Adventures of Superman #628 – I haven’t read an issue of a SUPERMAN title in a few years. It was probably during one of those cross-over events, back when I was reading cross-over events in titles I didn’t generally read anyway. My knowledge of what has been going on in the DC Universe comes mostly from what I picked up from the titles I was buying until mid-April of this year or from comments made in Tony Isabella’s various columns. In other words, I was practically a new reader coming into the current Superman storyline.

This issue starts out with Supes looking down at the body (we have to assume from comments made by several characters) of Replikon. I gather that this is a reoccurring villain in the current DCU, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of him before. Then again, both DC and Marvel have a habit of bring back old villains (and heroes) under new names, so it’s possible that I would have been familiar with this particular character. Anyway, it is assumed by the SCU (the Metropolis police S.W.A.T. team which deals with super-powered menaces) that Superman killed Replikon during their battle. The SCU seems willing to let that go, but Superman, being the hero we know him to be (unless written by John Byrne in some cases) does NOT take life. Superman feels that Replikon had been ‘modified’ to some extent and that this change could have brought about his death. We learn later in the book that somebody is indeed behind this. (I get the feeling that regular readers may know or suspect who the behind-the-scene villain may be, because of the last page of the story. Folks like me haven’t a clue.)

We get the impression (and if Tony hadn’t mentioned this in passing I’d still be unsure) that Clark is not the top reporter for the Daily Planet that he once was. Again, thanks to no explanation by writer Gregg Rucka (who I generally happen to like) we have to guess at certain things by off-hand comments by other characters. Meanwhile, Lois Lane is being sent off to Umac (which, again from hints in the dialogue, seems to be the DCU stand-in for either Iraq or Afghanistan, or perhaps both) to cover the up-coming election. Clark (he’s actually Superman, but the reader probably knows at least that much) isn’t really happy about that, but Lois tells him that she’ll be careful. Clark/Supes tells Lois that he cannot get involved should something happen, because as the Man of Steel he must not seem to be involved.

The cover of the issue says that the book will ‘guest star’ Green Lantern and Wonder Woman, or rather that their chest insignia will appear somewhere in the issue, since that is what appears on the cover and not the actual names of the characters. Why does DC take it for granted that a new reader (totally unfamiliar with anything, except perhaps Superman’s Big Red “S”) would recognize the stylized “WW” or lantern design?

To be fair both characters do appear for short sequences. Green Lantern (the John Stewart version familiar to TV viewers at this point) shows up in an outer space scene, which I will assume takes place after the death of Replikon, but it isn’t made clear. Would it have ruined the page layout to have placed a small “Later that day….” caption somewhere, just to give the reader some sense of time? It’s possible that, given the ‘artistic’ cut between the last time we saw Superman to the next time we see Clark that the journey to Replikon’s planet is a flashback. Wonder Woman makes an appearance (even her butt gets a one panel close up, for no story purpose) to toss in some double-entendres (or perhaps I’m reading too much into what is said) and promises Lois that she’ll keep an eye on Clark during her assignment.

Rucka gives enough hints for the reader to see where the writer may be going in future installments. In my case, none of them are reason enough to pick up another issue. Many writers, probably with editorial urging, seem to be writing everything as if you are reading a trade paperback collection and not simply trying a single issue, which just happens to be part of a multi-issue story arc. As THE Tony Isabella has repeatedly reminded us, any issue can be somebody’s first. The old-timers kept this in mind.

Penciller Matthew Clark and inker (No first name given, or is this his first) Nelson do a good job on the art, even though the female characters do seem to pose quite a bit. They also don’t create enough facial differences between the women in the story, so it’s only the skin shades and hairdos which set them apart. If WW hadn’t been wearing her costume you would have been hard pressed to tell her from Lois during their scene together. George Perez, for one, is an artist who has enough skill and range so that you could almost always tell who was who, in costume or not. Sadly, too many artists have a half dozen or so faces which they use for every character.

Overall I’ll give the issue two and a half stars. If I’d been able to follow what was going on a bit better I might have given it three.