Super Sons #13 Review

Writer: Peter J. Tomasi

Artist: Carlo Barberi

Inker: Art Thibert

Colourist: Gabe Eltaeb

Letterer: Rob Leigh

With yesterday's news that this book will be ending in three issues with #16, I came into this not expecting much. I can be very cynical and crummy and I expected this issue to simply tread water and not do much since this book is essentially ending very soon. I'm kind of right, and that upsets me.

What made this book a treat to read was the excellent artwork by Jorge Jimenez. Now, this is not a statement against Carlo Barberi. Barberi is a great artist and his work here is fantastic. Jimenez's art was always there to cushion the story which was never that great to begin with. Here the story is somewhat middling, and the artwork isn't strong enough to provide a proper backbone. He captures the youthful spirit of the characters which Gabe Eltaeb also does a great job highlighting.

Peter J. Tomasi is the writer I've come to trust with Damian. His and Patrick Gleason's BATMAN AND ROBIN defined the character for a lot of people and his work on Damian in SUPER SONS and SUPERMAN has been exemplary. Here, however, Tomasi relies on the much-seen Damian trope where he deals with the fact that he was raised as an assassin. It doesn't matter anymore to me, as it's been dealt and done with. I want Damian to grow and progress as a character, to prove the naysayers wrong, but whatever development Tomasi gave Damian is strangely thrown out the window here. His relationship with Jon seems to have less of a spark here for whatever reason, and it's just confusing. Throw Talia al Ghul into the mix, and you have a typical Damian story when Tomasi should be telling a new one.

This story disappointed me greatly, which is unfortunate due to the book's upcoming cancellation. The art is good but not good enough to support the light and regressive story.