The Truth Hurts In Superman #17 By Bendis, Maguire And DC Comics
by Tony Thornley
DC Comics has been gearing up for a huge paradigm shift for Superman, hinting at big things to come that will affect the entire DC Universe. Superman #17 shows us the last moments before those events change things forever…
Brian Michael Bendis, Kevin Maguire, Paul Mounts, and Dave Sharpe tell the prologue to the biggest Superman story of the modern era.
As Earth enters an interplanetary stage, Superman begins to question his place in the world. His father has been exiled back to Krypton’s destruction while his son has jumped into the future, leaving him aimless. However, his next big step might be unlike anything he’s ever done before…
This is a story where the bulk of the action is interpersonal conflict. That’s something that not a lot of writers could really pull off as well as Bendis does. He explores many of Clark Kent’s different relationships, but most significantly with Lois. His strongest work has been between the two of them, and that continues to drive the best work in his run. He also does a great job building up the relationship between Superman and Supergirl, which genuinely feels like a family bond, which a lot of writers in the DCU struggle to show.
Maguire is the perfect artist to depict the dialogue heavy story here. He is able to capture Clark’s internal struggles with just a tweak of his lips or a furrow of his brow. His line work is particularly strong during the talk between Lois and Clark, showing readers a loving relationship between two people, but also giving them more depth than just a married couple talking about a big change in their life. Mounts’ color art is deep and textured, playing particularly with light and how it affects how the scene is colored.
Things are about to change forever in the Superman universe, and I can’t wait to see where it goes next.
Superman #17 is available now from DC Comics.
