By: Jeff Lemire (writer), Pier Gallo (artist), Jamie Grant (colorist)
The Story: Like my alarm clock whenever I want it least, the race between Kid Flash and Superboy is on!
The Review: Some people are inclined to call interlude issues—the done-in-ones between story arcs—filler, and there’s just cause for that. Since they tend to have lower stakes and be less involved than the usual stuff you tend to get, it’s easy to dismiss them as distractions from the bigger picture. But interludes can be important if they not only entertain, but do some work developing the characters or laying the groundwork for the next big plot.
Lemire succeeds on all three points. Sure, the Superboy-Kid Flash race is a hokey gimmick, but that doesn’t take away from the sheer fun and silliness of it. It’s also a great legacy moment for the featured teen heroes, a reminder that one day they’ll take over for their predecessors and be counted among the world’s finest. Now, I won’t spoil who wins the deal, but rest assured—it beats the obligatory “tie” that always seemed to be the result of the Superman-Flash races.
Connor’s bromance with Tim Drake is by now an old DC mainstay, and but his friendship with Bart Allen has been less developed. As Impulse, Bart always seemed to exist in his own world, making it easy to forget he was part of the original team-up with Superboy and Robin as Young Justice. Their heart-to-heart this issue is a nice step forward for them, with Bart’s cheerfulness taking the place of Tim’s sensibility for soothing Connor’s romantic woes.
In fact, Superboy’s interactions with all the Teen Titans sound so natural, they call attention to how awkward his relationships with his Smallville “friends” have been so far, particularly Lori.
Even now, her role in this series still remains up in the air, as Superboy himself is taking a lot of pains to exclude her from his heroic and civilian lives. Still, the appearance of the Phantom Stranger and her many monologues show Lemire has big plans for her in the upcoming storyline.
Lemire makes sure that even in all the excitement of Superboy and Kid Flash’s big publicity stunt, he never loses sight of his endgame. Psionic Lad’s spotting of a particularly creepy old man in the crowd, and his unnerved reaction afterward, indicate a connection between his futuristic plot thread and the ongoing sci-fi mystery in Smallville. Less appealing is Superboy’s two-paged recap—space which could have been used to show Kid Flash and Superboy’s off-road adventures, instead of truncating them into a series of narrated blurbs.
It’s becoming very clear that Gallo is much more comfortable drawing older characters, who are noticeably more natural-looking than the almost waxy smooth features of his younger character designs. On the other hand, the problem may just lie with Grant’s colors, which have never grown on me. There’s just a yellowish cast over everything that makes for an almost sickly, unconvincing lighting. I’m very curious as to whether a different colorist can bring more energy to Gallo’s lines. After all, Gallo puts in some very cool details in his art, like Beast Boy mocking Kid Flash as a dog (I won’t explain—you’ll just have to read the issue).
Conclusion: A relaxing issue which manages to be enjoyable, while also tying together some of the different plotlines Lemire has set in place. However, it’s strangely moody for such a fun premise, and certainly more could have been done with it.
Grade: B+
– Minhquan Nguyen
Grade
Conclusion