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Mild Mannered Reviews - Smallville

Smallville #2

Scheduled to arrive in stores: May 21, 2003

Cover date: July 2003

Reviewed by: Neal Bailey (baileyn@attbi.com)

Cover Art - 2: This is nowhere near as dynamic or cool as the first one, although I love Chloe's picture, and the hint of Metropolis PD was enticing, though we never saw such a scene in the episodes. And words on the cover? It just isn't my thing, for the most part. Nice logo.

Sam Jones III: Superman's Pal

Writer: Rob Allstetter
Pictures: Kharen Hill, Bryan Cyr

Article - 2: This is basically an interview with Sam Jones per other issues in the series thus far, mostly self-lauditory and summary of information that most fans can find rather easily through being attentive or checking the internet periodically. I'm not too fond of these, as I've indicated before, but this one was interesting to an extent for the sheer fact that we learn that Gough and Millar actually had detailed and factual character sheets that they used to brief the actors on their characters as opposed to just giving them a script, something I've wondered aloud, from time to time. Not much, but worth a point.

Photos - 3: Nothing amazing here, nothing horrible, just stock photos of Jones in various poses, and one with Clark.

Beauty

Writer: Mark Verheiden and Clint Carpenter
Pencils: Renato Guedes
Inks: Oclair Albert

At the Mrs. Smallville beauty pageant, Lana and Chloe discuss how at one point in time, Lana was a contender in beauty contests, though this was a long time ago.

Clark and Pete mill about helping. Pete points out to Clark that he is ogling Lana, but Clark points out to Pete that he is ogling Holly Gehrig.

Chloe starts to interview a girl named Rachel about the pageant, when her mother, Brenda, shows and takes her away in a snooty huff. Lana tells Chloe that the pair are fiercely competitive.

All hear a scream, and report to the dressing room from whence it came to find Holly Gehrig, her dress burned, with the words "QUIT NOW" etched into her mirror.

Lana, while helping Holly up, tells Chloe that Holly is the third of three generations to attempt to win the Mrs. Smallville pageant, and the last two generations won.

Pete tells Clark he suspects Brenda and Rachel, but Clark doesn't think a beauty pageant would be enough to drive someone to threats. Pete stays to rig the lights and Clark leaves.

Later, Clark meets Lana in the rain.

While this is going on, Pete helps finish rigging the lights, and he notices Brenda going down under the stage. He follows her, and someone shuts the door on them. They find themselves in a sewer. Brenda isn't behind anything. A note tricked her into coming down, telling her that she would be able to find the person behind the pageant sabotage if she met someone down there.

Later, Ma and Pa Kent tell Clark Pete has gone missing. Clark is perplexed.

At the Talon, he talks with Lex. Lex suggests that Pete's parents pressuring him towards being an attorney might have made him depart, but if he suspects foul play, why not investigate.

Chloe tells Lana that she's found out that Rachel is a chemist. Lana still believes the best in Rachel, and refuses to consider that she is behind things.

She goes to Rachel's dressing room, finding Holly putting her hand through the mirror...she has an acid touch.

Holly moves to rearrange Lana's face.

Chloe and Clark arrive, and Holly uses her touch to escape through the wall.

Lana tells Clark about the tunnels beneath the stage, and Clark finds Pete and Brenda there, just as the water is filling the tunnel. Clark rips off the door, saves them, and the stage bursts apart and falls down.

Behind the stage, Clark and Holly face off. Holly burns Clark's shoulder, and Clark throws her to the ground. The rest of the stage starts creaking and falls in. Clark shields Holly, but he is the only one that rises from the rubble.

A week later, Rachel wins Mrs. Smallville. Lana and Clark agree never to drift apart like she and Holly did.

Story - 1: Well, let's see. A freak of the week, a beauty pageant, characters that are barely mentioned and look alike, making the story confusing, stages that break and fall without any reason (acidic undermining? Perhaps, but where is it shown?), another teen that goes homicidal for no reason, what went wrong here?

Further, if there were a sewer beneath a trapdoor of a stage, water rot would have destroyed said stage years ago, especially if it fills up once a day, or when the plot finds it convenient.

Lex is thrown in for the sake of Lex, but he doesn't really say anything memorable. We have a whammy, a girl everyone knows, and well, but now she's dead, and Brenda knows Clark's secret.

Crummy.

Art - 4: While this art can be critiqued for trying to be too lifelike, I think it accurately captured the feel of the people involved, and it does its job more than adequately. No problems here...

Allison Mack: Super-girl Reporter

Writer: Mike McAvennie
Photos: Kharen Hill and Timothy White

Article - 1: Basically, this is another self-congratulatory interview. Despite the fact that this is with the hottest woman on Smallville, I didn't find much enlightening that I didn't already know. Chloe is like Lois? Wow, really? Lana plus Chloe equals Lois Lane? This was once a fairly intriguing insight, but it's been done. It's good that Allison knows her character, and that she responds well to questions, but it doesn't tell us anything new at all.

Photos - 5: The third page isn't anything great. Page one is a fantastic shot. Page two is hands down the best photographic image of Chloe/Allison I've ever seen. Hello, Cleeeeeeeevage. I hate to be crass, but man, LOOK at that SHOT!

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Writer: Clint Carpenter
Pencils: Tom Derenick
Inks: Norm Rapmund

Chloe Sullivan finds it difficult to adjust to her new internship at the Daily Planet. There are numerous chores, little or no writing, and a man named Ron has caught her eye, but she can't bring herself to talk to him.

She finds herself at a desk, working for Managing Editor Grant McKinnon's office, answering phones, and she overhears the editor berating Ron for his work on the Intertech contracts.

Chloe takes Ron's evidence and decides to help him out on her own. All he needs is a connection between mob boss Harvey Stitch and Intertech CEO Edgar Huff.

She finds Huff's office, and uses a fake badge to get past a secretary and access information that will help the story.

Pete meets with Chloe in Metropolis later to help, with the aid of Lex, who has building plans for the Huff building. Huff had Lex thrown out of Metropolis University as a joke, and Lex wants to teach him humility.

They break in and bypass security to see a meeting between Huff and Stitch. Chloe takes a picture, and the noise attracts the attention of the men. They go after Pete and Chloe. Pete punches a goon who corners Chloe, and they exit, post haste. Lex meets them outside in his car, and they depart, at speeds beyond the speed limit.

Chloe drops the information in Ron's box and the story is printed.

Later, Chloe calls Clark and they talk. While they do, Ron introduces Chloe to her fiancee, a gorgeous looking woman named Rayna. Chloe sighs and moves on with life.

Story - 4: Minus one for noble characters breaking and entering, but otherwise, a fairly entertaining story. It doesn't explain, as promised, why Chloe lost her internship, but it is exciting, there are no krypto-freaks, and Chloe is, well, Chloe, instead of some jealous she-wench. I also like Lex going bad...a nice touch. Fun, and worth the read.

Art - 3: The same basic style as the last story, but Chloe seemed a bit too plain. Maybe it's personal bias, but Chloe is more attractive than she is portrayed here. She is made out to be a plain looking business woman, but even as a plain business woman, she would carry it well. It just didn't sit well with me.

Smallville Episode Guide, Season One, Continued

Writer: Jami Bernard
Photos: Shane Harvey

Article - 5: This summarizes Hourglass and Craving, and it does so well. I much prefer the Superman Homepage version of this very service (plug, plug), but this one is adequate if you are looking for one that is aesthetic and written to serve.

Photos - 3: Nothing amazing, nothing bad. Stock pictures, basically, from the episodes.

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