Book of Doom:
Superman: New Krypton Special

Geoff Johns. Do we have a hard-on for that guy or what? This marks the fifth consecutive Book of Doom written by him. But I assure you that this is mere coincidence. There’s even two other writers on the book this week. We just can’t help it if Johns is a kickass writer and makes us really want to read his stuff.

Speaking of previous Books of Doom, two weeks ago I said that I was probably going to sit the New Krypton arc out. I didn’t want to be dragged into buying two more books that I didn’t usually buy (Superman and Supergirl). But I actually thought the arc was going to be a whole lot longer than it really is, like four or five months. Turns out it’s only nine parts, a much more manageable crossover. So I decided to buy the Superman: New Krypton Special and use it to decide whether or not I’d continue buying the arc.

Turns out, I’m glad I did. The first nine pages were a great epilogue to the “Braniac” arc that just ended in Action Comics, drawn by series regular Gary Frank. In it, we see Pa Kent’s funeral, Superman fantasizing about beating the snot out of Braniac again, and Clark going through the chest that his father kept of their fondest memories. I really liked the inclusion of the horseshoe that Clark heat-visioned “World’s Greatest Dad” into, which was actually a scene from the current Johns/Frank run.

Then we transition to a government facility where Braniac is being held and tested. Braniac escapes and kills some scientist before Agent Assassin takes him down. I had no idea who this Assassin guy was, but thankfully it was later explained that he’s a villain from the last Superman arc. Then it’s back to Smallville from some awkward/touching/sad moments between Clark and his mother. I’m not sure if Pa’s death will actually factor into this arc at all, but I’m glad the writers aren’t ignoring it to deal with it later.

Superman next visits Supergirl’s parents in Kandor, where the citizens of the former bottled city are slowly gaining superpowers. In a nutshell, Superman tries to explain to them that with great power comes great responsibility. Meanwhile, Lois meets with her sister Lucy at the gravesite of their father in Arlington Cemetery. I didn’t even know that Lois had a sister and a dead father who are/were in the military. You think that might factor into the story at some point in the future?

Back in Kandor, everyone’s flying all over the place. Some guy punched a whale and killed it, then hauled it back to Kandor to show Zor-El. Superman feels worried that the New Kryptonians aren’t going to respect how things are done on Earth since they can do pretty much anything they want, but Supergirl calms him down and they all sit down for an El family dinner.

Back at the Daily Planet, Jimmy tells Lois about a secret government agency he discovered that’s amassing magic- and Kryptonite-based weaponry. Jimmy thinks the agency’s sole objective is to kill Superman, but now it looks like they might have a few more Kryptonians to take out than they originally expected. And the guy in charge of this organization? Shocker! It’s Lois’ “dead” father! But in somewhat less predictable news, he’s recruited Lex Luthor to help him take out Superman.

Lex Luthor being brought in is kind of an obvious choice, but the fact that he really hasn’t been around since the very first One Year Later arc “Up, Up and Away” makes it seem like a refreshing one. It probably helps that I’ve only been reading Superman for about three years, so this is only the second Superman vs. Luthor story I’ve ever read. Maybe the recent Spider-Man vs. Green Goblin/Venom story “New Ways To Die” would have been better if it wasn’t the umpteenth time I’ve seen Spidey fight each of those guys.

While this issue was pretty good, I’m still not convinced to read the complete New Krypton arc. All of the artists involved have a great styles that work nicely with one another, and none of the writers seem terrible, but they weren’t able to hook me. I guess that’s probably because I sort of find Superman inherently uninteresting, although a great creative team (like Johns and Frank) can certainly tell great stories with the character. I’ll probably end up buying the next issue and seeing if that one’s good enough to convince me to buy the one after that.

Here’s what Jim Doom had to say about it:

I like that DC launched this big crossover this way. Had they just decided to kick it off in one of the Super-titles that I don’t read (as in, anything but Action Comics) I likely would’ve skipped it and then proceeded to skip all the corresponding issues of Action that crossed over. But thanks to doing it this way, it was an easy psychological jump-on point and I’m most likely going to follow the story as a result.

The story picks up after the conclusion to the Brainiac storyline, with everyone grieving the death of Pa Kent. It’s a nice segue and contrast, losing one adopted family member only to gain a hundred thousand Kryptonians, being genetically so much closer to one than the other, yet socially and emotionally reversed. Several pages after Clark buries his adopted father, Supergirl gets her parents back. While Clark is struggling to contain the release of his fellow Kryptonians, his adopted mother sits home alone. Great juxtaposition.

So in addition to connecting this to the Superman stories that just happened, we also get several doors opened to what’s coming next, and the writers did a great job of making new readers not feel left out. I had absolutely no idea that Lois Lane had a sister, but their entire relationship was laid out in two pages; I had no idea that Lois and her father are to Superman as Betty Ross and her father are to the Hulk; I had no idea who this “Assassin” guy was, but having him take down Brainiac was a quick and easy way to get him over for the new fans.

The tension in the New Krypton scene was fantastic, and whichever writer composed that sequence should be commended. There was this fantastic rise and fall in the conversation, as tension would build, someone would defuse it slightly until it built again, again to be slightly defused. It’s plainly obvious that these cultures aren’t going to mesh well, but there was a pleasant, dare I say “Midwestern” gloss over it all.

In one of the coolest panels I’ve seen lately, only enhanced by how understated it was, Supergirl assures Clark “It’ll be fine” as a giant dead whale rests on the balcony — not quite an elephant in the room, but close enough. Superman is going to have his people back, and it’s going to be terrible.

For a mixed creative team, the transition was pretty seamless and unobtrusive. I wonder if Gary Frank bought the old Superman movies and printed out still frames of Christopher Reeve’s face for reference. He’s a decent enough artist (other than the awkward foreshortening on that cover), but I find the Reeve obsession almost creepy, as if Superman didn’t exist before 1978.

Overall, total success in my book — I’m planning on buying a crossover I figured I’d skip. Two years ago, I wasn’t buying anything to do with Superman. Now I’m going to be buying all of it. ALL OF IT.

And, for the last word, let’s turn to Doom DeLuise:

I couldn’t much focus on the issue, because I was taking the biggest crap I’ve ever taken. Seriously, that thing made me short of breath.

The issue was cool, though, I guess, so I’ll buy the rest of it. Man, I’m telling you, that crap looked like a giant floating hamburger paddy on top of the water after I wrapped up.

I’m far from healthy.