Superman #31 review

Now there’s a fantastic cover image from Dan Mora…that doesn’t have a lot to do with the insides of the comic. Sure, the heart of Apokolips is an element in the DC KO event, but this issue is all about the prep before the big, stupid fight.

And it’s a heck of a lot more interesting than I’d have expected. The book opens with Superman and his Justice League colleagues before the latest Time Trapper, Doomsday, after hearing that the only way to save the world might be to beat up dozens of superheroes and become a Bad as Big as Darkseid himself.

Having a few days before the tournament begins, Superman goes looking for help in the flickering shape of his birth father Jor-El’s hologram.

Disappointed, the Man of Steel returns to Metropolis and calls on Lexcorp chief Mercy Graves, who has been dropping in on League conversations about the need to evacuate Earth in case the heroes’ plan to stop Darkseid fails.

Mrs Superman Lois Lane is equally perturbed at the idea her husband’s going away to what’s been set up as a fight to the death for all but one participant.

Happily, a distraction arrives in the shape of the finest of farm folk.

A simple scene, beautifully staged

After some family time, Superman flies off toward Skartaris, which is hosting proceedings, while Lois flies off in one of Mercy’s space arks… which she diverts to the Fortress of Solitude. While her husband got nothing out of the Jor-El, Lois ventures she can interview it into submission. As it happens, her line of questioning causes the light lecturer to short circuit… and transform into an AI memory of Lara Lor-Van, Superman’s birth mother.

It’s only talking Doomsday! Would you believe the creature that killed Superman, believed to have been birthed as a force of destruction, may in fact have been created to fight Darkseid?

Before she can say much more. Superman crashes in. Well, a Superman.

And then someone else drops in from the 31st century – the evil Sun Boy from the Dark Legion.

You remember Superwoman Lois, yes? She had superpowers, but knew they were only temporary. In fact, while we readers were shown, Lois never knew they were borrowed from General Zod, and had returned to him.

In which case, how could a dose of super-sunburn reignite Lois’s powers? I did start to wonder if Dark Dirk Morgna sparked the abilities Lois had in the New 52 Superwoman series, then recalled that was a different version of Lois, and she died in the very first issue. Theories?

The other big question this month is why Superman asks hologram Jor-El – Hol-El? – this question?

Why would he doubt his first father would want to save everyone? Again, any answers?

I did say this was an interesting issue. Writer Josh Williamson swerves the main DC KO business, instead using the situation to shine a spotlight on the Superman cast. Supergirl is ready for action. Lois goes into full hack mode. Mercy steps up. And of course, things are never too busy for a Pa Kent anecdote. All in all, an impressive script – extra points for making me giggle with Lois referred to as the ‘Bride of Kal-El’.

The art by Eddy Barrows and Eber Ferreira is pretty great too, the compositions strong, the finishes delicate. There’s an amazing opening spread previewing the DC KO action – well, previewing it from Superman’s point of view here, we saw pretty much the same scene in the mini-series’ first issue – plus a fantastic flight focus. And colourist Alejandro Sánchez adds texture and depth, with the hologram work especially effective.

Letterer Ariana Maher provides excellent letters, I might have placed the balloons on the Supership debut at top right or bottom left, allowing more of the body of the ark to be seen, but she knows her job – it’s likely a question on balancing the areas of text.

I’m intrigued to see what happens next month. Will anyone else enter the Fortress faster than a speeding bullet? Will the Heart of Apokolips put in an appearance. Are any more dead Kryptonians going to show up as holograms? The suspense!