Godfall

Last month, Superman went missing and Mr. Majestic crossed over from the Wildstorm universe and filled the void.  This month, we find out where Superman has been, although it won't fully make sense until next month.  I had just moved to California when these comics first came out, so in the chaos of relocating I didn't get these boos when they first came out.  I didn't actually catch up on them until weeks or, in one case, months later.

Creator Michael Turner had become hugely popular in this period after creating characters like Witchblade and Fathom at Image/Top Cow.  He brings his signature cheesecake art style to the covers for this story arc, which he also co-wrote with Joe Kelly.  DC Comics presents this as Aspen MLT production, and it has the same look as previous outsourced Image projects like Heroes Reborn and Marvel Knights.  Turner's covers were everywhere during this period, and later this same year he would draw the covers for DC's first crossover in years, Identity Crisis.  Next month, he would also illustrate the interiors for an arc of Superman/Batman, reintroducing a character that he would be forever attached to after that.  Sadly, Michael Turner died only a few years after this in 2008, but though his life was short he left a large body of work that saturated the decade.

Action Comics #812

Godfall part 1

Kal El has seemingly been living his whole life on a Krypton that was never destroyed.  This powerless Kal El is married to alien named Lyla and they have a son, although their mixed marriage isn't approved of by many Kryptonians.  Living under the shadow of his father who saved the planet, Kal El has a boring government job but dreams that there's more to life than this.

Lyla Lerrol was one of pre-Crisis Superman's many girlfriends, all of whom had the initials "L.L."  The original Lyla was a Kyrptonian that Superman fell in love with on Krypton while time traveling into the past.

The main stories in these issues are only 16 pages, but each one also contains a back-up story featuring the incoming creative team.  In a story by Chuck Austen and Ivan Reis, Lana Lang visits the Kent farm while she's going through her divorce from Pete Ross.

Adventures of Superman #625

Godfall part 2

After being attacked by a motorcycle gang of aliens, Kal El is rescued by Preus of the Citizen's Patrol Corps.  When Kal El is attacked a second time, he starts to exhibit super strength, flight, and cold breath.  The alien terrorists kidnap his son, but Kal El is terrified not just by his powers but by the fear that he may not actually be Kryptonian.  Lyla asks her husband to pray with her, but he doesn't know what to believe anymore.  On the last page, we see that all of this action has taken place not on Krypton, but inside the Bottle City of Kandor in the Fortress of Solitude.

In a back-up story by Greg Rucka and Matthew Clark, we meet Lieutenant Lupe Teresa Leocadio of the S.C.U., a fearless non-meta who calmly stops several heavily armed robbers single-handed.

Superman #202

Godfall part 3

Lyla carries her husband to a hiding place, but rather than help him she starts to drain Kal El's powers and we learn this was all part of her plan to escape from the Bottle City of Kandor.  As she drains his powers, most of the issue is a series of six 2-page spreads recapping the major highlights of Superman's life so far for new readers, including his death, resurrection, marriage, and Luthor's presidency.  Declaring herself a goddess, Lyla ascends out of Kandor into the Fortress of Solitude, where she is determined to go to Metropolis next.

In Metropolis, Perry White is concerned about Clark's latest "disappearing act" but Lois is confident her husband will return.

This issue's back-up story is a preview of Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo's upcoming Lex Luthor miniseries.

Superman/Batman #7

Superman and Batman ask Robin and Superboy to go to Japan and ask the new 13-year old Toyman to work for Batman.  Metallo escapes from the Toyman's lair and Robin and Superboy have to use Toyman's mech robots to stop him.

After last issue, Lex Luthor is presumed dead.  But in recent issues of the Teen Titans, Superboy has just learned that he's not just a clone of Superman, but that his human DNA came from Lex Luthor.

Guest artist Pat Lee was fresh off his popular Dreamwave reboot of Transformers comics and was one of the hottest artists in comics at the time.  Though he defined the decade much like Michael Turner, he hasn't been seen in comics since, following a scandal accusing him of not paying creators.  Lee's manga-inspired style was suited for this story, and his designs of Toyman's robotic guard dog, Metallo, and the mech suits looks just Transformers art.  I never even saw this issue on the stands when it first came out, I wasn't able to obtain a copy until months later at a comic convention, for a substantial markup.