent read about Superman and some of his supporting characters. The two biggest drawbacks are the price tag page count ratio. There are really only 70 pages of content not 80. The absence of a big time villain is a minor quibble as this comic doesn't contain Luthor, Doomsday or any of the other usual suspects except one at the very end. The best part of the comic is watching the newer talent take on a bigger property. There's some good stuff in here.

The first story (by Raicht & Wilson III) deals with Clark as a boy just discovering his powers. Essentially, Clark activates his heat vision because he gets mad at some bully and nearly brings about some tragedy. Clark's parents, particularly his Pa, set him on the straight path in the end. This story may be my favorite in terms of the total package. It has nice crisp art, great character work, presents some danger and has a perfect flow for the ten pages it's given. I tend to be picky with my Clark as a kid stories but this one is one of the better ones I've read in a long time.

The second story (by Immonen & Zonjic) fascinated me because the story deals with Lois feeling under the weather and Clark taking care of her and fighting off boredom. This is the kind of story that could really overreach easily but, for me, is paced perfectly and hits the right marks with its humor. The only part that wasn't entirely clear until the last couple of pages was whether or not Clark and Lois were married or if Lois was aware of Clark's other identity as Superman. This was a fun take on their relationship. This story's art was excellent as I felt it captured a certain newsprint style that helped add a layer to the comedy aspect of it. This kind of story probably wouldn't work for 22 pages but it works just fine for ten.

The third story (by McCool & Camp) Clark fights a villain. Well, it starts out with Clark helping out an exterminator in the Daily Planet. Eventually he battles off the alien bugs that he seems familiar with. There are some laughs in here and the artwork is sharp and gives Clark the Christopher Reeve look. This was a decent story putting Clark in the role of acting as Superman dressed as Clark Kent in front of others.

The fourth story (McCallum & Shoyket) has four criminals pondering why they picked Metropolis to pull off their heist. They go into various stories about pulling jobs in other cities and getting busted by the other costumed heroes. The story is cute and delivers a predictable ending. The aspect of the story that doesn't ever get established is why they would try any city where there is known to be a super hero. Why not pick Tulsa? And if you do pick a city where a super hero makes his rounds why on Earth would you ever pick Gotham? Especially at night? I needed more to this story for it to hit the right notes with me. The artwork was big and flashy with the inclusion of the other heroes and helped enhance the story well.

The fifth story (by Hall & Lopez) is about a guy who is a shut in, only to be freed by Superman crashing into his building. He then embarks on a life filled with high flying thrills until Superman gives him a talking to. This was a decent enough story but I felt didn't quite drive home the character's motivations as a thrill seeker. Sure, Superman was there to save him when needed but why was his new found courage only to put his own life in danger? Why wouldn't the bravery lead him to go after the girl he likes first? I realize in ten pages you have a small amount of time to get your story out, but for me, I wasn't sold. I enjoyed the artwork a lot as it gave some great angles to the danger that Superman was thrust into.

The sixth story (by Hoskin & Silva) provided the classic story where Superman is racing around the city solving problems while Lois is doing her thing oblivious to the actions going on around her. This story is like many others where he rescues a cat and helps out the fire department. As was the case in the previous Lois story I wasn't totally sure of the relationship status or the identity knowledge right off the bat which made this story a little less effective. Another aspect of the story that I felt could have been altered to make a more interesting story was to pick up the pace and have Superman doing more acts of good deeds. It seems like Superman can help a lot of people in five minutes. The artwork was very good, particularly with the burning building. One oddity was the length of Superman's hair. I couldn't tell if the mullet had made a return. I liked the story but didn't love it.

The final story (by Ryan & Henry) was really two stories that I didn't feel flowed together all that well. The beginning was various people, loosely connected, either by phone or watching the same TV show, where they are giving the play by play of Superman battling Bizarro. The second half of the story is almost all illustration of the fight. I would have preferred sticking with the battle's account by the everyman. It was an interesting twist that I thought was bringing out a good narrative. However, by switching to the battle so early we do get five solidly drawn pages of a good throwdown which this comic overall lacks. I liked this story but I think it was trying to do too much with splitting off the story.

I like anthologies. Generally speaking I won't pick one up and dislike it. This one is no different. These aren't for everyone and I wouldn't even recommend this one for someone looking for a specific type of Superman story. I do think people who would enjoy are those that like the character and seeing him in more of an everyday life in Metropolis instead of off fighting in space. This comic book is worth checking out if you like the short story format that gives a lot of different aspects of the Man of Steel. There isn't a dud in the brunch. Though, I hate that the comic is called an 80 pager when it only has 70, but that's publishing for you. This was a nice showcase for a wide range of talent.

3.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles