Review by Ian Keogh

A third Man of Steel anthology again has assorted creators investigating aspects of Superman’s mythology and character at various points in his career, and as before, it produces mixed results. With S.T.A.R. Labs a connection between many of the strips in Volume Two, here The Daily Planet frequently figures.

This time three longer stories are front-ended, but there are more of them than previously, beginning with Jim Krueger and Neil Edwards. There’s a good idea behind the plot, and a reason for keeping it concealed, but Krueger’s pacing is quirky, greatly prolonging events and draining the life from the idea. That’s not quite the case for Peter Milligan exploring the idea of Superman being perceived as too soft when a violent vigilante appears in Metropolis, but it could also have been shorter. As with Edwards, Agustin Padilla adapts the art to the story, this being notably darker. B. Clay Moore and Gabriel Rodriguez supply the best of the longer stories despite featuring little Superman. It’s expressively drawn, and features a disgraced reporter wanting to come back via a story about Superman’s connection to the Daily Planet. Nice character moments and a clever revelation occur.

Deep into the collection there’s a fourth long story, beautifully drawn by Evan “Doc” Shaner (sample art left) around a good idea from Ron Marz, but this is another example of too little plot for the pages occupied. Ming Doyle, Brent Schoonover, David Williams, Tula Lotay and Jason Shawn Alexander each draw a few pages of Joe Keatinge’s ‘Strange Visitor’, looking at Superman through the years, starting in 1939. It’s the cover story, ambitious and sentimental, but eventually the point being made is obvious and redundant.

Jack Kirby is the inspiration for Jerry Ordway and Steve Rude, and while it’s nice to see Rude doing his version of Kirby and the return of an old character, it’s muddled and not easy to follow. Obscurities also feature when Fabien Nicieza and Phil Hester have Superman babysitting Sugar and Spike. It’s funny in places, and the idea of reversing Kyle Baker’s notorious story of Superman’s babysitter is smart, but Nicieza never effectively moves beyond the concept. At the other end of the emotional scale is Steve Niles and Matthew Dow Smith aiming for gravitas as Superman meets a ghost. Again, the idea is good, but the passage too obvious.

Whimsy is more charmingly a part of Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landro showing Superman’s patience as he goes about his superheroic business for a week, all the while wondering what’s in the box Lois has given him for Valentine’s Day. It’s sweet, clever, and the ending matches the premise. However, the best on offer here is Max Landis and Jock (sample art right) exploring much the same idea as Milligan, but via the Joker. It’s a twenty page conversation, yet compelling throughout with many funny lines, great art, and a cherry on the cake ending when Batman turns up.

By their nature anthologies are tricky beasts with different inclusions having the greatest appeal to different readers, so you may well feel something here is undervalued. Satisfaction isn’t guaranteed, but the better stories raise the disappointments.