Superboy #11 – Review

By: Jeff Lemire (writer), Pier Gallo (artist), Jamie Grant & Dom Regan (colorists)

The Story: Superboy gets by—with a little help from his friends.

The Review: Amidst the din and hype over the newest launch of Superboy, with critical darling Lemire at the helm, I remain largely puzzled by the lavish praise on this title.  Not that I don’t see its possibilities—far from it.  But now, one issue shy of a year’s worth of material, the series still feels like it’s winding up its first story arc.

And now, just when Lemire should be pulling out all the stops to make good on his and his star character’s potential, he just stops.  To prep the title for yet another relaunch come fall, Lemire was obligated to expedite the finish of his major storyline, and in combination with the reduced page count, that means he only had one option to get everything done in time: a big, wordy pile of exposition as told by either the raving Tannarak of the implacable Phantom Stranger.

Most of the action comes from Simon and Lori’s attempts to use their mere mortal means to escape the clutches of a life-draining blob-man and a town full of clay rednecks.  Since they have the least means to defend themselves (with Psion out of commission), these parts clearly have the most bite to them.  That said, Simon ends up doing little more than inadvertently serving as a decoy, leaving Lori to save them both with a couple moments of idiot-savant improvisation.

Speaking of Psion, he serves as a painfully obvious reminder that this title has definitely not gone anywhere it intended to.  Considering all the buildup Lemire put in towards the earnest lad’s possible betrayal—only because his superiors in the future commands him to so as to save their world from doom—it’s just disconcerting that you’ll never now find out what the future holds for him and his puppy-dog friendship with the Boy of Steel.

Superboy #7 – Review

By: Jeff Lemire (writer), Marco Rudy with Daniel HDR (artists), Jamie Grant & Dom Regan (colorists)

The Story: Superboy discovers what the fuss is all about with these hallucinogenic plants.

The Review: Ever since Geoff Johns wrote Superboy as the product of the world’s greatest hero and the world’s greatest villain, this dual nature has become a focal point of his character—too much so, in fact.  Ignoring the fact that genetics don’t really work that way, this plot point has infected almost every Superboy story since it first came to light, which has really cramped the Kid of Steel’s style.  It’s like writers are trying to wring the issue for all the angst it’s worth.

Superboy’s nightmare come to life falls under those lines.  Now, there’s nothing wrong with the way Lemire executes the story.  He actually keeps things clipping at a quick pace with his habit of jarring scene-cuts. You’re constantly shunted back and forth between Superboy and Psionic Lad’s present mystery in orbital space, and the future apocalyptic hellscape, which Connor apparently unleashes on the world.  It definitely keeps you invested in what the heck is going on.

Instinct tells you to think this is where Psi-Lad reveals his true colors.  You know he’s from the future, and that it’s a grim dystopia (or so he says), and he’s intended to turn on Superboy at some point, so all the signs for his betrayal get put in place.  But once Lori and Red Robin show up in this alternate timeline, and they don’t seem to get from Connor’s t-shirt/jeans get-up that he’s not the ruthless murderer they seem to know, you know something fishy’s happening.

Superboy #5 – Review

By: Jeff Lemire (writer), Pier Gallo (artist), Jamie Grant (colorist)

The Story: Like my alarm clock whenever I want it least, the race between Kid Flash and Superboy is on!

The Review: Some people are inclined to call interlude issues—the done-in-ones between story arcs—filler, and there’s just cause for that.  Since they tend to have lower stakes and be less involved than the usual stuff you tend to get, it’s easy to dismiss them as distractions from the bigger picture.  But interludes can be important if they not only entertain, but do some work developing the characters or laying the groundwork for the next big plot.

Lemire succeeds on all three points.  Sure, the Superboy-Kid Flash race is a hokey gimmick, but that doesn’t take away from the sheer fun and silliness of it.  It’s also a great legacy moment for the featured teen heroes, a reminder that one day they’ll take over for their predecessors and be counted among the world’s finest.  Now, I won’t spoil who wins the deal, but rest assured—it beats the obligatory “tie” that always seemed to be the result of the Superman-Flash races.

Connor’s bromance with Tim Drake is by now an old DC mainstay, and but his friendship with Bart Allen has been less developed.  As Impulse, Bart always seemed to exist in his own world, making it easy to forget he was part of the original team-up with Superboy and Robin as Young Justice.  Their heart-to-heart this issue is a nice step forward for them, with Bart’s cheerfulness taking the place of Tim’s sensibility for soothing Connor’s romantic woes.

In fact, Superboy’s interactions with all the Teen Titans sound so natural, they call attention to how awkward his relationships with his Smallville “friends” have been so far, particularly Lori.

Even now, her role in this series still remains up in the air, as Superboy himself is taking a lot of pains to exclude her from his heroic and civilian lives.  Still, the appearance of the Phantom Stranger and her many monologues show Lemire has big plans for her in the upcoming storyline.

Superboy #4 – Review

By: Jeff Lemire (writer), Pier Gallo (artist), Jamie Grant (colorist)

The Story: Enter Psionic Lad, master of mental might, escapist of eras…and feigner of friendship.

The Review: There’s nothing like time-traveling hijinks to liven up a story.  It’s literally twice the fun: the world of the past and the world of the future.  Then there’s all the interest in connecting elements between the two, and seeing how their interaction may alter events in either period.  Time-traveling stories really only get messy when the past and future selves of the same characters come together, creating all manner of quantum loops and feedbacks that make your head spin.

Fortunately, Jeff Lemire wisely avoids bringing in space-time paradoxes on top of what is already ramping up to be an entertaining story arc.  The appearance of Psionic Lad and his grim portents of the future signal much higher-stakes challenges for Superboy—a good thing, considering what few opportunities he has had to prove his competence so far.  Even here, besides the quick tussle with the Acropolis Science-Hunters, the action level still remains pretty low-key.

Still, the intensifying drama in this issue keeps you invested in where the story’s going.  The reveal of Psionic Lad’s motivations for seeking out Superboy’s help comes at a slow burn, but laced throughout his explanations are a bunch of questionable details that keep you guessing at his true intentions.  The final scene is one right out of the Handbook of Classic Twists, but Lemire’s paced execution still gets you pumped to see how this will all blow up in their faces.

At the same time, Lemire doesn’t neglect the plot threads he’s already lain down in previous issues.  Psionic Lad’s handy abilities allow Superboy and Co. to glean some more clues about the big bad guys still lurking in Smallville.  The Science-Hunters’ reactions to Simon Valentine also indicate that we may be treated to more clues about the boy genius’ ultimate connection to the Boy of Steel.  It’s nice to know Lemire’s got a definite direction he wants to take this title.

Superboy #3 – Review

By Jeff Lemire (writer), Pier Gallo (artist), Jamie Grant (colorist)

The Story: Just as Superboy’s getting a new handle on balancing what’s normal in his life and what’s not, Smallville High falls victim to a mass migraine of epic proportions, the work of…Psionic Lad!

The Review: Last issue’s run in with Poison Ivy and some plants gone wild rocketed through events so quickly that by the end, you felt winded, but not as if you really got anywhere, story-wise.  This time around, Jeff Lemire’s got his newest story arc on a slow burn, but with some creative narrative-hopping to keep the pace lively, and the effect on the storytelling is aces.  This issue splits its time equally on dealing with the aftermath from the previous story arc’s damage on Smallville, handling the newest threat to rear its head, and building up the chemistry among the principal characters.

It’s a treat when a comic book writer remembers that after a battle, there’s usually some reconstruction at stake.  In this case, the question of how to help Smallville’s farmers cope with the loss of pretty much their entire crop season leads to some great character moments.  Ma Kent’s monologue about the resilience of the town’s people is a great summation of what’s admirable about Midwestern character in general, and speaks to Lemire’s love of the area and its philosophy.

Also great is Kid Flash’s guest shot.  Why chat on the phone when super-speed allows for in-person conversations anytime, anyplace?  His appearance not only leads to a scheme to help the town (an upcoming event that’s already got me thrilled for March’s issue), but also sheds light on Superboy’s eagerness to reach out and involve his friends.  This quality also gives Superboy a terrific moment later on in his bittersweet call to Wonder Girl, a reflection of drama going on over in Teen Titans.

Character work is in fine form throughout this issue.  The tense conversation between Superboy and Simon Valentine on how to proceed with their superhero-sidekick dynamic gives intriguing depth to both of their personalities, and makes the first baby step toward Simon’s resentment of their partnership.  Lori also gets good page-time as she tries to get closer to her “cousin” of sorts, and ends up getting sucked into the center of the action.  The little wordless beats Lemire gives her—making eye contact with Superboy in class, then quickly turning away— really sell.  And man, I do love the return of thought balloons, because they work as carriers for melodrama in a way spoken dialogue never does: “I can’t let him know that I know…things are weird enough between us!”

In the grand scheme of things, the actual action in the issue is not enormous, but because of Lemire’s clever time-jumps between past drama and present action, the story is fraught with constant tension.  Besides, the revelation of what’s causing the chaos striking Smallville High has a great payoff with the appearance of the already endearing Psionic Lad and the chronally-exempt Hunting Party, who will be the main source of conflict for the next issue.