Superman: Birthright #7 Review

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Reviewer: Chris Delloiacono
Story Title: N/A

Written by: Mark Waid
Penciled by: Leinil Francis Yu
Inked by: Gerry Alanguilan
Colored by: Dave McCaig
Lettered by: Comic Craft
Associate Editor: Tom Palmer Jr.
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Publisher: DC Comics

Running long…

I’m one that’s all for some creative, but reasonable retconning of comic characters. I’ve never been one for strict continuity, especially in expansive comic universes like Marvel’s and DC’s, which have endured for forty years, or in DC’s case, much more. Superman: Birthright is an effort by Mark Waid to retell Superman’s origins in a more contemporary way, a way that ostensibly includes much of the hit television show Smallville‘s sensibilities. Even a casual observer can see that comics are not exactly as popular as they once were; so I can’t fault DC for this direction.

As a whole the series has been quite entertaining; the one major fault has been that the series is overlong and has taken a long time to get to the really important stuff. John Byrne rebooted in six issues. Waid’s tale is a tremendous undertaking, but doubling Byrne’s issue count seems like too much. I think this series could easily have been told in six parts, or eight maximum. While it’s all been entertaining, a bit of trimming would have made a world of difference

The changes continue…

A lot of the changes are finally starting to role in and make some semblance of sense. The hints that have been offered thus far are beginning to pay off. Now things are not making sense as it concerns the greater continuity of the Superman franchise, which is now reaching Hawkman problems (to see more on Hawkman’s problems check out the first of two Near Mint Memories columns dedicated to him), but as the whole of Waid’s narrative and the direction he’s going are concerned. The overall problems will hopefully be dealt with in shortly as regards the place this series will fit in the DCU.

The focus this issue is three fold. The start centers on Clark Kent’s difficulty fitting in at the Daily Planet. Waid’s analogy of him being like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is quite appropriate, and makes for a good laugh. The middle focuses on Superman’s new problems of being viewed by some as an alien menace and not the hero we all know he is. The final, and most interesting portions, center on Lex Luthor’s past in Smallville.

Former friends…again!

As most of you know, in the John Byrne reboot Lex Luthor never lived in Smallville and had no dealings with Clark prior to his emergence as Superman. Here, Waid is working to reintegrate the Golden Age relationship of Lex and Clark as former schoolmates. A relationship which it just so happens is being explored in the previously mentioned series Smallville. I for one am happy to see this classic approach returned to the Superman mythos.

The scenes between Lex and Clark really give Superman: Birthright the kick in the pants that it has needed. Finally, I feel like I’m getting fed some meat, instead of the steady stream of tofu that I have received as sustenance from the book. It took six issues, but we have reached the point, ladies and gentlemen. I don’t mean to be rude, the book’s been quite good; now, though, it seems the real game begins!

I must mention the stunning artwork by Leinil Francis Yu. I first caught site of this magician of the comic world a couple of years back during the excellent Wildstorm miniseries High Roads (written by Scott Lobdell; this is true gem). The linework is oddly distorted at times, but there’s an amazing wealth of emotion that stirs from the images he draws. Superman is the majestic (sorry for the pun) character he deserves to be when Leinil Francis Yu is moving the pencil.

Superman: Birthright has been a very good story thus far. Mark Waid doesn’t seem to be shaking the status quo up just for the hell of it. There’s a method to his madness, and I think when it’s all said and done, this series will help Superman be a character a lot more contemporary comic readers will care about.