Ricky Church reviews Superwoman #1…
“Who Is Superwoman?” part one! Lois Lane takes flight! Now powered up with the abilities of Superman, Lois pledges to carry on the super-legacy as Superwoman! There’s only one problem: Lois’ new powers are killing her, and neither she nor her friend and confidant Lana Lang know what to do about it. Will Lois even survive long enough to learn the deadly secret of Ultra Woman?
SEE ALSO: Check out a preview of Superwoman #1
As DC Rebirth continues, it seems we’re just getting comic after comic featuring the world of Superman. There’s Superman, Action Comics, New Super-Man and now Superwoman (not to mention the upcoming Supergirl and Trinity in September). This series features the Lois Lane of The New 52, as well as a surprise character, gaining superpowers in the wake of New 52 Superman’s death and wanting to honour the legacy left behind by their friend and hero. It’s an interesting premise and this first issue delivers on the characters, though it doesn’t live up to its fullest potential just yet.
The best thing so far about Superwoman is the fact superstar writer and artist Phil Jimenez is heading this title. It’s been a long time since Lois Lane, particularly The New 52 Lois, stood out so prominently in a book and Jimenez makes the character sound fresh, yet familiar; its almost like Lois is back to her old self. Though Lois is the leading character, Lana Lang actually steals the show from her for the most part as she helps Lois understand her new powers in much the same way she helped Clark all those years ago.
Lois and Lana’s uneasy friendship is at the core of this book and their personalities click well together. Jimenez writes some good back and forth banter between them, harkening to their past. Its funny how two characters that did not like each other much in The New 52, especially during the recent ‘Truth’ storyline, are now dependent on one another. A lot of interesting material is mined from this new relationship, though it also must be said that Lois and even Lana have always been more interesting without superpowers, showing off what they can do as regular human beings. Whether these newfound powers detract from what makes them great remains to be seen in the months ahead.
As already mentioned, Jimenez is a great artist and he makes some very good character designs and knows just what to focus on. Jimenez makes Lois and Lana stand out on their own, using different types of body language to really differentiate them from each other. The only awkward thing about the art is the fact that Jimenez fills nearly every page with a lot of word balloons or thought boxes, cramming the book with dialogue. It’s quite a talky issue that sometimes takes attention away from the artwork. Matt Santorelli and Jeremy Cox compliment Jimenez’s work with their inks and colours respectively, though, helping the art speak for itself. Whenever Lois and Lana are on the page they’re always the ones who standout, as it should be.
Superwoman is off to a good start with its first issue and its good to see Lois Lane in such a prominent spotlight once again. Her interactions with Lana are the shining points of the book along with Jimenez’s art, though the artwork tends to get lost with the massive amount of dialogue throughout the book. Hopefully this won’t be much of an issue as the series continues, but the interesting premise and character work are enough to make readers want to come back for more.
Rating: 7/10
Ricky Church
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Originally published August 12, 2016. Updated November 14, 2019.
