Book: Superman 34
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: John Romita Jr.
Inker: Klaus Janson
Summary from Comixology: “The Men of Tomorrow” Part 3! Introducing the bizarre villain known as The Machinist-the man behind the recent technological attacks on Metropolis. But what is his strange connection to Superman?”
The Overview:
As I have said before, I am not the worlds biggest Superman fan, in all honestly, he’s pretty far from the top of my list. But, I am a pretty big Geoff Johns fan, so that has been the only reason I’ve been reading this book. Also, I’m also not the biggest fan of Romita Jr., though ‘m only familiar with his work on ASM and now Superman, but I have been very impressed so far. If Johns and Romita Jr. stay on Superman for as long as his Green Lantern run, that may just be enough to turn me into a fan of supes.
The Good:
Johns storytelling is really shown here. We are some more of the origins of the new character Ulysses, which was a very emotional telling how his parents sent him away as their earth was “crumbling,” or so they though. Sound familiar? It’s a little like Clark’s origins story, but it’s still unique and something new. The interactions betweenUlysses and Clark were very interesting and seemed to be the formation of a new friendship, I personally think they could be a pretty good team together. There was also a great splash page of Ulysses and Superman in a little altercation. The villain that was introduced, The Machinist seems like he will be causing some problems in the distant future.
The Bad:
There wasn’t anything technically “bad” with this issue that I could find. But when I read the last page, I felt myself wanting more or thinking “that’s it?”. I just felt like it was a bit on the anti-climatic scale. It was not necessarily a letdown, but I was left wanting more.
The Final Say:
This was a pretty fun book and a interesting take on the characters. But overall I jest felt like the book was missing a more powerful moment. I give this book a solid 3 out of 4. The story very enjoyable, but it was just missing that major “wow” moment. Head out to your LCS and pick this book up! And if you read the book, let us know what you think in the comments below!