SUPERBOY #95
"House Party!"
Mildly Recommended (5/10)
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DC Comics
Writers: Jimmy Palmiotti & Dan Didio
Pencils: John McCrea
Inks: James Hodgkins
Colors: Jason Wright & Digital Chameleon
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Mike McAvennie
Price: $2.25 US/$3.75 CAN |
I thoroughly enjoyed the first issue of the new direction for this title, as presented in the previous issue by a new creative team. And though the potential of those ideas remain here, a set of rather ho-hum super-hero cliches and new villains detract from the overall quality as established last month. Nevertheless, my interest in Palmiotti and Didio's new status quo for the title character persists.
Superboy discovers some of the hardships of being an apartment-building super -- oh, the horrors of Apt.#10 -- but he also discovers some advantages... like the two hotties down the hall. As they plan an evening out at a local nightclub, a group of six would-be super-villains plan a heist... at the same club, of course. Among their number is non-superhuman young woman named Trixie, who may be beautiful on the outside, but inside, she walks a fine line between sanity and insanity.
McCrea's often bizarre approach to comic art suits the extreme tone of this book. In many ways, this is a spoof of the dirty side of real life, and McCrea's twisted pencils suit the twisted sense of humor exhibited by the writers. However, the fight scene at the club lacks a certain degree of clarity. Furthermore, McCrea's contribution to DC's "Full Coverage" theme this month strikes me as a mite too goofy, albeit in an Eisner-esque way.
Aside from Trixie, the new villains introduced here struck me as far too cliched. I've seen characters like these time and time again, and the writers don't really seem to do anything new with these unimpressive archetypes. The cookie-cutter plot was equally played out; it lacked suspense.
On the plus side, though, the madness exhibited by both the armored villain from the previous issue and by Trixie caught my attention. They added an edge to the book. Trixie is an intriguing figure, and I found I wanted to know much more about how she came to be the way she is. She brings an unpredictable quality to the book, and I hope her role in the title isn't a fleeting one.
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