Review: DCNation #0

 DC Nation #0 came out this week and had three stories within to promote some of the upcoming storylines in the fresh new DCU. This includes a Tom King/Clay Mann Batman story and a Justice League story to promote the post-Metal DCU by writers Scott Snyder, James Tynion, and Joshua Williamson with art by Jorge Jimenez.

I am a DC fan so of course I was going to get this regardless. But for me the draw was a Superman story by Brian Michael Bendis with art by the legendary Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, praised be his name. We all have been curious about where Bendis will be taking the Superman family once he grabs the reins. I have been worried about him upsetting the apple cart of the recent excellence in the book. And frankly this story made me a little more worried than the action sequence in Action Comics #1000.

Part of that worry is that whenever a big name comes onto the Superman books their first inclination always seems to be that they need to change things, shake things up, and make things different. And that rarely seems to work. So in the recent past when Gene Luen Yang decided to depower Superman, remove the Clark Kent secret identity, and make him a motorcycle-riding wrestler ... well that didn't work. That ain't Superman. And before that when James Michael Straczynski decided to have Superman walk across the US, ignoring people who were dying of a heart attack on their front porch, and telling someone he would let them throw themselves off a building and not stop them ... well that didn't work. That wasn't Superman.

But when Dan Jurgens, Peter Tomasi, and Patrick Gleason had him with Lois, being heroic and inspirational, and working for the Daily Planet .. ... that worked! It was truly a Rebirth, with Superman being Reborn into all the things that made Superman fans love him to begin with.

Now we are faced with Bendis and I know we have barely scratched the surface. But already Bendis has an evil alien being behind the destruction of Krypton and, in DC Nation #0, Lois Lane out of the picture and missing. This isn't exactly Superman ...

Will it work? I'll go in with an open mind like I always do. But it better be spectacular. Metaphorically, the apples are falling off the cart, rolling down the street.

 Okay, I shouldn't be here to curse the darkness but instead to light a candle.

First off, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez is an incredible artist. His ability to use panel size and point of view and angle to convey more than just his wonderful art. Look at that lower panel of a crowd shot. That isn't easy. And Perry is clearly the focal point.

And I have to give Bendis credit. This sounds the way Perry White should sound in my mind. I love this sentiment that the Planet will only report the news. No more fear-baiting articles about Superman. They will report what Superman does not what he could do. They won't make their money peddling terror.

Again, that last panel shows his control of the room. It's like a sermon on the mount. Everyone is engaged.

In walks Clark Kent with a story. Clark had wormed his way into an illegal arms deal in Costa Rica. Ex-army soldiers were trying to sell old LexCorp battlesuits. Thankfully Superman swooped in and saved the day.

Of course, we know Clark is Superman. No big surprise the Man of Steel was there.

But I love Perry's excitement. Despite the decades behind him, he is still passionate about his work.

But then Bendis drops the news that Lois isn't around. He offers Clark her office. Clark refuses.

I love this short, wide, 'letterbox' panel showing the crowd response to Clark's answer. Again, you can see the magic of Garcia-Lopez's work here. The expressions are a mix of curiosity and concern. There is a palpable feeling of awkwardness to this interaction, all written on their faces. And this panel lets us pan the room that way. Brilliant.

But Lois being 'missing' is an odd choice to begin a run with. We hear that she doesn't work for the Planet anymore. We hear Perry had to pull strings to keep her out of jail. She's off writing some book. Her picture is still on the wall ... but she is gone.

One thing the New 52 suffered from was a complete lack of respect for Lois. It was only in these last couple of years that we finally had a Lois presence in the book. So Bendis removing her, especially if it is for a long time, might be a misstep.

 And Lois and Clark are married. So this has to be odd for Clark too.

Bendis does give us some new characters to mull over as well.

One is 'Trish Q', the gossip columnist for the Planet who probably thinks this Lois thing is a good story. I suppose she fits the Cat Grant archetype now that Cat has gone on to bigger things. Maybe she is the Lola Barnett of the current times?

 I throw this panel in for a couple of reasons.

Again, you see the power of Perry in this situation. People are hanging over railings to hear his words of wisdom. Everyone is on board. He is clearly the leader here.

Second though, Perry's use of 'shock' and 'horrify' reminded me too much of the opening warning to 1931's Frankenstein. "It'll thrill you. It may shock you. It may horrify you."

Quoting an old Universal monster movie sounds so Perry. Even if unintentional, I am putting it in my head canon.

 And then we also meet Robinson Goode, a young reporter hired by the Planet from the Star City Sentinel.

Perry has nothing but good things to say about her recent work, exposing S.T.A.R. Labs cover-ups and being gritty. It's always good to add some diversity to the cast. But this seems like she is taking the place of Lois at the Planet. So this better turn out okay.

She seems nice enough at the beginning, thanking Perry and talking about how Clark inspired her. We don't often hear about how good Clark is at his job.

In his office, Perry tells Clark that the Costa Rica story lacks punch. Clark is missing something.

While Perry can rally the troops and be a strong editor, his EQ seems lacking. 'Is it Lois?' Did he ask him that? How could it not be.

'Hey Clark. I know your wife doesn't work hear anymore, over something bad that could have landed her in hot water. And I know that I disparaged her writing a book now. And it has to be weird for you to still work here. And I know I offered you your wife's empty office. Could that be why you aren't acting like your normal self?'

Clark gives a curt response about fixing the article. Then he heads to the roof and takes off. That isn't a happy face on Superman.

But man ... does JLGL draw a great Superman.

Twice in a month we have been reminded why his name is praised.

I have to admit I wasn't surprised to see that Robinson Goode isn't all good.

The story ends with her meeting an unnamed person in a club. This looks like the cliched 'members only' club for the rich and famous. Red lights, huge bodyguards with visible guns, people being openly romantic - it all looks so Hollywood.

She reports about the unstable nature of the Planet right now, despite that sense earlier that Perry has the troops in line. Is she evil? Writing an expose for the Sentinel about Lois? Just a Millenial trying to move ahead in the world?

So overall, I'll gush one more time about the sumptuous art. While Perry's scenes early on were perfect, his scene with Clark seemed off. Trish Q and Robinson Goode have potential.

But no Lois???

I'll try to go in with an open mind.

Overall grade: B