When confronted with super powerful villains, Allysun and The Sunturians, Superman must use his whits to defeat them. However, these efforts result in Superman running late for Lois Lane’s housewarming party, which results in Diana Prince (Wonder Woman) arriving before him and being faced with mingling with his supporting cast upon meeting them for the first time. But things don’t run smoothly, when Green Lantern villain Hector Hammond manipulates everyone’s minds, attracting the attention of Orion of the New Gods, who recently entered the New 52 via Wonder Woman.
I must admit, I love the art on this series. DC stated that they wanted a younger, sexier cast of heroes and making Superman sexy is a challenge due to his wholesome image, but Kenneth Rocafort really comes through in that regard. Diana also looks quite beautiful, but that’s not as big a challenge. I loved that on the surface, Diana and Lois have similar features and in another artists hands, they might be drawn identically. But here, terrifically they look nothing alike. I also really like the stylized geometric panels and background images. They give the book a unique look.
I was happy to have Clark and Diana interact a bit more as their “relationship” has been woefully underwritten, considering the hype surrounding it. (It’s never even been acknowledged in Wonder Woman’s own book.) Unfortunately, they don’t get much dialogue in before Hammond’s mind control takes over. This issue was a bit of a filler, but it had nice elements, for instance the fact that Superman must use his knowledge rather than his fists in battle. Next issue should be a lot more exciting, but this one wasn’t bad.
All in all, great artwork, some nice story points and solid characterization.
SUPERMAN #19
Written by Scott Lobdel
Art and Cover by Kenneth Rocafort
