I know we’ve talked about it before, but the best part of the Unity Saga, Brian Michael Bendis and team’s first big Superman story (that really started back in Man of Steel but who’s nitpicking), is how it’s knitting together DC’s big, weird, crazy space stuff. Something I’ve found really surprising since DC Universe hugely expanded its comic offerings was how vibrant the galaxy felt even 20 years ago – The Omega Men weren’t always the fun-loving White Lantern-beheading space terrorists we know and love. Turns out they were part of a much larger and continually published comics ecosystem for a long time. An ecosystem that coexisted alongside the street level Batman books and the primary colors Superman/Wonder Woman stuff, and wove in and out of Justice League books.
But something happened a while ago (feels like the last 10-15 years, but I could be wrong about that) and the space stuff started being siloed away in the Green Lantern corner of the publishing universe. That’s been a fun place to encounter some of these stories and characters and concepts, but it makes the universe feel a little less alive, and as you can probably tell by how overly excited I get when Vril Dox shows up, it is something I thirst for.
So The Circle in Superman is something I deeply appreciate. In a way, it feels a lot like early Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning Marvel Space stuff. It clears out a lot of clutter and focuses on a couple of pillars of the galactic community (Nova, the Kree, and the Church of Universal Truth at Marvel; Krypton, the Council, Thanagarians and Rannians here). And it has these races and superheroes working together to the point where they have social-feeling relationships with each other. The dialogue between Jor-El and the Circle in these preview pages is tone and language that people who have a lot of experience with each other would share, and not the stilted, diplomatic language that would be used between societal leaders in a formal setting. Also, I just really like how Tamaran and Appa Ali Apsa are included.
DC sent us a preview of Superman #13, the penultimate issue in the Unity Saga that brings Jor-El’s battles with The Circle to a head. Here’s what they have to say about the issue.
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SUPERMAN #13 written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
art and cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
variant cover by ADAM HUGHESSuperman, intergalactic hero! A major chapter in the galaxy-spanning “Unity Saga” begins as Superman reluctantly takes the lead in a quest for peace bigger than he has ever tried before. It’s Superman, Superboy, Supergirl and a cast of thousands in a fight to keep the universe intact. But it’s this issue’s final page that will have fans everywhere talking. It’s a moment almost a thousand years in the making…
Deadly plans, murderous schemes and evil dealings. Each of Lex Luthor’s offers means doom for the heroes. So why is Lex now talking to Lois Lane?
Brandon Peterson’s art in this preview is outstanding, too. Take a look!
