Reviews: LSH 12, Superman: Man of Steel vol. 4 TPB

Looks like I missed a review of LSH 12 in my earlier recaps. The Comics Shrew likes what's going on.

One of the necessary coping mechanisms of reading Legion is an appreciation of Elseworlds-type stories. Because, as often as the Legion gets rebooted, part of the fun has to be in discovering the new interpretations of old characters. In this, Waid has been close to spectacular. Not every change may be considered for the better, but he's definitely got somewhere to go with all of the Legionnaires and they are all pleasantly multi-dimensional.

The plot and purpose of the story arc... Waid has been very good about distracting us from the fact that it's pretty pedestrian. ... And you know what? It totally doesn't matter.

(Spotted via Good Comics)

A new review of the recent trade paperback Superman: The Man of Steel, Vol. 4 over at What's on My Musical Radar. DC is currently reprinting the early Byrne Superman stories from the late 80's (prior to the de-Byrning events of Infinite Crisis?). Volume 4 reprints the Legion/Death of Superboy/Pocket Universe storyline, from Superman (v2) 8, Action Comics 591, and Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) 37 and 38.

The series is, as a whole, very strong with Byrne doing a nice job staying true to the character but resetting what the editors at the time didn't feel the need for - in this particular volume, Superboy. For anybody who wants to understand the modern mythos of Superman, this is needed reading as it finally gets rid of the glitch that was created by Crisis and its aftermath when it was decided that Superman hadn't been Superboy even though the Legion of Superheroes wouldn't exist without him.

The middle story arc - the deletion of Superboy from the DC canon - is important reading and very well done. It references the near-invulnerable level of power that Superboy (and the pre-Crisis Superman had as well) as opposed to the more limited powers that Superman was briefly given post-Crisis.

Good stuff.

As always, go to my Legion reprint page for a list of what's been reprinted where.