Superman #208 Review

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Reviewer: Mathan “I had mono, once” Erhardt
Story Title: For Tomorrow part five

Written by: Brian Azzarello
Penciled by: Jim Lee
Inked by: Scott Williams
Colored by: Alex Sinclair
Lettered by: Rob Leigh
Editor: Will Dennis & Eddie Berganza
Publisher: DC Comics

The issue opens with Father Leone at the hospital. Things aren’t good. Apparently he’s got a cancerous brain tumor. But good news arrives in the form of a med tech named Orr. Well he’s not actually a med tech, he’s a covert ops government agent who offers to cure Leone’s cancer, He tells Leone about his encounter with Superman, then leaves his number, in case Leone wants to take him up on his offer.

Later as Father Leone sits on an island off of Metropolis, Superman comes to continue telling Leone the story of what happened in the last year. He tells Leone about how after he took the device that caused the Vanishing he’s caught some flak from his fellow JLAers.

He takes the device to his fortress of solitude, and while he mulls over what to do with it, he gets a call from Aquaman. He responds to the call and finds an aquatic monster about to attack Metropolis. Meanwhile a mysterious woman visits the side of Orr and Superman’s meeting.

Azzarello has caught a lot of flack for his pacing on this story. Personally I’ve been enjoying the story. Azz’s writing has been superb, and continues to be. The scene between Kal and the JLA is particularly well written. And the meeting between Orr and Leone is both menacing and enlightening. It looks like Azzarello’s critics will get some pretty pictures to look at next issue.

Lee’s art never fails. The issue is full of great images; an “S” symbol aflame, Superman arriving to meet Leone, Superman trying to intimidate Batman, and the conversation between Aquaman and Superman. The last three pages have great cliffhangers.