Adventure Comics #2
September 13th, 2009 by Esther Inglis-Arkell | Tags: DC comics, kon-el, superboy
Firs: This is a fantastic cover. I dare you to look at this cover and not want to buy the comic.
Second: Most superhero comics involving teenage heroes revolve around the question of identity. This can get stale, but Adventure Comics has an advantage over the competition. It isn’t the old question of presenting one identity to family and friends while living the hero’s life in secret. Every important person in Kon’s life already knows his identity, and is happy with it. There isn’t any tired sneaking around, no depressing damned-if-you-do-or-damned-if-you-don’t choices. Instead the identity question is there because Kon has two biological parents, one of which he was literally programmed to emulate, and needs to reassure himself that he’s most like the one he admires.
Third: I’m seeing young love, and I’m not seeing stupid love or needlessly-dramatic love, and I like that. All the false crises that a lesser comic would pump up, (Wonder-Girl kissed Robin! Oh no!) this one dismisses (Kon was dead at the time. ((He was on the moon. With Steve.)) She can kiss whoever.). Okay, their encounter was a little too gluey and sacharine. I could have done without the ‘you are too good for me,’ ‘no, you are too good for me‘ aspect, and I’m still looking for a couple who genuinely has fun together instead of just being romantic, but I have high hopes for these two.
Fourth: It seems that all young-super books are improved by the addition of super-pets. Krypto is a running joke and a freaking joy.
Fifth: I’m expressing another hope, now. The last page of the book had Lex Luthor seeing that Kon was alive again. In the last few issues of Teen Titans before Kon’s death, Luthor is shown as thinking of Kon as his son and acting charitably on his behalf. I hope that they’ll continue that aspect of the character instead of tipping him into general villainy. We have had, and will have, a thousand chances to see Lex Luthor be a bad guy what likes to do bad. This is one of the few chances we’ll have to see him as a bad person who still cares about someone. I hope this book will take advantage of that.
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“I’m still looking for a couple who genuinely has fun together instead of just being romantic, ”
For DC? Ralph/Sue. Jamie/Traci. I had hopes for Brenda/Paco, but I’m not following whichever book has the Blue Beetle back-up…
@LurkerWithout: Booster Gold. Anyways so far Brenda/Paco is doing well. Paco told Brenda he loved her and after some hijinks with robots and whatnot she finally returned the feeling. It looks like they’re doing well, haven’t gone all smoochy yet and still carry on as before, but now they know it might go somewhere.
Meh. I still preferred when Cassie had an actual personality, but those days are long gone now she’s defined entirely by her relationships with male leads (Kon, Robin, and now Kon again).
The closest she – and Kon – have been to entertaining in the last five years was as an irate commenter on the blog written by ‘Ralph Dibney’ explaining his side of the events of 52: http://dibnydiary.blogspot.com/ and I can’t help but feel DC should have gone in that direction – at least she’d have had some teeth.
@AlLoggins: she was also defined as a bitch in the MxKeever run
God, but I do love that cover. I almost want to frame my copy.