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comics, DC Comics, DC Rebirth Superman, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Justice League Incarnate, Marcelo Malolo, Multiplicity, Multiplicity Part 1, Multiversity, New Superman of China, Patrick Gleason, Peter J. Tomasi, Red Son Superman, Sci-Fi Jubilee, Superman, Superman #14, Superman #14 review
Superman #14
Review by Paul Bowler
Superman #14 kicks off the New Year in fine style with a multi-Earth epic! Multiplicity Part One is steeped in the legacy of the character and world of Superman, as writers Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason offer an action packed opening instalment to this adventure, with art by Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, and Marcelo Maiolo that sees Kal-El discovering a new threat that is collecting all the Supermen throughout Multiverse!
After inexplicably running into, well almost, the badly beaten Red Son Superman of Earth 30, Kal-El quickly learns of his counterpart’s plight. Namely, that something, or someone called Prophecy and his army of Gatherers have been hunting the Superman of Earth 30 and countless other Supermen from across the Multiverse. Now the Gatherers have a new target, Kenan Kong, the New Superman of China, and the Red Son Superman has managed to escape from captivity to bring this warning to the Superman of our Earth.
Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason move the plot along at a cracking pace right from the start. Its heavy on exposition in parts, but not distractingly so, and once the Gatherers – strange gangly creatures that look like they’ve just scuttled out of Pans Labyrinth – arrive, we get to see Superman and Red Son Superman of Earth 30 fighting side by side against these seemingly indestructible monsters. This all exhilarating stuff, but things really notch up a gear in the excitement stakes (especially for Grant Morrison fans) during a brief respite from the Supermen’s battle with the Gatherers when the Justice League Incarnate arrive!
Yes, if you enjoyed Morrison’s sweeping Multiversity saga you are absolutely going to love this issue of Superman, and even if you are late to the party, there’s still plenty going on here to enjoy, and it’s explained in a way that won’t alienate or leave you scratching your head and wondering what on Earth is going on either.
Superman #14 is a great looking issue, with art by Ivan Reis (Layouts), Joe Prado (Finishes), and Marcelo Maiolo (Colorists), and they do a fantastic job of juggling the numerous characters involved in this issue. One thing I really liked about this issue was how it never felt cluttered or sacrificed the finer details in any way, which can sometimes be the case when a large roll call of characters and different locations are involved. The opening battle with the two Supermen battling the Gatherers is especially good, its awesome to see both Supe’s really cut loose like this, and the Gatherers relentless chanting of two phrases becomes quite disquieting after a time. The colors are also gloriously rich and vibrant throughout. Then of course we have the return of the JLI characters from Grant Morrison’s Multiversity to enjoy, with a quick who’s who to bring everyone up to speed, and some insight of their mission to save the Supermen on the Gatherers “list” from being kidnapped a taken to a processing facility.
The issue builds to a frenetic and exciting close with Superman, the Superman of Earth 30, and the Justice League Incarnate attempting to save the New Superman of China from the Gatherers, and the glimpse of the terrifying fate that awaits the captured Supermen of the Multiverse also provides us with one hell of a cliff-hanger to keep us on the edge of our seat until the next issue!
I’ve never followed Superman comics that much if I’m honest, most of the New 52 passed me by, so I’ve been reluctant to give the Rebirth Superman titles a go, until, that is, someone recommended Superman #14 to me to the other day. So, I thought I’d give it a whirl, and I’m sure glad that I did. Its been a long, long time since I’ve read a Superman comic that’s made me want to read the next issue right away, but Superman #14 certainly did! I’m a fan of Morrison’s Multiversity as well, so I think that was also a big factor in my enjoyment of this issue, but I was also very impressed by what Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason have done with this issue, the story was so engaging, especially for newcomers (like me), and the art by Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Marcelo Maiolo was also exceptionally good. One thing is for sure, Superman #14 has got me interested in Superman comics again, and I’ll certainly be sticking around to see what happens next in this Multiplicity storyline.
Publisher DC Comics
Written by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason
Art by Ivan Reis (Layouts), Joe Prado (Finishes), Marcelo Maiolo (Colorist)
Letterer Rob Leigh / Cover Gleason / Gray / Kalisz
Sci-Fi Jubilee 
I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Cheers and thanks for recommending it. I’ve not been an avid reader of Superman comics, but I really enjoyed this issue. It was very easy for a new reader to enjoy like me. I’ll have to check out some of the other issues and Superman comics now, especially if they are all as good as this issue 🙂
I like Superman, but I stopped reading Superman comics about a year into the New 52. It just went in a bunch of wrong directions. This new series is almost more of a family drama than a superhero book so far. This, and the previous two issues are the most superhero-ish issues in the series so far. The previous issues weren’t as good, but they were fun. The rest of the series has been brilliant so far.
I like Superman as well, but I’ve not read the comics regularly, and most of the New 52 Supe’s books didn’t interest me either. This new series is a vast improvement on what I’ve seen before in the New 52. I’ll certainly be looking forward to seeing how the Multiplicity story goes in this new Superman series 🙂
Great review. The Superman books have been killing it lately since Rebirth. Some of DC’s best titles at the moment.
Thank you. I’ve been hearing great things about the Superman books since Rebirth, so glad I decided to check out this issue. Superman #14 was the start of a great new storyline, very interested to see how this develops. Might get a few of the earlier Rebirth issues in trade collections now to catch up 🙂
Nice! I just read Superman: Red Son the other week. My read of Superman: Doomed killed any desire of mine to read Supes in the New52, so maybe this rebirth is where I buy some GN’s again. I’d like some new Supes stories, that is for sure…
Brilliant, Superman Red Son was excellent, I liked that one as well. I didn’t like the new 52 version of Superman much either, I didn’t read Superman Doomed, so I can’t really comment on that, but I’d certainly recommend giving the Rebirth Superman a chance now. Superman #14 was also a good jumping on point for new readers, or for those like us, who haven’t enjoyed the New 52 Supe’s that much. The new Superman books certainly seem worth checking out from Rebirth onwards, let me know if you do, will be interesting to hear what you think. 🙂
Great review Paul, glad to hear you enjoyed this issue – it was probably my favourite of the run so far! You should check out Action Comics as well, at times I think it’s actually been superior to the main Superman title!
Lookong forward to seeing this storyline unfold, I just wish Ivan Reis could stay onboard for the whole thing but that’s probably unlikely due to the twice monthly shipping 😦
Thank you, glad you enjoyed the review. Cheers for the recommendation, enjoyed this issue of Superman as well, I’ll have to check out Action Comics too if you say that’s good. I thought that had a great team with Superman #14 story and art wise, a great team. I think the monthly shipping makes it unlikely we’ll get a long run with just them, as the art teams seem to rotate frequently since Rebirth. I think this is the only real failing of the twice monthly shipping from DC with Rebirth, it sometimes breaks up the look and tone of a title. I think it was a good idea for Rebirth’s launch, but I’d like to see DC revert back to just single monthly shipping for their titles now – I think they’d really benefit from giving the plots, creative teams, and reader a chance to savour and focus on each issue more. I still really enjoyed Superman #14 though, and I’ll certainly stick around to see how this Multiplicity storyline pans out. Cheers for commenting 🙂
Totally agree, I’d like to see DC eventually start reverting back to monthly shipping. I’m really starting to feel that the quality is dipping at times, the only titles that seem to be a continuous hit for me are both of the Green Lantern books.
Indeed, its the only real downside I can find with DC since Rebirth, and of course that the twice monthly shipping makes it more expensive to collect more of your favourite titles. A few of my friends would like to read more DC books, but with each one shipping twice a month, its just too expensive sometimes. I’ve not read many Green Lantern comics tbh, but I’ve heard great things about the GL Rebirth books as well 🙂