ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #606
"Return to Krypton II, Part 2 of 4: Culture Shock"
Mildly Recommended (5/10)
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DC Comics
Writer: Joe Casey
Pencils: Duncan Rouleau
Inks: Marlo Alquiza
Colors: Rob Ro & Alex Bleyaert
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Price: $2.25 US/$3.75 CAN |
I found last week's opening chapter of this story arc to be surprisingly strong. I say "surprising" because I have little interest in this revival of the Silver Age Krypton concept, but Geoff Johns's focused on an odd father-son dynamic that emphasized emotion over super-heroics and sci-fi. But here, the story is in full gear, and I find the core plot just doesn't capture my interest. Mind you, Casey includes some strong character moments in the script, and politics of the conflict hold a lot of potential.
Superman and a time-displaced Jor-El arrive on Krypton, only to find a full-scale civil war is under way. On the one side is Jor-El's scientifically driven government, and on the other is a cult that yearns for the return of an age of spirituality. The cult has kidnapped Lara and stolen cloning technology in order to build an army. Superman and Jor-El, still empowered by Earth's yellow sun, dive headfirst into the belly of the beast to rescue the woman who means so much to both of them.
I run hot and cold when it comes to Rouleau's art, and this time around, I'm running cold. His stuff here strikes me as Todd McFarlane artwork that's a bit out of control. The visuals lack definition at times. Mind you, the story still comes through clearly, so it's not actually out of control. The colors are bright and bring the power at play to life. They help with the wondrous alien setting as well. Those colors capture the magic of the Kryptonian "Fire Falls" beautifully, for example.
I only read one or two chapters of the first "Return to Krypton" story arc, and I wasn't wild about those either. Mind you, Casey seems to make the assumption that the reader is up to speed on the state of Krypton these days (as did Johns last week). I was at a loss as to how this Silver Age vision of Krypton arose again, and there's no exposition to fill the reader in on what went on before. Mind you, I doubt any exposition would change my mind about this step back (and others, like the return of Krypto the Super-Dog).
To Casey's credit, though, there are some interesting elements at play in this book. Jor-El doesn't really come off as much of a hero here. He seems blinded not only by his concern for his wife, but his dedication to his political vision of Krypton; I'm not entirely certain he's a protagonist in this story. Furthermore, the theme of the story -- science versus religion -- is one that's easy to perceive in the real world as well. Too often, proponents of either side are dismissive of one or the other altogether, when in reality, some kind of balance is what's called for.
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