World Famous Comics: Superman: The Third Kryptonian
Superman: The Third Kryptonian
By: Kurt Busiek Publisher: DC Comics Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: DC Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 128 Publication Date: October 07, 2008 Release Date: October 07, 2008
Poor art & Poor writing Busiek's run on Superman has been nothing short of a disaster. From the interesting potential of post-Infinite Crisis Up, Up & Away, Busiek has squandered every golden opportunity with lame duck "plots", woeful characterisations and uninteresting new "character" additions to the Superman mythos. It occurs to me that very few writers can make Superman fly, much less believe in him. Busiek is not one of them. His Superman is dumb, flat and did I mention dumb? Clark Kent is back to being a nonentity, Lois a hard-nosed b*tch and the rest fade into nothingness. Avoid.
Seen better stuff from Busiek This book was a bit of a disappointment. Kurt Busiek is one of the best writers in comics today (check out Astro City or Marvels is you don't believe me. This story has the feeling of being phoned in though. It's as if he was handed a storyline from someone else, told to take all the relevence out of it, and put it in before his deadline was done. Even the artwork was stilted in some portions. All in all, not the best thing put out since Busiek took over the title. If you are a diehard Superman fan (like me) and like to keep up on what's going on in Metropolis, get this book. If you just like reading Superman stories, look to Busiek's Superman 1-2-3 or Camelot Falls books.
Not a perfect Superman Story With all the epic storylines leading up to and intertwining with the Final Crisis storyline, DC appears to be cleaning up some loose ends and here in the Superman stories this is one of those loose ends. It's not a great story... Kal meets a rogue Kryptonian with a sad and lonely story, who gives Kal even more insight into his Kryptonian heritage. Unfortunately this story is just three issues and done, which means DC had to tag on a couple loose filler issues on the end. Although we get to see Kal's "son" Christopher in action, there's really not much meaningful other than to a true hardcore Superman fan.
The good and bad of The Third Kryptonian Thank you DC Comics for showing me the amazing telent of Renato Guedes! The cover to The Third Kryptonian, to put it lightly, is beautiful. Guedes' art is simply bright and amazing and closer to real illustration more along the lines of Alex Ross. This makes Superman more real, and this means Guedes' work stands out above other contemporary Superman artists. (Perhaps I exclude only Jim Lee) The story is credible but a little bit too simple at times, and has the potential to soar at other times. I liked that it addresses the potental for other Kryptonians in the universe that could be alive: rather than simply hinting at it or making fans wonder what would that mean? The downside to this? I wouldn't want "too many" Kryptonians running around. It would seem silly and take away one of the best modern themes for the Man of Steel," what does the most powerful being on Earth do if he is alone?" How does he deal with love, pain, anger, and other human emotions? You start getting too many Kryptonian friends and it loses substance. This looks more and more like a modern Day "Superman Family". Zod help us! The main body of The Third Kryptonian is helmed by Rick Leonardi (penciller) who did alot of cutting edge stuff for Marvel in the 80's and his style is right on, I still like it it's very modern. Seems geared for the new contemporary comics fan. There are really great moments in the story and Batman, in his cameo, as always is rock solid. He's just the best of the big three. What is not in the book that would make up my wish list items? A sketchbook section From BOTH artists showing their visual problem solving would have been a blast to see. All covers from the original issues are reprinted too appearing before each part of the story. I strongly recommend this to any Superman fan who likes to see the character at his best. Just start at the front cover and enjoy to the end. Visually, this is extremely enjoyable.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
