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krakow54's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
trevoryan's review
2.0
I was extremely disappointed with this. Poorly written, poorly drawn, poorly colored. I felt like I was reading an unfinished draft.
blairconrad's review
2.0
Not a bad kernel of a story, but wrapped in weird stuff I didn't care for. Why was Supes so dumb, using his nova-burst all the freaking time when he knew what it was doing to him and it didn't seem necessary in the situation? Also, I didn't really need the flatulence jokes. Flash covering Wonder Woman's eyes was pretty good, though. And I liked Jimmy's new friend.
Final score reflects the mandatory 1-star ratings drop for [a:John Romita Jr.|444929|John Romita Jr.|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1266561754p2/444929.jpg] art.
Final score reflects the mandatory 1-star ratings drop for [a:John Romita Jr.|444929|John Romita Jr.|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1266561754p2/444929.jpg] art.
tmwebb3's review
3.0
Could have been really good, but some of the characterizations are wrong, like Lois revealing Clark's identity then trying to be his friend (versus their rivalry in previous volumes) or Jimmy in general. This blurred Clark and Superman together, different than his New 52 portrayal.
stressedspidergirl's review
3.0
Poor Clark. That's pretty much my summation of this.
He has bad friends who ditch him when his life goes to crap, with the exception of Jimmy who tries to be part of his life it looks like.
But the League is willing to pick him up and help him when he has powers. And no clothes. But then when he has clothes and no powers he's worthless.
It's kind of sad. They don't understand what's going on, his identity is exposed thanks to Lois just... blowing him out of the water there, which OUCH, and he's on his own struggling and seemingly homeless here and cast off and shunned by society... dude. Dark.
There's some good humor but this is kind of a giant ouch.
I also find it weirdly humorous Batman sees him "explode" and decides to go grab his face and then thinks they should go have dinner aka get him drunk for the first time without feeding him first -bad friends- and then leave him to suffer without any kind of kindness for a hangover cure. If I had friends like that... Who leaves their buddy in the lurch like that? How did he even get home? Terrible.
He has bad friends who ditch him when his life goes to crap, with the exception of Jimmy who tries to be part of his life it looks like.
But the League is willing to pick him up and help him when he has powers. And no clothes. But then when he has clothes and no powers he's worthless.
It's kind of sad. They don't understand what's going on, his identity is exposed thanks to Lois just... blowing him out of the water there, which OUCH, and he's on his own struggling and seemingly homeless here and cast off and shunned by society... dude. Dark.
There's some good humor but this is kind of a giant ouch.
I also find it weirdly humorous Batman sees him "explode" and decides to go grab his face and then thinks they should go have dinner aka get him drunk for the first time without feeding him first -bad friends- and then leave him to suffer without any kind of kindness for a hangover cure. If I had friends like that... Who leaves their buddy in the lurch like that? How did he even get home? Terrible.
helpfulsnowman's review
3.0
A decent book, but for me, just not the sum of its parts.
You've got Gene Luen Yang, who is definitely a comics talent.
And you've got John Romita Jr., who is one of my all-time favorite artists.
So why only 3 stars?
Well, the story starts strong, but it left me a bit bored.
The things is, I don't really like Superman stories where the story is about a vaguely de-powered Superman. It feels a little pointless to me. It's like doing a story about Batman where all of a sudden he sucks at fighting. Or an Aquaman story where he can still swim, but he's not great at it. For some reason, de-powering superheroes isn't something I'm all that excited by.
I think there are some interesting roads to go, for example Superman experiencing a human hangover for the first time, but I can kinda watch anyone do that. Hell, I did that. Let me tell you, it was an experience for me and for my mom's kitchen sink, which I vomited in. Why do I need to watch Superman do it?
Let's be honest, a Superman with no powers, that's like a Star Wars movie with no lightsabers. A Scooby-Doo episode where the bad guy is a legitimate ghost as opposed to an old man who has incredible costuming skills and really should be working in film.
And when Superman doesn't have powers, he's just man. Regularman. Standardman. Normal-If-Still-Pretty-Ripped-Man.
And the thing is, in this story, he has SOME power, but not his normal power. It's hard to tell how much he has at any given time. The rule seems to be that he has however much power the narrative requires, but just barely that much.
JRJ's art is cool, as always, and I think Gene Yang's storytelling really shines early on when Superman is interacting with the Justice League. It's when we get a little further into a story that's complicated by the intersection of tech, identity reveal, and powers fading that it feels like the pages are running all over to keep up with themselves.
You've got Gene Luen Yang, who is definitely a comics talent.
And you've got John Romita Jr., who is one of my all-time favorite artists.
So why only 3 stars?
Well, the story starts strong, but it left me a bit bored.
The things is, I don't really like Superman stories where the story is about a vaguely de-powered Superman. It feels a little pointless to me. It's like doing a story about Batman where all of a sudden he sucks at fighting. Or an Aquaman story where he can still swim, but he's not great at it. For some reason, de-powering superheroes isn't something I'm all that excited by.
I think there are some interesting roads to go, for example Superman experiencing a human hangover for the first time, but I can kinda watch anyone do that. Hell, I did that. Let me tell you, it was an experience for me and for my mom's kitchen sink, which I vomited in. Why do I need to watch Superman do it?
Let's be honest, a Superman with no powers, that's like a Star Wars movie with no lightsabers. A Scooby-Doo episode where the bad guy is a legitimate ghost as opposed to an old man who has incredible costuming skills and really should be working in film.
And when Superman doesn't have powers, he's just man. Regularman. Standardman. Normal-If-Still-Pretty-Ripped-Man.
And the thing is, in this story, he has SOME power, but not his normal power. It's hard to tell how much he has at any given time. The rule seems to be that he has however much power the narrative requires, but just barely that much.
JRJ's art is cool, as always, and I think Gene Yang's storytelling really shines early on when Superman is interacting with the Justice League. It's when we get a little further into a story that's complicated by the intersection of tech, identity reveal, and powers fading that it feels like the pages are running all over to keep up with themselves.
orangerful's review
3.0
I enjoyed Gene Luen Yang's take on Superman but I have to say this comic suffered from an issue I tend to find with a lot of the major superheroes - their arcs are SO BIG that if you try to pick up in the middle it can be a little "oh man I've missed so much". Even though this is labeled as "Volume 1" it references previous stories.
I enjoyed it but I wasn't in love with it. I might pick up volume 2 because I did find the way it ended to be an interesting twist on the story and the character relationships.
I enjoyed it but I wasn't in love with it. I might pick up volume 2 because I did find the way it ended to be an interesting twist on the story and the character relationships.
renatasnacks's review
3.0
I'm not the biggest DC nor Superman fan, but I am a pretty big fan of Gene Yang so I picked this up. It was pretty fun! I obviously missed some stuff leading up to this but I think I got the gist of it, and I thought the ~human Superman~ (after he uses his Solar Flare power he becomes functionally human, because, sure) at the bar with the Justice League was pretty adorbs. Also
I would probably read the next volume of this mostly to see how (above spoiler) resolves.
Spoiler
don't fight, Clark and Lois!! AHHHI would probably read the next volume of this mostly to see how (above spoiler) resolves.
britterization's review
3.0
In this Superman comic written by Gene Yang, Superman is being blackmailed by a mysterious agency (or person) called HORDR. He's also got a new ability (solar flare) that destroys everything in his immediate vicinity, but that leaves him human/vulnerable for the 24 hours immediately following the flare's use.
Even though this is labeled "Volume I" the issues in it are marked as 40-46. As such, the first issue was super confusing. It took me a hot minute to figure out what was happening, but basically, the Justice League was testing Superman's new power: solar flares. Honestly, you could skip it and be fine.
Anyway, so after that bizarre first issue, we enter the main story. I think it's my fav Supes story (I mean, its the first one I've read, but I've seen *some* of the movies), just because in my opinion, Superman is usually a little over powered (OP), which makes him a lot less interesting as a character. It was nice to see him being a human, and we get a few cute moments as a result (hangover!). The story has a nice, easy to follow progression, the characters (for the most part) act in ways that make sense, and the last issue leaves the door WIDE open for future issues. If you have no knowledge of Superman, it would be really hard to follow. Movie watchers will be fine, but if you are totally new to Superman, start elsewhere.
This might be really stupid, but I hated Superman's costume update. The jeans just looked silly. Like, go full tights/ridiculous superhero costume, man, or just do nothing at all. Also, like, shave or don't shave, don't walk around with that spiky stubble all the time, it's distracting.
Somehow worse costume aside, I liked this Superman story, and I'll likely check out the next volume. 3 stars - it was pretty good.
Even though this is labeled "Volume I" the issues in it are marked as 40-46. As such, the first issue was super confusing. It took me a hot minute to figure out what was happening, but basically, the Justice League was testing Superman's new power: solar flares. Honestly, you could skip it and be fine.
Anyway, so after that bizarre first issue, we enter the main story. I think it's my fav Supes story (I mean, its the first one I've read, but I've seen *some* of the movies), just because in my opinion, Superman is usually a little over powered (OP), which makes him a lot less interesting as a character. It was nice to see him being a human, and we get a few cute moments as a result (hangover!). The story has a nice, easy to follow progression, the characters (for the most part) act in ways that make sense, and the last issue leaves the door WIDE open for future issues. If you have no knowledge of Superman, it would be really hard to follow. Movie watchers will be fine, but if you are totally new to Superman, start elsewhere.
This might be really stupid, but I hated Superman's costume update. The jeans just looked silly. Like, go full tights/ridiculous superhero costume, man, or just do nothing at all. Also, like, shave or don't shave, don't walk around with that spiky stubble all the time, it's distracting.
Somehow worse costume aside, I liked this Superman story, and I'll likely check out the next volume. 3 stars - it was pretty good.
lukeisthename34's review
4.0
Interesting take on Supes, but it still feels like it's been done before (not the Lois conflict though). The only complaint I really have is that yet again I have no idea when reading a DC book when all the events are happening within the DCU.