Comic Book Journal

One of the best things I like about comics is the annual issues. I have to say that I love the quirky, one-shot feel and just the genuine storytelling that these issues contain. Often not a part of ongoing title continuity these issues give creators room to tell a different type or style of story. The Superman 2008 Annual is no different and was a joy to read. I decided to focus on DC for a little bit today as I’ve been spending a lot of time as of late in the Marvel Universe (partly because I’m really digging the Messiah Complex). What’s the best thing about this issue? I’d have to say the scripting. Busiek does a fantastic job of not only driving the story with compelling action and conflict, but also through captions really gets inside Superman’s head and his feelings about Lois and his son. Also the art, (at least in the primary story) was simple and defined. Judging by his art it is clear that Pacheco enjoys drawing Superman, and he does it well. On a scale of one to ten I’d give this stand-alone a seven. It’s easy to follow nicely written and well drawn. The only flaw it had was the back-up story, which tells a nice quiet tale of a rare day off in Superman’s world, but the story lacked action and the art was too loosely rendered for my tastes. If you’re looking for a nice quick read to pass the cold winter night though, it wouldn’t be a bad pick.

Speaking of cold winter nights and the holidays, I STILL haven’t received any entries for my holiday contest and time is growing short. It’s simple but it’s like that lotto if you wanna win you gotta play. If you wanna review the contest again it’s at www.comicbookjournal.net/contest-announcement.
All you have to do is write a Superhero-themed letter to Santa (Superman asking for a new collar for Krypto or something like that) and submit it as a comment on the blog, (which goes directly to my personal e-mail) The winner will receive some fantastic prizes delivered. The contest ends on December 15th and judging will end on December 17th. Any comments, questions, or suggestions? Feel free to let me know and I’ll do my best to get back to you.