Scans: World of New Krypton #9-11
World of New Krypton 9-11: Written by Greg Rucka and James Robinson; art by Pete Woods
AKA "New Krypton's Greatest Detective"! ^-^
The late middle of WoNK lagged a bit with seeming sidetracks into diplomatic relations between New Krypton and other galactic nations--I enjoyed watching Kal kick ass with diplomacy, but as a plot it did slow down. A lot of WoNK seems to have been world-building, getting us to care about the culture and its people and hope for NK to become a better place (most likely so we'll feel worse when it's inevitably destroyed or re-shrunk).
The last few issues of WoNK turn into a murder mystery. The mystery itself isn't terribly riveting and mostly ends up telling the folks on NK what we, the readers, have already known for a while (General Lane has been jerking their chains and trying to provoke a war). However, I loved it for a couple of reasons. First is Kal being awesome, and second is what's being done with General Zod's character.
By giving Zod a world to fight for beyond his vendetta against Jor-El's son, Rucka has rounded out his personality and turned him from a crazed, vengeful lunatic to a man with his own mission and a reason to protect instead of merely destroy. I'm sure the eventual fate of NK will re-kindle his hatred for Kal, and that makes me sad, because he's much more interesting now. Like in this scene where he (still recovering from the attempt on his life) and Kal discuss the fact that Non follows Kal around all the time.
Another Council member is murdered, and Adam Strange happens to show up in the locked room (via Zeta beam) at the same time, and so is accused of his murder.
Adam Strange is snarkier than I thought he was. I like that:
Clark is terribly happy to see an old friend--it's clear that he finds Adam a sort of mirror of himself: Adam an earthman who calls an alien planet his home now; Kal an alien who calls Earth his home now.
And here we get the "New Krypton's Greatest Detective" moment:
*grin* I'm imagining Clark saying to Bruce "Hey, I became a detective while you were gone!"
Bruce: "Don't muscle in on my turf, all right? Stick to the punching things."
I think I might actually have ice cream vision.
Kal has a tense moment when one of the Council members gets medieval on him about the fact the main suspect is the leader of the Labor Guild:
I really like Alura's expression and posture--she knows how Kal feels and agrees, but doesn't want Kal to get in trouble.
Kal goes to visit Zod again and get some feedback about the suspected killer:
BTW, Ursa in this series fascinates me. As far as I can tell, from the moment Zod was shot (and maybe before) she's always there and never speaks a damn word. I don't know if Rucka is hinting at deep emotional complexities and a damaged psyche (it's hinted her nerve was shattered when Brainiac took Kandor and massacred her unit, and she has compensated by fanatical loyalty to Zod)...or if he just didn't feel like giving her any lines. Though she's so prominently drawn in some scenes, and so strikingly, notably silent, that I'm hoping it's the former. Hopefully we'll find out when NK has to face down Brainiac again (spoilers for WoNK 12, but I think anyone could have seen that coming).
Kal gets Tyr-Van to tell him where the Labor Guild leader is to be found, and tracks him down--only to find himself betrayed:
At the conclusion of #11, they bathe Kal in red-sun radiation and then open fire on him (don't worry, he doesn't die!)
#12, the conclusion, also has some fantastic Kal-El and Zod in it, but it probably deserves a post of its own later. :) In short: I liked this series. It was a very fresh take on Kal-El and excellent world- and character-building, although the plot was a bit meandering.
AKA "New Krypton's Greatest Detective"! ^-^
The late middle of WoNK lagged a bit with seeming sidetracks into diplomatic relations between New Krypton and other galactic nations--I enjoyed watching Kal kick ass with diplomacy, but as a plot it did slow down. A lot of WoNK seems to have been world-building, getting us to care about the culture and its people and hope for NK to become a better place (most likely so we'll feel worse when it's inevitably destroyed or re-shrunk).
The last few issues of WoNK turn into a murder mystery. The mystery itself isn't terribly riveting and mostly ends up telling the folks on NK what we, the readers, have already known for a while (General Lane has been jerking their chains and trying to provoke a war). However, I loved it for a couple of reasons. First is Kal being awesome, and second is what's being done with General Zod's character.
By giving Zod a world to fight for beyond his vendetta against Jor-El's son, Rucka has rounded out his personality and turned him from a crazed, vengeful lunatic to a man with his own mission and a reason to protect instead of merely destroy. I'm sure the eventual fate of NK will re-kindle his hatred for Kal, and that makes me sad, because he's much more interesting now. Like in this scene where he (still recovering from the attempt on his life) and Kal discuss the fact that Non follows Kal around all the time.
Another Council member is murdered, and Adam Strange happens to show up in the locked room (via Zeta beam) at the same time, and so is accused of his murder.
Adam Strange is snarkier than I thought he was. I like that:
Clark is terribly happy to see an old friend--it's clear that he finds Adam a sort of mirror of himself: Adam an earthman who calls an alien planet his home now; Kal an alien who calls Earth his home now.
And here we get the "New Krypton's Greatest Detective" moment:
*grin* I'm imagining Clark saying to Bruce "Hey, I became a detective while you were gone!"
Bruce: "Don't muscle in on my turf, all right? Stick to the punching things."
I think I might actually have ice cream vision.
Kal has a tense moment when one of the Council members gets medieval on him about the fact the main suspect is the leader of the Labor Guild:
I really like Alura's expression and posture--she knows how Kal feels and agrees, but doesn't want Kal to get in trouble.
Kal goes to visit Zod again and get some feedback about the suspected killer:
BTW, Ursa in this series fascinates me. As far as I can tell, from the moment Zod was shot (and maybe before) she's always there and never speaks a damn word. I don't know if Rucka is hinting at deep emotional complexities and a damaged psyche (it's hinted her nerve was shattered when Brainiac took Kandor and massacred her unit, and she has compensated by fanatical loyalty to Zod)...or if he just didn't feel like giving her any lines. Though she's so prominently drawn in some scenes, and so strikingly, notably silent, that I'm hoping it's the former. Hopefully we'll find out when NK has to face down Brainiac again (spoilers for WoNK 12, but I think anyone could have seen that coming).
Kal gets Tyr-Van to tell him where the Labor Guild leader is to be found, and tracks him down--only to find himself betrayed:
At the conclusion of #11, they bathe Kal in red-sun radiation and then open fire on him (don't worry, he doesn't die!)
#12, the conclusion, also has some fantastic Kal-El and Zod in it, but it probably deserves a post of its own later. :) In short: I liked this series. It was a very fresh take on Kal-El and excellent world- and character-building, although the plot was a bit meandering.