For a brief moment, it seemed as though DC had found just the writer to follow up Grant Morrison's Action Comics run and maintain this series as the one bright point in the Superman lineup. That was, until Diggle departed prematurely and artist Tony Daniel took over as writer too. The dip in quality from issue #19 to issue #20 was plainly evident. The dip is even worse in issue #21. This finale is an abrupt, anticlimactic finish to what seemed like a promising storyline.
Where to begin with this issue? The threat of Superman's newest enemy, Hybrid, amounts to very little. Hybrid is nothing more than a generic monster-of-the-month. There's a sense that Diggle might have originally planned much more for both Hybrid and Dr. Veritas. As for the Luthor vs. Superman feud, it's strange to be reading a showdown between the two that's very specifically billed as a "one year ago" story and yet plays out as if the two have never clashed in battle before.
The book has more generalized problems as well. The dialogue is overly saddled with exposition in a way neither previous chapter was. Superman apparently feels the need to speak aloud or narrate his every thought and action here. Only at the very end when Clark, Lois, and Jimmy share an intimate moment together does this issue recapture any of the charm that issue #19 was able to offer.
Visually, Daniel delivers some pretty engaging fight sequences but not much in the way of facial work or emotion. As with last month, the consistency falters because of the rotating inkers.
But if nothing else, the "World of Krypton" backup feature holds some entertainment value. Though also burdened by excess dialogue at times, this segment features much sharper plotting and pacing, as well as some unusually detailed and energetic art from Philip Tan. It's enough to make you wish the backup feature could replace the main feature.
Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
Source : ign[dot]com
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