Writers: Brian Bendis, Greg Rucka + more
Artists: Yanick Paquette, Steve Lieber and more
Rating: 8 of 8
Superman: Leviathan Rising Special
Sometimes, you get to associate certain kinds of stories with certain characters. When it comes to stories with the Doctor, you come to expect time travel, or a lot of involvement from the Time Lord - but now, that isn't always the case. When you go into a superhero film, you expect a number of trials and tribulations, but ultimately expect the hero to rise to the occasion and save the day.
Though with recent films, that hasn't always been the case. When your expectations have been subverted in such big ways, you're not sure how to feel. Are you disappointed it didn't turn out how you expected, or might've liked - or are you happy to be surprised? You might ask yourself this when reading Leviathan Rising.
Reading Superman, you might expect cosmic stories, explosive action and big threats only he can deal with. In Superman, you'll find all of the above - but in Action, you'll get something refreshingly different. Going into Bendis' run, I never would've expected stories asking 'what is truth?', or ones delving into how organized crime works in a city protected by Superman.
But I'm delighted I've gotten them. Similarly, I never thought we'd get more grounded, yet compelling, tales for the Man of Steel centered around espionage. Yet Bendis and team really make it work. Between the noir style utilized when the issue's more focused on Lois, or a beautifully simple conversation between Invisible Mafia's leader and Leviathan early on, the issue's consistently brilliant.
The piece with Lois gives you a feeling of what Greg Rucka's upcoming Lois Lane comic will be like, while Jimmy's story similarly gives you an idea of what to expect from Matt Fraction's Jimmy Olsen. There, you'll find the OTT, zany adventures you've come to expect from Jimmy, while with Lois, you'll get the hard willed investigative reporter you love, as well as a loving wife.
Of course, I can't go without bringing up some particularly noteworthy art. When we get to Supergirl's story, we see her cape billowing in a way reminiscent of Superman's in Man of Steel and when we see Leviathan later on, their mask reminds me of a wasp. It's a very impressive design.
Overall, this is a brilliant issue, that's very well drawn and incredibly well written. The one criticism I have is that I feel the Jimmy Olsen story isn't really necessary for the overall story and is a bit out of place in tone and art compared to the others. I definitely recommend you give this a read as soon as you can. It only helps increase my excitement for Event Leviathan come the 12th of June.
Though with recent films, that hasn't always been the case. When your expectations have been subverted in such big ways, you're not sure how to feel. Are you disappointed it didn't turn out how you expected, or might've liked - or are you happy to be surprised? You might ask yourself this when reading Leviathan Rising.
Reading Superman, you might expect cosmic stories, explosive action and big threats only he can deal with. In Superman, you'll find all of the above - but in Action, you'll get something refreshingly different. Going into Bendis' run, I never would've expected stories asking 'what is truth?', or ones delving into how organized crime works in a city protected by Superman.
But I'm delighted I've gotten them. Similarly, I never thought we'd get more grounded, yet compelling, tales for the Man of Steel centered around espionage. Yet Bendis and team really make it work. Between the noir style utilized when the issue's more focused on Lois, or a beautifully simple conversation between Invisible Mafia's leader and Leviathan early on, the issue's consistently brilliant.
The piece with Lois gives you a feeling of what Greg Rucka's upcoming Lois Lane comic will be like, while Jimmy's story similarly gives you an idea of what to expect from Matt Fraction's Jimmy Olsen. There, you'll find the OTT, zany adventures you've come to expect from Jimmy, while with Lois, you'll get the hard willed investigative reporter you love, as well as a loving wife.
Of course, I can't go without bringing up some particularly noteworthy art. When we get to Supergirl's story, we see her cape billowing in a way reminiscent of Superman's in Man of Steel and when we see Leviathan later on, their mask reminds me of a wasp. It's a very impressive design.
Overall, this is a brilliant issue, that's very well drawn and incredibly well written. The one criticism I have is that I feel the Jimmy Olsen story isn't really necessary for the overall story and is a bit out of place in tone and art compared to the others. I definitely recommend you give this a read as soon as you can. It only helps increase my excitement for Event Leviathan come the 12th of June.
very good review
ReplyDelete:) Thanks very much, I'm glad you liked it.
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