Quick Comic Reviews

Jeremiah Harm #1
by Keith Giffen, Alan Grant, & Rael Lyra

From the writers who once brought you DC's Lobo comes another comic featuring intergalactic badguys beating the snot out of each other. A couple of nasty SOBs escape from a prison satellite, so the warden lets out Jeremiah Harm--a prisoner with a mad-on for the escapees--to bring them back. The story is solid and sets up the situation with enough violence for the die-hard violence fan, but it could have used a bit more humor for my tastes. Lyra's art is appropriately grotesque for the story. Bottom line: if you've been missing Lobo, this may fit that hole for you.

Rating: 2.5 (of 5)



JLA #125
by Bob Harras, Tom Derenick & Dan Green

And so it ends. Not with a bang, or a whimper, but with a solid thud. Six issues of Batman and Green Arrow grimmacing at each other, and The Key doing, um, something. JLA was once a big idea super-hero spectacular, but it ends on such a sour note I'm glad to see it go. Let us hope that when Meltzer's new Justice League of America starts up later this year that he restores the bigness.

Rating: 1.5 (of 5)



Supergirl #4
by Jeph Loeb, Ian Churchill & Norm Rapmund

Yet another issue-long fight scene, with an evil black suited Supergirl split-off battling Lex Luthor and then the Justice League. Is this what the kids want these days? I guess it doesn't matter as long as Kara is wearing her midriff-bearing costume.

Rating: 2 (of 5)



Superman #226
by Joe Kelly, Jeph Loeb, Ed Benes, Mariah Benes, Jerry Ordway, Howard Chaykin, Tim Sale, & Renato Guedes (whew!)

Now this is a comic. In the midst of Infinite Crisis, we get the start of an overview of the career of Kal-L, Superman of Earth-2. It kicks off with a scrapbook of young Clark Kent by Loeb & Sale, recalling their work on the excellent Superman for All Seasons. Howard Chaykin provides the art for Superman's depression-era debut and WWII adventures, and Renato Guedes illustrates the JSA vs. HUAA portions. We even get the return of the old-style logo on the cover. An enjoyable and classy product all around. Let's hope the remaining two chapters unfold just as well ov erhte next two weeks.

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)



(A review copy of Jeremiah Harm was provided by the publisher.)