DC Comics reviews for 6/27/18

Man of Steel #5

In the penultimate issue of his Superman kick-off, Brian Michael Bendis is showing Superman is in good hands during his run.

Five issues in now and Rogol Zaar has yet to make a strong impression. I’m not convinced having him wipe out Kandor was enough to legitimize him as a top tier threat to Superman. If anything that would seem to make him more of an arch-rival to Supergirl who could use more punching bag brutes in her arsenal.

If the main villain has been lacking at least Bendis is handling the other aspects of Superman nicely. The Justice League appearance was strong and Bendis had all their respective personalities down with no problem. I definitely wouldn’t mind Superman’s pals popping up more often.

Bendis focused more on the Jor-El/Jon subplot this issue although that was the most frustrating aspect as Jon acted significantly out of character.

Joining Bendis for this issue is artist Adam Hughes. This is a coup for Bendis as Hughes doesn’t regularly do interior art for DC giving the issue an added amount of importance. Hughes’ art looked great throughout although his work clashed the most with Jason Fabok’s art on the Jor-El subplot pages. Hughes utilizes a much heavier inking technique than a lot of his peers, which helps give a paint-like quality to his drawings.

Rogol Zaar is at least a formidable foe even if he hasn’t fully lived up to the hype.Happily that’s not the same sentiment with Bendis, who’s early work on Superman and his supporting cast has been encouraging.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10