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DC Comics 'Birth' story by Dan Jurgens art by Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund
Spoiler space
The Superman books have never been as interesting as they were during the aftermath of Doomsday's first appearance, so despite the high price of this mini-series, I decided to check it out, as I don't think Jurgens has overused Doomsday at all. Sadly, like many other Jurgens projects, the potential and solid concepts are there, but the execution falls flat.
On the anniversary of the death of Adam Grant (son of Clark's friend Cat), Clark broods about the value of Superman's efforts when innocents are allowed to perish. Fittingly, he is summoned to Smallville, where Lana Lang Ross has prematurely delivered her baby, and she asks Clark to take the infant to a facility where his chances for survival would be better. At the same time, Superman is summoned to deal with the ultimate threat - Doomsday, who has already annihilated the Justice League.
Jurgens bases this mini-series on a great concept: the good of the many versus the good of the few. Normally, one would argue that the former is more important, but here, Superman's choice of the latter is understandable, touching and thought-provoking. However, Jurgens is heavy-handed and clumsy with the concept. First of all, he brings Clark and Cat together via a party at the Kent household... on the anniversary of Adam's death. Even Lois expresses her disbelief at such a coincidence.
The flashback scenes featuring Clark, Pete and Lana in the midst of a terrible snowstorm were well written, but so far, not sufficiently linked to the story. However, I feel that link is bound to come up in later issues, as Jurgens establishes the notion that sometimes giving up is more important that endeavoring to complete a key task in one's life.
Jurgens does not handle the Justice League well at all. Their dialogue rings false, notably Wonder Woman's, which seems a shade too flowery than normal.
There were visual problems as well. Not only are Rapmund's inks all wrong for Jurgens's normally pleasing-to-the-eye pencils (the work appears far too sketchy), but Jurgens's layout of the JLA/Doomsday battle is quite confusing, appearing rushed. To his credit, the quieter scenes are lovely.
However, Jurgens messes up Doomsday himself on the second-to-last page of this first issue. The brute looms over Wonder Woman's beaten form and reveals that '... the reports of my stupidity were greatly exaggerated!' I realize that Jurgens can argue that the creature's own heightened sense of evolutionary defence can account for this leap in intellect, but I preferred to view him as a force of nature. I liked the idea that the only thing to ever put an end to Superman was nature itself.
Don MacPherson
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