Superboy has, with the help of and also helping the Titans to, escaped the clutches of N.O.W.H.E.R.E. and Harvest. Now on his own, sorta, can he continue on? Take the jump for a Major Spoilers look at him trying.
SUPERBOY #10
Writer: Scott Lobdell
Artist: Sebastian Fiumara
Colorist: Richard & Tanya Horie
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Cover Artist: Scott Clark
Editor: Chris Conroy
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $2.99
Previously in Superboy:In short, The Culling. In long, The Culling was a crossover with Teen Titans and Legion Lost as they were captured by the villain Harvest and forced to fight other teen metas. At the end, Superboy and Wonder Girl carried the rest of the team out inside a rock sphere that Superboy created. Once out, the self-destruct sends everyone flying and causes them to go unconscious. Thus starts our current tale.
NOT A COUPLE
We open on a very adorable scene as Superboy wakes up to see an unconscious Wonder Girl on his stomach, a moment before she awakens. This moment is brilliantly spoiled as she wakes up and starts freaking out on him about taking a nap on a beach instead of looking for the Titans. The only part of this that doesn’t work for me is her immediately asking about the rest of the team, because there is nothing showing us they aren’t there. An establishment shot of her not seeing them would have been simple enough, but it didn’t happen. The rest of the segment is them trying to figure out where anybody is; them or the other Titans, and arguing about how she can’t trust him, which is both given some context and done quite funnily as well. In fact, everything Cassie and Superboy do or speak of with each other feels very right for them, though is also a bit odd as it continues to remind us their previous versions were a couple just a year ago.
Most of the issue is the two characters bonding and Superboy becoming just a bit more human as he makes mistakes, eats for the first time, and has a bit of a name applied to him. The developing friendship here is very solid and quite believable and I am enjoying the focus on character over action here. The issue ends with a weird twist that leads into Teen Titans #10 later this month that has me a bit jonesed but with a weird idea that we’ll discuss in a bit.
THEY’RE CUTE
Fiumara is great. My only disappointment with the art in this book was that he is listed as a guest artist, which implies us not getting him back. Both Cassie and Superboy look good and the emotion is present head to toe. They also look great together. I still say my favorite part of the book is the look of Superboy’s new costume, which is still present here. The only way I could be happier with the look of the book is if I knew Fiumara was coming back next month.
BOTTOM LINE: WORTH IT
Superboy #10 takes a moment to get to speed, but once it does it is a good looking fun read that gets into the character. We have some great moments between the Wonder Girl and Superboy and we see him use the tactile telekinesis in another interesting manor, reminding us of his individuality in the Super family. Despite the initial stumble, Superboy #10 manages to earn itself a well-deserved 3.5 out of 5 stars. There is one thing sticking out right now, Superboy has been in a nigh constant crossover with Teen Titans since around issue four or five, does anyone else feel as though it’s just making that book a twice monthly instead of really being its own title? Does that make it more or less likely to be cancelled for the inevitable third of fourth wave?
