Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez's Man of Steel -- Superman 309

Superman #309 (March 1977)

"Blind Hero's Bluff!"

Gerry Conway-Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez/Frank Springer (cover by Garcia-Lopez)

Doug:  It was two months ago that we began this 3-part look at the Bronze Age Man of Steel under the influence of the pencil of Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, and I'll attest to it being a visual pleaser.  However, I've only been lukewarm to the story.  What will this conclusion bring us?  Why wait?

Doug:  When we left Superman, he was pondering his future after the revelation from Supergirl that they were not Kryptonians but mutants -- the outcome of their fathers' experiments with atomic energy.  Superman had just beaten two environmental terrorists named the Protector and Radion.  Now we see him doing what Batman usually does -- cleaning up the streets of Metropolis.  But this time it's finding and thrashing a mob operation in the suburbs, and Superman makes quick work of the crooks.  Of note in this section is the mention of Chicago, which always troubles me when reading in the DC Universe.  C'mon -- it's either our Earth or it isn't.  I can deal with Metropolis and Gotham City if that's all we ever get.  Whenever writers started to mix in real cities it becomes incredibly problematic.  The police chief gives Superman a backhanded compliment when he thanks him for corralling Samuel Simeon's gang, saying he's surprised Superman would assist the police in such a small-potatoes matter.  Superman says it's his planet, and he needs to deal with the details from now on.  It's an awkward exchange to say the least.

Doug:  We're treated to another terrific looking if highly implausible costume change as Superman descends like a missile into Metropolis Park, changing into a full football uniform (what, was it stuffed in the pocket of his cape??) and reporting for action in a scrimmage game between local media outlets.  Clark's distracted as the game begins, though, and takes a hand-off and abruptly heads toward his own goal!  His teammates don't tackle him in time, though and the GBS team ends up losing the game by one score! I'd think that hitting Clark Kent would be like tackling a tank.  We cut to Supergirl, who has arrived to an unknown location in answer to a distress call.  She's addressed as "cousin", called by her Kryptonian name, and it's obvious that those assembled know what's been going on with "Kal-el".  A space armada is encroaching on a planet, and our mystery men are quite concerned.  Supergirl says she'll alert Superman and they'll take care of it.  But one of the men casts a doubt on her plan -- whereas Superman once believed himself a "man of the universe", he perhaps no longer does.  Supergirl scoffs at that idea, and flies off to enlist Superman's assistance.

Doug:  In Clark's apartment he's emerging from the shower, still smarting from his dumb Jim Marshall play.  He's shocked to see Supergirl waiting for him -- I had to laugh at the picture of Clark trying to cover his chest as he saw Supergirl; Namor wouldn't care.  Supergirl explains the danger to the planet Xonn and implores Clark to come with her.  When he balks, saying he has revised his priorities, Supergirl slaps him up against a wall and storms out on her own.  She tells him in no uncertain terms what she thinks of his priorities.

Doug:  Lois is over for dinner -- pretty nice how she comes to Clark's apartment to cook for him.  He's daydreaming out the window, thinking of what Kara had called him -- a coward.  His eyes wander to the place where Xonn is located and he zeroes in with his telescopic vision.  What does he see?  Supergirl and Krypto fight valiantly against the invasion force, but are soon knocked out of the fight.  Clark now knows what a mistake he's made.  He quickly (brusquely) hustles Lois out the door and speeds off to the sector where Xonn is.  His movements are monitored by our mysterious meddlers.

Doug:  Superman tears through the fleet with little difficulty and wonders to himself why Kara could not have.  He sees a large green humanoid emerge from a craft and head toward him.  Taking a defensive posture, the Man of Steel thinks he has it made when the being's attack misses to the right.  However, there's a boomerang effect to the asteroid that was struck, and it hurtles at Superman from behind and knocking him off balance.  And then he's washed over with horror -- his eyesight is gone!  It's not long until he's immobilized by his assailants.  Now inside a large vessel, he's reunited with Supergirl and Krypto.  Kara explains that under the influence of Xonn's sun, Kryptonians are blind and half of their superpowers have gone.  What's everyone's opinion of the multi-colored suns aspect of Superman lore?  Brilliant literary device, or seemingly built in deus ex machina?

Doug:  Our Kryptonians are approached by a crystalline character (Martinex's long-lost relative?) named Cyrotor, who explains what has befallen Xonn and why resistance is futile.  Xonn is being attacked by the J'ai, an alien race that has never known peace -- war is what they do.  Additionally, when one of the J'ai dies, he is replaced by eight new organisms -- multiple reproduction to an exponential level.  All warlike.  Cyrotor tells the Super-cousins that the J'ai cannot be defeated.  Supergirl gets suspicious of some of the word choices Superman is making in conversation with Cyrotor and begins to ask him... then he blows up in her face.  He says he knows she's duped him about Krypton and is furious.  Kara uses the word "us", which leads to the explanation of the masterminds of the plan -- the Kandorians!  All of them, and Kara, had become concerned that Superman had a fixation on the safety of the Earth, to the extent that he had begun to meddle in the affairs that Earthmen should be allowed to handle on their own.  Superman goes ballistic about the entire ruse, and blasts out of their globe-like prison.  He flies off to engage the J'ai alone.

Doug:  Superman is being weighed down by the sheer weight of the attacking J'ai, when he comes upon the solution to ending the attack.  The J'ai do not seem to communicate with each other -- they swarm like bees.  Somehow Superman comes to the conclusion that since the Xonn communicate through sonic waves, shattering their buildings will somehow negate the life engergies of the J'ai.  OK -- sure!  Why not?!  As the Man of Steel flies on a frantic mission of destruction, leveling building after building, Cyrotor and Supergirl watch from afar.  The J'ai collapse as a group, their threat ended.  Later, the three Kryptonians fly through space, heading back to Earth.  Once near our atmosphere, Supergirl asks her cousin if he can forgive her.  He nods affirmatively, and adds that the reason he became obsessed with saving Earth is due to its beauty and immense relevance in his life.  And she, as a fellow Earth adoptee, should feel the same way.  And with that, Superman takes his leave.

Doug:  Well, alrighty then.  I'm just not sure what to make of this.  As I said at the top, the art was nice to look at throughout the three issues.  I'd said earlier that Garcia-Lopez especially did a great job of depicting flight.  He also wowed with the super-changes; the taxi cab wardrobe switch last issue was my favorite.  Plot-wise, I'll stand by comments I've made around here since we opened shop here over four years ago:  this is a Bronze Age DC, and it reads like it was written with a 10-year old boy in mind.  It's not awful, and I suppose I can swallow what Gerry Conway and Julie Schwartz were selling.  But given my druthers, I'd make mine Marvel nine times out of ten.  However, and I said this at the conclusion of my review of Superman #307 -- I respect Gerry Conway's talent for being able to write under two very different "house styles", or at least house "expectations".  It's a well-written, if not so greatly plotted, story.  And for what I perceive it to be, I guess I don't have that much of a problem with it.

Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez's Man of Steel -- Superman 308

Superman #308 (February 1977)

"This Planet Is Mine!"

Gerry Conway-Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez/Frank Springer (cover by Neal Adams)

Doug:  That's a sweet cover, isn't it?  And that dude on the kickboard looks far more interesting than the chump from Superman IV.  But, does this issue's review come to you in a more glowing fashion than did our inaugural foray into the Superman of Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez?  Let's check it out.

Doug:  When we left Superman and Supergirl, Superman had just defeated the Protector in a battle that took place immediately after Supergirl had revealed that there never was a Krypton.  Superman was under quite a bit of mental duress in dealing with Kara's revelation, and was not at the top of his game as the pollution-loving Protector had come to call on the Man of Steel in the Fortress of Solitude.  We open today with Kara flying about the Fortress destroying all of Superman's mementos, shrines, and displays honoring his homeworld.  Superman begs her to stop -- well, warns her actually, and as the two cousins argue the Protector begins to emerge from the funk he was left in several minutes earlier.  Kara tells Superman that she has film of his birthday, and of their fathers working together on atomic experiments.  But as the soap opera runs on, the Protector fires up his molecular powers and blasts between the two Kryptonians -- and out the door!  Supergirl wants to take after him, but Superman stops her.  What's the point, he asks?  Maybe the guy is right in wanting to destroy Superman.  And with that, Superman flies off to be alone and to meditate on the bombshell his cousin has dropped.  As he flies away, Supergirl pulls out a small transmitter and tells someone that the plan seems to be working -- and that she hopes it's the right thing to do.

Doug:  Superman doesn't go back to the mountain on which he'd sat in the last issue.  This time he heads to Metropolis, where he does one of the coolest costume changes I've ever seen.  You just know that suit and shoes was all tucked into his cape!  Clark Kent emerges from the taxi cab and makes his way to his apartment.  Lois Lane waits inside, cooking the dinner she'd mentioned to Clark last issue, when he headed out with a much younger woman!  Clark's a little melancholy as the dinner begins, but soon warms to Lois's intentions.  After all, if he's not an alien or outside, then why should he hold back his feelings?

Doug:  We jump to a high-tech building in the Rocky Mountains -- not all that hidden, actually -- to see the Protector land and then get his brains blasted.  A new costumed criminal, Radion, greets last issue's baddie with a jolt nuclear energy.  Radion calls him a traitor, and I'm pretty sure he intends to kill the Protector.  Until the Protector asks him for help.  Radion does a 180 and says that the Protector should come on inside.  Weird...  As they walk, the Protector narrates the origin of Radion for us (it's your typical "you were in a nuclear disaster but somehow came out of it with these awesome powers, dude!" backstory) and how they first met.  It seems as though the Protector was always meant to be a pawn.  Radion is still ticked that the Protector's gone public, because that's gonna screw up the "master plan" -- because all of these super-dopes have a master plan.  But the Protector says that he is not the problem... Superman is the problem!  We then get a quick 2-panel vignette of a Professor Pepperwinkle (really?  I'd change my name) looking through his "hyper-spacial telescope" and giving us an exclamation.  And we have to wait to find out why.

Doug:  Back in the Kent apartment, Clark wakes for the day and mills around his digs.  He goes into his secret closet and checks out more Kryptonian relics.  He fires up the Phantom Zone Projector, but it just shines a light -- no criminals jump out.  Clark's almost disappointed.  But as he grumps, he hears the radio come on, with an alert about trouble at the nuclear power station.  Whoosh -- he gone!

Doug:  Superman flies over the grounds of the Hooley Nuclear Power Station, located near Niagara Falls, New York.  Radion had arrived earlier, and looks to being just a general pain in the butt.  But as the Man of Steel arrives, Radion goes into attack mode.  He first blasts Superman -- an energy burst that dumps Superman into the water at the bottom of the Falls and carbonizes the oxygen molecules around him (turning his Superman costume to a gray hue).  As Superman recovers, Radion peels up a huge chunk of earth, right in Superman's flight path.  Stunned, Superman is then trapped in a "proto-nuclear globe" and his atomic mass is increased.  Like all megalomaniacs, Radion must then reveal the "master plan".  He's come to Hooley to overload it, unleashing nuclear energy and radiation throughout the nation and the world.  People will succumb to the poisonous rays, but some will mutate.  Whatever form they take it won't matter -- Radion will control them all!  Superman of course thinks this cat is beyond loopy, so schemes to find a way to stop him.  Using his heat vision, Superman is able to locate the control rods in the main reactor, melt them, and drop them into the pile.  This ends the chain reaction that Radion had begun.  Then the Man of Tomorrow gives it his all and bursts from his globe-like prison.

Doug:  Superman is ready for battle, but Radion chooses not to fight.  After receiving cheers from the assembled security forces at Hooley, Superman makes his way back to the Fortress of Solitude.  He broods in a chair, still considering what Supergirl had told him.  He finally comes to the conclusion that he's going to pursue this new path... after he finishes up some unfinished business.

Doug:  Back at the Rocky Mountain way of Radion, he and the Protector argue.  This time it's the Protector who's angry, calling Radion a quitter.  As the two squabble and threaten, they are startled by the arrival of Superman.  Radion warns him that he should not have come to his home base.  Superman tries to take out the Protector first, but his heat vision is reflected due to a change in the Protector's molecular structure.  Radion tries to blast Superman, but the Man of Steel is now flying pellmell.  There's a method to the madness.  Radion keeps blasting until Superman flies directly in front of the Protector -- where Radion's blast strikes his ally full-on.  But remember, the Protector had changed his structure -- and reflects the powerful blast right back at his originator.  Kayo two super-baddies, without working up a sweat -- that's our Superman!

Doug:  We are shown a large control room, or the deck of a space ship.  Shrouded humaoids watch a vid-screen, as warships streak toward the planet Xonn.  These "men" lament that their plan to have Superman abandon his Kryptonian heritage may now backfire.  Where this was once a "job for Superman", it may now become the death of Xonn... and later, of the Earth!

Doug:  This issue was a little better than the last.  As I mentioned last month, I've read to the conclusion of this 3-parter.  The third issue certainly won't have the pay-off that you hope for -- at least in my opinion.  I thought Gerry Conway was OK in this ish, and I'll stand by my supposition that this yarn is more in Julie Schwartz's wheelhouse than in Conway's.  That is, until I asked the man himself.  Back on October 7th, the very first day I opened our BAB Twitter account, I also wrote the framework for today's post.  I tweeted about it when I was done, and included Conway in the tweet.  You can see below that he answered us -- just a couple of hours after he'd enjoyed a Dodgers victory against the Braves in the NLDS!  Garcia-Lopez's art was again very good.  I thought the single panel of Lois toasting with Clark was just beautifully rendered.  Images of Superman and Supergirl in flight also seem to be a specialty of Garcia-Lopez, as these scenes are ever-dynamic yet original each time.  He really is a very good penciler, and does seem to be made for these characters.  I've said before that when I think of the Man of Steel, it's generally an image from the great Curt Swan that shows up in my noggin.  But after seeing some of the Supes art from this era, I could become a convert!

Doug:  Check back in about 30 days for the conclusion of this story -- and judge its merits for yourself.

Doug:  And, a special note to those of you curious about these hardcovers that I've used for these Superman reviews, as well as various Batman reviews.  DC has announced a Tales of the Batman: Carmine Infantino volume that will ship at the beginning of June.  You know I'll be getting my hands on that one!

Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez's Man of Steel -- Superman 307

Superman #307 (January 1977)
"Krypton -- No More!"
Gerry Conway-Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez/Frank Springer (cover by Neal Adams)

Doug:  This post goes out to our readers who have clamored for some Superman stories as illustrated by Bronze Age great Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez.  Today's your day.  And what's more, since I chose this story because it also contains Kara Zor-el, this will be a 3-part review stretching over the next couple of months.  Look for parts two and three (Superman #s 308 and 309) on Fridays in October and November.  And in case you didn't notice, famed Spider-Man scribe Gerry Conway is at the helm as our author.  Will he work some of that early 1970s Marvel magic, or will we walk away thinking "Of course... this is a Bronze Age DC mag."?  Let's check it out.

Doug:  DCs at this time had a curious layout, as the main stories were only 17 pages long.  The bonus, of course, was generally a 5-6 page back-up feature.  So while the headliner sort of got short-changed as compared to his Marvel Comics counterparts, the reader got a little more bang for his or her buck (or in this case his 30c).  We open with the Man of Tomorrow in a bit of a sour mood and bent on wasting a factory.  A figure we don't recognize, but who bears a striking resemblance to the Ray, sizzles into the panel from Stage Right.  He engages Superman and then knocks our hero for a loop using numerous different powers.  Claiming to be a mutant and with atomic-based abilities, he identifies himself as the Protector and makes a vow of his own:  he is the champion of all polluting industries.  Wait... say what?  He's standing up for the environment's enemies?  O...K...

Doug:  Superman's dumped out of the sky and onto his red panties, and right at the feet of a Mr. Slotvik.  Slotvik claims responsibility for bringing the Man of Steel to the factory; Superman replies that he only came to help.  We then get a flashback over three pages that shows how Milton Slotvik had approached Clark Kent after one of Kent's news broadcasts.  Slotvik knew the company for which he worked was using resources which were most likely causing employees to come down with cancer.  Slotvik wanted Kent to investigate and perhaps bring some publicity to the situation.  Clark suggested that maybe an impartial party should join in, and offered to contact Superman.  Slotvik agreed.  However, the conversation was interrupted by a "news groupie" named Terri who threw herself at Clark.  Of course, Lois Lane happened by at just the right (wrong) time, jealousy emanating from her pores as she coldly addressed Clark about her plans to fix him dinner.  Clark, however, exited with Terri.  And then... this took a really weird turn.  While on the elevator with Terri (nope, no Love In An Elevator here), Clark began to fill out the invitations to his own pity party -- "You call me a man -- but I'm really a native of a planet called Krypton -- and much as I like you, we can never be anything to each other -- any more than Lois and I!  I'm an alien -- an outcast -- a loner -- and that's the way it must remain!"  And he walked off in a foggy funk and left Terri wondering what the heck just happened.  Me, too!

Doug:  We cut back to the near-present as Superman makes an appearance at Slotvik's job site, Metro Chemical Plant.  Supes is greeted by Morton Kalmbach, the president of the company.  He's a smarmy sort, and offers our hero a tour.  Kalmbach's attitude is one of greed and uncaring, and he admits to Superman that there's bound to be some collateral damage on the way to a healthy bottom line.  Superman stops him and asks if he's admitting to knowing that what they do at the plant could be causing cancer for the laborers; Kalmbach says it's only a "socially acceptable" danger to the men.  And that's when Superman went off.  Once the flashback is over, Superman leaves Slotvik and flies away to the Rocky Mountains where he finds a high peak upon which to sit and brood.  He thinks about the mortality of the men in danger at the plant, and then his mind wanders to Krypton... his lost Krypton.  Readers are then treated to a brief backstory of Jor-el and Lara, the rocket bearing little Kal-el to Earth, the explosion of Krypton, etc.  Superman's losing his cool here, and shouts to the heavens, "Hear me, world!  I won't let you commit planetary suicide!  I swear I won't let you die... I swear it!"  I thought at this juncture the story began to take a turn down the path that Paul Dini and Alex Ross walked in their wonderful Superman: Peace on Earth treasury.  But it was short-lived.

Doug:  Superman swoops onto a giant ocean-faring tanker and begins to pluck sailors from its decks.  The men are whisked away and deposited on a nearby island.  As Superman works, he thinks to himself that a) these are the sorts of ships that have oil spills and b) this one must therefore be about to dump crude into the ocean!  His goal is to hoist the ship and put it into orbit (yeah, because that wouldn't burn up on re-entry and cause atmospheric damage...), then come back to Earth and corral any others he can find.  Umm...  Did Conway forget about the fuel crisis of the mid-70s?  Because pulling a whole lot of supply is going to increase the demand and drive that price up, up, and away...  Well, as Superman begins to gain some lift, he's suddenly attacked with ice.  Yup -- the Protector wants to be sure those super-tankers can do their thing, even if it is leak all over the seven seas (remember the query I posited about Conway's scripting back at the top?).  The two super-combatants get it on, with Superman again coming out on the short end and the Protector again escaping.  Superman figures no worries, and surfaces to again take care of the ship.  But who should be on site but his cousin, Supergirl?

Doug:  Kara asks Superman what the heck he's doing, and when he tells her she becomes the voice of reason... temporarily.  She barks at Clark that they have no right to interfere and that he needs to stop.  He asks her if she wants Earth to end up like Krypton, and here's where the wheels fall off.  Kara grabs Superman by the arm and tells him he needs to deal with the fact that Krypton didn't explode because there never was a Krypton!  Superman is no alien -- he's the Earth-son of Jonathan and Martha Kent!  And then she zips away, heading north.  Superman gives chase, and they are very soon at the door to the Fortress of Solitude.  Supergirl continues on this odd path, and once inside begins to destroy all of Superman's Kryptonian memories, including the large statues of Jor-el and Lara.  Superman begs her to stop, but she just keeps going, eventually showing him the Bottle City of Kandor.  Superman asks her how she would explain the fact that there are thousands of Kryptonians living in the bottle -- and she says to look again.  All of the people in the city, and the city itself, is just a plastic model.  Superman is about to lose his mind when Kara slaps him -- get with it and quit living the lie!  She tells Superman that they are not cousins, but they are mutants.  Their fathers, Jonathan Kent and Fred Danvers, were scientists working on atomic experiments.  Fall-out from their efforts mutated their children.  Superman's sweating now, really questioning everything.  And then the Protector arrives.

Doug:  Just like that -- this yahoo shows up and starts to mix it up with Superman again.  And once again, Superman looks like a second-stringer.  The Protector displays all the powers of Captain Atom, the Vision -- you name it -- he can about do it all.  And that keeps Superman off balance until he decides to use his X-ray vision to look inside his antagonist.  He notices that the Protector's heart glows just before he makes a molecular change.  The Protector can sense that Superman is using X-rays against him, and so begins to transmute himself into nitrous oxide.  However, at that same instant Superman switches to heat vision and WHOOM!  The Protector is nowhere to be found.  Supergirl asks Superman if he's all right.  He says that physically he is, but emotionally he's a mess.  He's excited that he's no longer an orphan, but what is his life now all about?  We'll find out together near the end of October, kids!

Doug:  I'm glad Edo Bosnar and others recommended that I check out some Garcia-Lopez Superman stuff.  As I've said at some point around here (shoot, I can't recall what I had for breakfast yesterday!), I had the Superman vs. Wonder Woman Limited Collector's Edition when I was a kid, but have no idea whatever became of it.  So I was excited to get the Adventures of Superman: Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez hardcover at WizardWorld Chicago in August and recover that story.  The art in this tale, as advertised, was really nice.  I haven't seen enough of Garcia-Lopez inked by others yet (well, Romeo Tanghal on the Teen Titans Baxter series, but I don't recall much about it), so I cannot really comment on Frank Springer's influence.  But the figurework is really done well, the panels have varied camera angles, and the story does move along.  My criticism isn't with any of the visuals herein but the story.  Sheesh!  I don't want to sound all negative and like a broken record, but tell me this isn't a Bronze Age DC!  I'm sorry, this story is more about Julius Schwartz and less about Gerry Conway.  That being said, and although I thought the level of the story was again marketed to that tween-aged male, I think it does show that Conway's no slouch.  Because he does sell the story -- it's ridiculous, but that's plot only.  The story itself is not poorly written.  And you know what?  I've already read the next two issues, and it gets just a trifle sillier as we go.  Stay tuned in about 30 days.