REVIEW: Superman #30
Superman #30, “Legion of Darkseid Part Three: The Great Collision” not only sets up for the next DC crossover event, ‘DC K.O.’, but also wraps Booster Gold’s unfortunate sojourn taken in ‘DC All-In Special’. Joshua Williamson also utilizes Superboy Prime well, which continues to solidify his status as one of the great comic writers of our time.
The standard cover is by Dan Mora. Battle weary heroes, Superman and Booster Gold, stand side by side as they square off against the extremely powerful Legion of Darkseid. This issue is grim and the cover isn’t exaggerating the dire circumstances the heroes face. It’s great art by Mora and gets a foiled treatment for a variant as well.
David Aja’s variant is simply fantastic. Highlighting the bare minimum with color, we get a great rendition of Superman saving someone from falling debris. This run of variants by Aja are truly elegant and worthy of simply being wall art.
Dan Mora gets all the love this issue as his box art gets a full cover variant as well. The classic chain bursting pose gets a modern update showing us Superman is as powerful as ever. It’s a visual statement that goes all the way back to ‘Action Comics’ #12 and has definitely stood the test of time.
Other great variants are by Ariel Olivertti, Saowee, Claudio Castellini, and Tom Reilly.
Dan Mora and Colorist Alejandro Sánchez are absolutely brilliant as interior artists. The emotional devastation of Superman’s situation is never tossed aside even as he tries to rally. There’s an ever present sense he and Booster are fighting a loosing battle, but it’s the will to fight that matters. Prepare to read this issue with your mouth agape as your jaw will never have a chance to recover from being dropped.
Joshua Williamson, lettered by Ariana Maher, gives us a little origin to the new Saturn Girl before bringing us back to where issue #29 left off. There really is a sense of futility throughout this story. The twists and turns are executed in a way that keeps you guessing how things will turn out, but Williamson uses Prime in the best way possible giving us just the slightest bit of hope the heroes can win. The last few panels also coincide with the last panels of ‘Justice League Unlimited’ #11 which leads directly into the ‘DC K.O.’ event that’s about to kick off. The epic scale this overall story is building feels off the charts and it’s exciting to see how it’ll all play out.
(10/10) I know it’s getting said a lot lately, but don’t miss out on ‘Superman’ #30. Not just because how it leads into the next big crossover, but because it blows away expectations of what a comic story can achieve.
