Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
When the hero becomes the destroyer, when the bringer of salvation turns into the prophet of doom and death, then nobody on the planet can save humanity, save for the prophet himself. It is in the nature of humanity that such direct and opposing forces should be found in the body of one being.
D.C.’s mega binding arc that encompasses the Superman: Doomed graphic novel is rich in detail and specification without becoming too engrosses in its own self importance. It would have every reason to delegate itself to such a position, to laud itself as a traditionally interesting story line to which any graphic novel would be proud to be associated with and yet it goes with grace into the unknown, sometimes appearing to reach its conclusion early before ripping the reader back into the realms laid down by comic law, that the game is never truly over, there is always one more panel to see.
A story line where Clark Kent/Superman fights an inner demon is not new, it is not even original across the whole of the comic book industry, yet somehow the creative force and artistic talent that has bound the destructive force of Doomsday to the man from Krypton, has found a way to make the large storyline enticing, powerful and energetic without straying through the minefield of too many clichés. It is a remarkable feat to make a fan root for the Man of Steel even more than normal and brings to mind the pop psychology of man and beast, man and superman, striving into view.
Root though for Superman the fan does, it is not hard to when the whole experience of the story is set up to conquer the idea that man is inherently either evil or good, for sometimes even good men falter and can destroy a world without realising what they have done.
The art work that is enjoyable throughout, in some respects actually conveys more than the desire in the words, the picture grabbing the attention more easily than the dialogue that paces the graphic novel. It is something that is to be seen in the interaction of Superman and Wonder Woman and the sheer apocalyptic scale that comes in the war and battle in the mind between the two entities sharing Superman’s body.
When the hero takes a fall, when he is reduced to a being of fear, that is when they will fight the hardest to save those they love; it is a love that is never doomed no matter what evil resides in any one’s heart.
Superman: Doomed is available to purchase from Worlds Apart on Lime Street, Liverpool.
Ian D. Hall