Superman #2

Inspirational and action-packed, Bendis' Superman is essential reading for DC fans both old and new! Read Full Review

I'm loving what Bendis has brought to the table. The last shot of Superman wondering if he will ever see his family again is just perfect. I'm 100 percent on board with this direction. It's thrilling. Read Full Review

Bendis is still finding his way around Superman, but the early returns are definitely encouraging. The book hasn't quite gotten back to its creative peak during the Tomasi/Gleason run, but Bendis is on the right path. Read Full Review

Superman #2 is a powerful story of foretold consequences that expands on the Kryptonian lore introduced by Bendis. It also features some of the best artwork in a DC ongoing series right now from Reis and the creative team. The stakes are high for Superman, and his feud with Rogol Zaar will only worsen as the horrors in the Phantom Zone wreak havoc on Earth! Read Full Review

The next book promises a lot of excitement in the form of multiple super-powered threats Clark's going to have to deal with. I'm curious if the dialogue will be toned down to focus on the action, however, I get the feeling the balance will be striking. Read Full Review

This story is straightforward in some ways, complex and deep in others. The earth is in the Phantom Zone and Superman has to get it out and defeat Rogol Zaar, pretty simple. However, intrigue is created by the unknown, who did it? How will Superman save the earth, because I assume that he will? More importantly, why does Rogol need an army to defeat Superman? The cliffhanger would imply that he will get one. I highly recommend this book to fans of Superman who want a superhero story that is not paint-by-numbers. Read Full Review

Superman #2 works regardless of its strange structure and a big part of that is the amazing art. Reis, Prado, Albert, and Sinclair put on an artistic tour de force, throwing powerful, detailed images at readers that keep them turning the pages. Even though Bendis makes some strange decisions, its still an entertaining issue that sets up multiple threats for Superman to deal with. Everything about this book screams epic, and the art brings the whole thing to the next level. It allows the book to transcend the disjointing story choices and makes this a worthy follow up to the first issue. It fails in small ways, but succeeds in huge one. Read Full Review

This issue is largely setting up the challenge facing Superman and his allies (plus we get a tiny bit more backstory for Zaar) - presumably next issue, all heck will break loose. Read Full Review

Bendis and company deliver another solid "Superman" issue with a distinct, intimate voice, a solid sense of characters, vibrant illustration, and an enticing cliff-hanger. Read Full Review

If you've been on the fence about Bendis' Superman, do yourself a favor and pick up this issue. Read Full Review

While the main concept that we're running with here about Earth in the Phantom Zone makes me cringe, it's the kind of thing that fits into the larger Superman mythos from the silver age that at the same time makes me grin. I like the audacity of it and I'm frustrated with my adult brain working through all the reasons it wouldn't work right. There are a lot of fun bits in delving into who Superman is here and I really like what we get out of Rogol Zaar after some lackluster moments in the miniseries. It's shaping up well enough that I can get behind the character and want to see more. There's plenty of earned faith with Bendis for a good run on this series and he's delivering strong in general along with Reis so that this is a very easy pickup and largely enjoyable read. Read Full Review

Ivan Reis' art is amazing. I love how vibrant every panel looked from the composition to the colors. Everything celebrated the power of Superman and the art does a great job of driving the story and keeping me interested in what happens next. Read Full Review

What grabbedme about this issue is the artwork. Reis, Prado and Albert seem to bechanneling their inner Neal Adams. The inking has a rick texture, and thefigure renderings demonstrate stances and facial expressions. I am inclined torevisit past work by Reis and Prado to see if this is a recent development intheir individual styles, or if there has always been a certain mimicry in theirdrawings. Not that thats a bad thing, by any means. Read Full Review

Bendis' Superman continues to display a strong voice, but Rogol Zaar's is still a bit mysterious. Read Full Review

With this second issue, Bendis' momentum is still going strong. It's still too early to make any judgements about Bendis' new direction for Superman overall, but he's off to a promising start. Read Full Review

Brian Michael Bendis delivers one of the more hopeful takes on the Man of Steel in his second issue of Superman, channeling that Christopher Reeve wholesomeness even as the world threatens to shake itself apart in the Phantom Zone. Read Full Review

To present an adversary as a legitimate threat to Superman can be difficult and often relies on gimmicks, magic or a certain green stone from his home planet, but Bendis and his team have brought us a tangible danger that is likely to stretch him to his very limit. I am excited to see where this story goes and its all thanks to a creative team who truly understand the character. Read Full Review

Superman #2 is a slow tease with beautiful art. Readers are treated to a few moments of wonder and longer moments of plodding passive nothingness. Reis' art is enough to bring readers back by itself. In spite of itself though, Bendis' story also makes a solid case for a return to the next issue. Read Full Review

SUPERMAN #2 excels in its characterization of Superman. However, it's static plot makes for a narrative that moves all too slowly. Read Full Review

It's a big, explosive sci-fi tale that has a lot of ideas but not quite the execution to pull them off, and some really odd dialogue quirks. Read Full Review

The Superman series continues the story threads set up in Man of Steel and handles it pretty well with the help of the art team, despite the god-awful character work. However, there is a constant fear that he will mess it up somehow Read Full Review

Gorgeous art by Ivan Reis and Joe Prado can't overcome a leaden story that goes virtually nowhere between the first and last page, and the highlight of which is a wink-and-a-nod in-joke. Read Full Review

The ideas and dialogue is promising; the action is top notch and eye-popping.Brian Michael Bendis has demonstrated an excellent amount of finesse with Superman and DC, but it's simply time to move on from Rogol Zaar. Read Full Review

I need to feel excited about this book, eager to read the next part. I need to be brought into the world and the story like I have in other Bendis books like Alias and New Avengers. There is almost a tentative feel to this. I wouldn't mind some risks.Maybe he is still getting acclimated to this playground? All that said, it's gorgeous. Reis and Prado's Superman is really iconic. Read Full Review

Bendis' Superman has taken a bizarre turn with dialogue and average story. Read Full Review

Over narration, bad dialog, indecipherable art at times and a red haired Barry Allen make up only some of the problems with this book that seemed more focused on referencing Superman IV instead of telling a decent story.  I hope things change quickly because as of right now I'm not enjoying any of the Superman titles that are being given to us. Read Full Review

The new issue of Superman leans too hard into the generic monologuing, both from the hero and the already overly generic new villain. Read Full Review

Frank

Aug 10, 2018

Here we go again. Ivan Reis takes on another long term assignment. Wait the first 10 pages are done by two other artists. Seriously, I was going to by a treat for my shop guys if he made it to # 6 before I opened book. Do me a favor DC when you announce these issues in ads don't even put the artists names in. If you think Reis and Lee are draws forget it. Has Lee ever made it past # 8 recently. Maybe Ivan was too busy doing the cover to do inside. No excuse now. Not twice a month. Before you announce this stuff have three issues done. Miss the dys of Kirby, Adams, Kane Aparro etc when unless something happened and you had a fill in issue you could count on an artist. Jim Cheung does 3 issues of Justice League gone for 3,4,5 comes back for 6 gone for 7. Why bother? If the art is too detailed now maybe cut back your backgrounds and do more pages. people will adjust. more

Batman Jones

Aug 08, 2018

[My original review for posterity. I originally gave this issue a rating of 4.5.]: "I don't see what people apparently see in Bendis. I find his voice to be utterly generic. I do love me some Ivan Reis art (esp. Superman) so that's what the points are for. "If you're looking for a good Super-book this week that seems to well accomplish what Bendis seems to be trying to do I'd recommend Supergirl #21 by Andreyko and Maguire instead. Even with Rogol Zaar they drank BB's milkshake." I just gave Superman #2 a second chance and I think I just had so much bias going against him (based only on his prior DC work which I found really unremarkable) I wasn't able to enjoy his writing. On a re-read I finally felt like I got what people enjoy abou t Bendis and I enjoyed it too. His writing is more natural than I was giving it credit for. I'd felt he was trying too hard and not advancing the ball very much earlier and I suppose it would be fair to say I projected that onto this issue. If I hadn't had that bias this would have been a solid 8 from me, as it was on my re-reading of it, nearly a week later. On second read I enjoyed the cameos particularly much. And I love that Bendis thinks of the Justice League as potentially including Plastic Man and Hawkman along with the current membership... It gives the DCU a lived-in feeling that New 52 robbed it of... It honors the history. (Ralph would do that better than Plas but I was happy enough to see either of them.) I wonder if it's coincidence they each launched series' three issues back. Regardless, I loved seeing each in a JLA context. And Bendis' tweets since he took the gig, showing old DC books as he did his research, were very endearing. He's obviously done a lot of research and he's obviously really enjoyed it. And it's paid off. (After all, he didn't color Barry's hair like Wally's.) I'm giving it an extra point as a mea culpa. I don't have any problem with reversing myself when I come to a different opinion. And I quite like it when it happens in a positive direction, not so much when I cease to love a thing (oh, Louis CK). "I contain multitudes" and all that. We all do. more

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• MKW69
• Doomy

Super17 - Aug 8, 2018

Coming from a Tom king's Batman fanboy thats a little hypocrite, his writing for Batman "voice" is The worst

Batman Jones - Aug 13, 2018

I bow to your mastery and give your comment a 10/10, Super17. Dang, I got served, y'all.

Pundo

Aug 10, 2018

Foi uma boa edição, mesmo eu não estando muito contente com o plote desta saga, foi uma revista consistente na historia que conta, ouve um estranho momento entre o Clark e o Barry, principalmente quando tiram a mascara e parece ser o Wally, imagino que seja um erro do desenhista ou colorista, mas o editor não deveriam deixar algo assim passar

Simon DelMonte

Aug 09, 2018

For years I heard complaints about the decompressed storytelling of Brian Michael Bendis. And sure enough, this is a very decompressed story. But I kind of love it. Bendis writes such a great Superman that he makes up for everything about this issue that shouldn't work. Well, maybe not his take on the Flash. There's only half an issue of story here, but all of it grabs me. And who could fail to love the art?

Nihilist

Aug 08, 2018

Similarly to his limited Man of Steel run, Bendis is taking his time to tell a story - I personally like that, but if you've expected non stop action and quick development, you won't find it here. Barely anything substantial happens in the issue, and instead of unraveling events of the main story, we get some insight into Superman's thoughts and feelings, showing his willingness to be a hero, to make a change.

egonnn244

Aug 08, 2018

Another fine issue. The story doesn't move forward very much, but the characterization Bendis gives here Superman is spot on. He is heroic as they come and hopeful to the core. It is shown especially well in a conversation with Green Arrow that Superman recalls. We also get more on Rogol Zaar. We learn that he was around for a long time and that he was basically a galactic bogeyman that many people feared. And now he is in the Phantom Zone with the whole Earth and Superman. And I must say, I like him. Unfortunately, we also get in this issue the biggest flaw that plagued Bendis' Superman in most issues. His portrayal of the Scarlet Speedster. I don't want to write idiot, but his Flash definitely isn't the smartest guy in the room. H is remark about figuring something out because he is a scientist felt really weird and out of character for Barry. And one more thing. Is it just me, or did someone made a mistake with Flash's hair? I could swear that Barry Allen has blond hair while the red-haired Flash is in Sanctuary. more

Synthozoid

Aug 10, 2018

Pretty good, except for the goofy Flash dialogue.

DVE

Aug 20, 2018

This is a reacting to disaster issue. Stakes are setup and we learn what happened to Rogol Zaar after he went into the Zone and that he isn't responsible for the current crisis. Bendis' Justice League still needs some work. Bendis' Superman remains impeccable, some of his best individual character writing in memory. I don't dislike Rogol Zaar like some but I think he needed a rest before coming back. He's going to need some depth of he is going to stick around. Gorgeous art, colors are washed out on the flat paper, I think the colorist needs to adjust.

Ollie44

Aug 10, 2018

The art and Superman’s inner dialogue makes this a decent issue. There is more of an attempt to make Rogol Zaar more interesting. The issue ends suddenly and I miss how quickly Superman assesses his situation at the end without starting to take any action.

KFuqua

Aug 14, 2018

Nice art, but Bendis still hasn't impressed me at all.

mrDovydas

Aug 30, 2018

Great artwork and somewhat interesting story, but the it feels that nothing happens in the issue. Some of the dialogue was outright bad. So far this book is a complete opposite of Bendis' Action Comics, which has been fantastic.

ohhaimark

Aug 08, 2018

The second issue in Bendis' Superman run proves to be not his worst issue, but certainly nothing I would label as a "must-read." The main problem with this issue, is that, plot-wise, nothing happens until the last few pages. I appreciate that Bendis is great at writing the internal monologue of Clark Kent, but seriously, something needs to happen while he is narrating the issue. It's a common problem with Bendis' Superman comics in my opinion. Some of the new scenes from Rogol Zaar's point of view do show some good storytelling, albeit pointless, but unfortunately I have never thought Zaar was a good villain. He reminded me of everything people hate about MCU villains and this issue is no exception. At least this story arc opens up the poss ibility of at least giving his character a fitting conclusion, but I really wish Bendis would get to writing the classic villains like he's been promising for a while now. That said, the art is fantastic. Ivan Reis' is pulling out some beautiful work now, and I highly recommend this issue for the art. Still, this issue ends up feeling like too much filler for me, despite the strong narration. I still will follow this series, as I do see slight promise in its pages. more

SloboSOY

Aug 09, 2018

Superman 1 was a good surprise. This issue two give too much challenge for that I would be interested to see where it will go. The earth in the Negative zone & Rogol Zaar as a foe would be largely sufficient. But no Bendis make the stake bigger & the possible help vanishing quickly. Cover - I take the variant. Not in link but nice 1/2 Writing - Bendis do a pretty decent job. His superman feel right. But I'm not fond of too many problems who feel as if Bendis have already a Deus Ex ready to solve all this. But I want Superman, not some magical/science/other stuff trick to solve things. And I don't like have superman fearing to have more than he can chew. 2/3 Arts - Reis & Prado make a hell of job. Love it. 3/3 Feeling - Not what I wan t to read right now. 0/2 more

daddyT

Aug 10, 2018

note to Bendis: the Flash is not Deadpool. They both wear red, I know, it's confusing. But really..... an otherwise good book, ruined by how idiotic they want the Flash to be. /baffled.

A Dawg Most Dirty

Aug 15, 2018

This issue was a combination of recapping and stalling. I probably could have skipped this issue and moved onto the third issue.

MKW69

Aug 09, 2018

Phantom Zone doesn't work that way. Rogol pisses me off. Batman talks like Damian.

Spacey Medicine

Mar 05, 2019

This was not very well-written and I'm not interested in it or what happens. I don't think characters were handled well, nor the plot.

Nightmare of Solomon

Aug 15, 2018

Any comic that has Batman taking a shit as part of the narrative is a badly written comic. Not to mention Rogol Zaar is the most boring DONUT STEEL CHARACTER. If I wanted to read about this cosmic warlord that is so threatening to entire civilizations, I'd read Dragon Ball Z, because Frieza does a better job at that than Rogol Zaar.