The Man Of Steel Gets Pouty

Superman 1-4
DC Comics
George Perez, writer and breakdowns
Jesús Merino, pencils and inks (Nicola Scott, artist on issue No. 3)

We're back to being slightly underwhelmed with a title from DC's the New 52. These first four issues are not a complete story arc, and I confess I AM curious how the story will end, so in that regard, they've got me.

Unlike with the Frankenstein title discussed a few weeks ago, the art is not a problem this time out. Perez's covers are gorgeous, as one would expect from this longtime fan favorite artist. The same goes for the art from series regular Jesús Merino and fill-in artist Nicola Scott. This time, the problem is more the story, and to a lesser extent, the pacing.

When Perez reinvented Wonder Woman in 1986, his first turn as a writer and not just an artist, he took a great deal of time revealing the history of the Amazons and the Greek gods along with the tale of his main heroine, Princess Diana. He seems to be following a similar formula here. Perez is not dealing overly much with the history of Krypton, leaving that to his Action Comics counterparts, Grant Morrison and Rags Morales, who are detailing Superman's early career. Instead, Perez is focused on the tapestry of Metropolis, the Daily Planet and familiar faces like Perry White, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and of course, Clark Kent.

The difference is that the Wonder Woman story being told back in 1986 was engaging on all levels: the story was interesting, and the heroine was challenged by a threat she truly might not be able to overcome. In this tale, Superman is mysteriously confronted by a series of seemingly alien threats. I'm curious about the nature of the aliens and what their true goal is, but almost any hero could be substituted for Superman so far with only minor changes. Having Superman be an easily replacable character in his own book isn't a great way to engage a reader.

The other draw for New 52 books, of course, is how have things changed from the staus quo readers knew before the reboot. Most of the changes to Metropolis, the Daily Planet and familiar faces like Perry White, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen are pretty minor so far. The only character greatly changed is Clark Kent, and he is no longer as easily likable, which can only hurt the title.

I'm just not feeling it with this book.