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Review: Superman #2

By | October 27th, 2011
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Written by George Perez
Illustrated by Jesus Merino

“FLYING BLIND”

The all-new adventures of Superman continue! Everyone can see the new villain who’s attacking Superman — except The Man of Steel! How can he stop a threat that none of his super-senses can detect? Meanwhile, a Daily Planet reporter starts digging up some dirt on Superman, including a secret that could ruin him forever!

Last month’s premiere issue of Superman (re)introduced us to the Man of Steel, not to mention a few contentious shakeups that left the Last Son of Krypton single, a little anti-social, and quite the inner-monologist. This week, we get another helping of the new status quo in the form of Superman #2. So how do the continuing adventures of Superman hold up the second time around?

Leap over the jump to find out!

Let’s start with the plot. Basically, Superman encounters another strange creature (he fought a fire monster-thing last month), except this time he can’t see it. The rest of the world can see the thing just fine, but Superman — even with all his power and abilities – can’t get a bead on it, and spends a large part of the issue getting swatted around like a rank amateur. Eventually, Superman does figure things out and comes up with solution that makes for a pretty creative rumble when it’s all said and done.

We’re also given a little insight into Clark and Lois’s past, which now seems to have mostly been a friendship based on professional rivalry, and very little more. There’s some will they/won’t they tension, but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. And that’s a shame really, because a lot of us spent our formative years watching the post-Crisis Lois and Clark fall for each other, so the only way I’m interested in seeing it play out again is if it offers me something different, and so far there’s none of that.

The good news is, that unlike the first issue, which felt like a jumbled mess of multiple narratives, Perez has a better handle on things in this one, deciding to focus on Superman and to tell the story in Superman’s voice instead of the voices of those around him. A wise choice considering his name’s on the cover. Superman also seems cold and less proactive than we’ve seen him be before. I’m not sure if that’s Perez’s doing or if this is just who NuSuperman is. Either way, I’m not sure I like the guy very much.

Jesus Merino’s art is, as always, terrific. A little more open and loose than in the first issue, he’s still working over Perez’s breakdowns, and the combination of these two makes for one sharp looking comic book. Merino’s spent the last few years drawing Superman in some form or fashion, so it’s pretty noticeable that he’s now drawing Jim Lee’s on model, slightly younger version of Supes instead of his own take, but either one works for me.

Two issues in, and I’d have to say this book’s biggest problem is that it doesn’t have any real gravitas or forward momentum. It has potential, but doesn’t seem to be acting on it, and instead seems to be bogged down in what Superman used to be about. And I don’t think every comic has to be an Eisner-nominee. I mean, I’m a guy who grew up reading Dan Jurgens’s Superman, and loved what he and the rest of the Superman brain trust did on those books. But even when it was good, it was “good” like an episode of Law & Order is good. They pretty much delivered exactly the kind of story you expected them to, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. There’s a lot to be said for keeping the ship running. And honestly, if Superman #2 was Superman #362, I would’ve probably enjoyed it a lot more.

But it’s not! It’s Superman #2 — the second issue of a major line-wide relaunch — and there’s no reason for it to be treading the same old ground.

Continued below

Perez and Merino do some cool stuff in this issue. But Superman’s been around a while, and as good a visual as Superman fighting a monster he can’t see is, well… it’s not entirely unheard of.

You’ve got 20 pages a month and the world’s greatest superhero, guys. Let’s figure out how to do something new!

Final Verdict: 7.5 – Could be worse, but needs to get better. Quick.


Chad Bowers

Chad Bowers has been reading comics for most of his life. His transition from fan to professional is a work in progress. He’s the co-founder of ACTION AGE COMICS, creator of the webcomic MONSTER PLUS, co-creator of AWESOME HOSPITAL, THE HARD ONES, and DOWN SET FIGHT (coming soon from Oni Press) with Chris Sims. He reviews comics, writes G.I. JoeVersity, and co-hosts The Hour Cosmic for Multiversity Comics! If you've got nothing better to do, you can follow him on Twitter or Tumblr.

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