I’ve been a fan of Jason Aaron’s since the Vertigo days of The Other Side and Scalped, before he went to Marvel and did great work there for many years. His Punisher is as good as Garth Ennis’ - which is really saying something because Ennis’ Punisher is the definitive run on that character.
But Aaron has also done tremendous work on characters like Wolverine, Ghost Rider, Doctor Strange, Hulk, and he redefined Thor for the 21st century, including his vision for Jane Foster in that title. The first few books in the new Marvel era of Star Wars are the best that series has had to date.
Then, for whatever reason, the quality disappeared somewhere around 2017-18. He couldn’t work his magic on the newly-acquired Conan the Barbarian, his Avengers was boring fluff, his return to both Punisher and Thor were both uninspired and flat. His Image work dried up - not entirely his fault; Jason Latour turned out to be a creep, but it’s a shame because Southern Bastards was great - and the one that did peep out, The Goddamned, reuniting him with his Scalped artist RM Guera, was nowhere near as great as Scalped was.
I’ve still followed his work because he is definitely one of the best writers ever in comics, but I haven’t seen the Jason Aaron of the late ‘00s/early to mid ‘10s in some time.
Anyway, I’m glad he’s taking a break from Marvel because he wasn’t doing anything there, just spinning his wheels, and gone back to the publisher where he first gained attention, DC (who have also sensibly brought back Vertigo). I’ve wanted to read a Jason Aaron Batman or Superman for a long time (check out his Penguin issue from years ago - it’s amazing).
So I was delighted to hear he was put on Superman in their definitely-not-aping-Marvel’s-Ultimates-relaunch, Absolute. Well… it’s not terrible, but this first issue isn’t the return to form for Aaron I’d hoped for.
(And thank you for indulging that rambling intro - and hopefully it’ll turn newer readers onto some good titles)
It’s not the usual Krypton-blowing-up origin that everyone knows already (yet), but we do start there, establishing that the Els were salt of the earth people and that Superman stands for the working man. Then we’re in Brazil, present-day, where a mysterious figure is standing up to the evil Lazarus corp’s diamond mining operation. Kal-El is revealed and we get the issue’s stinger, with some post-credits scenes for what we can expect later on down the line.
The issue felt like Aaron was going for the opening sequence of JJ Abrams’ first Star Trek movie: it feels familiar but also new, it’s flashy. Unlike Abrams’ movie though, there’s no great action scene that gets the blood pumping - instead it’s just goons shooting bullets at Superman, who stands there unharmed. It’s the opposite of exciting. And that’s what all the rather mundane table-setting has been leading up to as well. It’s quite underwhelming.
The political angle just felt corny. Superman’s about the little guy, he’s an environmentalist - ok, sure, but it’s really noticeable that when superhero comics dips its toes into politics, it always falls flat on its face. Take Tom Taylor’s recent Superman run with Jon Kent - that was proudly political and made for some terrible comics (leading to an unsurprising early cancellation).
I know writers these days feel like they have some kind of social obligation for progressiveness but I don’t think superhero comics is the place to implement that stuff - a socially-progressive Superman isn’t going to change minds in our society, especially when it’s boring to read. Just embrace the fact that superhero comics are, like most commercial art, disposable entertainment and run with it. That doesn’t mean don’t take it seriously, but focus on the dramatic aspects within its boundaries, instead of making a point of saying “diamond mining bad - me fix!” because even if Superman does that on the page, he’s not doing it in real life.
Rafa Sandoval’s art is good - nothing too standout from what you’d expect to see on a top tier superhero title but still evidently high quality and skillful. Superman’s cape-less outfit with the longish hair? Eh… doesn’t look good. Feels like we’ll be looking back on this with the same irony as we do with ‘90s mullet Superman - maybe even less so because this isn’t as egregious and looks more forgettable.
I wasn’t wowed by the final page, and I’m kinda curious about the sizzle reel that closes out the issue, but I’m also unconvinced that this is going to be a great series. I hope it is - maybe this’ll be a slow burn that’ll read better in a collected edition rather than piecemeal in the monthlies. Though I’m also aware of Aaron’s no-hitter streak he’s been on for a really long time now, and I wonder if he’ll ever return to the quality that was once synonymous with his name.
Absolute Superman #1 is a slow, unimpressive start to what should have been one of the year’s biggest comics - I wouldn’t even recommend it to longtime fans of this writer or character.
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