REVIEW: Batman / Superman #21

WRITER:Â Greg Pak
ARTIST(s):Â Ardian Syaf, Vicente Cifuentes
LETTERER:Â Rob Leigh
COLORIST:Â Ulises Arreola
COVER ARTIST(s):Â Syaf, Danny Miki, Arreola
PUBLISHER:Â DC Comics
RELEASE DATE: 06/10/2015

Enter: Lex Luthor and Bat-Bunny.

Continuing on with the Superman sagaÂ Truth is this issue, showing how horrible the timing afterÂ EndgameÂ this arc has. Bruce is dead, his replacement is the law, Clark is hunted by hundreds of annoying tough-guys, and Lex Luthor’s ego will not permit him to accept that his greatest enemy has always been right in front of him.

This issue was fun and exciting, though it had its flaws. Pak delivers on another greatÂ Truth tie-in, changing gears since hisÂ Action Comics bit last week. While his introduction of both Batman and Lex are awesome, certain things weren’t as great. He seemingly recycled the same Clark-fights-tough-guys-while-monologuing-about-how-he’s-Superman scenario from AC #41, which wouldn’t be a problem, except that it’s fresh in our minds from only being a week old. And while his handling of Lois in the Divergence sneak peek was pretty great, her being snippy and self-righteous about the whole telling-of-identity deal in this issue is weird, because when a friend screws another friend over, they don’t act better for it.

In art, the issue was decent, but a bit too 90’s for me. Everything glistens or bulges, and it creates a strange atmosphere for a book that’s supposed to be humanizing the Man of Steel. Â The inking seems odd at times, and the colors weren’t bad, but weren’t particularly great either.

I do still like me some t-shirt/jeans Superman, but theÂ Lex Luthor design is not my favorite at all. I don’t know if he recently joined an 80’s hip hop group, but that particular outfit seems ridiculous, even for a bald billionaire sociopath with a power suit.

There are still some great things. The chemistry between Clark and Alfred was perfect. Clark always was a second son to Alfred, so it’s nice to see that companionship rekindled. I hope that Bat-Bunny and the Man of Jeans can put their differences aside eventually, because even this new, screwed-up continuity needs the World’s Finest.

Apart from some minor faults, this issue is a lot of fun, and should definitely be picked up by anyone following either theÂ Truth or post-Endgame storylines.

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Cedbill

Cedbill is a Las Vegas-based writer who is the founder and head editor at Coast Comics. He currently writes Phantom Squad, Mars Leighton, and Freedom Rave.