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comics, DC Comics, DC Rebirth, Gable Eltaeb, NCBD, Patrick Gleason, Peter J. Tomasi, Scott Godlewski, Superman, Superman #27, Superman #27 review
Superman #27
Review by Paul Bowler
The Kent family decide to take a vacation in Superman #27: Declaration Part 1 when exhaustion and the super-heroics of recent events in their lives catch up with them. It’s a road trip full of fun, insightful detours, and the unexpected as DC Comics Super-Family enjoy some much needed R&R. But with a dark threat looming on the horizon their probably going to need another vacation to get over this one before they are through!
I simply cannot express enough what a joy Superman #27 was to read. Like the Kent’s, I’ve also been feeling in need of a vacation myself (which is why I took break from reviews N stuff to enjoy Wimbledon), and this issue exemplifies everything I love about Superman since the characters renaissance following DC’s Rebirth. The family dynamic is what makes this title so enjoyable and fun to read. Writers Peter J Tomasi and Patrick Gleason craft a delightful issue here as Lois decides her family needs a vacation, Jon’s glee at checking out their hired camper van is also great fun, and even Clark is forced to agree they need a break after nodding off mid-flight as Superman!
The most compelling and insightful aspects of this issue are explored through the places they decide to visit on their Super-Road Trip. Scott Godlewski’s clear and concise artwork and panel layouts sublimely captures the essence of each location: from the exhilarating fun of bodysurfing at Niagara Falls, to the moving and remarkable story their visit to Rock Ridge Cemetery brings, even something as mundane as a bumper sticker holds a symbolic message of freedom, belief, and coexistence for Jon, together with stops in New York and Philadelphia, are amongst the many highlights that features in this superbly illustrated issue.
It is the people the Kent’s meet along the way that really make this road trip feel like you are witnessing something distinctly special as you read this comic book though, non more so, than when they are joined for dinner by war veteran Ryan Duffy. Needless to say this scene is brilliantly handled, it holds some of this issues most powerful and moving moments of all, and provides a fitting closure for this leg of the Kent’s road trip.
Superman #27 rounds everything off with a lovely scene for Lois and Clark, however a foreboding new menace is developing, duty calls, but this vacation is far from over just yet… I started reading Superman with the Multiplicity arc way back in issue #14 after someone recommend it to me. I’ve never been an avid reader of Superman, certainly not during The New 52, but since reading that issue I’ve become hooked on reading the Rebirth version of Superman.
Although I’m abstaining from reading any of the big comic book events, crossovers, or tie-in issues from ANY of the major publisher this year – TBH I’m fatigued and burned out by the constant monotonous deluge of these events that I find I can muster little or no enthusiasm for them right now – I have to say when I read comics as good as Superman #27 its clear to me why I feel this way. Superman #27 is, frankly, one of the best comics I’ve read this year. Its not flashy, its not a universe shattering epic, and there’s hardly any superpowers on show, its just a meaningful, beautifully told story that will challenge you and make you stop, think, and ponder long after you’ve finished it. In short, Superman #27, as well as providing a shining and timely reminder of just how brilliant comic books can be, is without doubt probably as uplifting and magnificent an issue you’ll read this year, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Publisher: DC Comics
Writers: Peter J Tomasi & Patrick Gleason
Art: Scott Godlewski / Colors: Gable Eltaeb
Letterer: Rob Leigh / Cover: Lee Weeks & Brad Anderson
