Another one first published at Epinions and no longer available there:
One of the featured items on Free Comic Book Day at my local comics store was the first chapter of Superman: The Last Son of Krypton. It was interesting enough -- and showed a whole new facet of Superman -- that I checked to see if it was an ongoing series. Turns out, it's two stories that have already been collected.
In "Last Son," a rocket crash-lands in Metropolis, with a sole passenger. The "landing" part is thanks to Superman, who manages to slow it down enough to lessen the destruction. The passenger is a boy who speaks Kryptonese and tends to lift heavy objects without strain. Guess where he's from. Of course, it makes the papers, and suddenly, everyone wants the kid -- starting with Lex Luthor, but General Zod soon makes an appearance.
The second story, "Brainiac," is Superman versus Brainiac, who is busily sucking up all the information in the universe -- and then incinerating the creators. He's been looking for Superman, and now he's found him. That doesn't bode well for Earth.
In some ways, The Last Son of Krypton was a disappointment. What seemed at first like a new take on Superman -- as a father -- snapped right back into formula, first with Zod and his minions, and then with Brainiac. The boy became merely a plot device. It's a shame -- in this universe, Clark Kent and Lois Lane are married, there are lots of visits to Ma and Pa Kent, and there's a lot of potential for building some real humanity into Superman, but the parts never quite connect.
The Brainiac story is pure formula, and little more. Brainiac's dialogue is a reiteration of "You're powerless, you can defeat me, I win," repeated ad nauseam. There's as little character development here as there is in "Last Son" -- if anything, less.
The art saves this one. "Last Son" was drawn by Andy Kubert, and he's about to join my list of top comic artists. Superman is suitably craggy-featured, the boy Christopher is eminently appealing, and the rest of the characters are nicely conceived and rendered. My only objection here is that in some frames, depictions become a little too abstract. There is enough variation in the page layouts to keep things interesting, although in some passages they become so fragmented they're hard to follow.
"Brainiac" was drawn by Gary Frank, with inks by Jon Sibal, and again, the characterizations are apt (although Supergirl, who occupies a strong supporting role, looks a little vapid).
There's an "Epilogue" on this one, drawn, I assume, by Frank. The first portion is completely visual, and is tremendously evocative. (I can't tell you what it portrays, since that's a major spoiler.)
On the whole, Geoff Johns has done better, and I really wish he'd followed up on the opportunity to develop the relationship between Clark/Superman and Christopher without falling back on somewhat shopworn villains.
In "Last Son," a rocket crash-lands in Metropolis, with a sole passenger. The "landing" part is thanks to Superman, who manages to slow it down enough to lessen the destruction. The passenger is a boy who speaks Kryptonese and tends to lift heavy objects without strain. Guess where he's from. Of course, it makes the papers, and suddenly, everyone wants the kid -- starting with Lex Luthor, but General Zod soon makes an appearance.
The second story, "Brainiac," is Superman versus Brainiac, who is busily sucking up all the information in the universe -- and then incinerating the creators. He's been looking for Superman, and now he's found him. That doesn't bode well for Earth.
In some ways, The Last Son of Krypton was a disappointment. What seemed at first like a new take on Superman -- as a father -- snapped right back into formula, first with Zod and his minions, and then with Brainiac. The boy became merely a plot device. It's a shame -- in this universe, Clark Kent and Lois Lane are married, there are lots of visits to Ma and Pa Kent, and there's a lot of potential for building some real humanity into Superman, but the parts never quite connect.
The Brainiac story is pure formula, and little more. Brainiac's dialogue is a reiteration of "You're powerless, you can defeat me, I win," repeated ad nauseam. There's as little character development here as there is in "Last Son" -- if anything, less.
The art saves this one. "Last Son" was drawn by Andy Kubert, and he's about to join my list of top comic artists. Superman is suitably craggy-featured, the boy Christopher is eminently appealing, and the rest of the characters are nicely conceived and rendered. My only objection here is that in some frames, depictions become a little too abstract. There is enough variation in the page layouts to keep things interesting, although in some passages they become so fragmented they're hard to follow.
"Brainiac" was drawn by Gary Frank, with inks by Jon Sibal, and again, the characterizations are apt (although Supergirl, who occupies a strong supporting role, looks a little vapid).
There's an "Epilogue" on this one, drawn, I assume, by Frank. The first portion is completely visual, and is tremendously evocative. (I can't tell you what it portrays, since that's a major spoiler.)
On the whole, Geoff Johns has done better, and I really wish he'd followed up on the opportunity to develop the relationship between Clark/Superman and Christopher without falling back on somewhat shopworn villains.
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