Welcome to One-Shots, a weekly book club where we read and discuss a single issue with little to no context needed!
This week we’ll be reading Jimmy Olsen (2011) #1 You can find it here .
The discussion will remain open until March 7th . However, this topic will remain open to reply to after that in case you need more time.
Discussion Questions:
Which of the different scenarios that Jimmy was placed in was your favorite?
There are many similarites between this book and the classic Jimmy Olsen stories of the Silver Age. Have you read any of those, and how do they compare to this more modern work?
This issue features the debut of Chloe Sullivan to the main DC Universe. Previously, she had been created for the television series Smallville. If you’ve seen Smallville, how well do you think the character transferred over? If not, who is your favorite comic character that debuted in another medium?
Out of all the stories, I think the day in the life of Co-Superman was my favorite. I enjoyed seeing how being extremely successful, wasn’t what Jimmy wanted in the end. At least not truly.
Yeah, I don’t read a lot of older comics. Can’t really answer this one.
The art for the whole series was by RB Silva. What other artists contributed. I think one inker came on halfway through, but it wasn’t much.
In total, I’d give this collection of back up stories a 6. It was wholesome but I struggled to get through it at times.
Which of the different scenarios that Jimmy was placed in was your favorite?
I think the whole “make the Earth as boring as possible” plan was probably the most ingenious and hilarious.
There are many similarites between this book and the classic Jimmy Olsen stories of the Silver Age. Have you read any of those, and how do they compare to this more modern work?
I’ve read a little, but I know of Jimmy’s SIlver Age stories more by reputation and by other writers playing with those ideas. For me, those modern takes on the Silver Age era are better because they feel more unique to what other books are doing at the time, and I think are just written better.
This issue features art from several different artists. Does this take away from the story, or do you think it can help?
Maybe it’s because I had previously read a chunk of these in the past when I read the Lex Luthor run of Action Comics for the Superman Book Club and kind of just skimmed those, but I didn’t really notice any change in artist. I don’t know if I wasn’t paying attention, or if maybe the inker or something was good at making everything look as uniform as possible. Or more likely it was a mix of both.
Give this story a rating on a scale of 1 to 10
I’ll give it a 8. I think it kind of slumps a little in the middle, but I liked that it was a story that was both whimsical and funny, but also had legitimately good character drama, and had something to say about love and relationships.
My favorite scenario was Jimmy saving the world in his underwear. I think it was funny that they brought back the original fight between him and Chloe at the beginning of the story and to see Jimmy in his Batman underwear.
I can honestly say I haven’t read many silver age comics so I can’t really compare how this version of Jimmy compares to his version in the silver age.
Chloe has some of the same determination to get to the bottom of a story as she did in Smallville. She even goes as far as to interview Sebastien just to find out what kind of plan he was up to. I think the most well know person to come from another medium is Harley Quinn.
I would give this story a 7. It had its moments that I really enjoyed such as seeing Jimmy being a co-Superman and how his life was not at all what he was use to, and also some moments that didn’t really feel like a Jimmy story such as Chloe also having a watch but one that actually works when she needs it too.
I’m pulling it up so I can re-read it now. I am not sure it was put away correctly last time I read it, so it might take me a while to find my physical copy. That’s why I am going to the digital one.
Ok. Just got done reading. Discussion question time.
I’m pretty keen on the partying aliens who get drunk on oxygen. Jimmy concluding that he would have to bore them into leaving required some top-shelf nerd-fu, and good ol’ bowtie had the chops.
I haven’t really read many of those. I think I have a collected edition of some of the weirder ones somewhere. I do know that the Flying Newsroom was a real deal. I suppose I could say that the pure silver-age weirdness of those comics, while no longer a prominent thing in modern comics, gave license to Nick Spencer (and later Matt Fraction) to interpret Jimmy Olsen as a weirdness magnet, an interpretation that has led to some really fun comics.
I didn’t watch Smallville, so I don’t know anything about Chloe Sullivan. I do know I liked her in this comic. My favorite comic character that debuted in another medium would have to be…Roxy Rocket, maybe? Wonder Twins? I don’t really know.
How would I rate this comic?
I think a 10. I think it is just about perfect. It succeeds at everything it tries to do in the most charming way. It really is a gem.
Highly entertaining, lots of the fun vibe that the current Jimmy Olsen is doing is also right here 9 years or so prior! If you like Nick Spencer’s other stuff, ya gotta sample this humongous single comic!!
Which scenario is fav? Wow, tough one. I thought the fifth dimensional imp-lady was a lot of fun. In “second place” for sure the alien “invasion” of beings that get drunk breathing in oxygen was just classic Spencer silliness.
Silver Age Jimmy: Really, they aren’t similar as to what makes them entertaining. I pick up the occasional Jimmy Olsen 50’s and 60’s comic (and Lois Lane) because, while they often have moments meant to be humorous to the original '60s audience, they are a pleasure to read now because of the inherent history and record of the culture and fashions of that time.
So here we have a chuckle as Jimmy has the Flying Newsroom suped up for space travel; back then, lots of city news rooms had “flying newsrooms” but the Jimmy Olsen one had fun extra bells and whistles (like, as I recall, an actual office desk and typewriter in the helicopter).
Chloe…oh boy, as in the Smallville actress now doing time…well, I guess I’m glad you mentioned it, because it really didn’t dawn on me while reading most of it. I did recognize the attempt to make this Chloe look like the Smallville one.
Here’s a sad similarity. Much of what got the real life actress that played Chloe in trouble: was a super rich guy that she did evil deeds for, and here…a super rich guy is trying to win Chloe over. Maybe the actress should have read this comic, might have given her fair warning to run…
Rating: 10. This almost never lagged, I laughed heartily at a time that laughs are hard to come by.
You know what’s funny? For the longest time, outside of this one-shot, I’ve hated Nick Spencer’s other work. Like, his Morning Glories started out intriguing but suffered the Lost Effect, i.e so many mysteries you start to doubt he actually knows how to solve it. And the less said about Secret Empire, the better. shudder
His ASM is LOADS better, though that may be because I’ve hated so much of the previous Spider-Man runs for the past…decade that my bar is so low it practically hits the floor.
Oh, yeah, there’s THAT side of Nick’s stuff too for sure, and I also am not a fan of those runs - and none of those are cornball fun like ASM or this.
The other "FUN’ Nick that is hilarious good superhero / villain / dumb criminal fun include:
Superior Foes of Spiderman (with Steve Lieber on art)
The Fix (Image…soooo funny with artist Steve Lieber again)
Ant-man
