Superman #44 - A Review

Superman's secret identity has been revealed to the world and Clark Kent's life is falling apart. A new Royal Flush gang is out for his head and a collective of his worst enemies have taken the staff of The Daily Planet hostage! And the police are more interested in arresting him than they are in helping Superman save lives!

I want to believe that Gene Luen Yang is building to something grand with this story but I'm just not seeing it anymore. The speed with which people turn on Clark Kent seems more appropriate to a story set in the Marvel Universe. I defended the idea that Lois Lane could ever see fit to betray Clark's trust in the face of a greater good but I'm hard pressed to believe Perry White would attack Clark as he does here. While one might argue that White's commitment to The Truth as a newsman could lead him to see any kind of lying to your editor as a betrayal of the job of a journalist, it still seems a bit incongruous for him to chew out Superman for endangering people and thinking he could protect them. Nearly as incongruous as Clark, in the fact of such hostility, declaring he shall inflict a thousand-times as much pain on anyone who tries to hurt his friends.


It's oddly fitting that John Romita Jr. should be the artist on this book because this sure feels like a Spider-Man story rather than a Superman one. Romita and his usual inker Klaus Janson are in fine form. And the colors by Dean White and Leonardo Olea are skilfully applied, with no indication that there is more than one color artist at work.

Superman #43 - A Review

As pointless as it may be to put a SPOILER warning on this review, given that the "shocking twist" at the end of this issue was revealed over three months ago by DC Comics' preview for this series, nevertheless I am giving a warning.

If you haven't read Superman #43 yet, know that I enjoyed this issue immensely and would recommend reading it for yourself. Abandon this article now if you would remain unspoiled!


At last we learn how it was that Lois Lane betrayed Clark Kent's secret identity to the world. And to the credit of Gene Luen Yang, the reason she has is a darn good one.  So what could drive Lois Lane to expose Superman's greatest secret?  It is not, as many suggested, a desire for the fame or glory attached to such a big story.

It is fear that motivates her.  Fear of what Superman might do to protect the people he cares about from a cunning blackmailer who is three steps ahead of him. So Lois does the only thing she can to save Superman and all that he stands for as Clark Kent elects to play along with the blackmailer's demands while waiting for an opportunity to free himself later.  She reveals everything to the world, thus making Hordr-Root's threats worthless and freeing Clark to fight back against the master hacker.


There is a subtle parallel here between the conflict between Lois and Clark at issue's end and the Superman fandom. Clark idealistically believes that, given time, he could have figured a way out of this mess whereas Lois, ever the realist, makes a difficult choice to prevent what she sees as the greater (or at least more immediate) of two evils. Consider how this mirrors the argument over the idea that Superman should always find a way to win in the end versus those who feel Superman is at his best when he is faced with emotional conflicts that require more than physical strength to solve.

Doubtlessly some will say that this story is terrible because Lois' trust in Superman should be absolute. Others will say that this story is well in keeping with Lois' nature to be a proactive figure who does what she thinks is right and damn the consequences if the world disagrees with her. I think there is a grand discussion to be held regarding those ideas and hope this issue provokes such conversation rather than inspiring an army of Super-fans to rage quit the series.

Regardless of how you feel about the story, the artwork is exquisite.  John Romita Jr. is in fine form. And one would never know that this issue featured a team of two inkers and three colorists, so well does the team work together in maintaining a uniform style throughout the issue.

Superman #42 - A Review

Lois Lane has finally put two and two together and uncovered Clark Kent's secret identity. But even in the face of Lois' trust being shattered, the two have bigger problems. For a hacktivist called HORDR_ROOT has also uncovered the truth of who Superman is and has plans to recruit The Man of Steel for his organization... or else!


I feel conflicted about Gene Yang's script for this issue. On the one hand, the idea of HORDR_ROOT is a novel one and the idea of an enemy who utilizes the power of information against Superman is a novel one. Sadly, the threat he presents is resolved far too quickly.

A larger problem is the character of Lois Lane, who - in the New 52 universe at least - lacks the closeness to Clark that is required to sell the feelings of betrayal she expresses here. The whole thing rings false but I fear that's more the fault of editorial demand than Yang's script, because otherwise the character interactions are wonderful.


The artwork inspires similar feelings of conflict. The pencils and inks by John Romita Jr. and Klaus Johnson are up to their usual high standard, but there's nothing in the issue that stands out as particularly fine work. The greatest problem is the color art, provided by three different colorists with distinctly different styles and palettes.  Just look at the tone of the characters' skins and you'll see the obvious disparity, with the characters appearing pale in one panel and ruddy-cheeked in the next!

Superman #40 - A Review

Still recovering from his battle with Ulysses, Superman is in a bit of an odd state. On the one hand, he's discovered a new power that allows him to expel the solar energy in his body with explosive results. On the other, his defenses have never been lower and for the first time in his life he is truly feeling human sensations. It's a bit of an adjustment, but with a little help from his friends, he'll get by.


By all rights, I should hate everything about this comic. It's just so goofy and out-of-synch with everything I've seen of The Justice League in The New 52. It features a smiling, wise-cracking Batman, for crying out loud!

And yet, I love it.

I like having a Batman who threatens to bill Clark Kent for the jet fuel he used flying out to retrieve Clark from a remote location. I like Aquaman jokingly covering Wonder Woman's eyes after Clark accidentally burns off all his clothes experimenting with his new powers. I like the joy that Superman takes in truly being able to eat without the sensations being enhanced to the point where he's overwhelmed by the individual flavors.

This book may be goofy but it isn't dull.  I'd go so far as to say it's fun.

What John Romita Jr. did with this book - as a writer and artist- is remarkable. It's a fun, simple, well-drawn one-shot - something almost as rare in American comics these days as a writer/artist doing most of the work on a single comic for a big-name publisher.  I'm anxious to see what Gene Yang will be doing with this series but a part of me will wonder if maybe we should have kept JRJ on to run the show for a bit.

Superman #39 - A Review

Superman's most recent adventures have left him exhausted and in a reflective mood. So Clark Kent has decided to share his secret identity with his best friend, Jimmy Olsen. But Jimmy doesn't quite believe him and Clark's in no position to show off his powers! A day together may teach both young men a lesson - about what truly makes a man Super and how it feels to be ordinary.


Aspiring creators take note. You don't have to introduce cosmic threats beyond imagining for Superman to punch. You don't have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on special effects to bring Superman to life. Just read this story and learn the same lesson Jimmy Olsen does about who Superman truly is and how it has nothing to do with power and everything to do about giving of yourself to help others. It's a lesson that Geoff Johns knows well and more comic writers need to understand.


The artwork for this issue is the equal of the story.  John Romita Jr. and Klaus Janson turn in some of their finest work ever. And the colors by Hi-Fi lend the whole affair a unique vibrancy that leaves the artwork just jumping off the page. This is one of the best Superman comics I've ever read, bar none.

Superman #38 - A Review

Despite the best efforts of Superman and Ulysses, the fourth-dimensional planet known as The Great World has been destroyed.  Now an enraged Ulysses has turned upon Superman.  And in order to save his adopted home-world, Superman must do the impossible and fight his former friend!


Geoff Johns is one of the best writers in the business and his love for Superman and the mythos of Superman has been clear throughout this arc.  Ulysses' story comes to a satisfying conclusion and Johns has a lot of fun with the idea of a new Super-power that Batman dubs "The Super Flare".  Yet the best parts of this issue are the little character moments, such as Clark Kent's hanging out with Jimmy Olsen and Alfred the butler's fretting over his inability to clean Kryptonian fabric.


John Romita Jr. is also considered to be one of the best artists in the American comic book industry and this issue shows why. There is a grittiness to JRJ's work that seems an odd fit for Superman yet somehow it works.  Why it works is unquantifiable but it does work.

Superman #37 - A Review

Superman #37 should not work nearly as well as it does. The shocking revelation at its heart isn't at all surprising nor is its conceit of a utopia with a hidden dark secret particularly original. Heck, at this point it would have been more original and surprising if the extra-dimensional home of newbie superhero and Clark Kent's new best friend Ulysses really was all it was promised to be.


So why is it that this comic is as good as it is despite a trite and cliche premise?  Simply because Geoff Johns understands Superman. And while this kind of story is Science Fiction 101, putting Superman into this kind of situation - where Superman is playing the skeptic against blind idealism - is a novel idea that works well within the context of the story.  Clark is a reporter by trade, after all, and a big part of Truth, Justice and The American Way is about seeking the Truth and dealing with it, no matter how ugly and uncomfortable it is.


The artwork is comparable to the story in that it is by-the-book by the standards of the team involved but that standard is a high one and the final product is enjoyable. John Romita Jr. isn't as famous for splash pages or background work as some artists but his work here is eye-catching and memorable.  The inks of Klaus Janson and Laura Martin's color further enhance things.

Superman #36 - A Review

Ulysses - strange visitor from another world, possessing powers far beyond those of mortal man - has come to the conclusion that humanity is doomed.  Unable to think of any way to turn his amazing powers toward fixing the world of his birth, he has instead elected to take six million people to the Fourth Dimension, to the better world which raised him. Naturally, this is a source of great concern to Superman, who is starting to wonder if the paradise which Ulysses spoke of is truly as grand as he claims.


Geoff Johns understands Superman as few writers today do.  His Superman is the epitome of hope and idealism, as he should be.  Johns also realizes the importance of Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen to the oeuvre of Superman and does a fine job using them to explore the problems with Ulysses' promises from another perspective.


What can I say about the art of this book that hasn't been said already?  John Romita Jr. is in fine form here, with inker Klaus Janson giving the finished art a much lighter touch than usual, as befits the lighter and brighter aesthetic of Superman compared to other projects JRJ and Janson collaborated on in the past.  This vibrant feeling is further enhanced by the colors of Laura Martin.

Superman #35 - A Review

There is a moment early on in Superman #35 where Lois Lane declares that "The Daily Planet is finally getting interesting again."  It's a bit of sarcastic meta-commentary on the part of Geoff Johns and Lois Lane is the perfect person to voice the sentiment. Ever since the New 52 reboot, there has been precious little of The Daily Planet staff in the Superman books and very little was done with them the few times they did show up. Lois Lane in particular was reduced in stature, transformed from Clark Kent's friendly rival to a mean girl who kept ignoring nice-guy Clark.


To paraphrase a line from Mark Waid, most of the recent Superman comics put more emphasis on "the Super" over "the man". That is entirely the wrong way to write a Superman story. Geoff Johns knows this and the current "Men Of Tomorrow" arc has centered less upon thrilling action sequences and more upon Clark Kent, as he attempts to teach the technically-human but totally-alien hero Ulysses about morality and what it means to be human. We still get some thrilling action, of course, but the focus is on the spirit of Superman - the friend who always there to help.


Thinking on it, that may be why John Romita Jr., Klaus Janson and Laura Martin were selected to be the art team for this particular story.  JRJ has a well-deserved reputation for being able to put a great deal of heart and energy into scenes of two people just talking.  Colorist Laura Martin modulates the palette subtly throughout the issue, with Superman's usual bold costume colors becoming more muted in the quieter moments. And Klaus Janson does his usual stellar job in making the bright moments all the brighter through creative shadow construction.

Superman #34 - A Review

A quick comment upon the cover of this issue.  I was less than enamored of the Selfie Variants that each DC Comics title had this month.  I disapprove of variant covers as a general rule and felt that this gimmick did not work for a lot of characters.  That being said, this one is damn good and a perfect send-up of the concept and the characters involved.  Because Jimmy Olsen would totally do this in the middle of a battle.


Curiously, Jimmy Olsen and the rest of the Daily Planet crew are absent from this issue.  The focus is once again upon Ulysses - strange visitor from another dimension, who has turned to Superman for guidance as he finds himself in what turns out to be the world of his birth.  The first part of this issue continues on from last month's closing revelation - that Clark Kent was able to track down Ulysses' scientist parents and uncovered the truth of how they sent him away in circumstances that mirror what Clark's own birth parents did to save his life.

Geoff Johns is in fine form here and the better part of the issue is spent explaining Ulysses's background and exploring the growing friendship between himself and Clark.  It is a slow story but it is still an enjoyable one and the reader feels Clark's subtle joy at having helped someone get the family reunion that he can never have.  There's also a bit of humor in how Clark is still a more human person than Ulysses, who thinks nothing of coming into Clark's apartment at night to watch him sleep because he had a sudden bout of curiosity regarding why he didn't need to sleep when Clark does and whether or not Superman dreams as normal humans do.  But worry not, action fans - the two heroes do team up against a new villain by the issue's end!


Unsurprisingly, the artwork by John Romita Jr.and Klaus Janson is as good as one would expect.  The action, once it starts, is well displayed but JRJ is just as capable of rendering the softer, quieter moments that this script requires..  The coloring by Laura Martin is also praise-worthy, with a variety of palettes being used throughout to subtly indicate the story's multifarious settings.

Superman #33 - A Review

Superman #33 is something unusual in that it is a Superman book that barely contains any action. The focus here isn't on big climactic battles or costumed madmen but upon the staff of the Daily Planet, who are as confused as the rest of Metropolis about the appearance of a mysterious new hero fighting alongside Superman.  Clark Kent is short on answers as well, but he intends to learn the origins of the mysterious man called Ulysses...


Writer Geoff Johns' love for these characters is apparent and it is good to see the Daily Planet staff back in action.  The scenes with these characters are enjoyable, introducing us to these characters without feeling over-expository.  Johns is famous for his gift for dialogue - and there is some good comedy here - but the most effective sequences in this issue may be the ones that are free of text.

There are a number of scenes  in this issue where the story is told purely through the pictures.  We learn more about Ulysses as a person watching him examine Clark Kent's apartment than we do in any of the dialogue.  There is also an effective silent sequence in which we see Clark putting his investigative skills to the test.


Superman #33 is fairly light on action.  And yet, it is one of the best Superman comics I've read in recent memory.  This book remembers that what makes Superman super is his infinite capacity for wanting to help other people and that doesn't always mean punching a bad guy.  If you like Superman, you'll love this book.  And if you don't like Superman, well, maybe this book will take you a step closer to doing so.

Superman #32 - A Review

To be quite blunt, I don't like a lot of the changes that The New 52 has brought to Superman.  I don't like having both of The Kents dead.  I don't like the idea of Superman and Wonder Woman dating.  And I don't like Clark Kent having been turned into Peter Parker with better musculature.

As such, I quite happily wrote off the Superman books a while ago.  I was never the biggest Superman fan to begin with, although I did like what Grant Morrison was trying to do with Action Comics before his departure.  I was looking forward to what Andy Diggle was going to do before he decided to leave that series after one issue.  And I was enjoying Supergirl before it was decided it should tie in more closely to whatever Scott Lobdell was trying to do with the Superman books at the time.

So what brought me back for this issue?  Two creators whose work I've always respected, even on the rare occasions when I didn't enjoy it - Geoff Johns and John Romita Jr.


Johns seems to be trying to re-establish the connections that earlier writers forsook.  This issue sees Clark being rehired at The Daily Planet and Perry White encouraging Clark to try and build more personal connections with people - something his life as Superman afford him little chance to do outside of his circle of superhero co-workers.  The book also introduces a new hero, who promises to be someone Clark can bond with on a more personal level than with Batman or Wonder Woman.

I think Johns hits the meta-textual nail on the head with White's assessment.  One of the biggest problems with Superman books of late - and many Superman stories in the past - is that there has been too little of Clark making connections with other people.  "The 'Super' has been put before the 'Man', to paraphrase Mark Waid in Kingdom Come, and the books have suffered for it.  Superman cannot just be about punching giant monsters.  It has to be about helping people as well.

Thankfully, when the time for monster-punching does come, John Romita Jr. proves as skillful as ever in depicting the action.   Whether he's choreographing involved fights or rendering talking heads, Romita is one of the best.  He's held up as one of the greats in the business for a reason and that reason is evident throughout this issue.