GeekMom: Comic Book Corner — April 10th, 2013

Happy Comic Release Day! Welcome to another installment of GeekMom Comic Book Corner, where we recap our adventures in comics for the week.

Dakster Sullivan — Superman: Birthright
This week’s module in Gender Through Comic Books, focuses on Superman. The core reading of the week is Superman: Birthright by Mark Wade. I’ve heard of this story before, and I didn’t even realize it. A few months ago, I read that there was a new telling of Superman’s origins and it had some people raising an eyebrow.

The forward to the graphic novel is done by Al Gough and Miles Millar, the producers of Smallville and considering the changes to Lex and Clarks relationship, it’s appropriate.

It’s a really interesting take on the man of steel. Not only do we see how he learns about his home planet, but also how his Clark Kent persona is developed.

His early experiences with his coworkers though really had me aching for him. In some of the scenes, I imagined some of them taking long walks off of short cliffs. Even Jimmy has his moments of jerkiness that make me want to slap him. Lois seemed to be the only one who was willing to step up to bat for him.

Lois is a key figure in the book and at one point helps snap Clark’s head back on his shoulders.

Without giving away to much of the story, you see Clark and Lex as friends in school. Later in life, Lex ends up being the one to first discover Krypton’s history and manipulates it to make everyone in Metropolis fear Superman.

It has a happy ending and it’s become one of my favorite Superman stories so far. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend you check it out. It’s worth the read.

Curious to know what I’m pulling this week? Check out my pull list on Comixology.

Corrina–Earth-2 #11 and Fearless Defenders #2

I’ve been waiting to read Fearless Defenders #2 by Cullen Bunn and Will Sliney since the cover was released three months ago. It was so inventive, I hoped for something similar from the story inside.

As promised, the issue featured Danielle Moonstar, one of the original New Mutants, and a character that has been through many incarnations since then. She’s currently without mutant abilities but that doesn’t make her powerless, as this issue shows.

The overall story concerns Asgardian gods, immortal shield maidens and some old-fashioned bad guys. So far, Valkyrie, Misty Knight and Dani don’t feel like a team but the story is young yet. Overall, the issue isn’t quite as awesome as the cover but that’s a high standard and I’m hooked on the series so far.

Earth-2 #11 is another comic on a slow burn. I’ve stuck with it because I love James Robinson’s Starman series and the art by Nicola Scott. I read Starman in trade and that story had a long-term plan. With issue #11, the various plot pieces of Earth-2 seem to be fully in motion. The highlight of this issue for me are the decisions by two men, Jay Garrick and Doctor Fate, to accept their destiny as heroes. The series features a far younger Garrick that readers have ever seen yet he finally seems the hero long-featured in Justice Society of America stories. I also loved that his mother, kidnapped by a supernatural being, isn’t a helpless hostage.

Looking for something else, readers? Check out this week’s listed books:

100 Bullets Vol. 4 HC DE Action Comics #19 (CP) Batgirl #19 (Eddy Barrows & Eber Ferreira Regular Fold-Out Cover) Batman #19 (CP) Batman And Red Robin #19 Batman Arkham Unhinged #13 Batman Detective Comics Vol. 2 Scare Tactics HC Batman Li’l Gotham #1 Constantine #2 Deathstroke #19 Demon Knights #19 Detective Comics #19 Django Unchained #3 (Of 6) Flash Chronicles Vol. 4 TP Green Lantern Corps #19 Ravagers #11 Saucer Country #14 FI Suicide Squad #19 Superboy #19 Swamp Thing Vol. 2 Family Tree TP Team 7 #7 Threshold #4 Tiny Titans Vol. 8 Aw Yeah Titans TP Worlds’ Finest Vol. 1 The Lost Daughters Of Earth 2 TP

Age Of Ultron #5 (Of 10) Alpha Big Time #3 (Of 5) Avengers #9 Avengers Arena #7 Avengers Assemble #14AU Avengers Vs X-Men Vs TP Avenging Spider-Man #19 Captain America By Ed Brubaker Vol. 3 TP Disney Pixar Cars Magazine #13 Essential Iron Man Vol. 5 TP Fantastic Four #6 Fantastic Four Vol. 1 New Departure New Arrivals TP Fearless Defenders #3 Hawkeye #9 Marvel Super Heroes #8 Marvel Universe Iron Man Digest TP Marvel Universe The Avengers Earth’s Mightiest Heroes #13 Oz Road To Oz HC Rocket Raccoon And Groot The Complete Collection TP Secret Avengers #3 Secret Service #6 (Of 6) Thor God Of Thunder #7 Ultimate Comics The Ultimates #23 Ultron #1AU Uncanny Avengers #6 Uncanny X-Force Vol. 6 Final Execution Vol. 1 TP Uncanny X-Men #4 Wolverine #2 Wolverine Covenant TP X-Men Reckless Abandonment TP X-Treme X-Men #13 X-Treme X-Men #13 (FI)

Acronym Key:  VC = Variant Cover  / HC = Hard Cover / TP = Trade Paperback  / CP = Combo Pack  / PE = Premier Edition

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