Review: DC KO: Superman Vs. Captain Atom #1

D.C. K.O. : Superman Vs. Captain Atom #1 came out this week, a tie-in to the latest big company-wide crossover D.C. K.O.  

This event is one of those 'don't think about it too hard' sort of stories for me. If you try to actually understand what is happening - a Heart of Apokolips chaos engine pitting characters against each other in a tournament to create the King Omege to fight Darkseid - you'll probably get a headache. Or say 'comic book science'. 

A bigger problem I have with this event is it was built as a bracket style tournament but the first round was a battle royale. So why put out a bracket for fans to fill out? Why not do two promos? First pick the 16 Battle Royale winners and then set up the bracket for fans to fill. It sort of let some air out of the fun.

Still, everyone likes a good brawl and certainly Superman vs. Captain Atom is a great brawl. Writer Joshua Williamson does his best to inject some characterization into the proceedings. The point of this book is 'who will go the farthest' to get this power. No one thinks Superman can take that step. And Captain Atom, who has flirted with being a despot, just might. There are some good bests here. 

Sean Izaaske is on art here and has a lot to contend with. Multiple rounds. Multiple versions of the characters. Multiple settings. And an ending that veers into a Grant Morrison-esque fourth wall busting. The work is pretty impressive.

But in the end, this seems like a wrestling match with a good pre-bout speeches.

On to the book.

Review: Batman/Superman World's Finest #43

Batman/Superman World's Finest #43 came out this week, the conclusion of the Bizarro storyline by Mark Waid, Adrian Gutierrez, and Sean Izaaske. This was a quick arc which embraced the Bizarro aspect of the world with backwards talk and ideas and insanity. But it also somehow veered from those humorous aspects to some serious pathos. Bizarros just want to live their lives.

Mark Waid does his usual writing dance of both revering DC's history while modernizing it. Square world? Backwards speak? A 'secret' Batcave with neon signs pointing it out? Pure Bizarro madness out of the Silver Age. But Bizarro's who are sad for becoming 'sane' because they miss their true lives? Robin learning lessons about personal freedoms? A Bizarro Krypo? Nice updates. Heck, Waid even made Bizarro talk, which often can be aggravating to me, have some internal sense. And giving us Robin as the audience's POV character worked well.

The art is a mix of usual artist Adrian Gutierrez and Sean Izaaske. Both bring the insanity and their styles are different but flow well together. They also embrace the insanity, bringing some wild images.

I don't know if this is one of the better arcs for this high-ranking title. But it was a fun diversion.

On to the details.

Review: Superman #27

Superman #27 came out this week and it felt a little bit like a whirlwind as a lot of plots and subplots were wrapped up in the span of this one issue's pages. Perhaps some upcoming mega-event required writer Josh Williamson to clear the decks. But consider them cleared. I will say up front I was happy to see some of these subplots wrapped up. Others? Not so much.

From the beginning of this title, Joshua Williamson has been firing on all cylinders. The whole book was built on the Lex/Superman relationship as we try to figure out if Lex is evil and doing a long con or actually turned a new leaf. He introduced Pharm and Graft as villains with a long history in Metropolis. He introduced Marilyn Moonlight, a hero that has always been in Metropolis (but somehow has never been seen before). Add in Perry being Mayor, Lois being editor/Superwoman, Jimmy dating Siobhan, Red K rage, and other stuff and these two years have really been fun and entertaining.

After this issue, it looks much of these are either wrapped up, put on ice, or entering a new phase. But this really felt like an ending of sorts. So much of an ending that I immediately went to see if Williamson is still on the book next month.

The art is by the trio of Eddy Barrows, Sean Izaaske, and Eber Ferreira. There is some decent action in the book and Barrows is always a treat. 

On to the book.

Review: Superman #26

Superman #26 came out last week and was another solid issue for writer Joshua Williamson as he weaves a very classic-feeling Superman run. 

Last issue, Williamson had Mercy Graves turn on Superman, releasing X-El and leading to a mega-battle ending with the loss of Superwoman's powers. This issue, we are still marinating in that storyline. In particular, we get more great Superman/Lex interaction, the backbone of this book. We still have a couple of lingering plotlines out there that he catches us up on. But most importantly, he sprinkles in some new subplots, whetting my appetite for more. He even puts in a nice hook for the new Supergirl book too. 

I definitely like the Superman/Lex stuff as this still seems to be the 'good' Lex, the amnestic good guy reeling from his past.

The art is split between Eddy Barrows, bringing his usual feathery, pencil-stroke art and Sean Izaaske who has a rougher more visceral take. Barrows has always been a favorite. DC should just give him mini-series to write and finish in their entirety. Izaaske works well for his pages but his style breaks from Barrows in a startling way.

To repeat, Williamson continues to bring us a great Superman book, highlighting the main character but giving us great supporting cast moments and plot threads. On to the issue.