Tales from the 50 Cent Bein! - The Adventures of Superman Annual #7

Next up for the month, I had to get away from the Daily Planet and look at a couple of Metropolis’s Finest: Maggie Sawyer and Dan Turpin. These two were a part of Metropolis’s Special Crimes Unit. They were the cops who tried to handle the bigger threats the city would face. They were a major part of the Superman books in post-Crisis era.

Now, Maggie first showed up in Superman #4 (1987). She was a tough-as-nails cop who took no gruff from anyone. She was also a lesbian, something that was always there but not stated until the 90’s. After the 90’s, she was put in the Batman books for a long bit in the 2000’s. I guess Batman wanted another cool cop on his end too? Anyway, she’s recently made it back to the Superman books. Maggie has also been featured in the DCAU (it’s where I saw her first), Smallville, and most recently, Supergirl.

As for Dan Turpin, he’s a little more complicated but he was created by Jack Kirby. He first appeared with the Boy Commandoes as the character “Brooklyn” in Detective Comics #64 (1942). Then, he was brought back in 1971 for Jack Kirby’s DC run (New Gods #5). The story’s he’s probably most known for is Final Crisis where he was used as a new body for Darkseid. He’s also appeared in a few shows like Superman: The Animated Series and Smallville. He probably had one of the more memorable moments from STAS. I won’t spoil it, though.

Today’s issue is another one from 1995. I told you I got that era down, man! It’s The Adventures of Superman Annual #7. During this time, DC would try to do something with their Annuals for each year. In 1995, they did a Year One theme that showed the early days of the heroes. Once more, we have Karl Kesel as the writer. The funny thing is that I’m not done with “The Kesel Run” yet. Ron Wagner handles the pencils while Joe Rubinstein does the inks. So, what did happen during that second issue of 1986’s The Man of Steel? Apparently, a lot.

The Adventures of Superman Annual #7

Writer: Karl Kesel

Pencils: Ron Wagner

Inks: Josef Rubinstein

Colors: Linda Medley

Letters: Albert DeGuzman

Editors: Mike Carlin and Chris Duffy

“Truth and Justice”

We start out with the first robbery event from The Man of Steel #2. Lois tries to get an interview with Superman, but she just missed him. She ends up doing a lot of that missing since more headlines pop up about Superman’s exploits. Meanwhile, Metropolis PD is trying to figure out what to make of Superman. Dan Turpin doesn’t know what to think and their SWAT leader, Greg, is immediately distrustful of Superman. Maggie Sawyer, on vacation from Star City, shows up and gets in on the conversation. She ends up sticking up for Superman, peeving off Greg, and impressing Dan.

Meanwhile, Superman helps out Inspector Henderson with finding a killer. He helps the cops investigate the crime scene and is able to sense the killer driving off. In some cool fashion, he’s able to take down the assassin. While Superman has done good in taking down crime, Henderson wonders how will crime now adapt since Superman is in town. We find that out easily by seeing a meeting with Intergang. Bruno Manheim has taken over his father’s old group. When the other members start talking back at him, he pulls out his secret weapon: Kalibak, the son of Darkseid. He after he kills most of them, Manheim decides to go out and take on Superman with Kalibak’s help.

We then cut to a fancy hotel where Clark Kent is staying at for now. Suddenly, Intergang takes Clark, Maggie (who was also staying there) and others hostage. Since he can’t change into costume, Clark trips the fire alarm to let the police know something’s up. The cops show up and try to do their thing. They try to enter through the roof, but Kalibak cuts them off. Their battle gives a distraction for Clark to change into Superman. He tries to take on Intergang, but is hit back by their advanced tech.

On the roof, Turpin ends up taking on Kalibak by himself. It’s a tough battle, but Dan is able to take down Kalibak with the interesting use of a grenade. As for Superman and Intergang, there’s a standoff and Manheim even uses a weird substance to set Superman on fire. Luckily, the fire department’s around and Superman easily disarms the gang. Knowing he’s defeated, Manheim is able to boom tube Kalibak and himself out of there.

At the end, Turpin and the injured cops are taken to the hospital. Maggie ends up getting interviewed by Toby Raines, someone who became her partner in later years. The next day, we get a re-do of the end of The Man of Steel #2 where Lois gets her interview and Clark acts like a dick and gets her story… well, he did! Later, Clark meets with Turpin, Henderson, and Greg and tells them that he’ll do his best to be upfront with them. When he leaves, Henderson asks if Turpin is up for a new division called the Special Crimes unit. The story ends with Turpin saying that Maggie should lead the unit.

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I thought that this was a pretty good annual. The writing and dialogue was pretty good here. It seems like Karl Kesel knew what to do when it came to Dan Turpin and Maggie Sawyer. Those two were handled pretty well. We get to see how those two met and how they got inducted into the Special Crimes Unit. It was cool to see what else Superman was up to in his early years. It was also nice to revisit that early time. The Man of Steel only covered so much, so it was cool that we got more here. It was interesting to see how Clark would interact with the cops and we see the effect his arrival has on the city. Intergang and Kalibak provided a nice threat for Superman and the police.

Cool image from a cool page.

The artwork was pretty good for the most part. While Wagner does have that 90’s vibe going for it, it still works. Yeah, Intergang’s weapons looked goofy but everything else was nice. I also liked that Wagner tried to recreate what John Byrne did art-wise. Lois was sporting that hair and that 80’s fashion sense. The action scenes were pretty good. I wondered if this guy worked on any Captain America comics because his stuff does look a little familiar.  Overall, the artwork’s good but it has the 90’s flair.

As for any qualms, I don’t have many. Yeah, Greg Reagan, the SWAT leader, is annoying, but that’s who he’s supposed to be. We also get the return of annoying Lois from the Byrne years. Why did that part need to be recreated? It’s literally lifted from MOS, so I can’t blame Kesel for this one. Also, you’ll have  a little wonkiness in the art here and there. Kalibak does look a little inconsistent at times. Other than those things, this was a good annual.

Well, that’s all I for tonight. As for these two supporting characters, I liked them. Maggie was one who was seemed to know what to do in most situations. She took no gruff from anyone. Dan’s that old guy on the force who’s seen it all. Just because he’s older, it doesn’t mean he can’t pack a punch. When it comes to the media, Superman: The Animated Series did them well. I’m also liking Maggie on Supergirl since I’m right in Season 2 now. Well, those are two more down. Until then, Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there.

NEXT TIME: EITHER CAT GRANT OR SUPERGIRL!!