Joshua Williamson has had a good start to his run on Superman. The series has been refreshed in the Dawn of DC era providing new opportunities to go on a new direction for Superman and Metropolis as a whole. Metropolis has been able to take the next step in living up to being the City of Tomorrow. Which brings us to the Superman 2023 Annual that looks to spotlight the staff of the Daily Planet. With Lois Lane in charge there are many interesting ways this annual can go. Find out how it went with our review of Superman 2023 Annual
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artists: Mahmud Asrar, Edwin Galmon, Caitlin Yarsky, Max Raynor, and Jack Herbert
Colorist: Dave McCaig, Edwin Galmon, and Alex Guimaraes
Letterer: Ariana Maher
SOLICITATION
“METROPOLIS’S SECRETS ARE REVEALED! Lois Lane is now editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet, but at heart she’ll always be an investigative reporter. And lately Metropolis has had a whole new set of secrets she must uncover. Even if it means investigating her own husband…Superman! Featuring Livewire, Parasite, and Mercy, this special issue is your next big puzzle piece leading to a massive Superman crossover in 2024! Don’t miss out!” – DC Comics
REVIEW
The new Superman solo series has obviously focused on establishing what Clark Kent’s status quo is in and out of being the Man of Steel. That has left not a lot of time to develop the supporting cast. That is where Superman Annual 2023 steps in to give spotlight on the cast at the Daily Planet. In going with this direction for the annual Joshua Williamson presents us with something that is fresh to the current direction of the Superman franchise.
With Superman Annual 2023 focusing in on the Daily Planet we finally got to see Lois Lane in action as Editor-In-Chief for more than just a couple of pages. The editorial meeting she has with her staff is a great way to establish how she handles running the Daily Planet compared to Perry White. Being a contemporary to most of the staff Lois speaks with a sense of authority that is evolving with the times. The assignments she gives show that she is looking to have the Daily Planet be leaders in reporting rather than staying comfortable writing the same stories they always write. Challenging the staff to get out of their comfort zone is helped by how she takes the initiative to get a story to show others it can be done.
This all helps connect to the bigger direction that is going on with Metropolis as there is a new normal being established. The city is evolving and getting to see that from the perspective of the non-superpowered in the form of the Daily Planet staff was refreshing. This gave us a different way of viewing Superman, Parasite, Livewire, and Marilyn Moonlight.
Given the oversized nature of Superman Annual 2023 the way the art duties was split up was some of the best handling of an artist group that’s been seen from DC Comics in a long time. Mahmud Asrar, Edwin Galmon, Caitlin Yarsky, Max Raynor, and Jack Herbert each handled their assignments well. Most importantly there was a flow to the transition to each artist so the person that came before had a similar style. These adjustments made it so the pacing of the story isn’t lost and highlights the strength of each artist.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Superman Annual 2023 is arguably the best issue Joshua Williamson has written since Dawn of DC started. Lois Lane and the staff of the Daily Planet are given strong presentations they’ve had. It’s so well done that once Superman Annual 2023 ends it leaves you believing a Daily Planet series should definitely be in the plans for the franchise. That is a sign of a successful comic book.
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10