Random Review: Action Comics #809

"Creeping Death" by Joe Kelly, Pasqual Ferry, Cam Smith and Andy Owens.

Clark Kent and Lois Lane are on a Caribbean cruise catering solely to journalists; also present is television host Jack Ryder, accompanied by two female companions. Ryder is later found dead, followed by one of his companions and a former rival. As the body count rises, Clark Kent becomes the prime suspect.

I didn't like it, and the main reason why I didn't like it is the way the main characters behave: Jack Ryder is an asshole of monumental proportions, so different from the crusading television host of the Ditko era as to be virtually unrecognisable, while Clark Kent's occasional bitchiness seems completely out of character. Also, the setup felt rather contrived.

The only other story by Joe Kelly that I can remember reading is Superman/Batman Annual #1 which was also set on a cruise ship. I didn't like that one either, and for similar reasons.

Random Review: Challengers of the Unknown #87

"Twelve Million Years to Twilight" by Carla & Gerry Conway, Keith Giffen and John Celardo, cover by Alex Saviuk and Dick Giordano.

In this issue the Challengers of the Unknown, along with Deadman and Swamp Thing, have travelled to the distant future to stop the tyrannical Sunset Lords from dumping monstrous mutant creatures in the present.

This was the last issue of the Challengers of the Unknown, so it's perhaps understandable that Carla & Gerry Conway's story feels a little hurried. What's less understandable is why pages are wasted on a mindless fight scene and a cross-section of Challenger Mountain when more important events are shown in a few cramped panels. Keith Giffen and John Celardo's art is similar to Carmine Infantino's, but less quirky and interesting.

Awesome Cover: Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #125

Jimmy Olsen acts like a callous shit on the cover of Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #125, by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson.

Random Review: All-Star Squadron #2

"The Tyrant out of Time!" by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway, cover art by Joe Kubert.

The newly-formed All-Star Squadron attempt to rescue the Justice Society of America from the clutches of a time-travelling tyrant called Per Degaton.

Good fun, with nice art by Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway, but the story gets too bogged down with recapping the characters' origin stories.