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james_desantis 's review for:
Superman: Year One (2019) #1
by Frank Miller
Whohoo guys another retelling of Superman!
And by Frank Miller...old Frank Miller...so...oh no?
This actually isn't bad. We open up with the destruction of Krypton. New twist? Clark remembers it all. He sees the events of his father and his mother saying goodbye and getting him to safety before their deaths. Once on earth he slowly grows up in a small town learning to be a good person. He deals with bullying, racism, sexism, and violence including a attempted gang rape.
So let's get the controversy out of the way. There's a scene in which Lana Lang is nearly raped by a few high school bullies. These same bullies are pieces of shit who have beaten up kids simply for being "nerdy" or "colored" so we know they are pieces of shit. However, Lana is attempting to report them to the police and have proof and when the boys find out they try to shut her up for good. This is a Black Label title. Meaning DC gives more freedom for cursing, violence, sexual content and so on. Frank Miller is no stranger to rape in his story as a plot device and he put it in here. I'm not a huge fan of this scene (I mean no one should be of rape) but it didn't upset me as much as other scenes of rape in his other work or other comics I read. I think it could have ended without the scene of them grabbing her legs and maybe just with the threat was enough but still...
Getting back to the story itself. I thought it was solid enough. It's a very slow burn and gives a deep look into the background of Clark and what shaped him to be who he is. It goes from childhood up to late teen and him heading into the Military. I really loved the art here, and Romita can be a huge miss, but he does his thing here. I also thought the ending leaves from some interesting ideas.
Saying that, there were things I didn't love. The rape scene felt forced and kind of unneeded and this is from someone who usually doesn't shy away from violence in a movie/book/comic if it is important. Also, no MAJOR changes to the background. It felt a little safe at times.
Overall though I am interested to see what comes next. I didn't "LOVE" this title but I thought it was a good start. I think the next book/issue/volume or whatever you call it can be great. Seeing Clark go through the Military can be really interesting. This is a 3.5 but I'll raise it to a 4 just for the art alone. I dig this style a lot.
And by Frank Miller...old Frank Miller...so...oh no?
This actually isn't bad. We open up with the destruction of Krypton. New twist? Clark remembers it all. He sees the events of his father and his mother saying goodbye and getting him to safety before their deaths. Once on earth he slowly grows up in a small town learning to be a good person. He deals with bullying, racism, sexism, and violence including a attempted gang rape.
So let's get the controversy out of the way. There's a scene in which Lana Lang is nearly raped by a few high school bullies. These same bullies are pieces of shit who have beaten up kids simply for being "nerdy" or "colored" so we know they are pieces of shit. However, Lana is attempting to report them to the police and have proof and when the boys find out they try to shut her up for good. This is a Black Label title. Meaning DC gives more freedom for cursing, violence, sexual content and so on. Frank Miller is no stranger to rape in his story as a plot device and he put it in here. I'm not a huge fan of this scene (I mean no one should be of rape) but it didn't upset me as much as other scenes of rape in his other work or other comics I read. I think it could have ended without the scene of them grabbing her legs and maybe just with the threat was enough but still...
Getting back to the story itself. I thought it was solid enough. It's a very slow burn and gives a deep look into the background of Clark and what shaped him to be who he is. It goes from childhood up to late teen and him heading into the Military. I really loved the art here, and Romita can be a huge miss, but he does his thing here. I also thought the ending leaves from some interesting ideas.
Saying that, there were things I didn't love. The rape scene felt forced and kind of unneeded and this is from someone who usually doesn't shy away from violence in a movie/book/comic if it is important. Also, no MAJOR changes to the background. It felt a little safe at times.
Overall though I am interested to see what comes next. I didn't "LOVE" this title but I thought it was a good start. I think the next book/issue/volume or whatever you call it can be great. Seeing Clark go through the Military can be really interesting. This is a 3.5 but I'll raise it to a 4 just for the art alone. I dig this style a lot.