Written By: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Pier Gallo
Colorist: Jaime Grant
Cover Artist: Eddy Barrows, J.P. Mayer & Jaime Grant
Letterer: John J. Hill
Editor: Matt Idelson
My Awe-Inspiring Opinion
And here we are, in the midst of the up and coming leaders of the superhero world. This issue of Superboy begins the slow rise in the super-youth as they will one day take away the hero mantle from the mainline superheroes of today. But don’t take this as a “throw-away” issue meant only to delay an upcoming event – Superboy #5 presents a few new mysteries that Boy of Steel will have to solve if he wants to maintain peace and prosperity in Smallville.
Wait…who am I kidding…this is comics Jimmy, will peace ever exist?
It’s a hokey gimmick to say the least, but seeing both Superboy and Kid Flash in a charity race is fun nonetheless. Right from the get-go the two speedsters shoot playful insult after playful insult at each other, which was a delight to see while not being as humorous as I’m sure it could have been.
Bart was always a bit of a ham and an egotistical jerkface in his days as Impulse, was I was unsurprised by his attitude throughout this issue. But it was nice to see him move past his self-absorbed manner and be a real friend to Conner in his time of need. It’s obvious that these two care for each other in ways not too many people know about. If only there were more bromances like this one.
Teen love dramas have never sat well with me; they typically enforce a sociological behavior among teen love (‘cough..lust…cough’) and the stereotypical gender roles which I don’t fully support. I almost gaged in disgust at how often Lori Luthor admittedly waits outside every night, hoping the love of her life will swoop by in the night sky and take her to a place in the stars. And Superboy’s indecisive attitude towards, well, everything pisses me off to the point of no return. (Except that I will be picking up issue #6…so I guess I WILL return.) I guess I’ve moved past all that teenaged love rubbish and find it ineffective and boring as a story telling device.
What DID grab my attention was the mysteries revolving around Lori and the Phantom Stranger! He was seems to appear at the most peculiar spots…I would love to see him acquire his own title. Hopefully what lies ahead for Lori and Superboy are worthy of what Lemire prefaced here in issue #5…because this is certainly a great start!
I have absolutely no idea what it is about the Gallo and Grant’s art that irks me so much. Pier Gallo seems like a confident artist, but it’s simply not coming off here. I wanted to blame Jaime Grant with yellowish tint and poor coloring choices on every page, but then I look at the cover and a few of the splash pages in #5 and find that she’s fully capable of producing great work. I’m beginning to think that it’s simply the combination of Grant and Gallo that doesn’t work for me.
My Majestically Climactic Conclusion
Apart from the horrid teen love story and the artwork, this issue is a pleasant addition to this Superboy Series. If nothing else, it’s nice to see that the race didn’t end in the predictable tie, allowing one certain super powered K-9 to take all the glory and bragging rights.
6 out of 10 stars
