The New 52 was definitely a new era for comics! Superman is back to his starting point and we can get reintroduced to the character. While we will always miss the old continuity, it will be fun to see a lot of things happen again. This comic doesn’t put too much emphasis on Superman’s origin and we are thrown right into the action.
The first pages will definitely show that this is a different Superman. This Superman is using fear to get the mobs talking and he isn’t afraid of making threats. Some people are afraid of him and others regard him as a hero. (There are also some ingrates who get saved, but are still upset at him) Clark Kent actually works for the Star and not the Planet this time. He’s friends with Jimmy, but Lois seems to think that he’s sabotaging them. Clark even tried to discourage them from getting on the train!
Clark’s landlady is pretty accepting about the whole thing and since Clark pays the bills, she doesn’t mind that he’s so mysterious. The cops pay a visit, but Kent takes the whole thing in stride. He’s definitely a lot more outspoken in this version and he’s not afraid to stand up to the bullies of Metropolis. He wears regular jeans and a shirt for the most part, but things get real once he puts on the suit.
The first volume mostly deals with the military and average danger situations, but Brainiac is the villain for part of the comic. The villains weren’t really interesting and didn’t feel like a threat for Superman, but I’m glad that they added some sort of action for the comic. The battles may not be long, but the art makes them fun. The art in this graphic novel is excellent and I’d expect no less from a modern DC comic. They have been doing excellent work on the art lately and that doesn’t seem to be changing.
There are also some backup stories at the end that feature various characters. The best one was definitely about Steel. We get to see his entire fight against General Lane and it’s pretty good. There is also a story about Clark’s friend, which was fun. It reminds you why Clark Kent is a good guy.
I should mention that while most of the trade paperback in linear, there is one comic that breaks the pattern. We are thrown into the future where Superman is finally…SuperMAN. He’s a lot stronger and like the Kryptonian that we are used to seeing. We are introduced to the K-Men who play a bigger role in the next trade paperback. It’s definitely an interesting plot line and I’m looking forward to its conclusion, I just hope that they don’t continue to complicate the timeline and create a paradox or something. I didn’t care for the Legionnaires, but they’ll probably get better.
There are some iffy moments involving Superman’s durability. The train ends up knocking him out and I didn’t really buy that. Unless the train is made out of kryptonite, Superman’s not going to be knocked out by it. Also, the government captures Superman at one point and zap him with all kinds of weapons, but I believe that Superman’s durability would nullify most of them. At least enough so that he could escape when he felt like it.
The characters are very engaging as well. Lex Luthor is in character and his lines are fitting. Lois and Jimmy don’t appear much, but they’re pretty good so far. I like the landlady and Superman is great as always. This comic is pretty much the opposite of the norm since I like just about everyone. (I just don’t like the government) I’m hoping that the characters can stay this enjoyable as more volumes come out.
While, I may not have agreed with some of the Superman moments, they didn’t wreck the experience. The comic has a good amount of length considering the usual size for a trade. I highly recommend this comic and it’s a great way to enter the DC world. With great art, epic characters, good plot, and lots of action to come, why not start it!?
Overall 7/10
Leave Her To Heaven is a film that you may or may not have heard of. It’s essentially your typical romance film (Uh oh) that also features murder and danger! Adding those elements should definitely help the film, but how good can a romance get anyway right? (Unless you count Tsubasa) It’s time that we find out!
A guy by the name of Richard meets a girl on the train. After they take turns glaring staring at each other, they become friends. Her name is Ellen and if the long staring scene didn’t warrant any alarms in your head, then the plot twist will feel pretty sudden! Ellen and Richard head to the family’s house where Richard will be working on his book. According to Ellen, he’s not a good author, but she miraculously changes her mind later on! After she pressures Richard into getting proposed to her, they have happy days!…for a while.
Soon, Ellen starts to get jealous of everyone else and wants to be alone with Richard. Richard isn’t very sympathetic and he invites everyone that he can. Richard gets Ellen’s whole family to come over and we can’t forget about the Farmer. Ellen acts as mean to them as she can, but they stay strong for the most part. Later on, Richard’s friend dies…was it a murder or an accident? Ellen’s supposed to be a good swimmer, but she claimed that she didn’t notice in time.
Even further into the film, there is more disaster and fatalities. In theory, this should help the film to stay energetic and epic, but it doesn’t work. The deaths are tragic, but Richard is not a great main character. This is something that happens a lot in romance films; I couldn’t find myself liking any of the characters. They were all mean, jealous, or just not cool enough for me.
The main negative of the film is the fact that there is a lot of romance. Even if this is a romance film, they should try to avoid it. It tends to bog the film down with really drawn out scenes and unnecessary dialogue. It definitely took up a large chunk of the film and wasn’t needed to help the plot progress. I’m sure that they could have found other ways to continue the story.
Another thing is that the deaths are tragic, but nothing is really done about them. People dying in a random monster film or action anime is okay because they can fight back or at least they tried. There’s just not as much point when it’s from drowning or helplessness. We know that the character is a villain and that’s pretty much all that we need to know. Also, the main character went down fast when he expressed interest in destroying animals. Those were all the signs that I needed to write off the main cast.
So, I wouldn’t recommend this film to the average moviegoer. If you want a true story about a daring young man who must face all kinds of dangers to help out his friends, then watch DBZ. This film had one good scene in it, but that’s hardly enough to save it. (The Court Scene was pretty epic for the most part) If you really want to watch a romance film, then I recommend playing a video game to take your mind off of it.
Overall 2/10
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