DCU Comic Book Reviews

BLACKEST NIGHT:  SUPERMAN #1

A Sleepy Little Town, Part One

October 2009

Written by James Robinson

Pencils by Eddy Barrows

Inks by Ruy Jose with Julio Ferreira

Covers by Eddy Barrows and Shane Davis

Synopsis

Kal-L of Earth-2 rises from the dead and becomes a Black Lantern.  In Smallville, Kal-L terrorizes the townspeople as his power levels increase.  At the Kent farm, Krypto senses something wrong.  When Clark and Conner go to investigate, they encounter Kal-L, who immediately attacks.  Meanwhile, something breaks into the Kent farm and attacks Krypto.  It is Lois Lane of Earth-2, now a Black Lantern.  On New Krypton, Kara and Alura watch as Zor-el rises from the dead.  Meanwhile, Clark and Conner return to Smallville, where they find the Kent farm wrecked and Ma Kent missing.  They find her in town, in the arms of Black Lanterns Kal-L and Lois Lane.  They will make sure Ma and Pa Kent are reunited.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

I have mixed feelings about this one.  On the one hand, I liked the coolness factor of Kal-L coming back from the dead to mess with Superman.  Maybe it is the geek inside of me, but scenes of the two Supermen, along with Superboy, battling each other make me giddy.  Unfortunately, there is no emotional resonance to the return of Kal-L.  There was impact to having Kal-L return.  The issue feels like the editors wanted to do something with Kal-L and this happened to be the decision.  At least in the Batman story, Dick had to deal with the possibility of his parents returning or Boston Brand deal with himself returning.  These connections provide the impetus for the story, giving it depth and allowing us to understand the characters more in the way they react and interact with the dead.  In this issue, after the opening sequence, it was mostly just a big fight scene.  Clark didn’t have time to contemplate Pa’s return, whereas the Flying Graysons return become a big part of the Batman issue.  Hopefully next issue, Pa Ken will bring some emotional payoff to the idea of the dead coming back to haunt the living. 

The opening sequence, which is basically a poorly done horror movie ripoff, doesn’t work.  We know Kal-L is back.  There is very little suspense.  We not only know who is doing it, but also know why.  All it does it set the stage that doesn’t need to be stage.  Now, maybe Robinson felt he needed to add the first page because the Black Lantern Kal-L action figure has been promoted for some time, which means we all know he is coming back, so might as well get it over with.  But in terms of the suspense and horror of something stalking the citizens of Smallville, the opening scenes don’t work. 

The drawback to this issue was the art.  Hold out your hands in front of you.  Now look at the first page of this comic and compare the drawing to your own hands.  Notice something?  Yes, the thumb of the left hand is on the wrong side.  Sadly, a lot of this comic has moments of really bad art just like this.  Like the last page.  Kal-L’s look seriously misshapen.  Or the full page of Superman smacking Kal-L in the face.  Does anyone have an upper body that long?

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