Review: ‘Superman: Red & Blue’ #4 Captures The Man Of Steel’s Kindness

So far, outside of the second issue of the series, Superman: Red & Blue has perfectly captured the spirit of the world’s greatest superhero. But in this latest issue, almost all the stories are all about one aspect of the character…

Superman Red and Blue #4 features another five stories with a lot to offer. They were created by Mark Waid, Audrey Mok, Jordie Bellaire, Dave Sharpe, Francis Manapul, Robert Venditti, Alitha Martinez, Emilio Lopez, Michael Conrad, Cully Hamner, Pat Brosseau, Rich Douek, and Joe Quinones.

I’m excited to see that DC is going to be playing with this format more in the coming months. In this issue, even the worst of the five is still an excellent story. The art is uniformly good-to-great throughout, and the three that were colored by their line artists, in particular, were just stellar. 

Waid, Mok and Bellaire’s Mxyzptlk short was a fun lark that tried to be a little more poignant than the story actually had the potential for. Nevertheless, Mok and Bellaire did some amazing things with the Silver Age inspired art.

From there, each story unintentionally has a link, showing Superman’s compassion and soft-hearted approach in each conflict depicted. It also shows why this is the right way for him to handle it. For any other character, this earnestness might come off as cheesy or hokey, but for Superman it sincerely works. Douek and Quinones in particular had an absolutely stellar story, one that could have turned me off with the idea behind it.

Beyond that, Manapul’s story was surprisingly poignant, especially with its narrator twist. Venditti continues to show he deserves a chance on the main Superman on-goings, as Martinez and Lopez turn in some of the strongest art in the entire series to date. Conrad and Hamner’s Bizarro tale is sweet, and really is a great pellet introduction to both Superman and Bizarro.

This continues to be one of the best miniseries in recent memory. I’m excited for more, and hope for a follow-up in the near future.

Superman: Red & Blue #4 is available now from DC Comics.