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By Mark Verheiden<\/strong>, Ed Benes<\/strong> & Thomas Derenick<\/strong> (DC Comics) In the build-up to Infinite Crisis<\/strong>, the heroic pressure was piled on to all DC’s major characters, seemingly without let-up. Poorest served by this editorial policy was undoubtedly The Man of Steel, who endured change after change, surprise after surprise, and testosterone-soaked battle after battle. This slim volume collects Superman<\/strong> #217 and #221-#225 and is a disappointing hodge-podge of short chats interspersed with lots and lots of fights and chases.<\/p>\n ‘The Journey’<\/em> finds Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen in Peru to investigate Superman’s new Fortress of Solitude (moved from the barren, desolate Arctic to the middle of a rain-forest right next to an Amerindian village) only to run afoul of an Omac Cyborg (see Prelude To Infinite Crisis<\/strong> ISBN 1-84576-209-6 and The Omac Project<\/strong> ISBN 1-84576-229-0 among many others for further details) and Revolutionary-cum-drug-thug Lucia (of whom, more later). Luckily Superman is there to save the day and provoke a daft sub-plot about his constant rescuing of her being \u00e2\u20ac\u0153intrusive\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Surely Mr and Mrs Kent sorted this pot-boiler out decades ago?<\/p>\n ‘Jimmy’s Day’<\/em> has its share of Omac action, but the big draw this time is another battle of wits with defective Superman clone Bizarro (it also has a excerpt from Action Comics<\/strong> #831 featuring a race between the big Stupe and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Zoom\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, the new Reverse Flash.<\/p>\n ‘Safe Harbour’<\/em> pits Lois against an Omac \u00e2\u20ac\u201c lots of daft action here \u00e2\u20ac\u201c before Lucia returns as the new Blackrock (truly one of the Saddest villains of Julie Schwartz’s editorial tenure) in ‘Stones’<\/em>, which guest-stars Supergirl for some value-added girl-on-girl action.<\/p>\n The real Lex Luthor (at this stage of the pre-Infinite Crisis<\/strong> continuity there’s more than one knocking about) gets a character-revealing leading role during the chick-fight in ‘Focus,’<\/em> and the book closes with some more bangs as ‘To Be a Hero’<\/em> pits the Man of Steel against a team of fiery villains, with Firestorm, Bizarro and Supergirl all along for the ride.<\/p>\n I hate saying bad things about any comic, especially when they’re produced by such talents as Mark Verheiden, Ed Benes or Thomas Derenick. But these incomprehensible, facile punch-ups and cat-fights are woefully poor examples of our artform and substandard efforts of our craft. Does the world’s first and greatest superhero really need to rely on big explosions and busty girls in torn costumes to catch our attention these days?<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a9 2005 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00c2\u00a0 By Mark Verheiden, Ed Benes & Thomas Derenick (DC Comics) ISBN 1-84576-245-2 In the build-up to Infinite Crisis, the heroic pressure was piled on to all DC’s major characters, seemingly without let-up. Poorest served by this editorial policy was undoubtedly The Man of Steel, who endured change after change, surprise after surprise, and testosterone-soaked … <\/p>\n
\nISBN 1-84576-245-2<\/p>\n