Superwoman #11 Review and **SPOILERS**

-->The Boogey Man is a Crime Boss

Script: K. Perkins 

Pencils: José Luís 

Inks: Ray McCarthy 

Letters: Josh Reed 

Colors: Hi-Fi 

Cover Art: Ken Lashley/Hi-Fi 

Cover Price: $3.99

On Sale Date: June 14, 2017

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Okay, I’m gonna level with you: I haven’t been reading Superwoman regularly since I stopped reviewing it last December. I’ve read a few issues, and thought I’d read the most recent issue…but I didn’t. I think I get the gist of what’s going on, however, owing to the good storytelling of the comic, but…if I get something wrong, don’t break my balls too much, alright? And besides, I’m sure to be kinder on the final score given that I’ve shown up late to the party. Let’s see if that’s something to congratulate or condemn in my review of Superwoman #11, right here!

Explain It!

Our story begins in the Some Time Ago, in Metropolis, before Lana got her Superwoman powers that she doesn’t even have any more, and presumably Lois Lane was still alive and Superman was running around in a t-shirt or whatever. The New 52, essentially. John’s nephew Zeke wakes up scared of a monster in his room, and John and Lana come rushing in to tell him that only stupid little babies are scared of monsters. Lana suggests that a superhero would pound any monster that tries to get him, then they leave and a monster peeks out from the kid’s closet right next to his bed. While Zeke is being terrorized upstairs, John, his daughter Natasha, and Lana are interrupted by the arrival of Natasha’s decidedly disheveled-looking Clay. He’s got a sack of money, which he says he’s earned through dealings with the literal monster Skyhook. The Irons and Lana don’t want his filthy money, of course. That very night, Zeke disappears, and Clay is been arrested for illegal arms trafficking while fighting with some cops, which probably added to the charges. Clay knows that Skyhook, the boogey man that also needs guns for some reason? Anyway Skyhook took Zeke because he is really bad at keeping good business relationships. And Natasha blames her dad for everything, which is logical. And so the stage is set for this issue. I think.

Lana heads over to the Metropolis Police Department to grill Captain Maggie Sawyer about some escapees from Stryker Prison back in Superwoman #2 (which I don’t recall, but I will take the editor’s word for it) and Sawyer immediately yells at Lana for getting involved in Zeke’s kidnapping in her capacity as a reporter for the Daily Star, when she is so close to his uncle and cousin. Uh, what? She does mention Zeke when Sawyer happens upon her, and she’s looking at a bulletin board with pictures of Skyhook and Crash, aka Clay, pinned to it, but she totally asked about this other thing. Which is probably related, but still. Sawyer just snaps out and, of course, hot-head Lana immediately responds with anger. Just then, Officer Atomic Skull walks over to say that his interrogation of Remnant has produced some good intel. Atomic Skull as a police officer is awesome and I think he’s ready for his miniseries now. A. Skull has learned that Clay is amassing an army with plenty of ordinance to execute a military-style plan to take out Skyhook. He couldn’t find out where Clay is, but he has Skyhook’s last known location. Lana listens in on their mumbling, thinking to herself that she’s got to get to Skyhook before Clay or the Irons, because they’re gonna kill him!

Lana goes home and lies to John and Natasha about having intel on Skyhook, then lets them go off on a wild goose chase before she jumps in her super-suit and takes off after Skyhook herself. Thing is, in this new suit she’s pretty much a traveling light show, so I don’t know how she could sneak away. She finds Skyhook, who is all freaky wings and talents and taunts about the cowardly Irons family. She points out that Skyhook is the coward here, since he preys on children, and the fight is on! Skyhook gets the immediate upper hand, but Lana is able to take him out of his lair and into the air (hey!), before they land on the magnetized tracks of the Metropolis commuter railway. Magnetic rails depower Lana, and Skyhook starts beating her up but good, ripping apart her suit and talking lots of smack in the process. Instead of killing her, however, Skyhook flies away at the last moment, leaving Lana battered and alone to face her own failure!

On the face of it, this isn’t such a bad story. We’ve got gangsters, a monster, Atomic Skull in a police uniform…there’s lots to like. But the characterizations of everyone was a little overly intense for my taste. It seems like the only two vocal pitches in this universe are placating and yelling, and I just don’t see Lana as the quick-to-snap character she’s been portrayed as through this series. That portrayal has been consistent, though, and eleven issues in I can hardly complain. The storytelling is good, a little dense but not too crowded and a LOT better than I remember it being under Phil Jimenez. You could do worse than this, but in truth I think it could be slightly better. Perhaps there is character growth yet to come.

Bits and Pieces:

I'm scoring with some leniency, being that I haven't been reading the book regularly since December, and it's not a bad comic at all. Most of the characters waver between yelling at each other and making snide remarks, but the plot is interesting enough, and there's a good, funny moment that breaks up the monotony. Right now, I'm riding high on a feeling...for Superwoman!

8/10