Ordway tones down the new style here a little and this issue has the best art of the arc. Levitz also changes gears, totally removing Lois Lane and revealing why Lex is so important.

Well, actually, he already revealed Lex’s importance, he just didn’t reveal the connection. This issue doesn’t help in that regard. While Lex did bankroll the people to kidnap Lois, apparently he didn’t want them to burn her alive. And then he’s messing around a lot in Gotham….

The issue ends with Lex revealed (mostly) and Superman and Batman both giving him a stern talking to.

Levitz doesn’t have a single scene with Superman and Batman together–there’s a panel at the end–and the issue just feels generally off. The pacing’s weak–not much happens, with an emphasis on showing Lex’s grand plan on the logistical scale.

It’s not a disappointment, just a waste of time.

Just like last issue, Levitz has a perfectly good handle on all the narration (it’s Superman, Lois and Batman again). Unfortunately, the plot doesn’t make any sense. Apparently, Lex Luthor is funding the Superman cult in order to get them to kill Lois Lane, but only if they get caught. Somehow, all of that business also has to do with Lex wanting to inspire an alien planet to worship him as a god.

What’s not clear is why the comic needs Lex Luthor at all. Levitz could have filled his pages with almost any other subplot (like the one he suggested in the first issue with Lois and a Planet coworker).

It’s actually rather confusing.

Ordway’s doing his paint-like thing again (he gets one great panel and then I realized it’s because Lois isn’t supposed to be moving).

It’s not bad… it’s just not good. It’s competent and disinterested.

Interesting new art style from Ordway. It approximates the look of painted and has all the same problems of static figures and figures not matching their backgrounds. It starts well though, so when it quickly tanks (especially during conversation scenes), it’s a surprise.

Levitz splits the issue between Superman, Batman and Lois. Superman’s off in space, messing around with a meteor, pissing off an alien planet. It’s cool to see him going from world to world, but the art doesn’t match it. Lois is working on a story and then she gets kidnapped by… wait for it… a cult devoted to Superman, who want to burn her for spurning his advances. That revelation is the cliffhanger. It’s amusing.

Batman’s mostly along for the ride, thanks to Lois’s panic device (for when Superman’s out of town).

Decent first person narration from all three, but the dialogue is occasionally weak.

It’s fine.