Superman: The Third Kryptonian #1

Superman continues to search for the possible third Kryptonian on Earth with the help of Batman. After finding the Kryptonian, a battle breaks out threatening the lives of millions. 

Kurt Busiek continues his run on the series and this time is accompanied by writers Fabian Nicieza and Dwayne McDuffie. Busiek still handles the bulk of the writing and focuses on this third Kryptonian which readers learned of when the Auctioneer appeared in Metropolis a while back. I had been awaiting Busiek to touch on this subject. He continued with other story arcs but the identity of this third Kryptonian had stayed in the back of my mind.

The part with the third Kryptonian was pretty fun. At first I didn't care about this Kryptonian's backstory as I got the feeling this character wasn't the type of character that would be around for issues to come. I won't say the characters identity for readers who haven't read this yet. Busiek does do a decent job wrapping up the story very nicely leaving readers open to the possibilities in the future. 

I find it sort of funny that my favorite parts of this comic were when Superman wasn't in action. The final two issues show Superman and his family on vacation and later on Jonathan Kent retells a story to his wife Martha about how Superman saved an alien race from perish. The dialogue was written well so it's not that surprising I enjoyed the interaction between these characters over the fight with Amalak. Of course Renato Guedes' artwork played a factor in it all as well. Overall it just shows Superman as more of a grounded individual. Not only that but you rarely see what superheroes do when they're not saving lives. 

The art for the the main three issue story arc was done by Rick Leonardi. I had mixed feelings towards his work. At times he showed moments of great potential only to squander it all in the next panel. In one panel Lois Lane looked like a boy. He was at his best when drawing up close shots of characters. The last two issues were drawn by Renato Gudes who definitely impressed me with his work. The cover of the trade was done by him and the interior artwork is drawn in that same style. He drew a great Christopher Reeve looking Superman fans will appreciate. The coloring style definitely suited Guedes pencils. 

This isn't the best Superman story arc but it's still a nice enjoyable read that's worth your time. Kurt Busiek has been doing great things on this series and I'm excited to see what he comes up with next. I like the way he has written Superman thus far and I hope the quality of his work will only get better.