REVIEW: Superman: The Stranger #1
Superman: The Stranger #1, “Chapter One”, is a new story set in the Golden Age of comics. Published as a Black Label series there’s also Elseworld elements that make this a truly unique take on the Superman mythos. This first issue shows the likely makings of an instant classic and stokes excitement for the next chapter.
The standard cover is by Wes Craig who also writes and does interior art for the book. It’s a great art deco looking piece that instantly tells us the time period we’re to expect this story to be set.
Dave Johnson’s variant leans into the patriotism of the era with Superman posing with The American Flag. The building and costume details also gives us an immediate time setting visual as well as making for a great cover.
The variant by Goran Parlov is a time placed take on the classic scene of Clark running down an alley and changing into Superman. This cover easily invokes the John Williams score along with the image of Christopher Reeve doing this in his movies.
Ethan Young’s variant demonstrates another iconic image as Superman jumps past an oncoming locamotive. Set in the Golden Age era, Superman doesn’t fly quite yet, so again we have another instant visual of when this story takes place.
Wes Craig gets colored by Jason Wordie for the interior art. This really is a great looking book wrought with fantastic depictions of the 1930’s and ’40’s. The fashion, architecture, and tech designs aside, there’s also a feeling of being invisible to the hustle and bustle of the era. Clark Kent really feels like a nobody in the sense of not standing out from anyone and the art captures this beautifully. This also adds to the concept of why Superman would wear such an elaborate costume. Standing out is something for only people of financial status, so no one would suspect a common guy like Clark to be capable of owning such an outfit. The panel work is also brilliant as Clark’s narration is set to the margins of the page so we get a full view of the artistic details shaping this world. To be quite honest, the art itself is worth picking up this issue.
Wes Craig also handles writing the story alongside Tom Napolitano as Letterer. While seemingly a tale from Superman’s earliest publishing era, there are a few things Craig has altered to make it stand alone. Instead of John and Mary (Ma’s original name) returning to the orphange to adopt the estranged baby, Clark indicates he remained there throughout his childhood. This is made all the more fascinating as Clark’s narrative is shown by writing a letter to someone. Someone who knows about the changes he’s gone through and some horrible event he was unable to prevent. He also doesn’t start out as a reporter due to the economic turmoil of the time and Lex isn’t the mad scientist, but rather a wealthy businessman or mafia type figure. These small changes add some realism to the setting and also reflects a sad comparison to our current geopolitical and economic situations. Still, Clark has an overwhelming need to help as he can but is plagued by the desire to be more normal and questions why he has his abilities. All in all, a great first issue and an intriguing setup from a bygone era with modern sensibilities.
(9/10) Superman: The Stranger is a simply fantastic issue from start to finish. This is a great tale for any Superman fan but especially for those that feel he’s too unrelatable. I can’t wait to see how this story unfolds or where it’s ultimately headed.
