VERY FINE/NEAR MINT Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Pete Woods
Cover by Alex Ross
Variant cover by Stephane Roux
"New Krypton" part 4! With thousands of Kryptonians being integrated into human society, the world believes they'll be watched over and protected across the globe. But not everyone was raised by Ma and Pa Kent. Meanwhile, the experiments on Brainiac continue as his mysterious captor builds an army against the Man of Steel and his people.
Plus, who are the new Nightwing and Flamebird?
Date Available: 11/12/2008
REVIEW by Brian Fisher
It’s undeniable that writers influence the style of the artist, but sometimes I wonder if the artist affects the work of the writer. When Geoff Johns is working with Gary Frank his scripts are smooth, almost streamlined stories, effectively like Frank’s artwork. But here, with Pete Woods doing the artwork, it’s as if Johns’ has switched gears. Woods is an alright artist, but no one’s ever credited him with an overabundance of talent or originality. Johns’ script comes off as a bit pedestrian, bucking his usual dynamic style to fit in with the tone of Robinson’s work over on “Superman.” And, yes this being a crossover event, things have got to match tonally for continuity’s sake. And the story is not bad by a long shot. It just feels as though Johns’ has compromised some of his storytelling dynamics for the “greater good.” So while this issue could have been great under Johns’ hand, it turns out to be another cog in the machine instead of the one that could have been driving it.
