You know, I don’t care what anyone says. I liked this story.
Ah 1995.
I mentioned in my Trial of Superman Acquisition Post that the latter part of that year was kind of the suck but the spring and summer? A little rough in places but at the same time probably some of the best days of my late teen-aged life. I was pretty much on my own, going to college, spending money I really didn’t have to spend, had a girlfriend and around the time this story hit I reunited with one of the best friends I will ever have. One of the comics in this trade is Superman(Vol. 2) #100, which was part of a series of unconnected centennial issues that DC was kicking out that summer. Flash, Green Arrow, Justice League America and Wonder Woman all had big time double sized issues to mark their ability to stay in print for one hundred months and to culminate huge events in their characters lives.
Technically all of these books, including Superman had hit the hundred issue mark a month before thanks to Zero Month, but in comics it is not the actual anniversary that matters but when people choose to celebrate it.
“The Death of Clark Kent” was, to me, one of the best Post-Back-From-The-Dead Superman events the seeds of which were planted during the previously mentioned Zero Month when Kenny Braverman (a.k.a. Conduit) made his ret-conned first appearance. I never had a problem with Kenny Braverman. I thought then and think now that he was the natural end result of a Clark Kent who was a sports star in high school. Conduit had a great origin and was a solid villain for Clark Kent and Superman.
But maybe that’s just me.
Some of the people I have talked to don’t like this story very much. My buddy Shag over at Once Upon a Geek told me that this was the story that made him drop the Superman books for a time. He then told me that he got back into during the whole “Electro-Blue Superman” story.
Which to me is a lot like dumping a girl because she’s a little flaky and then getting back together with her after she gets out of prison for killing her last boyfriend.
Okay, maybe that’s a little harsh, but I think I made my point.
Unlike the other trades I’ve purchased recently I have decided to go ahead and read this one right away instead of waiting to get to it in the ongoing re-reading of my Post-Crisis Superman run. I have some plans for this story.
What plans?
More to follow…