Book of the Week 12/19/07 Superman-Batman #44

Written by Michael Green
Pencils by Shane Davis
Colors by Alex Sinclair
Letters by Rob Leigh


This week was one of those weeks where unfortunately several boxes of comics went missing from my LCS shipment. This forced me to try some books that I don't normally pick up. Superman-Batman was a book I'd dismissed since Loeb's early run. Surprisingly, this book was a fun little romp.


Issue 44 starts a story arc that sees Superman basically saying "Why the hell is there so much kryptonite around these days?" It's a fair question as different kinds of kryptonite have littered the landscape of the DCU in the past several years. Its always bothered me that it is so abundant and if Supermans father had to program his sons ship with coordinates for earth, how the hell did all that rock come with him. It seems that he could have just strapped Kal-El onto a rock and let er rip. Jokes were also made about when Clark was younger and had a "freak of the week" situation from the kryptonite near Smallville (another way the show is being integrated to comics). After an excellent conversation between Bats and Supes about how Clarks vulnerability helps make him human, Clark decides to round up all the Kryptonite on earth and remove it. While Greens dialogue was a little hit or miss with me, I enjoyed the flow and pacing of the story and also how he addressed parts of the Superman world that I've had issues with.


Shane Davis is becoming one of my favorite artists. His work on the Batman titles several years ago helped add much needed drama to the resurrection of Jason Todd. Davis really seems to have studied Jim Lee's work but does not just copy it. He adds even more depth to the style and a weariness to the faces of his characters. In the end, I'm glad to see this book strive for more than just cosmic adventure and campiness.