Superman has been a delight since DC Rebirth returned the icon to the simplicity and humor that have been its strengths since Siegel and Shuster originated the character, and Superman #7 is the best of the lot, with the titular character doing his best to honor a promise not to do any superheroics during their county fair outing, only to find himself compelled by his superpowered nature to do a good deed under the radar.
The main reason why this is such a compelling issue is that instead of Tomasi and Gleason treating their characters like action figures and hustling them into another superpowered adventure playset with breakneck enthusiasm, they allow Clark, Lois, and Jon to enjoy themselves in the more picturesque county fair playset. Action adventure comes—nearly—to a full stop, and instead we get a more heartfelt sense of play in a slice of life story with down to earth dialogue and hilarious staging.
Jorge Jimenez, the artist of Superman #3, returns to draw this issue, and does an outstanding job breathing life into the fair and making it look like the Superman family are enjoying themselves. The hilarious story is only amped up by the humorous arrangement of Jimenez’s panels, which gives the reader’s eye the sense of comic timing that these unfolding events need, in a manner reminiscent of the staging of “Aquaman’s Outrageous Adventure,” what many consider to be the best and most memorable of the Batman: The Brave and the Bold animated series. His last two pages especially were an excellent coda for Superman #7, and my recommendation to DC Comics is that when they’re collecitng the trade, this issue, and not Superman #6, should be the end of the arc.
Overall, Superman #7 is another excellent example of not only the best that DC Rebirth has to offer, but also a great reminder of why Superman will remain relevant in every age: often reduced to the emblem and the superpowers that the symbol represents, Clark Kent, like a Walter Mitty with real power, is also Everyman at his best, representative not only of our anxieties in their never-ending battle, but also our equally unending drive to do good. You can put him in conflict with Jack Kirby’s Fourth World, engage him in philosophical dialectic with the Guardians of Oa, or simply drop him in a fair and find an engaging story waiting.
