Superman Week Part 2: Superman: Secret Identity #1
Originally Presented at Comixtreme.com
Superman Week continues here at the Back Issue Bin with the first issue of one of the best Superman miniseries -- not just in recent years, but of all time. Ironically, this was written before Superboy-Prime made his rather auspicious return in the pages of Infinite Crisis.
Quick Rating: Excellent
Title: Smallville
What happens when you share a name with the most famous fictional superhero in the world… and then you become him?
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Art & Colors: Stuart Immonen
Letters: Todd Klein
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Cover Art: Stuart Immonen
Publisher: DC Comics
Review: For years now, from his breakthrough work on Marvels to his personal work on Astro City, to a great run on Avengers and a flawed but heartfelt effort on Power Company, Kurt Busiek has shown us superheroes in fantastic, unusual worlds. In this book, he brings a superhero into the most unusual world of all... our own.
Although not labeled as an “Elseworlds” series, this book certainly qualifies as one. It takes place in a world just like ours, with no superheroes and where Superman is a character in a comic book. A young couple in Kansas has a son with dark hair… and so naturally, they have to name him “Clark.” Our new Clark Kent spends his entire life dealing with the stigma of sharing a name with a comic book character and having none of the perks… until a camping trip and a nightmare, and he wakes up having all the powers of his fictional namesake.
Busiek’s strength for years has been in telling stories about superheroes and making them into fantastic character pieces. This time he’s doing it with the most well-known superhero in the world… but not. It’s an incredible twist, and one has to wonder if Busiek was thinking of the Superboy-Prime character that was introduced (and dismissed) back in Crisis on Infinite Earths, and who has a very similar backstory. This is like taking that character and showing what kind of stories could have been told had he stuck around.
Busiek isn’t the only reason to get this title, though. Stuart Immonen was one of the best Superman artists of the past decade, and this is some of the best artwork he has ever done. He colors it himself straight from his pencils. His Clark Kent is young but powerful, strong but normal. Red lights in the dark, explosions, an aerial view of a town that has been flooded - every page of this issue is a work of art. This is absolutely beautiful stuff.
If you’re a fan of Superman, if you’re a fan of off-the-wall superhero stories, if you’re a fan of fantastic artwork - this is a comic book that has it all. It’s one of those rare projects that actually justifies the use of the overpriced “prestige” format - this is a book to hold on to, to keep, and to love. Superman has never been this good.
Rating: 5/5