Mild Mannered Reviews - Superman Adventures Comics

Superman Adventures #33

Scheduled to arrive in stores: May 5, 1999

Cover date: July 1999

Writer: Mark Millar
Penciller: Neil Vokes
Inker: Terry Austin

"Clark Kent is Superman and I Can Prove it!"

Michael (George) O'Connor Reviewed by: Michael O'Connor



As Clark Kent walks into the Planet, his eyes widen as he finds a sign reading, "Clark Kent is Superman." Lois and Jimmy attempt to see what Clark is looking at but only see a blank wall. At that moment, Clark gets a phone call from a man claiming he was the one that put the paint on the wall. Supposedly the paint was invisible ink, and thus only visible to Superman's vision. Clark quickly changes into Superman and follows the phone line but when he arrives at the pay phone, he finds that no one is there.

Later, Kent is walking down the streets only to hear a broadcast reporting that Kent is Superman. Again, the mysterious stranger who knows Superman's secret identity, reveals to Clark that he was using a fake broadcast that would only be visible to a super-man.

As Clark makes his way home, he finds that the stranger is sitting in his apartment. The stranger turns on the light and reveals himself to be Brad Wilson, Clark's enemy from Smallville High. Brad reveals that he knows that Clark is Superman and has known all along. He goes on to reveal his hardships at a dead-end job, where he eventually ended up drifting to petty crime. Eventually, he realized that he could make a great deal of money by revealing Superman's identity.

Wilson opens up Clark's closet and asks why Kent has a Superman costume inside. Kent replies that it was for a costume party and then shows Brad his receipt. Brad attempts to prove his claim but is rushed out by Clark finally even as he vows to follow Clark around.

Later, Clark and Jimmy enjoy a hotdog, only to find themselves being watched by Brad. When a fire breaks out elsewhere, Kent rushes off. Brad attempts to follow, but finds his shoelaces untied. Clark changes to Superman and deals with the fire, thinking about how he can get rid of Brad.

That night, Clark and Lex Luthor find themselves at the same party on a balcony alone when Brad suddenly shows up. So desperate that he jumps off the roof, knowing that Superman will save him. Superman does save him, but as he gets to the top of the building, he finds Clark still standing there. Brad suddenly realizes that Luthor is gone and rushes off, clearly confused.

In the Batcave, Superman and Batman drink to their victory, each commenting on how the others' stellar acting got Supes through a tough turn. Batman disguised himself as Kent, while Superman disguised himself as Luthor. Superman asks for one more favor from Bruce...

Some time later, Brad finds himself at Waynetech and sends a letter to Clark thanking him for putting up with him and also thanking him for getting him into a job.

4Story - 4: A delightful and entertaining story. Lately it seems that the Superman Adventures have been given a pre-Crisis feel. At least, that's what I felt when I read this and the previous issue. There were always the stories where Superman had to keep his identity secret and usually teamed up with either Supergirl or Batman to help get someone off his back. In this case, Brad Wilson was used and I was glad to see Brad from Superman movie fame in the comics. Add on to that an appearance by Batsy and you've got yourself a pretty good issue.

2Art - 2: Art certainly hasn't gotten any better... I don't know why they let Vokes do any of this stuff. He's absolutely awful. I was glad to see that Austin was back but even the best inking couldn't get those awful pencils looking good. If you ask me, Austin needs to get a giant eraser whenever he gets Vokes' work and start from there!

5Cover - 5: Fantastical cover by Manley and Austin. At least the covers have been pretty good lately. We've got Superman changing in the store room while somebody actually opens the door to see him in there. Masterfully done and an eye-catching image on the comic shelves.


Mild Mannered Reviews

1999

Note: Month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic was on sale.

June 1999

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