What do you do when the very fabric of reality is fighting against your redemption arc? It’s another month, and you know what that means: it’s prime time. Superboy Prime has been trying to good-guy his way into the good graces of the DC universe. Unfortunately for Prime, no amount of raw strength and superpowers can overcome the power of the narrative. In Superman #38, Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora get more meta. Well… more meta.
Title: Superman #38
Creatives: Joshua Williamson (Writer), Dan Mora (Artist), Alejandro Sánchez (Colorist)
Characters: Superboy Prime, Witchfire
Villain: Manchester Black, Demons
Format: Ongoing Series
Our Rating: 9/10 Stars
Superboy Prime Encounters Witchfire and a Demonic Army
Prime is caught up in another classic DC adventure when he’s targeted by Witchfire as a victim for a sacrifice. Well, Prime isn’t really chosen because his alter ego is. Witchfire is very much taken aback when she realizes that not only is the comic store nerd a Superhero, but also immune to magic. Regardless of her magical sacrifice going wrong, Prime is more than happy to help. It’s only partially because she called him cute. Regardless, the two follow the source of magic, going undercover into a club complete with goth makeovers.
They trace it downstairs, meeting up with the rest of Witchfire’s coven to fight an army of demons trying to make Earth their home since they lost control over Hell. Classic stakes for Superman.
Witchfire is able to seal away the demons with Prime’s help, but unfortunately for our temp-Superman, it’s not the end of the issue. Throughout their adventure, Prime had been experiencing typos in his text bubbles and upside-down pages, a full assortment of weird comic-centric mistakes. It all culminates in him being torn right through the pages of his own comic and coming face to face with something a lot scarier than Demons.
Manchester Black and the Power of the Narrative
This issue has a lot of ground to cover. Fleshing out Witchfire and who she is in this arc, developing her dynamic with Prime, a big fight with a bunch of demons, and then of course the proper introduction of Manchester Black as the main villain. All things considered, Williamson handles this overwhelming burden well.
Manchester’s presence is integrated into the adventure with Witchfire seamlessly, using typos and weird formatting changes to show his influence over the comic reality. It also works as a good literalization of Prime’s core conflict, which is fighting his own story.
The issue makes a big point of how Prime is even immune to magic, unlike classic Supes, but Manchester Black’s manipulation certainly gets to him. There are scenes where he looks distressed or powerless in a way he rarely has, all while Manchester Black taunts him about who he “really is.”
Manchester Black serves as the personification of a story where Prime is forever a villain. It’s the only force he’s truly powerless against, and it pushes him to a vulnerability that we haven’t seen from him in the issues prior. It’s a brilliant bit of meta storytelling that gives this arc such a distinct identity. It reminds me so heavily of Cristopher Hasting’s Unbelievable Gwenpool in the best ways possible and makes full use of the comic medium.
Dan Mora Breaks the Fourth Wall
Dan Mora too continues to do the work of his career, and that’s no small statement. There are so many small flourishes and details combined with brilliant set pieces and splash pages. For instance, when Witchfire and Prime go undercover, the borders for the panels become thick and jagged, really selling the feeling of booming music.
Though there are plenty of other masterfully executed pages, special attention has to be paid towards the fourth wall breaking. From Prime being torn through the pages of the comics, falling through an ad for a black label series, and landing flat on an in-progress page complete with a sticky note from Dan Mora’s drafting table. It’s just an absolute blast to read from start to finish.
Alejandro Sánchez on colors of course deserves a shout out. Though the fourth wall breaking doesn’t include quite as much from him, he really sells the art throughout the fight with the demons right before.
The Verdict: Why This Meta Character Study Works
This arc has me simultaneously impatient waiting for the next issue and incredibly saddened by its eventual end. It delivers classic comics adventures and an incredibly in-depth meta character study all in one. Frankly, there’s not another comic coming out right now that does both of those things quite so well. Now for another excruciating month-long wait til the next Prime time.
‘Superman’ #38 Review: Superboy Prime and the Ultimate Meta Comic Fight
This arc has me simultaneously impatient waiting for the next issue and incredibly saddened by its eventual end. It delivers classic comics adventures and an incredibly in-depth meta character study all in one. Frankly, there’s not another comic coming out right now that does both of those things quite so well. Now for another excruciating month-long wait til the next Prime time.
