Super Sons, Super Sons Annual, Supergirl: Being Super

Super Sons 1-10

I still have no idea when Jon Kent showed up.  Somewhere in the mess of New 52 and Rebirth. Was there a Final Crisis in there too?  Whatever. In any case, this next generation of World’s Finest, written by Peter Tomasi, is a lot of fun.  There’s a mix of the familiar, with the wholesome Superboy and arrogant Robin perfectly mirroring their fathers, and the new, as neither one of them has the practical experience or psychological maturity to handle things the way their parents would have.  

The result is an entertaining pair of bickering kids who are growing into both their friendship and partnership at the same time.  (They don’t quite sound their age, their insults and quips are far too clever.)

Robin takes a lot of crap for his lack of powers.

Jon is way too reasonable to be ten years old, but I am a huge fan of how he’s not afraid to sensibly suggest calling his dad when faced with a threat he can’t handle.  (He’s the anti-Harry Potter. Seriously, the number of times things would have gone better if he’d just told Dumbledore…) Of course, Damian always nixes the idea, supremely confident in his abilities to handle any situation.  He’s really the kind of character that I normally detest, but he somehow makes it work. He’s a lot like his dad that way.

Superman and Batman both show up as parents, and I like seeing them in that new role.  It shows them in a different light, while remaining true to their characters. They have the advantage of refuting the usual kid whining with unusual rejoinders.  

They’re both doing their best, and it’s humanizing to see that they’re just as unsure of what they’re doing as us mere mortals.  

This is where I mention how awesome Jorge Jimenez is on art.

Love the body language.

Storywise, issue eight is around where Tomasi starts losing steam, or at least where I start losing interest.  The kids’ jaunt into Clayworld (actually Ygarddis) didn’t do much for me, and I dropped it soon after. But until then, I had a great time hanging out with them.  

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? No

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Nice (Fine for 8-10)

Super Sons Annual 1

The Super-Pets team up and solve a mystery.  The potential for the concept is sky high, and I’d love to see this done better.  I laud Peter Tomasi for the attempt, but the mystery isn’t compelling enough and the art by Paul Pelletier isn’t cute enough.   I’m keeping it because it’s still different enough.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? No

Would read again? No

Rating: Didn’t suck

Supergirl: Being Super 1-4

Who is Mariko Tamaki, because I wish she could extend this wonderful miniseries into a regular title.  Oh, she wrote This One Summer, which I think I’ve read.  I’ll have to take another look at it.  Anyway, this is a wonderful origin story for Kara Danvers.  Tamaki’s writes her as a convincing high schooler with two best friends who has to deal with a traumatic loss while figuring out to best deal with her powers at the same time.  Kara’s completely relatable as confused teenager who wants to do the right thing in the face of bewildering circumstances. And it all ends with a final panel that’s almost, but not quite, as good as the ending of First Thunder in terms of setting up what the reader knows will be a deep and rich relationship.

And of course, Joelle Jones.  She’s so damn good in this, I can’t even.  

So much Bechdel test passing.

This.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? Yes

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Good