Books : Superman: For Tomorrow, Vol. 2

In association with Amazon.com

Rating:

- Awesome art, so-so story
Collecting the second half of 100 Bullets writer Brian Azzarello and artist extraordinaire Jim Lee's run on Superman, For Tomorrow Vol. 2 continues as the Man of Steel finds out what caused the Vanishing: a phenomenon which caused millions of people across the globe to disappear, even Supes' beloved wife Lois Lane. When he discovers that he himself is indirectly responsible for it, Superman goes toe to toe with Wonder Woman to set things right, culminating in a reunion with Lois, and the discovery of the surprise villain pulling the strings. Just as in the issues contained in the first volume, Azzarello's storytelling isn't what you would expect from the gifted writer, and the pencils of Jim Lee with inks by his longtime partner Scott Williams are what make For Tomorrow worth a look, which is the sole reason that these issues were top sellers when this arc originally ran. Lee's mouth watering rendering of Lois Lane is by far the sexiest the character has ever looked, solidifying that Lee hasn't lost a step. All in all, fans of Lee's art will want to give this a look, but if you missed out on the single issues, you're better off waiting until a cheaper priced paper back edition of the For Tomorrow volumes is released than laying down cash for both overly expensive hardcovers.

Rating:

- SOLID STORY AND OUTSTANDING LEE ART
Back in the late 80's and early 90's, a number of hot, young artists began making a big splash in comic books. Guys like Todd McFarlane, Whilce Portacio, Rob Liefeld, Erik Larsen, John Romita Jr., and many more, were taking comic readers by storm. But the guy who I thought was the best out of this vast group was Jim Lee. One can debate artistic talent all you want and I'll not say Lee was a better artist than any of these gentlemen. What I liked about Lee was how his panels flowed. I thought he told a better story than most other young artists who relied more on flash and pin-up pages. Lee's art always had a more cinematic feel to it and I became an instant fan. With Lee's Wildstorm Productions now under the DC banner, he has had the chance to work on DC's biggest heroes: Batman & Superman. That all brings me to this hardcover collection Superman: For Tomorrow Volume 2, collecting issues #210 - 215 of the Superman comic.

For Tomorrow continues the story began in the first collection. Million of citizens of Earth have simply vanished into thin air including Lois Lane. Superman begins to finally figure out the mystery and what's worse, he finds he may be indirectly responsible. He begins the dangerous plan to try and rescue the missing people with the aid of a powerful device. But this plan draws him into conflict first with Batman, and then with Wonder Woman in a no-punches pulled brawl has the Amazonian comes armed with a magic dagger.

Superman eventually finds himself drawn into an alternate dimension in a seemingly idyllic world, vaguely familiar. But the tranquility is soon shattered by a troublesome band of marauders including a bestial foe called Equus. As Superman defends the people he is eventually confronted by a mysterious villain from Krypton's past, setting up a deadly climax.

For Tomorrow is a different Superman than were used to seeing. He's certainly grimmer, brought on by the realization of his role in the vanishing of all of these people. His conflict with Batman, while only verbal, is perhaps the harshest stance we've ever seen him take with the Caped Crusader. Even Batman was taken aback by what Superman had to say to him. His battle with Wonder Woman, while short, showed that he was not going to let her interfere with what he had to do. Jim Lee's pencils, along with Scott Williams' inks are a perfect complement to this darker storyline. I found the contrast between the austere darkness of our world and the lush serenity of the alternate world to be interesting. The people who were kidnapped clearly found this strange new world more to their liking. The revealing of the villain and the origin of the vanishings was well thought out and took me by surprise.

My only nit would be with the rather choppy dialog of writer Brian Azzarello. While plotted well, the dialog in some spots is clumsy and fragmented and characters are constantly talking over other characters. It's a minor complaint but it is one that definitely hurts the flow of an otherwise strong story. All in all, though, a very good story highlighted by the always outstanding Jim Lee art.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

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