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Review: Superman Annual #2

By | August 2nd, 2013
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Resident DC Comics pinch-hitter and project juggler Scott Lobdell has been much maligned (by yours truly, among many others) for his ‘New 52’ work for a variety of reasons. “Superman Annual” #2 surprisingly decent – mostly because it’s a change of pace and relatively free from the sorts of things that have made his DC work so frustrating.

Written by Scott Lobdell
Illustrated by Dan Jurgens & Norm Rapmund
Backup written by Frank Hannah
Backup illustrated by Tom Derenick

What repercussions lurk beneath the surface from Brainiac’s first attack—and how does it all set the stage for the battle of Metropolis? Plus, how can the Man of Steel fight something he can’t physically stop!

Two years in to the ‘New 52’ and the Superman comics have been keeping their distance from a lot of things that have come to define the character. Superman has been flying around dating Wonder Woman and taking on mostly new or historically unmemorable threats, while Clark Kent is writing and blogging for anyone but the Daily Planet and doesn’t have much reason to ever visit Smallville since his parents have passed away. Quite frankly, Superman is actually kind of unrecognizable at this point, with Greg Pak’s “Batman/Superman” coming closest to capturing the core of the character and what he means to the unique DC Comics cast of characters. But while Superman might not be up to snuff, this is mostly a Lois Lane issue – a character that has been underused in the ‘New 52’ and one that reminds us, if even just for a little bit, about some of the things that Superman is known for.

Lobdell sets the issue up with an anachronistic storytelling structure that has Lois in what is pretty much as perilous a situation as you can find yourself in. He then goes back and starts to show us how we got to that point, mostly following Lois Lane while she covers a mystery involving mysterious disappearances and what seems to be the work of Brainiac – a character that we also have not yet seen in the ‘New 52’. Superman flies in and out of the issue to help Lois along the way, which gives us more of an opportunity to see the two of them together. Through this annual, we’re getting a better sense of the relationship between both Lois and Superman and Lois and Clark and it begins to feel more like a recognizable Superman story. A recognizable Superman story with a god awful costume, but a recognizable Superman story.

It’s also nice to have Brainiac enter into things. Superman has one hell of a rogues gallery, but really, it hasn’t been utilized much to this point. Instead, we’ve had to deal with a variety of new or bottom-tier villains that acted as not much more than punching bags for Superman to tee off on. Brainiac has already given Superman a different kind of conflict – one that needed Lois Lane’s help and makes for a more interesting story than a pure fist fight. Unfortunately, there are two huge hurdles keeping me from recommending this Annual to anyone who isn’t reading “Superman” already. For one, this is not a self-contained story and the ending is left basically entirely open. And secondly, this looks to be the start of yet another one of Scott Lobdell’s ubiquitous crossover stories. These have been known to be convoluted, unsatisfying, repetitive, and drawn out. Even if this annual is a decent issue of a Lois Lane/Superman story, it doesn’t tell a satisfying story on its own. I cannot help but take pause and consider whether it’s worth going forward, given the historical ineptitude of these crossover events.

Another pleasant surprise was seeing the art of Dan Jurgens throughout – I don’t believe that he was the original artist solicited for this issue. Not only that, but this was top-notch Jurgens – as good as anything he’s done in years. Jurgens has a classic 70’s/80’s artistic style, but somehow gets away without it looking or feeling outdated. When “Superman” first launched in the ‘New 52′, there were some who said that it looked like a book stuck in the past. While the annual looks like the Dan Jurgens of old, his particular brand of art has a timeless quality and avoids a lot of the pitfalls that longtime artists fall prey to – that is, bad haircuts and outdated clothing. Turns out, Jurgens is a terrific choice for a Lois Lane-centric title. I couldn’t help but think throughout my reading that I would love to see Jurgens as the artist on a Lois Lane solo title (written by, oh I don’t know, Marc Andreyko or something).

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Jurgens’ Lois is confident, serious, and sexy (without being exploited) and it’s entertaining to watch her barrel headfirst into situations where she’s in over her head. She’s fearless and it shows in the way that Jurgens depicts her. Not so fortunate is Jurgens’ Superman, though I suspect this is no fault of his own. Jurgens was a longtime penciller of Superman in the 80’s and 90’s and is more familiar with the character than possibly anyone else working at DC Comics today. I have seen Jurgens draw a terrific Superman. Quite simply, this convoluted ‘New 52’ costume is nonsensical and looks terrible when compared to his more elegant, classic looks. It’s no longer iconic, trading that for busyness and a semblance of “modernity”. I know this has been a longstanding complaint, but it’s present throughout the issue and worth mentioning.

Here I was, ready to trash another Scott Lobdell ‘New 52’ comic. Beacon of integrity that I am *pauses for laughter*, I can’t bring myself to do that with “Superman Annual” #2 – a serious take on some classic characters that manages to avoid the lame, inappropriate humor and convoluted plotting that characterizes much of Lobdell’s previous DC Comics work. There’s nothing groundbreaking here and, again, it doesn’t tell anything in the way of a complete story, but it’s moving our characters closer to their sweet spots. It’s moving us back, hopefully, in the direction of Superman and Lois being colleagues and giving Superman familiar villains that test the full breadth of his character. Dan Jurgens helps bring the characters back to that sweet spot with attractive and classic-looking takes on the characters – Superman himself being the exception. But that’s where we stand with Superman right now, isn’t it? These creators can get close to what the character is supposed to be, but a misguided attempt to fix perceived “problems” with that character – including some red underwear, apparently – just keep getting in the way.

Final Verdict: 6.0 – Lois Lane fans might want to check it out.


Vince Ostrowski

Dr. Steve Brule once called him "A typical hunk who thinks he knows everything about comics." Twitter: @VJ_Ostrowski

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