Superman issue #2 (2023) by Joshua Williamson & Jamal Campbell

Issue #2 of the relaunched series of Superman was released on Tuesday March 21st 2023. It’s written by Joshua Williamson with art and coloring by Jamal Campbell. Sadly, DC Comics have kept the $4.99 price point despite this issue containing fewer story pages than issue #1. I counted 22 pages of story plus a double page spread of credits. That’s a lot less bang for your buck, as they say. I am not happy about this and will probably drop the book after this issue. That’s a real shame because this is another enjoyable Superman comic continuing the entertaining story begun last issue. The quality is there, but they are asking readers to pay way too much for it.

Extract from my Story Summary

We open with Superman down on the ground. He’s being drained by not one but THREE Parasites who appear to be fighting over the Man of Steel. At the same time, Superman can hear Lex Luthor’s voice telling him, “You need me!”

“ENOUGH!” says Superman and throws the purple Parasites off his body. But he’s weak and unable to fly and the Parasites attack again. Look at this page (below) as an example of great comic book storytelling. You have minimal dialogue and only 4 panels, yet you feel Superman’s struggle in his weakened state. And there’s a real sense of movement, of action in the top and bottom panels. Williamson & Campbell know exactly how much to show and tell.

Superman half leaps half climbs his way up the building in his weakened state. He admits that dealing with just ONE Parasite was always difficult, now there are a group of them.

He surveys a darkened Metropolis and discovers what looks like a clone army of Parasites. They’ve been draining the city’s power and are headed for the Super Corp tower. Excellent double page spread by Jamal Campbell here. His art and atmospheric colouring gives you the feeling of a power-drained Metropolis at night. I love the red refraction of Superman’s eyes.

We switch scenes to a lab somewhere undisclosed where a group of people are discussing the events taking place in Metropolis. One of the characters, who goes by the name of “Graft,” uses the name “The Secret Order of Mad Scientists.” “That name’s so demeaning! I never agreed to it,” says another member. They are cutting up Bizarro and experimenting with Kryptonite. Is this group responsible for the Parasite clone army?

On the next page we discover that they are. Graft and Dr. Pharm did something to “upgrade” Parasite and unleash it on Metropolis. The group of villains are revelling in the chaos their actions have caused.

Next we find the Parasites have broken into Super Corp, no doubt drawn to its deep power reserves. Mercy Graves is trying to keep them at bay, but her efforts seem about to fail when Superman bursts in. He blasts the creatures with his icy breath slowing their attack down for now. Mercy can’t understand why Parasite’s powers have changed, but Superman suspects she knows more than she’s letting on. Then we hear Luthor’s voice again, “I warned you, Superman.”

Luthor wants Superman to break him out of Stryker’s Island Prison, but Superman ignores his pleas. “My next move is finding Parasite Zero.” Mercy wonders how they might tell which is the real Parasite when there’s an army of clones to get through. If they can get the power back on at Super Corp, then surely the real Parasite will be drawn to the building. But first, Clark calls to both his son and cousin, “Jon..? Kara..?”

“Whoa, Dad? Where are you? We’ve erected a wall of ice to keep the Parasites from getting out of Metropolis, but I don’t know how long it will hold them. And I can’t find Mom.”

The look on Superman’s face when he hears this is a striking panel of art by Campbell. Then on the next page we see Superman whoosh into the Daily Planet offices calling Lois’s name. He’s about to get a big surprise.

Okay, I will end my story summary here.

SCORE: 8 out of 10

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My video review of Superman #2 (March 21st 2023)

Thanks so much for reading!

Wakizashi, *approaching the end of the school year and looking forward to spring break.*

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