Earth 2 #22 - A Review

The cover of Earth 2 #22 is somewhat misleading.  Based on it, one might conclude this issue would feature Green Lantern fighting hordes of Parademons.  In truth, Green Lantern does appear briefly at the start of the issue but only to confirm that - despite all appearances to the contrary several months ago - he is still alive and well.


The main focus of this issue is on Lois Lane (restored to life in a robot body known as The Red Tornado) and the Kryptonian Val-Zod.  An agoraphobic raised in a space capsule and imprisoned underground, Val is an innocent who has just been exposed to the outside world for the first time and is only now beginning to show signs of the powers that Kryptonians display under Earth's yellow sun.  There is a magical sequence where Lois tries to teach Val how to fly which evokes memories of Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder.  This sort of sequence is the bread and butter of writer Tom Taylor, who has made this book his own following James Robinson's departure from this title.


The artwork by Nicola Scott and Trevor Scott is as amazing as the story.  I've said repeatedly that The Scotts are one of the most underrated art teams in the business and I will stand by that statement.  It is a crime they have not been nominated for an Eisner for their work on this title.