REVIEW: Absolute Superman #1
The highly anticipated Absolute Superman #1 is finally in our hands and the hype does not disappoint. Many familiar aspects and ideas come together to create this new take on the Superman mythos. You don’t have to forget everything you know but it’s definitely not just a rehash of the same classic story.
The standard cover is by Rafa Sandoval and Ulises Arreola. Walking menacingly through a field of tall grass we get our first visual introduction to this version of Superman. There’s a mysterious nature to the piece that instantly says this isn’t going to be a Superman that’s fully open to the world around him.
Jim Lee, Scott Williams, and Alex Sinclair grace us with a variant that displays Superman’s entire new look. Posed with an Aurora event, Superman looks especially powerful. This cover not only gets the foil treatment, which will naturally accentuate the art, but also a black & white variant.
The variant by Wes Craig and Mike Spicer highlights the new Superman crest. Not only does it have a new look but an additional meaning as well. Along with an impressive display of power, the contrasting light and dark colorations create a very compelling piece.
There’s plenty of other variants to keep a look out for including works from Clayton Crain, Matteo Scalera, Fabrizio De Tommaso, Tyler Kirkham, Dan Panosian, and Skottie Young.
Rafa Sandoval and Colorist Ulises Arreola also handle the interior art. The story moves between flashbacks of Krypton and present day Earth. Sandoval and Arreola do a fantastic job of not only making these two planets look different but also emphasizing their similarities. There’s a reason and point to why Superman looks the way he does and they express it well. The action is dynamic and feels presented on a larger scale than most Superman sequences. This art team definitely feels up to the challenge of a making this a high caliber book.
Jason Aaron, lettered by Becca Carey, tells a tale of two planets in Absolute Superman #1, “Last Dust of Krypton, Part One: Down in the Dirt”. Not only is this new Earth being built upon but there’s a considerable amount of world building involved with Krypton as well. The social commentary between what happened with Krypton and what Superman’s dealing with on Earth is very relevant and establishes Kal-El’s primary motivations. There are major changes to the classic mythos that definitely set this Superman apart from any other, but they stay in the realm of possibility enough to not feel completely arbitrary. It’ll be exciting to see how these changes ripple through the rest of the storytelling.
(9/10) There’s a couple of changes I have reservations about in Absolute Superman #1, but as a follower of Jason Aaron’s body of work, I’m hopeful they won’t negatively impact the story. Overall it’s an impressive reimagining of Superman that should appeal to all levels of fan.
