Written by: Gene Luen Yang
Art by: Viktor Bogdanovic, Richard Friend
Publisher: DC Comics
Giant Snake Monsters! Kryptonite Lazers! Aquaman Jokes? New Superman #3 is packed to the brim with all these cool things and more, as Gene Leun Yang and Victor Boganovic deliver another great issue of super hijinx.
New Superman has been a fun book since its debut issue a couple of months ago. The book’s main character, Keenan Kong is a bit of a jerk but there has been glimpses of a great person and hero, behind all that teenage angst. He is surprisingly relatable for a now super powered being and his reason for revealing his identity in last issue is one that adds to this relatability.
Yang has a great knack for writing relatable characters and that’s the part of the book that shines most. It’s just a lot of fun, and in a world full of super serious superheroes it’s nice to have a tubby Batman making Aquaman jokes during a life and death battle against a multi headed snake monster. This issue has a number of great quips and funny lines in it and Yang even manages to bring in some charming moments between the newly formed Justice League of China. They’re not quite best friends yet, but there is potential and the journey looks to be an interesting one. That being said Dr. Omen, the person responsible for making the team, is downright unlikable and the scenes involving her come off as unnecessarily extreme.
The art by Victor Bogdanovic is also extreme, but in a good way as his kinetic style fits the tone of this book well. His character expressions are a bit over the top, as is the giant snake beast that wreaks havoc in this issue, and this craziness adds to the fun than makes this issue worthwhile. His characters don’t look pretty but they feel relatable, which is a testament to how well Bogdanovic is able to illustrate emotions.
All New Superman continues to be among DC’s Rebirth line. Plus it has tubby Batman, which in and of itself is worth the price of admission!
