Sunday Splash Page #60

"For Any Other Hero, That Might Seem Strange," in Adventures of Superman #617, by Joe Casey (writer), Charlie Adlard (artist), Tanya and Rich Horie (colorists), Comic Craft (lettering)

One of the things I went back-issue hunting for last year was Joe Casey's run on Adventures of Superman. The one where Superman is supposedly a pacifist because Casey went roughly a year without having Supes throw a punch. That's not necessarily a big deal to me, but I usually find Casey's work at least interesting, so it seemed like it was worth a shot.

The run spans about 35 issues, roughly 590-622. Casey doesn't write every issue in there, and some of the others are a collaborative effort. Plus, this is when storylines would run between all the Superman books, each chapter in a different title. Only buying one title means getting the beginning or middle of a bunch of stories and being confused. 

That stops the last year of the run, which is unsurprisingly when it becomes a lot easier to follow what the hell is going on. Up to that point there are stories where some devil knockoff imprisons part of Superman's soul and Lois has to help rescue it, or President Luthor tries to trick him into creating an international incident. Or something about Brainiac being reborn in a baby in the Anti-Matter Universe, then retreating to Metropolis, the Crime Syndicate hot on his tail. Yeah, I didn't know what the hell to make of that one.

Overall, Casey focuses a lot on how Superman is perceived. Usually as an inspirational figure, but sometimes as one who protects a status quo that doesn't serve everyone. Sometimes as a distant figure whose nothing but a problem for the common man.

The artists are all over the place. Derec Aucoin's the closest thing to a regular artist, in a style that reminds me a bit of Scott McDaniel's in the use of shadows, but isn't nearly as angular or jagged. Charlie Adlard's here for two issues with Mxy (now a couple of twins trying to sell encyclopedias?). Mike Wieringo's on the book some in the early issues, Duncan Rouleau pops up for a story where Clark and Lois are able to visit Krypton somehow (I assume the explanation came in one of the other titles). Maybe that's the right approach for stories that vary as widely in setting and tone.