Here's something one doesn't often see: a new title set in the DC Universe with a Superman guest-appearance that flew completely under my radar. Until a preview copy turned up at my local comic shop, I'd never heard tell of The Next. The cover image -- boasting art that puts me in mind of Amanda (JSA: Classified, Two-Step) Conner's style -- combined with the oddball character designs and the title itself immediately led me to compare this book to Marvel's Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E., written by Warren Ellis. Once I started reading the book, more commonalities emerged, but this is a much more tame send-up of science-fiction and super-heroes. The book is definitely diverting, but I found that after I read it, I wasn't all that interested whether or not I'd get a chance to read the second issue.
A quartet of dimension-hopping young rebels from the future pursue their artificial-intelligence pet across realities and find it cozying up to a teen named Monnika Wong in southern California. The singularity-powered people from the future are shocked to discover their well-meaning actions have disastrous results, and they end up staying on Earth to fix the problems. Of course, their entry into our universe has damaged space-time, and Superman sets out to investigate while the dictators from which the impulsive quartet, known as the Next, makes dark plans to retrieve them.
Smith's artwork is somewhat inconsistent here, but given the fluid nature of the title characters, I suppose that's to be expected to a certain degree. The artist really conveys the surreal, non-physicality of the Next in their true forms early in the book, and I love the transparent design for Dog. The bubble-gum quality of the Next's first earthly disguises is not only funny, but it conveys their innocence quite clearly. Given the cosmic and scientifically theoretical elements in the book, the colors are used to great effect to bring the impossible energies and anomalies to life.
I love the initial historic disguises the Next chooses to serve as their earthly faces. The Superman/Metron involvement in the story actually makes some sort sense and doesn't feel too forced. The biggest problem with the book is the script. I thoroughly enjoyed the banter among the four members of the Next, but the dialogue from the grounded characters, such as Monnika, was stilted, awkward and stiff. It felt as though too great an emphasis was placed on exposition and not enough on personality.
It's clear that the central theme of this book is the exploration of the importance of youthful rebellion. Monnika and the Next aren't all that different, after all, but the theme is so obvious, so is the plot. The story and characters seem to follow predictable paths, which flies in the face of the zany and madcap qualities, a la Mr. Mxyzptlk, of the Next. 6/10
