J. Michael Straczynski is one of those great comic book writers who, upon seeing his name, gives the average comic book buyer a reason to buy the book. The guy has had a knack in recent years of imagining characters or making drastic overhauls with the continuity, while still keeping the original feel for the character. This has never been more evident with his recent original graphic novel "Superman: Earth One."
The story starts off with Clark leaving Smallville after the passing of Pa Kent. Clark applies to a good amount of jobs, with all of them wanting to hire Clark. His last stop for employment is the Daily Planet, where we meet Lois Lane and Jimmy Olson. After applying to all the numerous jobs, Clark flies back to Smallville and talks to his fathers grave about what he should do with his life.
Straczynski gives a refreshing take on Superman, while still keeping some of the aspects of the main continuity and Richard Donner movies. The beginning with Clark taking the train into Metropolis is a nice touch that mirrors his current "Grounded" arc in the Superman ongoing. What was a little disappointing was the lack of development of Lois and Jimmy. While this may be reserved for future volumes, Lois blends to much into the background for how important of a character she is destined to be. Jimmy gets more time than Lois, as the fearless photographer who won't back down in the face of the villain. Speaking of the villain, the guy looks menacing. But after that, the guy doesn't seem that much like a threat. He doesn't seem like that much of a villain on par with Superman. While he may come back and be more menacing, he is easily the weakest point of "Superman: Earth One."
The ending is also a refreshing take on the Superman mythos. Without giving away any plot points, it's an angle that should have been explored a while ago for the character.
Shane Davis does a stand up job pencaling the novel. There are a few points where the panel angles get a little muddy. Same with the panel transitions during the final battle.
Overall, "Superman: Earth One" is a great re-imagining of Superman, and I look forward to future volumes.
"Superman: Earth One" gets a 4/5
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