Gene Luen Yang’s New Super-Man hasn’t been getting the attention it deserves. One of the strongest and most unique titles of DC Rebirth is starting to get more acclimated in the larger world of superheroes. Hopefully this draws more readers to a title that’s really starting to hit its stride.
***SPOILERS LIE AHEAD***
Kenan Kong and the Justice League of China address some inner turmoil, rescue some civilians, and face Emperor Superman. Kenan finds his dad, learns of his mother, and the Suicide Squad show up.
Now that we’re deep into the world and development of Kenan Kong, I don’t ever want to be without it again. Kenan’s journey has been completely unique from any Superman related title that came before.
New Super-Man has maintained being a pleasing DC title, while barely getting involved with other major characters outside of the Superman crossover. Yang keeps the book fresh and readers on their toes, it has no problem standing on its own.
That being said, this arc sees Amanda Waller deploy the Suicide Squad into the mix. They arrive on the scene and kill Emperor Superman. I was disappointed in how easily he was disposed of, all it took was Deadshot and a kryptonite sword.
Task Force X’s appearance felt out of place and unnecessary. I would rather have met the China equivalent. Their involvement could make or break this arc.
This cast of characters have grown together a great deal over these fourteen issues. Their relationships and dialogue are a highlight every issue as their now fully established and familiar with readers. The Justice League of China is a much more dysfunction family than the others.
Whatever mysterious, multi-self, dimensional drama Master I-Ching is dealing with in the background, it’s interesting. He’s been a standout character in recent issues. Also, Robinbot is everything that is right about comic books.
One of the many charms of the series is how it serves up some absolutely ridiculous developments in a very digestible way. Not every creative team can pull of the Deilan is a giant snake thing.
Aside from Gene Luen Yang’s script, the aesthetic and color scheme of New Super-Man is crucial in helping this book truly differentiate itself from other DC titles.
Other than the Suicide Squad, this is another solid issue. It’s not that this book should stay separate from the rest of the world, it’s just that it clashed here and different flow together very well. These were very clearly two different groups of characters from two very different comics.
