Superman Annual 2023 #1 – Joshua Williamson, Writer; Mahmud Asrar, Edwin Galmon, Caitlin Yarsky, Max Raynor, Jack Herbert, Artists; Dave McCaig, Alex Guimaraes, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: The main Superman series has been on hold for a few months for Knight Terrors, but this oversized art-jam one-shot fills the gap with one of the best issues of the series. And the most impressive thing is, Superman is barely even in this one! He’s off fighting Toyman while Lois Lane runs the Daily Planet, sending her staff of reporters out to find the biggest stories in Metropolis. This includes some new characters, along with mainstays like Cat Grant and Steve Lombard. This is the most that Metropolis has seemed like an actual city in a long time, with much of Williamson’s character work reminding me of how the weekly Superman serial operated in the 1990s. As the reporters fan out, Williamson calls back to many long-running subplots that may have been forgotten for decades. This is the first time I’ve seen Cat Grant’s late son referenced since the 1990s, for instance.
There are a lot of very intriguing moments in this issue, with characters like Chief Kekoa making a return for the first time since the first issue. Williamson also seems to have more compassion for the series’ villains than most writers do, continuing the storyarc of Parasite’s redemption arc thanks to the intervention of Supercorp. The same goes for Livewire, the chaotic shock jock turned supervillain who becomes Lois’ unlikely savior when a jailhouse interview is interrupted by vengeful villain Red Cloud. Red Cloud was a major player in the Bendis run but has been forgotten since, and it’s interesting to see how many deep cuts Williamson is going for. Characters like Marilyn Moonlight come in and out of the story, and Lois uncovers a massive Daily Planet conspiracy going back decades. Combined with Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s Superman family book, this is a top era for the character.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
