Batman/Superman #5

Writer Greg Pak Artist Brett Booth

 

Introduction

 

Batman/Superman has been an extremely bold project from the start of it’s own existence. This new chapter seems to bring up that factor by a couple of notches. This book is completely told in splash pages, which makes sense coming from the incredibly writer known as Greg Pak. The first story arc of this book had a tale that was brimming with fun dialogue, and fascinating exposition. The Earth 2 counterparts were a really great addition to the book that spawned some interesting banter between the characters. The subversive tale really dug deep into what makes these people so fascinating. A few had problems with the art of Jae Lee, however it added to the grandiose sense of scale that the first story arc took place in. The book was poetic and quite admirable in the sense of exploration that it dared to take part in. The experimentation was sorely missed fans of the publisher, and the story was not placed on the high quality pedestal in which the high quality of the tale merited.

 

Writing

 

Scribe Greg Pak is definitely writing for his artist here, unfortunately that is what makes it difficult for me to enjoy this story. The simplistic script shows the darker parts of Batman and Superman that make them look like jerks to the point where they both started to openly aggravate me. This needs to be toned down so it does not have the same problems as the first arc of Justice League. These characters can have flaws, but they still need to be noble individuals with ability to fight crime. The pencils really flesh out the new tone of the book here. The threat of the Toymaster is interesting, but the threat lacks definition and a sense of urgency. Readers are left with a lack of depth that does not seem to take the audience seriously. This book is riddled with problems, but is is difficult to tell whether the problems lie in the art or the writing.

 

Art

 

The art of Booth ushers a new direction for the book that it may not have needed. Still, the artist continues to deliver on the tradition of spectacle that Lee started with the first arc. Readers can get a good sense of what lies in the interiors from the cover. A deep kinetic energy continues to flow from the artist, that can trick the eye into seeing some great motion. Comics require readers to fill in motion, and artists like these can really guide the eye towards understanding something more clearly. Unfortunately, the representation of these strong pencils is slightly jagged, with too many lines to satisfy the tastes of some more seasoned readers. While Booth may not be favorite artist working in the medium, there is no denying that he can tell a strong story. It is also jarring to see his pencils in the context of Jae Lee, who is in the exact opposite spectrum of comic book art.

 

Conclusion

Batman/Superman #5 takes a sharp dip in quality. The tone established by Booth is hard to get behind, and the series is extremely frustrating because of it. Fans will be better off sitting out this arc, and picking up Action Comics until there is a new artist on the project.