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Superman:
Arkham Here we go again, with another follow-the-triangles story arc in the Superman books -- just be glad this isn't crossed over any further than it is, otherwise we might have a rash of exploding heads amongst the readership. For those keeping count, Superman: Arkham covers Superman #160, The Adventures Of Superman #582, Superman: Man Of Steel #104 and Action #769. Emperor Joker follows, and the Reign story continues with Superman #161, which returns to normal cover format. Up to a point, this storyline was intriguing -- the entire Superman
reality tossed out of the window, replaced by a surreal and daffy universe in which
black-clad Superman is a murderer (and well depowered) whose nightly escapes from Arkham
Asylum are defeated by good-guy Bizarro #1, Lois Lane runs the gigantic Lanecorp, and
little cartoon guys get flattened by malevolent rail whales. This is without
mentioning the mysterious nightly screaming (explained, finally, in Superman #161.)
Also mixed up in this are oddball versions of Justice League members, Superboy,
Steel, and Supergirl. The notion, of course, is that the madness is all due to the efforts of the Joker, who has been empowered, in a highly misguided attempt to liven things up, by fifth-dimensional PITA Mxyzptlk -- bad move for Mxy, smart idea for a storyline that actually achieves something with the character other than being annoying. The trouble arises, however, in pacing -- while there are fun elements of this story (oh, poor Lex Luthor...), much seems drawn out for no reason other than to fit the intended schedule and number of issues. Much of the Kelly/Loeb penned Emperor Joker seems superfluous, pedaling furiously and getting nowhere. Three more books to wind up the story seems to be a generous space, all considered, especially when the almost-mandated plot resolution is taken into account (as Mxy will doubtless have to set things back to absolutely normal.) The art is becoming consistently cartoonish, unfortunately, which often detracts from the feel of the books -- some of the surreal elements would be far better served by a more realistic rendering, which would make the wilder elements stand out very effectively. As it is, because there is no realstic anchor, the art tends to blur together, which makes for a lack of impression. ©2000 by Steven E. McDonald |
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