Comic Review: Superman #19 (DC Comics)

With the Mystery Doppelganger finally revealed as the captor of Jon, Mxyzptlk is making sure that Superman and Lois will never get Jon back unless they play a little game.

A game that requires them to face a task that should they fail, they’ll lose Jon and be forgotten, forever. Can Superman save his family in time before his memory fades? With Jon lost in the Fifth Dimension, who will he find that will help him find his way out? The surprises keep coming in this issue.

After the surprise reveal, It’s great to see Tomasi and Gleason deliver a very fun and exciting story. Despite fanboys being upset that the Doppelganger wasn’t Superboy Prime, or Eradicator or someone else, it’s a good thing that Tomasi and Gleason went in a different route, pulling the rug underneath our feet, flipping the script and giving us a fun story that respects continuity and opens the doorway to what is to come down the road. The writing is paced and doesn’t slow down delivering tons of good moments. Tomasi and Gleason prove that they are still strong as a writing duo. There are certain elements of the story that has me wondering, and would lead to potential spoiler territory, but I wonder how long these “red energy” figures have been residing in the fifth dimension… and does Mr. Oz have something to do with that? I guess we’ll see as the story will conclude in Action Comics #976.

On the art side of things, Gleason takes art duties for this issue and it is spectacularly illustrated. The pages, the layouts are all drawn beautifully. There are a ton of moments that are handled artistically well. Gleason’s artistic take Mxyzptlk is a lot less sinister than Mahnke’s illustrative take, but it still delivers in making Mxy a devious adversary to look at. I personally enjoy Gleason’s artwork so that is a plus in my book. The inkers, colorist, and letterers all did a good job in this issue making it fun, atmospheric, and readable. This has been an enjoyable arc thus far, I can’t wait to see how it concludes, and hopefully it’ll conclude on a high note. Pick this issue up, and keep an eye out for the upcoming conclusion of this arc which will conclude in Action Comics #976. Literally, it’s a fun worthwhile series that is nonstop fun and has yet to reach a slump, it’s worth checking out.