Superman #32

By Geoff Johns, John Romita Jr. & Klaus Janson

This is a big issue for Superman; his books haven’t been that well received by fans since the New 52, but this could be the turning point. All-star writer Geoff Johns joins legendary artist John Romita Jr. to bring the Man of Steel back to prominence.

Geoff Johns is responsible for so many of DC’s best stories of the last 15 years, and he has a history with Superman. That being said, this issue was pretty good, but nothing spectacular. Johns does an excellent job with the supporting cast here, as Jimmy and Perry really shine this issue. Perry gives a good speech to Clark that shows that he gets who Clark is, and more importantly, it shows that Johns knows the characters he’s writing. While the issue lacked action, which is fine, it also lacked a wow factor. After reading it, you might not give the issue too much afterthought. There are some very good character moments, but that doesn’t make this issue stand out from your regular run of the mill monthly.

The art of John Romita Jr. is very good this month as he draws one of his best issues in recent memory. While his art is usually boxy, he completely kicks that to the curb in this book. The best page comes as Clark transforms into Superman. The panels and page layout are excellent and Romita Jr. has a nice panel of Superman blurring out of the window responding to the call. While for the most part Romita Jr.’s art is good, he does have some off panels that lack detail and are not consistent with the other quality panels. Romita Jr.’s style has transformed a little, but is still very recognizable as his own work.

For as much hype and promotion DC gave this book, it fell a little flat. This is just one issue, so nobody should panic, and Geoff Johns definitely deserves to get a few issues grace period before you need to worry. John Romita Jr. has done a really nice job on pencils this issue and will hopefully be consistent and not rush. This arc is off to a slow start, but Johns and Romita Jr. are too good to let it stay that way.