Superman: Lois and Clark Paperback – September 6, 2016

Superman: Lois and Clark is a great way to build up to DC Rebirth. This book, much like the following Rebirth event itself, is a very clever meta-commentary, functioning both in-and-out-of-universe without ever breaking the forth wall, and likewise, immersion. This Superman is truly the classic Superman, not just in themes and personality, but literally. He is the guy we knew prior to the time-shift of the New 52. This series did the incredible job of reintegrating him into the universe without retconning or rebooting things yet again. That alone speaks volumes for the quality here. Better yet, the story is both exciting and emotional, and is the first comic in a while to make me audibly chuckle at times. I cannot praise this volume enough.My only complaint is the cover art they chose for this book. It's kind of a cluttered mess, and even a bit of a spoiler. Clark and Lois spend most of the book with their son in the dark as to who his dad really is, yet here they went and plastered him seeing the red cape for the first time right on the cover. It's not a huge thing, but having seen all of the cover art featured throughout the book, it is a shame they didn't pick one of the many other fantastic options.

Collects Superman: Lois and Clark issues #1-8Dan Jurgens knocks it out of the park with this one. This story takes place after the "Convergence" event. The Superman and Lois Lane of the pre-Flashpoint DC Universe are back, and now living in the New 52 Universe. They showed up before the New 52 Justice League, but pre-Flashpoint Clark decided not to reveal himself as a hero in order to keep Lois and their baby son, Jon, safe.Behind the scenes, Clark is watching events unfold in similar (yet different) ways to how things happened on his Earth. Because of this, he is able to stop some supervillains before they become a problem for the world at large. Along they way, Jurgens creates an awesome new villain for Superman named Blanque. This one is a real threat to the powerful Superman.The New 52 Hank Henshaw shows up on the scene, and Clark remembers everything evil that he did on his Earth, so he starts to investigate his potential evilness in order to stop him before he turns bad.Lois is doing her part by using her investigative-journalistic skills to shine a light on the criminal underworld.Taking on new last names (The White Family), Lois and Clark raise their baby to a pre-teen on the New 52 Earth. Clark eventually dons a black Superman costume, but still remains in hiding while secretly doing good.I found this to be both heartwarming and engaging, and I was really interested in the multiversal nature of this story.

Superman: Lois & Clark is an interesting book.On the one hand, it isn’t going to make immediate sense what’s going on if you haven’t been following the New 52 (full disclosure: I skipped a massive swath of New 52 due to my displeasure over how they chose to handle some of my preferred heroes during the re-launch). It relies on the reader having at least some knowledge of the Flashpoint, among other events that lead to the creation of this now defunct time line.On the other hand, it’s an interesting look at the lives of pre-New 52 Lois Lane and Clark Kent in the wake of the Convergence/Flashpoint. This eight issue arc tells the story of what they’ve been doing with themselves leading up to the end of the New 52 run of Superman comics. As such, it also acts as a prequel to the DC Rebirth Superman relaunch.Without getting into too many details so as to avoid spoiling the story, the plot basically revolves around Lois and Clark trying to integrate themselves into a world where they don’t belong while simultaneously raising a half Kryptonian son who is thus far unaware of his father’s linage as the Man of Steel, and who is unaware that he too is destined to be something more than just another ordinary human.Perhaps surprisingly, this storyline manages to succeed where the Bryan Singer-directed Superman Returns failed: it introduces us to the son of Kal-El and manages to make him an engaging character in his own right that isn’t the traditional irritating little super whelp (I’m looking at you Damien Wayne). With luck, this characteristic will carry on into the DC Rebirth.This also marks the return of what is arguably the most popular version of Superman: the beacon of hope who fought Doomsday and sacrificed his life to save the world; who returned from the dead to continue to protect the people of the world from threats both terrestrial and alien in nature. While he is depicted as being a bit on the broody side in this arc, he’s a damn sight less dour than the New 52 version of Superman that’s been grinding away at being the Last Son of Krypton since late 2011.With an engaging story and attractive artwork, Superman: Lois & Clark is a tasty appetizer to tide the wait for the first trade release of DC Rebirth: Superman, which is due out January 10th. It comes highly recommended.

I really enjoyed this new version of the old Superman mythos.In this book, the original pre-52 Superman and his wife, the original Lois Lane, find themselves on the same Earth as a younger Superman, where people are so suspicious of Superman that he is not as universally trusted as the original Superman was in his universe.Clark and Lois, taking the last name White, keep their secrets from the rest of the world. Superman acts in secret, helping those who need help, and does his best to protect Lois from her enemies, including Intergang.They are also raising a son, who does not know they are from a different universe, but his suspicions grow.I don't want to share more, because I know you'll enjoy the stories on your own. If you gave up on Superman after the universe changed so much, you might want to give this series a try. it is a fresh reimagining of the mythos, and provides the opportunity to follow along as a new Superboy grows into manhood, one day at a time.