Superman: Space Age is a bit like Darwyn Cooke’s New Frontier except it’s not set in the ‘50s but the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s. We follow Superman and the usual DC cast as they do their thing through the years and history plays out more-or-less as it does in our timeline - except for the world ending in 1985 when the Anti-Monitor destroys the universe (a nod to the original Crisis on Infinite Earths that came out in ‘85).
Mark Russell is a decent writer - the characters sound like they should, and Lois and Jonathan Kent both get some great lines - but Space Age is unfortunately quite boring. It’s very slow and uninteresting for the most part. The story takes its time unfolding and, while we’re waiting for that, the familiar characters do familiar things we’ve seen them do a thousand times before. Clark learns Kansas wisdom from Jonathan and Martha, figures out his powers, goes to Metropolis, Daily Planet, Lois, etc. etc.
Lex does bad guy stuff, Hal Jordan goes from ace fighter pilot to Green Lantern, Bruce becomes Batman, the Justice League of America is formed, yadda yadda yadda. Meanwhile, if you’re familiar with history, you’ll see plenty of notable events from those times play out like the JFK assassination, Freedom Riders, Watergate, and Cold War shenanigans. I didn’t find any of it engaging because I’ve read this stuff before many times in many other books.
Very occasionally an original sequence would grab my attention. Like hearing about Jonathan Kent and Sam Lane’s experiences during the war (Jonathan in the Pacific Theater, Sam in the European). Russell reimagines both Batman and Joker’s origins and they’re surprisingly brilliant, and Superman’s solution for saving everyone from the Anti-Monitor was a clever one. And of course Michael Allred’s art is always a joy to see - it’s such a unique and appealing style, beautifully complemented by his wife Laura’s lively colours.
Aside from the art which was a constant, there were long stretches of the book that didn’t do anything for me except make me yawn. There are some inspired moments in the story that I mentioned above, but that, along with the art, really isn’t enough to recommend Superman: Space Age - a plodding, tedious read, particularly if you know these characters well.
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