BATMAN/SUPERMAN Vol. 1: CROSS WORLD

BATMAN/SUPERMAN Vol. 1: CROSS WORLD

Writer: Greg Pak

Artists: Jae Lee, Paolo Siqueira, Ben Oliver, et al 

$22.99, DC Comics, 144 pgs.

ISBN 978-1401245092

When DC re-launched its superhero universe with the "New 52" initiative in 2011, some of the company's flagship characters—and their relationships to one another—underwent major reinventions. BATMAN/SUPERMAN, though launched only recently, serves as a prequel of sorts to the New 52. Here we see the early days of the relationship between the titular heroes in a tale set prior to the events of the current JUSTICE LEAGUE series.

Upon meeting for the first time, the young Superman and young Batman are immediately distrustful of one another. They soon find themselves thrown into the parallel world of "Earth 2," where they encounter alternate versions of themselves and their loved ones, sometimes to agonizing effect. This cross-world escapade is no accident, though: our heroes soon realize they are being put to a diabolical test, one that will eventually come to fruition in the pages of the aforementioned JUSTICE LEAGUE and utterly transform the DC Universe.

Greg Pak is a fine writer and Jae Lee is a brilliant artist, but the two never really seem to gel as a creative team. Their narrative sensibilities just don't mesh especially well: Pak's work is big and bold, while Lee's is more muted and atmospheric. Frankly, Lee is better suited to horror or fantasy than he is to superheroes. Guided by such incongruous creative forces, BATMAN/SUPERMAN Vol. 1 is dreamlike, even surreal, a strange approach for a superhero comic tied so meticulously into an existing continuity (see the New York Times best-seller JUSTICE LEAGUE Vol. 1: ORIGIN by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee, ISBN 978-1401234614). That said, BATMAN/SUPERMAN Vol. 1 is a good book: the dialogue is sharp and the art is positively gorgeous. It's just not necessarily what you'd expect from a book pairing these two marquee characters.

But then, maybe that's a good thing.

TIPS FOR LIBRARIANS: It's got Batman. It's got Superman. It will circulate. What more do you need to know? Buy it.

READERS' ADVISORY NOTES: It's got Batman. It's got Superman. It will circulate. What more do you need to know? Suggest it. Oh, all right: it also has an enjoyable guest-starring role for Wonder Woman, and the art might appeal to readers who are turned off by the bombast of more "traditional" superhero art.

CONTENT ADVISORY: Superhero action/violence

 Review©2014, C. Michael Hall.