SUPERMAN #677 REVIEW

[Blake Petit]

Review by: Blake M. Petit Blake@comixtreme.com
Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: The World on His Shoulders (The Coming of Atlas Part One)

A day of leisure is interrupted when a monster arrives in Metropolis!

Writer: James Robinson
Pencils: Renato Guedes
Inks: Wilson Magalhaes
Colors: Hi-Fi
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editor: Matt Idelson
Cover Art: Alex Ross
Publisher: DC Comics

Superman is spending a pleasant day in outer space, tossing the ol’ Frisbee with Krypto and hanging out with Green Lantern, when suddenly he gets word that a giant monster is attacking Metropolis. As if that isn’t enough, there’s another newcomer to the streets of the Big Apricot – an old rival called Atlas.

James Robinson’s run on Superman begins this issue not by redefining Superman himself, but by showing us more and more about the world around him. The Krypto scenes are great, and in Metropolis we get to see a new version of the Science Police – a Legion of Super-Heroes concept that should work just fine in the contemporary Metropolis of the DC Universe. The monster itself is fairly generic, but as an introduction for Atlas, it works just fine.

Atlas himself isn’t a new character, but an obscure one that hasn’t been seen in a long time, and as fans of Starman know, making obscure characters amazing is Robinson’s strong point. We don’t yet know why Atlas is here or what he wants, but I’ve got every faith that the next few issues will answer those questions in great fashion.

Renato Guedes stays on the art here, and along with Magalhaes and Hi-Fi, he really makes this book look good. Krypto looks like a real dog and not some cartoon character, the monster design is nice, and I love the coloring effects with Hal’s ring-constructs in outer space. Often the green glow is only implied, but Hi-Fi really makes everything the ring creates seem luminescent.

As a new writer’s first issue, it’s not bad. As a first issue specifically for James Robinson, it feels like there’s plenty of pieces being put into place to show how cool they are later.

Story:

Art:

Overall:


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[gregorv]

the first scene with Krypto was awesome ahahha it cracked me up :P good issue overall tho...a lot of necessary setup, but good setup, should get better in the next few issues...

[Ben Lehnsherr]

I don't understand why there was a

GL force bubble around Superman's head in space.

[Blake Petit]

Originally Posted by Ben Lehnsherr

I don't understand why there was a

GL force bubble around Superman's head in space.

Physics.

Sound doesn't travel in space. Hal put a bubble of air around Clark's head so they could talk to each other. This is a rare instance of a writer who actually payed attention in science class.

[Ben Lehnsherr]

Originally Posted by Blake Petit

Physics.

Sound doesn't travel in space. Hal put a bubble of air around Clark's head so they could talk to each other. This is a rare instance of a writer who actually payed attention in science class.

Ah. I was just flippin' through and wondered if Supes had become weaker or something.

[Mark Blicharz]

Originally Posted by Ben Lehnsherr

Ah. I was just flippin' through and wondered if Supes had become weaker or something.

Nah, it was the sound thing. He doesn't technically need to breathe at all anymore.

[Ben Lehnsherr]

Originally Posted by Mark Blicharz

Nah, it was the sound thing. He doesn't technically need to breathe at all anymore.

That's what I thought. I didn't consider the talking thing when I was thumbing through the issue in the LCS.