As previously blogged about in the PiercingMetal Musings; DC Comics recently re-launched a number of titles and started them off from issue #1 under the branding of “The New 52”. The initiative’s prime objective being to up the number of titles available each month and to offer new readers an easier chance to jump on board with their characters. The New 52 titles have been grouped into eight specifications such as Green Lantern or Batman themed titles. Last month we blogged about as many of the individual first issues as we could get our hands on and segmented each of the posts based on what family they fell into. Here is our continuation of the overview with the second issues of the Superman family of titles.
Superman #2: I admit to being left a little for want with the debut issue of Superman in “The New 52” so I was eager to see if the second issue would snap me to attention a little bit more. The cover definitely intrigued me and found the Big Red S being pummeled into a building by some invisible assailant. OK so it’s nice to see that he already has his hands full and is not near omnipotent (that was always an issue with the original Superman of several decades ago). The assailant appears to have some kind of a Kryptonian connection because we find it speaking the language to our hero but the rationale behind its ire is still unclear. Eventually the Man Of Steel comes out on top but if you think his troubles are over you are far off the mark here. As it closed up I found myself a little more interested than I expected to be. It’s going to take a little while to get used to Lois and Clark merely being acquaintances and I am still not sold on his “loner” angle. I guess this particular revisionist view is doing that to a lot of people.
Action Comics #2: Did not review.
Superboy #2: This issue gives us a lot of behind whooping as the people behind the apparently devious Project N.O.W.H.E.R.E. put our anti-hero into the middle of an alien prison breakout. Suffice it to say there is not as much dialogue that reveals any deeper insight into his creation but we do get a solid representation of some of his powers. I hope that we don’t wait endlessly for some rationale behind his creation as that will get tedious. Wondering how long it is before he is a part of the Teen Titans and his origin is revealed. Not too bad for the sophomore issue.
Supergirl #2: Kara Zor-El had landed on Earth but we begin with a flashback to her not too distant past where she appears to be a teenage girl who is caring for her little baby cousin Kal-El back on Krypton. When she flashes back to today’s world she is facing a grown up Superman who she does not yet know was this same baby from her last memory. There is a lot of fighting between the two of them while she tries to get used to her powers and all the while Superman is trying to help her realize her potential and tell her all is okay. It’s an uphill battle I am afraid to say but the storyline is fast paced with heaps of action which I liked. Supergirl eventually learns who this is but refuses to believe him because he was but an infant when she last saw him and his Kryptonian seemed to have been learned from a textbook. Funny stuff for sure. We also see some mysterious goings on in the background in terms of her means of arrival and I am guessing this shadowy figure is none other than Lex Luthor. The story is by Green and Johnson while art comes care of Mahmud Asrar. I was still on board with this one and hope they keep me so and not disappointed.
PiercingMetal Thoughts: I left this batch of titles finding a little more interest in both Superman and Superboy and a continued appreciation for Supergirl. Since I did not manage to get a copy of Action Comics #2 I cannot speak to this edition for you. I was happy to find myself a little more entertained than I was by the first issues and I guess my expectation for one of DC Comic’s mightiest franchises was a little too high for my own good. Let’s see what they do with issue #3 for these characters.
Official Website: http://www.dccomics.com
