Superman & Batman: Generations III #12

DC Comics
Superman & Batman: Generations III #12
By Leroy Douresseaux
January 18, 2004 - 14:53

DC Comics
Writer(s): John Byrne
Penciller(s): John Byrne
Cover Artist(s): John Byrne

The central conceit of John Byrne's entertaining comics series, SUPERMAN & BATMAN: GENERATIONS, is that they follow the lives of Superman and Batman as if they had lived and aged in "real time." While I don't think that GENERATIONS III quite matches the quality of the previous two series, it's an enjoyable series that is as hard to put down as a summer potboiler.

G3 closing chapter, issue 12, caused something of a stir, because the end changes what preceded it. "It's as if none of it ever happened," constipated fan boys cried. I emailed Clark Kent at the Daily Planet the other day, and he told me that G3 was in fact not real. Who knew?

If anyone can make a team up of Batman and Superman as fun now as it was during the early years of WORLD'S FINEST, it's John Byrne. Add the fact that Byrne spread the action of Generations across the "known past and future" of the DC universe and that he added guest appearances by quite a few big time DC heroes and supporting characters, and this is a can't miss comic.

Say what one will about Byrne, he can make superhero comics that remind you of how much fun it was to read comics as a child - the weird fantasy, the page-turning melodrama, and the captivating players. It's more enjoyable the most superhero comics. [DRECK, DULL, READABLE, PRETTY GOOD, EXCELLENT]