Superman #28
(W) Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason, Keith Champagne (A) Jaime Mendoza (A/CA) Doug Mahnke
In Shops: Aug 02, 2017
SRP: $2.99
This issue now features “ROAD TRIP” part two! As the Kents’ family road trip takes some strange and unexpected turns that will reveal a foreboding threat reaching out to touch their lives, you can bet that their gonna need a vacation after their vacation!
Superman #25
(W) Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason (A) Doug Mahnke, Jaime Mendoza, Patrick Gleason (CA) Ryan Sook
RATED T
In Shops: Jun 21, 2017
SRP: $3.99
“BLACK DAWN” part six! The extra-sized finale to “Black Dawn” reveals the villain tearing the Super-Family apart and destroying everything the Man of Steel holds dear!
Superman #24
(W) Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason (A) Doug Mahnke, Jaime Mendoza (CA) Ryan Sook
RATED T
In Shops: Jun 07, 2017
SRP: $2.99
“BLACK DAWN” part five! The Man of Steel faces the one foe he refuses to fight-his son. An emerging new ability for Superboy proves deadly to Superman as the promise of power appears to lead Jon Kent to betray his father.
MINOR SPOILERS BELOW
I will admit, when I was first reading Superman #24, I was confused for a moment, due to the last issue of Action Comics. In that issue we see Clark, Lois, and Jon back in Metropolis, and here they are still in Hamilton County, wrapping things up with aliens, giant beasts, and more weirdness. That being said, chapter five of the Black Dawn story-line offered some fun and interesting twists.
We finally get to see who is behind all of the weird cult-like townspeople, visits from aliens, and other weird mysteries in Hamilton County that has plagued this series from the start, and it’s none other than Manchester Black. Due to his core beliefs, Black has a problem with Superman letting bad guys live. This is similar to other anti-heroes, like The Punisher, and so on, but Black is a little more evil here. Black reveals his true motives, and they involve Clark’s son, Jon aka Superboy. By the end of the book things get pretty crazy with his plans, and it will be interesting to see how the next issue, and this story plays out. Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason have done a good job with this series, and I have confidence that this will at least be another fun adventure when all is said and done.
Doug Mahnke and Patrick Gleason are both excellent artists. Neither of these talents are strangers to this book, and Gleason even co-writes with Tomasi. My only problem is with the switching on pencils about halfway through. Again, both artists are fantastic, but it was jarring and very noticeable to me as you can clearly see the switch. I am not sure if this was based on time, and scheduling, and it isn’t terrible or hurts the comic in a bad way, it was just very noticeable. The colors by Wil Quintana, John Kalisz, and Hi-Fi are bright and vivid, covering all types of aliens and ships, while the inks by Jaime Mendoza, Mick Gray, Joe Prado, and Doug Mahnke are crisp and well done, even with the different pencil styles.
The issue is a fun and wild ride featuring the cast of characters we know from this series. The Kent family is awesome, and I have had a blast going on these adventures with them. My only hope is that since they’ve been put through so much as a family, especially poor Jon, is that they find some more time to relax soon. Also Krypto makes another appearance, which is always awesome.
Story: Peter Tomasi & Patrick Gleason Art: Doug Mahnke & Patrick Gleason
Inks: Jaime Mendoza, Mick Gray, Joe Prado, and Doug Mahnke
Colors: Wil Quintana, John Kalisz, and Hi-Fi Letters: Rob Leigh
Story: 7.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Buy
DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Superman #23
(W) Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason (A) Doug Mahnke, Jaime Mendoza (CA) Ryan Sook
RATED T
In Shops: May 17, 2017
SRP: $2.99
“BLACK DAWN” part two! The mysterious force behind Superman’s defeat reveals itself. Superboy wonders what is so great about Truth, Justice and the American way. Will Jon turn against his father?
Superman #22
(W) Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason (A) Doug Mahnke, Jaime Mendoza, Ray McCarthy (CA) Ryan Sook
RATED T
In Shops: May 03, 2017
SRP: $2.99
“BLACK DAWN” part one! What is the secret of the Dead Man’s Swamp? Superman is tested by a mysterious force that pushes his convictions to the limit. Can the Man of Steel save face in the eyes of Hamilton and his son, Superboy?
Minor Spoilers Below
Superman is one of my favorite comic books out right now. It is consistent, it is action packed, and along with Action Comics, it gives us such a great return to the stories that make Superman, Superboy, and Lois such awesome characters. Sure, there is the Kryptonian history, and heat vision blasting giant monsters, and the mystery of past foes returning, and Mr. Oz, but there’s something else that makes these books great. It is family. Now that may sound cheesy to some of you, but I mean that. The family element of Clark, Lois, and their little boy, Jon who is slowly turning into a man and learning about his raw sense of power is touching and creates some great moments.
Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason together have brought such great world building outside of Metropolis with the life of the Kent’s and Superman’s past. Superman #22 continues the great storytelling with an issue that follows a worried wife and mother, Lois Lane. In the last issue, we saw Supes looking for Bats, and Jon and Damian fighting a giant squid. This series has been building mystery around the nice quiet farm town in Hamilton County where the Kent’s now live. There is the weird swamp and haunted house that Jon and his neighbor got lost in, and of course, the farmer who is always staring at them or wondering about Jon. We also had the odd appearance of Frankenstein, Lois’s friend Candice being an alien bounty hunter, and so much more. This family cannot catch a break, and this issue shows they may not anytime soon.
The art by Doug Mahnke has a nice cartoon style that is mixed with what you’d expect in a classic comic featuring an iconic character such as Superman. It walks the lines of over the top and realism nicely, and really gives everyone of the characters personality. The laid back nature of a country town is captured in the faces and expressions of each of the town folk, even right down to the freaky feeling that these people may be out to hurt her, and that there is a creepy mystery underneath all of them, like something out of a Stephen King novel. The inks by Jamie Mendoza and Ray McCarthy give us a book with a lot of darkness and shadows that is a very effective tool but the eeriness of this issue. Wil Quintana colors in between all of the darkness with some really bright colors that you’ve come to expect from a Superman book, right down to the iconic red and blue of his suit jumping off of the page. The art does a great job at letting us know something isn’t right in Hamilton County.
If you’ve been reading Superman, then you know what to expect in some of the issues that deal with the hometown that the Kent’s live in. We’ve been teased for a while that something is off about the town and the folks around it, and this issue only makes it weirder and more disturbing. I cannot wait to see where this series and this arc goes, and would highly recommend it to anyone.
Story: Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason Art: Doug Mahnke
Inks: Jaime Mendoza & Ray McCarthy Colors: Wil Quintana
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy
DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Superman Vol. 2 Trials of the Super Son
(W) Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason (A) Jorge Jimenez, Doug Mahnke, Jaime Mendoza, Trevor Scott, Mark Morales, Christian Alamy, Keith Champagne, Norm Rapmund (A/CA) Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray
In Shops: Apr 05, 2017
SRP: $16.99
In these tales from SUPERMAN #7-13, Superman and Jon Kent are transported to Dinosaur Island to find the last of the Losers! Then, after a quick trip to the county fair, Jon meets his match in Damian Wayne-and the Super Sons’ fathers soon put the two young heroes through their paces as a new crime-fighting team is forged!
It’s Wednesday which means new comic book day with new releases hitting shelves, both physical and digital, all across the world. We’ve got three more volumes from DC Comics, Batgirl and the Birds of Prey, Green Arrow, and Superman!
Batgirl and the Birds of Prey Vol. 1 Who is Oracle collects issues 1-6 and Birds of Prey: Rebirth by Julie Benson, Shawna Benson, Claire Roe, and Roge Antonio.
Green Arrow Vol. 2 Island of Scars collects issues 6-11 by Benjamin Percy, Stephen Byrne, Juan Ferreyra, and Otto Schmidt.
Superman Vol. 2 Trials of the Super Son collects issues 7-13 by Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason, Doug Mahnke, Jaime Mendoza, and Mick Gray.
Find out what the trade has in store and whether you should grab yourself a copy. You can find both in comic stores April 5 and bookstores April 11.
Get your copies now. To find a comic shop near you, visit www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.
Batgirl and the Birds of Prey Vol. 1 Who is Oracle
Amazon/Kindle/comiXology or TFAW
Green Arrow Vol. 2 Island of Scars
Amazon/Kindle/comiXology or TFAW
Superman Vol. 2 Trials of the Super Son
Amazon/Kindle/comiXology or TFAW
DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with FREE copies for review
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As this epic tale wraps up, Superman’s life is drastically changed…and that’s all we are saying for now – except that you won’t want to miss it!
DC Comics’ Rebirth event is interesting in that it isn’t a reboot and it doesn’t jettison everything that’s come before. Instead, it’s a merging of what came before the New 52 and the New 52 itself. Superman was a bit interesting case to this new world. In a storyline that began in Convergence and then carried over into the mini-series Superman: Lois and Clark, the Pre-52 Superman was brought into the New 52 world along with his wife Lois and their son Jonathan. Then, the New 52 Superman crumbled with his powers splintering off. So, short version, we had a displaced Superman and Lois attempting to fill in the lives of their New 52 versions. It made for some good comedy and drama at some points, but it eventually was going to wear out.
“Superman Reborn” seems to have resolved that eventual problem along with some big revelations like who the imposter Clark Kent is. Playing out through Action Comics and Superman, the story has a mystery villain reveal (that it was Mister Mxyzptlk as Clark Kent all along) that has Superman and Lois forgetting their son Jonathan in a board game like obstacle course. What’s interesting is that the story takes fans through a lot of the history of Superman and Lois, it’s a best hits sort of way.
But…. SPOILER… by the end of the story, it’s true, it’s all true. The life of the pre-52 Superman has seemingly been merged into that of his New 52 counterpart. No more hiding, no more Clark Kent and Clark White. It’s all in continuity, the history is there. This storyline solves a lot of issues that were lining up for the character as well as put Superman’s alter-ego back in the bottle and the White’s no longer have to hide. It wraps things up in a nice little bow.
But, it’s not just this merging of two worlds that works, the story also ties in the bigger mystery that’s permeating throughout the DC Universe. Mister Mxyzptlk continues to reference a more powerful being, who we assume is the mysterious Oz, who then looks upon the Red Planet, the home of Doctor Manhattan from Watchmen. It brings so much together and does so in a pretty smooth way. That plotting and writing is impressive.
The art by Doug Mahnke is fantastic. This entire story has featured top notch visuals that twist and turn and overall the Superman line of comics features the most consistent and solid art of the DC comic series. There’s some really cool visuals and the art is as solid as the writing. The way the world crumbles during the battle and the subtle visual changes clue in the reader as to what’s happening and by the end you’ll find yourself going back to check everything out.
I’m blown away by the story which I can only describe as super. A fantastic ending that shows DC Comics has got a great grasp of mixing the old with the new. This is a model in how to pull it off and doing so in a fun and exciting way.
Story: Dan Jurgens Art: Doug Mahnke
Inks: Jaime Mendoza, Christian Alamy, Trevor Scott
Colors: Wil Quintana Letters: Rob Leigh
Story: 8.35 Art: 8.45 Overall: 8.40 Recommendation: Buy
DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
