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Liked the issue. PKJ called the first story his tribute to Superman 400, and yeah, it shows. It's not as good as that one, but it does succeed at providing an interesting take on how people remember and have been influenced by Superman after he's gone. He's only in it for a small scene at the end, but it's as perfect a Superman moment as can be, both justifying the faith these people have in him and making it clear that Superman doesn't care about any of that, he's just fighting injustice and saving people wherever he can. Before that, we get several different fantasies from regular people as to Superman's fate, and they start at somewhat cynical (he died without anyone noticing/he and Kara were the exception and Kryptonians in general are evil), before going full mythological (extrapolating from different ideas of Clark: "he's sun-powered", "he's an alien", "he's a farmer"). There's a bit of cheap talk about hope that goes nowhere except to say everyone's just too cynical (they're not), but other than that it's pretty great. It succeeded at presenting Superman as this godlike figure in the eyes of regular people while at the same time showing him as very human. The art and coloring is amazing, with every scene, every location, every fantasy having its own unique feel to it. Overall, great introduction to PKJ's Superman.
The second story, with Mr. Miracle, is much the same as the one from before, with Shilo being very confused by everything around him, but it's much better this time around because his circumstances are more interesting, and mesh very well with his inner monologue and banter with his Mother Box. Art is better, too, with the coloring showing him as this glowing figure that is being consumed by the darkness around him.
The third story, with Midnighter, is pretty shallow (Midnighter infiltrates a mysterious place and kills lots of mooks along the way), but its saving grace is the art. It's excellent, adding a lot of variety to what could have been rote "Midnighter kills one mook after another" sequences, always one more trick so that it never gets boring.
The fourth story, with Black Racer, clearly needed more time to develop (this and Midnighter should have swapped page count), but while it fails at endearing me to the new Black Racer, it does succeed at adding a lot of flavor to Warworld and Mongul.
Overall, only the Superman story could stand on its own, but the back-ups do flesh up the world in interesting ways.
Other than that, interesting to see Kara be mentioned in the same breath as Clark as someone these people trust, whereas Jon explicitely isn't. Sadly and infuriatingly, Lois isn't mentioned anywhere.
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I was thinking, one of the theories presented on this issue, would be a great take on Martian Manhunter.
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I recognize this is a matter of taste, but I cannot begin to fathom picking up this issue and being disappointed I didn't get gladiator stuff.
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[QUOTE=Dispenser Of Truth;5338128]I recognize this is a matter of taste, but I cannot begin to fathom picking up this issue and being disappointed I didn't get gladiator stuff.[/QUOTE]
It's a failure of marketing: the solicitations, cover, initial interviews and even the title of the comic promised you big Superman action, and then the story gave you none of that. The only way to know otherwise was following PKJ's interviews in podcasts. Obviously the people who bought this wanting some Superman action scenes (as they had been promised by the marketing they would get) would be disappointed.
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[QUOTE=Vordan;5336191]The story is still good, it’s deliberately evoking Superman #400, that landmark issue where a bunch of people talk about the legacy and impact of Superman after he’s gone. And the next issue looks to deliver on the gladiator combat. I feel a lot more at ease with PKJ taking over the Superman books now. But yeah if you were thinking about getting this for gladiator fights, that won’t happen until next issue.
The Midnighter backup was fun. Very much in the vein of Orlando’s Midnighter stuff, and Big Gleb is going to kill it on that Robin series with Williamson. He does a great job depicting combat and Middy’s ability to kick ass. Really looking forward to Cloonan’s Midnighter backups going forward.
I liked this Mister Miracle story a bit more than the one in [I]Superman of Metropolis[/I], but I am still a bit lost at what is going on since this story takes place after the backup in SoM #2 which hasn’t come out yet.[/QUOTE]
Glad to hear this and all the praise. I love stories like what this sounds like. I just wish DC would advertise their product with a little more honesty. Everything going into this said gladiator Superman and while I think I'll be satisfied, they have themselves to blame for a really underhanded misdirect.
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That first story in Superman: Worlds of War about how people view Superman in the memorial is closer to Elliot S! Maggin's Miracle Monday concept than the more inferior "celebration of Superman revealing his identity" version made by Bendis in Superman: Heroes.
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I honestly have not read it, but from the little I have seen and the comments I have read, I would have to return the money, they cannot sell you something and when you buy it it turns out that it is something totally different. Leaving aside the scam / dc robbery, it is supposed to be a superman comic I think that at least superman would have to be part of the story and not just come out as a poster photo, it seems that superman will become a figure in the style of Sauron, without him the story would be nothing but the protagonists are others.
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2 Attachment(s)
[QUOTE=Dispenser Of Truth;5338128]I recognize this is a matter of taste, but I cannot begin to fathom picking up this issue and being disappointed I didn't get gladiator stuff.[/QUOTE]
This is the cover and variant. I think it's fair to be a little disappointed. [ATTACH=CONFIG]105109[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]105110[/ATTACH]
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The oversized nature of DC's current publishing plan is really showing it's Achilles' heel with this book because I loved the main story but the backups were uniformly mediocre.
With digital, they could simply offer customers the opportunity to buy each story individually, but I seriously doubt they'll ever do that because I can't imagine anyone wanting to read those backup stories aside from a handful of readers.
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Do you know any sales data?
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[QUOTE=NaVi;5341991]Do you know any sales data?[/QUOTE]
Way too early to tell, but I hear more buzz about Yara and the new Batman than I do Superman, which is disheartening to hear.
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We do know that, so far, the only FS Super-verse comic that went to second prints is Superwoman.
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[QUOTE=Quinlan58;5342568]We do know that, so far, the only FS Super-verse comic that went to second prints is Superwoman.[/QUOTE]
It's certainly a very pretty book, but I wonder if it just had a low initial print run? I'm finally able to start getting to my reading backlog so I'll probably be inundating people with cold takes soon enough on Future State.
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Imperious Lex was good, very much in line with the comedic bent of Russel’s other work, particularly Wonder Twins. My favorite bit was a Lexor native asking Lex to forgive him for doubting Lex, with Lex telling him he wouldn’t, that made me laugh.
Batman/Superman was good too, was not expecting Mr. Toad to reappear along with Pyg. Yang did a good job with the dynamic, he’s got Clark riding the high of no longer having to keep his identity a secret, and that’s making him reckless. Oliver’s art is a treat as always, he looks even better here than he did with Action and Multiveristy imo.
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Imperious Lex was good fun. I take it his Wonder Twins is worth checking out if I liked this?
Batman/Superman was solid as well, but I dunno, it ended and I was left wanting more. Not in a "I want next issue now" sense, but more like this issue should have done more than it did.