Review by Frank Plowright
Brian Michael Bendis was the first great superhero writer of the 21st century, re-evaluating the possibilities of whatever character he wrote, and for ten years barely putting a foot wrong. However, his latter years at Marvel lacked sparkle, and a transfer to DC didn’t restore his mojo. Perhaps what was needed was a co-writer, in this case David F. Walker, able to let Bendis know when he was swerving too far off piste, as there’s barely a wrong step with Naomi, which is an unqualified success.
The subtitle of Season One has greater relevance here as Naomi is structured like the TV show it became, with Kaci Walfall pictured on the cover of the 2022 edition. She plays Naomi McDuffie whose parents have always been honest about her being adopted, and who’s had an obsession with Superman from a very young age, which makes it annoying that she missed his two brief appearances in her hometown.
This is stylishly drawn by Jamal Campbell, immediately believable as small town Oregon rather than the big cities usually occupied by superheroes. Campbell works digitally and full process, so there’s a richness to the people and surroundings, and he has an affinity for light sources and how they reveal people. His Naomi is a believable teenager rather than an exaggerated superhero, and he’s diligent in supplying what’s best for the story rather than settling for the easier option.
Benidis and Walker make good use of the DC universe in constructing their cast, although Naomi stands alone, and Superman’s early appearance is brief and without dialogue, there to set things in motion, not to steal the spotlight. Naomi has plenty of questions that her parents seem to be avoiding, while Bendis and Walker give them viable and original reasons for doing so, prompting Naomi to seek answers from the massive taciturn guy who runs the local car repair shop.
It’s going to be no great surprise that Naomi eventually becomes a superhero, and the revelations about that right near the end are the weakest element, but in some ways that’s not the point. Relish the journey, not the outcome, as it’s packed with likeable, interesting people, creative scenarios and great art. There is a Season Two.
