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Superman #2 Review

Comic Books

Superman #2 Review

While the first issue wasn’t the best I’ve read from Rebirth, Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason’s Superman series started off showing promise and had some very good elements to it. With the next issue having arrived, let’s give it a look and see what happens next. Is it good?

Superman #2 (DC Comics)

Superman #2 Review

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The Lowdown

Superman takes his son Jonathan out on a mission to help rescue a submarine trapped in some ice to basically get him out in the field and watch and learn what his father does. All seems to go well until a gigantic squid creature under the control of some kind of machine attacks the sub and Superman! Jon is going to need to step up and help his father, but he can get around the mental block he has from the disaster that resulted from using his powers last time?

The Breakdown

Superman #2 was a marked improvement over the first issue by quite a bit. To begin with, one of my biggest complaints with the last issue was the tone of the book and how it felt like it was going against this brighter approach of DC’s Rebirth initiative. This issue felt far more in tone with that approach, already addressing the situation of what happened to the cat and how uncomfortable the neighbor girl was with Jon. It almost feels like the issue says that while dark things can certainly happen, there is also still hope and optimism that’ll shine through it all as well. Maybe I’m reading too much into the issue, but that’s what I got out of the comic and frankly, it fits very well.

Superman #2 Review
Also, I’ll need you to take notes on this. There will be test Jon.

Another improvement came from the fact that the issue felt rather eventful. While still dealing with setup, it was good setup that was interesting and made me curious. A new villain has appeared, a mysterious threat attacked a submarine, and there’s the situation revolving around Jon’s super powers. It’s material that has my attention and adding to all of that is the strong characterization and scenes between the family members. The bonding between Superman and his son for the first half of the issue or the scenes between Superman and Lois felt believable and made them feel like a caring family. This book is starting to really show its potential and I hope the series gets to avoid any crossovers for a while.

Tomasi’s writing was improved over the first issue as well. He thankfully cut down on the narration and decompression from the first issue, leaving a much more even paced story from beginning to end. The characterization was excellent like mentioned and I really like the family dynamic a lot. The tone was more hopeful and brighter, while still having moments with some serious gravity. The dialogue was good, though there are a few lines that sounded a bit stiff and unnatural (more frequent in the second half of the comic). The only real complaint I could launch at the book is that it did resolve some of the situations from the last issue a bit too cleanly. I did praise the comic for turning things around, but it doesn’t mean I instantly bought everyone being okay with everything right away.

Superman #2 Review
Uh… Superman? I’m pretty sure he knows what runs his submarine. He doesn’t need any reminders.

The artwork by Gleason looks just as good here as it did the last issue. The layouts and double page spreads are constructed very well and are easy to follow along with, and they capture some amazing snapshots of the story. The characters looked good and there was less of a problem with them having odd or creepy facial expressions this time around. The art and colors reflected the mood and tone of the book very well and there was some very good action on display. I also really like how the art team brings the heat vision to life in these panels. It looks so intense, powerful, and incredibly hot with how it is penciled and colored. This issue looked great and I hope it stays that way.

Is It Good?

Superman #2 is a great comic. It improved on its problems and on some of the complaints that I had with the first issue, delivering a really strong issue full of character, action, teases, and foreshadowing. If you haven’t checked out the series yet, now is the time. It’s time to experience a fantastic Superman comic again.

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