Legion of Super Heroes and Smallville Reviews (Spoilers)

[matt_zimmer]

Also reviews for Bionic Woman and Uncle Scrooge 68 and 369 along with the Uncle Scrooge Halloween Ashcan giveaway and the Donald Duck and the Missing Mummy one-shot.



Legion of Super Heroes "The Karate Kid"

Eh, the episode was okay but the dialog was kind of painful and Cosmic Boy is still a butthole. I liked Karate Kid defeating Superman in the fight ring however because it shows that he isn't COMPLETELY invulnerable. Chameleon Boy is pretty funny too. Decent episode but the show has done better. ***1/2.

Smallville "Action"

Good filler episode although the idea of having a hero be an actresses' bodyguard is kind of old-hat. I was VERY pleased to see Lionel Luthor again and I love the revelation that Lana is practically evil. I have a feeling her turning into a female Lex is going to be the reason she splits with Clark. Lionel's scene with Lana at the end was neat and I love how Lana is such a bad liar (or is Kristin Kreuk merely a bad actress?) ****.

Bionic Woman "The Education of Jaime Sommers"

Much better episode than recent weeks. I think I liked it because the tone was fun rather than all serious and lame. The premise of the show is quite ridiculous and the show takes itself too seriously most of the time. It was cool seeing Twin Peaks' Kenneth Welsh as the professor too. Good that Jaime now has a potential flame in the CIA guy. Good episode. ****.

Uncle Scrooge #368

Uncle Scrooge "Cloned Again, Unnaturally" by Stefan Petrucha /Massimo Fecchi: Stupid story that makes the fatal flaw of turning Scrooge into an idiot. **.

"Memory Misery" by Evert Geradts /Sander Gulien: Good to see the return of Blinkus of the Thinkus but the ending left things pretty much unresolved. ***.

"The Secretary's Secret" by Janet Gilbert /Anibal Uzal: I didn't really get the point of the story. The last gag was funny though. **1/2.

"Have a Seat" by Kristian Hojsteen /Vicar: Cute One page gag. Scrooge's avarice is his own worst enemy. ***.

Donald Duck "The Other Gyro Gearloose" by Janet Gilbert /Jose Massaroli: Stupid story that again treats Donald as obnoxious and slow-witted. Dumb. *1/2.

Beagle Boys "Just Like Grandma Used to Make" Dwight Decker /Jose Millet: Predictable gag but it was still a pretty funny one. ***.

Uncle Scrooge #369

Uncle Scrooge in "Healers of the Andes" by Anja Barten, Paul Hoogma, Frank Jonker & Remco Polman /Mau Heymans: This was actually a pretty good story. The idea of an underground lost society has been done before but I liked adding McSwine and the Beagle Boys into the mix. ***1/2.

"The Saga of the Debit & Credit Ledger" by Tony Strobl : Cute story. Donald is ALWAYS getting screwed over but I love the fact that he still tries so hard. ****.

"Sub-Sub-Zero" by Daniel Branca & Wanda Gattino /Daniel Branca: ANOTHER underground society story in the same issue? No wonder I was bored! **.

"Faulty Fortune" by Carl Barks ; : This is one of Barks funnier ten page Scrooge stories. I love that Scrooge is oftentimes as screwed over as he is successful. That's why Barks' stories are always so unpredictable. I loved the gag at the end of the gopher and the tractor. ****.

Cast of DuckTales in "Back in Time for a Dime" by Don Rosa /Cosme Quarttieri & Robert Bat : In this ultra-rare story you can SORT OF see Rosa's influence but the story is so short you can tell it was butchered by the editors with the inclusion of Bubba among other things that Rosa wouldn't have done. This IS probably the closest we will ever get to seeing Launchpad in a Rosa Duck story though. Stupid story but interesting for it's history. ***1/2.

Uncle Scrooge Mini-Giveaway: Halloween Ashcan #3

"Hound of the Whiskervilles" by Carl Barks: One of Barks' better short stories this one is a classic. I love that Don Rosa revisited some of this stuff in The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck and A Letter From Home. Excellent. ****1/2.

Gyro Gearloose in "Krankenstein Gyro": Funny story about building a monster with a priceless closing gag. ****.

Donald Duck Case of Missing Mummy


Donald Duck in "The Case of the Missing Mummy" story, art & lettering by Pat & Shelly Block: This story is neat beyond belief. It's basically an interactive Choose Your Own Adventure type mystery with different clues and choices of what page to turn to next. I confess I didn't solve the mystery correctly even though all of the clues were laid out quite nicely. Probably the best non-Barks/Rosa/Scarpa Duck Story I've read since World of the Dragonlords. Excellent. *****.

Donald Duck in "The Mummy's Ring". Story & Art by Carl Barks: I had never read this classic story and now I'm glad I have. It's a typical Barks romp with mystery and intrigue set in Egypt with a Curse ring thrown into the mix. The Ducks (especially Huey) are in real jeopardy in this story and I think that's pretty neat. ****1/2.

Comments

[90scartoonman.livejournal.com]

LOSH - Probably the weakest of the season so far, but still enjoyable. I hope to see more of Karate Kid since he's a cool character.

Smallville - This is probably the best direction they could take Lana as a character. Hopefully it will result in her being a female Lex, Clark saying something along the lines of "All this time we couldn't be together because of my secrets and you not being able to trust me, but after what you've done, I can't trust you anymore" and that'll be it for them.

Bionic Woman - I agree that the major flaw of the series is that it takes itself way too seriously. Probably why my favorite character is that tech guy who fixes up Jaime. This episode worked because some of it was light and fun. And it was cool because I'm guessing that's what Michelle Ryan really sounds like.

[mattzimmer.livejournal.com]

LOSH: I thought the one where Timber Wolf was framed for murder was much worse.

Smallville: Agreed. It's really smart of them to make Lana a villain especially such a monstrous one. It's scary when she's the evil one in comparison to Lionel! It sets up the future break-up with Clark much better than the "I can't be with you because it's too dangerous" claptrap.

Bionic: Agreed.

[90scartoonman.livejournal.com]

I liked the Timber Wolf one slightly better, and both episodes had the problem of the Legion being jerks.

[mattzimmer.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but EVERYBODY was a jerk in the Timber Wolf episode so you had no one to really root for.

[90scartoonman.livejournal.com]

I don't know, you had Phantom Girl and Cam helping him out, which I think was a cool balance from the harsher by-the-book Legionnaires. I also felt bad for Timber Wolf. In this episode, you root for Karate Kid, Cam, and a bit for Superman. Kind of a toss up.

[mattzimmer.livejournal.com]

You're right about Phantom Girl but Chameleon Boy was still too new to get a hold on and root for.

[dcauyojimbo.livejournal.com]

Wow, I feel kinda bummed. I figured the LoSH episode would be the highlight of the season. Well, I'll keep my fingers crossed for the remaining two before the winter hiatus kicks in.

[mattzimmer.livejournal.com]

It's not that bad. I gave it a positive grade. It just simply isn't as good as the rest of the season.

[dcauyojimbo.livejournal.com]

I see. In any case, this Saturday's one should be better since there a little 'star power' in terms of writing and directing duties.

[mattzimmer.livejournal.com]

Oooh, dish! Who's writing and directing?

[dcauyojimbo.livejournal.com]

J M DeMatteis is writing (hopefully he makes up for the Timber Wolf episode)

James Tucker is directing it, himself!

[mattzimmer.livejournal.com]

Sounds good! I'm watching it tomorrow!