Saving the world is still a fun and carefree way to spend six issues.

When it comes to very popular series or characters, (Superman, Batman, The X-Men, etc.), there are so many spin-offs in the comic book world that it can become hard to tell which are main storylines and which are ones-offs. Sometimes they’re due to a guest writer, for example Grant Morrison’s recent Batman R.I.P., which I look forward to reading later this year. Sometimes the series explores a possibility, such as Red Son, a series of comics from the 1990s that examined what would have happened if the infant Superman had landed in Russia instead of Kansas.

Last I checked, both Batman and Superman have four individual comic book series, meaning they have four seperate monthly books that are published at a rate of one per week. Sometimes they are united in telling a single story arc and sometimes they’re simply rambling along with independent stories. This does not count any spin-offs, special titles, or Batman Superman. I say last I checked because I switched from comics to graphic novels when I turned 20. Weekly comic runs were difficult to schedule, I would run hot and cold with series, and comics started to cost more than they did when I was 15; we’re talking three to five dollars per issue.

Batman Superman is a one-issue-per-month series featuring the tag team adventures of its title characters. Each graphic novel, at least to date, consists of a complete six-issue storyline. The plot of this volume is simplistic: Batman and Superman work together to save the planet. Farfetched, I know. It involves a meteor, some time travel, a few Bat-gadgets, a really cool spaceship, and a smattering of other superheroes/villains, but all in all it’s a good basic plotline that allows readers to focus on the meat of book: thought.

Batman Superman features side boxes that display the heroes’ thoughts. Unlike campy thought bubbles, Superman thinks in gold rectangles with rounded corners and Batman thinks in a dark shade of blue. The thought process includes some plot relevant points, but it also includes critiques of each other — the hopefulness of Superman’s perfection foiled by the dark brooding in Batman’s broken spirit. Adding to the commentary is their mutual uncertainty of each other. Batman doesn’t fully understand Superman and vice versa.

I had and still have high hopes for this series, because there are so many possibilities to introduce new elements into these characters without changing them. Hopefully, there will be excessive discussions on porn addictions or murderous thoughts, maybe Bruce Wayne is crying on the inside, maybe Superman is a well-controlled OCD touching a door knob thirty times at the speed of light, or not. For now, Batman Superman is a guilty pleasure. I read it to get a frivolous dose of Batman and Superman. It’s nice to see the world get saved from unspeakable evil.

 

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