Superman and Batman are stuck together in this new ongoing series. In all honesty, I’m rather split on the necessity to create another book for the Man of Steel or the Dark Knight, let alone one that features the both of them. It’s hard to tell if it’s really worth it to put these two guys together in an ongoing series. Of course, they did have an ongoing World’s Finest series a couple decades back, so a modern-day take on that idea probably wouldn’t hurt.
The first few pages is relatively simple. Half of each page dedicated to each of the two as their origins are retold in under 30 seconds, which is actually pretty neat. But then again, these characters don’t need five hundred different takes on their origin stories, even as an entry point because even most non-comic readers already know who they are. The story after that has the World’s Finest against Metallo, who’s causing trouble again. As a series opener, I have my reservations about the plot, but if leads to something bigger and better next issue, then it’s alright. Superman/Batman is fine color wise: the Superman moments are bright and colorful, while the Batman moments are dark and… not that dreary, but close enough. Ed McGuiness still does good Superman and his Batman is actually pretty good too, so no big surprise there.
The problem I have with this book is simple: it’s called Superman/Batman. That tells me it’s going to be mainly a Superman comic. That tells me it’s going to be a nice colorful book with a lot of bright moments. That doesn’t sit too well with me, because when you have a book that feature two opposites, there has to be some kind of balance between the two. It’s okay to have the colorful stories that fits Superman, but only if you can follow the dark tones that fits Batman. This first issue manages to balances things nicely, but it does still feels like a Superman book, not a Superman/Batman book.
Bottom line, Superman/Batman #1 is a good read that’s worth a look. I would probably recommend it to anyone who enjoys Superman comics, but wouldn’t go as far as recommended it to the Batman readers, because it is predominantly a Superman book… not that it’s a bad thing. Maybe the series will surprise me down the road, but for now, check this issue out. Worth your time.
dtm666 