Credits: Written and pencilled by Dan Jurgens, inked by Brett Breeding and edited by Mike Carlin.
Cast: Clark ‘Superman’ Kent, Doomsday, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Jonathan & Martha Kent, Ice and Bloodwynd (FFS!!)
Plot: This issue is a slugfest. Superman defends the city from Doomsday, trading blows with the creature as his reserves of solar power are worn down, leaving him vunerable.
He gets a moment with his fiancée, then goes back in determined to stop Doomsday, even at the cost of his life. In front of the world and his loved ones, that’s exactly what happens.
Notes: This is a 22 splash page issue. Every panel is a page and every page has impact. From the damage and devastation everywhere, so the moments were Lois has to watch the man he loves beaten nearly and then completely to death and can’t tell anyone who he is to her. We also see parents watch their child die on a TV screen with the same distance from the world. The world watches a hero fall, she loses the love of her life and they lose their son. It’s all there and the final scene is the crescendo of this song and it goes out on a high as the death of a hero comes.
Verdict: Combined as the writer and penciller are the same guy. 10/10 – If anyone after Byrne defined this era, it was Dan Jurgens. He wrote and drew Superman just as you imagine he would be. Strong, but kind, merciful, but powerful. When he falls, you feel it and your heart is pulled for the people left behind and that is where this issue shines. The big moments are all Superman in a knock down drag out fight, but the best is the little moments. Lois’ heart breaking as she loses the man she loves, the world not knowing it. The Kents mourn their adopted son, no one knowing that’s who it is. It’s all there being produced by a man who knows the character well and is a great story-teller. The inks are strong enough to render the pencils beautifully clear, but light enough that no quality is lost. The best inkers are often those that do the job so well, that they almost disappear in the final work. I notice, only because of it’s class. It’s like a good score, it’s not the focus of anything, but it adds to everything. This is a comic that could easily be a cheap cash grab, I bought into it at the time, but honestly it’s high quality and you can’t ask for more than that. It took his death for me to notice how great Superman was, but it’s a lesson I learned well and went back to read more and then read forward too.
Next Time: Back to WildStorm with Wetworks
My Marvel Life 