Saturday, June 29, 2013

Batman/Superman #1 Review


Batman/Superman #1 Review
By: Jay 

DC’s big two, the World’s Finest, reunite in a new book for the first time in the New 52. The much hypedBatman/Superman book is finally here. DC solicits as:

“A new epic begins with the debut of this new, ongoing series! Don’t miss the first fateful meeting of Batman and Superman in The New 52!”

Does this issue live up to the tagline “Epic?” Find out what I think in my review.


Clark Kent goes to Gotham to ambush interview Bruce Wayne about the recent murders of Wayne Enterprises employees in Metropolis. Batman goes to Metropolis to investigate the murders and is surprised to find a possessed Catwoman about to kill another Wayne Enterprises employee. Superman and Batman fight.



I was a huge fan of the Loeb Superman/Batman, Batman/Superman book. He really got into their heads and their inner monologues were some of the best I have ever read for either character. The art was great with that series as well. You could always see the difference between their two worlds. The book was a consistent hit for me.



Oh how times have changed. This is not that book. My main issue with this book is the lack of consistency. Well, the lack of consistency with the writing. I have read Greg Pak’s writing before, and this is not his best by any means. There were a few moments when I enjoyed this book, like when Clark and Bruce are talking about their dads. The flashback of Clark where he says “But lets be honest… …I’ll always be Jonathan Kent’s boy,” put the biggest smile on my face. Then there was a touching scene where Bruce talks about his father reading to him and says “He read anything I asked him to, no matter how strange or scary. And he explained everything. Answered every question. Made it all make sense. Until it didn’t.” This scene made me connect to Bruce on a level I have never gone to before.



But that was the best of the story. The majority of it was boring and jumbled. It became the cliché story of heroes meeting and fighting because they both think the other is dangerous. The story transitions from both Batman and Superman in the past to Batman from the future and Superman from the past. This story truly disappointed me. Even the big “WOW” moment at the end of the book left me underwhelmed.



Jae Lee is one artist on this book (pages 1-18), but I’m not sure if he got the memo that this is an in continuity Batman/Superman book. Lee’s work isn’t bad, but it doesn’t fit this series and these characters. Now it this was a Batman/Superman By Gaslight, his style would work great. Lee’s style would fit a gothic, vampire, or steampunk genre book. A big key factor between Batman and Superman is their cities. Gotham is this dark and seedy city while Metropolis is a city that shines as a beacon of light and hope. Lee’s style blends the two together so the reader can’t tell through the art that they are in Gotham or Metropolis, because they both looked dark and gritty like Gotham.



The second artist is Ben Oliver (pages 19-25) who was slightly better. The colors were a bit more suited for this type of a book, but the art was still a bit too sketchy for me. Again the art is nice, but not right for this book. The change in artist is abrupt and disconnected me even further from the story.



The story was average, but the art really dragged the overall read down. It saddens me that I can’t recommend this book because the previous Superman/Batman, Batman/Superman series was so great and really made the relationship between these two heroes work and feel real. But I just can’t. In my opinion DC needs to up the creative team on this book and deliver the great stories that these two characters can support. I also think DC should get rid of the names on the book and go back to the characters iconic insignias. This way fans can refer to it with their favorite character in the top billing.




Well that’s what I think about this book. Let us know in the comments what you think about Batman/Superman. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter to know whenever we post more previews, reviews, news and interviews on Comic Frontline.





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