Superman: Mon-El (Vol. 1 )
It takes some chutzpah to replace the most recognizable superhero in the world with two obscure characters in his very own title. But when Superman relocates to New Krypton to deal with an emergency among his self-righteously belligerent people, Mon-El, a Superman knockoff with ties to the big guy's past, and Guardian, a Captain America knockoff who is the clone of a long-dead hero, take over the defense of Metropolis. Once you cut through the clutter of continuity-heavy subplots and some creaky dialogue, Robinson (writer of the frontier-blazing Starman, which brought sophistication in mainstream superhero comics to a new level) constructs a fine read about an innocent hero learning the ropes, afflicted with an unusual health dilemma that ups the emotional ante. There are plenty of fun details on the practical side of crime-fighting (How do you develop a good secret identity? How does someone who's invulnerable cut his hair?) and enough well-choreographed action sequences to ensure that, when the story ends abruptly in mid-arc, readers will want more. Grades 8-12. --Jesse Karp