Broken Frontier

With a brand new creative team and an OMAC Project tie-in, the new issue of Superman is an ideal spot for new readers to jump aboard.

After a full year of a highly underrated run by Brian Azzarello and Jim Lee, the new creative team of writer Mark Verheiden and Ed Benes are ready to take the reigns on the most iconic character in comics. Those with little patience and lost by the more cerebral and esoteric Azzarello tale will be happy to know that this is a much more old fashioned Superman story heavy on the action, while Countdown fans who may not normally buy a Superman title but are only doing so for the OMAC Project tie-in branded on the front cover may be disappointed. The issue kicks off in Washington, D.C, where a government satellite has picked up mysterious markings of a key and the Superman insignia burned into a mountain in Peru. Lois and Jimmy immediately arrive in hopes of finding Superman who has been missing for the past three weeks. After Superman in typical fashion swoops in to save Jimmy and Lois from a pair of gun-toting revolutionaries, they learn that Clark has fallen in love with the jungles of Peru and has built his new Fortress of Solitude among them.

Mark Verheiden has been working outside of the comic book industry of late, writing and producing Smallville, which is not a thrilling endorsement, as I feel it is one of the more poorly written shows on TV. However this is a strong debut issue. While containing the standard action scenes and a brief crossover tie-in, the actual focus of this issue is very much a character study. In his first issue Verheiden seems to be focusing on the alien nature of Superman, specifically the notion that Superman so desperately wants to be accepted by mankind yet it is his role as its protector that make him an outcast and even feared.

I’ve been a huge fan of Ed Benes since I first noticed his work on the criminally underrated series Codename: Knockout, and recently many are finally becoming aware of one of the best superhero artists in the business through his tremendous run on Birds of Prey. I feel Benes’ style is much more suited for the upcoming Supergirl re-launch than it is here simply because it is his women that stand out in every single panel rather than Superman. Be it his work on Supergirl or Birds of Prey, this comic is another example of Benes drawing some of the most stunning females to ever grace a comic book, however his rendition of Superman looks too young for my taste. He looks like a teenager at times. This is a minor complaint though as his flashy pencils and lively coloring by Rod Reis give the comic a wonderful and majestic classic Superman look.

While certainly not covering any new ground, Verheiden writes a solid debut issue that really has me looking forward what his run has in store. Combined with the captivating pencils of Ed Benes this makes for the perfect jumping on point for anyone who hasn’t picked up a Superman comic in a while.

-Glen Siegal