Review: Superman #10

Superman #10 came out last week, a sort of 'done in one' chapter in the Dr. Pharm and Mr. Graft vs Luthor storyline. I have been enjoying this title a lot and this chapter is really fantastic. The overall plot in the present in nudged forward. We get a 'Superman in the Old West' story complete with a Bronze Age villain in the perfect environment. And we get the story and art that perfectly complement each other. 

Writer Joshua Williamson is having a ball here. He has Superman square off against Terra Man in the Old West. His Superman is spot on, including a set of morals and some sly strategy. We learn a more about Marilyn Moonlight, Pharm, and Graft. We get a solid cliffhanger. And best of all there is a sense of Bronze Age fun here too. 

Bruno Redondo is on art here and brings such a bright clean style to the whole book that the whole thing just shimmers in my hands. I love the Western stuff in particular. And how could I resist this Lee Bermejo cover. You know this is going to be a hoot just based on this.

On to the book.

Last issue, Superman and Marilyn Moonlight were blasted into the past where they ran into a very young Pharm and Graft (I'm assuming). 

SuperCorp are trying to figure out how he got zapped away.

I liked this moment where Lena shows she's as smart as her brother, if not smarter. I like that she has sort of seamlessly joined the team.  

Back in the Old West Metropolis, a slightly depowered Superman and Marilyn Moonlight run across a stage coach riddled with laser pock marks and covered with dead bodies. Lasers mean someone is out of time here.

But before the investigation, Superman buries the dead.

First off, what a great moment to show who Superman is. 

Second, look at that art! That is gorgeous work by Redondo and especially colorist Adriano Lucas. You can feel the heat shimmer off the baked land. Spectacular.

At a local bar a familiar face is jawing with some tough cowhands and lashing out with laser pistols. He has been hired by Pharm and Graft's mother to recover a device they have made which has been stolen. 

How fun to see Bibbo's Saloon. I guess his family has been around for a while. 

And nothing says a good old fashioned Western like a guy getting shot through a bar's glass window.

Yup.

It's Terra Man. The Terra Man. One with a history with Superman.

I love the coloring again here. The use of ben day dots just screams Bronze Age, just where my mind should go with Terra Man. 

Now that is the perfect blending of art and words.

Of course, Superman and Marilyn Moonlight know Terra Man has the tech to get them back home. Plus, he has to pay for his crimes. So they confront him. It's an old school quick draw but Superman has no gun.

Terra Man just assumes Supes is powerless so draws on the count of one.

Again, another spot on perfect set of panels. I love the middle one, looking dead on at the spray of lasers. 

And how classic villain to draw on one. 

Of course, Superman has his powers. So nothing left but the mop up.

With Terra Man in the Old West hoosegow, Moonlight and Superman grab his bike, the Pharm/Graft device, and skedattle.

Some fun stuff here. Moonlight tips her hat to herself, inspiring her young self to become a hero. We learned in an earlier issue that Moonlight knew Pharm in their youth. Now we see it.

But what's in that iron case Superman has taken?? A mystery!

And how have Pharm and Graft survived since the Old West?? Another mystery!

We know (sort of) how Moonlight did. 

Someone got her body after she passed and did some comic book science to it to make her a ghostly presence.

Maybe we'll get a Marilyn Moonlight special to hear all of it? 

Back in the present, we get to see Superman do all the Superman things - helping get a cat out of a tree, put out a fire, and bask in the Metropolis sun.

But when he gets to SuperCorp he is surprised by K-gas and the Lex Luthor Revenge Squad. 

Looks like that special prison for The Chained didn't hold. 

And who is in the LexoSuit?? Of all the things on this page, the mystery person in Lex's armor is what stuck with me the most. Maybe it is the Contessa?? A late addition?

Any ways, this whole issue was a blast. With the bulk of the book in the old West, it feels like a 'done in one', completely thematically in line with a Terra Man story. So it just felt right. On top of that, somehow, we still get some progression of the main story to boot.

This is the sort of issue you buy people who have left comics to lure them back.

Overall grade: A+