Following the events of Knight Terrors: Batman, Joshua Williamson rushes back into the world of Superman and tells a high-energy story of deadlines, food carts, and frustrated editors with an all-star team of artists and a tease for the future of Superman. The issue as a whole is a very ambitious one-shot and feels like Williamson’s attempt to pitch a Daily Planet series to DC all while showcasing to the audience that the civilian side of cape-comics is one that’s deeply rooted in comic history.
Williamson’s Lois Lane was already a striking portrayal of the character as she balances being the Everyman of a family of Kryptonians and being a stressed out military brat for the Daily Planet as she slugs through her day being the editor-in-chief after Perry White’s leave from the company. He makes sure to let the audience feel the stress she feels being in this position due to the secrets of Metropolis rearing its ugly head and it’s brilliant. Superman is almost never present in the entire story as we see a group of journalists trying to make it through the day and worry about their boss and her mental health as she obsesses over the mysteries that the city has to offer.
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This sense of dark workplace comedy lends itself to the all-around stressful newspaper that is the Daily Planet, and with that it becomes apparent to see that Lois Lane is a favorite character to write for Williamson. He understands the characters and mythos of Superman, but he has a clear and deep love for Lois Lane and Lex Luthor that makes their characterization entertaining each time they appear. The comedy and storytelling has an added benefit of the rotating artists throughout the story with Mahmud Asrar’s small glimpses of The Man of Steel mixed in with Jackson Herbert, Caitlin Yarsky, Max Raynor, and Edwin Galmon’s stories following the writers and editors of the Daily Planet.
Each story is a small dissection into the world of Metropolis, most specifically in the world of Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, and Cat Grant as they set up the future for each character and their overall character evolutions we’ll see in Williamson and Campbell’s larger series. Each story has a special artist tied to it with the added benefit of Dave McCraig and Alex Guimarãres’s beautiful and striking colors that add to the all-star team of artists.
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As the issue comes to be a strong collaboration of artists, it continues to set up the future of Superman and the villains to come as the issue ends with the return of a maniacal genius and a gruff bounty hunter. It becomes clear to understand that Williamson is continuing his streak of taking inspiration from the ’90s to ‘2000s as his series feels like a cross between the Triangle Era and the Buisek/Johns era. All around, Williamson and co. craft a strong and charming story with the start of a major conflict.
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