Comic Info
Comic Name: New Super-Man
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Glen Luen Yang
Artist: Billy Tan/Viktor Bogdanovic
# of Issues: 6
Release Date: 2017
New Super-Man #8 Variant
Reprints New Super-Man #7-12 (March 2017-August 2017). There is something evil in the Ministry of Self-Reliance and Kenan Kong is out to find out what. With Bat-Man and Wonder-Woman working with him to uncover who destroyed his family, Kenan must begin learning how to unlock his abilities with the help of a trainer named I-Ching. With Lex Luthor taking an extreme interest in Kenan, Kenan finds himself on an international trip…but the truth about his parents could be revealed!
Written by Gene Luen Yang, New Super-Man Volume 2: Coming to America is a DC Comics Rebirth title. Following New Super-Man Volume 1: Made in China, the collection features art by Billy Tan and Viktor Bogdanovic.
I was excited about New Super-Man. Not only does the title make sense (having superheroes would essentially be an arms race between countries), but the character of Kenan is different than many “heroes”. While starting out completely unlikable, New Super-Man is trying to create a hero from scratch.
The story feels a bit more like old comic books than some of the other books on the market. The stories are broken into two issue storylines with major plots that run the course of the series. With more comics going for less individual issues and greater “big stories”, it is nice to have more of these quick building-block type stories.
New Super-Man #12 Variant
The second nice thing about New Super-Man is the parallels. Because it is rooted in the DC Universe, it doesn’t feel like a knock-off of the Superman character so much. Kenan is very different from Clark Kent on the surface, but there are similarities and it is interesting to see how a different culture might explore the idea of Superman (aka Kenan’s ties to I-Ching and finding his chi instead of “training” to be hero in the Western superhero mode).
I also like that New Super-Man isn’t afraid to go into stereotypes, legends, and myths of China with an honest approach. You have the classically racist Chin Lung as a player but the racism is explained and the character is expanded upon to put it in context. The same is true with I-Ching, and they are both done in a way that doesn’t feel like they are dishonoring the original comics or the culture.
New Super-Man is by no means a perfect comic, but it is a fun comic. I like that DC is trying something different with it and that it is an honest attempt to try to give the readers something new. With a semi “bombshell” at the end (it was easy for the reader to see coming even if Kenan didn’t), it is worth seeking out the next volume. New Super-Man 2: Coming to America is followed by New Super-Man 3: Equilibrium.
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