Superman #36

Writers: Patrick Gleason and Peter J. Tomasi

Artist: Doug Mahnke

Inkers: Jaime Mendoza and Doug Mahnke

Colourist: Wil Quintana

Letterer: Rob Leigh

Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason close out this arc with a serious bang. I wasn't expecting this kind of ending for this story, one that nicely ended the previously established Lex Luthor-Apokalips story set up by Geoff Johns all those months ago, while also telling a very solid Superman story.

I'm all about Superman. Superman is a beacon of hope and good, and these are the themes that Tomasi and Gleason manage to infuse in a story that looked like it was going to be more about fun than thoughtfulness. And hence what I'm trying to say here is that this a great Superman story, one that fits with the narrative that this writing duo has been telling since Rebirth began, and one that has me excited going forward since we haven't had a good ol' Superman story probably since SUPERMAN REBORN earlier this year.

I mentioned before that I didn't expect the ending of this issue. The final few pages seem to be, I think, extremely important in this overall Rebirth narrative and should affect Superman's story going forward. I know that not everybody is going to be on board for this development, but I for one found it natural and somewhat heartbreaking while also very exciting.

Doug Mahnke is a damn treasure. He's able to provide very consistent work for this series, which is more than I can say for other artists working at DC right now. The detail he puts into his work is staggering, though the only fault I have with the art is with the inking. Jaime Mendoza regularly inks Mahnke but Mahnke himself is also listed as an inker, which I'll chalk up to deadlines. However, it gives the art a bit of an inconsistent feel at times for a few pages at a time. It didn't really bother me, but I prefer a book's art to look uniformly the same from the first to the last page.

Aside from a small inking quibble, this is a great close to the arc and another notch under the team's belts. I hope the final page has as big of an impact as I think it does, and that excites me.