At some unspecified point in the future, Booster Gold is captured by the evil version of the LSH, minions of Darkseid, and sends Validus backward through time in hope of somehow alerting Superman that the future "is already lost." It not a very well-thought-out plan and untimately doesn't work, but Validus first (?) arrives in Smallville on the day of Lana Lang and John Henry Irons' wedding. Lois and Lana both have superpowers, and there is a little kid who is the split image of Jimmy Olsen (I first thought he was a ventriloquist's dummy) sitting on Jimmy's lap. After the supes have driven Validus back into the timestream, the ceremony proceeds and the minister shouts, "...YOU MAY KISS THE BRIDE!" (Jeez, calm down old man.) Superman recalls that Validus appeared in Smallville once before, 20 years ago, when Clark and Lana were 16 years old.
Validus next appears in Smallville 20 years ago, when Clark and Lana were 16 years old. Clark is in the verge of telling Lana his secret when he, too, is sucked into the timestream along with Validus. While there, he glimpses the future in which he is married to Lois Lane. Superboy is under the influence of a mental block put in place by the LSH which prevents him from remembering any facts about his future revealed to him via time travel, but he returns with a subliminal impression of what he has seen which cause him to change his mind about revealing his secret to Lana at that time.
Back in the present, Mr. Terrific constructs for Superman a device designed to remove Validus from the time stream and prevent him tumbling through it. Those two (plus a Justice Leaguer called "Omen") successfully do so and send him... somewhere. But no one figures out Booster Gold's "clue" that the future is in danger.
COMING UP:
April 23 - Superman #25
May 14 - Supergirl #1
May 21 - Superman Unlimited #1
June 11 - Action Comics #1087
June 18 - Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton #1
July 9 - Superman Treasury Edition 2025 #1
July 23 - Superman #28
September 3 - Adventures of Superman: Book of El #1
Replies
I didn't pre-order this either, but after your recommenation, I'll keep an eye out next time I'm at the LCS. Failing that, I'll try Westfield, Golden Apple or Forbidden World.
As to Bruno Redondo, I wonder if he's related to the late Filipino artist Nestor Redondo, probably best known for Swamp Thing, Ragman and Rima the Jungle Girl.
I should also mention, Jeff, that thanks to your mention I have decided to keep up with Supergirl and the Darkseid's Legion stories in Superman while the iron is hot. I had already committed to Krypto (because he is a very good boy).
I'll keep an eye out next time I'm at the LCS.
Don't put it off too long. Before I resorted to my secondary and tertiary stores I asked if my main LCS could get the main cover for me and ALL covers were already on backorder.
Oh! I was also going to say that, especially after the halfway point, Jurgens and Redondo take full advantage of the treasury page size.
I see Westfield has the "B" cover, which I'm not crazy about., and is $75! Mycomicshop has all the covers, for $15 each. That was an easy decision. Ordered.
SUPERMAN #28:
I am so sick of "dark" I could puke. You'll never know how close I came to not buying this $5 unit (and I wish now I hadn't), but I was swayed by 1) keeping up this discussion, 2) Cap's enthusiasm, and 3) it was a light week. Storywise, this issue follows on directly from the Summer of Superman Special. [SPOILER] If you want to see Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl team up with Darseid against Superman, and Superman team-up with Doomsday (now Time Trapper) and Superboy Prime (a former Time Trapper), then this is the series for you. Me, I'm sticking with Supergirl, Superboy (in Action Comics), and Krypto. The last time I got roped into buying a series in hope of seeing the LSH (Action Comics #1070-1081), I spent $60 and came away feeling dissatisfied and cheated. ("Burn me once...") I'm hoping Mark Waid will will introduce the real Legion soon.
ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN: THE BOOK OF EL #1:
Three things kept me from buying this book today:
I don't even know what the "Future State" Superman is, plus I'm not looking to start a new series.
I'll be back for an overview of "The Summer of Superman" in a bit.
The summer isn't over yet (2½ more weeks), but the "Summer of Superman" is. Now it's time to take a step back and assess its success on a pass/fail basis.
PASS: Krypto, Action Comics, Supergirl, 2025 treasury edition
FAIL: Summer of Superman Special, Superman Unlimited, Superman, The Book of El
That's a 4:4 tie, however I am tempted to give it the win because I personally am very enthusiastic about the four which "passed."
VERDICT: PASS
I've been enjoying every part of the Summer of Superman I've tried. I've yet to sample Supergirl, Krypto, and House of El, but I've liked the three issues of Superman Unlimited I've read, and I've been pretty damn excited about the Legion's appearance in Superman, even if under such dire straits as are happening in that book. (Actual good-guy Legionnaires -- from several different Legions -- show up in the most recent issue. Action is great, and the Treasury was wonderful.
I hope I'm not overlooking a separate thread on the Superman treasury. But I did want to chime in on it. I just read it, and loved it.
I loved the size of the art, even though there are lots of practical drawbacks. LIke the soft binding, which means it must be stored properly, and even so, the covers tend to tear off over time. Also, because of aging eyesight, I had to read it in bright light, meaning during the day in a room with big windows. Otherwise I'd lose too much in peripheral vision. And fear of binding damage meant cradling it, rather than laying it flat on a surface. That slowed me from reading it, even though it was highly recommended here.
I don't know who this Redondo fellow is, either, but his work reminded me of Kevin Maguire at his very best (and not his so-so work, where he's overdoing it). Various Superman shots reminded me of Corenswet and Christopher Reeve, which is not a bad thing. That wasn't overdone, either -- it was more suggestion than photo swipe. Something about the eyes, really.
The story was top-notch, although I did guess what was going on the minute [redacted] was killed in a tornado. Didn't spoil my enjoyment at all. Especially since I enjoy an everybody-into-the-pool story where the story is big enough to excuse it and long enough give it the weight it deserves. Not everybody got decent panel time, but I thought both Wonder Woman and Batman came off well, even though the story required them to be ineffective.
This is the sort of book I'd want to keep on my shelf, so if they ever do an HC, I'm there.
I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as I did. No, there's not dedicated thread, but I did mention on the "What Coic Books Have You Read Today?' discussion when I read it for a second time.
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