Superman: Lois and Clark #8 Review

The Sense of an Ending

Written by: Dan Jurgens
Art by: Lee Weeks,  Scott Hanna and Jeromy Cox
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: May 25, 2016

I have really enjoyed reading about Lois and Clark going all the way back to when they "premiered" in Convergence about a year ago.  I got my wish that their story would continue and even if the science behind it all was a little weird, I have let story trump continuity...Eric be damned!  Well, now it's all ending to head into Rebirth, but this is one of those weird situations...this book is ending, but the characters are continuing in the main Superman title.  Plus, these characters are involved in the Final Days of Superman story also ending this week.  Can Dan Jurgens juggle all of that and finish it up with a satisfactory ending?  Let's find out...


Things start out okay as we see Lois and Jon hanging out in the backyard with Jon providing narration about how cool it is that Superman is his dad.  I kind of have to agree with him there and he also gets some pretty kick ass fringe benefits...SUPERPOWERS!  

This series has been at it's strongest when it concentrates on family and this scene is a reminder of that.  Lois also gives Jon and the reader a crash course in what makes Superman so super..."Integrity, honor, doing the right thing...That's what Superman truly stands for."  Amen, Lois...now if we could only get her in a time machine and send her back to those early "Truth" writing sessions!

Of course, being a little kid, Jon wants his powers and he wants them NOW!  What a little Veruca Salt!!!  He does tell Lois that he wants powers to protect her from Intergang.  Luckily for the little guy, we won't be seeing those thugs in this book anymore.  Sadly, this is going to become a trend in an issue that seems more concerned with quick resolutions than satisfying endings.

Next we head off to see Superman as his "visions" lead him to the island where he first found Hank Henshaw.  If you were confused by the dreams Clark saw out of nowhere last issue, you will just have to go with it because they aren't really explained.  Well, Hyathis says it's the Oblivion Stone communicating with Clark, but she's crazy and says a lot of things!

Then we get a fight.  Superman fighting Hyathis and me fighting to keep from getting angry. I guess that's two fights and while Superman kind of wins his, I lost mine miserably.  While the actual fisticuffs were cool to watch, the resolution was not.  Who am I kidding, there really wasn't any real resolution.  Hyathis just gives up and says she'll get the other half of the Oblivion Stone "in due time" and then vanishes in thin air, Clark doesn't trust Hank, but will look into it later and the other guy hanging around wants to know who Clark is and will make sure he does just that...eventually.  What the Fuck?!?!?!?

Listen, I hope that some of these things are resolved in the Rebirth books, but we have been dealing with them here in this book so I was hoping to get some closure...In This Book!!! 

The actually ending tries to explain some of this stuff away (including the whole Intergang no-show), but it's as forced and rushed as the rest of the issue.  Then Jurgens gets back to the good, old family stuff and even gets in a couple of pokes at the dying New 52 while he's at it.  Too Soon?!?!?   Then we get to see one of the moments we all wanted to see when this book debuted and even if it doesn't erase all the bullshit before it, I am looking forward to seeing everyone in Rebirth!

If someone looks me in the eye and tries to tell me that this whole series was meant to end this way, I will slap them right in the mouth.  We had so much buildup for Hank Henshaw and the Oblivion Stone and Intergang stories and it just...ends.  Seriously, the whole book just ends dead in it's tracks.  I still loved the series as a whole and in my heart of hearts know that Dan Jurgens had to fudge things to get to Rebirth, but his name is still in the credits and this book is still on the shelf and I blame everyone!!!  Well, maybe not the art team or the guys in the publicity department, but everyone else!!!  Yea, that seems way to harsh too so I'll just give this issue a bad score and shake my fist at the wall next to my desk for a couple of minutes.

Okay, I'm back to talk about the art.  It was great!!!  Lee Weeks and company have kicked ass on every issue they've been on and this was not the time to change that.  While it lasted, this was one of the best books on the shelf.  

Bits and Pieces:

Another book ends to make way for Rebirth and while I can't say that any of them have been stellar, this one may be the worst.  Dan Jurgens just ends things with the wave of his hand a alakazam and after investing myself in this series, I couldn't help but get pissed off.  Sure, Lee Week's and company gave fans great looking issue, but everything else stunk on ice.  I am still looking forward to seeing the "Whites" in Rebirth, but this issue just left me wondering what could have been...because this just couldn't have been the original plan.

4.0/10