Reviewer: Tim Sheridan
Story Title: Time Elapsed
Written by: Greg Rucka
Pencilled by: Paul Pelletier
Inked by: Rick Magyar
Lettered by: Rob Leigh
Colored by: Richard & Tanya Horie
Associate Editor: Tom Palmer Jr.
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Publisher: DC Comics
So, a few months ago, at the San Diego ComiCon, Greg Rucka told us all he was going to shoot Lois Lane. And we all had a good laugh about it. Until now. Because he did! He shot Lois Lane! I mean, even Lex Luthor wouldn’t do that. But last month, while Lois was on assignment halfway across the world, Lois was taken down by a shot to the chest. And apparently, Superman heard the shot, from all the way on the other side of Earth, which, while streaching the limits of Superman’s power, is kind of cool.
The first page is an absolutly stunning one, showing in a matter of 2 seconds, Superman flying across the globe, to get to his lady love. The next thing we see is Superman holding Lois and taking her to a hospital. In Rucka’s hands, Superman has been an incredibly human character. We see in just this issue, him emotionally weak, and for the first time in quite a while, completly powerless to his situation. He has to rely on the makeshirt hospital in the area to revive his wife, until the Justice League steps in to help out. Now, I don’t read JLA too often, but their brief cameo in this book was incredibly effective, showing what a tight knit group of people (not heroes, but people) make up the orgainization.
Meanwhile, back in Metropolis, the news that one of their own has been taken down reaches the Daily Planet. Haven’t seen much of Perry and Jimmy as of late, so their appearances here were quite welcome. Also, Rucka continues his story about Ruin, the utterly bizarre villian who has been in the book since the beginning of his run. It’s by far the least interesting aspect of the book. Although you can tell that he feels right at home writing for all of SCU scenes. I wouldn’t be surprised if eventually we see a Rucka written SCU mini.
Anyways, back to this comic. Paul Pelletier is a great comic book artist, wonderfully suited for superhero books. Though in this book, which because of the writing style, is the most realistic of the Superman books, I was kind of missing Matthew Clarks’ regualar work. Pelletier’s art wasn’t bad by any means, just a little out of place.
The final scene of the book shows just how much love Superman (and Rucka) have for Lois. It was a brief, but touching scene, and it worked well in the here, but is somewhat confusing, considering the anti-Lois theads that Chuck Austen is attempting to bring up over in Action Comics, especially with last week’s run-in with Lana. I’m not saying that either story is the ‘right’ way to go as of now, and even though the books are separate entities from each other, there should be some consistancy throughout. That said, this was some quality Superman storytelling.
The Final Word: Another very nice Superman story from Rucka, who continues to show just how human this alien is.
