A Good Ending for a Mediocre Story
I've been reading Scott Lobdell's run in the Superman title and I gotta say I'm not impressed by what's going on lately. Sure, H'El on Earth was entertaining but Lobdell's writing has been pretty hit-or-miss in these past few issues. In this final chapter of Psi-War, Lobdell is not the writer. Instead, Mike Johnson, Supergirl's writer, wraps up this story arc. Let's begin.
The Good
The art was very obviously a plus. Despite Lobdell's average writing, Eddy Barrows managed to pull off some very nice drawings. I loved his art style since Superman: Grounded. Without a doubt, the art was the one constantly good thing about this arc. As for the writing, Mike Johnson did deliver a satisfying conclusion. Ever since Action Comics #24, I was interested by this idea of Lois Lane getting psychic powers to help Superman beat the Psycho Pirate. I thought that Lois was take over the spotlight and beat the Pirate all by herself, considering Superman has been getting a beating issue after issue by psychic villains. Instead, Superman and Lois get equal attention at saving the day. Honestly, I enjoyed the interactions between the two and a great development happens in their relationship.
The Bad
Like I said before, Lobdell made some serious mistakes in the arc's past issues. Johnson does his best not to let them ruin this issue's quality. A big problem I have with the story arc is the fact that Orion gave Superman an ability to protect himself from psychic attacks. Lately, Superman just forgets he has this powers. The whole scenario is ruined by this little detail.
The Verdict
While the arc as a whole was average, this issue is very enjoyable and a good way to end this story. I really hope Lobdell can improve his writing standards by the time of Krypton Returns.
