DCU Comic Book Reviews

SUPERMAN CONFIDENTIAL #1

Kryptonite

January 2007

Written by Darwyn Cooke

Pencils by Tim Sale

Inks by Tim Sale

Cover by Tim Sale

Synopsis

At the same time the spaceship carrying Kal-El crashed to Earth, a piece of Krypton also fell on a different part of the Earth.  Now, in Metropolis, Superman battles and defeats the Royal Flush Gang.  Later, he romances Lois Lane on top of the Eiffel Tower.  The next day, editor Perry White of the Daily Planet gives Lois, Clark, and Jimmy a new assignment:  find the corruption and vice hiding behind Anthony Gallo’s new casino.  While Clark and Jimmy provide surveillance on the casino, Lois is charged with getting an interview with Gallo.  Surprisingly, he agrees....

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

If someone had told me a year ago that I would be reading a comic book featuring narration from an alien rock, I would have told them they were crazy.  If you had told me that just last week I would have said you were crazy.  Hell, I just read the damn thing and I still think its crazy:  narration from a piece of kryptonite.  That little weirdness aside, this was an excellent first issue.  The Royal Flush Gang sucked big time, but I think that was the point:  Superman is basically invincible at this point and can defeat anything and anyone that he wants.  That is, until someone finds Kryptonite.  So, yeah the Royal Flush Gang sucks and I loved the story because they sucked.  More importantly is that despite his own invincibility, Superman still is not entirely confident in his abilities or himself.  It’s this aspect of the character that makes the story intriguing and makes it different any current story.  Like all people, when you are new to something, you are tentative and unsure.  This issue portrayed that very well. 

The latter half of the issue is devoted to Clark Kent and the Daily Planet.  These scenes are the best.  Lois Lane is shown to be tough and sharp but she lacks the bitchiness that is sometimes given to her.  I love Perry’s take charge attitude befitting an editor of a major paper.  And I like the fact that Jimmy is not being yelled out and asked to bring in coffee for a screaming Perry White.  And to top it all off, they are being tasked to fight against social ills and use the newspaper to fight corruption and vice.  This is typical 50s material told in a style that harkens back to that time period. 

It has always been interesting to note that Batman has been the only DCU character to get an entire series (Legends Of The Dark Knight) devoted to cataloguing his early years.  Part of this is due to the success of Batman: Year One, but also due to the fact that Batman’s first foes were common gangsters before they became homicidal maniacs.   No other DCU hero (or heroine) boasts such a wealth of adversarial opponents.  Now, DC is attempting to detail Superman’s early years with this new series.  The strength of this series will not be the first story (which is off to a great start) but the ability to tell stories that feel like Superman is young and new to the city.  I think there is a great possibility we may see stories similar to the main titles, except Clark and Lois aren’t married.  However, if the stories can continue along the same vein as this story (which has very similar feel in terms of tone to the Superman:  For All Seasons), this new series may prove to be interesting.

 

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