
We begin with Cold, written by Mike Raicht and drawn by Charles Paul Wilson III and, readers of the recent Superboy run in Adventure Comics will immediately note, coloured by Brian Buccellato. The latter's palette is distinctively autumnal, yet it fits this winter's tale perfectly, matching the colours of childhood memory. The childhood here is, of course, Clark Kent's. Ice skating with Pa and best pal Pete Ross, Clark learns more about his developing powers and himself. It's the type of story we've seen many times, but when it's presented as well as it here, variations on the legend are always welcome.

Letterer Travis Lanham is the first member of the creative crew to grab the attention with the second story, via a smart 'title card' telling us that this stars 'Lois Lane and Clark Kent in Patience-Centered Care'. It's a tale of Mr and Mrs Superman in which Lois is miserable over a flu bug, while her every need is ministered to by loving, attentive Clark. Loving, attentive ... and annoying Clark. Determined to stay by his wife's side, but banished to the next room for fussing around, the way he finds to amuse himself makes for one of the most original Superman stories in years - the guy is positively playful.

Ben McCool comes up with a neat idea for Bugs. The Daily Planet is infested with alien insects and Clark helps out the local exterminator. McCool captures the essence of Superman-while-Clark, light-hearted but taking his work seriously, and never so keen to protect his secret ID that innocents are endangered.

The splash page of Why Metropolis? is grabby to say the least, with that man Lanham getting to use probably the largest word balloon font of his career. And the story isn't bad either. Pat McCallum has three career criminals explain to a newbie why they've chosen to pull a job in arguably the best protected city in America. It's refreshing to hear the hood in the street's views on various superheroes (and the Green Arrow vignette shows us that he really doesn't need a barrowload of grit to be appealing).

Superman is My Co-Pilot, by Jason Hall and Julian Lopez, introduces us to Stan, a near-agoraphobic due to fear of the costumed crazies who populate Metropolis. Then one day he's saved by Superman and . . . well, hopefully you'll read this story for yourself and find out. Let's just say he seems to be channelling Silver Age Lois Lane (and no, that doesn't mean he's trying to trick Supie into marriage). Hall's first person narration has me rooting for Stan, even as I want to slap him, while his dialogue is sharply understated.

The kernel of the charming Five Minutes is another simple idea - how can Clark fill a few moments while waiting for Lois - but writer Rik Hoskin spins it into a thing of wonder. There are no big villains here, it's strictly Superman as community pal, right down to the classic cat in tree shtick.

Sean Ryan's story, the last in the book, brings the giant's occasional theme of how ordinary folk view Superman to the fore with a series of conversations about a battle he's having with Bizarro. As the conversational baton passes from person to person we move from Metropolis to Arizona, where hero fights twisted mirror image. And then we get to the final image, and the story's very appropriate title. Sorry, not telling! Apart from a stream of spit/blood that's out of place with this giant's overall gentle tone, I love Clayton Henry's art here.

So that's seven shorts and seven hits, making this the best of DC's recent 80-pagers. Even the cover by Aaron Lopresti, a veteran but up and coming so far as the Superman books are concerned, is strikingly original.
Whether you're a fan of Superman or simply human interest stories set in a world of wonder, I can't recommend this special enough.
Thanks for pointing out this book. I missed it the first time around but the comic shop reordered for me. Enjoyed! Very sedate, though. Could have used a bit more action in at least one story.
ReplyDeleteFair point on the lact of slugging. I was OK with that, it reminded me of all those quiet Sixties stories.
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