Cat Staggs

**I read these as different sections since I bought them digitally, so am including them all here under "Alien".**

3.5 stars overall (when adding up the stars of the first three)

Digital Comic 1 - 3 stars

I was a huge Smallville fan, so when I saw this comic series, which was released in print and digitally, I had to jump on it. The price for digital version is only a $1.00 from sources like Comixology, but the print cost for the physical is too high for pricey for how short it is.

The artwork is stunning, although it doesn't resemble Tom Welling's face as much in the inside as it does on the cover. The opening was a treat with a memory with Jonathan Kent and Clark when he was a child about to give a speech, getting another pep talk from 'good ol pa.' The artwork for them both, including Jonathan's face and Clark's plaid shirt, was spot on. It then cuts to a weird shot where Superman briefly uses some alien looking device to communicate with Lois and her cell phone (cool) but then goes to save a train with Japanese and that falls flat to me.

The public is anti-alien and completely unappreciative. This is touched upon at the beginning after the memory opening, where Superman is hearing snippets of doubt floating up.

Really little else happens in the story, but we do get a brief shot of the watchtower so that has kept established. Have no idea who the woman was he was communicating with at the controls. It ends on a cliffhanger.

Digital Comic 2 - 3 stars

It opens up with the anti-alien public (even with signs that show a little green man in purple suit having a red circle through and around him.) The comics don't open with Superman making an entrance to celebration and joy at having a superhero savior around, but with trust, dislike, doubts, and claims he never told him before he was alien. This makes everyone pissed, apparently. I don't get it much though as I don't remember that being a thing from Smallville - Clark was known as 'the blur' for a time in the Daily Planet, but he as the blur never did interviews and was never spoken to. So he couldn't have lied. I can get public distrust of an alien entity, but with dialogue of "why didn't you tell us you were an alien?" --- where is that coming from?

I didn't mention it in the other review, but I like the updated suit. It's...trimming and breaks up the repetitive blue shade.

I loved the Lex stuff. He wasn't in the opening issue so it's good he's in here. I was amused to see the assistant as being named Otis. Their banter is enjoyable. I enjoyed one of Lex's first lines on seeming a bit confused on the Superman thing.

They continue with the vague outlines of where the first cliffhanger left off. I'm not into that story much and have never been the biggest fan of alternate realities. Weird for me to say with liking this kind of stuff as they all do it, but that's the case. Apparently Supergirl is active in the watchtower - haven't seen other famous names yet, no Batman, Flash, etc...but there's still that weird red person manning the tower

Digital Comic 3 - 4 stars

The story got much better here - Lex Luthor is focused on quite a bit. Chloe comes on the scene heavily pregnant and saying how bored she and Oliver are - I guess he's retired, wonder why? - and Lois and her do some girl chat before Clark goes aboard the LexCorp jet to accompany Lex to a trip to Russia to discover what/who landed there (cliffhanger ending with first edition.)

I loved the banter with Clark and Lex. When he asks him why hates Superman, Lex says he doesn't know for sure, but suspects it must have something to do with his former life before the amnesia. I found that a bit depressing, including how he says he's starting to like him during their discussion of friendly banter, even if most of that is just for show now with the man he's become. The humor is funny though as he really kept a sense of humor from the show, including the jab about eating Otis's peanuts on the plane.

The cliffhanger was there to have you wanting to read more, but it wasn't an annoying cliffhanger… (mais)