That's from the opening scene, which sees Jimmy glumly stuck in bed, recovering from being turned into a caveman last issue, but he's immediately interrupted when that big purple monster busts in. It's a great two-page spread, made even funnier by the redrawn image of Jimmy, who, in contrast to everyone else's terrified expressions, seems annoyed and pissed off:
It turns out that this bug-eyed weirdo, who the Newsboy Legion have named Angry Charlie, is a leftover monster from the Evil Factory that they've turned into a sort of mascot. Hey, why not?
Anyway, the caper in Scotland settled, Jimmy and pals head back across the Atlantic in the Whiz Wagon, but manage to end up in trouble on the way there when a volcano erupts out of the ocean, a giant platform comes out:
And they get captured by "pseudo-men":
I love the imagery there, with the perspective making the scale of that platform seem crazily huge. And those freaky guys, with their faceless masks swirling with Kirby dot energy. I love this stuff. It turns out this is part of a plan by a villain named Victor Volcanum (another nattily-dressed goofball who chugs "liquid fire" from a goblet) to take over the world, which prompts one of the Newsboys to say "Now really, sir! That's the kind of premise sold in "golden age" comics!!" I don't know if this guy is from Apokolips or not, but next issue (which is the last Jimmy Olsen in the volume, and in the Fourth World saga, apparently) will let us know, I'm sure.
In the other half of the issue, Superman gets sucked through a boom tube and ends up on New Genesis. At first, they think he's an invader from Apokolips, so they have the obligatory fight scene, but once their differences are settled, he gets to explore, as he's been wanting to do since he got a glimpse of Supertown way back in Forever People #1. It's a nice scene, as he blunders around like a yokel, not used to being among people who are as super as he is. It's a funny contrast to stuff like the Superman story in Wednesday Comics, in which he whines about being an alien among humans or whatever. Here, he's an prideful god among gods, still trying to show off his super powers, rescue people from danger, and fight threats, even though nobody seems to think he's special. It's pretty hilarious to see the great Superman bumble around and make a fool of himself as soon as he's around other superbeings. And it's also interesting to see the natives who are so comfortable in their element, glorying in their amazing abilities and magnificent technology. Yes, as much as Superman claims to long to be among his own kind, he's obviously much more comfortable on Earth, where everybody worships him and constantly reminds him of his awesomeness.
Good times. Next up: the Forever People in "The Power!"
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Oh, and no 100 Bullets thing tonight; sorry to disappoint. Maybe tomorrow? Or Saturday? Or whenever.
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