I'm a fan of the contemporary version that shows him as a giant beast of a man barely contained inside his suit, yet always poised and controlled. He's like the Mr. Hyde to Lex Luthor's Dr. Jekyll, if both Jekyll and Hyde were utter bastards with great tailors.

I mean, this guy is the world's first murderer. He's an immortal caveman who has been killing and conniving for centuries. He has seen the whole history of humankind (and he's probably the first guy Mr. Terrific should go talk to). He's got a great origin, and a name that sounds like it comes from the Awful Early '90s but actually first appeared in 1943.

But he is rarely done well. I guess his rather narrow villainous focus makes him too predictable to write. That final Flash storyline with Savage running a super-powered orphanage of brainwashed Stepford kids was terrible. At least he fares better than the Ultra-Humanite.

This JSA Classified storyline is a great idea, and touches on all the little things that make Vandal Savage sort of a one-man Ra's al Ghul. What happens when you take everything away from the man who has it all.

But boy, I cannot stand Paul Gulacy's artwork here.

Infinite Crisis Secret Files 2006 One of the big criticisms levelled at Infinite Crisis is the "artist jam" problem that plagues each issue. I've read DC repeatedly try to whitewash it, but it seems obvious that multiple coordination problems led them to hire multiple artists and inkers to complete books that one core team couldn't have finished in time. It is disconcerting to read a book where the artist changes every five pages, even if they are all trying to play it safe and maintain a similar art style.

This is one of the worst offenders, although they tried to divide the artists (different pencillers finishing Dan Jurgens' layouts) into different chapters precisely so it wouldn't get annoying. Unfortunately, the chapters are not visually distinct at all, all featuring the same characters in the same settings, so it still reads like one single story with a handful of artists.

It's unfortunate, because a story as interesting and controversial as Infinite Crisis doesn't need to get broadsided with management issues and all the fanboy complaints that arise from that. Nevertheless, the artist switching in this story even confuses which Superman is in any given panel... and when the reader has trouble telling apart Superman-1 vs. Superman-2 vs. Superboy-Prime, you've got a mess.

Anyway. I liked the revelation of the Alex / Darkseid connection, even though I'm not sure it makes much sense if you think about it. Naked Alex was creepy, however.

I LOVED the continued exploration into DC's post-Crisis history. The idea that all of DC's retcons and revamps and rebirths were caused by Superboy Prime punching his way through the dimensional barriers is like a validation. It makes me feel good that I was there with DC through all that crap. I was there when Dr. Magnus was turned into a Metal Man. I was there when Atom-Smasher pulled his murderous switch on Extant. I was there when Superman went electric blue. I was there when Donna Troy was a Darkstar. I was there during Tim Truman's Hawkworld revamp, the all-grim Challengers of the Unknown miniseries, and when Jonah Hex was sent into the future. It's just nuts to see DC referencing all of that, and yet keeping it far enough in the background that it really wouldn't put off anybody who hasn't been reading DC books for the last 20 years.

One of the surprises of Infinite Crisis is Alex Luthor. Back in COIE, he was mainly a wide-eyed kid who happened to be a conduit of incredible power. He was born in that series specifically to save the day. Turns out, after all these years, he is a Luthor. There is a page where crazy Superboy Prime goes for Alex's neck... and Alex just looks down his nose at the fiery young hero without betraying fear or submission or any loss of control. That boy is a Luthor. I think that has been a great, unexpected story tool for Infinite Crisis.

Fantastic Four: First Family #2 Around the time of the FF movie last summer, we saw a bunch of quick cash-in FF books. That is to be expected... and I can't think of many characters who deserve additional shelf space more than the Fantastic Four. This 6 issue miniseries is the series that should have been out a year ago, because it is a superb "first look" at the team.

Yes, it's another origin story. But what makes this different is that this series takes place inbetween the pages of the original Stan Lee/Jack Kirby Fantastic Four Issue Number Freaking One. It's not just a quick revisit of the spaceship and cosmic rays and the all-for-one handshake. It manages to be both a modern reworking of the myth and a legitimate add-on to the original storytelling.

Once this series completes, I plan to read it in chronological sequence with the Lee/Kirby issues. Which, not coincidentally, I just picked up in Marvel's Essential Fantastic Four trade paperback.

By the way kids, Free Comic Book Day is coming up fast. Once again, this Saturday, you'll be able to walk into your local comic store and walk out with at least one free book (titles offered off a specific list, it's not Shoplift A Comic Day). It's a broad selection of genres and titles, which is actually pretty typical of FCBD. DC is cheaping out and doing reprints again - JLU #1 and Superman/Batman #1. But I will give them credit for doing two books, one that could be construed as kiddie and one that is mainstream DCU.

Marvel is offering a sampler of all-new material, which is a happy change from all the Ultimate [Noun] books they've done in past years. Their book headlines with a new 11 page X-Men/Runaways story... I quite liked the first collection of Runaways, but I'm far too separated from the characters to know what's going on currently. There's also a Franklin Richards bit, a Mighty Avengers preview and some kind of Ultimate Spidey plot recap (?). It would have been really easy for Marvel to reprint any recent X-Men book just to synergize with the X3 movie release, but they provided some all-new stuff and totally outclassed DC in the process.

I'll also be getting the Donald Duck reprint book (Don Rosa!) and the Wizard Special look at the top 100 trades of all time (Wizard blows, but I'd like to see their list.) And the Archie 65th Anniversary issue, just out of pure train wreck fascination. There's also some licensed stuff - Star Wars, Transformers, The Simpsons and lots and lots of independent books (which is where all the surprising stuff is found).

There is some debate as to who Free Comic Book Day actually benefits. Because, by and large, the only people who know about it are comic book fans. I mean, I'm all excited about it, and I'm already at the store dropping $20 a week. The idea is to get potential new readers (perhaps specifically kids) and abandoned old readers into the store for a free taste. I'm sure every year the event gets some minor media play in local newspapers with a blank inch in their Local Weekend section... but it's not like they do TV ads or billboards or anything. It's pretty much word-of-mouth from dedicated fans to new blood.

Consider yourself mouthed.