Flashpoint Friday was...well a couple days ago, but I was busy. So now it's Flashpoint-Late-Sunday-night/Monday-morning!!

I know a number of websites have put this up but I figure I should do this as well...I'm really not sure how I am feeling about Flashpoint as of yet...a little excited, but I just caught up on a lot of these books, so a break would have been nice...oh well, breaks are for pussies...and government workers!

---

---

---

---

I'm not really all that excited by this one...probably will just take a look at a friend's copy if they happen to pick one up.

---

---

---

I think this has potential...I might have to wait for a head's up on whether it's good or not though...


Anyways, that is enough for now...I think I will do another post about Flashpoint sometime in the near future and probably something about "Fear Itself" as well...

So I figured I would start a review-a-day activity where I (you guessed it!) review an issue, trade, OGN, what have you every(ish) day...I say "ish" because I guarantee that I will not be able to keep this up because of school, work, general laziness and what-have-you, but I will do my best. So here I go...day 1!

Today while at the library I saw Superman:Red Son on the shelves and remembered that I had been meaning to read that for a while. I first heard about it on the "Science...sort of" podcast (another thing I am terribly behind in following) and then immediately forgot about it. I knew it was by Mark Millar, whom I generally tend to like because of his absolute craziness, and it seemed really interesting from the various reviews I read. I was surprised and very excited when I saw that it was penciled primarily by Dave Johnson someone whose covers always blow me away, and who I had never seen actually do interior work. Superman: Red Son is an elseworlds tale based on the premise of Superman growing up the Soviet Union rather than the U.S. It was originally published as a 3 part series in prestige format and eventually won the Eisner Award for Best Limited Series in 2004.

Story:

The writing by Millar is very strong in this. It feels as though he really thought about the ramifications of a seemingly simple change like Superman crashing down just a few hours later. Some of the dialogue felt a little choppy at the start, but it really started to flow during the last 2 parts. The weaving in of some of the other DC characters was done very effectively, especially Wonder Woman and Batman (who is basically the same but with a sweet fur hat). And of course, Millar brings his characteristic "what the...oh SHIT!" moments, and a great ending that worked well within the confines of the story. In essence, the story is a character examination of Lex and Superman, and Millar pulls this off beautifully.



Art:

As I previously stated, I was so excited when I realized this was drawn by Dave Johnson. A few pages in I was already on my iPod searching the internet for more books that he penciled. I should also give credit to Kilian Plunkett who co-penciled the last 2 issues. The character designs were great (even Batman's hat...it's cold in Russia), and the page layouts were dynamic and nicely varied. I think some real credit should go to Paul Mounts, whose colouring is absolutely stunning - the pages are vibrant and colourful, with emotion and theme conveyed beautifully with the colours chosen. All in all, the entire art team did a fantastic job in making this an extremely beautiful book.


Final Word:

Superman: Red Son is a classic Mark Millar-fun-superhero-romp with a unique take on the classic Superman mythos and beautiful artwork.

Rating: 9/10

The trade can be picked up on the cheap at Instocktrades