Adventures of Superman 5

     Because i was impressed by the simple and touching story told by J.M. DeMatteis in issue four of Adventures of Superman, I decided to keep following this series. Thus, I went ahead and read issue five, and i must say that the quality is still there, although it has different creators.
     Issue five is a collaboration between writer Joshua Hale Fialkov and artist Joelle Jones. While the first is a name i keep seeing pop up more and more in the news, especially after the incident regarding his departure from the two Green Lantern books he was supposed to begin writing, "Green Lantern Corps" and "Red Lanterns", i must admit i'm not familiar with Joelle Jones's work. After a quick search, I found out that she did quite a lot of work, mainly for Vertigo and Oni Press.
     The issue starts with a conversation between Lois and Clark in the newsroom of Daily Planet, which ends with a contest between the two of them to deliver the best story from a dog show in town. As Clark puts it, "A great reporter can find a story anywhere."
     This is a different Superman than the one presented in the previous issue. While in issue four, the focus was on Superman, on his fears and doubts, the spotlight in this one is on his alter-ego, reporter Clark Kent.
Gone are the weaknesses, that Superman being replaced by a confident Clark focused on winning this bet.
     Considering the title of this issue is "Slow News Day", you can assume, even from early on, the direction in which this story is heading and the fact that the title is supposed to be ironic. The "slow" day for Superman gives way to an action packed bonanza, in which the reader gets the sense that everything bad that can happen that day, actually happens, preventing Clark from getting the scoop.
     I found remarkably funny the way in which he deals with the menacing Toyman, in the split of a second, getting him from the safety of his robot-ducky to a bunk bed behind bars. Of course, this raises the question: "If he can defeat his villains that easily, why doesn't he ?"
     The writing isn't exceptional, but Fialkov manages to portray a gullible Clark, a boy scout completely focused on winning the bet, that he doesn't see the big picture. it Also, I noticed Fialkov's little nod to one of Superman's real life parents, Joe Shuster, naming the building housing the dog show after him.
     Instead, the art is top notch, Jones delivering dynamism to the action sequences and a lot of emotions through the characters faces. Although i'm not too keen on her Superman, and found the page wasted with Superman staring at the reader as pointless, she draws a human Clark which reminds me of Christopher Reeves, and that can't be a bad thing.

Adventures of Superman 4

     As i'm sure you already know, Adventures of Superman is a digital first series meant to showcase stories and adventures of The Man of Steel that are not connected to the current New 52  continuity. Thus, a lot of new writers and artists are permitted to let loose on this series, people who, otherwise, maybe wouldn't get a chance to play with ol' Clark.
     This is the my first taste of this series and i must say i'm pretty impressed. Being a comic book created for the digital space, it's best to be read in landscape mode, like Injustice: Gods Among Us, another digital comic published by DC Comics.
     This is a stand alone issue, created by the very talented people in the comic industry. It's written by J.M. DeMatteis, who is one of my favorite Spider-man writers, the man behind "Kraven's Last Hunt", one of the most serious und underrated Spidey stories. Two other famous names are on art duty, with layouts by Giuseppe Camuncoli, who came up on my radar during Jonathan Hickman's run on Fantastic Four, and finishes by "the legend" Sal Buscema, who i'm sure does not need a presentation.
     The story starts with a proud Superman, pondering on his abilities and the good he brings in the world. As always, DeMatteis uses introspection to deliver important insight into Clark's psyche, presenting us with a man who has fears regarding his role in humanity's development.
     As the story unfolds, we see that a man has been following him, being present at every incident he resolved, showing up even in his Fortress of Solitude. His fears are brought to the surface by this man, who seems to know exactly what words to say in order to make Superman doubt himself right before he swoops into action to save Earth from an alien invasion. This man's role in the story seems unclear, as we cannot discern if he is a friend or foe.
     In a few repetitive panels, we get to see Clark's failure, time and time again. It's a simple, yet effective way, to show the utter force of the enemy he's facing. Only after the man shows up, delivering a speech about the ideals that Superman embodies, he manages to pick himself up and go on.
     Our Superman manages to save the day, only to awake into a a new world. We learn that everything was a kind of virtual reality created in the future, a "ride"in an amusement park, meant only to give the user "the Superman experience".
     It's a simple, yet emotional issue. DeMatteis resorts to his strengths, showing us a human Superman, one that has doubts about his role in the world. Concerning the art, it seemed a bit rush, maybe because it was a mix of two different styles. I didn't particularly like the emphasis on the repeated panels, considering the fact that they occupy almost 2 pages out of a 22 pages comic, but i understand the reason they went this way.
     If it's goal was to make me want to read more of the "Adventures of Superman", then it succeeded in spades !