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One of the most daunting tasks in comics these days comes from keeping a book fresh and interesting.  How much harder that must be when you are working with Superman or Batman, one of the big icons. Add on the fact that all of space-time stands on the precipice of being rent asunder for DC’s Final Crisis and you wonder what you could do with Superman right now that might be interesting.  Surprisingly enough, a well-timed story on Superman’s first Memorial Day in Metropolis, innovatively mixing in some ‘first-meeting’ between characters, gives us a very relaxed, enjoyable story. 

“Memorial Day,” despite having a crisis around every corner like any normal Superman story, seems to have a very holiday feel to it.  The story pace comes across as Superman telling the story to someone, with certain parts that he was unaware of filled in for the audience.  I love the idea that the first time that Superman met the original Green Lantern, Alan Scott, occurred on Memorial Day, a fitting tribute to a World War II vet like Alan.  Superman also gets his first tussle with the monster Solomon Grundy and we learn there may be more connecting Grundy to Superman than we previously thought…

I did not recognize the name of the writer, Vito Delsante at all, so I dug through the web and found out that this book actually marks his first ‘mainstream’ publication.  His other works include working for Speakeasy Comics and his own web comic Stuck.  It surprised me to learn he holds a day as a manager for Jim Hanley’s Universe, one of New York’s biggest comic book stores, right around the corner from where I sit during the day. 

I hope to see more by Vito. I enjoyed the pacing of the book. The reveals, while mostly fan-boy wank material, feel honest and give the story a sense of realism to Superman history.  His portrayal of all the characters hits to the period he aims for in this issue.  This includes Grundy and revealing how he actually plays a part in the turmoil that surrounds Superman creates a nice little touch of added substantiality to the issue.

The art in this issue really pulls it off.  Julian Lopez, who people are really beginning to notice, does not disappoint with his pencils in this issue at all.  Detail, emotion, proportion are all there.  Fabrics are all there and the capes move with the characters rather than being around them.  I did find it funny that Clark seemed to have his mouth hanging open in many of the panels, though.  Add in Bit’s inks and Marta Martinez’s wonderful coloring and you have a gorgeous looking comic.  Marta’s coloring really impressed me. I think the colors brought a perfect shine to Julian’s art and really rounded the art of this book out nicely.  All this and an Alex Ross cover to boot. 

Superman 676, originally slated to be an issue of Superman Confidential, provides a good, fun, tantalizing story that makes for a great breather in between all the big story arcs that just finished and are about to begin.  The superb writing and killer art make this a Superman story to read and a great way to acquaint you with a new writer and art team without being in the middle of a huge yearlong saga, which I hope to see on many more books.

Superman #676
“Memorial Day”
Writer: Vito Delsante
Artist: Julian Lopez
Inker: Bit
Colorist: Marta Martinez
Letterer: Comicraft

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