Review: SUPERMAN #45

Writer:  Gene Luen Yang
Artist:  Howard Porter
Colorist:  Hi-Fi
Letterer:  Rob Leigh
Cover:  John Romita, Jr., Klaus Janson, Dean White
Publisher:  DC Comics

Superman has been a curious comic over the last few months.  New writer Gene Luen Yang has revealed Superman’s identity to the world, along with depowering him.  How the secret was broken could have been handled in a more climatic manner.  Either way, the genie is out of the bottle now (until DC decides to reverse everything).  The fun comes from seeing Clark Kent navigate society with everyone knowing who he is.

What I Liked

While I haven’t been a fan of Yang’s run, Superman #45 is my favorite by far.  It already feels like a tonal shift with Howard Porter taking over art duties from John Romita, Jr.  I loved Porter’s work on Justice League 3000/3001.  I’ll be sad to see him leave JL3001, but Superman is a higher-profile project.  His style is unique and very defined.  Porter’s character-acting is topnotch.  You can see each emotion on the faces of characters as they interact with one another.  Hi-Fi’s colors are vibrant, which are easily seen in action and quieter scenes.

Yang injects lighthearted moments in Clark Kent’s internal dialogue.  While he wants to devise a plan to beat HORDR_ROOT, he also needs to eat.  He may be a weakened Man of Steel, but this man loves him some tacos.  And isn’t afraid to spend the last of his cash on them.  Another fun moment was seeing Clark catch a ride on the top of a jet plane to get from Metropolis to Oakland.  Usually Superman is saving crashing planes, not hitchhiking on them.

A new dynamic was introduced called the “Mythbrawl”.  This mythical fight club already is 10 times more interesting than HORDR_ROOT.  Mythbrawl is described as a method to keep forgotten mythologies from disappearing.  Either actual deities or actors fight in the arena to retell long-lost stories.  An announcer narrates the mythology to the crowd as it plays out.  Then the crowd goes home with it fresh on their minds, therefore keeping the myth going.  I have to say, it’s a well thought-out plan by Yang.  But does it make sense for Clark to participate in something so barbaric?

What I Didn’t Like

Yeah…..not sure if I buy Clark bare-knuckle brawling for a crowd like that.  Since this development took place at the end of the issue, perhaps we’ll get more information next month.

Again, HORDR_ROOT has come across as pretty non-threatening, even after being the cause of Superman’s identity being revealed.  He’s a technological foe, so he isn’t a physical overpowering specimen visually.

Superman #45 2015 cover

#ComicBookChronicles @CBChron founder. Editor-in-Chief of @thekliqnation. Comic book reviewer, podcaster #RABBLERABBLE