Krypto
Grumpy Old Fan | 43 for 43
The longest journey begins with a single issue
Every week, hard as it may be to believe, I try honestly to offer something I think might interest the larger group of DC Domics superhero readers. However, this week I am invoking a personal privilege. For one thing, with Halloween on a Wednesday (when I usually end up writing these essays), the holiday will more than likely take priority.
The main reason, though, is that today is my birthday, and as you might have guessed from the headline, this year is my 43rd birthday. Therefore, this week I have pulled together an especially memorable DC story and/or issue from each of those years, 1969 through 2012. (Note: They may not always line up with the actual year, but just for simplicity’s sake, all dates are cover dates.) These aren’t necessarily the best or most noteworthy stories of their particular years, but they’ve stuck with me. Besides, while I’ve read a lot of comics from a lot of sources, for whatever reason DC has been the constant. Maybe when I’m 50 I’ll have something more comprehensive.
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First look at Action Comics #5 — and the fate of Krypto
Wired’s GeekDad and Underwire blogs have an exclusive first look at Action Comics #5 which, as teased in the issue’s solicitation text, takes us back to doomed Krypton for some “keys facts about Superman’s past” — not the least of which is the apparent fate of Krypto. If you don’t want to know that last detail, you probably shouldn’t click the second link.
Action Comics #5, which features a main story by Grant Morrison, Andy Kubert and Jesse Delperdang, and a backup story by Sholly Fisch and ChrisCross, arrives Jan. 4.
Grumpy Old Fan | Will DC’s past catch up with it?
A Flash family reunion
Three recent bits of DC news are running together in my mind. Cumulatively they may amount to nothing — housekeeping details and/or fallout from the New-52 relaunch — but individually they seem significant, because they may well speak to the proverbial “reset button” which DC claims does not exist. Put simply, I think that reset button exists, I think it affects all of the New-52 books, and I expect it to be revealed within the next year or two. Whether it gets pushed, and/or how much resetting occurs, is another matter.
While it may be overprotective to put a SPOILER WARNING so early in the post, I realize some of you may want to discover these things as they are actually published.
I don’t blame you — I was trying to avoid the Wonder Woman thing, but that’s what I get for reading convention coverage. (And yes, I have seen the recent news about a certain Flash character.)
Anyway, SPOILERS for potential DC milestones big and small….
Krypto makes New 52 debut on Action Comics #3 variant cover
From the Action Comics #3 variant cover, by Gene Ha
DC Comics has released Gene Ha’s variant cover for Action Comics #3, previously only revealed at New York Comic Con, featuring Jor-El, Laura and a radically redesigned Krypto in what’s been characterized as the Superdog’s one and only New 52 appearance.
Entertainment Weekly has a preview of the issue, which takes us back to Krypton — Kandor, specifically — just before the planet’s destruction. Check out the full cover below. Action Comics #3, by Grant Morrison and Rags Morales, arrives Nov. 2.
Frank Miller’s infrequently updated blog is pretty amazing
"Krypto-Fascist" by Frank Miller
The Dark Knight Returns cartoonist and Sin City co-director Frank Miller rarely updates his website, but when he’s done so lately, it’s been pretty remarkable. Take the post titled “A Nice Thought,” featuring a drawing of a dinosaur eating a (presumably) Muslim suicide bomber, for example — or the above drawing, “Krypto-Fascist,” in which a Nazified version of Superman’s best friend is used to riff on a popular political epithet. I just wish the site had an RSS feed so I could make sure not to miss anything. Man, Holy Terror cannot come soon enough.
(via David Aja)