Lois Lane #10 (of 12): Crash Course in the Multiverse To Go

Lois Lane feels as though it’s lost the plot this issue, when it should be ramping up for the big finale in two months. Thus far this series has been an expertly-rendered, taut political thriller – but now, writer Greg Rucka has decided that this is the point that the story needs to sidewind into not only mysticism, but a crash course in the nature of the multiverse. As far as narrative momentum goes, this story’s has ground to a screeching halt.

There’s some progress, at least, insofar as the subplot involving the Kiss of Death goes. But why was it necessary to divert the story to Jessica Midnight, a tertiary character at best? With all her connections throughout the DCU, couldn’t Lois have contacted Zatanna or someone a bit more up to the task at hand? On top of the misguided sidebar, the focus shifts too far away from Lois to such a degree that the majority of the issue feels like filler – and not even fun filler, but three double-splash pages telling readers what they (probably) already know about how the multiverse works. As far as storytelling goes, much of this issue is an unnecessary exposition dump in service of a character we barely know anything about.

It’s not all bad, though. As usual, there’s a lot of cute chemistry between Lois and Clark. The latter can’t quite leave her alone to do her job out of fear for her safety; her annoyance with his overbearing demeanor is palpable but overall loving in nature. Mike Perkins’ art is well-executed, though as per usual, the inks are too heavy and tend to bog the line weight down.

Overall, this issue is a pretty huge swing and a miss for the most part. It has its moments – the tension in the second half of the issue when the Kiss of Death arrives is very well-done – but with so much storytelling real estate spent on conveying unnecessary information to readers that they probably already know, it feels like Rucka is uncharacteristically treading water a bit until the big finish.