Superman: Earth One
J. Michael Straczynski and Shane Davis, DC, $19.99 (136p) ISBN 978-1-4021-2468-4
This is DC's fourth try in the past 10 years to reintroduce Superman to a general audience. The story is familiar enough: Clark Kent shows up in Metropolis and becomes a reporter with the Daily Planet. No sooner has he settled into his role than an alien invasion forces him to introduce the world to Superman. The success of any reboot depends on how exciting the creative team can make the classic beats, and how fresh the updated elements feel. Writer Straczynski (Rising Stars) and artist Davis (Green Lantern) do well enough with the familiar parts of the story. Reporter Clark hits the right mild-mannered notes, and Superman looks and feels super. The updating has its moments as well. Davis's art is dynamic, and his costume design adds a few grace notes to the iconic red-and-blue union suit. Straczynski's introduction of an alien menace with personal ties to Superman's home planet of Krypton is inspired, too. But other revisions are awkward: Clark's job search (which includes legend-making tryouts with pro sports teams and brilliant interviews with Fortune 500 companies) requires inconsistent characterization, and the Web-free Daily Planet seems quaint for a 2010 newspaper. Nonetheless, the built-in audience of Superman die-hards and Straczynski fans should all be happy to see a new treatment of a classic hero. (Nov.)
Anne Frank, the Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography
Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón, Hill and Wang, $30 (160p) ISBN 978-0-8090-2685-2
The team that created the bestselling The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation reunites to produce a stunning biography of Anne Frank, a book as historically rigorous as it is personally engaging. The story begins with the youths of Anne's parents, Otto and Edith, then traces the family's trajectory through WWI, into WWII, and finally beyond it to Otto's postwar activities and his death in 1980. Anne's childhood is portrayed against the background of the Depression and the rise of Nazism. The narration mixes historical background and informative "snapshots" of events like Germany's Nuremberg Laws of 1935, Kristallnacht, and the concentration camps, with details about the Franks and their household. Personality and life are added not just through Anne's oft-quoted diary but other contemporary memoirs and narratives--all listed in a bibliography--along with a chronology of world events and Anne's life. The combination of history, memoir, and richly detailed graphic representations creates a powerful whole, a beautiful and important graphic novel that will be enjoyed by adults and children alike. (Sept.)
The Smurfs and the Magic Flute
Yvan Delporte and Peyo, NBM/Papercutz, $10.99 (64p) ISBN 978-1-59707-209-0; $5.99 trade paper ISBN 978-1-59707-208-3
Long before the Smurfs became a staple of Saturday morning cartoons, they first appeared in a Belgian comic in the late 1950s as supporting characters in the strip Johan and Peewit (Johan et Pirlouit). In this first adventure, Peewit, a young medieval court jester, stumbles upon a magic flute. Peewit loves all musical instruments, despite his music being horrendous, but his favorite is the magic flute, which emits such a bewitching tune that everyone who hears it starts dancing until they drop. While Peewit only uses the flute for pranks, villain Matthew Oilycreep steals the instrument for his own nefarious purposes. Peewit and his friend, Johan, set off in pursuit of Oilycreep, who's dancing villagers into a stupor and stealing their money. Wizard Master Homnibus recognizes the enchanted flute and sends the pair--via "hypo-kinesis"--to the Cursed Land populated with tiny blue people known as Smurfs. Peewit and Johan enlist the help of the Smurf leader, Papa Smurf, to take down Oilycreep and return the flute, a Smurf creation, back to its rightful owners. The Smurfs' timeless appeal, from their unique language to their strange blue hue, will certainly enchant a new generation, just in time for next summer's live action feature film. (Sept.)
