Customer Reviews

Superman: Critical Condition (Book 4)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is perhaps the best storyline to emerge from the whole 1999 relaunch of the Superman line of comics. The premise is that Superman must find the missing Lois Lane while trying not to succumb to Kryptonite poisoning (which happened in the previous 'Til Death Do Us Part collection). While it sounds like an episode of Smallville, the narrative unfolds in a way that doesn't insult the reader's intelligence. The storytelling is top notch with a good blend of drama and humor. There's even a great cameo by Batman that further demonstrates the unique bond that these two heroes share.

The only downside to this otherwise great trade paperback is the disjointed artwork. This is a compilation of four Superman titles, so a certain amount of this is to be expected. But the range of varying artistic styles is rather extreme here. Some artists draw Superman way too goofy & cartoony, while others seem heavily influenced by the manga art style. If ever there was a character unfit for the manga style, it would be Superman! Unfortunately, fan favorite Ed McGuinness' art is not featured in this volume, thus the inclusion of the guest artists. Aside from this minor gripe, this is a solid good read and worth adding to anyone's Superman collection.

This book picks up on the heels of Superman 'Till Do Us Apart TPB. Lois is missing, Superman is ill and the villains are coming out of the woodwork. The first story focuses on Toyman and didn't work for me. The next few stories features Superman getting roughed up by Lex Luthor's henchwomen and the arrival of Batman. This is the high point of the book...the interaction with the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight. I don't get why reviewers made such a fuss about Batman referring to Lois "the subject". If you have picked up any Bat-books within the last few months or since 2003, you know that Batman puts up a tough exterior but he cares for his team-mates. I don't want to spoil the ending but this is clearly shown during Batman's own narration. And as for how Superman get infected with Kryptonite...um...this is Book-4...that means there had to have been a Book 1-3 and those might contain clues about how he might have been infected. The latter part of the book is lackluster and is typical of what is to be expected of the recent Superman books. I understand that he is a tough character to write but come on. All in all, 4 starts for the first part and 2 for the latter...average of 3 stars.

While this isn't a great collection, Batman's speech was probably the high point: He's explaining that he HAS TO divorce himself emotionally from certain cases in order to investigate them properly: Right now he has to focus on the clues, without being distracted by his feelings for Lois. It's a bit creepy that he can do this so completely, but that's part of what makes the character interesting.

Superman is infected by a virus and Lois Lane is missing. This sets up the storyline for this book. Except there's one problem! Namely, we never did get to see any of the two events happening at all! WHEN and HOW did Superman get infected? WHEN and HOW did Lois Lane go missing? Everything was shown "off-panel" - meaning we get some explanation later in expositional-style-flashback-dialogues-and-captions.

Furthermore, we have a totally out-of-character Batman recording in a cold way his step-by-step detective work, referring to Lois constantly as "the subject" (something that Batman will NEVER do - he believes too much in the individual to ever call anyone that, especially a close friend like Lois). Out-of-character Batman is teamed up with a wimpy, sick and badly-drawn Superman. And the whole lot is written by Joe Kelly who's only gift in comic-writing seems to be witty one-liners and toilet-humor.

And did I mention the uneven artwork? Interestingly, it was Marvel that began the manga-esque influence in their artwork (most noticeably in the X-Men books by Joe Madureira). Here, we have the massive artwork of Ed McGuiness coupled with several bad mangaesque artist like the Wizard Award Winner whose name I cannot even recall. Personally, I think a traditional character like Superman should be drawn by someone with a more traditional style like Steve Epting or Tom Derenick. McGuiness' art is fun but usually lacking in emotion and characterization. The rest of the pack in this book is simply horrendous. In fact, I dropped the Superman books immediately after this storyline.