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Title: Stop the Presses!
Writer: Mark Evanier
Penciller: Neil Vokes
Inker: Terry Austin
Colorist: Marie Severin
Letterer: Lois Buhalis
Cover Art: Rick Burchett & Terry Austin
Release Date: October 8th, 1997
Cover Price: $1.95 U.S. / $2.75 Canada
Summary:
Reporters!
Various reporters in Metropolis try to solve a case.
Description:
Angela,
a TV reporter, is asking people on the street whether they feel safer with
Superman around or not. Angela's not really having good luck with this so far,
as the first person she tries to interview freaks out and refuses to be on
camera. As the man runs away, an Intergang assassin named LaRoque sends a robot
to destroy a Metropolis insurance company, thinking that if the attack doesn't
"finish Swanson off, it will smoke him out." It doesn't take much to
figure out that Swanson is that man who ran from the interview, but why did he
run and why is Intergang after our friend LaRoque? That's the mystery, my
friends!
Superman defeats the robot in no time at all
(which is no surprise), and Angela gets it all on camera. Back in the news room
as the story is being aired, Perry White remembers back when he was a reporter
he had to dig for a story. He later tells Angela that there's more to being a
reporter than looking for smoke and pointing a camera. Angela storms out of the
meeting, vowing to find a story and show Perry White he's wrong. Little does she
know is that if she goes looking for a story, she's proving Perry White right.
I'm not sure if this was intentional, but plot holes suck. She looks into the
man who didn't want to be on camera figuring there must be a story in his
refusal. That's right Angela, find that story!
Meanwhile, Clark Kent searches for information on
Intergang. He knows they are involved, since it was one of their robots that
attacked the insurance company. He finds that Swanson was a former bigwig in
Intergang who testified against them and then vanished. It's been rumored that
he joined under the FBI Witness Protection Program.
While Clark and Angela look into their stories,
the Intergang assassin, LaRoque, continues his search for Swanson, torching a
building when one of his sources doesn't give him any good info. Angela learns
that Swanson worked at the insurance company that was attacked earlier that day.
She tracks him down to his house, where LaRoque changes into a metallic flying
suit and attacks. LaRoque had been following her, using her basically as bait, I
guess. Superman hears a report of an explosion and flies to Swanson's rescue,
defeating LaRoque quickly as he would any foe. Superman offers LaRoque a deal:
Turn himself in after reporting to Intergang that Swanson was terminated.
Or walk away--whereupon Superman would let Intergang know that he failed and
leave him to deal with Intergang.
The story concludes with Angela getting her
scoop. Woo-Hoo. Angela also confessing to Perry that she doesn't feel good about
how she led the assassin to Swanson, which wasn't really her fault. Perry
reassures her that she did the right thing. He illustrates this by starting to
tell her about his early days as a reporter...
Review:
A
good story and all, but I really can't stand Neil Vokes' art. It doesn't fit the
story or Superman: TAS at all. It seems completely out of whack! Mark Evanier
writes a pretty good story, even though there is a few plot holes here and
there. Overall, a pretty good story almost ruined by the art.
Rating: 
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