Superman/Batman Vol. 1: Public Enemies (Hardcover)

by Jeph Loeb (Author), Ed McGuinness (Author)
Key Phrases: Gotham City

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
In Public Enemies, a huge remnant of Superman's home planet, Krypton, menaces Earth. Lex Luthor, U.S. president in current Superman stories, accuses the Man of Steel of complicity in the threat and commissions a squadron of superheroes to bring him in. Writer Loeb, known for thoughtful takes on the early days of superhero icons, crafts a generally typical, if uncommonly elaborate, story, replete with the high-powered brawling characteristic of the genre. The most distinctive touch is Loeb's use of captions conveying the thoughts of the heroes as they battle, contrasting Batman's dark vengefulness and Superman's straight-arrow decency. Ed McGuinness' artwork--vaguely manga-inspired but much more detailed--is well-suited to the tale's kinetics but doesn't do much for quiet moments, which are few and far between, anyway. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
Dreamwatch Issue 120, review by Tom Baxter: " Simply excellent stuff." Time Out magazine, Nov 17-24 2004, reiew by Daniel Paddington: "...revealing that elusive element in graphic novels; psychological depth and (even rarer) convincing dialogue." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140120323X
• ISBN-13: 978-1401203238
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 6.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #423,172 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 1 in The Superman/Batman Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cape & Cowl, June 28, 2004

By	Edward Lee "ncc1205" - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Don't you just love it when two great athletes team up?

Batman and Superman have been around for decades. Two of the main reasons people still read comics today, these two icons have appeared in -- literally -- thousands of stories ... facing threats to themselves ... challenging threats to world peace ... and making the world safe for the rest of us at the risk to their own personal safety.

However, PUBLIC ENEMIES -- under the guidance of Jeph Loeb -- takes the old and makes it new, bringing a remarkable freshness to characters who have seen some great days and, undoubtedly, have greater ones to come.

A huge meteor is hurtling across space, taunting the destruction of the planet Earth. No big deal, you say? Just send Superman into space to knock the rock off its trajectory? While it sounds like a good idea, you have to remember that the author of this work is Jeph Loeb, arguably one of the best minds working in comics today (and, for those of you in the know, he's also a consultant for the WB's hit SMALLVILLE): this meteor is a hunk from the planet Krypton ... making it Kryptonite ... and meaning that Superman is absolutely powerless against it! Its radiation threatens the survival of the entire planet, and only these two superminds and supertalents combined can find a way to save the day and put right all that has been thrown into chaos since Lex Luther was elected President of the United States.

What? Lex Luthor? President?

Clearly, PUBLIC ENEMIES is not necessarily a great 'jumping on' point for new readers. There may be some resulting confusion due to storylines hinted at that occured before this tome (Lex Luthor's election as President of the United States, Luthor's attempt to wrest control of Gotham City from billionaire Bruce Wayne, Commissioner James Gordon's retirement from the police force, etc.), but these hints serve moreso as nods to other great Batman and Superman stories for the newcomer to go and explore. Also, ENEMIES is replete -- one may argue too much so -- with guest appearances (Captain Atom, Major Force, Solomon Grundy, **drool** the lovely Power Girl, etc.) from the whole pantheon of DC villains and superheroes ... so many that that the final showdown between Luthor and Superman does feel a bit rushed to get this entire story told in what was originally six issues of the new Batman/Superman comic book, but that's a minor critique easily dismissed thanks to the strength of Loeb's work. The real magic of PUBLIC ENEMIES is that it should be considered on its own and of its own merits ... of which there are (thankfully) plenty.

Also, Ed McGuinness deserves a nod for delivering some stunning artwork to back up Loeb's epic storyline. The drawings are crisp and fluid, the coloring is dynamite and eye-popping, and the layout is exceptional.

ENEMIES is a friend worth finding.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Batman & Superman, polar opposites that make a great story, June 18, 2005

By	XKAL (USA) - See all my reviews

Batman and Superman have always been amazing characters, yet couldn't be any more different in their approach for fighting against crime. Batman, the ever dark personality that uses his anger to overcome great odds. Superman, the boy scout who looks for the good in all and fight for truth, justice and the american way.

"Public Enemies" displays just how different these two are and does so beautifully by displaying each ones personal thoughts throughout the book.

Fighting for a common goal, they each show tremendous respect for the other, though not agreeing entirely on each others tactics. They almost, in a way, dislike the fact that they have to rely on one another at times. It is almost hard to say that them two are real friends and it is very easy to see how they could become mortal enemies if the circumstance permits. A very intriguing alliance.

In "Public Enemies", President Lex Luthor, has put a billion dollar bounty on their heads and every known bad guy has come to claim it. "Public Enemies" has a great collection of team battles with classic villians and epic confrontations with former team members.

A great read, with a lot of action, that comes highly recommended.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Honestly, It's Not That Great., March 5, 2007

By	tvtv3 "tvtv3" (Sorento, IL United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Superman/Batman Vol. 1: Public Enemies (Paperback)

In this volume Superman and Batman team up to fight Superman's arch nemesis, Lex Luthor. In the chronology of this particular storyline, Luthor was elected President of the United States. Unbeknownst to the public, he has also continued his various secret schemes and projects to rid the world of Superman and control the world. When a huge kryptonian asteroid threatens to hit Earth, Luthor blames it on Superman and orders a federal warrant for his arrest and sends a team of superheroes to bring Superman in. Meanwhile Batman and Superman try to capture Luthor while at the same time trying to stop the meteor before it hits the planet.

The art work in PUBLIC ENEMIES is beautiful. Ed McGuinness, Dexter Vines, and company do an excellent job of melding the vibrant, radiant colors that are often seen in connection with Superman to the more darker, bleak palette used with Batman. I also enjoyed the parallelism throughout the graphic novel between the thoughts of Superman and the thoughts of Batman. These two characters are tent pole characters of the D.C. universe and anytime they are teamed up makes for at least a decent story. Even though it made the story a bit more heavy-handed than it should have been, I also like how various D.C. characters are brought in throughout the story including Green Lantern, Hawkman, Captain Marvel, and the buxom beauty Atom Girl.

However, there is a lot about PUBLIC ENEMIES that I don't like. The series was written by Jeph Loeb. Loeb is a writer who doesn't really care much about the history of the characters he writes about. He doesn't seem to care much about continuity either. Under the direction and leadership of Loeb and writers like him, Lex Luthor tried to take over Gotham City, Lex Luthor was killed and went to Hell but was later resurrected, Commissioner Gordon became too old and had to retire from police duties, Lex Luthor ran for office and was elected President, etc. None of this fits with continuity of the D.C. universe or seems natural for the characters. Of course, none of this should come as a surprise because Loeb also works as a consultant for the television show SMALLVILLE, a show that totally threw out everything that had been written about the origins of any D.C. character and decided to rewrite them how they so fit. It was popular with the teeny boppers and made money for the company because of television rights, but teeny boppers don't buy and read comic books and therefore hurt the industry more.

PUBLIC ENEMIES isn't a very good story to introduce people to a Superman/Batman combo story. It's also not a storyline to sits well with longtime fans of the characters. The graphic basically appeals to those who know very little about either Superman & Batman and have learned what little they know from watching SMALLVILLE and/or reading earlier editions of Superman and/or Batman comics that were written by Loeb. If you want to read a really good Superman and Batman team-up, read some of the comics from either the Golden or Silver Age of comics.