Superman: For Tomorrow, Vol. 1
Fresh from an acclaimed stint on DC's flagship,Batman(seeBroken City, 2004), artist Jim Lee, a fan favorite, takes on the company's other big gun, Superman, with rather less success. The story begins a year after a million people, including Superman's wife, Lois Lane, mysteriously vanish from the face of the earth. As the Man of Steel tries to solve the puzzle while dealing with his personal loss as well as guilt over failing to prevent the disaster, a parallel story line concerns a priest questioning his faith and serving as Superman's confessor. Unfortunately, this intriguing setup gives way to a denouement featuring a megalomaniac bent on interplanetary conquest, which at least gives Lee the chance to draw the superpowered slugfest his fans demand. The attempt to portray an emotionally vulnerable Superman is admirable, but rather than humanizing the character, Lee's overwrought approach--the series' main selling point, however--makes him appear even more godlike than usual. Meanwhile, Azzarello's forte is dark crime stories populated with flawed characters (he made his bones with the modern noir100Bullets); he's just not cut out for larger-than-life. Nevertheless, artist's and writer's fans will clamor for these two volumes collecting their 12-issueSupermanrun.Gordon FlaggCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.