Print is dying it seems.
Making a character that is old as Superman contemporary is a hard feat and lets face it DC was failing way before the legendary lawsuit. But with the 52 DC has found a perfect way to redefine the most iconic off all Superheroes, people can hate Superman, but any real fan of Superheroes have to respect him. From the two Superman books I'll be honest, Grant Morrison's Action Comics was better then this one. Partly because the new Superman is being defined. This comic already had a disadvantage because this new Superman is not a familiar one. There was are aspects of Superman that remain the same, but some aspects I feel have been changed that hurt the mythos.
The symbol of Freedom of Speech in print I guess did die when Jenette Kahn left. As much as Paul Levitz help keep the spirit Kahn had alive, the spirit again suffered when DC's management changed to the current management it has now. With how much trimming to imprints like Vertigo and Wildstorm, DC has shown its hand that they themselves print is dying and digital is the future. The 52 is that movement a movement to make DC more contemporary. The problem with the movement is that the accessibility verses depth is a hard balancing act. A writer like Grant Morrison can pay homage to legacy, his work on Batman speaks for itself, but when writers like Geoff Johns are involved, history has to change to help their narrative and "new history". Alienation of older reads some times occur and I feel this issue does that. Superman has always been a book that didn't dwell in the darkness, that was what Batman was for. I felt this Superman tired to make the series hit to close to reality, with things like Twitter and with everyone being voyeurs rather then Samaritans. The weaving of real world into fiction is not as smooth as it could be in this comic. Every page it seems was a clutter of information overload, where I felt the focus was on no focus: Fire Alien, Alien from Stormwatch, New Lois, Play away from the Planet Perry White, Out with the old in with the new, and then there is a new Superman I still don't love. There was no focus.
With this new version so fresh and unexplained, this comic is something you have to take as is. George Perez and Jesus Merino had some moments of great narration, but other moments pages were too cluttered because of all the stuff that they felt needed to be in it. Was the clutter Editorial Mandate?
With the Superman family being the backbone to the new 52, this is a must read even if it is not the best read of the 52. I say must in its plot prescriptive not in an example of a clear classic comics.
Cheers
- Silkcuts
