REVIEW: Superman #38
Superman #38, “Prime Time: Part Three”, takes an interesting turn of events and keeps you on your toes as the issue unfolds. There’s also more deep cuts of characters as Joshua Williamson utilizes a couple of sorceresses that haven’t graced the pages of a Superman comic in decades. Together with the little known Witchfire, these three make a secret coven that is trying their best to protect the world from supernatural threats. Not to mention the final few pages that could really let Prime and us know just how dedicated he is to his redemption arc.
The standard cover is by Dan Mora. Prime appears to be holding Witchfire back from some sort of confrontation, but they both seem to be enjoying the closeness. Honestly, the banter between these two was so absolutely adorable throughout their little misadventure that it’s a little sad they might not have more panel time together.
Cian Tormey and Pasquale Ferrara’s variant has a Rockwell-eque wholesomeness about it. Prime consuming a comic while Krypto lies at his feet is about as good as life can get for some.
The variant by Davide Paratore is a fairly stark offering. The simple red background has Prime looking more like his past self which might have a chance of returning considering how this issue ends.
There are several other variants this month from the talented minds of W. Scott Forbes, Tirso Cons, Daniele Di Nicuolo, and John Giang.
Dan Mora also handles the interior art alongside Colorist Alejandro Sánchez. Their work is always top tier but this issue they really cut loose a bit. Besides their usual offerings of gorgeous action sequences and readable facial expressions, they make us interact with the book in a fun way to further express the magical effects of the story. To prove even further how impressive their work is, they take five obscure DC characters and make them instantly recognizable to those that remember them. It really is pretty obvious why these two are such fan favorites, not only to Superman comics, but the industry as a whole.
Joshua Williamson, lettered by Ariana Maher, fills 32 pages with a lot to unpack. The dialogue between Prime and Witchfire alone would be enough to make this issue highly entertaining, but the deep dives Williamson goes to execute this story elevates it that much more. There’s also a nice nod to Jimmy and Siobhan which adds some comic relief but also may lead to something down the line. The story itself doesn’t go in any predictable direction in all the most positive ways. Other than Witchfire, four other characters from past Superman stories help round out the possible one off plot of this issue. Then to finish things up, the being that was all too interested in Prime’s presence from ‘Superman’ #36 makes him an impossibly tempting offer which may have Prime falling off the “good guy wagon”.
(9/10) The irony of Prime being obsessed with nostalgia and Williamson bringing in nostalgic characters throughout this arc has not been lost on me. That being said his writing and Mora’s art make for an incredible team as they create a very compelling story in Superman #38 around one of DC’s more notorious character.
