[SPOILERS ahead]
It’s a real pleasure to read one of these oversized treasury comics where the artwork is drawn to take advantage of the larger dimensions of the pages. Plenty of full page illos and double-page spreads, and while this may annoy in your standard-sized monthly periodical comics, it feels like a special bonus to get such imagery in these books. Bruno Redondo (along with assists from various artists like Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding) knocks it out of the park here, and the comic is never anything but delightful to look at.
Now, the story…it takes place slightly in the past, where Superman and Lois’s son Jon was still a boy, before getting aged up for reasons I’ll touch upon shortly. And because it’s the aforementioned Dan Jurgens is the writer, we get more Jurgens creations in addition to Jon popping up throughout the story, such as [reminder: SPOILERS] the Cyborg Superman and Maxima. (Well, okay, Jurgens didn’t create Maxima, but he sure used her a lot.)
As I was reading this, I was just slightly disappointed that these particular characters got dragged out from the last thirty years or so of Superman’s history. I’d hoped for something a little less deep-cut-ish and more accessible for new readers, rather than Jurgens doing a “My Greatest Superman Hits.” But, in fairness, it was either “yet another Superman Vs. Luthor” story versus something that showed off some variety in Superman’s rogues gallery, so ultimately, in retrospect, I suppose I don’t actually have a problem with this.
One this this story does do is establish the history of the current version of Superman, spending a few pages outlining the character’s Big Events (death by Doomsday, his marriage, etc.) and trying to get straight just what exactly is canon for this character, who had his from-scratch reboot in 1986 and has gone through some various revisions in the decades since.
(Also of note: it’s confirmed that Maxima was once a Justice League member, from way back in the pre-Zero Hour DC Universe.)
(Also of note: the “timeline,” as such, ends around the time Superman first encounters his father Jor-El, who survived Krypton’s destruction, but takes place before Jor-El takes Jon on his space trip, during which, due to time travel/dilation/timey-wimey stuff, he ages into his late teens. So Jurgens is really threading the needle here of when this story took place.)
After the story are some pages promoting the new Superman film, with nice big color photos of the cast. Overall, it’s a fun, attractive book…would’ve been okay with not seeing the Cyborg Superman yet again, but, eh, it’s fine. Hopefully this comic will sell well enough to encourge DC to publish more new treasury comics, instead of just reprinting the old ones.
Kevin Smith his own self writes this crossover between the world of Archie and the View Askewniverse, and while not wildly over-the-top funny, it’s certainly amusing enough and will inspire a few Sensible Chuckles.
A good chunk of the humor is in the contrast between the filthy language used by Smith’s characters versus the general innocence of the Archies, commented upon within the book itself:
And I’m not made of stone, seeing characters drawn in the Archie style, in a comic published by Archie Comics, use naughty words made me laugh a bit.
The plot itself works its way up from smaller character pieces and interactions into a giant climactic event at a concert, but I felt the smaller scale scenes worked better. There was just more focus in the earlier bits of the book, while things just got a little too chaotic at the end. Might have been the sort of scene that would work better cinematically but falls a little flat on the page. Not that it wasn’t amusing, it just didn’t entirely work for me.
But overall I enjoyed the comic, which reminded me a little of the Good Ol’ Days of the early Clerks comics from Oni Press. I wouldn’t mind seeing more of these, though I suspect we were lucky to just get the one.
Also, I liked the running gags referencing specific Archie comics titles. I knew that Pep wasn’t in there just by chance!
On a related note, I was listening to some old mix discs of mine (remember mix discs? ask your grandparents) and came across this one track, which is about the first 30 or 40 seconds of this very Not Safe for Work video. That still makes me laugh.
It’s interesting that DC is releasing new treasury editions, although it would be nice to see Jose Luis Garcia Lopez draw one while there is still time.
I thought it was a pity when Dan Jurgens and Peter Tomasi were forced off of Superman to make way for Brian Bendis–and all of chaos that he brought to Superman’s existence.
Considering how convoluted Superman’s history is now, it really seems to me that DC should just say that there are 3 or 4 main iterations: Golden Age: Earth 2, Silver/Bronze Age Earth 1, post-COIE- Byrne and beyond Earth whatever, New 52 (This one was killed off, if I remember correctly), and I have no idea what Earth the Rebirth-era and beyond Superman is from–or if he is considered the same as the post-COIE Superman. Anyway, let the living Supermen and Justice Society/Justice League iterations have their separate Earths back and have annual Team-Ups with three or four iterations of the characters interacting.
I think DC should release anthology Treasury Editions to celebrate the New History of the DC Universe. They could either collate and reprint a bunch of stories based on the years certain main characters first appeared, or team affiliation, or original publisher. So, a treasury that had the first Superman, Batman, Dan Garrett Blue Beetle, Wesley Dodds Sandman, Captain Marvel, Dollman, etc. (i e. characters from the late ’30s) could be cool; or a treasury edition that reprinted the first appearances/origins of all of the 1940s JSA members–or also one for all of the main Freedom Fighters/Quality Comics characters could be cool, or Fawcett Comics Marvel Family and friends characters.
Also, a treasury edition which would reprint the first JLA/JSA team up, the JLA/JSA/Seven Soldiers of Victory team up, the JLA/JSA/Freedom Fighters team up, the JLA/JSA/ Shazam Squadron team up, and the JLA/JSA/Legion of Super-Heroes team up would be cool.
As for Archie, have they ever managed to do an Archie/Scooby-Doo crossover? It seems like that would be a big seller. Or building on the Batman ’66/Archie crossover, they could create Teen Titans ’66 with Robin (Burt Ward), Wonder Girl (Debra Winger from the Wonder Woman TV series), and Wally West Kid Flash and Roy Harper Speedy and have them meet the Archie gang in their identities of Pure Heart the Powerful, Super-Teen, Captain Hero, and Miss Vanity (or whoever Veronica is). I wouldn’t mind seeing Archie meet Iggy and the Stooges or the New York Dolls as well.
This is the year for comic team-ups I never expected to see. First, there was actually a Toxic Avenger meets Jesus first issue of Toxie Team-Up, now we have Archie Meets Jay & Silent Bob. I don’t think I could even dream up anything more bizarre in comics than the premise of those two books.
“… around the time Superman first encounters his father Jor-El, who survived Krypton’s destruction, but takes place before Jor-El takes Jon on his space trip” sure sounds like the point in which Dan Jurgens’ most recent Action Comics run ended, before Brian Michael Bendis took over. Any sense we’re looking at an index story or unused script?
I still haven’t forgiven Smith for killing off Dante — ‘Clerks’, like the Terminator and Linklater’s ‘Before’ series, should’ve stopped at two movies — but if he himself is writing this, I may well give it a look.
collectededitions – You’re right, I forgot Bendis did the aging-up thing. Now it makes more sense why Jurgens ended the Superman timeline where he did.
In-universe continuity-wise, I’m pretty sure Superman Treasury picks up after Jurgens’ “Lois & Clark 2” story running ACTION COMICS 1051-1057.
Kevin Smith fanboy here.
The Oni Press Clerks comics were pretty good, that was where the Coaltion for the Liberation of Itinerant Tree Dwellers acronym debuted, I think. There was also a “WIZARD” preview and a Kevin Smith mag packaged with the “Price Guide to Comics”.
For me, the post Dogma peak of Smiths writing (I hope he wrote it at least) was the Clerks cartoon. Not much retreading or revisiting of old gags and taking advantage of the different medium in a fresh and interesting way. Leonardo Leonardo.
Mike, any news on the Daredevil: Target front?
I flipped through the Superman Treasury, and the Redondo art *almost* convinced me to plunk down $15 for it. He’s so good. Maybe later this month. I need to rejigger my comic budget to include some Superman anyway.
Superman Treasury 2025: I bought it for the art. Redondo & Lucas + treasury size = gold. The story was about what I expected, but that’s fine because of the gorgeous art (I am of the opinion that Jurgens’s writing and art on Superman sit at the exact midpoint of super-hero comic book quality). I didn’t realize it was $15 until after I bought it, and wish it was square bound instead of a giant floppy, however, so you have to reallllly like Redondo’s art to justify the price.
Archie Meets Jay & Silent Bob: I liked Smith’s previous Askewniverse comics, and this one wasn’t as good as those. It was fun and hit some effective nostalgia beats, however. Some of the jokes landed, some didn’t, and I was kind of shocked that Archie Comics signed off on a comic with this much swearing and drug use. The art was good, in the Dan DeCarlo vein and able to incorporate the Clerks characters seamlessly.
Boosteriffic – I actually had meant to point that out, that Jurgens incorporated that one character from his Lois & Clark back-ups.
philfromgermany – I agree, CLERKS: THE ANIMATED SERIES is top notch, and I keep meaning to find time to rewatch it!
Whoa, I’d recognize those off-kilter eyeballs anywhere. Is Fernando Ruiz back at Archie? He left the place a full decade ago, I think.
Mike Loughlin — “I was kind of shocked that Archie Comics signed off on a comic with this much swearing and drug use.”
I’m not; the current owner of the business has been pulling these “adult” shock stunts since he inherited it, which was even longer ago than when Ruiz quit. You can blame him for The CW’s Riverdale.
I read a new version of SABRINA that I don’t believe would have been published by the old Archie.