[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writers: Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason
Artist: Scott Godlewski
Reviewed By: Derek McNeil
Summary
“ROAD TRIP” part one! It’s been an emotional and physical rollercoaster for Superman, Lois, and Jon: the Eradicator, Dinosaur Island, Frankenstein and the Bride, Multiversity, Reborn and Black Dawn—a barrage of terror and horror! What does the family need right now? Yep, you got it…a vacation!
Positives
The best part of this series is the depiction of the Kent’s family life and the interaction between Clark, Lois, and Jon. This issue takes a break from the regular superheroics as the family takes to the road for a badly needed vacation.
The vacation is much like most of us remember from our childhood. The kids enjoying the fun and break from chores and responsibilities, while the parents try to inject an educational component The only thing missing is a sibling for Jon to bicker with in the back seat.
I also like the humorous depiction of how badly Superman and family need their vacation. This issue clears up once and for all whether the Man of Steel requires sleep and furthermore shows what happens if he were to nod off mid-flight.
Negatives
This issue also serves as DC’s Independence Day story for 2017, and tends to be a touch heavy-handed, as such stories often are. The history lesson is probably less grating to American ears, but as a non-American, I couldn’t help wishing they had kept the history lesson in the classroom.
Likewise, the incident where Clark lecture’s the restaurant staff over their treatment of a crippled veteran felt a little overly preachy too. Sure, speaking up like that is exactly what Clark would do, but it seemed somewhat unlikely that a veteran would get treated that shabbily nowadays. And the owner rushing out to offer the veteran a job after Clark’s diatribe just upped the hokiness factor a couple of notches.
On the other hand, the preachiness did serve to remind me of some of the Superman comics of my childhood in the seventies. But the writing here is still much more nuanced than the stories of that era.
Verdict
Superman is one of the best examples of the success DC is enjoying with their Rebirth renaissance (if that’s not a redundant phrase). New 52 Superman just seemed to be a character with a passing resemblance to the Superman I loved reading about as a kid, but now it feels like that Superman has returned to the pages of DC.
