AUTHOR: FRANK MILLER | ARTIST: JOHN ROMITA JR. | FORMAT: SINGLE ISSUE | PUBLISHER: DC BLACK LABEL | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Doomed planet. Desperate scientists. Last hope. Kindly couple. Next to the dead parents of Bruce Wayne or Peter Parker’s radioactive spider, it’s hard to think of a superhero origin tale more iconic than Superman’s. One would also be hard-pressed to think of a writer less suited to reimagining such a story than hard-boiled old Frank Miller.
And yet here we are. Responsible for definitive takes on Batman and Daredevil’s first adventures, Miller sets his sights on the Man of Steel, assisted by the equally iconic John Romita Jr. on visuals. Anyone with even a passing knowledge of comic book lore will know the broader strokes, following baby Kal-El from the doomed planet of Krypton to his adoption by the kindly Kents. Like many a Superman story before it, Issue #1 sees young Clark traverse childhood and high school, coming to terms with his otherworldly origins and burgeoning powers.
While there are few shocks within the story itself, what does surprise is Miller’s warm and charming take on Clark and the Kents, so far lacking the writer’s usual meanness and cynicism. Could Frank Miller be softening in his old age? Anything is possible, but Clark is due to join the Navy next issue, so there’s still room for the gung-ho piss and vinegar we’ve all come to expect from Frank goddamn Miller.
Rather that than the writing thus far, which struggles with clunky narration and the youthful parlance of Smallville High Schoolers. This is a story we’ve seen and read many times before, and not even Frank Miller and John Romita Jr. can find a new angle to it. Lacking the focus and drive of Bruce Wayne or Matt Murdock, Clark’s journey is flabby and languid – Clark Kent trying to find his place in the world is a story worth telling but doesn’t flow as cleanly or naturally as others. Rest easy, fans of John Byrne and Dick Giordano’s Superman: The Man of Steel – Miller’s Year One isn’t a patch on their still-definitive take on the character.
Regardless, Frank Miller and John Romita Jr. are no force to be reckoned with, and Year One #1 is far from worthless. Beyond the fantastic artwork, it shows flourishes of personality and vigour. This might not be what we’d expected from Frank Miller at this stage in his career, but it’s a lot better and more palatable than the thing we had been expecting.
