Superman #704 – Review

by G. Willow Wilson (writer), Leandro Oliveira (penciller), Walden Wong (inker), Rod Reis (colorist)

The Story: During a break from Straczynski’s Grounded storyline, Wilson has us meeting up with Lois Lane, as she returns to Rushmark, Indiana, where we learn she spent some of her college years.  As she walks up and down the familiar streets, she is reminded of times gone by, which leads her to reexamine where she is in life, as opposed to where she saw herself back during her college days.  Getting a glimpse of “normal” life, from a visit with an ex-boyfriend and his family, she starts to question is you can ever really go home again and is she leading the life that is ultimately fulfilling to her.

The Good Decent: Wilson’s idea of taking Superman’s lead to reexamine life and applying it to Lois Lane came off as a bit of a stretch in this issue.  It’s not to say that it didn’t fully work, but he really pulled back on the reigns of the workaholic that is Lane and put her in a position that, really, has never come across as a priority for her before.  Lois Lane has strived to always bring the best stories that she can, uncover the biggest secrets and conspiracies, and always be the first to do so.  The idea that she would possibly want to be a mother with a husband and kids to take care of just doesn’t really fit into the “Lois Lane” mold.

To further complicate this idea, Wilson then has her questioning her need by Clark.  She knows that his mission is split between saving Earth from the problems it faces and writing about the problems Earth faces from behind a desk.  In an uncomfortable, out of character moment, she wonders what good she is to the world and, essentially, has the life she lead been nothing more than a facade on an otherwise meaningless life.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Hulk #26 – This title now has the championship belt for “best Marvel ongoing” IMO.  Jeff Parker isn’t screwing around and milking a simple story across 6 issues….he’s just cramming and entire trade’s worth of story into a single issue.  And Gabriel Hardman’s art is just incredibly good.  Start reading this one now.

Most Anticipated: Scalped #42 – This could be ‘pick of the week’ every time it comes out, but after a lot of table setting, I get the feeling that things are going to start boiling over sooner rather than later in Jason Aaron’s excellent Native American crime drama.

Other Picks: Bulletproof Coffin #5, Amazing Spider-Man #646, Incorruptible #11, Incognito Bad Influences #1, Avengers #6

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Fables #99 – A really fantastic issue of Fables that did everything right and made #100 one of the most exciting prospects for next month.  Big powers, tension you could cut with a knife, and fantastic artwork that I couldn’t get enough of makes this a treat for Fables fans.

Most Anticipated: Action Comics #894 – Paul Cornell’s Action Comics is my favourite DCU title right now.  It’s energetic and witty and has awesome artwork.  This month, it sees the addition of one my favourite comics characters of all time, and a Vertigo one at that.  Now, putting aside how awesome this collision of DCU with Vertigo is, I have to admit I’m also biased; Vertigo was really how got into comics so this really does have a special appeal for me.  Either, this is a landmark, it’s a guaranteed hit, and I highly recommend picking this up even if you’ve never picked up Action before.  BUY THIS.

Other Picks: Fantastic Four #584, Avengers #6, Secret Avengers #6, Scalped #42, Captain America #611, Secret Warriors #21, Madame Xanadu #28, Wonder Woman #604, Superman #704