New Super-Man and the Justice League of China #24 Review and **SPOILERS**

That’ll Do, Kong

Writer: Gene Luen Yang 

Pencils: Brent Peeples 

Inks: Matt Santorelli and Scott Hanna 

Colors: Hi-Fi 

Letters: Dave Sharpe 

Cover: Philip Tan with Elmer Santos 

Variant Cover: Bernard Chang 

Associate Editor: Jessica Chen 

Editor: Paul Kaminski 

Cover Price: $3.99 

On Sale Date: June 13, 2018

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

New Super-Man and the Justice League of China, we hardly knew ye. This is the final issue of my most favorite DC Comics book since Rebirth. Think I’m glad about it? Nope…but I have to admit that Gene Luen Yang and Kong Kenan have made their marks. Find out what the marks are for this last look at the series, in my review, seen below!

Explain It!

I don’t know that I’ve ever followed a comic book series that was so troubled as closely as I have followed this one. Usually, when things get weird in a narrative, I hop off and rarely think about the comic again. This case was unique, not only because I reviewed the series, and therefore couldn’t just discard it willfully, but because I was genuinely attached to the story and hoped it would get better. In truth, had I not reviewed New Super-Man, it’s likely I’d never have checked it out. But having done so, I definitely feel like this has been the best, most consistent title since DC Comics’ Rebirth, and it’s a shame that it has to end.

It almost ended, of course, at issue #12. Then someone said issue #18. And so, there were a few issues in there, right around #16 or #17, that got a little loose—like ten pounds of story had been stuffed into a five-pound bag. And then the series title changed to New Super-Man and the Justice League of China…and six issues later, it is all over. It feels unfair to have this title cut off just as the status quo changed, but I also know that we got far more than was expected by anyone. There are some loose threads (Laney Lan?), some unfollowed paths (Kenan and Avery smooching?), but overall I’m pretty satisfied with what we did get.

And what we do get is Kenan and the rest of the crew heading into I-Ching’s ghost world, to learn that he had the power inside of him all along. There’s some great final interactions between characters, including Kwang-Jo who we are really only just getting to know now. It’s a “goodbye” issue, and while I don’t relish having to say goodbye to this series, I feel good about the rich world that was created and the stories yet untold. Perhaps someone will crack open this fortune cookie again in the future, and hopefully they won’t completely fuck it up.

This series was expertly-written, and mostly well-plotted and –drawn by a variety of artists. Except for one or two issues just before this series transitioned to the new title, it’s been a fantastic read. If you’ve been on the fence, I implore you to check this thing out in trade. You’ll see something that we don’t normally see in mainstream comic books: character growth. And you may learn something about Chinese culture, while you’re at it.

Bits and Pieces:

And now, the end is here, and so we'll face the final curtain. It's been a fun read, Kong Kenan, I hope we see you and the crew again someday. Especially Robinbot. In fact, just the Robinbot mini-series will do nicely.

8/10