Secret identities are for wusses!
Creative Staff:
Story: Gene Luen Yang
Art: Viktor Bogdanovic, Richard Friend
Colors: Hi-Fi
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
What They Say:
“MADE IN CHINA” part 3! When Kenan Kong decided to out the Justice League of China to the world, he was just trying to impress people, not start a revolution! But the damage is done, and the fallout turns deadly as these heroes come face to face with Flying Dragon General and the Freedom Fighters of China!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With three issues under its belt now, New Super-Man is still in a kind of weird place. Part of me appreciates that we’re seeing Kenan grow up already and realize some of what he’s doing is causing trouble and he has to step it up. At the same time, it feels like it’s too soon for him to actually feel like that and that he really needs some hard lessons to hit him. Gene Luen Yang is certainly having fun working things in this book as we start to spread out into the world a bit, a most necessary sequence, but I’m also just enjoying the heck out of the artwork, at least outside of some seriously weird moments, such as how Kenan looks on the first page with his face and mouth in the second panel. There’s a really great dynamic aspect to Bogdanovic’s artwork that’s hugely appealing here.
With this issue, some of what we have to deal with is how Kenan’s lack of seeming need for a secret identity is going to cause a lot of problems, particularly since he’s just trying to impress the reporter, Laney, as he reveals himself. That’s going to make a big impact on his father, something Dr. Omen tries to beat into his head later on after the rest of the team drags him back, and it can also lead to problems for other members on the team by association as well as the Ministry. Suffice to say, Kenan’s not looking at the big picture though he can likely rattle off a few heroes he knows by their real name in the world and point to them with how he wants to live his life. But, as we’ve seen, he’s not exactly the brightest bulb out there.
His reveal, and that of the Justice League of China, does make for some fun ripples that I hope get a chance to be explored. Luthor sees potential, Batman just wonders what impact it could have, and August General in Iron is just pissed and takes it up directly with Omen, which in turn has her smacking Kenan down more. The ramifications side is fun but it also leads to Kenan later getting some comfort time of sorts from the other two on the team outside of uniforms. It’s a moment to ease things a bit between them, though Kenan thinks his confessing is a holdover from being lassoed. All of this time talking is a big positive in character exploration and who they really are under the masks but it also set them into motion to figuring out what’s going on with the recent attacks and their connections, which in turn has them operating without Omen’s consent. It may not be a great idea but it’s one of those core team bonding moments that definitely helps get the kids into the right mindset for dealing with things.
In Summary:
While there’s a good bit of action that comes later, some nods toward Kenan’s father, and the introduction of the Freedom Fighters of China, the core of what made this installment work for me was just the downtime that we get. The first two issues were a constant bit of movement and reveals that really felt like it needed more time and spacing so that wasn’t as rushed as it was. While it’s nowhere near as rushed as the Superwoman series – thank goodness! – it still makes out really well here by having time for the characters to just shoot the breeze. It’s a better paced issue that continues to pique my interest and has me on board for a good bit more to see what they’ll do with it all.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: September 14th, 2016
MSRP: $2.99
