SUPERMAN #204 REVIEW

[Kent Miller]

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/dc/0404/SupermanCVR204.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/dc/0404/SupermanCVR204t.jpg" align=left alt="Superman #204"></a>Reviewer: Kent Miller, kentthayermiller@hotmail.com
Quick Rating: Good
Story Title: For Tomorrow

"My sin...was to save the world."

Written by: Brian Azzarello
Penciled by: Jim Lee
Inked by: Scott Williams
Colored by: Alex Sinclair
Lettered by: Nick Napolitano
Assistant Editor: Casey Seijas
Editor: Eddie Berganza & Will Dennis


Coming off the 6-part Godfall saga, Superman still has a long fight ahead of him. He's been to space and back, declared a god, and stripped of his powers, his identity, and even his sense of worth. But there has always been something more important to Superman and the Superman-mythos than even his abilities. Now, even that has been taken away from him. It looks as if Azzarello's bringing on the hurt this year, and I would not want to be poor Clark right about now. But, from an etic point-of-view, or "outside-looking-in" perspective, I feel as if I am ready for anything the creative team can dish out.

Are we ever really ready, though? I'm always thinking of the most dire situation possible in every aspect of life. It's a horrible habit, I know, but it's like that old saying: "Expect the worst, hope for the best." I'm always putting myself in a position to consider such terrible possibilities. "If this happened, I'd expect it. I know I would. This is what I would do..." Maybe it can be likened to the Boy Scout motto: "Be Prepared." In theory, that works fine. Ideally, if we can fathom the possibilities we can face anything head-on.

But there are some things we can't expect.

As I said before...poor Clark. It was routine for him to fly off to the rescue, but how could he have foreseen the enormous tragedy that befell the world in his absence? This issue often begins to shift into "Pity Party" mode, an mode that Superman really began to explore after his time on Kandor. He's lost the most important thing in his life to an unspeakable event that has affected people all over the globe. What exactly was this tragic event? Well, that remains to be seen. As it stands, it's sort of the opposite of the "Elephant in the Room" syndrome. Instead of an obvious issue that is ignored by all, everyone wishes to express their feelings about an issue of questionable existence. I mean, there is no doubt that it occurred, but I'm sure Superman will be targeting all forms of extraterrestrial suspects. How can people be sure that it's some supernatural/alien event? As far as we can tell, it was nothing flashy or impressive--it just happened. What could have caused it? It's likely more human than anyone could guess. These are just the ramblings of a comic-book conspiracy theorist, of course.

Superman #204 serves as a set-up issue. It is slow, and understandably so. Of course, this is probably just the build-up for the entire year's story-line, but it's not everyone's cup of tea. Those in search of slam-bang action will not find it in this issue. Unlike most other issues of the Superman titles, which more often than not feature at least one battle, Superman #204 features none. Those in search of philosophical reflection or the seeds of a good, long story will find it in this issue. I try to resist calling issues "filler", because ideally every story has its purpose within the larger arc. Unless, of course, the story' s, like, totally lame--but whatever. I will not call this issue "filler", but I will definitely call it a "not non-filler" story. You hear me? It is not a non-filler story! That's right. Basically, the only thing that you need to take away from this issue is that "The Event" happened. You probably know what "the Event" was, but to call it by the name given in the book would spoil the uninformed.

There are some good bits in the writing that I liked. Early on, in Superman's first encounter with the priest, there is a small nod to the previous Godfall story arc. It is brief, but I like it. Also, a cameo by a fellow superhero and JLA co-worker is a pleasant feature. It's nice to see that, despite his own serious problems, Superman always has time for his friends. In addition to all of this, that Lieutenant Lupe is back. Hmmm...I'm supposing she'll play an important role in the upcoming issues, but we'll all just have to stay tuned. She's an interesting enough character, regardless of significance.

I enjoyed the art in this issue. Lee's strongest talents can be found in his highly detailed and accurately formed line drawings, and he does not disappoint here. Also, if you remember, one of the aspects of the previous story's art that I liked was the darkening of Superman's universe. That shift carries on into this arc, even with new artist Lee at the helm of the visuals. Most of these shadows can be attributed to the fine work of inker Williams. I recall that one of the things Lee hoped to do in his work on Superman was to evoke the image of Superman as a force of nature. Superman retains much of his American iconic appearance, but the dark shadows make the primary palate of his uniform stand out. This makes him seem more vibrant, and also more dangerous--like the elements themselves. Adding to Superman's new elemental mystique are the special effects used. His space flight scenes in the issue are all entertainingly embellished with colors by Sinclair.

If you find my review a bit short, please excuse me. I must have used up my energies reading my other book to review this week. Somehow, even though I asked for it, I wasn't sure I would be ready. Having two books to review each week is a grand occasion for me--I have no idea how some of the ComiX-Fan vets have more than that. But they do--apparently, at some point they felt as if they were ready, and it happened. And they seem to be doing fine. I guess maybe there are some things that can't really prepare for, and no one can tell you that you are ready for what's to come. It's up to each of us to be adaptable to the unforeseen. I guess Clark had better start adapting quickly, because there are a whole lot of unforeseens heading his way.


STORY:
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ART:
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OVERALL:
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Buy this issue on-line at X-World and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopexd.asp?id=10806)

[Gat0r-ManX]

hmmm i agreed with the review.

I thought i was the only one who found the story kinda... off. But it's ONLY the first issue, so i'm not gonna go fuzzy about it.

JIM LEE is obviously fantastic :D

[Kent Miller]

Of course Jim Lee is fantastic :D

We'll see where it goes from here. Azzarello's got a lot of time to play with it, and he surely has enough to play with--the who, the what, the whole why of the Event can go just about anywhere. I guess that's why the premiere story was sort of vague.

[Dragon]

It looks great, i'm not entirelly sure what all has happened to Supes over the years, so i'm a bit lost. Other wise i like how things look so far

[ZOD]

Great, great review. :clap: Way to write, Kent.

(Now we just need an Advn. of Supes reviewer.)

Edit: (D'oh. Pay no attention to my forgetfulness, we already have an Advn. reviewer. Sorry Zeb, my bad.)

[Carnage-DVS]

Great story, amazing art. Good review as well.

[GilSpiderig]

Just read it, and so far I sort of like it. Jim Lee really rocked the outlook of space. Man, I would love a book with Jim Lee and Del'Otto doing a book. With Bendis and Geoff writing....IT WOULD BE A BOOK THAT WOULD GO DOWN AS THE BEST BOOK EVER!

[Jason McManus]

I think the writing on this title was weaker than on the other Superman titles but it was still good. But the art was definitely the best of three. Azz did impress me enough though because I was really dissappointed in his Batman run so I have high hope for the rest of this title so over all a good job by all. Right now is really a great time to be reading the Superman titles great job by all three creative teams.

So far on the Superman books one being the best
Writing 1. Austen, 2. Rucka, 3. Azz
Art 1. Lee, 2. Reis, 3. Clark

[Kent Miller]

*kneels before ZOD* Thanks :)

Gil--don't talk about that! Mentioning GJ and The Bendis! I'm going to blow a fuse imagining that line-up...

Jason: Hmmm...I can see how you think this is the weakest written right now, maybe just based on this issue. But if the writing here was weaker than the others, it was still pretty good. Then just think how stellar the other books are. And Azzarello's jsut getting warmed up...

I loved Lee's art, as I said, but I found it comparable to his work on Batman. Maybe its the coloring that makes it stand out a bit more. I'm a sucker for great colors.

[Rain]

The dialogue in this issue was so terribly bad, its probably one of the worst comics i have ever read, the art though was great as allways with Jim Lee

[Kent Miller]

Really? I didn't notice anything particularly terrible about the dialogue, but that's just me. I will grant that it seemed extremely subdued, especially for an action title.

[Carnage-DVS]

Dear god. You found Austen's writing better than Azz's? Are you even reading the same comic I am?

[Steve]

I would give the art a 5 out of 5.

The story was slow to me. And I was a little disappointed because my expectations were so high. I think Azzarello is taking a little gamble here. Because he knows people will stick around for the Lee art no matter what, he can pace the story a little slower. Now we are practically screaming to find out just what the heck happened. We got shown a tantalizing glimpse of what’s going on. I can't mind read, but when you have one of the greatest artists ever on your book, you can afford to have an issue to build up suspense and set up your story. The other two core books did not come along with such a built in fan appeal. So they had to rock out with their c*cks out from Jump Street.
We did get to see some action too. The flight/space rescue scenes were awesome. The coloring and special effects were terrific. I particularly liked the atmospheric re-entry scene. This is something that Clark experiences every time he comes home from space, but this is the first time I’ve seen it portrayed. It made me wonder what it must be like to experience something like that. I mean , we lost a space shuttle during re-entry and Superman shrugs it off like its nothing. This along with the space rescue are over-the-top power displays that serve to contrast the much more human scenes we see inside the church.

So even though it wasn’t quite what I expected I am open to see what the rest of the arc will be. I give the story a 3 out of 5. This will continue to be the only core book I pick up for the time being.

[Swandogg]

Great review Kent.

After rereading the issue, I really think that it was great. I have said it before, but you just can't expect too much under these circumstances. We got 11 more issues coming! I really think that this was a phenomenal start to "For Tomorrow." Of course, it leaves us with lots of questions, but that is what the next 11 issues are for. We are just being kept in suspense! I must say though, I am excited to see how far the story will advance with the next issue. You would think that it will have to move along from this quite a bit.

Jim Lee's Superman is remarkable. I think his Superman is ideal. Some of his panels just blew me away. It will be very interesting to see how his Clark will compare to his Superman.

Wow though... this first month with the new Superman teams turned out to be great!

[RA Renteria]

I freely admit that this is the first Superman comic I read from beginning to end in at least 2 maybe 3 years, I very rarely make a journey to the DCU proper, except for Superman/Batman and Teen Titans or it is an obscure character without too much history, Plasticman or a Vertigo title, I don't touch it cause I always get lost.

I picked up this issue expecting a good read, Brian Azzarello and some fan favorite art, Jim Lee. Unfortunately my expectations may have been to great. The whole premise of this issue feels forced and on top of that you have to know of some event that probably happened in one of the many other magazines that Superman appears in to understand the whole story.

The basic premise; a bizarre event in the DCU made one million people, including Lois disappear and the big S feels responsible for it because he couldn't be there due to another emergency that he was attending to and now he's got a new attitude from the experience, uhm ok. That would make as much sense as making Hush an old acquaintance of Bruce's that we never heard about who blames/holds a grudge toward Bruce because Dr Wayne, Bruce's father, couldn't save the friends mother, oh wait, never mind.

The art was classis Jim Lee, but there seemed to be a rushed quality to the overall presentation as opposed to his work on Batman, where he had a little more lead time. If you're a fan of Jim Lee's you will love the art, if you're hoping for consistency especially in faces that won't happen here, keep in mind that through most of the issue we only see three people and one is the big S. It wasn't until almost the end of the issue that I realized the priest was hispanic, the rest of the time he went from looking caucasian to asian and back. Lupe was obviously hispanic, only because of her name. Superman is drawn like a god which I guess some people would see him like, and by the setting I get the idea that that was the writers intention.

The priests first reaction to the big S seemed somehow wrong for a man of the cloth. Add the reaction to his conversation with Lupe and one might believe this is a man that should find a new profession.

There was another glaring problem I have with this issue and it seems to be the obvious, why not go to Batman or one of the numerous "safe" confidants that he does have. That's what kept running through my mind during the whole conversation. Why use a person he doesn't know, what's wrong with his usual sounding boards, why take such a dumb risk, doesn't he read Daredevil??

Then there are the final three pages, I've read this issue three times just to make sure I didn't miss anything, and those three pages just made absolutely no sense and seemed to come out of nowhere!!! I will give this a chance, I will give this a chance, I will give this a chance. In the meantime could someone fill me in on the event that is referenced or did it not happen yet? I'm assuming it did.

In general I will give this arc a few more issues but as an outsider to the DCU this issue really didn't make me feel like I'm the targeted reader. The premise of the issue felt forced and at times inaccesible to me, but I will give it a chance.

R A Renteria

[Tan K.]

I thought the story in this set up issue was perfect. I am intrigued, and I am getting to see another aspect to Superman the person.

Jim Lee. It took him until the Joker/Nightwing issue to feel comfortable and get into a rhythm. I think the art was good, but it's still not at the highest "Lee" level yet. 3 more issues should do the trick.

[cannonball]

Not being a real Superman fan, I occassionally look for opportunte and appealing times to jump into the Supes universe. For the most part, I've never been all that compelled to stick around. But Jim Lee is the ultimate of ultimates in my book; I grew up in the boom of Jim Lee's X-men. And Azzarello has impressed me with his talent as well, most recently his work on Batman. So quite some time ago, when I heard of this pairing, I knew that this issue would be another of my attempts at delving into the Superman books.

Despite initial confusion as to whether I had missed something (reference to the past year and the event throughout the entire issue) in my neglect to read monthly or if it was a set-up, I decided upon the latter of the two. As a set-up, the issue, I feel, works. You get the vague hintings of what will be necessary knowledge later in the arc as well as a personal, character-driven story. The lack of action doesn't seem a downside when ultimately more mystery and emotion comes from the story that was told. And Jim Lee's art is amazing--simply put. I agree that his take on this book will only increase with time.

For somebody who normally finds Superman as interesting as dried paint, I'm interested. I'm curiouis to see what has happened in these characters' lives over the past year. And more importantly, I'm curious to see what this creative team holds in store.

[Longsh0t]

in my oppinion this was a good issue for a start of an arc. jim lee's art is fantastic.

i'm just a little confused about the continuity of the superman titles... In Action we have a superman sure of himself (and a little arrogant) and in Superman, he's full of doubts and confused...

[Rain]

This is an example of the dialogue in this issue

Priest: "...you know the dictionary? The one where cleanliness is next to you-know-whatiness? Fear follows faith in it too."

****

Lupe: "Guilt by association. I see your point."

Priest: "That's just it-- I'm wondering if I ever had one. And it's not guilt. It's distrust by association."

Lupe: "There's a difference?"

Priest: "Yeah, there is. And it's not subtle. I absolve you for not seeing it, being a cop. Your vision of the world is like your cars-- black and white."


*******

Superman: "Is the world a better place than it was a year ago?"

Priest: "You mean, since--"

Superman: "Of course I don't. I know the world is much worse off. I know that. I know mine is. What I meant is... after. I wasn't responsible for what happened, but there have been events since..."

****

Superman: "But after...what happened. After what I did... My sin? Was to save the world. I have to go."

[FlexMentallo]

I agree with this issue felling inaccessible. After reading it I searched the net for any clues about the "event" talked about in 204. I think the least that could have been done is to have said "One Year in the future .. " or something like that. I actually at first thought that 9/11 was being referred to. Azz seemed to want to have his cake and it eat too ... he wanted to get us hooked ... but was too vague on everything that I didn't get pulled in at all. If Jim Lee wasn't the artist ... I'd never get the next issue.

Ah well ... I still would like to see where this all goes. I don't think it would have detracted at all from the story if there was a little more of a hint that this issue took place a year in the future and that the reader wasn't missing something that took place in Adventures of Superman, Action, etc.

[PoWerSurge]

For me, its a first issue of what I know is a big arc, or in this case, huge 12 issue arc. I'm probably not going to get as much info as I want, their going to keep me coming back for more. The trick on this is to make sure each time I'm given good stuff, and not make 12 issues something that could have been covered in 6.

We're set up with a few new characters, that we really don't know that much about. The priest of course is the most predominant. He is unsure of his vows, flirts with a former-girlfriend cop, and right in front of his alter is shocked by a flying man in a cape so that he almost falls to his knees.

Second thing we're introduced too, Supes feeling guilty about something, so much that he feels the need to talk to a priest. This is kinda cool to me because reading up to this issue
Azz and Lee describe Supes as a god-type character.

These two aspects of the story are pretty cool irony. An unsure god talking to an unsure priest.

So far, first chapter of the arc down, I'm still going to buy it. The art is up to par, and so far the story line has me intriqued.

[Anand Khatri]

really, really, really, great first issue. really interesting. art is also very nice. it has the feel that superman is wrestling with his judgement as well as conscience. really really interesting. i dont normally pick up superman books, i was gonna pick this one for the art only then i found out who was going to write it and then i became a must buy.:cool:

[James Groves]

Im really really gutted as the comic sold out in less than a day in my comic shop. I'll have to wait a month for issue 2 and then get to read the 1st one when i buy the TPB - :mad: :)

[Alex Guillen]

Great review, Kent. I see i didn't rain on your parade afterall (that's in the superman thread).
Yes, this was a setup issue (as I've said before) nut it was really awsome.
Azzarello wrote a not ggreat, but rather good Superman but Jim Lee more than made up for it with his incredible art.
Can't wait until the next issue.

[Stoneyguy]

I thought this was a fantastic issue. I was kinda expecting a slower pace, so wasn't surprised by the lack of super-scrapping. I thought the script was great, and got the sense that this is going to be an 'important' story that will affect Superman in a less predictable way than in your average tale. It felt a bit more 'real'. Maybe more mature.

I think this might 'redifine' Superman for the millenium more effectively than Birthright is doing. And I quite like Birthright.

The art was brilliant. Jim Lee's Superman is the best I've seen recently. Much better than Turner's. (Turner's Batman (not Bruce) is ace though.

[Anand Khatri]

Originally posted by pokerman
Im really really gutted as the comic sold out in less than a day in my comic shop. I'll have to wait a month for issue 2 and then get to read the 1st one when i buy the TPB - :mad: :)

you can always check out ebay.com

[Cannonball1138]

I admit, I bought this issue purely because of Lee's art. But Azzarello wrote a very good story to go along with it (which I was fearful I wouldn't like because I didn't like Batman: Broken City at all). I hope the priest character sticks around because he seems to be a very interesting person, and someone that Superman can just talk to. Azzarello can go many different ways with "The Vanishing". I've already heard the alien theory, or he could bring up the spiritual aspect of it, and compare it to the Rapture. And Lois disappeared? That's heavy. The one thing I don't get though is the interbook continuity. I mean, Action and Adventures seem to go together, but this is in the future? It has to be, otherwise it'd make no sense. All in all, a very great beginning to what should be an excellent arc.

[ronaldmcdonald]

this was my first comic book from DC. and i like this first issue.
hope the story gets better. and lee's art is great.

[Wolverine]

my shop was closed over last weekend. I will pick this up this saturday. I very much look forward to it!

[D4773T]

I expected the story to be slow and wierd because of the writer but the art is as beautiful as ever by jim lee. If it wasnt for jim lee drawing it would not really sell to many copies. To me Azzarello writes superheroes like Joe casey. They both seem to not like super heroes much and it shows in when they write them. They take all the wonder and fun out of superman and they make the stories slow and boring.

[Anthony Lucynski]

Well, this is the first time i've picked up a Superman title regularly since the Reign of the Supermen.

I liked it, i'm not a big supes fan, but the plot intrigues me. I want to know what the hell happened when he was off world.

Hooked me!

Anthony L

[Kent Miller]

It seems that a lot of folks came for the art, stayed for the story :). I guess that if they got people reading, either the creative team or the advertising has done its job. We'll have to see if the entire year remains as popular (I'm thinking it will, but like I said--we must wait and see...)