GRAPHIC NOVEL
Superman
Unconventional Warfare

Author: Greg Rucka
Artists: Matthew Clark, Renato Guedes and Paul Pelletier
Titan Books
RRP £10.99
ISBN 1 84576 026 3
Available 25 March 2005


Superman's been away for a time, but now he's back in Metropolis and is putting his life in order. Clark Kent, his alter ego, finds himself assigned to ride along with the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit and is glad he did. A souped-up Replikon comes a-calling, the harbinger of a new, deadly threat to not only the Man of Steel but also all of Metropolis. Meantime, Lois Lane is an embedded reporter in Umec and her experiences are no less dangerous. Away from familiar turf, distanced from the man she loves, Lois witnesses a different kind of courage...

Unconventional Warfare is not a collection for those who like to dip in and out of Superman. If you've not been keeping up with events in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Superman/Batman: Supergirl and Godfall you'll probably feel a little out in the cold.

While there is a detailed explanation of events that have unfolded previously, anyone expecting Clark Kent to be working at the Daily Planet will be in for a bit of a surprise. Our roving reporter has moved to quieter surroundings and working on a local paper. Seems like a serious demotion, but Kent and his boss have good reason for the move.

This collection is well presented (good quality paper stock and repro job) and moves along at a fair pace. But it is the final pages where everything shifts up a gear and will have you itching to know what happens next.

Superman fans will have to add this to their collections, but for the casual reader, you'd probably be better off getting your thrills elsewhere (or getting up to speed with events that take place before this collection) - it's a great collection, but you probably won't get it.

Nick Smithson

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