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Mild Mannered Reviews - Specials

Superman/Batman #47

Superman/Batman #47

Scheduled to arrive in stores: April 23, 2008

Cover date: June 2008

"K" - Chapter 4: "WSDs"

Writer: Michael Green and Mike Johnson
Penciller: Shane Davis
Inker: Matt "Batt" Banning

Michael Bailey Reviewed by: Michael Bailey

Click to enlarge



Continuing their quest to rid the world of Kryptonite Superman and Batman discover that someone has been mining a Kryptonite asteroid. They track equipment to Pete's Diner in Kansas and find a secret military installation that houses the Last Line, a team of Kryptonite enhanced soldiers that were trained to take down the Man of Steel in case he goes rogue. As Superman fights for his life Batman is captured by Amanda Waller. Superman manages to defeat the Last Line but Amanda Waller releases her ace in the hole; a Doomsday like creature codenamed "All-American Boy".

3Story - 3: This issue drove home the point that this story and maybe this title, is not designed for people who read Superman or Batman (but especially Superman) on a regular basis. "K" seems engineered to be thrust into the hands of a new reader to say, "Hey, look at this! Superman and Batman are cool! We swear to God! Look, they're fighting G.I. Joe rip offs and everything!"

There really isn't anything wrong with that in theory. Comics in general need new readers and given how much this title meandered for so long I guess the powers that be are willing to do just about anything to get people to come back.

The thing is that once again instead of trying to find some middle ground to bring in the newer readers and satisfy the people who have been buying the book on a regular basis they go with a "celebrity" writing team that produce a story that while entertaining has very little to do with any of the other Superman and Batman titles.

I'm not looking for continuity that is so freaking ironclad as to impede other writers from telling the stories they want to tell but at the same time don't "introduce" a concept that was introduced in SUPERMAN less than a year ago.

I mean don't they have editors that keep track of these things that? Didn't someone say, "Hey, you know that Last Line thing? Yeah, it's an interesting concept and throwing Amanda Waller into the mix is nice and all but at the same time didn't they do something called Squad K last year over in SUPERMAN? It's not that you shouldn't roll out Last Line because it is an avenue worth exploring, but why is Superman so freaking surprised that the government would do such a thing? In fact, why would that surprise Superman even if Squad K hadn't already appeared? The government would probably have reason to fear him and at this point in his career Superman should be savvy enough to not be surprised by such a thing."

I mean it would be nice if such a conversation took place.

Sadly it apparently didn't.

So between that and the whole, clichéd, "My wife died while you were fighting Doomsday and you came back and she didn't so I hate you," motivation I was rather disappointed with this issue.

Oh well, it's not like Green is staying on the book after this arc.

What?

He is?

Sigh.

Maybe it will get better.

I hope it will get better.

4Art - 4: Davis and Banning continue to draw great versions of Superman and Batman and I also continue to like their art style. I wasn't too hot on the designs for the Last Line though. I don't know if they were going for a mid-nineties Image look but that's what it reminded me of. I know this is a comic book and I know that the heroes are wearing costumes that are kind of silly looking in the grand scheme of things, but it seems that the military would have uniforms that are a little more utilitarian.

But maybe that's just me. I mean the gun Pete whipped out in the beginning of the story looks like it was bought from Liefeld Munitions.

I don't know if this is something that was done by Banning and Davis or by letterer Rob Leigh but I absolutely loved the use of the old school "World's Finest" logo on the title page to describe just how good Pete's "cuppa coffee" really is.

Sweet.

5Cover Art - 5: This the strongest cover so far for this arc. On the surface it is one of those covers that combine the icons of Superman and Batman with the icon of the American flag, which usually makes for a good piece. The thing is that after reading the story it actually makes sense. The government, or some faction of it, is after Superman and Batman so showing them with the flag in the background and Superman obviously holding Kryptonite plays nicely into the particulars of the story.

I still dig Superman's armor despite the S symbol on the belt.

Yeah, I had to mention it again. Such is life.


Mild Mannered Reviews

2008

Note: Month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic went on sale.

January 2008

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