Of their new unique graphic novel Jimmy Olsen’s SuperCyclopedia, author Gabe Soria and artist Sandy Jarrell reposition Jimmy as an identification character not only for the world of Superman, however for the entire of DC’s fictional universe and, certainly, DC Comics historical past generally.

After we first meet their model of Jimmy, who’s right here portrayed as Black, as he has been in a number of latest Superman TV exhibits, he’s watching the Justice League battle their big starfish enemy, Starro, little yellow textual content bins instructing readers to “See entry: Justice League” or “See entry: Starro the Conqueror” and so forth as every character is highlighted. This aspect will proceed all through the ebook, which is actually a personality information to DC Comics embedded inside a enjoyable, fast-paced narrative.

On the finish of that first chapter, we get two pages from the SuperCyclopedia itself, providing a half-dozen entries highlighting every of the heroes we’ve simply met, brief entries providing a defining portrait of the topic drawn by Jarrell after which a couple of key information (location, background, powers & talents, and many others.)

This format will proceed all through the ebook.

So, um, what’s the SuperCyclopedia, precisely? The second chapter particulars its origins and the way it ended up in Jimmy’s arms. The New Gods of New Genesis, having witnessed superb sights all through DC historical past, create “a compendium to file and protect in a single place the information of all exceptional folks, locations, occasions and objects within the universe.”

They resolve to provide it the form of a ebook, and, at warrior god Orion’s solutions that “This ebook ought to have the ability to battle,” it’s additionally able to teleportation via Growth Tubes and summoning hard-light holograms of the superheroes it comprises entries of. And Jarrell, naturally, offers it the look of know-how designed by artist Jack Kirby who, in fact, created the New Gods themselves.

In search of somebody inquisitive, courageous and honorable to own the ebook (and fill it with future entries), they toss it right into a Growth Tube to decide on its personal proprietor, and, after touring across the universe, it finally ends up bonking Jimmy Olsen on the pinnacle.

The ebook attracts the eye of Toy Boy, a brand new, de-aged model of Superman villain Toy Man. (He’s considered one of a number of characters whom the creators de-age to raised match right into a story with a teenage protagonist like Jimmy. A couple of different characters, just like the title character, have their races swapped, and a few have their gender identities modified, like Klarion the Witch Boy turning into the non-binary Klarion the Witch Child.)

Toy Boy befriends Jimmy simply lengthy sufficient to get his arms on the SuperCyclopedia, which he then tosses into “a 5D replicator,” leading to a stack of bootleg evil reverse books, entitled the Sinister-Cyclopedia!

These Toy Boy passes out to the members of his Mischief League of the Multiverse: Bizarro Junior, Mr. Mxyzptlk, Superb Godfrey, Mr. Thoughts, and the aforementioned Klarion. They instantly set out on their secret mission to make use of the books for nefarious functions.

In the meantime, Jimmy turns to his mates Linda Park and Rip Hunter (right here each offered as teenagers), and utilizing the SuperCyclopedia and Rip’s Time Rider (a “mixture time machine/spaceship/leisure car”), they set about searching for to thwart the Mischief League.

This results in an journey that may discover the assorted corners of the DC Universe, introduce its many heroes and villains, and result in the types of insane adventures solely the twenty first Century model of Jimmy Olsen would discover himself in. You already know, positive, he may find yourself on the Rock of Eternity or Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, however he may also discover himself in a future dance-off, main the Legion of Substitute Heroes towards (the tremendous free) Golden Age villain Ragdoll and the hypnotized Legion of Tremendous-Heroes.

In each its loopy storyline and its SuperCyclopedia entries, the ebook is an unapologetic love letter to DC Comics, a must-read masterpiece for followers and, due to these entries, a wonderful, entry-level information to the long-lived comics writer and the numerous genres it’s revealed through the years. Past straight superheroes, for instance, we additionally get appearances from Captain Carrot and his Zoo Crew, Warlord, Angel and The Ape, and Cain and In a position; regardless of the few revamps and rejiggerings talked about above, nearly the entire characters who seem achieve this of their hottest, most traditional, unique varieties.

Like Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s now traditional All-Star Superman, which Soria and Jarrell acknowledge in a few locations right here, SuperCyclopedia takes the entire wild weirdness of its title character’s unique comics and remixes them into one thing trendy, recent and very important.

It subsequently reads a bit like a theoretical All-Star Jimmy Olsen, albeit blended with a youngsters model of the previous Who’s Who within the DC Universe and that includes a Disaster on Infinite Earths price of visitor stars, together with a number of the extra obscure characters you’ll be able to consider.

That’s, in fact, simply one other means of claiming Jimmy Olsen’s SuperCyclopedia isn’t solely an ideal comedian, deserving of equally turning into a perennial traditional, however a definitional Jimmy Olsen comedian. Amongst different issues, it’s the story of precisely what it takes to be Superman’s greatest good friend; not superpowers or alien origins, however atypical human virtues like persistence, curiosity, braveness, and a need to do the precise factor.

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