CHAIN

The scope of the story has been expanding since the series’ first issue, and now culminates in near-apocalyptic fashion in Scott Snyder and Jim Lee’s “Superman Unchained” #9. Even as the events build and conclude, though, both Snyder and Lee symbolically bring the story back to its beginnings, poetically capping off their run on the title as they bring it to a close. Having set up everything prior to this final issue, the creators simply roll out the story’s very loud and cinematic-style conclusion, giving themselves both plenty of room to stretch out and deliver a satisfying sendoff and a wrap-up that sums up the essence of both hero and villain. As he has in past issues, artist Dustin Nguyen also contributes to the story with a flashback to Clark’s youth, where Clark demonstrates perhaps his first act of heroism. It’s an act that’s in the aftermath of Clark’s actions, though, which shows he’s still just a human who makes mistakes. This is a theme that Snyder addresses more than onc

“Superman Unchained” #8 starts in the Gobi Desert and ends in the Arctic, with Superman and Wraith punching the snot out of each other everywhere in between. Writer Scott Snyder steps out of the way for much of this fight, choosing to let artist Jim Lee explode all over the pages as Superman unleashes on his well-matched foe and vice versa. Several images cross the spread while many more panels individually consume no less than one-quarter of their respective pages, but Lee manages to keep “Superman Unchained” #8 from becoming a poster book. While many of the individual panels are worthy of presentation in a grander format, Lee ties them all together, weaving in storytelling and choreographing this bout between heavyweights. Twenty-one pages of fighting, some of it brutal, are brilliantly colored, complete with textures of energy signatures, boiling lava and foaming seas, courtesy of colorist Alex Sinclair. Lee drops a couple beats, like the staging of General Lane’s forces outside

In Scott Snyder and Jim Lee’s “Superman Unchained” #7, it’s zero hour for General Lane and his army. Up against technology specifically designed to take him out, Superman must rush to prepare for battle — but he may have a few aces up his sleeve just yet. As “Superman Unchained” hurtles towards its conclusion, the miniseries’ masterful setup is only just beginning to come together with a thrilling, gorgeously wrought climax and a world of promise for what’s to come. Like his work on other projects, Snyder leaves no plot point wasted here. Although there are two more issues to go before “Unchained” wraps, the pieces are clearly moving into place and the payoff has been more than rewarding so far. Snyder steers the story with subtle layers that demand a closer look, deftly inserting clever motifs like the countdown that neatly tie all the elements of this issue together, no matter how spread out the events may seem. His writing is fraught with nuance that enriches the plot at every tur

“Superman Unchained” has had several different plots interweaving, which made sense considering that it was originally announced as an ongoing series. But with Scott Snyder and Jim Lee’s series wrapping up in just three more issues, the book has shifted a bit. Some plots are winding down, even as others continue to wait in the wings. And the end result is certainly interesting, but could also use a bit of polish. I like the way that Snyder hasn’t lost sight of the rest of the DC Universe in “Superman Unchained” #6. With all of the nuclear missiles on the planet being launched at the end of the last issue, it makes sense that Superman wouldn’t have to try and stop them all himself. The familiar faces that are being called in to help helps ground “Superman Unchained” as part of a greater whole; the series has sometimes felt a little isolated from the rest of the line, and the scenes with the missiles here go a long way towards reconnecting. It’s no coincidence that Batman in particular

Scott Snyder explains the origin of the clandestine organization known as The Machine, as well as the rival Ascension movement in “Superman Unchained” #5, while Jim Lee and Scott Williams give up a few pages to Dustin Nguyen who illustrates several flashback scenes showing a young Clark Kent who is discovering his powers. With everyone’s motives now explained, Snyder is now able to forge ahead with the story, and he most certainly does with Ascension now making their deadly next move. Snyder also brings this story firmly into the DC Universe proper, with cameos from other characters which make this book feel like it really is part of the DCU, rather than an isolated story or one featuring an alternate version of the character. Lee and Williams now get the opportunity to make some other familiar characters appear just as imposing as Superman, if only for one page. Nguyen’s sepia-toned, painted flashbacks add some additional flair to the issue, with one sequence serving as the opening

While it is still the best mainstream Superman comic book title being released presently, “Superman Unchained” #3 contains some visual unevenness from penciler Jim Lee, inker Scott Williams and colorists Alex Sinclair and Jeromy Cox. Several panels from Lee are uncharacteristically shy on detail, defaulting to shadows or color effects to add the visual punch Lee usually brings. That’s not to say that Jim Lee does a bad job with this comic, it’s just not a topnotch Jim Lee comic. Lee does hit the high notes that mark pivot points in the story: Superman and Wraith grappling, Lex Luthor’s escape from the M.A.W., the grandeur of “The Machine” and Superman reeling from Wraith’s blows. What’s missing is the detail of the airplane that Lois Lane brings into a controlled crash landing, consistency in the features of General Sam Lane and imaginative character design for Wraith. Rather than an issue packed with artistic explosiveness, “Superman Unchained” #3 is packed with artistic coolness.

Between the weekly digital scratch for my Superman itch that “Adventures of Superman” provides and the promise of more Superman goodness already delivered upon in the first two issues of “Superman Unchained,” it sure seems like now is a pretty good time to be a Superfan, regardless of your feelings towards “Man of Steel.” Scott Snyder, Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair and Sal Cipriano really bring everything they can to elevate this story and give readers a timeless adventure of the Last Son of Krypton. While it was once taboo to tap into the thought process of Superman, Snyder opens up those thoughts for readers, helping to illustrate both the “Super” and the “man.” Unlike the cinematic interpretation, the Jim Lee-drawn champion possesses an innate sense to do good and to minimize lost lives and damaged property. There’s a balance present in his thoughts between the optimistic farmboy naivete and the meticulous studiousness of the most powerful man on the planet. Neither aspe

It’s been a bumpy rocket ship ride for Superman since DC Comics’ New 52 relaunch nearly two years ago. Meanwhile, under the steady guidance of writer Scott Snyder, DC’s other flagship character has largely been humming along like the Batmobile after a tune-up. So perhaps DC’s editors did the math and came up with the perfect formula to give the Man of Steel the kind of first issue that he should have had all along in “Superman Unchained” #1 — and with fan-favorite artist Jim Lee stepping up as penciler, DC has done found the right creators to make Superman great again. With the same kind of gosh-wow, cinematic synergy that Lee and writer Jeph Loeb mustered for “Hush” in “Batman” a decade ago, Lee, Snyder and inker Scott Williams (who was also around for “Hush”) once again make Superman the larger-than-life, iconic figure that he was always intended to be. Nowhere is that more true in this issue than in an awe-inspiring, four-page fold-out spread that is likely the largest rendering o

“Red Sonja: Unchained” #1 from Peter V. Brett and Jack Jadsen is a comic split in two directions. It spends over a quarter of the book rehashing what came before in the “Red Sonja: Blue” one-shot. When the action finally heats up and Red Sonja is just about to get to the next step, it’s suddenly the last page and things are “To be continued…” There are some good moments in this book, but they are matched in quantity by narrative flotsam and jetsam. Jack Jadsen is given the heavy lifting duties on this book and much like the book as a whole he delivers in some areas while dropping the ball in others. There is a fair degree of action in this issue and Jadsen works to make it feel exciting and kinetic. His panel layouts mix things up, his angles of view are dynamic, though a little too often showing people tilted up and away from the reader. He brings a lot of Red Sonja doing what she arguably does best, but isn’t able to master the basics of what bring a character to life: their face.