Rating:  -
I purchased the first four HC editions of the Superman/Batman series and enjoyed all of them. I even found the Vol. 4 mish-mash of multiple versions enjoyable.
But Vol. 5 is just sloppy. The writer's notes indicate he was trying to produce a modern Silver Age tale, but the execution is flawed. Characters change motivation and personality at the drop of a hat in a matter of pages. It is hard to get a real sense of continuity within the tale.
These issues are compounded by the patchy art - it is nothing compared to the success of Green Lantern. I really struggled with the final act - wondering out loud if I was missing pages!
Anything good? The concept itself is great. And thats about it.
Avoid.
Rating:  -
Chris H wrote,
I am a huge comic book fan. The interplay between Batman and Superman, two findamentally good people who clash constantly due to thier differing methods, is often fertile ground for comic greatness. You won't find any of that in this collection, or greatness of any other kind. Calling this collection on the same level as fan fiction would be a slap in the face to fan fiction writers everywhere. This is one author, who in his Alien/Predator stuff is usually pretty good, trying to be cute and show off his obscure knowledge of JLA history, COIE apparently not withstanding. I declare this collection apocryphal and DC should do the same. Skip it. Pretend it doesn't exist. To give it zero out of 5 stars is not enough. My first NEGATIVE STAR!
Rating: -
Firstly, take note that although this book is "number 5 in the Superman/Batman library" , it is not actually numbered that way on the spine of the book. Secondly, why, why, WHY was this storyline given the deluxe/hardcover treatment let alone even approved for publication. There are so many great DC stories around that aren't printed in hardcover format (Grant Morrison's Animal Man run, for example) that it just seems criminal that this story arc received that treatment. Oh well, that's my gripe! Moving along..
Jeph Loeb's entire run on this title was very much influenced by the Grant Morrison approach to comics - namely, create a "meta-arc" that can be read and enjoyed as shorter, self-contained stories, or appreciated and analysed as a greater, more meaningful level of story-telling. (Grant's runs on both Animal Man & JLA are perfect testaments to the effectivness of such an approach) It seems to me that, having Jeph no longer writing the book (he moved to Marvel) , DC were left in a bind to keep the book running. This story appeared around the time that DC were coming off of "52" and the effects of "Infinite Crisis" were still being felt throughout the DC-verse.
Enter Mark Verheiden. No stranger to Superman. A writer of great talent, sure. Team him with "up-&-coming superstar" Ethan van Sciver and (as DC no doubt thought) -- "instant magic". Right? WRONG! The initial set-up of this story is just WRONG. Throw Martian Manhunter into the mix - although it's not really MM (confused? Oh, that's only the start of the confusion) - and then the trouble sets in. Editorial on this book must've really gone to sleep. The key to this title's success is seeing Supes and Bats inter-react. By throwing in other characters, it only serves to muddy the purpose of the book. This isn't JLA, this is Superman/Batman. The stories need to be focused. The threat needs to be clear from the get-go - or at least as early as possible. Reading this story, it was clear that Mark was trying to weave a sense of mystery and menace which is all fine, but when one starts to grow bored and alienated from the events and the characters, you know you've been served up a dud. The ultimate revelation of just who is behind all of this (and I won't go into details, because it is all just so UNSPECTACULAR and UNNECESSARY) comes across as "huh? what? who are they?". I mean, the revelation (I use that term sarcastically) is akin to if, in Star Wars, Luke was told by Vader that it was, wait for it now, "that mechanic at the back of the Mos Eisley cantina who is your father!" Huh? Who? Yeah, it's EXACTLY like that. The only really good thing about this story is the involvement of Luthor in proceedings, but that's so minor that it's merely a footnote.
If anyone from DC editorial should happen to read any of these reviews, just take note, THIS IS THE REASON how and why a lot of your characters (in particular the BIG GUNS) become irrelevant and lacklustre. There are only so many poor stories that can be told before the sales plummet. And this story (along with the current arc being published) are proof that there doesn't need to be more titles starring the Big Guns (Superman, Batman, etc) , just more stories that are better conceived and executed.
DC does publish some fantastic comics (ALL-STAR SUPERMAN by Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely, is a prime example of how to do a book right, as is the current Kurt Busiek & Carlos Pacheco run on Superman , but that's not forgetting such debacles as Frank Miller's TERRIBLE writing on ALL-STAR BATMAN. The fact that that book is so incredibly behind schedule only serves to add to how putrid Miller's writing has become. More time should mean more thought, care and creativity? Well, not if you're FRANK MILLER it would seem. Oh, how the mighty can fall....
DC -- you're on notice! So take notice!
Rating: -
I, like many other reviewers here, have purchased and read all of the previous four Superman/Batman graphic novels. All of them, in their very own way, have been great (yes, even Vengence and Absolute Power had their moments of awesome-ness). However, this fifth entry is not only poorly written and choppy, but the overall story set forth by much of the other four books is completely thrown out the window. Verheiden can do some excellent writing. He's done it for previous works on Superman and his runs on Smallville are almost always "season higlight" quality. Here, on the other hand, he doesn't seem to know what to do with the majority of these characters. I didn't know who was who and why they were doing what they were doing even after finishing the book. I like a challenge when reading, but a good challenge; not something poorly written and choppy from cover-to-cover.
In the end, you can easily skip this novel as it serves no greater purpose in the entirity of the Superman/Batman series. If you are like me and you are a completionist, however, then you will already have this book ordered and/or sitting in front of you right now. Good reading!
Rating: -
Jeph Loeb's run on this title was fantastic. With a rotating artists like Ed McGuiness(Superman/Batman Vol. 1: Public Enemies) and Michael Turner(Superman/Batman Vol. 2: Supergirl), it was consistently entertaining. He tapped into something special with the Clark/Bruce friendship and presented epic stories deserving of the all-star heroes/villains that showed up. This 5th volume, written by Mark Verheiden, ruins this great series. Verheiden has written some wonderful comics in the past, including Superman: The Journey (Superman (Graphic Novels)), and his work on Smallville is wonderful. What happened here is at best confusing.
Verheiden tries to back up his convoluted mash-up with an afterword that gives a nod to silver age DC. If Verheiden wanted to take these characters in this direction, he ought to have started a new series instead of diverging so dramatically away from what we have come to expect from this one. The only thing that saves it is some generally gorgeous art from Ethan Van Scriver, although nowhere in the league of his phenomenal work on Green Lantern: Rebirth.
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