While perusing my shelves to pick out a comic for reviewing, I found myself unable to decide on one because there were so many possible criteria for choosing it. Should I return to an old favorite just out of nostalgia, try a classic I had missed out on, or pick a comic to review purely for its artistic value? In the end, I decided I would like to read a work with themes that resonate with me in my daily life. After that, it didn’t take me long to land my choice on “Superman: Birthright.”
Worry not, this is not an introspection piece where I mull over my own life; it’s just worth pointing out in the face of age-old criticism that a Superman comic can, indeed, be relatable. All it takes is a talented writer like Mark Waid who can hit those emotions and themes that make a strange visitor from another planet essentially human.
Written by Mark WaidCover by Yu and Alanguilan
Penciled by Leinil Francis Yu
Inked by Gerry Alanguilan
Colored by Dave Maccaig
Lettered by Comicraft
The story’s artwork by Leinil Francis Yu and Gerry Alanguilan also conveys both human feeling and alien-ness. The scene where Clark is flying over stampeding zebras on the savannah manages to fill me with a feeling of lightness and wonder every single time I see it. There’s a sleek abstractness to the design of both Krypton and Metropolis, but this abstractness sometimes turns into a problem during action scenes. Violent action scenes maybe aren’t Yu’s strongest suit, which is a bit of a problem when drawing a character who debuted in “Action Comics.” That’s not to say they’re drawn badly, but the struggle with actions clearly following one another is apparent in multiple sequences. There are simpler scenes such as the aforementioned one with zebras where the movement flows nicely. The facial expressions are drawn more roughly compared to the settings and sometimes exaggerated for comical effect. Yu’s pencils, Alanguilan’s inking and Dave MacCaig’s coloring all have a modern feeling suitable for a 21st century Superman.
There’s a feeling of realism all over “Birthright” without the creators resorting to the pessimism that is too often tried to pass as realism. The comic takes on modern struggles with safety and fearmongering, but in the end, it unapologetically pushes forth an idea of hopefulness and trust. A large part of the realism also comes from the small touches, such as Martha Kent becoming an UFO enthusiast and Clark being a vegetarian since he doesn’t need to eat food anyway. Clark’s relationships are expertly crafted. You can see what makes him fall for Lois in both of their first meetings, first as Clark and then as Superman. Clark and Jonathan Kent’s relationship gets momentarily strained by Clark’s choices despite the unconditional love between the Kent family members. Realism and relatability are not the same thing, but it is story elements like this that hit both of those notes.
Most of all, it’s the overarching questions of identity and belonging that make this story feel so real. Young Clark is just as passionate to help people through his journalism as he is through super-heroics later in the story. At its base, it’s the archetypal myth of a young hero finding his purpose, but it’s also more than that. What always spoke to me about a well written Superman is the way he relates to other people. As Superman, people always see him as something larger than life, be it in a good way or bad, while as Clark Kent he is the harmless mousy guy nobody really pays attention to. But he isn’t bitter about not being the popular guy at the office, he isn’t isolated: he has friends and family, a job he enjoys, a profound love for humanity and Earth as a whole. At the same time, he will forever be an outsider in some way. The traits that separate him from others aren’t negative in themselves, he is just unique, and given time he is able to find a way to show others some of what he really is like. This is a very constructive and optimistic way to look at the feelings of being an outsider that shy people often experience.
Continued belowOf course, a work of art also needs to hold up structurally in addition to touching the emotions of the reader. Making an origin story last for twelve issues always includes the risk of the story becoming too long to be iconic and memorable in its entirety. “Birthright” mostly manages to keep its rhythm, only the flashbacks with young Lex Luthor would have benefited from some condensing. There’s a lot of variation in panel sizes and layouts, but at the same time there’s a distinct style to them. One panel cutting the corner of another is a style element that appears on nearly every other page.
There’s a lot of digital special effects at use, and they make the book visually more interesting. The tragic death at the start of the book is made even more touching with the use of the halo special effect representing how Clark sees all living things. However, at times the overabundance of distortions and halos and bokehs gives the impression that the colorist has just discovered the effects library of his editing tool. This in addition to the unusual layouts and the decision to make the gutter grey instead of white can add a bit too much visual information. Thankfully there are also whole-page panels and a lot of empty space to balance this out.
Superman’s origin story has been retold multiple times since 2004, but “Birthright” still more than holds up in comparison. It is a touching and inspiring story with modern artwork that’s also the perfect comic to hand to someone who thinks Superman is unrelatable or outdated.
