Superman: Earth-One

I have always been a fan of J. Michael Stracynski, and I tend to check out almost anything he writes. I have been reading his recent run on Superman, and after hearing that he is already going to be off the title to write more full graphic novels, I figured I should check out his most recent major release: Superman Earth-One.

The beginning of the book moved kind of slowly, providing the reader with a different twist on the young adulthood of Clark Kent, chronicling his first adventures in Metropolis and his troubles coping with the power that he has.

As the story progresses, it begins to get more interesting, picking up its pace and moving in the more central storyline of the novel. Although the story did pick up, I was not as impressed by Stracynski as I usually am. The writing was not as good as some of his other highly-praised works, such as his run on Thor. This is not to say that it was because the writing was bad or anything, it is just that artist Shane Davis outshines Stracynski.

The art of Shane Davis is more than phenomenal in this novel. I was lucky enough to read an advanced copy of the novel, so I got to see every aspect of his art, from the beginning pencils all the way to a fully color page. Being able to see every step of the art process let me appreciate the work that much more. Shane Davis’ work is some of the best I have seen recently, but all of the credit cannot be given just to him. Colorist Sandra Hope did a wonderful job on the colors, using a more muted feel, really bringing to life Metropolis and all the characters.

Overall, I was very impressed with the story and character development. It was interesting to see another take on the Superman storyline and development of everyone’s favorite Superman characters. Also, one of the best aspects was the range of emotions that were posed before Superman and how he overcame them to become to Superhero of legend. This is definitely a must read for any comic fan.

8.5 out of 10