Written by Greg Rucka; Nunzio DeFilippis; & Christina Weir
Art by Darryl Banks; Karl Kerschl; Adam Dekraker; Wayne Faucher; Cam Smith; Robin Riggs; Tanya Horie; Richard Horie; & Pat Brosseau
Cover Art by Karl Kerschl
SUMMARY:
Less-than-subtly entitled “Blame and Remorse,” this issue was published by DC Comics for November 2005. As both Superman and Clark Kent, the Man of Steel defends his friend Pete Ross’ tarnished reputation, despite the public scorn once Ross was revealed as the nefarious Ruin. Arguing with his wife, Lois Lane, Clark then seeks out Zatanna Zatara to mystically detect if the late Maxwell Lord’s recent mind control has left any latent effects on him. After a disheartened Zatanna’s confession that her controversial brain wipes included an effort to reform Winslow “Toyman” Schott, Superman & Zatanna track down Schott.
Rescuing homeless children from a delusional Schott’s makeshift jail cell inside a condemned building, Superman battles Schott’s toys while Zatanna magically enlightens Toyman re: his latest horrific offenses. An exhausted Zatanna receives a much-needed pep talk from the Man of Steel. Elsewhere, Lex Luthor and his assistant, Mercy, locate the female Parasite in the Metropolis sewer system.
REVIEW:
It’s a relatively good story, but the all-too-obvious visual switches between art teams is distracting. For instance, the Clark-Lois sequence is written particularly well, but the suddenly middling artwork doesn’t rise to the occasion. While the dual notions of Superman encouraging Zatanna to forgive herself after Identity Crisis and Superman’s own regrets following Wonder Woman’s murder of Maxwell Lord are solidly played, the Toyman’s implied treatment of his young captives is unsettling.
Further, the cliché of the psychotic villain somehow escaping imminent death is weakly deployed — signaling Toyman’s voluntary demise would have likely made a more fitting conclusion. If anything, a consistent visual approach would have certainly bolstered this issue’s lackluster art. On the plus side, though, Superman & Zatanna’s underrated team-up chemistry (i.e. the neat cover image) makes up a lot of the difference.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
The single-page “DC in Demand” column hypes some upcoming projects, including All Star Superman # 1. A thumbnail cover reveal of Adventures of Superman # 645 is also included.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 7½ Stars
