Superman: Lost #3 Review

   

   

Written by: Christopher Priest

Art by: Carlo Pagulayan, Jason Paz
Colors by: Jeremy Cox
Letters by: Willie Schubert
Cover art by: Carlo Pagulayan, Jason Paz, Elmer Santos
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: May 9, 2023

Superman: Lost #3 finds Clark swimming with the Dolphins on his quest to find a faster way home.

Is It Good?

Superman: Lost #3 is the latest issue in this 10-issue maxi-series, and if you weren't sure up to now, this issue makes it clear this arc is going to be a rough ride. Why? More on that in a minute.

When last we left the Man of Steel, he had a bizarre meeting with a man called (but not named) Victor on a planet Clark playfully nicknamed "Kansas" due to a lone patch of blue-skyed farmland that reminded him of home. Now, Clark roams the spaceways in a new white suit and a survival rig with a talking AI to find a faster mode of transportation home.

 

Clark encounters a pod of space dolphins who may or may not have found a way to travel through wormholes, so Clark tags along in their wake on a hunch that their travels will shortcut his trip. However, the dolphins have an ulterior motive and guide Clark to a gas giant with an orbital defense system that seems to have trapped some of the space dolphins' calves. Clark takes the hint to try and broker peace with the gas giant aliens. In short, this is a "Save the Dolphins/Whales" allegory.

Yes, that sounds all weird and sci-fi trippy. In truth, Pagulayan's wildly fantastical space art brings the alien space vistas and interstellar backdrops to life in a whimsically entrancing way. All the pieces are present for a first-rate sci-fi story.

So, why is this arc in for a rough ride? Because this issue, like the critique for the last issue, has no story. At least, not a complete story. Superman aimlessly wanders into a new encounter, learns something about the aliens, offers a word or two of suggestion, and leaves. Superman doesn't accomplish or learn anything. The alien lifeforms Superman encounters act as unusual set pieces or plot devices, but they're not changed by their interaction with Superman unless you consider the possibility the aliens take Superman's suggestion to heart. And that's it.

I often harp on the idea that even a single issue in an arc needs to have a clear beginning, middle, and end. So far, this series is the exact opposite of that idea.

To be clear, this issue looks fantastic, but storywise, it's the equivalent of walking down a city street when you're hopelessly lost and periodically bumping into colorfully dressed strangers. It makes for a weirdly intriguing visual, but it's a lousy story.


About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces:

Superman: Lost #3 is a weirdly beautiful and alien book with fantastic art, but Priest sets up a story that never goes anywhere or finishes. It's as if the creative team said, "Let's make it pretty, and we'll worry about telling a story later." At a $4.99 price point, with no backup, "telling a story later" isn't good enough.

6/10