REVIEW: Superman #32

Superman #32, “Man of Apokolips: Part 2” ties into the ‘DC K.O.’ event by detailing how the villains got involved and gives us a teaser for the All Fight Month round 2 of the tournament. Not only that, but it also continues Lois and Superboy Prime’s battle against the Legion of Darkseid at the Fortress of Solitude. There’s a lot going on this issue that really helps the high stakes, epic feel of this DC event.

The standard cover is by Dan Mora and highlights the showdown between Superman and Lex from ‘DC K.O.’ #2. That confrontation gets a little more fleshed out in this issue, but it’s not the main focus. Regardless, Mora’s art is simply fantastic.

David Aja continues his minimalist style art with another great variant for ‘Superman’ #32. There’s a bit more color this time as the Sun seems to add a spotlight effect on Superman and Krypto as they guard Metropolis. Aja’s art style is just brilliant and it’s amazing how he can get so much in a piece while seemingly using so little.

The variant by Noobovich is a sweet depiction of Lois and Clark. Using deep shades of red and blue accents the romantic tone. It’s really a great piece highlighting comic’s most prominent power couple.

Two other notable variants are by Seba Fiumara and KyuYong Eom.

Eddy Barrows and Eber Ferreira, along with Colorist Alejandro Sánchez continue to be interior artists for this arc. There is a lot of visual recap to help align this story with the events of DC K.O. #1 and #2, but it plays out well and doesn’t detract from the main focuses of the issue. This art team is no stranger to Superman comics and it shows. The excellence of their work makes every page exciting and fun which simply makes the book all the more enjoyable to read.

Joshua Williamson, lettered by Ariana Maher, does a great job tieing ‘Superman’ #32 into the greater DC event. Here we get a detailed explanation on how the villains were able to circumvent the Justice League’s plan of placing them all into the Phantom Zone. Not only does it make perfect sense, but it’s also rather brilliant. The issue is split between these detailed events and the continuation of the Legion of Darkseid’s siege on The Fortress of Solitude. Realizing they’re a bit outnumbered even with the reemergence of Lois’s powers, Prime figures out a way to recruit some reinforcements that definitely tip the scales. Not only are these reinforcements crucial for Lois and Prime, but apparently they may play a critical role in how ‘DC K.O.’ plays out.

(8/10) There’s some great stuff in ‘Superman #32’, but I think it suffers a bit by how hard it leans into the company wide crossover. The last panel could especially be confusing if you’re not reading ‘DC K.O.’. That being said, if you are reading the event, this issue compliments it well and is definitely not one to miss.