Most Improved
In my opinion, this issue was an improvement over the first. The previous focused so much on Jonathan Kent, that Superman felt sidelined in his own book. Here, the balance is much better.
In this issue, Superman takes Jon with him on a rescue mission. Superman rescues a Coast Guard submarine from an ice trap while his son stands by to "watch and learn." But then an alien squid monster attacks the submarine and Superman needs Jon to use his heat vision to help to defeat it. The story might sound simple but it actually felt very strong, and it was a good presentation of the father and son relationship.
Lois Lane ( a.k.a Lois Smith) does appear briefly this issue. She isn't given very many panels here, but here character is still strong. Kathy, also returns, and I found her much more likable this time around. She knows Jon's secret and wants to understand him. It's also clear she has developed a crush on the Son of Superman, and I'm interested to see how that plays out. Even though, both she and Jon seem a little too young for a romantic relationship.
The art maintains the status quo of the last issue, with Patrick Gleason doing some really great work here. The only thing that threw me off, if we're nitpicking, was that Jon's pants changed without explanation; in the first part of the book he wears ripped blue jeans and then suddenly, he is wearing black pants. I like the black pants better, and I wish they had used them throughout. I do like Jon's costume design and its origin though. It was a nice play.
I found this to be a very strong issue, and a nice continuation of the first issue. It corrected any of the problems I had with the premiere, and kept me intrigued. I will definitely want to pick up the next issue, and see what's next for Superman and Son.
