Self Righteous Snobs

First Look for January 20, 2018

This one’s a few days later than I planned but I’m still listing the date I planned on posting it…

Today’s first look sees a couple of self righteous snobs that are going in different directions. In Bone #3 we see the reunion of Phoney and Fone Bone and figure out that obnoxiousness and rudeness could clearly be the reason why the town folk ran Phoney Bone outta Boneville. He’s the epitome of an elitist jerk and it’s gonna be a wonder if he doesn’t get Fone kick off of Gran’ma Ben’s farm soon as well. On the flipside, we see Lex Luthor in Action Comics #959. He came out a couple of issues ago claiming to be the new Superman and in Justice League #52 he even bought up the Daily Planet so he could walk around with Superman’s Cape – what kind of bad taste is that, to wear a dead man’s cape? But now we start seeing that he might actually be trying to do the right thing. In this issue we see him foregoing the fight with Doomsday, where he could potentially save the day and be the hero, to save the citizens of Metropolis. Could he be finally catching on that to be a hero you have to do more than just wear the clothes? In anycase, these two issues were fun reads and I’m looking forward to continuing their stories.

Bone #3

Out From Boneville, Phoney Bone by Jeff Smith. Published by Cartoon Books 1991.

This issue sees two of the Bones meet back up and we meet Gran’ma Ben who’s not someone you want to mess with. She actually races cows…no, not like horse racing, she runs faster than a cow in a footrace. In any case, the issue starts with the deepening relationship between Thorn and Fone as they get the house ready for the return of Gran’ma Ben. Surprisingly they are notified of her arrival by what seems to be an earthquake. Rather than that destructive force, it turns out to be Phoney Bone on one of Gran’ma Ben’s cows. He met Ted the Bug as he was grumping about in the valley and Ted introduced him to Gran’ma and she offered to let him ride the cow. With Phoney and Fone back together we learn that the dragon seems to appear to Bones but the humans, Thorn and Gran’ma Ben, don’t seem to believe in him. They do know of the rat creatures though who also can see the dragon. It makes me wonder if the humans just can’t see the dragon or if he’s got some kind of magic that makes him invisible to those he doesn’t want to interact with. Anyway, while Gran’ma Ben likes Fone (and is annoyed by Phoney), she considers the Bones pets and tells Thorn they can stay, but in the barn and Phoney just wants to leave at that point. Fortunately, Fone convinces him that Gran’ma will take them into Barrelhaven in a few days where they might be able to find where Smiley has gone to.

This is another good issue where we see some good character development. I really get the sense that I now know why the townsfolk ran Phoney outta Boneville. He’s just such a stuck up snob who’s demanding, rude, and obnoxious and I feel sorry that Fone is his cousin. Fone does his best to cover for Phoney and help people get along with him but that just says more about Fone’s character than anything Phoney does. But now that we’ve got two of the cousins back together the story is developing well and I’m looking forward to seeing what Barrelhaven has in store for the Bones.

You can find first looks at other issues in this title linked in my January Reading List.
I rate this issue a B.

Action Comics #959

Path of Doom!, Part 3 by Dan Jurgens and Tyler Kirkham. Published by DC Comics, 2016.

This issue see the fighting continue between Lex, Superman, and Doomsday. After last issue, Lex’s armor was torn to shreds by Doomsday but Superman stops the beast from finishing Luthor off. While Lex uses the Mother Box from Apokolips to restore his suit, Superman bashes the monster down into the sewers as Lex had suggested. Unfortunately, Clark Kent, who still insists he’s not Superman, falls into the sewers with them and breaks his arm. As a refurbished SuperLex carries Clark outta the sewers, the two of them take Superman’s advice and help people leave the area. Superman obviously knows more about Doomsday than either of them but even his experience doesn’t prepare him for the beast using strategy to fight. With Lois and Jonathan watching on TV, Superman blasts Doomsday with his heat vision and is wearing him down until the beast rips apart a gas line and…BOOM! A whole block of Metropolis vanishes into a crater. When the smoke settles we see the outline of someone emerging from the devastation and we’ll see where things go in the next issue.

I’m really enjoying this story line and the mysteries surrounding Superman, Clark, Lex, and Mr. Oz. Was it Mr. Oz who set the prison transport with Doomsday on it to fall into Metropolis? Who’s side is he on and what is his role in this story and in Rebirth?

With Kirkham taking over the artistic duties in this issue, we got a different feel. I was getting used to Zircher but I liked how this issue portrayed Lois and Jonathan. The artistic style worked really well for those scenes and while Superman seems to have a better defined musculature in this issue, I think the style wasn’t distracting other than the fact that I noticed things were different.

You can find first looks at other issues in DC Rebirth linked in my January Reading List.

I rate this issue a B+.