Review: My Adventures With Superman #3

My Adventures With Superman #3 came out last week, another solid chapter in the all ages book. 

Much like the cartoon, the comic walks a bit of a tight rope and in a good way. There is humor. There is whimsy. There is torture. There is action. It is hard to work a balance like that but somehow show runner and comic book writer Sophia Campbell is able to pull it off.

This chapter nudges the plot along. Amazo has consciousness. As a living being, even if an android, it should be spared that. So Superman is helping it while the government hunts it down. Add in some fun antics of our squad trying to keep Amazo out of the military's hands and you have fun episode.

Artist Pablo Collar continues to do a good job of keeping the feel of the show while rendering a visually active book layout. The battle scene at the end of the book in particular is well paged and paced. 

All  together, the tone of the comic continues to mirror the progressive, fun, occasionally dark tone of the show. That makes this a great arc to have happened between seasons. 

On to the book. 

Last issue, Clark ran into the military base to help spring Amazo. Held by the army, Clark is accused of being a Superman fanboy, wanting to get Superman's attention and become his friend. 

I liked this scene as Campbell plays up the humor. At first Clark think the army is aware of his secret identity only to hear Agent Dubois describe him as a fawning reporter desperate for Superman scoops. 

I love how Clark can barely hold in his laughter. That's a great panel by Collar.

Meanwhile, Amazo is hiding out in Jimmy's apartment. 

It is clear that Amazo must give off a lot of heat given all the background comments in the issue. That probably will pay off somewhere along the line.

One thing for sure, Amazo was tortured and is definitely scarred by that history. 

What is more interesting is that we see Luthor and Sam Kent in the room when the torture happens. 

I don't recall knowing that piece of info before.

It adds another nice wrinkle and connection to the show.

I talked about whimsy and fun.

So we go from Clark nearly bursting out laughing to Amazo talking about being tortured to now the Kents arriving with pie for Clark's first Metropolis Christmas. And Amazo not knowing what pie is.

You would think jarring jumps in tone wouldn't work. But I think the core of the book is this wholesome world. As a result, when faced with the dark stuff, it seems even more incongruent. Almost you want it to disappear, like it isn't right with the world.

.

Clark is released (bit trailed). 
Meanwhile the Kents, Jimmy, and Lois try to sneak Amazo out of town knowing the military is going to be knocking on their door any minute.

Again, this panel with a huge Amazo in the back of the mini-van is silly. I definitely giggled a bit. Collar really sells the cramped feel.

The military can hone in slightly on Amazo's heat signature. They know he is on the bridge out of town.

With Clark talking about pie (lots of pie references in this issue), the military peels away from keeping him under observation. Seeing Cat so irked by Clark talking about pastry is another laugh. 

No surveillance means Superman can finally spring into action. 

Things get ugly on the bridge with Superman showing up, the military demanding Amazo show himself, and the android getting triggered and taking off.

The resulting battle damages the bridge so badly Superman has to do super-feat to save everyone.

I have liked the style of the mecha in the book and show. Here Agent Dubois has some sort of wide angle force beam. And while it can't hurt Superman, it can blast him away. 

I don't like when comics create weapons that can hurt Superman because I wonder why they aren't used over and over again. So one that just pushes him around ... I'll allow it.

In the skirmish, the gang and Amazo take off. 

Just when it looks like they have found safe haven in the old lab of Mallah and the Brain, we see that Amanda Waller has the place under watch.

Nice cliffhanger.

So another good issue in this fun series. I think the underlying theme that Superman won't allow Amazo to be returned because torture is wrong is a solid base. The idea that Amazo has human rights despite being a machine is another thread I hope will be explored. 

And as I said, the art is wonderful.

Overall grade: B+