PopSyndicate.com

Everything that’s good and bad about Geoff Johns writing, all wrapped up in one comic book.

Geoff Johns’ tale of Superboy readjusting to life has been a surprisingly sweet story.  From the farm fields of Smallville to the sewers of Paris, Conner Kent is trying to rebuild his life by reconnecting to the people who matter to him.  First it was with his surrogate mother Martha Kent in #1 and then, in Adventure Comics #2, he had a nice night with his girlfriend, re-establishing their relationship.  In the latest issue, Adventure Comics #3, Conner goes out looking for his best friend Tim Drake, who has had issues of his own to deal with lately.  Johns breaks this issue’s story up into 3 parts; life in Smallville when having to deal with a super powered dog, having a heart-to-heart talk with his best friend when neither of them are probably in the best head space, and then the dullest part featuring a potential father-figure who views Conner more as property than as family.

Charlie Brown and Snoopy have nothing on Conner Kent and Krypto.  For whatever weird shenanigans Snoopy pulled that embarrassed goodl ole’ Chuck, he never dropped off defeated villains on the school’s front yard like Krypto does this issue.  Of course, Charlie Brown never had a secret identity to maintain as well like Conner Kent does.  Artist Francis Manupul gives Krypto such warmth and friendliness as he only tries to impress his master.  Krypto is a playful dog and he wants to play with Superboy.  The poor dog doesn’t understand that the time maybe isn’t the best to be playing.

Of course, Superboy has to be a bit of a jerk towards Krypto because that’s what Superboy does.  For as much as he’s Superman, Geoff Johns’ story has to remind us that he’s also equal parts Lex Luthor.  “Bad dog,” isn’t enough when scolding Krypto.  “Pa died!  Don’t you understand?!” Superboy has to add to his scolding.  It’s one of those moments that Geoff Johns can’t leave alone and has to push to its dramatic limits in a line that’s symbolic of everything that’s wrong with Adventure Comics.  He has to pound into our heads the dangers that exist around Superboy, as if the lingering memory of his own death wasn’t enough to remind us that it’s a dangerous world that he lives in.

For all the nice moments like a dog and his boy or two best friends catching up, Johns has to remind us that we’re reading a book tied into a lot of continuity.  Essentially, Adventure Comics is about a boy trying to figure out what he wants to be when he grows up and his two choices are Superman or Lex Luthor.  But why does Johns have to essentially make this a story about who gets Superboy’s soul, Superman or Lex Luthor?  By having Superboy bring up Lex Luthor and Brainiac and Pa Kent’s death here, Johns is just pummeling the readers with Superboy’s dilemma instead of letting it flow through the story.

Johns plays it all a bit more subtle in the second part of his story as Superboy tracks down Red Robin in Paris.  Both boys have been forced to see and experience things boys shouldn’t have to at their age.  While there’s a general creepiness to the fact that while Superboy was dead, Robin tried to clone him (can you really clone a clone?) Johns, Manupul and colorist Brian Buccellato create a nice mood around the story, establishing that both boys really don’t know what to say to each other to comfort or uplift the other.  Red Robin is actually much more screwed up and on edge this issue as he carries a lot of emotional baggage after Bruce Wayne’s death.

The biggest problem with Johns’ Superboy story here is that, at best, Superboy is functioning in a supporting role.  The last two issues have revealed more about Wonder Girl and Red Robin than they have about Superboy.  This issue even reveals more about Krypto’s loyalty than it does about Superboy.  Going back to the start of Geoff Johns’ run on Teen Titans, Conner Kent has remained a blank state, searching for a purpose.  Of what we’ve seen in this series so far, Conner is only interesting insofar as it’s been fascinating to see Johns tell about the reaction to Conner’s return.  Wonder Girl’s search for what their relationship is or Red Robin’s lack of direction are far more gripping than Superboy trying to figure out chem class or checking off what makes him the same as or different from Superman and Lex Luthor.

The backup Legion of Super-Heroes story, written by Johns and Michael Shoemaker and drawn by Clayton Henry, is perfunctory enough.  It was these Legion backups that got me to check out this series in the first place but they’ve been very standard and pretty unmemorable stories.  This story of Sun Boy and Polar Boy going to Polar Boys home planet is a standard buddy story is a pleasant enough diversion but hardly ranks as anything more than marking time until the next big Legion story.  It even has to push the point in the end by making comments about how this story may be related to other events going on elsewhere.

Adventure Comics #3
“Superboy, the Boy of Steel Part Three”
Written by: Geoff Johns
Drawn by: Francis Manapul
Colored by: Brian Buccellato
Lettered by: Steve Wands

“Long Live the Legion Part Three: Running Hot and Cold”
Written by: Geoff Johns and Michael Shoemaker
Drawn by: Clayton Henry
Colored by: Brian Reber
Lettered by: Sal Cipriano

2