@RobBex2
Regardless of how you might feel about Heroes in Crisis, it is hard to refute that Tom King has written an absolutely timeless Batman series, and now he has traded the cape and cowl for the big ‘S’, and he does so seamlessly. The mark of a great writer is that they know just how to write the character. They don’t twist a character to what they want, but they bring out the best of that character. King has Batman down, and he understands what makes Superman “Superman”. And just like with Batman, King is going to have Superman figure out a much larger puzzle.
In this mini-series starter, Bruce asks Clark for help with a missing child. He knows his limitations and that Superman is the only one who can find her because she happens to be off-world, but Supes knows that to go find her he will have to leave Earth and his responsibilities there. It’s fun seeing King have Superman be the investigative reporter that he is. We see a menagerie of the characters in this opener, from Batman to Wonder Woman to Green Lantern to Pa Kent as Clark tries to figure out what he should do. Of course, he concludes to do the right thing, which is going to see our titular hero take to space.
Andy Kubert is a legend, no ifs, ands, or buts, but damn his art really pops here. I don’t know if he has a new colorist or inker (which is doubtful) but his art along with Sandra Hope and Brad Anderson (that’s right, I’m giving love to the inker and colorist in this review) is just absolutely beautiful! While King’s Batman has art that matches his dark and moody persona, Superman: Up in the Sky matches the Last Son from Krypton. Kubert’s art gives us hope. It’s bright and colorful even at night. His Superman matches what we think when we hear Superman.
The series should be another hit for both King and Kubert and while I never even thought about putting these two together, my God, am I glad that this happened. Go on and pick this book up. 4.5/5 Big S Bibles.
-Robert Bexar
@TaffetaDarlin
A debut issue, and of course Lois Lane comes out swinging with conspiracies, politics, and her personal life with Superman/Clark Kent, if anyone can juggle all that plus a war with the Secretary of State, it’s our Star Reporter. In a timely and relevant new story by Greg Rucka “Enemy of the People” is for anyone that has been following the current White House administration. The title alone makes you aware of the direction that this comic is going. Right off, it’s an overtly political comic, and I’m hooked. If you’re the kind of reader hat doesn’t like politics in your comic (wth?), then you’ll probably get bored and butthurt real quick.
This issue is all over the place with stories and conspiracies, but that’s what kept me into it: I love political thrillers (when they’re fiction and not some weird reality I wake up in)! Within the first issue alone we explore the topics of immigration, internment camps, Kremlin press murders, the continual complications that come with being in a relationship with Superman, and more.
The art has to keep up with the pace with Lois and Mike Perkins work doesn’t miss a step. The tone and expressions conveyed through his panels match that set from Rucka. So yeah, I’m into it, and if the remaining chapters of this story keep me in suspense like this, I’ll be satisfied with an unexpected great addition amongst my crime thrillers. 4.75/ 5 Bibles.
-Taffeta Darling
***BONUS REVIEW***
Image Comics belches up another iteration of their formerly retired property known as Postal – a title that centered on an isolated town of criminals living under a Hammurabian Code of Law in the fictional town of Eden (paradise irony check), Wyoming; that was eventually Mayored up by the Asberger Syndromed progeny of Eden’s original founders.
Although Raffaele Ienco’s (Epic Kill, Devoid of Life) draughtsmanship belies professionally dexterous grit, and the monochromatic splashes of his super-saturated backgrounds eyejack you into a heavy state of retinalphoria, the spatial compression within most of the comic’s panels seems to quicksand some of the story’s movement and dynamism into ethereal stasis.
If Bryan Hill’s (Cyber Force, Aphrodite) paradigm-standard action sequence violence, consisting of familiar visual tropes like: bellying down to hide and pop-and-drop your foes in the kneecaps; or dropping enmity-inducing plot devices that have heroes seek vengeance after coming home to find their loved ones rigor-mortised into blood-splattered goo puddles; and you think having masked goons kick the shit out of minors running through farmers markets and shopping malls in broad daylight makes for a compelling side narrative, then Postal: Dulliverance may just be the comic retread you’d like to spread your shoefly soles upon.
If Image really wants to give this joint a chance of revolvering beyond the stereotypically predictable anti-hero-in-dystopia storyline they’ve already seemingly graveworked this zombified franchise extension into, then I hope they at least consider the addition of some backwoods banjo dueling and a little Ned Beatty-esque hog-calling, for squealer’s sake…maybe the ghost of Burt Reynolds as Smokey the Bandit Incarnate, or a Jon “Pretty Mouth” Voight anti-villain doppelganger might be able to manifest and deliver some mindcrime-for-grimetime jouissance, so this project can possibly live up to its original sinfullness… 2.75/5 Dead Letter Offerings.
-Jason Bud