SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #118
"Time and Punishment"
Mildly Recommended (6/10)
|
DC Comics
Writer: Mark Schultz
Pencils: Dougn Mahnke
Inks: Walden Wong
Colors: Wildstorm FX
Letters: Ken Lopez
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Price: $2.25 US/$3.75 CAN |
Like Loeb and Casey in the two weeks prior, Schultz tells a story that uses the recently completed "Our Worlds at War" crossover event as a foundation, but the tone here isn't as human, as grounded, as what we've seen in those other recent Superman tales. Still, some imaginative and detailed art, and seeing the title character reject rather cosmic expectations, made for some fun reading.
Charged by the Linear Men with cosmic war crimes relating to his destruction of the entrpoic force known as Imperiex, Superman is brought before the godly tribunal known as the Quintessence. The Linear Men, led by Hunter, accuse Superman of abdicating his responsibilities as a "nexus being," of putting his own emotional interests above the good of reality itself. As Steel, clad in his Aegis armor, arrives to rescue him, the Man of Steel defends his actions, and his feelings.
Mahnke's organic yet angular style is perfectly suited to rendering the cosmic characters and settings of this issue. His twisted redesigns of the Linear Men reflect their no-longer human attitude perfectly. This story is about power and the responsible application of it, and the artist reinforces it with art that conveys energy and other-dimensional weirdness quite well.
I didn't care for "Our Worlds at War," so I wasn't thrilled to see it serve as the foundation for this aftermath story. However, Schultz does offer an accessible script. Even those who read nothing of the crossover shouldn't have much trouble getting up to speed through this script.
Though the title character tries to emphasize the "man" over the "super" in his speech before the cosmic forces of the DC Universe, his words aren't quite enough to overcome the distant nature of the plot. Even when Superman is joined by a human friend (Steel), his appearance is alien and cold. The story just doesn't have enough human heart to be really compelling.
Email Don MacPherson comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.
|
