Book Review: Superman by Mark Millar

Superman by Mark Millar written by Mark Millar, art by Aluir Amancio, Georges Jeanty, Jackson Guice, Mike Manley, Sean Phillips, and Mike Wieringo

Before Mark Millar became a star in comic writing with hits like Superman: Red Son, Marvel Civil War, and Old Man Logan, he wrote a variety of Superman stories in the late 1990s and early 2000s. They are collected in this volume. The stories are a lot of one-offs. Some of them are really odd and not satisfying, like an Elseworlds-ish story of Harvey Dent as a cop who turns into "Superman" by an intelligence-boosting accident. Another story has Superman blasted into an alternate universe where survivors of Krypton are coming to turn Earth into their new home world by force. In other stories, Superman faces off against Lex Luthor with more or less interesting results. This is a mixed bag that I only found occasionally entertaining.

Not recommended unless you are a Superman completist or a Millar completist.

Book Review: Serenity: No Power in the 'Verse by C. Roberson et al.

Serenity: No Power in the 'Verse script by Chris Roberson and art by Georges Jeanty and Stephen Byrne

The crew of Serenity are drawn into a mission to save a friend imprisoned by the Alliance on an Outer Rim world. Complicating matters is the Alliance Operative sent to handle the situation who has a personal interest in River Tam. Complicating things even further is a terrorist group known as the Peacemakers who are trying to restart the war the Browncoats lost. Captain Malcolm is sympathetic with their ambitions but not with their methods, giving him hard choices to make. Misbehaving ensues.

The story is interesting and the dialogue really sounds like the show. The art is sometimes good, sometimes bad. The ending is a little unconvincing, mostly because it reads like a come on for a next series rather than a conclusion for this one.

Recommended for Serenity fans only.