Superman #30

By Scott Lobdell, Ed Benes & Norm Rapmund

This issue is a prelude to the Doomed crossover between all the Superman books. As with many preludes, they are just setting up the events that will be taking place in the future issues to pique reader’s interests. So, prepare to be amazed as Lobdell and Benes set you up for a little doom for the Man of Steel.

Superman #30 gives us a glimpse of hope in the first couple of pages as we see an unlikely couple on their honeymoon. That hope is quickly dashed and things seem to get worse from there on out. Scott Lobdell gives the reader some interesting plot points to think about in this issue as well. All of Smallville falling into a coma is intriguing, and we also get to see the Eradicator of Krypton, who is a character we would like to know more about. We do get some third party narration, which is a bit overdone and seems to go on for too long, which can be a bit much. It is nice to see Senator Lane and Superman getting along in this issue, even if it was only for a couple of panels. Lobdell did a decent job setting the scene for the crossover, but there was a lot of unnecessary narration that could have been trimmed out.

The pencils by Ed Benes are wonderful as usual. There is so much to like about what he’s done in this issue, from Superman’s x-ray scenes to the final page of destruction, Benes really shines. Ed as always, has some wonderful shading to go along with his art, as well as the colors by Pete Pantazis. There is an early scene in this issue where two young lovers are embracing and Benes draws it so well that we can almost feel the love coming off of the page. Ed Benes is consistently one of the best artists around, period.

This issue of Superman does a pretty solid job of setting up the events for the next crossover. It would have been nice to have less narration, but Lobdell still managed to keep it an interesting read. Ed Benes continues to amaze with every issue he does and this will probably not stop any time soon. This is a good tandem on this book that will hopefully deliver an excellent story for readers.