Review: ‘Superman’ #6 Explores The Sins Of The Past
by Tony Thornley
Superman has forged a new and unique alliance between the Man of Steel and Lex Luthor. Now with Luthor in a coma, the series is about to show how that alliance could put the entire DC Universe in danger.
Joshua Williamson, Gleb Melkinov, Alejandro Sanchez, and Ariana Maher explore the sins of Luthor’s past.
Lex Luthor is in a coma, and Kal-El needs to navigate his secrets without him. Now alongside Mercy Graves and SuperCorp he’s about to dive deep into one of Lex’s darkest secrets. Who or what is buried in the specially-built holding cell deep beneath Stryker’s Island prison, and why did Lex keep it a secret from everyone in his life?
Williamson has done some things well in this series and others not as much. This issue leans into the former. He makes Luthor’s secrets engaging as a story engine, but his interpersonal relationships between Clark and Lois, and Superman and Mercy really step it from “interesting” to “good.” The threat is too new to know if it’s going to up the stakes of the story, but here it’s enough to grab me by the throat for the rest of the arc.
Melkinov’s work is mostly very good. In some places, he’s able to capture the character’s and their personalities perfectly. Lois striding through multiple panels, just trying to do her job is a great bit of story telling done both through the layout and how he draws her facial expressions. Mercy gets the same treatment, but he makes sure she’s unique- not just in body language, but in her body type, height, face shape. But more than once, Clark is off- whether it’s his face looking too bumpy, or random lines on his cheeks. It’s generally good, but has enough off moments to notice.
I like Sanchez’s colors. They have a quality that reminds me of watercolors, but he also is great with light and how it changes the quality and warmth of the colors depending on the source. Maher makes great choices with the letters, changing the font, adding bold and emphasis to pace the dialogue. She also adds sound effects that match the art around them. It’s truly strong work.
Superman#6 is available now from DC Comics.
Overview
This book is starting to hit its stride. The plot and script are both fun, making for an engaging story. The art has some faults, but it is generally very strong throughout. This issue is exactly what the series should have been from the very beginning.
