I hadn't read much about this limited series before reading the first issue, so suffice it to say that I didn't expect what I got. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised by the plotting, but no so much by the writing. Busiek has carved out a storng reputation for super-hero stories that incorporate real-world logic into the fantasy of superhuman champions. He offers up a plausible story about a boy who becomes a Superman, one that features a protagonist to whom it is remarkably easy to relate. Those who have seen Shockrockets and Superstar already know Busiek and Immonen make a formidable creative team, but the art here wasn't as strong as what we saw in prior efforts.
Clark Kent is an awkward lad growing up in the heartland of America. Other kids pick on him, and he feels isolated from everyone around him. He feels different. And what he hates the most is being named after a fictional character. But then, one strange day, the fiction becomes reality. The teenage Clark Kent develops powers... flight, super-strength, invulnerability, vision powers. He has become his namesake. He revels in the freedom the powers give him, but he soon finds himself struggling with what he's meant to do with them... and how others will perceive him.
The softness in Immonen's art has always been one of my favorite aspects of his work, and it's to be found here as well. It reinforces the realism of his work, and realism is definitely what's called for here. He captures the main character's insecurities, frustration and confusion quite well. Where the art goes awry is with the colors. In those moments that feature a grander view of Clark's world, the colors tend to wash out the linework. There's a hazy, dream-like look that comes over the book, and it runs contrary to the more credible, grounded tone. There's a softness in the colors as well, in keeping with the linework, but I think Immonen's work is better served when colored by someone else.
What makes this story work is the narration. Busiek does what he does best, and that's to bring credibility to an incredible situation. The plotting achieves in to some extent, but it's Clark's voice that really drives home the down-to-earth quality of the story. Clark's character is well realized, and we can hear the sadness, anger and lonelieness in his "voice."
It seems to me that the prestige format is only going to distance some potential customers here. A cheaper format or a more ambitious one -- the single-volume, original graphic novel -- might have been a better way to go here.
What surprised me the most about this book about halfway through is how true Busiek stays to the Superman myth. Real Clark's path follows Fictional Clark's path (or one of them) so closely, it seems almost redundant at times. I hope that in the subsequent chapters, we see more of a deviation from that "traditional" super-hero direction, and given that this issue closes on a note that does make such a deviation, I'm hopeful about the series as a whole.
