I finally got around to the comic book store and getting this comic. I was pretty hyped to get it, but having read it, I feel underwhelmed. The opening put me off in the first place, because I always assumed that Jimmy's last name was Danish. The name Olsen is Danish/Norwegian. Nothing against Swedes--my maternal grandfather came from Sweden--but I always thought it was cool that Jimmy had a Danish name, because you don't see many Danes represented in comics. And why bother going through the hoops with Olsson/Olsen? It's a good Scandinavian name as is.
Just seemed a lot of business for no real pay-off. And that's my basic complaint about this issue. I suppose all this business is set up for things to materialize down the line, but I found it all slowed down the comic and didn't leave much room for any action. Most of the exposition could have been cut down and you'd have a faster paced comic.
I liked the little vignettes about Jimmy's silly adventures--but those are like signs pointing off panel to things we should imagine--or just get SHOWCASE PRESENTS: THE SUPERMAN FAMILY to find out what that's all about. It goes to show what a great writer Otto Binder was--he made it look easy, but when other writers try to do the same feat, it's like pulling teeth.
The comic seemed to be broken up into three (maybe four) stories--like the old comics. But they could have gone harder with that and structured each part as a complete story, while still setting up events for the future.
I want to like this comic more, because it's trying to do something that I approve of. It feels like the habits of modern storytelling got in the way of what should have been a hardier presentation.
I liked the comic a lot, but I fundamentally agree with Jim Kelly here that it doesn't feel like there's any pay-off. I did appreciate the basic shtick of framing a single story with multiple zany parts as a pseudo-Silver Age comic. I thought that was fun. Still, I think I might agree about the Showcase Presents problem - like Jimmy is supposed to be really cool, but we see him do like, one really cool thing in the whole story, and it ends disastrously for him and the city. Like Jim said, it's almost like saying "read Silver Age comics for more context on Jimmy's alleged shenanigans!"
But don't get me wrong, I liked it. And I fundamentally can't complain. It's a Jimmy Olsen solo book! It sparks joy.
"You know the deal, Metropolis. Treat people right or expect a visit from me."
Ah, just like the old days of that previous volume.
I loved this so much. I thought it was filled with fun which a lot of books lack. I have no context for what Jimmy Olsen and his original comic used to be like, but I don't feel I'm missing anything. A hazy notion of the character based on contemporary readings of the Supes books gave me all I needed. I loved the...poppy...exposition, which seemed to be a callback to...yesteryear...found in probably older comics, as has been mentioned. I thought the art was great, and I found the cover to the variant to be phenomenal. In general, the comic gave me the same gut feeling I had after reading the Flintstones and Snagglepus first issues(not necessarily in terms of a stylistic or artistic response but emotional)--just a good well-written story filled with fun.