I have a love/hate relationship with Mark Millar. I love that he has the nerve to put certain outlandish ideas into comic book form when so many writers regurgitate the same old rubbish. I hate that he often pulls this off with all the subtlety of an angry, horny teenager.
This does not seem the case with his latest effort, Superior. In essence it’s Big meets Shazam. However Millar has run with this and what we get is a genuinely moving tale of a boy turned superhero. The dedication Simon shows to this new calling after the first disaster is great. Millar really conveys the innocent joy of a character using their full potential.
I also love how Simon seems to favor his super strength over his many other powers and uses it for every emergency. It reminded me of Superman Returns, where we saw the Man of Steel solve nearly all of his problems with lifting. Except in that film Superman wasn’t a child, he was Jesus. But I digress…
Prude that I am, my only complaint with this comic is that Leinil Yu (on solid form as always) feels the need to fit in some overtly sexual images. It seemed a little inappropriate for this kind of story and didn’t suit the tone. Did he feel that the script was too clean and a Mark Millar story like this deserved spicing up?
This aside, Millar appears to be investing a level of maturity and restraint here that was missing from comics like Nemesis or Kick-Ass. Will this one prove to be their…Superior? You’re right, that was lame.
Joe Read.
