Blog

Adventures of the Super Sons #1
Publisher: DC
Story: Peter J. Tomasi
Pencils: Carlo Barberi
Inks:  Art Thibert
Colors: Protobunker
Letters: Rob Leigh

A continuation of sorts of the canceled Super Sons comic, Adventures of the Super Sons picks up after that series, but takes place before the events of Man of Steel, when Jon and Lois are shown to be “missing.” In tone and style, Adventures of the Super Sons sticks closely to the format of its predecessor title, focusing on the relationship between Damian Wayne and Jon Kent, in both their “normal” lives as two pre-teens as well as in their secret identities as Robin and Superboy. The formula worked well in the previous series, but in this new series, Damian is even more snarky and insufferable than normal.

Tomasi uses a fun in-joke on the first page as a nod to fans to reference the cancelation of the previous series. After that, the tone changes significantly. The opening sequence in this issue showcases Damian’s sense of superiority and vindictiveness toward Jon, and the scene could be off-putting to new readers. There’s room in a title like this for Damian to be his normal obvious self, but Tomasi dials it up a little too much. The previous series showed a grudging respect building between Damian and Jon, and that relationship seems to be taking a step backwards as we see Damian go out of his way to use a recently defeated villain’s device to cause harm to Jon, just for fun and to make sure Jon knows that Damian is always one step ahead of him. While the scene could have been funny when handled correctly, instead it just makes Damian look like a jerk, and comes across as a misstep in his characterization by Tomasi.

However, that opening scene is a minor quibble in what is otherwise an enjoyable book about two super-hero kids who work together to fight crime, all while dealing with all the experiences that regular kids deal with, including homework, curfews, and parental supervision. This book, like Super Sons before it, carries a “T” rating, but is appropriate for kids of pretty much any reading age, and that’s a big benefit in a comic book market that is flooded with superhero content that is too adult for most kids.

The main story is this book involves both characters finishing school for the year and embarking on what Jon dubs “The Summer of Super!” (much to Damian’s chagrin), and the revelation of a goofy new super villain team that perfectly fits the tone of the book, even if some of the villain characters wouldn’t necessarily work outside of this title. The villains are revealed only at the tail end of the story, and given that Adventures of the Super Sons is a 12-issue mini-series, it seems likely that they will be the primary adversaries throughout a long 12-issue arc. For that reason, Tomasi can be excused for not developing their character that much in this debut issue.

On art duties, Carlo Barberi on pencils and Art Thibert on inking duties continue the quirky, expressive art style that Barberi utilized in the last few issues of the previous Super Sons series, and it’s entirely appropriate for this style of book. While at times it can be a bit more “cartoony” than the standard DC style, given the subject matter and the main protagonists both being pre-teens, it’s the perfect style for the adventures of Damian and Jon. The action scenes are dynamic and flow well, and Damian is properly shown to be a couple of years older than Jon, and the facial expressions of both main characters always convey the proper mood. The designs of the new villain team “The Gang” are also, with one minor exception, fun and detailed.

Overall, Adventures of the Super Sons is a good continuation of the previous series. If Tomasi can reign in his tendency to show Damian as a selfish jerk and go back to demonstrating Damian’s actual feelings and respect for Jon, and get a bit more into the background of the new villains, then this mini-series will be a worthy successor to the original Super Sons series.

Martin Thomas
martin@comicattack.net