Doug Smith

SUPERMAN: PEACE ON EARTH | The Never-Ending Battle for A Better World

December 21, 2022 by Doug Smith Leave a Comment

For many, Christmas time is a season that’s equally comforting and cold, both a time of giving and togetherness, and a constant reminder that someone, somewhere, is going without. There have been countless stories that explore the tragedies and triumphs of the holiday season, but lately, there is only one story I keep coming back to for comfort and guidance: the story of a man giving everything to achieve the impossible, and trying to make the world a little brighter…if only for a day.

In 1998, legendary creators Alex Ross and Paul Dini released Superman: Peace On Earth, a story that set the boundless optimism of the Man of Steel against the ever-present struggles of the real world. Published to mark the character’s 60th anniversary, Peace On Earth was the first step in a grander collaboration between Ross and Dini, as the two creators used each graphic novel to explore the real-life power of DC’s greatest heroes.

“The genesis of the books was something I was building up to doing from coming off of Kingdom Come,” recounts Ross. “I put together this pitch that was based around what I felt were the four icons of DC: Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman. I had this burning desire to return to Superman above all.”

Casting the hopeful image of Superman against the more somber backdrop of Christmas, Peace On Earth serves as Ross and Dini’s ultimate critique on the character as both nuanced man and inspiring myth; exploring humankind’s capacity for compassion and evil, and whether we can use that potential to truly find peace on Earth.

THE SWAMP THING by Ram V & Mike Perkins | Horror, Hope, and Identity

October 12, 2022 by Doug Smith Leave a Comment

There is a darkness growing in the world, an evil rooted in the past that has risen up as a blight on the present. To stem this corruption, Levi Kamei must reconnect with his own forgotten past, and embrace a strange new destiny as the next guardian of the Green.

Since his first appearance in 1971’s House of Secrets, the Swamp Thing has held an enduring legacy as one of DC Comics’ most celebrated monsters. Co-created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson as a “muck-encrusted mockery of a man,” the Swamp Thing has taken on countless forms under seminal creators, most notably Alan Moore who made the creature into a more complex, introspective character, defined through his struggles for identity and a growing bond with all forms of nature. However, the character grew somewhat unfocused after Moore’s run, as subsequent creators built on the creature’s mythology and place in the larger DC Universe. Some more successfully than others.

Each writer would leave their own mark on the character, but it would be through DC’s Infinite Frontier and creators Ram V, Mike Perkins, John McCrea, Mike Spicer, and Aditya Bidikar that the Swamp Thing would finally return to form, tackling issues from beyond the realm of superheroes and delivering a horror-tinged critique of the modern world. This is the story of The Swamp Thing, and how Ram V finally brought the guardian of the Green into the modern age.

*SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE RUN TO FOLLOW*

Iron Man by Denny O’Neil: Self-Destruction and Rebirth

July 13, 2022 by Doug Smith Leave a Comment

WARNING: References to addiction. If you are struggling with addiction, call the SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) National Hotline at 1-800-662-HELP.

For generations, superheroes have been held up as an inspirational ideal, symbols of our own ability to transcend our limitations and realize our fullest potential. But for every moment of hope, there is one of doubt; a personal crisis that tears our self-image away and leaves us to face our own inner darkness. For many, this struggle is unending. It may break us. But it also gives us the opportunity to rise up, stronger than ever before.

In 1980, legendary writer Dennis “Denny” O’Neil returned to Marvel comics after a decade of revitalizing characters like Batman and Green Arrow for DC. The author would take on a number of assignments while at Marvel, including work on the Amazing Spider-Man and picking up Frank Miller’s Daredevil, but one of his most impactful works for the company would be his four-year stint on The Invincible Iron Man alongside artist Luke McDonnell. Drawing from his experiences with addiction and recovery, O’Neil’s run would fundamentally transform the armored avenger, having the hero wage his greatest battle yet, and turn his inner resilience into his greatest strength.

ACTION COMICS by Grant Morrison | A New Future For The Man of Tomorrow

June 14, 2022 by Doug Smith Leave a Comment

For over 80 years and a thousand issues, Superman has held a titanic legacy in fiction, using his incredible powers to fight a never-ending battle for truth and justice. He’s been a champion of the oppressed, a reporter, an alien, an immigrant; countless forms that have coalesced over the years into an image that’s practically synonymous with the American myth itself. But what happens when someone takes this icon and its countless forms, and breaks it down to its base elements? And how do those base elements change when they collide with other conflicting plans?

In 2011, DC Comics announced The New 52, a publisher-wide initiative that reset its ongoing continuity and relaunched every title set in the fictional DC Universe. Spearheaded by then-Chief-Creative-Officer Geoff Johns and Co-Publishers Jim Lee and Dan DiDio, the initiative was meant to both streamline the company’s superhero line for new readers and give a roster of all-star creatives the opportunity to reshape and modernize the characters as they saw fit. It was here that superstar writer Grant Morrison–fresh off a 7-year run on Batman–and artist Rags Morales would collaborate to bring this new version of Superman to life, crafting a story that celebrates the character’s place in fiction while introducing a more modern, conflicted take on the hero. While the run was widely regarded as a misfire, characterized by the many production and creative struggles that would define the rest of The New 52, it’s also a coda to all of Morrison’s thoughts on Superman, pulling from every iteration of the character to forge an all-new future for the Man of Tomorrow.

Inferno: The X-Men’s Empire, Destroyed

May 27, 2022 by Doug Smith Leave a Comment

That’s the real war, isn’t it? Ensuring you’re on the winning side?

After decades of struggle, the Mutant race has achieved utopia, and built an empire that spans the galaxy. Together, they have transcended scarcity, disease, and death itself. But what is the true cost of this paradise? And what becomes of it when the many secrets, compromises, and hidden agendas that built it are finally brought into the light?

Brought to life by Valerio Schiti, Stefano Caselli, David Curiel, RB Silva, and Tom Muller, 2022’s Inferno is so much more than a crossover. It’s the ending to a saga that writer Jonathan Hickman began in the pages of House of X and Powers of X, transforming the X-Men, their world, and the Mutant metaphor behind it all. While the “Krakoan era” would encompass every title and creative team on the x-line of comics it would all be in service of Hickman’s vision for the title, uniting Mutants, both good and evil, in a desperate mission to stave off extinction and build a sanctuary for the species.

“I think what happened after Grant and Frank did their thing is that you got that version of the X-Men and then there’s been this nostalgic version of the X-Men…Playing the old hits kind of stuff,” muses the writer. “And those two things have been fighting with each other, probably since that run. You don’t want to do archaeology or nostalgia tropes. My job is to do new stuff with it, and launch us into a newer age of X-Men.”

As each new corner of this sanctuary is explored, Hickman and his collaborators craft a larger picture across the line, putting the nation of Krakoa on a path that would end in its ultimate reckoning. While a number of factors influenced the event’s production, including top-down editorial decisions from Marvel Comics and input from the other creatives on the line, Inferno is the definitive end of Hickman’s vision for the X-Men, as countless threats spark back into being, threatening to burn down everything the Mutants have built. After years of storytelling, Inferno delivers what would become Hickman’s legacy for X-Men: one last trial by fire for the Mutant race.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Doug Smith

WARNING: References to addiction. If you are struggling with addiction, call the SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) National Hotline at 1-800-662-HELP.

That’s the real war, isn’t it? Ensuring you’re on the winning side?

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