REVIEW: Superman: New God
‘Superman: New God’ is a fan-made radio play in 5 parts produced by BZBug Radio. Writer Jonathan Lopez gives us a modern day take on Superman’s debut with Golden Age sensibilities. Narrated by Isaac Robinson-Smith, with character voices by Heliya Alam, Austin Rodriguez, Bailey Bagheri, Eric Cardona, and Amy Lynn Perea.
The sound quality, sound effects, soundtrack, and overall production value is excellent. This has all the makings of a professional produced show and is very entertaining. The voice acting seemed a bit shaky at first, but that improves with each instalment.
The story is fairly inventive and was obviously constructed out of love for the characters. It plays out as a modern take on Superman’s debut. We’re first introduced to him wearing a T-shirt and jeans without the ability to fly and end up with his more recognizable outfit and abilities. Other than being an alien from outer space, Superman also doesn’t know about his Kryptonian heritage or the vulnerabilities that besets him. Clark Kent is only mentioned once as he’s only seen as Superman throughout the play. Lois and Jimmy were college friends that decided to start an online travel show called “The Daily Planet” and Perry was later hired as a consultant. Other DC characters play vital roles, including the clever use of the main villain which was a pleasant surprise. The show also uses fun in-universe advertisements for sponsors like Ferris Airlines, The Metropolis Meteors, and LexCorp Deluxe Residental Towers.
Each episode is around 15-23 minutes long which makes it very easy to consume, especially to those that may be new to this style of medium. It’s a very well thought out and concise radio play with each episode focusing on one aspect of the overall plot culminating in a pretty epic finale.
(8.5/10) ‘Superman: New God’ is a solid fan-made piece that leans into the whimsical nature of radio plays. There were times it felt more like an audio comic, but considering the source material, that should be expected. All in all, I highly recommend giving this a listen and I’ll be looking forward to future endeavours by BZBug Radio.
You can listen to the first episode here:
