Review by Karl Verhoven
Mon-El begins with a flashback in ‘Superman’s Big Brother’ as the young Clark Kent in Smallville slows the flight of a small spacecraft from which another alien boy with super powers emerges. Unfortunately, while Superboy is susceptible to kryptonite, lead is Mon-El’s vulnerability, so he’s not from Krypton after all. Geoff Johns and Eric Wight’s story ends with Mon-El being placed in the Phantom Zone for his own protection, and Superboy vowing to save him.
While Mon-El’s emergence into the 21st century is the primary plot, James Robinson introduces plenty of other threads to complement it. It’s nice to see Superman spending some time with Lois Lane again, as there wasn’t much time for her in New Krypton Volume Two. There’s not much of Superman either, who heads off to New Krypton Volume Three, which should be read before checking how Jimmy Olsen’s investigations play out in Codename: Patriot.
That leaves Mon-El taking centre stage, now no longer harmed by particles of lead, and actually replacing Superman, which may not please everyone expecting more Superman in a graphic novel bearing his name. However, overlook that, and Robinson’s on top form as he juggles multiple characters, all of them interesting whether Superman’s around or not. His real triumph is Guardian, the way Robinson writes him not too far from Captain America, as someone to be looked up to as he leads by example. He’s not without a sense of humour, though. “It appears to be time to prove you’re not Kryptonian Mon” is a great understatement leading to a fine cinematic cut. However, by the end you’ll begin to wonder about him.
It takes a while to reach the work of primary artist Renato Guedes, before which we’ve endured several other artists all lacking one important skill. Jesus Merino has no emotional range, Pablo Raimondi’s figures are stiff and his anatomy suspect although his portraits are good, and Javier Piña is a step up, but his facial expressions can be strange. Guedes, though, is the full package (sample art), working hard to provide full backgrounds, his page layouts more imaginative, his people looking natural when moving and with natural expressions. Also good is a desperate battle in the final chapter drawn by Pere Pérez.
Despite Superman’s absence for the final two-thirds, you’ll become wrapped up in the plots Robinson sets going, and the new problem introduced for Mon-El. Almost nothing is resolved, however, and there are a lot of balls in the air. There’s a form of continuation in Mon-El (Man of Valor) where much is resolved, but a lot also happens in between in the volumes noted above, so the choice is yours.
