A Day In The Life Of Lois Lane: ‘Superman Annual’ 2023 Reviewed
by Tony Thornley
A few months ago, Lois Lane took the toughest job of her career- editor in chief of the Daily Planet. In Superman Annual 2023, we get to see exactly what that means for Lois, Superman and all of Metropolis.
Joshua Williamson, Mahmud Asrar, Edwin Galmon, Caitlin Yarsky, Max Raynor, Jack Herbert, Dave McCaig, Alex Guimaraes, and Ariana Maher take a look at everything Lois and the Planet has on one bad day.
SuperCorp is dominating Metropolis’s business world. Lex Luthor has a secret heroic history. Livewire is crawling up the walls of Stryker’s. And Superman is trying to defend the city from the Toyman’s most dangerous invention yet. And with all of that, Lois Lane still needs to get out the evening edition of the Planet. Of course she’s going to do it- she’s Lois Lane- the question is just how.
Williamson is only five months into his Superman run, but this issue shows how many interesting toys he’s added to the toybox. Using Lois and the Planet staff to to a view into Metropolis is a great way to use a trope, and set up plotlines, while showing how others are evolving. Lois is front and center, but Jimmy Olsen, Cat Grant and Mercy Graves all get some fantastic character development, making for an interesting special that’s just as much about the people as it is about the plot.
This issue looks great. Each artist has a distinct style, but they’re complimentary. Each one brings their style to their chapter, making it land for the story, and advance each character. Yarsky and Asrar both stand out in particular, making the action just as exciting whether it’s Superman punching Toyman or Jimmy trying to avoid Parasite. They each have their own unique sense of humor too, enhancing the funny moments without pushing too far into slapstick.
Maher juggles multiple fonts, bubble styles and caption styles. Each one serves the story while making the script come to life with art. She makes it look great, and compliment the art as much as it advances the story.
Superman Annual 2023 is available now from DC Comics.
Overview
There’s a lot of fun to be had in this special issue. The story is fun, the art is gorgeous and I had a hell of a lot of fun reading it.
