Friday, February 5, 2016

Book Review: Adventures of Superman issue #5


Book: Adventures of Superman #5

Cover art by Yildiray Cinar with color by Matthew Wilson

Edition: Single Print Issue

Description:

When an alien baby crashes on Earth, Superman must protect the screaming infant from her pursuers both human and extraterrestrial! Plus: a Lex Luthor tale like you’ve never seen before, written by Kyle Killen, creator of Awake, and drawn by Y: THE LAST MAN’s Pia Guerra!


Rating: 5 stars

Review:

There were two very well-written stories in this issue.

Story #1: Infant in Arms by Nathan Emondson with illustrations by Yildiray Cinar and color by Matthew Wilson

In this first story, a space ship crashed to Earth and inside was a baby girl. Before the baby's protector died he asked Superman to protect the little baby, Princess Aria. He warned that someone was coming for her. It didn't take long before Superman was trying to evade the space ships that were firing on them but his main goal was for the safety of the baby.

I love this story, it was very much Superman trying his best to help. There are these scenes with Superman in the woods trying to calm the baby down that are so cute. He even sang to her a song his mother used to sing to him. The funny thing is, the lyrics to that song are a little disturbing when you actually think about it.

This was an action-packed, exciting and adorable little story. Another thing I loved about this story was the artwork, it was very quintessential Superman.


Story #2: The Way These Things Begin by Kyle Killen with illustration by Pia Guerra and color by Matthew Wilson

In this heartrending story, there were two plots that intertwined. The story opens up in Smallville with two friends sitting in a parked car on a train track. The driver Mike was such a big fan of Superman that he concocted a plan that would have them meeting the Man of Steel. However, his friend Henry was very worried about this plan.

Meanwhile in Metropolis, Lex Luthor set off another one of his schemes to destroy Superman but this time it was not in his usual direct style. While he was attempting to rob a bank, Superman immediately stopped him. However, this robbery was merely a distraction. Luthor had already set in motion a deadly explosion. Will Superman get there in time to save all the people? Unbeknownst to both Superman and Lex Luthor, Mike was still sitting on the train track hoping that Superman would "save" him and Henry from an approaching train.

Luthor's plan worked in a way because Superman can't be everywhere at once which means sometimes it's impossible to save everyone. In the end, a terrible plan resulted in Superman now becoming the most hated person in one person's eyes. 


These were two very good stories with good artwork, the first showed his diligence and compassion in trying to keep the baby safe. Although it was action-packed it had a light-hearted feel to it. While the second had a darker feel even more so by the end. It was also very thought provoking because should Superman take the blame for something that was preventable? Is it Superman's fault that someone did a crazy stunt in order to meet him and he was then unable to save the person in time?

I still can't understand why this series was cancelled, it had some of the best Superman stories.

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