Comic Book Review: War of the Supermen #2

Book Information

Written by James Robinson, Sterling Gates

Penciled by Eduardo Pansica

Colored by Blond

Inked by Wayne Faucher

Lettered by John J. Hill

Cover by Eddy Barrows, J.P. Mayer, Rod Reis

My Awe-Inspiring Opinion

DC sure has been working James Robinson to death; Working on titles like Justice League, Superman, World of New Krypton, Last Stand of New Krypton, and War of the Superman, I’m sure Robinson is tired and ready to move on to newer things.  But currently his work on War of the Superman is his best in years.

Publishing weekly certainly does eliminate any lack luster and drag that comics tend to have; readers often forget what happens in storylines causing a lot of confusion, frustration, and boredom when reading 22 paged books on a monthly basis.  By publishing this four issue mini series weekly, Robinson is keeping the story fresh in his readers minds, building up the angst and drama during this massive galactic war.

The annoying Robinson dialogue rears its ugly head a few times, only to be saved by Sterling Gates’ involvement.  After Superman gets Supergirl into a floating asteroid he says to her, “There, we should have enough atmosphere down here so we can talk,” assuming that we, as readers, have no clue that in space, no one can hear you speak.  The unspoken fight scene between Superman and his cousin out in space was moving enough without adding that but of verbal dribble in the mix, especially since the majority of Superman readers are geeky enough to know this scientific fact.  Likewise, General Lane’s conversation with his soldiers seemed more like unintelligent jargon from a very smart character.

Supergirl has always annoyed me, even with Sterling Gates at the helm of her comic, with her constant whining and immature approach to the problems that arise.  Robinson finally made her stop complaining and go out and do something to counter the oncoming threat to Earth.  This is a very big step for Supergirl and I hope it carries through into her own title.

The art has moments of brilliance, but is overall not impressive.  This isn’t due to Pansica’s penciling work, rather the over inking job done by Faucher.  As an artist myself, I understand the necessity of blending the bodily shadows in with the light that hits the characters.  Skin and shadow hardly ever meet like black against white; skin and shadow always come together as a blended or faded illusion which gives the human body the 3D effect.  Without this, Shadows look more like blotches of black ink caked on the face and become a distraction.  I can’t say that the artwork overall is as good as I’m sure Pansica wanted it to be.  It certainly doesn’t resemble the epic cover art by Mr. Barrows and company does it?

My Profoundly Climactic Conclusion

James Robinson is doing a great job with this mini series.  I only fear the ending as Robinson is not known for his exciting story arc conclusions.  We just need to find him a new inker and he’ll be solid!

Ratings

Writing: 8

Themes: 7

Art: 2

Overall: 5.67 out of 10