Brian Michael Bendis (w) Ivan Reis (a)
I picked up this volume some time back as I had started reading the new Superman series as of #7 and was frankly surprised at all the changes made. Over the years I have read Superman the character has been upgraded and the biggest revision of all came with John Byrne's post-Crisis reboot. Until now that is.
The need to make Superman relevant for the times it is published in makes perfect sense. The old charming stories of Lois always trying to unmask Clark Kent, the wonderful depictions of flora and fauna on Krypton and Kal's tales as Superboy were products of simpler times.
However some things remain basic and Brian Michael Bendis has been taking liberties as we discover that Krypton was (possibly) destroyed by some monstrous villain known as Rogul Zaar a storyline that took place in the previous series of this latest volume and I have yet to read (if ever) and Jor El is alive having taken Kal's son into space for a journey that will see him return not as a child but as a teenager which.
The story takes place as Superman finds Earth has somehow been taken into the Phantom Zone which would be impossible but has happened. The planet is tearing itself apart in the unfamiliar physics of this realm. There's more. The Kryptonian villains are being organised by the recently banished Rogol Zaar.
The story itself is not bad (and the art is superb) though some of the changes made such as the destruction of the bottled city of Kandor and the coming back to life of Jor El do not appeal to this old timer. I don't mind change but there should be some consistency in tradition.
Oh and Superman does have a hard time even though he discovers the source of the problem. Superman does get a pasting and it General Zod who comes to the rescue from New Krypton. However things do not end well.
I no longer collect comics on a monthly basis and still have quite a few unread ones to catch up on including a later edition of Superman that I do need to have a look at and will comment on. I'll be on the lookout for the odd collected edition in the future but for now just a little catching up will do.
Rating 3 Stars. Worth Reading
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