Remember when I said that I was reading comic books these days that were from series that I had previously written off? Well, here we are ready to go again! This time it’s back to DC and Superboy. The concept of Superboy is pretty interesting, given the two beings that make up his integral DNA, but I found that the novels so far have been lacking in excitement. Nothing I can do about that, but I guess since I started the series I might as well continue down this beaten path! Haha!
‘Lost’ is a novel that seems to be the amalgamation of different stories, very few of which are started logically, or finished logically. In the first story, we see Kon-El approached by Lure, a metahuman from the future who he clearly has some issues with comes to him to ask for help. At the same time, he gets involved in some shady business with his neighbour Dallas who’s having problems of her own. None of these stories means anything when we have Superboy attacked by H’El who is hellbent (ha!) on reviving Krypton at the expense of Earth. Standard procedure. Kon has to team up with Superman, who he meets for the first time and immediately dislikes. That being said, when H’El causes a dysfunction in Superboy’s DNA, he needs Superman’s aid and technology to keep him alive. The two of them join forces against H’El and Supergirl, the latter who clearly has been manipulated into thinking that H’El’s side is the right one. But the two heroes can’t do it alone and receive assistance from the Justice League. When H’El takes control of the Fortress of Solitude, the League and Kon have to mount an attack to claim it back and stop H’El from using the technology inside to destroy the Sun. During the heist, Superman and Superboy are pulled into some pocket dimension by a device in the Fortress, where they have to work together to get out. Can they put aside their odd differences and manage to escape? The last story is a sort of flashback but is told by Harvest, the being that created Superboy. Harvest explains his backstory and why he did what he did!
So surprisingly, I didn’t hate Superboy in this novel. In the last two, I’ve seen him grow up a little bit, and although fundamentally I can still see and hear Luthor in his words and actions, I see redemption perhaps on the horizon. That being said, this was a really weird novel. Both main stories had no endings, they just stopped in the middle and I’m assuming that’s because they continue in another novel. If I had to describe my feelings on that practice, it would be sometimes may be good, sometimes maybe shit. Aha! I would have liked to see the culmination of those stories in order to feel some sense of closure but oh well. What I did enjoy about the novel was seeing Superboy finally interacting with Superman and the rest of the Justice League. It was almost a little discerning how quickly they all gelled together. I think there is potential there!
As to be expected for a novel with multiple stories, the artwork varied for each of the issues. Some of them were good, and some were average. I don’t think there was any issue that I really disliked the art. The covers on the other hand were just average, and none of them really stuck out to me! Overall, not a bad novel in this series, but they need to build on this potential!
Favourite Panel:
He’s wearing Superman’s costume but you can hear the Lex Luthor in him!
Favourite Character:
Superboy is finally starting to grow as a character and I’m kinda here for this new version of him!
Rating:
Story Arc: ★★★
Character Development: ★★★½
Artwork: ★★★
Enjoyability: ★★★
Re-readability: ★★½
Level: Advanced