DC FIRST: SUPERMAN/LOBO #1
"First Date"
Mildly Recommended (5/10)
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DC Comics
Writer: Keith Giffen
Pencils: Cliff Rathburn
Inks: Rob Leigh
Colors: Brad Anderson & Digital Chameleon
Letters: Jack Morelli
Editor: Dan Raspler
Price: $3.50 US/$5.75 CAN |
Oh the various DC First books being released this month, this was the one I was least anticipating. The Superman/Lobo rumble thing has been done to death, and as I expected, there's nothing really new to be found in these pages. The book boasts some solid art, and the story is accessible and should be fun for new readers. Overall, though, it's a miss-able book.
An alien conglomerate has invested resources in the water supply on the planet Earth, and not only ago, sent a mechanical agent to negotiate property rights and other financial consideration with the planet's most powerful alien presence: a Kryptonian by the name of Superman. His protective response prompted the conglomerate -- the Hegemony -- to hire someone to take the Man of Steel out of the picture... namely, Lobo.
Rathburn impressed with his fill-in work on JLA a few months back, so it was pleasure to see his work again. He tells this story capably, capturing the exaggerated nature of the characters, plot elements and some of the settings. Most impressive, though, is his depiction of Lobo's healing process. It's morbidly entertaining and vivid in its level of detail while not coming off as too gruesome.
A few years back, when Paul Dini and Bruce Timm were working on a short-lived Superman cartoon, the two-parter focused on the introduction of Lobo into the DC animated continuity. That story and this one are basically the same, only executed a little differently. The formula is there, though: Lobo is dispatched to deal with Superman, and the pair ends up teaming up to face a common foe. Given how familiar Giffen is with Lobo, I would have expected something a little less conventional from him.
I'm also at a loss to understand why this simple story merited the extra page count and accompanying higher price tag. There's little in the way of interesting characterization, and nothing new is said about either title character. Giffen does offer some entertaining dialogue, though, but it's not enough to keep me interested throughout the entire book.
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