Superman #709 [Direct]

(May 2011)

Grounded Part Seven (Table of Contents)

Superman / comic story / 20 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

J. Michael Straczynski ; Chris Roberson

Pencils:

Eddy Barrows; Allan Goldman

Inks:

J. P. Mayer; Julio Ferreira

Colors:

Rod Reis

Letters:

John J. Hill

Content Information

Genre:

Superhero

Characters:

Superman; Super-Chief [Saganowahna]; Flash [Barry Allen]; Lex Luthor (flashback); Superboy [Conner Kent] (on TV); Kid Flash [Bart Allen] (on TV); Iron Munroe (on comic book); Flash [Wally West] (cameo); Flash [Jay Garrick] (cameo); Flash [John Fox] (cameo); XS (cameo); Boulder, Colorado

Synopsis:

Superman continues walking across the country, visiting Boulder, Colorado. After helping Super-Chief capture some criminals, he arrives in Boulder, just to find himself, the townspeople, and the town itself decked out in Kryptonian garb. He also hears a voice spouting Kryptonian facts at hyperspeed, and tracks it down to the Flash. After just managing to catch up to him, he figures out the problem is a Kryptonian headband that Flash is wearing, and removes it. Restored to normal, Flash explains what happened, and over dessert they discuss morality, and also both heroes' legacies.

Indexer Notes

Story continued from the previous issue, and continues in the next issue. This is not a co-writer situation, Roberson is working from Straczynski's plots; they gave him a rough outline that JMS had turned in for the remaining issues of the Grounded arc, which amounted to a sentence or two for each of the issues, spelling out in general terms where the issue would take place geographically, specific guest stars, etc.

When a waitress trips and spills food in front of Flash, he responds by saying "Happens to me all the time." And indeed, it happened in his first appearance in Showcase (DC, 1956 series) #4, when he first figured out he had speed powers by saving all the spilled food.

Superman's reference to young Lex Luthor "stealing forty cakes from the school's bake sale" is actually an inside reference to the old book "The Super Dictionary", a 1978 children’s book from Warner Educational Services that used DC Comics superheroes to define some 4,000 words. One of them was "forty", and to illustrate that, they had a picture of an adult Lex Luthor stealing forty cakes with this text: "When no one was looking, Lex Luthor took forty cakes. He took 40 cakes. That's as many as four tens. And that's terrible."

[House Advertisement] (Table of Contents)

promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

Credits

Script:

?

Pencils:

?

Inks:

?

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Indexer Notes

House ad for: Reign of Doomsday (Steel #1, The Outsiders #37, Justice League if America #55, Superman/Batman Annual #5, Superboy #6, and Action Comics #900). Appears on page 24 in this issue.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents)

Superman / letters page / 1.5 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Matt Idelson; Wil Moss

Letters:

typeset

Indexer Notes

Letters from Jeff Dyer, Chris Schmitt, Dennis G. Barnes, Robert L. Fraser, and Adam Lindhart.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents)

In the Spotlight / promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.5 page (report information)

Credits

Script:

?

Pencils:

?

Inks:

?

Colors:

?

Letters:

typeset

Indexer Notes

House ads for the following graphic novels: Green Lantern: Rebirth, Green Lantern: Secret Origin, and Green Lantern: No Fear.

Batwoman #1 Special Sneak Preview (Table of Contents)

Batwoman / promo (ad from the publisher) / 6 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

J. H. Williams III (co-writer); W. Haden Blackman (co-writer)

Pencils:

J. H. Williams III; Amy Reeder

Inks:

J. H. Williams III; ?

Colors:

Dave Stewart

Letters:

Todd Klein

Editing:

Mike Marts [as Michael Marts]; Janelle Siegel (associate)

Content Information

Genre:

Superhero

Characters:

Batwoman [Kate Kane]; Detective Maggie Sawyer; Felipe Lopez

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• from Batwoman (DC, 2011 series) #1 (November 2011) [preview of cover and first 5 pages]

Indexer Notes

Previews the cover and 5 pages of the upcoming series, said to be on sale in April, but was actually delayed until August.

DC Nation Comes to Chicago [March 16, 2011] (Table of Contents)

DC Nation / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

Credits

Script:

Ian Sattler

Pencils:

?

Inks:

?

Colors:

?

Letters:

typeset

Indexer Notes

Ian talks about the upcoming Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2), and the DC contributors attending it. Appears on page 34 in this issue.

[Ads] (Table of Contents)

advertisement / 5 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

?

Pencils:

?

Inks:

?

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Indexer Notes

Total of 5 one-page ads for: got milk? with Chris Bosh (milk, America's Milk Processors), WonderCon (comic convention, Comic-Con International), Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) (comic convention, ReedPop), 5 Prism (gum, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company), and Hero Factory (toy blocks, Lego). Appear in various places in this issue.