Ever since DC Comics had started the daily digital comic release format we have received some amazing series with creative teams consisting of different artists, writers and more. Each week on a certain day, a digital comic gets its chance to shine and one of the best selling of those digital exclusives is a continuation of the sometimes-great TV Show
Smallville.
Smallville indeed did have it’s ups and downs, but it also provided a lift-off or starting point for many great actors who appeared as guest stars (Amy Adams actually appeared on a very early episode of
Smallville and now she has gone on to have a role as Lois Lane in Man of Steel.) and introduced tons of DC characters to the mainstream TV audience even though some of their appearances and personalities were not exact adaptations at times. When the show did have its positives the show was definitely a good piece of media and
Smallville Season 11 is definitely one of the better parts of
Smallville.
Smallville Season 11 #8 continues the Guardian storyline where Lex Luthor planned to launch platforms to watch over us incase Superman never could. As the last issue focused on action, this one has more drama. This time we get to see a lengthy phone call between Clark and Lois as well as Lex visiting Hank Henshaw for the first time since the tragedy.
This issue delivers all the dramatic goods a TV show should have and continues on Lex’s psychological problem where he is still seeing hallucinations of his late sister Tess Mercer who had been killed by Lex in the series finale. This storyline is being done very well as we currently are unaware if Tess is real or a figment of Lex’s mind and this storyline deeply reminds me of Season 3’s Lex story-arc where he went psycho and had to be “treated” for his “condition” by his father Lionel Luthor. Not only that, but Bryan Q Miller is constantly recreating Superman stories to fit the
Smallville canon as well as adding his own little touches. At the end of the last issue it was revealed that a small militia of helicopters and other military personnel arrive to take out Superman at the LexCorp tower and in this issue there’s a slight complication -- Lois gets involved in the chaos and Superman must find a way to save her while convincing the military that he is not here to harm Lex, Metropolis or anyone else after Lex starts framing him for huge crimes such as the tragic accident to Commander Hank Henshaw. I also would have liked some more follow up on the Green Arrow and Chloe storyline but it would be nice if it’s something big if they are holding it off for another issue. I know I have claimed my distaste for the art in the past but I must admit it’s really well done in this issue and I honestly don’t have a complaint about it this time around. While still delivering classic Superman stories into the show's canon, Bryan Q Miller is able to dish out exciting weekly stories that he never got a chance to in the TV Show.
Even though the TV series may have had its flops,
Smallville Season 11 makes up for everything that the show had missing in it and will most likely continue to do so. It’s no surprise that it’s better than
Action Comics or Superman from DC’s New 52 in not only terms of quality but sales as well so I expect it to stay that way if the creative team doesn’t change. I can’t think of many episodes of the show that are better than all of these comics combined. Bryan Q Miller is definitely making up for the lesser-liked moments of
Smallville.
My rating is an 8/10 and by far one of the best issues to date, if not the best. Superman is one of my favorite comic book characters and to see him being done justice outside of the mainstream comic universe pleases me so much.