​Superman #1, Superman is dead! Long live Superman!

Review by Paul Fiander

Storytellers; Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason
Inks; Mick Gray
​Colours; John Kalisz
Letters; Rob Leigh
Cover; Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray and John Kalisz
Variant Cover; Andrew Marino
​Published by DC Comics

The why’s and wherefores of which Superman now inhabits this world have been and gone suffice to say if you do not know you may want to go back and read Rebirth. From here on in we will just call Superman Superman until we need to change it.

This first issue is more though than just a look at the Man of Steel instead it looks at the family dynamic of the Smith’s. Lois Clark and their son Jon live on a farm in Hamilton County 300 miles North of Metropolis and try hard to be be a normal family. It’s a nice move for Jon to know who and what he is from the get go so we don’t have to worry about an origin story of him finding out he is not quite as normal as he thinks he is. Thanks to this instead we get to look at Jon and his interactions with his family and beyond. This is a refreshing move for me as viewing Clark as a family man suits with his character more so than batchelor living in the city. The return to farming also feels in keeping with a man raised to tend the land throughout his young life.

It certainly is the family dynamic though that makes this an enjoyable read as the action minus a small Feline incident is rather low to the ground. When it does come the team of Patrick Gleason on Pencils, Mick Gray Inks and John Kalisz on art do a lovely job of showing us how they can flex their creative muscles. On this point Clark is huge both in height and in chest giving the S he wears on occasion a very big platform to shine out from. This is a Superman who exudes power in a more natural sense and you get the idea he can get things done. As for the other members of the family they are a little small in comparison aga hinting to the nature of Superman.        

I like the down to earth Superman that Tomasi and Gleason are creating he feels normal when not being super, as he tries to raise his family and maintain the status quo of his family's existence. Of course with Jon and the other issues created within this first issue we will have to see how long he can keep this up but for now I’m happy to live in the life of Superman and family.     ​

Preview Pages and Variant Cover