DC Comics
Superman #17
By Avi Weinryb
February 17, 2017 - 17:07

DC Comics
Writer(s): Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason
Artist(s): Sebastian Fiumara
Colourist(s): Dave Stewart
Letterer(s): Rob Leigh
Cover Artist(s): Fiumara and Stewart



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This issue is trying really hard to go for a “Stranger Things” 1980s nostalgia vibe, with kids riding their fixie bikes into the night, headlights glaring, trying to solve a supernatural mystery while the adults are away. In this case, one of the kids is Superman’s son. But in looking to help his neighbor find her missing grandfather and his cow, the two kids wind up finding something else. Something sinister…

It’s a tidy one-off story with a cute ending and some fun action sequences. Well, it’s really one sequence. This issue has almost zero plot and is essentially just a chance for Tomasi and Gleason to let their hair down and have fun. Fiumara really knows how to draw creepy forests. The entire issue is a moon-lit spook-fest, excellently captured by this talented artist.

There is no complexity here. No prior knowledge required. It’s just a pleasant tale to pack into a schoolbag and read with friends at school or on a sleepover. Or for adults to read and reminisce about the good ol’ days when everything was an adventure and how cool it would be if a damsel in distress showed up asking for you to slip on your Chuck Taylor shoes and jump on your bike and ride. It’s a comic for kids and those with fond memories of the past.