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otherwyrld's review
4.0
I was ready to dismiss this book as being a generic Superman story rather than Smallville based mostly on the cover. Inside however, I was more than a little surprised to find that it stands up pretty well in the TV series mythology. I was at a bit of a disadvantage for parts of this story as I haven't read volume 1, but I could mostly guess what was going on.
Firstly the good parts - the art was pretty good and the likenesses were close enough for them not to be disappointing, though Chloe's smile was a bit off (if you watched the series you will know that smile). The difficulties of having the "no flying, no tights" restrictions from the TV series have been swept away and you can really appreciate how this has broadened out the appeal of the story. The other good part is the appearance of Batman in this story, something that the series could never do (either because of rights issues or general cost of obtaining the rights). You don't have to be either a Smallville fan or a DC comics fan to appreciate the story either. The Batman in this story is a pretty fully realised character as well, though I don't know enough Batman lore to say if the version seen here is completely new or has been based on some existing version.
The main issue I had with the story is that it gets a little crowded at times - not only do we have Superman, Lois, Green Arrow (the Smallville Green Arrow not the current, just to confuse people), Chloe and Lex from the series, but we also have Batman and Nightwing (here played by Barbara Gordon, which is fabulous and I don't know why this hasn't been done before) but also a bunch of villains such as Mr Freeze, the Toymaker, the Prankster and probably others. It means that a lot of significant events get less time spent on them than they should have, such as Batman quickly working out who Superman is, and vice versa. The whole Green Arrow/Chloe relationship gets short shrift as well, but there is a sweet section where Nightwing and Lois Lane take out a gang by themselves.
All in all though, I would rather had too much action than not enough so on the whole I really enjoyed this. It's a pity that my local library doesn't have the rest of the series because I would certainly read them
Firstly the good parts - the art was pretty good and the likenesses were close enough for them not to be disappointing, though Chloe's smile was a bit off (if you watched the series you will know that smile). The difficulties of having the "no flying, no tights" restrictions from the TV series have been swept away and you can really appreciate how this has broadened out the appeal of the story. The other good part is the appearance of Batman in this story, something that the series could never do (either because of rights issues or general cost of obtaining the rights). You don't have to be either a Smallville fan or a DC comics fan to appreciate the story either. The Batman in this story is a pretty fully realised character as well, though I don't know enough Batman lore to say if the version seen here is completely new or has been based on some existing version.
The main issue I had with the story is that it gets a little crowded at times - not only do we have Superman, Lois, Green Arrow (the Smallville Green Arrow not the current, just to confuse people), Chloe and Lex from the series, but we also have Batman and Nightwing (here played by Barbara Gordon, which is fabulous and I don't know why this hasn't been done before) but also a bunch of villains such as Mr Freeze, the Toymaker, the Prankster and probably others. It means that a lot of significant events get less time spent on them than they should have, such as Batman quickly working out who Superman is, and vice versa. The whole Green Arrow/Chloe relationship gets short shrift as well, but there is a sweet section where Nightwing and Lois Lane take out a gang by themselves.
All in all though, I would rather had too much action than not enough so on the whole I really enjoyed this. It's a pity that my local library doesn't have the rest of the series because I would certainly read them
mzpolarbear's review
4.0
More like 3.5 stars. I like the continuing stories of Lois/Clark, and Oliver/Chloe from Smallville, that Tess is haunting Lex. But I am not sure about introducing Batman/Bruce Wayne. but i enjoyed it none the less!
birdmanseven's review
5.0
I was indifferent to the first volume, but this was great! It was nice to finally have Batman in the Smallville world. They did a good job of making Batman and Nightwing different than they are in the regular DC universe. They even managed to maintain the feel of the Smallville in the dialogue. I particularly enjoyed the interactions between Lois and Barbara Gordon.
divineauthor's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
god i ADORE superbat interactions
kduncan's review
4.0
Love me some Smallville! I wish the series never ended but these graphic novels are pretty good too!
carriereads's review
5.0
Really enjoyed seeing batman and superman working together. this just really makes me want to see the new movie!! Haha! Anyway when Chloe told Ollie that thing at the end I was so happy!! We knew that from the season 10 finale but seeing her tell him just made me happy. ;);)
jotyler2021's review
3.0
I love the comic, but this volume has an annoying amount of Batman in it. Nothing against the bat, but he was more of a nuisance than anything and his personality wasn't very Batman-like; attacking Superman randomly, just because--must be a guy thing. I liked the character Nightwing, although she wasn't in it very much. All in all, not bad, but I am currently reading the newest comics in the series, and things are really getting good. If you were a huge fan of Smallville, then I definitely recommend reading this new series.
spiides's review
4.0
This completes my 'read a book without letting go' booktube-a-thon challenge. This volume is amazing, way better than the first, but still not a 5 star book. I'm excited to continue on with this.
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