Superman’s Pal gets his own series and does a number on Metropolis.
Jimmy Olsen 1
Written by Matt Fraction
Pencils and Inks by Steve Lieber
Colored by Nathan Fairbaim
Daily Planet cub reporter and photographer Jimmy Olsen was, in the Silver Age, a lightning rod for craziness. He was constantly in trouble, requiring his pal, Superman, to help him get out of these jams.
When the Silver Age ended, so did the wacky antics of everyone’s favorite photog in favor of a more serious direction. But writer Matt Fraction is bringing back some of Jimmy’s crazier tendencies with this 12-issue maxiseries. And he starts off right away by showcasing one of Jimmy’s more famous alter-egos: Turtle Boy!
The destruction caused by Jimmy turning into a giant turtle, with a little help from the science types and Metamorpho, is swift and vast. He leaps out of a plane and ends up taking out a Metropolis landmark, all for the sake of some video clips on the Daily Planet web site. While Perry White initially tries to fire Jimmy because he’s sending insurance premiums though the roof, the web hits he gets make it all worthwhile.
Fraction and the rest of the Superman team are clearly writing the Super-books as a tight family of stories this summer, with each book referencing the others. I love the continuity shown in these books, and the different tones of the series offer a variety that the Super-books haven’t seen in a long time. Paired with Greg Rucka’s LOIS LANE, Marc Andreyko on SUPERGIRL and Brian Bendis writing ACTION COMICS, SUPERMAN and EVENT LEVIATHAN, this is going to be a good year for the Super-family.