Superman #7

Written by: Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason

Art by: Jorge Jimenez

Coloured by: Alejandro Sanchez

Lettered by: Rob Leigh

In the previous issue, having escaped from inside the Eradicator, Superman, now with the power of the souls of the Kryptonians, attacks. The weakened Eradicator pleads with him to allow him to eradicate Jon, to allow the Kryptonians to remain pure, but Superman insists that Jon is the future of their race. Reaching into the Eradicator's chest, Superman saves the last soul trapped inside, Krypto, both of them hitting the powerless Eradicator again, destroying him. As Superman looks up, he sees the souls of the Kryptonians form into the shape of his shield, signalling their acceptance of his decision as they fade away. Setting the scientific equipment that had been knocked over previously in their fight, Superman reveals to the world that it once again has a Superman, and there's no hiding any longer.

This issue diverts from the ongoing story to give us a quieter moment. After helping several of his friends with situations going on around the world, Superman returns home to his family, Lois informing him of a county fair that is happening that night. Feeling that he has been neglecting his family a bit recently, Clark agrees to go to the fair with Lois and Jon, promising that there won't be any superheroics. What follows is several pages of Clark and his family simply enjoying themselves, playing games, making friends, and trying to become a better part of the community. Amidst this, Clark hears a couple of people planning to rob the cash from the fair entrance and wanders off to stop it showing up again just before the big firework show and promising Lois that he wasn't doing anything heroic before almost immediately being ratted out by a couple fair workers discussing someone with heat vision stopping a robbery. I absolutely adored this issue, it was simple, character driven and wholesome, something that Superman very much needs every once and a while.

The artwork has shifted a little, but retains mostly the same style, and I actually prefer it a bit to what Gleason was doing before. There's a little less focus on the eyes, something that always hit me just a little wrong with the past issues, allowing the rest of the artwork to really pop. The backgrounds are lively, being at a fair, and everything seems to move slowly, fitting the tone of the story as a whole. One moment that I would like to point out in particular is when Superman, having helped his friends and finished his rounds, sits down atop the Daily Planet building, looking out over his city and watching the people begin their morning, his cape fluttering in the breeze and being illuminated by the sun. There's just something magical about seeing Superman in his moments of utter calm as he watches people going about their daily lives and simply enjoys the peace.

Up until now I have thoroughly enjoyed the Superman title, and a lot of that has to do with the compelling characters. This issue is by far my favourite that has come out since Rebirth, and the reason for that is that it strips away all of the superfluous stuff just for a moment and allows these characters to breathe, enjoying a relatively normal day as a family. While I do love the bombastic action involved with the Superman character, it's issues like this, that really highlight his humanity and qualities outside of his power set, that make me read his series and turned him into one of my favourite heroes.