Showing posts with label Barbara Ciardo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barbara Ciardo. Show all posts

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Review: SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE Volume Two

SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE VOLUME TWO
DC COMICS – @DCComics

WRITER: J. Michael Straczynski
PENCILS: Shane Davis
INKS: Sandra Hope
COLORS: Barbara Ciardo
LETTERS: Rob Leigh
ISBN: 978-1-4012-3196-5; hardcover (October 2012)
136pp, Color, $22.99 U.S., $26.99 CAN

Superman: Earth One re-imagines various Superman stories, setting them on a new Earth with an all-new continuity. Superman: Earth One Volume Two is the second in this series of original graphic novels that depict the early years of Superman. It is written by J. Michael Straczynski and drawn by Shane Davis, the authors of the first book, Superman: Earth One.

As Superman: Earth One Volume Two opens, 20-something Clark Kent is basking in the glow from the journalistic scoop that earned him a job at the Daily Planet, the top newspaper in Kent’s new home, the city of Metropolis. This “beginner’s luck,” however, has earned him the scrutiny of fellow (rival?) Planet reporter, Lois Lane. Lane is not the only complication. Kent has moved into a new apartment, where he captures the attention of a lusty neighbor, a young woman named Lisa LaSalle, who starts turning his world upside down and inside out. Lisa awakens in Clark feelings and emotions he thought that he had tamed.

Clark is also struggling with how to use his power as Superman. How can he be effective? Can he make sure that he won’t inadvertently hurt any? But Clark isn’t the only man struggling with power. Raymond Maxwell Jensen is a stone-cold killer, but when an accident turns him into a thing called Parasite, he cannot get enough power. Only Superman can stop him, but the cost of stopping a monster for this still-new hero is a level of vulnerability he has never experienced.

Where as Superman: Earth One was like an action movie that introduced a new take on the origin of Superman, Superman: Earth One Volume Two delves into Clark Kent’s character and personality. In fact, writer J. Michael Straczynski approaches every character he places in this story from a personality/motivation point of view, even if he is ultimately vague about motivation.

With an opportunity to build a version of Superman from the ground up, Straczynski seems determined to start with Clark Kent, the man. His new Kent, like practically all the other Clark Kents, keeps secrets. Straczynski’s Kent not only keeps secrets, but he also constructs a life in which he does not stand out. Kent makes no waves and makes sure no one really notices him, so few people will realize that there is even a personality with secrets to keep. Straczynski is clever in the way he writes this new Clark Kent, but sometimes it becomes too anal and detailed. There are a few passages in Superman: Earth One Volume Two that read like fan fiction. This is balanced, however, by wonderful scenes such as the one in which Pa Kent and teen Clark have an awkward conversation about sex that rings with authenticity.

Artist Shane Davis really improves from his work in the first book. His art is not pretty in terms of style, but as storytelling, it is gorgeous. Davis doesn’t alter his style when he needs to switch from romance to drama to action. The way he draws is good for everything, so without theatrics, he authors graphical storytelling that encompasses the human drama of struggling characters and also the theatre of fantastic beings locked in struggle. I don’t think that Sandra Hope’s inking does Davis’ pencils in any favors, but Barbara Ciardo’s colors augment the subtle intensity of Davis’ art.

Superman: Earth One Volume Two is more about the man than it is about the Superman. Superman does his super things, of course, but this new version of Superman wants to dig deeper into the myth and mythology that is the Man of Steel.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Review: SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE (OGN)

SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE
DC COMICS

WRITER: J. Michael Straczynski
PENCILS: Shane Davis
INKS: Sandra Hope
COLORS: Barbara Ciardo
LETTERS: Rob Leigh
ISBN: 978-1-4012-2468-4; hardcover
136pp, Color, $19.99 U.S., $23.99 CAN

Superman: Earth One is a graphic novel series that re-imagines and retells Superman’s early years. Written by J. Michael Straczynski and drawn by Shane Davis, the first volume of Superman: Earth One was first published in October 2010. It is a damn good read, and I consider it to be the best retelling of Superman’s early days since John Byrne’s still-excellent, Superman: Man of Steel.

Superman: Earth One focuses on a 20-year-old Clark Kent. This farm boy arrives in Metropolis, but he isn’t like other 20-somethings looking to begin their adult lives. Clark can fly, see through walls, and burn objects with his gaze. He goes on job interviews, and leaves his potential employers in shock and awe because of his talent, knowledge, and skills. Still, young Clark is alone and without purpose, but the arrival of otherworldly visitors will reveal his history and may give him purpose – if he so chooses.

I don’t want to say more about the plot and story details. I want the reader to be delightfully surprised over and over again as I was. I initially avoided reading about Superman: Earth One, partly because I thought it would be mildly entertaining, nothing more and certainly not worth my time. I used some Leroy mojo and got DC to give me a review copy, and the review copy put some hoo doo on me. After the first few pages, I really thought that this was just warmed over Smallville, but soon, I was dreading that this fun would end. I think Superman: Earth One does falter early on and in places at the end, but its strengths gloss over such imperfections.

J. Michael Straczynski gives everything about Superman and Clark Kent a sense of purpose and meaning. This is indeed a darker Superman, but not in a grim and gritty or cynical way. Clark Kent lives in a world where people use power, aggression, and self-centeredness to serve their ends. Young Kent is not only trying to figure out what he should do, but also why he should do it. He is looking for signs, but those signs most resonate with him. Plus, Straczynski writes a page-turning action yarn here, so this is thoughtful and explosive.

Shane Davis, who seems to be channeling Carl Potts-era Jim Lee, turns Straczynski’s script into a visually potent comic book. Davis captures Kent’s brooding, stubborn nature with clarity, and presents the science fiction elements and action scenes with energy, a sense of movement, and power that the static images of comic books usually don’t have.

Superman: Earth One is the Superman book that everyone who reads Superman should be reading. Or put it this way: if you know about Superman, you probably need this book in your hands.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux