"Sad wings of destiny, where have they gone? I know eternally, I'll carry on." --Judas Priest

Read quite a few more comics this week that Hovy sent me. It's been a long time since I had this many new comics to read. I like to call those times: prehistoric but my wife prefers prekids.

Hero #1 was so lame, the only reason I mention it is because it's a prime example of what not to do if you're a super hero comic creator. Cliches 'R Us should of been the tile. No one cares about how the hero came to be, if they don't care about the hero himself. And you won't.

The Monolith #1 was another big surprise for me. Monolith told a real story that could be enjoyed by kids and adults both. Alice, our unlikely heroine, has real problems (including drugs) and a past that is chasing her (literally). Will the voice behind the brick wall save her? You bet it will.

Supposedly, Chuck Dixon wrote Richard Dragon #1 but with the poor characterization of The Bronze Tiger (one of my favorites since the original Suicide Squad)...you'd never know it. Rule to major comic publishes: Don't give a character a book unless there is something to say. Evidently, a mysterious figure is assembling the world's greatest assassins but I was sound asleep by that time. For all the action in the book, I was hoping Richard would jump off the page and kick me in the head. Because I sure wasn't getting mine reading this piece of garbage.

Adventures of Superman #627 story highlight was a battle between a Replikon and Supes. However, I loved the opening in which Superman helps a lost girl find her Mommy.

I accidentally read Batman #623 out of order. It's part of the same arc as 627--Broken City. Liked this one a lot. There's another sequence of Bruce watching his parents die intertwined with his current case. The red backgrounds, the little boy Bruce, are images too powerful not to influence my future comics work.
In this one, Batman faces Killer Croc and faces that he's made a mistake. Even the world's greatest detective isn't infallible.

Superman Birthright Issues #6 and #8 get the thumbs up. (Who needs Siskel?) Birthright retells Clark's story in a contemporary setting. Clark is a high school student in the late eighties, making him my age. Lex Luthor is more than just a super genius industriallist, he's also the world's foremost astrobiologist. (Wonder where that came from? LOL.) The trip to Lex's holochamber was quite Trekkie and definitely worked for the story--showing his immense intelligence and wealth. But how will the world react when they learn Superman isn't even a man?

Lastly comes Action #800. This double sized anniversary issue takes a different angle at giving us a new look at how the Man of Steel came to be including the person who inspired Clark to become a reporter. And a hero! The story is sprinkled with vignettes of how people feel about Superman and it depicts Clark leaving Lana. There is a line in which Lana states Clark belongs to the world and was never hers to have....tugs on the old heart strings. This comic is highly recommended.