This week marks the start of the new Sunday Pages format, incorporating capsule reviews alongside news tidbits. Since Julian’s now joining us, you can identify his contributions by the initials [JHa] and mine by [JHu], while Seb , obviously, gets to keep the more concise [SP]. We’re still feeling out the specifics, so be sure to let us know how you’re finding it, and whether or not you think it could be improved! Look inside for mini-reviews of Action Comics #869, Amazing Spider-Man #572, Greatest Hits #1 and X-Factor #35, as well as some discussion of Neil Gaiman’s reaction to the new Hitchiker’s Guide book.

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And so Geoff Johns and Jeff Katz’s year on Booster Gold comes to an end… and damned if, surprisingly, it hasn’t turned out to be really rather good. There have been stutters – the Barbara Gordon issue wasn’t as clever as it thought it was, and the “alternate universe” storyline went on a bit too long – and it’s certainly not the sort of comic you’d recommend to just anyone; but if you’ve got enough of a nostalgic fondness for late ‘80s and early ‘90s DC continuity (and style of storytelling) then there’s been a lot to enjoy. With this infuriatingly-numbered issue (actually the twelfth, if you also include the Zero Hour issue #0 of six months or so ago), they provide an epilogue to the recent Blue and Gold storyline and a neat capstone to their own run while leaving things open for future stories.

Throughout the series so far, the most fun elements have been in touching upon well-known moments from post-Crisis DCU history, and this issue – as you’d guess from the numbering and superbly-recreated cover dress – is no different, spending the opening pages tying in (once again, somewhat belatedly) to the DC One Million event. As with the Zero Hour issue, however, the use of said event is more fleeting and incidental than you’d expect – really, the sequence with Peter Platinum, amusing as it is, serves little purpose other than to set off Booster’s train of thought about the sort of hero he’s perceived as – and the sort of people he’s inspired. Throughout the series he’s been content to play the role of “secret hero”, nobly sacrificing reputation in the interest of the greater good – but here, learning that his perceived misdeeds have inspired others to try and “play the con” better, he realises that enough is enough – and it takes a surprising encounter with Batman to encourage him otherwise.

As Johns and Katz tidy things up in the wake of their departure, though, the issue is primarily about tweaking the status quo, and providing something of an uplifting conclusion to their arc – consequently, a major figure in Booster’s life makes a sudden and surprise return, and according to all available evidence it’s a long-term thing (no, it’s not Ted… sorry). Furthermore, the closing couple of pages throw an entirely sudden an unexpected twist straight out of left-field, one of those moments that leaves you wondering how long it’s been planned – and where it’s supposed to go from there. It’s all very deliberately fan-pleasing, though, and you could call that a criticism were it not for the fact that Booster Gold has been designed from day one to appeal to a particular type of reader (specifically, those for whom the last few years’ worth of DC stories have inspired the creation of Dan Didio voodoo dolls), so you can’t argue with the idea of giving them what they want one more time.

The series is now left, though, in a curious position, with a two-part Chuck Dixon story (written before his sudden departure) on the way and still no confirmed  - or, at least, announced - writer for beyond that. You half sense that the thing to do would be to draw a line under it for now – it’s not as if the status quo isn’t set up for someone to take up the baton in the future, merely that this feels like a good point for a breather. On the other hand, certain elements of this issue (some further tantalising blackboard mentions, including Azrael and Armageddon 2001, and another of those “Coming soon in Booster Gold” teaser pages) suggest that future stories are mapped out by someone. Whatever happens, the series will at least benefit from the presence of Dan Jurgens, who’s lent it a consistently solid feel from the start and who genuinely comes off like he could sit drawing this character interacting with the DCU at large for the rest of his career.

The last year or so has been something of a golden time for fans of the early ‘90s Justice League stories, with not one but two books (this and Blue Beetle) that contain affectionate references while also espousing exactly the same type of storytelling that characterised those classics. But both series have now lost the writing teams that made them such a joy, and it remains to be seen if any of their momentum can carry through into a new era. It’s certainly to be hoped so.

DC appear to have been taking a looser approach to continuity of late. Perhaps it’s an acknowledgement that a succession of Crises have failed to sort things out once and for all, or simply that DC’s “shared universe” has always been somewhat less grounded in reality than Marvel’s, but I’ve noticed a growing attitude of “if the stories are good, precise continuity linkups don’t really matter a great deal”. And such an approach, whereby each new creator gets to do their own interpretation, rather than rigidly following everything that’s gone before, is holding an increasing appeal as far as I’m concerned. No, it’s not the way comics have worked in the past – but the DC universe, in all its forms, is pretty bloody old now. Some of these characters have existed for a very long time now, and Crisis or no Crisis, it’s increasingly difficult to reconcile character histories when they’re spread over such a long period of time. What I think we’re seeing, therefore, is a shift to more mythological status for the really big characters – rather than a fixed story, instead it’s the rough elements that are fixed in place. It’s an approach that certainly worked with All-Star Superman – and I’m seeing the influence of that title quite strongly on the “proper universe” Superman books of late.

The latest issue of Action Comics – which actually appears to be the first salvo in the Robinson/Johns run on both main titles – is certainly a case in point. Take, for example, the presentation of Jonathan and Martha Kent. Has anyone ever been able to nail down these two characters for any length of time? Their latest incarnation, courtesy of Superman Birthright, was as a slightly older version of their Smallville equivalents. But here, in much the same way as Jor-El was given a movie-esque overhaul at the beginning of Johns’ latest run, they’re tweaked yet again – still similar to the Birthright versions, but older (and with some clear foreshadowing that Jonathan won’t be around for much longer). And you know, I’m not sure it really matters. You can raise all sorts of questions about how each successive decade of continuity is supposed to tie into the previous one – but much as I’ve got a soft spot for the science-driven Superman stories of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, for example, they’re not hugely relevant to the current character, and I don’t see that it’s beneficial to anyone for readers to have to rely on vast amounts of prior knowledge in order to pick up on a run. As long as the creator’s own run is a self-contained, decent story that doesn’t contradict itself, that should be the key.

Of course, even as you’re shifting familiar elements around, it’s possible to overdo the references to the past. Johns builds up a new core Daily Planet staff here, and while it’s the source of some decent light material, I’m not sure it hugely works. Taking his cues perhaps a little too strongly from All-Star, we get the return of Steve Lombard (still as one-note a character as he was in the ‘70s – I can’t help but feel he’s only there as a recognisable link to All-Star, heat-vision-related prank and all) and Cat Grant, along with ‘90s supporting character Ron Troupe. It’s a collision of eras that doesn’t really come off, not least because much of Cat’s character is based around an event (the death of her son) that happened way before any of the Birthright or Infinite Crisis reality-shifting was done – a hangover from the past, in other words. And while we’re at it, since when did Clark become the bumbling, blue-suited buffoon again? One of the strengths of his recent portrayals was as a strong individual in his own right, the Pulitzer-winning investigative reporter.

Still, if there’s one praiseworthy element of this version of Clark, it’s in Gary Frank’s visual portrayal. I don’t know if it’s his decision or Johns’ to have Clark and Lois drawn to look almost exactly like Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder… but damn, it works, even as you’re left feeling like it shouldn’t. Over-reliance on shoehorning in movie lore was the undoing of the infamous Last Son arc, but Frank’s work is so good that it’s hard to dislike. And a visual interpretation is just that – there’s no real need to read too much into how the character’s being presented. It makes for an instantly iconic and “classic” looking Superman, and that’s fine by me.

Hmm, I’ve managed to get this far on a discussion about continuity without actually talking about the plot of the issue. Ah, well. Suffice to say, it’s a new Brainiac story, and one that looks set to finally address the background story of the Bottle City of Kandor in modern continuity (as opposed to simply plonking it in the middle of the Fortress one day, which is the way it’s been done up to this point). And it’s quite well-played, actually. Johns is at his best when he strips stories down to a simple, effective level – because, as a continuity nut himself, he’s well-versed enough in DC history to know which elements work best – and of particular note is the opening sequence on Krypton, showing the theft of Kandor as a more horrific event than it’s ever really been portrayed before (including some interesting material with Zod, the villain given a bit more dimension than in his last appearance). Meanwhile, as with the surprising Toyman story last month, Johns looks to be drawing all the disparate versions of Brainiac into a coherent, singular one, so it’ll be intriguing to see where he takes it. Again, though, it’s in unleashing the shiny terror of Brainy’s intricate machinery that Frank excels – he really is turning in some of the best work I’ve seen on a DCU Superman title for a while. With Renato Guedes down for James Robinson’s Superman run, it’s a very encouraging time artistically for comics’ most iconic figure.

I’d hesitate to call this a truly great comic, but it’s well crafted and constructed, and generally shows the more appealing side of Johns’ writing. If this is the style in which the Super-books are aiming to spend the foreseeable future, then I’ll happily get on board with it - this is Superman, after all, and I’d rather have entertaining stories that follow continuity loosely than dull ones overly concerned with fanboy-pleasing minutiae.

Continuity, they say, can be both a tool and a trap. But whether or not you’re the sort of person who will just write what they please and hang trying to make it tie in perfectly with everything that’s gone before, there are certain rules that everyone knows to stick to. Such as - don’t contradict anything less than a year old, and certainly not any stories that are currently happening.

Sadly, that’s exactly what the ludicrously-delayed final part of Geoff Johns, Richard Donner and Adam Kubert’s Last Son storyline has done. Originally intended to come out almost a year ago, the story wraps up the tale of the escaped Phantom Zone Kryptonians, among them Chris Kent (the son of General Zod and Ursa), all of whom end the story by being pulled back into the Zone. There’s just one problem. For the last year’s worth of stories, Chris has been living as the adopted son of Clark Kent (er, hence the name) and Lois Lane. But this issue picks up at the exact moment at which the last part of the story ended some time last year. So, er, just when were all those stories with Chris supposed to happen?

The answer, of course, is that there isn’t an answer. Chris had to be featured in Busiek’s Superman (Johns’ own Action Comics sidestepped the problem with an interminably long story set in the 31st Century), because to not have him around would have spoiled the intended ending of Last Son. But once it became apparent that this was going to happen, was it really not possible to think about a rewrite? Never mind the writing, at editorial level this is a massive, massive screw-up - and it renders this storyline almost entirely pointless and unreadable.

Of course, it’s not the only mistake that was made by the higher-ups. Once it became apparent that Kubert was going to take far too long to finish this (and I don’t like to criticise artists too much for lateness, because it’s something to which all manner of personal problems can potentially contribute - so let’s apportion him only part of the blame for this fiasco), then somebody should have stepped in and hired a replacement artist to finish the job. I mean, this isn’t All-Star Superman or The Ultimates. You wait for Quitely or Hitch art, because the book is as much their vision as the writers’ - and because it’s so good when it finally arrives.

But one of the main problems with this issue is that neither the art nor the story are particularly worth waiting for. Johns and Donner wrap up what was, let’s be honest, a fairly standard story about General Zod (appallingly designed, not looking threatening in the slightest) trying and eventually failing to subjugate humanity with a convenient ending (”anything that has been in contact with the Zone gets pulled back in”) that almost feels directly ripped from the end of series two of Doctor Who. It still grates, meanwhile, that (you would guess at Donner’s behest) the comics have suddenly become so like the films - weren’t they supposed to be a bit more distinct than this? The most recent re-telling of the Jor-El story was only in 2004’s Birthright, and while I know that Infinite Crisis created a “new Earth” that could happily contradict previous stories, there was simply no explanation for his suddenly becoming a bearded white-haired presence in the Fortress - beyond “oh, this is the version I know, this is the version I’m going to write”.

Amazingly, meanwhile, for something that took so long, Kubert’s work feels rushed and sloppy in places (at one point, Zod is seen with those stupid goggles on, despite having previously had them punched off his face by Superman). There are some nice large-scale set-pieces, but he works far better with the big splash images than he does in effectively conveying action in smaller panels. And in many of those smaller panels, there’s simply no detail or definition to his characters.

If this had been part of the regular Action Comics schedule, it probably would have been quite passable. It’s not amazing, but like the rest of Last Son, it’s a nice big action story with some quite neat bits (a bit more of Luthor gathering a team to “help” Superman would have been nice) - although you probably will have to go back and reread the rest of the story to remember just what’s supposed to be happening. But the year’s wait, and the cost of it being in an extra (and double-sized) issue, simply don’t feel worth it at this point. And worst of all, the one genuinely interesting legacy of the story - the idea of Clark and Lois bringing up a superpowered kid - has already been thrown back in the cupboard. At the end of the day, despite the initial hype and anticipation, the much-heralded Johns/Donner/Kubert event can only be seen as something of a failed experiment. And what with this and Batman, people really need to think twice before putting the Kubert brothers on monthly flagship books any time soon.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, Green Lantern is a series I’ve always found more interesting in concept than in execution. Despite the odd excellent story here and there (usually involving Alan Moore and/or Dave Gibbons, or when teamed up with Green Arrow), I’ve often felt that a great idea has been wasted on some pretty boring characters – John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, and none moreso than Hal Jordan himself. I was mildly entertained by Green Lantern : Rebirth, which brought Jordan back to life and hastily retconned his evilness (short version : a big yellow space worm did it), but it didn’t take long for the resurrected Lantern’s own title to become a snoozefest itself.

Nevertheless, I like to pop my head around the door from time to time to see what’s happening with the series. Lately, though, that’s proven difficult as the interminable Sinestro Corps War has gone on – while I’ll admit the idea of a “negative” version of the GL Corps isn’t a bad one (and we’ll gloss over the fact that it was already done decades ago with the Star Sapphires), it’s possible to run something into the ground, and so it’s proven, with the imminent promise of a whole spectrum of Corps based on different emotions (and the Black Lanterns, who rather than being a civil rights movement are apparently all dead. See, never say that power rings aren’t equal opportunity). It’s all a bit tiresome, to be honest, and despite Geoff Johns’ enthusiasm for building a “new” GL mythos, it’s also somewhat impenetrable for new or casual readers.

That said, the latter point is something you can’t really aim at the current story arc – dipping in this month, I was somewhat surprised to find the second part of a story titled Secret Origin. Yes, despite the fact that there’s nothing about Emerald Dawn that really needs retconning, and that all the pertinent details were conveyed back in Rebirth, we’re once again being taken back to Jordan’s flyboy days and the appearance of a certain red-skinned alien. While it may appear pointless at first glance, you can at least see a few reasons for doing this – for starters, it provides a handy few months worth of material at a time when, Batman aside, the big characters can’t really do all that much as they wait for Final Crisis. Secondly, it allows Johns to retroactively insert elements of his newer mythos into the history of the character – and so we see that Abin Sur’s death was, at least in part, down to a growing sense of fear corrupting his ring and will-power, and we’re even shown the Sinestro/Parallax logo in his eye at the critical moment.

Just because there are reasons to revisit Jordan’s origin, though, doesn’t mean that the book itself really justifies its existence. This isn’t Superman : Birthright, after all - nothing truly significant is being changed here. It’s simply a retelling, with a few extra details added in to make it more relevant to the current state of play. There are various examples of… well, I don’t know what you’d call it, really - “retrospective foreshadowing”? It’s all “Oh, look, Carol Ferris hates Hal, we know how that turns out” or “Hector Hammond is Carol’s boyfriend, that adds a new layer!”, and that kind of thing. Perhaps the one interesting addition - an explanation of just why Abin Sur was flying a spaceship in the first place - isn’t even Johns’, it came from an old Alan Moore story (the same short story, in fact, out of which the entire “Spectrum Corps” and forthcoming Blackest Night storyline has been spun).

I mean, it’s all perfectly solid, serviceable stuff - Ivan Reis’ art is decent enough, it’s never jumped out at me but it does the job and there are no glaring flaws - but you just wonder why the current GL readers need a fresh telling of a well-trodden story. If you like classic, All-American flyboy type tales, then I’m sure you’ll get a kick out of it, as you probably find Jordan himself far less annoying than I do (I mean, his Superman-esque debut appearance comes when he rescues a fighter jet… from an accident that he caused himself). But, while this is evidently being pitched as a Big Deal - the sort of thing that will get collected in future trades as “the definitive GL origin story” - it winds up feeling like little more than pre-event filler.

It’s been a fair while since I read a DCU comic - almost nothing since the end of 52, in fact. Still, even someone as largely disinterested in DC Universe comics can’t fail to notice that big things are happening. DC’s second weekly series, Countdown, has ended, apparently without getting to the place it was supposed to. Whoops. Someone get Grant Morrison on the horn. Enter DC Universe #0, which sets the stage for Final Crisis in all the ways that Countdown managed not to. Apparently.

DC Universe #0 isn’t so much a story as a guided tour of the current state of the DCU. Both Marvel and DC have been screwing around with mega-crossovers for years now, and just keeping up with continuity is getting to be a harder and harder game than ever. DCU #0 tries to explain where most everyone important is and what they’re doing, with the notable exception of the Shazam family of characters. The problem is, it neither explains who anyone is, nor what situation they’re in. It just shows them doing some stuff and you have to try and piece it together from what’s going on in their parent titles. The Batman segment is especially impenetrable. It’s Batman and the Joker! I know those characters! I shouldn’t be left unable to understand a damn word of their conversation.

The opening description of the recent Crises is almost impressively succinct for what’s been going on, but the rest of the book is a jumble of characters and situations that fail to engage. It feels more like a sampler than a story in itself, which is a pity because it ends with a fairly important revelation that you suspect really needed a stronger companion material. Narrating this tour is a mysterious figure. (Spoiler time, folks. Please exit the review immediately if you’re bothered.) Initially, I thought this was part of the fruition of Morrison’s “Sentient DC Universe” idea that he was talking about a few years back, but it becomes fairly clear who it is - it’s Barry Allen. If they’re serious about bringing back the man Seb and I once named as our No. 2 Best Death in Comics, it needs to be for a better story than Crisis Nine or whatever this one is, and it certainly should’ve been done in a better comic than DCU #0.

There are some nice touches - the way the caption boxes fade from Black to Red is a great detail, and that final page is a fantastic image. Lopresti’s Wonder Woman is Hughes-esque without being gratuitous, and the Spectre sequence is probably the best of the bunch, appropriately creepy. Perez drawing anything is always worth seeing. On the whole, though, it fails as a book. It’s supposed to be leading into Final Crisis, and yet it doesn’t adequately introduce anything or anyone. It’s the comics equivalent of channel-surfing. My first DCU comic for some time, and probably my last one until this Crisis is over as well…