Current Superman creative teams... good, bad or indifferent?

Howdy all! After suffering through the Bendis/Romita Action Comics run and Bendis’ overall bungling of the Superman titles, I’d like to get feedback on the current (or upcoming) creative teams currently plying their trade on the Superman titles. The stories seem ok… not spectacular, but not rotten either. Being the 30th Anniversary of “The Death of Superman” and I really do miss the creative teams of the early 1990’s, I’d like to gauge how Superman’s doing now. Is their excitement for the coming months? Pessimism? Ambilivence? Let me know what you think! :slight_smile:

Happy Wednesday!
Brian

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Well, Action Comics is currently being written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, and he recently just finished a big, epic storyline called The Warworld Saga which I personally think will be considered one of the all-time classic stories in Superman history. So…yeah, that one is pretty good.

Then there’s Superman: Son of Kal-El, written by Tom Taylor, which has some great moments and ideas, though not without it’s problems. Similar to Taylor’s other on-going book, Nightwing, there’s a lot of great personal moments, but I think the overall plots became just a little too decompressed. Taylor’s Son of Kal-El book is ending soon, but it is coming back as a miniseries, which I think will help pick up the pacing a little bit.

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Philip Kennedy Johnson’s Action Comics is great, but Tom Taylor’s Superman: Son of Kal-El is really bad.

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I’ve read The Warworld Saga. Not a bad story I’ll admit. But run it up against the 30th Anniversary of “The Death of Superman”? It’s not that good lol. But it is one of the better storylines of the last 15 years. “Superman: Son of Kal-El” is an enigma, at least to me. It has it’s bright spots, and some good action on occasion, but it also has a tendency to take a left turn out of nowhere, leaving the reader puzzled. The Bendix storyline wasn’t the best, I’ll admit, but it does have its moments. I’m glad to see Jon getting a mini-series to pick up where this series leaves off, but there’s one problem with it from my view. The main villain is supposed to be Earth-3’s Ultraman. If you read “War on Earth-3” from earlier this year, Ultraman got shipped off to the Phantom Zone and Earth-3 is now run by Amanda Waller’s “Justice League”. It’ll be interesting to see how they resolve that little plot twist. :slight_smile:

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“Superman: Son of Kal-El” isn’t that bad, but it isn’t exactly the shining beacon on the hill, either. It could’ve been handled better, but it does have its bright spots. In my view, it is far better than anything from the Bendis run on both “Action Comics” and “Superman”. Those were god awful. Especially the end of the “Action” run when John Romita, Jr. was the artist. Those are barely readable. The art was rubbish, and the writing was convoluted. Also, not the best way to bring Conner Kent back into the Super-family.

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I agree, but that isn’t really saying much.

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That’s true. They’ve definitely been some low points of the Superman titles since the New 52.

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I don’t know how much my opinion is going to help as I enjoyed stretches of the Bendis run and I notoriously dislike large stretches of 90’s Superman. I’m also in the minority of liking Superman: Son of Kal-El slightly more than I’ve liked Johnson’s Action Comics. However, I have enjoyed both and hope they continue delivering solid stories moving forward!

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Don’t forget to throw in World’s Finest, i.e. the best Superman title of the moment. Waid and Mora are killing it!

As for the other Super-titles, PKJ is wonderful on Action, Taylor is good on Kon-El and while not an ongoing series, Mark Russell and Mike Allred are producing wonderful work on Superman: Space Age.

In my estimate, Space Age will join the ranks of Red Son, All-Star Superman and other highly-acclaimed Superman minis of the modern era, while Warworld Saga will become a modern classic among other highly-acclaimed arcs from modern ongoing Superman series.

I’m enormously excited for what’s to come in the Superman line come 2023, especially Superman itself.

We need a new volume of Superman, and the fact that Joshua Williamson is behind it makes me all the more inclined to say “Make mine Superman!”

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It looks like upcoming issues of Action Comics might be a tad crowded with this new extended “Superman Family”, but Johnson has earned my trust so I will reserve judgment until more of this new saga unfolds.
Williamson on the main Superman book has to give us a good dose of the Daily Planet and Lois and Clark doing some “real” reporting, or I will be disappointed.
But with the reinstatement of the secret identity and of course Supes being back on Earth, I think things are looking–dare I say it–UP! UP! and AWAY! for The Man of Steel.

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Yes! :superman_hv_3: To borrow a phrase from @TheWifeofJasonTodd, “Say it louder for those in the back!”

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Hey, it’s all good :slight_smile: There are parts of the 90’s run that weren’t my favorite as well. The Bendis run was what it was, for good or bad. It had its moments, but overall, particularly the final run in “Action Comics”, wasn’t the best. I respect your opinion, and glad you shared it :slight_smile:

Happy Thursday!
Brian

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Here here! Glad to see the main “Superman” title being relaunched. No disrespect to “Superman: Son of Kal-El”, but I’ve missed the old title. Also looking forward to “Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent” to see how Jon’s story unfolds in 2023 :slight_smile:

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Fingers crossed! They need to get the Metropolis mojo working again. It’s been far too long since we’ve had Daily Planet take center stage, along with intrepid reporting of Lois and Clark. Let’s hope 2023 rings in some more good stories :slight_smile:

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Right? The time is right for the return of Superman’s solo mag, especially since that time will be during his 85th anniversary.

Likewise.

At this point, I’m in for everything Superman in 2023. Each announcement about the line has so far made me say (as I smile, Reeve-style) “I want it.”

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I think I mentioned it earlier, but the only “fly in the ointment”, so to speak, is the “Adventures” mini-series. The main villain is Earth-3’s Ultraman. If you read “War on Earth-3” from this summer, we last saw Ultraman being trapped in the Phantom Zone, Earth-3 being taken out of the Multiverse to protect it from the then-upcoming “Dark Crisis”, and the introduction of Amanda Waller’s “Justice League” for Earth-3. Now, the question is this: How do they get Ultraman out of that sticky wicket in order for him to be the bad guy of “Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent”? Not that I’m complaining. Jon’s been due a rematch with that putz for a couple of years now :slight_smile:

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Oh, I did, and I loved it.

As Funky Flashman is fond of saying, “Don’t ask, just buy it!” :grin:

SN: You earned Cool Points for the swell use of “sticky wicket”, mate.

slides a fat satchel of Cool Points down the counter

Hey, if Jon wants to deck Ultraman so hard that he flies into a Coca-Cola sign, Superman II-style, I’m all for it! :superman_hv_4:

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Yeah, a little “Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” investigative reporting would be very appreciated. And a small dose of humor now and then would be a welcomed change from all the existential stuff constantly bombarding the reader. Lighten up DC! Superman is supposed to be hopeful and fun!

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