Review: Superman #2 - Mobile Edition

DC Comics
Review: Superman #2
By Philip Schweier
August 8, 2018 - 05:48

DC Comics
Writer(s): Brian Michael Bendis
Penciller(s): Ivan Reis
Inker(s): Joe Prado, Oclair Albert
Colourist(s): Alex Sinclair
Letterer(s): Josh Reed
Cover Artist(s): Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Alex Sinclair; variants by David Mack, Adam Hughes

Superman has discovered that the entire planet Earth has somehow entered the Phantom Zone. Not only does this open the planet to attack from its many criminal occupants, it also cuts Earth off from some of the known DCU’s common elements, such as the Speed Force and various forces of magic.

There is a brief cameo by Lex Luthor’s Nuclear Man, as seen in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. Some may regard this as outside the current continuity, but perhaps the Phantom Zone is a bit of a hub for the various realities within the greater DC Universe. That would be a fitting means of keeping characters from moving too eagerly from one continuity to another. Kind of like the Atlanta airport in our world.

This theory is given greater credence when the Flash’s sense of reality begins to fragment, and he inexplicably becomes Wally West rather than Barry Allen. However, that could be attributed to a coloring mistake by Sinclair, or one of DC’s arbitrary ret-cons in which they try to convince us Barry Allen has always had red hair.

What grabbed me about this issue is the artwork. Reis, Prado and Albert seem to be channeling their inner Neal Adams. The inking has a rick texture, and the figure renderings demonstrate stances and facial expressions. I am inclined to revisit past work by Reis and Prado to see if this is a recent development in their individual styles, or if there has always been a certain mimicry in their drawings. Not that that’s a bad thing, by any means.

Rating: 8/10