“The Boy of Steel“, Part 1
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Francis Manapul
Colors: Brian Buccellato
The return of Connor Kent is something that has been highly anticipated for some time now, and with the recently concludedLegion of Three Worlds, the Boy of Steel is finally back in the DC Universe. Geoff Johns is hit or miss lately, with Blackest Night only growing in excitement as Flash Rebirth continues to be pushed back, but what can the lauded writer do with Superboy and a Legion of Super-Heroes back-up?  Spoilers after the jump.
Connor’s back and living in Smallville with Ma Kent, which I’ve got to admit is strangely reassuring. Ever since these first pages were first previewed, the general fan reaction has been “Thank God that someone’s out there with Ma!â€, which stands to the testament of these characters. Regardless, it’s a fairly straight forward first issue, as Connor sets about re-establishing his life in Smallville, as well as on the Teen Titans (which is also reassuring, because maybe that book can finally get itself out of the rut it’s currently in). We also learn that he’s trying to understand more about Lex Luthor, who’s DNA was used to clone Connor, seemingly concerned that he’s becoming more like Luthor than he is Superman.
Johns is quickly becoming the go-to guy for character revivals and resurrections. He spearheaded the revival of Hal Jordan inGreen Lantern Rebirth, which went over well, and is currently working on the oft-delayed Flash Rebirth, which is going over not so well. Here, it’s pretty middle of the road, and I think a lot of that has to do with timing. With Hal and Barry’s returns, they were popular characters who had been out of the spotlight for years, and their respective fanbases had grown up away from them. When they returned, they found their characters in a new world just as lost as they were, and had the oppurtunity to grow with them. Here, Connor’s been dead for barely a year in-universe, and for us it’s been less than three years. While Connor’s loyal fans have been crying for his return, there’s been barely any time for his death to really have meaning or effect. As a result, there’s not a lot of emotional impact to his return, which I think really lessens the feeling of awe and joy with seeing him back in Smallville.
But there’s a saving grace here, and that’s the art. Manapul’s art style is simply gorgeous, his portrait of Smallville full of lush, warm colors that feel comforting and homely. There’s a wealth of emotion and beauty within the pages of this book, leading the reader clamoring for more by the end of the book.
And in the second feature…
“Long Live The Legion!“, Part 1
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Clayton Henry
Colors: Brian Reber
Johns brings the Legion of Super-Heroes, which fans are kind of irked by, since the sales figures seemed to be high enough to justify keeping the book running a bit longer. We’re treated to a brief origin of the Legion before diving head first into reuniting with Starman, still absolutely crazy and in the 21st Century, carrying around R.J. Brande’s Last Will and Testament, which he refers to as their “battle plan†as he meets with fellow Legionnaire Tellus, also in the present day. There’s implications that there’s something going down in the present day, but we don’t find anything out about it, which is the biggest problem with this back-up: it wastes it’s pages.
Now, the brief re-introduction to the LoSH is pretty cool, but right after that we jump in to 3 pages of Starman having hijinks with a bird and at a bowling alley. There’s a few pages of brief exposition right before we get a “Coming Up In..†teaser that DC is so fond of. This is a horrible example of how to do a second feature. The plot stops far too soon, and while Starman’s antics are always fun, it’s wasted space in an already short back-up.
Adventure Comics‘ reboot is a nice start, with an enjoyable main feature, but the wasted space in it’s second feature bring it down fast. As a result, Adventure Comics #1 gets a C.