Review by Frank Plowright

DC have form for trumpeting the arrival of writers who’ve previously had long careers at Marvel, only to discover their mojo has somehow diminished or expired. So whither Dan Slott on Superman? To avoid the spoiler, don’t read beyond the fifth paragraph.

Slott opens with a change of ownership at the Daily Planet including considerable expansion into other markets before a pleasing sequence of Superman dashing around Metropolis helping out. Some nice dialogue accompanies escalating threats culminating with Superman being tasked by the Justice League to stop an asteroid. With the revelation of what it is any thoughts of Slott’s imagination being on the wane are forcefully dispelled.

He uses the event to prompt a run through of pivotal events from Superman’s past and then to change his future. Without wanting to give anything away, Superman has to adapt to new times and Slott messes with the core of his being. As very few changes are ever permanent in the superhero world, why not go with the flow and see what Slott has planned for Superman’s new limitations?

If they’re new, so is Rafael Albuquerque’s art, at least on Superman, where the style has always been tightly defined and polished. That’s not the Albuquerque way. He certainly delivers spectacle, and layouts making choices other artists wouldn’t are excellent, all without greatly changing the impressionistic way he’s drawn people throughout his career. Some faces are strange, pulled and almost melting on a few occasions, but that’s a minor problem, to be washed away for many by a super-cute Krypto. Lucas Meyer and Mike Norton each contribute a few pages along the way, with Norton more attuned to the prevailing style, and Meyer closer to the traditonal look.

Given Slott changes Superman’s world so drastically there’ll be anticipation of his treatment of recurring characters. The primary supporting cast is seen, but rarely used, perhaps falling under the auspices of other Superman writers, so Slott takes on secondary characters and promotes them into something more interesting. The Creeper, always unsettling, is even creepier and there’s a different Toyman. Additionally Slott makes a point by introducing an IT technician at the Daily Planet sourced from Gorilla City. It’s a big old DC world, so why would all staff be human?

The big change Slott brings is Earth being awash with green kryptonite, the biggest deposits under the control of the decidedly suspicious regime controlling El Caldero, and that greatly affects Superman’s capabilities. It’s novel seeing Superman unable to operate as previously, and Slott plots his traps well. We know Superman’s not going to die, but other certainties have been removed. It makes for a bravura reworking that thrills here and whets the appetite going forward.