Superman: Endgame

Rating:
Summary: Brainiac attacks
Review: I personally thoroughly enjoyed this storyline, and the various artists. This is a different brand of storytelling from the Roger Stern/ Doomsday days. While I appreciate both of these modern interpretations, this story and No Limits! herald a new direction for the Superbooks that even hardened comics fans might enjoy. Under Eddie Berganza's editorship, the Super-books are using the framework of the early 90's era of Superman's redefinition and bringing in both new and classic elements to the Superman mythos. I'm a longtime comics fan, but a new Superman fan, and this is the story that pulled me in and allowed me to go back and enjoy the older stuff (all the way back to 1938). Great work, if occasionally uneven, as one tries to read four different titles by multiple writers and artists all strung together. Give this story a shot if you're a JLA fan.

Rating:
Summary: A great new start for Superman in Y2K!
Review: This graphic novel begins on December 31st 1999 and takes place in great city of Metropolis. Brainiac 2.5 has crashed on Earth and is feeding himself off the energy in Metropolis. He takes all the power from Metropolis at the stroke of midnight and all this power upgrades him and he becomes Brainiac 13. So, basically, Superman has to stop Brainiac from taking all the power of the Planet.

This comic book features the metal men and many members of the JLA. It is exciting and difficult to put down.

There are a few things I found annoying about this though. As this was originally a group of different comics by different artists and writers, each time a new chapter starts, the characters look different. The worst is Ed McGuinness as I think he makes Superman too muscly and cartoon like. Another thing that I didn't like was the look of Brainiac 13. The artists used computers to make him look 3D. This doesn't work. The computer pictures look too fake and don't fit with the rest of the comic. But this doesn't mean it isn't a great book, with a great story. Superman will definitely be with us forever!

Rating:
Summary: I give this book a guarded recommendation
Review: With Y2K rolling around, some people are afraid that the world is about to end. But, Lex Luthor is not afraid; his corporation has set up a security service that will keep everything flowing smoothly. When the New Year arrives, and the lights go out, Lex begins to look for the culprit. The culprit is Brainiac 2.5, but there are schemes within schemes, and soon Brainiac 2.5 finds himself supplanted by Brainiac 13 - a future model who figures that Superman can only be beaten in the past, at the beginning of 2000. Perhaps he's right...

I am rather at a loss when talking about this graphic novel. The story is great, with the cast of characters changing repeatedly. The JLA appears at the beginning, and quickly disappears, while the Metal Men (old favorites of mine) become integral players. The biggest weakness of the book is the fact that each of the sections was illustrated by a different set of artists, which means that the whole appearance of the story changes, giving the story a strangely dislocated feeling. Anyone reading the graphic novel had better understand this ahead of time, or he or she will become quickly confused.

But, that said, I did find this to be a wonderful book. The graphics were generally good (though the changing of them throughout the story is a definite negative), and the story is great. I loved the book, while my ten-year-old son did not like it enough to even finish it (because of the graphics). So, I give this book a guarded recommendation.