The first four issues of Superboy seemed to me like each issue was just a little bit off -- just enough to make me wrinkle up my nose and toss the book aside. It just shouldn't have been as hard as it was to make those books into fun stories, but, in Superboy #5, writer Scott Lobdell and artist R.B. Silva have finally fixed their problem and put together a solid, enjoyable issue.
Even though the pieces have been artlessly arranged thus far, with Dr. Fairchild, Rose Wilson, and Wonder Girl meandering into and back out of Lobdell's spotlight, this book begins to draw together the various characters and threads of the story in a meaningful way. It's still not clear what the motivations for characters like Templar and Centerhall might be, but the wet paint on Superboy's relationship with Fairchild has dried just enough to make his actions in this issue believable. I had thought Lobdell's portrayal of Superboy to be overly sullen and rage-prone in the past, even for the teenager angle that is being attempted. Here, Superboy's motivations are more coherent, naturally conforming to his role as a moody teenager instead of crossing the line into accidental comedy.
I can't say that I'm a huge fan of the R.B. Silva's art style so far in this series; however, it's by no means terrible. The emotions crossing characters' faces are crystal clear. The thick inks outlining each character, on the other hand, are just too much for me. It's almost like Silva is creating a hermetic seal around their bodies which keeps that last critical bit of edginess locked inside. Also, the logo on the side of the N.O.W.H.E.R.E. truck was distracting for reasons that I don't think that I fully understand. It almost seems like a digital sticker was used to label the truck instead of just adding it by hand, and the results really pulled my attention away from the dialog.
I enjoyed this book. It was very cool to see Fairchild looking more like herself, and the utterance of "Ravager" teases attractive crossovers ahead for the New 52. There are a lot of familiar faces coming together in this series, but the shuffling of circumstances has me interested in how it will all play out. As for issue #5, it's an interesting read. Not thrilling, but significantly better than what has come in previous issues.
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| out of 10 | Click here for ratings guide | |
You'll believe a man can leap into space with this issue of ...
