Superman #4

Continuing to make my way through the #4's.

Title: Superman
Issue: 4
Date: February 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: George Perez
Artist: Jesus Merino
Colorist: Brian Buccellato, Brett Smith
Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual
Editor: Will Moss, Matt Idelson
Cover: George Perez, Brian Buccellato

No massive battle this time. Instead, the pattern gets broken for the sake of a transitional issue focusing mostly on the supporting cast.

And that is a good thing. The supporting cast, especially Daily Planet and Galaxy Broadcasting staff, are getting their chance to shine, or at least to develop some individual personalities, and there are plenty of good workplace intrigue subplots happening. We also see some storyline progress made on Superman's evolving relationship with the Metropolis Police Department and the mayor's office. And there is also the problems that Clark is having with keeping his cover stories straight.

Eventually, the three alien elemental creatures from the previous three issues do return, setting up a cliffhanger which continues the silver-age feel that this series has had from the beginning. Some of the actual details seem a bit arbitrary (Bugs. Why did it have to be bugs?), but all in all it builds nicely toward what will probably be the climax of this plotline next issue.

Rating: 6.5/10

Superman #2

On to the New 52 #2's!

Title: Superman
Issue: 2
Date: December 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: George Perez
Artist: George Perez, Jesus Merino
Colorist: Brian Buccellato
Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual
Editor: Will Moss, Matt Idelson
Cover: George Perez, Brian Buccellato

Let me get this out of the way first: George Perez over-writes. Dialogue good, but every so often it veers into the realm of slightly-too-wordy. Narrative captions are WAY too wordy. Remember the old adage in writing, "Show, don't tell."? Well Perez is doing way too much telling, especially considering that he's got an entire art team (which HE is part of) to present the story visually. Everything that happens in this book is over-explained, especially in the first-person narrative captions in Clark's voice.

Which is too bad because plot-wise I'm digging this series. It's old-school Superman, and it is the exact kind of story that I always liked best with Superman: The kind where Superman, in spite of all those powers, has to rely on his intelligence to win. This has a very Silver Age feel to it, with Superman taking on a monster with a kind of extreme invisibility. None of Superman's super-senses can detect this critter at all. Fortunately, though, the monster is perfectly visible to everyone else, and Clark ends up using a pretty amusing tactic to get the better of the creature.

This is the second random monster in a row, and it looks like we're set up for a third one next issue. I know some fans won't be into this, but as I said, I like some old-school Superman action.

There's also a really good scene here between Clark and Lois as Lois is moving into her new corner office. I liked the handling of their friendship and their professional relationship. A few of the lines were slightly forced (and wordy; see above), but for the most part it was a nice chance to give the two character the space to show some different sides of their personalities.

We also get the reintroduction of another supporting character from the 1970s: Cat Grant. And General Lane gets an extended scene as well. He's being played up as the J. Jonah Jameson of the series, with the overriding motivation that he thinks Superman causes more problems and danger (to his daughter!) than he solves.

The flaws in the writing are definitely an issue here, but I'm still having fun with this title.

Rating: 6.5/10

Superman #1

Title: Superman
Issue: 1
Date: November 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: George Perez
Artist: George Perez, Jesus Merino
Colorist: Brian Buccellato
Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual
Editor: Will Moss, Matt Idelson
Cover: George Perez, Brian Buccellato

The cover is this issue has a very 80's feel to it, which is appropriate with the involvement of George Perez (who wrote this issue and was credited with the breakdows for artist Jesus Merino). And we continue the nostalgia with the return of Galaxy Broadcast Systems and Morgan Edge (with a completely new look, and only a tiny bit more subtlety).

The focus here is the purchase of the Daily Planet by Galaxy and the resulting restructuring that occurs. Lois Lane is heading up new production while Clark Kent turned down a promotion, wanting nothing to do with the new ownership.

There are a lot of characters being introduced and reintroduced here and there's a lot going on. Terrorists are driving a truck loaded with explosives and chemicals while a strange creature of living fire arises out of the newly-constructed Metropolis Astrodome.

On top of the ongoing stories, we get a thread of caption narration relating the situation in the form of a Daily Planet news story. There's also an ongoing theme about the decline of printed news in the age of digital media. Oh, and a one-page Stormwatch crossover that comes totally out of left field.

Did I mention the alien fire monster?

I caught a bit of a bad vibe from the internet about this book, but you know what? Perez manages to pull these threads together reasonably well and comes up with a good fun story with some twists and turns and a lot of development of minor characters.

Is it perfect? Not by a long shot. There's the seemingly unnecessary Stormwatch cutaway, and some preachy writing about the whole print vs. digital issue (Perry White actually says at one point "I want the kind of detail and analysis on this only print can offer!"). The Daily Planet narrative in the captions is wordy and doesn't do all that much for the story. And there's an annoyingly awkward scene at the end where it's revealed that Lois has a boyfriend who's not named Clark Kent in the most blatantly obvious way possible.

But in spite of those issues, this is a fun story that has a bit of a nostalgic feel to it even as it sets up the new versions of the supporting cast. The alien fire monster is not the type of villain I'd like to see in every issue, but it works as a one-shot deal here.

Rating: 6.5/10

Supergirl #1

Title: Supergirl
Issue: 1
Date: November 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Michael Green, Mike Johnson
Penciler: Mahmud Asrar
Inker: Dan Green, Mahmud Asrar
Colorist: Dave McCaig
Letterer: John J. Hill
Editor: Will Moss
Cover: Mahmud Asrar, Dave McCaig

An unusual meteor shower hits the Earth and the US military goes on alert. The object that is being tracked ends up in Siberia and apparently the US has signed a "visitor protocols" treaty with Russia. Basically this allows American redshirts to land in Russia and get beaten up by whatever alien threat has arrived.

In this case, the alien is Supergirl. She's dazed and confused and she doesn't speak the language. And guys in powered armor start shooting things at her almost immediately. Good thing for her that she's got all those handy superpowers. So she fights off the soldiers-in-mechs and...

And the issue ends, pretty much. There's one additional plot development on the last page, but otherwise it's just Supergirl looking a bit shaky with the new powers and not understanding any dialogue not in Kryptonian while she trounces a bunch of Tony Stark wannabees.

And to make matters worse, Kara doesn't come off as a teenager. I'd been under the impression that this was to be a major goal here. Make her a realistic teenager personality-wise. Instead, she's very introverted and reflective, and she's really only displaying confusion and annoyance. Not much of an emotional range at this point.

A few of the other "New 52" books (See my reviews of Green Arrow, Batgirl, or Men of War) have managed to annoy me. This one just left me bored.

Rating: 5/10