Superman Unchained 1 Cover
You think you know the Man of Steel. You think you know what makes him tick and what scares him most of all. This book is here to make you think differently. Superman Unchained is one of the biggest things in the comic book world, especially given the creative force behind it. What I can tell you off the bat is that this will be a darker, more psychological Superman book than has come out in a long time. With the creative genius of Scott Snyder (Batman and American Vampire), and the pencilling talent of Jim Lee (seriously, how do you not know this name?) there’s no way this couldn’t be as awesome as the Ghostbusters teaming up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Let’s talk about Scott Snyder for a bit. Something tells me he wouldn’t mind. This man who made vampires more badass in comic books than on screen and put a little extra bit of badass into Batman, is now tackling Superman. That’s right, Mr. Snyder is writing for the most powerful hero in the New 52 and sending him down a dark path. The narration is as close to perfect as humanly possible. The dialogue works wonderfully and the plotting is superb. I have a hard time finding anything wrong with the writing as it kept me engaged the whole time. I definitely looked for something not to like, but it just wasn’t there. There were a few twists i didn’t see coming, which is exactly what every writer needs to do, as predictability is the last thing a good story should have. The pacing is good, but I couldn’t help but hope for a slightly faster pace in the following issues.
Superman Unchained 1
The art, beginning with Jim Lee’s pencils, is fantastic. The man hasn’t lost a step since Batman: Hush and Superman: For Tomorrow. In fact, I believe he’s gotten that much better since those books. The first thing you notice about Lee’s art is that the lines flow and then there’s Superman’s oft-debated muscularity. Some things never change, but when it works this well, why bother? Lee’s interpretations of Superman, Clark, Jimmy, Perry White and Lois are exceptional. They look even better when inked by Scott Williams, whose inks are a great complement to Lee’s pencils. The colors from Alex Sinclair pull everything together. The effects from the colors add a bit extra to the images, especially in the first few pages. Those pages in particular really helped set the pace for the issue. The art team deserves a huge hand for helping pull us all into a story arc, which I feel will be truly epic in scale.
Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen in Superman Unchained 1
This issue gets a 5/5. There’s nothing wrong with this issue and I highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Superman or any of these creators. It’s also a perfect way to segue into Man of Steel this Friday.
Superman in Superman Unchained 1
DC Comics
Superman Unchained #1 Review (2013)
Writer: Scott Snyder
Pencils: Jim Lee
Inks: Scott Williams
Colors: Alex Sinclair
Letters: Sal Cipriano
Nerd Coast 