When someone cut him off in traffic, the otherwise mild-mannered writer thought, "You're lucky I don't have superpowers. Downer Ave.Īuthor of the bestselling "Mistborn" fantasy novels and many other books, including the final volumes in Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series, Sanderson was driving in West Virginia, lost and late on his way to a book signing in Pittsburgh. Sanderson will visit Milwaukee on Friday evening to read from the book and chat with fans at Boswell Book Company, 2559 N. Rather than go nuclear on a West Virginia highway, Sanderson funneled that moment into a thrilling new sci-fi novel, "Steelheart" (Delacorte, $18.99). "The Boy Who Saved Superman" and stories like it still provide a strong sense of what human beings are capable of achieving and why Superman believes in us that makes it the sort of Superman anthology I anticipate following for many issues to come.Readers and fellow drivers can be grateful about what Brandon Sanderson did with a moment of road rage. Yet after the first installment, most of these stories rise above the difficulties posed by telling such big tales in such limited space to find the heart and feelings that make Superman an inspiration. Flaws of bluntly stated themes, excessive ambition, and a lack of catharsis pervade the first tale, "Untitled," and can be witnessed throughout the collection. "The School of Hard Knock-Knock Jokes" provides a nice ending for an anthology issue that finds its footing in later entries. There are moments here, too, when children and adults serve as delivery mechanisms for ideas, speaking without much a human voice, but the overall sentiments and the beautifully illustrated depictions of children at play are powerful enough to make that eagerness to define "good" much more easily overlooked. Focusing on Clark's childhood in Smallville, specifically his very first days at school, creates space to focus on both mundane situations and ones that cannot be solved with superpowers. They create a space to speak to the complexity that earlier stories strive to capture, but offer a much clearer idea of why nuance is necessary when addressing life's greatest challenges.Īrtist Jill Thompson and writer Marguerite Bennett deliver a sweet final story that serves as a purposefully adorable digestif at the end of this collection. A meditation on the missing colors themselves, both red and blue, strays into the telling territory that often dehumanizes characters, but is instead presented as a reverie and the internal monologue makes it work beautifully with the final pages colored by Dave Sharpe. It's an inspired use of stark line work and an incredible design for a new character from the fifth dimension. Dani and writer Dan Watters play with the limited color palette by imagining a world without color. The frenetic action and calm reverie alike are played out perfectly in Craig's style and deliver a final moment that speaks to Superman's own status as a refugee and how this fantastical being speaks to very human inspirations.ĭani's artwork in "Human Colors" is the only entry that comes close to challenging Craig's impressionistic impact in the most visually driven story of Superman: Red & Blue #1. That connection and the heroic efforts of Abdi El-Kahl are on-the-nose, but only in the same fashion that most beloved superhero stories are. Any person who is involved with refugee communities in the United States can speak to the honesty of this presentation-the will power and optimism that can also be seen in so many Superman stories. That isn't to suggest it's a subtle tale by any means as it focuses on a past battle against a Kirby-esque monstrosity and the essential intervention of a young refugee struggling to make a new life in Metropolis. It benefits from focusing on a single moment and allowing the associated themes and ideas to be interpreted by the reader. Wes Craig's work on "The Boy Who Saved Superman" serves as the issue's literal and emotional climax-the clear stand out work from a collection of talented creators.
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