Superman: Earth One Focused on Action and Interaction

The third volume in the worlds most expensive series with the greatest publishing interval is finally here -- and it's worth it on both counts.

SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE's third volume picks up right where the second volume left off -- with the world leaders aghast at this new Superman's brashness at deposing a despotic leader, and the United States military complex hiring the two most brilliant minds on Earth to devise a way to stop him: Lex and Alexandra Luthor.

Oh, and it introduces us to: The Superman Signal! But more about that later.

Young Clark Kent is finding his way around his new life as a reporter for the Daily Planet, and coming to terms with the idea that he might be able to have a real life, with real relationships. His closeness to his next-door-neighbor, Lisa Lasalle, would be actress and part-time escort, is growing and fostered by Ma Kent's maternal pushing. His relationship with Lois, however, is... well, less adversarial after Clark confronts her over one of her pet projects. And his address to the United Nations is so much cooler than the one Christopher Reeve delivered in SUPERMAN IV.

J. Michael Straczynski has delivered a lot of character interaction in this story -- which, by the way, has a whole lot of satisfying superhero action in it, as Earth comes to the attention of none other than Zod. We get to see a little bit more of Kryptonian history because of this -- and we get to see, unfolding right in these pages, "The Secret Origin of Lex Luthor" -- or rather, the origin of why Lex Luthor hates Superman. You're going to be surprised by this original motivation in a series that's redefining the Superman mythos, proving you can create an interesting, original re-do without just adding in an armored battlesuit.

Ardian Syaf is still on board with this project as well, and his pencils and inks are consistently superb throughout, whether doing a panel or a splash; and be assured, when the creative team uses a splash page, there's something pretty darned dramatic happening. And for those who've been on board since the beginning, do a side-by-side compare of the cover art with volume one.

SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE is the third hardcover comic in the series. We still haven't seen an indication that the EARTH ONE titles co-exist, or if they're just... Oh! Wait! We do have an indication that all the EARTH ONE stories co-exist in the same universe! Which ought to mean there's a JUSTICE LEAGUE: EARTH ONE somewhere in our future. But given how long these books take to produce, it could be several years before the titles see the convergence of the teams.

Straczynski and Syaf are knowledgable industry veterans, and SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE is a lasting testament to their storytelling abilities.