City Boy #3: City Blues

City Boy #3 is a challenging comic to review. There is a lot of goodness tucked into its 32 pages, but it’s also heavily constrained and rushed by its mini-series format. While the story continues to chug along, it feels like it can’t decide whether it solely wants to focus on building up Cameron and the side of Metropolis he inhabits or tie him and his tale directly into more prominent DC comics lore. As such, this issue and the last have been very rushed, leaving little time to experience this narrative as a story truly, and not a sequence of plot beats smashed together to ensure everything Pak and the company have planned fits into a six-issue mini-series.

The issue picks up right where the last left off, with Cameron and Superman trying their utmost to wrangle and calm the spirit of Metropolis down. Starting with the positive, Superman, while written excellently, does not overshadow Cameron in this book. Instead, he is a catalyst for our protagonist to assess himself, learn from, and rebel ideologically. Rather than belittling Clark to make Cameron look better, Pak takes the road narratively enriching and uses the two in tandem to question and explore all of the insecurities Cameron still holds near and dear to his heart. Cameron can solve problems that Clark can’t. Still, he is being held back by something emotionally within himself that he hasn’t immensely grown mature enough to face, and this is seen and rendered superbly in his interactions with Clark, who isn’t overbearing, pretentious, or righteous when attempting to talk to and help Cameron. Neither one has things entirely right, but both can help one another solve the issue’s primary conflict.

In that sense, City Boy is at its best when it uses its page count to tell and illustrate character-driven moments. Pak’s character writing and emotional concepts are potent here, which is supported further by Jung’s clear and concise penciling. However, the book’s pacing overshadows what the team is attempting to do.

The comic’s story progresses so rapidly that significant events and character interactions often feel underdeveloped. There is a lack of emotional depth and resonance, as the reader doesn’t have sufficient time to connect with the story and its characters. Extended and more dynamic sequences would rectify this, but the book doesn’t have the space to do so. There is a particularly beautiful sequence surrounding Cameron’s mother abandoning him that would have customarily pushed the series forward excellently. Still, because it lacked a satisfying build-up, it fell flat.

While integrating the DC universe elements works well with Superman, it doesn’t have the same effect with including Apokolips. The connection to the broader DC universe feels forced, and consequently, the focus of the story ping-pongs between different plot elements, disrupting the flow and preventing the establishment of a consistent atmosphere and organic world-building. These are the pitfalls of a mini-series too big for its britches, which is disappointing as Cameron and his world were the most exciting things about his role in Lazarus Planet and the series’ first issue.