Review – Superman #38 (DC Comics)

Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Patrick Gleason & Peter J Tomasi
Art: Ed Benes & Sergio Fernandez Davila
Colours: Gabe Eltaeb & Dinei Ribeiro
Letters: Rob Leigh
Release Date: 3rd January 2018

Tim Drake, the Batman of Tomorrow, has been making his presence known in the DCU, riling up the Teen Titans and attempting to take out Superman’s son Jon. However, the Titans of Tomorrow have arrived in our timeline, sparking a race against time to save Superboy and set things right.

Gleason and Tomasi have quite the epic crossover to write this issue and, as always, the fear is that there may perhaps be too much going on for everyone to have a meaningful contribution. Thankfully that isn’t the case here, and we’re treated to the return of some fan favourite characters who had been out of continuity for a while. This very much feels like a blockbuster movie with everything at stake and a classic hero-turned-anti-hero trying to influence history for a better ending. The story is fast-paced and exciting, although it does feel like more of a visual piece than a narrative one.

Thankfully then, Benes and Davila give us some gorgeous set pieces to help escalate the drama, with the arrival of the Titans of Tomorrow and Jon’s supernova providing particular highlights. The attention to detail is astounding as we have heroes from both timelines fighting to save the day, striking poses and using their abilities. The time travel sequences also have a few Easter Eggs included in the form of fragments of history zipping past the Titans of Tomorrow as they speed to our time, a nice touch!

Eltaeb and Ribeiro add to the urgency of the story with dramatic effect, and the onslaught of energy destined to wreak havoc on our heroes is bathed in a dangerously warm orange hue that threatens to engulf everything. The effects used while the Titans of Tomorrow time travel look great due to a light blue haze applied to the background and a similar coloured sphere on their exit from the timestream.

Though listed as the finale, the actual final act is continued in the next issue of Super Sons so there are still some loose ends to tie up, although it does mean we have a new story in the next issue of Superman.

I’ve definitely enjoyed this event so far and have been lucky enough to follow it from the first chapter and anyone else who has been doing the same can add another point to this review. Unfortunately, due to the nature of how it has been written, anyone reading Superman on its own will only get part of the tale and, as well-written and executed it is, they will never get to see the arc in its entirety which makes it a hard recommendation for the masses.

If you are dedicated enough to follow this story through its various titles then it is a thoroughly enjoyable issue with some satisfying action, but if you are only reading this series in an isolated fashion then it may be worth giving this one a miss and jumping back on board next issue.

Review: 4/5.

The writer of this piece was: Dave MacPhail
Dave Tweets from @ShinKagato