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 !