Of all three of the regular Superman title relaunches, this is the one I was most anticipating. I'm a big fan of Greg Rucka's work, both in comics and prose, and I figured his strong characterization and penchant for realistic portrayals of dynamic professions would make for a nice fit with Superman, and more specifically, reporter Clark Kent. Instead, Rucka gets off to a somewhat shaky start, thanks to an obscure and rather uninteresting antagonist, a lack of clarity in the art and some rocky introductions to new characters. I remain interested in what Rucka may have in store in future issues, but I certainly hope it's something stronger and more coherent than this debut.
Clark Kent's been assigned a new beat with The Daily Planet. He's now the paper's crime reporter, and that means he's to set up shop at Metropolis Tower, home to the city police force's headquarters. His first night is to be spent doing a ride-along in the special crime unit chopper, and he's picked a doozy of an evening to tag along. Replikon, an android with the combined powers of the Justice League, descends upon Metropolis, its mission unknown while its sinister motive is clear: desctruction.
Clark's hyper-detailed, realistic art reminds me a great deal of the style of Phil (Wonder Woman, New X-Men) Jimenez, and there's a darker tone overall that brings a mature and edgy quality to the world of the Man of Steel. One problem with the art, though, is Clark's arrival at the press room at police HQ. There's an exchange between Clark and Bernie, a rival reporter, that's not entirely clear. I get the feeling that the reader's attention is meant to be focused on some sort of clutter on Clark's desk, but the point is lost with what seems to be a poor choice of point of view. Furthermore, Replikon, a throwaway character from yesteryear boasts a simple design that just doesn't translate well into the more meticulous styles of both the interior artist and cover artist Gene Ha.
Speaking of Replikon, if memory serves, he was a briefly glimpsed character in Green Lantern or Green Lantern Corps in the 1980s. Basically, he's an Amazo knockoff, but Rucka doesn't provide nearly enough information about the obscure character to get the reader interested in him. We're told of the immense power he represents, but there's little indication of the overwhelming nature of the threat in this plot. I was also looking for just a little more information about Bernie and Geraldine, Clark's crime-beat "colleagues." I found Bernie particularly difficult to read. I can't tell if he resents Kent or admires him.
What does pique my interest in Rucka's new direction for this title is his exploration of how the police force operates in an unusual city such as Metropolis... or the beginning of his exploration, anyway. Though they seem to come off as ineffectual here, there's an organized and confident tone to Lt. Leocadio's command of the SCU.
