Pick of the Week
What did the
iFanboy
community think?
Pulls
Art by MARCO RUDY
Cover by NIC KLEIN
Size: 32 pages
Price: 2.99
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is the kind of comic book story that I live for.
After the end of Final Crisis and the apparent death of Bruce Wayne, things moved very rapidly. We jumped right into “Battle For The Cowl” and then the new Batman status quo and it was all a lot of fun and it produced some of the best comic book stories from the last few years, but there was always the nagging thought in the back of my brain that wished that everything would slow down a little bit.
Even if he wasn’t really dead — just lost in time while a cloned body was mistaken for his own — when a character of the magnitude of Batman dies I want to see a lot of emotional fall-out from his friends, family, and allies. Beyond one excellent issue of Batman (also written by Judd Winick) we didn’t really get that examination of the emotional fall-out.
Enter Superman/Batman #76.
Superman/Batman is a funny title. It’s not funny ha ha, it just hasn’t really had a direction for years. It seems to be a catch-all title that can be used for anything: out of continuity stories, one-offs, and for a while, stories that tied into some of DC’s most famous stories. None of these directions have had any real traction with the comic book buying audience but DC isn’t giving up on this title with most excellent Search Engine Optimization. With Superman/Batman #76 we have a one-off story that ties into one of DC’s biggest stories in recent years.
Superman/Batman #76 is all about Superman coming to grips with the death of his friend and he’s having a lot of trouble because he is still dealing with the death of his father, Pa Kent, who was killed by Brainiac. You lose your father and then your (best?) friend in quick succession and you’re going to have some issues to deal with.
It’s a cliche at this point to say that Judd Winick writes about grief very well. In Pedro and Me he wrote one of the most moving comic books about death that I’ve ever read.
He’s the right man for this job.
From Superman sitting in silence in his dark bedroom immediately after the events of Final Crisis and telling Lois that Bruce is dead to having to be the one who tells Alfred, Dick and Tim, to the small core-Justice League-only-and-no-costumes funeral that he attends without his glasses, to his fit of terrifying rage at Dick for wearing the cape and cowl, to his conversation with Wonder Woman about how they will both outlive everyone else to his acceptance of Dick as Batman, Superman goes through all the stages of grief but in a very elegant and organic way that feels true to the story and the character. Superman’s emotional release was mine as well. I had no idea how much I had been missing seeing everyone’s grief until I was in the midst of this issue and, as always, it was the little moments that got to me. The most powerful moment happened as Doctor Mid-Nite ran the autopsy on the body to confirm its identity. Once confirmed, Nightwing tells the room that he’s going to take the body home. Behind him, Robin slumps against the wall, holding his face in his hand, clearly weeping. That one got me.
Unlike many hammy actors, Judd Winick seems to understand that grief is a complex and often understated thing. It waxes and wanes. It triggers memories both good and bad. And it’s different every day. Although Superman’s journey through grief in this issue was, at times, harrowing, it was also important to witness. Even though they fight and they argue, Superman cares deeply for Batman and it was really nice to be reminded of just how deep their friendship runs.
I’m not that familiar with Marco Rudy but he did a serviceable job on art duties here. He was a tad inconsistent and he tends to draw characters a bit younger than they might appear in other books (something I’m actually in favor of) but on the whole he did a good job of telling the story and conveying the gamut of emotions that these characters were experiencing. Rudy’s biggest strength here was probably the layouts. He employs a lot of interesting and unusual lay outs though out the issue, and I don’t know if they all came from Winick’s script or if they were choices he made as an artist, but they were handled well – none of them overshadowed the story or were overly showy. It was solid work.
I’ve been reading the stories of these characters for more decades than I care to admit and it’s not because of the punching and the kicking and the quips, it’s because I care about these characters and what happens to them. And it’s the stories like this one that make me care about them as characters even more. That’s why these kind of stories are my favorite and often find themselves chosen as the Pick of the Week. If I don’t have any emotional connection to these characters then what’s the point? If I don’t care about these characters than why spend all this time and money reading about them?
Now that I’ve finally had the one really glaring hole in this whole current Batman saga filled I am truly ready for Bruce’s return. And now that I now what everyone has gone through when they thought he was lost, once Bruce comes back it’s going to make the emotional payoff that much sweeter.
Conor Kilpatrick
Someone’s gonna have a heart attack when Bruce reappears.
conor@ifanboy.com
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OK, I wasn’t going to read this issue but I’ve read the first couple of pars of the Pick and will give it a shot. Back after tomorrow (dang this UK life!). Nice one.
I didn’t even know about this! I need to go back to my LCS now!!
This was easily the best comic I read this week. It was good to see a side of Superman that is rarely seen. Superman asking Dick "Is there anything on that belt that’s really going to stop me?" was one of the best moments to me. This filled more of an emotional void that was sorely needed and amde me realize that I miss Bruse more than I thought I did.
It’s really too bad that Winick didn’t stay on Batman longer. That last 5-issue run he did was the best thing he’d done since PEDRO & ME, and it was the reason I had enough faith him to start getting a 26-issue maxiseries like JL: Generation Lost. I’m glad I did, ’cause Winick really nailing it lately.
Spot on Conor. I think this is gonna end up bein my POTW as well. Great issue. Every DC fan should read this one. I’ve already stated my thoughts on the issue’s page so I won’t repeat myself. Also, you summed it up perfectly so I have nothing to add. Just wanted to say "Amen".
I didn’t know Superman/Batman was even in continuity lol.
Nice review! Sounds worthwhile.
What a great premise to an issue. That Batman issue that he did with Ed Benes that dealt with the emotional aftermath of Bruce’s death was possibly one of the greatest things I’ve ever read, so I’m sure to love this. Looking forward to going back and picking this up.
As I recall, it was Winick who wrote that issue of Green Arrow with his son in the hospital and he whispers, "Daddy’s here." That issue killed me and this one sounds very similar. I may have to pick this up…
This was so close to being my POTW; but Fantastic Four edged out for being…..well pretty damn perfect actually. (Some of the faces in Rudy’s pencils look kinda fugly; hence FF won out)
But you’re right conor, this was a fantastic issue. Winick played this so well and didn’t make these melodramatic or cheesy. I was so afraid this was gonna read bad, considering how awful his recent work has been. (DISCLAIMER: Haven’t read JL: Generation Lost yet) Every page was just fantastic to read though. Especially where Superman gets incredibly angry at Dick. I thought we were gonna have an Irredeemable moment there.
Picked this up when i read Rudy was doing the art, he did some really good work on the Shield series, had no idea it would be this well-written, easy pick of the week
almost my POW, but Flash won out. I picked up Superman/Batman 75 and while I didn’t much care for the main story, I loved all the 2-page stories. When I saw what this issue was about, i knew I would get it. I’m not sure if I’ll continue with the series, but this was an amazing issue.
I’ve been hot and cold with this title. I saw that it was out this week but decided to pass on it. If its there next week, I’ll definitely scoop it up. It sounds great.
Still no POW for me. My life is insanity right now, and I only got to read one comic book last night. Unfortunately, it was a comic from last week!
Every time I pick up this title I’m pleasantly surprised.
I had a heads up on this book an when I got to my shop they were sold out. Not a title I usually pick up but I heard this tied up some loose ends and i missed it.
I’ve been avoiding this series because of that lack of direction you talked about. Its a title that should be an automatic essential for me, but unfortunately it hasn’t been. I think i’ll check it out again starting here.
Excellent article. Really makes me want to read this.
This issue shocked me. I didn’t expect anything of this caliber from Mr. Winick. He knocked it out of the part. I enjoyed the art, as well. Very J.H. Williams III (the style, not the quality).
very good issue. Winick told a great story and the art was very good too.
I some what agree with this, but it felt slim to me. If the point were to have Superman dealing with grief, then there were some missed opportunities with Lois in the story. Lois is his wife and most trusted friend next to Bruce, to me there should have been some pages with her helping him cope. After all, through Superman she knew Bruce almost as well as Clark.
Thanks for the pick. Wouldn’t have grabbed it otherwise, it’s my POTW as well.
Yeah this was a great issue.
Crap I hope I can pick this up. What was Dick’s reply to Supes anger?