Mild Mannered Reviews - "Superman: Man of Tomorrow" Digital-First Comic Books

Superman: Man of Tomorrow #11 KindleDownload iBook

Superman: Man of Tomorrow #11

Scheduled to arrive in stores: July 13, 2020

Cover date: July 2020

"Fight of a Lifetime"

Writer: Robert Venditti
Penciller: Glen Melnikov
Inker: Glen Melnikov

Reviewed by: Craig Boehmer
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"Grikus the Undefeated" is frustrated that he is being forgotten so he comes out of retirement to face Superman in combat to reach one thousand victories and become a galactic legend. He arrives in Metropolis interrupting a slow news day. Clark convinces him to travel out of the city for their fight, and offers to bring Lois and Jimmy along to provide witnesses for the battle. Grikus agrees to this and the four leave the city. After fighting for two straight days, Superman pretends to be unconscious to convince Grikus that he has defeated him. After the victory Grikus leaves the planet and re-enters retirement a perfect 1000-0 in combat. Superman, Lois, and Jimmy hobble away. The epilogue shows the military rebuilding Metallo, giving us a tease of things to come.

5Story - 5: This story could have easily been a boring one off, instead Venditti used it to examine the personality of Superman and his reaction to otherworldly creatures. When Grikus first arrives and notes that Superman isn't a 'hit first' kind of person, Superman responds that he likes to ask questions first. Such a simple exchange, but one that is sadly missing in many Superman adventures. They calmly discuss who Grakus is, and this calm discussion allows Superman to move the fight to an unpopulated field where no one can get hurt, saving countless millions of dollars of property damage (I'm sure insurance agencies would love this Superman). I also really enjoyed Superman giving up this fight, it shows he is humble enough to let this creature believe he won to reach his 1000th victory. Overall, it's just another example of why Venditti should be on Superman more regularly.

4Art - 4: The subdued colours really worked for this issue, and while not every panel was heavily detailed, it never took away from the story's forward momentum. This is an example of an art style that isn't really DC's house style, but it worked really well. The fight scenes were fun and action packed, the backgrounds had just enough detail to tell you where you were without overpowering the central focus.

Mild Mannered Reviews

2020

Note: Except for digital first releases, the month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic went on sale.

January 2020 February 2020 March 2020 April 2020 May 2020 June 2020 July 2020 August 2020 September 2020 October 2020 November 2020 December 2020

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