Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum: #3 review

New varieties of Kryptonite have arrived on Earth, and rather than toss them into the sun, Superman has been testing them on himself to determine their effects. Having survived the chaos caused by the first two, Superman is… Superboy. Cobalt Kryptonite has taken years off him, and while he awaits the results of Batman’s attempts to find a cure, Clark is hanging out with Billy Batson, the boy with the power of Shazam.

Martín Morazzo’s cute cover image, nicely coloured by Chris O’Halloran, sets the tone for the issue. OK, to me losing billions of people as your home planet dies seems a lot worse than being a foster kid, but the point is, what does home mean to Clark and Billy?

Blimey, as well as de-ageing, has the kryptonite made Clark super introspective?

Anyway, Billy, draws his feelings as advised by his school’s art therapist.

Doc Dekker? A ‘crazy quilt’? Holy supervillain flashback, Batman!

But that’s not important right now, what is, is Billy’s feelings around home.

Well that’s pretty heartbreaking, and while it doesn’t quite fit with what we’ve seen in the recent Shazam! series, where Billy seems happily secure, this is a Black Label story, so writer W Maxwell Prince gets to pick and mix continuity points. So while this Captain Marvel’s origin is the present day DCU one, Clark’s Krypton is rooted in the animated TV series of the Nineties.

Elsewhere, two bald baddies and one masked madman are plotting away.

The three have joined forces to build a trap for their enemies and Superman’s current state – which they see as making him more vulnerable – means it’s the perfect time to spring it.

Billy bids to get Clark out of his funk with a visit to a new funpark.

Superman, already suspicious that a flyer about the park was delivered to Billy’s house on a Sunday, is even more worried when he sees the venue map.

Elsewhere, Lois Lane crashes Lex’s party.

And below stately Wayne Manor, Batman and Alfred also take up the theme of Home.

Bruce doesn’t think rainbow Kryptonite is pretty nice, so much as pretty enigmatic, and possible dangerous, having made a surprise discovery.

And that’s what sets up next issue. This month it’s Superman and Captain Marvel facing their most private issues made manifest by Sivana, Toyman and the off-site Luthor in the best issue yet of this mini-series. Prince’s plotting prowess impresses and his dialogue dazzles. While Superman is understandably a little thrown by his current kryptonite-related problems – that’s baked into the series – Captain Marvel is on good form, displaying the enthusiasm of a child without coming across as stupid.

Luthor continues to be a grandiose stinker, while Lois is as feisty as you might wish for. Sivana is in classic mode and Toyman is at his creepiest.

And that’s not just due to the dialogue. I’ve never seen the design used by Morazzo previously, but it is freaky. The artist’s work throughout is just terrific, still reminding me a lot of Frank Quitely on All-Star Superman, with a little more of an off-kilter vibe that complements Prince’s script. Young Clark and Billy look great, and his Captain Marvel – here referred to as Shazam, but we don’t bother with that around here – is delightfully clean cut and heroic. The kid-style therapy pages are fun, I particularly liked Clark/Morazzo drawing Krypton’s Science Council à la the Superboy origin in More Fun Comics #101. And Easter Egg-wise, we have a poster of DC pop band The Flips on Billy’s bedroom wall, they’re from a Sixties Teen Titans tale. As for the Kryptonian toilet…

Chris O’Halloran’s crayon-style colours for the art therapy pages are terrific, heck, the whole issue is full of nicely judged hues, my one problem being the sickly skin tones of Lex and Lois… what’s that all about?

Good Old Neon’s lettering is splendid, Clark and Billy both get distinctive handwriting and the regular dialogue is as neat as you could wish for.

All in all, Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum: #3 is a fast-moving, thoroughly engaging issue which acts as a distinct chapter while servicing the bigger story. Buy it.