Mild Mannered Reviews – Lois Lane #9

Lois Lane #9 [of 12]

Scheduled to arrive in stores: March 4, 2020
Cover date: May 2020

“Enemy of the People” – Part Nine

Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: Mike Perkins
Cover: Mike Perkins
Variant Cover: Bilquis Evely and Mat Lopes

On a rooftop, Renee lights the Bat Signal. Arriving on the scene, Batman is given a note written by Lois requesting information on The Kiss of Death. Meanwhile at an airport, Sister Clarice wakes a sleeping Jessica Midnight. It turns out that Sister Clarice was in on Jessica’s escape plan. Fortunately, the hospital believes Jessica to be on a train to Europe.

It doesn’t take long for Batman to return with a file on The Kiss of Death. Renee reads its contents and discovers this assassin may have occult ties. Elsewhere, Lois makes a visit to the Department of Homeland Security where she asks a woman named Mrs. Antigua for information regarding the unfair capture of the housekeeper Alejandra.

Outside of a holding facility, people protest ICE. Lois and Renee regroup and swap information as they head inside. After passing a security inspection, Lois is taken to Alejandra. She’s been separated from her husband and children. Lois storms out of the building, furious that someone came after innocent people in an attempt to get to her. The two split up again with Renee going to Chicago. Meanwhile at a hair salon, Jessica receives a haircut.

At Lois’ hotel, Renee rearranges the furniture in the suite, much to the displeasure of Mr. Slayton. Shortly after the hotel manager’s departure, there’s a knock at the door. Renee asks the visitor for the password and upon hearing it, opens the door. Jessica and Sister Clarice enter as Renee explains their need for Jessica’s witch powers.

Story – 3: Did I miss something? When was a meeting between Renee and Jessica set up to happen? It’s nice to finally have plot threads come together, but I was unaware that there was a plan for these specific threads to join.

There isn’t much left to be said about this series that I haven’t said in other reviews. I’m sure it sounds like a cop-out, but there’s not a whole lot about this series that grabs me. Lois is the titular character, but we seem to be spending a lot of time with Renee. The political thriller we were promised in the first issue has dissolved into an average book with supernatural elements and a villain with a weak name. The plot’s been derailed several times to get Lois’ reaction to changes Bendis has made in Superman’s books. The whole series just feels sloppy and I know Rucka is capable of much better storytelling.

Art – 2: The more I look at Perkins’ art, the less I like it. It’s something to do with the eyes. Everyone looks like they’re about to cry, just finished crying, or got an hour of sleep. Perhaps this is an issue with the inker, but we’ve switched inkers between issues and the eyes still look off-putting.

Cover Art – 3: I wouldn’t exactly say that the cover is striking, but I do love the red color scheme. It’s a well-drawn cover, but aside from one brief scene, it doesn’t reflect much of what happens in the issue.

Variant Cover Art – 4: The face doesn’t look much like Lois, but this is still a great variant. If I had to make a change, I’d have removed the investigation web to the left of Lois. It’s not a bad concept, but it clutters up an otherwise fantastic cover.