Superman: Doomed

I give a #*!^ about Superman, alright? 

He's my role model for life. The big blue cheese, that big brother you wish you had, the one superhero who just does it because it's the right thing to do. When I grow up, I want to be just like Superman.

[editor's note: reviewer has been grown up for some time now.]

It's been hard to like Superman after the New 52 reboot. DC editorial turned him into... well, kind of a jerk. And what's with him dating Wonder Woman? I don't buy it.

No literally, until recently, I had ceased to buy Superman comics for... well, a long while.
 

I'm usually cautious about Superman stories. I'm usually even more cautious about DC's multi-title events. Furthermore, I'm always outright apprehensive about anything written by Scott Lobdell. However. Superman: Doomed not only held my attention, but also left me both satisfied with and excited for the direction the Superman event “Infected” is taking. The involvement of Greg Pak and Charles Soule is an encouraging element in any story, but with Superman in DC's New 52, encouragement has been desperately needed for some time. Luckily, Soule's recent run on Superman/Wonder Woman has made me care about both characters more than I have in a long while, and Pak's stellar run on Action Comics with breakout artist Aaron Kuder has single-handedly breathed new life into the Superman corner of the DC Universe. And while Superman: Doomed leads into an event spanning several titles, I am actually eager to follow and enjoy its progress based on what I've seen so far.

To begin with, Ken Lashley's art, both pencils and inks, is appreciably solid. While he's not a master of any one particular aspect of sequential art, he still manages to excel at pictorial storytelling and characteristic expression. He is, perhaps, a bit weak on scene-setting and portraying environment, but his stylish portrayals of favorite Superman supporting characters and dynamically absurd, over-the-top superhero brawls are not to be missed. His pencils also fall just short enough of the current photo-realistic “DC house style” to still be moderately “comic booky,” without sacrificing the readership that enjoys the standard set by the likes of Ivan Reis, Ethan Van Sciver, and Gary Frank.

Credit must also be given to Sunny Gho, whose coloring splendidly compliments Lashley's pencils and inks. There's a feeling of violence in the bright, noisy palette, which sets the tone for an appropriately violent story.

It's about time Superman cut loose for the right reason, and it's also time for some game-changing elements that could bring exciting and frightening changes to the Man of Steel's status quo. This story is the very thing to satisfy both ends, if my reading tells me anything. And I can't help but be enthusiastic. With old characters evolving to new capacities, a wide range of new possibilities, and many nods to the Superman mythos, this book leads directly into Action Comics #31 and Superman/Wonder Woman #8, which also came out this week. Having read all three in order, perhaps my view of this book is moderately biased. So far, the story as a whole has held together surprisingly well and, despite its status as an enormous, juicy chunk of Superman fan service, also tells a fresh and interesting take on the cliched “good guy gone bad” story.

I highly recommend this book for Ken Lashley's sake alone, and we all know how I feel about my homeboys Pak and Soule. I rolled into my shop expecting a passable 5/10 comic, but instead I left knowing I'd encountered a rare treat. I like dissecting my comics as literature most of the time, but this one is just too fun to criticize. It's the comic your inner nine-year-old will go nuts over this week. Worth it.