Superman Unchained #1: The Leap

Geeks everywhere took to the streets in mass celebration this past week upon the release of Zack Snyder’s (300, Watchmen) “Man of Steel,” the first Superman film that people have felt good about since the 1978 original.  Okay, maybe we weren’t partying in the street, but we were pretty excited.

But while Zack Snyder was releasing his film, another Snyder (unrelated) was releasing his own take on the Last Son of Kypton.  Drawn by comic industry legend Jim Lee (X-Men, Justice League), “Superman Unchained #1” was released by DC Comics this past Wednesday, and frankly, I had a hard time finding myself a copy due to its popularity.

As someone whose knowledge of Superman extends to one film, one graphic novel, and a few appearances in the other comics I read and collect, Superman Unchained changed how I look at the Man of Tomorrow.  There’s no backstory, no origin, no Krypton, just great storytelling.

The story actually opens on April 9^th, 1945 during the atomic bombing of Nagasaki with something even the most creative of conspiracy theorists couldn't come up with.  As the bomb is falling, it opens up and a blue glowing nuclear man pops out!  Now, I can't confirm this, but it brings back memories of a supervillain named Chemo being dropped on the city of Blüdhaven during the Infinite Crisis DC event of the mid-2000s.  However, the two do looking nothing alike.

This issue really presents Superman in a way I’ve never seen him before.  When I think Superman, I thinking, “Truth, justice, the American way, and a very unthreatening demeanor.”  But as presented here, Superman is shown on more than one occasion either completely or slightly silhouetted or sporting glowing red eyes.  A stark contrast to how I've always seen him.

Superman’s story focuses on him stopping eight crashing satellites from hitting the Earth, and then afterward, trying to find out who’s responsible, the new cyber terrorist group Ascension, who Superman believes isn't capable, or criminal mastermind Lex Luthor, who is being moved into a maximum security prison supposedly having turned over a new leaf and has grand plans to improve Metropolis.  The two options provide an exciting back and forth as Clark Kent refuses to print in his article that Ascension is suspected, despite that the public all fears that Ascension is responsible.

One thing that didn't really work for me is that inside the print version of the issue there is a tear out (careful not to rip) double sized poster that is actually two pages of the comic.  On my first read through I thought this was just a promotion poster, so I ripped it out and kept on reading (comic used confusion, it was super effective).  The pullout is an absolutely stunning display of Lee’s work a, digital fans will miss out on being able to examine it with their own eyes.

There’s a character revealed in the cliffhanger ending (it wouldn’t be a comic without a cliffhanger) seems a bit forced, since there’s been absolutely no time to develop this new character, and Snyder is going to really have to do something to separate this villain from others or we will be seen as incredibly redundant based on his character design.  But, since everything Snyder puts his pen to turns to gold, I’ll give him a free pass.

All-in-all, Superman Unchained is a good read with an exciting take on a character that’s been around since 1939.  Superman Unchained #2 is due out on July 10^th.

Superman Unchained #1 cover by Jim Lee

Batman #21 Review

Wednesday marked the release of Eisner Award Winner Scott Snyder’s (American Vampire, Detective Comics) first issue of Batman: Zero Year, a contemporary look at the early days of Batman.  This marks the first non-film update to Batman’s origin since Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One in early 1987.

While it’s hard to say just how well this will compare to Miller’s tale (after all, it’s just one issue compared to BYO’s four), I can say that after two read-throughs that Zero Year has me intrigued.

The story opens six years in the prior, showing Gotham as the barren, broken, and likely arson-prone thugstravaganza one might expect would forge Batman (or at least plenty of crazy people in costumes).  A small boy catches a fish before being chased down by two men in red and white masks, possibly members of PETA.  Fortuitously for the boy (and less for the fish), the first thug is brought down by rope and the second by a baton.  We don't often see this Batman outside of fanfiction or “other-universe” tales.  This Batman wears a ripped t-shirt. He has a crossbow. Instead of a utility belt, he has a backpack and more gadgets visibly attached to his person than Wayne manor has secret sex dungeons.  This is what a real vigilante should look like.

Let us travel back five more months, to a simpler time before the Batman.  Following a brief encounter with the Red Hood Gang, Bruce Wayne returns home and speaks with Alfred, which is where the comic began to lose me.  Bruce is hanging upside-down using electro-magnetic boots and lifting weights—because sit-ups are for the poor—in the center of a laboratory, filled with computer consoles and large screen monitors.  We get it, he's rich enough to bribe Mother Teresa into doing a Maxim centerfold, but didn't Bruce has just returned to Gotham? Nobody knows he back, and he has no actual ties to Wayne Enterprises. So, did he pre-order the Richard Branson vigilante detective kit and have it mail ordered to his house from his training hut in the Mongolian mountains? How did he get all of this stuff so fast?  I want to see the evolution of man into beast.  I want to see him solve something without the use of technology. Isn't that why he spent seven years abroad, studying and honing his skills?

We eventually meet some new characters to this universe as well as one character’s first introduction into the New-52 outside of a backup story, but I won’t spoil the surprise.

I will say this, though: the artwork of Year One serves its story better than the artwork for Zero Year. Don't get me wrong, Zero Year's artwork is fantastic, but it doesn't fill the story's themes and motifs the way Year One did.  Year One’s use of limited shading and dulled, neutral colors serve the atmosphere Frank Miller has created for Gotham: a dreary sense of existence since popularized in [insert every war game since 2002].  Greg Capullo’s art in Zero Year feels just like his other work. It's stellar art, but nothing separates it from anything else that’s been in a Batman comic for the past few years. Maybe it doesn't need to, but this seems like a seminal story which should get a unique visual approach to Batman.

Snyder has done a good job of setting up a story that will last the next year. The reveal at the end of this book has me very intrigued for the next issue (due out July 10^th).  Pick this comic up if you want to see a Batman you’ve never seen before and a little insight into his return to Gotham, or, you know, if you just like imagining Batman vs PETA fanfiction.

Zakk