#IReadsYou Movie Review: REIGN OF THE SUPERMEN

Reign of the Superman (2019)

Running time:  87 minutes (1 hour, 27 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of action violence
DIRECTORS:  Sam Liu
WRITERS:  Jim Krieg and Tim Sheridan (based on characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics)
PRODUCERS:  Sam Liu and Amy McKenna
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Sam Register and James Tucker
EDITOR:  Christopher D. Lozinski
COMPOSER:  Frederik Wiedmann  
ANIMATION STUDIO:  Maven Image Platform

ANIMATION/SUPERHERO/ACTION/FANTASY

Starring:  (voices) Jerry O'Connell, Rebecca Romijn, Rainn Wilson, Patrick Fabian, Cress Williams, Cameron Monaghan, Rosario Dawson, Nathan Fillion, Christopher Gorham, Matt Lanter, Shemar Moore, Nyambi Nyambi, Jason O'Mara, Jonathan Adams, Rocky Carroll, Trevor Devall, Paul Eiding, Jennifer Hale, Charles Halford, Erica Luttrell, Max Mittelman, Toks Olagundoye, and Tony Todd

Reign of the Supermen is a 2019 straight-to-video animated superhero film from Warner Bros. Animation and director Sam Liu.  It is the thirty-third film in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies series and is a direct sequel to the 2018 film, The Death of Superman.  The movie takes its story from “Reign of the Supermen!” a 1993 story arc that was part of “The Death of Superman” DC Comics story line and publishing event (1992-93).  In Reign of the Supermen, several new people present themselves as possible successors to Superman, in the wake of his death.

Reign of the Supermen opens six months following the death of Superman at the hands of Doomsday (as seen in The Death of Superman), and the rising crime rate in Metropolis has spread beyond the city.  Meanwhile, four new super-powered beings have emerged to take Superman's place.  Still grieving the loss of Superman and, by extension, his alter-ego, Clark Kent (Jerry O'Connell), reporter Lois Lane (Rebecca Romijn) of The Daily Planet has been investigating the new Supermen by gathering whatever information she can from different sources.

One Superman is a gold-visor wearing, energy blast-shooting vigilante called “The Eradicator.”  Another is “Steel,” the armored hero who is the identity of a young scientist, John Henry Irons (Cress Williams).  The third is a teen clone of Superman created by a scientist working for Lex Luthor (Rainn Wilson), and the public starts calling him “Superboy” (Cameron Monaghan).  The fourth, who seems the most like Superman, is part-man and part machine and is called “Cyborg Superman.”

The four “Supermen” are controversial and mysterious, and one of them is conspiring with Darkseid (Tony Todd) in the lord of Apokolips' plan to invade Earth.  Meanwhile, the Justice League:  Wonder Woman (Rosario Dawson), Batman (Jason O'Mara), Aquaman (Matt Lanter), Cyborg (Shemar Moore), Flash (Christopher Gorham), Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Hawkman, and Martian Manhunter (Nyambi Nyambi) have been sidelined.  Now, Lois and the three truly heroic Supermen must uncover the mystery of what actually happened to the real Superman if they are going to stop a plot to take over the world.

Some of the central conceits of superhero comic books and their media adaptations are that the superheroes will almost always win; the bad guys will lose; a superhero's death will ultimately not benefit the super-villain; and the villains will plot even in defeat, while the superheroes remain vigilante.  If you are never bored by this, you will generally always like or love superhero fiction.

In the case of Reign of the Supermen, the conceits are alive and well.  While the idea of Superman dying always causes the fanboy in me some internal discomfort, I found myself mostly bored by Reign of the Supermen.  I couldn't wait for this movie to end, but I wanted to finish it in order to write this review.  I did like the four “Supermen” and the drama in the film built around them.  Everything else only mildly interested me.

I found that the battle between Superman and Doomsday that made up the second half of The Death of Superman saved that movie.  The battle that dominates the last act of Reign of the Supermen only made me care about the movie a little more.  I really liked the Supermen of Reign of the Supermen, but not much else about this movie.

B-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: THE SHADOW #1

THE SHADOW #1 (1986)
DC COMICS

WRITER/ARTIST: Howard Chaykin
COLORS: Alex Wald
LETTERS: Ken Bruzenak
EDITOR: Andrew Helfer
COVER: Howard Chaykin
32pp, Color, $1.50 U.S., $2.00 CAN (May 1986)

“Blood and Judgment”

The Shadow is a fictional character that debuted as a mysterious voice narrating a radio program.  It was July 31, 1930 that The Shadow began as the host of the radio program, “Detective Story Hour.”  Street and Smith Publications, publishers of Detective Story Magazine, hired writer Walter B. Gibson to create a character concept that fit The Shadow's name and voice and to also write a story featuring him.  The first issue of The Shadow Magazine went on sale on April 1, 1931.

Howard Chaykin is a long time comic book writer, artist, and writer-artist.  He is best known for drawing the first ten issues of Marvel Comics' original Star Wars comic book series and for his adult science fiction comic book series, American Flagg!, which began publication in 1983 via First Comics.

In the 1970s and 1980s, DC Comics held the license to publish comic books featuring The Shadow.  In 1986, The Shadow and writer-artist Howard Chaykin came together in a four-issue miniseries, simply entitled The Shadow.  Chaykin's creative team on The Shadow included colorist Alex Wald and letterer Ken Bruzenak (a frequent Chaykin collaborator).  Chaykin's Shadow re-imagined the origins of The Shadow and of his alter-ego, Lamont Cranston, and also updated the characters.  The miniseries has since been collected in book form as The Shadow: Blood and Judgment.

The Shadow #1 opens with a series of savage murders of elderly men and women.  Eventually, federal agent, Mavis Lockhart of the “Crime Statistics Bureau,” figures out that these elderly victims were former agents of the mysterious vigilante, The Shadow.”  Mostly focusing on the area in and around New York City, The Shadow waged a brutal campaign against the criminal underworld in the 1930s and 1940s before disappearing.

Mavis happens to be the daughter of Harry Vincent, a former agent of The Shadow, who is still alive.  Also living is Mrs. Donald Forsythe, formerly known as Margo Lane.  The Shadow's best known agent, Lane was one of the few agents who knew many of his secrets, and she was the lover of both Lamont Cranston and The Shadow.  As it turns out, Vincent is also a target the killers of The Shadow's agents, and the killers turn out to be a gang of “Punk-Sex-Ghouls.”

Although he left, The Shadow still has agents in America that keep him abreast of the situation in the country, and one of them is “Lorelei.”  The Shadow is now known as “Ying Ko” and lives in the legendary kingdom of Shambala with his two sons, Ching Yao Chang and Hsu-Tei.  Learning that his former agents are being targeted, Ying Ko and his sons travel to New York City.

Reunited with the bitter Harry and the even more bitter Margo/Mrs. Forsythe, The Shadow reveals his true origin to them.  His real name is Kent Allard, and via a series of criminal misadventures back in the 1920s, he would up in Shambala, a land of mysticism and super-science.  With him was someone else, Lamont Cranston, the wastrel son of a rich man.  After seemingly killing Cranston in self-defense, Allard assumed his identity and arrived in New York in the 1930s as The Shadow, a paladin of Shambala, with a body physically, mentally, metaphysically and cybernetically enhanced.  Allard returned to Shambala in 1949 as the kingdom prepared to hide itself away.  Thanks to the science of Shambala, Allard/Ying-Ko still looks like a 30-something man 35 years after he left.

It turns out that the real Lamont Cranston has survived and is now known as Preston Mayrock, a wealthy businessman whose interests include legitimate and criminal enterprises.  Now, wheelchair bound, Mayrock launches his ultimate plans, which include his son, Preston Mayrock, Jr., that the elder Mayrock paid twenty-five million dollars to be “specially bred.”  Mayrock wants Allard to take him and Junior back to Shamballa where, he believes, the super-science will transfer his brain into his son's body.  And if Allard/The Shadow refuses, Mayrock has a low-yield nuclear weapon that he will launch on New York City.

THE LOWDOWN:  Howard Chaykin's The Shadow was controversial at the time of its initial release.  The most noted critic of Chaykin's work on The Shadow was the late speculative fiction author, television writer, and essayist, Harlan Ellison.  Chaykin basically brushed off his critics as being childish, although his response to critics of his work on The Shadow and of his work in general tended towards being childish.

However, the negative reaction to The Shadow is a classic pre-World Wide Web example of the insistence by a small group of fans that stories featuring particular fictional character are not just fiction, but those stories are also that characters' mythology.  And that mythology is holy writ.  Even if a fictional character is not featured in any story for decades, when that character is revived, the tellers of the new stories must treat the previous stories with reverence.  For instance, if the old stories said that a particular character loved ice cream, the new writer cannot make him lactose intolerant.  To do so would be an unforgivable violation of the (fictional) character and a betrayal of the fans who believe that they are the ones who have kept said character “alive” so that he could be revived.

When I first read Chaykin's The Shadow I had heard of the character, but had never read a word of the old pulp stories that Walter Gibson had written.  I have read The Shadow: Blood and Judgment, as it is now known, a few times at different points in my life, and I have always enjoyed it.  Whether it is dated on not is a matter of personal opinion.  I love that it is gleefully violent, over-the-top, and ruthlessly sarcastic about what was then the contemporary culture of New York City.

I like Chaykin's drawing style, but his sense of page design and the graphic design in his compositions are what always drive me to his work.  A Chaykin comic book is page after page of visually striking graphics, including Ken Bruzenak's dramatic lettering and spectacular sound effects.  Bruzenak is so good at what he does that he seems to create a soundtrack for Chaykin's comics, especially the action sequences.  Colorist Alex Wald makes the best of the techniques available to him at the time of this comic book's publication.  His rich coloring makes Chaykin's illustrations pop.

There have been a few times when I have been asked about The Shadow, and I do not hesitate to recommend The Shadow: Blood and Judgment, as a comic book or as a trade paperback.  I think that it is an excellent example of Howard Chaykin's work, and it is probably the best modern take on The Shadow.  I think I'll read it again, soon.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Howard Chaykin and of The Shadow will want want to read the miniseries now known as The Shadow: Blood and Judgment.

A
9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

[This comic book includes the essays, “The Shadow's Agents: From the private annals of the Shadow as told to Anthony Tollin” and “The Man Who Created The Shadow,” both written by Anthony Tollin.]


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The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: CHAOS CAMPUS #33

CHAOS CAMPUS: SORORITY GIRLS VS ZOMBIES #33
APPROBATION COMICS

STORY: B. Alex Thompson – @ApproBAT
ART: Ricardo Mendez
COLORS: Alivon Ortiz
LETTERS: Krugos
POST-SCRIPTING/POLISH: John P. Ward
EDITORS: B. Alex Thompson and John P. Ward
MISC. ART: Ricardo Mendez with Alivon Ortiz
COVERS: Ricardo Mendez with Alivon Ortiz
24pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. print/$1.99 U.S. digital (2017; digital release date – December 20, 2017)

Rated: Teen 13+ / 15+ Only – comiXology rating

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies created by B. Alex Thompson

“Higher Learning, Part l of 4”

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies is the long-running zombie apocalypse comic book series from Approbation Comics.  Mixing in elements of comedy, horror, adventure, and magic, it is the creation of B. Alex Thompson.  The series is set during a zombie invasion and follows the adventures of three members of the sorority, Epsilon Alpha Zeta Upsilon (EAZY):  ass-kickin’ Jamie Lynn Schaeffer, brainy and magic-wielding Paige Helena Patton, and sexy goddess-type Brittany Ann Miller.

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies #33 opens in the aftermath of “Lineage” (from issue #32).  Paige is having bad dreams, and the uncertainty and the frustrations with the responsibilities and hopes placed on her begin to push her to a breaking point.  Her friends and her mother, Morgan, and brother, Tyler, try to comfort Paige.  Even Oliver offers help, but Paige is not sure about his motives.

However, the fam and the friends are not the only ones who have been noticing Paige's emotional and mentally vulnerable state.  Tech Locke, always one dream or portal away, makes his move in trying to recruit Paige to his side.   What could Tech possibly have that would make Paige turn her back on her family, friends, and mission?  It's a secret.

THE LOWDOWN:  After bringing “The Road to Salvation” story line to an end, writer B. Alex Thompson continued to bring levity to Chaos Campus via a series of standalone stories.  However, in the most recent standalone story, “Lineage,” writer B. Alex Thompson revealed that Brittany shares her body with an ancient Greek goddess known as “the Twelfth.”

Now, Thompson turns Chaos Campus' narrative eye to Paige Helena Patton with the beginning of a new story arc, “Higher Learning.”  At first Tech Locke, the mystery man who is obsessed with Paige, seems like nothing more than a pest.  Thompson throws in a twist when he uses not Locke's own secrets, but the secrets others keep as the hook to pull readers into this new arc.

As usual, Ricardo Mendez's art and graphical storytelling are strong, and in many ways, he has become the second signature “voice” of Chaos Campus.  This series' narrative engine runs smoothly under the guiding hands of Mendez's compositions.  It seems that, at least for now, no one can transform Thompson's Chaos Campus scripts into comic book art and storytelling better than Mendez.

Good coloring has blessed Chaos Campus, and the colors and dazzling color effects by Alivon Ortiz make even the quite pages in issue #33 pop. Letterer Krugos continues the steady beat of this series, and that beat may very well carry more of you, dear readers, to Chaos Campus #33.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Fans of zombies and of horror-comedies will want to try Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies.

A

9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


Buy Chaos Campus #33 at comiXology.

www.ApprobationComics.com
https://twitter.com/ApproBAT
www.AlexThompsonWriter.com


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: CROSSOVER #1

CROSSOVER #1
IMAGE COMICS

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Donny Cates
ART: Geoff Shaw
COLORS: Dee Cunniffe
LETTERS: John J. Hill
DESIGN: John J. Hill
EDITOR: Mark Waid
COVER: Geoff Shaw with Dave Stewart
VARIANT COVER ARTIST: Ryan Stegman with Dee Cunniffe
32pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S.(November 2020)

Rated “T+/ Teen Plus”

Crossover is a new comic book created by writer Donny Cates and artist Geoff Shaw.  Published by Image Comics, Crossover is set in a world where a real-life superhero crossover event occurs.  Colorist Dee Cunniffe and letterer/designer John J. Hill complete the series' creative team.

Crossover #1 opens with a question to ponder.  Who is more real: Superman or we the people in the real world?  On January 11, 2017, in Boulder, Colorado, the skies over the state open up and a “superhero summer event” explodes in the real world.  Almost every fictional comic book character ever seen by readers is sighted in the chaos that ensues.  But when it comes to “The Crossover,” the real story might be happening in a comic book store in Provo, Utah.

THE LOWDOWN:  I have read very few comic books written by Donny Cates, and I did not really care for any of them.  Honestly, I found the two issue of Cates' Texas vampire comic book, Redneck, that I did read to be clumsily written.

But I like Crossover #1.  It is the kind of first issue that, like something addictive, makes you come back for more.  This is true although Cates is initially quite secretive and coy with this series' secrets.  Artist Geoff Shaw speaks multiple comic book graphical languages in this first issue, and most readers will recognize all of them.  I found myself drawn ever deeper into this story by what Shaw presented on this page, each page featuring pitch-perfect coloring by Dee Cunniffe.

John J. Hill's lettering balances the story's sense of mystery and of the unknown against the cacophony of superheroes.  This is the finishing touch to a comic book first issue that hints at a series with great potential.  I really want to know what happens next.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Donny Cates will want to read this comic book Crossover.

A-
7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

https://twitter.com/Doncates
https://twitter.com/GeoffShaw12
https://twitter.com/ImageComics
https://imagecomics.com/


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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