Reading Comics #131 "Geoff Johns Returns to Superman"

Geoff Johns.  For readers like me, one of the undisputed greatest writers in comics today.  Since starting at DC in 1999, he's risen through the ranks to becoming one of the company's most crucial assets, now listed as Chief Creative Officer along with his regular writing assignments.  Critics tend to peg him as a fanboy writer, because he seems to write wish-fulfillment stories (the most famous early anecdote of his career was writing a letter to Superboy explaining how it'd be cool if Lex Luthor's DNA had been used as part of the Boy of Steel's original cloning material, which he later made reality in the pages of Teen Titans).  Those who admire him consider Johns to write the iconic version of every character he touches, not just the ideal version but one that expands their mythology exponentially (his near-decade run on Green Lantern being the archetypal example).

Before he broke into comics, Johns worked as a personal assistant to Richard Donner, who directed 1978's Superman.  When Johns began his third run with the Man of Steel in late 2006 on Action Comics (earlier that year he'd helped launch Superman's post-Infinite Crisis "One Year Later" arc, and he had a few issues in 2002-2003), he teamed up with Donner in a different way for the first few arcs.

Johns' Action Comics period was some of the best material I've read from him, and although it lasted a few years, its relative brevity was easily its cruelest mark.  So it was with great anticipation that I heard he'd be returning to the fold this year.

via Dad's Big Plan.  From Superman #33

It's pretty clear from the start that he retains his interest in keeping the spirit of the Donner version of Superman alive, most evident in his lively depiction of the Daily Planet, which in recent years has seemed increasingly like an anachronism for the continuing mythos.  Even in the '90s they were trying to shift Clark Kent into television reporting.  But with Johns handling newspapers and especially with his clear devotion to the perspective of the older Perry White, as near a father-figure as Superman has left, this is an element that takes on new relevance, and is just one example of how the run is nailing it out of the park.

via Comic Vine. Superman clashes with Ulysses. From Superman #32

The big push of this latest run is Ulysses, the "New Superman" whose story closely mirrors the Last Son of Krypton's.  This is a human whose parents were scientists involved in a disastrous experiment and believed they had no choice but to save their son in the same manner Jor-El and Lara did years ago.  Since Johns quickly reveals otherwise in the second issue of the arc, I have no real qualms "spoiling" that Neil Quinn's parents in fact survive.  It's a huge part of the contrasts Ulysses constantly presents to Superman.  It's a different approach to the one Johns has taken before, perhaps owing to how he's been writing Justice League and even how he worked Green Lantern in its later years, in a much more methodical, deliberate approach.  Each issue is strong on its own, but read together they present an unfolding story unique in a medium where serialized story long ago became the norm but rarely with such finesse.  It's startling to consider this to be such a bold innovation, but you can't help but feel that way, even if you've only read Superman #s 32-33, as this column covers, with the second issue having great impact because it so quickly releases some of the suspense, without weakening it at all, from its predecessor.  

This is the work of a creator who is still working toward mastering his considerable talents, and getting closer to perfection all the time.  Johns understands that it isn't in Superman's powers where his greatness comes through, but in his human vulnerabilities.

via Entertainment Weekly. Daniel Radcliffe, in a Spider-Man costume,
stood in front of this image at San Diego Comic-Con.
Why would I make that up?

But he can do great things with those powers, too!

via Comic Vine. Neil Quinn, A.K.A. Ulysses, blending in. Superman #33

For a Superman story that shares considerable time with a new character, presented as an equal to the Man of Steel, it's a real challenge, because plenty of creators have tried that before.  Will Johns ultimately reveal Ulysses to be villainous?  Will Ulysses even matter after this introduction?  Perhaps it's moments like our contender walking around as an ordinary human, or trying to, that are most telling.  This is the way Johns wrote Wonder Woman in the early issues of Justice League, by the way.  Maybe that's even where he got the idea.  (Although, it would be nice for Johns to finally tackle Wonder Woman directly, too.)  For that reason, perhaps naively I hope Ulysses remains on the side of the angels.  He might be one of those characters destined to die at the end of a spectacular origin story, sort of like Grant Morrisons' one-and-done Tomorrow Woman from JLA.  I hope not!

via USA Today

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the artist in all of this. That would be John Romita, Jr., who is best known for his Marvel work, as well as Kick-Ass.  Like Andy and Adam Kubert before him, Romita was so clearly identified with Marvel previously that it's shocking to see him working at DC at all, but that means he's owed a high profile project all the more, and this is about as big as they get.  Over at the House of Ideas he is most associated with Spider-Man, who also seems to be the complete opposite of Superman.  

I think he's doing an excellent job, exactly the presentation Johns' scripting calls for.  Even the theoretically '90s hairstyle Ulysses sports (and '90s Superman would certainly know all about that!) works in everyone's favor.  It sets Ulysses apart, it forces the reader to remain engaged in the character, and it's another layer of intrigue (as in, will he really keep it that way?).

This is the kind of comics event readers dream of, ones that seem impossible until they happen, and then they seem completely natural.  For Johns, it's another milestone for his already-distinguished career.  As a title, Superman has been begging for something like this since the New 52 relaunch, after a series of revolving creator teams left it well behind Action Comics in impact (owing to the latter title's launch under Morrison).  It should be the flagship series of the company, and now once again it is.

Up, up, and away!