Hi-Fi's colors also contribute a great deal to the book's voerall visual tone. Bogdonavic also shows a flair for using negative space and small, isolated panels to highlight key moments in the story. His figures are expressive but not burdened with lines or excessive detail. There are certainly larger-than-life characters and superhero elements, but in general the tone is pretty grounded as Yang and Bogdonavic focus on Kenan's troubled personal life and the ordinary residents of Shanghai. Bogdonavic's style suit the tone of this world. After an impressive stint on last year's Arkham Knight prequel comic, artist Viktor Bogdonavic finds a good home with this Superman series.
All of these ideas could be fascinating additions to the mix depending how much the series focuses on them. There's a sense in this issue that Yang is trying to explore China's rise as a global superpower and the Chinese public's bottomless thirst for American pop culture. Instead, this book seems more interested in exploring Superman as a symbol and the act of trying to recreate a powerful American icon in a Chinese setting. Yang isn't simply transplanting the story of Superman from the US to China and calling it a day. He doesn't have "salt of the earth" parents or a Rockwellian rural upbringing. Aside from the alliterative names and Kenan's Smallville-inspired fashion sense, there aren't many direct parallels between the stories of Clark Kent and Kong Kenan. The connection to the Superman franchise actually proves to be one of the more intriguing elements of this first issue. So while certain aspects of Kenan's rise may feel predictable, it's nice to see such a clear character arc taking shape already. Clearly, there's going to be a long journey ahead of Kenan before he actually becomes worthy of the Superman name. There's a sense that there's a decent human being beneath Kenan's gruff, self-absorbed exterior, though Yang hardly excuses his "hero" for his misdeeds. But while Kenan is a jerk, he's a sympathetic figure all the same, one with his fair share of father issues and a troubled, blue collar background. If this series were Spider-Man, it would be like Flash Thompson being bitten by the radioactive spider instead of Peter Parker. Lead protagonist Kong Kenan stands out mainly because he's not a heroic figure. However, gradually the depth of Yang's script makes itself apparent. That alone wouldn't really be enough to distinguish the series. It's easy enough to predict the general course of this origin story. You have the ordinary loser dreaming of fame and glory and being granted incredible powers. This series recycles many familiar beats when it comes to teen superhero stories. Granted, New Super-Man #1 doesn't necessarily stand out that much at first glance. New Super-Man is a standalone series that explores what happens when an ordinary Shanghai teenager gains the powers of the Man of Steel. The good news is that his new assignment allows Yang the freedom Superman didn't. That left far too little room for Yang to focus on what he does best, exploring and developing his very three-dimensional characters.
How could he? His entire run was was part of the never-ending crossover cycle that plagued the Superman franchise. Along the way he gets into violent and sometimes downright sexy adventures with the likes of the mage Yennefer, the jolly bard for a hype man in Jaskier who penned the certified bop, Toss a Coin to Your Witcher and a kikimora, a djinn, a stryzga, a dragon a hedgehog knight and every other kind of folkloric monster you can think of.Gene Luen Yang was perhaps the single most intriguing name added to DC's creative lineup last year, which is why it's so disappointing that Yang rarely lived up to his potential on Superman. Here is everything you need to know about The Witcher Timeline.Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, the Butcher of Blaviken, is on his way to find his destiny, Princess Ciri of Cintra.
Plus, with the animated prequel Nightmare of the Wolf exploring the origins of the mentor to the White Wolf himself, Vessemir at Caer Morhen, there's plenty to catch up on. With tricky timeline very much NOT in chronological order, season 1 can use some unpacking. Netflix is dropping season 2 of The Witcher this month so now's the time to brush up on Geralt of Rivia and his adventures across the Northern Kingdoms.