DC Universe

Did we need another version of Superman's early years, what with Mark Waid and Lenil Yu's Superman Birthright in the not-so-distant past, and Smallville still somehow on the air? Maybe not, but the first issue of Geoff Johns and Gary Frank's Superman: Secret Origin (DC) makes that easy to forget. Serving a practical purpose, Secret Origin reworks Superman's early days to fit the new post-Infinite Crisis continuity. But it still finds a story worth telling in Clark Kent's days as an angst-plagued teen struggling with his new, unpredictable powers. As the new Adventure Comics confirms, Johns has a gift for windswept, heartfelt Smallville stories, and his script is served well by Frank's tendency to make characters look simultaneously heroic and neurotic… B+

Read the review of SUPERMAN: SECRET ORIGIN #1!