Friday, November 5, 2010

Superboy #1

Overall: As opposed to actually being one story, this comic was more like a few little stories that I assume will lead to something big down the road. First off the Phantom Stranger appears before Superboy and talks cryptically to him, because that's what the Phantom Stranger does best. As near as I could tell, the Stranger was warning SB that his actions will draw some great trouble to Smallville, and that SB needs to prepare himself. From there, SB is told by his best friend in Smallville(Simon Valentine)that he knows Conner Kent and Superboy are one and the same. Before SB can confirm or deny these allegations, Parasite attacks SB. The two tear up part of Main Street before SB takes the battle to an abandoned wheat field. Severely weakened by Parasite's sneak attack, SB realizes that he doesn't have enough strength left to deal with Parasite head on, so he uses his tactile telekinesis to smother Parasite with thousands of little wheat grains, knocking the villain out cold. Simon manages to catch up to SB and before they can get SB somewhere to rest up from the battle with Parasite, Poison Ivy wraps the boys up in vines and exclaims that she was too late to save Smallville.

I really have no complaints here. Being the first issue of a new series, this issue had to do a lot of set-up work, which is exactly what it accomplished, all while adding a quick Parasite battle as well. We now know SB will be facing some sort of dire threat to Smallville(duh!), that his friend Simon knows about his secret identity, and that villains such as Parasite and Poison Ivy were being drawn to Smallville for some reason. I'm not really sure what more I could want from a set-up issue... However, now that things have been set up, the next few issues should go a long way in deciding just how good a series this comic winds up being.

Score: 8 out of 10.Hmm, with the exception of that third panel, EVERY ONE of those other things have happened already!

12 comments:

  1. This is the series by Jeff Lemire, right? I've been looking forward to this for a while, since I love his work. I imagine I'll check it out in trade at some point.

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  2. I love those "coming soon" pages.

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  3. Yup, this is that very series, Marc. I've got a quick question though, what exactly has Lemire worked on before this series, because I can't think of a single thing I've ever read with his name on it...

    This particular "coming soon" page had me chuckling, because most of the things on it have happened already! I guess that's just another example of DC's whole, "Everything old is new again!!!" mindset.

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  4. Why would Superboy and Kid Flash ever even try to race when Kid Flash is SO much faster. That wouldn't interest me at ALL. Also that Titans Team looks horrendous. Who is that, Bat-Boy?

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  5. Seriously! Superboy once raced Impulse and lost BIG TIME! I mean Bart ran like half the race backwards or something and still dominated! And that was back when he was Impulse! Imagine how much worse the race would be now! That'd be like pitting an Olympic runner against... well, me. Unless I bring a bat to the race, I think we all know who'd win...

    As for that team, agreed once again. Who ARE those people?! I guess Batboy, Hawkboy, um, Sexygirl and Kid Hush?

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  6. I'm sure the Olympian would win before you even have time to swing the bat. And you saying that makes me think of a scene on Smallville where Clark and Bart race and Bart just blows him away, then runs backwards, then kicks it into hyper-drive and disappears. That was awesome.

    Lmao @ Sexygirl and Kid Hush. Imagine Hush taking on a young intern who has second thoughts and joins the heros (tee hee hee) by fighting crime with scalpels and syringes.

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  7. HA! I'd be in the process of swinging that bat at them and they'd be at the finish line! Hmm, if this race were to ever occur, maybe I should bring a gun instead of a bat... "So you can outrun a bat, huh? Well let's see you outrun a bullet! BWA-HAHAHAH!!!"

    Everything about that second paragraph was awesome. Everything.

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  8. The sad part is they'd win, run back, and take your gun, disassemble it and then run past the finish line again :P

    Lmao @ Everything. Thank you sir, I...ah...thank you. (Obama Impression)

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  9. Dude, I'm racing against an Olympian, not the Flash! :D

    Wow, even in print your Obama impression is dead on! :P

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  10. What's the difference? :P

    Lol thank you, thank you. I wonder why Obama is in so many comic books now?

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  11. I don't think Lemire has done any superhero comics prior to this. He's done Essex County and The Nobody, both of which I love, and he's currently doing Sweet Tooth, which I've heard is excellent.

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  12. Ah, well then no wonder I don't know who he is! THanks for the info, Marc!

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