Newell figures out how to manage the issue better this time–there’s still the informative scenes, a particularly one where Lois goes to a home for runaways–but they feel more natural. The plotting of the comic, which is somewhat confusing just because Lois isn’t a rational protagonist, is fantastic.
There are a lot of subplots–Lucy, Lana, the detective, the rest of the staff at the Planet. While Lois doesn’t have time for them (about the only place where the issue falters is when Lois realizes how isolated she’s become), Newell takes the time. She shows how they’re reacting not just to the distance from Lois, but from their proximity to the events she’s covering.
And then there’s Clark. While a Superman “family” comic, there’s no Superman (something Newell undoubtedly wanted, given the seriousness of the story), but she still gets in the complicated relationship between Lois and Clark.
It’s excellent work.
A-
CREDITS
When It Rains, God is Crying; writer, Mindy Newell; artist, Gray Morrow; colorist, Joe Orlando; letterer, Agustin Mas; editor, Robert Greenberger; publisher, DC Comics.
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