Superman returns to earth after his time freeing the people from Mongul’s reign on War World. Now returned, the Man of Steel reunites with friends and foes alike, as many question Superman’s current status on earth after his time away. What is Superman’s place in the grand scheme of things? And how has his time on War World affected him and his friends at home?
This book contains four stories each written by four writers who focus on different parts of Superman’s network of friends and colleagues. Mark Waid writes the World’s Finest story, Marv Wolfman writes the Jimmy Olsen story, Sina Grace writes the Jon Kent story and Alex Seguira writes the Justice League story. Majority of the stories written in this book center on Superman and the nature of his relationship with his friends and how his absence from Earth left a void. Whether it added more responsibility to his son Jon, or an ideal to live up to on behalf of the Justice League, readers can see how some of his friends responded to his time away and his return. Personally, as much as I dug most of these stories, I think the stand out is the Marv Wolfman story due to the focus of Jimmy Olsen hanging out with Superman, reconnecting their long storied friendship. Although reading this special, I couldn’t help but wonder why Philip Kennedy Johnson wasn’t included in this special since he writes the main Action Comics book, which has been the book that focused on Clark’s time away. It would have been better to have had this as an Action Comics issue rather than a separate entity of a book.
As for the art in this book, the art is varied and suited for each story that it’s assigned to, and gives each story a unique feel that works for it. The first story illustrated by Clayton Henry (and colored by Marceo Maiolo) is a World’s Finest story focused on a team up with Batman which is fun. Indie Comics darling, Dean Haspiel (colored by Trish Mulvihill) illustrates the Jimmy Olsen focused story which feels like something out of Superman Adventures and is appropriate in the spirit of that. Jack Herbert ( colored by Alex Guimaraes) illustrates the Jon Kent team up story, and the dynamic Fico Ossio (colored by Lee Loughridge) illustrates the Justice League focused story. All of the illustrators do a good job illustrating their respective stories, while stylistically being true to their own visual narrative styles, providing variety and heart in the stories drawn. My only criticism of this issue is that it should have been included in the flagship Action Comics title, yet despite that, it’s still an enjoyable read and worth adding to your pull list for new comic book day.
Newsdesk