Superman #10: Cowboy’s Sad Song

“But stubborn pride is just the way of cowboys I suppose…” Even love can’t change the things he ought to change the most. And it’s pride that keeps him standing when he should be on his knees. Makin’ apologies but she loves him desperately” – Dolly Parton

It’s the return of Bronze Age super-baddie, the cyber cowboy from the past, Terra-Man! After the climactic battle between Graff, Marilyn Midnight and Superman last issue, Clark and Marilyn are stuck in the Wild West, Superman’s powerless, with only one way to get home! How do they make it back? How’d they get shunted back to the past? Plus a development on the identity of Marilyn Midnight!

Joshua Williamson’s run on Superman has been a lot of fun, with some peaks and valleys, but for the most part it’s been a lot of fun, and this issue was no exception. It might have been the most fun of the run thus far, and a lot of it has to do with Williamson’s delivery. Some of his newer characters have fallen flat, but his Terra-Man is full of personality and wit, and makes the issue sparkle. Terra Man is an old school villain going all the way back to 1972, who is a time traveling cowboy, that pops up from time to time to give us a nice respite from some of the more melodramatic melange that is modern comic book storytelling. Williamson got this, and executed it succinctly here. 

Terra-Man’s just full of personality here. There’s a glint in his eye, and the sly-slick smile of one of those ne’er do wells that has you rooting for the underdog, and that’s just what this run needed. A lot of that fantastic delivery had to do with the art, and Bruno Redondo delivered an experience that elevated the overall quality of the issue. Bruno Redondo is one of those artists that has quickly risen in the ranks of DC’s hierarchy, so seeing him here was a delight. His style was the perfect topper for the issue. It’s hard to top Jamal Campbell’s cover of thirst trap farmhand Clark, but Bruno did that here. Whether it’s the shine from the time traveling six shooter, or when the light hits Clark’s coy farm boy smile, it’s just perfection. The biggest complaint is that it’s just for this issue. 

Williamson’s delivery here has produced one of the most charming issues to date for the Man of Steel in the Dawn of DC, and it’s a testament to the writer sticking to his guns here. A lot of current comics writers are busy trying to write the next Watchmen, Williamson’s just trying to tell a fun story. Don’t get me wrong, Williamson is trying to write his own Watchmen, but here it’s just a fun story, with some fresh and old reliable faces, and at the end of the day, that’s all a comic can ask for.