A Superman comic book review? On
BOF? Really?
This time, yes.
The Dark Knight pops up in this month’s issue of SUPERMAN, which is part eight of a storyline running in the title called “Grounded.” In it, Superman has decided that he’s lost touch with the regular people of his world, as well as his adopted country. So he reasons that in order to reconnect with him, he needs to pin himself to the Earth and undertake a walk across the United States. It’s proven to be an interesting tale so far, with the Man of Steel confronting everything from the scale of natural disasters, to illegal aliens (the extra-terrestrial kind), all the way down the line to loss of faith and child abuse. Critical reception has been decidedly mixed, but ever since current writer Chris Roberson has taken the reins, I think the story’s gotten a lot more interesting.
Which brings me to issue #710. Batman decides to drop in on Superman’s cross-country trek and have the first full conversation since Bruce returned from the clutches of the Omega Sanction. Now technically, this isn’t the first time that a Batman has shown up, as Dick Grayson appeared in the prologue to this story as well as the third chapter, where Dick tries to explain that Superman may be endangering innocents by acting as a lightning rod of sorts for powerful villains, or other disasters. In this issue, Superman says that his current adventure reminds him of an adventure from the past, when Clark had just met Bruce Wayne.
We then move into that adventure, where Roberson manages to nail the characterization of both main characters with style. I won’t go into specifics, but suffice it to say that when presented with a problem, Clark and Bruce approach things very differently, but still reach success as only they can: with the young Kryptonian using his “powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men” to affect great physical change in the Earth, to the young and skillful soon-to-be Dark Knight engaging hundreds of men using great tactical skill and fear as his weapons. When back in the present, Batman reaffirms his friendship for Superman, telling his friend, “I’ve got the shadows covered…we need you out in the light.” For any fan of the World’s Finest, this is definitely a must-read.
The art is split up between two very capable sets of hands: the present-day material is rendered by current regular SUPERMAN artist Eddy Barrows, whose clean lines (no doubt accentuated by inker J.P. Mayer), clear emotive ability, and bold action truly make this a visually distinctive book. Barrows’ Superman is very traditional, with the Man of Steel looking exactly as you’d expect him to with a large ‘S’ on the chest and bright, vibrant colors added beautifully by Rod Reis that appropriately make Superman stand out compared to all of his surroundings. Barrows’ take on the new Batsuit is also very satisfying, giving Batman’s cape the spine of the Keaton film cape and presenting the new characteristics in the chest, gloves, and belt the appropriate detail. Barrows, like renowned DC artist Ivan Reis, has also opted for covering Batman’s eyes in more distanced shots in shadow, which works very well here.
The past scenes are penciled by Travel Foreman with inks by John Dell and colors by Dave McCaig. The pencils here are reminiscent of Yanick Paquette’s work on BATMAN INCORPORATED, with shadow on the faces and bodies creating the textures and facial features. While Foreman’s anatomy on the human (or Kryptonian) characters seems a little off, his environments are great, and you can easily see the grandeur he puts in the ancient buildings in these scenes.
All in all, for any fan of the Worlds’ Finest, this is a great issue to read, and while the “Grounded” storyline has its ups and downs, I think this is my favorite chapter yet. Batman’s wisdom and Superman’s heroism bleed off the page here, and anyone curious about what’s going on in Superman’s world would find an excellent example in SUPERMAN #710.
