Superman: Rebirth #1 - A Review

Superman is dead. Yet another Superman lives. And Lana Lang will meet him as she tries to fulfill the final wishes of the Clark Kent she knew and loved, stealing his body from underneath the Superman memorial in Metropolis so that he can be buried next to The Kents in Smallville.
Apart from a flashback to the classic Death of Superman storyline, there isn't any action in Superman: Rebirth #1. What there is, however, is a remarkable character study of two different Supermen and the subtle differences between them. Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason tell a heart-felt tale that is about the heart of Superman and who he should be, no matter what universe he is from.
The artwork for this issue is equally amazing. Doug Mahnke's pencils are in fine form throughout. Jaime Mendoza's inks are perfectly applied, neither too thick nor thin. And Wil Quintana finds the perfect color for every moment.

Green Lantern Corps: Edge of Oblivion #4 - A Review

Trapped on a sentient planet in a dying universe, half of what remains of The Green Lantern Corps has been captured by Marniel - a terrorist threatening the lives of all those who dwell within The Last City. But could things really be that cut and dry? Is it possible The GLC has been on the wrong side this whole time and that their allies - the giants Dismas and Ausras - are not the benevolent forces they believe them to be?


Strange allies turning out to be the real enemy is an old cliche in space opera. Yet Tom Taylor's script manages a novel twist with this revelation. As this chapter ends, Guy Gardner remains unconvinced as to Marniel's innocence and - given the power Marniel shows - it's not hard to see how she might be manipulating the rest of the captured Corps members to her side, even if she's telling the truth about the giants being monsters.


Adrian Syaf proves a most capable replacement for Ethan Van Sciver, with Aaron Kuder providing the layouts for this issue. Jonathan Glapion and Jaime Mendoza provide a seamless continuity between their respectively inked pages. And Jason Wright does his usual amazing job on the colors.

Earth 2: World's End #3 - A Review

The most aggravating thing about Earth 2: World's End is a lack of credits by page number for the artists involved.  This annoys me because I need to know who to blame for the fact that Dick Grayson is being drawn like a combination of Mr. Spock and Goku.

I could, in theory, look up each individual artist's name and try and compare this offending page to their other work on-line. But with nine credited artists on this issue alone, that is far more effort than I feel like spending on so mediocre a title.


Mediocre is a strong word, I admit, but it is aptly applied here.  There are many good things about Earth 2: World's End but any greatness is mitigated by the work of less-skilled creators.  The old saying about "too many cooks" has never been more aptly proven.

This applies to both the writing and the artwork.  I've enjoyed the work of Marguerite Bennett and Mike Johnson before and there are a number of well-written scenes with great dialogue throughout the book.  However, the actual plot, as paced by Daniel H. Wilson, leaves much to be desired.


Granting that there are a lot of subplots to balance out, I feel it would be more effective to spend each issue focusing on one or two subplots rather than trying to devote at least one page to each one.  We really need more than one page to convey the scope of Green Lantern's solo effort to rid Rio De Janeiro of monsters.