REVIEW: Superman #40

Superman #40 continues the fight between Superboy Prime and Manchester Black, this series has to be my favourite ongoing at the moment and it’s easily the one I look forward to reading the most and this issue and finale has reminded me why that is.

But before we get into the issue itself, let’s take a look at the covers. The main cover is by Dan Mora and perfectly captures the contents of the issue. Dan Mora has been the man of the moment for a while now and this cover shows exactly why as we see Superboy Prime and Manchester Black go head to head.

The variant by Javi Fernandez & Alejandro Sánchez is just stunning – not relevant to the contents of the issue, but stunning none the less. We see Superman following his upgrade in the DC K.O. tournament among the stars. The realistic detail and atmosphere is just incredible as it seems Superman is forging his own galaxy.

Tirsos’ variant is one of my favourites, it’s fun, it’s adorable and it features Krypto, what more do you want? The skyline in the background is incredibly photorealistic and I love the cheeky nature of Superboy Prime as it shines through on the page.

There are also variants available by Mark Spears and Eddy Barrows & Alejandro Sánchez.

Manchester Black wants Superboy Prime to bring him back to life with a punch that could affected the entire timeline. As Manchester Black continues to try and get him to unleash his rage, Superboy Prime comes to realised that this fight is happening inside his mind – meaning that he can level the playing field to his advantage. Once again, Joshua Williamson masterfully involves the real world into these very comics. Not only does Superboy Primes’ dialogue and narration link directly to the readers opinions and key comic events that have happened and are still happening, but those that work in the comic shop there actively debate issues that people have regarding comics right now – there are some valid takes and some completely ridiculous ones. Those people also play a key part in this very issue.

Let’s not forget that Manchester Black has a brand-new power set here, so this fight is just perfection as we see Superboy Prime take on unexpected attacks and also take on his very own methods of fighting which I personally found hilarious. Despite the fact that this is a comic book, what I really loved about it is the fact that Superboy Prime is from our world, that gives us more insight into the way that he thinks. Towards the end of the issue he has a huge speech about the state of the world and how comics should bring hope to peoples lives and I think this might be my favourite part of the entire story arc – it was just so relatable and it’s a take that I myself have.

The interior art is by Dan Mora, with colours by Alejandro Sánchez and letters by Ariana Maher and it is just perfect. I cannot fault a single thing, there is so much chaos going on in this issue and this creative team execute it perfectly and without sparing any detail. My favourite thing about the art and with this being quite an emotional issue is the way that they portray those emotions and expressions, you can instantly see what the characters are feeling and that adds a lot of weight to the issue.

(10/10) Superman #40 is damn near perfect. This art acted as a bit of a redemption for Superboy Prime and I absolutely adore him after this. Whilst the story here is wrapped up, this isn’t the last time we will see Superboy Prime and there seems to be a bright future ahead for him and his “supporting characters”.