I just realized… with writer Jeph Loeb leaning heavily on the Protestantism for this final issue (in addition to the pastor giving a sermon, Pete Ross is getting churchy), there’s no good reason to not have some Christmas in it.

Clark is back in Smallville, having run home after discovering Lex Luthor can kill people and get away with it because he’s rich. Lana Lang is back home too. She narrates. She starts by telling the reader her only dream in life was to be Mrs. Clark Kent, and Superman ruined it for her.

Lana’s been gone since the first issue. Halfway around the world, she says. She didn’t learn anything there or have any valuable experiences—her “Eat, Pray, Love” convinced her to return to Smallville and find herself a good man, flying or not.

While Lana doesn’t have any character, Ma and Pa Kent have even less. Even though there are plenty of scenes from Clark’s perspective—heck, Lois Lane’s perspective—which Lana’s narration conveniently fits, there’s nothing with the parents. If Clark’s going to get his head right about superheroing, it’s going to be because there’s a crisis only he can handle.

Oh, wait, that solution doesn’t provide any actual character development. And it doesn’t even provide an iconic sequence. After wandering from Lana’s narration the whole issue, he gets super-close to her for the big action sequence.

Then, since Lana’s not in Metropolis and not going because the good men are in Smallville, the finale’s a rush. It’s a finish to this particular issue of the comic, but not a finish to For All Seasons. Doing vignettes works if there’s noticeable character development between them. Without, they’re just static.

Okay art from Tim Sale. His splash pages aren’t the family stuff, and Tim Sale doing Superman versus natural disaster art will only ever be so cool. It’s okay.

And the comic’s… better than last time, anyway. It’s a tepid finish, with Loeb overwriting the narration and underwriting the story. Since Lana Lang hasn’t mattered in the comic book at all, it doesn’t make sense her narration at the end matters. Think about the new readers.

Anyway.

Glad it’s over. Curious if it’s actually any better than Man of Steel but not willing to take that bait.

Well, I misremembered this issue, and not for the better. I thought Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale were going to do Bizarro. And although they use some of the same characters from the Bizarro origin in Man of Steel, Lex has a very different plan to humble Superman.

Lex is this issue’s narrator. It opens with him getting out of jail; Superman had him arrested for something, it’s unclear what, and now Lex is out for revenge. But he’s not going to clone Superman or steal kryptonite from Addis Ababa; he’s going to poison the city of Metropolis and let Superman feel helpless and alone.

It’s not the series’s first misstep—Loeb stumbled last time when he started setting up this plot line with a pointlessly recurring supporting player—but it’s the first significantly damaging one. Loeb shows his Lex Luthor cards, and he’s got nothing special. At the same time, he takes the focus away from Superman to the degree it’s only minimally about his experience here. It’s very disappointing.

Also disappointing for the first time is Tim Sale’s art. His two-page spreads are for big action sequences, not emotive establishing shots, and his linework changes on them like they’re rushed. And it doesn’t seem like Sale’s particularly proud of some of them either; the other two-page spreads have been signed. Not all of them are in this issue.

There’s no character development for anyone, another problem since Lex narrates, and one might think he’d get some. But, nope, just some uninspired observations: he’s got a God complex and had an abusive father. Nothing insightful, nothing special.

The same goes for the big reveal later on, when Sale has to design a new superhero and does a terrible mid-nineties design. It’s an odd issue on many levels and stops the series in its tracks.

Maybe the next issue will get things going again, but there’s no way to fully recover from this one. I’m bummed.

Writer Jeph Loeb pushes a little too hard with the soft cliffhanger setting up next issue; it’s two pages plus a panel, but it feels longer because it ties into the final action sequence. It’s Lex Luthor machinating against Superman stuff, which is inevitable but also one-note. Loeb doesn’t give Luthor any depth; he’s caricature.

It’s also pretty much the only thing wrong with the comic. And when Superman’s around to treat Luthor like a dipstick, it works; the cliffhanger setup is the problem. There’s no Superman in it. Plus, Loeb takes the emphasis away from Lois Lane—who’s narrating—and instead gives it to Luthor. The only real misstep in the lovely comic.

The issue opens with Lois’s narration; she’s talking about Perry White’s reporting advice, then talking about Superman. Accompanying the narration are visuals of Superman flying around the Art Deco future Metropolis on his way to his first adventure of the day, in this case, a missile headed directly towards the city. After saving the day and introducing Lois—in-person as opposed to her voice—to the comic and establishing the animosity between Superman and Luthor, Loeb downshifts and examines Clark Kent, big-city reporter. Lois’s narration continues, more sparingly, as she doesn’t know Clark’s Superman.

When Clark goes home to Smallville for his first visit since leaving—presumably he’s seen Ma and Pa Kent, just not anyone else—he finds he’s no more at home there any more than in Metropolis. There’s a great visual callback to the first issue, juxtaposing Clark and Pa Kent and the proverbial stars in their eyes.

The Smallville visit is very gentle, very sweet. Most of the comic’s sweet, with Superman charming everyone but Luthor, who’s jealous enough of the visitor from another world he’s maybe supplying terrorists and definitely endangering public safety with hastily designed drone heroes of his own.

There’s a lot of nice art from Tim Sale; lots of two-page spreads, some for action, some for mood. Both carry it; For All Seasons is a splendid, casually familiar comic book. Loeb’s Lois Lane narration is near perfect, with only a handful of iffy lines; given she’s narrating but not present, her lines have to at least minorly relate to the visualized action. Loeb does it well every time.

It would be nice to see some of the Daily Planet cast; Lois talks about Jimmy Olsen and White in the narration, but there’s nothing to them besides their presence in her narration. They’re not characters yet.

Some of Sale’s action art is breathtaking. All of it’s pretty darn good; great colors again from Bjarne Hansen.

I vaguely, trepidatiously remember where For All Seasons is going now, but hopefully, it’ll maintain its current level of quality.

The incredible thing about Superman For All Seasons is it never feels too precious. It ought to feel too precious as gentle, reserved giant Clark Kent ambles through his last spring in Smallville. Pa Kent narrates All Seasons, but Clark’s the protagonist. There’s a scene for Ma and Pa to talk about how Clark’s just getting so strong they don’t know what to do, but he can hear them, so it’s still his scene.

The issue tracks Clark through his final significant changes—flying and invulnerability. The flying gets a big scene—Clark versus tornado—but the invulnerability starts with a haircut. The comic’s got a relaxed pace, with a two-page spread sometimes establishing a familiar scene or location. Downtown Smallville, as it were, or a Metropolis establishing shot. Tim Sale’s art often implores consideration, with Jeph Loeb pacing the writing to match.

Pa Kent’s narration becomes a control of sorts.

The issue ends with Clark in Metropolis, already established. The issue’s supposed to be “Spring,” which apparently means it starts in one spring and ends in another, years later. They skip over the college years if there are any; there’s discussion about Clark’s plans after high school, but once he’s able to fight tornados, the comic doesn’t include them anymore.

The vast majority of the comic is solid, with the weakest scene probably being Clark trying to talk to the Smallville pastor about things. The pastor’s non-answer gets interrupted. Clark’s farewell flight with Lana Lang doesn’t have much in the way of story content, but Sale’s art is so good it doesn’t matter. Glorious night flight beats out intentionally indeterminate talking heads every time.

Superman’s only big action sequence is a violence-free save; Metropolis is an impossible safety hazard, so he’s presumably always busy. Loeb and Sale know how to deliver their moments, but they’ve been saving up for that one. It’s magnificent.

The “cliffhanger” introduces Lex Luthor—sporting his eighties Man of Steel red locks—but otherwise, the issue doesn’t do anything to forecast what’s coming next. Presumably, it’ll be well-paced and often lovely.

All Seasons is off to an exceptional start.

Oh, also—Bjarne Hansen’s colors. They’re enchanting. Again, kind of the point, but it’s also accomplishing its not inconsiderable ambitions.

I mean, one issue in, anyway.