Superman ‘78 #3 – Robert Venditti, Writer; Wilfredo Torres, Artist; Jordie Bellaire, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: The two movie revivals have become some of the best books in DC’s stable right now, and the game is raised once again with the third issue of this title. When we last left off, Superman had surrendered to Brainiac to protect his city. There’s a great scene with the average Joes of Metropolis rallying to protect their guardian, but ultimately Superman does leave—but not before a tearful goodbye by Lois, and an odd shared moment between him and the always-plotting Luthor. From there, the Brainiac drones take Superman up to their master’s ship and Brainiac begins the process of bottling the last Kryptonian—or so we think. Instead, Superman is teleported into the Bottled City of Kandor, where he meets a host of other survivors from his planet—including, in a major twist on the mythos, Jor-El and Lara, who haven’t aged a day since they sent their son away from their doomed world.
Obviously, Jor-El returned in the main comics a few years ago in a controversial plot, but this is the first time that we’ve seen Superman truly reunited with both his parents. Venditti gets some great emotional scenes out of the reunion between Kal-El and his mother, especially since Lara (much like all the Marthas) gets short shift in most stories compared to her husband. Torres also draws an amazing revival of Krypton, especially in all the wildlife that’s been preserved. There’s still a missing blonde and maybe a very good boy I was hoping to see in this segment, but it’s such a great scene that opens up a whole new world for the universe—including our first glimpse of some other iconic species. But things aren’t confined to Krypton, as Lois is determined to get Superman back—and that leads her into an unlikely alliance at the end of the issue. I have no clue where this story will go next, and that’s a big compliment.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
