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Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #1 (Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, #1) by Steve Lieber, Matt Fraction
breakfastgrey's review against another edition
4.0
This book is long, weird, and both brilliantly stupid and stupidly brilliant. It takes a fairly straight forward plot but then tells it in the most pointlessly overcomplicated manner possible. But that's part of the gag. Super clever and referential, but also absolutely bonkers crazy, this book is simultaneously a ritalin soaked romp and a slow procedural. But it all works. Mostly. Fraction is the perfect choice to bring this sort of story to life and Lieber's just as inspired a pick. Between this and the Spencer series from years ago, it's hard to not be sad that DC doesn't dust off Jimmy Olsen books more often.
albertico66's review against another edition
3.0
mostly here for the steve lieber's fantastic illustration style. wasn't really feeling the plot (definitely could have been shorter than 12 issues)
garnetguardian's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
harlivy's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
dantastic's review against another edition
4.0
Who killed Jimmy Olsen? That's what Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen, is trying to find out...
When I saw the Hawkeye band was getting back together, I decided I'd be reading this. It was agony waiting for the trade.
This twelve issue miniseries is a loveletter to the Silver Age craziness of Jimmy Olsen, updated for the modern age. Jimmy Olsen wakes up married in Gorilla City and things spiral from there. Someone is gunning for Superman's Pal, but why? Jimmy's quest takes him to Gotham City and beyond with cameos and hilarity for most of the way.
I've seen this touted as the best book DC has put out in years. For me, that honor still goes to the Flintstones but this was still an easy four star read. For one thing, for a book this densely written, it still dragged in places. For another, the disjointed structure was fairly unnecessary. Apart from one comment about the nature of time from Professor Keenbean (not his real name), the time jumps took me out of the story rather than make me hunger for what was happening next.
Still, it was a pretty fun read. I enjoyed Metamorpho's role as well as Jimmy's prank war with Batman and callbacks to a lot of old Jimmy Olsen stuff. Plus Enemy Ape!
While it didn't quite live up to the hype for me, Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen falls somewhere in between All Star Superman and The Flintsones in the pantheon of great DC books of the last 20 years. Four out of five bowties.
When I saw the Hawkeye band was getting back together, I decided I'd be reading this. It was agony waiting for the trade.
This twelve issue miniseries is a loveletter to the Silver Age craziness of Jimmy Olsen, updated for the modern age. Jimmy Olsen wakes up married in Gorilla City and things spiral from there. Someone is gunning for Superman's Pal, but why? Jimmy's quest takes him to Gotham City and beyond with cameos and hilarity for most of the way.
I've seen this touted as the best book DC has put out in years. For me, that honor still goes to the Flintstones but this was still an easy four star read. For one thing, for a book this densely written, it still dragged in places. For another, the disjointed structure was fairly unnecessary. Apart from one comment about the nature of time from Professor Keenbean (not his real name), the time jumps took me out of the story rather than make me hunger for what was happening next.
Still, it was a pretty fun read. I enjoyed Metamorpho's role as well as Jimmy's prank war with Batman and callbacks to a lot of old Jimmy Olsen stuff. Plus Enemy Ape!
While it didn't quite live up to the hype for me, Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen falls somewhere in between All Star Superman and The Flintsones in the pantheon of great DC books of the last 20 years. Four out of five bowties.
raul3893's review against another edition
3.0
The start was a bit weak but I got into it pretty quickly, mainly when the prank war started, but that was pretty short lived since it definitely did not need to be 12 issues long, by the 75 mark I was bored and the charm of the book was annoying, because the b plots they added to make the comic last 12 issues were really boring, and meant that the mystery had no real progress since jimmy olsen was go girl give us nothing since he was not investing into his own murder. Eventually I would like to reread it but definitely while reading something else since I enjoyed the ending because I knew the book was finally going to end
kevinowenkelly's review against another edition
5.0
The Jimmy Olsen book I didn't know I wanted, let alone needed.
A fast paced and irreverent story that jumps time periods almost as much as its short vignettes jump scenes, the book is loaded with great writing, background gags, and some large scale comedic chaos, all woven together in a fun whodunit that manages to bring a lot of heart to central figure Jimmy Olsen.
The art is exceptional, offering wonderfully expressive facial reactions, great comedic staging and poses, and some really deft stylistic shifts throughout. And just as the story is replete with little nuggets of humor, so too is the art, tempting you to slow down and really examine every panel even as the story tries to propel you forward to the next zany plot.
It even manages to tie into the many ongoing Superman books at the time (The Invisible Mafia of Action Comics, Superman's big reveal, the investigation in Lois Lane maxiseries, and even the big Leviathan event), sometimes with simple references, but also offering some big solutions of its own to cement some continuity of its own in the wider Superverse. Oh, and in an act of brazen fourth-wall trolling, Jimmy even ruthlessly spoils the big mystery of the Leviathan event, so if you want to get the full effect of that, definitely read it first (it originally came out concurrently, and this book beat the reveal in the event).
I read these in single issue format, but kind of wish I had read the trade; each issue is made up of a lot of short stories, and with the issues themselves already broken up so much, the ads in the floppies can be particularly disruptive. I also found the books a bit uneven, even if all of them were great; it felt like a few issues ended prematurely, or a few stories, and I was left flipping through the issue to make sure I wasn't missing a page or something. Those are incredibly petty complaints though, and I imagine those 'problems' are largely erased by reading it in trade format though.
The only other thing I'll mention is that this book is kicked off with a short story in the Leviathan Rising #1 Special, and I'm not sure if that's included in the trade or not. But it's definitely worth looking into, laying a lot of the threads that come up in the book (which the book will explain, so you don't have to read it), but it's also a particularly hilarious story that will really set the tone for what to expect with this book, so I'd highly recommend grabbing a copy or reading it online first.
A fast paced and irreverent story that jumps time periods almost as much as its short vignettes jump scenes, the book is loaded with great writing, background gags, and some large scale comedic chaos, all woven together in a fun whodunit that manages to bring a lot of heart to central figure Jimmy Olsen.
The art is exceptional, offering wonderfully expressive facial reactions, great comedic staging and poses, and some really deft stylistic shifts throughout. And just as the story is replete with little nuggets of humor, so too is the art, tempting you to slow down and really examine every panel even as the story tries to propel you forward to the next zany plot.
It even manages to tie into the many ongoing Superman books at the time (The Invisible Mafia of Action Comics, Superman's big reveal, the investigation in Lois Lane maxiseries, and even the big Leviathan event), sometimes with simple references, but also offering some big solutions of its own to cement some continuity of its own in the wider Superverse. Oh, and in an act of brazen fourth-wall trolling, Jimmy even ruthlessly spoils the big mystery of the Leviathan event, so if you want to get the full effect of that, definitely read it first (it originally came out concurrently, and this book beat the reveal in the event).
I read these in single issue format, but kind of wish I had read the trade; each issue is made up of a lot of short stories, and with the issues themselves already broken up so much, the ads in the floppies can be particularly disruptive. I also found the books a bit uneven, even if all of them were great; it felt like a few issues ended prematurely, or a few stories, and I was left flipping through the issue to make sure I wasn't missing a page or something. Those are incredibly petty complaints though, and I imagine those 'problems' are largely erased by reading it in trade format though.
The only other thing I'll mention is that this book is kicked off with a short story in the Leviathan Rising #1 Special, and I'm not sure if that's included in the trade or not. But it's definitely worth looking into, laying a lot of the threads that come up in the book (which the book will explain, so you don't have to read it), but it's also a particularly hilarious story that will really set the tone for what to expect with this book, so I'd highly recommend grabbing a copy or reading it online first.
wesleystephen's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25